Felixstowe Sunday

An internet search last night enabled me to download a useful pdf list of churches in Felixstowe with their Sunday service times. I needed this to find somewhere I could attend an eight o'clock Eucharist, to free me later in the morning to drive Owain back to Ipswich train station for his journey back to Bristol. In these days of clergy shortages an early service can be hard to find, Fortunately, there was one advertised nearest to our B&B at the Parish Church of St John the Baptist, just five minutes walk up the hill. It's a well appointed Victorian High Church gothic building, by Sir Arthur Bloomfield, containing a superb collection of stained glass and a mosaic high altar reredos of the Lord's Supper. 

I was warmly welcomed by several people on arrival. The liturgy was 1662 Book of Common Prayer with KJV readings and a decent address on the Gospel of the day. There were 18 worshippers. I came away refreshed and happy to know that a normal and traditional early service was still available, even though the Parish is currently in an interregnum. 

I got back to Dorincourt Guesthouse in good time to enjoy a cooked Sunday breakfast. Then, Owain, Clare and I drove out to the Landguard nature reserve car park to save time, and walked from there around the peninsula, dominated by its fort, guarding the estuary since the seventeenth century and in continuous use from 1667 until 1956. As well as being an English Heritage site of military interest, the fort is now home to Felixstowe Museum. On this morning it was also host to a classic car rally.

As we were about to turn around and head back to the car, another large container ship rounded the headland, though not one of the giants. It was close enough to shore to identify as the 'MSC Valencia', registered in Madeira. I wondered if she plied her trade from the Puerto de Valencia, as it is also a big constainer shipping port, sister June and I discovered during our visit there six years ago.

After we'd taken Owain the station, Clare and I took a picnic lunch out, and sat on the edge of the promenade with our feet on the shingle, watching two young children running about tirelessly on the shore, braving the waves and getting wet with glee. The rain held off just long enough, then we returned to our room, and enjoyed a couple of hours siesta before joining Eddy and Ann, David and Liz for an Indian takeaway supper and an evening of family conversations. So much more congenial than a six hour return drive back home.

 
Here's a link to all the photos taken during our stay