There and Back

Walking along the riverside in Ipswich, I am always on the lookout for art on the many buildings. At the end of 2021, I came across this image and promptly had to investigate as the name rang no bells with me! The following is a precis of this ladies life as found online. As you will see, she lived in Suffolk as a child, and although  a very privileged life for sure, she used that as a weapon in her fight for Women`s Rights. Princess Sophia Duleep Singh is best known as a suffragette and campaigner for women's rights. Daughter of deposed Maharaja Duleep Singh and goddaughter of Queen Victoria, she used her fame, position and tenacity in the fight for gender equality in the early 20th century. Sophia's campaigning attracted the attention of both the press and the government. Her tireless activities ranged from participating in landmark historical events such as 'Black Friday' to routinely selling copies of The Suffragette newspaper outside Hampton Court Palace. Sophia...

Although we were going to visit Folkestone this week anyway, it was brought forward, as a tyre was needed! However, we spent time exploring, so no time lost. Folkstone is the terminal for the Eurotunnel, the rail link to Calais in France. Just 35 minutes away it says. Needless to say, we kept away from that side of the town. Although these images were not all taken the same day, they blend together quite well, starting at the Hythe end and progressing along to Folkstone. Then a short hop to Dover. After starting our walk from Hythe, one of the first things to catch our attention were the beach huts. I couldn't believe that there was no system in the display. I was right, as we came across a notice advertising `Creative Folkestone Artworks`. These beach huts were part of this display which covered all areas of Folkestone. If I had only known earlier! Rana Begum - No. 1054 Arpeggio Commissioned for Creative Folkestone Triennial 2021 in partnership with Folkestone & Hythe Distric...

A few days during the school half term to charge the batteries before the darkness of winter descended. Although we had been to Kent before, the village of Elham was a new area and allowed us to show Hayley and Izobelle some of the places we had visited before. The village of Elham was a picturesque and a very quiet place, and the house we had for the week was very well equipped, having plenty of room and a beautiful garden. Shame it wasn`t summer time! The only minor problem was getting to anywhere else was rather slow, as all surrounding roads were so small and potholes everywhere!  The village sign. Our holiday house with the view from part way down the garden. Looking toward the bottom of the garden. View of St Mary`s Church from the bedroom window. The village itself was full of historic buildings. After the Conquest, William I granted the Elham estates to his half-brother Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, and, following Odo’s disgrace, to William d' Aubigny. Later John, Earl of Eu, a r...

An exhibition of modern art taking place in Bury St Edmunds at Moyes Hall, (with a mention of artists such as Banksy and Tracey Emin) caught my eye and, thinking it would be a good morning out, we determined to visit.  It was well worth the visit. However, the artists who really caught my eye were the `Connor Brothers`- who are not in fact related at all! Art has always asked us tough questions about where truth ends and where artifice begins — and indeed, whether there can or should be a boundary at all. However, in an era of obsessive social media use, competing cultural narratives, ‘fake news’ and post-truth, it is a matter that may have never been more pressing for our world. It is into such a world that The Connor Brothers have stepped — and are already enjoying staggering commercial success and cultural currency. But in the case of this once-mysterious duo, it is now a little easier to separate fact from fiction — or at least, that may seem so on first inspection. They just b...

In answer to the question posed in the title, my initial reply was "not a lot". After two recent visits, I can now answer "Quite a lot"! Sitting on the opposite shore of the Deben to Felixstowe Ferry,  it is a beautiful river estuary with mooring for large number of small boats. Then it has Bawdsey Manor where Bawdsey Radar Transmitter Block was the first operational radar station in the world, and the exhibition it has, is housed in the original 1937 building. The exhibition tells the story of the "Invention that Changed the World". It reveals how scientists, engineers and technicians came together at Bawdsey in the 1930s in total secrecy to prove that radio waves could locate aircraft, ships and other targets. Bawdsey became the world's first operational radar station in 1937 and played a pivotal role in the Battle of Britain in 1940. The Manor itself is now a School Adventure Centre. Just shows how wrong you can be! My visits during the past week w...

On a walk around Woodbridge, it doesn't take long to realise that there is a name that crops up time and again - Thomas Seckford. It is remarkable that the life of one man, living in the turbulent Tudor era, should have had such an enduring impact on the town of Woodbridge and the surrounding area of Suffolk: an impact that is as powerful today as it has been down the centuries. Thomas Seckford was born in 1515 at Seckford Hall, the family seat outside Woodbridge which is now a luxury hotel. His country house was the Abbey, now the junior school for Woodbridge School. He built for the town the Shire Hall to serve as the local court, which it continued to do until the late 20th century and now houses the Council Chamber and the Foundation’s archives. For a time he owned the iconic Tide Mill, one of only two working tide mills remaining in the United Kingdom. Seckford was a prominent lawyer who served Queen Elizabeth I in a number of important judicial roles. He amassed a considerabl...