Recently we held a board games evening for our friends. There were seven of us in total which meant we could just about squeeze round the dining table to play the games.

Rather than cook a meal we decided to do a buffet spread which we laid out in the kitchen. This led to relaxed dining in the lounge rather than more formal dining around the table. I was pleased with how the spread looked, although I think we need a bigger kitchen!

We had another refreshing night’s sleep; the bed was so comfy. To manage my breakfast portion sizes, I chose a few selected items from the full English breakfast.

After breakfast we relaxed in our room before it was time to visit friends (Wiggia and Mrs W). As we left the carpark, we got a bit confused by the one-way system around the Assembly Hall, our SatNav which is normally reliable was just as confused as we were. Perhaps we shouldn’t have had those few minutes in our room after all! Eventually we were on our way, arriving at our destination a short time later.

It was lovely to see them both for a chat and catch up. We were treated to delicious scones and cakes followed by a tour of their lovely garden with its amazing view looking over the countryside. As we were leaving Mrs W presented Mr C with a card and present for his birthday.

Back at the billet we couldn’t find a parking space in the hotel car park so we tried the other nearby car park where there were spaces. Mr C didn’t want to pay the price, we had already paid to stay the Assembly House car park at a discounted rate. We returned to the Assembly House to find one lonesome parking space waiting for us.

It was time to chill out in our room some more before heading to Norwich castle, stopping along the way for a refreshing drink in the same café as the previous day. The castle has only recently re-opened after five years of extensive renovations to make the castle and museum collections more accessible to visitors. We visited the Boadicea and antiquities collections first followed by the Norfolk Regiment’s  regimental displays. Our next priority was the Castle Keep with its related collections and roof top view. I was impressed with the way the castle and museum collections are presented. We didn’t have time to see everything, even though we left just a few minutes before closing. Hopefully we will get the opportunity to return soon to see what we missed and re-visit some things that we enjoyed most.

With time to spare we returned to the Murderer’s Arms for a glass of wine (for me) and beer for Mr C which we enjoyed in the afternoon sunshine before returning to the Assembly House. Back in our room we chilled out some more before it was time to dine in the nearby Paolo’s Italian restaurant. The food, service and ambience were perfect. The sun was shining and as I looked out towards the market square and church, I almost felt I was sitting outside in continental Europe.

The Murderer’s Arms called us for one last drink; the next day we were leaving the Assembly House for Windsor and the Sir Christopher Wren.

After the long walk into town the previous evening, we decided that we wouldn’t be in the mood to walk into town for breakfast so we booked a table in the Brewers Fayre restaurant which is located next door to the hotel. This turned out to be a wise move because a lot of people without bookings were being turned away and asked to come back later.

Our friend’s funeral was at 2.30 so we had time to visit Great Yarmouth Minster which we had walked past the previous evening. The building is amazing and has a rich history. Whilst we were there, we each lit a candle in remembrance of our friend.

We still had a bit of time to spare so I was able to visit Edinburgh Woollen Mill where I ended up purchasing a couple of tops.

We returned to the hotel to change for the funeral. We were slightly delayed by the arrival of room service which turned out to be a far better service than some of the more expensive hotels we have stayed in recently.

We arrived at the crematorium in plenty of time so Mr C took the opportunity to finesse the Eulogy before we braved the heavy rain to walk to the waiting area. The service was secular, although the celebrant included some traditional words used in Christian ceremonies. The service included words of memories from his wife, words of tribute from Mr C and a poem written by one of his daughters.

For some reason I can’t quite explain, I shed more tears than I usually due on such occasions. Something for me to reflect on.
At the wake, I was able to spend time with our friend’s widow and share her grief whilst reflecting back on memories and regretting that future plans were not to be. The four of us, after many years absence, last met just a few months before his cancer diagnosis.

