Scenes from the Weekend... Part 4

We enjoyed a very pleasant evening at The Queen's Head... There were only a few people around this time, either chatting to friends, having a meal, reading newspapers or just relaxing at the end of their weekends. It was nice to catch up with a few of our friends and find out about the things that they had been doing over the course of the weekend - Sarah and Mark had been gliding, and Roger and Maureen had been busy in the garden and windsurfing.

Here's an image of the main fireplace at the Queen's...




This is one view from the table we sat at to eat our meal. There probably aren't too many pubs even in this country with the Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom on the wall... England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are each represented on this Coat of Arms. If you look at the top right hand image in the collage, then you can probably get a better impression...



And here's the other view from our table, looking through into the bar area itself. Roger and Maureen are seated to the left.



And here's the view from the other side of the bar, with Jerry doing his stuff behind the bar - he's an excellent bar manager. We're standing and chatting to Sarah and Mark who had just come in as we were finishing our meals...



They decided to eat also so we sat down with them whilst they enjoyed their meal. Here's a close up view of the beer engines behind the bar, taken from the table just near the fireplace.



and a final view of that wonderful fireplace with the wood burning down at the end of a very pleasant evening.



Thanks for joining us and I hope you enjoyed yourself as much as we did. Warm wishes, Vxx

Scenes from the weekend... Part 3

Right Jack and Pondside have you everything you'll need... wallet, handbag, coat or sweater? Okay, jump in my car and let's head off to the Queen's Head. Our table is booked for 7.30pm but we'll leave about 7pm so that the light is still good enough to show you some of the sights along the way. Seat belts on - it's the law over here. Comfy? Off we go!

We pull out of our drive and head to the right, south, and to the village of Hawkedon. It's England so that's pronounced with 3 syllables as in Haw - k' - d'n...

We go past Stonecross Green which of course you already know about and head out into the open countryside. Unfortunately for everyone else, we are heading into the sun so the images have come out a little dark but hopefully you'll be able to see fairly well... This is looking towards the next village, Rede (as in Reed) which is quite charming although you won't get to see it all as we turn left at the junction into the village and leave it behind us.



The road's quite a winding one and we cross over this little bridge...



now you can see Rede church ahead of us...



and here we are at the little junction on the outskirts of Rede... of course, you could always catch the bus to the pub if you wanted to?...



Having turned left, we're heading in a south westerly direction. Before you know it, we're sort of on the 'outskirts' of Hawkedon. We're just going past the Hawkedon Veterinary Surgery where we have a major financial interest due to all the times we've visited over the years. When we first had to come here it was with our younger dog. She was just a puppy and it was an emergency visit (aren't they always...), Sally the vet looked at our puppy and said to me, 'Here, hold this...' and thrust her 6 week old baby daughter into my arms whilst she got on with the serious stuff... those were the days when the surgery was in a tiny little 'Portacabin' arrangement... so, as you see a major financial investment here... But I still think that they do a fantastic job and wouldn't consider taking my pets anywhere else...



On the crest of the hill and now you see in the distance the village of Hawkedon...



down the hill and you see the village sign...



Perfect! Not too many people here but enough to mean that we have to park the car here on the road, just outside...



Here's a photo of the outside of the pub - maybe you can show your families back home where we went for a meal, a drink and a chat...



The Queen's Head in the village of Hawkedon, Suffolk, England.



Grab your coats, it's cold now - let's go inside and see if there's anyone we know there and we'll introduce you...

Scenes from the weekend... Part 2

Palm Sunday morning; gorgeous blue sky and some real warmth in the air. This morning we're off to our local community centre where a few members of the village cricket team are gathering to do some preparatory work for the coming season. The pitch has to be marked out, the grass mowed and rolled. The practice nets need to be checked and mended. The grass where last year's Guy Fawkes bonfire was situated also needs some work to it before it can be played on.


It's not a 'serious' team but they enjoy quite a few social matches and we all chip in to do our bit. I don't play but my husband does and I thought it a perfect opportunity to snap a few photos for my blog!


