SUFFOLK
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If you've got a topical story, an inspiring home, business, event, craft or talent to show off, do get in touch. Perhaps you've achieved something against all the odds - don't be shy, let us know! The deadline for our next issue - our March / April edition - is February 8th
l For advertising information or if you’d like to submit any collaboration ideas, email us at, info@livinginsuffolk.com
ON THE COVER:
We love the richness of Hannah Brown's observation of Cornard Wood, on display in her stunning Song For Autumn exhibition currently running at Gainsborough's House. For it, Hannah created a new group of works inspired by the landscape around Sudbury, following in the footsteps of Thomas Gainsborough himself. Read all about it on pages 16 & 17.
l Visit, gainsborough.org
LIVING IN
Editor: Angela Hagan 07930 184773, info@livinginsuffolk.com
Designer: Lewis Webb
Writer: Charity Crewe charity@livinginsuffolk.com
Media Sales: Ellie Rickard ellie@livinginsuffolk.com livinginsuffolk.com
Disclaimer:
NEWS
All the latest news from around Suffolk ...
WHAT REALLY HAPPENED AT RENDLESHAM?
In the wake of the 45th anniversary of a Suffolk mystery, a new film is causing a stir in the UFO community.
‘Witnesses of The Rendlesham Forest Incident’ features interviews with people, some allegedly speaking publicly for the first time, about the unexplained events which occurred near Woodbridge back in Christmas 1980. It has often been referred to as Britain’s very own Roswell.
Film-maker and researcher, Richard Thomson, says he spent the best part of a year working on his documentary, putting together a timeline and unearthing new testimony.
A BIG NEW YEAR FOR JETTY LANE!
Having been granted planning permission for a spectacular creative youth hub, children’s nursery and outdoor playscape in Woodbridge, the Jetty Lane team have more good news.
This tireless charity has taken two more big steps forward; the board of Trustees doubled in size and Jetty Lane is now in discussion with Consortium Trust regarding them becoming an Anchor Tenant at the site.
Jetty Lane trustee, Cordelia Richman, says she is delighted that the Consortium Trust, based in Helmingham, shares the same values and has a proven record in sparking excellent outcomes for children, families and communities.
She says, “The Trust operates publicly-funded primary and special schools and nurseries across Suffolk and Norfolk.
“But the material was collected from years of research,” he says, “from listening to and watching countless programmes, interviews, documentaries, podcasts, you name it, I’ve watched or listened to it multiple times!”
Witnesses in his film include multiple service personnel from the two military bases near Rendlesham Forest, RAF Bentwaters and Woodbridge - both operated at the time by the United States Air Force - as well as civilians.
The film tracks the events over a three-day period, which started late at night on December 25th / early hours of December 26th, and with sightings of UFO lights and landings in the dense forest, including injuries allegedly sustained by witnesses.
Richard says his film, which also features testimony of a UFO event at another military base in the UK, has received a lot of attention.
“Some have said they’ve researched the case for decades and never heard this stuff before, that it’s the best film they’ve seen on the case,” he says. “It’s amazing, and honestly unexpected.”
The Ministry of Defence concluded that the Rendlesham Incident posed no threat to national security and held no investigation into it but Richard is sceptical. “I think they knew enough about any activities or exercises that may have been happening. And about any naturally occurring phenomena that may have been part of the proceedings, either planned or unplanned,” he adds.
l You can find ‘Witnesses of The Rendlesham Forest Incident’ on YouTube.
Their enthusiasm for the project matches ours and adds even more drive and momentum to our mission. The expanded Jetty Lane board of eight trustees now includes a huge spectrum of experience, knowledge and skill that will help bring the project to life. We are so grateful to all our supporters for helping us to get this far. You’ve made a real difference and are paying forward to future generations in Woodbridge.”
l For more news on the project visit, www.jettylane.org
ON THE MARKET
The latest homes and property news from around Suffolk ...
HIGH HOUSE FARM
Set at the end of a long private drive and surrounded by farmland, lies this historic Elizabethan Suffolk manor house.
Close to the village of Bredfield and just three miles from Woodbridge in a tucked away, rural setting, this fabulous Grade II* listed property dates from the 16th century, with later 19th and 20th century additions and alterations. The house features many fine architectural details of its period, such as tall, ornate brick chimneys, wide Tudor fireplaces
We are swooning over this barn conversion, oozing with period features and space. Lots of space! There is scope to develop further, thanks to a huge studio / outbuilding with independent access, and a garage and store. Set in a popular position in Hintlesham, it
sits on a plot in excess of half-anacre. This large four-bed barn offers easy access to Ipswich and Hadleigh.
With a light and airy feel throughout, the barn features oak flooring, an inglenook fireplace, exposed ceiling and wall timbers.
We love the stunning main bedroom on the first floor, with triple aspect outlook, and measuring in at a whopping 25ft in length.
Outside, an outbuilding / studio (with planning permission to extend and remodel), offers a further 1,050sq ft of accommodation. It enjoys ample parking, oil central heating
and exposed oak framing and panelling. The accommodation extends to some 4,220sq ft and offers a natural, flowing layout. The tranquil triple-aspect drawing room includes exposed timbers and open views over the gardens. At the heart of the house, the central living/dining hall opens directly into the beautifully appointed Orwell’s of Ipswich kitchen, complete with oil-fired AGA and wide window overlooking the lake, whilst a large rear hall/boot room leads to a utility room and ground-floor shower room. Other features of this stunning six-bedroom property include a substantial range of utility barns outside arranged around a central courtyard and offering flexibility for a variety of uses plus conversion potential, subject to planning. The delightful mature gardens include a lake with central island and a mixed woodland copse.
In all, the property is set within nine acres.
GUIDE: £1,750,000
l Contact Jackson-Stops on, 01473 218218. Visit, Jackson-stops.co.uk
and shutters fitted to the majority of the windows.
To the rear of the barn, lies impressive formal gardens comprising a large patio with steps to a substantial lawn area with mature shrubs and borders.
GUIDE: £800,000
l Call Fenn Wright on, 01473 232700. Visit, fennwright.co.uk
WALNUT TREE BARN
ALL FIRED UP!
Impressive plans for an historic grain store in Ipswich are set to shape the Waterfront into a thriving cultural hub ...
By Charity Crewe
Construction has started on CLAY 1A, an exciting new attraction in Ipswich devoted to clay, pottery, and ceramics. Located in what was once a majestic 19th century grain warehouse, it will be joining other cultural centres on the rejuvenated Waterfront, such as Dance East and the University of Suffolk.
The museum is the brainchild of Crispin Kelly, pictured above, a property developerturned-potter, who lives outside Framlingham. Instead of buying fast cars in midlife, Crispin fell in love with the potter’s wheel and became obsessed with ceramics.
