Suffolk holiday beaches to visit
article by "Local Tom"

When temperatures soar and the skies are blue, there's no better place to be than beside the sea – pack up a picnic, dig out the buckets and spades and head to the beach for some good old-fashioned fun on the sand and in the shallows.

At cooler times wrap up well and enjoy a bracing walk, where you can watch the fishermen who still depend on the sea for their living, or comb the water's edge for washed-up treasures such as the fascinating amber commonly associated with the Suffolk coast.

Here's are my pick of beaches you simply must not miss while you're on holiday in Suffolk.

Southwold

Visitors return year after year to the seaside town of Southwold, famous for its iconic beach huts, lighthouse and historic pier. Select shops, renowned restaurants, the Adnams brewery and a mix of Georgian, Regency and Victorian architecture… all add to Southwold's picture-postcard appeal.

But it's the beautiful golden beach – a regular Blue Flag winner for its cleanliness and facilities – which is the biggest draw.

A holiday hotspot all year round, Southwold is busy but in no way spoilt. The epitome of the perfect seaside resort, it's an idyllic location for letting a Southwold cottage and having a relaxing holiday.

Walberswick
Rural life is never far away from Suffolk's heritage coast. Across the River Blyth from Southwold is affluent Walberswick, popular with ramblers and nature lovers as well as crabbing enthusiasts – every summer the village is home to the annual British Open Crabbing Championship!

Once a thriving port, Walberswick is now a bustling tourist attraction and an attractive location for a selection of self-catering accommodation.

Over a thousand acres of heath and marshland around Walberswick are protected as an Area of Outstanding National Beauty. The beach is an unspoilt mix of shingle and sand backed by dunes, perfect for paddling and picnics.

Aldeburgh
Traditional with a twist… that's Aldeburgh, once one of the East Coast's leading ports and today a thriving seaside resort with fashionable shops, cosy holiday cottages and a world-famous music festival that shares its name.

Aldeburgh has something for everyone, and its seashore is a favourite with visitors of all ages – it's a long stretch of predominantly shingle shelving quite steeply to the sea, with some sandy areas exposed at low tide. Here you can buy your dinner from the fishermen who sell their catch each morning, or go beachcombing for the precious amber which is found on this unspoilt part of the coastline.

Walk along the beach towards Thorpeness and you'll see the newest addition to the Aldeburgh skyline, the Scallop – a Maggi Hambling sculpture which is dedicated to Benjamin Britten, founder of the Aldeburgh Festival held at nearby Snape in June each year.

Thorpeness
Originally a small fishing hamlet and, according to folklore, a route for smugglers into East Anglia, the Thorpeness of today was created by Glencairn Stuart Ogilvie who, in 1910, developed it into a private coastal resort complete with country club, golf course and holiday homes.

Ogilvie's vision for his quirky model village included mock Jacobean and Tudor architecture and extended to cladding in wood the necessary but not aesthetically-pleasing water tower known today as 'The House in the Clouds'. More traditional in look, the nearby windmill is equally photogenic.

The beach at Thorpeness consists of steeply shelving shingle, with some sand at low tide. Dunes and low cliffs start to the north of Thorpeness, while the southern end forms the Haven Nature Reserve.

Felixstowe
Felixstowe first became a fashionable holiday resort in the 1880s and has retained many of its Victorian and Edwardian houses, hotels and attractions. The unspoilt town sits above a beautiful seafront which is over four miles long and has a wide promenade that stretches almost the entire length of the sand and shingle beach.

The sea here is excellent for swimming in: Felixstowe's South Beach boasts a prestigious European Blue Flag award and the water at both its South and North Beaches is Marine Conservation Society Recommended.

North of the town is the fishing village of Old Felixstowe and, at the mouth of the River Deben, the quaint little outpost of Felixstowe Ferry with its gallery, golf course, cottages, boatyard and inns. Here you can explore coastal paths, buy fresh fish and catch the small ferry boat across the estuary to Bawdsey.

The best way to enjoy this beautiful coast has to be letting a self catering Cottage in Suffolk. I hope you get to visit this amazing part of the country soon!

Local Tom

www.southwoldlettings.com

www.aldeburghlettings.co.uk

www.suffolk-secrets.co.uk

www.bigcottageholidays.co.uk

A good crowd were treated to an entertaining Charity rugby match on a balmy Boxing Day on Southwold Common.
The Under 30s began the game by fizzing the ball around the pitch, scoring free-flowing tries at will before Phil Anthony, the eagle-eyed referee picked up on their numerous errors, chief of which was to run far too much for the Overs liking.

The Overs started to exert their strength and experience, and played champagne rugby in a ten yard corridor of opportunity. The Under 30s defended well, but after consultation with the Stephenson scoring system, it was found that the Over 30s had once again vanquished the valiant Under 30s side.

