redandwhiterag

Long Time No See

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Finally got to meet up with our “met in China” friends in Colchester. Had been trying to fit in an overnighter but that proved unworkable so settled for a lunch time meal at the Greyfriars Hotel. It was Valentines Day so thought it might be problematic to book but it proved to be spookily easy. It was then confirmed when we proved to be one …

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Annual Aldeburgh

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For what has become something of an annual sojourn after the post Christmas festivities, we took our usual trip up to Aldeburgh, for three nights on this occasion. This time around it was the Brudenell hotel, and any cursory search on this site would tell you it is one of the three hostelries in the town that we have previously had the pleasure of staying at. Took the package deal that gave us evening meal on two of the three nights which, given the vagaries of the North Sea “breeze”, we thought was a sensible option.

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Christmas Day

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For the first time ever, we chose to eat Christmas day lunch at an ‘outside’ venue. As Scott et al are not visiting until Easter, we took the opportunity to secure a late booking (3PM) at the Duke of York pub just outside Woodbridge. We arrived on time, had a lovely table and very good service. Good to see it thriving and all types and …

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The Artist and the Art….

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Tangentially prompted by a recent posting in the R&B Q&A section (specifically about Van Morrison and his lack of presence in the Primer section of this website), I have somewhat precariously decided to place an R&B music derived article into the main musings section – although, in my defence, this is fundamentally about more than one artist’s simple inclusion in a fan’s on-line tribute to a musical genre…it goes beyond the specifics of Larry’s question and debates the merits of valuing an artist’s work, irrespective or in spite of the individual’s own personal characteristics. As such, it has a far broader reach than Van The Man and yet he remains very much at its core. A complicated and divisive topic, but I’ve started now…..

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The Theatre Return….

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A last minute decision to see Kafka’s Metamorphosis in Colchester on the Wednesday night became an overnighter with the addition of a very pleasant break at the Greyfriars hotel, last stayed at earlier in the year as part of Mrs. No Names’ ‘birthday bash’! As far as I can determine, this was our first theatre production since 2018, so a welcome if very belated return.

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Old Haunts and Pastimes

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Notwithstanding I have never mentioned how this occurred, but earlier this year Mrs. No Name ‘acquired’ her own bowling ball and a last minute decision to get the holes adjusted for a better fit resulted in a hastily arranged overnight Thursday night stay in Norwich. Went to the tenpin bowling centre and ended up playing tenpin for three hours (in my case picking up a …

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Half Empty You Say!!!

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On the front page of the site I may have ungenerously but somewhat characteristically made reference to my foreboding for the 23/24 football season. Well, after eight games and one point, I can’t help but try and recall the exact wording….hmmmm……. “Dreading the 2023/24 season though 🙂”. Oh yeah, that.

Justified and Ancient

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For no particular reason (well, a little shopping maybe), I exercised my bus pass and ventured into Ipswich yesterday. Other than the ever more irritating visits to my dental practice, this must be my first foray into the county town in years. Remembering how pleasant the place appeared when we first arrived thirty years ago, it would be partial but still fair to suggest that there is no longer much to recommend it.

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Wisbech Whistlestop..

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Although it wasn’t that short a visit, as we enjoyed a leisurely five night break at the National Trust Coach House Lodge, all organised by Mrs. No Name. The lodge proved to be a lovely base and, as it was a National Trust property and adjacent to Peckover House, had the additional benefit of ‘out of hours’ access to the house gardens.

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Annual 2023 Catsitting

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No sooner back from the cruise and we were off on our trip to serve the cats for the second time this year. Overnight stop in Wentbridge on the way up didn’t prove to be as successful, with a few issues at breakfast that rather put a dampener on proceedings. Recompensed, but worrying enough to consider alternatives in the future….

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Back in the Game

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Just back from our first cruise since 2019 and first time abroad since the pandemic. Visited Lisbon, Portimao, Santander, La Coruna, Bordeaux, Brest and, finally, St, Marys. Too busy (you couldn’t make it up) so full post at some indeterminate future date!! I promise this won’t be the long ramble of previous holiday posts. This one is short, sweet(ish) and very much to the point….

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Oenology tasting, no less

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That’s a wine tasting event, for the uninitiated – including me, who had to look up how to spell it!! A Christmas present from S&G, Mrs. No Name kindly organised the trip and decided on Shawsgate Vineyard, which is just ‘up the road’, very close to Framlingham. We weren’t sure what to expect, but we did know it included the wine tasting itself and refreshments of some description.

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