A 'wow!' moment in the Apex

No, not a band, singer or performance of any kind.  I have just returned from a visit to the Apex with my daughter, to view her son's painting on display along with  dozens of pieces of artwork from local schools. For some time I have avoided using the word 'stunning' as I associate it with cliched comments from reality (or no-relation-to-reality) TV shows. Today I could not contain myself and the word rolled off my tongue every minute or so. Stunning, stunning, truly stunning! I refer of course to the general standard of artwork produced by local schools and not just my grandson's piece (although that of course made me very proud).  I know comments along these lines have been made before, but I would urge anyone, art-minded or otherwise to go the the Apex to see for yourself  how talented our young people are in Bury St Edmunds - and how inspirational their teachers must be (I recognised two of my ex-colleagues on display the moment I arrived).  It's all a far cry from my 'daffodils' with a reception class  yesterday, but you can see how the progress the students make in their teens is phenomenal.  I can think of no good reason why anyone should want to go further than this town - although I'm well aware the same is probably true in other towns, for artwork to decorate their homes or businesses.

I'm not an art snob. I've twice visited the Tate in St Ives (the second time to see if it really was as boring as I remembered) and found nothing there to excite or inspire me.  That was not the case today. One 3-D piece by a St Benedict's student was - here comes another cliche, awesome.  In truth it was somewhat dark and melancholy too, but nevertheless, it made me want to rush over to Denny's to gather up materials to try to reproduce something similar myself.  I resisted the temptation knowing I'd just end up with a mess of canvas and paint (stick to daffodils, Jules).

Sharing my table at the Apex

It is such a great idea to have such a wide variety of art by local children on display in a central venue.  And if it continues, I have a really good reason to have a daytime coffee at the Apex (not to mention it's one of the cheaper venues for beverages in town).   I found it a privilege to sit in such as relaxing environment surrounded by so much talent.  Other venues - take heed!

The Coffee House, Bury St Edmunds

On a miserable, wet Sunday afternoon, my friend and I received a very warm and sunny welcome from the couple who run this new coffee bar in Bury (top of St John's Street).

Barbara and Luk (spelling??) are from Poland and they certainly seem to know their stuff when it comes to coffee. They were able to explain to me why much of the coffee I buy from cafes these days tastes what I have described as 'plasticy'. If you want to know why go in and ask them. Unfortunately I didn't get to really taste their coffee as I fancied an espresso with ice-cream (affogato?), and there you only get a mild coffee taste.  But I will certainly go again. Within minutes, Barbara was like an old friend. She makes all the cakes and sweets in the cafe, and Luk - unobtrusive and constantly busy behind the counter is a trained barista. Their herbal teas - purchased from the nearby deli, smell beautiful.

I really hope this venture works for them. They deserve it and these are the sort of businesses that should flourish in Bury. I can never remember the name of ... goodness what is it called......?

Oh yes, Starbucks. What a scruffy looking place that is - drab and in need of a good lick of paint. If I want to feel depressed I'll go in there. If I want to be cheered up, I'll go in to see Barbara and Luk (Luc) in the Coffee House, St John's Street.