It's all right; don't panic. You ARE in the right blog. It's just that on Friday morning we drove up to Yagnub, pausing at one or two of the few remaining antique shops in the area to do a little buying. We then called (by prior arrangement) on Z, had coffee with her and young Roses, then took Z for lunch to a Pub that she'd recommended . I'm a great believer in 'local knowledge' -this one was good! We puzzled for a while over the hand written blackboard of 'specials' for lunch, and found a problem. One of the items said, ( or so one of us thought) 'Fish pie with cherry topping'. Another possible reading of the item was 'Fish pie with cheery topping' (I rather thought though, that if I were a fish who'd been put in a pie, I would find it difficult to feel cheery about it) but Z, being local I suppose, read it as fish pie with cheesy topping. We all ordered a portion of the fish pie, and Of course Z had been right about it. Very good it was, too. Not quite up to one of Ann's fish pies (it lacked that 'je ne sais quois' that a small handful of capers in the ingreediments gives it ) but it was nonetheless a very decent fish pie, and enjoyed by all three of us, as was the bread and butter pudding that followed it. Then back to Z's for more coffee and chat. We eventually took our leave of Z, and explored the two antique shops in Yagnub, successfully -in that we bought a couple of pieces.
Then on to the B & B establishment (pictured above) where we'd arranged to spend the night. A lovely old place it is, too. Our hostess told us that it was built in 1575.
The above picture shows our bedchamber. The two rounded items in the foreground show our bedheads - Ann said the bed was 'Queen Size' - which gives a fair idea of the size of the bedroom. Had a very substantial breakfast this morning in the oak panelled dining room, which set me up nicely for the morning. Then on to Beccles, where we did a bit more antique hunting (and a bit more buying, I'm glad to say), then on to Halesworth, where we'd invited our old friends, Pat and Doc, to take a pub lunch with us. Doc had booked us a table next to the fire at the Triple Plea, a pub just outside Halesworth which I'd not seen for some years, and I remembered it as being a very basic beer house. It has been enlarged slightly, as has the menu, and they gave us a quite decent lunch. Then back to Doc and Pat's home, and drank coffee, whilst Doc explained where we could find three new antique shops in town. Found the shops, but not the promised antiques, as they didn't have anything that qualified as 'antique' as far as I'm concerned. Still, it was good to see Doc and Pat again, it's been a few years since we've got together.
Then drove home via the A12. The weather was misty and indeed threatened fog most of the way. A few miles north of Ipswich the skies became very threatening as the sun went down, and as you can see in the above snapshot, it looked quite dramatic for a while. Still, we reached home in the dry at about 5.30 p.m., feeling that we'd had a very sociable (and reasonably successful -business wise) weekend.
6 comments:
I'm holding tortoise food, not a bouquet. It was lovely to see you and I"m glad that Yagnub had a treasure or two to offer. Thank you very much.
Thanks Z, you reminded me of the historical ballad about Hugh Bigod
"The King has sent for Bigod bold,
In Essex whereat he lay,
But lord Bigod laugh'd at his Poursuivant,
And stoutly thus did say:
'Where I in my castle of Bungay,
Upon the river of Waveney,
I would ne care for the King of Cockney.'
"Hugh Bigod was Lord of Bungay tower,
And a merry lord was he,
So away he rode on his berry-black steed,
And sung with license and glee,
'Where I in my castle of Bungay,
Upon the river of Waveney,
I would ne care for the King of Cockney.'
"At Ipswich they laugh'd to see how he sped,
And at Ufford they star'd, I wis,
But at merry Saxmundham they heard his song,
And the song he sung was this;
'Where I in my castle of Bungay,
Upon the river of Waveney,
I would ne care for the King of Cockney.'
"The Baily he rode and the Baily he ran,
To catch the gallant Lord Hugh,
But for every mile the Baily rode,
The Earl he rode more than two;
Saying, 'Where I in my castle of Bungay,
Upon the river of Waveney,
I would ne care for the King of Cockney.'
"When the Baily had ridden to Bramfield oak,
Sir Hugh was at Ilksall bower;
When the Baily had ridden to Halesworth cross,
He was singing in Bungay tower—
'Now that I'm in my castle of Bungay,
Upon the river of Waveney,
I will ne care for the King of Cockney.'
"When the news was brought to London town,
How Sir Bigod did jest and sing,
'Say-you to Lord Hew of Norfolk,'
Said Henry, our English King,
'Though you be in your castle of Bungay,
Upon the river of Waveney,
I'll make you care for the King of Cockney.'
"King Henry he marshal'd his merry men all,
And through Suffolk they march'd with speed;
And they march'd to Lord Bigod's castle wall,
And knock'd at his gate, I rede:
'Sir Hugh of the castle of Bungay,
Upon the river Waveney,
Come, doff your cap to the King of Cockney.'
"Sir Hughon Bigod, so stout and brave,
When he heard the King thus say,
He trembled and shook like a May-mawther,
And he wished himself away;
'Were I out of my castle of Bungay,
And beyond the river of Waveney,
I would ne care for the King of Cockney.'
"Sir Hugh took three-score sacks of gold,
And flung them over the wall,
Says, 'go your ways, in the Devil's name,
Yourself and your merry-men all!
But leave me my castle of Bungay,
Upon the river Waveney,
And I'll pay my shot to the King of Cockney.'"
That sounds like a lovely weekend and what a nice frock young Z is wearing in her photo.
Thank you Z. Just been looking at the treasure trove we got at the weekend; and I think one of them will make a goodish but fairly easy 'Mystery Object'. Must take some photos and see.
Hello Crowbard. I know of the song, but I don't think I've ever seen the whole thing before. In the North Suffolk area the locals will still tell you that the King attacked Roger Bigod for writing rude verses about him. Amazing how the facts enter folklore and stay for centuries, but get a bit twisted as the centuries roll by.
Hello Liz. It was a good weekend, and Z looked well- as she quite invariably does.
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