The Daily Echo: Our Shielding Story, Day 177

In anticipation of it being a beautiful day day, I got up early so that we could go to the seaside. Inland, the clouds were covering what should have been a blue sky, however, so I was disappointed. Never mind, I thought, we’ll carry on as planned and when John is up we’ll set off.

So, first up, I put my shoes on, grabbed a carrier bag to store the volumes of blackberries I was going to pick and set off for a walk along the path by the field. As I shut the gate, a neighbour was just coming out of his house, so I passed the time of day. Because we had seen a lovely old vintage car in his garage yesterday when the door was open, I mentioned it. I said we weren’t sure what the make was but it looked impressive. Pleased, he asked me if I’d like to have a look round it. Oooh, I should say so!! He opened up the garage and told me all about it. Honestly, it was lovely. And pristine. It turned out that it was just a little ‘roller’ he’d been polishing yesterday. I was not jealous, as you can imagine.

With a skip in my step, I was soon on my way. It was very mild, if overcast, and I was looking forward to collecting blackberries. I didn’t have to go far before I gathered the first lot, and then I slowly worked my way down until I thought I’d got enough. I do love a bit of foraging.

On the way back, I also picked two apples from a heavily-laden tree, to go with the blackberries. And back at the house, they stewed up beautifully. Ready for tomorrow’s breakfast.

John wasn’t up yet, so I popped along to the local shop for today’s breakfast supplies and bought a couple of newspapers as a treat. We have more or less given up buying newspapers these days, so it was quite nice to have the rustle of a newspaper in our hands.

John was up when I got back so we had our breakfast – made with the fresh eggs I’d just bought – and planned our trip. I decided against taking a packed lunch, and also decided against taking my sunglasses. It was overcast, after all.

We set off to Snettisham, a sea-side resort where John had spent a camping holiday as a child. As we approached, the clouds parted and the sun came out. And it stayed like that all day. Wish I’d brought my sunglasses…..

The stroll along the beach was lovely, and then we sat down for a rest, just watching the world go by. The sea glistened in the sunlight and the birds sang – as best they could being sea-birds – and we listened to the background noises of dogs barking, people chatting, the drone of a plane and the beep-beep-beep of a metal detector. No children that I could see or hear – all gone back to school.

We drove along a bit further to Heacham and did the same again. The sun was hot by now (25 degrees) and this time there was man with a kite instead of a metal detector. Fascinating to watch. Nevertheless, I lay back, put my hat over my eyes and dozed.

Next stop, Hunstanton for a cup of coffee, perhaps? Or so we thought. Despite the school holidays being over, the town seemed very busy. And we just didn’t find anywhere we fancied coming to a halt. So we kept driving along the coast road, round the back lanes, through the beautiful countryside until we found our way back to the house we’re staying in, and there we had a nice cuppa.

The sun was still shining so I took my crossword puzzle outside and sat on the bench. The puzzle was very hard, and it was very warm, I’ll just have a little lie down, I thought. The bench was quite comfy and I was lulled by the children playing next door. Had another doze, don’t you know?

When I woke up, I was starving. “What do you want for tea, John?” I asked. “It’s up to you,” he replied. “I’m not bothered.” Ah….. well, I rustled something up that suited us both anyway, before John went back to watching the cricket. Our rellies in Oz will be pleased. The Aussies won the last game of the series. Not such an exciting match this time, but we enjoyed it all the same.

And that was our day. A pleasant unfurling of good weather, pleasant company, the roof down on the car, and glorious views. I’ll take that thank you very much.

Once again, the numbers of virus infections are at nearly three thousand people today. And, as of Monday, no more than six people may gather together. Yikes! This thing might be like the Hundred Years War if we’re not careful!!

Keep washing your hands folks! God bless.