Sunday at Somerleyton Hall

Good evening

Thanks for your kind words on my last post - am feeling much better - still giddy at times but the tablets are working. Hopefully after an ENT visit tomorrow then an MRI scan on Wednesday I should know more - even if the 50 mile round trips to hospital wear me out. Even if I could drive (which I can't) I'd not be allowed to at the moment - am braving the buses for part of each trip!!!

Anyhow - Sunday - a brass engagement at Somerleyton Hall nr Lowestoft. Fairly close to home but somewhere I've never visited - we've visited other parts of the site including Fritton Lake but never the Hall itself. What a fab location - the Hall a Tudor-Jacobean mansion is stunning - I wish I'd gone on the tour around it. The gardens were amazing - am sure that during June/July they'd be even more lovely with everything in full bloom.

What a garden - what neat lawns - I wonder if the Gardeners want to come and sort our garden out - lets just say the VV garden is very wildlife friendly at the moment!!

I didn't take many pictures because my camera batteries ran out :(

 This building was an aviary - so pretty and full of colourful budgies who wouldn't stay still for photos!!

Despite the grey skies it was warm - great for a wander around followed by listening to the band;

Hopefully the Hall will have us back next summer - there's a maze I fancy a wander around and of course the inside of the Hall to see.

How are your back-to-school preparations going? We're just about sorted - Little Son packed his bag earlier - he's back on Wednesday. Big Son has a little longer - 6th Form registration tomorrow with a start next Monday.

One final thing - my crafting mojo has returned - rather handy as I've Craft Fair table booked for next month with a sister and 2 blankets that need making for next year!! One is a large one for a special persons 'big' birthday and the other for a new niece/nephew who is due to arrive just before my birthday :)

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

Monthly Mosaic & Monthly 'Makes' - August

Good evening

The end of another month is upon us - Autumn starts tomorrow! Not surprisingly the weather forecasters tell us that this summer has been the wettest for 100 years - I think we've all sported the drowned rat look at some point since 'summer'  began in June!

Here's this months mosaic picture - as you can see there were plenty of lovely days;

Ice-creams in Southwold, Campsite donkeys, trips in Bertie, Stunning sunsets in Yorkshire, August blooms, Steam train rides, Exam celebrations, Festival time and the hint of Autumnal colour change on the cherry tree leaves - that's my August - how was yours?

Now I've failed yet again to produce anything crafted for the Monthly Makes group - I promise to try harder in September! However there a few things to show - things that I've grown! Now I'm not the most green-fingered person so I was thrilled when my first lot of chillies not only grew but are producing loads of fruits which should see us through the winter months;

I've also had some tomato success too - no greenhouse growing and carefully fussing here. Just planted out, watered, side-shooted and fed and left to get on with it! Here are the first ripe ones (they tasted wonderful);

More have since followed and any that haven't ripened in a few weeks will be picked and turned into Green Tomato Chutney.

Have a good weekend all - here's hoping September starts with some sunshine. Its been a rough few days here for me - I've been rather unwell with the most awful migraine / dizzy spells and have spent today at the hospital being prodded and poked and generally checked over. Seems I might have a problem with my inner-ears and need to go back for more poking on Tuesday! The good news - the CT scan showed I have a brain! Nothing untoward has been found but the ENT people should be able to help me more next week. 

Hoping the weather is kind enough and I feel well enough to watch my menfolk play a brass concert on Sunday afternoon - its in a lovely location.

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

Stalking Jon Boden!

Good morning from Sunny (at the moment) Suffolk

How was your bank holiday weekend? We had a good one but with some dodgy weather at times - especially on Saturday!

Many months ago, I treated MrVV & I to day tickets for a new folk festival being held in Suffolk. It was easy to choose which day - my favourite band Bellowhead were headlining on the Saturday night so it was a must to see them.

When the programme was released the other week it was even more exciting - it seemed that Jon was not just playing with Bellowhead but also in a couple of other groups too :)

Anyhow Saturday morning saw us heading up the A12 to Somerleyton Hall via Millets as the forecast was not promising. MrVV needed a new waterproof - I waited in the car whilst he dashed in to buy one - the colour choice is entirely his own!!

Anyhow the festival - it felt quite empty at times as it was not sold out - however the atmosphere was friendly and welcoming and for a new event we felt they'd got it almost perfect. An excellent real ale bar which I visited several times and a reasonable choice of festival food at sensible prices.

As well as 4 music stages there were performances and workshops with several Morris Dancing sides - I didn't partake but did of course enjoy watching - especially one side that contained lots of my friends;

They worked hard on trying to persuade MrVV to join their band - he is very tempted but not sure he has the time to do that as well as work and his current band.

Anyhow - stalking Jon Boden (not him of the overprices colourful clothes fame but someone far more talented) - firstly accompanying Fay Hield as part of the Hurricane Party;

Then playing with the Remnant Kings;

and lastly playing with Bellowhead - as ever they were amazing - they got the whole crowd jumping and dancing - I did dance but very carefully with 2 of my best friends who were also there - just no high kicking or flicking!

Luckily for this performance the weather held off - it hadn't been like that in the afternoon however. We were watching the amazing Bounty Hounds in one of the covered stages when the heavens opened;

The Bounty Hounds are amazing - relatively local to us and we shall be heading to see them again soon I hope.

The tent was one of the massive ones that you see at festivals with a huge surface area - the rain torrential (accompanied by thunder and lightening too) - the water pouring off the sides was more powerful than some showers I've used in the past - apparently back home they'd not had a single raindrop all day!

All in all despite the weather it was an amazing day - great music, excellent company, fab food and of course brilliant beer too :)

Planning to go for the entire weekend next year - think I've sold it to MrVV!!

