A tale of two permissions

[figgis]

Funny game, this detecting lark, with success or failure dependent on so many things, not least of which is the land itself.

I pootled off to a new(ish) permission the other day. I'd wafted a coil over one field a while ago but it was deathly quiet and with another permission lobbing stuff at me left, right and centre I'd concentrated on that and neglected this one.

With a nice flat new field, I put the 11" coil on and set off with high hopes which were immediately put on hold by the coil going loopy and no messing with the settings would settle it down. It was constantly gibbering and driving me batty and looking around I noticed the dried horse manure. Yep - I was getting signals off it, particularly where it was still a bit runny. I had Jenks select the 9" x35 from the bag and, with its greater stability, all returned to normal and I set off again. As it turned out I'd have been better off going straight home.

Maybe the field had previous use as an iron foundry's dump and was later sown with green waste but after two hours I'd had enough of digging scrap ally and in the end was ignoring the sweet signals which normally have me dribbling. Up until now, the worst field I'd ever detected was the other field on this permission I mentioned earlier but this one was head and shoulders above that for nothingness. Administering a sound thrashing to Jenkins lightened the mood a little but it was a total stinker of an innings Of course I'll try the other fields as they become available but my hopes are not high for this permission.

Fast forward to a couple of hours on the "good" permission today. The ground was rock hard, the stubble was firmly on the offensive, it was baking hot and yet...

The ampulla was the very first signal of the day, by the way George V ha'penny, Edward VII penny, William III 1697 ha'penny, a book fitting, possibly a rose farthing, a Saxon brooch part and a dollop of silver. And this field wasn't even trying.

Just an illustration of no matter what machine you have or how good you are at using it, the single most important factor is the land you're on. Blatantly obvious, but perhaps worth remembering from time to time. Good, productive land can make us blarzay and it's good to be reminded of how lucky we are if we have decent land.

Right, it's 33degC and I need a gallon or two of something cooling.

Pip pip

[Dave The Slave]

You did well in the end.
Key to a good innings is getting your eye in.
Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the mid day sun.
Heat was unbearable at 3pm at 4pm reckon it had dropped 18 Degree Fahrenheit,
A good day there, John.
Cheers,
Dave.

[Oxgirl]

That ampulla is a stunner Very jealous indeed. I think we’re all struggling at the moment so well done. It was 36 degrees here today so I stayed indoors. I take my hat off to anyone who went out in that heat. You deserve that ampulla

[Kenleyboy]

Good days and bad days but that Ampulla certainly made up for it , very nice find .

[Blackadder43]

Thats a nice Ampulla fella

Its been way to hot to even get me bat out, let alone have a full innings, so hats off to you for getting up this morning just as i was going to bed
I really must try harder

[Steve_JT]

The detecting phsycy is strange, if you don’t find anything of interest in the first couple hours it it dampens the enthusiasm for the day.

On the other hand find something nice fairly soon and it’s positivity glass half full, even if the rest of the day is pants

Regards Steve

[Easylife]

I take my hat off to anyone who went out in that heat.

Well I did, but cycling on a pub crawl, does that count?

[Easylife]

I like the ampulla for it's strong pattern. I found one on a heavily detected field and wondered how such a strong target could have been missed when next to nothing else showed at all?
It often seems quite strange how you can first go on a field and find the best from it and then nothing really. But then again a field that seems rubbish can later prove to be pretty good. So maybe best not to be too pre-judgemental about any land until you've given it a fair shot even if it is hard not to!

[figgis]

The detecting phsycy is strange, if you don’t find anything of interest in the first couple hours it it dampens the enthusiasm for the day.

On the other hand find something nice fairly soon and it’s positivity glass half full, even if the rest of the day is pants

Regards Steve

A good find early on certainly takes the pressure off and lifts the spirits, and a single good find in injury time can turn a bad day into a good one.

maybe best not to be too pre-judgemental about any land until you've given it a fair shot even if it is hard not to!

I'd agree with that normally, but I'm steering well clear of this field, with its iron and green waste. I name all the fields I go an but the name for this one isn't repeatable in polite society I'll certainly give the others a go, though

[Easylife]

I'd agree with that normally, but I'm steering well clear of this field, with its iron and green waste. I name all the fields I go an but the name for this one isn't repeatable in polite society I'll certainly give the others a go, though

I know what you mean, iron doesn't bother me at all but my tolerance for much green waste is pretty thin these days even if I know that there will definitely be some great finds amongst it as neighbouring fields have proved. The balance of enjoyment to trash ratio needs to be favourable to keep my general interest in a field. But if I didn't have any other options I'd do it!
Hmm! Naming fields, I had one that I used to call the coin field but can't call it that any more as it is now a very quiet field.

[figgis]

Ditto. I run the machine wide open and iron grunts don't bother me in the slightest, but the constant bright ally beeps do. Unfortunately there was no "enjoyment ratio" - just a "frustration quotient" - as all I found was a single button

Ne'er mind, eh? The Footpath field made up for it and this morning I'm heading off to see what Edward has to offer now he's had his hair cut

[figgis]

Edward wasn't playing ball . You know the ground's going to be a bit on the crusty side when all the rabbits are wearing blood-soaked bandages on their front hoofs. And the stubble... the nasty short variety which won't give and keeps catching in your coil

A buttons and buckles without the buckles day. Did get a spindle whorl though.

[Littleboot]

Lovely ampulla. I did a study of these and found that some of these are mistakenly described as scallop-shaped and of course they are not. (There are scallop shaped ampulla but they have a particular shape to mirror the shell in that they have shoulders.) This shape is actually a bag shape...often the band lines around the top are to indicate the draw-string of a cloth bag. At holy shrines the main ewer of holy oil/water was kept in an elaborate embroidered bag-purse. This is reflected in the design of the lead of the ampulla. Precious things were kept in such draw-string bags to protect for light and dust.
I love finding one. It is so bound up with hopes, prayers and wishes which, despite the generations, have not altered much. (Health, wealth and safety)

[figgis]

That's some great info, Jan, and thanks

I often think that with, respect to the landowner, these have more of a tie to the history of their land as it's part of the farming history.