Doesn't have to rhyme, does it?........

Tis the night before Christmas

Food's prepped but not cooked yet

Presents bought, wrapped and ready

Hope they like what they get

All day I've sent wishes

Facebook, whatsapp, messenger and more

Words, emojis and gifs

Spending time telling people you care

So just before I go to bed

Cos tomorrow will be too busy

My special wishes are just for you

To have festive fun and and next year through! 

The Fun Season Has Started......

Well December has started with a big party, sisterS celebrated her big birthday with a party. Hubby and I did the nearly three hour drive to Twickenham and got there early enough to help set up the hall, covering tables with gold banqueting roll and setting out the food etc. Her son is a party DJ so he took care of that. Her daughter had the cake made. Then with some family and lots of her friends we had a great night.

We slept over in our usual bed in their house and Sunday the four of us went out to dinner, then we drove home. 

Got home in time for Hubby to go out again with Rudolf and the Round Table sleigh, this year they are collecting for SERV Bloodrunners and SARS Emergency Medical Charity.  Hubby is out with them every evening we aren't booked to be elsewhere. 

Daughter is working all this week putting on an adaptation of The Tailor of Gloucester as part of the Layer Marney Tower Christmas Event. She had asked us to have O and the dog and maybe the girls too while she's working. I said yes to every day bar their first on Monday.......as I'd booked tickets for Hubby and me to be there without telling her. 

We arrived at 11:30am and started with coffee/tea then a warm greeting by the owner and divided into four groups for a very amusing/informative guided tour, then escorted into a full Christmas dinner. I think there were about 100 diners. As we were finishing coffee Daughter arrived in costume to gather us all outside and play us across to the church. She was very pleased to see us. Their play was magical and clever with audience participation and carol singing too. 

After the play we all went back to the tower for mulled wine and a mince pie and the performers followed us in and sang traditional carols. We came away smiling 😀

Our usual Wednesday gang had our Christmas meal, except we had to have it on Tuesday

Shame we never think about taking the group photo until we've all got our coats on over our party clothes and friendH had already left.

The children (and dog) have been here this week while Daughter has been working, and they've put the decorations up. Leaving plenty for me to finish. 

My third Christmas dinner was at Acorn Village with the monthly crafting group. Think there were 17 of us and I'd taken a silly group game in case it went quiet at any time, but lively conversation and laughter never really stopped so we didn't need it. Forgot to take a photo. 

And all this before the 13th with two more Christmas dinners to go to and then cooking our own.  

So just in case I don't make it back to the blog before the 25th I'd like to wish you all a happy, healthy fun festive season 🎅🎁🎄  Ho Ho Ho

.

Theatre: The Season......

A Royal & Derngate, Northampton, and New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich, co-production

A New Musical by Jim Barne & Kit Buchan

It’s Christmas Eve and Dougal has travelled from Ipswich to New York for his father’s wedding. At JFK Airport he’s greeted by Robyn. Tomorrow her sister becomes his stepmother and Robyn’s dreading it. Dougal can’t wait. But then Dougal loves Christmas and Robyn’s the original Grinch.

Thrown together for a wild weekend in the city that never sleeps, their adventure becomes a musical whirlwind of confession, frustration and maxing-out credit cards in Macy’s. Will these two endearing misfits provide the ultimate test for the theory that opposites always attract?

This brand new romantic comedy is filled with heart-warming and hilarious songs, from writers Jim Barne and Kit Buchan, winners of the 2018 Stiles and Drewe Mentorship Award, celebrating the very best of emerging British song-writing talent.

================================

Robyn is played by Tori Allen-Martin and Dougal is played by Alex Cardall and they are both brilliant character actors with amazing voices and in this performance they have totally believable chemistry together!
In fact they are the only two characters in the whole play.
We thoroughly enjoyed it.
.

Itchy feet?......

In this instance itchy feet meaning can't sit still.....or no opportunity to 😉
We got back from our Spanish holiday in the early hours on the Sunday, our wedding anniversary, but we didn't celebrate apart from Hubby buying me some flowers when he went shopping. I processed a lot of laundry!

Then a call from Daughter, who was at Kentwell Hall performing in the month long Halloween Scaresville event. R was also there but had overdone the physical stuff chasing customers through cages while dressed in a rat costume (I'm only repeating what was told to me), so Hubby went to get her and she moved in here. She didn't have any clothes with her apart from what she was wearing, so I shopped.

