Saturday 2.

First half of this evening's supper. Tenderloin of pork in a lightly curried mushroom sauce, fried potatoes, AND - Tarah!!!- the first bait of asparagus of the season. Normally we would have this on its own as a starter, but Ann said that as this was going to be a light supper, and as she was going to have to rush off and serve at this evening's 'Vigil' service immediately after the first part of the meal, we'd have the asparagus as a second vegetable. I always think the first taste of a seasonal vegetable like asparagus is always the best, as this proved to be. Not sure what time the 'Vigil' is likely to end, but pudding when Ann comes home after it.
Been working in the garden this afternoon and evening putting up a bamboo cane support for the sweetpeas, runner beans, and (hopefully) the Morning Glory.
Earlier this week our very part time gardener Ken called when we were out and relocated our sink garden to its permanent position, so this evening I did a bit of rearranging it and transplanting therein a tiny yew tree I've been 'bonsai-ing' (that word doesn't look at all likely but I hope you'll be able to work it out) for some years. Hope it's happy to be moved at this time of year. We'll see.

Saturday.

Before the Roman came to Rye or out to Severn strode
A rolling English drunkard made the rolling English road.

Good Friday 2.

Problem solved, I think. To continue :-
Row of thatched cottages, with work being done on thatch of far end one; seen on way to bluebell woods.

Bluebell woods.

Must do some work now. More blog later perhaps.

Good Friday 1.

This afternoon we decided to go for a walk in our local bluebell woods. We'd been told they were in full flower, although I always think of May as the 'bluebell' month. On the way there we passed the above Suffolk cottage. The weatherboarding make it look more Essex than Suffolk, but it is in South Suffolk.

Bluebells.

Stump of old tree that would now be massive, had it not been coppiced over many years, to give a supply of poles/firewood. I would think it was last coppiced (i.e. cut to ground level) about thirty years ago, since when it has grown about eight fair sized saplings in a ring round the old stump.

Slight problem with pictures - bear with me a minute.

Maundy Thursday.

On Tuesday morning we drove to London (to be exact, to our youngest daughter's home, just off Chiswich High Street). It was a glorious, sunny, day, and to my surprise, some of her roses are in full bloom (one or two of ours have tiny buds showing). I suppose it's because they're seventy miles south of us, and very sheltered. We had a sandwich lunch, then I went to knightsbridge and 'viewed' Bonham's auction - they still send me 'freebie' catalogues of anything they think might interest me. Ann, and our youngest London grandchild, Beth (she's sixteen) went for a walk along the river, and Ann took the following two photoes, which I think show London at its best. Ann says the photoes were taken from the same spot; one looking towards the Thames, and one with her back to it.

When they got back to the house Ann made supper, ably assisted by Beth. It was a sort of roast chicken bake, done in a celery sauce,
followed by strawberries (Spanish) and cream. My contribution was a bottle of wine I'd won in a raffle at Saturday's Church Bazaar, and which I was a little doubtful about, but which turned out to be very acceptable. It was an Asti Spumante, which I thought might be rather a 'pudding wine', and in fact went very well with the desert.

Back to Bonham's on Wednesday, where I successfully bid for five lots. Ann joined me in Knightsbridge for lunch, and then again towards the end of the auction, after which we took a taxi back to Liz's. Ann again made supper, raiding Liz's fridge for most of the ingreediments of a vegetable bake, and following it with a fruit salad, which she'd purchased in the local shops. We hit the road at 7.30 p.m. and eventually were very glad to get home just before midnight. There seemed to be roadworks and diversions everywhere. Oddly enough the journey down on Tuesday morning took just under two and a half hours, and went like a dream (as opposed to the nightmare journey home). Still - we hit the sack at around midnight, crashed out and eventually woke just before eight this morning. Been doing necessary jobs around the workshop today (relaxed pottering mostly), but we're singing with the choir at this evening's service, so if you'll excuse me, I must go and get meself ready for it.

Monday.

Yesterday afternoon drove up to Dunston Hall (a few miles south of Norwich) where we'd been invited by our friends Derek and Cath to a party to celebrate their twenty fifth wedding anniversary. The building is an impressive Victorian copy (1859) of an Elizabethan great house. It's now a hotel/ golf club.   They held a renewal of their marriage vows in the chapel, then we had an evening meal in a large private room. The meal was EXCELLENT, and the service was very good indeed. The staff were young, obviously carefully chosen, well trained, and very efficient. It's always a pleasure to meet the extended family of old friends, and to feel you almost know them already (and to find they know you) by reputation. One particularly pleasant surprise - took the above photo on our way into the Hall, and later realised that the young lady in the bottom right of the photograph was, in fact, a friend whom we'd not seen for a few years and rather lost touch with. She recognised us instantly, and was very pleased to renew the aquaintance. Since we'd last seen her, she'd changed partners (as the youngsters do - we'd heard of this via the grapevine) and had two children (which we hadn't heard about). It was lovely to see her again, and to meet her new bloke / partner / husband - I do find the nomenclature (?) of relationships a little difficult these days, and have to tread warily. Still - it's their pigeon.
We left the party a little after nine, drove home by the light of a glorious full moon riding high in a wide, clear, Norfolk, sky. Got home about ten- twenty, and went straight up to bed, leaving this blog till today, which has been a very busy one. Goodnight All.

