January 2015 – aspiblog

Wednesday’s Auction and Today at James and Sons

I have already made mention of the January auction of James and Sons, which took place on Wednesday, but I am briefly revisiting it because at that time m y photos from the day itself were unedited. The number of people actually present at the racecourse was small, partly because it was very cold that day, but large numbers of people were bidding online via www.the-saleroom.com.

James and Sons next auction will be on February 25th, once again at the racecourse. Information about James and Sons activities can be found on their website , facebook and twitter pages.

Now for some pics from the auction before moving on…

Much of the last couple of days have been spent publicising the Great Centenary Charity Auction. More information about this event can be found at:

www.greatcharity.org
facebook: www.facebook.com/GreatAuction
twitter: www.twitter.com/great_auction

My personal twitter, @aspitweets has over 1600 followers.

This week has been a particularly stressful one in many ways, but I am pleased with the progress I have made in all the areas mentioned in this post.

An Important Press Release, A Successgul Auction and Some Other Stuff

An important press release, a brief mention of yesterday’s auction and some other stuff

Starting with the biggest news: The Great Centenary Charity Auction will now have its first instalment at The Prince of Wales Stand, Fakenham Racecourse on June 28th, sale commencing at 10AM. A full press release is reproduced below:

AUCTION FOR BLAST INJURY RESEARCH BOOSTED BY 100 OLD UNIFORM AND HEAD-DRESS DONATION

The Great Charity Auction for The Royal British Legion Centre for Blast Injury Studies at Imperial College London has received a valuable collection of uniforms and head-dresses. The collection, from an anonymous donor, includes uniforms from the Crimean War through to World War I and World War II, National Service and later. It covers Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force.

“This collection, added to the many uniforms, medals and militaria already received takes the number of lots to 600 and we have brought forward the auction date to June 28^th” said the delighted auctioneer, Colonel David James. “We have also moved the venue to accommodate the large volume of lots to the Prince of Wales Stand at Fakenham Racecourse.”

“Viewing will be held on Saturday 27^th June from 3pm to 7pm and from 8am to 11am on the morning of the auction” he added.

The auction will include live internet bidding worldwide on the-saleroom.com.

“We are pleased to announce that the-saleroom.com has joined the Eastern Daily Press and I-Post as sponsors.”

I-Post will, through The Royal British Legion collect and deliver cartons of donated items to Fakenham virtually free of charge from United Kingdom donors. Details are available from the auction website, www.greatcharity.org

Catalogues for the first Centenary Auction will be available from June 5^th post free for a donation of £10.

The original document and a full image gallery can be viewed here:

AUCTION FOR BLAST INJURY RESEARCH BOOSTED BY 100 LD UNIFORM AND HEAD Combo 1 Helmet Yesterday’s auction at the Racecourse (a regular James and Sons affair) was overall very successful. A combination of a matchday brochure, team sheet and ticket from a Spurs v Chelsea match of the early 1900s (in which the legendary Vivian Woodward appeared for Chelsea) fetched a credulity-stretching £600. There were many other notable successes, fuelled by a substantial number of people registering for online bidding via http://www.the-saleroom.com

SDC18154 One of my favourite Autistic Spectrum Condition related bloggers is Autism Mom, and one of her recent posts, which I have already tweeted to my followers I found particularly impressive:

http://blog.autism-mom.com/2015/01/dinosaurs-to-the-rescue

The Case of the Crooked Camera Repairers

The story that is the raison d’etre for this post is already in the hands of Adam Lazzari, the EDPs chief reporter for Fakenham and Dereham. It concerns the situation with my Nikon Coolpix P520, and the plain text version is here:

THE CASE OF THE CROOKED CAMERA REPAIRERS

This is the story of the fate of my Nikon Coolpix P520 up to today, when I uncovered evidence that admits of no interpretation other than serious criminality on the part of Messrs Christopher Robert Simpson and Mark Gregory formerly of The Camera Repair Company, Dereham.

The significant milestones are as follows:

October 27^th took camera in for repairs, handed over a deposit and was told I would be contacted as soon as they had identified the fault.
A week and a half later I was told that the fault was a damaged USB port and associated damage to the motherboard. I was assured that they could fix it in approximately ten working days, so although I was going to have to pay for the privilege I agreed to the deal.
Three full weeks (i.e 15 working days, since there were no public holidays in the period concerned) later I phoned them to ask what was going on and was told that they just needed to perform quality checks and would then be able to return the repaired camera to me.
On the Saturday following having mean time heard nothing I phoned them to find out what was going on, and was told it should be ready by Monday.
Thus on the Monday following that I went to Dereham expecting to pick up the camera and was told that one of them was doing a job in King’s Lynn the following evening and that they would return the camera to me then.
That following evening no one showed up, so…
On the Wednesday I made another trip to Dereham expecting to return with a functioning Coolpix P520. I was then told that the replacement board had malfunctioned and that they needed another which they were waiting for. They also said that as soon as it was ready they would deliver it to me. So I waited, and waited and waited some more, hearing nothing until…
I decided that today, with them having had three full working weeks since Christmas to get things sorted I was going over to Dereham one more time and come hell or high water would return with a camera, which brings us to what I as a classical music lover call…

