Easter Fun at Nowton Park

The Ranger Service in Nowton Park, Bury St. Edmunds, runs a number of events. Here is their list of activities for Easter 2008.

(If you click the picture, you should be able to read the details). Today I took the little ones to do the Easter Trail, which is available 11am - 4pm and costs just £1. Little W did the junior version, which just requires 5 clues to be solved, while Little Miss did the full 20 questions. Here they are with their answer sheets and prize - predictably they both chose a Cream Egg.

So now we need to go and do our packing. Yes the kids are coming with me to The Barn for a few days.

Southwold

Southwold, on the Suffolk coast, is my favourite seaside town. It is ages since we had been, but we thought the weather might mean it wouldn't be too crowded for a Bank Holiday, so we took a day trip there. It's a little over an hour's drive from Bury St. Edmunds - down the A14 towards Ipswich and then either up the A140 to the A1102 tourist route to Yoxford and the A12, or straight along the A14, up the A12 and then turn right at the A1095. We took the main road route and got to the sea front before 10 am (parking is free from November to the end of March). We were right. It wasn't too busy.

The pier is well worth a visit, with its little shops and cafes. It also has an amazing water clock and a collection of wacky machines designed by Tim Hunkin in the Under-the-Pier Show. Little W loved the bathyscape, but my favourite is the Autofrisk machine...

... enhanced for 2008 to help fight the war on terror by the "US Department for Humourless Security".

It was odd to see snow at the seaside - even the roofs on the pier were covered. We found why the Easter Bunny didn't come to our garden in Bury St Edmunds yesterday - it was stuck frozen on the beach in Southwold...

We walked along the sea-front. Southwold is famous for its colourful beach huts. Some people have started using theirs already, but most were still closed up for the winter. We saw a few that had suffered from the winter storms and high-tides, but most of them seemed fine.

It started snowing as we were walking about. In the High St, we saw these hardy clog-dancers braving the weather.

We had a lovely lunch served by the smiling ladies of Squiers Tea Room, and I had an obligatory glass of someting else Southwold is famous for - Adnams beer (possibly my favourite). You can't not go to the vicinity of the Sole Bay Brewery without trying it!

After lunch, we did of course go onto the beach. We found several starfishes but the tide was in and quite high so there was limited beach to walk on except at the south of the town.

Walking North from the pier we went along the East Bavants Sea Wall. The path at the end is closed because of erosion from the sea - there's a house that looks as if it might not last much longer. You could feel the power of the waves hitting the wall...

Yes. It is definitely not summer yet. But Southwold is great to visit whatever the weather.

A Snowy Walk

"It's snowing! When can we go for a walk?", says Little W. "Right now!", I reply. So we all got wrapped up and headed off into the snow. It was still quite early and not many cars had been along Mount Rd.

It was coming down nice and steadily. We had nearly got to the Flying Fortress and Little W said "Can we go back now?".

With the addition of my scarf to keep his chin warm and sorting out his socks in his boots, we were able to go on.

In the fields we could see the hares haring about against the snow. "Let's go down this lane", said The Missus - just past the Flying Fortress we crossed Mount Rd and followed the lane to the railway. The level crossing is closed, but you can cross on foot. At the right hand bend we stopped. Right or Left? Well if we followed the road round I knew we would end up at Shinham Bridge cottages. So we went the other way along the bridleway to see where it took us. We found these rather sorry looking daffodils in the hedgerow along the way.

To avoid walking a long 200yards of the A143 we ended up doing a few yards through the long grass. "The snow is getting in my boots, Dad", said Little W.

But then we didn't have far to go - we were at the railway bridge at the bottom of Ortewell Rd, so it was just a matter of traipsing up the hill and round the corner to get back to where we started...

An excellent snowy walk. And then it was onto making the snowmen.

Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet

I'm not really a religious person, although I've done more than my fair share of performing sacred music. So, as it's Easter Sunday, here's little story about music and faith...

Now, if I leave early on a Sunday evening going back to The Barn, I listen to a BBC Radio 3 programme called The Choir, presented by Aled Jones. A few weeks ago, Aled's guest was the composer Gavin Bryars and he played a track from "Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet". There is a rather touching story behind it and Gavin explained how it came about in 1971 (see here for the full story). In short, Gavin was involved in the sound track for a film about tramps. A number of them broke into drunken song while being interviewed, but there was one who was sober who sang a short improvised tune. It wasn't used in the film, but Gavin quite liked it and found it was in tune with his piano. So he took the singing and made a tape loop. The piece he created repeats the 13 bars over and over with a slowly evolving orchestral accompaniment.

