Roger Grosvenor, Group General Manager – Trade and Andrew Dawes attended from the East of England Co-operative Society and Roger said of their supporting role as headline sponsors: “The East of England Co-operative Society is at the heart of communities across the region and we are proud to be the headline sponsor of this fantastic event supporting the brilliant work the ITFC Charitable Trust.”

Steve Britt, MD of Anchor Storage commented: “I’ve worked with Terry at Suffolk New College as we are both Fellows; therefore I already have an interest in young peoples’
education. As a company we are celebrating 25 years in business this year and supporting the Trust’s Ball next month seemed a very worthwhile way to mark our anniversary whilst helping a very good cause.”

Nick and Chloe Grimwood from Green Energy concluded: “As a company we are passionate about making a difference within our community and are honoured to be supporting this worthy charitable event.”

More sponsors are still needed for this high profile event, to be held at Portman Road in their prestigious Bobby Robson Suite on Friday 9^th March.

CEO for the Trust, Terry Baxter was also on hand to welcome the sponsors said: “Our sponsors are vital as we rely totally on donations. Their money will go to help young people in Suffolk – in the last 10 years we’ve been able to support over 100,000 individuals and we’d like to continue that success for many years to come. It’s vital that we get the support from local businesses to help young people in our County.”

The event is being organised by Adam Clark of Eventuoso who was also at the ground along with the company’s Marketing and Business Development Manager, Deborah Wildridge. Tickets have been in high demand already with tables of ten available to book at either £750 per table or £80 per head for individuals wishing to attend.

Other businesses who wish to raise their profile by becoming a sponsor of the Trust’s Annual Ball whilst helping a very worthwhile charity here in the County can pledge their
support by either becoming a sponsor or by donating prizes for the charity auction by calling Eventuoso on 0845 450 7495 or emailing them info@eventuoso.com. For tickets to this highlight in the social calendar for Suffolk, call Francesa on 01473 705209.

The charity’s mission is, through football, to inspire, motivate and improve the education
and life chances of young people in Suffolk who are in need.

The ITFC Charitable Trust relies completely on the generosity of others to survive. In the last 12 months alone it has delivered over 60,000 education and sports coaching sessions to the Suffolk’s young people. In doing so, the Trust is helping to change lives for the better.

For more information about this year’s Charity Ball, the ITFC Trust and news of the many ways it works with the communities in and around Suffolk take a look at their website
http://www.itfccharitabletrust.org.uk/

24 March 2012

Suitable for ages 4+.

Once upon a time there was a young girl who went to spend the night at Grandma’s house… and her little brother came too! She just wanted to go to sleep, but he wouldn’t settle down.

Grandma’s attic is far too exciting for sleeping!

With music and songs from Julian Butler (Charlie and Lola), Red Riding Hood promises to be a magical treat.

A new version by Olivier Award winning writer Mike Kenny.

All tickets £7.00. Time: 11.00am, 55 minutes (no interval).

PLEASE NOTE: This production is at the New Wolsey Studio, St. Georges Street, a five minute walk from the Main Theatre on Civic Drive.

To book tickets online, click here

Worlingham Hall is a spectacularly beautiful and elegant Grade I listed Georgian house situated in fine mature parkland surrounded on all sides by mature woodland providing absolute privacy and seclusion and unsurpassed facilities and activities including a heated swimming pool, tennis courts, trout lake, stabling for the horses, heated kennels for the dogs. You can enjoy a day’s clay shooting or pheasant shooting by arrangement.

How would the British have coped with a wartime invasion? Set in 1940 it’s a thrilling tale of the so-called Auxiliary Units, Churchill’s secret guerrilla army primed to go underground to fight behind the lines – a story of the bonds created and destroyed by war. This fascinating play is researched and written by Eastern Angles’ Artistic Director, Ivan Cutting and directed Naomi Jones whose credits include Return To Akenfield and The Long Way Home.

26 February 7.30pm

Tickets: £11/£10

To book tickets online, click here

The programme for this evening’s concert includes a work by Haydn which involves key Sinfonietta players as soloists:

Mendelssohn – Hebrides Overture
Haydn – Sinfonie Concertante for Violin, ’Cello, Oboe & Bassoon
Beethoven – Symphony No. 8 in F op.93

Saturday 25 February 7.30pm

Tickets: £12/concession: £10/ under 18: £2

To book tickets online, click here

A musical journey through the songs of Frank Sinatra, Matt Monro, Bobby Darin, Nat King Cole, Tony Bennett and many more of the great popular singers featuring Matthew Ford and his stunning nine piece band.

Matthew is widely regarded as the finest big band singer in the UK. In August 2011 he made his BBC Proms debut with the John Wilson Orchestra in Hooray For Hollywood.

This tribute to the swing legends includes songs such as Mack The Knife, Portrait of My Love, For Once in My Life, Birth of The Blues and Feeling Good.

To see Matthew move, sell a song, and hold an audience is quite an experience…it’s called star quality.”
Malcolm Laycock, BBC Radio 2

Pricing:
Premium £25.00
Band A £20.00
Band B £15.00
Band C £8.50

Dates and Times
Sunday 11th March, 7.45pm

To book tickets online, visit The New Wolsey Theatre website

Opera della Luna presents a sparkling new English production of Lehár’s classic operetta The Merry Widow.

