Saturday 30 May 2015

Saturday (2).


All today's photos are of the feasting and revelry at the event known (certainly in East Anglian Blogging Circles) as the event of the year :- Zoe's Blogmeet, where her family, blogfriends, and livestock met for the FIFTH annual Blogmeet.


Above - parent and child (I know - it is impossible to tell which is which !).


Above - Zoe's son and his wife, who were married last year.


If you look between the two large  jars you should be able to discern two small tortoises.


Above - fully grown tortoise - Edwina.


Party beginning to assemble at table,  to partake of the quite superb refreshments.


Above is Bobbie, who, about a hundred years ago attacked a member of the household somewhere in the colonies. He was interrupted by an uncle of Zoe's, who proceeded  to dipatch the big cat. He  (the cat) was, strangled, stuffed, mounted, and has lived (?) on the landing ever since. I suppose a good many households have similar family legends, but Bobby seems to fit rather well into this one (household, that is).

                                         Once again, Zoe, and indeed everyone who helped, our sincere thanks for a lovely day. Long may it annually recur!
                                         _________________________________________

Saturday (1).

                                       
                                       
                                           Answer to Wednesday's Mystery Object.
                                           ________________________________

The above photo shows the answer to Wednesday, 27th May's Mystery Object. It is made from a small burr from a silver birch tree, and is not (as I had at first thought) a toy or drinking bowl for a small child, but a drinking bowl for an older person (possibly the aforesaid child's grandparent) to swig vodka or aqua vita from.  I have checked this answer with several expert collectors/dealers in Scandinavian treen and they are unanimous in their reply that it is a drinking bowl from which to imbibe spirits.

Thursday 28 May 2015

Thursday.






I mentioned in a blog entry a week or so ago how very well the aquilegia flowers are  doing this year. Took the above four photographs this afternoon, which rather demonstrate  the point I was making.


Had taken the above flower photos when i looked a bit higher, saw what a lovely 'skyscape' I was missing, so took a quick snapshot of the sky above our  garden. I think I must try and make a habit of looking a bit higher for some photos.

Wednesday 27 May 2015

Wednesday.


All four photographs are of this week's  MYSTERY OBJECT. It is very small - two and a quarter inches long (2.25"),  but was  made for a quite specific purpose.




Where and when made please? Material of which it was made ?  And the specific purpose for which it was made?

                                       _________________________________________

P.s. Cheating slightly in that I've not yet shown the underside of the object - it is signed and dated.

                                                            Good night every one.
                                                        ________________________

Saturday 23 May 2015

Saturday.


In yesterday's blog entry, I mentioned that we'd bought fruit and vegetables from the Market.  This evening for supper we had  the asparagus and a poached egg on toast, followed  by some of  yesterday's fruit. I then thought of another blog entry, so hastily rearranged what was left of the fruit, photographed it, and here are the photographic results (which I should have thought of earlier).  All the fruit photographed we bought from Highdale Market.
Ann made the flower arrangement of flowers from our garden, mainly aquilegia.


                                         Goodnight All.

Friday 22 May 2015

Friday.


Took this snapshot of my favourite tree yesterday. It is a couple of miles out of town, on one side of a narrow, embanked lane. The other side of the tree the bank runs down to the river Brett. I showed a snapshot of the tree a few years ago. I wish I had known this tree sixty years ago. I could have done it justice then. I'd never noticed the face above the hole in the centre of the trunk. The face rather matches the tree's character.


This morning we walked into town, had a coffee, walked home via the Market Place. There's only about half a dozen stalls nowadays, but we usually stop and buy vegetables at the green grocery stall to the right of the snapshot, as they always have locally grown fruit and vegetables. Also, Ann says they give good value for money. They sell nice, fresh produce anyway.

Wednesday 20 May 2015

Wednesday.


Been a busy week. Ann has wanted to go and find a small garden centre she'd  heard of in a  nearby village, so yesterday afternoon, we decided to give ourselves a mini outing and drove over there. A mile or so out of town we slowed down so that Ann could take the above photo out of our offside window of a small farmhouse that we've long admired.


Fifteen minutes later we arrived at the garden centre, took the above photo of a pink flowered conker tree under a threatening sky, then had to run for cover, as the sky did more than threaten. It was a small, but very well stocked garden centre, with a helpful staff. If they hadn't got what was wanted they told us of other local suppliers who might have. We bought several bits, mainly herbs, in which they seemed to specialise.  The main problem of having such a small garden as ours, is that we have to choose the things to go in it very carefully. In other words we have to be very sparing of  the space that is available.


Drove home across a fairly low lying bit of Suffolk, under some lovely cloudy skyscapes, but now with lots of sunny bits as well.


