Bury St Edmonds

On Thursday we went with Nesba and Madeley to Nesba's in-laws in Bury St. Edmonds, which is north of London by an hour and a half train ride. I have no idea how many miles it is.... Godfrey (Jeff) and Beryl (pronounced barrel) Dykes are the ultimate hosts - we felt like we were at an elegant B&B! They are very proud of their English heritage and taught us a great deal about their history and the history of England, the Royals, the IRA, the health care system, etc. It was fascinating to learn so much about England from an Englishman's perspective! Jeff was a career naval officer and had the honor to lead the casket for Lord Montbatten's funeral (he was murdered along with several of his family members by the IRA in 1979), which was a grand royal funeral with all the pomp and circumstance that goes with it. We saw the video of this historic occasion and many photos, etc. It was quite an honor for Jeff to be selected to do this, and he received a hand written note from Prince Charles after the event. He also taught Prince Charles at the Naval Academy.

Jeff and Beryl have a beautiful home in the country and it was so nice to be in a slower paced, rural environment. They have a large new home, which meant good heating and plumbing! I had the first good shower in 4 months! Heavenly! We had high tea when we arrived - complete with different cakes, crumpets, heavy cream and wonderful tea. It was great fun! Then we played a round of mini golf in their yard. They have created a mini golf course and a version of lawn bowling in their yard for the grandchildren...which Sean loved! There is a pool table and darts in the garage (along with his naval "museum" including a model of the ship HMS Tiger that Jeff seved on). They also have a large wooded area that Jeff has hung up a tire swing and is a fun place to explore. Sean also loved the "fact" that the fairies come to their woods and leave fairy dust - we even brought some fairy dust home on a leaf! Beryl had organized a treasure hunt/Easter egg hunt for the kids, which was a huge hit too.

Beryl made an elegant three course dinner for us that evening: starter of stilton (a kind of cheese) and walnut pate (kids had pizza), main of chicken and 5 different veggies (kids had beans and chips - fries), and dessert of an English triffle and/or apple crumble (kids had ice cream). Lots of wine too...we were SO full!!! And dinner didn't start until 7pm of course, so basically we ate and then went to bed...not good for the diet! But it was an absolutely delightful evening with great conversation - and a built in babysitter for Sean - he adores Madeley! It was a lovely trip!!