Sudbury Hall and Sudbury Village, Derbyshire

Sudbury Hall, Derbyshire.

Sudbury village main street

I am still researching my family tree, and recently I discovered that one side of the family comes from Sudbury in Derbyshire. My 4th great parents, Robert Vessey (Vasey) and Dorothy Howis (or Howie) were married there on July 2nd, 1792. I was very pleased to discover this connection with Sudbury, as I went there three years ago and had a smashing day. If anyone wants a relaxing afternoon out  and likes seeing stately homes, museums and picturesque villages, Sudbury is well worth a visit.

Situated in the lower Dove Valley, the village is dominated by Sudbury Hall, which was built in the 17th Century by George Vernon. The village  of Sudbury grew up around the Hall. Today about 500 people live there, and as well as the Hall, you can see the Museum of Childhood and All Saints Church, as well as a lot of old houses and buildings in the settlement itself.


If you don't have a car, you can get there by taking the Arriva 1 bus from Burton-Upon-Trent train station. This drops you outside the Vernon Arms, an old coaching inn built in 1671, and incidentally a nice place to have a spot of lunch before you go to the Hall. I recommend the ham sandwich - thick ham and real bread! You can sit outside in the beer garden and have a wee pint or two while you are waiting for the hall to open. Like most national Trust properties, you have to wait till the afternoon before they creak back the doors.

The Vernon Arms beer garden

Their great ham sandwich

 Once you've had your lunch, it's only a short stroll down the main street to the Hall. For the National Trust page, check this link: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/sudbury-hall-and-museum-of-childhood/

The building itself it beautiful in a chunky sort of way, but what I liked most was the view from the front - all you can see is countryside and a massive tree dominating the view. I didn't take any pictures in the hall (which must mean it is forbidden) so what it looks like inside will be a surprise for you. You can also pop into the Museum of Childhood, which is part of the same building complex. I found it a bit dreary, to be honest, but don't let me put you off.

Sudbury Hall

View from the front of the hall

After you have looked around inside, I recommend sitting outside the hall in the rear garden by the river. You can watch wild birds and relax in the sunshine. There isn't really much of a garden, just a bit of topiary and some bedding plants. There is also a lawn and then an expanse of wild grass down to the river. Watch out for the clumps of bird droppings hidden in the long grass! If you sit on one of the benches, you'll be fine.

 

Rear view of the hall

Wild garden and river behind the hall

 Next to the hall, there is the old church of All Saints. The current building has its origins in Norman times, but most of what you see from outside dates to about 1300. It was then "beautified" by the Victorians, and as usual, they threw out all lovely old decorations and put in more sensible stuff, including a stained glass window in the nave that was a present from Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. There was a very peaceful atmosphere in this church. It is most probably the place where my 4th great grandparents got married and perhaps many other generations of Vaseys came to worship. I wish I had known about the family connection when I visited. It would have made the experience even more special.

All Saints Church

I think this is a memorial to John and Mary Vernon.

All Saints Church

All Saints Church

Weird to think my ancestors worshiped, were christened and married etc., right here.

All Saints Church

If you still have some time after seeing the church, I recommend walking around the village itself before you get the bus back to Burton-upon-Trent. A lot of the buildings seem to be from the 17th Century and are of all shapes and sizes. I wish I could have stayed later and spent a cozy evening in the Vernon Arms, nursing a pint and another ham sandwich.

Village main street

Bowling green

The Vernon Arms

One of the lovely village houses

Love the shape of this house

Getting on a horse would be easy outside this house

The bus stop to take me back...

 

 

I had a great day in Sudbury. I've ordered a book about the place and I hope to find out more about my ancestors lives in the village. It would be great to revisit and be able to find buildings they had actually lived in. Until then, I feel happy to have walked around some places I am sure they were all too familiar with.

Hamtaro

It's been quite a while since my last post. I would like to update my blog once a week, but I know if I make that my goal it'll just turn into a chore and I'll feel pressured to do it. So I'll just say I aim to update more often.