Couldn't resist a photo of this small herd of cattle, being led by a rangy, long horned bull, with whom I wouldn't have cared to get into a political argument if I'd met him in a bar parlour.


And last of all, a few miles from home, went through a typical Suffolk lane, with cow parsley hanging from either bank. Stopped for a cuppa and sticky bun a couple of miles from home. Thoroughly enjoyed our (fairly) productive afternoon out.

Wednesday 13 May 2015

Wednesday.


This morning we motored into the depths of wildest Suffolk to have lunch with friends. After lunch our host showed us his latest acquisition., which he'd received this morning.  I asked him if I might take a photograph of it to use as a Mystery Object? "It's in dreadful condition" he said, "and there's an awful lot of work to be done on it before it's fit to be seen. Tell you what Mike. I'll get you one out that you can take a photo of. It's not quite as early as this one, but, it's in a lot better condition ."

So, that's what we did. Here is the photo above. The object is on the seat of a modern garden chair. Please try and guess what it is, where it was made, roughly when it was made, and the material of which it is made.
                                           __________________________________


On our way home we stopped for petrol on the forecourt of a garage, and found ourselves parked next to the above photographed, magnificently preserved, 1930s Rolls Royce motor  car. As an old uncle of Ann's used to say :- "The things you see when you're out without your gun!"

                                         -------------------------------------------------------------

Monday 11 May 2015

Monday.


 Took these photos in our small garden last Saturday morning. As you can see in the first two photos we have roses in bloom (a few days later than last year). A couple of years ago it was possible to buy miniature rose bushes on garage forecourts. We were given several of these, and when they'd done flowering indoors we put them out in the borders, where, in season, they continue to flower, and these two are our earliest flowering roses this year.  Have you ever noticed, by the way, that when we say a thing happened 'a year or two ago', if we're in a position to check, it's almost invariably at least twice that time?


The aquilegia (Grannie's bonnets or nightcaps) are really blooming nicely now. We cut them back hard last year but it doesn't seem to have discouraged them this year.

 Above and below pictures are of alpines in our rockery.


And lastly, after giving us a good show, our tulips are nearly past their best.

Got to go now. Ann tells me Sarah is on the 'phone, wanting to discuss last Saturday's Telegraph Prize Crossword.
Good Night All.

Friday 8 May 2015

Friday.


This afternoon we motored over to Sudbury to do our fortnightly 'big shop'. It's an interesting town in South Suffolk on the Essex border. It's probably rather bigger than Highdale, and the town has obviously been an important place in it's day. You'll get the idea when I tell you that there are THREE medieval churches in Sudbury - All Saints Church, St. Peter's Church and the 'Mother Church' of Sudbury,  Saint Gregory's.  Simon Theobald of Sudbury, who was born circa 1316, and became  Bishop of London for some years, witnessed the peasant's Revolt on the 14th of June, 1381, and (rather ill advisedly as it turned out) took refuge, together with King Richard II in the Tower of London, where Simon was beheaded by a lynch mob. His mummified head  was eventually returned to Saint Gregory's Church in Sudbury (which, from Simon's point of view probably didn't  help much). The head is still there, though - it is kept in a glass case in Saint Gregory's Church, where it can still be seen - by request. If you are of a nervous disposition, I suggest you don't bother. I think he was probably no beauty at best, and six and a half centuries mummified don't appear to have improved things much.


 Sudbury, as you can see, is well worth a visit though. The above building, which backs onto the river, is one of my favourites.


There are a great many half timbered buildings which are well worthy of inspection.


The above Church is Saint Gregory's where the head is kept.

Sorry to have been a bit macabre this time.  Good night - Sleep well. You don't HAVE to go and look at him.

Tuesday 5 May 2015

Tuesday.


Earlier this week (Monday possibly) we got mildly lost across towards Sudbury. Been through this village before, but I can't remember taking a photo of this building. The main (cream coloured) part  is of various periods, mainly eighteenth century in view, which knowing our area probably means the skeleton of the house, especially if it's end on to the road, is timber framed and probably medieval; But why anyone should, probably during the late eighteenth/early 19th century, build an oast house and nail it on to the lovely earlier building, I really don't know. Suggestions (I want to say sensible ones please, but, on the other hand, I don't want to exclude Rog or Crowbard) would be welcome.


Snapped another church I don't remember seeing before, and I can't remember the name of the village; just sailed round a corner, and there it was. Snapped it through the nearside window, and got a reasonable picture for once. If I ever come across it again, I'll try and get more details of it.

 Been passing busy today, getting ready for Long Melford tomorrow; so I'm now quite ready for bed....

                                       Goodnight All.