This post is going to be in several parts. First off some good links for you to follow up, then a bit about yesterday’s auction, then an account of an evening’s bridge, then today, all interleaved with some pictures.
The first items under the hammer were the banknotes, the first part of a very large, very high quality collection which has come into our possession. This part of the sale was extremely lively, and there were some huge results. Here in pictorial form are five of the finest (four of the original images were scanned by my colleague Chris and have subsequently been edited by me)…
After the banknotes came some coins, then militaria, medals and badges. There was a brief lull when some postcards went under the hammer, and then after a break for lunch, it was time for the stamps. These fared respectably. The postal history and ephemera items brought up the rear of the auction, by which stage hardly anyone not helping to run the auction was still in the room, and they fared poorly.
Another feature of this auction was the presence of the latest advertising tool for the Great Centenary Charity Auction, which has already featured on twitter and facebook…
A close-upA panoramic view showing it alongside the auction lots.
PART 3: JOLLY BRIDGE
Last night was another bridge evening at the Jolly Sailors. Although I finished up a few pence down on the evening, I had a good time. I pulled off a few good pieces of dummy play and played my part in more than one successful defence. The meal was excellent.
PART 4: TODAY
Today I have imaged some 50 lots for the April auction (Fakenham Racecourse, 29th), updated the client database with records of all the saleroom.com bidders at yesterday’s auction and created a press release, which I aim to put out early next week.
Building a Press Release
The text part of a press release is quick work. Creating and placing an image takes much longer. For the particular composite image I envisaged, going right at the heart of the piece I needed to create three half-way house composites and then assemble them into my final image…
This was to be the central panel of the final image.With this on one side of itAnd this on the other.And this was the final image.
With some carefully chosen text above and below you have your press release – but I will not share the full thing until I have actually released it.
Most of the imaging I did for the April sale today was not especially inspiring, but I have a handful of final pictures to share…
Some good links, including to a Tory candidate who showed who not to deal with the EDL – and a corresponding link to how to do so. A stack of splendid pictures from yesterday.
Another multi-part post – a links section, a section on King’s Lynn in the morning, a brief East Rudham section (I will be doing another post on the architectural features of a Norfolk village theme) and a section on King’s Lynn in the evening.
https://www.voteforbob.co.uk/ A campaign that I have been involved with since it began. I have contacted my Labour, Green and #FibDem candidates. Both the Green and Labour candidates are on side (the Green virtually had to be, and no one who knows Jo Rust would expect anything less of her) while the #FibDem has not responded as yet.
A somewhat late start meant that I missed the 9:25 bus so had to get the 11:55. In the interim I took a walk, divided by a stop at my aunt’s to water the plants and check that everything was OK. It was obviously going to be a splendid day for photography but I did not yet realise quite how splendid. Up to leaving my aunt’s house I had a few decent pictures…
The Great Ouse beyond my Aunt’s house provided the first clue as to how good the day would be, when “Cormorant Platform” provided some excellent pics…
Heading back towards the bus station I crossed the Nar, which provided these crackers…
Walking through the parklands to the town centre I collected some more fine pics…
Even the bus stations and the bus journey were not complete blanks…
Decorative brickwork is a regular feature of the houses on the way out to the hospital (yes that was shot through the window of a bus)
Although I am preserving many of my East Rudham pictures for another post, some belong here…
This rabbit was too far away to produce a really excellent picture but as the local landowner goes by the name of Mr McGregor I could not resist including it.
Because it was bright and sunny outside I got off the bus early, in Gaywood, and walked through the parkland to get home. This last little outdoors session provided a shot of Britain’s national bird to be, my best capture of flying aeroplane to date and some splendid shots of local landmarks…
Even after I got home there was one more classic moment – “red sky at night: shepherd’s delight”…
Some excellent links at the top os the post. Then some comment on the cricket world cup, then some cool pics, then the Six Nations and finally some more pics.
As with my last post I am going to start with a links section before moving to the main meat of the post…
The last of the quarter-finals of the cricket world cup ended earlier today UK time. New Zealand obliterated the West Indies in a match dominated by Martin Guptill’s amazing 237 not out (the last 137 off 51 balls if I remember rightly). The semi-final line up is thus India v Australia (head and heart both say India to win that one) and New Zealand vs South Africa, neither of whom have ever got further than the semis (impossible to predict, heart says NZ). South Africa’s potential bete noire is their lack of an all-rounder, which means either playing only four front-line bowlers as they have so far, or dropping a batsman to make way for a fifth bowler. For more details about the Guptill knock, and the records he rewrote in the process check out www.cricinfo.com. Before moving on to the rugby section, some pics…
This is the edited but not cropped version that now serves as the desktop background on my work computer!The Fakenham cinema viewed from top deck of an X8
Choppy water on the Great Ouse today.
