Were Monday and Tuesday the last two days of summer? The forecast persuaded us to take full advantage, and happily on Monday we had arranged our second meeting with Dave and Julia – this time at Blakeney itself. We met in the hotel courtyard and after some discussion decided to get a coffee/tea. Who would have guessed? We walked through the town, found the Blakeney Hotel closed to non-residents, and ended up at the pub at the other end of town, which proved to be very pleasant, sitting outside in the sun.
We then decided that Dave, Julia and Dot would walk to the Wiveton cafe, and I would drive there. On arrival I was fortunate enough to see five or six red kites in the sky: stunning, but they disappeared after a few minutes, and we didn’t see them again. We took a look at the pigs, though. Before that we had lunch (very pleasant asparagus soup and focaccia bread) and discussed how we would celebrate Dot’s birthday. In the end we agreed to book into the Blakeney Hotel on the 22nd and 23rd for the purpose of having a celebratory evening meal there on the Sunday. This was finalised on the phone the next day, COVID regulations permitting.
Yesterday was equally sunny and warm, and we decided to visit Tunstall Church, on the Halvergate marshes, which had been featured in the EDP that morning. The ruins of the medieval church adjoin a more modern one that is still in occasional use. We parked at the church and did a short walk, and we (mainly Dot) picked quite a few blackberries, which we had for supper. We were looking for Tunstall staithe, but weren’t successful. After moving the car nearer to where it was supposed to be, I walked a very overgrown path until it became apparent that the stream had either dried up or was much further away. Or somewhere else entirely.
Still, it was a very pleasant walk, partly across dry fields, and the church ruins were lovely. Dot navigated our return journey across country, and this too was really enjoyable – quiet and atmospheric in late summer. You just wanted to stay out there. I wondered if I’d missed out by living in cities most of my life.
In between all this Dot managed to do a pile of washing, ironed some of it and changed the pillowcases, among other things. The Government and its scientists were busy losing more and more credibility by announcing new restrictions based on a worse case COVID scenario that is never going to happen. Probably. Today the weather broke, it’s much cooler and it’s raining. Dot is having a DSSO Zoom meeting, and the Hello Fresh! man is on his way.