The seed of CLAY 1A was planted at this time. “I was buying so many pots in a very random way,” he explains. “They’re so cheap compared to 20th century British paintings, but soon they were filling up the house. I was keen to share them, but I didn’t want to display them in a static way behind vitrines (display cases) like in the Fitzwilliam (Museum, Cambridge).
It’s hard enough for people who are really interested to enjoy vitrine ceramics.” He decided he wanted an interactive museum that would link clay to people’s everyday life - to their bathrooms, their mantlepiece and their dinner plates.
Trustees include the artist Maggi Hambling and the former artistic director of Dance East, Brendan Keaney
Ipswich is an obvious place for a centre dedicated to clay. Not only is it a town built on clay, but it actually sits on a band of fine London clay that is particularly suited to making pottery. In the 19th century it had a flourishing brickmaking industry. The old grain store on the Waterfront, built in 1901 by R&W Paul Ltd, is the obvious home for the clay museum - a vast, seven-storey brick building sitting within the Ipswich Central Conservation Area.
Crispin showed me around the building site, and it was hard not to be caught up in
his enthusiasm for what a fantastic place CLAY 1A will be when it opens in 2028. The building – 1A Wherry Quay - was a solicitor’s office for years. It was “a very inappropriate 1980s conversion”, explains Crispin. “A conventional office building was shoehorned into a warehouse.”
Crispin has hired Thing Architects to strip it back to its original state – exposing the beautiful brick walls and the original grain hoppers that used to drop the grain into the trains below. The construction is the easy part for Crispin, who trained as an architect before setting up Baylight Properties, who build interesting, affordable housing. The harder part is the content of the museum and how to run it. For this, he has called in the experts, including Geoff Marsh, formerly the director of the V&A Museum’s Department of Theatre and Alex Homfray, a cultural institution adviser.
Back in the day
The strapline for the project is, Exploring the Extraordinary Through Your Everyday. The museum will show how clay relates to daily life in the home. One section will look at the bathroom – and will feature everything from a Victorian travelling salesman’s piss pot - a beautifully ornate object - to plumbing. There will be lots of Perspex and pipes to show children “where poo goes”, says Crispin. Another section will focus on the mantlepiece, and the objects that have decorated them over time, including the wonderfully
varied Staffordshire flatbacks. A further area will be devoted to the dinner plate and its history - from how it got bigger to how it was made. There will be a strict 'Do Not NOT' touch rule! Everything can be fondled and felt and a whole floor will be dedicated to loose clay, where there will be artist led clay workshops.
A highlight of the museum will be a recreation of a shipwreck spanning two floors. This idea was inspired by the true story of a Dutch East India Company ship which sank while transporting a huge collection of Chinese blue-and-white porcelain in 1752. The vessel was discovered in 1985 by British treasure hunter, Michael Hatcher, who sold the exceptionally well-preserved Nanking Cargo in a four-day sale at Christie’s. There will be an audio-visual show bringing this story to life, and “water and bangs and lots of stuff to amaze you!” Crispin promises.
Crispin has put up the initial £10 million for the build but will soon be starting a fundraising drive. He has an impressive board of trustees, including the artist Maggi Hambling and the former artistic director of Dance East, Brendan Keaney. He is aiming for 60,000 visits per year, two
thirds of whom will be coming from outside of Ipswich. To attract school visits, a lot of the content of the museum will be relevant to the curriculum.
Ultimately though, Crispin wants the whole of the experience to be exceptionally enjoyable as well as educational. It will certainly be unique - when you stop off for tea and cake in the Tea Time area you will eating and drinking from ceramics made by artists. “We’ve got plates by Maggie Hambling and Sarah Lucas mugs,” adds Crispin. “It will be like having tea in a museum show.”
l For more details on the project, visit, clay1a.org
“WE STARTED A PUNK BAND!”
Following the success of TV dramedy Riot Women and to commemorate 50 years of punk, Nick Nicholson and friends decided to do something wildly different ...
Fifty years ago, something seismic happened in UK culture, which would reverberate down the decades. For those of us who can remember 1976, inflation exceeded 24%, IRA bombs were going off in the West End, and the ‘Cod War’ was being fought with Iceland over fishing rights. Around 100 police and 60 members of the public were injured in riots at the Notting Hill Carnival. Even worse, the UK won the Eurovision Song Contest with the sickly “Save Your Kisses For Me” by Brotherhood of Man and the pop charts featured the Wurzels, Manhattan Transfer, Showaddywaddy and Demis Roussos.
On the other side of things, prog-rock bands in cloaks and wizard hats were playing pompous, pseudo-classical music, with obscure lyrics and overblown Tolkienesque whimsy, then retiring to their stately homes to count their money. SOMETHING HAD TO CHANGE!
Punk rock seemed to emerge simultaneously in Manchester, London, New York and even Australia (The Saints), as a creeping virus across the world. On the 22nd October 1976, the Damned released New
Rose in the UK, closely followed by Anarchy in the UK, the Sex Pistols debut single on 26th November.
As a spotty teenager in rural Lincolnshire, far from the madding crowd, I devoured every detail of this burgeoning scene through Melody Maker, NME and Sounds; longing someday to move to London and
play a part in this energetic, vital music I was hearing. Finally, 50 year later, in my sixties, I’m achieving that dream! On January 9th 2026, as lead guitarist, I played a memorable first gig with Idol Fret at the SmokeHouse in Ipswich - a bunch of middle-aged Herberts who should know better!
We rocked through a set featuring Tommy Gun (The Clash), God Save The Queen (Sex Pistols) and Smash it Up (The Damned) to a
“Don’t let the couch be your coffin!” Carl Stickley
packed crowd which, encouragingly, included a smattering of much younger people. Amongst the reactions and feedback, the commonest word was ‘electric’ and I remember, at certain high spots in the set, feeling a palpable energy coming back from the noisy, dancing audience, which took me back to earlier memories of live performance adventures.
It’s very reassuring to reflect that this music is just as exciting to play at this age as it was when I first heard it as an awestruck teenager. It belies all that societal conditioning and expectation about ‘acting your age’ and being too old, as utter rubbish! It was also great to see the youngsters in both support bands, Air Raid and RotRats - carrying the torch with their own energy and creativity.
I’m very proud of my bandmates and how they performed at our first gig. Our invigorated lead singer, Carl Stickley, calls it ‘the best hobby ever.’ When asked for his advice to inspire others to do something different, he said, ‘Don’t let the couch be your coffin!’
Thanks to the 50-year anniversary of punk vibe, and the positive reaction we got, I’m looking forward to doing some more shows this year with Idol Fret."
l To book Idol Fret for a gig, email, estickley@gmail.com
Idol Fret: Ewan, Shaun, Nick, Lisa, Carl and Andrew
@ Nick Rose, Action Design Artwork
New year with CAROLINE FOOKS
Acclaimed interior designer Caroline Fooks has started 2026 doing what she loves besttransforming clients’ spaces into elegant, timeless and comfortable interiors.
