It was really too early, but we enjoyed them.
Saturday saw us sitting by the Suffolk coast eating freshly-made soft ice creams, and thinking how soon in the year it was to be doing just that.
It’s always nice to visit Southwold, and even though I had only been a few months earlier, it was good to be back.
It was Nik’s first time in the gentle picture postcard resort, and luckily the weather was kind, showing us the town at its best. And although we were full of cold, the relaxed atmosphere and scenic landscapes did their best to warm us.
Fast becoming a hideaway hotspot for townies escaping the rat race to the coast, it has managed to retain its timeless charm, and sleepy seaside town feel.
With its upmarket specialist shops, delicatessens, ivy-covered hotels, and brightly coloured and sought-after beach huts, it’s the perfect place for a weekend walk.
And so it was that we found ourselves walking to the pier for the ‘End of the Pier Show’, a collection of fun vintage slot machines evoking a bygone era, when arcade games, dancing mats, and rescuing soft toys with a giant claw were all in the dim and distant future.
We were told our future in The Booth of Truth, and wondered what the demonastic-looking papier-mâché doll in the chiropodist booth would actually do if we inserted a foot into her machine’s slot.
The Micro Break offered a glimpse into the carbon-neutral holiday, while the frisking machine looked like some distant relative of the B9 robot from the TV series ‘Lost in Space‘.
Much fun.
A windly walk took us back to the town, via the lighthouse, where we met mum and Bart at the Adnams Cellar & Kitchen shop. An outlet for the town’s famous brewery, it does a very nice line in mugs printed with its iconic artwork. I’ve been collecting them, as the illustrations have a wonderful, almost woodcut feel to them, and I was two missing from the original set of ten.
Selling everything from its own beer and wine (one variety at over £700 a bottle), to kitchenwares, it’s well worth a visit if you’re a foodie, or like a tipple or two.
As mum’s away next weekend on her birthday proper, a drive further up the A12 to Wrentham let us celebrate her special day, amidst fine food served on slate placemats, on old wooden tables with sliding drawers, with which you could annoy the diner opposite by pushing from underneath.
Another enjoyable weekend, spent at special places, with special people.