Woodbridge

And so, after a busy day in London on Saturday, yesterday I managed to hook up with LoMAZ for the second day of their weekend trip to Woodbridge! They actually had a weekend at Sutton Hoo - which I didn't get to myself, I joined them in Woodbridge. Now, apart from the Stansted Express, it's a long time since I booked train tickets in the UK - and Lordy, what a palaver. Firstly, I found the cheapest on Uber - not to mention I get Uber credit on top, which is nice. Then they calculated I'd have a cheaper ticket with a split fare (thank goodness we have algorithms to figure this out for us - the UK rail network is otherwise incomprehensible!) So, it seems it worked out cheaper if I got a ticket to Colchester, and another onwards from there. All in one transaction, and factored into the price. Ok fine. Finally, the final leg of the journey, from Ipswich, was by rail replacement bus - no problem, the same ticket did for that.

I got a sandwich at Liverpool Street - just as well, as I didn't really get much in Woodbridge. The journey was seamless.. they didn't even recheck my ticket after Colchester. In Ipswich, I figured the bus would probably be outside, and so it was, with a helpful lady yelling at us where the bus was going. There was quite a crowd, but I got on early enough to get a seat.. but wow, was it stuffy. And there was a lady with a great big guide dog, which didn't make things any easier, as she tried to stuff him into the side, and people passing tried not to roll over him with their cases. Well, most of them..

En route, I got a message that the group were now meeting at The Anchor, beside Woodbridge Station - just as well, it was not only closer for me, but easier to find. Woodbridge isn't huge, by my reckoning - not tiny either, you do have to pause to get your bearings.. it's just that doesn't take too long. Disgorged - with some relief - from the bus, I figured the best course of action would be to take the one road I could see that seemed to lead out. Sure enough, that led to a road - and across the road was The Anchor. A busy road, though - a brief check to either side and I saw a zebra crossing to my right, took it, and made my way across to the pub - where they were sat at a table outside, and had seen me coming. So that all worked fine. I got a drink - caveat, the price quoted on the board is, I think, for a medium glass - a large glass of wine does cost less than London, but not much. And we had a great catch-up before heading off!

One of the organisers - Camilla - is from around there, so had a good idea what we should see, and when.. and with a small group, we thought we should stick together, which was nice. As it turns out, the three attractions mentioned in the blurb for the event are all in the same area, clustered in a ring around a small dock - as we walked down there, we passed moored boats and barges. And who knew that this is the Latin for "hope":

It's a pleasant little square, with a coffee shop, Coffeelink - and a painted hare:

Now, that tall clapboard building visible in the first photo is the Tide Mill Museum - apparently there's been a working mill on the site since 1170, the current building dating from 1793. As we discovered from the historical film on the ground floor - and my immediate impression was, what a great use of an old mill! Really - I mean, there's an old water mill where I'm from in Ireland - the village is actually named after it - but do you think they ever thought of making it a tourist attraction? To be fair, there's not much footfall there.. but even the above-linked website says there "used to be" a mill. Nuts, the mill is still there - it's just down the road from my house. Partly now converted to a private house..

Anyway, the Woodbridge mill is packed-full of attractions - we spent about an hour there. There is an entry fee, and on the ground floor, apart from the historical video, there's, for one, a mouse trail, which really was fun (there are four on each of the three floors):

Like, here's Ian:

Collect all the names and write on one of the provided forms, and you get a white chocolate mouse from the jar behind the counter! I managed two, when one of the group decided he didn't want his.. mind you, we had substantial help from the kids who were also on the hunt..

..and here's the resident cat:

Each floor has a bit of the mill machinery on display:

 - it's currently being repaired, the cost of which is defrayed by entry fees, as well as by purchases from the shop:

Also on the ground floor, a working model shows the process by which the tide is harnessed to turn the mill wheel (takes a while for the water to fill in the model, is all):

We saw the pleasantly hefty original mill lock and key:

..and there's a nice view over the estuary:

We also found cool jigsaw cubes, with different designs - naturally, we did the cat one:

Yeah, we thought the mill was rather cool. One of the group had finished early, and went straight to Coffeelink, where we then joined him and partook of snacks and/or drinks, before heading to the Longshed, and the in-progress reconstruction of the Sutton Hoo longship:

And upstairs, they have helmets and swords:

Don't they look fetching? And yes, that is real chain-mail, and quite heavy..

