It is easy to take everyday objects around you for granted. I have looked again at two of these and seen the connection between them.
The first is a framed watercolour above our fireplace. The scene shows a striking Seaford cliff-scape, painted in meticulous detail, with Seaford Head as it was in the nineteenth century.
There are sheep grazing on the headland, with the shepherd and his dog keeping watch on the flock. Seabirds are circling the crags and out to sea there are fishing boats at work on a calm stretch of water.
I imagine the artist, a talented one, taking care to capture all the detail, which we can compare to the cliff profile we see today.
I can still hear the sound of sheep grazing nearby but these are twenty-first century animals. The second object I am looking at is a relic from earlier times. It is a rustic, metal, canister-type sheep bell.
These bells helped the shepherd locate his animals and were attached to the neck by a leather strap or similar fastening. This one was found by my father on one of his downland walks and has always been part of our mantlepiece bric-a-brac.
It was made, probably by a blacksmith, with the crude metal shaped and secured to create a neat bell. The clapper is attached by a small loop to produce a sweet, clear note.
That sound was heard on the Sussex Downs for centuries, so now I sometimes ring the bell to remember family anniversaries and a little bit of our history.
Submitted by E.J.
Celebrating Seaford 