Later, Mr C had booked us into the Furzedown Hotel for an evening meal. The hotel turned out to be much further away than he thought it was. I felt like I was on a route march to dinner. Finding a bar for a post dinner drink also proved problematic. All the pubs we saw were closed or shut had already stopped serving for the evening. We had to retrace our steps to Weatherspoon’s which for some reason Mr C had wanted to avoid!

Recently a dear friend passed away after a relatively short illness. His funeral took place the day after the late May bank holiday.

Mr C wrote the eulogy which he was still tweaking on the morning of bank holiday Monday before we set off on our long journey south to Great Yarmouth where the funeral was due to take place the following day.

We started our journey around mid-day, briefly checking in on mum, who had recently broken her arm. She seemed happy enough and didn’t need assistance with anything. This meant we were able to stop at Essington Farm for lunch, as planned. Lunch set us up for the long journey including the 80 mile stretch along the A84 dual carriageway.

We had booked into the Premier Inn on the outskirts of Great Yarmouth and, by the time we got there and checked in, it was almost time to walk into town for an evening meal.

We arrived on the seafront to find most eating establishments were closed, which we found surprising for a bank holiday Monday. We retraced our steps to a fish and chip shop we had noticed near to the sea front. The food was delicious but the portions, even my smaller choice, were enormous. The smaller portion would have fed both of us!

We had a drink in Weatherspoon’s before heading back to the billet with its welcoming bed and hopefully a good nights sleep.

One of our friends arranged a breakfast gathering because her family were over from Germany for a few days.

There was much fun and laughter and the extensive menu options proved a challenge for some. For me, the small vegetarian breakfast hit the sweet spot.

All too soon it was time to part ways leaving Mr C and I in the ‘not quite’ ready to go home mood. We eventually settled on a visit to Bridgnorth where we had fun on the recently re-opened cliff railway.

We took the train down the cliff from high town to low town and enjoyed a delightful walk along the river bank where I saw my first goslings of the year. One of the goslings was so cute and funny, climbing up the steep river bank then slipping and rolling back down, only to be determined to reach the preferred spot for grazing.

As we made our way back to the cliff railway to ascend into high town Mr C helped a young jogger who tripped over a curb and hurt herself.

Back in high town we sought out ‘cake’ and settled on Violet’s Tea Room, where we knew we could sit outside and soak up the rays even if it was a little chilly. We both chose ginger and lemon cake which was delicious.

After our ‘naughty cake’ indulgence, we headed off home in time for our usual Sunday pre-dinner aperitif with Mr C’s parents.

One year later (minus a week) we revisited Jodrell Bank in order to see the new First Light Pavilion which is located within the arboretum. It was still under construction on our previous visit.

Inside the First Light Pavilion will be a spectacular exhibition,  in which visitors can engage with the stories of the amazing scientists and engineers who have worked at Jodrell Bank over the years, and whose stories continue today.

This innovative and interactive new gallery will include displays, objects and artefacts from the site’s rich history and will incorporate the fabric of the original 1957 surface of the Lovell Telescope. Archive footage and large-scale projections will animate the exhibition and bring the past to life.

A beautiful new 130 seat auditorium will also feature, housing an immersive projection space where visitors will be able to watch an animated history of Jodrell Bank. *

Our first stop was Oswestry to pick up a friend of Mr C. The in-car SatNav then took us on an unexpected (un)magical mystery tour through never ending traffic queues. The conversation and laughs we had made up for the inconvenience but I regretted not picking up my portable SatNav which is far better at route planning. When we arrived at Jodrell Bank, 45 minutes later than we planned it was time for lunch, which we enjoyed in the First Light café.

After lunch we walked to the Lovell Telescope and explored the Space Pavilion before it was time for our pre-booked Dome Show. We all thought that the show was rather bland and lacked something. The interactive gallery and display in the other half of the Dome made up for this, the exhibits drew us in to explore the history of the Lovell Telescope and explorations of Space. We will be back to explore the gallery in more detail on a future occasion.