Having last year celebrated 21 years running her own business with a long background in the trade from the 90s, Caroline has an incredible contacts book filled with skilled craftspeople and tradesmen. “I always work with local suppliers
where possible and draw upon a workforce from my native Suffolk where I have completed many commissions,” says Caroline, who works throughout East Anglia, London and beyond. “I have a down-to-earth, flexible and practical approach to decorating and I am as happy to re-use and re-arrange favourite furnishings as I am to completely re-fitting a property, helping busy people see the transformation of an area into an elegant, usable and comfortable space."
Attention to detail is everything. It’s no surprise Caroline’s clients, which include royalty and household names, speak highly of her - check
out her website for testimonials.
One client, from Suffolk, says, “Caroline has impeccable taste and I quickly learned to trust her judgement ... she made the project feel like a collaboration and I was extremely impressed by her responsiveness, professionalism and reliability.”
Offering a discreet and personal service, Caroline is just as happy to work in a huge stately home as she is in a modest flat.
“My work may be as small as popping over to help find a lovely paint colour for the walls to transforming an entire home. I’m just happy to help.”
l Caroline Fooks Design, The Barn, Dock Lane, Melton, Woodbridge, IP12 1PE. By appointment. Call, 07710 037591 / 01394 303826. Or visit, www.carolinefooksdesign.com
LETTERS FROM THE HEART
The Felixstowe sculptor and lettering artist who has carved herself a place in history ...
Sue Aperghis and her fellow artists should be feeling proud of themselves and rightly so. King Charles recently unveiled their incredible monument at an historic ceremony; widely recognised as his first official engagement in support of the LGBT+ community.
The 2.5m high and 1.5m wide bronze memorial at the National Arboretum in Staffordshire, commissioned by the Ministry of Defence, marks the 25th anniversary of the lifting of a ban on gay people serving in the Armed Forces.
Sue is one of four artists - including Charlotte Howarth and Nina Bilbey - making up creative collective, Abraxas Academy, who worked alongside blacksmiths from Norfolk’s Holkham Forge, on the monument.
It was November 2024 when they first entered a national competition to design and make the LGBT+ Armed Forces Community Memorial. After being shortlisted, they found out in January 2025 they’d won the gig and soon after, it was all systems go. “It’s the fastest memorial that has ever been put into the Arboretum!” she says.
It was Sue who came up with the idea of using love letters – now known as An Opened Letter - containing service personnel own words, which had once been used as evidence to incriminate those in the military.
Before 2000, being gay in the British military was illegal and would often result in a possible jail term or instant dismissal for those who were found out. “It was harrowing what people went through,” says Sue, who met some of the affected veterans during the project. “It stripped them bare of human dignity and, in some cases, they lost everything as well as their lives, whilst serving their nation. It was extremely humbling listening to their stories of adversity and hardship but still, they were so proud to have been in the armed services.”
Some of those veterans, who later attended the ceremony, which hit the headlines back in October, told how the monument signified "closure," after years of tireless campaigning to change the law then pushing the government to make reparations.
The painstakingly intricate work which went into the memorial, later described by PM Keir Starmer “as a lasting tribute to the bravery and service of these veterans,” all paid off.
For Sue, who says working on the memorial was “brutal” on her hands as she was often hunched in one position for hours working on the lettering, it was a labour of love.
“Being part of the LGBT+ community myself (though I wasn’t in the military) I too, grew up with the prejudice,” she says, “but even though it was difficult, I was lucky enough to be able to navigate my career and come out to my loved ones without too much fear and in my own time.”
Sue’s achievement seems even more poignant when she reveals she only really got into carving after a life changing event.
“I’d been a graphic designer for a long time when my father died very suddenly,” she explains. “It was during the process of getting his headstone done and my own grieving journey, that I decided to replace my job.”
She recalls looking at a somewhat underwhelming design for her father’s potential headstone and wondering if she could do a better job herself.
After completing a three-year course in Historical and Architectural Stone Carving at the City and Guilds of London Art School where, coincidentally, she was taught by her fellow artists on the memorial project, Charlotte Howarth and Nina Bilbey who became her “mentors.”
“I wanted a job where I could create something that someone will cherish and will help them in their own grieving process,” she says.
Now her company - Carving Sue - sees her creating unique handmade memorials and sculptures amongst other things, by commission for churchyards, cemeteries and gardens.
What would her father say if he could see her work now hitting the headlines?
“He’d probably say, ‘I thought you’d get up to something as nutty as this!’” laughs Sue, who this year will tie the knot with her partner. “He would have been very, very proud, I’m sure.”
l To find out more about her work visit, carvingsue.com Email her on, s.aperghis@btinternet.com
@ Nina Bilbey
INTERIOR LIVES
Inspirational interiors and design news from around Suffolk ...
THE BURGESS GROUP
Choosing new windows and doors is a big decision. The Burgess Group have got it so right when it comes to their Suffolk showrooms. Their flagship Woodbridge HQ is based at Notcutts garden centre which offers easy parking and a great café, so you can make a morning of it! If you’re lucky, you might even get to meet owner Edward’s friendly dogs, Olive and Dora (pictured below). This elegant showroom offers the chance to see and feel the quality for yourself, from timber sash windows and French doors to sleek aluminium bifolds. You can experience how smoothly their sliding doors glide and learn about their trusted, hassle-free installation.
Now in their 30th year, and with a new showroom opening soon in Norwich, the team have a vast and extensive knowledge to draw from, having installed most designs
along the way. "If you have a certain style in mind, we have an extensive portfolio and many happy customers to provide references and inspiration," says Edward.
The team will also come to your home – and are able to offer expert design advice to help you make the right choice. Their beautiful range includes timber, elegant timber alternative PVCu and aluminium.
With a highly trained team of installers, it’s no wonder the Burgess Group have so many 5-star independently verified reviews on Feefo.
They can also personalise your doors or windows with a striking collection of furniture, and a wide range of colours (even colour matching to RAL and a number of other collections too).
l Check them out at, burgess-group.com
JO HAMMOND AT THE MERCHANT’S TABLE
Designer and maker Jo Hammond has used her willow weaving expertise to create beautiful and unique pendant lampshades. This large willow lampshade introduces a textural statement in any setting, which brings a warmth and emits a play with light through the open weave.
A native to East Anglia, Jo is one of county’s best willow workers. Now living close to the Stour Estuary, her degree in Fine Art shows itself in her feel for simple rhythmic designs.
l Available from, themerchantstable.co.uk
NORWICH ARCHITECTURAL LIGHTING COMPANY DAZZLES ...
