Tag Archives: Suffolk

Walks With Elinor – Beccles

01 Thu Jul 2021

Posted by in Days out, Rural Diary

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Elinor and I went to Beccles the week following our chilly walk in Halesworth.  You might think Beccles (rhymes with freckles) is a strange name for a town: according to my Dictionary of English Place-Names the name probably derives from the Old English for ‘pasture by a stream’.  Other derivations put forward are from the Brittonic for ‘small court’ or a contraction of ‘Beata Ecclesia’, the name of a Christian temple erected here c.960 AD.  Take your pick!

Elinor needed to buy her Grandmother a birthday card and gift and Beccles has a greater selection of shops than our more local towns.  We also wanted to have a walk by the river where I used to take Elinor when she was very small.  We used to go there as a place to rest and recuperate after visits to the dentist, which she found extremely stressful.

We were successful with our shopping and then, because Elinor was hungry we bought her a panini to eat in the car.  Unfortunately, it exploded and she and the seat belt were covered with runny cheese!  We often have these events which are sent to try us apparently, but they also make life that bit more interesting!  We then drove to the Boat Station car-park taking a couple of wrong turns on the way just to add to the excitement.

The weather was completely different from the week before.  It wasn’t warm but the sun was shining brightly and there was that something in the air that spoke of Spring and warmth to come.

Beccles Quay

Beccles is part of the Broads.  Not many people realize that the Broads stretch south into Suffolk, but they do.  A few people leave their boats at the Yacht Station at Beccles Quay over the winter.  There are WCs, shower and washing facilities (with points where one can empty chemical toilets), places to dispose of rubbish and a café, all provided for people travelling by boat wishing to stop here and enjoy visiting Beccles and its environs.  There were many people working on their boats when we visited or they were sitting on deck enjoying drinks, hot and cold.  There are boats and yachts for hire and we saw a few people out on the water.

Beccles Quay looking towards the town

Beccles Quay

Beccles Quay looking away from the town

Elinor

Path by the River Waveney looking towards the road bridge

Footbridge over the river which gives access to the town

Beccles church tower seen from the green

Beccles Quay  The strange floating building is one of the glamping Pods for rental from the boatyard.

Elinor and I returned home much refreshed by our visit to the Quay and the river.

Walks With Elinor – Halesworth

25 Fri Jun 2021

Posted by in Rural Diary, walking

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During the spring Elinor and I decided it would be good for us both if we could go out for walks together.  The restrictions had recently eased a little so that we felt it would be fine for us to drive somewhere different to walk instead of just walking the usual lanes near our house.  Elinor had been stuck at home for months and was becoming more fearful and anxious.  We though she should see that the world was still functioning albeit in a rather muted way.

Please click on this link to access a map of the town centre and more information about the town  https://www.halesworth.net/townmap/towncentremap.php

Our very first walk was on an extremely cold and gloomy day at the beginning of April.  We drove to Halesworth, one of our local towns and parked in the central town car-park.  It was so gloomy and cold that I took hardly any photos and most of those didn’t come out at all well.  We entered the Thoroughfare from the car-park and turned left towards the church and the Market Place.

Here is Halesworth Market Place a few years ago during the Day of Dance

We walked through the Market Place and down Chediston Street until we reached Rectory Lane which has a lovely crinkle-crankle wall down one side of it.

The Crinkle-crankle wall in Rectory Lane

Rectory Lane is also still known as Parson’s Lane as it cuts through the back of the town from the Old Rectory towards the Parish Church of St Mary. The Rector of Halesworth no longer lives in the enormous rectory which was sold to private buyers many years ago.  The lane meets the Town River a little further on and used to be a place where people went to sit and chat and share their sandwiches with the numerous ducks that lived on and near the river.  However, the town’s-people have been dissuaded from feeding the ducks because this apparently encouraged rats and bread wasn’t suitable food for ducks anyway and now the ducks have disappeared as well.

The Town River

It was all looking a little sad and run-down.  The water is clear enough but there are no reeds or rushes growing here and the retaining walls are crumbling.

There were a few plants growing and beginning to flower on our side of the river.

Green Alkanet (Pentaglottis sempervirens) with its blue forget-me-not flowers and Common Nettle (Urtica dioica)

Yellow Archangel (Lamiastrum galeobdolon subspecies argentatum)

This Archangel is a cultivated form of the wild flower and has sliver splashes on the leaves.  It usually flowers much earlier than the wild plant.

We turned right out of Rectory Lane into Rectory Street and then rejoined the Thoroughfare.  We turned left past the library and crossed the road at the roundabout next to the United Reformed church and entered Quay Street.  Just then it began to rain so we decided to cut short our walk and return to the car by way of the Town Park.  When I used to live in Halesworth many years ago there used to be a yard with a builder’s merchant’s a little way up Quay Street.  I used to walk through the yard to a path that led to the park.  The builder’s merchant’s was knocked down some time ago and in its place a large quantity of houses and apartments have been built.  We walked through this little estate and found that the path still led into the park.  The park is well laid out with plenty of grassy areas with spring bulbs and a few flower beds.  Lots of mature trees give shade and shelter and there is a play area with swings and slides and other equipment.  We crossed over the river by the bridge and continued through the park until we had regained the road by the carpark.

Though we had only been out for about half an hour we had enjoyed our walk and decided we would walk together again as soon as we could.

 

Flatford Mill

23 Tue Feb 2021

Posted by in Arts and Crafts, Days out, Historic Buildings, Rural Diary

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My birthday falls at the beginning of September but last autumn, as we were very busy during that week we decided to put off any celebration or outing until later.  A whole month later we found we had the time, and the weather had improved enough for a trip to Flatford Mill in the Dedham Vale.

