February's pics as prints, mugs and t-shirts at photoboxgallery.com/NearTheCoast

we 20 fe

1985  The Irish parliament legalised the sale of contraceptives

In Brundish The Las Vegas of High Suffolk their plans for the year include an organ build with inaugural concert, restoration of the Gypsy Pond, a new

village sign (made by Mary Moore of Brandeston), completion of the village green, cinema nights, quiz night, Brundish Makemerry, grand barbecue and fireworks, a patronal picnic, flower festival with lunches, Songs of Praise, harvest supper, Folk Music afternoon and a Christmas Fair.  No wonder they look tired.

January's pics as prints, mugs and t-shirts at photoboxgallery.com/NearTheCoast

tu 1 ja 08

1660  Samuel Pepys began his diary

Happy New Year!  We think sanguine might be the word to describe the Brundish Crown's attitude to New Year' Eve last night, except we're not sure what sanguine means, and we may have missed a joke as the Red Wine Girls were drinking something red from bottles but it wasn't wine ...

sa 1 de 07

1822  Peter I was crowned Emperor of Brazil

If we'd checked Fram.com's What's On (or even the road signs) we wouldn't have arrived at the Brundish Christmas Fair ninety minute before it was due to start.  Either way the tombola stall looked very impressive, Santa's grotto was back again and a pleasant social occasion seemed assured.

su 10 ju 2007 ~ LEAF Open Farm day at Brundish Lodge Farm

We visited the Dennington Hall Farm open day last year and it was good fun, particularly the trailer ride.  This year we ventured a little further down the road to Brundish Lodge Farm where the open day was part of Linking Environment And Farming.

Brundish Lodge is in a beautiful location apart from the occasional Sunday biker clattering down the B1116.  There is a considerable amount of arable but this is contracted out to neighbours Dennington Hall Farm and farmer James Wells concentrates on his herd of Red Poll cattle.  Red Poll are both a dairy and meat breed traditionally associated with East Anglia and come from a mid-nineteenth century cross of the Norfolk Red and the Suffolk Dun.  James' young bull was the star of the herd but the calves had an endearing charm.

As we processed round the farm we discovered five or six magnificent horses, guinea fowl (who had taken to building their nests on the grass verge of the B1116!), the information exchange became two way when long term neighbours shared their knowledge of the farm and at the end of the walk young Christopher Wells dived into a shed and emerged with literally armfuls of ferrets that charmed everybody and weren't in the least nippy.

James was so pleased with the open day he's planning an even bigger and better one for next year.