My Life in a Suffolk Lane

This is a diary of sorts: I recount some of the things I see and do; I describe the weather, the seasons, the pleasures and difficulties of living in rural North Suffolk.
I live with my husband Richard and youngest daughter Elinor; my eldest daughter Alice got married to Phil in 2018 and visits as often as she can.  Our home is in a small hamlet in the Waveney Valley, the border between Norfolk and Suffolk, and is a detached house built in the mid 1980s with a large garden. The nearest towns are about twenty minutes drive away – we also live quite close to the sea. There is very little public transport.
Our social life is centred in the local church. My husband retired in September 2015 and is very happy with his retired lifestyle after 43 years at work. My husband’s family live in Manchester – his brother and partner and two of his nephews and their families.  Richard tries to visit them at least once a year on his own and while he is there often catches up with old friends from his youth. In recent years, the only time I see my brother-in-law and his partner is when Richard and I take our caravan to Leek in Staffordshire; we also try to see Alice then too. My brother and his wife live in Suffolk as does his daughter but my sister lives further away in Kent.
I am interested in the wildlife (animals, birds, plants) that I see in the place I live and I belong to a number of conservation organisations. I enjoy reading and listening to music. I used to play the piano, draw and sew a lot but lack of time through running a house and bringing up two daughters has meant that I hardly ever do these things any more. I also have rheumatoid and osteo arthritis, glaucoma and asthma which make a number of activities difficult at times.
I dislike cooking but nevertheless have to do it most days and do my best to produce interesting and nutritious food. I also find shopping tedious and would get out of it if I could!
The area I live in is quite bleak during the winter but very beautiful. This part of England is dryer than most other areas and the summer months are usually quite lovely. Some of our visitors find it too quiet and isolated. I am fortunate in not needing much company and never feeling lonely.
I would not want to live anywhere else.

 

 

29 thoughts on “My Life in a Suffolk Lane”

  1. petrel41's avatar petrel41 said:

    Congratulations!

    I have nominated your blog for the Cracking Chrispmouse Bloggywod Award.

    More about this nomination is at

    http://dearkitty1.wordpress.com/2014/02/12/cracking-chrispmouse-bloggywod-award-thanks-dear-horty-2/

    Liked by 1 person

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  2. Clare Pooley's avatar clarepooley33 said:

    Thank-you very much for your understanding and your well wishes. I enjoy reading your blog.

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  3. Hemangini Patel's avatar Hemangini said:

    I love England and I loved your blog posts. Look forward to reading more about your beautiful country.

    Liked by 1 person

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  4. Luanne's avatar Luanne @ TFK said:

    What a glorious photo!

    Liked by 1 person

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  5. Trevor's avatar Trevor said:

    I followed you here from my wife Georgina’s navasolanature blog which you follow. Y ou must be quite near my cousin at Dashes Farm (on the Waveney).

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    • Clare Pooley's avatar Clare Pooley said:

      Thank-you very much for visiting me here. Yes, we live very close to the Waveney but I don’t know Dashes Farm. We live in St Nicholas, part of The Saints, equidistant (almost!) from Bungay, Halesworth and Harleston. Clare

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      • Trevor's avatar Trevor said:

        Oh sorry Clare – miles away. Dashes Farm is on the Waveney but west of Diss and Roydon. ‘North Suffolk’ is a bigger place than I thought. Georgina has gone to London today (yesterday). I’m still in Spain!

        Liked by 1 person

      • Clare Pooley's avatar Clare Pooley said:

        I know both Diss and Roydon quite well. I take my mother shopping in Diss every week!

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  6. quercuscommunity's avatar quercuscommunity said:

    After years of reading the blog I finally found this page – I think you are too modest!

    Liked by 1 person

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  7. Lyn's avatar Lyn said:

    I love rural England. I’ve never been out of Australia, but if I ever managed to travel overseas, England would be the place. My best friend is from Cornwall and hasn’t been home for a long time. If either of us won lotto, we’d be up, up and away 😀

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  8. kevin cooper's avatar kevin cooper said:

    Sounds like to live in a beautiful haven. My wife and I have yet to visit Suffolk and Norfolk but they are most definitely added our holiday destinations list. 🙂

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  9. navasolanature's avatar navasolanature said:

    Strange too that I haven’t visited this page before and see my husband Trevor came first. We used to visit Suffolk a lot as many of Trevor’s cousins from Ilford have lived in the area for decades now! My ancestors are from north of Norwich,Reepham St Mary. A pub! Then moved to Sheffield and ran a pub. Perhaps a bit like Spanish bars, small family businesses.

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  10. boomiebol's avatar boomiebol said:

    Hello Clare ❤️

    Liked by 1 person

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