Memory

Our first ever Suffolk village fair. I am unsure of where it was. We were visiting from London and happened upon it. The people were so welcoming and the games kept us entertained. I remember my son, who was maybe six at the time, won a coconut that he kept lobbing at people. My husband – the antiques enthusiast – bought a beige and blue porcelain sugar, coffee and milk set that we still use.

Beach

I love the ease of getting to Old Felixstowe as it’s about 25 minutes from home. My son prefers a sandy beach, so we often head up to Southwold. We have a game where we name the seagulls and make up what they are thinking, who is ‘married’ and all other kinds of goings on for birds. It keeps us entertained.

Day out or attraction

I love Bury St Edmunds. We are currently trying to sell our house to move closer. Having lived decades in London, I miss the buzz, ability to walk everywhere and the theatre! And it's just beautiful. We are looking forward to making the move.

Landmark

The port of Ipswich as it reminds me of my childhood in Hamburg, Germany. 

Walk

I love trees and am unabashedly a tree hugger. In another life I would live in the Pacific Northwest where the forests go on for miles. So unsurprisingly I love Rentlesham. Most people assume that I am in mushroom forager, but the one time I did a mushroom identification course, I got all of it mine wrong. I know the obvious ones – chicken of the woods, puffballs, etc. I buy from professional foragers and focus on growing. Yet I still love to see all the mushrooms in the forest.

Pub

It has to be The Crown in Stoke by Nayland and followed up with the Marquis in Hadleigh. Both chefs were amazingly supportive when I showed up on their doorsteps with my strange mushrooms. They cheered my first baby steps as a mushroom grower. 

Place to eat

I am in dangerous territory here as we supply so many amazing Suffolk restaurants, but I am going to say The Weeping Willow. The food is of course amazing, but the Cosmopolitans are deadly. Last summer I drank two during lunch and snored all the way home. I am a notorious lightweight.

Shop

Fork in Hadleigh. I think what Justin and his wife have done is a marvellous asset to Hadleigh and they were very brave to open during a pandemic. It keeps evolving according to demand and their own creativity steam.   

Export

I have to be cheeky and say our mushrooms! We do a lot of London farmers' markets each weekend and we are working more with restaurants in Norfolk. We fly the Suffolk banner proudly.