Day 6 & 7 November 27 & 28 Braintree

Two days combined because of not too many photos!

Day 6 Tuesday, November 27th  Our first whole day in Braintree.  It was cold, overcast with occasional drizzle/rain.  We picked up our hire car before 1000 and then went for a quick shop in Tescos (you have to do it!).  Then we went to visit my 99 year-old Aunty Ruby who lives in her own home in Braintree.  She keeps remarkably well and is full of interesting conversation and so we were pleased to have a coffee and long chat with her.  She is not as mobile now but has a superb memory and we were able to learn quite a lot.  We eventually said our goodbyes and made arrangements to call again on Thursday.

We then went to Freeport designer outlet village in Braintree.  We had a spot of lunch in Thornton's café and then one of us had a bit of retail therapy for an hour or two including the Wyevale garden centre.  We then progressed to the Lidl store and Ernest Doe the farm 

Wyevale Christmas tree

shop before returning back to the Premier Inn.  Braintree town centre is deteriorating with less individual shops and more charity shops and estate agents.  After sorting ourselves out and packing a parcel ready for posting we went to a nearby pub a really good dinner.  The rest of the evening was spent watching some football over the internet on the computer,  reading and preparing for the next day.  Only one photo worth putting on here!


Day 7 Wednesday, November 28th   Another largely dull day but with some sunshine.  We went into Braintree and posted our parcel.  I went back to my primary school which is now Braintree museum whilst Christine looked round the shops.  It was the first time I had been back since I was 11 and it was interesting to see the old classrooms and the local exhibits.   It included a quote from possibly one of our Savill ancestors. 



were we involved in the wool trade?

one of our ancestors?

our family involved?

major Braintree employer

Our next visit was to Braintree cemetery where we put some flowers on my parents' grave and cleaned everything up.  We then drove to Chelmsford, visited some shops, had a light bite at M & S and then went to visit our friends Dave and Linda who we had known since living in our first marital home.  Dave has sadly developed motor neurone disease and this restricts severely what he is able to do.  They had visited Scilly on a round-Britain cruise in early September when we had seen them.  We stayed and had some tea and then a meal.  There was much reminiscing and talking over of the good old days.  Eventually it was time to say our farewells and we returned to our hotel after quite an interesting day.


Day 5 Thorpeness to Braintree



the Thorpeness golf club

The day after the weekend!  

Val & Brenda leaving Braintree

Today we had to pack and leave Thorpeness and travel to stay a few days in Braintree to visit more relatives and friends.  After breakfast and packing we were ready to leave and so we settled up and Val and Brenda had kindled offered to drop us in Braintree as they went on to meet other friends in North London.  We started at about 1000, all went well we and stopped for a coffee and browse at a garden centre in Marks Tey.  We had a coffee and did in fact buy some Christmassy bits before 

a Wyevale Christmas tree

continuing on to arrive at Braintree at about midday.  We were able to check-in at the Premier Inn, had a

Wyevale Christmas show!

light bite of lunch together at the nearby Wyevale garden centre and then sadly had to say goodbye to Val and Brenda who were going on to their friends.  Wyevale was also geared up for Christmas, a thing we don't often see as we are not usually on the mainland at this time.  We then unpacked a bit, paid another short visit to Wyevale and then came back to the room.   We decided to have an early pub meal nearby and retired back to the room at the close of a less exhilarating day.


 

Day 4 November 25th Thorpeness



where did that ball go?

Sunday was again dry but cool and

I'm sure it looked bigger than this!

cloudy.  After breakfast the four of us decided to play a round of crazy golf on the hotel's course.  It was indeed crazy with miniature windmills and house in the clouds to negotiate with other nonsense but typical obstacle holes.  We all completed the 9 holes, all with some starting the hole again moments.  In the end the result was called an honourable tie between Brenda and Christopher.  I don't think we bothered to keep the scorecards!  We were fairly cold and had a coffee in the 

on the way to the house

hotel before going to the house in the clouds to see if we could climb it and experience the views from the top in daylight.  Unfortunately for us the house was locked up and the occupants had moved on!  We had all arranged via Pat & Leon to have a meal together at the village Dolphin Pub and so we progressed to there.  We were quite a party but we all enjoyed the Sunday lunch with more chatting and catching up - another enjoyable experience.  After lunch and saying some goodbyes we 

view to the south over mere

were allowed by Pat & Leon to go back to the house and climb to the top.  We climbed all those stairs and 

Sizewell to the north

were rewarded with some wonderful views of the coast in both directions including Sizewell power station to the north.  We came back down again, said our goodbyes to Pat, Leon and Hannah's family

looking down at the mere

before returning to our golf club.



we dwarfed the windmill!

 We recovered a bit and eventually had some light tea in the bar before deciding to have a game of scrabble in the lounge.  It was not too serious and provided a good end activity to the day.


