young and old in sudbury

Yesterday the children at Sudbury School
and I finished our crinkle crankle wall song and were invited by local historian Audrey to meet her in her garden the other side of the wall. There were lots of questions about old Sudbury and Audrey's own childhood there. She was the daughter of the gardener to Lord Vernon at Sudbury Hall and also went to Sudbury School. Then we sang her our new song in the garden:

Chorus:
Crinkle crankle
crankle crinkle
crinkle crankle wall
curly wurly, snaky, wavy
standing up so tall.

1. Bricks are prickly, rough and crumbly
taking in the sun,
chipped and bumpy, old and lumpy,
Can be as hot as a hot cross bun

2. Blackbirds tweeting, whistling, fluttering
in the trees up high.
feet in the stalks are crickling, crackling,
crow and buzzard fly in the sky.

Later I went to Audrey's house and spent a good hour and a half poring over the books of photos, memorabilia and writing she has put together about the village, the Hall, the Vernons and her life. Her house is one of the estate cottages in the main street and is very eccentric in that her cellar goes under someone elses, the attic comes across from yet someone else's and altogether is a right hotch potch structurally - but beautiful, homely and very ancient. I loved it. We had a rare old time and she will be a great resource, together with her may contacts with other older villagers and her outstanding historical knowlege and archiving skills for the future of work here. She loved meeting the children - and they her.