Christmas can be a time for reflection and reminiscing

Andy Cooper, ex newspaper and magazine editor, now a pub manager in South Devon

I left Bury St Edmunds in 1995 . . . but Bury never left me and I do sometimes wistfully look back at my times there, especially at Christmas. There’s just something special about the town if you have ever lived and worked there. But what is it, what is the X factor which stands Bury apart from so many other places in the UK? Maybe it’s the way modern day development hasn’t really encroached on those pretty town centre streets over the years. I know councillors and planners often get a bad rap now and again but it is undeniable they are to be congratulated over the years on keeping the ancient look and feel of the town centre relatively intact. And if you want to see what happens when that isn’t done, then ladies and gentlemen, I give you Chelmsford.

That protection of the town’s natural heritage means such delights as the Abbey Gardens, Angel Hill, St Edmundsbury Cathedral and the Athenaeum, among so many others, stand proudly at the centre of Bury. That gives it a unique core which is such an attraction for locals and visitors alike.

Maybe when I was a local I took it a little for granted but the passing of time – and perhaps being able to experience so many other towns as my career took me from Essex to Devon then Cornwall to Somerset and back to Devon again – has made me appreciate just how special Bury truly is.

Both my boys (now aged 29 and 26, so boys no more) were born at the West Suffolk Hospital and so can proudly state Bury St Edmunds as their birthplace. (And number two son is a confirmed Tractor Boy as a result of this proud ‘ ‘ Suffolk heritage he holds). Even the name Bury St Edmunds sounds special and intriguing. I shall always cherish taking them to the Abbey Gardens to feed the ducks and play hide and seek in and around the ruins. And no trip was complete without a stop-off at the menagerie on the edge of the gardens. Is it still there, I wonder.

And, of course, Bury had even had its own distinctive smell – that strange merging of the aromas from the Greene King brewery and the sugar beet factory. Frankly, I could take the former and leave the latter but on days when the wind was in the right direction and the smells met somewhere over Abbeygate Street it did often feel like you were in the middle of some gigantic bell jar!

Beyond the town boundaries of course there are attractions like West Stow Anglo Saxon Village, Ickworth House, Nowton Park, Melford Hall, Lavenham…all that living history to visit just a moment’s drive away.

I could go on – but the editor would rightly stop too much of the lyrical waxing from my direction – but suffice to say I remain, all those years later a huge fan of a town which will always hold a place in my heart. One final question is, does the IPA still taste as good in the Masons’ Arms?

Ian Hulland, photographer

We love living with our family in Devon with its rolling hills, wild moors and lush greenery but there will always be a place in our hearts for all that makes Bury St Edmunds so special. We miss firstly our friends and neighbours – so many happy hours and laughs. Then the Apex with its eclectic mix of entertainment and art (sadly, there is nothing like it near us). Our walk along the River Lark and the Abbey Gardens is also memorable and again, we have nothing to compare to the attractiveness of that area with its mix of history, activities and, of course, those wonderful blooms every year.

The market is a treat whenever we visit, plus the variety of shops and places to eat and drink sociably (yes, even now), the busy-ness of its streets. Nowton Park (almost in Bury) was a regular enjoyment, the Theatre Royal is a true gem as is the Abbeygate Cinema (and Pat Church, of course). And then there’s the people who pour their hearts and hands, often voluntarily, into making Bury such a great place in which to live and work. It goes without saying that one of us misses the local brews!

Do we regret moving to Devon? No. Will we always miss Bury? Yes.