Sunday.

Last night's supper - salmon steak fried in a little olive oil, ratatouille (spelling probably only an approximation), potatoes, and runner beans from the garden.

Sunlight and a stormy sky yesterday evening.

Went to morning service - choir not required so sat in congregation, towards the back. Shared a pew with lady we'd not met before who had a son with her- seven or eight I'd guess, but quiet and well behaved, who shook hands very correctly in the peace. Worst of being in the choir- tend not to meet new people much. Still, now the choir is only being used two Sundays in the month, we'll meet more people in church.
This evening we were invited to Liz and Bob's for 'drinks at six'. We'd met them around the area over the last few years, but not been to their home. The invitation 'drinks in the evening' can vary a good deal in meaning, but this time various nibbles were served (don't mean crisps and peanuts, but smoked salmon on brown bread, prawns on biscuits, etc.),   followed by strawberries and cream, so that, together with a couple of glasses of a very decent dry sherry, it turned into the equivalent of a light evening meal. We thoroughly enjoyed it, and agreed on the way home that we must ask them back here to lunch soon. Clocks are striking ten now, and Ann's just gone up - So - Goodnight, dear readers.

Friday 2.

Yesterday evening we went on our annual visit to the RedRose Group's theatre in the forest (Rendlesham), to see Twelfth Night. Went with our usual group, and had a picnic before the performance. The performance was as good as it usually is (eight actors performing all the parts). It had been a wet day on and off, so we dressed accordingly, and even a ten minute downpour in the middle of the first half didn't spoil the evening.

This morning fellow bloggers Steve and Liz called in (by arrangement) and we went off to Hollowtrees farm restaurant and partook of the excellent breakfast supplied by that establishment. Very pleasant morning, but I think it only fair to suggest to any East Anglian readers who decide to try the place that the 'half full English breakfast' will easily satisfy any but the stoutest trenchermen.
Photoes above are of the garden which is really looking colourful at the moment. Been pottering in the workshop for most of the afternoon and evening. Ann's just gone up, so - Goodnight All.

Friday.

This is in response to Nea's request/comment in the previous blog entry.

Wednesday.

Orford Castle, which we visited last week, was built between 1165 and 1173 A.D. by order of Henry II. The castle is 90 feet high, circular in shapewith three square towers equidistant around it. It is quite remarkable for the completeness of its domestic 'facilities' and arrangements. There are toilets on all of the floors (I think), with shafts running down the outside of the walls, and emptying into the moat (now dry). On the floor below the roof is a small room, lined with well fitting stone, which appears to have been built as a large cystern, probably filled originally by rain water (my idea).

Above are two of the loos. Below is a snapshot of the castle well, which is, of course, in the basement/undercroft.

Below is a photo of the Castle Chapel, a well fitted little room, with a passageway to the Priest's chamber, complete with its own lavatory.

The picture below is taken inside a room in one of the square towers on the castle roof, and shows one of the two ovens there.

The outer walls of the castle fell during the early part of the 19th century. About a century after the castle was built it withstood a short seige during the reign of Edward Ist, and this was about sixty years before serious artillery (cannon) were in use. It then saw virtually no further action, This must, I think be the main reason that the castle at Orford has survived in such a remarkably  good and complete condition. It is really very well worth a visit.

It has always seemed to me that a visit to Framlingham Castle, which has never had a keep, but has the outer walls complete, followed by a visit to Orford (about twelve miles away) which now has no outer walls, but a very well preserved keep, would give between them, a good and complete impression of a mediaeval English castle.

Tuesday.

This morning went out to a local farm shop for breakfast (a service it has recently started providing). Above left shows grandaughters Tuva and Freja). We (after much earnest consultation) ordered two full English breakfasts and three half English breakfasts and then did swappsies - I swapped my two tomatoes for Tuva's black pudding (which she didn't fancy at all, after hearing her mother describe its main ingredients), plus drinks to taste - pot of tea, pot of coffee and fresh squeezed orange.

Ruth took the above photo of the breakfast table after the food had been served and exchanges of goodies made. At this point two friends of ours, ladies of about our vintage, turned up, having ordered coffee. They said hello, were introduced, looked at our table, drooled a little, then Dorothy said "well I'm going to order a scone", and went back and did so.

After breakfast we walked round the farm and socialised with some of the animals. Ann and Nanny above.

Took above photo over a gate of lovely looking brindled heifer.

I introduced the above guinea pig to the girls as Wiggy, and I'm afraid the name stuck.
After that breakfast nobody felt they needed any lunch. Been pottering, and socialising since then (friend Bill called in early afternoon), but really must do some work now, ready for tomorrow - Long Melford.

Monday.

This morning we asked the girls what they'd  like to do with their last free day in England. They couldn't make up their minds between going to see the inside of a real English castle, or going crabbing at the seaside. It seemed to me that we could easily combine the two by going to Orford Castle, then on to Orford Quay. Orford Castle is a little gem of a castle, built around the year 1170, during the reign of Henry II,  it withstood a short seige in the reign of Edward I in around 1280, then spent the next seven centuries or so in quiet retirement.
This means that the keep, and all its domestic arrangements have survived remarkably complete. This includes the :- Sorry seem to have lost a picture here. Bear with me. Going to have to rejig this.

