My Week Away Part 2. From Suffolk to Sussex

Now, where did I get to? Oh yes, the afternoon at Ickworth. Unfortunately, the Sunday 7th June was rotten and rainy. It was an open gardens day in Horringer (the village where Ickworth Hall is) and we were going to go but the weather was too bad. We went to Asda instead, a great big new store. I rarely get to go to any 'big' shops in Ireland, so my eyes were on stalks! I bought myself a pair of new trousers and 2 tops as I was running short of clothes. We had lunch there too and Sam's Mum Rene came with us. By the time we got home the rain had stopped and the sun shone. That didn't last as we then had a darkening, threatening sky and a thunder storm! I took a couple of photos:
Look at that dark sky. The house you can see is at the back of J and Sams' garden. Do click on it to enlarge.

Jack and I did a collage - the basic picture was in his comic and the things to stick so we had fun doing that. Then Jack announced he was bored in quite a perfunctory fashion! It made me laugh. Still, I carried on doing it for a while afterwards and it is now displayed on Sam's fridge.

Jack went off and playing in Rene's annex flat until bed. Poor Kitty had a bad bad evening with tummy upset and she cried for a long while. We took it in turns to comfort her and eventually she settled. We watched the final of The Apprentice on tv, which was excellent and Yasmina was hired, a bit of a surprise as we thought Kate would be the overall winner.

Monday 8th and it was my first school run alone! Jack saw me sitting in the driver's seat and said 'you can't drive'!! Ha ha, little does he know. So I took him to school and he was just fine, chatting to me all the way. It was a busy afternoon as I drove Sam and Kitty to a clinic for a hearing test. They just plug this thing into her ears, click a few buttons on the computer and that was that. She passed A1. Then we took Sam to see the midwife. Her scar has healed very well but Kitty has still not regained her birth weight. She had lost a bit to start with! Sam was hoping she would be 'signed off' but the midwife said she'd call at home on Thursday and Kitty would probably have gained the extra bit by then.

I did a bit of gardening back home - pulling up large thistles, then off to fetch Jack from school. He was so pleased to see me. I fed Kitty while Sam worked in the office for a while. Nothing much else of note except a lovely spaghetti bolognaise made by Sam and bread pudding made by Rene! Here are a few photos from the day.






Kitty with a 'windy' smile










Sam's mum Rene holding Kitty














On Tuesday, June 9th, I ran Rene to the local post office, getting lost several times on the way there, then picked up Jack, Sam and Kitty and we took Rene into Bury St Edmunds to catch a bus down to London to see her family and friends there for a day or two. We then took Jack to a play barn called 'Monkey Business'. It has an outside area and a strawberry picking farm attached. Jack and I went off and picked strawberries after he'd had a good play. Here are the 'play barn' photos.





Jack enjoyed operating this machine in the sand pit









A photo taken over the fence of the outside play area to the strawberry field. I rather like this.












Jack with one of the biggest strawberries - and we didn't eat any!












Kitty back home in her moses basket













After Jack reading time we watched Holby City as Fay and Joseph got married. Aaah. I love a good wedding on tv, then I amused myself sorting through all Jack's pens and pencils and throwing away any that didn't work.

Wednesday, and after the school run it was big clear up day. Much hoovering and floor washing went on. I picked Jack up from school and we went and did some shopping. I didn't take any photos today. Amazing.

Thursday 11th and the midwife came as promised. Kitty weighed 8lb 11ozs so had gained a massive amount! She has been 'signed off' from the midwife's care now. Nanny Maureen and Grandad Ivor came for the afternoon. Maureen did the ironing as usual (I sneaked a couple of pairs of trousers and tea shirts in)!! I took quite a few photos:








I was changing Kitty and took this lovely shot of her















Jack giving Kitty a kiss


















I love this one of them both






















Mummy Sam and Kitty















Jack 'drilling' his teeth






















Mad Muffin. He has really strange eyes













Tiger Boy, he is enormous
















There was a lovely low sun in the evening and it shone on this nearby post box
















I took this 'signs' photo just along the road














And this one over the road












I followed the bridle path to this farm. I had often seen this odd shaped house from Jason's window and wondered what it was










Now I know, it's 'Dodd's Farm'. Look at that very hairy cat in the window











behind the farm and these clouds looked really odd.











This is the bridle path from Dodd's Farm and back to the Greens' house. Theirs is the roof almost in the centre with the 2 tall poplar trees to the left










I couldn't resist one flower photo



On Friday 12th, we took Jack to the Abbey Gardens in Bury St Edmunds. It was a lovely day and we had our lunch in the garden and Jack played on the equipment. Ivor had picked Rene up from the bus station on Thursday so she came with us.



















While Sam queued for ice creams, I took this photo of Jack behind a tree












We then investigated the new shopping centre, 'The Arc' in Bury. This is the new Debenhams:





It's rather striking, isn't it?







Jim was coming to pick me up some time on Friday. I was looking forward to seeing him. He had a bit of a tortuous journey and arrived about tea time. I seem to have taken dozens of photos on Friday - I'll just put a selection here:








Thoughtful Kitty




















Hungry Kitty


















sleeping Kitty














Me holding Kitty














Me, Kitty and Jack





















We took some family portraits in the garden













This is probably the best one











Then I got in on the act













This one makes me laugh!













Jason and Jim had fun with Jack on his slide




That was the end of my stay in Suffolk, then Jim drove me down to Worthing for a couple of days. We saw Poppy, Ali, Jenny and Russell. More of that tomorrow.

Today has been sunny with occasional rain. The builders turned up, hooray, and plastered my new room ceiling. It looks great. Maybe it will be finished one day.....