Took a day out yesterday to travel to West Norfolk to visit the lavender. Quite a nice spot, though somewhat marred by an extremely heavy and prolonged shower which lasted almost our whole visit and lowered the temperature considerably. In one sense this was quite predictable, as I had deliberated over taking our anoraks and then decided not to, since it was pretty sunny and warm in Norwich. On the plus side, Dot took her umbrella. Tea rooms passed muster well, and the gardens certainly had potential.

As soon as we left the skies cleared, and we arrived at Holme beach, northern end of the Peddars Way, in bright sunshine: bit of a wind still, but warm enough to walk out across the golf course to the edge of the sand. I was irrationally annoyed by the fact that a couple of noisy families chose precisely the same moment to do the walk. This is the sort of place – wet sand, mud, sea holly – that should be bleak and lonely. I may go again: oddly, I don’t remember ever having been there before. We continued along the coast, buying heavily at a farm shop and then having another cup of tea at Holkham before heading home. Meanwhile England were taking lots of Australian wickets, mainly through my man Stuart Broad, who I have long backed as a future star. How are they going to lose this one?

Have just discovered that my mother’s father’s family – going back to my great-great-great-great-grandmother Rebecca Akehurst – came originally from an area of East Sussex I know quite well: Icklesham, close to where Dave Gemmell used to live at Udimore; Iden, not far away; and Hooe, where Stella Gemmell now lives. All close to Hastings, of course, where I frequently visited the Editorial Centre, and where Dot and I often stayed with Dave Gemmell and his first wife, Val. Perhaps it explains why I always liked the area.