"Book lovers never go to bed alone" - Unknown

Tuesday 13th August

We'd planned to make an early start this morning because we were going to Cromer, but it proved harder than expected to get up and get organised, so it was 10am before we left the bungalow. It didn't really matter, we had an enjoyable drive and we found a parking space without too much difficulty. 

Our first port of call was the tourist information centre, it has an Internet hot spot. We have missed having a reliable Internet connection while in Norfolk, so we took the chance to catch up on email, facebook etc. While there we bought a pile of railway poster postcards - Robbie likes to collect them. 

 We wandered in the direction of Jarolds, but we didn't get that far, I had forgotten about Robbie's need to stop and photograph every bus that he sees - he even used his phone to take photos as he was crossing the road! I had also forgotten  about the hardware shop, Robbie absolutely loves that shop, he has a bit of an obsession with crockery. I waited and waited until I was so bored that I told him that I was going over the road to the second hand bookshop. I was in heaven! I had forgotten about this shop and I spent a very happy time looking at all the children's books. When Robbie saw the Ladybird books I thought he was going to burst with excitement. He bought the Ladybird book about the railway, he had a good look at the railway book section but he didn't buy any, instead he chose two hardback Snoopy books - one of them is in French!

We finally got to Jarolds where Robbie indulged his passion for pens and erasers as well as books, Playmobil, purses and postcards. We were hungry by now but Robbie still had another bookshop on his list so we walked across to the bargain bookshop and Robbie checked out the transport section - they had bus books as well as railway books so I knew I was in for a long wait! I found a fantastic book which contained all the Britains model catalogues of the 1970s. We bought that book as well as a railway book that Robbie just couldn't resist. 

At long last it was time to eat, we found a little restaurant called the Garden Street Grill. I loved the meal, the service was prompt and friendly and the toilets were excellent. It was good value and I would definitely go there again. 

'For the traveller in search of the English Heritage, the county is a paradise.' - Arthur Mee

Monday 12th August

It is week two already, I really want to slow down time and make this holiday last for ever, I love it here and I love having Robbie all to myself. I need to make the most of it, after this fortnight he will not have any free time for the foreseeable future so I need to make the most of it. I'm not complaining, when he went self employed we worried that he wouldn't find enough work, but thankfully he has, in fact he has had a very busy first year and things are looking good.

Robbie was very tired after his train filled weekend, he fell asleep in the chair last night and he wasn't keen to get out of bed this morning so we are having a lazy day today. It makes a change to enjoy each others company and not have to rush to get ready. 

After a very chilled morning we went out we took a drive on the coast road to Waxham Barn. Robbie loves this drive because there are so many interesting things to see, churches, the Happisburgh lighthouse, and various interesting buildings. The trouble is that it is a very narrow winding road and Robbie keeps wanting me to stop so that he can take photos and take a closer look. It reminds me of taking a dog for a walk and having to stop at every lamp post, I love him dearly but at times like this I have to say a very firm "no". 

We had a cup of tea and some cake at Waxham Barn, then we went to have a look around. Robbie enjoyed looking around the barn and taking lots of photos. The highlight for me was seeing a bat, they have Naterer bats at the barn, but it is very unusual to see one in daylight. It was looking up at the roof timbers and the thatch and I happened to see it fly in and vanish behind one of the roof timbers. It was a really nice afternoon. 

Walcott Church

We drove home via Stalham to pick up some groceries, then we went back to the bungalow to cook a nice evening meal. Robbie had goat burgers, home made sauté potatoes and a bottle of local ale. I had something rather more 'normal' and non alcoholic! He said that the goat burgers were lovely, I'll take his word for it!

"No one left and no one came on the bare platform" - Edward Thomas

Wednesday 7th August

We had an early start this morning. I don't like being ruled by the clock when we are on holiday, but we planned to visit the North Norfolk Railway and we wanted to get there early so that we could spend the whole day travelling between Holt, Weybourne and Sheringham. 

