A rather more relaxing week than Week 036.
We took Phil’s mum and dad to Dedham on Tuesday, as Janet fancied a swim in the river there. Turns out there is a super restaurant / cafe (The Boathouse) which also does boat hire, and we had a lovely stroll alongside the river to the Burnt Tree Swimming Spot. Large car park close by. Highly recommended. The village looked worth a potter around too, although we didn’t do that.
Not 100% R&R though – the Government’s guideline change introducing The Rule Of Six (Does Cummings’ clique include some Star Trek fans?) meant a series of email exchanges with Steffi working out options for our October Pembrokeshire Get Together. Plus lots of emailing and phoning sorting out things in London and Walton, ranging from booking EICRs for both flats to getting someone to fix the hut window.
But I did find time to make another batch of Apple Brandy Mincemeat.
Overall though, we did manage to spend a lot of time at the beach hut, relishing the peace and quiet, reading, snoozing, listening to podcasts.
We met Josh from AJ Property Maintenance there early on Wednesday, and by Friday the window was fixed and next year’s repaint was booked in.
We caught up with Margaret and Richard again on Thursday morning before heading down to the hut after lunch, and we spent the afternoon there on Friday having walked to Frinton in the morning for coffee and teacake courtesy of Bird & Bean, and another mooch around the St Helena Bookshop.
We spent all day Saturday at the beach hut. A fab last day of our hols, and the end of an era as we’re going to be renting out the flat from early November. Moving everything out will entail a return visit in October to pack up and drive everything back to the cottage. We’re going to allow ourselves a few days for that. I’ve got plenty of unused holiday to take before the end of the year. We’re keeping the hut and planning to explore the myriad of Air B&B options now on offer in Walton.
Sunday started early for the Long Drive Back. We had three stops: Witham to drop off books and clothes at Phil’s parents, Ampthill Great Park (busy!) for an early lunch and Ross on Wye for food shopping. We were getting a 54 gun salute from the army camp as we pulled into the drive. Home.
After tea and biscuits sat out on the lawn (beautifully mown by dad, and looking lush), we took a Tour of The Estate before refilling the bird feeders, reestablishing the hose to water the veg patch / herb bed (the lettuce still going surprisingly strong), removing the rotten apples from the storage racks and unpacking. Chores done, we returned to sit out on the lawn with beer & crisps.
Dinner with telly, plus two new videos from Olive & Mabel – Intermission and Looking for Love 🙂
Monday was another gorgeous day, a beautiful misty morning followed by a long hot day. Perfect walking weather, but with removals arriving a week on Wednesday, the day had to be spent On Admin. Still, we cleared stuff out of the shed and made room for the nice outside table and chairs. And I saw a yellow wagtail!
TV: I Hate Suzie, interspersed with Strike: Lethal White and This Farming Life , plus Silicon Valley season 6. Not that wowed by the first – whilst I do really enjoy watching Billie Piper act, I just wasn’t that engaged with the Suzie Story. I have become a bit obsessed with Border Collies though …. Sorry Mabel. Sorry Olive.
Podcasts: More of David Crowther’s  The History of England. A lovely few listens to birdsong through the seasons, courtesy of Geoff Sample’s A Birdsong Garden on BBC Radio 3’s The Essay.
For other perspectives:
- My photos from Herefordshire week 37 on Flickr.
- Phil’s weeknotes for w/e 2020-09-13.