Monday I needed a fasting blood test which meant crossing town during rush hour. 
Tuesday E messaged to see if we could pick her up from Ipswich train station after her all day journey back from Scotland. Hubby did and she moved in here too. Poor thing was suffering with a head cold. Hubby and I were out that evening with our usual Wednesday gang although yes it was Tuesday. To give one of these friends I needed a birthday present I hadn't actually bought yet, so R and I made a dash into town and it was bought wrapped and given within a couple of hours.

I checked that O was happy staying with M and as D was with them too and they were boys together playing techy stuff at the CCC lab they were more than happy to stay as they were, however, M said the dog wasn't as happy so Wednesday Tilly moved in here. Which also meant making R her bed on the floor downstairs.

Obviously there was plenty more laundry to do as E came home with a suitcase and R had a few changes now. There were meals to cook too. I was also backwards and forwards to my surgery as they are trying to control my very high blood pressure. Hubby is taking Tilly out for a very long walk (often with a bit of a run) every morning so she had been quite relaxed for the rest of the day, although not always this relaxed hahaha

M, D and O had organised to go to Comic-Con in London on Saturday and late on Thursday M contacted the girls to invite them along. E declined as she was still full of cold and R accepted, so we took her home Friday to gather up the previously prepared but unfinished costume. Between me and R we made the Garfield cat ears. She looked great, even though I still have no idea who her character is.

Sunday R seemed to sleep nearly all day and sounding like she's getting the head cold. E was up at a reasonable time and had a two hour driving lesson. Hubby was out most of the day with his blood runners team mates. And Son came for a visit arriving lunchtime and staying for a good chatty few hours.

Hubby took the girls and the dog home after we'd all had dinner. The house seemed quite empty! But they were all back a few days later and again for Halloween.

The other reason for itchy feet is far more literal. As I've said we are trying to control my blood pressure, so the doctors have been tweaking the pills I'm already on, doubling dosages and also adding extra........so not only do I now rattle but I'm also getting side effects which include increased joint pains and some persistent itching mostly my scalp, hands and feet!
.

Theatre: One Under.......

A bold revival of Winsome Pinnock's play about the need for atonement, The Stage.

Sonny and Christine want to escape. They have a night to remember but underneath the surface things aren’t what they seem. Cyrus is frantically trying to piece together the truth about that night. Unexpectedly a tragedy is about to unite them all…
An evocative thriller of intertwining stories, One Under explores the unanswered questions left behind when someone vanishes from our lives.

A brand new version of the 2005 play by award-winning writer Winsome Pinnock and directed by Amit Sharma (The Solid Life of Sugar Water, Cosmic Scallies), this powerful story explores human relationships and sparks pertinent, timely conversations on mental health and well-being.

Graeae is a world renowned innovator in theatre and its productions place creative access at their heart. This play will feature a creative use of captioning and will have audio description on offer at every performance (ask the Box Office for details).

4-stars “One Under is a keenly enjoyable experience – and being brave enough to leave parts of the story untold pushes this drama into a different league. Complex and darkly satisfying, One Under proves that when drama moves beyond formula, anything can happen.” The Spy in the Stalls

========================

Yes it was wonderfully acted and yes it was certainly deep and meaningful, however,  90 minutes without an interval is a long time to take in all the heavy dialogue and the constant changing of people and the different times of events, all overlapping within such a minimalist set. I found it interesting but repetitive.....friendT hated it.
.

Theatre: Murder, Margaret and Me........

Agatha Christie turns sleuth in a play by Philip Meeks.

Agatha Christie and Margaret Rutherford should never have been friends. But they were. Their paths crossed when they found themselves at the heart of one of British cinema's most successful franchises. However, the Miss Marple films almost didn't get made.

Murder, Margaret and Me is a story of friendship, identity and the achievement of women in the long-lost world of the silver screen.

===============================

Lin Blakely played Agatha Christie. I knew her from her long running Eastenders character. Sarah Parks played Margaret Rutherford, and Miss Marple was played by Gilly Tompkins.

They were all brilliant, bouncing off each other to deliver a very funny script that also had some deep emotional stories to tell too.

For anyone expecting a typical Agatha Christie murder mystery they would have been surprise but I hope not disappointed at this private look behind the scenes at the unlikely friendship that developed.
.

Six Go Back to Spain.......

13th to 19th October

Sunday
We started with the 2:30am alarm and picked up by friendsM&P at 3:30am. Southend Airport and met up with friendsT&F. This is another holiday to friendM's apartment in Riviera del Sol on the Costa del Sol. 