Surprisingly Robbie didn't make a fuss about getting up early, he got up,shaved showered and ate breakfast without any 'delaying tactics' - almost unheard of even on a work day! I more or less knew the way to Holt but more to prove a point than anything else I decided to use the sat-nav! It decided to take us on a different and rather contorted route via North Walsham so instead of the voice of the sat-nav sighing and saying "recalculating" I had Mr B at the side of me huffing and puffing because he didn't approve of the route and because he couldn't get a good enough phone signal to send an important email to his work. Norfolk is dreadful for phone signals and Internet access, Vodafone is better than 02 but it is still dreadful. If I drive to Stalham and stand on one leg on the middle of the Tesco car park I can usually get an 02 signal of sorts but it is rather hazardous and tends to attract attention!

We got to the North Norfolk Railway soon after 10am, in time to catch the Black 5 to Weybourne. I needed to visit the rather splendid toilets at Weybourne and after the early start I needed a nice cup of tea and a piece of their lovely cherry and walnut shortbread. A Class 31 arrived into Weybourne heading for Holt and I thought Robbie was going to burst with excitement. He was disappointed to find that they planned to swap it for a kettle off the shed at Weybourne on its return journey but at least he had a chance to see and hear it and take some photos. Apparently the kettle (GWR 5619) had failed that morning and the Class 31 had replaced it until the kettle could be coaxed into action. We watched it come off the shed and it didn't sound quite right (to my untrained ear) it was making strange 'trumping' sounds as if it was expelling air, but it looked rather splendid and I was delighted to see a woman in the cab. 

We travelled to Sheringham, had a look at the shop and bought a jigsaw and DVD for Robbie and a few postcards etc for me. then when the next train arrived we got a welcome cup of tea (coffee for Robbie) and travelled all the way back to Holt for a picnic lunch. Robbie positioned us in exactly the right place so that he didn't miss anything and as soon as there was anything to be seen or photographed he dashed over to get a better look.

More trips between the three Stations followed as well as a brief walk into Sheringham (which was horrible because it was far too crowded).For me the highlight of the day was the diesel, it looks amazing and sounds even better. I decided to pass on the very last trip of the day because I wanted to get some film of the train leaving and arriving. I made the right choice I got some really nice photos and video clips but there was something even better than that. I sat on a bench some distance down the platform towards the signal box enjoying the tranquillity and thinking of the poem Adlestrop. In our case the blackbird's song in the poem would have been replaced with the mournful calling of the wood pigeon, but the line "no one went and no one came on the bare platform" seemed to describe the late afternoon tranquillity of Holt station perfectly. I knew that the train wasn't due but I glanced along the line and I saw a slight movement on the other side of the line almost level with the signal box. As I watched a deer came into view and ambled across the line towards the signal box before vanishing into the undergrowth. I was not close enough to take a photo and I didn't have time to think of that anyway. It was one of those special moments that can't be preserved except in memory.

'The Norfolk landscape sends a shiver through my soul....' - Raffaella Barker

Tuesday 6th August

The picture shows the view from our back gate this morning. It is such a lovely day that I would have been happy just to wander on the beach or sit in the garden. However we had a couple of errands to do so we decided to sneak another trip to the Beach Cafe as well. I love it there, it was absolutely packed today but the food was excellent and the service was exceptional. 

As we ate our lunch I watched the people on the beach, the children with buckets and beach toys playing in the pools left by the tide and paddling in the sea and the parents keeping a protective eye on their little ones. It took me back to when my children were little, they loved the beach and they loved to play in the pools left behind by the tide. In one way it seems as if I have blinked and they are all grown up, but at the same time it feels as if it was a lifetime ago because so much has happened in our lives since then.

We went to Stalham for the errands I mentioned and on our way back to the car we found a fantastic little shop called Truly Local. If you are ever in Stalham it is well worth a visit. All the produce is sourced from a 35 mile radius of Stalham and the quality is obvious. We had a bit of a spending spree, we bought some beautiful strawberries, cream, strawberry jam, marmalade with whiskey (for Robbie), tomato focaccia, tomatoes (for me), goat burgers (for Robbie) and a couple of local beers Grain Brewery's Blonde Ash and Hare of the Dog by the Why Not Brewery (also for Robbie!). He wanted to buy some squirrel meat too (apparently it is very popular) but we are on holiday and I really don't want to mess around making a casserole. We were told that it tastes like rabbit and you cook it in much the same way. I don't eat rabbit and I really don't have a burning desire to try squirrel, but Robbie seems to have other ideas! We will certainly go back to Truly Local while we are in Norfolk, I wish we had a shop like this at home.