Flatford Mill is owned by the National Trust and looking at their website we saw that we need not book a slot to visit but, as parking space is limited we thought we would set off fairly early.  The weather forecast was for rain in the afternoon but the morning was glorious with plenty of sunshine.

We live in North Suffolk in the Waveney Valley and Flatford Mill is in the south of the county on the River Stour near the border with the county of Essex.   If you click on the link just below you will see a map of Suffolk.  Near the top of the map to the right of centre are the towns of Bungay, Halesworth and Harleston.  We live in-between and almost equi-distant from those three towns.  At the bottom of the map in the centre you will see the town of Sudbury and to the right of that is Dedham Vale.

https://images.app.goo.gl/fqi1Da7AAMkpD9GY8

Many of you will recognise the name of the place we visited for my birthday treat.  Some of you may have been there already.  Flatford Mill was owned by the painter John Constable’s father and John was born in East Bergholt, a village on the River Stour.  It is a short walk down a fairly steep winding, wooded lane from the village to the mill.

We wandered round the outside of the mill and over the bridge to the other side of the river.

The River Stour

Buildings near to the Mill, seen from the bridge. The building on the right of the photo with the flat roof is the café owned by the National Trust where we had a sandwich lunch.

Bridge Cottage

The attractive flowerbed next to the cottage

Bridge Cottage seen from the other side of the river

We found the lock which has recently been restored.

We also found the rear of the mill buildings and the mill pool.

The Stour is a lovely river.

We re-crossed the bridge and walked back down towards the mill, admiring the brick and timber buildings.

After our lunch we sat outside the mill in the sunshine.

This is the corner of the mill building, seen from our bench. I doubt whether the wall was there in John Constable’s time.

It was satisfying to sit looking at a view that Constable looked at every day when he lived in that building and had also included in many of his paintings such as The Mill                      Stream, The Hay Wain and The White Horse.

Beautiful effect of sunlight filtering through the trees.

Above are three slightly different views of Willy Lott’s House as seen from outside the mill.  We then walked down the lane towards the house to get a closer view.

Willy Lott’s House
Willy Lott’s House
Willy Lott’s House

Just look at these glorious roof tiles!

An overgrown withy fence round an allotment with views of the countryside beyond
Forget-me-nots among the nettles
Lush growth next to the river

We then thought we would walk across the water meadows to Dedham which is just into Essex.  Dedham was also painted by Constable and we could see the church tower in the distance.  I have seen this same church tower every time I have travelled down the A12 on my way to London.

As you can see from the sky in these photos, it was looking more and more like rain so we reluctantly turned round and made our way back to Flatford.  The water meadows were more water than meadow, thanks to the very wet weather we had had during September and we would have had great difficulty getting to Dedham dryshod.  The last two photos above show Dedham church tower.

Jolly ducks on the water.

We had a last look at the Stour and then went home in the rain.

Have a Merry Covid Christmas!

20 Sun Dec 2020

Posted by in music, Rural Diary

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Elinor, our younger daughter is self-isolating until Christmas Eve after being contacted by ‘Test and Trace’.  We think she may have been near someone, who has since contracted Covid-19, while she was at the hairdresser’s in Norwich on Thursday 10th December.  She is physically well at the moment.  Richard and I have no need to self-isolate as yet, because Elinor has no symptoms, but are being very cautious and have limited our journeys to necessary shopping.  Elinor is so unfortunate!  She had not left our house and garden, except for one walk round the lanes when she didn’t see a soul, for five whole weeks and the one time she went further afield the result was self-isolation for ten days!  She suffers from chronic anxiety, so goodness knows whether she’ll have the courage to leave the house ever again!  She is very unhappy and depressed and desperately needs a hug which we can’t give her.  We completely understand that we must limit our contacts with other people until this pandemic is under control but the damage all this isolation and lock-down is doing to so many people, physically, mentally and financially is unimaginably great.  My elder daughter Alice, who has Bi-polar 2 disorder is also having a very hard time stuck in Sheffield, unable to see her friends or visit us.  Her husband is unwell at present and is needing a lot of care.

The only thing that has been keeping me going through this year is music.  I’ve not been able to concentrate for long enough to get much enjoyment from reading and I can’t seem to string more than a few words together, either speaking or writing.  My memory is dire and my arthritis is troubling me a lot.  Music has been a balm to my soul, though it often causes me to cry.

I have selected a few pieces of music to share with you that have made me laugh, made me smile and even caused a tear or two.

This first video was shown me by Elinor some time ago and many of you may have seen it already.  I hope you enjoy it.

I have always loved listening to music that tells a story or is so descriptive that if I close my eyes I can be transported away from the here-and-now to another world.  This next piece of music is best listened-to with your eyes shut so that you aren’t distracted by anything.

I have long been an admirer of Bill Bailey.  He is an accomplished actor, musician, comedian and extremely knowledgeable on many subjects.  He has also just won the latest Strictly Come Dancing Glitterball prize with his partner, Oti.  A very versatile man!

I think most of my British readers will recognise this next piece either from the original Dick Barton radio series or from the Mitchell and Webb ‘Sir Digby Chicken Caesar’ sketches.  It’s called ‘The Devil’s Gallop’.  It came on the radio the other week while I, along with a few other impatient drivers, was following a tractor and a couple of heavily-laden lorries on the A143 on the way to Diss.  It made me laugh.

Just before ‘The Devil’s Gallop’ was played on the radio I had been entertained with a similarly blistering, breakneck piece of music.  How many key-changes can you hear in this one?!

I have been listening to the St Martin’s-in-the-Field Thursday recordings of Great Sacred Music for some time now.  There are three or four pieces of music, usually including a hymn, and a narration in-between each piece by Rev. Dr Sam Wells.  I have found these performances so soothing and comforting!