I'll not do a detailed account, let's just say there was a lot of drinking (not me) and eating, men playing pool and very late nights with plenty to laugh about. 

We hired a car this time and friendP did all the driving, so we were out and about every day.......hopefully the photos show what a great time we had.

Cabopino to La Lonja Bar to see Stelvis then across the sand to Andy's Beach Bar for more live music.

Benalmadena marina and cable car

Ronda

There were markets and beaches but I was obviously having too much fun to take photos. And our grand finale evening was also friendT's birthday, so silver service dinner with Soul/Mowtown/Jazz singer and birthday cake dessert with candles and giant sparkler! 

A week goes very fast when you are enjoying wonderful weather and great company. 

.

Theatre: Two Trains Running......

A Royal & Dergate, Nothampton and English Touring Theatre co-production

There’s a controversial new president in the White House, and racial tensions are on the rise.
It is Pittsburgh, 1969, and the regulars of Memphis Lee’s restaurant are struggling to cope with the turbulence of a rapidly changing world. The diner is in threat of being torn down, a casualty of the city’s renovation project that is sweeping away the buildings of a community, but not its spirit.
The iconic American playwright August Wilson paints a vivid portrait of everyday lives in this defining moment of American history. When Two Trains Running opened on Broadway in 1992, its legendary premiere won TONY and Drama Desk Awards. Directed by the 2018 winner of the RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award, Nancy Medina, this major revival will introduce this Pulitzer Prize shortlisted modern classic to UK-wide audiences for the first time.
Supported by the Royal Theatrical Support Trust.

=====================================

Our first reaction was 'great set'. An old run down American dinner with back windows on two sides so we could see who was arriving before they came through the restaurant door. A half broken roof not only so we could be inside but showing how neighbourhood buy-up and rebuild was very close. Amongst the rubble on the roof was a red door.

The characters were very clearly defined with accents so strong that sometimes I didn't understand what they said. My friend and I both agreed that the character with  the educational disability was acted brilliantly.

However, amongst all the very heavy dialogue I never heard any mention of the new president and it's impact on these people, there was no reference to the red door. The black actors talked constantly about the white man's persecution of "niggers", a word they used so much it made me feel uncomfortable, which may have been the point.

Another odd thing is while the script often explains that the diner's jukebox has been left unrepaired for months, we frequently heard off-stage music and sound effects that serve no purpose except raise questions with the audience of 'Where is this coming from? What's it for?'

We were both exhausted and frustrated when it finally broke for the interval, exhausted by the long fusty half with the sheer volume and speed of dialogue, but frustrated because neither of us could work out what it was trying to put across or where it was going.  My friend had decided to ring her Hubby (who had driven us there) to come and collect her, leaving at half time is something I hate doing so I was going to stay to the end and ring my Hubby for my lift home.......then we found out it was a three hour play and not finishing till nearly 11pm! Life is definitely too short to put myself through another hour and a half.

So we will never know where were the two trains and were they running or not?
.

Theatre: In Loyal Company.......

Hosted by Red Rose Chain

In Loyal Company is the incredible true story of missing World War II soldier and prisoner of War Arthur Robinson, written and performed by his great-nephew, David William Bryan.

May 1941. Hitler’s bombs rain on Liverpool. Local packer, Arthur Robinson, joins up becoming a private in the 18th reconnaissance division. Deployed to Singapore, his ship is destroyed by Japanese dive bombers on arrival. Arthur is declared missing. This extraordinary true story of survival is a tour-de-force war epic.

========================================

I was so moved by this play last night. An amazing powerful emotional performance about a Liverpool lad, youngest of six, going off to war in WWll. He is captured by the Japs, shares with us the horrors of Changi and is worked hard building a railway. 

Very moving indeed. Nothing on stage but him and a chair and he made about four minor costume changes, however you were drawn in to every part of his life and his emotions. He also gave character and substance to many other people that were part of his story.  

The Liverpool Blitz is scarily brought to life by powerful sound and light effects, in fact all the way through one man on sound and light did a brilliant job from a very small technical desk at the back of the room (beside me).

This was visual storytelling at its very best.

I was the first to stand and applaud, however, I'm short and from one of the raised tiers he probably didn't notice I was standing hahaha.

It was the true story of his great uncle. Afterwards I told him it was also my dad's story who had also spent nearly five years as a POW, dad had been in Changi and built the Kawasaki Railway, David hugged me!

I didn't even know about this. It was one night only and Daughter had bought tickets for her and R but couldn't go at the last minute so I went with R. 

