Airing The Tent

We did an important job today, one that will hopefully become a lovely annual milestone of the year's progress. We aired the tent.



We only put it up loosely, no need to batten down the hatches for just a few hours. Plus, the delightful weather posed no threat to our portable home.

Sam tried his sleeping bag too, and virtually melted within a minute. Note his cavernous bedroom in the tent....while I tried out my tiny prison cell as well!

So, job well done. We loved all our expeditions last year (even the night spent awake, expecting the tent to lift off every minute, as we camped through the tail-end of Hurricane Bill hitting the UK - it was fun the morning after!), I hope this year is as much fun!

Oxburgh Hall - Knight School

Oxburgh Hall is one of our favourite places, and we always have a lot of fun when we go there. On Saturday they held a "Knights, Damsels & Dragons" day. First job was to follow the Armour Trail, noting down the names of each piece of a suit of armour.

Sam got himself fitted in armour to undergo training at Knight School.

The sword was very heavy and Sam didn't manage to hold it straight ahead for very long.

Before killing your enemy it was considered good manners to salute him....

....then you slice his bonce off.

Sam passed the school test with flying colours and was knighted as Sir Sam of Oxford....or was he beheaded?

And so to the archery practice. Sam proved to be quite handy with the bow....

....and hit the target four out of five times, as you can see. Nice shootin' Tex.

Oxburgh Hall is a beautiful little place, and I love being there. The weather is usually beautiful there as well.

Before we made our way home there was enough time for a lesson in how sundials work....

....enough time to give Dad a grass hat....

....and enough time for some impressive rolling down hills. Great day!

Sam The Graffiti Artist

Sam has obviously picked up a rogue "illegal" gene from somewhere...he's been enjoying "tagging" the flats this weekend with the new water gun he bought when he was in town with Mum last week. First target was to leave his (fleeting) mark on Captain Undercrackers' fence....



Next morning he was out and about in his pj's (he loves them, they were his Christmas pyjamas last year, and the bones glow brightly in the dark!), this time signing his name on the wall of our flat. He looks chuffed!

So....next target? Sam looked analytically around.....and spotted....

A cat on the railway embankment. CHARGE! The cat legged it, so Sam switched to Stealthy Hunter mode and eventually bagged his prey, allegedly right in the face. Good work, mighty hunter!

Brancaster Staithe

Last Sunday Dad took a walk around the Brancaster Staithe area of the north Norfolk coast. Starting at the Jolly Sailors pub - which I HIGHLY recommend - the intial slog up the lane provided a delicious view from the top of the hill.




In the distance the kite surfers were practicing for the World Championship which takes place at Hunstanton later this year. They looked like angry wasps buzzing disagreeably over a discarded kebab (half lamb, half chicken, no chilli, garlic mayo). This was at the extremes of the camera's zoom so it's not the best picture.



At the top of the hill, on the area known as Barrow Common, you find this extraordinary hole scooped from the earth. Now filled with trees, it's supposedly a crater from a discarded German bomber payload during World War II.

This was the sight on the Roman fort of Branodonum. Sam and me spent AGES looking for this place last summer, unsuccessfully. Maybe just as well. There's nowt here any more except a lumpy field. Sam would have been disappointed. Better to travel in hope, etc.....

Back towards Brancaster Staithe, I've never seen a more smiley window than this! It beams!

Brancaster Staithe is a fascinating place. Still a working port, but there are reminders of past times everywhere.

And a ma-hoosive reminder of where you are right next to the moorings....

I wondered if this black-headed gull had landed on the soft mud to read the sign.....which reads "Beware. Soft Mud"

Mussel boats still go out from Brancaster and a lot of money has been invested in the harbour. In past time sit could accommodate boats up to 500 tonnes.

And to prove the vivacity, you can hardly move for every kind of sea-faring paraphanalia.

You MUST visit Brancaster this year! And mention us at the Jolly Sailors!

Dawn Beachcombing

On Tuesday we were up at the crack of dawn and on Old Hunstanton beach - we had the whole place to ourselves to do some beachcombing....

Sam says about it, "It was freezing cold". And it was! In the car park all was calm and almost warm, but down on the beach there was a savage "fresh" breeze gusting around the cliffs.

Doesn't Sam look like he's enjoying himself!

We warmed up by drinking hot soup in the car while we tried to guess the year on the radio show.

12 April 2010 - Home & Park

A drawback of having two jobs on the go (still looking for Sunday work if you have anything going!) is juggling time off and school holidays. This easter Sam and me have only managed two days together, apart from the regular Saturdays....


But we've made the most of them! On Monday we made chicken stock for our gravy at teatime, then made some jelly. Sam was trying to look grumpy, but was actually really up for it all.


We've spent quite a lot of time in the park just over the level crossing, sword fighting through the playground and up, down and around Red Mount.

Sam drew his battle plans in the dirt, just like real soldiers do.

.....and later on posed his Dad like this. Not sure what it's meant to represent....

With a final demonstration of the Roman "tortoise" technique to neutralise the effect of enemy archers.

Denver Sluice

I took a walk around Denver Sluice on Sunday. It's the first time I've been there for a year or two, and I remembered how much I like the place.

The whole area is like an alien landscape, with the huge metal structures rising out of the flat horizon, and the endless, enormous earthworks to channel the water.

It was a very breezy day that blew away the cobwebs beautifully. On my return to the car park I stood and watched as a couple of small boats navigated the lock, with the help of the on-duty lock-keeper.

And there were plenty of interesting animal tracks as well. Great fun! Afterwards I enjoyed an orange juice at the Jenyns Arms pub. Recommended.

3 April 2010 - Malaysian Grand Prix

The second race of our Grand Prix season took place in Malaysia!
　

Following the sacking of Doctor X by Team Snot, most spectators thought that the rest of the drivers would be the same - they were wrong….Buzz Lightyear suffered a broken ankle and wrist in a strange duvet-related accident, and was replaced at Team Orange by the talented and fast Action Man.



A new rule introduced in this race meant that it was possible for cars to spin off the track and lose position, and the first victim was Sam, who spun from Copse Corner just as he was beginning to make progress towards the top three places. The other spin-off involved Rudolph the Musical Reindeer who left the track just centimetres away from the finish line and lost second place to the newcomer, Action Man.


The result was:
1st - Brian The Duck - 10 points
2nd - Action Man - 6
3rd - Rudolph The Musical Reindeer - 4
4th - Postman Pat - 3
5th - Froggy One - 2
6th - Sam - 1




The standings are now:
20 points - Brian The Duck
10 - Rudolph
6 - Action Man
6 - Postman Pat
5 - Sam
2 - Froggy One
2 - Buzz Lightyear
1 - Doctor X
　

The next race is in China in two weeks time:
18 April - China
9 May - Spain
16 May - Monaco
30 May - Turkey
13 June - Canada
27 June - Europe
11 July - Britain
25 July - Germany
1 August - Hungary
29 August - Belgium
12 September - Italy
26 September - Singapore
10 October - Japan
24 October - Korea
7 November - Brazil
14 November - United Arab Emirates