Recycling - East Anglia's Children's Hospice (each)

This charity shop in St John's Street, Bury, not only takes in items and clothes to re-sell but also 'rags' type clothes and materials for recycling, for which they collect a fee direct from the larger recycling organisations. I can't say this often enough - please be careful who you place charity bags outside the house for.  There are many organisations who have well known charity names on the bags they leave but only give a small percentage of the proceeds to them.   Please, please, please don't give good clothes to such collectors. They could end up shredded. I believe it should say on the bag who receives what, but generally speaking if you know of a local charity shop  e.g. Heart Foundation, Cancer Research, Age Concern and so on, then the shop will benefit directly from the clothes etc that you donate if you leave the bags out for collection.

Today I walked into town specifically to deliver a bag of 'damaged' clothes to each but I did point out that there was a pair of young men's jeans in there with a small tear in, which they might be able to sell in the shop. They agreed - on the basis that many jeans are sold from shops like that

The Coffee Society

I really appreciate those cafes which offer a bit of a deal - such as drinks accompanying snacks at a reduced price.  It can make a significant difference to the cost of light lunches, afternoon teas or any other treat that takes your fancy, otherwise the costs of 'stopping for a coffee' can add up to silly amounts if it's a regular occurrence, particularly if you want something to accompany it. The cost of coffee alone is getting disproportionate - maybe even exploitative in some establishments. Take my last visit the Mill, in Sudbury. Two of us arrived before the others and ordered a cup of coffee and a 'mint tea' while we waited.  The cost of these were £4.80. Were they served on a silver platter or in any other way elaborate? No, they looked like this:

...... with the addition of a teapot and an unwashed (for sometime it seemed) milk jug. How can a place of this calibre ignore such basic hygiene?  That spoilt for me the meal that followed (not that a 'meal' as such did follow in the end, as the service was erratic and I wasn't going to wait any longer for a meal. I had a £5 bowl of soup instead).  In fairness to the Mill, the restaurant manager did take off the cost of the coffees - and also the cost of what one of my friend's ate (because it was in her words 'quite unpalatable').

This is a de-caff capuccino from a newcomer to Bury - Patisserie Valerie - or Val's Cake Shop.  This cost £2.70 if I remember correctly. I guess in the price of this you are paying for the decor of the place, but still, a decent cup (with decent coffee in it). To weigh up the experience of visiting there today I tried their Croque 'Italian style' which was tasty, but along with the vast array of cakes, not the healthiest of options.  Snacks here look good but many are carbohydrate and fat based (cheese or cream).  This is obviously a chain/franchise establishment so I doubt the menu will be modified much to suit the Bury St Edmunds tastes. Nevertheless the public will probably flood there as they do to other franchises because they    'generally like the look of the place' and in this case may be lured by the pastries.  Personally I prefer traditional cakes. Franchises can afford more outlay initially then and expect their customers to subsidise ongoing costs. The smaller (or more cosy) and cheaper independents often lose out to the rest. I noticed after leaving Val's today that the usually crowded RRGCH on Angel Hill was nearly empty. Hopefully their custom will be restored once the novelty of Val's wears off for the Bury population. I also noticed the Really Rather Good.... is applying for a drinks licence. I trust their wine will not be too expensive because I  want better value for my money than a cup of pot-luck coffee ( although I rather think the equivalent cup of coffee at RRGCH would cost around 30p less than the above).  Still, it's little wonder that people wanting to economise these days, cut back on drinking 'fancy coffees'.

The Stamp Hut Sticks it Out

The Stamp Hut sits pretty much alone in a row of vacated buildings.  It's sad to see so many empty units in town and there will be more and more if trends continue. It's appalling that the owner of the children's clothes shop 'Millie' in the Buttermarket had her business rates doubled for this year. Whatever is going on?

Beautiful pubs like the St Edmund's Tavern can't compete with chain restaurants for food unless they keep prices low - and quality amazing. After being initially impressed by The Bushel in St John's Street, I now hear the food there is not great these days.  These businesses lose the customers of the 'traditional pub' market (it's fantastic to see how well The Dove is doing) and then fail to find a niche of their own.  

I am quite beside myself to hear we are going to have a 'Zizzi's' in town - yet another pizza establishment. These fast food outlets are generally overpriced for what they offer (especially drinks) and yet still manage to fill up where smaller businesses do not. I remember when The Grid on Abbeygate Street was a special place to go in Bury but over the years has lost it's edge. I understand its days are numbered.

Of course some businesses just move but when the local business rates are so high they risk leaving empty units behind which will remain empty until those setting the tariffs see sense. Or a Sugar Hut moves into town?            

