5 things people miss from Suffolk life 20 years ago
Life in Suffolk certainly looks different today than it did 20 years ago.
Over the past two decades the internet has grown, a new monarch ascended to the throne and beloved brands have disappeared on the High Street.
But many people still reminisce about what once was.
Here are five things people would bring back from life in Suffolk 20 years ago.
Local bank branches have closed across Suffolk (Image: Jerry Turner) With the rise in online and mobile banking, many industry giants have closed their branches across the country.
Earlier this month, Natwest announced it would be closing its banks in Sudbury and Newmarket in September.
READ MORE: A look back as Willis building celebrates 50 years
Debenhams closed its stores in 2021 (Image: Lucy Taylor) While some big brands remain on our high streets alongside newer retailers, many big names from 20 years ago are no longer around.
One much-loved shop people want to bring back is Woolworths, which closes all of its stores across the UK in 2009, while others want ToysRUs and Debenhams to return.
Many families enjoyed days out at the roller skate rink (Image: Newsquest) Although it closed just over two decades ago in 2001, some people in Bury St Edmunds want to have the roller skate rink return.
Located on Station Hill, it was known as a great place for parties and entertainment for the whole family.
READ MORE: Archive pictures show changes in popular seaside town
Ipswich Airport opened in 1928 (Image: Andy Abbott) Since its opening in the late 1920s, the airport in Ipswich was the gateway to the world for many people living in Suffolk.
The decision to close Ipswich Airport in 1996 sparked a huge public outcry, with demonstrations, public meetings and "save the airport" posters plastered across the town.
Under 18s night at Liquid nightclub (Image: Newsquest) Many people will have memories of going on a night out with friends to clubs and bars across the county.
Some of the busiest places to be were Liquid and Hollywoods in Ipswich, and Club Brazillia in Bury St Edmunds.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
39 minutes ago
- New York Times
What to See in London Theaters This Summer
The London stage is, as ever, bustling with an array of shows to satisfy all tastes. Starry plays and revivals jostle with high-profile musicals, both new and revivals, new drama and children's theater. Here's a guide to some of the enticements of the coming months, presented with an awareness that just as London contains multitudes, so, too, does its theater. Shows With Star Power Rosamund Pike has made her name onscreen in films like 'Gone Girl' and 'Saltburn' and returns to the stage to head the new play from the team behind the London and Broadway hit 'Prima Facie.' Like that play, Suzie Miller's 'Inter Alia' is set in the legal profession, with Pike as a prominent London judge, though unlike its solo-performer predecessor, 'Inter Alia' features a supporting cast, led by Jamie Glover. The show is just one of several National Theater titles vying for playgoers' attentions this summer: Others include the return of Michael Sheen in 'Nye' and the West End transfer of Beth Steel's 'Till the Stars Come Down.' Runs July 10 through Sept. 13 at the National Theater. The accolades have been pouring in for the onetime director Mark Rosenblatt's Olivier Award-winning debut play, which recalls an episode in the career of the author Roald Dahl. John Lithgow is in career-best form as Dahl, who has written a book review that is widely seen as antisemitic and refuses to reign in his language. Aya Cash and Elliot Levey do standout work playing his publishers; Nicholas Hytner is the characteristically adroit director. Buying tickets The box office is often the best port of call, if you want to avoid online fees or get 'rush' seats that are sometimes available shortly before curtain up. Various websites, including sell tickets alongside reviews and features. Drinks Reusable Sippy Cups may be the norm on Broadway, but they are rare outside the United States. 'Interval drinks,' as intermission beverages are known in Britain, are often served in actual glasses that can sometimes be taken into the auditorium and which can be ordered before the performance to avoid a crush at the bar in the break. Programs The pleasures of a free Playbill don't exist in London, where programs — not Playbills, which is an American brand — must be purchased. Some theaters have gone paperless and make program information available only by scanning a QR code or looking online. Refunds and exchanges These policies vary venue to venue, and sometimes show to show. Some theaters will issue a credit that can be used for other productions under the same roof, but London is stricter than New York about offering money back if a star is absent. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
UK sailors convinced the Royal Navy to get a computer room on its newest aircraft carrier for esports and video games
The HMS Prince of Wales, a UK Royal Navy aircraft carrier, has a computer gaming suite. Petitioned for by sailors, it's fitted with Alienware gaming computers and a widescreen TV. Space can be tight on the 1,600-crew warship, but they got approval to set up the room in February. Decks below F-35B Lightning II fighters and Wildcat attack helicopters, Chief Petty Officer Martin Miller keeps watch over the Royal Navy's first-ever seafaring computer gaming room. It's not his main job, of course. Miller is one of two logistics store chiefs on board the HMS Prince of Wales, the UK's second aircraft carrier. Business Insider took a look inside the ship as it docked in Singapore during an eight-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific. Miller, the vice-chairman of the Royal Navy's esports committee, voluntarily manages the onboard gaming room, which was set up in February. After wrapping up a typical day at 8 p.m., Miller tends to spend a