Day 244 - August 31st

The decorating continues.

Day 243 - August 30th

 

Lots of decorating to be done at Christopher's new house.

Day 242 - August 29th

 

Today we visited Christopher's new house. Wayne had seen it previously but due to COVID-19 the estate agent had only allowed two people to view it at a time. 

Day 241 - August 28th

 

Today Christopher completed on the purchase of his first home.

Day 240 - August 27th

 

Begonias are still in full bloom.

Day 239 - August 26th

 

I picked up a conker this morning whilst out walking. The first one this year.

Day 238 - August 25th

 

It is beginning to look rather autumnal. 

Day 237 - August 24th

Today Lara had a dental appointment in London. We were a little apprehensive about going due to current situation but as the appointment had been postponed several times already, we felt we should go.

Masks now have to be worn on public transport so when we got to the station masks were put on.

The train was very empty.

The tube was busier but still no where near as busy as we have experienced previously.

We didn't hang about in London. We went straight to the dental hospital and then straight home afterwards. The hospital was in Bloomsbury, not far from the BT tower.

Day 236 - August 23rd

Snoozy cat.

Day 235 - August 22nd

Since last walking this path, the field has been harvested and ploughed. Autumn will soon be upon us.

Day 234 - August 21st

Acorns picked up on our morning walk.

Day 233 - August 20th

We had a bonus mid week walk over the fields with MIllie today.

Day 232 - August 19th

Scrapbooking time.

Day 231 - August 18th

I took Tux back to the vet today. They were very pleased with his progress and decided to remove the staples early. He still has to stay inside for a few more days but hopefully will be allowed outside at the end of the week.

Day 230 - August 17th

Before driving back home, this morning we stopped at Shingle Street beach for a brief walk. It was quite breezy but the sky was blue and it was sunny.

(Several days after visiting Shingle Street, we watched the film 'Yesterday'. We didn't realise until watching the film that Shingle Street was the location for John Lennon's beach house featured in the film and is the house shown in my second photo above)

Day 229 - August 16th

Today we went for a walk at RSPB Minsmere - a nature reserve near Saxmundham. Minsmere's habitats include reedbeds, lowland wet grassland, shingle vegetation and lowland heath.

We wandered through the different areas and reached the coast before heading inland again.

There were lots of Red Admiral butterflies sunning themselves.

Near the reedbeds we came across some ponies. Am RSPB volunteer told us that they were Konik ponies. They are an extremely hardy primitive breed of pony originating in Poland. They were brought over from Poland by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust in 1995 and were initially loaned to the RSPB. The RSPB subsequently bought there own breeding herd. The Konik ponies are ideal for managing wet habitats and are experts at grazing the reed bed edge. The ponies have daily health checks by a warden observing them from a distance to ensure they are in good condition. and live happily in the reserve.

After visiting Minsmere, we drove the short distance to Leiston Abbey.

The 14th century ruins of Leiston Abbey are owned by English Heritage but are managed by Pro Corda (a music school). Students from the music school live in the historic Abbey House which is within the site.

Day 228 - August 15th

Today we visited Sutton Hoo which was just a ten minute drive from the apartment.  Like yesterday, we had to pre-book our visit. The estate was open for walks but Tranmer House and the exhibition hall were closed to the public. 

We started with a walk to the Royal Burial Ground. We nearly got soaked by a walker sprinkler on neighbouring land which had inconveniently been placed very close to the footpath!

After visiting the burial ground we walked the rest of the estate - the Pinewood walk and Valley Walk

It was very peaceful and despite the very hot summer we've had everywhere was very green and lush.

An obligatory drink sat outside was needed after our walk then we headed to nearby Sizewell for a quick walk on the beach.

On our way back to Melton, we briefly stopped at Aldeburgh for an ice-cream.

The bronze 'Snooks' dog statue near the model yacht pond was looking very dapper in his knitted scarf and glasses. Painted rocks and knitted rainbows have also been place on his plinth.