As I have often stated on this website, Tricia isn’t an idle person. She likes to be active, and busy. Like everybody else, she enjoys sitting and watching a bit of tv in the evening, and thank goodness she does, otherwise she would be completely worn out by now. However, she does like to be on the go. So, this week, when the weather allowed, she went out for a bike ride with her friend Cathy. After 15 miles they were coming back in along the back road into the village, which is a single track road… when Tricia fell off. She had moved over for a car, ran out of road and slipped off. Fortunately, beyond a few scratches she was fine. That was Tuesday.

On Wednesday evening, as per the usual weekly routine, Tricia went off training with Nikki and Robbie. Towards the end of their session, Tricia was doing some standing jumps. Determined to jump as far as possible, she jumped, slipped and crashed onto her knees.. fortunately, beyond a few bruises she was fine.

Just to add insult to injury, when she was in the garden this morning, she got stung by a wasp. That is twice she has been stung in August…. Tricia has started the process of putting the garden to bed for the autumn and winter months. Hopefully we will have a nice Indian summer, and be able to enjoy a sunny September. However, on a dry and sunny day like today, it is a good opportunity to start all the end of summer jobs. I cut the grass, Tricia, in between wasp stings, did the borders and beds. She also dug up some potatoes… and very nice they look to. It looks as if (weather permitting) I will be doing some fence creosoting next weekend. That will be something to look forward to.

In between causing herself injury, Tricia has been busy making jams and chutneys. A lot of the local fruit is in season, and we often open the door to find that people in the village have dropped off bags of apples / plums / damsons etc for Tricia to work on.

Robbies job this coming week is to sand down the patio furniture and oil the wood, before it comes back into the conservatory for the winter. Nikki is working at Homebase today. She was in Bath on Saturday pushing the Bobsleigh. She learnt during last week that she had been pre-selected for the GB training squad, so was very pleased with that news. She also recently won a place on a athletic scholarship programme in Hatfield which will allow her free use of gyms and facilities, and get access to physio’s. So, again she is pleased with that. Nikki moves back to Hatfield next weekend. Ellie goes back to school on Thursday. She has been practicing 11+ papers this week.

My first week back at work was hectic. I found myself covering for 5 people… 2 on holiday, my boss who was in an offsite meeting for 3 days, 1 of my colleagues who was on compassionate leave, and 1 who was sick. My feet barely touched the ground. I did manage to get in the pool and swim though, and did three sessions. The scales told me I had put 1lb on over the holidays, so that wan’t too bad. I will soon work that off.

Yesterday we all went across to Wendy & Robs near Thatcham for Sunday lunch. Deb and Carlos came down as well, with Debs mum, Yvonne. It was her 78th birthday, so Tricia did her a birthday cake. It was an excellent afternoon, catching up with friends, and lots of laughter… A few piccies.

The last picture needs some explanation… we have what I can only describe as a ‘game’ in the village of passing around a garden gnome called Norris. Wendy & Rob found a sort of gnome, that has been called Mrs Norris. Here is Robbie all dressed up as he went out stealthily in the dark last night, and left it outside one of the houses in the village  I laugh when I think of what they thought when they came out of their house this morning..

In case there is any element of doubt, when I refer to ‘Grumpy’ I refer to myself. Only grumpy because my summer hols is coming to an end. Typically, today, the last day, was lovely and sunny and warm…

As always it was a busy and hectic weekend. Tricia was at a food festival yesterday, and catering for a christening today. So, Friday started with a shopping trip for provisions and catering items. Tricia spent most of Friday preparing for the food festival on Saturday. The local pub, The Pilgrim was hosting the food festival. Here is Tricia at her stall. She did good trade for the day. Some damson jam she only made this last week was very popular. She will be busy over the next few weeks as a lot of fruits are harvested.

During the day, an old friend of ours, ‘Big John’ came for a visit with his girl friend Christine. We went for a hike in the afternoon – about 6 miles – before having a meal in the evening. It was good to catch up with them.

Meanwhile Nikki was in Bath doing bobsleigh. She had a good session, and today booked flights to go out to Riga in Latvia in September for a GB training camp.

