This morning Mrs O and I went over to the Museum of East Anglian Life to see the exhibition on the first full day it was open to the public. I have virtually lived the exhibition since I completed the maquette with scale images but Mrs O was far too busy on the PV to take it in and she likes to read all the labels in cabinets etc. I wanted a slice of the rather excellent treacle tart made and served in the Osier cafe. This cafe is always busy but alas no treacle tart. I have had 3 slices this week as I worked through the hang so I cannot complain. Instead I had a very good fruit scone (pronounced scon from where I come from). Mrs O had the chocolate cake with the surprise slices of fudge fingers on the top.

A couple of hours there and then it was off to Felixstowe and Woodbridge Tourist Information Centres to drop off postcards advertising the show. Both are situated in the public libraries of these Suffolk Coastal District Council territory towns. I have to ask the question ‘Why is a TIC closed on a Saturday when both towns are full of grockles?’ The library staff were very helpful and took the cards to place on the empty TIC desks. I suppose cutbacks are the order of the day but this county depends on tourism so it concerns me that now we are into a season already brimming with holidaymakers that such a service is shut. But wait, what am I thinking about? All sorts of essential social services are falling under the knife so why cut back on a service that if manned properly would contribute to visitor numbers and increased profitability in the region that might have a knock-on effect towards local revenue earning capabilities. In a world where longer opening hours are being trumpeted for Sundays, and I feel for people who are compelled to work on a Sunday in shops , cafes and other consumer based areas should public services be safeguarded from such an imposition?

Anyway, on the way into Woodbridge I decided to pull over and show Mrs O one of my Edgelands locations. I had been to this site several times in February and expected it to be quite different apart from there being foliage on the deciduous trees. These are two shots in the exhibition taken from within a yard or two at the same location.

A few weeks ago I joined the 21st century and ended up with a newfangled smart phone with a camera. These shots are from the same location but obviously very much not the same time of day.

A view of a medium format image is also reproduced to show the difference

Imagine my delight at finding the builder’s bucket still there and the bagged dog mess albeit that had moved a small way from the original location.

I then had tea and broken biscuit chocolate cake in the Strawberry cafe in Woodbridge. A good end to a perfect week.