There and Back

Suffolk is known for its BIG skies and has inspired many artists to pitch their easels in the countryside and paint what is before them - or pick up a camera and try to capture the image as I do! Harvest time is one of the good times to see Suffolk skies at their best, with the contrast between golden corn and blue sky with white fluffy clouds. Magic! Masters of air - the windmill and aircraft Pakenham Mill is a Grade II listed tower mill which has been restored and is maintained in working order. It was built in 1831.Clement Goodrich was the miller in 1846, when he took on an apprentice. The mill came into the ownership of the Bryant family in 1885. A steam engine was used as auxiliary power. In 1947, the mill was nearly tail-winded, but the miller managed to turn the cap in time to avoid this happening.  What, you may ask, is that?Well, apparently a windmill caught with the wind blowing towards the rear side of its sails, has a risk of reversal of rot...

Bury St Edmunds is a great place to visit at most time of year. A summer visit calls for a look around the Abbey Gardens - well worth it, and a great spot to sit in the sun or have lunch and watch the world go by. Historically, Bury has many splendid places to look at, but the gardens are not to be missed.   Home

Woodbridge is one of those places where you never mind going back. Well I don`t anyway! It has history, by the bucketful, and beautiful walks by the river Deben. Here are some images of a couple of visits, starting with the iconic view of Woodbridge, the Tide Mill. But before moving down to look at the images, a bit of history.  The earliest record of Woodbridge dates from the mid-10th century, when it was acquired by St Aethelwold, Bishop of Winchester, who made it part of the endowment of the monastery that he helped to refound at Ely, Cambridgeshire in AD 970.The Domesday Book of 1086 describes Woodbridge as part of the Loes Hundred. Much of Woodbridge was granted to the powerful Bigod family, who built the famous castle at Framlingham. (Thats for another day) The town has been a centre for boat-building, rope-making and sail-making since the Middle Ages. Edward III and Sir Francis Drake had fighting ships built in Woodbridge. The town suffered in the plague of 1349, ...

Carlton Marshes , together with Oulton Marshes, is a lowland reserve in the Broads National Park. It consists of meadows, wet grassland, reedbeds, marsh and woodland. It is run by Suffolk Wildlife Trust. We spent a pleasant few hours here and promised ourselves a revisit sometime.  Scarce Chaser - a species of dragonfly. The adult male has a bright blue abdomen with patches of black, while the adult female and juvenile male each have a bright orange abdomen. It is about 45 mm in length with an average wingspan of 74 mm. Cuckoo spit begins to appear in late spring at a time when the familiar call of cuckoos can be heard, but otherwise has no connection with the bird. It is caused by frog hopper nymphs Southern Marsh Orchid - hopefully!. The Southern Marsh-orchid typically grows to between 30 and 50 cm in height although taller specimens up to 70 cm can occur. Difficult to distinguish from the Northern Marsh-orchid, Dactylorhiza purpurella, the lip of ...

The Ipswich waterfront has been transformed in recent years and is a now a thriving area with eating places, flats, the Dance East studio and, of course, the UCS. These first few images are looking across the harbour toward the UCS and old Custom House. A great place to have a stroll and large enough to hold successful public event, which are now quite frequent. Looking across the harbour toward the UCS and old Custom House. Two views of the massive building, (The old Mill House) housing the Jerwood Dancehouse. Due to be opened in September, the £8.9m Jerwood Dance House, is a major new international centre for dance developed by DanceEast. It will be the first cultural development to be opened in Ipswich in over a decade and provides 2,500 square metres of dance facilities at the heart of a £70m renewal programme in Ipswich. The centre will offer free taster workshops over its opening weekend including Egyptian belly dancing, ballet, hip hop, an...

This is three year old Adam, at Nana`s house asking Nana a question! He is a lovely child and, like all three year olds, full of questions. Rightly so. Not sure now what the question was, but he decided to have a snack and ask Nana. Nana started to explain the answer to him, and Adam smiled and appeared happy with the answer Very happy it appears as they both had a laugh!  Then came the " what if?" .... .... followed by the " I think Nana is stumped Grandad"! Home

Holy Island has a very special place in history as the birthplace of the Lindisfarne Gospels, among the most celebrated illuminated books in the world.  According to an inscription added in the 10th century at the end of the original text, the manuscript was made in honour of God and of St. Cuthbert by Eadfrith, Bishop of Lindisfarne, who died in 721.  Eadfrith played a major part in establishing Cuthbert's cult after his relics had been raised to the altar of the monastery church on 20th March, 698, the eleventh anniversary of his death. The Gospels may have been made in honour of that event. The book's original leather binding was provided by Ethelwald, who followed Eadfrith as bishop and died about 740. He had been associated with Cuthbert in his lifetime. An outer covering of gold, silver and gemstones was added by Billfrith the Anchorite, probably about the middle of the 8th century.  Both covers have long since vanished but the manuscript itself has survive...