Stoke Goulding and Finningham

Sad news, but not unexpected, of the death of our extraordinary Queen Elizabeth II. I think everyone here is in shock, despite the fact that we all knew how frail she was. I am sure that over the next weeks in England, she will be very much to the forefront of daily life, especially when I am in London mid month, days before her State funeral.

However, now I am with my half-sister's family , visiting them in very different parts of England, areas which are/ were virtually unknown to me . 

First stop was at Stoke Goulding, birthplace of the Tudor dynasty, after Richard III was killed in battle.

It is a very pretty part of England with typical little villages surrounded by golden pastures with exceptionally calm sheep who stood and posed

as well as  surprisingly green fields with their extensive footpath systems. 

Having only left canal life the previous day, I was rather surprised to be back on a towpath so soon, this time by the Ashby canal, picking blackberries with Tony, my nephew-in-law, for what was a delicious crumble.

After a very pleasant train journey through East Anglia, I arrived in Finningham, a tiny wee village with a most attractive and good size church, in the heart of Suffolk. I am constantly amazed at how huge and elaborate churches are in rural areas. One thing I really loved both here and in St Edmundsbury Cathedral was the beautiful artwork on the hassocks. 

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At home with Andrew, my nephew, and wife Ali, , I was delicghted to once more have a very cute, but absolutely crazy four-legged friend, Luna. She was very quick to get in my room and steal socks or underwear! 

I had a wonderful two days being shown around some local highlights by Ali. I had met and chatted to a friendly lady from Bury St Edmonds, who recommended it highly, so that was our first stop. It had a sprawling market, selling everything from household goods to food. 

The apparently fourth most visited abbey in England was absolutely magnificent, as were its well-cared for and colourful gardens.

Inside the abbey, there was plenty to see. I don't often enter cathedrals , etc, but this was really fantastic. 

There were lots of exhibits created by local school children, especially on the theme of climate change. I loved the 'I pledge to eat my crusts, sometimes'.

The pillars of the cathedral were so tall, leading the eye up to the incredible ceiling mosaic. How could people build such masterpieces, over 50 metres high?

On the far side of the cathedral, were, as anticipated, some stunning stain-,glass windows, but even more impressive were 12 of the most intricately fabricated textile artworks depicting scenes from the Bible.

The detailed Lego model  with its thousands of pieces was a fitting finish to the visit of the Abbey, but in the Cloisters was yet another fabulous exhibition, Living Earth, with feltwork and textile art with focus on Climate Chnge.

The afternoon was spent visiting the magnificent Ickworth House and Estate, with a very definite Taste of Italy, as the Earl adored Italy. Its rotunda was stunning both from inside and out, and in the garden there was a fascinating area called the Stumpery, with stumps of old trees of incredible shapes and sizes. As dark clouds loomed and thunder rumbled ominously in the distance, it was time to head home. 

What pretty little villages we passed through on the narrow lanes of Suffolk.

At the start of the year I enjoyed the brilliant film, The Dig, based on a true story of the discovery of a ship with its burial chamber, in 1939, as World War 2 loomed.  Little did I know that I would be seeing and standing on the exact mound on which the story was based . Below is a replica of the 27- metre long ship. The original has long since rotted away after 1300 years under soil which is particularly acidic. 

The tour we took around the 18  burial mounds was truly fascinating and the guide was so obviously delighted to impart his wealth of knowledge to his absorbed listeners. It seems that the film about Edith Pretty, the landowner, and her team who worked on the dig initially, was fairly true to the real events, with occasional poetic licence.. Mound One was the mound housing the huge boat and its royal burial chamber probably belonging to King Raedwald, King of East Anglia 1400 years ago.  Unlike the other mounds, would-be robbers had not found the precious contents of mound 1, as they had dug in the wrong area of the mound, missing this amazing find by only metres!

Most of the other mounds with their burial chambers no longer contained treasures, having been successfully robbed. However, there were still some remains of horsemen, and their horses, under other mounds, from a later period.Our guide explained that the skeletons were still more or less intact for both human and beast, possibly because the horseman had younger, stronger bones. All very fascinating.

We had a quick drive out to the coast, to Bawsey, to search for a late lunch spot. We found a lovely place overlooking the Estuary. It was there we heard the sad news that Queen Elizabeth II was unwell and her family had been called to her. That evening, only hours later, this incredible monarch was dead and King Charles III became the oldest monarch to be crowned in Britain.

The Sutton Hoo guide had raved about the neighbouring village, Woodbridge, so that was our final visit of the day, with a tea stop in such a beautiful garden, thanks to its colourful sun umbrellas.

My current and next stay was at my sister' s home in Hemel Hempstead. Sadly for Lyn and Norman, and indeed for the entire family, our wonderful, vibrant Claire, my niece, lost her battle with brain cancer on 22 September 2020. Being in the midst of the pandemic, only limited numbers were allowed at her funeral, but yesterday a huge group of  us were able to reflect on her shortened but wonderful life, in a fabulous service full of touching moments, laughter and unbelievably beautiful singing. As the majority of the congregation were singers, as she was and many of her family are, the volume was incredible and the quality of singing outstanding . I feel so priviledged and happy to have been able to say my 'farewell' to you Claire, surrounded by your family and friends. I am sure Claire would love the fact that the vicar had actually postponed a Commemmoration for Queen Elizabeth that evening because of her prior commitment to Claire's memorial service!