'You either get Norfolk, with its wild roughness and uncultivated oddities, or you don't. It's not all soft and lovely. It doesn't ask to be loved.' - Stephen Fry

Monday 5th August

It was another lovely sunny day and rather a lazy day from our point of view. We spent the morning enjoying the sunshine and doing our own thing - in my case I was getting on with some writing and Robbie was absorbed on his railway magazines. It is nice that they bring him so much enjoyment but I wish he didn't feel the need to share every little gem of information with me because it makes it very hard to for me to focus on what I'm doing. I really shouldn't grumble, it is nice that he wants to share things with me.

In the early afternoon, we went for a drive to North Walsham. I love the roads around Walcott and my favourite route to North Walsham takes me past some beautiful countryside and a couple of lovely villages. People say that Norfolk is flat, it is certainly flatter than Northamptonshire but it is not really flat and certainly not boring, it has a unique beauty of its own with stunningly beautiful skies.

The evening sky at Walcott

We didn't eat out today after a walk by the sea we cooked chicken with peppercorn sauce. It was going to be hunters chicken but Robbie decided otherwise. I was a lovely meal, but I couldn't persuade Robbie to eat any vegetables, but at least I tried.

“Time is a circus, always packing up and moving away.” - Ben Hecht

Friday 2nd August

In theory today should have been a fairly easy day as I was well ahead with my packing and I didn't have too many jobs left to do before our holiday, but I hadn't taken Robbie into account. He has been working so hard recently and he had loads to do before he could think about the holiday. He asked me to take him to Marks and Spencer's in his lunch break because he wanted some more shorts and a couple of other bits and bobs. It was a fleeting trip, but he got what he needed. Then he had to get back to work while I went off to do a few more errands. 

I began to think that Robbie would never be able finish his work in time, but at last he closed his laptop and announced that he was ready to help with the packing. He packed his railway DVDs, an N gauge railway set with lots of extras, three Lego sets (Technic, Lone Ranger and Back to the future), a selection of railway books, a graphic novel, stacks of magazines, his jigsaw board, binoculars and assorted gadgets. He seemed to think that he had completed his packing and I had to remind him that he would probably need clothes as well as toys. He claims that he would like to be a naturist, but I don't think Norfolk is ready for that!!

Finally all the annoying little jobs were done, the car was packed and everything was ready for us to make an early start in the morning. Robbie turned back to his work to have one last attempt to solve an annoying planning problem that had chosen to rear it's ugly head at a most inconvenient moment from Robbie's point of view. I don't know how long he spent in search of a solution because I had gone to bed and I was asleep long before he came upstairs.

Time To Go Home .........................

Saturday was a bright sunny morning, we didn't need to rush as we had until noon to pack up and leave the bungalow. Usually at the end of a holiday it feels rushed and chaotic but not this time, we were relaxed and organised and it didn't take too long to get everything packed in the car and to leave the place looking spotless. I had time to take one last look at the beach and to say a reluctant farewell to the sea. I have spent so many happy times there and some heartbreaking times too, it seems as if I have a very special connection to Walcott.

It must have been about 11am when we drove away from the bungalow. It was a scorching hot day, and I was looking forward to having brunch in Mundesley before heading home. The car park at Mundesley was filling up fast and there was a long queue for the pay and display machine, so while Robbie got the ticket I put the reflective sun screens across the front windows of the car so that the steering wheel wouldn't be 'too hot to handle' when we got back. 

We had a lovely meal and (in my case) a very good pot of tea at the Beach Cafe. It was a nice way to end our holiday. Afterwards we sat and looked out across the beach at everyone having fun and enjoying the sunshine. To be honest it was too hot for me, I don't cope very well with heat and there was no breeze. I decided that it was time to hit the road so that the air conditioning in the car could cool us down. Robbie thought it would be better for us to take the scenic route - which just happens to take us past the North Norfolk Railway! When we got to Holt he asked to spend some time at the railway, but I think we both knew that it was time to bid a fond farewell to Norfolk.
We had a good journey home and we stopped off at my mum's for a cup of tea before going home. Mum is still not feeling too well, but she is making progress.

