Article that W&E Treasure wanted to publish but couldn't part 2

Arriving at Halifax Stanfield International Airport at 1130 hours we quickly picked up our car and drove home where Marie unpacked and I repacked and headed back to the airport for the second leg of my vacation.  After thirty some years detecting I was going to live my dream................digging in the UK! Only sad part was that Maire was not accompaning me on this jaunt and we are hardly ever apart.
 
At 2130 hours I boarded the plane with Ron LeFlesche and his wife Barb who I work with.  Both are originally from the North Weald area so I had my own tour guides!  We stayed with Ron's sister Sandra and her husband Dave who turned out to be super hosts for my two week stay.
 
I had landed on another planet as the folks drove on the wrong side of the road and spoke a dialect of English that this poor Bluenoser had trouble understanding!  For the first few days I white knuckled as a passenger on our trips to the stables where Sandra recieved permission for me to detect on the farmers numerous fileds that had been recently tilled.

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Finds were few but I was thrilled by the opportunity to be swinging on British soil.
 
Next day I telephoned Craig Carter who I had met on the internet on a detecting forum and we agreed to go for a dig at one of his fields the following day.  Craig turned out to be a pleasant "bloke" being easy to talk to as we had more in common then detecting as he is a bobby in the Essex area.  Shop talk 101 as we dug meandering between the rows in the field.  Of course Craig was aghast when he saw the hunting knife I use for digging targets so he quickly returned to the "boot" of his car and handed me his extra shovel stating that carrying a knife in the Uk was taboo.

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My trusty 20 year old Garrett Freedom 3 Plus was busy chirping on the trash targets as I always run her on no discrimination and max depth.  At the far end of the field I got that familiar bell tone and knew I had a good target.  Turned out to be a large penny as was the next target.  The third bell tone was a dream come true as I unearthed one of the three remaining  items on my "must find list" leaving just a gold coin and a twenty cent piece.  I called over to my host who knew right away what it was ...a circa 1351 Hammered silver groat!

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Did my happy dance and we continued digging with Craig popping out a Victorian shilling shortly there after which rounded out the day.
 
A few days later Craig returned and transported me to another field where I meet with Anne Laverty and John (property owner whose last name escapes me).  Craig had to go to work and left me with John and Anne to explore a few fileds.

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It was a brillant sunny day in the UK and we all took full advantage of the time to sweep the various fields with each of us finding a few goodies including some coins, buttons and artifacts from different eras!

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The day ended too soon and Anne drove me back to where I was staying but not before I treated her to a meal at a local pub.  This was a new experience for me.  No not being in a pub but having fish and chips with the fish still having it's skin on it.  Only in Britian!  During supper our conversation centered on detecting and Anne related to me some of the items her husband and she had uncovered over the years.  I was shocked to hear that she had driven three hours just to go digging with us.
 
Next day Craig had some time off so we hit his fields again and ended up in the fields that Sandra had gained permission for us to explore.  We each found one coin with mine being a modern pence and Craig's being one that was considerably older.  Made his day.

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Saturday was a real treat and a day of firsts as I was about to experince my first ever "rally" which is an organized hunt in a field with about a kazillion other detectorists and to boot one had to pay to dig and this was a first for this Canuck!  Jim Kursewiz from Lincoln , another internet contact picked me up and we drove to a place called Souldrop which did indeed make my soul drop as this was another first for me as I was skunked.  Not one coin.  In over 35 years of detecting this had never happened to me and was apparently not uncommon in the UK.  Later after the hunt Jim became my personal tour guide and showed me the points of interest in Lincoln.
 
Up bright and early the next day Jim and I headed to Lavendon for a rally organized by the Central Searchers Club.  Along the way we stopped for a traditional English breakfast at a roadside cafe and let me tell me son after that breakfast I was fueled and ready to dig till the sun went down.  The fields of rape made a stunning background to the hunt which was the best one of my overseas visit.

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After the hunt Jim drove me back to North Weald and we parted ways as I left my host with an open invitation to visit Nova Scotia.
 
The last few days were spent hunting the fields around where Sandra boards her horse where the only thing of note found was a small bottle I retrieved while digging a modern coin.

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My jaunt across the big pond ended too quickly and I thanked my hosts and departed leaving them with a few words a famous man once said, "I shall return."
 



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