Break 3: Stony Stratford, leading up to Christmas

Last weekend of November 2014 - break number 3. An old school friend invited me to spend a long weekend with her and her family in an old coaching town near Milton Keynes.

I'm in love! This is where I'd like to have my base.

The weekend started with the Xmas fair, lantern parade, and street lights switch on.

An electric train set that is set up every year by a local railway club. Three trains, all sorts of little Christmassy things along the side.
 I had loads of pics but moving trains blur, I've found...

A Gavioli organ which my friend's husband John Page restored in 2003, when it was 100 years old. I went into the back to see the inner workings, the scrolls of paper punched with seemingly random holes. Suddenly, something that I'd never given a second thought to, has become a fascination.

Link: Details of the restoration. http://www.johnpage.co.uk/organs/restoration/gavioli/gavi1.htm

There was a lantern making workshop earlier, and as the sun went down, lanterns were lit up and paraded down the high street. Very creative! 

A well earned Guinness and Sunday Roast to end off a busy weekend. We walked the 2km to the Shoulders Of Mutton Pub in Calverton. Shoulders Of Mutton!

And speaking of shoulders of mutton....

A lovely English scene, from the front steps of the All Saints Calverton Church.

Part of the graveyard

Round the back of the church, which was closed.

The icy cold walk back from the pub and church, hands shivering, that's my story.

My own yellow brick road, or is this the one that's paved with gold?

Or we can just call it beautiful.

St Edmund's Church, Southwold

The parish church of Southwold is dedicated to St Edmund, and is considered one of Suffolk's finest. Built over about 60 years, from the 1430s to the 1490s, it lies under one continuous roof. It was built to replace a smaller church that was destroyed in a fire in the 13th century.

Here's an interesting article I found, by Simon Knott:
http://www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/Southwold.htm
It talks a bit about the town, and has some lovely pictures and anecdotes about the church.

I have been to one service here. The Armistice Service. A real tearjerker, but beautifully done. Thought provoking speeches - I just hope that we all remember what was said and what it all means. Easy to get caught up in the moment, and then let life take over again. We WILL remember.

All lit up at night, taken during a stroll through the graveyard.

Quite an impressive sight. 

The sun rises behind the church - pic taken from the bathroom window.