Ipswich Town FC reach the Premiership

Ipswich Town having been promoted to the Premier League for the first time twenty-two years, have signs around town proclaiming their success. Here are a couple of the obvious signs -  first the rubbish bins - I guess we don`t want visitors being too free with their rubbish!

Although rather a good idea I thought.

Then the mural on the wall of building in town proclaiming loud and clear, and not forgetting the statues outside portman Road.

Sir Alf Ramsey

Sir Alf Ramsey -

When Ramsey originally retired from playing aged 35, he became the manager of Ipswich Town, then in the third tier of English football. Ipswich rose through the divisions over the next six years, winning the Third Division South in 1956–57 and the Second Division in 1960–61. In the 1961–62 season, Ipswich's first-ever campaign in the top division, Ramsey's team defied expectations to become champions of England. Ramsey took charge of the England team a year later. It is for this reason his statue now stands in front of Portman Road Stadium - home of Ipswich Town FC

As a player, he represented the England national team and captained the side. However, he is best known for his time as England manager from 1963 to 1974, which included guiding them to victory in the 1966 FIFA World Cup. Knighted in 1967 in recognition of the World Cup win, Ramsey also managed his country to third place in the 1968 European Championship and the quarter-finals of the 1970 World Cup and the 1972 European Championship. As a player, Ramsey was a defender and a member of England's 1950 World Cup squad.

Kevin Beattie

Thomas Kevin Beattie -

Born into poverty, he played at both professional and international levels, mostly as a centre-half. He spent the majority of his playing career at Ipswich Town, the club with which he won both the FA Cup and the UEFA Cup.

Beattie's playing career took him from rags to rices, but according to The Daily Telegraph he was "cursed by being both injury and accident prone". His playing career included some controversy, notably when he went missing after being selected for England's under-23 team. After retiring from playing he descended into unemployment and alcohol abuse, and contemplated suicide, before finding purpose once more and a new career in later life, as a football commentator on television and radio. Beattie has been called Ipswich Town's best ever player by many pundits and polls. Ipswich (and later England) manager Bobby Robson called him the best England player he had seen.

Bobby Robson

Bobby Robson -

He made 20 appearances playing for the England national team, making his debut in a November 1957 victory against France, scoring twice in a 4–0 victory. Although he made a successful debut, he was dropped for England's next match, against Scotland, in favour of Bobby Charlton. However, Robson was selected for the 1958 FIFA World Cup squad,

Following the World Cup, Robson became an established member of the England squad, enjoying considerable success in a period between October 1960 and March 1961 when he played in six England victories, including scoring a goal in the record 9–3 defeat of Scotland at Wembley Stadium.

Robson moved to Ipswich Town as Manager in 1969 and it was there that he established his reputation as a successful manager.

After four mediocre seasons, Robson led Ipswich to fourth place in the First Division and success in the Texaco Cup in the 1972–73 season. In the following nine seasons, Ipswich finished lower than sixth place in the First Division only once, in the 1977–78 season. However, that season was a success with a 1–0 victory over Arsenal in the FA Cup final.

His reign at Ipswich lasted 13 years, during which time the club twice finished as League runners-up, and made regular appearances in European competitions, winning the UEFA Cup in 1981 with a 5–4 aggregate victory over the Dutch side.

So, there we have it. Ipswich Town FC has had some great managers and players and has honoured some of them with statues as shown. Now, in 2024/5 season what can they do again?

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Private Aaron McClure

The story of AARON MCCLURE came to my attention when a newspaper article mentioning the mural that had been created in his memory. It was commissioned by the school in Ipswich, which he attended, and is on the wall in the front of the school. A brief history, as part of his funeral, is below the picture.

On the wall of the school where Aaron attended - Westbourne Academy in Ipswich

`Private Aaron McClure, who died on 23 August 2007 in a so-called “friendly fire” incident that also killed two other UK soldiers, was serving in Afghanistan with 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment.

Despite his young age – he was 19 at the time of his death - Private McClure was a veteran of more than forty conflict operations.

The two other soldiers who died were Private John Thrumble and Private Robert Foster

Colleagues described Private McClure as a highly capable, motivated soldier with great ambition and potential, but his talent was hidden by a modest, unassuming personality and a quiet confidence in his abilities.

He was regarded by colleagues as “incredibly focused” on his career and as tough mentally as he was physically.

Private Aaron James McClure, affectionately known as ‘Troy’, was from Ipswich. He joined the Army in March 2006 and completed rifleman training at the Infantry Training Centre Catterick.

In October 2006, Private McClure joined the 1st Battalion, The Royal Anglian Regiment, participating in exercises in the UK and Kenya.

He was deployed to Helmand Province in Afghanistan the following March to serve as a rifleman in 7 Platoon B (Suffolk) Company. It was his first operational tour and he was involved in many close-range engagements with the Taliban.

