The curious collection

At work today the items in my curious collection are strangely connected, No. 1 a joy to see and No. 2 gratefully received; and No. 3 .........

No.1 : A very old vellum Deed. This Indenture was dated 26th February 1874 and was probably the first deed relating to this property which is now a pub. When receiving these old deeds I always envisage the Clerk sitting at a large high desk, dipping his quill into the ink pot and painstakingly handwriting these large and long deeds. Now we just complete the relevant forms, press print and out comes an A4/A3 copy on white or cream paper in just a few moments, but I guess that Clerk didn't have to deal with phone calls, e-mails, faxes, clients...... etc. or 101 other things we deal with each day in the business of legal conveyancing! In current times the Land Registration and microfiche have rendered most of these old deeds redundant and they are for historical purposes only.

No. 2 : The lovely bunch of flowers which I received today from grateful clients who tell me I have helped to guide them through the traumas of conveyancing culminating in the successful purchase of their new home.

No. 3 : The Pork Scratchings - the vellum deed made out of calf skin of 1874 now resembles the contents of several packets of pork scratchings . It has either started to decompose or has been lying in a vat of ale for the last 100 years or so, in any event it has a very crispy texture and smells so bad.

Himself has appeared from the Gliding Club after a week and we have shared the contents of the packet of scratchings with a few glasses of something - living the high life now!