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

Bubbles, Ladybirds & Cath

Good evening

Hurrah its the weekend again :) Finally caught up with the post holiday washing from both ours and Big Sons trips. He arrived home Sunday night with a huge bag of washing, having had the most brilliant time away on camp. He's rather an old hand at these sort of things now so there's no worries about whether stuff is missing - nor is dirty washing and clean stuff mixed up. That boy of mine is getting old.

Talking of such - yesterday was GCSE results day. He went off to school and I paced around waiting for THE call - his voice was full of emotion when he told me his results - he'd done very well even in his worse subject of English - I really must thank his teacher she really did get the best out of him.  He's happy to be heading back to school to do A Levels next month.

Last night a small celebration was in order;

Today he's been hard at work with MrVV but a shopping trip and reward is planned for Sunday :)

Whilst tidying away holiday stuff I found something I'd treated myself to in York. I'd arranged to meet a friend out the CK shop and of course we had to go in. Just a couple of things for me - a diary for next year and a set of stacking tubs I'd wanted for ages;

The charity shops came up trumps this week - I happened to be in the right place at the right time - a pile of Ladybird books;

Now I've managed to double up on the 'What to look for in Summer' and 'Night Sky' books so if any other Ladybird collectors have doubles and want to do a swap, let me know.

Have a good bank holiday weekend - we're off to a new folk festival nearby tomorrow. I've been told to wear lead lined boots as there is to be no repeat of last August bank holidays dancing disasters!!

See you soon.

xxx Vicki xxx

Bertie, butterflies, chickens & pigs

Good afternoon

Phew what a hot day it is here in Suffolk - doors & windows all open and ceiling fans working overtime.

Well it seems ages since I last blogged - that because we've been on our summer hols in Bertie - just 3 of us (MrVV, LittleSon & I) - Bigson has been in Derbyshire as a scout leader on an activity holiday. He's due home late afternoon with 9 days worth of washing - good job I've just finished all of ours from our time away - my poor washing machine!

Anyhow, Bertie was loaded up and firstly we headed into the Cambridgeshire Fens - we found a gorgeous campsite just outside Wisbech for a couple of nights. What a place - the pitches were all in their own private glades - it felt just like being a gypsy in the woods. Loads of wildlife including butterflies who I found impossible to photograph!!

 See what I mean - hard to believe there were other people on site - seemed like it was just us!

 The campsite owners raise their own pigs - this was one of 4 that were half way there - by Autumn they'll be bacon! and the next litter of piglets will have arrived!

 So many gorgeous flowers which attracted loads of insects - all camera shy!!

 Wow - I thought Suffolk was flat - you could just see for miles across the countryside.

 On the Sunday we visited Ely - this is just part of the cathedral - a stunning building - both inside and out.

 Just one of the stunning stained glass windows.

 Just because my bandsmen were on their hols didn't mean we'd escape a brass band - we found this one in the park as we headed down to the river.

Father & Son - in almost matching t-shirts!!

On the Monday morning it was time to wind up Bertie's legs and head further north into Yorkshire. We'd found an appealing small site just outside Pocklington - no bars, no pool - just peace & quiet - perfect.

Looking much more like home - stuff everywhere!!

 We were greeted by the owners and introduced to their gang of very free range chickens. Each chicken had a different coloured leg band so you knew who was who. They were very friendly and tried several times to get into Bertie!

 Little Son happily feed them some leftover crusts but away from the caravan else they'd never have left us alone.

Can you see the Wooden Pod in the background? This is available for hire and very cute it is too.

 We had some lovely days out - visiting York several times as there is so much to see - still so much we couldn't fit in so we will head back again at some point in the future. One of my favourite days out was a trip on the steam railway between Pickering and Grosmont. We had just enough time before our train to grab a picnic lunch from a bakery in town. 

 The stations were all so pretty - I took rather a lot of photos!

Love this picture with the moors in the background.

We were so lucky with the weather - a couple of heavy showers but nothing that lasted too long or spoilt our plans. The evenings were warm and we were able to sit outside with a drink or two watching the most stunning sunsets;

Back to reality today - I've even got to cook tonight!!

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

A weekend with Eeyore & Friends

Good morning

A quick nip into blogland whilst waiting for yet another load of weekend washing to finish!

Yep, we've been away again in Bertie - this time really not that far from home. Just 12 miles up the road to the village of Wenhaston and a lovely little campsite I found online. 

When we arrived the first thing we heard was these lovelies in their field next to the camping one;

I have a soft spot for donkeys - so it was lovely to have them nearby. Rather funny that the 2 pugs in one of the tents on site though they could take them on and kept barking when the donkeys wandered past their camp - the donkeys failed to even acknowledge them - so laid back.

We were so lucky with the weather one downpour overnight and another we managed to miss as we were just a few miles away on a day out in Southwold. I know we often visit there but this time we went in tourist mode - time for a lovely lunch from the deli and sitting eating it on the prom in front of a couple of unoccupied beach huts;

There were loads of people in the sea - I think the boys wished they'd brought their swimming things with them - how was I to know the forecast was going to be so wrong!

I could happily watch the kite surfers for hours.

Of course a trip to the seaside would be complete without ice creams;

We also spent time playing in the arcades and having silly photos taken. There were also gallopers - little son & I went on and we left big son with the camera - this was the only picture he managed to get of sort of both of us!!

A lovely weekend and a campsite we shall be going back to again I'm sure.

This week sees manic washing, tidying, cleaning and packing as the plan - big son is away for 9 days from Saturday - camping as a Young Leader at a big scout camp in Derbyshire and we're planning another trip away in Bertie to Yorkshire- just 3 of us this time.

Oh and of course there are more Olympics to be watched as well - well done TeamGB for all the medals so far - 3rd place in the medal table - amazing.

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx