I went to fit a roller blind in a village outside Bury St Edmunds. It was a large house with a small lake and outbuildings. The house keeper answered the door and asked whether I knew where to fit the roller blind. I didnt know and neither did she so she showed me into the drawing room to wait while she fetched the owner.
There were several paintings hung around the wood panelled drawing room. I was to find out later that some of them dated back to the eighteenth century and that they were portraits of the owners ancestors. They had escaped to England to escape persecution in France.
The owner soon arrived and took me to the room to fit the roller blind. I told him that I was fascinated by the paintings. He said that when I had finished he would show me the paintings again and explain who was who.
I fitted the roller blind and we went back to the drawing room. The owner spoke about each painting and gave me some background about each individual painting. Then came the most amazing thing. He showed me a photograph of his youngest son and then pointed out one of the paintings which was about one hundred and fifty years old. I was apparently looking at an oil painting and a photograph of the same individual only they had lived one hundred and fifty years apart.
Identical ancestor and descendant twins born in different generations.
The Cattle Market(arc) has opened for business in Bury St Edmunds.