5th Summer Book + Summer of Sport

 First of all have to say thank you for all the comments yesterday about Redgrave Church - it's quite a special church. I keep being surprised at all I'm finding out about bits of history of Suffolk with my church adventures - I'm glad I started.

The 5th book with Summer in the title for Reading The Seasons was this.

Sweet Remnants of Summer by Alexander McCall Smith. In the Isobel Dalhousie Philosopher series set in Edinburgh.

I did say I wouldn't read anymore of these are they are all a bit 'same-y' and Isobel and Jamie are so perfect it's quite annoying!

But as it was a Summer titled book and I knew it would be quick and readable I gave it a go and it was similar to all the others with Isobel getting involved in other people's problems, editing her Philosophy newsletter and dealing with her Housekeeper and her children while the beautiful and perfect Jamie cooks up wonderful meals!

Monday's best sport was a really good match at Wimbledon between Taylor Fritz from the USA and Alexander Zverev of Germany which went to 5 sets with Fritz having to win the last three to get through to the quarter finals - and he did. Djokovic got in a tizzy about the spectators shouting Ruuuuune for his opponent - he seemed to think they were being disrespectful and booing him. I didn't think so and nor did the commentators  but who knows - he does divide opinions. Djokovic went on to win in 3 straight sets anyway.

Tuesday was the first of the quarter finals. There was no play at all on the outside courts - it rained there all  day (Suffolk was a bit drier - just long enough to get raspberries picked and cat proof fences organised for the kale plants which are due today). I half watched the two quarter finals in the men's singles. I'd have preferred Sinner to win.

They are so far behind with doubles matches now and running out of days to catch up. Hope the next few days are dry.

Back Soon 

Sue 

A Special Church - St Mary's, Redgrave.

 This church is now looked after by the Historic Churches Conservation Trust. When I visited the Chapel of Ease to this church  in nearby Botesdale  HERE. I wrote about the way the village walked away from St Marys Redgrave in 2004 when it became too expensive to maintain. They hoped the Trust would take it on and thankfully they did.

Here is what Simon Knott from The Suffolk Churches Index says about the recent history of the church

 The cost and effort of maintaining this vast barn full of priceless treasures had become too great a burden for the small congregation, so they locked the doors and decamped to the village hall, declaring that St Mary was now no longer their responsibility. As you may imagine, this caused a certain amount of consternation. While Redgrave church is a building of national significance, there is a certain protocol required if you want to declare a building redundant and have it conveyed into the stewardship of the Churches Conservation Trust. Not being able to pay the repair bills is not considered a good enough reason to declare redundancy. Even so, the parish persisted, which rather placed the Diocese in a quandary. While their first responsibility was to the parishioners, they clearly did not have the resources needed to look after St Mary, and yet the church commissioners would have looked with some doubt on any attempt to declare the building redundant.

It was, in modern political parlance, uncharted territory. Nevertheless, it was obvious that the ultimate destination must be to ensure the future security and upkeep of the building, and so after eighteen months or so of what one imagines must have been fairly tense meetings, the church was conveyed into the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.

And in the meantime, something else had happened. The shock of the incident had galvanised some local people, including a few of the former congregation, to get together and form a group to look after St Mary. With the support of the Churches Conservation Trust this has become one of the most successful support groups in the county, putting on exhibitions and concerts for which the church is eminently suitable. Before the end of the decade, the Daily Telegraph newspaper awarded Redgrave church the prize of English Village Church of the Year. 

The church stands on a small rise over a mile out of the village. From outside it's large but quite ordinary, except for the unusual white brick tower.

But step inside and you find it is HUGE, one of the largest parish churches for a small village. It had been funded by the Abbots of Bury St Edmunds Abbey who had a shooting lodge in the village and plenty of money for the building .

I visited on a day I hoped it would be open as I knew they were having a concert later in the day. And there was a man beginning to get ready who was very keen to explain all sorts of the special things to me which was good but meant I kept forgetting to take photos!

It's so wide and light with huge arches and windows. The pews, each with it's own little door at the end, could probably seat several 100 people

The East window is magnificent

And another lovely window in the South Aisle Chapel

which now holds the village war memorials

Some of the other memorials in this church are so big and seem really out of place for a village church.

This below is for one of the Holt family, a life sized monument - he was Lord Chief Justice and sits in his lawyers robes, with the figures of Justice and Mercy on either side.

