I'VE RUN OUT OF SUPERLATIVES!

As promised on Saturday I loaded the birthday girl into the car and headed off in a new (for us) direction. Another lovely drive through the Suffolk countryside found us at Colchester. A birthday lunch in a French restaurant for 'she who must be obeyed' was followed by a visit to the Colchester Castle. It is amazing to follow the development of mankind over a period of 4 or 5 thousand years. For me the most interesting information was the display of the bronze age. I was astounded by the quality of the implements cast from bronze about 1500 BC!

On Sunday we went to Church at Shelley, one of the churches we visited early in our stay here in Bury. It was a family/harvest festival service. Once again we were made most welcome by all the parishioners. The Church Warden opened the safe and produced the 'Burial Register'. In it I was able to discover the entries for my G/G/G/grandfather's and my G/G/G/grandmother's burial. Other family members were recorded in the 'Banns Register'. Over the after Church 'cuppa' one of the ladies said that she knew a Stannard who lives in Hadleigh. Her husband was sent to get the address book and I was given the 'phone number of Jimmy and Norma Stannard. On our way 'home' we had the usual stop off at Corn Craft at Monks Eleigh for lunch. After getting home I went for another walk to 'The Nutshell' which was shut.

On Monday we went to Little Waldingfield to visit with the local 'History Recorder'. Patricia has a wonderful knowledge of the area and it's history. Her position involves recording present happenings for future generations. We had a lovely morning and got a good insight into the village and the life style of previous generations. After that we went to Hadleigh to visit a 'Antiques Shop' Ann had seen as we drove through. It turned out to be a farm supplies shop! A hamburger in a Cafe and then a nice drive where we managed to get lost so Deidre was on duty to bring us home by a series of back roads. Following the disappointment of the previous day I again went for a walk. This time the Nutshell was open so I had a pint in 'my' corner of the bar. While I was there an Irishman with a very broad accent came in. I think he accent was affected by what he had consumed before he arrived! He had an interest in Australia so claimed me. He was a great fan of Slim Dusty and gave me a rendition of 'Pub with no beer' which amused all 6 or 7 patrons in the bar. He knew all the words too.

Tuesday was a partly domestic day and partly research at Suffolk Registry Office. I spent a few hours there going through records in search of new information with very limited success.

Today we went to meet Jim and Norma Stannard in Hadleigh. There are quite a few Stannards in the area so it is unlikely that there is any connection. On arrival we had the mandatory cuppa and then Jim gets out the 'Family Tree' which was given to him by some distant relative that he hardly knows. He hands it to me and I look at the first page to see if I can find any link to my tree. The first names I see are James Stannard who was married to one Ann Garwood. What can I say, these people were my G/G/G/G/grandparents! We then clapped one another on the back and called each other cousin. I now have a copy of all this information which will add lots to my tree when I get it all sorted. The family circle is growing daily! We followed that with another lunch at Corn Craft and then a visit to a antique shop in Lavenham we were told about by my new found cousin.

That's about it for today. It will soon be time to cook up a meal. The central heating is just coming on which will make things nice and cosy. That will please 'you know who'! We will probably go over to Cambridge for a look about tomorrow.

Until the next post, love and greeting to all, Ann and Dave.