It was meant to be eh? 

.

Theatre: The Night Watch.........

The Original Theatre Company and York Theatre Royal present
The Night Watch by Sarah Waters

“I get hooked on moments. I can’t move forward. The mind has hooks in time, little hooks that trip you up and take you back to way back when."
Tender, tragic and beautifully poignant, set against the shadows of feats of heroism both epic and everyday, The Night Watch is a thrilling portrait of four ordinary people caught up in the aftermath of an extraordinary time. A time when hearts beat faster and life burned more brightly.
Sarah Waters’ award-winning story of illicit love and lost souls takes you from a dazed and shattered post-war Britain back into the heart of the Blitz, hurtling towards the secrets that are hidden there.

===================================

Saw this with my usual two theatre friends and we also got talking to a guy sitting beside us. None of us would say we enjoyed it. But T didn't mention leaving at the interval so not bad, just slow and stage choreography that was hard to work out why.

I thought it was really well acted by them all. With just a few deep and meaningful moments. Quite liked the scene overlaps with the lighting directing our attention.  But mostly it seemed a pointless dragging out of obvious relationships with a backwards play that ended nowhere.
.

Theatre: A Sidecar Named Despair........

Estranged brothers Dick & Julian never did really get on. Since the death of their father, they’ve been forced together, living in their old family home while they try and rebuild their lives and their dad's rusty old motorbike and sidecar.

Having been working in the States as an accountant, Julian has returned suddenly, and won't talk about his time there. He starts getting threatening messages, and it becomes clear that his business "associates" are not to be trifled with, and that his past is catching up with him, putting both their lives in jeopardy. It's "The Odd Couple" versus the Mob!

A black comedy with original music by Pat Whymark, featuring Julian Harries and Richard Mainwaring

==========================

A typical crazy comedy in the style we are used to whenever Julian Harries is involved. Clever songs with the two women having good voices and the men as animated backing singers. And some of the script was of the laugh-out-loud quality.
.

Theatre: One Man, Two Guvnors........

By Richard Bean
Based on The Servant of Two Masters by Carl Goldoni
with songs by Grant Olding

Set in the colourful underworld of Brighton in the swinging sixties. Richard Bean’s riotous farce mixes all the elements of classic comedy into a fizzing cocktail of fun. Mistaken identity, cross-dressing, physical knockabout, slapstick, mad gags and outrageous puns are shaken and stirred as Francis Henshall, cast out of his skiffle band, finds the best route to satisfy his considerable appetites for food, sex and money, to become One Man serving Two Guvnors.

This joyous updating of Goldoni’s classic Italian comedy from the 18th century, The Servant of Two Masters, has quickly established itself as one of the great British comedies of the 21st Century.

--------------------------------------------------

This was absolutely hilarious. Brilliant casting, very talented musicianship and amazing set changes.

The lead character Francis Henshall, played by Philip Tomlin, was an enormous task and he gave it everything, lots of dialogue, perfect timing, exhausting physical comedy and plenty of interacting with the audience. I was amazed afterwards to read it was his first professional stage performance out of stage school!

I won't mention something great about each member of the cast, although I could, but I do have to give special credit to the character Alfie, played by Richard Leeming, who literally threw himself headfirst into his part....and down the stairs many times!

A great evening and perfect for the start to the autumn season.
.

Time Travel and Travelling on Time.......

It's time for Daughter to be her Tudor self again, starting today (Friday 16th August) for the next 11 days. Today she left home with E and E's friend and O. O will be there till Tuesday evening and E till Friday morning.

Before they left Daughter brought R and their dog Tilly who will our guests for the duration. Tilly came with more luggage than R did.
We don't want Tilly sleeping upstairs on beds and we don't want to stress her by making her sleep alone as she doesn't do that at home, so R said she'll sleep in the office with the dog as it's downstairs and has easy access to the garden.

Her bed was installed and she promptly did a wee on the blankets  (that's Tilly not R) which immediately went into the washing machine. Guess she needed to mark her territory!
When it's not bedtime, as usual the lounge windowsill is her favourite place.

Hubby took R to her theatre duties for 4pm and another friend is very kindly bringing her home. I'm out to dinner with friends so Hubby has the evening to himself and dog duty. 

Most days when R has theatre duties we start at home packing a picnic for her to take, this was a double as on matinee and evening performance days she's there from 10:30am to 10pm.

Although Tilly enjoys free movement in our garden, which is big enough for her to have a little run around, most days Hubby has taken her out for change of scenery. Because she doesn't go out for walks off lead at all Hubby has been running with her, so hopefully getting him fitter too. 