The carving is incredibly detailed

The font is nicely carved too

Up above the font on the North wall is this huge Decalogue - The 10 Commandments

And also huge is this life size tomb to Sir Nicholas and Lady Anne Bacon from the early C17. I meant to go up the steps to take a picture from above but the man took me off to look at something else and I forgot to go back!

The man uncovered this brass for Anne Butts in the floor of the sanctuary for me to see. The inscription says

The weaker sexes strongest precedent
Lies here belowe; seaven fayer years she spent
In wedlock sage; and since that merry age
Sixty one years she lived a widowe sage
Humble as great as full of Grace as elde,
A second Anna had she but beheld
Christ in His flesh who now she glorious sees
Below that first in time, not in degree

Around the walls are 13 hatchments -  or coats of arms for the deceased - for many Suffolk families, more than any other church in Suffolk.  The one below was once thought to have some connection to the beginning of the US flag because of the stars and stripes.

Please have a look at all the details on Simon Knotts website HERE for some information about the lady who accidently discovered the opening to the vault beneath the church!

I have a favourite large church - Blythburgh, a favourite small church - Thornham Parva and now Redgrave is my favourite Heritage Church!

More sport tomorrow - probably.

Back Soon

Sue

Summer of Sport 2024 + This Cheese Was Suggested............

.........................by someone for a taste test. I'd not even thought about Aldi having any Artisan cheeses so it was a good bit of information...thank you to whoever. 

Beacon Blue is on their Specially Selected bit of the cheese shelves, along with a couple of others.

It's described as a creamy, mild and sweet blue goats cheese and this is what it says about the cheese and the company making it from Butlers Cheese website.(They also make another very easily available favourite - Blacksticks Blue)

Beacon Blue, our award-winning blue goat's cheese is silvery like the moon, silky smooth, creamy and fresh on the tongue, yet a good helping of peppery tang quickly develops leaving you craving more and more!

One of the reasons that our blue goat's cheese tastes so delicious is the freshness of our milk. The freshest goat's milk makes the best goat's cheese and ours comes every day from Nicola Butler’s herd on our family farm, just down the lane from our dairy.

There is no escaping it, we are a family business est. 1932. That’s what makes things exciting, and these family values are the bedrock of our culture. Richard and Annie started it, Jean and Tom nurtured it. Gill and Colin opened it, and the history page is just turning for Matthew and Daniel 

It was a strong cheese - not mild and creamy as described - and OK but  I thought a bit sort of harsh tasting - people who've had 'goaty flavoured' goats cheese needn't worry. There's no billy goat taint in this thank goodness.

It won't become a regular purchase as there are other blue cheeses I like better.

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The weather on Saturday was dreadfully wet and I didn't go far, lots of water across the road in places and the low tyre pressure light came on in the car so I went home again and after the rain stopped pumped up the tyres and got the warning bleeps turned  off. At Wimbledon the outside courts were covered and uncovered several times . I watched Cam Norrie get knocked out and then Harriet Dart. Heard that Emma Raducano had decided against playing mixed doubles with Andy M after all - something to do with match timings I think. Then I saw a bit of the football and after Switzerland scored, gave up and found a new Midsummer Murders to watch instead. I didn't know until Sunday morning that England had equalized and then won on penalties - glad I didn't see that bit - penalty shoot outs are bad for the heart!

The middle Sunday of Wimbledon used to be a rest day but they've had to use it for playing several times due to rain so changed it to a usual day of play a couple of years ago. Carlos Alcaraz had a battle but won through but the one remaining British singles player - out of the 19 (I think) that started, was Emma Raducanu who got knocked out by a qualifier from New Zealand. Only Brits left were in the men's doubles

I caught the Tour highlights at 8 - a bit rough and dusty there as they were racing partly on gravel which, I discovered, isn't what builders call gravel - and seemed totally pointless- and that was the end of sport for the day.

 Then there was a new crime drama on BBC - The Turkish Detective - interesting - presumably we are running out of locations for crime dramas set  in this country!

Apologies to several people whose comments went to spam, I check regularly but then found 15 there on Saturday, some from a week earlier - weird.

And talking about weird - there have been some annoying weird words on Wordle recently - it's took me all 6 goes to get them. - Spoiler Alert -  yesterdays was a maker of cameras! (of course it had another meaning that wasn't a brand name - but a rarely used word)

Back Soon

Sue