I recently bought some new Christmas music recorded by the Choral Scholars of the University College Dublin.  The first track is a wonderful rendition of In Dulci Jubilo written by Matthew Culloton.  You may find that if you keep listening after this track all the others on the album will be played for you!

The whole collection of songs on ‘Be All Merry’ are fabulous but I thought this next recording of theirs spoke to me so clearly about how I am feeling this Christmastide.  I hope you agree with me.

I hope you have enjoyed my selection and that you also, can find some solace and happiness in listening to music.

I wish you all as Merry a Christmas as it is possible to have in this troubled world of ours and that we can all meet again in the New Year with hope in our hearts, God willing.

Happy Christmas everyone!

Turtle Dove

08 Thu Oct 2020

Posted by in Rural Diary, wild birds, wildlife

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The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land…

The Song of Solomon; Chapter 2, Verse 12

When I first moved to Suffolk in 1988 I thought I had moved to heaven on earth!  I had been living in a late-Victorian, terraced house in a south-east London suburb.  Not the worst location by any means; there was a park, an excellent library, friendly neighbours and shops just a few minutes walk away.  But…there weren’t many birds in my tiny garden, though I found that the flowers I planted with the help of my (then) mother-in-law attracted a few insects, especially butterflies and moths.  The only wild flowers I saw regularly were straggly dandelions.

My parents had re-located to Suffolk in 1987 and I had visited them two or three times as they settled into their 18th century cottage.  I decided that Suffolk was the place for me too, and the following year moved to Halesworth, a town about ten miles distant from them.  Admittedly, the bird-table in my garden attracted mainly seagulls (I lived fairly near the coast) but I still managed to see a good variety of smaller birds and every now and again I saw something really special.  The bird I remember being most excited about was a Black Redstart.

In the summer, I used to lie awake at night listening to Nightingales singing from the Folly, which is a patch of heathland on the edge of the town.  When I visited my parents I discovered their garden had Turtle Doves that purred from the trees all afternoon on warm days.

When Richard and I got married in 1994 we moved out of Halesworth to the village of Rumburgh where we lived until 2004.  I don’t remember hearing Turtle Doves in Rumburgh but there were plenty of other birds in the garden, notably Spotted Flycatchers which regularly nested in the Winter-flowering Jasmine against the wall next to the living-room casement-doors.  I also saw a female Cuckoo in a tree behind the house and heard its bubbling song.  The garden was an old established one (our cottage was two hundred years old) and was home to many different creatures, especially a large assortment of moths and butterflies.  We regularly saw toads in the back yard and lizards were everywhere.

In 2004 we moved to Bradford-on-Tone in Somerset because of Richard’s work but we didn’t stay there long, just eighteen months.  The birds we saw in our garden in the West Country were very different from the birds we were used to seeing in East Anglia.  Siskins and Bramblings visited in the winter and Ravens and Buzzards flew overhead all year round.  We had Serotine Bats roosting in the cavity wall of the modern extension to our home.

The year 2006 saw us move back to Suffolk to the house we live in still.  We are only a couple of miles from Rumburgh and when we returned to East Anglia we resumed the life we had led before.  Our present home is even more rural than our one in Rumburgh had been but the house itself is only thirty or so years old.  Before we left Rumburgh in 2004, the Spotted Flycatcher hadn’t nested in the garden for a couple of years, but I don’t remember us noticing any other changes in the wildlife population.  On our return to Suffolk we were amazed to see Yellow Wagtails in our new garden and we had Turtle Doves cooing in the trees round the pond.  This was the first and last time we saw the Yellow Wagtails and from then on the Turtle Doves only visited sporadically.

In the following few years we became aware of a great diminution in the amount of insects, especially moths and butterflies, in the area.  This led to fewer birds of all types, though I did my best by feeding them and trying to encourage insects into the garden.  I feel that, as well as climate change, changes in agricultural practices must have caused the losses in our local wildlife populations.

However, in recent years the Government have provided countryside stewardship grants and we are fortunate that many of our local farmers have been trying to change the way they farm to include wildlife havens.  As well as improving the quality of the many ponds and ditches, wide headlands have been left around the fields where grasses and flowers have been allowed to grow undisturbed.  We live in one of a very few areas in Britain where the Barn Owl is seen regularly.  These grassy headlands are ideal hunting grounds for the Barn Owl. In the past couple of years, farmers have been planting pollinator strips alongside their fields to encourage the insects to return to farmland.  Wild flowers and insects are returning slowly to this intensively-farmed area of Britain.  This year for the first time since we moved here, Turtle Doves have nested in the trees round the pond in our garden.

Turtle Dove on the right and Collared Dove on the left. Collared Doves frequently attack Turtle Doves.

 

I have added a recording of a Nightingale, just for Peter – with best wishes.

South Elmham Minster

01 Wed Jul 2020

Posted by in churches, Days out, Historic Buildings, plants, Rural Diary, walking, wild flowers

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WARNING: OVERLONG POST

It was our 26th wedding anniversary the Thursday before last and we had intended to go out for a walk and take a picnic with us.  However, the morning was very wet and, even though the rain had stopped by midday we decided that walking through long grass and along overgrown paths and then trying to find somewhere to sit and eat our lunch without getting wet would be too difficult, so we put off the walk until the following day.  I did the ironing instead.

Friday was a much better day for a walk, with warmth, some sunshine and a fair amount of cloud.  There was a light shower of rain mid-morning and another just as we approached our picnic spot but not enough to dampen our spirits or make the going, or sitting, any trouble.

As usual, I took my pocket camera with me and looked out for things of interest.  You will have to excuse the quality of the photos; I have to take the pictures as quickly as possible so that I am not left behind.  Also my camera has decided it doesn’t like pink and has changed all the pink flowers to blue or purple.