The first thing we saw when we drove into the carpark was this hot air balloon - not sure if it had a 'learner driver' at the controls but it seemed to be having some problems with sufficient lift. By the time we'd parked and I'd managed to grab my camera and scramble out of the car, it had gained some height...




only for it to skew off to the side a little when it then lost all height and dropped into the field... that it wasn't supposed to land in! It dragged along for probably 100 metres or so and then started to climb once more... no doubt the basket removed quite a lot of the crop as it dragged along the ground!



Fortunately, it regained good height and headed off to wherever these things head off to... but I rather suspect that the passengers got a little more excitement than they bargained for.

The guys got stuck into the area of grass that needed to be repaired from the bonfire. Although new turf had been laid here, the heavy winter rains had done a bit of damage to the soil levels and it needed to be levelled out a little to make it safe for all.



I thought I'd leave them all to it and take the opportunity to see what was hiding in the 'outfield' or the rough grass. Maybe head over to one of the benches whilst I watched them all working - what a treat! When I reached the first bench, I decided that there wasn't quite enough sun to enjoy so started to walk on by. And that was when I noticed that it was not actually the nice quiet little spot I'd originally thought it might be...




It's one of those compressed air bird scarer guns and it was only about 30 or so feet away from the bench! Mind you, I guess it would be pretty peaceful after you'd had your heart attack.



A sweet little violet blossoming in the shelter under some trees and below a photo of some leaf bursting through on a horse chestnut tree... and clearly an angel had brushed by this branch.



Meanwhile, the guys were starting to get a little serious with their work, so I decided to wander back and take a some photos of their efforts. Discussions were held about the correct area to mow - or was that about the correct way to mow the area?



Some manpower went into the cutting and the rolling...



then more cutting whilst some fertiliser was spread over the cut grass...



and the batting practice nets were mended...



But clearly they enjoyed themselves and a lot of fun was had by all.



Time to have a little chat about this and that before we all headed back to our homes, lunch and whatever other plans we had in place for the rest of the day.... for us, a little more work in the garden, a lazy lunch in the sun and then later on we were heading off to the Queen's Head for a nice, relaxed evening meal. Hope you can join us! Warm wishes, Vxx

Sunday, Sunshine and Spring...

Isn't it amazing how our spirits lift when the sun shines! Yesterday was a beautifully sunny day here, and today looks as though it's going to be at least as good. The first of our daffodils have begun to open their blooms so it really does appear as though Spring has begun in earnest. It's been a difficult week as dear old Bear has not been so well. Yesterday however, she was able to lie in the sunshine and that seemed to perk her up quite a bit.



Finally the ground seems to be drying out from all the rains and snow. The mud is almost gone - hooray! So it's time to get out into the garden and sort a few things out before we are inundated with all the new growth. The gardening day started with the planting of a new section of Yew hedge along the road side of the property. This is the second hedge we've planted here - the first was a Pyracantha hedge which died back after a few years or so. But first things first... barrow loads of horse manure needed to be dug in to enrich the soil.



After a long day in the garden, we headed to one of our local pubs for a bite to eat. It's a beautiful old country pub which sadly is not located here in our village (or maybe that's a good thing!) but it's less than 5 minutes by car so we still take advantage of its proximity to our home.

When we made the reservation on Friday night, we had thought the pub would be pretty much empty, but on arrival we found it was busy with locals. Of course, everyone had enjoyed the first real day of Spring and so wanted to continue their day and weekend for as long as possible! We decided on a Beef Rogan Josh curry for me and my husband chose a pizza for his meal. A glass of chilled white wine for me and a pint of beer for him. It was delicious!



Here a couple of images of the little room we chose to eat our meal in... it has a fireplace and it was warm in there. The day might have been sunny and warm but the night air brought a chill to it. However the main reason we chose this room was because I could take some decent images - too many people in the other rooms to be able to do so... after all, who wants to have their photo taken on a Sunday evening when all you want to do is relax and be comfortable! The pub is called The Queen's Head - nothing at all to do with the stuffed boar's head on the wall though!



Here's a photo of that all important fire... the pub has another fireplace which is wonderfully impressive but it's very much a prime location and had a crowd gathered in front of it. Perhaps I'll be able to get an image for you on another occasion... ah, the lengths I'm prepared to go to for my blogging friends....



I hope you have all enjoyed your weekend and the coming week is good to you.