Ipswich

♫ Tonight at Ipswich Library Morganway (with the very excellent SJ Mortimer), Hanna Haas plus Helen and the Neighbourhood Dogs (resisting the the temptation to comment they can bury a bone ... oh, we haven't).

♫ Tonight Peppery Productions present (we think for possibly the second time) Hank Wangford and the Lost Cowboys (including BJ Cole and Spanner Robinson) at the Manor Ballroom Ipswich.

Lowestoft had a fishing village known as The Grit, and Poetry People are presently touring a words, music and film show about the lost village.  You've missed it in Halesworth but there are shows this week in Ipswich, Leiston and yes Lowestoft.

Despite miserable weather yesterday a very decent turn out for St Elizabeth Hospice's Bubble Rush in Ipswich.  For the first hour or so the weather flirted with raining but then got going along with a chilling wind but rushers kept rushing, the arch on the blue bubble station reenacted the flamme rouge collapse in the 2016 Tour de France and the stewards at the finish kept dancing and giving cheerful encouragement.

Last year the St Elizabeth Hospice Bubble Rush in Christchurch Park Ipswich was an absolute blast.  No doubt this year's rush on Sunday will be equally brilliant, registration from 11am.

In baking temperatures yesterday Ipswich Cards 10-07 Essex Spartans and the Cards progressed to the playoffs.

It's going to be a busy Sunday tomorrow with the Dunwich Dynamo passing through near the coast in the early hours, open gardens in Double Street Framlingham, free step dancing at the Blaxhall Ship, classic car day at the Debach Airfield and St Lawrence's Brundish will be visited by The Right Reverend Martin Seeley Lord Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, probably the first visit by the diocesan bishop in sixty years and there's a picnic as well.  We will be snapping the East Anglian american football derby of Norwich Devils at Ipswich Cardinals.

We weren't optimistic about yesterday's Ipswich Cardinals v London Blitz B because the Cards had lost 55-00 to the Blitz earlier this year.  In the event on a roastingly hot day (thankfully with a breeze) the Cards led 10-00 for most of the game.  Finally the Blitz offence broke out (they'd been threatening to do it all game) to score two ... more here

Like we said before everything happens in June including Brandeston long weekend below.  Tomorrow Peppery initiates the third Ipswich Jazz Festival with Italian band ♫Rumba De Bodas♫.  Saturday in chronological order, Worlingworth Car Show, Playford Hall Open Day and in the evening and Aldeburgh Cinema Bill Nighie will do a Q&A after a showing of The Bookshop.

Following a 55-00 loss against London Blitz B the weekend before last the Ipswich Cardinals american football continued a now 3-1 winning season after a 42-06 win over visitors Maidstone Pumas last weekend who despite being much outnumbered stuck at it good humouredly.

The Ipswich Cardinals may have lost their away game at London Blitz B on Sunday but their 2-1 season so far is still an encouraging improvement on the last couple of years.  The Cards' first home game of the season 2:30pm kick off this Sunday.

Yesterday at the Ipswich Inspire Kent Men's Roller Derby v East Anglo Smacksons and Suffolk Roller Derby v Dorset Knobs (it's a kind of biscuit).

Things to do tomorrow include a Maker's Market in the Framlingham Unitarian, the Large Model Association's Air Show at Tibenham (it's over the border nearish to Long Stratton) and men's British Championship roller derby at Inspire Ipswich.

♫ This Saturday the organ festival in Diss (including The Grange Musical Collection) sounds good fun, pity it clashes with roller derby in Ipswich.

At the end of last season with minutes to go a one point kick would have put the Ipswich Cardinals into overtime against the Essex Spartans ... they went for two and didn't make it.  At the start of this season ... more here