WOODBRIDGE24 Magazine, Monthly Magazine for Ipswich, Woodbridge and Felixstowe. Entertainment and Lifestyle

Over the day as a whole, thousands of visitors moved between watching the yacht racing held by the Deben Yacht Club, visiting the fair in the Model Yacht Pond and Eversons boatyard and walked the river wall to and from Tide Mill Quay.
Many thanks to the Lions Club for organising the fair and staging the famous annual Woodbridge Duck Dive. No ducks were harmed in the making of this event, but some children were happy winners when the ducks were released into the wild waters of the Model Yacht Pond.
There were many great events and activities as well as the duck dive, such as the Lions whoopee dipper, merry go rounds, bouncy castles, rowing, single oar sculling, the children’s’ crabbing competition, model yacht racing, and so on. Entertainment was from the Woodbridge Excelsior Band, The Hasbeens Skiffle Group, and the Blue Bus Tour. The highlight of the day, though, was the Woodbridge Annual Raft Race.
This is the third year it’s been held in its present form, and gets bigger and better every year. Nine teams battled it out over two heats and a paddle off, and the Junior Adventure Water Sports group (JAWS) based at the Suffolk Water Sports Centre in Woodbridge made off with the title for 2010. JAWS also made off with the prize for the best dressed raft on the water, and were presented with both trophies by Therese Coffey, MP for Suffolk Coastal. The day ended with a very well attended Songs of Praise, organised by Woodbridge Churches Together.

The home of Edith Pretty, instigator of the 1939 excavations at Sutton Hoo, is set to open to visitors for the first time. Tour the downstairs rooms of this Edwardian country house and enjoy the elegant interiors as Edith once would have.

Tranmer House as it’s now known was built in 1910 as a statement of wealth and influence, with far reaching views out over the River Deben. Left to the National Trust unfurnished in 1998, until now access has only been via pre-booked tours.

Following a public appeal for furniture from the Edwardian era up to the 1930s, the team at Sutton Hoo are now ready to open the partly furnished house in a style that Mrs Pretty herself would be proud of. There’s even an Edwardian sideboard that once belonged to WWI fighter pilot Albert Ball. A significant number of items have been loaned from National Trust sites across the country, where the furniture was otherwise in storage.

So be one of the first visitors to step inside Tranmer House, which celebrates its centenary this year. Relax in a comfy chair by the fireplace and look through some of the photo albums and newspapers of the 1930s to find out more about the discovery that changed the way we view our ancestors.