Family Time

Len presented me with a gorgeous antique necklace from Nepal for my birthday, which I'm wearing in the pic.

Inserts of carnelian, old turquoise and lapis lazuli are mounted on a solid silver base. The craftsmanship is without compare.

It was probably made as a dowry piece for a lady who has now passed on. Her family sold it to raise funds. How many middlemen had handled it before it arrived with our Moroccan friend Aziz who alerted Len to it? 

I saw Aziz yesterday after a meeting with a client. He was overjoyed to see me wearing the necklace which he said was 'Just Me!' I'd bought a pair of almost matching earrings from him 3-4 years ago.

Len and I drove on, with Basil of course, to The Waterside Inn at Mountsorrel where we met George, Kat and William for a family lunch celebration.

William, and Basil, were perfectly behaved while we chatted, William only waking up for a feed shortly before we left. He wore his best denims for the occasion!