Above is the Chapel, beautifully finished chamber inside the first floor of the keep. Will come back to the castle, possibly in tomorrow's blog entry.

We then went down to Orwell Quay and fished for crabs. Ann above.

Ruth and Tuva crabbing.

Freja and Tuva starting the crab race down  slipway beside the Quay. We always let the crabs back in the water by letting them race a few yards down the slipway. Of the hundred or so crabs we caught today none were of edible size.
Sorry about today's messy blog. Will try and do better tomorrow.

Sunday.

This morning (after early service) we all motored over to Waterbeach (near Cambridge) for a 'get together lunch' with Ann's family.Took all three photoes in the garden just before we set off (actually, Ruth took the top one).

This one was of Ruth, Tuva, and Freja, asking Granny to join them in a photo (she is usually rather reluctant to be photographed - don't know why).

And this one is when they'd succeded in persuading her to do so.

Friday.

Took the above photo earlier in the week near Frinton-on-Sea, over the border in Essex. Lovely church - early, or possibly just pre, Tudor brick tower with a rather earlier stone nave.
Been a busy day; so busy with a daughter and two granddaughters staying that I can't remember much of it. Played scrabble with Ann and Ruth this evening; got thrashed. Both of them scored seven letter words early on in the game, and although I was starting to pick up a bit by the end of the game, I was still thoroughly beaten, Ruth coming in a few points ahead of Ann.
Goodnight All.

Thursday.

Been a fairly busy day. Went for a walk this morning.

On the way home checked the swan's nest beside our river. Five cygnets.

Late this afternoon Ann had a 'phone call from the lady who acts as cook for the Ansell group (formed to give a good hot meal monthly to the elderly in town). Pam, the cook, has a glut of plums which she's just picked , and if Ann could collect them, stone them, and freeze them, then she, the cook, could make a
 massive plum crumble for the club.

Ann agreed, so from five p.m. to just after 8p.m. the five of us set to and stoned plums. They were tiny, so it took us awhile, but by eight o'clock we had five bags of plums ready to be turned into enough plum crumble to keep the old dears happy for a while. Just had a swift evening meal, and the ladies have now gone up to bed and I must follow. Goodnight all.

Wednesday 2.

Yesterday drove over to the Essex coast and had lunch with our friend Bea, who is the daughter of our old friends John and Ann. After lunch went and had coffee with Ann, who now lives in the old coach house, which is attached (quite literally) to Bea's home, having been turned into a very pleasant 'granny-flat'. Stayed with Ann for half an hour  or so (she is not well and tires very easily these days). Bea told me that John's headstone has just been erected, so after we'd left them nipped round to the churchyard and took the above photo of it. As a thumbnail sketch of John I couldn't better  the very restrained inscription, although it gives no idea of his glorious sence of humour.

To more cheerful things - I think Ruth's girls are asleep- they've been up and travelling since 4.30 this morning. Ruth's just gone up, Ann's about to, and I must join her. So - Goodnight all.

Wednesday 1.

Early service this morning. Ann read N.T. lesson. I read O.T. lesson. At one forty five p.m. we set out and motored over to Stansted, where we picked up Ruth and the girls, they having flown in from Stockholm. Their flight was five minutes early, they came straight through Customs, everything went like clockwork, and we've just got home. Cuppa now available upstairs, so more later perhaps.

Monday.

Spent most of today in my workshop putting the crossbow, purchased on my behalf by grandson Matthew about a fortnight ago, into good working order. Had to make two small parts for it. It is, as can be seen, a bullet bow (or slurbow) with the original gut bowstring  working in a slot cut through the forestock. It is made, according to the auctioneer's catalogue, to shoot heavy darts, but it could just as well have been used to shoot fairly heavy lead pistol balls, according to most of the books on the subject (and in accord with my own opinion). A very plain weapon (the stock has the shape of an eighteenth century military musket). Of no great value, but a satisfying weapon to have worked on.

Saturday.

Snapshot of sweet peas and scarlet runners in the garden.

Today we motored over to Baldock, partly because we had an appointment to look at a Suffolk long case clock that's for sale there (this appointment was a dissappointment or anyway the clock was), and partly to take David and Joe (Ann's brother and his wife) out to lunch at a restaurant we used to frequent some years ago. This, I'm glad to say was not a dissapointment - it had changed hands, but not its standards, and was as good as ever.
Took the above  photo near Stotfold, on our way to pick Dave and Jo up. Always admired this roof. It's a pegtiled roof with two colours of pegtiles very carefully laid in order to give a zig-zag effect. Not pretty, but pretty eyecatching for all that.

Friday 2.

Just got in from Cinema Club. The Film was called 'On a Clear Day'. The chap hadn't retired- he'd been made redundant. Rather a good film that we both enjoyed, as did most of the audience. Well worth seeing.
Took the above snapshot of a red admiral butterfly in the garden yesterday. It most obligingly stood still whilst I photographed it.

Good night all.