Now, as it turned out, we just made it in before it closed - 3pm at weekends - so our visit here was a bit rushed. But it is very impressive. And right beside our next destination, Woodbridge Museum:

..where they have yet another activity trail, this time focused on Minnie, the Mariner's cat:

A very attractive cat, I must say, photographed in various poses and from various angles, for the different information boards. And quite similar to my poor, abandoned cat in Ireland. :-(

The museum is a hive of information, with interesting anecdotes:

But this rather sleepy place also suffered during the World Wars - a zeppelin bombing in 1915, for instance, that wasn't reported until the war ended!

There's some WWII memorabilia too:

With other exhibits about people who contributed to the town's history, as well as toys from long ago, it's great to see a place commemorate its past like this! And the quiz we got to do as we went around, focusing on the displays with a photo of the cat on them, gave us a reason to look more closely at the detail. Very good idea indeed.

Afterwards, we stopped off briefly at The Crown, so Camilla, who'd stayed there, could put some stuff in her bag - and as we were waiting, we came across this curious brochure:

A visitor map to a road. Not that daft really - I mean, it's exactly what they did in Ireland with the Wild Atlantic Way, which was just to give it a cool name, whack up a website and some signposts, and just advertise what was already there! Except.. they forgot about the "cool name" part. I mean, the above-linked website calls it the Suffolk Tourist Trail - could they not have called it that on the brochure? Mind you, there is something terribly eccentric about leaving it as the A1120.. 

Camilla then took us on a mini-tourist trail of Woodbridge - turning first onto Turn Lane:

..and into the Quaker burial ground:

Our final site of the day was the parish church:

..where we were greeted, quite enthusiastically, by the church cat, a jet-black beauty:

She didn't follow us in, though:

Out then to the market square, and another of those hares:

And lo, we found the reason for the mice that escaped the mill.. another mouse trail. A veritable plague of mice - perhaps we should fetch the pied piper..

A war memorial features a statue of Queen Victoria:

And there's even a plaque to look at:

So wow, a packed day of events in Woodbridge, as led by Camilla! Back then for one at The Anchor - in the quiet garden round the side, rather than the tables facing the noisy road - and I headed off with the organisers as far as Ipswich, and then took the train back with Camilla.. and we passed a very interesting journey, chatting about travel, mainly.. (both my tickets were checked this time, as the train was nonstop to London). Delighted I came, looking forward to the next one. It's no wonder many of their events fill up, the events are well-organised and very friendly.

Back in London and looking for food, I was to find that the pubs near Liverpool Street were closed, would you believe. With no better alternatives, I was glad to find Greggs at the station open, and fancying something hot, got myself a steak bake. Which was lukewarm, but did the trick. Got home nice and early, managed to finish the blog to Saturday before bed, and have just now managed to squeeze in this post before I'm off again! Timing is everything..

Tonight, back with The Hideout for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, again at the Prince Charles (PCC). More 80s slasher fun.. this one stars Dennis Hopper. Coincides nicely with the original film - it was showing in the smaller screen, but had to move into the larger one because of demand, and is showing there right after the original - which I see some of the group are also going to! Handy for the double-bill. Anyway, the timing (to see the sequel) works for me to eat - and I've booked Bella Italia, yum.. There's some confusion on the Meetup page about whether we're meeting in the cinema, or in the adjacent Victory House - but gracious, we couldn't spend an hour in the PCC bar, it's too small and cramped, with almost no seating! Anyway, I'll be finished eating early and will head to Victory House and see how it goes.

Tomorrow, back with Up in the Cheap Seats for The Comedy About Spies, from the excellent Mischief Theatre. Playing at the Noel Coward Theatre. And as that isn't very far from Bella Italia.. well, I'm sure I'm not going to mind eating there twice in a row!

On Wednesday, back with TAC for A Manchester Anthem, at Riverside Studios.

On Thursday, thinking film again.. not as close to the office, but it's the closest to home, and I should manage it, if I take the Tube - The Life of Chuck sounds good, and is playing in the Curzon Aldgate. Based on a novella by Stephen King, it's billed as the new It's a Wonderful Life, stars Tom Hiddleston as the adult Chuck, and also stars Chiwetel Ejiofor and Mark Hamill.

On Friday, back with The Hideout for Together - a new body horror about an unsuspecting couple on holiday in the wilderness. Putatively scheduled for the Vue West End, but their listings aren't out yet..

On Saturday, my monthly ex-colleagues' meeting again, probably at The Phoenix - and probably just James again, as Ivan is distracted by family matters, and there still is no word from Martin.

And on Sunday, back with LoMAZ.. dependably busy on weekends, on that day they're off to Dover Castle. This time, Uber didn't seem to recognise the journey - I booked on Trainline instead.