DIES IRAE

I arrived at the shop to find it shut and locked, and with a notice from Brown & Co Estate Agents attached to the door, explaining that the shop had been repossessed and that more information could be obtained from them. Therefore, I travelled on to Norwich (no extra cost – on First Eastern Counties one gets a day pass rather than a return ticket) to find the branch indicated (I wanted to do this face to face, not over the phone). There I found out that I was far from being the only person in this situation and that the repossession had been because they owed the estate agents a large amount of money. Additionally, I was informed that when the agents went to repossess the shop and change the locks they found it already stripped bare, and they have not been able to make contact with the individuals who ran it.

Additionally to what is mentioned above in the word document (attached below), the website is still active, but I have not bothered to attempt to contact them by that means as I do not consider it worthwhile.

THE CASE OF THE CROOKED CAMERA REPAIRERS

This major issue apart, I am in decent fettle, and I will finish by sharing some of my more usual type of picture (taken with older and lesser camera, a Samsung) with you…

Here for your information is a photo of the repossession notice taken with old Samsung…

Imaging, Database, the-saleroom.com New Style and Some Thoughts on GE2015

There is a natural split in this post between the first three aspects and the fourth, and this will be accentuated by placement of pictures.

Among the various things I have been doing over the last couple of days are producing and uploading the last few images for the January auction (this Wednesday, starting at 10AM, Fakenham Racecourse or online via http://www.the-saleroom.com), and working on the database.

The process for adding new images to an online catalogue on the-saleroom.com has been greatly simplified. Where previously one had to email or wetransfer late images and hope that they got uploaded, one now has the capacity to edit directly, including replacing images. The process can be done by clicking and dragging from the folder in which your images are stored at your end into the space for images on the-saleroom.com. Personally I found the new system a joy to use. Now to mark the change of tack in this post here are some of those images…

90a 90b 130 387 On the subject of the rest of this post, the forthcoming General Election, one should first of all remember that it is not one single contest, but 650 separate contests, each decided on a first past the post basis. The second point is that for everyone except the rich another five years of Cameron as PM will be an absolute, unmitigated disaster. Fortunately, I am saved any great difficulty in my own constituency by the fact that the only candidate with any sort of chance of dislodging the current Tory MP happens to be someone I would be happy to vote for anyway. Jo Rust (Labour) is a Unison Rep, was involved in the successful campaign against the Saddlebow incinerator, was one of those who helped We Are Norwich to make the EDL feel as small and insignificant as they were. The contrast between the incumbent and the challenger is particularly marked when it comes to the NHS – Unison Rep versus shareholder in one of the companies who stand to benefit from the carve up of the NHS. If you are in Northwest Norfolk and want to see the back of the Tories make sure that on election day you get to the polling station and vote for Jo Rust.

A couple more images to finish off – these are of lot 778, which will probably go under the hammer at approximately 2:30PM on Wednesday.

Prepping for one Auction and Imaging for Another

Today featured database work, heavy lifting and imaging. I spent the bulk of the day bringing a degree of order to the January auction lots. A full catalogue for this auction can now be viewed on the following link: http://bit.ly/1yGOwUD. In between times I imaged a very few lots for the February auction, shown below, and stashed some boxes of albums away.

In the order in which you will see them these are lots 402 (2 images), 403, 404 (2 images), 405 and 406 (2 images)

I decided that this twopenny blue warranted a special image all to itself.

Not much to add except that my twitter account (@aspitweets) continues to prosper.

Victory in Cumbria

The text is mainly devoted to celebrating a big success in Cumbria. As usual there are some good pictures form in and around King’s Lynn.

What is this victory in Cumbria that I have used as the title for the post? Well, this body text should make all clear:

“19 Jan 2015 — FANTASTIC NEWS!! We had the meeting this morning and we got the yes we’ve been fighting for! Mike can now stay in the best home for him, in his local community and a street away from my mum! This has been a hard fight so thank you so very very much, without you we couldn’t have done it!! My brother deserves the best which is what we have got. Thankyou so much! xxxx”

My involvement in this was courtesy of an online petition circulated via change.org. For more details please click the following link: https://www.change.org/p/national-health-service-cumbria-give-mike-a-chance-to-live-in-a-home-near-his-family-in-wigton-cumbria I have already shared this FANTASTIC news with my twitter followers on @aspitweets

If you read this, you will see that although this was a small, local campaign, it was of great importance, and as such the victory is worth celebrating.