R's friend F is also doing some of the volunteer theatre crew shifts, so her mum and I have arranged swapsies where I've offered F sleepover nights to save them being in two places at once and in return they are giving R some lifts home to save Hubby turning out past his bedtime 😉 although on "end of show party" night he did do the pickup for both girls at midnight. 

We've also had O here for an overnight Thursday and all day Friday. E also came home early Friday as she is going to the Ed Sheeran concert being held very locally to us, she also slept over so she could be up and showered at 7am Saturday as she'd arranged a lift back to Kentwell. 

Ipswich has been full on with Ed's homecoming concert. TV, radio, local paper coverage and of course everyone having an opinion on social media (always some moaners but mostly good).

E went Friday night and said it was amazing. I heard that M had taken O Sunday night and they both loved it. Daughter&M's house is only about 10mins walk from the venue so M and O have listened to it all from their garden each night. 

Today is now Bank Holiday Monday and Theatre in the Forest finished last night. R and her friend F having a free day decided to invite a few friends, from here they have walked to Daughter&M's house so they can experience the last night of the concert, in audio. 

So just Tilly to collect when Daughter gets home. Meanwhile we are both happy relaxing with the doors open and the fan on. 

My Way (#15 )........

Over the years I seem to have developed some very definite ways of doing things and usually it's for a very good reason, HOWEVER this is a new one for me, so I thought I'd share. 

When I'm in the shower with big plastic bottles and soapy hands I found my grip was rubbish and bottles kept slipping out of my hand.

So first I looked through all the saved dispensers and pumps that I've washed and kept, but I had nothing that fitted.

Next onto online shopping and found pumps, but soon discovered there is no standard neck size to the bottles I have.

Seems the alternative is to buy new bottles with pumps and decant what we use then label each bottle and maybe colour code the labels so you can squint with soapy eyes and still dispense the right product........guess what, the cost and effort to buy more plastic to replace plastic is not helping the planet or my moral standards, so I'm not going there! 

So, I wrapped an elastic band around each bottle, making a good grip and I'm no longer dropping them, job done

What's your way?
.

Birthday, Boat, Broads, Buffet........

I really wanted to do something a little different for this year's birthday as we normally get together for a family meal but as we all have varying dietary needs and some fidgit if we sit still for too long it can be challenging.

I mentioned this to a friend just in passing and she suggested hiring a day boat on the Norfolk Broads! I told Hubby, Daughter and Son adding that I'd like a picnic on board and everybody loved the idea.

Early gathering at our house, which daughter called Parental HQ, then because unfortunately a few family members couldn't come, we all fitted into Daughter's car. Just under two hours to get there. The boat handover at was really straightforward and efficient. We were kitted out with life jackets and Hubby and Son got on board for a guide to what's where and how it all works. Then we all installed ourselves and our stuff and we were off.

As you can see in the photos we had a really nice boat, very well equipped with two ring burner, kettle, plenty of crockery, cutlery and tea towels and dishcloths etc, we had a loo too!

Hubby and Son were in charge for all the busy areas or tricky moorings but O took the wheel as Captain for a lot of the time and quickly got to understand the delay in reaction time when steering and the drifting just with the water movement pushing on the boat. So a happy 10 year old makes us all happy.

We really didn't know how the dog would react as on land she will often bark like mad at other dogs or people. So having never done anything water based or boaty before would she bark at every goose, swan or passing boat? No! She seemed interested in everything, constantly going from one side to the other to look out, loved getting off each time for walks and happy each time to get back on board. So well behaved, although she was kept on a very short lead the whole time.

Daughter and Son had brought so much food and a birthday cake plus candles. When we got home M joined us too and we still didn't finish off the food hahaha.

Such a lovely day with my favourite people and good weather for a fun activity. Memories to keep forever.

The rest of the photos are HERE
.

Theatre: Romeo and Juliet........

“My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
My love as deep;
the more I give to thee,
The more I have, for both are infinite”

The Montague Mods are riding their mopeds, the Capulets are rocking their leather biker jackets – bitter rivals from different worlds and that’s the way its always been. But there’s one thing they hadn’t counted on…Romeo and Juliet have never been the kind to obey the rules!
Can these rebels in love ever break free from their families and create a truce between Rockers and Mods once and for all? 

This year’s marks 20 years of Theatre in the Forest and what better way to celebrate 
than with the love story that changed the world in the beautiful woods of 
Jimmy’s Farm as we take you back in time to the 1960s.