More importantly the day raised over £500 pounds in memory of ex- player Glynn Alexander, the sum being donated to leukaemia Research.  A big thank you to all the players an supporters of Southwold RFC.

Callishibori
Callishibori has made the specialist art of indigo dyeing and shibori accessible and achievable both to the beginner and the more experienced textile practitioner.

Not until Callishibori have indigo, the necessary reducing agent, fabric prepared with a design, and stitch formats been brought together, with thorough instruction. They are presented as informative starter packs and project packs.

For the beginner, the starter packs make that first step into the world of indigo shaped resist dyeing, 'shibori', much less daunting, and provide a solid foundation upon which to build skill and knowledge. The more experienced textile practionioner can benefit from a tailor made service, as ingredients can be supplied for their specified vat size.

With stitch instruction, templates and the ever poplular 'Seriously Strong Thread' you will be able to design your own patterns, and produce unique indigo shibori fabrics which are ideal for patchwork and quilting, embroidery, art textiles, fashion and many other textile disiplines. They can, of course be enjoyed as indigo fabrics in their own right!

Callishibori came about by listening to students. Now almost everything that is needed to start an indigo shibori project is just there, conveniently packaged, with easy to follow instructions and generous information.

Indigo
The story of indigo is amazing! Known to man in ancient times and harvested from plants flourishing in hot climates, it became the world’s most important dyestuff by the end of the 17th century. The invention in 1856 of the first coal tar dyestuff heralded the manufacture of synthetic indigo some years later.

Shibori
With shibori resists, (and shibori relief), one is immediately engaged with the fabric, organising it, then securing it, often into odd shapes and distorted 3D forms, before it is dyed. It is the essence of fabric manipulation - quite different from other textile colouring methods in which cloth is kept flat and open to receive dye.

Callishibori enables you to create shibori and enjoy the magic of indigo through indigo dye packs, stitch packs, shibori stencils and much more. Products are available through mail order, at shows and exhibitions.

"My educational programme includes masterclasses, workshops and summer schools. Power Point presentations.

'Kaleidoscope' is currently on display in a major touring exhibition on indigo. 'Indigo, a blue to dye for' runs until early January at Brighton Museum and Art Gallery."
– Jane Callender

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Made in 1898, G.A. Smith's 'Santa Claus' is a film of considerable technical ambition and accomplishment for its period. It uses pioneering visual effects in its depiction of a visit from St. Nicholas.

A former magic lanternist and hypnotist, Smith was one of the first British film-makers to make extensive use of special effects to create fantastical scenes. It comes as little surprise that Smith corresponded with the French pioneer Georges Méliès at about this time, as the two men shared a common goal in terms of creating an authentic cinema of illusion. (Michael Brooke)

Wren

Almost the smallest bird in Great Britain, the wren is only about 10cm long and weighs only 9g.

Characteristics
The wren is a tiny brown bird, it is dumpy, almost rounded, with a fine bill, quite long legs and toes, very short round wings and a short, narrow tail which is sometimes cocked up vertically.

Habitat
The Wren can be found in numerous environments; such as woodland, farmland, heath-land, moorland, islands and the Wren is a regular visitor to most gardens. The male builds a number of domed nests, one of which the female chooses and lines with feathers.

Behaviour
The Wren is very common, but not very well known, as it rarely comes out into the open, but stays under cover. It hops from one branch of a bush to the next looking for insects and grubs. Its pointy beak is good for getting insects out of cracks in the bark of trees. Wrens are often mistaken for mice as they hop around on the ground under bushes and shrubs. They eat mainly worms, spiders and insects, but will occasionally eat berries.

For such a small bird it has a remarkably loud voice. An explosive ‘tit-tit-tit’ is the call; the song is a shrill, rattling warble.
B.A.B.

www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife

On 3 January 2012, the Trust Board of Directors will be celebrating the launch of the new Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust with visits to teams both sides of the border and an official cake-cutting with staff and partner colleagues in both counties.

The new Trust is the result of a merger between Norfolk and Waveney Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust and Suffolk Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust. It will cover an area stretching King’s Lynn to Felixstowe and serve a population of some 1.5m people.

Chief executive Aidan Thomas said: “The merger of our two trusts gives us real opportunities to develop new services which we would not have been able to do if we had remained as two trusts. For example, we are looking at developing inpatient services for under-18s who currently have to travel out of the county for mental health hospital care. Our larger size means we could provide that service closer to young people’s families.

“Both counties have examples of excellent service, which we can extend to the other. All round, this is good news for our clinical services and the people who use them.”

The merger was first proposed almost two years ago. Since that time, staff in the two trusts have been working together on the application, gaining approval from staff, GPs and MPs in both counties, primary care trusts, the strategic health authority and - finally - the independent NHS Foundation Trust regulator Monitor and the Secretary of State for Health.

