More Treasure

All detectorists dream, like Lance and Andy of the TV series, of one day finding treasure. Their motives are not merely financial ones and the thrill of the find and buzz amongst the metal detecting community often far outweighs any pecuniary interests - many finders donate their finds to museums. It's interesting what actually constitutes "treasure". 

Whilst Lance's gold Anglo Saxon aestel undoubtably ticks every treasure box there is in terms of it's historic, aesthetic and financial value, most treasure finds unearthed are far less interesting. Since I moved down to Suffolk I have made three finds that had to be reported to the coroner as "treasure" - the definition being 'Any metallic object, other than a coin, provided that at least 10 per cent by weight of metal is precious metal (that is, gold or silver) and that it is at least 300 years old when found."

This ring, despite being gold, fell outside the scope of the Treasure Act as it is less than three hundred years old.

         

This silver tag from the end of a shoe lace or belt and this fragment of a medieval brooch were both declared treasure.

As was this medieval silver brooch that now belongs to the Colchester Museum

So what's the "more treasure" of today's headline? I had a few hours out in the fields again on Monday and turned up this.

Not exactly one to set the pulse racing is it? But it is now my fourth treasure find in the last three years. It is a solid silver bodkin dating to c1600. It would have been a beautiful piece before it was snapped at the eye and bent.

It has a couple of initials engraved on it. I have taken it to the finds liaison officer and he will be reporting the find to the coroner. I imagine that it will be disclaimed and returned to me in six months or so. 

It wasn't the only silver to turn up on Monday. I also found this Victorian four pence from 1852 and William III shilling from the 1690s.

We've had plenty more to keep us occupied. On Friday we went up to Framlingham College's Headmaster's house for a charity breakfast in aid of Crisis At Christmas. It was a great event with plenty to eat in the enormous open plan kitchen with one of the best views in Suffolk.

We joined some friends at The Crown on Friday evening to wish goodbye to other friends Carol and Ron and their daughter Lily who moved to Norfolk this week. We enjoyed a good meal with plenty of wine. We will miss Ron and Caroline's sense of humour very much. The exercise classes at the college won't be the same without Caroline's upbeat personality keeping us all going. 

As I had to take the "treasure" to Bury St Edmunds, we decided to give the Abbeygate Cinema a try. It's a great little picture house with a good cafe. The film was Bridge Of Spies. This is as old fashioned a movie as you will ever see - I'm surprised it wasn't in black and white. Tom Hanks is a character straight out of the Henry Fonda, Gregory Peck, James Stewart stable of good old Americans with pure morals and a strong sense of justice. He's a lawyer who is given the unenviable task of defending a Russian spy in the 1950s. Of course everyone wants the spy executed but Hank's character James Donovan is determined on a fair trial. It's a Spielberg movie and we see lots of his trademark lighting but not many of his trademark surprises as everything is very formulaic - American = very good, Russian = bad East German = bad and a bit comical too.The film has received excellent ratings and Hanks puts in a fine performance but to paraphrase another of this week's soundbites "it ain't no Mr Smith Goes To Washington bruv".

On Detectorists And Detecting, A Beautiful Romance, Local Politics, And A Great Evening At The Framlingham Wine Shop

We've been getting back into the swing of Framlingham life after our fortnight in Scotland. We'll be heading back to Fife for Christmas so it was great news to hear that the Forth Road Bridge is likely to be closed :( . After two weeks away our fitness had taken a bit of a dive so we got stuck back into the excellent exercise classes at Fram Leisure. I've done nine classes this week and Marion has done plenty too. Some of the classes are undersubscribed so, if you are in or around Framlingham, do check them out. We've got some excellent instructors and the classes are great value for money.

The regular exercise classes meant that we could go to the monthly wine tasting at The Framlingham Wine Shop on Wednesday with a clear conscience and check out Richard and Sarah's latest offerings accompanied by some tasty cheese and some good company. We had a great evening and ordered a nice mixed case of wine for the festive season.

On Thursday evening we attended a fairly acrimonious Town Council meeting in which the local residents' association (of which we are members) was accused by the chairman of being a trouble making protest group. This did not go down too well with the public (many of whom were also members) and the meeting ended with the chairperson making a dramatic resignation speech, removing her badge of office and leaving the room. A very un-festive meeting. (And we though we were retiring to a quiet unexciting little town). 

This week's movie Carol was set in the festive season in 1952. Starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara as two women strongly attracted to each other at a time when such things were not spoken about, it's a tender, powerful and beautifully filmed movie with outstanding performances from the two lead characters. This is a romantic classic up there with Brief Encounter and will melt the heart of even the most ardent homophobe. 

Another tender and beautifully filmed story with two outstanding lead characters finished this week.