Precious pins suspended from a thin cable, like magic lights floating in the space. The Lodes A-Tube Nano Duo is a lightweight and linear lamp available in six finishes, Black, Chrome, Champagne, Gold, Rose Gold and the new Terra, which creates evocative and playful cluster compositions within your home. Configuration services, demonstration and design facilities are available at The Norwich Architectural Lighting Company. This super experienced team works with domestic, commercial, corporate, retail, heritage and ecclesiastical customers and their architects on lighting for new builds, refurbishments and restoration projects.
l Visit, nalc.co.uk Or call, 01603 418821
RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!
The new year has started at Gainsborough’s House in Sudbury with three major exhibitions you really won’t want to miss ...
LOVE & LANDSCAPE: STANLEY SPENCER IN SUFFOLK
This poignant exhibition reveals how Suffolk shaped one of Britain’s most distinctive artists. Dedicated to the British painter Sir Stanley Spencer (1891–1959) – self-portrait pictured - it brings together more than 20 paintings and drawings from the Stanley Spencer Gallery alongside major loans from Tate, Aberdeen Art Gallery, Leeds Museums and
Galleries and important private collections.
Spencer is widely associated with his lifelong home of Cookham in Berkshire, which he described as his own village in heaven. However, this exhibition reveals that Suffolk also played a pivotal role in his life and work.
Spencer visited Wangford and Southwold throughout the 1920s and 1930s with his first wife, the artist Hilda Carline (1889–1950). These trips shaped some of his most tender
HANNAH BROWN: SONG FOR AUTUMN
Gainsborough’s House present this first solo museum exhibition by contemporary British artist Hannah Brown (b.1977) whose work graces our front cover. The exhibtion showcases 25 paintings, including a series of new works created especially for it and inspired by the countryside around Sudbury. Song for Autumn reflects Brown’s quietly powerful approach to landscape painting and her deep interest in the psychological experience of place.
Born in Salisbury and now living and working in East London, Brown is known for her detailed, atmospheric depictions of scrub, woodland edges, pathways and pockets of wild growth found on the fringes of urban and rural environments. These are landscapes that are often passed by without notice, modest, transitional spaces that reveal both vulnerability and endurance. Over the
last three years, Brown has focused on painting small corners of countryside and woodland in East London, Devon, and Cornwall, places she has come to know through repeated visits, extensive walking, and hundreds of photographs. At first glance her paintings often evoke warmth or the fading glow of daylight, yet on closer inspection they reveal an unsettling undertone. Her use of carefully filtered colour creates scenes that feel both familiar and slightly estranged, capturing the tension between beauty and uncertainty that can exist in the natural world.
A major part of the exhibition centres on Hollow Pond, a fragment of Epping Forest between Leytonstone and Wanstead.
For Gainsborough’s House, Brown has created a new group of works inspired by the landscape around Sudbury, following in the footsteps of Thomas Gainsborough. In
and emotionally charged paintings.
Among the highlights is Southwold (1937) – pictured here - a sunlit view of the beach, alive with striped deckchairs and summer colour. Earlier works such as The Red House, Wangford (1926) reflect Spencer’s deepening connection with Suffolk’s villages and rhythms of everyday life. The exhibition also includes works by Hilda Carline and her brother Richard Carline, alongside personal items from the family, including Hilda’s wedding suit, which has never before been displayed publicly.
The exhibition explores how Suffolk provided Spencer with both joy and refuge. His marriage to Hilda began in Wangford; years later, following emotional upheaval and heartbreak, he returned to Suffolk seeking solace and renewal in the landscapes that had once brought him happiness.
Following its run in Sudbury, it will travel to the Stanley Spencer Gallery, Cookham from 2 April – 1 November 2026.
l Love & Landscape: Stanley Spencer in Suffolk runs until 22nd March.
HUMPHREY OCEAN: HOME
This exhibition spans three decades of work by the celebrated painter and chronicler of modern life Humphrey Ocean (b.1951). It brings together 18 paintings, drawings and sketchbook studies that reflect Ocean’s deep interest in the familiar, yet often overlooked, details which define the modern world.
Ocean’s career has encompassed album artwork for Paul McCartney and iconic portraits of figures such as Philip Larkin. He is widely recognised for his spontaneous, bold-colour portraits of friends, family and acquaintances, showcased in the National Portrait Gallery’s exhibition Humphrey Ocean: A handbook of modern life (2012/3). A Royal Academician and former Professor of Perspective at the Royal Academy, Ocean is celebrated for creating images that are at once pared-back, intimate, and instantly recognisable.
From the late 1990s onwards, Ocean adopted a simplified visual language that
Looking for Cornard Wood 4 (2025) –pictured here - Brown revisits the setting of Gainsborough’s celebrated Cornard Wood (1748), now held at the National Gallery, London. Almost 300 years later, the once-lush woodland has changed dramatically, opening up into a more exposed landscape, yet Brown’s attention to foreground undergrowth echoes the compositional rhythms of Gainsborough’s original scene.
The exhibition also features Day for Dusk (Coastal Path, 2025) - pictured - a new series inspired by the north Cornwall coastline, where dense vegetation partially obscures the view beyond, and landscapes held in tension between concealment and revelation.
l Hannah Brown: Song For Autumn runs until 22nd March.
combines architectural clarity with free-flowing paint. Works such as Brockley, Sunday (2023) and Bungalow (2024) present everyday residential buildings with both precision and looseness, while Watercolour Pan (2008) and the newly created Nightlight (2025) reveal the autonomy and material presence of paint itself. Other works in the exhibition include Bloom (2007) - pictured - a portrait of Ocean’s two daughters, and two of his renowned Dot Books – fascinating sketchbooks filled with quick ink drawings of his everyday observations. These works highlight Ocean’s ability to help us see the things we may have forgotten to notice, road signs, windows, estates, pavements, cars, and to value the quiet beauty of the world we build around ourselves. From Ocean’s perspective there is no such thing as an uninteresting subject. Humphrey Ocean says, “Fashion, to me, is not haute couture. It is best represented by looking around at our man-made world. It tells us everything, our current attitude, what we cultivate and how we think. How we have fashioned the world, if you like. This is what interests me … I only want to set down my record of something specific,
where I have been, what I have noticed or seen, where I am and what I think.”
The exhibition will be accompanied by an illustrated catalogue with an essay by psychoanalyst and author Darian Leader, and a short film by director Raphael Chipperfield.
l Humphrey Ocean: Home runs until 22nd March
l Gainsborough’s House, 46 Gainsborough Street, Sudbury, CO10 2EU. Call, 01787 372958. Visit, gainsborough.org
RELISH!
The Suffolk foodies’ page ...