Don't Judge A Book By It's Cover!

I wanted to have a quieter day on Tuesday (holidays with Robbie are exhausting!) and Robbie needed to have his hair cut so we decided to have a lazy morning and then head into North Walsham for him to 'get his ears lowered'. It didn't take very long and they did a good job, so after having a quick look at the shops we drove to Mundesley because Robbie wanted to try out a new coffee shop.

The coffee shop, called The Corner House looked promising, when we drove past it but sadly looks can be deceiving. My grandma would occasionally describe people 'as all fur coat and no knickers' meaning that they may put on a good front, but that beneath the window dressing the person was 'cheap' - that is exactly what we found with the Corner House, the food was putrid and it was our worst eating experience in Norfolk. I ordered a pot of tea for one and a jacket potato with cheese and Robbie had a coffee with a cheese panini, so there wasn't a lot that they could get wrong - or so we thought! My tea was served in one of those pots that fits into the tea cup, with a silly little jug of milk that did not contain enough to drown a gnat. It is all very well having fancy tablecloths, but if your teapots dribble it really spoils the experience for the customer. I would have been much happier with a normal functional teapot, I would have also liked a jug of hot water so that I could vary the strength of the tea. There were sugar bowls on the table, with disgusting, hard crusty bits of sugar on top, but there were no sweeteners. Thankfully I had my own sweeteners, but the tea was disappointing, like bad railway tea. Robbie said his coffee was OK, but he would have liked sweeteners not sugar. 

My jacket potato arrived before Robbie's panini, it looked alright but on closer inspection it was ruined before it even go to me. When you order a jacket potato with cheese you don't expect someone to contaminate it with onion, but that is exactly what they had done, what passed for a side salad had been scattered over the plate and that included chopped onion and pepper as well as coleslaw. I picked every bit out and heaped it on the side of my plate but it was too late, the taste of onion had tainted the whole meal. There were no condiments except salt (in a dirty salt cellar) and pepper, I would have liked mayonnaise, but there was none available. The potato itself tasted foul, it was powdery and disgusting, I got Robbie to taste it to prove that it wasn't just me moaning, he said it was horrible. His panini was thin, flat and seriously anaemic, he said it was just about edible but only just.

The food wasn't the only problem with the Corner House, the music was absolutely dreadful, I don't want that sort of row when I go to a coffee shop. The seating was very uncomfortable and they allowed dogs in the coffee shop. Over all it was a very unpleasant experience.

We enjoyed a nice relaxed evening at the bungalow, I love the big Norfolk skies and the red sky in the evening is beautiful - 'Red at night shepherd's delight'.

A Day in Cromer

We decided that we would get up early on Monday and drive to Cromer. The early bit didn't quite work out as planned, the Norfolk air must be getting to Robbie because he has lost all sense of urgency. Even when he'd had his shave and shower, he took an age to get dressed, then when he was finally dressed he put his shoes on in slow motion - how long can it possibly take to put two shoes on!

When we got to Cromer Robbie found a hotspot and he took the chance to upload a lot of photos to Facebook. Mobile phone and internet  reception in Norfolk leave a great deal to be desired, so Robbie was determined to make the most of the hotspot - while I waited! We enjoyed wandering around Cromer, but Robbie kept vanishing, one minute he would be next to me then I would turn around to see him darting off to take yet another photo of a bus. They all look the same to me, but I don't tell Robbie that otherwise he would explain the differences in far more detail than I could cope with.

We enjoyed looking at books and jigsaws in Jarolds and our favourite book shop behind the church. We bought one or two things but we were quite restrained by Robbie's standards. It was another lovely warm, sunny day so we strolled towards the sea front. I must have taken countless photos of the pier over the years, but I couldn't resist taking more because it really is a splendid pier. When we had seen all we wanted of Cromer we drove back to Walcott in time to stroll on the beach and enjoy the garden.

