I is for Ipswich

 County town of Suffolk, population roughly 134,000, one of the oldest established towns in England and somewhere I've been going for shopping a few times a year since I was small. We always took the bus there with Mum in the school holidays and it was once full of department stores and really busy all the time.

Now like so many other towns it has many, many empty shops. This was the Co-op, huge store over two floors but has now been empty for many years.

Below is the historically important Ancient House. For many years it was home to Lakeland but they closed during Covid 

As well as the empty Ancient House beside it was once BHS - another big shop now standing sad and forlorn  and on the opposite side of the road a row of empty shops including the old Edinburgh Woollen Mill store.

There are lots more empty premises but it was too depressing to take more photos. Even the Hotter shoe shop has gone since last time I was in town, and it was always so busy.

Every now and again the Borough Council spend money on various bits of the town.

This is The Giles Statue . Giles was a cartoonist from Ipswich and his statue was on the other side of the road but money was spent moving it across the road to make "Giles Circus"

Below is the result of another  bit of "tidying and tarting up" - a photo from summer a few years ago. Now Debenhams is also closed after being the biggest department store in Suffolk.

The Town Hall

With so many empty premises the town seems to consist of coffee shops and charity shops. I avoid Costa, Café Nero and all the rest and always go for a cuppa in the old St Lawrence's Church. The staff are people being helped into work after mental health problems or learning difficulties. There is always plenty of space .

I didn't go in all the charity shops in town but in the Salvation Army shop found this little bit of Poole Pottery in the shape of a buoy, it's actually a bell, and just appealed to me for my Summer Seasonal display.

Finally found a  ring bound diary for next year for not too much money. I've been looking in The Works in Stowmarket for weeks but the Ipswich shop is bigger and had this. I like a ring bound one because it will keep open and lay flat.

There's a bargain Cancer Research Charity shop in town where they sell off leftover things from their other shops (I think) and they had lots of last years packs of Christmas cards. I really didn't need any Christmas cards but these were rather nice so they've been added to my Christmas drawer.

On the way home I called in to the out of town shopping centre to look for some lampshades for the bedroom. The Range, Dunelm and B&M all had nothing suitable.

I wonder which shops will still be open next time I venture to town.

Back Tomorrow

Sue