Brandy Hole & Victoria

On Sunday we had a dig near Ashington. There were many recent coins found and some artefacts such as crotal bells. Among my finds were an 1865 farthing and a Victoria token with the words "Victoria Queen Empress Diamond Jubilee 28 June 1897".

On Monday we visited Brandy Hole Copse, lovely Autumn weather. There was an interesting view of Chichester Cathedral across the cut cornfield at one side of the reserve.

Brandy Hole Copse

Yesterday I visited Brandy Hole Copse, Chichester for the first time. It is a delightful woodland nature reserve, and it will be interesting to see it through the seasons. It was a dull day which brightened up in the afternoon, but no sun to bring out any remaining Queen of Spain Fritillaries which have been reported recently.

Dig near Barnham

Last Sunday the club had a dig near Barnham, it was a beautiful day and hammered coins and other interesting artefacts were found. I liked the pipe tamper.

Scottish Colourists at The Pallant Gallery

Bea joined us for a trip to the Pallant Gallery, Chichester on 13th. The exhibition was The Scottish Colourists which was excellent. Not too many paintings, well labeled and displayed. We had seen the Scottish Colourists at the RA in 2000 and Bea is a great fan, so we were all well impressed by the variety and treatment of subjects. We enjoyed lunch in the restaurant. My poached egg on bubble and squeak was a delight. Above is Samuel Peploe’s 'Green Sea, Iona'.

Nicola Benedetti at Worthing

Jackie joined us for a superb evening with Nicola Benedetti and the Worthing Symphony Orchestra on October 11th. We last saw her perform in Chichester Cathedral. The WSO is an excellent orchestra and we will join them again for some of their monthly Sunday afternoon concerts. The conductor, John Gibbons, advised that the Assembly Hall has some of the best acoustics in the country.

Downs detectors

Last week I joined the club at a local site for some field walking, but was unable to carry my detector due to the sciatica. I was fortunate to meet Ron Kerridge, an authority on flint tools. He showed me a couple of worked flints he had found that morning and within a few minutes had found my first, which he confirmed was a scraper. Two hammered coins were found. During the past week I have improved sufficiently to try usingmy detector, and I managed two hours. The weather was cool at the start and then turned sunny. A Henry hammered coin was found before I left.

Georgie Fame

Last night Jackie joined us to see the great Georgie Fame at Uckfield Civic Centre. We last saw him about ten years ago at an ICC concert in Saudi when his son James played trumpet. Last night he was accompanied by sons James on drums and Tristan on electric guitar, both excellent.