title Exam Day Dereliction, Ipswich, Suffolk - 13th November 2019 intro Nosher's in Ipswich to take a General Certificate in Brewing (Craft beer) exam, whilst the G-Unit has an appointment at Ipswich Hospital, so with a bit of temporal shuffling around we manage to fit both in with the same trip. The exam finishes first, so there's an hour or so to kill looking around the old stomping grounds of Ipswich to see what's still derelict and what's changed. Whilst the main "High Street" seems to be more-or-less OK, there are a lot of shut-up shops around elsewhere, but by far the biggest crime is that the old St. Helen's Court - once the home of Suffolk County Council - is still derelict after at least seven years since the last visit. On the upside, at least St. Andrew's - the old Libraries and Heritage/Education building - seems to have now been converted to flats. Other than that, the old Odeon, burned-out St. Michael's Church and the Ipswich Bagel Bakery are still pretty much as they were, whilst Barnes of Ipswich has now gone completely. Meanwhile, the former SCC Social Club seems to making a bid to become a small spot of dense jungle, as nature reclaims it in a process that somehow feels more visceral than usual, given the number of good times had within its walls in times past. imgp7622 High Street legend Thomas Cook goes bust imgp7624 The Hot Sausage Company van is still going imgp7625 Cornhill by the Corn Exchange has had a make-over imgp7626 The ornate frontage of Lloyds Bank imgp7627 On Westgate Street imgp7631 A lot of identical For Sale signs on Arcade Street imgp7632 A derelict building on Arcade Street imgp7633 The Swan gets rebranded for no particular reason imgp7634 The Swan is re-branded as The Swan and Hedgehog imgp7635 Looking in the general direction of Willis Coroon imgp7636 The Giles Family statue on "Giles Circus" imgp7639 A warm glow from Buttermarket Lighting imgp7640 British Home Stores, or BHS, is still empty imgp7641 The closed-down Mattressman imgp7642 The 1950s/60s offices next to the Co-op building imgp7643 Broken windows imgp7644 The Cooperative building imgp7645 Funky mural over Cox Lane imgp7646 The Co-operative building near Cox Lane imgp7647 Derelict Indian restaurant on Upper Orwell Street imgp7648 The derelict Ipswich Bagel Bakery is still there imgp7650 There's a nice bit of 1975 stained glass imgp7651 The back of the co-op building imgp7652 The burned-out St. Michael's church imgp7653 The wrecked clock face on St. Helen's Court tower imgp7655 The trace of the former "Odeon" sign has now gone imgp7656 The tragedy of the derelict St. Helen's Court imgp7657 St. Helen's Court portcullis main entrance imgp7658 The old councillors' entrance to St. Helen's imgp7659 The great hall is clad in scaffolding imgp7662 Beer can on a windowsill imgp7664 St Michael's, from Bond Street imgp7665 The "spire" of St. Michael's is being held up by scaffolding imgp7668 Another derelict office block imgp7670 Le Garagiste Citroën Garage on Bond Street imgp7671 A derelict house near Rope Walk imgp7673 The former SCC social club is in a sad state imgp7675 The front entrance has almost disappeared in foliage imgp7677 The steps are fairly overgrown imgp7678 The end of St. Edmund's House and Suffolk College imgp7681 The derelict SCC social club imgp7683 A mattress leans folornly up against a fence imgp7684 The boarded-up club, and St. Edmund's House imgp7685 Pop art on a door, with some odd grammar imgp7686 The Grinning Rat, or "Rinning Grat", has closed imgp7687 It's a crime that St. Helen's is being left to rot imgp7688 The old Suffolk Connexions imgp7689 The seat of East Suffolk County Council, pre 1974 imgp7692 The Suffolk county crest imgp7693 Another Giles statue near the bogs at Major's Corner imgp7694 Age UK's massive - and empty - shop imgp7695 Another closing-down sign imgp7696 Trashed shop interior imgp7698 Cox Lane as it comes out on Carr Street imgp7699 A dilapidated link bridge and empty shops on Cox Lane imgp7700 Another shop to let imgp7701 The derelict former Subway imgp7702 The Great White Horse is boarded up imgp7705 The Great White Horse Hotel is closed yet again imgp7706 Back entrance to the Great White Horse Hotel imgp7709 A fine timbered building on Northgate Street imgp7711 A painted elephant in the entrance to Ipswich library imgp7715 The old Ewers Grey-Green Coach station imgp7716 Inside the old coach station imgp7717 Seperate doors for reading and lectures imgp7719 The grand Bethesda Baptist Church imgp7722 An old Egerton's sign on Crown Street imgp7724 Autumn colours in Christchurch Park imgp7726 The war memorial imgp7728 Some other monument in the park imgp7729 It's true: Ed Sheeran is everywhere imgp7731 A 100-year old oak tree, and plaque for a mayor imgp7733 Stripey lawns at Christchurch Mansion imgp7738 A deep pile of brown leaves imgp7740 A blue house, and some very yellow leaves in the sun, on Fonnereau Road imgp7741 Nicely-distressed railings imgp7746 The Ferodo bridge on Norwich Road imgp7747 The arches under Ferodo bridge are all a bit seedy imgp7749 The other side of Ferodo bridge, on Norwich Road imgp7753 Back in Eye, Isobel roams around the shop Shelf imgp7754 Isobel buys a thing from Shelf