Flixton, 12 October 2021 - Green, Black and Silver

Just up the road, judging by the brown backed road sign we passed as we turned into our road, is a place called St Peters Brewery.  St Peters produces a number of very enjoyable beers.  Two were put in the kitchen by our hosts for us to enjoy, and I have enjoyed one of them - the other is for tomorrow.  So we set out to go 'just up the road' for a short visit.  

Jo & Brody at St. Peters

The visit was even shorter than we thought, only the shop was open.  It's a bit of a theme round here - the season seems shorter than we expected.  Maybe that's down to COVID - things haven't recovered as we'd hoped.  We bought some bottles to sample later. So where next.  On our holiday, we usually get some wine to distribute at Christmas, so we looked for a vineyard.  There are two nearby, but both are closed.  Shawsgate says it is open, but it is quite a drive.  Never mind, it's our holiday, so off we go, with the beer bottles clanking in the back of the car.  After a pleasant drive through the Suffolk countryside we arrive at the vineyard.  As we pull into the car park, both of us say "We've been here before" and try to work out what year that might have been.  We speak to the owner, who says he is only open because he happens to be on site - it is grape picking season, but the pickers are not here today because they pick too slowly when it rains.  That means it costs too much to pick the crop.  It is of course a risk - he has to get the crop picked reasonably soon, but this week, for the next few days the forecast is good, so they will probably get called tomorrow.

Plan of Shawsgate

We are allowed to walk around, so that we can experience the microclimates they have created with their careful planting of trees around the site.  As we walk around the edge it is not clear what the differences are, but walk through the rows and the stillness of the air becomes apparent.  We can understand why the temperature may be slightly warmer, even if today we do not experience it.  In one of the rows, we disturbed a hare.  I had never seen a hare that close up - they are much bigger than I realised.  It left in a hurry.  We bought some wine - a mix this year, along with a 5-year-old cider and a 10-year-old perry.  Christmas is looking good.  The green of the vines hide the black of the ripe grapes, so I wouldn't want to be a picker, it is way too easy to miss a bunch or two.

Hidden bunches.

We then headed to Woodbridge, about 10 miles away, for lunch.  We parked in the car park near the co-op, and walked through the park to the Red Lion.  A pub lunch was ideal - not the excellent cuisine of yesterday, but nevertheless a good meal, served by friendly staff.  Then a walk around Woodbridge, discovering on the way that it is possible to pay £85.00 for a kettle.  We also came across this:
 

#THECHURCHWITHTHEHANDS

It's a lovely sculpture, like nothing I've seen before.  There is a plaque with some explanation, but more is on their website here https://www.thequay.org.uk/hands, take a look.  The text at the top of the hand on the left says

“I Hold and am Held”

I'll leave you with that thought.