Cup winners...

Tuesday started with one of those misty mornings that remind you that autumn is on its way.

Off out to do a couple of hours of tidying the raised beds we planted up earlier in the year. They looked amazing - particularly the bio-diversity bed, which was looking pretty sad even after we planted it up back in June. Now it is lush and full, and brimming over with life - the formerly rock hard soil has worms in it, which is really fab, and insects are buzzing happily around the flowers. A couple of things were starting to take over, so some (not all) of those were weeded out and a few other bits and bobs added in to the mix.

The edible bed.

It will be interesting to watch how things change over winter, and a bit of a challenge to make sure that there is something to look at throughout the colder months. Remarkably little litter - but a lot of cigarette stubs strewn around. Still, several people stopped to say how much they admired and appreciated the difference we have made to the space, which is great to hear.

The bio-diversity bed, for bees and butterflies.

The good news is that on Tuesday evening the group was awarded 'runner up in the Best Community Garden and also Overall Winner for exceptional and outstanding contribution for Sudbury in Bloom', which no doubt helped the town reach its goal of taking Gold in the 2013 Anglia in Bloom competition. There's a trophy and a certificate, and gardening vouchers which we can use for more plants! Wooohooo!

Vintage St Peter...

Juniper Flowers is a lovely little shop in Sudbury, selling flowers, vintage wares, and gorgeous retro frocks, and today they took over St Peter's in town for a 'Brief Vintage Encounter', filling the place with vintage stalls, a tea room and even retro makeovers. A couple of vintage cars parked outside set the scene and there was a definite happy buzz around Market Hill.

We were greeted at the door by the Juniper team and inside the sun was blazing through the stained glass - with some trad jazz playing, and even a bit of live singing, the atmosphere was really quite special.

I loved the cushions at 'My Betty Blue' (below) made from vintage fabrics, and salvaged kimonos. I'd planned on getting a scrap bag of vintage textile pieces, but left it too long - by the time I went back, the one I wanted had been sold! Ah well, instead I bought a cushion, made in 1930s fabrics - the pretty blue one propped up in front of Ms 'Blue' herself. Look out for them at Brick Lane in London!

I also bought a soft, well-worn, blue and white linen tea towel from Susan, the retro lady, who was dressed far more bravely than I would ever dare. What a sweetheart - Susan featured on telly, in Kirstie's Vintage Homes, so we had a celebrity in our midst!

There were quite a few women, both customers and vendors (and vintage shop mannequins!), in full makeup and 1940s hairstyles, or in 1950s full skirts, all looking utterly gorgeous. Sudbury has never seemed so glamorous!

The ladies from The Vintage Garden Tea Party Company, who provided the catering, transformed the kitchen with bunting, pretty teacups and saucers, and fabulous cakes. If we hadn't been out last night with friends for the most enormous curry we might have succumbed - although C did buy a few cakes to take home for later!

St Peter is a great venue for this sort of thing, and it clearly went down well with the locals. One of our neighbours told me that she was tickled pink to find some old dolly pegs amongst the treasures!

So, something for everyone - even if only a cup of tea, a bit of cake and some slightly rueful reminiscing about about all of the Pyrex, mid-century modern ceramics, and Victorian lace we've chucked out over the years...

Thon Fiona Bruce off the telly. Again.

Someone has sent a link* to a response in the Telegraph explaining why folk are a little cheesed off by Fiona Bruce's article (mentioned by me here). I expect big beardie Paxman will be grilling her on Newsnight.

* Am I trying a little bit too hard to prove I'm not normally a reader of the Torygraph (as my brother used to call it)?

Fiona Bruce's Britain: Sudbury, Suffolk...

My brother sent this article by Fiona Bruce to me. It makes for slightly dismal reading - as if the town has nothing much to offer at all, other than its links with Thomas Gainsborough. Granted, it's sadly true that it is suffering in the same way as many other small towns during this recession, but it is fighting back. The picture Ms Bruce paints of Sudbury is at best minimalist, and at worst something akin to a work by Damian Hirst (good title, but not much real substance). She has damned Sudbury, and poor old Saint Pete's (as it is affectionately known by some), with very faint praise indeed!

 

Saint Peter's, in the heart of Sudbury, is rather too good a space to be dismissed with, "Now it’s a relic of past observance, no people, not even a pew. A sign declares 'Saint Peter’s is now redundant', in care of a conservation trust." Saint Peter's is so much more than that. It has a beautifully painted ceiling, some intriguing carvings and lovely stained glass windows, all of which are worth more than a cursory glance - as evidenced by the number of visitors every day.

 

But if the building itself isn't enough, then its diary of events surely is - the Farmers' Market, craft fairs, fashion shows, and exhibitions, as well as concerts by the likes of the Canadian Youth Orchestra, and the Birmingham Philharmonic, are always well attended. With no cinema, and only a small theatre, Sudbury has found in Saint Peter's an alternative venue for all sorts of interesting events, right in the centre of town.

When not in use the building is open to visitors every day so that they can quietly appreciate and explore the space in a way that Ms Bruce evidently didn't quite manage to do. It is a shame her visit didn't coincide with an event, as she might then have left with quite a different impression. There are several working churches in Sudbury, and having a so-called 'redundant' one dedicated to bringing people together in a way that doesn't rely on religious belief is definitely a positive thing in my book.

***

Incidentally, Ms Bruce also suggests taking a stroll along Gainsborough Street, and turning 'left down a little alleyway' to Gainsborough's House. If you're coming from Saint Peter's (perhaps in rather a grumpy mood) then you might want to turn right into the alleyway instead of left, otherwise you'll only end up feeling even more cheesed off... But before you leave, stop at the water trough outside St Peter's and just imagine for a moment the white and black-spotted, silly deliciousness, of the 101 Dalmations (yes, the very same!) who stopped to have a drink there as they fled from the dastardly Cruella De Vil!