Evil Clown

I found this clown hiding on Walton Pier. It was stuck behind a wire fence, which I well understand, although, I thought it would have been better behind a brick wall!!! I wonder how many children have been scared for life after looking at this clown??

Another Walk on the Naze

We were greeted with a lovely sunny morning, and it seemed a good idea to take advantage of this, and take Toby for a walk along the beech. As always, Toby was on the look out for a stick, so he could play fetch. However, today, he found the biggest stick he has every had..



There was also an event on at the Naze Tower, to raise money for the Red Cross. Not too sure if I would be brave enough to attempt it though.

Fountain

You would have thought after the summer we have just experienced in England, that Tendering Council would have thought a fountain that people could run through, would have been the last thing you would have thought off. However, they didn’t and now in the middle of Clacton’s shopping area is a bank of water fountains. I sat and watched them for ages to try and work out a pattern, they seem to rise and fall quite randomly. I can see many parents coming away from here annoyed that their children never listened to them, as they take them home soaked to the skin.

Old and New

I found this scene was just calling out for a picture to be taken. A contrast between new and old. The old sign a typical site at many rural road junctions in the English countryside. The new, you see quite often in the big cities, the solar panel used to help power speed traps.

The Cherry Tree Inn - Tendering

This place was recommended by some friends. However, we have had recommendations from them before, and they have never really turned out to be any good. However, this time we were in for a very pleasant surprise.

I started of with Stuffed Mushrooms, here is a picture of my starter..



It looked so nice, that I only remembered to take a picture after I had finished.

For main course I had grilled Pork Steaks with a cream and mushroom sauce.



This was delicious. However, I needed to finish the meal of with desert, and ended my meal with Apple pancakes..



The meal was superb, and I loved every mouthful.

Silly Signs - Number 2

A butcher's shop in Framlingham, Suffolk.

Debden

Cows were the feature of this visit to Debden today. It seemed like I walked into the scene of is episode 40 of Tips From The Top Floor, but without the electric fence.

The plan was to take Toby for a walk across the fields to Flatford Mill. It would have been my first walk between the two places. It looks a lovely walk along the River Stour, with cows grazing. All was going well, until Toby decided to roll around in a cow-pat. However, it wasn’t an old dried up one, but a freshly laid smelly one. Thankfully, the river was nearby, and with the encouragement of sticks thrown for him to fetch, we got him reasonably clean. However, we never made it to Flatford!!!!

Sunset

The other evening, on the way out for a Chinese dinner (have you noticed a lot of things seems to have something to do with food), I noticed a lovely sunset and wanted to go back to capture it. The only problem was, the road I spotted the sunset from, didn’t really have any features to make for what I thought was an interesting picture. After driving around for half an hour or so, I spotted a line of telegraph poles, which I thought would make an interesting subject. Thinking about leading lines etc. For some reason the above scene makes me think more of America than it does of England.

Thorpe Hall Show

This was a very disappointing event. Compared to the Great Bentley Show yesterday this was dreadful. It appeared so promising when we first entered and saw a display of classic cars. However, that was about it. There were an assortment of stalls selling things from model boats to crockery. Also, someone who was selling horse boxes!!!! The plan was to spend the whole day there, but within an hour we had seen everything there was to be seen.

Silly Signs - Number 1

This is now a bar in Aldeburgh, Suffolk. I wonder what it was before?

The Great Bentley Show

This was a real village show, and the first time I had attended such an event. There was a great sense of community there, and gave a city guy like myself a taste of what life is like out in the country.

The first stall we came across was a cake stall. I just could not believe the array of cakes on display.


They were all home-made, although not by Great Bentonioans, but by ladies from nearby Clacton-on-Sea. Straight away a Strawberry Victoria Sponge in the shape of a heart was bought. It was gorgeous, when ate later with a cup of coffee!!! Luckily, for a change, succumbing to temptation was the right thing to do, as about half an hour later when I looked over at the stall, all the cakes had gone.

As the show went on, the big marquee was opened. This was where I realised where script writes to comedy programmes such as “The Vicar of Dibley” got there ideas from. Its true, they have competitions on about every subject. The biggest marrow, the best tomatoes, best flower arrangement, best home made wine, best cake etc. They also had some funny competitions, such as “animal fruit and vegetables”. I loved this penguin:


Walking around the main marquee, it was quite obvious to see who were the leading lights of the Great Bentley Show. The same names kept popping up. It would have been lovely to have seen who these people were. Also, the judges must have had such a difficult job. Every section had a first, second and third prize. They must have been really full and on their way to having bright red faces after tasting all the homemade wines and beers.

There was also a kite exhibition across the green from the main show.


They had kites of various different shapes, but my favourite display was those in the picture above.

I can’t wait for next years show, and have already made a mental note to look out for it next September