Well Aled warned that listeners wouldn't be able to get the tune out of their head - and so it proved with me, so I just had to seek it out on the web. I found it here. There are 2 MP3 files, one with just the original loop of the tramp singing and then one with Tom Waits adding to it. I find it totally hypnotic, calming and uplifting.

Kentwell Hall - Tudor Re-enactment

Today we went to one of the famous Tudor Re-enactments at Kentwell Hall in Long Melford - about 20 minutes drive from Bury St Edmunds down the A134 to Sudbury (here). It's years since we last went, so it was about time. We arrived just after the 11am opening time, so were among the first people in.

"You must get some fish food", said the lady in the shop. So we did. The fish in the moat were really hungry, as you can see...

After having a go at the maze in the courtyard (Little W was the winner, but he might have cheated), we went inside the house. It was busy in the kitchen...

The Tudors are really chatty, but try to be authentic in conversation - they will profess ignorance to anything modern that's mentioned. They had some good advice for parents on how to bring up their children properly. "What they need is a sound beating twice a day", we were told. Hmm. Maybe I'll try that.

We went round the rest of the house, seeing the giant Easter Eggs in the dining room, being entertained by lute, viols and voice in the Hall, while young Alys was being taught a courtly dance, and getting a good view of topiary in the garden from the bedroom windows.

After an early lunch in the Undercroft, we continued through the garden to the Camera Obscura, nicely explained to us by a Tudor goodwife. The kids thought it was amazing to see the people outside walking upside down. "It's just like an upside-down television", said Little Miss.

There was lots going on in the old Moat House. In the dairy we saw some ladies making butter and cheese for Easter Sunday. In the bakehouse we saw them baking hot cross buns and in the Brewhouse we heard some more live music and saw a huge cauldron of Potage being cooked over an open fire.

Upstairs in the Solar, the girls were invited to help in stripping the rosemary into a pot, while Little W did some bashing of some nettle leaves with a large mortar and pestel. Next door, we found a group of women sewing.

Back outside, we saw some young men practising their sword fighting in the garden, and a group of archers doing some target practice on our way to the rare-breeds farm. There were loads of cute little black lambs frolicking. We saw some goats with their young too. Little Miss loves quiz questions. "Here's a quiz question for you", I said. "What is a baby goat called?". I don't think she believed me when I told her.
The donkeys and Suffolk Punch horses proved popular with the girls, while Little W chased the chickens.

We found some ladies preparing some meat for cooking, skinning hares and doing something strange with a sheep's intestines. "We're making strings for the instruments", I was told. But the Missus was taken aside for a ladies-only conversation. Much giggling ensued. I was later told that they were explaining to her how they were also making (reusable) condoms "to avoid the French disease".

Just before we left, I was accosted by some Tudor youngsters. Would I like to buy a hot cross bun from the bakery? We had seen them earlier...

I asked how much they cost. "One gold coin", was the answer. I handed over a pound coin and got my bun. Yum. It was delicious.

You can see more of my pictures here on Flickr. The Easter Re-enactment continues through to Monday, 11am to 4pm each day. The next one will be on the May Day holiday weekend. It's well worth it and kids go free. (Human children that is, not goats).

Chilli Farm - It Could Have Been Us

Long time readers of this blog will remember one of the things I considered doing in 2006 was starting up a Chilli Farm (and you can see our 2006 harvest here). Well I was intrigued to see last year a repeat of a programme in the Channel 5 TV series "Build a new life in the country" about a couple that actually did it (a synopsis of the original episode, first broadcast in October 2006, is here). It told the story of Adrian (who worked in IT!) and Denise Nuttall who moved to Suffolk to set up The Chilli Company. Spooky. It must have been filmed about the time I was considering it.

Anyway, a few weeks ago, I was reminded of it when we drove past the farm here on the A140 on our way to Thornham Walks for a winter walk. So I looked them up on the web and found that there was a new series "Build a New Life in the Country - Was it Worth It" that revisited people from the original programmes to see how things had worked out, and that I had missed their episode. And I missed a rerun last night while travelling home from Shropshire. But never fear, I've found it is being repeated (see here) at 9:30 am on Tuesday 25th March. I'd better set the video so I don't miss it again! I hope they are doing well - and I'm not envious, really!

Bridgnorth

Just a few miles down the River Severn from Ironbridge, is the lovely town of Bridgnorth. Perfect for an afternoon out from The Barn. The hilltop makes an ideal setting for a fortress and the first one was built here by Aethelflaed, daughter of King Alfred, to guard against the Danes in 917 AD.

We parked on the other side of the river, walked across the bridge from Low Town, and took the Castle Hill funicular railway - the only remaining such inland railway in England.

It takes you up the 111ft cliff for a return fair of only 90p.

