Blythburgh, Suffolk

I have been so preoccupied with knitting recently that I forgot to put on some photographs of our Easter trip away. I was ill for a few weeks before, so this trip really restored me. 

We had a few days in Suffolk, staying in Blythburgh, which is just a few miles from the coast. The area is known for its marshland and mudflats, and wildlife. This was our view from the end of the garden, and we had some lovely walks both up and down the River Blyth, following the old disused railway track. I have some other photos of the coast and wildlife, but I thought I would concentrate on those I took in Blythburgh in this post and put those in another.

The church in Blythburgh is known as the Cathedral of the Marshes. Blythburgh is a small village, so the size of this church is quite amazing. I rather stupidly didn't take a photo of the outside, but if you want to read more there is a really good site here Holy Trinity, Blythburgh.

The ceiling with its wooden angels is just beautiful. There are 12 angels in all. I am not sure if the angel below is as old, but I really liked her too.

The wooden figures on the end of every pew were very unusual. These bench ends represent the seven deadly sins, the seven works of mercy, and the seasons.

This Madonna and Child was made by Peter Ball in 1997. We called her "The Big Foot Madonna".

This was the view from one of the windows up a spiral staircase. I did take a shot where the churchyard was in focus, but much prefer this moody view.

And finally this sunset also seen from our kitchen window

Focus

A rather drab day, and although I am a bit embarrassed at the quality of these photographs, of what I think are a sparrow and a blackbird. I just thought it was quite interesting to show what is almost the same shot, but with a different focus. Do you have a preference, and why? Slightly reminds me of Hitchcock's The Birds.

And while I am posting about the wildlife I can see from my bedroom window, I thought you might like to see this rather scrawny fox. I only just had time to grab my camera and get this picture, before Fantastic Mr Fox disappeared. I like the way he did seem to be looking right at me!

And then I could not believe my eyes when I looked
 in the other direction, I saw this other rather plumper fox.

Seaside Boy on A Scallop Shell

I've been putting on so much crafty stuff recently I thought I would have a bit of a break, and post a photograph. This was taken at Aldeburgh a few years ago. My son is on a statue called The Scallop, by Maggi Hambling. If you want to see the whole statue, which is rather fantastic, and is on the beach click on the link below http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Scallop,_Maggi_Hambling,_Aldeburgh.jpg

I absolutely love this photo. He is holding Mike The Osprey, who we had just bought at the RSPB reserve at Minsmere. We had a few holidays in Suffolk, and it became a bit of a tradition that we would go birdwatching at Minsmere, which is just a few miles up the coast from Aldeburgh. What was really great was how helpful the serious birdwatchers were to us amateurs, with two noisy children in tow. They never seemed to mind it when we arrived in the hides, and always helped us identify the birds. We have a little collection of birds from the shop, which all make the accurate birdsong for that bird when you squeeze them. My son's favourites were always the birds of prey, which might be because he was going through his dinosaur phase. Do all boys go through phases?

On The Towpath

I'm not really sure what to put on this week, as I have been away.  I have a few knitting ideas, but they are still just in my head. Sorry about my lack of comments last week, but I was struggling with my son on our canal holiday to get my hands on my husband's phone, and then we kept going out of range.

So here are just a few nice photos that I took when walking along the towpath. I have been assured that photography is a craft. I'd love to be able to label some of them, especially the strangely beautiful growths on a wooden bridge. Are they lichens?

I'm going to get back on track for next week, although as my mother is coming to visit, so I'm not quite sure how that will work out. Happy crafting.