Sunday Lunch

We were up bright and early on Sunday. It was a warm and sunny day and we had time to enjoy the morning before going to a car boot sale in Stalham. Robbie bought a couple of dvds but I steered him away from the books and magazines – we have more than enough junk at home already. After the car boot sale we took a drive into Mundesley and enjoyed Sunday Lunch at Jonet, one of our favourite restaurants. It was lovely, roast lamb with cauliflower, broccoli, peas and carrots as well as roast potatoes. Robbie isn’t really into vegetables so he had a few peas and carrots and left all the broccoli and cauliflower for me, it was beautifully cooked.

We came back to the bungalow for Robbie to watch Andy Murray win the gold medal in the men’s singles. I am not into tennis and very definitely not into the Olympics but I was quite contented sitting in the other room writing another chapter of my ‘memoirs’. Then in the evening we enjoyed a walk along the beach, there is something so special about the sounds and smell of the sea, and the sky in Norfolk is beautiful.

'I am still reeling with delight at the soaring majesty of Norfolk.' John Betjeman

It feels as if things have been tough for a long time, worries and problems seem to pop up like mushrooms. Mostly we can deal with them, I'm a fighter, I don't give up, but I do get tired sometimes. It is hard to watch the gradual decline of a family member and it is even harder to to find the time and energy to offer appropriate support. Other problems are a different sort of battle, time consuming, exhausting, but with right on our side, dogged determination and persistence, I am sure that things will work out in the end. Worries or not we still do our best to enjoy the fun  and challenges of family life. Life is here and now so we can't let it slip through our fingers.

We has some exciting and unexpected news last weekend. It will be possible for us to go to Norfolk on holiday after all. When we went to the bungalow last year we thought it would be the last time we would be able to stay there. The person who owned it, a family friend had been very ill for a long time and his family were not sure about the future of the bungalow. Sadly he died recently but his wife has offered us the chance to rent the bungalow again this summer. It has really cheered me up, it is lovely to have something to look forward to, I love the bungalow and that part of Norfolk holds a very special place in my heart.

Robbie is very excited about another holiday in Norfolk, he loves it there too. He has already planned a couple of trips to the North Norfolk Railway, a trip to Norwich to have a look at Crown Point, a day out 'doing the drags' on the middle weekend, the list goes on and on! I have already had to remind him that there are only 14 days in a fortnight and he has to leave himself time for his other favourite pastime, watching the ship with his binoculars. Once a 'spotter' always a spotter!!

A Reluctant Farewell

I was awake very early on Saturday morning, I had to get up early but I woke even earlier. I went over and looked out of the window and saw the first silvery light of the sun rising over the sea. In the garden the bats were circling and I watched fascinated, I had never seen them flying in the early morning before. All too soon I had to drag myself away and attend to the pressing matters of real life. Before long I was washed and dressed and getting on with packing all the luggage into the car and cleaning and tidying the bungalow. Robbie took a few minutes to walk along the coast path to the shop to buy a paper and he took a lovely early morning photo of the beach.

Finally everything was packed into the cars and the cleaning was done. Robbie and I left mum and David and set off for Mundesley for a much loved breakfast at the beach cafe. We made a brief stop at the shop for Robbie and as I sat in the car looking at the sea I noticed that the gulls sitting on the groynes, they looked almost as if they were sitting in formation.

As I looked at all the familiar sights of Mundesley I couldn't help wondering when we would be back and how many things will have changed by then. After a delicious breakfast we returned to the car and drove back past Stow Mill, then Bacton and on through Walcott, we passed the shop, the bungalows and the beautiful church. Then on passed the turn to Happisburgh and a final glimpse of the lighthouse. Further on towards Stalham passed the now harvested fields and the familiar village signs. A series of reluctant farewells, then on to the wider and faster roads that would lead us home. 


We had a good journey traffic wise, but for me there was a feeling of sadness. We seemed to be leaving the summer behind us and heading back to face the worries and uncertainties of real life. There is one good thing about getting home, I love my own bed! 

Norfolk Here We Come - Again!

