Like so many great ideas, it all started at the kitchen table, though in this case it could hardly have started anywhere else! Jo’s Cakes was established by Jo Haddock in her home kitchen in 2014. The business grew quickly and she…

Strictly Champion siblings Kevin and Joanne Clifton are heading out on tour this autumn with an intimate show produced for a socially distanced audience - AN EVENING WITH KEVIN AND JOANNE CLIFTON. The show visits Felixstowe Spa Pavilion…

Katie Lancaster is a holistic therapist based in Kesgrave. Driven by her passion for holistic therapy and her desire for a career helping people, Katie used her lockdown to study and is already helping clients to destress and cope…

The sea around Felixstowe is served by RNLI lifeboats based just across the water in Harwich. This year has been exceptional with the number of launches made by our crews. Harwich has had its busiest August for call outs in the last five…

I Can Run, a non-profit Community Interest Company based in Suffolk, founded by local runner Emma Talbot, has been awarded the honour of Lockdown Activity Hero by Active Suffolk, just as the club turns four years old on Sunday 13…

Just Peachey Preloved Children’s Clothing was established by Rebecca Peachey at the beginning of September 2020 and is based at Stonham Barns Park. Stonham Aspal. The venture is based on supplying quality branded immaculately presented…

FACTS should have been celebrating their 30th year serving the community of Felixstowe and the surrounding villages. We formed in 1990 to enable those in the community who, for whatever reason, couldn’t get out, providing a transport…

Ipswich mum, Nikki Golding is the face behind Rose & Guy, the organic clothing brand for 0-3 year-olds. Here she tells Vanilla what inspires her to start her own business… “I’m Nikki, I’m 33 years old and have two children – Isaac,…

Over the last few months, Felixstowe’s Community Nature Reserve has welcomed more new members than ever before. In fact, if you add together all the new spaces which local people have created as part of our Community Nature Reserve, it’s…

BY DEBBIE BARTLETT Extreme lockdown certainly brought a new way of life and our daily walk in the fresh air became a real treat. We spent time discovering open spaces, listening to birdsong and spotting wildflowers and trees. It was the…

After hours of deliberation from the judging panel, the winners of St Elizabeth Hospice’s first ever fundraising pet pageant have been announced. From handsome hounds and cuddly cats to all exotic furry, feathery and scaly friends,…

Felixstowe’s popular annual Christmas lights switch on show, organised by the Felixstowe Lions Club and supported by Felixstowe Town Council, has been cancelled this year. The decision to cancel the event, which would usually see thousands…

Tom Rout, best known for creating music videos and advertising, has launched three images, shot on 35mm film around Suffolk, as fine art photography prints. Having turned his love for film-making into a career seven years ago, Tom began…

On a warm summers evening on the 7th August our world stopped spinning. Without warning, our beautiful daughter Maisie collapsed at home due to a catastrophic bleed from an aneurysm in her brain. She was rushed by ambulance to…

Run Talk Run is a free weekly 5km jog for ALL abilities and a confidential space to share your good days, your bad days, or anything in-between. We are a mental health support group first, and a running club second. Our mission is to…

Felixstowe Pier Goes Green for National Recycle Week and the new statistics show we care more about the environment than ever before and to celebrate this year’s Recycle Week, two iconic locations in Suffolk, Felixstowe Pier and Ipswich…

Volunteering during Covid-19 has connected people to their community, volunteers have gifted their time in a variety of ways helping people overcome worries or isolation and reducing the negative impact of Covid-19 for many. Community…

Due to coronavirus, the Hearing Advisory Service has had to change the way it provides services to people who are hard of hearing throughout Suffolk. During lockdown we have continued to provide batteries, tubes and domes by post, which…

Our hopes of moving to socially distanced outdoor meetings outside have been thwarted by the recent Rule of Six directive, so our meetings will continue on Zoom for the foreseeable future. Zoom certainly does offer the unique…

Booking open for specially adapted weekly arts course designed for supported home learning. A Suffolk arts charity has opened booking for a home-learning arts course for adults with learning disabilities starting this month and themed…