Profuse apologies for the long hiatus in our saga! After arriving in the UK we were completely frustrated in all our attempts to set up a cell phone connection and get on to the internet. To make matters worse, the cell phone service provider did not operate their Customer Care over weekends, so we were rather stumped until Monday morning which was the day we set off for East Anglia. I had the next episode of the blog all written and ready to send, but it was not to be. So now, four days into the following week, we have finally concocted a connection.
The week before we left France was a very busy one. We were suddenly inundated with invitations to tea, lunch or supper; the house had to be spring-cleaned; arrangements had to be made for housing the car over the coming summer and then winter, and there were lots of goodbyes to say. We were sad to have to say goodbye to the cats especially Flo who is such a soft, cuddly little animal, but I had still not been able to work out how to squeeze her into our luggage. However, after a good flight to the UK and an enthusiastic welcome from the family there, they were soon forgotten. We were excited to see the new house, and were not disappointed. It is spacious and airy, and being recently re-decorated, it is, of course pristine.
Having examined the house from top to toe, the next thing to explore was the town and it’s surroundings. Steve was quite willing to oblige and over the weekend we went on a long rambling drive which took in the town, the countryside and the canals, where Steve’s little cabin cruiser is moored. While nosing around there, we met some friends of Carol and Steve’s who were cruising the canals on their narrow boat. We were invited to inspect the inside of their boat and, having never seen the interior of a narrow boat before, we accepted immediately. The boats are fifty feet long but only six foot six inches wide, so fitting every in is quite a feat. The owners say that they can quite comfortably live on board even through winter as it even has a tiny wood burning stove in the living area which heats the whole boat.
The countryside around Garstang is beautiful at present, with a thousand shades of green all around and darling baby lambs bouncing around in the fields. There are wonderful long, green, leafy lanes where the trees meet overhead and we felt as if we were driving down long green tunnels.
On Monday we left for Saxilby in Lincolnshire to spend two nights with oour landlords of the French house we had been staying in. They live in a marvellously compact terrace house which has the steepest staircase I’ve seen in ages! The road from Garstang to Saxilby took us past some villages with simply delightful names which made us chuckle. How about Blubberhouses? Or Spital in the Street? I was dying to stop and take pictures of the name boards but it would have been quite insulting to the residents so we didn’t.
Our first night at Saxilby was spent chatting and catching up, but the following day we went into Lincoln to a piano recital in the restored Drill Hall. The restoration has been done very sympathetically and we believe it is frequently used. After the concert, we walked around Lincoln a bit but I’m afraid we declined to pay the (rather large) amount required for visiting the cathedral. It is a shame as we hear that Lincoln has a really beautiful cathedral, but as the French would say ‘Tant pis!’ (Too bad)
From Saxilby we went still further south to Framlingham in Suffolk to visit an ex-South African friend and her English husband. What a lot of talking we did! We also went for a long walk around town and through some fields where we saw rabbits hopping about in the grass. Although our friend does not drive, they travel a lot by bus and she was able to direct us perfectly all over the surrounding roads to do some sightseeing. She took us first to Blythburgh Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral in the Marshes, which took us completely by surprise. We pushed open the doors and expected to be met by dingy, dark and dank interior, but what a surprise! Due to the style of architecture, it was wonderfully light and airy, lit by the usual long side windows as well as others which are high up in the walls. The exterior was also unusual as it has a flintstone finish which gives the appearance of a massive mosaic with plastered quoins. Quite charming!
From there we headed to the coast and a little place called Southwold. This seaside resort has somehow been missed in the great commercialisation of all tourist spots, and we loved it. It has a pier with a few shops on it and a quirky amusement arcade containing homemade penny-in-the-slot machines which had us rolling with laughter. My favourite was a machine which simulates an eldery person trying to cross a busy road while clinging on to a zimmer frame. We didn’t actually try it but watched others and it was hilarious.
About then the weather changed, so after having a light lunch we drove slowly back to Framlingham via a whole collection of little villages, just viewing them from the car. By the time we were back ‘home’ again, the rain had stopped and the sky was clear again. The next day, after saying our goodbyes to our friends, Neels and I returned to one of the small towns to visit a steam museum, but were a bit disappointed and did not stay long. Our ultimate destination had been Lowestoft where our eldest son is currently studying at the Maritime College. When we arrived, we found that he was in the process of moving out of his holiday flat and into a more permanent rented apartment. As the holiday flat was fully equipped and the rental had only very basic furniture, we spent the rest of the day helping him to buy things like crockery and cutlery, linen and saucepans and a few things in between. The next day though, he refused to do any more shopping and instead took us out for a full days sightseeing. We drove cross-country to Sheringham which is on the north Norfolk coast and then returned very slowly all along the coast line visiting almost every village on the way. We were fascinated to discover that every village had an almost identical square-towered church and the villages couldn’t have been more than two to three kilometres apart. It was just like a line of defence in a war zone! Once again the weather changed as we were returning and we arrived home again just in time to dash across the road before the shower started again.
On Sunday we will start back towards Garstang to spend more time with Carol and Steve.
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