Being a detectorist myself and living in Framlingham where it was filmed you might think I am being biased but The Times' Andrew Billen shared my view and gave it a rare five stars. It was a wonderful series with so many perfect moments. Undersized Toby Brown with his oversized metal detector, a trampoline rolling down a hill with a mad farmer in pursuit on a quad bike and Lance and Andy's "gold dance" were but a few of the moments of pure treasure that filled this whimsical and extraordinary series. Mackenzie Crook is casting doubts on there being any more episodes. I do hope he changes his mind. At least there's definitely a Christmas special to look forward to.

The Wonderful gold dance finale.

Andy and Lance head into Framlingham

As one of those detectorists (described by Lance as solitary creatures who swarm. together in herds for rallies), I have been taking advantage of the continuing unseasonal weather and had three hours in the fields on Friday. Here's what turned up.

This is what I tipped out of the finds bag. "Hot rocks and grots" as Andy might say.

Lots more lead to go in the lead scrap bin (which will soon be too heavy to lift)

Certainly a "grot" but the 28th hammered coin I've found this year. It's a Medieval silver penny.

I was delighted when someone told me there was something similar to this Medieval piece on the Portable Antiquities Scheme database.

Sadly it's unidentified

I've a horrible feeling that this scrap of silver may be defined as "Treasure" which means a lot of form filling

This was my favourite find of the day. It's a cloth seal with the arms of Haarlem in Holland. It dates to the late 16th or early 17th century.

Reverse

                           

Not all finds were old. Here's a Victorian sixpence dated 1866.

If the weather continues like this I may get another chance to go out before Christmas. Maybe I will get the hammered coin total up to thirty for the year (it was over forty last year).

And, by the way, Detectorists didn't have just great scripts, acting, locations and filming, the theme was pretty much perfect too.  

Another Coup By Slice Of Life Framlingham

I wrote in January about the surreality of walking two minutes down the road on a winter Sunday night to our small Suffolk town's church hall and watching critically acclaimed James Bloor from Cambridge Footlights perform his one man show. That was a bit of a coup by local arts events organiser Slice Of Life and I didn't expect them to repeat it. But I guessed wrong and on Sunday evening we were back in St Michael's Church Hall for another fabulous evening's entertainment.

Jason Forbes, Phil Wang and George Fouracres perform as sketch troupe Daphne. Their show Daphne Do Edinburgh was nominated in the best newcomer category at this year's Edinburgh Fringe and won best new act at London Sketch Fest 2015. In December they are performing Daphne Do Edinburgh In London but here they were in Fram entertaining a full house with a series of bizarre, silly, madcap, sometimes slapstick, always extremely clever and totally hilarious sketches. There were so many highlights it would be unfair to single out any one in particular. I loved George Fouracre's Shakespearian call to arms, Jason Forbes' tongue quivering Ainsley Harriot and Phil Wang's bucketful of coffee which led to an incredible acrobatic finale by Jason as a deranged barista in a routine that was like Norman Wisdom on speed and must have left the young man in need of first aid. We ended the night with the good folk of Framlingham bizarrely singing along to George's "cockney" ditty Bromley By Bow. Great fun. I don't know how Spice Of Life do it but long may they continue to do so.

My last blog included some St Andrews photos taken in glorious sunshine but it was business as usual for the weather for the following days as the caravan site suffered several days of near torrential rain. 

At least we got to see granddaughters  Rose and Melody. They decided to wear their princess outfits on Friday and turned plenty of heads as they walked through the town.

Melody is no longer the baby of the family.

We left St Andrews on Saturday and broke the journey for our friend Nita's 60th birthday party in Ribchester. Nita (right above) and husband Mark (second left) put on a fabulous party and we had a great evening and overnight stay before heading back to Suffolk in time for Daphne.
   

Another Postcard From St Andrews

We've been in the caravan in St Andrews for almost two weeks. I always have a moan about the WIFI when we are here and I'm afraid today's no exception. Although a signal for Caravan Connect shows on the laptop and the 'sign on' screen appears - that's as far as it goes. There's almost no phone signal either so we can't use 3g. I've spoken to the site manager who tells me that they improved the speed but that has reduced the distance that the signal travels and, as we are at the far end of the site, we're the ones who lose out. But, do you know what? Life's not all that bad. I've been busy on the next novel and managed to watch TV with subtitles without being distracted by Twitter or Facebook and having to ask Marion "what did she say?". So thank you Caravan Connect for being so crap. I won't be renewing the £75 subscription in January and can escape cyberspace whenever we are here in future.

So where is today's blog being delivered from? We enjoy our daily fix of coffee and a snack and when we're at home that's usually provided by The Dancing Goat. Here in St Andrews it  used to be Mitchells but that's a busy place and we feel obliged to move on when the coffee is drunk. We've discovered the St Andrews students' union cafe. The WIFI is lightning fast (it has to be, virtually everyone in the place is using it), it's good to be surrounded by youth (not sure if that feeling is reciprocated but we seem to be welcome enough) and the food and drink is good (and cheap). I've uploaded the photos for this blog in about ten seconds and there are plenty of empty seats so I don't feel that a kicking out is imminent.