Robbie set the alarm on his Blackberry to the time that he wanted to wake up, so at a stupidly early time the alarm went off. For a small phone it makes a very loud noise, it could wake the dead, but it doesn't wake Robbie - apparently that's my job!  The alarm went off and sleeping beayty didn't flinch, I shouted at him to turn it off and he said yes but did nothing. I yelled louder, this time he obeyed and turned the alarm off, but he didn't wake up! This process was repeated ever 5 minutes until 5.20 by which time I was ready to kill. I made dark threats about the fate of his Blackberry and he woke up sufficiently to turn the alarm off completly before pulling the covers over his head and going back to sleep. I went off and had my bath and got on with my morning routine before trying to wake him again, but after a series of insults (from him) he finally got up and waddled off to the bathroom to have a shower. 


By some miracle we were ready to leave the house at 8.20 and after a quick detour for fuel and to buy Robbie some breakfast we were on the road just before 9am. heading for Norfolk. This time we were going to collect some of my mum's luggage to make her journey home a little easier on Saturday. Traffic was fairly heavy but we made good time and we were at the bungalow just after 11.30. It was so nice to be close to the sea again, to look our across the beach and to listen to the rythum of the waves, to me it seems like the heartbeat of the earth.


My mum and stepfather took us for lunch in Mundesley, it was very nice, lamb shank with vegetables and yorkshire pudding. Afterwards we took my mum shopping in North Walsham while David (my step father) relaxed back at the bungalow. As we set off for North Walsham a butterfly fluttered across the windscreen of the car and then it fluttered alongside the passenger window until we reached the end of the lane. Then as we travelled along the very pretty country road to North Walsham Robbie noticed that we had a stowaway, a grasshopper was travelling on the windscreen wiper. Foolish as it may seem I had vague worries about it not being able to get back to it's correct habitat, but by the time we reached North Walsham my attention had been taken up with other things. 


We spent a happy couple of hours in North Walsham, Robbie bought some railway magazines and a couple of prints of old railway posters but I had more practical matters in mind, I bought some oven cleaner! As we drove back Robbie made a series of excited squeals and pointed out of the window. Usually this signals that he has seen a train, but as there was no railway line nearby I realised that it must be something else. He wasn't pointing out of the window he was pointing at the window, the grasshopper was hitching a lift back on the passenger window! I think it bailed out at almost the same spot that we picked it up!


Robbie had a bit of a sulk because I was unable to stop at exactly the spot he requested to enable him to  take a photo of a tractor in an adjoining field. He got over it eventually and it was such a nice day that we were able to go and sit in the garden with a cup of tea, or in Robbie's case a cup of coffee. Later on we went for a walk on the beach and I found a lovely 'wishing stone', if only it really could make my wishes come true.


We sat outside and watched the bats flying around the garden for a while, but then Robbie decided to go and have a shower because he was too hot. I went in and chatted to my mum, then after an hour or so we realised that Robbie was 'missing in action', he hadn't made it to the shower he was sprawled across the bed fast asleep. He didn't surface again, so when I went to bed I had to wake him up and ask him to move so that he wasn't blocking the entire bed. He answered me, but when I asked him to move he lifted his legs in the air, peddled vigorously and then resumed his original position. It took consiberal effort to shift him but eventually he went off to have a wash and get ready for bed. I stood at the window looking out at the moon on the sea and wishing that I could hang on to the precious times that sometimes seem so fleeting.

Soon Robbie was fast asleep again. I snuggled under the duvet, but it was a long time before I fell asleep. I lay there listening to the sounds of the sea and remembering the many happy times and a few sad ones spent here. This little bit of Norfolk will always hold a special place in my heart.

All Good Things Come To An End

We are not going home until Sunday, but Saturday morning found me packing up most of our belongings and cleaning the bungalow as my mum and step father were coming to start their holiday. Every year i promise myself that we will take much less, but every year we break that promise. We were so busy before we came to Norfolk that packing was a rather hit and miss affair, but how did Robbie mananage to bring 28 Tshirts with him, did he seriously think he would wear two Tshirts every day? In reality he has only worn a handful of his favourite tops, because I have washed them so that he could wear them again.

Finally we were all packed up and the bungalow was clean and shining so we could get on and enjoy the day. Robbie was in a lot of pain and it was making him lose patients with his jigsaw, so I did a bit for him - it is so hard but I was determined that we would get it finished. I didn't do very much because Robbie took over again to finish it, it looked fantastic when it was completebut after taking a photo we had to break it up and pack it away.

we went down to the beach because I wanted to take some photos and as we stood there looking out across the beach a seal popped up directly in front of us, within seconds he was gone again, but for the next few minutes he kept popping up and then vanishing again. Robbie and I watched until he swam away along the coast. It was a very special way to mark our last day in Norfolk.