Today there is little left of the later 12th Century Norman Castle apart from the ruins of the keep, which leans at a crazy angle of 15 degrees.

The roses in the garden around it looked and smelt wonderful.

But there's one thing that Bridgnorth has that got Little W really interested - it is the northern terminus for the famous Severn Valley Railway.

Unfortunately we didn't have time for a journey that day, but we did get to sneak aboard a GWR First Class carriage for a few minutes.

Returning through the old town, we walked down the hill. There's not much traffic, but we nearly got knocked down by this...

...the Bridgnorth version of the Cresta Run in operation!

Ironbridge Museums

The Barn is just up the hill from the famous Ironbridge Gorge - a World Heritage site, and widely considered as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. Around the gorge there are no less than 10 museums, many of which have interesting activities for children, especially during the school holidays. We bought a family passport ticket, which is fantastic value, because it gives entry to all 10 museums as many times as you like for a year from purchase. As you can see, we still have a couple of months left on ours.

You can visit the Iron Bridge itself for free, though. Here it is...

We were amazed to find how many fish we could see swimming in the River Severn below.

Our first museum visit was to the Coalport China Museum. As well as some fun children's play activities (Little W and Little Miss bricked themselves up into the soft-play kiln), for a small fee, you can have a go at decorating pottery. Here is Little Miss painting a flower.

Little W contented himself with painting some paper plates, but I got presented with the results of the girls' labours...

...now proudly on display in the flat!

Family Days Out Around and About Bury St Edmunds

That's been a main theme of my blog so far. OK, so there was the temporary relocation to Australia for a while. And there are still quite a few places we go to that haven't made it onto the blog yet. But now I think I'll supplement it with the things we get up to when the kids come and visit The Barn in Shropshire too. So watch out for posts about the Ironbridge Museums, Bridgnorth, Wroxeter, the Shropshire Hills, Much Wenlock and...
...well here's a little teaser. Anyone know where this is?

And we've not decided what we're doing in the Easter holidays yet. Home or away? Suffolk or Shropshire? Or both? All will be revealed here when it happens.

Now I've started toying with a Web2.0 business idea based on this theme. A sort of social networking site based around family things to do, with reviews of what places are really like. Anybody want to join me in this venture? Do you think there would be a market for it? (For a start, it will be interesting to see if this blog post gets any hits from Google searches finding the title of this post). All comments welcome!

Mildenhall Woods - Warreners' Walk

There's something quite distinctive about the typical Brecks landscape. I think it's the combination of the profile of the spare shape of the pine trees in rows against the sky with the sandy heathland. We picked up a new Brecks Visitor Guide leaflet at West Stow on Saturday. (You can download it, and a bunch of others about the area, from the web here). So for our Sunday morning walk, I thought we would go somewhere we'd never been to before. We chose number 50, the Warreners' Walk in Mildenhall Woods. But watch out, the map is a bit vague and number 50 is used for both the picnic site and the Warreners' Walk....

I consulted the OS Landranger map 143 (Ely and Wisbech). We took the A1101 towards Mildenhall and, at the Barton Mills roundabout at the junction with the A11 turned onto the A1065. There, about 100m up the road on the right was the picnic area. Found it. That was easy. There was a tantalising smell of cooking onions coming from the cafe, where a posse of motorcyclists were happily munching some brunch. We parked and went for a little walk. This did not look right. There is supposed to be a 3km trail. Nevertheless we followed the path and had a wander along the Cut Off Channel (a top Zander Venue, I've discovered, in retrospect) to the next bridge up.

It was all pretty close to the road. "That was a rubbish walk", I opined when we got back. Little W agreed, but Little Miss thought it was all right.

We got back in the car and decided we would do a little explore along the road that crossed the Channel (if all else failed we would keep going and I would take them for a run up Thetford Castle hill). We went past the waste recycling centre, (which made me wonder how the now mega-famous 21st Century Mummy is getting on with her Rubbish Diet - she's on Woman's Hour all week this week, you know). And just 1/2 a mile down the road we found it - here.

"I don't want to go on another walk", came the protest. But then they saw the first of the "Earth Signs".

There is indeed a circular walk (which has a sign that says 2 miles not 3 km). Along the way there are these story panels telling the tale of people who used to live, work or poach on the warren over the centuries. You will also find the old warreners' lodge - now a ruin.

Watch out too for the site of the rare Breckland Mugwort in a pit beside the path. The path is good and it is an easy walk with some decent views over the Breckland landscape. Little Miss and I enjoyed it. But, "It's not as good as West Stow", declared Little W at the end. Something to do with there not being a play park, perhaps?

