Saturday

Well firstly Happy Birthday Jan.

Being the dutiful son took the old folks out shopping. Decided to go to Bury St Edmunds. A nice old market town. Bury was famous for its Abbey which got destroyed at the reformation. The Abbey Church was reputedly enormous but little of it remains. That said the size and oppulence of it can be discerned today by the size of a) the gate house and b) the two large parish churhces that were in its precinct (there was once 3). One of these churches was uplifted to cathedral status and as part of its Millenium project now has a spanking new central tower. Very impressive it is too. It may not be the best use of money but it certainly looks the part. Part of the grounds are now a very well maintained garden. There are now signs urging the public not to feed teh wildlife there but to feed it over the bridge. Those pesky Suirrels, Pigeons & Starling no doubt. The usual Mallards by the model of the old Abbey church fighting for bread with the Black Heads.

Anway we then went to Ickworth. A very fine building with a central rotunda. Looks very impressive. We however contented ourselves with walk around the main lake which was mostly frozen. Mallards and Canada Geese finding the small unfrozen bits of water. Bird of the day a Treecreeper spotted whilst I was admiring the Fieldfare.

A very pleasant time had by all. A bit cold but hey the sunshine was glorious lets hope its like that tomorrow.

The cricket looks to be heading for a draw but given the preparation England have done well to be in a position where they have a chance to win. Pity Cook couldn't quite score his ton say 20 minutes earlier since I can't see us bowling them out in a day. Still a temendous effort by him and his application bodes well for the future. Blackwell really needs to bowl and bowl well tomorrow if he doesn't then either they play Udal or Plunkett or play an extra batsman not much point playing him if he isn't going to bowl.