Maria Elia

My wife booked us an amazing meal for yesterday. She loves this chef who now has meals at her home. She missed booking a meal on other occasions and we almost missed this one. Fortunately there was a cancellation and she managed to get tickets for us. 

The setting was beautiful, the food amazing, and we met some lovely people on our table. I am so glad she managed to get tickets and it will be great if we are lucky enough to return.

The Suffolk, Aldeburgh

We returned to a place we have eaten as a family before. My wife loves it here and the food is great. The service is brilliant, friendly and attentive, and the views from the top bar are fantastic, if you are facing the right way! I did get to go for a walk, but my daughter was in a bad mood. Fortunately it improved but part of it was not being able to walk on the shingle because I had wrong the wrong shoes. I did get to do so later, but she had not accompanied the dog and me for the nighttime walk. 

The Lighthouse

We are in Suffolk. My wife has booked a few days away and rented a charming cottage for us. I already feel relaxed, the children and the dog like it here and we have just got back from a meal. I did not like mine as much as the rest of the family, but it was an enjoyable night out for all. Leia was surprised to find that she had he option to sit next to me, but she preferred to spread out on the floor. We have another night here and I am looking forwards to going to the beach tomorrow! 

Yesterday involved a return to The Westleton Crown

Yesterday I forgot that I had taken the day off work. I went in to be asked why I was in! So I returned home, took my daughter out for a driving lesson, dropped her at my work for her job, returned home and my wife, Leia and I went out to Snape while my son got ready for a date. My daughter had been out to one earlier in the week, but both reported back that it was not a date and did not speak about it at all otherwise.

Leia loved being at Snape Maltings. My wife drove, as helping my daughter learn to drive can be a bit draining. She loves it there as well, which is why we visit it at least once a year. Leia found the drive there a bit stressful as my daughter fed our lactose intolerant Cockapoo some cheese before the trip, which meant that we had to keep pulling over for her. The only part of Snape Maltings that she did not like was a wooden walkway.

I had refused to book lunch in advance, and for a while, it appeared that we were not going to find anywhere, but The Westleton Crown was not too far away so we returned there. Great food once again, and for the person not driving, a fantastic bottle of wine (the remainder of which was shared once we got home). 

Overall, it was a good day and we bought a birthday present for my mother as well! The only blip was Arsenal getting beaten at home by West Ham. 

The Westleton Crown

We traveled to see my mother yesterday morning and have taken a break for the day in Suffolk now. My brother and I had discussed who was to spend time with her this Christmas, we had her last year when she took offence with us, but my brother spent two lockdown Christmas’s with her in 2020 and 2021. However, she decided that she is going to spend Christmas alone this year. But, she loved seeing the children face to face.

After that, we drove to stay overnight, in a dog friendly place, where I explored with her for her dog walks. The food and service was fabulous and it was a much needed break after another hard year.

Russell

We went to a beautiful funeral today. It was of the father of a dear friend of ours. My wife has a lot more memories of him than I do, but they are fond memories.

It brought back memories of the funeral of my father, but I have been to funerals since then. Though it was not just me, it also brought back such memories to my wife as well.

During it, we sat next to a friend of my wife, who many years ago told me what she would do to me if I was not nice to my wife. My wife was not aware of what she had said to me over twenty years ago, but she herself can!

After, we went to the pub for recollections and a chance to chat and catch up with others. It was a great place to be, wonderful weather, and because he always bought his round, a free bar.

Anyway, Russell, here are my musical memories of your last eventful day.

The Weeping Willow

Our trip back yesterday was mostly uneventful. We stopped at a beautiful restaurant on the way back, but my wife got tired on the A14 when we hit traffic. The kids were glad to see us, Leia being the most welcoming!

Good food, great company and now back at home. The Weeping Willow was an amazing place to eat, good service and great food. The only improvement I can imagine would be having chess sets so that people can play on the tables that have a chess board design! 

The Crown in Hartest

This pub is in the beautiful village of Hartest which we stopped at on our way to Nottingham. My wife was not sure of the exact route that we should take, the options being cutting to the M11 via Stansted, heading up the A12 and cutting across along the A14 or going on the A134 to Bury St Edmunds and then using the A14. Fascinating I know, but my wife had the choice, on her birthday and let me decide. We did not know if we were to stop in Bury St Edmunds or Cambridge for lunch and shopping so the more scenic route was chosen.

This was without the children who had got cards for my wife in her birthday. For her birthday present, she got a much wanted laptop bag, and of course, the love of her children. 

But back to our trip. We got hungry on the way and my wife picked somewhere to eat, which was closed. Driving down the country roads reminded her of Devon, but I pointed out that the country roads in Devon are much narrower and involve a lot more hills. But the second place she chose looked amazing from the moment we parked. Friendly service with good food, we may consider returning.

