Amusement piers are a traditional, if fading, feature of British seaside resorts. You can generally count on them to offer food, much of it Junk, arcade games, souvenirs, and some unexpected joys. In Brighton, I once found a doughnut-making machine that included a mechanical hand that flipped the doughnuts over midway through the cooking process. …
Welcome to Southwold, a somewhat more upscale seaside town. Or village. I’m never sure when a village becomes a town. The subject of this post is Beach Huts. You’ve seen them before in my Felixstowe post. To review: they are essentially toolsheds on leased land by the beach. You can’t spend the night in one. …
In the States, we call them Bugeyes. Apparently they’re known as Frogeyes in England. At least that’s what Andy calls his. More formally, this is an Austin Healy Sprite, smaller sibling to the venerable Austin Healy 3000.
The weather is improving. Yippee! It was a little disappointing to leave Seattle just when a spell of 75+ degree days started to find ourselves in cold and wet. Today, we once again made the short drive to Felixstowe, but to a different, more northerly part known as Old Felixstowe. The goal was twofold. First, …
We bid farewell to Avril and Peter and boarded the train bound for Suffolk. We were looking forward to a few days with friends Danielle and Andy at their home near Woodbridge. Andy and I have been friends since we met in the early Eighties. Andy was living in Hong Kong and I had just …
There are not many things better than dinner and a pint of bitter in a country pub.
Today, let’s talk about the Jazz/Rock group from the Seventies, known for such hits as “Spinning Wheel” and “You made me so very happy”. Just kidding. We’re talking about one of the most accomplished men of the Twentieth Century, Sir Winston Churchill. His actual quote is, “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, …
…Divorced, Beheaded, Survived. If you’d gone to school in England rather than wasting your time elsewhere, you’d recognize this short rhyme as describing the fate of the six wives of Henry the Eighth. Today, between rain squalls, we had a look at Hever Castle, home of Beheadee #1, Anne Boleyn. The interior of the castle …
Walking Leo through the village this morning, we came across a tailor’s shop in a former newspaper vendor kiosk and a house in an old water tower. You will see things like this all over the country. So much more interesting than demolishing in order to build cheap condos and McMansions.
One more nine hour flight under our belts, mercifully uneventful. We exited Heathrow into heavy rain and light fog in the company of our friend Peter who had driven up from his home in Surrey to collect us. After a short nap and lunch at a local pub, we took Leo the dog for a …