SIX NATIONS
Today has been an amazing day in the Six Nations. First of all Wales thrashed Italy to become favourites for the trophy. Then Ireland won by a sufficient margin at Murrayfield to move into pole position to retain their title. England who had the toughest assignment of the three contenders need to beat France by 26 or more to take the title on points difference. At the moment it is not looking good for England. France have just scored and converted a try to move within five points of England – looking more and more like the trophy is staying in the emerald isle. England nine points to the good (34-25) – another 17 needed to take the trophy. Another try for England – moves them within 12 with possibly two more to come. Conversion successful – England need 10 unanswered points for the trophy. James Haskell in the sin bin – not looking good for England. France have just scored the try that surely ends England’s hopes of the trophy – England 41 France 30 with a French conversion to come. Conversion missed – England need 15 unanswered points. Another try – England 46 France 30. A successful conversion for England and it is 48-30 – eight more points for England and they win. France have just scored again – England now need 13 points – conversion to come. The equation is now that England need to find 13 more points and they have 13 minutes in which to do it. Jack Nowell has scored another try – reducing the ask to eight points. Conversion by George Ford – England 55 France 35 – a converted try will win them the Six Nations. The whistle has gone and an amazing final day at the Six Nations is over – Ireland retain the title and England are runners-up for the fourth time in succession. Wales in spite of scoring 61 points in Rome earlier today finish third. I will now finish this post with a few more pics…
It was the best of days, it was the worst of days: as so often the King’s Lynn weather could not quite decide what it was up to.
The two rivers of my title are the Great Ouse and the Nar, both of which I walked along some of yesterday. Rumours the spring is upon us may not be so far wide of the mark – I saw a privately owned boat at the Jetty on the Great Ouse in King’s Lynn…
A brief diversion to check in on my Aunt’s place in her absence, revealed that even the most familiar of surroundings can spring surprises – this cannon ball in the entrance way to Hampton Court that I had not previously noted…
“Cormorant Platform” revealed no cormorants, but some other sea birds…
I continued along the riverbank further than usual, passing the new road bridge (before this was built the river could be crossed either by ferry or by taking a 12 mile detour via Wiggenhall St Germans, and paying a punitive toll to the Barons of Rising – the ruling class were even more open about fleecing us in those days!) finding more stuff to photograph…
I spotted a position from which I could take “townscape” photos of King’s Lynn looking back down the river and bagged a couple…
Townscape 1 – can you ID all the landmarks in there?Townscape 2 – with the zoom increased.
I walked on past Palm Paper (first photograph of next series) and then just before leaving the Great Ouse (and far further inland than I would expect) I finally spotted a pair of cormorants…
The small section of walking between leaving the Great Ouse and joining the Nar produced only a few photos…
An unusual sight – a British roundabout and no traffic!A ruin just on the edge of South LynnThe South Lynn logo.
The Nar Valley way runs almost interrupted (save for the bit where it intersects with the Nar Valley Park development) from King’s Lynn to Dereham, so once I had hit the Nar I could follow it to the South Gate, and which point I diverged to head home through the parkland…
A distant view of the Nar Valley Park development.
More of the Nar Valley Park developmentA first view of the South Gate
A tributary of a tributary (the Nar ultimately flows into the Ouse at what I call Cormorant Platform)
A moorhen in the urban section of the Nar
Almost the last pic, and the only one of the day of Britain’s soon to be national bird!Work proceeds apace at the bus station.
I had a go as a kind of tribute to this blog’s latest follower, Charlotte Hoather, at creating a ‘playlist’ to fit my themes:
The Birds by Ottorino Respighi, The Lark Ascending by Ralph Vaughan Williams,The First Cuckoo in Spring by Frederick Delius,The Banks of Green Willow by George Butterworth, Symphony no 6, The Pastoral by Ludwig Van Beethoven. As well as these there were naturally a couple of famous ‘river’ pieces the sprang instantly to mind, Vltava (Bedrich Smetana) and the Blue Danube (Johann Strauss II) – The Great Ouse when the sun is shining is bluer than the Danube ever is (and I have seen both).
