Soloists from the ENO will visit Preston St Mary on Saturday evening.

Interior of Preston Priory Barn

Next Weekend there is a lovely concert in Preston St Mary aimed at raising funds for the Church.

The Friends of Preston St Mary Church present an Evening of English and Patriotic Song sung by Highwood Village Choir with soloists from English National Opera.

 Saturday 30th September at 7pm in Preston Priory Barn, CO10 9LT

Tickets £12.50 (to include wine and nibbles) pre-booked or at the door

  

Lyn Davis 01787 247112 for more information

All proceeds go to maintain the Church fabric

Little Waldingfield Flower Festival coming soon

Little Waldingfield

FLOWER FESTIVAL

ST. LAWRENCE CHURCH

(On B1115 Sudbury to Stowmarket Road)

Theme:  ‘Count Your Blessings’

 

Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 September 2017

10am – 6pm both days

Free Admission -Donations welcome
Refreshments in the Church

Stalls    Tombola    Raffle

Songs of Praise, Sunday 6.30 p.m.

  

I understand that in addition to the attractions above there will be an art and crafts exhibition in the Parish Rooms.

Breakfast with Bacon

There will shortly be another chance to enjoy the wit and wisdom of Richard Bacon, the Member of Parliament for South Norfolk.

On September 15^th HLC is hosting another ‘Breakfast with Bacon’ in the wonderful surroundings of Ickworth House just outside Bury St Edmunds.

Those of us who remember the excellent pre Brexit Referendum breakfast with Richard at the Swan in Lavenham certainly won't want to miss this event.  

Richard is a well informed and amusing speaker and is not shy about giving honest answers to difficult questions.  I am sure that those who attend will gain valuable new insight into the current political situation in the UK.

The breakfast menu looks pretty good, and I for one will be going on afterwards to take a look at the (moderately) recent rehang of the marvellous artworks in the main part of the House.

Hope to see you there!  Further details and a booking form can be found HERE.

The Rotunda, Ickworth House

Your chance to buy a masterpiece!

An exciting auction of original art works is coming up in Sudbury in October, and tickets are now on sale.  The event will be held in The Assembly Room at the Town Hall on Friday 20th October at 7 p.m.

Spear-headed by Suffolk-artist Maggi Hambling and art critic Andrew Lambirth, the Auction will feature around 140 lots donated from the Estates and Studios of some of Britain’s greatest and most inspiring artists such as Michael Ayrton, Edward Bawden, Antony Gormley, Maggi Hambling, John Hoyland, David Inshaw, Allen Jones, Sarah Lucas,  Sargy Mann, John Nash and William Pye.

This is a not to be missed opportunity to obtain a unique work of art!

The Auction is just one of a number of events in coming months to support the ambitious plans at the museum.  The aim is to match the £4.7m award from the Heritage Lottery Fund in order to fund the renovation and redisplay of the historic house and the construction of a new, landmark three-storey structure with four new galleries – a showcase Gainsborough gallery, a landscape studio with panoramic views over Sudbury, a community gallery and a major exhibition gallery/performance space.

Tickets for the auction cost £25 and include wine, refreshments and a catalogue.  They are available from Gainsborough's House (01787 372958.)

Do come along and bring your art loving friends too!

Architect's impression of one of the new galleries

Walnutree Hospital, past history and future plans.

The former hospital

I hear that the new homes built on the site of the former Walnutree Hospital in Sudbury are due to be marketed from September by the developers, P.J. Livesey.  Apparently the new area will be known as 'St Gregory’s Place'.

A good deal of the structure of the old hospital has apparently been preserved int he development.  I am personally less enthralled about this than some, and agree with the comments of a local historian than perhaps demolition followed by a full archaeological excavation of what must be an important historic site might have been a more valuable procedure overall.  However, I know that people become fond of buildings regardless of their architectural merit, and that therefore mine is probably a minority view.

Co-incidentally on Saturday evening, 5^th August, at St Gregory’s Church nearby Phyllis Felton, the author of the book ‘Behind Brick Walls’  which traces the history of the site,will be ruminating on the time when the hospital was used as a workhouse.  Phyllis was a nurse at the Walnutree for 26 years, and her book traces the history of the hospital site since Anglo Saxon times.

This will be the fourth and last of an unusual series of  free events that last just an hour from 6-7pm, so you are able to go on elsewhere for the rest of the evening. During the hour there will also be music from Elizabeth Cobb (flute) Ron Spivey (French horn) and Tom Cogan (piano). You can enjoy a glass of wine or soft drink afterwards.

There are no tickets but it is a fundraiser - the organ needs £3,000 worth of treatment for starters - so Tom Cogan, St Greg's organist and director of music, is hoping that all comers will be generous with their donations.