In and around Jersey

Our abode for 7 days in  Jersey. Great location.

Summertime....

Liberation Square, St. Helier. We bought our tour tickets at one of the booths.  

                                 Catch from the sea  - fresh and  aplenty in Jersey

Cast iron grille decor on balconies pretty up the town.

By the beach , alfresco , food is served as we enjoyed the atmosphere besides a bit of seagull chasing! The birds hunger for our food!

Spicy, oriental food  ordered in authentic Thai !.

Just didn't get the chance to say 'Moo,moo' to the cows in the fields.  The Jersey Cow is long recognised as a superior  dairy animal through its ability to produce rich milk. It is protected in its island home.

At the Drifter's Cafe - great food and friendly service. After a day out, a freshly baked sun face.

At a Portugese restaurant which we had to book . Second time lucky!

Believing I was there!

Red, cream, white, green,. yellow - different colours of the iron grilles of door entrances, windows, balconies catch the eye of passers-by.

Ahoy! all huddled under the bright sky. 

Love ya, Jersey Royal potatoes. 

By one of the city centre's landmarks, Saint Helier.

An impressive building where Nat West is housed. The lovely hanging baskets give a cheerful look.

Near Rosie's tea shop, an interesting seafood display at one of the fishmongers.

Market at St Helier. 

A familiar seascape as we travelled along the coastline on a day trip round Jersey.

Splashes of colours at the Jersey Pearl centre.

A breezy exterior of a seaside cafe and shop.

Building sandcastle for a cause - Simon the sand wizard at St Catherine's Bay. Visitors were allowed to take pictures but encouraged to donate to charity. The sandcastles are fragile and impermanent.

No fish nor craft sold today. The bunker serves as a reminder of the Nazi Occupation of Jersey.

.Le Moulin Le Lecq Inn  - a great stopover -for food and local history

A driving gear belonging to the old mill in the main bar . 

The placemat captures some info on the restaurant.

A replica of the late Princess Diana's pearl dress and jacket  that was auctioned for charity at Sotheby's in 1996 for USD 151 ,000

Jersey Pearl, St Ouen  -  a family business. We visited it on our round the island tour. It is painstaking work to make a woman pretty! 

Hidden treasure in the oyster. An attraction is to pick your own pearl from the oysters in the tank  and have it set, ready to be worn. 

Liberation Square, St Helier - developed in 1995 to mark the 50th anniversary of Jersey's liberation from Nazi Germany. The sculpture depicts a group holding the Union flag.

As we walked by homes, the big dahlia blooms captivated our hearts.Hydrangeas were aplenty, is colours of pink, red, yellow, white. They were as big as dinner plates ! 

Southwold, Norwich and Beccles

I am no stranger to Beccles, Suffolk and Norwich, Norfolk as my friend, Wanphen lived in Norfolk before moving to Suffolk. 

 There was n'er a dull day as both of us had a plan for the days we were together. This time round, I got to know the town better soaking in the sights. Wanphen hosted lunch  and dinner for friends and we visited a couple of them in the outskirts of Beccles too. Her hospitality extends right into  tummies  and I was really pampered by her versatile cooking of Asian and Western meals. 

I was thrilled to see Southwold. It has the charm of a lovely seaside town. We topped the visit with a tour of Adnams Brewery, founded in 1872 by two brothers, George and Ernest Adnams. Adnams is a Plc British regional brewery. Commemorative ales are produced for special events; one of which was the Royal Wedding Ale  in 2011 of HRH Prince William and Catherine Middleton. Do not miss The Amber Museum which is the only museum in the UK dedicated entirely to amber.   

Our day trip to Norwich was extra exciting as we took in the sights of the cathedral, market, shops and rewarded ourselves heartily at lunch and tea time. Of course before dusk, our the main mission was to go on the trail of  GoGoDragons Norwich 2015.There were 84 to hunt and we managed 13 in between other distractions. Like the families  that engaged in the hunt, we too oohed and ahhed  and hugged the dragons . The playful art lifted our spirits. 

 Adnam's ale in Southwold -  Wanphen and I booked a brewery tour and it ended with tastings.  I even lugged home 2 bottles of ale - Gunhill - 4% dark mild and  Broadside- 6.3%) ,dark  ruby red beer for  dear hubby who gave the thumbs up:)

Sunbathers on a hot, sunny day on Southwold beach. 

Colourfu beach huts  - like pretty maidens in a row! 

Local radio station on  the cliff top hill

Cannons  facing the sea on the cliff top.

View from the Pier. 

An interesting and fun water clock  which attracted many people.

A huge painting/graffiti at the Pier commemorates George Orwell's visit to Southwold. 

Wanphen waiting patiently for the hour  hand to strike to set the water clock in motion.

Ale and a scrumptious platter of haddock, chips and peas for lunch. 

We paid a special visit to Pam who lives in a residential home in Norwich. Then it was GoGoDragon Hunt for us!

A breezy, homely feel in one of the living  rooms in the residential Home

At Norwich Station 

Norvica Serafina, located in Cathedral Close  by the statue of Admiral Horatio Nelson.

Many admirers for this dragon.

Hail Biggles at Cathedral Close.

Inside Norwich Cathedral -  bathed in lovely colours.

Edith Cavell,a  British nurse, WW1 heroine who saved the lives of soldiers from both sides without discrimination, helped some 200 Allied soldiers to escape from German occupied Belgium.  I bought a couple of books from Tombland Bookshop  next to PRIME. Have a visit when you're in the vicinity.

Looks like I was too comfortable in the meadow of daffodils!

Sorry  ye beautiful dragon, I've forgotten your name!

BLING - the  blingest! - we spotted it in the market. It got many children and adults excited . Never knew a fire-spewing dragon  can be so dazzling and shine like a million stars!

Superwoman dragon is just content smiling on people with her  thick red luscious lips!

Waveney Enterprises -  a non- profit making arts, crafts and social skills teaching day service for adults with mild to moderate learning disability.  

Lunch at The Waveney House Hotel by the River Waveney with Catherine, an old friend of Wanphen's

Bobbi's lovely country house which she manages by herself.

So  glad to see Bobbi again after a lapse of 5 years.

There's always a first time ! Had my unwieldy hair shorn  - first ever on a holiday. Well, since 5 weeks is quite a time away from my regular in KL, Olivia in  Beccles did a fine job too!

For Wanphen, it was a first to visit Beccles museum  - more exploring when a friend comes visiting!

One sees these figurines in 5 entrances to Beccles. A significant event - Queen Elizabeth1 handing the Charter of the Corporation of Beccles to John Bass in 1584.

A brief info of Beccles of yesteryears. Beck = stream; Leas = meadows

Bust of Admiral Horatio Nelson, who was the son of Catherine Sucklin  ( a citizen) and Edmund Nelson. Both were married in  Beccles church.

A snack as we did our rounds of the many charity shops in Beccles. I think we did all - 10 or more! I picked up a few small items - a brilliant looking butterfly bookmark and two cross stitch pictures of cats , nicely framed ; a labour of love by the embroideress. 
Kudos to the excellent work in all the charity shops.

Thanks to Wanphen's culinary skills , there's always something specially cooked to tempt palates at dinner time.

Plants in the conservatory are a healthy lot.

Choosing which dvd movie to watch was a big decision! Once done, it's easy as we sat back on the recliners  to watch the classic Jane Eyre and sipped our  wine .

A game of cards in Norwich airport while we waited for our flight to Jersey.