1926 Richard Byrd and Floyd Bennett made the first flight
over the North Pole
John
W Mills is a sculptor with an impressive cv, the
new sculpture garden at
Woodbridge School contains seven of his life
size pieces. The garden's formal opening last night was a
pleasantly full monty affair with string quartet, many jugs of Pimms, Lady Tollemache cutting the ribbon and head
teacher Stephen Cole telling us that the
first years used to run to get their lunches but now they walk past the garden.
The sculpture in the garden will change and favour artists with a Suffolk
connection.
When
we first saw this early 50s pic of the Farnham George and Dragon we assumed it was
the village not the pub sign but no, it's the pub sign and how unusual for a pub
sign. We think the G&D closed in 1995 but it was certainly our local when
we first moved near the coast and it was serving Tolly's then.
1765 Nelson's flagship Victory was launched at Chatham
Film @
Fram has been running for some 3? years now and last night had the first showing at
its new venue the Framlingham Conservative Club, Church Street; filmgoers can
now get a drink or a very pleasant meal. Next month's film
Perfect Storm.
Previous video
1829 The Earl of Surrey became the first Roman Catholic MP
Well
that certainly made a bank holiday Sunday more interesting for visitors to Framlingham. Eleven carts of
variously sophisticated designs variously trundled and whizzed down the Market
Hill with a mixed bunch of drivers including the
quite young.
Racing
noticeably got faster, and closer, as the day
progressed which may have been due to more committed
bobsleigh type starts, certainly some carts were
having problems stopping at the other end; at
least one mechanical failure and there's
always the tedious business of having to pull the cart
back to the top. Great stuff and let's hope it happens again next
year.
sa 03 ma
1953 Dylan Thomas gave the first public reading of Under
Milk Wood
The Jubilee Hall in Aldeburgh was crammed today with all sorts of
crafty things for
Top
Crafts 2008 and television personality John Bly was taking an active interest in
this lady working with glass. The show continues all weekend including
Monday and it's free to get in ...
... meanwhile up the road in the Aldeburgh Cinema Gallery
John Bawtree told us that the first visitor at his Zanzibar
exhibition was the widow of Zanzibar's
last British resident. From 1913 to 1963
Zanzibar was a British protectorate and had a resident rather than a
governor. Cinema manager Sue Harrison arrived and there had been
returns for Daughter of the Regiment; the
cinema expects to repeat the live New York Metropolitan Opera House link ups
this autumn. The Zanzibar
exhibition continues until Thursday 8th May and it's
free too.
fr 02 ma
1519 Leonardo da Vinci died
Recognise
John Bly off Antiques Roadshow? He'll be holding his own mini Roadshow at
Top
Crafts 2008 in Aldeburgh this weekend.
Us?
We can't even hit the bloody thing so we were particularly impressed by 12 year
old Kristian Williman (on the left) scoring over a
hundred in his debut for Brandeston Hall.
The historic Harwich
Electric Palace Cinema is a bit of a trek but worth the effort
and at the end of next month it's showing Peter Hall's Akenfield.
Made in 1974 the film was shot on location in villages west of Wickham Market and
using local people as the cast.
Hopkins Homes have
refused to release the document files associated with their planning
application to build 140 houses in Framlingham.
1789 Fletcher Christian led the mutiny on the Bounty
Painter John Bawtree lives in
Peasenhall. Last year he visited Zanzibar (yes,
there really is such a place) for the first time and the results can be seen at
the Aldeburgh Cinema Gallery from this Saturday.
And
yes they're digging up Fore Street in
Framlingham again with an interesting knock on effect in Riverside.
sa 26 ap
1564 William Shakespeare was baptised
When
we arrived a teensy bit late at Brundish
Village hall last night it was already crammed with
quizzers who had booked their tables but we were good humouredly
squeezed into a corner. An immaculately organised event with the most
complete question papers we've ever seen, a separate fun quiz for the break when
you eat your finger buffet, results projected
on the wall, question master David soldiering on despite a croaking voice and
some quick withdrawals for a coughing fit, and we particularly like the team
who'd brought a flower arrangement to decorate their table ... our idea of a
good time.
Even at £20 a pop opera tonight in Aldeburgh
is sold out but you can still queue in hope of returns, the box office opens at
6:30pm.
Radio
4 will never be quite the same again. Humph liked
to claim that an
ancestor hanged, drawn and quartered for his part in the Gunpowder Plot was
buried in Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and Buckinghamshire.
fr 25 ap
1792 Nicolas Pelletier became the first Frenchman to be
executed by the guillotine
21
Market Hill in Framlingham changed earlier this year and no longer sells
children's clothes but now deals in collectables and quirkynesses. It's open Tuesday
(market day), Friday and Saturday. Definitely worth a peek, and not just
because of the new proprietors' interesting dress
sense.
