There and Back

This is Part (1) of t he ‘ Wild Walls Festival‘  which was a collaboration between ‘Art Eat Events CIC‘ and The Subversiv Collective. They have been supported by the Arts Council of England, Ipswich Borough Council and Ipswich Central, also by SPILL, The Hold and University of Suffolk. Some of the images have been on display for some time but there are many new ones. Digby by John D Edwards  (1) This was part of a 2011 project entitled the Never Ending Mural, the artwork is based on drawings by young people in the county and has been curated by Ipswich Art School.  The curator John Edwards said: "I'm excited that the people of Ipswich, the council and businesses have this creativity." Mr Edwards, an artist himself, added that 20 young people have begun painting the mural and said more are welcome.  "It's the start of a huge community arts project," he said. "It's really removing boundaries and making it possible for people to get involved with thing

Sudbury in Suffolk has several interesting features, but of them all, I suppose being the birthplace of the famous painter Thomas Gainsborough, must rank as its greatest. It is a town that I used to visit on a regular basis, indeed the office of the company I worked for was in the market square. Sudbury has some beautiful walks, especially across the water meadows and along the riverfront. So many places to point my camera! Painter Thomas Gainsborough was born in Sudbury in 1727, and was educated at Sudbury Grammar School. His birthplace, now named Gainsborough's House (below), is a museum to his work and is open to the public. It houses many valuable pictures and some of his family possessions. A statue of Gainsborough (above) was unveiled in the town centre outside St Peter's Church on Market Hill in 1913. The house in Gainsborough Street (naturally) where he lived. Sudbury has some lovely old properties such as this fine block with The Chantry, a grade I listed building, 15t

Beccles town is made up of small market squares and winding streets nestled by the River Waveney. It is a town that I have heard of, but never visited. The only reason for this overnight stay was to have a base for Rosey to do part of her walk challenge. We had booked an overnight stay in the Waveney Hotel which was beautiful, not only for the hotel itself but its gorgeous position beside the River Waveney and the spectacular church opposite. We will definitely go again! A view of the hotel from the church grounds with the river and barges behind My view as I sat and had breakfast. The church of St Michael the Archangel, opposite the Hotel, is a magnificent medieval building sited on a high scarp over looking the river Waveney. It has been at the centre of the life of the town since its foundation in 1369 and is still a thriving parish church. In 1749 Edmund Nelson, who had previously been a curate at St Michael's, married Catherine Suckling, from nearby Barsham, in St Michael'

On one of my visits to the Cathedral church in BSE, I have heard brief excerpts of music from the organ, and have been much impressed by it. So, when I read that they were doing lunchtime recitals  a few times in the summer, I decided to make sure I was there to listen to one - today was that day. While I was visiting the Abbey gardens, I also had in mind to search for the Medieval bridge that I had seen on maps - The Abbotts's Bridge.  This was my first aim for the day. The Abbott’s Bridge over the River Lark in Bury St Edmunds abbey grounds, was built around AD 1220. The land on the east side of the River Lark came to be used as the Vinefields, and on the abbey side, the monks could cross uninhibited. An iron grating being lowered, if necessary, to prevent any unwanted visitors on the river. The Abbots Bridge gave immediate access to these vinefields by the townspeople via planks through the bridge’s open buttresses. Two 14th century triangular ‘breakwaters’ on the bridge`s abbe