The Stowacynn are coming

We quite often go to West Stow Country Park but I've not mentioned the excellent reconstructed Anglo-Saxon Village. As well as the buildings, they have an Anglo-Saxon garden, with things they might have grown, and a couple of Gloucester Spot pigs. One of them reminds me a lot of my mother-in-law...

...they are both called Hilda! Anyway, we last visited the village in November when they had a re-enactment put on by the Friends of West Stow and FREE admission.

It brings the place alive seeing people dressed as they would have done, carrying out the everyday tasks. It was bitterly cold when we went then, so the blacksmith's fire was popular. They also had open fires in a couple of houses (carefully monitored since one of the houses was burnt down a few years ago!).

After our walk and obligatory session in the play park yesterday, we visited Angles Cafe and sat by the window overlooking the bird feeding area. They have notices about the weather that has been recorded and now have a computerised Live Weather Display...

...showing the current and recent weather - wind-speed and direction, temperature and rainfall. Fascinating - click on the picture to see the detail.

Also in the cafe you can see information about the Friends of West Stow and the family of re-enactors called the Stowacynn. We discovered that there is another open weekend with the Stowacynn (including FREE entry to the village), next weekend, the 15-16 March from 10am to 5pm. You can find details of the event here. Do go and see.

Bury County Music School Open Morning

I mentioned before that Little Miss has taken up the violin and plays in the Cygnets String Orchestra at KEGS on a Saturday morning. Well today was open morning at the music school. All the usual activities were on and anyone was free to go and hear them. There were also Coffee and Cakes in Ed's place, along with a stall from the excellent local music shop - Balaam's Music - which was handy as it saved us a trip into town to replace Little Miss' broken rosin for her bow. Little W came along too, although mostly, it has to be said, so he could have a chocolaty snack.

We were treated to a concert performance of Open Country (by John Widger).

Little W and I joined in with the singing of Chocolate Treats and Hot Cross Buns as the orchestra played and sang both tunes at the same time. At the end they practised taking applause from the audience and how to do an album cover photo shoot. "Has anyone got a camera?", asked Mrs P, the conductor. I was happy to oblige...

Number 1 on Google!

Having restarted my blogging, I thought I'd take a look at what effect that had had on the number of visits I get, and what brings people to the site in the first place. In fact I'd almost forgotten that I could get these statistics from my link to Sitemeter. I got a bit of a surprise...

After the main page for Interred I got Best Ever Leaving Speech. (Go on. Click the link. You know you want to find out why it's so interesting!). What was that about? I dug a bit deeper and discovered I was being "referred to" from Google a lot. By people who were searching for the "best ever leaving speech" (or similar). So I put it into Google and look what I found!

Yes! For one teeny-tiny corner of the web I have the top ranked answer! Now there's a certain amount of irony about this, given what has been happening at work. But it makes you wonder, who are all these people who need leaving speeches and why do they need them now? I think I can see another new business opportunity coming...

Sebert Wood School Story Telling Week

It's Story Telling Week at Sebert Wood CP School this week. This has included all sorts of exciting activities. They have got the little ones quite enthused - the first thing I heard this morning was a little voice reading out loud in bed. And today the pupils have been invited to go to school dressed as a favourite character.

Little W, as you can see, is dressed as a pirate. Mind you, I don't think I've ever seen a pirate with a koala on his shoulder. As for Little Miss - well her year are studying the Greeks, their history and mythology, so they've been asked to come as a character from the stories they have been discussing. Not one for false modesty, she has decided to go as Helen of Troy.

They also got a special treat this week - a Roald Dahl menu for school dinner on Monday. Little W just had to have the Mudburger - no surprise there!

Devil's Punchbowl

If you want a quiet Breckland country walk, somewhere a bit off the beaten track that is worth a visit is the Devil's Punchbowl near Thetford. It is easy enough to get to from Bury St. Edmunds - head up the A134 towards Thetford, turn right to go through Barnham to get to the A1088 at Euston, head into Thetford Town Centre and turn right just after the railway bridge. Follow the road through Croxton and turn right at the crossroads about a mile later. The car park is on the right hand side of the road.(See OS Landranger Sheet 144 - map reference TL878892).

We went there one weekend in May last year and had the place almost to ourselves. The punchbowl is a short walk from the car park.

Although it looks just like an overgrown crater with a puddle at the bottom here, it is actually a lake called a subsidence doline. There is a sign that explains all...

(If you click the picture to expand it, you should be able to read the text). The bowl is about 150m across and the water level in it fluctuates through the year - there is a picture of it when it is full here.

We had a picnic and went for a walk. We think we found the Mickle Hill tumulus, but it was so unimpressive that we weren't sure whether we had found it or not. But we did see lots of wildlife, including this little lizard...

And we learnt some interesting Brecklands geology too!