The beautiful almond-scented Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria) was already in bloom along the lane just a few metres from our house.  This is a native plant.

I quote here from my ID, ‘Harrap’s Wild Flowers’ by Simon Harrap ” The name (Meadowsweet) refers to its use in flavouring mead and other drinks, rather than a predilection for meadows, and also used as a strewing herb, scattered on the floor to freshen up the house.”

The Dogwoods (Cornus sanguinea) have been marvellous this year. Most were past their best already but I felt I just had to record this shrub’s swansong.

This is a plant I have known since I was a small girl. It used to grow prolifically in the places I played. Pineappleweed (Matricaria discoidea)

The plant gives off a very strong pineapple scent when it is crushed.  It is an introduced plant, coming originally from east Asia and was first recorded in the wild in this country in 1871.

Shepherd’s Purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris). This tiny little plant was right next to the Pineappleweed (which you can see bottom right of the photo). It gets its name from the shape of the seed pods.  You can see them surrounding the upper white flowerhead; they are grey-brown in colour and triangular.  Shepherd’s Purse is an ancient introduction to this country.

Hedgerow Cranesbill (Geranium pyrenaicum). This is one of the plants my camera decided should not be as pink as it is. It has rather lovely darker veins on its petals. This is yet another introduction, this time from southern Europe and was first recorded in the wild here in 1762.  I have added a link for you to see the usual colour of the flower.

Creeping Cinquefoil (Potentilla reptans). I love the zingy lemon-yellow of this flower! Next to a buttercup it looks too bright but on its own backed by its lovely soft green leaves it looks glorious.

Italian Alder (Alnus cordata). Halfway down our lane a row of Italian Alders were planted as a windbreak. What attractive trees they are! Here you can see the substantial heart-shaped glossy leaves, dark cones from last year and the new green cones. This tree has beautiful long catkins in the spring which flutter in the strong winds that blow here.

Pretty pink and white striped Field Bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis ) along the edge of this crop of Field Beans.

As you can see from this photo, it was quite breezy during our walk; not the best conditions for getting good pictures in a hurry! In amongst the grass you can see the brown seedheads of Ribwort Plantain (Plantago lanceolata).

Common Knapweed (Centaurea nigra). The hard flowerheads of this plant have given it the name ‘Knap’ weed; ‘knap’ meaning knob.

In olden times, this flower could be used to tell a girl whether she would marry soon.  She had to pull all the expanded florets off the flowerhead and then put the rest of the flower inside her blouse, next to her heart.  After an hour she should take it out again and if the previously unexpanded florets had blossomed, that was a sure sign that the man she was going to marry was soon coming her way.

By this time we had left the lane and were walking along a footpath between fields.

Oxeye Daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare). Sitting on the flower on the right is a Thick-legged Flower Beetle (Oedemera nobilis).  Only the males of this harmless shiny green beetle have the distinctive swollen ‘thighs’.

Lady’s Bedstraw (Galium verum). This is the only photo I managed to get of this pretty plant and most of it is out of focus because of the wind blowing it about.

Harrap’s tells me it is ‘honey-scented when fresh but smells of new-mown hay when dry.  Formerly believed to discourage fleas and was incorporated into straw mattresses, especially for the beds of women about to give birth, hence its name.’

I cannot confirm the information about the scent because: 1. I would have found it very difficult getting down low enough to smell the plant and would then have struggled to get back up again, so I didn’t. 2. The wind was blowing too strongly for the delicate scent to be discernible and 3. I haven’t got a strong sense of smell, anyway.  We’ll just have to take Mr Harrap’s word for it.

Lesser Trefoil (Trifolium dubium). This plant with its three leaflets joined together is widely believed to be the true shamrock.  There are other plants which are also thought to be the shamrock; white clover, black medick, watercress and wood sorrel.

This plant is one of the hop trefoils; its seedheads look like tiny heads of hops.  Once the seeds begin to ripen the petals don’t fall off the plant but turn brown and the standard, the upper petal of the flower, folds down on either side of its centre line over the ripening pod like a ridged roof.  If you click on the photo above to enlarge it and look about a third of the way up from the bottom, you will find a seed head in the centre.  Does that make sense?

Pyramidal Orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis).

Another not-as-pink, pink flower.  Here is a link to images of what a Pyramidal Orchid really looks like.

I believe this plant might be Oxford Ragwort (Senecio squalidus). The leaves look too evenly-branched to be the native Common Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea) though the latter plant is what I would expect to find here. Oxford Ragwort is found mainly in urban settings. It escaped from Oxford Botanic Garden in 1794 and then spread rapidly via the railway network. It sounds like the main character in a John Buchan novel!

Ragwort is poisonous, its leaves containing an alkaloid poison that can remain in plants that have been dried with hay.  Animals are not aware they are eating it when it’s in hay (though they will avoid it when it is growing in the field) and the alkaloids will destroy their livers in just a few months. Understandably, farmers will try to get rid of all the ragwort they find.

Our aim was to picnic at South Elmham Minster and we discovered it surrounded by trees.  It is on private land but the owners allow walkers to visit it as long as they respect the place.

Here is Elinor discovering and photographing the entrance to the site.

Richard, Alice and I had been here before, when we walked to it from St James in April 1995, nearly two years before Elinor was born!  We hadn’t been back since, though it is only half an hour’s walk from our present home.

The entrance and path leading to the ruins of the ‘Minster’ were very overgrown which somehow added a frisson of mystery to the occasion.

To the Minster

There was a lot of Comfrey growing next to the path.

Common Comfrey (Symphytum officinale). These flowers were lavender-coloured.

And there it was!

South Elmham Minster

Instead of me writing screeds about this interesting ruin I will recommend this article for you to read, if you so wish.

