earlier in Aldeburgh

Aldeburgh Documentary Festival weekend starts this evening and tomorrow afternoon Martin Parr Q&Aing.

After 126 years the Framlingham Barclays bank closed the Friday before last.  The cash dispenser and signs have gone, they'll need a carpenter to close the lobby doors which have no keyhole on the outside.  30 years ago Felixstowe was the nearest LINK cash dispenser to near the coast and Aldeburgh complained it had no ATM for visitors wanting to spend money ... what goes round comes round.

On what would have been Benjamin Britten's 110th birthday this Wednesday his Aldeburgh home the Red House will be open with guided tours.  A free day out including cake but you do need to book.  When we visited we particularly enjoyed the garden.

Around 00:40 in this BBC vid kitten biscuits meat flavoured, not fish flavoured are recommended for hedgehogs.  Here in Stately Terrace Framlingham the piggies happily tuck into herring and tuna with vegetables GoCat ... perhaps they're an Aldeburgh fishing community displaced by the high property prices.

♫ Last night in the Snape Maltings we fell in l♥ve with mezzo Margo Arsane playing Pompey's son Sesto ... she's petite ... and French.  We did our best to keep up with the plot but occasionally just let it wash over us.  Perhaps we missed it but at the curtain call the Aldeburgh Voices who sang from the audience weren't acknowledged.  A much larger cast for tomorrow night a Rossini comedy.

In prehistoric times when the Campsea Ashe pub was still The Talbot it briefly had a boule pitch at the side and there were attempts in Aldeburgh to get a team going.  Brandeston has a petanque team for this year's summer league and needs more players.  Email Joanna Moorman for more info.

The Lighthouse Restaurant Aldeburgh re-opens for the season Wednesday. •

♫ In a faint echo of Musicircus that we enjoyably stumbled across on the Aldeburgh front some years back this year's festival has a Britten Song Trail.  Five venues including halls Jubilee and Moot and the Fishers Gin Tasting Room.