This morning Tricia was busy preparing the catering for the christening. So, come this afternoon she was a little worn out. I cut the back lawn whilst the weather was good, it seems we are due some bad weather…

Tomorrow is back to work.. not a big issue, I normally enjoy my work so that helps. But I am not looking forward to the alarm clock going off. Back into the swimming pool first thing, which will be hard work after a two week break.

Rob got his A Level results today – Art A*, Graphics A*, Music E. He was disappointed with the Music grade, but it is still a pass, however, his Art and Graphics grades were exceptional, and a testament to the hard work he put in over the two years. Needless to say Tricia and I are very proud of him. He also received a letter from Northampton Uni today confirming his place, so Rob is very happy.

We had to wait until this evening to find out how he did, Rob went off with Nikki, Ellie, and Ellie’s friend Jess to Thorpe Park for the day today. So, he didn’t get to see his results until after 7pm.

Nikki is off to work in Hatfield tomorrow. Then going onto Wendy’s for Friday night before going to Bath on Saturday for Bobsleigh sessions. Tricia and I have had a quiet week. We enjoyed a 6 mile walk this afternoon. However, we busy up tomorrow, shopping for the weekend. On Saturday Tricia is at a food festival, we also have some friends visiting.. and then on Sunday she is catering for a christening. Then back to work Monday, but at least I can say I am rested.

 August 16th marked our 24th wedding anniversary. We didn’t do too much during the day, part of the day was spent washing and clearing up from our camping trip. We went across to Winslow to see Tricia’s parents in the morning. I cut the grass in the afternoon… which seems to have upset the rain gods as it is raining this morning. In the evening Nikki cooked us a meal, and we all sat outside and ate, enjoying the sun. It was a beautiful sunny day. Later in the evening our good friends Pat and Clive joined us for some bubbly to celebrate the 24 years.

Lily the cat was particularly interested in Robbies steak !

Speaking of cats… Ninja has obviously got a case of wanderlust again. We haven’t seen him for nearly a month. Not that we are going to put posters up or walk the fields looking for him again. He has disappeared three times before, and turned up when he feels like it, so we will just wait.

Yet again this year we made a last minute camp site booking. Each year we say we will book early, and then each year we don’t. This is primarily my fault, Tricia comes up with the ideas and suggestions, and I tend to hmmm and hah, and nothing really happens. Anyhow, after a few phone calls on Sunday, we found a site a small way from Southwold. The primary reason we booked this site, was that it had space, unlike the other sites we called… it was also the cheapest, which seemed at odds with it having space. A quick google review of the site came up with some feedback, ‘lovely quiet site, but the facilities a little tired’, meaning the shower block and loos were in need of some renovation. Nonetheless, we took the positive, it was a ‘quiet site’.

On Tuesday morning, Tricia had determined on a prompt start and wanted to leave for Suffolk by 9am. And as we know, when Tricia is determined to do something, it isn’t advisable to hold her up or get in her way. We left at 9:10, so pretty much on time. We had left the house on the capable (?) hands of Robbie. I am sure I could hear him cheering as we left, knowing he would have the house to himself for the best part of a week.

Tricia was driving, and first stop was a large Tesco Extra in Milton Keynes. This was to buy Ellie one of the cheap wet suits they have been selling this summer, thinking it would help keep the sun off, and also keep her warmer in the sea. Well, after numerous attempts at various sizes, all of which took some time because Ellie didn’t find the getting in and out easy, and then getting some beach shoes for Ellie, and a magazine for Ellie and Tricia, and some flapjack… and after much debate some donuts, we got back to the car, and had lost time. As we headed out for Bedford, we were slowed by some roadworks, but fortunately, the other side of Bedford we made progress, until we stopped at Bury St Edmunds for a cup of tea and a donut. Then back on the road to, Tricia driving, me riding shotgun, and Ellie in the back watching a film on a portable dvd player… which didn’t turn out to be such a good idea, as she started to feel car sick. Fortunately we didn’t have far to go. We turned into what we thought was the camp site, but looked more like the scene from a horror movie set.. just as well we were in the wrong place or we might have gone straight home. Five minutes later we were in the right place.

