What goes where?

I just recently found the Bury St Edmunds flickr group. There's a regular competition on there to identify a bit of Bury. I wandered around town for half an hour yesterday to see if I could spot where the latest picture was taken. Eventually I decided to leave it for the day and sit and read for the last half hour of my lunch break.

Heading into the Abbey Gardens I walked straight up to the place in question! So now it's up to me to post the next spot to guess. The picture is now there - somewhere that I already had in mind once I saw the competition.

I thought I'd also have a look for some other ideas too, so here are some that I spotted at lunch time today. Feel free to try and guess (difficult for those not here in Bury!)


On closer inspection, I noticed that the bottom one is being used as a wine rack.

New toys

It's arrived! A nice parcel yesterday containing almost everything I ordered for the camping trip. The only thing now to come is a sleeping mat, which should be here for this weekend.

Of course as soon as I got home I had to see how the tent looked, so R and I put it up in the garden.

It's bigger than we thought it would be, so not such a tight squeeze after all. But it's incredibly light - we weighed it at 1.8 kg. Much easier to carry than our old one.

So the Sandlings Walk camping trip is now on for this weekend. Three days and 60 miles. I have managed to book one camp site, but the other won't take a booking for just one night at a weekend which is very annoying. There aren't a lot of other options either so I'm going to try and persuade him tomorrow. What's the point of having a campsite right on a trail if through walkers can't use it?

The other option would be to pitch up somewhere hidden in the forest, but that might be taking things too far for this first trip.

Planting...

With the camping trip postponed until (hopefully) next weekend it was time to get on with the garden instead. The greenhouse has been standing empty for a few weeks now ready for planting, and the veg patch contained all that was left from last year - some celery, leeks and parsnips.

A few hours of digging and potting, and now the patch is full of new seed, and the greenhouse has tomato plants in, plus more trays of seed.

Now the problem is that some rain would be nice to get things going, but we would also like to get out for a walk tomorrow. Localised showers would be the best option.

What a let down

We had a great plan for this weekend. Whilst at Sutton Hoo last week we picked up a guide to the Suffolk Sandlings trail which meanders 60 miles from Ipswich to Southwold. Looking on the map it splits very nicely into three days of 20 miles, with a camp site at the 2 stops.

So that was the route planned, next a check of the weather showed that it's going to be ideal for Sat, Sunday and Monday.

Thirdly we would need a new tent. The ones we have are all suited to camping from the car - they weigh a ton and don't pack down particularly small either. So onto the internet we went and ordered a new tent, sleeping mats and a superlight stove too.

And they aren't here.

I am now hoping that the weather holds for another week, and everything arrives in time for next weekend instead. Though I don't remember having an April that didn't involve big cloudbursts at some point.

Instead it will be time that we got on with digging the front garden, and maybe getting a few veg planted out the back.

Hope everyone elses weekend plans hold up OK.

I love Mondays

On Monday this week R and I headed over to Felixstowe for a day of walking and geocaching. We parked up on the seafront got on our boots and headed off through town. The first mile and a half was along the road until we were across the A14, almost into Trimley. From there we turned down a footpath and followed it to Searson's Farm, the starting point for the first cache of the day.

The picture on the left was taken just by the final cache location - a lovely quiet spot.

From here we continued on to the banks of the Orwell, where the next cache was located. From here we sat overlooking Levington marina. Lots of boats sailing up and down the river today too.

After this we re-traced our steps back inland, emerging at the far side of Trimley. We had last walked here a couple of years ago. There's a footpath hidden right alongside the A14 in a narrow strip of woodland. This is part of the Suffolk Coast and Heaths path.

Next stop was Falkenham church which was the starting point for cache number 3. By using dates and ages from some of the stones we put together the coordinates for the final location. Before setting off we found a very conveniently placed bench to sit and have dinner. Fully refreshed we made our way down to the banks of the Deben - also packed with people enjoying sailing in the sun.

We looked over to Ransholt and the pub there. We could have done with a boat ourselves to head over for a quick drink, but instead turned along the river to head back towards Felixstowe. Once we reached Felistowe Ferry it began to get busier. Plenty of people playing golf on the course there. The final couple of miles were along the sea-front past loads of beach huts. Several were in use today.

In total we walked 16 miles and found 5 geocaches. A good practice for the Pembrokeshire Coast path, although our coastline here doesn't have quite so much up and down.

Strangely familiar

Thinking about those regulars in the Abbey Gardens. There are certain people that I see around most days around Bury. These strangers are now quite familiar - I see more of them then I do even close family. It's funny how some people seem to stand out, and you notice them more and more. Yet they will most likely remain strangers.

However I came up with this topic yesterday evening to post for today, and then something strange happened.

On my way in to work most mornings there is a chap out walking his dog. As I drive past we wave to each other - have been doing so for a few years in fact. Last night R and I went out for a walk around our village (trying to get back in shape ready for walking Pembrokeshire Coast later this year). Outside one house there stood a man with his dog. It was getting dark so we couldn't see clearly and just called out 'hello'. Then he exclaimed "You're the one in the car!" So after all this time we have finally spoken. It's a strange feeling - something has changed and now he's no longer quite a stranger.

A routine check

First thought for this blog - Routines. They're far too comfortable. I think everyone falls into a routine for the day.

I've noticed it during my working week in Bury. It starts with the car park - so many people have 'their' space in which to park, me included. It's like we're on autopilot when driving in.
But now that the good weather is here, the Wednesday market throws a spanner in the works. Suddenly there are people nipping in early and claiming those spaces. So you drive on and find somewhere different to park. When hometime comes I've lost count of the number of times I head for my usual spot and then stop and look around in bemusement.

In work there's regular websites to visit - blogs, news, finance... and probably at the same time each day too. Same goes for coffee breaks and lunch time.

Again the good weather means I can spend lunchtimes sat in the Abbey Gardens. Where, you've guessed it, I head for a usual spot to sit. And so do quite a few other people. I wonder if they're the ones who are parked in the same places?

A new blog appears

Let's see how this goes. I enjoy reading a few blogs a day so I thought I'd have a look at what's involved. Maybe I'll never get anything else written beyond this first post!

I do have a few things I've thought about writing before, so I'll try and at least get those out.

And doubtless I'll spend more time playing around with all the multitude of options for formatting than I do writing, so expect to see more changes in appearance than content.