There and Back

One of my favourite parts of the UK is the Welsh county of Pembrokeshire. As Hayley and Izobelle had never visited this part of the world, we were all looking forward with great anticipation, especially with a trip to Skomer booked as well. As Robert Burns penned - `The best laid plans of mice....` To put it shortly, it didn`t work out as planed! We had booked a holiday cottage near MiIlford Haven - which was lovely. It was also reasonably close to Broad Haven and Little Haven and not too far from St Davids. However, the highlight was to be a trip across to Skoma to see the puffins. Unfortunately, although the weather was reasonable ie not raining, the wind had settled in the north and was fresh. This led to a cancellation of our sailing at 7am on the morning we were going. Dissapointing for all. This was on top of the most horrendous traffic queus while trying to reach our destination in the first place. Several hours on top of a long journey, in fact! The glorious coastline of this p...

The year 2022 marked the 70th year of our Queen`s reign - becoming the first British Monarch to reach that milestone. Celebrations were held across the country so each community marked the celebration in its own style. Hadleigh took part in the torch relay and Layham village held a fete on 6th June. The torch relay leg started in St Mary`s Church in Hadleigh and a couple of images taken, (Gloria in chair) before they set off. Each community seems to be doing a leg as it makes its way around Suffolk. It would arrive back in Ipswich at the Show Ground and be lit in Christchurch Mansion grounds the following night.  And she is off! - down the High Street. Rosey sets up her photographs and the PlaySchool tent is ready for action Records (yes - records!) are ready and DJ puts on his patriotic waiscoat.  Our own `Queen` poses with Rosey. Despite the threat of rain in the days leading to our event, on the day it held off all day, and only started to fall as we were clearing up. All i...

A brief wander around Ipswich and a few of the interesting buildings I photographed. No doubt there will be many more in the future.   Bethesda Baptist Church, 9 St Margarets Plain, Ipswich, IP4 2BB Bethesda is a Baptist Church, members who express a wish to follow Jesus’ command are baptised by total immersion, there is a pool under the dais at the front of the building. Before the current church was built members were baptised in the River Orwell. I don`t think people would want to do this today! There has been a group of ‘independents’ meeting on the corner of St Margarets Plain since 1782 (when Fonnereau Road was known as Dairy Lane and a stream ran down the middle of the road). By 1834 they had outgrown their building and moved to St Nicholas Street. They did however retain an interest in the site. In the early years of the twentieth century, it was decided to build a new church on the site of the original meeting place; in 1906 the foundation stone for the new Sunday Sc...

2022 - A year of celebrations to mark 1,000 years since the founding of the Abbey of St Edmund in Bury St Edmunds by King Canute. Various events are being held this year and I took a brief visit to get a snapshot of the celebrations. Obviously, I have visited Bury many times before, so the first couple of images are from the beautiful gardens taken previously. The gardens really are worth a visit on their own. They are always kept in immaculate condition no matter what the time of year. The first Patron Saint of England and King of East Anglia, Saint Edmund was enshrined in the Abbey lending his name to the town. The shrine brought visits from across the UK and abroad including Royalty as the Abbey became one of the most famous and wealthy pilgrimage locations in England. Today, the extensive Abbey remains are surrounded by the Abbey Gardens, which are visited by some 1.3million people every year. So onto some images of the ruins of the original abbey.. The story of St Edmund, who rule...

The Ipswich Charter Wall Hangings were researched and designed by Isabel Clover. The panels were embroidered by City and Guilds students from Suffolk College at the turn of the Millennium. Each of the eight panels is a graphic representation of Ipswich in the centuries since the town was granted its charter in 1200AD. Embroidery is the embellishment of fabric with needlework; the panels demonstrate a wealth of techniques and applied materials to represent architectural styles, different forms of transport and Ipswich’s treasures. The panels were born out of an idea by Ferial Rogers of the Ipswich Arts Association who, when discussing ways to mark the Millennium, suggested some kind of tapestry. Such needle-works have long been used to mark important occasions and historical events, most notable among them no doubt the Bayeux Tapestry. A simple idea that, with Isabel’s experience in ecclesiastical designs and embroidery, became a major project. On a technicality, I am repeatedly remind...

A giant bronze statue of a man, the 26ft (7.9m) tall `Yoxman`, stands near the A12 at Cockfield Hall, in Yoxford. Quite a surprise when you see it for the first time. There is a layby just in the right place so you don`t neet to risk life or limb looking while driving! Sculptor Laurence Edwards says it is one of the largest bronze pieces to be cast in England in recent years and is "a Green Man for our age". "He is a lightning rod for loads of issues about ecology and what we are doing to this planet," he said. The eight-tonne statue was transported flat on a lorry from the foundry at Halesworth Industrial Estate to the grounds of the private estate of Cockfield Hall, where it was craned upright into its final position. Mr Edwards, who has been working on the project for four years, said he was delighted to see the statue in place.    Index of posts

In the 1960s, town planners foresaw a rise in the town's population of Ipswich towards half a million people, and so they decided to cross and encircle the existing town centre with a network of dual carriageways lined with office blocks. They didn't get very far with their plans before a halt was called, for some reason. The towering Civic Centre, police station and the Civic Drive road system were all that was left.. The Civic Centre and the police station, both which stood directly opposite this church, have since been demolished, but the four lane Civic Drive still cuts across what was the Mount residential area, the little terraces all demolished to make way for the 20th century, and separates St Matthew from the rest of the town centre. This church is perhaps less well-known than the other working town centre churches. Partly, because it requires an effort to find it and get across to it if you are a visitor. Because of this, many people don't realise that the church ...