Board mod
Amanda Frost is on
Weakest Link Monday night and yes, it was recorded weeks, if not
months, ago.
Police
are appealing again about the
Roman duck brooch stolen from Orford Castle at the end of last month.
Can't help but think that if it was an opportunist crime then the brooch could
still be near the coast?
th 24 ap
1961 Bob Dylan's recording debut playing harmonica on Harry
Belafonte's Midnight
Special
Because we're a bit pretentious a little telly treat last Christmas was
The Daughter of the Regiment with the divine Natalie Dessay (watch
for her back facing curtsey at the end:).
And our point is? It's La Fille du Regiment as the last of this
season's live link ups with the
New York Met this Saturday at the Aldeburgh Cinema.
we 23 ap
1965 Long distance footpath The Pennine Way was opened
What
was Vanilla on the mini roundabout in Framlingham is getting a face lift
to become Charlie Bear's Children's Clothes, clothes for children older
than those catered for at Ruby and Ted just down the roadwe're
told.
In the early hours of this morning the April-March monthly
digest went out by email, if you'd like to receive it click here.
Apparently
Paul
Spencer the promoter of the
Maverick Festival at Easton Farm Park is talking about
an audience of 5,000 for the three days.
we 16 ap
1912 Harriet Quimby
became the first woman to fly the English Channel
Argentinean alt tango band La Chicana are touring Europe
this month and as well as having gigs in Switzerland and Spain Peppery have booked them for the
Ipswich Manor Ballroom this Friday.
... but the same night back home from Thailand for a few weeks
Haggis and
Rinda will be at the Framlingham White Horse for
The Outlaws (Oh no,
that's the wrong Outlaws) gig ...
...
Blythburgh Church was broken into over the weekend with substantial damage to
stained glass and furniture was stolen including this rare 15th
century chest table.
tu 15 ap
1986 Playing for the West Indies against England in Antigua
Viv Richards scored 100 off 56 balls
April and the gritter lorry was out last night!
su 13 ap
1741 The Royal Military Academy was established at Woolwich
... it moved to Sandhurst later
Framlingham First Responders got a new member from their recruitment day
yesterday bringing them up to nine and coordinator Leighton Page is a natural!
Anglia TV should snap him up before he's whisked off to the biscuitless
desert that is BBC Radio Suffolk.
sa 12 ap
1961 Russian Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space
To
say BBC Radio Suffolk
is hard to find is not an overstatement. To say the recording area
is tiny would be an overstatement, we've been in smaller demo studios ...
but not too many. To add to the fun last night the floor was covered in cables
and kit and the engineer was recording the session from an outside broadcast van
in the garage.
Inevitably The Outlaws were not entirely at ease outside their
natural environment (sweating and heaving pubs) but the bit of playback we heard
(on a pair of LS3as, what a brilliant little speaker) sounded fine and as we
left Dave the engineer maintained you do get biscuits at the BBC if your on
Lesley's Sofa (didn't seem to be Simon or Nick's experience). More pics
here and the broadcast date when known.
fr 11 ap
1939 Darts was banned in Glasgow pubs as too dangerous
Strictly rumour
but gossip has it that Hopkins Homes
submitted a planning application for the Bibby's site in Station Road,
Framlingham yesterday.
By
default (that means if you don't change it) Outlook Express saves copies of the
emails you've sent in the Sent Items folder (you can turn keeping copies on and
off by going Tools/Options.../Send then click
the Save copy
etc box and then OK). Very useful to keep copies but in time the Sent
folder gets pretty big slowing everything down, do you really need copies of
emails you sent three years ago? Delete some old emails and it should make
things a little brisker. Here's
how to do it.
It may be getting warmer but there was still some frost this
morning and can you out naff
this?
Kids Get
Going have guaranteed free places going in
L'Etape du Tour.
KGG help promote sports for
disabled children by providing them with specially built sports wheelchairs. L'Etape du Tour is when punters ride a mountain stage of the Tour de France the
day before it arrives.
we 9 ap
1961 King Zog of Albania died in exile
Belinda
Gillett is 32 and was last seen Friday afternoon in Felixstowe, she was due to meet friends on
Sunday but did not show up. There is police concern for her well being,
more info here.
Pay and Display has
arrived
in the Wickham Market
car park at a very reasonable £100 for 2-4 hours (we're not kidding) and yet the
toilets are still locked! It might be a warning that like the Wickham car
park both the Elms and Fore Street car parks in Framlingham are run by
Suffolk Coastal District Council ...