Here is an information sign with the ubiquitous ‘artist’s impression’ of the Minster.

Here is a message we found. We have no idea when the damage was done or when this sign was put up. It looks fairly recent.

We wandered around for a short while and then sat on the bench provided under the trees and had our lunch.

Our picnic spot

Below are a few photos of the ruins themselves.

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An interesting tree-trunk.

Many of the trees surrounding the Minster were Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus).  Hornbeam trunks are said to be ‘fluted’ which might describe the tree above.

Hornbeam pleated leaves with bunches of fruits

The Hornbeam nut forms with a three-lobed bract attached that sometimes grows as long as 5cms.  This acts as ‘wings’ when the nut is released from the tree in the autumn.

I think the Hornbeams have been coppiced in the past though Hornbeams are usually pollarded.  Local children have been making dens under the trees.

Lesser Burdock ( Arctium minus)

Cleavers or Goosegrass (Galium aparine)

Above are two different plants with fruits covered in hooks.  The stems and leaves of Cleavers also have bristles that cause them to stick to anything that touches them.

An enormous Bramble patch! (Rubus fruticosus agg. )

A bird had made a nest in one of the hollows in the wall. It was empty.

Another enormous Lesser Burdock; it must have been almost 2 metres tall. By this time the sun had come out and the air was becoming warm.

The ditch; looking left
The ditch; looking right

There was another exit path from the Minster which crossed the wide surrounding ditch.  This ditch is fairly deep though my photographs do not show this at all clearly.

A Hoverfly, I’m not sure which one, on a large Buttercup flower; again I’m not sure which buttercup.

Hedge Woundwort (Stachys sylvatica). In reality this flower is a little pinker than this photo shows.

Woundworts have been used to stem bleeding and treat wounds since the time of the ancient Greeks.  Formally, the leaves were usually used as a poultice.  Ointments and infusions were also made with the leaves and the flowers made into conserves.  In fact, the volatile oil in Hedge Woundwort does have antiseptic qualities.

Dog’s Mercury (Mercurialis perennis)

The Dog’s Mercury was all in seed. This one appears to have lost a few of its upper seeds.  Dog’s Mercury is extremely poisonous to animals and humans alike.

We left the Minster and walked home in the sunshine.

Mayweed.  I wasn’t able to check to see if it was Scentless or Scented Mayweed.  The white outer ray florets were just emerging round the central disc-florets of these daisy-like flowerheads.

Lesser Stitchwort (Stellaria graminea).

Field Rose (Rosa arvensis).

Field entrance

I didn’t take many photos of our surroundings as we walked and most of those shots were not suitable.  I am glad this one came out as it shows the countryside through which we walked.  Old-fashioned small fields with high dense hedges.  Lots of birds were still singing and wherever we walked we heard numerous skylarks.

A drainage ditch

Richard pointed out the cracked clay sides of this ditch.  The water though not deep, was running quickly along and was particularly clear.  We saw small fish swimming in it.

Further along, the ditch was crossed by a small bridge with what I assume is a gate to prevent sheep from crossing from one field to the next.

A cart pond.  In former times, when carthorses needed to drink, the cart drivers could get into these ponds and out again easily without having to take the horses off the cart.

Pyramidal orchid

Field edge full of orchids…

…and yet more

A selection of different Vetches

Hedge Bedstraw ( Galium album)

Borage ( Borago officinalis)

Agrimony ( Agrimonia eupatoria)

A field full of wild flowers

Unfortunately I couldn’t get into the field because of a deep ditch around it.  I had to take my photos using the zoom on my camera.

Sainfoin ( Onobrychis viciifolia)

I think the pretty pink and white clover in the centre of the photo is Alsike Clover ( Trifolium hybridum)

I think the owner of this field has sown some wildflower seed mix here.  I have never seen so many different flowers all in one field before.  From what I hear from the stories of the elderly people I know at church, all the fields were covered in wild flowers like these when they were young.  Intensive agriculture was becoming the norm thirty or forty years ago: hedges were ripped out and everything was sprayed to kill off the wild flowers and most of the insects.  This was still being done when I moved to East Anglia in 1988 and the birds I heard regularly then and the quantities of moths, butterflies and other insects I used to see then are much reduced.  I especially noticed the difference when I returned to East Anglia in 2006 after our 18 months in Somerset.  Far fewer insects certainly.  However, we had got used to hearing and seeing Buzzards during that 18 months while in Somerset and I was greatly surprised and excited to see and hear a Buzzard in Suffolk for the first time in 2007.  They are well established here now.

Common Mallow ( Malva sylvestris)  The Common Mallow is an ancient introduction to this country.  It seems to line all the lanes at this time of year.

This is the rather handsome caterpillar of the Peacock butterfly . I found it crossing the lane as I was nearing home.

You will be glad to know we all got home safely having met no-one on our walk and only saw a lady driving her pony and trap and I think a couple of cars along the lane.You will be especially glad to know that this is the end of the post!

How I Spend My Days

16 Sat May 2020

Posted by in Rural Diary

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This post, again, won’t be a normal one for me; not that I have been posting very often over the past few years so ‘normal’ is probably not the correct word to use, but that’s by-the-by.

Just like many people, I haven’t been able to concentrate, especially when it comes to reading the books I would normally choose to read.  As well as anxiety about the virus I have had a bad flare-up of my osteo-arthritis in my hands and feet which has meant I haven’t been able to do much housework or gardening, any sewing or knitting, typing or writing for any length of time, or walk far without pain.  (Fortunately, after over a month, the discomfort is now ebbing away.)  However, I have been doing a lot of thinking.  I have also been sitting with Elinor while she works at her university projects.  She suffers from chronic anxiety and this virus has made her unhappy and she too, has found concentration very difficult.  If I sit with her at the kitchen table she is more likely to get on with work than if she stays in her room where there are distractions aplenty and opportunities to slide into despondency.  She is also aware before I am when I start to drift off to sleep and she gives me a helpful nudge.   She has introduced me to many things during our companionable vigils in the kitchen and not all of them are to do with graphic design and graphic illustration – her degree subject.  Her on-line ‘research’ has led us down many winding paths, admittedly some more interesting to me than others.  We have found many Covid-19 articles as you have too, no doubt.