When we went to bed Robbie got me up to look out of the window at the moon and it's silver reflection on the sea -he can be romantic after all, he just hides it well!! 

Puzzled

Robbie came to bed very late last night or more accurately I should say this morning, so when I got up he was still in the land of nod - and he remained there for half the morning! He was late coming to bed because he had got carried away with doing his jigsaw of the Flying Scotsman. I am not a jigsaw person but there is something about an unfinished jigsaw that demands your attention and spent a peaceful couple of hours with Radio 4 and the jigsaw. When Mr Sleepy finally woke up he wasn't best pleased, but he hid it well. We went out for lunch at Mundesley which was a nice treat. After that we had a bit of a potter around before heading back to the bungalow. I went for a walk along the beach, but Robbie stayed behind with his jigsaw, he made it very clear that my help was no longer needed. I was very happy out on the beach, I found a wishing stone and I wandered along noticing all the little details that you only notice when you are on your own.

Robbie completed his jigsaw, it looked amazing, now he has the next one out and he is planning to start that later this evening. It has pictures of old Hornby models on it, it looks really difficult but apparently he doesn't need any help! I have really enjoyed today, it has been fun, it is so nice to have to relax without the day to day world crowding in on us.  

My connection to the earth is reinforced through the rhythm of the waves - Mike Dolan

It was another lovely sunny day. I was up before before Robbie and I wandered out into the garden and stood looking over the gate at the waves lapping up the beach. It was a very special because it is rare that I have the time to just stand and enjoy the moment without having to dash off to do something more important. The most precious thing about coming to Norfolk is being able to take time to do nothing and to recharge my batteries.

By the time Robbie emerged to face the day I had already done some washing and hung it out, and been for a walk along the beach. The tide was in so there wasn't much beach but I like to look at the beautiful colours and shapes of the sea washed pebbles and with the sun shining on them they almost sparkle. A percularity of this beach are pebbles with holes worn all the way through, I am not sure why it happens, but when the children were young a friend told us that they were special because the ones with holes all the way through are wishing stones.I still look out for them, I need all the wishes I can find and it brings back happy memories of collecting shells and pebbles with the children.

We were happy to stay at the bungalow to enjoy the sunshine and the luxuary of time, it was a lovely relaxing day. We popped out to Stalham briefly in the afternoon to get milk and a few other bits and bobs and then back to the bungalow to enjoy a nice quiet evening, just us and the bats - they really are amazing. The sunset was amazing too, it looked as if the sky was on fire, there is nothing quite like a Norfolk sunset.

An Impossibly Large Banana

We had a fairly busy day today. After a lazy breakfast we took a drive to North Walsham for Robbie to get his ears lowered. We had a very busy (and worrying) few weeks before our holiday and Robbie just didn’t have time to get his hair cut. His hair looks really nice now, they cut it very well, I hope he doesn’t decide that he has to come back to North Walsham every time he needs a haircut! Since we were there we decided to have a little look at the shops and we found some lovely copies of old railway posters.



Then we drove to Wroxham. It is a rather eccentric place and it is always crowded, but it is nice to see the boats on the broads and it is nice to have a wander around the shops. Nearly all the shops are branches of Roys of Wroxham, Robbie always likes to have a look at their toy shop and when he gets into the menswear department I feel as I will never manage to drag him away. Today he bought a big yellow banana carrier, he seems to have rather grandiose ideas – it would take a formidably large banana to fill that carrier! He also bought some cards with old railway posters on them. We drove home via Tesco because Robbie liked the razor blades that he bought the other day so much that he wanted another pack while they were on offer. He was in so much pain again today, I feel so useless because there is nothing I can do to make him feel better.


It was a nice evening, there was a beautiful sunset and the bats were flying around, I love bat watching when I am here. One flew so close to my head to my head that I thought it might bump into me, but of course it didn’t, they fly close but they never crash. Robbie got really excited when he saw a wind turbine installation vessel, it was called IMP Resolution, and you could see it very clearly through the binoculars.