It's over two weeks since I got back to Japan, and I can already feel myself sinking back into the same old work-then-sleep-then-go-to-work-again mode. I just feel like I am doing nothing but work (which I suppose is exactly what I am doing) and when I get home from work I don't have the energy to do anything else. On the weekends I force myself to go out and meet people, but to tell the truth, I really only have the energy to be at home or by myself. Maybe it's just old age creeping up on me.

Hamtaro died on Friday. I came home from work to find him cold and dead on the bottom of his cage. In life he was such a robust little chap - the vet said he was the biggest hamster he had ever seen - but in death he shriveled up to almost nothing. The worst thing was that by the time I found him his big, beautiful eyes were already shriveled into his head and the flies were on him. It upsets me that I wasn't here when he died, that he died alone. I feel that I failed him. I buried him under the azalea bush in front of the office across the road. I can sit down there and talk to him when I go out to speak on my mobile phone at night. For over a year he was my best friend. I get a lump in my throat when I think about him.

I already have two more. I bought them pretty quickly - some might think with indecent haste. The truth is that I had to buy something to put in that empty cage. After Hamtaro died and I cleaned it out, the cage just sat there like an open grave and I couldn't stand looking at it. I covered it over with a cloth, but that just made it more sinister. I couldn't throw Hamtaro's cage away, so I ended up buying the two hamsters to put in it. They are sisters - Pearl Winter White Russians, which means they are almost pure white with dark ears and a dark dorsal stripe down the back. One has a darker stripe than the other and that is how I can tell them apart. The darker one is also energetic and runs around like she is on speed, so I call her Speedy. The other is more like me - she sleeps most of the day and just emerges for food. I've called her Snowy (although my friend suggested that "Slowy" might be more appropriate, as she seems to be one nut short of a fruit bar). It was hard the first day, seeing them in Hamtaro's tank, eating his food and playing on his wheel. I felt a bit resentful, but I'm slowly getting used to them. They can't have his special dish, though. The one I fed him his vegetables in. That was just for him, and now it is on my bookshelf over my desk.

I've been watching Alan Rickman films recently. I liked his stuff the first time he was really popular about 20 years ago and now I've been watching the films he made since then. The best ones I've seen so far are "Sense and Sensibility" and "Perfume". The worst was "Nobel Son", which I recommend you not to touch with a barge pole. I really want to see "Snowcake", which has Sigourey Weaver as a woman with Autism. In the clips it looks pretty good.

I am reading "The Help", which was given to me by my friend Barbara. It's very good. I'm not even halfway through yet, but I am already nervous about what might happen to the characters in it when people find out what is going on.

Too tired to write any more tonight. Falling asleep at the keyboard. Time for bed.

Bakewell, Derbyshire

Another lovely place to visit if ever you are in Derbyshire is the small market town of Bakewell. This is the Derbyshire Dales area of the Peak District National Park and is famous for three types of cakes: the Bakewell Pudding, the Bakewell Tart and the Bakewell Cake (AKA Cherry Bakewell). The tart is the most famous by name, and consists of shortcrust pastry with a layer of jam and frangipane on top, but what most people think of as Bakewell Tart is actually a Bakewell Cake, which is much the same as the tart, but with a layer of icing and a glace cherry on top. The Bakewell Pudding is supposed to be the most traditional of the three, and is certainly the ugliest. It is made of puff pastry spread with a layer of jam and then a mixture of eggs, almonds, butter and sugar. It looks like a big, blobby brown jam tart, or a very badly made pizza. Don't let the appearance put you off - it is lovely with a cup of tea.

If you walk around the town, you will see various different shops all claiming to be the originators of one or other of these types of cake.

The town itself is very pleasant to walk around, as it has many old fashioned stone houses and shops. There is also a nice walk along the river Wye, where you can feed the ducks, geese, moorhens and trout and see the five-arched 13th Century stone bridge.

Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire

I'm posting from the UK. I arrived on the 8th of August and have had a very busy time over the last ten days. Mostly, I've been doing things for mum and dad - things that they find hard to do in their advanced years, like hack down the undergrowth in the back garden and programme digital TVs. However, I have managed to get out and about a few times, though this year it has all been inside Derbyshire, as I haven't had the time (or to be honest, the energy) to venture further afield.

