Distinguished looking gent on the photo is our son Jonathan, who has spent the day with us whilst trying to turn your blogger into a responsible, computer-wise citizen, and, if this picture turns out all right, seems to have succeeded. Many thanks, Jon. I will continue to practice. He has also given me lessons in gathering 'comments', bidding on eBay, and playing scrabble on computer (give ear, oh Rog. there should be a scrabble game started and waiting for you. Hope to see you reply soon). Warm regards to all - Mike.

Still practicing under son Jonathan's tuition.

Friday.

Wednesday attended a good, busy, Long Melford Antique Fair. Sold an early stonebow (16/17th century Italian) soon after we got there and before we'd had time to set up. Bought two brass tinder boxes, both needed a clean, but sold one of them on to a couple (quite literally a married couple) of American dealers (old friends) together with a good deal of early metalware. Very busy morning both buying and selling. Just after midday our good friends Derek and Cath turned up to look after the stall for a while, and we adjourned to the Bull Inn for a quick lunch. After lunch things were rather quieter, but we continued to sell odd bits and pieces. Packing up was a good deal easier than packing had been earlier. Got home at about four thirty, and teenage Tom Next-Door (note hyphenated surname) gave us the usual very welcome assistance doing the heavy work. Now all we've got to do is to find some more decent antiques ready for the next fair; still, got a month to do that, and we usually succeed in finding a few fresh bits. I'm really just typing up bits of this last week to keep the blog going. Still unable to illustrate it, but son Jonathan is coming over on Saturday morning to try and teach me to use the computer more efficiently, especially in the photography department. I am also quite unable to buy on Ebay, and I hope Jon will be able to set me to rights on this. Oh Well ; we'll see. P.s. It would also be lovely to be able to correspond with fellow bloggers again. Cannot check whether I'm receiving any comments to blog, hence -lack of correspondence!! Fingers crossed, though.

Tuesday.

Still practicing. One of these shows (Sorry - yet again) the ipomeia - been a very good year for them. The other picture shows us, and Ann's siblings and their partners having lunch a week or so ago, in the Crown  and punchbowl Inn at Horningsea near Cambridge.

Tuesday.

On Sunday we drove to our friends' house near Lavenham, climbed into their car and all four of us (driven by Keith) went to Hartley Wintney in Hampshire, where an annual meeting of the Antique Metalware Society was being held. The journey took nearly three hours, but we'd left home at 6.45 a.m. , so we got there at around ten a.m. Various interesting subjects were spoken of by various experts, then after a sort of indoor picnic lunch (ours put together by Ann and Jill, and a very nice lunch it was, partaken of by eight of us in all), several examples of early metal ware were shown by their owners and discussed by all. Crowbard may be interested to learn that I took along the bronze sword that I've shown recently on blog (Friday 23rd September) and that it raised considerable interest. It was eventually decided that it was indeed made in the Luristan area (now Persia), and that it is rather earlier than I'd realised, i.e. somewhere between one thousand and two thousand years B.C. It's always reassuring to have your judgement confirmed by 'the experts'. We eventually hit the road about five, and got home by about half past eight. It had been a lovely (and thoroughly educational) day out.

Wednesday.

I still seem to be having problems with this machine, which is a Windows 10. Still trying though. About to see if I can put up a photo. 'The King of Prussia's eldest son said "Thank you. I am having none." and that seems to be exactly the attitude of my 'new' computer. Very annoying, but at least this morning it seems to be considering allowing me to publish a written blog - I hope. It has been, so far, a busy week. Been getting on well (so far) in the workshop, dealing with an 'anniversary clock' so called because it is supposed to run for 400 days. I don't usually take on early twentieth century clocks, but this one belongs to a friend's son, and is anyway proving to be more interesting than I thought it would be. Am also dealing with a large, late Victorian wall clock, which is responding well to treatment. Would that I could transfer some of my skills in mechanical items to electronical skills in computers. I've also been working on three guns that I bought at a local auction a fortnight ago, although they really only needed tidying up and cleaning, which they all look the better for. I also bought a book on bayonets and a bronze age sword, which I think I've already told you about. I think I'm waffling now instead of doing some work, so will remedy matters by adjourning to the workshop. Sorry about the lack of photies. Wish you all a good day.

Sunday.

This morning we went to the harvest festival at Aldham Church. I read the first lesson, a very long one, 31 verses from Exodus. After the service we stayed on for a 'shared lunch' when we all bring something in the way of food. It always surprises me at what a well balanced selection this produces, and a good lunch was had by all. Been at work in the workshop most of the afternoon, but as today is my birthday, I've been constantly interrupted by the 'phone, all by the family wanting to wish me many happies. Very nice of them all, and as I've been asked the obvious question several times I may as well confess that I'm seventy four today. Even the Minister at church this morning knew it was my birthday. I asked him how he knew and he told me that it was on Facebook this morning. "In some ways", he said, "these modern forms of communication are nearly as good as the village grapevine used to be". I'm now going to try and put up a photograph; in the meantime I wish you all a very good night.

Saturday.

The above photos are more ipomieas, a good pub at Horningsea near Cambridge, where Ann and her three siblings (and partners) got together for a monthly lunch. I'd recommend the place once I can remember its name - good grub, excellent service, and not tooo expensive. On the way home, Ann was driving, I spotted part of a rainbow way up in the sky and on ts back, as best I can describe it. It was still visible when we got home, so I took the above photo of it. I expect there is a proper meteorological name for this sort of phenomena. Does any one know it please? P.s. I think the name of the pub is The Crown and Punchbowl?