===================================

This evening performance was actually rounding off a lovely catchup day with friendKK. Friends for nearly 40 years, spending so much time together when our children were young. However now we have trouble finding suitable matching free time so when we do it's a whole day. We started at 9:30am - driving - tea and cakeing - walking and mooching - shops, antiques, galleries etc - driving - late lunching at the Artisan Smokehouse yum yum - driving - admiring beautiful landscapes - popped into her house - ending our day with the Bard - really good weather all day AND WE NEVER STOPPED TALKING hahaha

Again Red Rose Chain Theatre have a great success. All the actors were brilliant. They always stick to Shakespeare’s scrip and add. This time it was 60's music, a few song and dance routines, deck chairs and sand and audience participation panto style for the Punch and Judy puppets. The enthusiasm and enjoyment of the cast is contagious and we were well looked after before, in the interval and when leaving by the merry band of crew who are youth theatre volunteers.
We loved it and would highly recommend it.
.

Theatre: The Lady in the Van......

Presented by Gallery Players 

First a book, a play and then a film, The Lady in the Van tells the true story of Alan Bennett's strained friendship with Miss Mary Shepherd, an eccentric homeless woman whom Bennett befriended in 1974 before allowing her ‘temporarily’ to park her Bedford van in the driveway of his Camden home. 

For Alan Bennett charity truly began at home but little did he know that she would remain there for fifteen years. 
This wonderfully witty play centres on their extraordinary relationship, which for Bennett was a source of intrigue, frustration and compassion.

"One seldom was able to do her a good turn without some thoughts of strangulation”.

As Alan Bennett very candidly admits, he and Miss Shepherd mutually benefited from her presence; he provided her with a safe haven while she acted as his muse, providing endless humorous material with her rude interactions with the outside world.

The story is funny, poignant and life affirming.

=================================

I'd seen the film some years ago and this was an amateur production that certainly did it justice.

Two Alan Bennett's (Steve Taplin and Daren Nunn) who complimented and mimicked each other really well. An excellent way of thinking out loud by talking to each other!
And Mary Shepherd (Jenni Horne) who delivered her lines so well it was really hard to decide if she was highly intelligent or a raving lunatic.

A very clever set with a full size Bedford van not only on stage but moving around the stage too.

There were quite a few other characters supporting the whole story.
.

A Quick Break in Norfolk.......

For Hubby's last birthday in February I gave him a two night's hotel voucher from Buy-a-gift and we needed to use it before it expired in August and actually hoped to use it before the school holidays started as most venues won't accept the voucher at peak times anyway. We managed it this week.

Not wanting to spend hours and hours travelling Hubby chose The Orangery B&B near Holt in Norfolk. This turned out to be in the middle of nowhere, so lots of driving down tiny country lanes while concentrating on the sat-nav (well done Hubby). It was a rebuilt farm plot with a stable and five buildings. The owners live in one and the others are all holiday rentals. Ours had two bedrooms, we had the downstairs one and although someone stayed in the other upstairs room on Tuesday night we never actually saw them. There was a lounge diner and kitchen as shared space. The continental-style breakfast was laid out on the table each morning to help yourself.

We did lots of walking and unfortunately right at the start I must have had a bit of sand or something in my shoe so caused a big blister grrrrr, thank goodness for blister plasters which was the first thing I applied when we got to the place and unzipped our case!
As well as walking there was ice cream and lunches and regular pots of tea in the following places.

Monday
Stiffkey
Holkham
Burnham Overy Staithe

Wells-Next-the-Sea

There was a film I wanted to see and we never managed to fit it in before so we found the Cinema in Dereham online and booked our tickets (this meant Hubby wouldn't back out last minute hahaha). Lovely small cinema with two screens and small auditorium.

The film was brilliant and we both enjoyed it. Highly recommend it.

Tuesday
Sheringham Park, National Trust, but only had to pay £6 to park the car.

Cromer, this was by the lifeboat station

We are English Heritage members and have been for many years but rarely get our money's worth. So looking through the book we found Baconsthorpe Castle but it was a free entry place anyway hahaha.

Wednesday
Started with a lovely walk around Sheringham, such an interesting town centre as so many small independent shops. By mid-morning it was already feeling quite hot.

Felbrigg Hall next. A National Trust property. Lunch first as you can always rely on NT for their cafe. So nice to walk around inside as these big houses are always nice and cool.

Home about 5pm-ish and out again at 7pm!
So just the two of us for a change and our first holiday this year!