It was cold today, to the extent that I have some shots of gulls walking on water…

This sequence of ten shots all show gulls walking on water.

I have plenty of other pics, some of which are worth sharing…

Two Days at James and Sons

Yesterday at James and Sons was devoted to finishing the imaging for the January auction (Jan 28th 2014, Fakenham Racecourse). It is in the nature of last items to be imaged that they are not the most interesting, but there were some good ones in there…

This is one of five images from lot 325.

This is lot 736 - the map is in the frame at right angles to the normal orientation. — This is lot 736 – the map is in the frame at right angles to the normal orientation.

The next five images are from lot 780. a giant scrapbook full of beer mats

Today however was a much more varied day. The morning was devoted to the heavy work of clearing the alleyway behind the shop (our neighbours in Fakenham who I won’t name had failed a fire inspection). Thereafter a new advertising board to replace the clapped out and out of date one was constructed (I did some of the selection and layout work, my colleague Andrew then assembled it) – I have a picture of it laid out ready for construction and one of it standing in the shop window, both of which I have tweeted out to my followers on @aspitweets…

The new advertising board, ready for assembly.

The new advertising board in the shop window.

The imaging for February only involved four lots, but some needed multiple images as you will see below…

The first four images are of Lot 1 in the February auction

This postcard album is lot 102 in the February auction.

Lot 101 for February warranted no fewer than eight images.

A King’s Lynn Walk

An account of a walk in an around King’s Lynn.

This walk started and finished at my compact town centre flat, and with frequent photography stops occupied two and a quarter hours.

I was on my way down the stairs that take me to street level when I took my first pic of the day, the top of the Clifton House Tower…

From there I crossed the Baker Lane Car Park, took the bridge over the upper Purfleet and headed for the lower Purfleet and the Custom House…

Just in shot above you can see part of the statue of Captain Vancouver…

Where the lower Purfleet joins the Great Ouse is a glass sculpture…

The next point of interest is the new jetty on the Great Ouse, not in use at the moment in deep midwinter…

Hot on the heels of this comes Marriott’s Warehouse, which required two shots to do it justice…

Next up was the carcass of the old Somerfeld and Thomas building…

After crossing the lower Millfleet on the bridge that has a high water mark from December 2013 the next site was the remains of Boal Quay…

A few minutes later came the meeting of the Nar and Ouse, and the structure I have dubbed ‘Cormorant Platform’. Sadly none of the birds in question were there today, but still the picture is a fine one…

My next port of call was Hardings Pits…

Crossing the Nar as I headed towards the next stage of the walk I got this picture…

Next, as I headed towards the parkland areas came one of King’s Lynn’s most distinctive landmarks, the South Gate…

From here I walked along London Road as far as the light controlled crossing, crossed and headed through Terrace Court and an alleyway to the Seven Sisters entrance to the parkland area…

As I headed towards Guanock Gate and the Vancouver Garden I got a sight of The Walks, home to King’s Lynn Town FC (only two more promotions needed to gain league status)…

The Guanock Gate came next, closely followed by a shot of the Red Mount Chapel looking along the upper Millfleet…

Next came the Vancouver Garden, which I entered via one bridge and left via the other (these are the only two means of getting in or out unless you fancy a dip in open water – definitely not recommended in an English January! This area is always worth a good few photographs, and so it proved once again…

A few minutes after this I arrived at Tennyson Road, and two more interesting things, the educational fence, a sample fo which I photographed and the King’s Lynn signal box…

From there until Lynn Sport, a few minutes later, there is nothing of great significance, though for the first part of that distance the path runs between two academies for those interested in such things. Lynn Sport has some interesting stuff outside it, notable the brickwork bus and the ornate mile post. It also boasts an elaborate weathercock…

Shortly after this comes the first glimpse of Bawsey Drain, which I was going to follow all the way back to town, but I started with a shot looking the other way…

The walk along Bawsey Drain did yield a few interesting (for me at least) shots, reproduced below, the large number of flying birds as approached the town end of it being particularly impressive…

Getting a good shot of St Nicholas Chapel is a challenge because you need to be far enough away to get it all in. Also, it is undergoing repairs/ renovations at the moment. I was pleased with this one…

From St Nic’s it was on to the Tuesday Market Place, where as well as getting a full shot of the Corn Market I also noticed a glass sculpture on the same lines as the one where the lower Purfleet meets the Great Ouse…

Finally, I delayed my return home just sufficiently to get some shots of the Guildhall (8 in total) and King’s Lynn Minster…

I enjoyed doing this walk, and enhancing my photo collection.