One of the lovely places I have been to this time is Hardwick Hall, which was built by the legendary Bess of Hardwick. I'm not going to give her complete bio here (you can check it on Wikipedia), suffice to say that she is one of Derbyshire's most famous figures - a 4-times married contemporary of Elizabeth I, who was famed for building houses and being fabulously rich at a time when women were generally not powerful. Visiting the old and new halls at Hardwick is a fine day out for anyone. The new hall is beautifully decorated with the largest collection of tapestries held by a private family in the UK. The old hall (which is actually only three years older than the new hall) is now just a shell of masonary, but you can climb up to the top for spectacular views of the Peak District countryside. I suffer from vertigo, but I managed it! Anyway, once again, the pictures will tell the story.

Holiday, Night Walk, New Fan, New Books and Bless Young Amy Winehouse

It's only two weeks now till I go on holiday to the UK. Last week I was overcome with exhaustion just thinking about it traveling all that way and the 26-hour trip, but this week i am suddenly all excited and raring to go. What has caused the change of heart I don't know, but hurray anyway!

I don't have much to do before I go. As usual, I am going to take hand luggage only. I hate traveling with loads of stuff - just a pair of jeans and a couple of T-shirts will do me and then I can go and buy my yearly supply of clothes in Marks and Sparks when I get over there. If I travel light, it also makes it far easier to get the early National Express coach from the bus station at Heathrow, because I don't have to wait for ages for the luggage to come off the rotunda. That's if it gets to the rotunda at all. I stopped stowing luggage about ten years ago, when my suitcase ended up in Denmark. Bloody Paris baggage handlers.

Yesterday I went to get my travel insurance. As usual, the bloke in the local HIS left the new recruit to deal with me. I can't read the insurance forms so well, so the young guy explained them to me in Japanese and asked me questions. Some of the questions were so stupid that we both ended up giggling. was I planning to go bungee jumping? No. hang gliding? No again. Sky Diving? No. Was I planning on a trip to Cuba? Yes, I said. I'm having tea with Fidel. I laughed at my own joke, but he didn't as he didn't know who Castro was. Oh well. I had a laugh anyway.

I went out for a late-night walk last night. You can see the pictures on this page. It was very pleasant in the gardens in front of the Imperial guest house. There were more people about than I'd expected - taxi drivers catching 40 winks, courting couples and a man with a banjo. I took a few pictures on long exposure to see what came out. Some of them produced quite a nice effect. Mysterious. Gothic even. I like walking around my neighbourhood at night. It's not something you could do in my hometown, especially not with an expensive-looking camera. You might as well just stand in the shopping centre with a sign saying "Steal my Nikon then stab me."

The weather has been quite nice and cool since last week's typhoon. I have also been using the lovely fan that hubby bought me as a very practical wedding anniversary present. It stands two feet high and gently blasts me with silent air. :D

I bought a few books today. I have been treating myself recently - buying books, buying nice food, spending money! I hum that little tune "Enjoy yourself, it's later than you think. Enjoy yourself while you're still in the pink." Today I bought "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "Three Men in a Boat." Both classics. I also bought " Animal Dreams" by Barbara Kingsolver. Not a classic yet, but it may well be. I have just finished reading her "Poisonwood Bible" and thought it was magnificent. I have a couple more Hemingway stories to finish in the book of his collected works and then I will make a start on the Jerome K. Jerome. I am planning on saving the Kingsolver for my journey to the UK. :D

Last but by no means least, like so many people I have been deeply saddened by poor Amy Winehouse's death. I wasn't surprised, but I was shocked nevertheless. She had managed to stagger her way through the last five years and I'd just hoped that she would continue surviving until she finally made it out the other side into a happier life. Sadly that wasn't to be. I've read a few preachy statements from people going on about the dangers of drugs. We don't need to hear that. We've all had a ringside seat these last five years watching the poor woman wrestling with her drink and drug demons; we have seen it all happen in front of our eyes courtesy of Fleet Street. We don't need anyone to tell us about that. People have been going on about the sad waste of talent, but at the end of the day, her singing was just a job. I am more saddened by the sad waste of a young life. RIP Amy. We will keep playing your records and remembering how you were funnier than all the so-called comedians put together on "Never Mind the Buzzcocks".