The imaginative staging captures the glamour and decadence of turn of the century Paris while infusing the production with Opera della Luna’s trademark wit.

“Ensemble playing at its best”
Evening Standard

Pricing:
Premium £25.00
Band A £20.00
Band B £15.00
Band C £8.50

Dates and Times:
Thursday 1st March, 7.45pm
Friday 2nd March, 7.45pm

To book tickets, visit The New Wolsey Theatre website

Exciting contemporary features such as the four sided log burning stove sit comfortably with a relaxing collection of antique and contemporary furniture. Intimate reclining spaces lie within areas equally suitable for large scale entertainment. The galley kitchen has the wow factor we all seek and is well equipped and great to cook in, open and hidden at the same time.

There is a golf course and a caravan site as well as the wonderful river Blyth which sluices into the North Sea. A ferry will take you across the river to the small and slightly exclusive village of Walberswick.  All in all a great destination for all the family.

Click here to view a selection of self catering cottages in and around Southwold

The Port of Lowestoft

In the early 19th century Lowestoft saw a boost in trade.  Not all was well in Great Yarmouth and theft there compounded by inflated harbour fees and the building of a ‘New Cut’ from the river Waveney to the river Yare meant that Norwich merchants preferred to buy from Lowestoft rather than Great Yarmouth. Then the lock gates at Mutford failed, and trade fell off.

1831 – The harbour at Lowestoft opens

In 1847 Sir Moreton Peto, often regarded as ‘the father of modern Lowestoft’, purchased the harbour at Lowestoft and built a railway line to the town, thus opening the whole of England as a market for the town’s fresh fish. A quay with the railway siding was built, and then an outer harbour, with a north pier for the fish markets and a south pier for the tourists. The foresight of Sir Moreton Peto ensured the fishing industry of Lowestoft for over a century.

Exports of herring (known locally as the ‘silver darling’) grew and grew and workers were brought in from all over the country to assist in handling the catch, including Scots fisher-girls who lodged in houses in the High Street and went down the ‘scores’ – ancient narrow thoroughfares still to be seen today -to gut herring.

Lowestoft was now famous for its herring drifters fishing the North Sea and also for the trawlers which ventured further in search of cod, haddock and skate. Sailing craft gave way to steam powered vessels and the harbour was filled with tugs and smaller size merchant vessels.

Industries ashore supported the fishing industry and local producers made clothing and foodstuffs for the boats, salt for the curing of herring and ice for the trawlers, all of which were traded in the town. Around the market the fish merchants had their offices, buying the catches and arranging onward shipment, by rail to parts of Britain and by sea to foreign markets.

With all this wealth came other improvements to the town and Lowestoft became famous for its “hanging gardens” and fine terraced gardens that descended from the merchants houses to the base of the cliffs.

1878 Joseph Conrad landed at Lowestoft

This was Conrad’s first visit to England. He had joined the French Merchant Marine some four years earlier to avoid conscription but had got himself into financial difficulties.  In Lowestoft he joined the Lowestoft fishing fleet before travelling the world again.  He was a sailor for around 15 years and used those he met as as figures in his future novels.

1913 – Benjamin Britten born in Lowestoft

Lowestoft and indeed Suffolk’s most famous son, Benjamin Britten was born at 21 Kirkley Cliff Road, Lowestoft on November 22nd, 1913.  His attic bedroom overlooked the sea and the pull of the waves on the beach would have been a constant background sound in his early years.

Benjamin Britten was the youngest of four children; his father, Robert Britten, was a dentist who built up a substantial practice from the house.  His mother, Edith, was a talented amateur musician who gave Britten his first lessons in piano and notation in the drawing room of the house. It was quickly established that Benjamin Britten was a gifted musician and by the age of five he was already making his first attempts at composition. He had completed The Simply Symphony by the time he was 12.  He started piano lessons with a teacher from his pre-prep school when he was 7, and viola lessons with Audrey Alston at the age of 10.

After prep school Britten became a pupil at Gresham’s School in Holt, North Norfolk, boarding at Farfield House between 1928 and 1930.  From there he went to the Royal College of Music in London.

Lowestoft remained his home base until he started work with the GPO Film Unit in London in 1935.

World War I and World War II in Lowestoft
Lowestoft’s location, the most easterly point of the British Isles, made it an important base during both world wars.  Lowestoft was bombarded by German ships in April 1916 as the German fleet sought to draw the British fleet south from its base at Scapa Flow.

During the Second World War, Lowestoft had five naval establishments, with 200 officers and 7,000 ratings based there. Mine-sweeping, motor torpedo boat patrol and training at Europa, the base on the North Denes, were amongst the activities. The shores of Lake Lothing, where wooden steam drifters had once been built, saw motor minesweepers and power launches under construction.

Lowestoft in the last 50 years

The big fishing fleets are now gone and whilst there are still a few trawlers tied up at the harbour, the majority of fishing is inshore or from the beach. However Lowestoft still attracts plenty of tourists, who can enjoy its history by walking in the centre and along the beaches – taking care not to miss out on the ‘scores’ the deep little lanes linking town and shore – and visiting its fascinating museums .