Friday 3

Snapshot of Ann in the garden, taken just before we walked in to town for Cafe Church this morning.

Friday 2.

Relevant part of previous picture 'embiggened' for the readers' convenience.

Friday 1.

Photograph of the clock on our church steeple. The bell above the dial is one of the oldest in the country, dating from circa 1280. Instead of a loud echoing BOI- OI- OI- OING, it now gives a sad sort of g-donk noise. This has happened before and when it last happened it turned out that the white doves that nest in the tower were building nests around the bell. This year the doves are building around the DeaneryTower and the church tower; but the jackdaws have built around the clock bell, as you can see if you 'embiggen' the picture .  I talked to our senior Churchwarden, and he told me he intends disconnecting the strike mechanism of the clock (hope he knows what he's doing) until the jackdaws have finished nesting - "Then we'll see what can be done". Very humane of him, I suppose.     We'll also have to see what can be done about discouraging the jackdaws next year!!!!!

Thursday 2.

Sorry to have to report that Picasa is, once again, digging its heels in, laying its ears back and refusing to co operate, so I'm back to publishing photoes by the 'round the houses' method. Both these are of our small garden which is beginning to look as we planned it to be when we moved in four years or so ago.

Thursday 1.

Just tried Picasa, and it seems to be working.!!!!!  Must tell Pat (Past imperfect.).

Wednesday.

Top picture, running into Bildeston. Middle picture, running out of Bildeston. Bottom picture, running through Thetford Chase.

Got up before six o'clock this morning, as Ann taking early service, and self reading lessons.Bite of breakfast, then into car and drove across to Bury St. Edmund's. Eventually drove on to Brandon where we met up with old school friend Roy and his wife Janet, and had lunch at refurbished Brandon House Hotel, which was (the lunch, that is) dissapointing.  As also was, I'm sorry to say, the refurbished hotel. A year ago the hotel was down at heels, but welcoming. It is now - well I'm afraid the phrase 'cheap and cheerful' springs to mind, although it's not particularly cheap. The staff are still doing their best to be welcoming, and it's a convenient place for the four of us to meet up, so we'll probably give it another try in a few months, but unless it's improved in the meantime, we'll then have to find somewhere else.  On the way home we stopped of in Bury St. Edmund's again, bought a few bits in garden centre, then had a cup of tea and a long chat with our old friend Joan. Got home just before 6 o'clock.  Just changed into workshop scruff and must do some work. More later perhaps, depending how work goes.

Monday 1.

Garden's looking well. Most beds now surrounded by aubretia.

Central raised bed with tulips and pansies - a flare of colour.

Colours a bit more subtle:-  snake's head fritillaries, and white fritillaries. Both these seem to have increased in number sinc last year.

Friends Keith and Jill joined us for lunch. This last winter Jill had given us several brace of pheasants (she is given them as payment for beating at the local shoots), and as we still had some in the freezer Ann decided to do a pheasant casserole for lunch. It was excellent !  For pudding Ann gave us apple charlotte with cream, followed by excellent coffee.

 After lunch (bearing in mind they too are dealers ,specialising in early metalware and oak) a little business took place. As Keith remarked :-  "Nice, civilised way of mixing business and pleasure."
 As they'd never seen the inside of St. Mary's the four of us then walked into town and spent an hour or so looking round the church and various of the other interesting buildings in town. Then home, cup of tea, and Jill and Keith started for their home just before five o'clock. All told, a very pleasant, relaxing day.

Monday 3.

Two shots taken at Mistley at beginning and end of lunch on Thursday, 7th April, as tide came in. As you'll have gathered engineer friend Neil has spent a couple of hours with me. He can't clear problem (which is at the 'other end' of blogger) but has shown me a way round it, which at least seems to work. He is confident that problem will eventually be cleared. In the meantime.............................

Monday 2.

Snapshot taken of a field in wildest Wiltshire, last Friday, whilst picniccing on our way home.

Monday 1.

Picture taken last Thursday evening on South Devon coast, with an on-shore wind getting up, and the sea starting to chuck its weight about a bit.

 

Friday.

