Easter Visit

Didn’t see S&G at Christmas on this occasion so it was good to finally welcome them down to sunny(ish) Suffolk for a long weekend this Easter. They arrived on the Easter Friday and stayed for four nights which was long enough for us to squeeze in a couple of long overdue outings. In no particular order of importance we indulged in the following…

• Dinner at the Swan at Westerfield on the Friday evening. We’ve been before when S&G have been down, largely because they are very good at catering for the picky (sorry, discerning and selective) diet of one of the four visitors. Excellent meal as always, which is why Mrs. No Name and I also visit the hostelry on what for us could almost be called a regular basis.
• On the Saturday, we took them to visit / investigate Landguard Fort. It defends the approach to Harwich Harbour, a safe haven for shipping. It was the site of the last opposed seaborne invasion of England, by the Dutch in 1667, who were repulsed by the Royal Marines in their first land battle. The current fort was built in the 18th century, and modified in the 19th century, with substantial additional 19th and 20th-century outside batteries. It was manned through both World Wars and played an important anti-aircraft role during the Second World War. In 1951 two of the old gun casemates were converted into a ‘Cold War’ control room. The fort was disarmed and closed in 1956. We had only been once before, which is a disgrace really when one considers it is virtually on our doorstep. Remembered the layout and structure, but virtually nothing of the detail. Given its complicated history and its succession of uses, We think they did a pretty good job of disseminating its heritage. We will return!!
• On Sunday, another local (just the other side of Woodbridge/Melton) attraction that we have been to before, although at least on this occasion we have managed to visit more than once. According to the National Trust, Sutton Hoo is a hauntingly beautiful 255 acre estate, with far-reaching views over the River Deben, is home to one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of all time. It tells you to walk around the Royal Burial Ground and enjoy vistas from the 17-metre viewing tower to discover the history of the ship burial of an Anglo-Saxon king and his treasured possessions, find out about the archaeological work that took place here in Tranmer House, the former home of Edith Pretty, and visit the High Hall exhibition to see replica and original objects. So we did! Well, apart from the viewing tower, as we had done that in the ‘pandemic era’ and didn’t feel the need to repeat it. Coffee and lunch before the walking (coffee much improved as I recall) and we think S&G enjoyed the visit, which apparently has been a long time coming.
• S&G also took the opportunity to catch up with old friends whilst down here – for drinking and, er, drinking and yours truly managed to cook a couple of moderately successful meals for us all.

And finally and clearly of vital importance, we are now the current Trivial Pursuit champions as we secured a hard earned victory on the Monday night. We will be up in Sunderland in June, so we suspect we will at least be wearing the crown until then, but probably no longer