We had afternoon tea including ‘naughty cakes’ and browsed the shop before leaving (empty handed) on our homeward journey. The SatNav behaved itself and took us in the direction we had expected to travel on our outward journey!

*Quoted from the Jodrell Bank website in 2021

Thank you for your long and selfless service to this country.  You were an amazing lady.

My thoughts are with the Royal family at this sad time.

I am sure that this evening’s glorious sunset was in honour of you.

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 took a lot longer to arrive that it had done the previous morning and we were treated to those two young girls who were sleeping in my previous post babbling on about socks and the ability to put them on. Thankfully, we were ready and waiting to meet Wiggia and Mrs W when they arrived to pick us up at our hotel. It was lovely to meet them for the first time, two years later than planned. Covid-19 and the seemingly endless lockdowns scuppered our original plan to visit Norfolk in 2020.

There was much amiable chatting and laughter in the car as we travelled to and from Castle Acre. Castle Acre has both priory and castle ruins, but before visiting either we stopped off in the village for refreshments. It was a little too soon after breakfast for me to be tempted by the delicious cakes that were on offer so I settled for a cup of tea. Next, we visited the priory which has a large footprint with some unique features I have not seen before. The English Heritage staff were excited about the recently opened rooms in the Prior’s lodging. Only Mr C ventured up the extremely narrow winding staircase. On his return he said that we hadn’t missed much. Wiggia told us that the priory had changed quite a bit since he last visited the site.

Next we visited the castle where the earthwork remains are impressive but not much remains of the castle buildings. Mr C explored the higher reaches whilst Wiggia and I chatted on the lower levels. After the castle it was time to return to the hotel and say our goodbyes. Thank you Wiggia and Mrs W we enjoyed our time with you and we are already looking forward to the next time, hopefully soon.

We headed into Norwich and the Cathedral stopping for a drink on the way (we still weren’t hungry, it must have been the heat and humidity). We didn’t get the best Cathedral experience because the organ was being restored. The sheeting and scaffolding around the organ and pipes sort of cut the Cathedral in half.

We had time to chill out before our meal in The Fox. The restaurant had looked promising but somehow fell short on delivery. My first choice of meal had run out (unfortunate, it happens) but when Mr C’s meal arrived the steak wasn’t cooked to his requirement. He sent it back and his plate was returned almost immediately with the correct steak on his plate. The chef had served the wrong steak on the plate. It wasn’t the only order that arrived incorrectly, people on the table next to us also returned items to the kitchen.

Back at the hotel terrace we planned what we might do with the friends that we were due to meet the next day.

A friend suggested that we get together to visit Tewkesbury Medieval Fair which commemorates the Battle of Tewkesbury with re-enactments of the battle that took place there in 1471. Because different activities were taking place on the two days of the festival. Mr C and I decided to turn it into a mini break, meeting our friends when they arrived for their day trip on the Sunday.

After we had booked our accommodation we learned that the funeral of another friend, who had recently passed away after a long illness, was to take place on the day we were due to travel. The funeral, although sad, was an uplifting celebration of the life a lovely man who died too young and will be missed by many.

In the late afternoon, following the wake, we set off for Tewkesbury. We had a good journey without any holdups, arriving at the hotel earlier than expected. After checking in, we were given complimentary water bottles and a glass of Bucks Fizz (more Bucks than Fizz) to carry up to our room before unloading the car.

We had just enough time to chill out and freshen up before dining in Coopers, the hotel restaurant. The menu was brief but the food was delicious. I chose trout served with potato and rainbow carrots whilst Mr C settled for steak. We both had ice cream for dessert with Mr C choosing a rather exotic sounding burnt coconut flavour for one of his options which, when it arrived, turned out to be black, looking rather unappealing to me. I was glad I chose vanilla and salted caramel, both were delicious.

After dining we settled on the terrace to enjoy a post dinner drink soaking up the last of the sunshine from a beautifully sunny day.