Mr Thomas added: “It’s been a long process and, quite rightly, a challenging one as we and Monitor need to be satisfied that the merger will be in the interests of our service users and of the taxpayers. We identified many benefits to the merger, which we will now start to deliver to the people of Norfolk and Suffolk.”

Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust provides inpatient and community mental health services for people of all ages in both counties, with the current exception of younger people’s inpatient services. Drug services are provided in Norfolk, while alcohol services are provided throughout. Learning disability services and eating disorder services are provided in Suffolk.

The chief executive is Aidan Thomas, who has been the substantive chief executive for the former Norfolk trust since October 2009 and the interim chief executive for the Suffolk trust since March 2011.

The chair of the new Trust is Maggie Wheeler, the previous chair of Norfolk and Waveney Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust.

The Trust’s new website will be at www.nsft.nhs.uk, although the sites of both previous trusts are still available.

That’s the message from NHS Suffolk as it encourages people to choose well and make sure they go to the right place for treatment.

Dr Christopher Browning, a local GP and chair of the West Suffolk Commissioning Federation said: “The festive period is a busy time for the NHS, with busy services and staff. It is really helpful if people don’t overlook their pharmacy as this is a great place to go for help and advice.

“If you are unlucky enough to suffer a minor injury or illness over the holidays think about whether your pharmacist is the person you could ask for assistance in the first instance.

“By choosing this form of treatment everyone can help reduce the pressure on A&E departments and the 999 service, who can sometimes end up dealing with minor medical problems that could easily be dealt with by over-the-counter medicine bought from the pharmacy.

“A number of pharmacies across the county will be opening for limited hours on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, 27th December, New Year’s Day and 2nd January 2011 – so make sure you know the location of your nearest one, just in case you need it.”

You can find out the opening hours of your local pharmacy by calling NHS Direct on 0845 46 47 or by visiting www.suffolk.nhs.uk/servicelocator

For more information about NHS Suffolk visit www.suffolk.nhs.uk


 

 

 

A major new Norwich Puppet Theatre production of Red Riding Hood will open for the Christmas season with a gala performance on Saturday 17 December 2011


Red Riding Hood, a major new production by Norwich Puppet Theatre, opens with a special gala performance on the evening of Saturday 17 December and then runs until Saturday 31 December. This brand new adaptation of a classic folk-tale will delight audiences of all ages and has been funded Arts Council England Grant through the National Lottery. The show is directed by Peter O’Rourke who began his career as a puppeteer at Norwich Puppet Theatre and has gone on to work as a puppet-maker with many renowned companies including Spitting Image. A week of schools performances will be staged from Monday 12 – Friday 16 December (SOLD OUT) offering children a chance to see the show ahead of the general public (see Notes to Editors for schools booking information). Tickets for the gala and main performances are on sale now (see Notes to Editors for more details). Following the run in Norwich, Red Riding Hood will be performed at the Little Angel Theatre in London before touring the UK.

Norwich Puppet Theatre’s new production is a wonderful adaption of the much-loved classic folk-tale Red Riding Hood. The story takes some unexpected turns as the little heroine, with some help from two washer women, pits her wits against the wolf she encounters in the dark forest. The show has been written by Tim Kane and has a witty script, which is certain to bring a smile to the faces of children and adults alike. With 18 fantastic puppets made especially for the production and expert puppeteers, the show guarantees to be an innovative visual feast. Original music and songs for Red Riding Hood by Ben Glasstone bring further humour and vibrancy, and the chance for audiences to participate. See Notes to Editors for biographies of Tim Kane and Ben Glasstone).

Red Riding Hood has been designed and directed by Peter O’Rourke. A freelance designer, director and puppet maker, O’Rourke began his career working as a puppeteer at Norwich Puppet Theatre. Since then he has been involved in a variety of projects in the role of puppet maker, collaborating with and working for many renowned companies. These include The Little Angel Theatre, Theatre Rites, Tam Tam Theatre, Playboard Puppets, The Lyric Hammersmith, Lost and Found Theatre, Knee-high Theatre and Spitting Image.

Peter O’Rourke, Designer and Director of Red Riding Hood, said: I got my first job in puppetry at Norwich Puppet Theatre; nearly 30 years ago on a production of ‘Alice in Wonderland’, so I was very excited to be invited back to direct and design this year’s Christmas show. My first thoughts on being invited were to ask Tim Kane (writer) and Ben Glasstone (composer) if they would like to collaborate on this project – I have worked with them on other shows and have always had a good working relationship them and value their skills. 