Been a lovely sunny day. Linen jacket and flannels weather rather than moleskins and weskit weather. Walked into town this morning. Had coffee at St. Mary's. Whilst drinking coffee we were chatting about last Saturday's wedding, and one of the lady guests told us a story about a fashionable feather 'fascinator' that, come to think of it, I don't think I can repeat on a respectable blog like this. After coffee spent about an hour tidying the book stall and putting out fresh stock. Walked home, had sandwich lunch, then changed into workshop scruff and did various odd jobs until supper, after which cleaned and hoovered me cellar, as we've friends coming to supper tomorrow, and they usually want to explore the place. Nearly bedtime now, so - Goodnight all.

Thursday.

Good, busy day in Long Melford yesterday.Got home about 4.30 p.m. Unloaded car and had tea in the garden. Had been a lovely sunny day, and when I checked the garden thermometer it was just touching 70 degrees. Drove into town this morning. Would normally walk, but had a toolbox with me. Examined an eighteenth century french clock which had been misbehaving. Has a fairly unusual strike system (on the back plate, which is unusual in itself!!). It strikes the hour on a 'dongy' bell, then repeats the hour at the half hour on a higher pitched 'dingy' bell. Took me about half an hour to sort the problem out and return the clock to its duties, after which our host made a pot of coffee, and we sat and chatted for a while. Did one or two other jobs in town, then motored over to a nearby garden centre, which didn't have what we wanted, so we went over to Mistley and had lunch overlooking the quay and watched the tide come in. There was a long sandbank about a hundred yards out with fifty or so swans on it when we arrived. When lunch was over there was just enough space on the sandbar for the last four biggest and most determined birds. So we ordered coffee and watched their discomfiture as the tide won and the sandbar vanished. Took a photo of the sandbank and swans when we got to Mistley. There was also a sailing barge moored at one of the quays. Shan't be able to show you photoes, though, as computer still very reluctant to co- operate regarding photographs. Sorry. Mike.

Monday.

I must just refer to yesterday's blog, which concentrated exclusively on the wedding of the year (in Suffolk, anyway). One fact which I had failed to record was the abundance of wedding hats. Wendy, the bride had expressed a wish that the lady guests wear hats. This wish was accorded a huge and positive response. I don't remember seeing such a sea of colourful and festive hats. Ann wore a cream, finely woven straw hat with a white satin bow (I'm told). About twenty or so of the guests (all women, I'm glad to say) wore a spray of colourful feathers/flowers fastened to the side of their head (presumably with hair grips). I queried the first one of these I saw with Ann, who informed me that they are called 'fascinators'. After this I was able to compliment lots of my female aquaintance on their fascinators with confidence. I think they were all surprised that I knew the term; although I do vaguely remember it from the dim and distant. It's a pretty idea, and I'm glad it's being brought back into fashion. Spent today in my workshop getting things ready for Long Melford. Feel as if I spent about half of it on the blower to Crowbard trying to pacify Picasa's reluctance to accept photoes - without success; but thank you anyway for your time and expertise, Crowbard. Whilst down in Devon last week I bought, among other goodies, a nice wooden Black Forest clock, of about 1840, which I've also been playing with today. Glad to report it's now going nicely and keeping reasonable time. Must go and get on with a bit more work now. So will bid you- an early- Goodnight.

Sunday.

Just a quick blog to reassure all readers that we're back home from a few days in the West Country. All's well bar the fact that Picasa is playing silly beggars and refusing to publish photoes; so this blog will be verbal (?) - no- written only. Very busy (and enjoyable) day yesterday. It was the wedding day of Wendy (who blogs as WendyWhitecat) and David, a retired Minister of the C. of E. Church. As Wendy is a member of the U.R.C. (United Reform Church) there was a sort of double service held first at the U.R.C. then a procession (led by the -robed- choir- nine members, of whom Ann and I were two) across to St. Mary's Church, where the second part of theWedding Service was held, followed by Communion. I was very impressed (and touched) that an important part of the first service was giving thanks for their former partners - Alan and Carol. Although both Bride and Groom have been widowed in recent years, it was good to hear both previous partners remembered with such obvious affection and love. One fact I must mention on behalf of the choir is that during the combined service FOURTEEN hymns were sung!!!!! Probably a record, although thinking about it possibly not (although it felt like it during the 12th, 13th and 14th hymns). The last one was sung to the tune of Rule Brittannia, and has words written by the groom, David. Because of the tune, it's a good rousing hymn, which we all thoroughly enjoyed. After the service we all made our way to a double marquee on the Deanery lawns, where a hog was being roasted, and a local silver band was playing. One thing I hope I shall always remember was a glimpse I caught of the groom (in full clerical vestments) doing the Floral Dance accompanied by the band. It was an excellent meal put on by our catering friends Ros and Simon Cook. I personally accounted for half a dozen mussels, a plate of roast pork (plus new potatoes) and a large segment of Ros's justly famous treacle tart with custard and cream. Followed by coffee. The party broke up at about 5p.m., Ann and I walked home, then napped for an hour. Altogether a memorable day.