For now, we are in Nottingham, the journey, for the most being uneventful. I did make the mistake of not checking out destination before we came which meant cross words in the car in Nottingham as we ended up lost. But we are here now, calmer and ready for a great dinner.

Aldeburgh And our August day trip

Today we went to Aldeburgh for a change of scenery.

We had breakfast in Hall Farm near Dedham and then went to the coast where we did a bit of shopping and went for a walk.  The weather was lovely and the view over the North Sea was amazing.

Later we went out for dinner and just had a quiet day overall with two friends coming over afterwards.

The Saint

Today was quite busy.  I had taken it off as I have not taken much time off this year, and let’s face it, it has been quite stressful!  We went to Aldeburgh and spent some time on the beach and the other bought some books.  It was warm and sunny with a slight breeze and we had a pleasant walk.  We had some Seafood & Grill at The Brudenell Hotel afterwards, the meal there being our first outside in a restaurant in quite a while.

After that it was a trip to Snape Maltings.  While my wife had a look in the shops, the kids read in the sun and I went for a walk.  It was beautiful there, hence the picture.

So by the time we got home, we were quite tired.  While my son did other things we watched Iron Man 3.  It was a good film, though the plot was a bit convoluted.  But while I thought this film had a few issues, it did not have the issues seen with The Saint.

While The Saint started off well, it started to unravel with issues with continuity, overacting and a story with gaping holes.  Since Buffy, I have had a soft spot for Eliza Dushku, and she was okay in the film.  I am glad we watched it on Netflix as I would have hated to pay money to watch it.    

School is out

It has been an interesting series of days since my last post about the family. Both children did really well in the end of year reports that they brought home, in fact, one won an award for reading!  But school is over for now.  My daughter had her last day yesterday and in addition to that, a cousin of my wife came over with his better half.  They have looked after us in the past and it was our turn and pleasure to entertain them. I collected them from the airport last night and drove them home. It has been too long since we last saw them and my son, who had school today was not able to stay up to see them, though my daughter did so (and we arrived very late).  It was a disappointment for both children as they were looking forwards to seeing them.

Today, after my son went to school, it was a big breakfast for all, and then a quick trip.  I had wanted to show them Dedham, my wife took us to Lavenham instead, and it was lovely there.  The pictures are from there.

It's rumoured that the 0 2 stadium in North London (formerly WHL) is to be renamed again to the Tutu stadium in honour of the bunch of ballerinas that were unable to hold on to a 0-2 lead with just ten minutes to go.

Restaurant meals were great for us this weekend.  It was a trip to Suffolk, first a meal in Ipswich at Isaac's which I thought was okay, a welcoming atmosphere and food that the kids loved.  I am always sold on sweet potato chips so that was great for me.  We were lucky and managed to bag a parking space outside which also helped and it has been a while since we have been to that location (it was a Vodka Bar when we were last there).  It has a great location overlooking the Marina and it is a place that I would return to again.

Later in the day it was a trip to Bildeston to stay at the Bildeston Crown.  It was a great stay, they welcomed the kids, had two kids beds in our room which we all loved staying in and when it came to eating there, amazing food.  The sound system in the room was great, and the shower was amazing.  It was a shame to leave it, loads of power and lots of heat, and I am very fussy when it comes to things like that!  The restaurant had great service and catered really well for our children.  While there were no things for the kids to do (no colouring sets or kids menu) eating at a restaurant that good is not about things like that.  Like the rest of the hotel, they were great with the kids talking to them, and where appropriate, servings suitable for them and adapting to them.  Now this is a place we certainly would love to return to, be that the restaurant or the hotel itself.

And later on Sunday, it was a trip to Hollow Trees Farm, a petting farm that the kids loved.  Fortunately, we had brought the Wellington Boots of the kids, which considering that it had been raining at times was a wise choice.  While my wife waiting in the warmth of the Farm Shop and Coffee Shop we explored the petting farm feeding animals, and enjoying the child friendly activities.  Again, if we are in the area, the kids would love to return as we spent an hour there and it was not enough.  And from there a journey to The Swan Inn in Monks Eleigh were again we were spoilt with a great meal.  I have to admit, while my wife assured me that it would be great, when we drove up, I doubted her, especially after dinner the night before.  And on entering it, while clean and very welcoming, again, I expected normal pub food.  But the food was great and while not as fabulous as that Bildeston, this is somewhere I would strongly recommend for those in the area.  I was amazed, considering how good the food is, that more people were not eating there.  If we lived closer, we would be eating there more often.

Anyway, good night once more.