York! So good they named it once

Smashing trip to York with Angela, stayed on a pretty CL all enclosed in a glade, with a small pond and cute ducklings.

Arrived Friday and spent the evening sitting out in the summer evening, gassing and sipping G&T until late.

Due to a slight mis-calculation on gin quantities, rose very late and 'feeling peaky' so wolfed down a cooked breakfast before heading in to town on the bus.

Spent a day in the sun on a river trip, in the museum gardens and roaming the Shambles.

Struggled with my feminist credentials while watching the parade of young women in miniskirts teetering along in OUTRAGEOUS heels on the cobbled stones. The devil on my shoulder was shouting 'they're dressed like whores and will break their ankles and it's only lunch time!' and the angel whispered 'leave them be you hypocrite, women can do and wear what they like - that's feminism for you'. Still not sure who wins the debate, must be my Methodist upbringing.

Sunday we headed off to Fountains Abbey which looked fantastic under clear blue skies.

Home to find my favourite son called David watching the footie, so had a nice catch up.

Gate to Southwell festival

Lovely weekend at Gate to Southwell, between Newark and Nottingham.

Highlights were Gretchen Peters (so sad!), Cara Dillon, Truckstop Honeymoon, Luke Jackson Trio, Ol'Savannah, Mongoose and Dan the Hat. Full listing here: http://southwellfolkfestival.org.uk/line-up-2016/

Even better, met up with old friends 4 vans down! Paul and Sue Thomas from Sheffield days - at least 25 years ago. Great to see them again.

Beautiful Suffolk

A lovely week's holiday in May. I started at a CL, Priory Farm, near Saxmundham, and then moved on to a big club site at Kessingland outside Lowestoft when I got desperate for a shower/wifi.

The first day I just spent sunning myself on the lawn and wandering around the local lanes (finding nothing of interest!)

The forecast for the next day was drizzle so I went in to Ipswich, and found a couple of lovely traditional museums, on in Cardinal Wolsey's old house, plus an art gallery with lovely Chinese works. It didn't rain though!

The Bragging Tree

Next day it was back to sun, so I took a drive down to Aldeburgh (very twee), called in at the classical music venue Snape Maltings (very Radio 3), then picnicked in one of Suffolk's ancient forests. It is a lovely county.

Maggi Hambling - A Conversation with the Sea

Final stop for the day was at Orford, but the reserve is only open at certain times of year and the ferry wasn't running. Pretty place though.

Next day, off to RSPB Minsmere, for a lovely morning in peaceful woods and meres. I saw 2 marsh harriers, but little else - I could hear birds everywhere in the trees but none to be seen in the lush vegetation.

Next stop Southwold, for scampi and chips on the pier - a brilliant pier with lots of odd machines and sculptures, and the famous beach huts.

Then I went on to Sutton Hoo, although the big mound shown isn't actually the one that had the treasures in. No originals there, but some reconstructions and a walk around the elevated site.

Then a drive up to the next site right on the beach just south of Lowestoft.





The site was great but the next day we were battered by a freezing wind, and I was shattered, so had a day in the van doing not very much.

On the last day, I drove over to Thetford forest, another lovely area of ancient trees, and called in at Grimes Graves, which are neolithic flint mines. You could go down one (32 ladder steps) and see the passages cut out.