First, this article from Robin Hood’s Bay in North Yorkshire.  Please watch the video in the article.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/06/self-isolate-mystery-dalek-orders-humans-in-the-age-of-coronavirus

Norfolk takes things a little more seriously.

https://www.indy100.com/article/coronavirus-uk-lockdown-walk-social-distancing-norwich-9497306

If that was too gloomy then there is always this from Wolverhampton…

https://www.expressandstar.com/entertainment/wolverhampton-entertainment/2020/05/06/watch-wolverhampton-bin-men-go-viral-with-grease-performance/

If you think that too silly here is a ‘cute creature’ story.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-52526589

We have also visited Horrible Histories many, many times.

My thinking has revolved around memories, as in my last post, and our strange predicament.  One poem has stuck in my mind.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/poetryseason/poems/the_lady_of_shalott.shtml

I think all of us who are especially vulnerable will find our situation similar to that of the Lady of Shalott.

I have been listening to music.  I have been reading poetry and short stories, essays and children’s books.  Everything that doesn’t need me to concentrate for too long.  I was rather pleased with my choice of Lent reading this year.  The first book I read was ‘Simply Good News’ by Tom Wright.  I started it before the pandemic got going and even though my reading slowed down I was able to finish it and read my second book, ‘Luminaries: Twenty Lives That Illuminate the Christian Way’ by Rowan Williams, before Lent finished.  Tom Wright’s book explains why the Christian faith is ‘good news’ and shows that many Christians over the centuries have lost sight of this.  It is an exceptionally easy book to read and explains our faith, or what it ought to be, very clearly.  Rowan William’s book is an excellent read with twenty short essays on different people from St Paul to St Oscar Romero who are inspirational role-models.  I see that this book has been chosen by the Bishop of Ipswich and St Edmundsbury as recommended reading for this month.

I read and enjoyed Margery Allingham’s ‘Flowers for the Judge’.   Allingham’s plots are better in some of her books than in others.  However; I don’t read her novels for the plot but for the atmosphere she creates and her excellent descriptions of London in the 30’s and 40’s and 50’s, of her characters, their mannerisms and names, of the weather and how it affects towns, country and people, of the countryside, especially the East Anglican countryside.

I am currently reading ‘A Literary Pilgrim in England’ by Edward Thomas the war poet.  This is a book of essays by Thomas about many of England’s (and Scotland’s) most famous writers.  The book is over a century old and was published in 1917, the year of Thomas’ death; he was killed while fighting in the Battle of Arras.  He talks about the influence ‘place’ had on all these writers and divides the book into areas.  For example, ‘The West Country’ has pieces on Herrick, Coleridge and W H Hudson; ‘The East Coast and Midlands’ features Cowper, George Crabbe, John Clare, Fitzgerald, George Borrow, Tennyson and Swinburne.  I am enjoying it very much being a devotee of Edward Thomas’ writing.

Our rector, Leon has been working hard to keep us together and in touch as a community of worshippers who cannot worship together in the same place and whose churches are locked.  Apparently, worshipping together in church will be one of the last things we will be permitted to do once the lockdown eases.  Singing is the main problem as this forces globules supposedly full of virus out of our lungs just as much as coughing and sneezing does.  Even if we decide not to sing hymns there will be other considerations that would probably make going to church difficult.  Leon puts a short talk on YouTube each Sunday and has also begun midweek services from one of our churches.  For the past couple of weeks some of us have been having a Zoom chat for 45 minutes at the usual Sunday service time.

May you all keep safe and well.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Psalm 23

 

 

An Update

29 Sat Feb 2020

Posted by in Arts and Crafts, family, Rural Diary, weather

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This will be a strange post with links and no photographs.  I have accumulated a collection of links and titbits of news and thought I would share a few of them with you.

Well over a year ago I wrote a post that included, among many other things, some news about my niece, Natalie.  Natalie works for a firm of specialist silk weavers in Sudbury, Suffolk and she does some extremely interesting work and has a few very important clients indeed.  My brother shared a link on Facebook yesterday and I thought you might be interested in some more details of Natalie’s work.

https://www.humphriesweaving.co.uk/125-national-trust-heritage-fabrics/?fbclid=IwAR1H0q5SP0qnxJMIVgbnw2ieaW8E8FZuuwSO4g2ZaW2EdJJ4EeGDRxUFBrc

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In January this year Richard and I took a walk and I posted about it.  In the post I mentioned a book called ‘The Easternmost House’ written by Juliet Blaxland.  The book tells of the trials and tribulations of living in a house on the edge of a cliff; among many other things.

Here is a further installment.

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My sister, Francesca is the Operations Manager for the Kent Ambulance Service and works very hard caring for her team of skilled paramedics and for the patients in their charge.  At present, testing for Covid-19 Corona Virus is an added pressure on an already over-stretched and under-paid profession.  Here is a short film about one of the call-outs her team had to deal with recently where a man went into cardiac arrest and was given 21 shocks and then clot-busting medication.

There you are!  A couple of good news items with a bad one sandwiched in the middle.

No Time to Stand and Stare

24 Mon Feb 2020

Posted by in churches, family, Folk Traditions, Gardening, plants, Rural Diary, wild birds

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Both our cars are covered in mud all the time; they are in a worse state now than in the photo! Most of our lane is inches deep in sloppy mud and it is hardly worth our while to wash the cars.