It's been cold, wet and windy for most of our stay but it's been sunny once or twice and this morning was glorious. The weather is not that important as the grandchildren and family are the main purpose of our visits.

Now that Melody is two she can manage a jigsaw puzzle with a bit of help.

She and her sister have visited us at the caravan a couple of times.

We kept all of Sarah's My Little Ponies from when she was small and the girls love playing with them. Maybe they will survive to be played with by their own children one day or end up on Antiques Roadshow fifty years from now.

We took the family for a day at Muddy Boots. It's a farm packed with outdoor (and some indoor) fun for toddlers and its only half an hour away. 

There's plenty of fun for kids of all ages.

And it's in a lovely spot.

We've also paid a couple of visits to another caravan site with an excellent indoor soft play area. Rose was given the responsibility of looking after her nursery's class teddy bear.

With it being such a lovely morning. We walked into St Andrews today and I took some photos on the phone. I know I've photographed and blogged just about every St Andrews scene there is in the past but I've been experimenting with some of the features on the new iPhone so I hope that some of these are a little bit different.

St Andrews Cathedral - One of the most spectacular ruins in the UK

Marion's twin joined us 

The famous pier and harbour.

More cathedral views.

The Castle

We managed to get to the local Cineworld in Dundee last week. We wanted to see the last Hunger Games movie but they don't have IMAX so we're saving that for Ipswich. We went to see The Dressmaker instead. After Brooklyn , our last cinema outing, it's another film with a female protagonist and, what a protagonist! Kate Winslet is brilliant as the tough seamstress who returns to her Australian outback shanty town to seek revenge for a ruined childhood. Populated by grotesques and oddballs, the aptly named Dungatar meets its nemesis in Winslet's Tilly Dunnage. Filmed in brilliantly garish colour the film casts many a nod in the direction of Tim Burton and it reminded me of Burton's Big Fish and Alice In Wonderland. It's had mixed reviews critically but we absolutely loved its mix of pathos, romance and black comedy, 

A Romantic Movie A Free Body Blitz And Some More Time In The Fields

Our movie choice for this week was Brooklyn. It's adapted from the award winning novel by Colm Tóibín and tells the story of Ellis a young Irish woman played by Saoirse Ronan who leaves her ultra Catholic small town in 1951 to find work in America. A priest, ( Jim Broadbent) has found her a job in a department store in Brooklyn and lodgings in a good Catholic house run by a maternal landlady played by Julie Walters. It's a very pleasant film with many varied themes running through it. Will homesickness ruin Ellis' chance of settling in Brooklyn? Will her young plumber boyfriend be Mr Right? Or, when she makes a visit home will her head be turned by the dashing young eligible bachelor? Principally, the big question is will Ireland change from small minded Catholic bigotry to acceptance? It's good to see a film with a female central character as, Hunger Games apart, this doesn't happen often enough. Saoirse Ronan takes the opportunity well and gives a convincing performance as a clever, sensible and determined young woman in a beautifully filmed low key romantic drama.

We've been keeping up with the exercise classes up at Fram College. I've been doing eight or nine sessions a week and Marion has been doing similar with Yoga at St Michael's too. The classes are all good but a couple of them are undersubscribed and I found myself doing this week's Body Blitz with instructor Alastair (above) and nobody else. It's such a good class there should be a waiting list. Next Tuesday there's a chance to sample it FREE as part of Fram Leisure's free class promotion. Book now to avoid disappointment.

I was excited to spot this fine Japanese Satsuma bowl coming up for auction on the internet with an estimate of £80. I recognised it as by the most famous Satsuma artist Yabu Meizan and hoped that none of the big hitting collectors would spot it. Sadly I hoped wrong and it sold this morning for a massive £4,400. For a 9cm diameter bowl this is a spectacular price even for Yabu Meizan (I anticipated it might fetch about £1,200 if it was spotted). Oh well. I'll keep on looking.

The unseasonal mild weather continues so I've managed another few hours out with the detector. I didn't find a great deal this time but here's what turned up.

There's never a shortage of buttons.

These look like a couple of lumps of scrap but are probably medieval vessel legs.

This is a miniature toy knife (minus its blade). It's probably from around 1700

This is another toy. Although used for centuries this one is very similar to one found in an archeological context  from around 1650-1750. It's known as a whirligig or buzz-saw. Threaded with string and spun at high speed the toys made a loud humming noise. You would need strong string as this heavy jagged piece of lead could do some damage if it flew off at high speed.

Here's another big chunk of lead. I guess that this is a weight.

Few sessions pass without a thimble turning up. This one is tiny and dates from the 18th or 19th century.

It's only a button but it's an early one from around the 17th century.

This silver penny is the oldest find of the day. It's from the realm of Edward I (1272-1307).

We're off to Scotland for a couple of weeks soon. We're looking forward to seeing the Scottish branch of the family. Let's hope that the mild spell continues while we are in the caravan.