First day back at work and more pics

Grrrrr.... 4.30am came around way too soon.  I don't miss not getting up early when I'm on holiday!  Lots to catch up on at work.  Not much had changed.  I dreaded going back.  Not fun.

Back to the pics.  Here are some more I took in Christchurch Park.

 This is a view of St Margaret's Church.  It is near to the park/mansion.  It was built in the 13th century and served as church and burial place for the lords of the manor. 

 

These are part of the gardens behind the mansion. 

This is the plaque for Thomas Wolsey Art Gallery.  There are lots of things around Ipswich with the name Wolsey.  Thomas Wolsey was the cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and was quite an important figure in the 17th century.  He was born in Ipswich in 1473.  He became Lord Chancellor, King Henry VIII's chief advisor.

There are two ponds in the park.  They have loads of different birds on them.  I guess in the times when the area was a priory the ponds were a source of fish for the monks.  There isn't any sign of the old priory - a shame. 

That last one is a funny looking thing!

A few parents came along with children and began to feed the birds.  There is a small machine where you can purchase a hand full of bird food.  They don't like you feeding bread to the birds as it tends to attract the rats too!

I guess the food thing doesn't work too well.  We actually saw a rat dart out while we were there - either that or it was a big mouse!  My Mum is terrified of them so we had to move on.  We walked further around the pond to spot the bird on the tree limb.

We ended up walking around some more and were going to go back the way we came when I saw about four of those dreaded rats/mice.  YIKES!  Mum wouldn't go back that way lol.