The three of us set about putting the tent up, to Tricia’s usual precise standards. Now I am not suggesting that Tricia has obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) about putting up tents, but it has to be done her way, or no way. So, Ellie and I did precisely what we were told. At about 4pm, the tent was up, and we sat in the tent for a cup of tea and a late lunch. Just as well, because it started to rain…and continued raining. Eventually we braved the rain, and drove to Southwold for fish and chips by the sea. Except of course we had to sit in the car, because it was raining. We worked our way back gradually to the camp site, and sat in the tent whilst it rained. At about 9pm it stopped. The tent had gone up well… no leaks. Well, none that is apart from the can of lemonade Ellie spilled! The ladies had hot chocolate and I had a cup of tea, and then around 10 pm it was lights out.

Wednesday morning and I was last awake at 8:10… this was very unusual, as I am normally first awake. However, these days, I sleep really well when camping. I used to dislike camping because I never slept well. However, with an air bed, and using the sleeping bag more as a duvet (I don’t like being in a sleeping bag) I tend to sleep really soundly. Ellie had been up in the night, and was a little confused as to where she was precisely, however, despite having zipped and unzipped most of the zips in the tent, the tent was still standing. A cup of tea, and egg and bacon cooked by Tricia was a nice start to the day. We knew coming on holiday that the gas cannister was getting low, but we weren’t quite sure when it would run out. So getting a cooked breakfast was a bonus. After breakfast, it was showers, and yes the reviews were right the facilities were tired… but, they were functional and clean, so they were ok.

However, the day took a bit of a downturn. During the morning, whilst Tricia was cooking breakfast, we were getting plagued by wasps. Just as we were going to leave, Tricia was zipping up the tent, when she got stung on the foot, between the toes. One unhappy Tricia… vinegar was applied, but a sore foot.

The sun was shining, and so, it was straight to the beach to get the best of the weather. No sooner had we parked up at Southwold, than Ellie was in her wetsuit and in the water. The sun was shining and sparkling off the water, which seemed to eb speaking to me, saying …’swim in me’… and so I obliged. Trunks on and goggles on, and a march into the sea, and a dive forward… the water was a little sharp in the temperature but not too bad, and so I spent a pleasant half hour in the sea with Ellie. Ellie stayed in for ages, until she got a small jellyfish on her arm, and a little sting. Here is Ellie on her board, and me out at sea

We stayed until round 3:15, when the midges started to get the better of us. Back in the car we drove to Dunwich. A cup of tea, and then a visit to the musuem to learn about the village, which had once been a thriving port, but with the sea erosion, had fallen into the sea many hundreds of years ago. Then it was back to the tent to see if there was enough gas in the bottle to cook tea…. fortunately there was, so we sat outside and had spag bol and a glass of wine. The gas also lasted to make hot chocolate and tea, and we played poker dice, and a game of pointless cludo (pointless in the sense it turned out we didn’t have all the cards).

On Thursday, I was up last again, just after 8am. Tricia went off for a shower, whilst I enjoyed a cup of wake up juice (tea). Tricia came back, and off I went for my shower. The water was nice and hot, and I enjoyed my shower. It was the that I discovered that I had not brought my towel with me. Which is a rather fundamental item. I feel too young to describe it as a ‘senior moment’ but it was probbaly the middle aged equivalent. So, I put my shorts on and wandered, wet and bedraggled back to the tent, where Tricia and Ellie had a good laugh at my expense. After breakfast of sausages and beans (the gas bottle still going) we packed up and headed for Aldeburgh. We stopped along the way for some insect bite cream, for Tricia’s toe, which was looking a little red and swollen. When we arrived in Aldeburgh, it started to rain… we walked through the town to the musuem we intended to visit, to find it was closed. Hmmm. We stopped in a coffee shop, where we had an early lunch, whilst it poured down outside. But is stopped, and we went off to Snape Maltings… and in fact, the sun started to shine quite nicely, and we enjoyed a nice walk in the sun through the reed beds by the river. The Maltings is a set of buildings, mostly dating from the 19th century, built on the banks of the river Ore, that was originally used for the malting of barley and brewing of beer. The Maltings closed in 1960. The buildings have since been partially restored and rebuilt and converted into shops, galleries, and a concert hall… Ellie started to get ‘tired legs’, so after a look in the shops, we went to Thorpeness.

