I don't need to tell anyone what a year it's been.
I just realised that I haven't written a blog since October. So I thought I'd end the year with a summary in photos.
January
Life was good and we were carrying on as usual enjoying trips to London with friends.
Come From Away , the wonderful musical was followed by cocktails and a visit to the Gaugin Exhibition at The National Gallery
Mamma Mia The Party At The O2 Was A Fabulous Night Out
First treasure find of the year - 18th c Meissen sugar bowl in a box of junk
February
We were all still oblivious to what lay ahead and had a lovely trip to London with daughter Sarah and our Scottish grandchildren.
The Science Museum was a highlight for them.
Just a few days later we took the Kent grandchildren to Whitstable for a break
They picked up this stone with an ominously prescient message
This Sevres tureenand these fabulous porcelain plates bought for a few pounds were a big success on eBay
March
The best find of the year turned up at auction for £28 and, after a few months spent identifying it, went on to sell on eBay for £900
We went to Scotland to the caravan to visit the family but couldn't see them as Melody had a cough and the virus was just starting to take hold. So, within three days we headed back home.
Instead of the dinner at The Seafood Restaurant in St Andrews, Marion celebrated a major birthday with a pizza I cooked for her back in Framlingham.
And lockdown began.
We welcomed Jay and his online Pub Quiz into our house for the first time, little knowing that he would still be a regular feature in December.
No gym meant no more of Alastair's classes at the college and, instead, Fitness Blender on YouTube was to become a daily routine.
A list of chores started with cleaning the garage.
Poor Mum had a nasty fall back in Spain and ended up in hospital
April
Framlingham took the crisis very seriously. We started a neighbourhood WhatsApp group for our road.
I started taking an online iPhone photography course
Painting the office became the next job on the list.
That was a job I came to regret as I suffered a recurrence of the slipped disc that laid me low for much of 2019.
May
Thank goodness for the lockdown weather
The photo course continued
And the glorious weather continued too
June
We got out of the house and drove a huge 16 miles to Ramsholt
No new clothes for Marion but at least she got a designer face mask
Further progress with the photo course
July
Mum paid us another visit
A small ray of light amongst all the darkness
A little visitor
A bigger one
Nature red in tooth and claw as we lost our favourite blackbird
Lockdown hair
August
We lost our dear friend and neighbour David
On a happier note our Kent family visited for a couple of days
The long hot summer continued and we managed to get to Snape
September
Granddaughter Melody turned seven
We managed to spend a few days in Scotland and see the family
More photo experiments
Granddaughter Rose the bookworm
Best eBay buy of the month. 18th century delftware plates
October
All set for another grandchildren's visit. It didn't happen due to chickenpox.
Marion did some weeding!!!
The lockdown eBay hobby turns into a business
November
A beautiful auction buy that sold well on eBay
Bought on eBay for £8.50
Paid £84 to get it here but already sold a bit of it for £321 and got twenty pieces left
December
First cold snap of winter
Christmas tree up at the end of November
It's infested with bugs so it's down again in no time
Stripped of its decorations
Latest eBay buy - Lomonosov porcelain jug
Two fabulous auction buys
The tree is back up now
Have a wonderful Christmas if you can
And best wishes for 2021.