SEAFOOD & GRILL
RESTAURANT AT THE BRUDENELL HOTEL - REVIEW BY CHARITY
CREWE
There aren’t that many restaurants in Suffolk that give you a panoramic view of the North Sea – but the Seafood & Grill at The Brudenell is one of them. A scallop’s throw from Aldeburgh beach, the restaurant is very relaxed yet gives the impression you’re out for a special occasion.
The restaurant’s interior shares the hotel’s subtle nautical theme - dark blue walls, light blue covered chairs, wooden tables and huge windows that look out on to the ever-changing sea. Last year the hotel was picked by The Times as one of the 14 best places in the UK for an affordable break. Judging by the food I can see why. There’s a longstanding lunch offer of two courses for £20. I was intrigued to find out whether you can get a noteworthy meal for such a reasonable price. I am delighted to report, you can.
We visited just before Christmas, so my companion made a beeline for the festive themed food - all found on the ‘two courses for £20’ lunch menu. He started with the Prawn Cocktail Tartine, with diced pickled watermelon and cucumber, topped with avocado and lumpfish roe. He then tucked into a Festive Roast Turkey, with roast
potatoes, honey glazed carrots, parsnips, sprouts and a stuffing of chestnuts, apricot and sage. He was delighted with it all. My starter was a Roasted Beetroot & Feta Salad with raspberry dressing and candied walnuts. It was wonderfully light and full of flavour and came with both deep purple and golden yellow beetroot. I headed to the à la carte menu for my main – plumping for the Day Boat Catch. It was sole served with sautéed greens, lemon herb butter and tasted like it had been caught that morning. It was cooked to perfection.
Being a fish restaurant, the emphasis is on seafood - with everything from Pinney’s of Orford Oysters (£10 for 3) to Suffolk Mussels cooked in Aspall Cyder (£22) - but there is plenty of meat and vegetarian choices too, including the Brudenell Burger (£20) and Gnocchi with Squash and Blue Cheese (£20).
During the pudding course there was a big
FIRE-LED GASTRONOMY!
Award-winning Smoke and Fire Festivals - the UK’s largest BBQ and outdoor cooking festivals - are set to ignite 2026 with a brand-new concept in dining. And it’s happening in Suffolk over the Valentine’s
excitement - we spotted a seal splashing about close to the shoreline. Even this couldn’t distract from the heavenly desserts. We had Cinnamon Panna Cotta with spiced plums and almond shortbread (£8), which was fabulous, as was the wonderfully boozy and indulgent Hazelnut Tiramisu (£10).
I would recommend the Seafood & Grill to anyone wanting fabulously fresh fish, cooked with skill and creativity at a reasonable price.
l Seafood & Grill Restaurant at The Brudenell, The Parade, Aldeburgh. Visit, brudenellhotel.co.uk Call, 01728 452071. Open every day from 7.30am to 8:45pm. Walk-ins and reservations welcome. The two-courses for £20 offer is available during lunch service from Monday to Friday.
weekend! The Ember Lounge: Winter Chapter is a five-hour sensory journey which blends fire-led gastronomy, hands-on workshops and deep connection to the land, all set in the extraordinary surroundings of Shimpling Park Farm, Bury St Edmunds. Highlights include a Live Fire and Theatre Feast from part of the team who helped set up Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat restaurant in the Cotswolds. An Artisanal Sourdough Workshop with expert baker Dominic Biddle, features heritage grains grown on the farm itself. Guests will be treated to a Farm Tour and Woodland Tour from fourth-generation regenerative farmers, John and Alice Pawsey, revealing the natural farming methods shaping the ingredients prepared for the meal. A romantic candlelit barn promises a shared feast with paired wines and drinks with a curated gift bag.
This is the perfect Valentine’s Weekend experience and Living In Suffolk magazine has got TWO free tickets (worth £270) to give away in a fabulous online competition!
l For tickets to The Ember Lounge: Winter Chapter, which takes place on 13th-14th February, visit, smokeandfirefestival.com Full details on the competition and how to enter, can be found at, livinginsuffolk.com
By Angela Hagan
RHYTHMS IN THE WAVENEY VALLEY
Sonic Wave host their first event of the year with an evening of African music and jazz.
Taking place at The Cut arts centre in Halesworth, the Suffolk-based music promoters have lined up a double bill; with African songs by Anna Mudeka (pictured), followed by the Jesse Barrett Trio - the new project of expanding jazz from the former Mammal Hands drummer.
Sonic Wave organiser, Francoise Lamy, tells us, “We’re delighted to welcome these two amazing East Anglian acts to Halesworth and by coincidence, both have just released their new albums and are touring this year, so it’s a great opportunity to discover their new material here in Suffolk!”
The event takes place on Saturday 14th March. From 6pm, audiences can also enjoy a meal with flavours from Europe and the Middle East, and the Halesworth Harmony choir will perform a few songs in the café before the concerts in the theatre begin at 7.30pm.
l Tickets, thecut.org.uk Call, 0300 303 3211 (Tue-Sat,10am-2pm).
TREMBLING WATERS
SPRING AT SNAPE
The season opens with brilliant young chamber groups performing in the much-loved Friday Lunchtime Concerts. Powerful Concert Hall collaborations include Apollo’s Fire, Tenebrae, Britten Sinfonia and the return of Aurora Orchestra. Compelling Art Talks study Suffolk painter John Constable, and young families can enjoy fun Easter events at The Red House and Concerteenies bringing the joy of the musical story of “The Duck with No Luck”.
Friday Lunchtime Concerts - February - April
These chamber music recitals offer musical delight and respite from the winter winds in the shape of performances by brilliant ensembles from the UK and abroad, who are members of the Britten Pears Young Artist Programme.
Most performances, such as Trio Archai (pictured) on 27th February, take place in Aldeburgh’s Jubilee Hall, while the series also incorporates dates at Snape Maltings and the finale on Good Friday in Orford Church.
Maundy Thursday: Tenebrae and Britten Sinfonia - Thursday 2nd April
A powerful and reflective programme for Passiontide pairing Renaissance masterpieces by Allegri and Victoria with more contemporary works by Finnis, Barber, and MacMillan.
Apollo’s Fire: Fencing Match - Sunday 26th April
Gallery East in Woodbridge opens with its first exhibition of the year on Saturday 28th March with Trembling Waters - East Anglian Waters Run Deep. It features work by well-respected and collectable Suffolk and Norfolk artists; Mary Blue, Alex Curry, Emma Green, Martin Laurance and Caroline Mackintosh, who will be painting and creating the seas, estuaries and rivers of East Anglia. The exhibition title is taken from lines of a poem called Becoming the Ocean, by Khalil Gibran. Following on from the huge success of Looking into Staverton Thicks, this promises to be another opportunity to experience the beauty of our natural landscape in a highly respected gallery.
l Visit, galleryeast.co.uk
Hailed by Classical Music Magazine as “the USA’s hottest baroque band”, Apollo’s Fire, led by Jeannette Sorrell, teams up with members of the English Baroque Soloists for a spirited programme of duelling double concertos.