 


Thorpeness, Aldeburgh, Snape & "house in the clouds"



"the house in the clouds"

The day of the celebrations dawned a overcast 

as it looked on the day

and cool in coastal Suffolk.  Val, Brenda, Christine and I decided we would explore Thorpeness and then go to Aldeburgh before we joined the celebrations in the evening.  We left the hotel after breakfast and wandered past the house in the clouds (a former water tower) on our way into the village.  The inhabitants of the house were already active and preparing.  We did not interrupt and carried on to a Christmas Fayre which was taking place in the village pub.  We did not linger too long but Brenda won a prize on the tombola.  We then went to the tearooms where 

eating the fish and chips

there was an emporium which sold all sorts of antiques and curios.  We lingered some time but


new lifeboat crew?

the only purchase was a 1972 Rupert annual in near perfect condition for our niece Ros who collects them.  We wandered round the mere, saw plenty of swans and ducks as well as the local crocodile lurking on an island.  We then decided to go to nearby Aldeburgh for a traditional fish and chip lunch sitting on the sea wall.  It was quite chilly but we found somewhere to park, wandered a bit, found the chippy and bought the lunch.  It was a bit cold and those with gloves found them useful to sit on as we watched the rollers come in and kept the seagulls at bay (the seagulls were not as aggressive as the variety in St Ives).  Brenda decided to look at the shops whilst the rest of us wandered along


Leon, Pat and their grandchildren

the beach to the lifeboat station, the boat was smaller than St Mary's and was beach launching with a tractor.  We had a good look and then went to find Brenda.  She had found a florists and Christine bought some flower arranging wire.  We then had a cup of tea and progressed to the craft markets and galleries in converted warehouses at Snape.  We spent some time browsing at some very attractive shops and even made a purchase (Brenda).  We left there and returned to the hotel to recover and get ready for the 

Leon & Pat

celebrations.  We arrived soon after the start at 1800 and were greeted by the happy couple, loads of other relations and friends 

relaxing

plus lots of food and drink in this incredible venue.  There were rooms on each story with room for Pat & Leon, Philip & his family, Hannah and her family plus Pat's brother Paul.  We had a terrific social evening talking to folk we had not seen for a long time plus exploring the building which had a snooker table and table tennis on 

cutting the cake

the top floor with glorious views.  At the appropriate time 

the toast!

we had a toast to the loving pair, a cake cutting ceremony and photo sessions.  Time went by very quickly as we all circulated catching up with everybody's situation and finding more about this interesting building.  Eventually it was time for some people to leave but those of us staying nearby carried on until late in the evening.  Eventually we had to say goodnight after a wonderful occasion with everyone having some very happy memories to take with them.  Our congratulations to Pat and Leon plus many thanks for including all who were able to attend.  We slept well that night!

 

Day 2 Watchfield to Thorpeness

 

We had a very restful sleep overnight at our superior accommodation in Watchfield and after breakfast looked forward to a hopefully uneventful car journey across the country to Thorpeness near the east coast.  We were travelling from the far west of the country to the far east for the celebration of brother Leon and his wife Pat's golden wedding anniversary.  One not to be missed as I was the best man at the wedding.  We set off on what was a somewhat dismal day and made our way around Oxford and Milton Keynes until after two hours we stopped at a garden centre west of Cambridge for some lunch and a break.

We had a light lunch and a look round the garden centre.  The highlight was finding the talking/singing reindeer setup which was very impressive and worth videoing!  We were soon on our way again and passed through some picturesque Suffolk towns and villages before arriving at our destination at about 4pm.  We had been invited to visit Pat and Leon at their "house in the clouds" accommodation (picture tomorrow) where they have arranged to hold the party.  It was dark by now but with some help we found our way and had a short reunion of the three brothers as well as meeting Paul (Pat's brother) and Hannah and family.  We came back to our golf club hotel for dinner and decided to retire for an early night.  More goings on tomorrow!

Day 1 November 22nd Family, friends and German Christmas markets

Another trip for us to celebrate a family golden wedding anniversary, visit further family and friends in Essex, take a rail trip across the channel to the German Christmas markets and the Harz mountains and ending with a weekend in Durham (more family) before returning home.



wind blowing strongly at St Marys airport

As we left home early this 

The Gry Maritha at St Mary's

morning the weather was a bit cool and very fresh.   We said our goodbyes to Button the cat and trundled our cases to Lower Town quay, it was much cosier inside the cabin of the Voyager.  The taxi was waiting for us 

our Twin Otter

on St Mary’s quay and we were soon enjoying a cup of 

leaving St Mary's with white water

coffee at the island’s airport lounge. Our flight, in a twin otter, was about ten minutes later than 1025 take off but the flight was reasonably smooth although the sea below had plenty of white water.  We landed OK and the 

approaching Lands End

transport whisked us down to Penzance railway station where we had a little wait 

the new Hitachi train we rode on

before boarding our 1204 train towards Swindon.  Our train journey went very well with two changes successfully negotiated and we arrived at Swindon just about on time at 1705.  Brenda was at the station to meet us and we were soon and the Watchfield home of tonight's hosts.  Our travelling has gone well over a complicated journey.  It was good to see Val and  Brenda again and we gratefully accepted their hospitality for the coming night.