I think it is probably one of Suffolk’s best kept secrets. Every May, for one glorious musical weekend, a festival for Bluegrass fans is held near Ipswich. Hundreds of people arrive with their tents or caravans and enjoy both listening and performing the sort of music that gets your feet tapping and puts a smile of your face. It was a chance comment from […]
Spring Cleaning 2014 style. In my experience, few things give a better sense of achievement than a couple of hours turning out a cupboard, deciding what needs to be kept and what can be safely be discarded. It may be a shed with tools tidily stored or a kitchen unit with dusty herbs discarded. This is sad to admit, but I usually have to […]
Sometimes the hassle and bustle of preparing for Christmas can just seem too much, even for those who enjoy all the card-writing, present-giving, meal-planning razzmatazz. A Christmas shopping trip to Europe is the ideal way to turn a chore into a holiday. Beginning in Germany, the idea of market stalls that specialise in everything to do with Christmas has spread across mainland Europe. Britain […]
Although it may be nearly one hundred years since the “War to End All Wars” started, through films, songs, poems and novels it seems very familiar. Many films and television programmes are being made in preparation for the anniversary, in 2014, of the outbreak of war. One Suffolk company has never been busier, providing the uniforms, props and advice to make such programmes as […]
Some tourist attractions are a little out of the ordinary. Standing at the top of a flight of steps leading down into the tunnels of a spacious air raid shelter beneath a school playground , it is hard not to experience a shiver when you remember why it was built. How the children, clutching their gas masks, with sirens wailing, would have been hurried underground […]
A troupe of zany young actors dressed in outrageous colourful costumes, some fast-moving clowning that makes you laugh aloud, witty songs full of awful puns, some rhymes, some mime and maybe a clutch of puppets for good measure. It’s known as “physical theatre”… and it is increasingly becoming a much-loved fixture of outdoor summer theatre in our area. Born and educated in Suffolk, […]
The popular image of an inventor is of a man tinkering in a shed with bits of metal and lots of screws. In reality, more often the solution to a problem is discovered by some-one working for a large organisation, who spots a tiny improvement for a product that already exists. If an inventor wants to protect his or her idea then it is […]
We have seen them on the television and whether it is property, antiques or even the junk in our attics, an auction appears to be an easy way to sell something – or find a bargain. With so many auction houses in Suffolk and Norfolk what is the advice to newcomers from the experts? What is the appeal of an auction… and what are the […]