71st July

 Yes, it has been a while.

We've been away for a holiday and decided to go somewhere considerably flatter than the last holiday. Hills and valleys are lovely, but parking the car at, what felt like, an 85 degree gradient, did not help. Dragging a small family car up a steep hill at the end of the day left it scarred and grumpy. Can cars be grumpy? Ours can.

So, thanks to some advice from Noel Coward, we went to the county of Norfolk. A week in Cromer followed by nearly a week in Ely.

Cromer is a fairly typical English seaside town. There was a very small amusement park (which I stayed away from) a surprisingly quiet and tasteful pier, various fish and chips shops and, of course, the wonderful sea. The sound of the sea seems to cancel out my tinnitus, so I'm always happy to just be in close proximity and enjoy the waves hitting the shore, the surfers and some random pets. Being in close proximity to the sea does not mean getting in boats though. I traveled in a variety of vessels, from punts, canoes, small boats, hovercraft (big and small), ferries and a speedboat. The one thing they all have in common for me is that, sooner or later, they create a desire to be on dry land. Because of this, an otherwise straightforward family trip to see seals became a minor drama when I decided to stay behind.

Is this an example of become more fearful as I get older? I have no idea. But given that I may also have PIFOF (potentially imaginary fear of flying), I might need to do something more challenging. Some say you should do something every day that scares you. Looking in the mirror or reading the news doesn't count, apparently, but I have something to think about.

And did I mention the second week? No? Well, we went to Ely. Nice cathedral, ace bookshop, handy for visits to Cambridge, We also spent a day in Norwich which turned out to be delightful. The food in the covered market was extremely good and the daughter and I enjoyed some fab pad thai.

Then we came home. Soon after the daughter and I took a packed lunch (not pad thai) to Kensington for our annual Proms experience. An evening of wonderful contemporary film music with the typically enthusiastic Proms audience.

Please enjoy some photos from the hols. I'll be back with more abut the band's new album and my upcoming musical adventures.

 

A double bass enjoying the view

 

A car, enjoying the view as well

 

The beach. The sea. The building work.

 

The world's least exciting looking helter-skelter