This year has been crazily busy so far and there has been no time for even a short walk since the new year.  At last, I have managed to catch-up with all my blog reading, I’ve sorted out all my bank statements and receipts and have got rid of large amounts of paper.  I have even spent a little time in the garden weeding and tidying-up the flowerbeds; there has been very little cold weather and the weeds have grown and grown!

Rosemary ( Rosmarinus ‘Miss Jessup’s Upright’) in flower in January

Witch Hazel; the stems covered in lichen.

Crocus
Crocus

Snowdrops. These and the crocus above grow under the crabapple tree. It has got somewhat weedy there in recent years!

Iris reticulata
Iris reticulata

Pulmonaria

I have taken a Morning Prayer service at church and attended a meeting with others in our Benefice who take church services.

Plough Sunday Service 12th January. Richard took this service very nicely. Much of the congregation is made up of members of ‘Old Glory’ the Molly Men and their friends and supporters

The decorated plough; the star of the Plough Sunday service.

Look at these beautiful horse brasses!

Most of my time has been spent in the car, taking Elinor to the station on her university days, taking Mum to her many hospital appointments, taking myself to hospital and doctor’s appointments, dental appointments, eye clinic appointments and grocery shopping trips.  Mum has had both her cataracts removed and such a load has been lifted from her and my shoulders!  She has so much more sight than we thought and the fear that she may not be able to look after herself and live alone as she wishes has receded for a while.  She is approaching her 90th birthday and though she tires easily and is somewhat twisted and stooping because of arthritis, she is still able to cook and look after herself.  Richard and I had to visit her the week before last to repair her hedge and fence, damaged by the first of our storms.  Mum hadn’t been able to do any gardening for some months because she couldn’t see, and the garden has become overgrown with brambles and nettles, thistles and other unwelcome weeds.  I had done a few jobs for her and so had Richard but the weeds had taken over and the fence that broke in the storm was covered in enormous brambles.

A rather beautiful female Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus ) who observed me taking her photo

This coming week I only have three appointments to keep and none for Mum except for taking her to church on Ash Wednesday.  I’m at the hospital all day on Tuesday having eye pressure tests, I have a hygienist appointment at the dentist on Wednesday and a hair appointment in Norwich on Thursday.  Housework has been a bit hit-and-miss lately and I hope to be able to catch-up with all my chores at home very soon.

This is just a short post to let you know what has been happening.  My next post will probably be about one of our days out last year, or even the year before that!  I have plenty of old photos but hardly any new ones!

A New Year’s Walk at Dunwich

06 Mon Jan 2020

Posted by in Historic Buildings, Rural Diary, walking, woodland

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I hope you all had a merry Christmas and that you will have a blessed and healthy new year.  I apologise if I haven’t visited your sites/blogs recently but I will endeavour to do so very soon.

I would like to thank all my kind followers, readers and visitors for continuing to support me despite very few posts during the past couple of years.  I am just embarking on my 7th year as a WordPress blogger, which amazes me and dismays me at the same time.  What on earth have I achieved in those six years since January 2014?  Not much, I think!

 

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My daughter Alice and her husband Phil came to stay with us this Christmas and Alice brought her cat Mona with her as well.  Mum came for lunch on both Christmas Day and Boxing Day so our house was nicely full of family.  I took Mum to Midnight Mass at Eye church on Christmas Eve getting back home at 1.15 am.  Next morning I went to our church at Rumburgh and helped Richard get it ready as it was our turn to hold the Christmas morning Communion service this year.  I also stayed for the service and helped tidy up afterwards.  I had put the turkey in the oven to roast before leaving for church and by the time I got home again it was time to take it out.  Alice had prepared all the vegetables for me while I was out so I had no trouble getting on with the meal on my return.  Boxing Day was easier as I didn’t have to go out in the morning but I had just as much food to cook.  By the time we had finished lunch and I had made us tea and coffee I was ready for a rest.  Richard did a wonderful job clearing the table and doing all the washing-up and dishwasher loading and unloading on both days!  Phil went back home on Friday 27th but Alice and Mona stayed on until the following Monday which was lovely!  I was so happy having both my daughters with me this Christmas!  We all went out for lunch in Halesworth on Saturday and then drove to the seaside at Southwold.  We walked the whole length of the promenade and back again and then to the end of the pier and back before returning to the car and going home.  It was very busy with other walkers, chilly and breezy, fine and dry and we were glad of the walk.  I took no photographs.

I spent most of Monday and Tuesday shopping for Mum and us, doing the washing and putting the things back into the spare room that had been removed to make room for our guests.  Richard and I both felt we needed to get out of the house again but wanted to walk somewhere different.  On New Year’s Day we decided that Dunwich Heath would be a good place to go and thought that it would have less mud and puddles to wade through than most walks.  However, when we got there the crowds were so great that there was nowhere to park and a queue had formed so we turned round and drove to the beach car park.  We found a space, though that car park was very full too.

Here it is on our return from our walk.

Here is a view of Dingle Marshes over the tops of parked cars.

We started off by walking down to the beach to look at the sea.  The beach was quite busy with walkers and dogs and the wind off the sea was biting.  We didn’t stay long.

A sepia view of Dunwich beach.

We left the beach and walked up towards the main part of Dunwich village.  We turned off the lane and took a footpath that climbed up through Greyfriars Wood.  At the top of the incline the path then went along the edge of the cliff.

The disconcerting sign.

Most of the East Anglian coastline is eroding fairly quickly.  After every storm we expect to find that large chunks of the cliff have broken off and fallen onto the beach.  Our friend Cordelia’s daughter has written a book about what it is like to live in a house on the edge of a cliff in Suffolk.  The book is called ‘The Easternmost House’ and is available in paperback and on Kindle.