Red Riding Hood is the first major show produced independently by Norwich Puppet Theatre since 2008. It signals a new phase in the life of the Theatre, which has been shaping a new vision for its future over the past few years. Joy Haynes, the recently appointed Director of Norwich Puppet Theatre, explained: “Norwich Puppet Theatre has been working hard to ensure that it thrives in the future. We are very grateful to the grant bodies, funders, the City and County Councils, businesses and local people who continue to support us. We are also immensely excited about the coming years during which we intend to build on our reputation and experience to become recognised not only as an asset for Norwich and the region but also as a centre of excellence for puppetry nationally and internationally. To this end we will be developing innovative new productions to show at the Theatre and to tour, working with schools and community groups, training new puppeteers and offering development opportunities for puppetry professionals. We have our first ‘manipulate’ festival of international contemporary puppetry for adults, organised in collaboration with Puppetry Animation Scotland, at the start of February. I hope people will take the opportunity to try something different and come and see some outstanding puppetry theatre from across Europe on their doorstep”.



Support
Red Riding Hood is supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England
Media partner, Norwich Magazine

Schools Performances – SOLD OUT
Twice daily (morning and afternoon)
Monday 12 December – Friday 16 December
Bookings: call 01603 615564 or email info@puppettheatre.co.uk
Tickets: £4 per child, 1 adult free with every 10 children, additional adult tickets £4

Gala Performance
Saturday 17 December
Drinks reception 6.45pm, show starts at 7.30pm
After party 8.30pm – 10pm
Encouraged dress code is ‘gala glamour’ and black tie
Bookings: call 01603 629921 (box office is open Monday – Friday 9.30am to 5pm and from 9.30am on performance or workshop Saturdays. An answerphone service operates at other times)
Tickets (adults only): £15, £10 concessions

Other Performance, Dates and Times
Monday 19 December at 2.30pm
Tuesday 20 December at 11am (baby-friendly performance) and 2.30pm
Wednesday 21, Thursday 22 and Friday 23 December at 2.30pm
Saturday 24 December at 11am
Monday 26 – Saturday 31 December at 2.30pm each day

Booking for Other Performances
Call 01603 629921
The box office is open Monday – Friday 9.30am to 5pm and from 9.30am on performance or workshop Saturdays. An answerphone service operates at other times
(There is a surcharge of 50p per booking on all card and cheque payments and a 50p charge for ticket postage. All tickets are non-refundable unless a performance is cancelled)

Tickets can also be booked on-line through the UEASU ticket booking office – visit www.puppettheatre.co.uk
(Please note there is a £1.50 per ticket surcharge for this service)

Children under the age of 3 years can only be admitted to the auditorium where specified in the programme as baby-friendly performances

Tickets
Adults £7, children £5
Concessions £5.50
Go4Less child £3
Family ticket £20 (2 adults + 2 children or 1 adult + 3 children)

Biographical Information

Tim Kane
Previous writing for the theatre includes The Mouse Queen, co-written with Ben Glasstone, first produced at The Little Angel and subsequently performed at The Polka, Unicorn and Hampstead Theatres in London and The New Victory, New York. Also for The Little Angel, adaptations of Roald Dahl’s The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me and Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. Other work includes Jeffrey Cobb’s Stress Management Roadshow, at BAC and Edinburgh.

As an actor Tim’s work includes Leonard the Lion in The Mouse Queen; Play Antarctica at The Unicorn; Through The Woods for Birmingham Rep and Teatro Kismet, Italy; Woyzeck and Treasure Island at The Tobacco Factory, Bristol; Cooking The Books at MAC; Puck in a national tour of A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Leonce and Lena and Epitaph For The Whales at The Gate; Ryder at The Pleasance; and Brink for the British Festival of Visual Theatre. Television includes Broken News, a comedy for BBC.

Ben Glasstone
Ben is a composer, writer and performer. Recent work includes: score for The Man with the Luggage (Trestle), music and lyrics for The Tempest (The Royal Shakespeare Company/Little Angel) and an adaptation of Quentin Blake’s picture books, All Join In (Polka Theatre 2011). His musicals include The Mouse Queen (book co-written with Tim Kane) (Little Angel, Hampstead, Unicorn and New Victory, off-Broadway). He has written music and lyrics for many shows at Little Angel: Fantastic Mr Fox, 2005-2010 (five tours including RSC), The Giraffe, The Pelly and Me, 2008 and Alice in Wonderland, 2010. Scores and songs for other theatre include: Pinocchio, 2001/08 (Unicorn Theatre at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre and Polka Theatre), How to Beat a Giant, 2007 (Unicorn), Goldilocks, 2003, (Lyric Hammersmith and WAC) and shows for Tricycle, Trestle, Gate, Half Moon as well as collaborations with companies such as Unpacked, Quicksilver and Indefinite Articles. He is currently developing a new musical, The Adventures of Thunder and Coal with his company Nonesuch Theatre. He has led theatre and composing education projects for the BBC , The Royal Opera House, Roundhouse, Unicorn, Philharmonia Orchestra and many others and his songs for children are published by Faber and A and C Black.