On 23 August 2007, PrivateMcClure’s platoon was on patrol near Kajaki, northern Helmand Province, when they came under attack by Taliban forces. Air support was requested from two American F15 aircraft and it appears that a bomb dropped by one of the planes hit the compound where Private McClure and his colleagues were located.`

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Storm Babet in our area of Suffolk

Storm Babet which hit Britain on 19th October, caused huge amounts of damage in Scotland and other parts of the UK including where I live in the Suffolk area. Most of it was water damage, as it dumped huge rainfalls in several places. Met Office figures show between Thursday and Saturday morning, 79mm fell in Charsfield, Suffolk. That's a little over three inches in two days. The rain was even heavier further north. In Angus and Aberdeenshire, in Scotland, some areas had 200mm of rain.

The name Babet was selected by the Dutch weather agency KMNI - and was named after a woman who visited an open day at its headquarters and put her own name forward, with the additional reason "because I was born during a storm".

When the weather abated a little, I recorded some pictures in our area.

The view from the front of our bungalow showing how water encroached on our side of the river for the first time since we have been here - some 23 years. Luckily, the land slopes away from us as can be seen, so the water runs across the fields away from us. 

The local playing field where nobody was playing football today!

Anyone for a picnic? Another view on the playing field.

A walk into Hadleigh showed Bridge Street, which was too deep for me to wade through. A shame as I heard that the big building site beyond was under water.

Tinkers Lane is impassable. This is one of my regular walking routes, but not today.

Unfortunately, a lot of small animals such a chickens and Guinea pigs lost their lives as the river swept through this small yard. The bigger animals and the 30 odd geese managed to survive.

Another favourite walking route of mine is this waterside path - not today though!

Looking back toward Hadleigh on my way home.

Next day the morning weather changed, and we could see blue sky and sunshine! So, we wandered back toward Hadleigh and took some more images of the field with their retreating water line.

A couple of images taken just outside our village showing the ever so slightly retreating water line.

So, although it was quite spectacular, I hope we don't have more any time soon, as it caused a lot of people a huge amount of heartache. So, my record of this momentous storm.

  Index of posts 

Waxwings in Ipswich

"Surprise arrival of rare ‘cartoon birds’ on random Suffolk street causes a stir" so read the headline in a local newspaper this January! 

"But these rare waxwings are causing something of a stir after flying all the way from Scandinavia and randomly picking an Ipswich street to nest for winter.

The 20 or so of the brightly coloured birds are currently camped out on telegraph poles, television aerials and in trees in Defoe Road - picking Suffolk, perhaps surprisingly, for its warmer winter climate.

They have brought with them a flock of their own - in the form of nature lovers with binoculars and cameras, who have travelled from far and wide to capture a glimpse of the rare birds famous for their plump shape and prominent crest.

In scenes watchers have described as something out of a cartoon, the creatures fly down from their perches to eat berries from trees, comically tossing the fruit up in the air before taking a bite."

Waxwings are starling-sized, stout-bodied, short-legged birds with an upstanding, pointed crest. They have black throats, black wings with white, yellow and waxy red markings and yellow-tipped tails.Just one species breeds in Europe and visits the UK erratically in winter during 'irruption years'. Irruptions occur when population increases and shortages of food, particularly rowan berries, in its normal European range trigger large movements of birds to the south and west.

What could we do but join the flock with our cameras, and many layers of warm clothing in the chill morning.?

We had not been waiting very long when down they came! I must confess we were a little surprised to see them that quickly.

The perched on tv aerials, in the trees and then onto the electric poles and wires.

From never having seen one in my life to 15 on an aerial just above me - magic. There were several more near these ones, but the lens only allowed me to see this bunch. All in all a great morning and one to remember for a long time.

  Index of posts

Kiss and Tell - Christchurch Mansion

Rodin's The Kiss is on display at Christchurch Mansion in Ipswich, alongside work by John Constable and Suffolk sculptor Ellen Mary Rope. Museum curator Emma Roodhouse said it was "a dream come true" to have such an iconic sculpture on show. The 1882 sculpture, on loan from the Tate, depicts the adulterous lovers Paolo and Francesca, who were mentioned in Dante's Inferno. What an opportunity to see this great work of art - and all for free!

The Kiss (c.1884) 

Christchurch Mansion where The Kiss is currently displayed. 

François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 1840 – 17 November 1917), known as Auguste Rodin, was a French sculptor. Although Rodin is generally considered the progenitor of modern sculpture, he did not set out to rebel against the past. He was schooled traditionally, took a craftsman-like approach to his work, and desired academic recognition, although he was never accepted into Paris's foremost school of art. 

Rodin possessed a unique ability to model a complex, turbulent, deeply pocketed surface in clay. Many of his most notable sculptures were criticized during his lifetime. They clashed with predominant figurative sculpture traditions, in which works were decorative, formulaic, or highly thematic. Rodin's most original work departed from traditional themes of mythology and allegory, modeled the human body with realism, and celebrated individual character and physicality. Rodin was sensitive to the controversy surrounding his work, but refused to change his style. Successive works brought increasing favor from the government and the artistic community. 