Here is a view from the path. See how close the edge of the cliff is!

I always like to see what plants are growing wherever I walk, as you know. This is Stinking Iris (Iris foetidissima )

This plant has many names; Roast-beef Plant, Gladdon or Gladwyn, Bloody Bones, Blue Devil, Dragon Flower, Dagger Flower are a few of them.  If the leaves are rubbed they give off an odour like stale, raw beef.  The flowers are pale mauve/purple, sometimes with some yellow colour as well and are veined with darker lines.  It comes into its own in the autumn and winter when the seed pods burst open and reveal these glorious orange seeds.  The leaves are evergreen, typical iris leaves.  The name Gladdon or Gladwyn comes from the Old English word for a sword.

Beautiful orange seeds!

Further along the path at the edge of the wood I saw this rotting tree-stump with toadstools on it.

Woods near the coast are very rare as trees do not usually fare well in salt-laden air and suffer in the wind and storms.  This mixed woodland was planted in the eighteenth century by the family who owned the village at that time.  The Dunwich Greyfriars Trust which manages the wood today say that only Sycamore trees (Acer pseudoplatanus) are hardy enough to grow on the side of the wood nearest the cliff edge and that there are no young trees in the wood.  They are trying to overcome the latter by fencing off areas where large trees have fallen and open glades have appeared.  The fences prevent deer from destroying all the seedlings and saplings that will appear in the sunlight and it is to be hoped that the wood will begin to regenerate.

These are the ruins of the Greyfriars Monastery.

All that is left of the 13th/14th century monastery are these ruins, thought to be the refectory at the southern end of the complex.  The cloisters, with accommodation for monks and visitors, and an enormous church were further to the north and were all destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries.  The nave and chancel of the church together were about 58 metres long and up to 17 metres wide (190 feet 3.5 ins x 55 feet 9 ins).  There is a perimeter wall around the site of the monastery which was built sometime after the main buildings were constructed and has been repaired and rebuilt many times in the intervening years.  There were three gates into the complex; two which still stand on the western side allowed access to the main road that ran into and away from the medieval town of Dunwich.  The third, now lost to the sea gave access directly into the town with its large port which was also lost centuries ago.

The western gates

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It is always interesting to see how these old buildings are constructed and with what materials.

The Dunwich Greyfriars Trust work hard conserving what they can of these ruins.  They have capped off most of the walls to prevent rain and frost damage.  If you look carefully at one of the photos in the slideshow you will see a sign asking visitors not to climb on the ruins. You can also see in my other photos how much notice the visitors take of the sign!

Greyfriars ruins

Part of the complex showing the perimeter wall

The perimeter wall comes to an end here at the cliff edge. Much of this part of the wall is original 14th/15th century work and hasn’t been rebuilt.  Eventually the whole monastery complex will end up in the sea.

We re-entered the wood near to the cliff edge

The sad but beautiful trunk of a long-dead tree

We found a little bridge, built fairly recently.

There is a lot of Holly (Ilex aquifolium) in the wood

The leaves on this dead holly branch were shining like bronze.

We emerged onto the road next to the perimeter wall

An interesting mixture of flint, beach pebbles and pieces of stone recycled from elsewhere

We stood in the main gateway and looked across the area that had once been monastery land. A pony now keeps the grass in order.

The smaller west gate as seen from the road

A very nice example of flushwork over the gateway

In the gateway

You may have noticed how green everything is. This is Alexanders (Smyrnium olusatrum)

This plant is an ancient introduction, probably at the time of the Roman occupation.  Its unusual name refers to its Macedonian origin, Alexander the Great’s birthplace.  It is wholly edible and the name Smyrnium is from the Greek word for myrrh and refers to its myrrh-like taste.The leaves can be made into a white sauce or used as a herb.  The young stems can be cooked and eaten like asparagus, the flowerbuds may be used in salads and the roots cooked as a substitute for parsnips.  I read that an old Irish recipe lists alexanders, watercress and nettles as ingredients for ‘Lenten pottage’.  In the 17th century its black seeds were sold in apothecaries’ shops as Macedonian parsley seeds and Nicholas Culpeper the herbalist listed many uses for it including the power to cure not only flatulence but snakebite too!  Until recently Alexanders was only to be found in the south and east of Britain and close to the milder coast.  However, I have noticed its spread inland and northwards of late.

The Greyfriars Trust have been trying to manage the spread of Alexanders in the wood.  It grows so densely it prevents seeds from germinating and smothers other plants.  We have had a mild winter so far with some frosts that have melted by midday and no snow as yet.  We have had lots of rain and so many plants have continued growing through the autumn and winter and plants, like Alexanders that died after flowering in the early summer have new plants growing from seed already.

This is the lane that passes along next to the monastery wall and enters what is left of the ‘town’ of Dunwich.

This is near where we first entered the wood at the beginning of our walk. You see how Alexanders is spreading everywhere.

Dunwich village.  Lots of cars parked in the road and many of the cars’ passengers are probably in the ‘The Ship’, the inn with the tall chimneys just beyond the black car.

I am indebted to the excellent website belonging to the Dunwich Greyfriars Trust for much of the information in this post.  My other reference books have been the Reader’s Digest Field Guide to the Wild Flowers of Britain, Reader’s Digest Field Guide to the Trees and Shrubs of Britain, Culpeper’s Colour Herbal published by W Foulsham and Company Limited, Collins Complete Guide to British Wild Flowers, Collins Complete Guide to British Trees, Flora Brittanica by Richard Mabey, Vickery’s Folk Flora and Harrap’s Wild Flowers.  The photographs are all my own.