Cavern4, Whiting Street

Workwise is an organisation that helps people with mental health problems use their creativity to get into production. The arts and crafts (and furniture) produced across East Anglia are wonderful, and can be found in this really nice little shop. It is my favourite place to go to buy a gift, although I can't afford some of my favourite pieces in there.  A good cause to support - really worth a visit

West Stow Anglo Saxon Village, Bury St Edmunds

If only to prove all my photos are not dreadful (it's when I've been using my Blackberry - the camera in it is hopeless) I thought I needed to harp back to those lovely days of summer...... a month ago?   Well it may only be June now but summer came and departed early. Who knows when it will return?

I love the West Stow Anglo Village - not just for the history it represents but for its peace and tranquility.  Children tend to visit here from school but all adults should come too. It has some special event days, a good playground nearby, a half-decent cafe and a gift shop in which I always manage to buy something (particularly at Christmas).  It's a very short distance out of Bury and deserves one visit if not more.

Wetherspoon's Corn Exchange

I make no apology for the poor quality of this photo. It's not that I don't want to make The Corn Exchange look attractive by 'fixing' my photos a bit, but this representation seems to sum up my first impression of the new Wetherspoon's venue.  Uninviting.....untidy and indistinct as a restaurant.  It reminded me of a disembarkation lounge of a cheap cruise with people and 'stuff' all over the place. It is obviously going to be very popular with big drinkers and lovers of cheap food which is not really a good sign for those who like to eat in a relaxed and comfortable environment.

The up-side is that it might make other local food and drink premises think about the prices they charge for alcohol.... and in some cases food too.  Having visited the city of London  this week it was noticeable from the pub and upmarket Thai restaurant I visited that food prices were comparable with Bury and drink prices only slightly dearer. I think that says more about Bury St Edmunds than it does about London.  In many cases it is very expensive to eat out in Bury - wine often being ridiculously over-priced.  Even if people on a night out choose not to end up in Weatherspoons they may well start there to 'fuel' themselves up. Bad news for other venues.... but not for the public.

I had no desire to lunch in The Corn Exchange on Friday as I had intended but may try on another occasion when it isn't so busy.... if such an occasion arises. I hope this place doesn't affect the privately owned businesses - certainly Saints was as busy as ever.  Hope it gives the overpriced Pizza chains a run for their money though.

Sunshine and showers in Bury St Edmunds Town Centre

Poor old Bury St Edmunds has looked a bit of a ghost town over the last week or so. It must be a combination of the the three Rs I guess. Rain, Recession and Retail outlets. The latter, I noticed today, were most uninviting.  I couldn't be bothered to go in any 'proper shops' and made do with the post-office, a charity shop and a necessary trip to Iceland (if only). To add a bit of excitement to my day I checked my bank balance.

It amused me slightly that often when I go into the town I don't see anyone I know. Yet today it seemed as though I only saw people I know..... and they were all in the post office.  I feel very sorry for the bars and restaurants in town. Any I've passed in the last week have appeared empty .

Still, tomorrow I'm looking forward to returning to the Wednesday market to see Thomas who runs the Caribbean Food stall. Last week I bought this amazing piece of cake there. I'm not sure what was in it (mostly chocolate, coconut and orange I think) but I couldn't stop eating it. It was a huge piece for £1.50 and if I had been able to resist from consuming it all myself, I would have shared it between about three friends. I think it was intended as a single portion but would have made a good dessert with fresh cream. I also bought a savoury item from the stall which resembled a large donut.  I thought I had read 'Jerk chicken' over the display. Don't know what I was expecting but although I detected a highly spiced element in the doughy content, I couldn't swear it was in any way related to chicken.

Tomorrow I will learn more about Thomas' products... and enjoy further testing. I can't believe he's been on Bury market for 15 years and this is the first time I've bought something from him. He is a real ray of sunshine on a rainy day. Last week the market was bleak and deserted. I commented to Thomas that he must be fed up with it.  He laughed off my comment saying that that was the ways things go and you have to make the best of them.  When I mentioned my experience to friends last Friday, one of them said 'Oh Thomas - he's lovely. Always so positive'. That's just what we need to brighten our town centre - bring on the sunny outlook.

Waterstone's, Bury St Edmunds

Those who shop frequently in the Buttermarket store will probably know Philip, who manages the children's section.  Despite being an  amazing expert in his area, he can give advice on most genres. He is always genial, helpful, and never boring in his love of books.

Today I went into the store to compliment him and thank him for his helpfulness towards my house-guest (a headteacher from Spain), and her colleagues, who wanted some good children's books to take back with them to their school in Madrid. I had recommended they should speak to Philip and they readily took my advice. And Philip did not disappoint.  However, it was not through gratitude that I ended up spending £17 on books when I called in.  This man is dangerous! And he supports Nottingham Forest! And he should be salesman of the year!

All that aside, I am looking forward to reading Philip's special book recommendation and I will be reporting back (watch this space) to all concerned.

It seems I have quite a reputation too as far as Philip is concerned.  My mobile phone 'went off' while I was in Waterstone's. Not ringing, but playing music that would normally filter through my headphones (a horrid sound when it doesn't), and I couldn't turn it off. Philip smiled bravely as the customers were shaken from their relaxed book-browse. 'It's always amusing when you come in here', he said.  I took that as a compliment....... and ran.

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.