From the unexpected realism of his first major figure – inspired by his 1875 trip to Italy – to the unconventional memorials whose commissions he later sought, Rodin's reputation grew, and he became the preeminent French sculptor of his time. By 1900, he was a world-renowned artist. Wealthy private clients sought Rodin's work after his World's Fair exhibit, and he kept company with a variety of high-profile intellectuals and artists. He married his lifelong companion, Rose Beuret, in the last year of both their lives. His sculptures suffered a decline in popularity after his death in 1917, but within a few decades, his legacy solidified. Rodin remains one of the few sculptors widely known outside the visual arts community. 

The Kiss (c.1884) 

Critics gave this sculpture the title The Kiss, but Rodin originally called it Paolo and Francesca, after the story in Dante's Divine Comedy about a young noblewoman who falls in love with her husband's brother. In the story, the couple is killed by the jealous husband, but Rodin focuses instead on their loving embrace. This erotic sculpture was made during the early years of Rodin's relationship with Camille Claudel. It was probably intended to figure in The Gates of Hell. It is not known why these figures were not ultimately included; they do not exhibit the same despair as other figures in the composition, and so Rodin may have concluded that they were ill-suited. Rodin believed in making his work as widely available as possible, and he produced numerous versions of his most popular works, ensuring his fame with future generations. Over 300 bronze copies of The Kiss had been produced by Rodin's death in 1917 

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Pigs Gone Wild

The local news announced the appearance of Piggies in Ipswich like this: 

A herd of pig sculptures is to go on display in Ipswich as the town becomes the latest place to host an art trail for charity. Forty models will be dotted around the streets and waterfront as part of the "Pigs Gone Wild" art trail in summer 2016, in aid of St Elizabeth Hospice. The animals, chosen to "celebrate Suffolk's rich agricultural heritage", will be decorated by local artists.

The first thing, as grandparents, that crossed our mind was `What a great idea for some fun with Izobelle.` Sure enough the idea appealed and over the course of the summer we explored Ipswich with Izobelle and to be honest great fun was had by all, including grandparents! So, here goes with images of some of the pigs. Not all of them, but a large selection.

Let's mark off - Pinata Piggy.

Ed Sheer-Ham - say no more. A nod to our local pop idol.

Hamlet of Ipswich

Little Sewn Sow

Piggy The Sailor

Izobelle with Pigs Go Wild

Foodie Pig and Izobelle

One of the best puns I thought - Sir Bradley Piggins

Pig N Mix

Great Piggish Bake

I wonder where this one was situated? - Porkman Road

Someone made a - A Pig`s Year of it

Frankenswine

One of the smaller Piggies in the shops - Albert Einswine

Great fun just finding and photographing, and with Izobelle the added pleasure of watching her reaction, especially when she spotted one for the first time. Very popular with the general public with families out hunting with their children. And all for a Great cause.

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Woolpit Steam day

In Woolpit, near Bury St Edmunds, is a village called Woolpit. Each year Woolpit hosts a steam Day which consists of many examples of the power of steam which preceded the modern internal combustion engine. This year, I took a trip and here are a few of the images from that afternoon - not that I can tell you much about the engines!

Ransomes, Sims and Jefferies Limited was a major British agricultural machinery maker also producing a wide range of general engineering products in Ipswich, Suffolk including traction engines. So, a local connection here!

The enterprise was started by Robert Ransome (1753-1830), a brass and iron-founder in Norwich before moving to Ipswich in 1789 where he started casting ploughshares in a disused malting at St Margaret's Ditches in Ipswich, with capital of £200 and one employee. As a result of a mishap in his foundry, a broken mould caused molten metal to come into contact with cold metal, making the metal surface extremely hard – chilled casting – which he advertised as 'self sharpening' ploughs, and received patents for his discovery.

Look like early steam tractors to me.

This one, I assume, powered a threshing machine.

A `steam` roller

Another `Steamroller`

Great to see some of these old engines, a reminder of a distant past

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The Olympic flame arrives in Ipswich

This was the year when the Olympics came to London. Probably the only time I shall ever see all the excitement that surrounds this global event - was when the flame came to Ipswich! It was due into town in the evening and great excitement was in the air. I was there!

As the crowds gathered, the anticipation heightened until this familiar vehicle appeared, heralding the approach of - something at least!

Police escorts, always a feature of these events, paved the way.

The entourage continues.

The crowd gathering. Who were the two lads I wondered?

Everyman and his dog was there. The dog had put his best wheels on (Poor thing)

And then THE Flame appeared!!. Do you know - I haven't a clue who the torch bearer was! That was it for the evening. All over. But tomorrow I shall return to see the flame leave Christchurch Mansion.

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