Replicants

After a delicious coffee in Melton, mrshb70 took me off to see Sutton Hoo. The car park was full and the overflow car park was squishy with mud and puddles, so I donned my yellow wellies before venturing farther than the boot of the car. I am not a National Trust member but both mr and mrshb70 are, so I went in on his ticket. I had no pangs of guilt about being a replica mrhb70 because the entire display was replicas – the real treasures are on display at that notorious warehouse of stolen property on Great Russell Street in That London. It has to be said that the replicas are much shinier than the real thing, so my yellow wellies felt right at home.

Then we set off to see the UFO in Rendlesham forest and I swapped my wellies for my more comfortable, but less water-tight, boots. I'd brought Blippo with me because he was very excited at the prospect of a close encounter with a real replica UFO. That was when I discovered that on changing my footwear I had left my camera in the boot of the car. Happily, mrshb70 was not as silly as me and so today's extra is Blippo on a UFO in Rendlesham forest taken by me using mrshb70's very lovely camera.

Next stop was another Suffolk village with architecture to die for, Orford, where we had a fabulous sandwich at the bakery there and bimbled round the village, each choosing our next home.

On to Snape Maltings to choose furniture and accessories for our new imaginary houses and I confess to having begun to warm to the idea of being obscenely wealthy and owning loads of tasteful quality stuff.

And then to Aldeburgh, where we just managed to catch a food shop at the moment it had decided to close early. Lovely welcoming salesperson! Unusual when a shop has drawn its blind and shut off the till for the night - only to have a pair of customers arrive requesting them to re-open. Magic! We ventured out onto the dusky beach but the breeze was brisk and we turned back in again on the off-chance of a decent charity shop. Not a hope. All Aldeburgh shop-keepers had had the same idea and chosen to close half an hour early at 4.

So there was nothing else for it but to take ourselves for a cheeky half (herself, I was twice as cheeky, not being the driver and all) in a wonderfully ancient pub in Kersey – main image. It dates back to 13something I seem to recall, but the landlady was so modest and explained that the cottages next door were significantly older.

And finally back to a cosy home and a delicious meal, an eclectic range of drinks through the evening and a conversation that washed gently this way and that until the whole canvas had been brushed.

Total treat! Thank you!