Menoffagainarrhoea; Flagging on Friday

By the time the 22nd June dawned, I was beginning to feel the drain of a week of exertions way beyond my usual quotient. I had rather a disturbed night and that ought to have been my first clue. When Friday arrived I slept way past my normal hour and getting up proved tiring in itself. Clue number two.

Aitch had been waiting to hear from the sales girl a set time for the new car pick up, but things were not going according to plan. Eventually, it was narrowed down to the following Wednesday. This was potentially throwing off some of our schedules. That and my feeling as if hit side-on by a bus. I knew I needed a day of much less walking and where there would be shade relief from the surprising heat. I remarked more than once that I was being reminded of Australia!

We had a rethink about what we would cover next. For this day, we opted for a trip to Aldeburgh to visit the Red House. Now a museum, it was the home of Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears. It also holds many workshops and talks and is a place filled with life. A glimpse at that website will show you what is happening this summer.

Aitch was archivist there for a few months prior to its latest refurbishment in 2014. The current archivist gave a 20-minute talk at 1pm, which I greatly enjoyed. There was lots of beautiful art on display (not all to one's own taste, but quality none-the-less), the composer's loft was filled with creative atmosphere, the gardens flourishing and the whole place exuded homeliness and welcome. The interior of the home has been retained pretty much as it was once Peter Pears died (he lived there alone for some ten years after the death of Britten). You can have a listen to Pears singing with Britten at the piano on this link, where they give the classsical treatment to some folk songs.

The photo above is of the courtyard by which one enters the gallery space, the library, or through and up to the loft, which is straight ahead. The meeting space for the talk was in the room below that, through that white door. You can tell it was raging sun. I had to put sunglasses on the Fudge!

The croquet and games lawn had stuff laid out for children. There were benches dotted about under trees for one to sit and relish the surrounds.

Leaving here, Aitch went in search of another geocache. I tagged along, not wishing to miss out. It remained a DNF (did not find), but that's part of the fun.

From here we went to Snape Maltings for some lunch. Flashbacks for me, for I recalled my mother taking me to a piano recital there back in the 1970s (when I was studying for my fifth-grade music exam). It was a young pianist from Cyprus (via Russia). Barely six years my senior, Nicolas Economou was already making an international name for himself. I've never forgotten that shock of bouncy black hair, the thrill of the Rachmaninov Concerto #3, Chopin Preludes and a modern piece, which I cannot now name for you.

The didn't end here. There were some geocaches and churches to visit. They'll be here on Monday, combined with Saturday's small outing...