Tuesday.

         

                                        Mystery Object.
                                       ______________


Photo is of  one corner of 'the Library' (not a book in sight, you'll notice).  The small clock in the centre of the photo is running, and continues to keep quite good time.

 Mystery object is to the right of the picture. It is of an unusual size for its type (just over  three and a half inches long which you may find a bit offputting) but give it a try.

Monday Afternoon.

Still life in new kitchen. 

Monday.

Above photo is of  a farmhouse, with an oast house attached. Taken just this side of Sudbury. Rare in East Anglia,  although we must have needed oast houses as much as in other areas????? for making beer.

Above half timbered farm house, on outskirts of Long Melford. Lovely looking old place, but wonky in all directions.  Has never been known to actually fall down, though, as far as I'm aware.

Friday.

House    of  pre- tudor ( circa 1480 ish) brick work about a hundred and fifty yards from here.  Lovely looking old place, but told by a friend that it's not in the least convenient inside (?????). Very convenient for town centre though, I should think. 

Not got itchy feet though, I assure all my readers.  Still very much enjoying the convenience  of modern bungalow living.

Thursday.

Snapshot of interior of library, a small room, but ideal for the purpose allotted to it (text books - on guns,  clocks, metalware, treen, etc. ).

Books for reading, and relaxation, i.e. fiction, are in the second bedroom, but await being put in order (can't do it all at once - but will get there, eventually).

Sarah drove over and spent a day with us earlier this week. Yesterday we motored over to near Wisbech to see an old friend (in both senses) then met up with Roy, an old school friend and Janet, his wife. Had a pub lunch and swapped all the family gossip (always easy to pick up the threads with people you've known for a lifetime).

Must go - presence being demanded to help sort books.

P.s.  Roy always asks to be remembered to Carl (i.e. Crowbard.)

Still Tuesday (bit later, though,)

Glorious old house about a hundred yards from here.  Huge old chimney. Probably mid Tudor.

We're spoilt for  them in this town.

Still Tuesday.

Very pretty 'lambswool sky'  taken a day or so ago.

Tuesday (2).

View of Ann, in new sitting room, with view of  part of garden to rear of new home.

Tuesday. 28th Jan.

To Crowbard. These show the lower views of the bronze spoon. Sal loves it, too (as an artifact).

Wednesday.

Snapshot of  a corner of the Library in our new home, just to prove that all the goods and chattels are    shaking down nicely into position here (as are we).     Sorry. This daft machine has got itself stuck on italic lettering only. I will now kick it about the library floor for a few minutes (doesn't improve the performance of the machine much - but makes  me feel better about it.   More later perhaps.

Tuesday 14th.

These three photographs are of a bronze spoon. It is almost exactly six inches long and very well made. The end is in    the shape of  a cloven hoof.  It is an attractive item and 'handles' well. 

I would welcome opinions on it .

Sunday.

Wednesday.

It's that red coated clock jack again, do I hear someone complaining ?

"
lplaining ??  Well, yes, but have a closer look . There is yet another  (smaller) clock jack figure standing in front of him. I remembered that somewhere in the depths of the Horner collection of oddities there should be another, even earlier, clock striking figure. I found him earlier today, and this is he. He was made (probably around the year 1560 to 1580) mainly of different coloured gilded bronze,  probably somewhere in Italy. He was probably one of perhaps four clock Jacks on a large domestic bronze chamber clock,  one striking the hours, probably two the quarters, and the fourth an alarm. I bought him (in a box containing clock bits) thirty or forty years ago in Sotheby's , and, as I said, I'd rather forgotten his existence. Due to my fortunate habit of never chucking anything away, I found  him fairly easily, and here he is, for your delectation. One of these days (I mean when I finally shuffle off this mortal coil) someone is going to have great fun  exploring the contents of my collection.

Friday.

The above ilems are mainly of bronze, and Roman (or pre Roman  ) origin. The top right one is  a multi tool, i.e. a bronze spoon and two iron bladed knives.

The above photo, and the two below photos show the same tool. The central part is of bronze, and in the shape of  a lioness's body. The hinged forward part is a bronze spoon, with the bowl of  roughly tea spoon size.

Both knife blades are iron and rather corroded. It is a multi purpose  tool, probably built for use by a lady when travelling (or possibly for  a rather effete young man. The fact that it is mainly of bronze, but with the two knife blades of iron, might well indicate that it was made in the early iron age. It is a well thought out, and indeed, a well made, little tool.

Hope this helps. More text tomorrow. |Actually-the more next; is now written  above.

Thursday.

Above photo is of Christmas cake made and decorated by Ann. Now in rather fragmentary condition - delicious.

 

Bronze folding knife -  Two thousand year old version of Swis Army type pen knife. Bronze lioness, holding at left   bronze spoon- and two iron blades, now  about five inches overall, but could have been folded down to two and a half inches overall.

Tuesday.

Our daughter Ruth, and her daughter, Freja, in our new sitting  room, the other evening.

We've  just been out to a service at The Row Chapel, which is about two hundred yards from here, if that. It was built around 1470 or 80, to serve the almshouses in the area, which it still does, although the almshouses were replaced in the 1870s. It was a very pleasant service, with some carols that aren't often heard these days. As we entered David, a retired clergyman, said  "Oh goody. Mike's here. That means there'll be four of us singing the base part in 'Good King Wenceslas - the first hymn."  Which there was. Sounded good, too, we were told afterwards. Stayed on afterwards for coffee, which was very welcome. 

Saturday.

I do believe in "movies" . 

Boxing Day.

Photo  taken by Ruth in nearby street with useful little General Stores where we sometimes shop.
Meself in  lower right corner of  picture.

 

Close up of Freja and Ruth in  new sitting room.

Christmas Day.

 Picture taken by Ruth this evening, and showing me setting light to hot brandy before pouring it over the Christmas pud.