For those interested in birds, a vote is being taken to decide which will be Britain’s national bird. There is a shortlist of ten, from which I have voted for the Blackbird. For more details and/or to vote visit www.votenationalbird.com. Below is how I introduced this to my twitter followers…
Yesterday afternoon I felt like varying things a bit, so I decided I would follow Bawsey Drain as far as possible, and did so until it hit the Gaywood River, at which point I followed that waterway until I reached Wootton Road, whence I headed back into town, via the Gaywood Clock. I finished up by walking through the parkland to Seven Sisters, past the South Gate and down to the Great Ouse via Hardings Pits, following the river as close as is permitted until reaching Devil’s Alley, which I diverged down as it was necessary to check in on my Aunt’s house and make sure all was OK. Having finished there I returned home by going down St Margaret’s Lane to the river and heading along the bank to the Lower Purfleet, which I followed into the heart of the town before crossing the bridge into Baker Lane car park and arriving back at my flat almosgt exactly three hours after departure.
My candidate for Britain’s national bird was much in evidence, as these pictures show…
There were many other birds in evidence as well, some of which I did justice to…
Of course, I also spotted some interesting architectural features…
For my penultimate set of pictures I am going to focus on the Great Ouse…
To end this post, although it came in the middle of the walk I will feature Gaywood’s principal landmark, a clock that is also a war memorial…
I am treating this as the first of a series of related posts owing to the fact that time restrictions on Wednesday when I took the photographs that are its raison d’etre meant that we (my mother and I) accounted for barely a tithe of the interesting buildings in the village (East Rudham).
We had hoped to start with the Manor House but this was not accessible, although the publicly accessible part of its driveway provided an angle to capture the rear window of The Old Reading Room and also a section of brick and flint wall…
Brick and flint walls are classic for the part of Norfolk.The rear window of The Reading Room
Having got a shot of the rear window of the building, The Old Reading Room was an obvious next port of call…
The front door of the Old Reading RoomA close up of the name plate.
Just across the road from the Old Reading Room, is the Wesleyan Chapel, these days a private residence rather than a religious building…
The Wesleyan ChapelA close up of the name and date plate.
After the Wesleyan Chapel came several very quirky specimens of local archiecture at the near end of School Road…
The lines of brickwork show the original shape of this building.A modern version of a brick and flint gable end.This outhouse roof section was a real curio.Another gable end whose history can be read clearly!Brick and flint is the regular mix in this part of the world, but this building features brick and carr (the dark brown stone)
From the near end of school road, we proceeded round the south side of the village green, starting with a shot of a section of brick and flint wall and continuing with a couple of a large barn behind which lurks a modern house…
Before proceeding to take front on shots of the barn and the cottages that adjoin it, I took a couple of panoramic views from the green…
The line of properties on the main road ends with one that until recently was both an eyesore and a health hazard (years of neglect had left it so run down that even the rats had moved on)The village pub and the tea room next door to it.
The barn has a very fancy weathercock above it…
Next we come to two cottages painted in pastel colours (one yellow, one blue)…
The yellow cottageBoth cottages in one shotThe blue cottage
These two properties are separated by the width of what I have called “Fox Gate” from the detached cottage called Caradon…
“Fox Gate”
CaradonThe name plate
Between Caradon and the old post office (a very short distance) were a number of other properties to be photographed…
The building that used to be the post office is now much improved from the mouldering wreck it had become before restoration…
From here, via a shot of the side of the pub it was on to the church, the approach to which goes past an old cottage…
I took several shots of the church, was is almost entirely 19th Century, with a few hints of older stuff around…
The entrance ti the building.
I spotted this quirky window on the way out of the churchyard.
Although it involved some mildly unpleasant walking, the churchyard provided a few other good brick and flint shots and a slightly tree obscured shot of the Manor House…
The penultimate phase of this picture gathering expedition involved taking close ups of London House and the adjoining building that had not so long ago been an eyesore and a health hazard – there were loose tiles on the roof, and a not terribly wide pavement between the front of the building and the A148 (and for all that for that part of its length IT IS THE VILLAGE STREET not many motorists take due note of this important fact)…
This is the replacement for the derelict shop which had become an eyesore and a health hazard.And this is London HouseThe name plate.