January Imaging

A brief account of my imaging activities yesterday.

Yesterday at James and Sons was devoted to imaging for the January auction (28th, Fakenham Racecourse, starts 10AM). There were some interesting items among those that I imaged.

A situation involving duplicated lot numbers kept me at work late, making sure that I left it resolvable, but overall it was a successful day, and we are on track for a successful auction.

Here are some of the images for yesterday…

Places to Visit in King’s Lynn

A personal (and therefore idiosyncratic) view of places to visit in King’s Lynn

I am inspired to write this because some pictures I posted on twitter helped to convince one of my followers (@MrStuchbery) that King’s Lynn would be worth a visit. Thus post will comprise a personal list of the places I think should not be missed on a visit to King’s Lynn:

King’s Lynn Minster, nee St Margaret’s Church. This vast Norman edifice dominates the recently revamped Saturday Market Place, which is at one end of the High Street.
The Custom House & Lower Purfleet. I am treating these two together because the Custom House backs on to the Lower Purfleet. The Custom House is King’s Lynn’s most iconic building and calls for little comment from me. As well as being generally scenic, the Lower Purfleet is home to two favourites of mine, the statue of Captain George Vancouver after whom the Canadian City is named and the compass shaped display of King’s Lynn navigators, including Friar Nicholas who may have reached the Americas over a hundred years before Christopher Columbus.
The Tuesday Market Place. Revamped fairly recently and now possessing much more open space, this is surrounded on all sides by historic buildings, the Corn Exchange first among equals.
St Nicholas’ Chapel. This building, currently under repair is remarkable both inside and out.
Bawsey Drain. In spite of the uninspiring name and the fact that it is too often used as a dumping ground, a walk along the banks of this waterway, one of the four that keeps King’s Lynn from being submerged, can be very rewarding.
Lynn Sport. This is a modern building, but outside it there are some interesting things, including a brick bus and a very ornate mile post. Also it represents the start of a parkland section of walking if you have gone out along Bawsey Drain.
The Walks, The Red Mount Chapel, The Vancouver Garden, Guanock Gate and Seven Sisters. This parkland area is home to a wide variety of bird and animal life, the Red Mount Chapel and Guanock Gate are highly scenic, while leaving via Seven Sisters keeps on track for my next site. For more on the Red Mount Chapel, see the post dedicated to it in my series on Heritage Open Day: https://aspiblog.wordpress.com/2014/09/15/heritage-open-day-9-the-red-mount-chapel/
The South Gate. Rather than write further about this here, I simply direct you to the appropriate blog post: https://aspiblog.wordpress.com/2014/09/15/heritage-open-day-8-the-south-gate-a-medieval-tardis/
Harding’s Pits. This is lovely to walk through and it gets to you to the banks of the Great Ouse for you route back to the town, which is a useful bonus. There are various wooden sculptures that may take your fancy, and there will be trees laden with fruit at all times of the year.
“Cormorant Platform”. Situated where the Nar joins the Ouse, I have named this structure in honour of its most frequent users, and if you are keen on bird life it provides many opportunities for superb pictures, with West Lynn Church on the opposite bank being ideally situated for providing a backdrop. Pictures from here feature regularly in my blog posts, e.g: https://aspiblog.wordpress.com/2014/09/30/kings-lynn-in-two-moods/
Old Boal Quay/ The Dike. This immediately follows or precedes “Cormorant Platform” depending on your direction of travel, and is always enjoyable.
The Millfleet and South Quay. This takes us back to the Lower Purfleet, and completes a long but manageable circuit. Between the carcass of Somerfeld and Thomas, Marriott’s Warehouse, the new jetty, and of course the Millfleet itself, the bridge over which is now adorned by a high water mark from the December 2013 storm surge this is a very interesting little area.
King’s Lynn Public Library. This extraordinary building sits at the top end of Millfleet, looking across the start of the Broadwalk (another way in to the parkland areas). Adjacent to the library are the main King’s Lynn war memorial and Greyfriars Tower, the remnants of the Franciscan Friary.
Separated from these by the width of Millfleet is the tiny Jewish Cemetery, worth a brief diversion because it is so unusual.
Coming back to where we started, facing King’s Lynn Minster across the Saturday Market Place is the Guildhall, with its unique chessboard frontage. This is a building that everyone should see.
Last of all, at the bus station you will find the Lynn Museum, prize exhibit “Sea Henge”.