This lively “duel” draws playful parallels between 18th-century fencing etiquette and the Baroque double concerto.
Art Talks - February - April
Celebrated art historian, Dr John-Paul Stonard, presents a rich and varied cultural tour - see our Out & About page for full details.
l Visit, brittenpearsarts.org
@ Britten Pears Arts
The Tenebrae Choir
"OBSERVATIONS OF A BLIND GIRL"
Living with disability, talented physiotherapist, Rebecca Lake, has just finished writing her first book ... by Angela Hagan
Anyone who has been treated by Rebecca Lake at her Ipswich therapy room will tell you of the magic of her touch.
Her physio treatments are quite simply the talk of the town. As one of her regular patients says, “Though she has no sight - or maybeit’sbecauseshehasnosight-her instinctsandintuitionarehighlytunedwhen itcomestothehumanbody.Herhands magicallyglidestraighttothesourceofthe pain; the relief is tremendous. Sometimes I wanttocrywithreliefbutusuallyIdon’t because Rebecca’s making me laugh so much!”
In her riotously funny, yet candid, autobiography, Observations of A Blind Girl, it’s this humour - and sheer grit - which shines through her poems and prose.
As a baby, Rebecca was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive eye cancer, retinoblastoma, a “ticking time bomb,” as she calls it, passed to her and her brother via a “wonky RB1 gene” from her father and later to two of her four children. Having lost an eye in infanthood to surgery and the other as an adult, she seems to be blessed with profound insight and inner wisdom. With the aid of the helpers she calls her “wives,” she juggles a fully booked practice with the rollercoaster demands of motherhood. She has even written an entire book using nothing but the notes app on her phone! It seems there is no limit to her achievements. Perhaps we could all learn a thing or two from her.
Here, she gives us a sneak preview of her new book ...
DIFFERENT
I am different!
Differently different from others, sometimes these differences make me feel angry or lonely, or frustrated or sad.
Sometimes these differences make me feel special, or unique or superior or glad.
Either way I am different.
Or am I?
Maybe it is everyone else that is different. Maybe they are all different and I am the same.
I would not like to be the same.
“IamnotsureatwhatageIwaswhenIfirst realised that I was different,”writes Rebecca. “MymumsaysthatIwasabout18months oldwhenIwasinbedwithmyparentsand crawledontopofthembothtouchingeach oftheireyesinturn.Mymum,twosofteyes, mydadonehardandonesoft,andthenme, one hard and one soft. Did that make me different,orthesameorboth?Asmydadand brother also had retinoblastoma it did not feel allthatdifferentinmyearlyyears.Ihadgot intoaroutineofcleaningmyartificialeyeon aSaturdaymorning.Unabletodealwiththe complications of the word artificial, I called myfalseeyemyAuntyeyeandmyrealone, myUncleeye.Iwouldopenmymouthwide whichalwaysseemedtohelp,pullthelower liddownandsortofflicktheeyeout,almost invariablydroppingitontothebathroom floor,butluckilyneverdowntheloo.MyMum hadaspeciallittlebowlmarked“TheEye Bowl”sothatitwouldneveraccidentallybe usedinacornflakesituation,justforthe procedure.Iwouldbathemysocketinsalty water,cleantheeyewithsoapandwater, plopitintothesalinesolutionintheeyebowl foramomenttoconsideritswaysandthen jam it back in.”
BYE BYE EYE...
When I was born, I had two eyes, Which seemed to be just right; They looked so good between my earsand gave me lots of sight. Unfortunately, by circumstance, I very soon lost one.
‘A little careless,’ some would saybut what is done is done. But one eye left seemed just enough (Though better to have two). Sometimes you have to make the most, For what else can you do?
The most important thing I thoughtIn fact, I knew for sure, That it really was imperative To not lose any more. I tried hard to look after it, But ‘twas not meant to beFor then I lost my other one, And now I cannot see. It’s proved most inconvenient, And my advice to you: If you could choose what eyes you have, I’d always go for two.
Fortunately,Iwasblessedwiththekindof brainthatneverresidedforlongandcertainly notlongenoughforittoconsumemeand rendermeincapableofnoticingtherestof what else life had to offer.The difficult circumstances had so often been cushioned bythepracticalnecessityofhavingtolook afterthechildren,orbyputtingtheabsurdity or ridiculousness of a situation into context withwhatreallymatteredinlife.
“TherehadbeentimeswhenIhadutterly despised being blind,”writes Rebecca,“and hatedthelimitationsanddifficultiesthrough which it controlled me.The powerlessness of feelinglikeotherpeople’sdecisionswere moreimportantthanminebecausetheyhad hadtohelpmeinsomeway. Whatfurther chapters might lie in store as a consequence ofmywonkygene?Howwillitplayoutwith mygrandchildren,orgreatgrandchildren? Dootherlayersoftraumaanddifficultylie in store?
Oneofthebestthingsabout beingblindisthatyougettosee themostkindandthoughtful aspectsofhumannatureeveryday. Aswellashavingallmy'wives'to assist, it never ceased to amaze me howhelpfulpeopleweregenerally. When I arrived at work with daughter Jessica's school polo shirt oninsteadofmyworkone.Orwhen I made up the massage bed, complete with a MyLittlePonypillowcase,peoplewould gentlypointoutmyerrors.EvenwhenI massagedonemanwithshampoo,following aslightmixupwithfillingthemassage bottles; the gentleman in question was hugelyunderstandingandsawthefunnyside asIwipedbubblygoooffhisbackwitha babywipe.Myphilosophyhasalwaysbeen 'turndisasterintolaughter.'Whenyouchange thewayyoulookatthings,thethingsyou look at start to change."
l Rebecca is now on the lookout for a publisher! Email her at, rebecca@thetherapyroom.org Call, 07760 434749
FIGHTING RETINOBLASTAMA
According to the Childhood Eye Cancer Trust (CHECT), retinoblastoma is a rare form of eye cancer typically affecting children under six, the impacts of which can last a lifetime. A white glow in the eye, a white pupil or white reflection can be a symptom.
If you are concerned about your child, visit your GP, a local optician or an eye specialist department and have their eyes examined as soon as possible.
l For more details visit, chect.org.uk
DOG ABOUT
”
My name is Otto and I'm a very small but mighty five-year-old poodle / terrier / Maltese mix. In my house, I am Queen. This is my big bro, Corby, a nine-year-old miniature poodle. Everyone says he's a real gent because he's super soft and chivalrous. My mum says I'm cunning as I often distract Corby by barking at the door - as soon as he drops his toy to join me in a barking chorus, I slip off and grab his toy then sleep on top of it so he can't get it back. He falls for it every time.
