We (I’ll detail shortly) are now in North Norfolk!
I finished a 5 day stretch of work on Monday, which for a knackered old fella like me, in the 33+ C was a blessing! My grade-4 osteoarthritic knees are being given a well-deserved rest!
During which time, Jane had managed to trip on the back doorstep, fall and land cheek and eyebrow first onto the tarmac! Thankfully that cushioned her knee, wrist and knuckles which then hit the ground, copied her forehead and bled profusely.
Over the remaining few days at home, I did get used to the looks and questioning of Jane, and I’m genuinely pleased that the lady at Boots who assisted in finding suitable steristrips did take her aside and ask if she was “ok or needed help”.
But come Friday lunchtime when Jane finished work, we packed the van up and then battled with our usual foe – selfish people picking up their kids from Thorn Grove School, who seem to think it’s ok to park across our driveway.
Once defeated, we headed down the M6 and across the A14 to the M11, and A120 to a little village in Essex where our wonderful friends live in a beautiful old wonky house.
Not too much detail to add here as this is a couple of days enjoying each others company, chatting, eating and supping beer & nice wine. All in a very laid-back way.
After a very hearty Full-English, a tour of the new buildings and a dog-walk, us two chaps headedover to Nethergate Brewery & Tap room for a 2pm brewery tour (pre-arranged & presented by said friends, who know me very well!). We went in the 1971 convertible MGB, top down and the half hour journey was brilliant – zipping through windy country lanes.
There were 8 of us on the tour, hosted by Victoria from Nethergate, who introduced us to the history of the brewery and its growth and moves across three sites to the currently-being expanded site. We supped a couple of halves of their core range before the tour and then ‘quite a bit more after’.
So much so that our ride there in a fab little 1970 MGB, had to be hastily re-organised and our respective partners came and picked us up and drove our van and the MG home.
We did meander home via some quaint little villages and a pub, of course!
At home, we had a takeaway Thai banquet and readied ourselves for the inbound boredom of a pointless Third/Fourth place World Cup game. Suffice to say it over delivered with England holding out after a 4-0 first half to beat France 6-4!
The morning after was a sedate and very healthy breakfast before a drive north through Suffolk and up to Norfolk.
We stopped off at Snape Maltings on the bank of the River Alde, home to independent shops, galleries, a restaurant and dog-friendly café and famed for its concert hall.
We mooched, bought & ate, before heading further north to Aldeburgh and a stroll along its steep, pebbled beach for a leg stretch and some fresh air. In the meantime, we had booked a 7:45 table at a dog-friendly restaurant that’s only 7 minutes from where we will stay. Yea, I know! The Workd Cup Final starts at 8pm, but we have our priorities!
We stopped for swift half in a very nice pub, the Cross Keys, and another chinwag before we all realised that even if we drove straight to the pub, we’d be almost half an hour late!
There followed a “Panic drive” made significantly worse by most of the area being dug up for new road infrastructure to support the Sizewell C Power plant. It was chaos and stress for the first half hour of the 1h45m drive!
We did end up heading straight to the Suffield Arms (having called them to explain and apologise).
What a fantastic evening! The Mediterranean tapas and Josper-cooked (a high-end, Spanish-made hybrid oven/charcoal) grill were superb, as was the service, their very dog-friendly attitude, the building & decor, and the big TV that we could keep an eye on through the first 90 minutes.
We then headed the short jaunt to our AirBnB home for the next few days where we watched the Torres goal that won Spain the World Cup.
Speaking of cups, it was cups of tea all ‘round, before crashing out ready for tomorrow!
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