Anyway, best get a reasonably early night for the first time in ages... yawn... night all :)

Day Trip to Kamakura

It's been a while since my last post. It's extremely hot and sticky here in Tokyo. Generally I am enjoying the heat, as my winter aches and pains have vanished, but some days the heat saps the energy even from me. Today has been one of those days. I got up late, managed to clean my room and listen to a bit of Radio 4, but then had to have a 4-hour nap. I remember a time years ago when life was quieter and I didn't feel like I ought to pack every waking moment with productive action. In those days, it was fine to get up late and then spend the rest of the day lying on my bed, listening to my records, or reading a book. Recently I have wanted more and more to go back to those old days, when we had a nine-to-five productivity expectation and weren't expected to be up until 2 in the morning shopping on eBay. So with that in mind, I am not going to feel guilty about doing sod all today.

Yesterday was busy for me. I went off on a long overdue adventure. I decided I couldn't face yet another weekend in the air conditioned dullness of central Tokyo, so I got on a train to the seaside. If in doubt, head to Kamakura. That has been my motto for the past 18 years, and I have probably been there at least the same number of times. I had been considering Zushi (where I've never been) but Kamakura won in the end.

I made sure not to get there too early, as the place is a heat trap and I have fried there in the lunchtimes of past years. When the train pulled into the station at around 1:45, I made straight for the beach, stopping off at Kua-Aina Hawaiian burger restaurant on the way to partake of Japan's best and most expensive cheese sandwich (over 700 yen, Daylight robbery). But it was worth it. I then walked the rest of the way down the main street, through a small group of gang bikers revving their engines and trying to look hard, and onto the beach.

This year was the first year I have seen "Beware of the hawks" signs on the sea front. I remember that when I went to Enoshima a couple of years back, the hawks were very evident on the beach, riding the thermals and occasionally swooping down to harass some poor picnicker into parting with their lunch. Well, yesterday I saw dozens of hawks floating on the hot air up and down the beach. I didn't see them attack anyone, but I did see a dozen or so crows come down on the sand behind a woman and then chase her. She didn't even have any food - she was just sitting there in her bikini on her rubber ring minding her own business when they all ganged up on her. They seemed to be doing it more for devilment than anything else.

There was a lovely sea breeze and I walked away from the main area of beach activity to the western end of the sands. I wanted to get away from the sprawl of beach umbrellas around the central beach party stage, where they were pumping out unidentifiable music too loudly for my liking. Eventually I found a comfortable spot in the shade of a small fishing boat, the "Shinmaru", spread my shirt out and lay on it. I stayed there for three hours and just switched off. I think that was the first time since I was in England last summer that I didn't have to "do" something. Time to myself to just relax and not have to talk to anyone, think about anything or be anywhere. A very rare luxury.

When the sun started to go down, I got up, packed up, and then went down for a paddle in the sea. It wasn't as dirty as it has been in past visits. I only saw minimal amounts of plastic and other trash floating around. I also found a very nice stone for my interesting stone collection (god I am so dull). This one is a pale grey soft stone in a nice, satisfying oval the size of the palm of my hand and covered with a pleasing arrangement of little holes. It's now on the bathroom windowsill.

It took me a while to get all the sand off my feet and my trainers back on and then I headed back up the main street. I didn't want to get the train straight away, so I walked up the quiet side of the street and ended up in a rather unique kaiten zushi (belt sushi) restaurant. I had to take a ticket and wait about 30 minutes to get a seat at the counter. It had all the traditional sushi, but much more besides. I had raw spring rolls, eel, fried shrimps, salmon, miso soup and some honey-covered sweet potato. It was a bit pricey (1,888 yen for six plates) but I enjoyed myself.

When I came out of the sushi shop, it was dark. I decided to go for a stroll up to Tsurogawoka Hachimangu shrine at the end of the main street. There were surprisingly few people about (I guess Kamakura is essentially a place to be while the sun is out) and I made my way down the central avenue without meeting more than a couple of people. I took a few photos of the street and the shrine on long exposure to see what sort of effect I would get. A few of them came out okay - dark and moody.

Anyway, that was my day in Kamakura. I am now lobster pink. Summer isn't summer until you have got sunburn :)