I had a pram for a while as I had a slipped disc in my spine. Woodbridge Vets were brilliant - they helped me get better without surgery. Corby was very worried about me at first. Whenever I yelped in pain he'd come running to protect me. He's my rock. Whenever we've been apart, I can't wait to see him."
l If you’d like to give your dog their 15 minutes of fame, send in a hi res photo(s) and description to, info@livinginsuffolk.com
@ John Ferguson
@ John Ferguson
WHY 2026 IS THE YEAR TO TAKE YOUR WEBSITE SERIOUSLY
In 2026, having a business website is no longer about ticking a box to make sure you’re on the internet. It’s often the first impression people have when they notice your company online. Yet many companies still treat a professionally-designed or premium website as a ‘nice-to-have’. Instead,
they rely on generic templates from cheap website providers that are often slow and unintuitive, with content that isn’t properly optimised for search engine results.
The reality is simple. If your website is slow, cluttered, or confusing, trust is lost before a single word is read. A thoughtfully-designed website shows professionalism and credibility. It clearly demonstrates that you invest in your business and care about your brand. Building trust is essential for attracting (and keeping) clients.
INVEST IN YOUR WEBSITE
Investing in your website means prioritising search engine optimisation (SEO), clarity, usability and performance. Users want to be guided seamlessly through your site. The fewer obstacles they encounter, the more likely they are to pay for items in their basket,
or fill in your contact form. A well-designed website invites visitors to take action. It creates an experience that feels effortless, and becomes a way for your ideal audience to find you online.
A high-quality website also reflects your business values. Its tone of voice, design and photography should reinforce who you are and what you stand for. Cheaper options may save money upfront, but can cost more in missed opportunities, lost trust, and a brand that blends in rather than stands out.
In 2026, businesses that treat their website as a strategic investment will get ahead in their market. The question isn’t: “how cheap can I make it?”. It’s actually: “how much will it help me grow my business?”
We’re a creative agency that believes professional, premium websites shouldn’t be for the few. Whether you’re thinking of improving your site or want to start from scratch, let’s have a chat and see how we can help you build the website of your dreams.
l Get in touch with us at, hello@haddingtoncreative.com
Emily and David Haddington build professional premium websites
AND BREATHE ...
All your wellbeing news from around Suffolk ...
THE SERENITY SESSION
This Valentine’s Day, why not treat yourself to a day of self-love and care where you will have the chance to unwind, de-stress and set some wonderful intentions for 2026?
And all without the pressure or influence from anyone other than yourself!
Yoga teacher, Emma Khangaroot, and ex-journalist and mental health expert, Clair Orton, have teamed up to create a fun and relaxing day of yoga, journalling and face massage, offering a unique chance to self-soothe and prepare for the coming year! It’s the perfect opportunity to gift yourself some truly special ‘me time’. Or why not use it as a Galentine’s Day experience and share it with your bestie?
Emma has built up a fantastic reputation within Suffolk, teaching yoga classes at Vida Haus in Pettistree and The Sprat Shed in Woodbridge, as well as to local teachers and lawyers.
Practising yoga since her early twenties, Clair has attended classes with Emma since they were first on offer! Having spent most of her working life as a journalist and PR executive in the health, beauty and wellness sector, Clair has, for the last five years, worked in mental health and is a registered Mental Health First Aid England trainer. She trains people across the UK to become Mental Health First Aiders and offers open training sessions once a month in Needham Market.
Clair has used her writing background, together with her mental health expertise, to create bespoke mental health journalling workshops which, she says, have been hugely popular and beneficial to all sorts of people. Together, this dynamic duo can help you recharge your batteries.
l To book your place at the Serenity Session, held at New Street Market in Woodbridge on February 14th from 10am-3pm, visit, newstreetmarket.com
WOODBRIDGE COACHING CIRCLE
If you want to make the most of the year ahead, you might wish to consider joining Woodbridge Coaching Circle. Run by executive coach and skills trainer, Jamie Symons, a coaching circle brings together a small group of people who wish to learn from one another through listening, reflection and conversation. Jamie says the monthly Coaching Circle starts next month (February) at the Natural Health Centre in Woodbridge.
The two-hour sessions will offer people the opportunity to focus on their personal development, a chance to be coached and to develop their coaching skills, peer-to-peer support and a space to de-stress.
Jamie says, “As a coach with a background in performance, I support people who feel quiet, overlooked or unsure of their impact. My approach is warm, gentle and practical, with no pressure to be 'bigger' or more extroverted than you want to be.”
He says the Coaching Circle offers a nurturing environment where you can reflect, reset and grow alongside people who genuinely want to make positive changes too.
“Through deep listening, thoughtful questions and shared insight, you’ll gain new perspectives and feel supported as you take meaningful action in your life,” he adds.
Monthly sessions take place at the Natural Health Centre in Woodbridge, for six -eight participants. £25 per 2hr session. l Email, Jamie@JamieSymonsCoaching.co.uk or visit, JamieSymonsCoaching.co.uk
THE LISTENING BARN
Nestled in the quiet Suffolk countryside between Debenham and Eye, The Listening Barn offers professional counselling and psychotherapy, in person as well as online.
Hannah Mayhew, counsellor, psychotherapist and founder of The Listening Barn, says that now more than ever, people need support.
“In rural communities especially, people are used to coping quietly and carrying on through challenging circumstances, often with limited access to timely, confidential mental health support,” she says. “For me, reaching out for help is an act of strength, not a sign of weakness. It takes courage to pause, reflect and decide to make changes for a kinder way forward. I offer a space that respects that resilience while recognising that none of us are meant to manage everything alone. The Listening Barn was created as a quiet, supportive place where people can breathe, regain steadiness and rebuild from a position of courage rather than struggle.”
l For more details visit, thelisteningbarn.co.uk
THREE HOURS TO PARADISE!
LivingIn... editor Angela Hagan is still floating on air after a lavish, battery-recharging stay on the west coast of Morocco ...
The unforgiving east wind and icy rain battered us as we dragged our suitcases up to the concourse at Stansted airport. It wasn’t the best of starts. I’d just stepped off a frantic magazine deadline and the adrenaline was refusing to abate. Combined with the few hours’ sleep before this early morning flight fuelled by a motorway coffee resembling hairspray, I wondered if it was all worth it.
Had I known what lay ahead, I would have happily samba'd complete with maracas in hands and fruit on my head, straight onto that plane.
An effortless three-and-a-half hour direct flight from a grey Blighty saw us emerge from the plane to vast blue skies and swaying palm trees. “It would have taken us double the time to get to Scotland,” said my delighted husband as he peeled off his winter jacket.