few hours in the suite, enjoying robust air conditioning and playing the strategy game "Sid Meier's Civilization VI." "Other ships have PlayStations and Xboxes down on the mess deck so they can play where they live, but this is the first ship that's got a PC setup like this," Miller said. Officially dubbed the ship's "esports suite," it's more like a computer lab for now. The facility is an old exam room fitted with LED lights, a widescreen TV, office chairs, and eight beefy Alienware gaming computers. While on the high seas, the carrier's internet is typically only good enough to support simple text messages, so sailors make do with local multiplayer games such as "Halo" and "Team Fortress 2." The suite's gaming gear is sponsored by the Royal Navy, which disburses funds to troops petitioning for official support in a sport. To get money, sports committees must prove their pastime has a large following within and outside the British forces. In March 2024, the UK's defense ministry recognized esports as a military sport, saying it valued digital skills associated with gaming and hoped the activity would help retain young talent. "If you're a top gamer, or a coder, your country needs you," UK Defense Minister John Healey said in a September speech. The ministry told BI that it launched a recruitment plan this year to "fast-track gamers into cyber defence roles," and that the suite was approved on the carrier to "enhance the lived experience of her sailors and foster social connections." One of the crew's selling points for the carrier's gaming suite is that it can be a tool for cross-rank team bonding. Mess halls are sometimes equipped with consoles for couch gaming titles like "Mario Kart," but free access to these rooms is bound by seniority. Miller said officers and leaders book the gaming suite via email about three times a week for their teams. Sailors also use it ad-hoc every evening while at sea, he said. Aircraft carriers and amphibious assault vessels, with hundreds or thousands of troops on board, often boast a range of recreational facilities. The Prince of Wales, commissioned in 2019, comes with ice baths, saunas, inflatable swimming pools, a golf simulator, three gyms, and karaoke. But with 1,600 crew, squadron staff, and marines aboard, space on the 72,000-ton vessel can be a luxury. Two of the suite's computers are unused because they can't fit in the room, and Miller said the committee has a near-impossible ambition of installing an F1 driving simulator rig. Sub-Lieutenant Joshua Hill, the treasurer of the Royal Navy's esports committee, told BI that its members have been setting up gaming suites like this one in the UK's naval bases. Warships are a different story, and getting a room to build a gaming suite on a carrier was an encouraging sign of Royal Navy support, Hill said. "A lot of our infrastructure in the Navy is used, so trying to find the space that they can give up is what we're struggling with at the moment," said Hill. He doesn't work on the carrier, but is an assistant logistics officer on the HMS Dauntless, an accompanying destroyer. Hill hopes this suite can serve as an example of how computer multiplayer games can be introduced to other UK warships. "The next step is, can we get connectivity?" he said. "That's kind of the aim for stuff on ships as a whole." Read the original article on Business Insider
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Will Smith alludes to Chris Rock Oscars slap in freestyle rap: 'Talking crazy out your face up on the stage'
After hopping on stage for an infamous moment at the 2022 Academy Awards, Will Smith has hopped the pond to rap about the slap heard 'round the world. The actor and musician's recent appearance on British DJ Charlie Sloth's freestyle rap show, Fire in the Booth, found him referencing his shocking altercation with Oscars host Chris Rock that led to Smith's resignation from the Academy and his 10-year ban from future ceremonies. In a freestyle that repeated the refrain "I am the illest," Smith rapped, "If you talking crazy out your face up on the stage and disrespect me on the stage, expect me on the stage." In the jaw-dropping (popping?) 2022 incident, Rock cracked a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head as part of his hosting duties at the 94th Academy Awards ceremony. Smith, Pinkett Smith's husband of almost 30 years, reacted by stalking up to the stage and smacking Rock in the face, warning him, "Keep my wife's name out of your f---ing mouth." Pinkett Smith had previously announced that alopecia had caused her to lose her hair. Smith's freestyle on Fire in the Booth also included references to his humble beginnings in Philadelphia as well as his wealth, three children, two marriages, and artistic success: "Oscars, Emmys, Grammys, and when I stare at 'em, I'm hearing 'em whisper, 'You've got every right to be arrogant,'" he rapped. The Oscar-winning King Richard star cautioned at the top of his freestyle that "my insights don't sound right in sound-bites," before he couched his reference to the Oscars incident with, "I'm not the type of man to move in malicious ways, and I am too grown to play childish games." Representatives for Smith and Rock did not immediately respond to Entertainment Weekly's request for and hype man Sloth, who hosted The Rap Show on BBC's 1Xtra, now headlines The Charlie Sloth Rap Show for Apple Music. Fire in the Booth is Sloth's YouTube series, which showcases established and up-and-coming MCs as they prove their skills on the mic. This is not the first time Smith has referenced his awards ceremony clash in his music. In March, he released his new album, Based on a True Story, his first record of solo material in 20 years, which included lyrics addressing his Oscars slap and his "complicated" relationship with his wife. Pinkett Smith previously stated that she and Smith separated in 2016 but remain married. Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
