We set the alarm early so that we could get the car to Autoglass in time for its 9am appointment.  Car checked in, we made our way to the nearby retail park, purchasing a few items from The Range and checking out bedside lamps in a lighting shop. We found the perfect one but unfortunately there was only one left and we need two. We settled down for a cuppa in the M&S café, planning things we might do for the remainder of the holiday.

When Autoglass rang to say the car was ready, we made our way back to pick it up. As we were leaving, the engineer who had fitted the new windscreen said ‘Don’t do it again!’

We drove to the Blickling Estate where we had arranged to meet Higgy and Mrs H. We had lunch then enjoyed a walk around the estate before visiting the house. We were then ready for another cuppa which we enjoyed outside in the sunshine. Once again wasps took a fancy to me and circled around my head causing me to have to stand up again. There must be something vaguely botanical in the hair products that I use.

The four of us finished our visit by exploring the estate further and walking around the walled garden. When we arrived back at the car park I realised that I had forgotten to pick up the guide book and it was a long walk back to the shop. I enquired at the car park entrance kiosk, only to find out that they had run out but that I could briefly park in another car park situated close to the house and shop and get one there.

It was too early to return to the hotel so we visited the quaint village of Horning for a short walk. Back at the hotel we freshened up after the sticky heat before joining Higgy and Mrs H on the hotel patio for a pre dinner drink. The room had been serviced and we noticed a second chair had mysteriously appeared in the room.

We dined in the hotel where we found the service to be good but we had to wait ages for our food to arrive. We sat up late, chatting outside on the hotel terrace. We were astounded to realise that it had been 15 years since we last met but the conversation carried on as if we had only seen each other a few days ago.

Breakfast was excellent quality with standard ‘Full English’ and other cooked options on offer. There were cereals and toast but no continental options. After breakfast Mr C readdressed sorting out the windscreen repair. This involved a lengthy 30 minute online chat procedure where a five minute phone call would have achieved the same result with a lot less stress. Sadly a phone conversation is not an option. The reason that Autoglass had not phoned back on the previous day was due to the booking showing up for Monday 22nd August rather than Monday 15th August. Autoglass offer a 3-hour callout window which didn’t fit with our itinerary meant we had to book the car into the Norwich repair centre in a couple of days time.

With that loose end out of the way we were able to set off for our destination of the day, Sandringham. We enjoyed a walk around the gardens and visited the Fire Engine house before having lunch in the stable tearooms. I was plagued by wasps buzzing around my head causing me to stand up to eat my lunch so it was not an entirely relaxing experience. Afterwards, we visited the formal garden before entering the house ahead of our timed slot. The house is lovely and homely. Paddington was sitting at the tea table waiting for the Queen to arrive, although her handbag was rather neatly placed on the table with her emergency marmalade sandwich ‘for later’.

Before leaving Sandringham Estate we took time to visit Sandringham church before enjoying a refreshing drink and visiting the shop even though the skies were darkening and threatening rain. As we neared the car park the heavens opened and there was a torrential downpour. Mr C left me in a sheltered place whilst he dashed to fetch the car and bring it closer. My inner child caused me to laugh as I got soaked dashing the short distance to the car in torrential rain. The rain was so heavy that it ran off the fields onto the roads causing them to flood. Luckily we were following a bus that displaced the standing water off the road leaving the road relatively water free for us. Eventually we emerged from under the rain cloud to see the water evaporating off the warm fields.

Back at the hotel, Mr C struggled to find a restaurant for what would be his birthday meal, eventually settling on The Ivy in Norwich.  The food was delicious, although mine went cold quite quickly due to the fierce air-conditioning blowing in my direction. The waitress was excellent and kept our wine in a cooler rather risk it warming up on the table. Mr C was treated to a mini birthday cake profiterole which was a nice surprise for him; he had wanted to order profiteroles for dessert but they were only served in a pyramid for four people.

To round off the day, we had a nightcap on the hotel terrace which was quieter than it had been the previous evening. We were accompanied by another couple who had taken chairs and placed them next to the window to their room to keep an eye (or ear) on their young  girls who were sleeping inside.

We were able to set off early because our bags we had packed the day before and dined with family, leaving us with very few last minute jobs to do. As we were leaving Telford we heard a loud noise on the car windscreen, a lorry had kicked up a stone.

We stopped at Corley services for a break and a refreshing drink, then continued on our journey stopping again at Cambridge services where we purchased sandwiches and a drink from M&S. Mr C chose to eat his outside in the humid, hot sunshine whilst I retreated to the relative coolness of the car. Whilst travelling between the two service stations Mr C noticed a crack in the windscreen leading from the point where that stone had impacted.

We arrived at our hotel, The Old Rectory, Crostwick before the check in time. We sat deliberating whether to go into Norwich and what to do about the windscreen. As we did so I could see the crack slowly growing. We decided to check in early, then Mr C started the painful process of trying to book an appointment slot with Autoglass. The site doesn’t give an option to phone up, a painful online process has to be endured. The room was rather hot so I went outside to explore the hotel garden, taking advantage of one of the benches. This allowed Mr C to relax after the annoying process, although he didn’t get a phone call he expected from Autoglass confirming the appointment.

After all the excitement, we chose to have a relaxing drink on the hotel terrace before freshening up for dinner in the hotel. The food was good and honest rather than ‘fine dining’. Comfortably replete we returned to the terrace to enjoy the cool night air. There was a large party already there, which we learned was a birthday gathering for a 96 year old lady. We got chatting to her and one of her sons as they passed by our table. She is quite a character and enjoys the fact that she is the same age as The Queen.