Our home for the next five days was an easy 15-minute drive away from Essaouira's airport - the magnificent Le Jardin des Douars. Set in 7.5 acres of rose and thymescented botanical gardens with a backdrop of exotic birdsong; it was like we’d stepped into an alternate universe. This hotel offers luxury villas, heated pools, alfresco dining, hammam and spa – plus a rather snazzy Club des Douars with padel courts, leisure activities and bar.
complemented by Berber designs and a huge comfy bed with an opulent bathroom fit for royalty. Little touches, like the complimentary handmade Argan oil bath products, creams and facial mud scrubs, only added to my joy (I am easily pleased).
Some of the suites are located in the main building and are perfect for families. Others, like ours, more discreet and hidden in the lush gardens bursting with fig trees. Every evening we’d arrive home to find a freshly built fire all ready to light and gaze at in our cosy suite.
“I could feel the stress melting away under the soothing African sun”
I could feel the stress melting away under the soothing African sun, as we settled down for a wonderful lunch.
Our suite featured soothing ochre tones
Meal times at Jardin Des Douars were special; catering to all tastes. If it’s not on the menu, it doesn’t mean they can’t make it! They offer a blend of Mediterranean flavours often featuring fresh fish caught in the Atlantic that very morning. Their tagines are the star of the show, with the main spotlight on their monkfish tajine à la Chermoula.
Grab a hotel shuttle to Essaouira (just ten minutes away) and you will discover a
picturesque port city on the Atlantic coast, known for its laid-back vibe and stunning whitewashed medina (it’s a UNESCO site). Big, crunchy white waves mean it’s a surfer’s delight, with historic ramparts and an ancient, bustling fishing port, for the culture junkies. Essaouira is a rich melting pot with Arabic, Berber, Jewish, and French influences, attracting worldwide artists and musicians to its Gnaoua music scene. Its annual jazz festival is held every June.
Perhaps Essaouira’s biggest claim to fame is that parts of Game of Thrones were filmed on the ancient battlement walls overlooking the aqua ocean. Fans would know it as Astapor, the Slaver’s Bay city (where icy blonde Daenerys Targaryen acquired her Unsullied army).
We felt it was so much more than a giant film location. There is much to experiencethe azure blues and geometric patterns jumping out of every nook; the ancient bustling fish market and boats; the giant carts of freshly picked figs precariously wheeled through cobbled streets; endless bowls of tagines bejewelled with pomegranates; the welcoming souks stuffed with boho handmade Berber rugs, thuya wood crafts and Argan oil products and cheap as chips jewellery. Trust me, you will be the most popular person in your family when you bring home your jewellery haul for teens and twenty-somethings. Essaouira stole our hearts and made it into our top ten of laid-back holiday destinations.
If you’ve always fancied the idea of Morocco but can’t quite face the frantic hubbub of Marrakech, Essaouira is the place for you.
And that warm embrace of Hotel Jardin Des Douars just a three-hour flight away ...”
l Visit, jardindesdouars.com
AND ABOUT! OUT
Top things to do around Suffolk by
Charity Crewe
STAGE ADAPTATION OF CHARLES DICKENS' DAVID COPPERFIELD
Tuesday, 27th January - Saturday, 31st January at New Wolsey Theatre, Civic Drive, Ipswich
This new adaptation of David Copperfield, performed with remarkable skill by a cast of just three actors, is coming to Ipswich after receiving rave reviews in London. Staged by the Guildford Shakespeare Company, this inventive romp follows the life of David from humble beginnings to literary renown; a journey that brings him into contact with the wonderfully eccentric Betsy Trotwood, the scheming Uriah Heep and the irrepressible Mr Micawber. “A condensed but captivating version of a Dickens classic,” according to The Times.
l For ages 8+. Tickets from £15 - £31. Call, 01473 295900. Visit, wolseytheatre.co.uk
WCB COMEDY PREMIER STAND UP SPECIAL WITH HEADLINER SHAPPI KHORSANDI
7pm, Saturday 14th February, Southwold Arts Centre, St Edmund’s Hall, Cumberland Road, Southwold 8.30pm, Saturday 14th February, Seckford Theatre, Woodbridge School, Burkitt Road, Woodbridge Brighten up February with a blast of comedy from the fantastic British-Iranian standup and panel show regular, Shappi Khorsandi. She’s joined by an excellent line-up that includes rapid-fire Irish comedian Rory O’Hanlon, the uncensored Justin Panks, who is great on everything from class war to sex, and the sharply observational Ash Frith.
l Tickets cost £25, for booking details, wcbcomedy.com
HELEN MACDONALD AND SIN BLACHÉ
7.30pm – 9pm, Thursday, 12th March, The Atrium, University of Suffolk, Ipswich
After her runaway bestseller, H is for Hawk, a memoir about training a goshawk, Helen Macdonald co-authored The Prophet, a genre-blending sci-fi thriller. Written with American writer, Sin Blaché - during lockdown - the novel opens in the Suffolk countryside, where an American diner has suddenly appeared in a field. An unlikely pair of detectives are hired to explain the phenomenon. The book’s authors are coming together to talk about their fascinating collaboration. The event is organised by the Suffolk Book League, who stage literary talks in Ipswich throughout the year.
l Tickets cost £10 for non-members, £5 for members and £2.50 for students. For further details and booking go to, suffolkbookleague.org
ART TALKS: CONSTABLE’S NATIVE SUFFOLK
6:30pm-7.30pm every Monday from 23rd February30th March, at the Britten Studio, Snape Maltings, Snape
Over a series of six lectures, the celebrated Art Historian John-Paul Stonard will be taking his audience on a historical art tour that begins in Constable’s native Suffolk, before heading further afield. The lectures will be accompanied by Stonard’s trademark films and photographs and will cover everything from Constable in love to the landscape of China. You will be in safe hands for this lecture series, John-Paul’s 2021 book, Creation: Art Since the Beginning, was named a Sunday Times Art Book of the Year.
l Tickets cost £12.50; under 25s half price. For further details go to, brittenpearsarts.org
MEET THE AUTHOR: RACHEL PARRIS
7.30-9pm on Tuesday, 3rd February at The Riverside, Woodbridge
Rachel Parris, the comedian, musician, actor, improviser and avid Jane Austen fan, is coming to Woodbridge to talk about her Pride and Prejudice spin off, Introducing Mrs Collins. Her novel imagines the life of Charlotte Lucas, Elizabeth Bennet’s best friend who marries Mr Collins. There is little Rachel doesn’t know about Jane Austen - for the past 14 years she has been touring with her wildly successful improv comedy group, Austentatious. Expect her enthusiasm for all things Austen to be infections as she talks to the journalist, Catherine Larner, about her career, her novel and the Bennet family.
© John Ferguson
l Tickets are £20 (including a copy of Introducing Mrs Collins, RRP £18.99) and one further ticket may be purchased for £12 (without the book). Book online at, theriverside.co.uk or call 01394 382174
