Respite care

'The eye is a rose window' by Ueno Masao at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Art at UEA in Norwich,

with a Henry Moore Sculpture seen through the window.

I didn't realise how stressed I was until the stress increased and I became ill - and that really is such a waste of good creative time! Not to mention not being much use for caring, either. So, luck found us a place to care for my mother for a few weeks (she's not happy; but she's not happy here either, so ....), and I'm rediscovering how pleasant life can be. Of course, now is the very last time in the year that we would normally have chosen, every weekend being full of holiday traffic - but this is more than good enough in the circumstances. The purpose is to take breath, and to establish a life into which my mother can fit, rather than me scrabbling around trying to fit my life into caring for her.

So, best to start with a weekend right away, despite it being the first weekend of the school holidays for Easter. I always love going to the sea, and how about a textile exhibition too - so off to the East coast via the stunning basketry exhibition at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Art. Norman Foster's architecture, the Sainsbury collection, and the excellent exhibition are destination enough on their own.

The basketry exhibition contains so much to get the juices flowing: information, diverse history, beautiful and intriguing examples, tradition, thought-provoking context, contemporary art, and above all inspiration. It was interesting to see how Mary Butcher has moved from mastering tradition to creating astonishing works of contemporary art. Ueno Masao's two large pieces are not only beautiful, but also provided me with specific inspiration from an elegant aspect of technique.

Head buzzing, it was good to make our way to the coast, where the sea helped me to sort through the tangled threads of inputs and ideas.

The beach at Lowestoft

Fisherman at Southwold

The following morning we set off for Southwold. I enjoyed spending some time watching fishermen on the beach. They would walk to the edge of the sea, cast off out into the sea, and then walk back as their line played out. The rod was then parked on a stand, and they returned to their cup of tea under an umbrella. They caught fish from time to time, but often the taught line hauled in to reveal an escapee.

An attractive little town, Southwold was filled with folk, and so a stroll after lunch confirmed our decision to drive down to another tourist spot: Snape Maltings. This too was filled, but having found a parking space, it was easy enough to lose the crowd.

The East hereabouts - East Anglia is very flat with reed beds and much water. It is possible to go for a pleasant stroll along the reed beds and away from the shops, looking back at the concert hall, and hardly seeing anyone at all. Snape Maltings is known for its concert series and for the music of Benjamin Britten. There is sculpture dotted about, such as the three members of Barbara Hepworth's Family of Man below. And delightful sculpture in the form of buildings, such as this rehearsal room built within ruins. Then on to Aldeburg beach in order to see Maggi Hambling's sculpture: The Scallop. This family was settled in, and did not seem to mind being included in our photographs. A bonus was our encounter with nearby ruined Leiston Abbey. We were alone as we wandered around in the evening sun, with the sounds of rehearsing violins and piano filtering out of open windows.

Finally we paid a quick visit to Great Yarmouth before we set off for home. An exuberant place of kitsch-filled fun, we enjoyed its self-assured character, and were delighted to stumble across a Nicola Portuguese coffee shop where we had not only delicious coffee, but also meltingly fresh Portuguese custard creams. We left the East with a good taste in our mouths.

An elegant understated lost dolly in Southwold

Bright brash replacements in Great Yarmouth!