Will the excitement ever end? Well, it may do now, because David, Oliver and Amy have gone back home after a week of unexpected activities. Or activities at unexpected times…largely because the sailing which was scheduled originally for Monday at Morston was postponed twice because of windy conditions. It eventually took place yesterday in glorious sunshine, and went really well – especially for Dot and me, who got soaked. We reached the seals and got some good sailing in on the way, with everyone taking part, if it was only hauling in the sheets and coping with a dodgy cleat.
Afterwards Dot and I elected to walk to Blakeney while David drove Amy. This was largely in the hope that our clothes might dry out, which indeed they did, except in certain key areas. Happily David and the children, seated towards the stern in the Oyster dinghy, were not so badly affected. At Blakeney we all had lunch at the Manor before sauntering up to take a look at the “cottage” booked by Barbara for next year.
Earlier in the week there was even more excitement, beginning with David fixing our WiFi. This was followed quite closely by a trip to Thetford, where we elected to try the cycling (mountain bikes). We all did pretty well round a ten-mile trail that included some unstable ground, with Dot and I bring up the rear about 20 minutes behind the others. We all enjoyed it, though. Afterwards we had Prezzo takeaway.
On Tuesday Adrian, Clarissa, Gareth, Nicky, Gracie and Max arrived on their boat at the bottom of the road. We went down for a visit: only Adrian and Clarissa there at this point. Later Dot, David, Oliver, Amy and I went to cinema to see Star Trek: Beyond. This, it has t be pointe out, is not Adrian’s cup of tea. We liked it, though.
On Wednesday the Caddington trio went swimming, and Dot and I went along to watch. Oliver had a bit of a cold; so we took it easy in the afternoon before going to Yarmouth circus in the evening. After bit of a crisis when it looked as if we wouldn’t be served in time at the fish restaurant (we cancelled), we really enjoyed the circus experience, which was like nothing else. The building (Hippodrome) was very old and basic, and at first I thought the performances were not going to be so hot, but in fact the whole thing turned out to be brilliant, including some superb trapeze artists and other great balancing acts. The ring turning into a pool was a tour de force – much more impressive than expected.
Afterwards we heard there were going to be fireworks on the beach (every Wednesday, apparently); so we wandered over and had some excellent hot dogs while we waited. Big crowds for the fireworks; took us a while to get out, as we were parked on the jetty.
Thursday was quiet and not very nice weather, though we were able to say goodbye to all the Roberts around 2pm, not quite early enough to avoid being charged an extra £5, though Adrian did his best to get out of it. (He was supposed to have been gone by 10am.) The ticket man proved surprisingly convivial and had his picture taken with us all. Later we stayed in and played Monopoly, which I won. I mention this because I hardly ever do. During the visit Oliver got a new table tennis bat and eventually beat everyone.
Back before their arrival we had a good service at church, where I delivered an especially short sermon because of an after-church session with the rural dean about the future of the church. We all liked the rural dean.