The Star, Lidgate

This has become one of my favourite pubs around Bury -  it's not as close as I would like (about 20 mins or so) but it's worth the extra drive for lunch or evening dining. I've been a couple of times for lunch so have not got around to trying their extensive menu, which is largely 'Catalan' in style  - and seemingly quite authentic based on what I have had so far.
The pub, which has apparently been described as 'the most perfect pub' in the Telegraph has huge log fires which give off the most lovely wood-smoke aroma adding to the atmosphere of this wonderful old building.
Unfortunately, we were not the only party to discover yesterday that the kitchen wasn't offering the complete menu (a chef short)  after we'd decided what we wanted,  so we had to choose from a 'two courses for £10 special menu. That was however very good value for money, if not as 'adventurous' as I would have liked. As is becoming the norm now, wine seemed a little pricey (but it was a white Rioja).
This has been an amazingly popular pub for sometime now and boasts many food awards. The pub may well live up to it's reputation without high prices (I had delicious sea bream dish there for £12.95) but I will need to go several times to finally make up my mind. What a hardship.

Ickworth House

It's taken me a while to write about the restaurant at The Ickworth Hotel. I'm not really sure why -  maybe it's because I'm just not sure what to say. I  wouldn't wax lyrical about it, but neither have I any real complaints

 There were very few people using it on a Wednesday a few weeks back - no more than a couple of tables occupied other than by us. The food was good, very good and not unreasonable in price. It was the wine that seemed to make the meal expensive, especially when drunk by the glass. I really don't know if I'd make a real effort to visit there again soon. I could say if prices were cheaper I would, but maybe it would be fairer to say that if money were no object I would visit on a regular basis. Although I doubt it would be that peaceful and relaxing at weekends (it does promote itself as a family hotel and restaurant) I could choose times to go there when I simply wanted an excuse to feel as though I was a long way away from Bury, but in reality just a few minutes away. It does have something of a 'grand air' about it, although it's not particularly smart or stunning in decor.The grounds are beautiful of course and at least by using the restaurant no-one seems to chase you for a fee to stroll around the park.  I do find the usual cost for visitors to the grounds is ridiculously expensive - it's enough to make you want to join the National Trust!

Good Roast Dinners (and not-so-good roast coffee)

In response to a question recently posted on Facebook about finding good roast dinners in Bury restaurants, I would like to suggest that the Decanter on Angel Hill as a probable source . I went in there some time ago when it first opened with new management and had a very good evening meal. My main 'complaint' (if you could call it that) wasn't about the quality of the 'mains' - far from it. The pork meal seemed absolutely up to standard, but the starter was so large I didn't really appreciate the main course. Of course, no-one is obliged to eat a starter but they do help spin-out the meal, turning it into a relaxing evening (or lunch).  Many opt for desserts instead of starters, but I don't have much of a sweet tooth after a main meal and would rather have a small starter at a lower cost.  Few starters are under a fiver now - many nearer £10. Maybe it's not in restaurants' interests now to provide smaller cheaper portions, but I think it would be in the interests of many of the customers.

On to 'fresh roasted and ground coffee'.  I don't drink much caffeinated coffee these days (and it's improved my sleeping enormously), but every so often I fancy a really nice cup of coffee, which I fully expected to find at the Really Rather Good Coffee House today (my praise was effusive after my last visit). This time I was very disappointed to find they no longer serve the variety of coffee I last had and I ended up with their regular brew which was decidely 'wishy-washy'. I think maybe it was simply too weak. They did offer to change it  but there was certainly no beautiful coffee aroma to enjoy, so I declined.  In fact, it really rather reminded me of how my coffee always comes out at home. It's quite a while since I've bought a roast I've really enjoyed and most of them frequently end up with that rather 'plasticy' smell - not unlike that of today in the Really Rather Good Coffee House.  Hmm. Maybe they should rename themselves the Really Rather Good  Lunch House...... at present anyway

Really Rather Good Coffee House, Abbeygate Street, Bury

A really rather delicious lunch had there today. My first visit for more than a coffee (when I sat outside) and I regret it's taken me so long to try the food. It's been open for several months at least.

Sometimes I find myself in town over the lunch period and just want a snack to sustain me until the evening. It's usually a case of stopping off somewhere cheap and cheerful for a relatively boring sandwich. In future I'll head straight to this cafe (facing Abbey Gardens on Angel Hill) to have something special instead at a relatively comparable price. My choice today was the cafe's own version of tuna crunch on toasted ciabatta. As my friend said, this cafe gives attention to detail.  The tuna dressing was so tasty and yet light, so I convinced myself I was eating something really healthy. Even the celery which added the 'crunch' factor was fresh and how celery should be - fruity and not bitter. The dish was garnished to include a balsamic drizzle.  I chose the smaller version of this dish which was a fantastic value - £3.95, but it was more than enough really.  But despite that I shared a a piece of orange drizzle cake to follow (after all - I had made a healthy previous choice) which complemented the really rather good cafetiere of coffee (probably the best in town). The lovely lunch, which included a bottle of sparkling mineral water, came to just under £9 and I can honestly say it was a real treat. I don't normally go into such detail about my meals about town, but as I said - it's the detail here which makes it excel. I hope it lasts. I've heard others praise it (especially for its soup) and I heard it said today how good the mackerel pate is. It's a limited menu, and the seating capacity is also limited, but it's cosy, with clean, fresh decor. I should have taken a photo, but I will definitely be going there again soon so I'll take one then. Not that I need an excuse.