Thorpeness had a unique house, the ‘house in the clouds’ which was built on the side of an old water tower. We walked around and stopped for tea, at the tea room. Unfortunately the scones were dry and not really up to scratch (well, not Nikki’s standard) and we were plagued by wasps. We then left to go and find a shop for evening provisions. Now, I don’t have the best sense of direction at the best of times… but I got myself quite confused about exactly where we were going, but Tricia got us to the Waitrose at Saxmundham. Tricia and Ellie shopped, I sat in the car watching the rain which had come back. The gas bottle kept going, and Tricia produced a wonderful chicken stir fry, which I washed down with a bottle of Adnams beer. A game of Ellies favourite – poker dice – and then it was back into the tent for hot chcolate for the ladies and tea for me. Here is Ellie and me at Snape Maltings, and a picture of the House in the Clouds.

Friday, and the forecast was not good. Ellie wanted to go to the beach, but it was overcast, chilly and spitting with rain. The wasps were being a nusiance again, and I committed the classic mistake of belting a wasp, which feel on me and stung my leg, and then in trying to remove it, it stung my thimb. Not happy. Vinegar was applied, and then some of Tricia’s insect bite cream.

After breakfast and showers (remembered my towel this time), we headed for Lowestoft, where there was an air show. After taking an age to find somewhere to park, and then a long walk into the town, we finally settled to watch some of the show. There were rain showers, which we coped with, and then the Red Arrows, who were brilliant. It was at this point we decided to go to the car to get lunch… however, the rain gods were lying in wait, and all of a sudden we were caught in a downpour with noweher to shelter. We got the the car drenched and soaked through… it would be fair to say spirits were quite low at this time. The summer, even the year had been dry until we decided to go on holiday. It just didn’t feel fair.

So, we drove back to the tent, had a cup of tea and changed and ventured out again. This time to Framlingham castle. This proved to be a good choice, and the rain stayed off long enough for us to be able to enjoy a few hours at the castle before heading back to the tent for tea. Ellie was cooking, she was doing us hot dogs. Nikki and Robbie always has had each other for company when on family holidays, but Ellie doesn’t have that, and so she wants to be involved. So, when she said she wanted to cook tea we let her. After tea, we had our established routine of poker dice games, and hot chocolate and eventually bed.

Saturday, and it was overcast again. After breakfast and showers we headed out to see a castle at Orford. But it didn’t amount to much, so we went to the Quay, which didn’t amount to much. So we then had a look at the country market… which, didn’t amount to much. So we drove up to Woodbridge to look at the tidal meal. We had lunch and walked around, visited the musuem, and enjoyed some sun at last. On this note we headed for Southwold so Ellie could get some beach time. However by the time we had got there it had clouded over, and it was too cold for her to go in. So, it was a cup of tea and a muffin on the pier. Then a walk, around the town and seafront, before getting fish and chips for tea, and eating them on the seafront. It was a pleasant evening and the fish and chips were excellent.

On Sunday we decided to head for home, and take in a visit to Flatford on the way, where Constable painted a number of his most famous paintings. We meticulously took the tent down, everything being cleaned as we went and folded meticulously. We even killed a few wasps as we went along. With everything in the car, we climbed in ready to leave. It was then we discovered we couldn’t find the car keys… Now we normally keep them in a particular pocket on the tent, and it looked like we had left them in there. So, we had to unpack the boot, and the top part of the tent to retrieve them. Tricia and I laughed at ourselves… mind you if it had been raining we wouldn’t have found it quite so funny. And so we took leave and drove to Flatford. We parked up and enjoyed a good long walk, to Dedham, where Constable went to school, and a beautiful village it was to. Then we looked at Flatford mill. This was more of the Suffolk we were expecting, and Tricia and I will probably go back there for a weekend at some point and see more of it. We stopped at the tea room, Tricia and I enjoying a cup of tea, Ellie an ice cream… and guess what, more blessed wasps. Pictures of Flatford Mill, and Willy Lotts house, which is adjacent to the mill and featured in some of Constables paintings.

Back in the car, onto the A12, then the M25, then the A41, and home just before 6pm. Nikki, who was back from Greece had made some scones for tea, so we all sat in the back garden eating tea and catching up on what we had been doing over the last week. Robbie had maintained the house, and had a mate over to stay for a few days. All the cats were still alive, so he had remembered to feed them

Reflections… Well the weather was disappointing, and every time we take a holiday in the UK it seems to happen that way for us, and to be honest it gets me down. Sods law said that after all the dry and good weather we would get bad weather and we did. The Suffolk coast was disappointing, Southwold was nice, but nothing to compare with the coastal beauty of Conwall. Apart from Framlingham castle and Flatford on he way back, there seemed to be little of interest either. So, we won’t be going back to Suffolk for a holiday anytime soon. 

