From my window, I can see the place where I lived in 1968

Our new home will not be ready until summer 2023, so when we have sold our home in Norfolk, we will rent a house on the old Works site. High Green was an award winning conversion of redundant buildings into an attractive cluster of town centre dwellings. We liked it so much that we rented one before we really needed it, because if we wait until we have exchanged contracts on our sale, we might not be able to find somewhere as nice.

One of the two bedrooms will become our workroom, where Belinda will make jewellery and I will write. Front the window I can see what was Baker Brothers shops, and is now occupied by Druce estate agents. Standing by the window, I can see across to the bank, and what 50 years ago was my family’s living room window, from where I can remember watching in amazement as an elderly couple climbed into their bubble car after visiting the bank. The distinctive sound of their Heinkel’s  single cylinder 175cc engine always prompted me to rush to the window.

Of course Leiston has changed since I last lived here, and I doubt I will see a bubble car while living at High Green. The Post Office, where I. Would buy stamps and my dog licence has moved from Post Office Square, and most of the shops have changed. But Leiston has withstood the gentrification that has transformed Aldeburgh into anything but the fishing town it once was. Leiston has remained true to its roots and, more than anywhere else in this part of Suffolk, could be described as authentic!