half term

Current work: various fiction and nonfic
Listening to: probably Badfinger (if we go out in DH’s car)
Reading: Nicholas Orme, Medieval children (definitely recommended)

Saturday looked as if it was going to be the only decent day of the holiday, so that meant a trip over the border to deepest Suffolk and down the coast, then heading inland. DH is quite used to my ‘did you know…?’ habit and usually completely unfazed, but he raised an eyebrow at this one. ‘There’s a crocodile in a church window?’ Yup. They thought it was a dragon.

Anyway. Wormington church is incredibly pretty. The wall leans outwards, as if it’s simply too tired to stand up straight any longer, and the way in is via some stone steps over said wall. And there in the window was the crocodile.

(You want the full story? We-e-ell – it’s out next summer, published by Halsgrove: the Suffolk follow-up to Norfolk Ghosts and Legends. I have plans for the year after, too, involving my birth county, though I have yet to do the outline.)

Then to Bures, where I happened to know there was a 13th-century wooden effigy (yup, another of my crusaders. This one was for the church book, Again, maximising use of travel). Apparently the shield is a rare survival. He also has a very cute lion at his feet.

Madam and son persuaded DH to let them go on the village playground while I was pottering round the church. Apparently, there was one tiny bit of mud on the whole playing field – and Madam just had to fall in it. I returned to find her wet and grubby and ever so slightly grumpy. (This meant going to nearby large town and feeding her cake. Yeah, yeah: like mother, like daughter. I did not have cake. I was keeping an eye on the light and working out when to start chivvying.)

Next, to St Stephen’s chapel. This is connected with the King Edmund story – and if the weather is kind I intend to go to Hoxne this week to take pics for another bit of it. But as this will involves walking across a field (on a permitted footpath, I should add), we definitely need a nice day. Not like Sunday, when the rain set in and the kids played games while DH read the paper and I sneaked off to my desk. (Did a big chunk on the church book, too; am currently researching weather vanes and clocks.)

Plans for today depend greatly on the weather. Oh, and on the Pandora front – not even the flicker of a grump. DH even admitted it was nice. (Uh-oh. This may well mean he has arranged something and has yet to break it to me...)