Friday.

Dear Crowbard, please have a look at these two pictures. You can see that the Italian crossbow has now been strung. It looks better, doesn't it? In both pictures I hope you will be able to see a bronze age short sword (the blade being about eighteen inches long. I bought it at a country auction where it was catalogued as Chinese. I think it might well be Persian (Luristan), and would value your opinion? Over to you.

Thursday.

Very quick blog this evening. I think you'll soon be fed up with photos of the ipomeias ? But they're still flowering, and look like doing so until the first frost, and they are very photogenic. The other snap is of meself making up a jug of Pimms, back in august when we had friends coming for lunch. The photo is a bit misty because I'd left the camera in the car overnight and the lens got a bit damp. A tip I was given by my old (and now late) friend, John C.T. about making pimms was not to use lemonade as a mixer, but tonic water. It makes the pimms a bit less sweet, to its great advantage. Goodnight All.

Wednesday.

Been a lovely year for Ipomeia (I think I may have said that a day or two ago, still, this photo came up, so I may as well use it). Spent today making a trigger for a Spanish miquelet flintlock pistol, and replaced one or two screws, etc. This afternoon Ann went to Mothers' Union meeting; I made meself a cuppa, and sat down to read the rest of the newspaper - woke up an hour later, with the tea on the table beside me - cold. Could have been worse - could have dropped off holding the tea, and woken up with hot tea in me lap. Wooden hill time, I think. Goodnight all.

Tuesday.

Yesterday we motored over to Wisbech to see our accountant, Elizabeth. We do this twice a year, the first time to take her the books, the second time to pick them up after she's passed them as being correct. She has been keeping me on the straight and narrow way (business wise) for the thick end of forty years now. We then drove to the Woolpack Inn, which is an hostelry between Wisbech and King's Lynn, where we met up with my old school friend, Roy, and his wife Janet. We shared a very good lunch there. We all had roast beef (grand beef it was, too, as Parson Woodford said) followed by jam rolly-polly pudding and custard. We all four of us had a drink with, and then coffee after, the meal; all of which set us back just over forty pounds, including the tip. These days that is really very good value for money. I think we'll make that a regular meeting and eating place. The above photo is of cottages at Polstead. Been a good, busy day - then spent an hour this evening helping next door's three boys take the wheels off an old bike, to build, they said, a 'go-cart'. They know I keep a fairly good range of tools so if they get stuck on that sort of job it's "Mike, do you have a wrench that would fit this, please ?" As there isn't a man about the place, I try and oblige, and have usually been able to help, so far. Bedtime now, I think, so Goodnight all.

Sunday.

As you can see, I'm still experimenting with photographs for the blog. The one shown is of a dolls' house that we took to Sweden for Ruth's daughters a couple of years ago. The problem I seem to be having is that I put loads of photos into the machine, which swallows them gladly, then refuses to tell me where they are or to regurtitate them, for use on the blog. This means that you, the readers will probably be limited, for the time being, to a diet of old photies. But I'll keep working on it. At the moment, as the more astute of you have probably realised, I'm trying to put up a blog entry daily, whilst I can still remember how to do it.

Saturday.

This morning we motored over to Martlesham, where there was an auction taking place. I always keep an eye on local auctions (you never know what might turn up); if there is just one interesting item I usually leave a bid on it, but there were several items which I quite liked at this one, and as I am really quite low on stock, we'd decided (after viewing some few days ago) that it would be worthwhile to attend this auction, which we did this morning and eventually purchased five lots, four of which I am pleased with, and the fifth was a book (which I've not read- it's about bayonets, and looks quite scholarly). Called at a garden centre on the way home, then a quick lunch, and out again to Scrabble Club. Usual three well fought games - modesty forbids me telling you who won (but only just) all three. The photos are of Polstead, which we visited about ten days ago. Good night, all.

The top picture is of an Ipomia plant ( the Morning Glory) which has been flowering profusely this year. The flowers are between four, and five and a half inches, across. The higher flowers tend to be the larger. This plant, in my experience, only comes to full flower in hot, dry summers, but in a good year, is very well worth the trouble. The second picture is, of course, of our old friend the goldfinch. The third picture is a long overdue MYSTERY OBJECT. What is it?(this is the easy part), where and when was it made?; and (this is the hard bit) of what was it made? It's nice to be blogging again (If I am blogging - not over confident about the matter, you notice). Good guessing.

Thursday

Wednesday (2)

Just ran upstairs to tell Ann that I've finally manage to publish a blog. "Quick" she said "Run back down and see if you can do another one, then write down how you did it". So I did and I could ! now I must run back up and tell her. It's jolly good exercise, this blogging...... Good night All.

wednesday.

Hello, any readers. I've just started (I think) to understand my new computer, a bit, but not, I'm afraid, to the extent of being able to put photographs to it. I've got old friends of ours (John and Margaret) coming over tomorrow to offer help and assistance in the matter- John has been playing with - and building- computers since the early days. Fingers crossed, and please can you tell me, via the usual communicative method, if you can receive this. Warm regards, Mike and Ann.