Orienteering In The Park

I'd been looking around for a suitable orienteering race for us to take part in for quite a while - so to hear that there was one happening in The Walks was very cool, if not a little spooky. So off we went.



Sam likes maps, and is becoming quite good at using a road atlas. A sport that combines maps with charging round the great outdoors has got to be a winner. Norfolk Orienteering Club organised a "Try Orienteering" event that sounded just the job.

We chose to do an "orange" course, which is very easy but a decent length, and Sam loved the whole thing. We found 20 of the 21 map references (known as controls), and the 21st had been stolen from its tree, and although worn out by the end, the little star had a great time and has asked when we're going orienteering again.

Sam finished fourth on the Orange course in a time of 33:52.

You can find the full results here: Walks-Result

And Norfolk Orienterring Club live here: Norfolk_Orienteers

King's Lynn Town v Great Yarmouth

Last weekend we visited the re-branded "Walks Stadium" to see how Town got on in the FA Vase against Great Yarmouth. Sam found some of the older boys from school, and was accepted as part of the gang straight away.


Lynn were 0-2 down after twenty minutes, but came back to win 4-3 in a thrilling match. In the next round we travel away to meet Thrapston - wherever that may be!



Incidentally, have you ever seen a football kit as disgusting as Yarmouth's? Click on the picture to feel the full horror.

The New Loo!

Essential modifications have been made in the little boys' room at 2-Sox Towers.






We've applied warning markings to the seat!



And in case one should miss the first warning, when the seat is lifted....Hey Presto!

p.s. doesn't it look clean!

Chop Chop!

Sam's becoming a bit of a dab hand in the kitchen!





Last weekend we ate our Sunday dinner - at dinner-time on Sunday(!!!), which may well be a first. It's usually been on a Friday night, so we enjoyed the special occasion.



We raided the veg patch at first light (well, half nine) and Sam enjoyed chopping up the carrots and beans greatly (closely supervised, natch). He is also the man in charge of the baster as we roast a chicken. Not only does he like helping, he is very keen to help as much as possible, in any way he can. Exceptional!



Dinner turned out to be delicious, and we followed the roast chicken and veg with apple crumble and ice cream. We didn't fancy anything at tea time....

Veg Patch Update - First Crop!

A milestone on the veg patch - the first harvest. Potatoes, carrots and runner beans, as you can see. I think Sam and I will return at the weekend so that the young man can pick and dig some for himself.

The spuds - delicious. Not a heavy yield, but "very tasty, very sweet". *

The carrots are beautifully varied in shape and size, and the runner beans are completely string-free. Most excellent.

* only the hardiest Dad's Army fans will recognise this phrase....

East Coast Truckers 2010

What's this going on at Yarmouth seafront? A traffic jam? No....





It's the East Coast Truckers charity convoy for 2010! I'd heard about this event, but was rather ambivalent. Giving kids a ride in a lorry, so what? I was wrong. As I watched the trucks roll past, with the kids waving at the crowd, and the crowd waving back, the joy on their faces was evident. I didn't shed a little tear though, oh no no no.


If you want to find out a bit more check out their website : East_Coast_Truckers


It's something I'd love to take Sam to see.

Oi!

It's the last thing you need....



When you're away for the weekend, and you've just got out of the bath, you realise there's some strange bird looking in the window at you......


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Who's a pretty boy then?

Duxford Airshow - Part Three

The first aircraft to display were the Red Arrows, who delivered the usual exceptional routine. I find it almost unbelievable that the government are considering disbanding them to save money!





Sam has seen the Red Arrows before, as have I, but it seems that their appeal doesn't fade.

In between displays we managed to have even more fun, and Sam tried his hand at "zorbing", with hilarious consequences....

Sam says that his very favourite aeroplane is the Lancaster bomber. He saw one for the first time at the RAF museum in Hendon a few weeks ago. Seeing the sole remaining flying Lancaster for real made his day, as the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight put on a crowd-pleasing show.

We just had time to watch a four-ship of Hurricanes whizzing around, before heading back up the A10. Great show Duxford!

Duxford Airshow - Part Two

Continuing along the flight line we found the UK's only remaining serviceable B17 Flying Fortress, the graceful Sally B (above), and a wonderful Catalina flying boat.

The early jets were so varied in design and capability (and safety!), and the Vampire is no exception with its twin boom back end. It's first flight was in 1943 but it wasn't developed quickly enough to take part in the Second World War.

As you can see, Sam looked every inch the seasoned airshow visitor, complete with ear defenders, binoculars, and a very purposefully walk!

A highlight was the lovely collection of Spitfires that were gathered for the weekend.

During the spring we had regularly watched Ice Patrol on Friday nights, featuring HMS Endurance and her adventures in the South Atlantic. So Sam was very happy to find one of Endurance's helicopters right before his eyes.

The American Air Force building at Duxford is seriously impressive. It's flowing, curved design, with inclined walkway around the inside, and glass front wall add up to a lovely looking structure. It houses many iconic American planes, including a B52 bomber, A10 Thuderbolt "tankbuster", Huey helicopter, Phantom, and one of Sam and Dad's favourites, the Blackbird spy plane (below, Sam is standing underneath it). This is a place you must visit.

Further along the museum frontage is the equally impressive Land Warfare hall. Unassuming on the outside, when you enter it becomes clear that this too is an exceptionally well-put together display area. It holds many, many tanks from various periods, most of which are set in life-life dioramas. Again, you must see this for yourself.

Duxford Airshow - Part One

We used the remainder of our summer holiday fund in spectacular style - we visited the Duxford Airshow! Actually we visited it twice, and finally got in on the second attempt. On Saturday we got within three miles before becoming gridlocked in traffic, and watched the Red Arrows displaying in the distance before hearing on local radio that the gates were closed. It was a very disappointed drive home.

On Sunday we departed King's Lynn at half past nine to make it in time for the two o'clock flying display - we were taking no chances on missing out again. And it worked out just great, as we found ourselves wandering along the flight line just after eleven. The aircraft below is receiving ground power from a Houchen, which is still in RAF colours.

What a fantastic event Duxford is. I've been to plenty of airshows in my time (some even when not working there in RAF guise), and was very impressed. So was Sam, who found the whole thing extremely exciting. There were plenty of aircraft buzzing around right from the time we arrived, and the anticipation among airshow crowds is infectious.

Nothing to do with the photos, but we decided to eat healthily all day. Just potatoes and grass we said. Potatoes, carved into thin strips and stored briefly in hot oil. And, as cows eat only grass, they must be made of grass, so eating a beefburger probably counts as two of your five a day.

A walk along the flight line is surely essential. You can see the aircraft close up, sometimes have a chat with the owners/crew, and the pictures you can take are miles better. Ferocious Frankie, below, is based full time at Duxford and is a regular in its display programmes.

We chose to use up our summer holiday fund this weekend. Thanks to the sale of some of Grandad's collectables that he handed down to us, we built up a goodly sum over the winter, enabling us to enjoy the spoils in the summer. It's not cheap to gain entry to Duxford (£37.80 for the two of us this year), but I vote it as being definitely good value for money. We blew another few bob on some rather cool binoculars which will serve us well for many years to come....

As it was Duxford's Battle of Britain tribute show, the emphasis was naturally on aircraft from that period. Here's a Buchon plane painted to resemble a Messerschmidt 109 - in fact this very plane starred in the film The_Battle_Of_Britain . Duxford was the airfield used to film much of the action.