Trip to Bury St Edmunds

A trip to Bury St Edmunds was on the cards today, as Mike had been invited in to a quarter peal of Grandsire Cinques at the Norman Tower today.

This was once a very prosperous Abbey - then after the Dissolution it became the Church of St James - now it is a cathedral, with a new Millennium spire...very pleasant Abbey gardens...

 ....but first, we had a little adventure on the motorway, the A14...we came across a horse box that had broken down - one girl was staying with the truck while the other walked off to find some diesel - we gave her a lift, found a petrol station that was open, and returned to the truck...only to find that the police were in attendance. We left, feeling sure that the girls (and horse) would be on their way shortly...

 Here's Angel Hill, with the Gatehouse and the cathedral in the background.

 The church has a detached bell tower, the so-called Norman Tower (thus very old even by English standards). The quarter peal attempt didn't last very long, as there was a problem with the fifth bell. The stay was poorly cut and was not engaging with the slider properly...We went up to see the bells, very interesting.....

My talk yesterday went very well and was well received. Thank goodness that the hall has good accoutics and a microphone was not needed. Got through all the quilts, altho I had to hurry a little at the end! Quite a few were interested in the Ruth McDowell pieced flower quilts and my Hawaiian quilts. Anne Bevan put in a good plug for BQSG. And the Benefactors appeal was announced by the co-ordinator. Here is the first speaker, Clive Barnett who talked about his City and Guilds work, and showed dyed and overprinted fabrics.