Oh… and you never know how much gas you have. The cannister cooked all our meals, and there is obviously some left still.

Well, I hope it will be. We have a pitch booked for a week, so today will be spent digging out and then packing all the camping stuff. Tricia suggested Suffolk, as neither of us has really been there. I have been to Ipswich a few times for business meetings, but both of those times were literally in and out, no time to stop and look. So, we are looking forward to seeing somewhere new.

I spent yesterday not only washing both cars, and cleaning them thoroughly inside, but also waxing and polishing. This is of course a fruitless exercise, as the car we will take to Suffolk will be filthy by the time we get back no doubt, and I will have to do it all again ! Still, it looks pristine at the moment.

I have had a relaxing few days (even cleaning a car can be relaxing !), tidying some bits up, listening to some music. Last night we had a chinese meal, and then feet up in front of the tele. We watched Countrywise, which had some interesting pieces on how the land / countryside was used during WW2. The hard work on the cars in the fresh air caught up with me not long after 10 as I nearly fell asleep in the chair.

Robbie isn’t coming with us to Suffolk, it will just be Ellie with Tricia and me. Whether the house remains in one piece under Robbies management remains yet to be seen.

When I came across copies of the eightlem news from 1979, and 1980, which I should return to their rightful owners. Ellie immediately wanted to stop and read them…and she did, and asked heaps of questions of events from 30 years ago, which I could barely remember, some about a girlfriend I had at that time, as if I wasn’t allowed girlfriends before I met Tricia!  However, as she looked through a picture of Stephen watering the garden caught my eye, that I had seen this very week…

Eightlem News May 1980

Eightlem News August 2010

Interesting that a similar theme, ie smashing plants in a pot with a hose pipe, gets used, and a strange coincidence that I saw both pictures in the same week. 30 years between the two copies, so I suppose we can allow the editor some duplication of artistic ideas .

Tricia has been competing for Aylesbury AC in Basingstoke today. Second in the shot put, and then had to do the High Jump and 100m in the pouring rain. She has just got home, and is a little cold. Ellie was on Guide camp, in the week, and came back very tired Nikki has gone to Greece for a week.

I have finished work for a couple of weeks. We are hoping to go off to Suffolk on Tuesday.

Finally a picture of Tricia, with Rachel and Sara, her friends, taken at the recent Village Ball.

Apparantly so, Ellie greeted me with a pinch and a punch this morning, so it must be. Ellie has gone off on Guide camp today. She is camping at Chalfont, and has packed and re-packed a number of times over the last few days. Nikki has been in Bath the last few days at the GB Bobsleigh trials, so it has been a quiet Sunday. Ceratinly quiet as Ellie’s incessant chatter is now in Chalfont for a few days.

On Wednesday evening I took Ellie across to Milton Keynes to see the MK Dons play West Ham. She has asked a number of times to go to a football match and see West Ham…. so it was an opportunity. The game was a pre-season friendly, and West Ham won 2-0. Ellie enjoyed the experience, but did comment on how loud the people behind us were

Tricia has been enjoying a more restful week. Last Sunday she cycled from London to Cambridge on a charity ride, and so needed to rest up a bit. Next weekend she is competing for Aylesbury AC (100m and shot putt) in Basingstoke, so yesterday she was at the track practicing her starts. She never rests for too long! If you click on this link it will take you to a page on the village website about the cycle ride… http://northmarston.org/events-cycle-ride

Rob is house sitting at the moment for some friends of ours, which mainly consists of feeding the cat, maintaining the garden, doing the curtains in the evening etc. He has also been acquiring items such as pots, pans, plates, etc, all in readiness for going to uni in Sept. He played cricket last weekend, but they were soundly beaten, and he wasn’t best pleased.

A week at work, then I have a break for a fortnight. Which I have to say I am ready for.

Some photo’s of Ellie, who recently did some indoor rock climbing.

This is a recent one of Robbie, with his new haircut… don’t ask me how he did the effects with his hand, I haven’t a clue.