Personal

Guzzle

£1548.55
1,749.81 litres

If petrol was sold in drinks cans I'd have popped fourteen into my car each day over the past twelve months. Each day, every day. I have no idea what that equates to in terms of CO₂ emissions.

Since April I've been trying to cut back on my driving. Clearly I'm not doing a great job. I'm making a note of these figures now to give me something to work towards next year. Is 1,200 litres a reasonable target?

Walks

Dunwich circuit

Distance: 5.11 miles
Ascent: 51 metres
Duration: 1 hour 39 minutes

Still walking it off

If you've time for just one walk in Suffolk, make it this one. It's a circular walk: out along the beach, then back across the heath on the way-marked Suffolk Coast and Heaths Path. You can start either in Dunwich village or as I prefer at the Coastguard Cottages on Dunwich Heath.

Wherever you start, be sure to walk the beach first. It's a two mile stretch of shingle that'll take an hour to complete, with no short cuts available. But it's rewarding: no matter how busy either end is, the middle section is always deserted - very few walk the entire stretch.

If you've walked northwards on the beach, turn left just by the fishing boats and keep an eye out for the footpath which begins on the left just by the Ship Inn. If you've walked southwards, head up to the Coastguard Cottages and pick up the Coast and Heaths path behind the toilet block.

The walk back over the heath is further than the beach, but much easier going. Above the low cliff the remains of the Greyfriars are the most visible reminder of ancient Dunwich. At one point it looked as if the city's five lost churches were to be marked by huge sculptures off the shore here as part of the Landmark East project. Local opposition has caused the project to be scaled back and relocated thirty miles to the south at Walton.

Walks

Woodbridge circuit

Distance: 2.69 miles
Ascent: 106 metres
Duration: 59 minutes

Walking off lunch

I've lost count of how many times I've completed this walk. It's my favourite way to spend an afternoon in Woodbridge. Here are the instructions.

1. Start at the Market Hill in the old part of town. Look at the old cells below the Shire Hall steps. Inside the nearby museum you can see photographs of the townspeople gathered here for important announcements proclaimed from the platform above. These gatherings still continue today.
2. Find the Violin shop and turn left. You're now walking up Theatre Street. The old theatre is now an auction house, reached through a narrow sloping building on the right just after the Angel Inn.
3. Take the next left - Queen's Head Lane. At the bottom, cross Seckford Street and walk straight ahead following the left-hand edge of the park.
4. At the end of the field (by the huge fallen tree), continue ahead and uphill, again following the left-hand boundary.
5. The path becomes a gravel track between two cemeteries and then a residential street. Follow it ahead.
6. At the end of the road, look for a path between the houses across the road. Follow this path along the backs of the houses and down some steps to the main Ipswich Road.
7. Turn right, then left into Sandy Lane just before a garage.
8. Look to the left for some steps down onto Woodland Trust land a little way before a footpath sign. Follow the path through the woods and up to the gate at the top.
9. Turn left to follow the wide, leafy avenue of Broomheath to cross the railway where it eventually becomes a gravel track and meets the river.
10. There's a beach to the right here, but the walk follows the embankment to the left, upstream towards town.
11. The body of a local shipbuilder was found in the river at Eversons' slipway two days ago. Doff your hat as you pass.
12. Keep to the quayside as it passes the railway station and Riverside Theatre before finally coming to the Tide Mill.
13. Have a look at the mill - said to be the only one of its kind in the country still working - before turning back along Tide Mill Road to cross the railway and reach Quayside.
14. Turn right along Quayside and take the second left - Brook Street. Keep an eye on the garden walls on the right-hand side; about two thirds of the way along you'll see the "Charles and Di" brick.
15. Keep ahead between the car parks and across Thoroughfare where Brook Street becomes New Street.
16. Enjoy looking at the Woodbridge Fine Food shop, but I wouldn't recommend shopping here - it all seems rather overpriced.
17. New Street has some of Woodbridge's oldest buildings on it, each with uncountable stories to tell: Bridewell, The Case is Altered house and the Bell and Steelyard Inn.
18. When you reach the top you're back on the Market Square. Reward yourself with a pint of Broadside at the King's Head.

One final bit of advice: try to start the walk in good time. There's a lot less to see in the dark.

Personal

Reminders

The pudding turned out very well.
Hardly surprising considering who made it.
A tasty reminder of a Cornish holiday.

Personal

A new Carol

I've gone along to the Rotary Club Carol Service each year for half a decade or so. It's always the same: the town band, the mayor presiding, the Chinese lanterns bought from the violin shop, the handing over of the town's tree and Father Christmas's "surprise" appearance on top of the church tower.

This year's service diverged from the pattern though. The band, the mayor and the tree were all there, but there were differences too. The prayers brought a heavy dose of realism with them as the townsfolk prayed for the families of the "five young women". And all those years of climbing the church tower have clearly got too much for Father Christmas - he arrived on the fire engine this year.

Woodbridge is wonderful at times like this. The community gathers, laughs at its own traditions while extending an inclusive, embracing arm outwards.

Personal

Shot

My work-mates now have a new moniker for me. Apparently I'm "the only person with an ethical stance against clay pigeon shooting".

That's not quite the case. What I said is that I didn't know what I thought about recreational shooting. If I vehemently held that all gun use was wrong I'd not have gone along for the event, I'd not have fired off forty rounds, and I certainly wouldn't have enjoyed myself declaring it to be "a bit like ten-pin bowling".

On the other hand, I still feel uneasy. I know my car could cause just as much harm as a shotgun; I know the pheasant I'll enjoy on Friday will have been brought down at a shoot on Monday.

Even so, I'm glad that of the forty I missed all but thirteen. Sadly while I allowed the remaining clays to escape into the wild just a few seconds later they were as stationary as all the others.

Angels

Fifty Christmas trees

Some ideas don't need explaining. I'd love to have been at the PCC meeting when Fifty Christmas Trees in a Church was first pitched.

We stumbled on Dickleburgh's Christmas Tree Festival quite by accident while on a tour of Norfolk. It became the highlight of the day. That the theme of the 2006 festival is Angels made it doubly attractive.

Amongst a display of angels besides the choir stalls small cards provided a Biblical thought and an opportunity to request prayer. On the hour the priest on duty led those present in the Lord's Prayer. Subtle, meaningful, assured.

Visitors to the church (admission £3.50; an extra pound for the view from the balcony - this clearly raises more than a traditional Christmas Fair) get to vote on their favourite tree. The creator of the winning tree receives £1,000 at the end of the week.

Though I loved the local Conservative Party tree with photographs of local councillors for decorations it couldn't beat Buffys Brewery's tree's audacious promotion of alcohol right next to trees from the local primary schools.

You must go. But hurry: the festival ends on Sunday.

Personal

Inappropriate

Emma and I have spent the weekend shuffling iPods to find appropriate music to back a slideshow of wedding photos. (It's OK - we promise not to bore you with them unless you ask.)

It turns out to be much easier to find inappropriate songs. Some favourites so far:

• She Stumbles through the Door - Sarah Masen
• Too Late to Turn Back Now - Hem
• Because It's Not Love (But It's Still a Feeling) - The Pipettes
• God's Gonna Cut You Down - Johnny Cash
• Can't Cry Hard Enough - Victoria Williams

Personally I'm still hoping to use Over the Rhine's Drunkard's Prayer but it's not just me making the decision.