The sea hath no king but God alone - Dante Gabriel Rossetti

We had a beach day today, it was lovely. The sun was out, there was a gentle breeze and the only cloud on the horizon was the man next door. The sight of him in Speedos (again!) was more like a total eclipse than a cloud but we did our very best to ignore him. The beach stretches on as far as the eye can see, so when we went down to the beach and spotted him in the sea we took a brisk walk in the opposite direction and we found a nice section of beach all to ourselves.

Robbie sat and watched while I wandered around taking photographs. He was enjoying the sun and for the very first time this holiday he allowed me to take a photo of him. He is very unhappy with his hair at the moment because he was so busy before we came away that he didn’t have time to have his hair cut. Hopefully we will put that right in the next few days .


This evening we popped into Tesco for some milk, but Robbie really struggled to walk around the shop, the pain was almost beyond endurance and it has continued to be really bad all evening. He tries so hard not to make a fuss, but you can see that he hardly knows how to move. I wish I could do or say something to make him feel better, but it is usually better to say very little and not to make a fuss, the last thing he wants is sympathy. He will have to go back to the doctor when he gets home, he can’t go on like this.

Know, first, who you are; and then adorn yourself accordingly - Epictetus

Why do I have to wake up at 6am when I am on holiday? The things I do for a quiet life! Robbie absolutely had to go out at the crack of dawn to play trains, so I had to get up and take him to the station. The journey to the station at North Walsham is very pleasant if you have time to get there, but as always Robbie cut it rather fine so I had a stressful drive to the station. All was well in the end, he caught the train and I had a whole day to myself.

We had been promised a nicer day today - so it rained! I wouldn’t have minded so much if it had rained from the start, but it waited until I had hung all my washing out and then it rained. The rain didn’t last too long, before long it was replaced by sunshine, so I was able to get the washing dry after all.

Unfortunately the sunny afternoon brought unexpected perils. The chap who lives next door is rather difficult to like, he is thoughtless, noisy and always so pleased with himself. I have no idea why he feels so smug, perhaps he doesn’t possess a mirror, he has what my mum would call ‘a face to go ratting with’ and the body of a Moomin. I didn’t notice him when he went off for a swim but when he and his cronies came back from the beach the full ‘glory’ of his outfit was unmissable. Somehow he had poured himself into speedos! To add insult to injury he cavorted around the garden in just his speedos for the rest of the afternoon. Honestly, it shouldn’t be allowed, that man is a danger to shipping!

Robbie had to be picked up from the station at North Walsham and he chattered on and on about his day on the railway. I just can’t make him understand that I am not really interested, but Robbie has a knack of giving far too much information and not just when it comes to trains! The main thing is that he’d enjoyed his day. When we got back we had a nice walk on the beach and then a lovely quiet evening, the sea looked beautiful tonight, it was almost silver in the moonlight.

The sea hath no king but God alone - Dante Gabriel Rossetti

According to the forecasts Friday was to be wet and miserable but Norfolk weather has a mind of its own and the ominous dark cloud was chased away by the sun leaving a lovely bright sky. We decided to make the most of the nice day and had a wander around the car boot sale, Robbie bought a cd but apart from that we enjoyed looking at all the goods on sale without giving in to temptation. By the time we had finished at the car boot sale Robbie’s tummy was rumbling so we decided to treat ourselves to lunch at the beach café in Mundesley. There were lots of people on the beach and we enjoyed looking out at the sea as we ate our lunch. To my considerable relief Robbie passed on the onion rings this time, I can’t stand the smell of onion.



After lunch Robbie suggested that we should take a drive to Horsey Mill. It is a nice drive and it takes us past the lighthouse at Happisburgh as well as several beautiful churches and other buildings of interest. Horsey Mill is rather spectacular and Robbie darted about taking photos before his attention was taken by the shop – they had several interesting railway books! We took a gentle drive back towards Stalham so that Robbie could buy supplies for a packed lunch. He was determined to get up at the crack of dawn on Saturday morning to go and play trains – again. I was equally determined that I wasn’t going, but I didn’t mind dropping him off at the station.