The final picture was this ‘home shot’ – on the right of the shot as you look is Mulberry Coach House and straight ahead is part of Mulberry Barn (this property now forms a right-angle, as two loose boxes have been converted into extra rooms)…
I now have a new work computer at James and Sons. Today was a today for cranking out publicity. I put out an email advertising the fact that James and Sons will be at the collectors fair at Stanway Rovers FC on Wednesday (it is just off the A12 at junction 26), and also two emails advertising our upcoming auction on March 25th at the Maids Head Hotel in Norwich. One of these was aimed at banknote collectors and one at stamp collectors. I shall reproduce all of these here for your benefit…
The actual email for the Stanway FairA map page showing the location of Stanway Rovers FCThis is the coin lot I used in the Stanway Fair email (actually lot 292 in our upcoming auction, with the two faces vertically rather than horizontally aligned).
As I prepare for another day at work, I am listening to commentary from the Cricket World Cup. Bangladesh are giving a good account of themselves against New Zealand in Hamilton, while in between rain breaks in Sydney England look like finishing a truly appalling world cup campaign with victory over Afghanistan (maybe they should accept Cricket Japan’s invite to stop by for a few games on the way home!)
The pictures I will be sharing at various points in this post are from two sources, imaging for the March Auction (now practically complete) and some pics from in and around King’s Lynn. At some point in the future I will be putting up a post about architectural features to be found in the village of East Rudham, having recently taken some good pics there.
A lot of the imaging I did on Tuesday was of banknotes in albums, but a few other bits got in there as well…
This was one of a quantity of these that made up lot 349
This lot could appeal to postcard collecotrs, but also to those interested in stamps and postal history, so I have covered all bases!
My Wednesday morning walk was fitted in between the cricket commentary finishing and meeting my mother to go to East Rudham for lunch, photographing architecture, providing a tutorial in MS Access and finally playing bridge at the Jolly Sailors. This latter was enjoyable in spite of the fact that I had the kind of luck that should be toasted in extra bitter Fernet Branca!. At 5p a hundred I ended up £1.30 down on the evening – and on the three hands on which I was declarer I made two of the contracts and went one down undoubled on the other. Here are some of the highlights from the walk…
I will finish by showing you some images from yesterday’s mop-up operation…
I don’t normally image single coins, but the person who usually does them was not around at the time I located this one, so I did it.Imaging it the way I did meant I automatically had close-ups of each face – and if you’ve got ’em, use ’em
The next three items, lots 419,428 and 429 are sold with the usual caveats attendant on German militaria – at the buyer’s own risk.
Now come two lots of scenic postcards for each of what I produced two images.
This map is lot 719Lot 726 (This, and the remaining three pics) is very nice.
The match between Scotland and Sri Lanka at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart is at the halfway stage and has already seen a record set and another equalled.
Kumar Sanggakara kept his appointment with a century, becoming the first to achieve the feat in four successive ODIs. His century was matched by one from Tillekaratne Dilshan and the main course was followed by an explosive 51 from Angelo Matthews as Sri Lanka ran up 363 from their 50 overs. In amongst this carnage Josh Davey took three wickets, taking him up to 14 for the tournament and temporarily leading wicket taker, one ahead of Trent ‘the conductor’ Boult. That figure of 14 wickets for the tournament also ties Eddo Brandes of Zimbabwe for most wickets ever taken by a bowler for an associate member at a world cup (in 1992 Zimbabwe had yet to be promoted to full member status).
The Bellerive seems to be a serendipitous ground for great things to happen at – it was here that Ireland edged out Zimbabwe in a thriller just a few days ago. The word serendipitous derives from the wondrous island encountered by Sindbad the Sailor in his sixth voyage, the Arabic name of which is rendered in English translation as Serendip, Serendib or Sarandib. The name by which this island is now known? Sri Lanka.
I do not see this game developing into a Zimbabwe v Ireland style thriller, especially with Kyle Coetzer, the Aberdonian with a South African surname having gone to the second ball of Scotland’s reply.
As those familiar with this blog know I never leave you without sharing some pictures…
Work on what will be the Northbound exit from the new bus station.Gaywood Clock through the window of an X8.A lacewing on the inside window of an X8 on the return journey.A close up of the same lacewing.A new dawn (something English cricket needs) breaking over King’s LynnMy new bathroom window – I also have secondary glazing on the High Street side of the flat.A glimpse into the Jewish Cemetery, Millfleet, King’s Lynn
These swans, swimming in the Nar, were a trifle uncooperative.
Moorhen about to take the plunge……And now happily swimming.
After the banknotes came some coins, then militaria, medals and badges. There was a brief lull when some postcards went under the hammer, and then after a break for lunch, it was time for the stamps. These fared respectably. The postal history and ephemera items brought up the rear of the auction, by which stage hardly anyone not helping to run the auction was still in the room, and they fared poorly.
aspiblog 
