I'm still alive! Hello everyone! Did you wonder what had happened to us? We’ve had a string of minor problems that has meant I couldn’t do my intended daily journal. The last four nights we’ve been parked at The Three Tuns at Cowlinge as guests of Leslie and Darren Williams. It was an ideal spot except for the fact that there was no signal for the mobile, and as I’m using Julia and Michael’s mobile as a modem, it meant everything was up the creek (non computer buffs just accept that we were out of contact!) We’ve now moved to Castle Camps in Cambridgeshire as guests of Alan and Jean Hardy – a lovely couple. Jean has cooked us the most delicious meal and Alan has worked hard to organise a circular walk for tomorrow. I’ll have to take a couple of days to catch up on the journal, so here’s a start. On Monday of last week we awoke to the sound of rain drumming on the motor home roof. The sky was black and it looked as though we were in for a bad day. However by 10-30 the clouds began to clear and I prepared to leave for my first day’s walking alone. All was ready except for my boots. Opening the motor home door, my stomach suddenly lurched. “Where are my boots?” I asked Julia inanely, knowing full well that it was me who had put them away. “I’m sure I put them in the back of your car last night. Was it left unlocked at all? I think they’ve been stolen!” “I don’t know” said Julia. “I don’t remember where you put them.” “They were sitting by the van door for ages” I said “and I’m sure I put them in your car. They must have been stolen.” A bath towel I’d stupidly left hanging on the wing mirror the previous night had gone walk-about, so my mind was in burglar mode. I hurried to the camp site office to report the theft and could only find the elderly father of Colin, the proprietor. “We don’t have no burglars in Bungay” he said emphatically. “In all the years we’ve been here, we’ve hardly had a thing go missing.” “Well, you’ve got one now” I said, dangerously near to tears. The teething problems with all the new technology I was struggling with paled into insignificance against the major trauma of losing my boots. For want of anything better to do, I went back to the motor home where Julia was just putting my beautiful boots down by the door. The sight of them clicked my brain into gear. “Oh gosh” I said – or words to that effect! “I remember now – I put them in the side locker!” There followed an embarrassing few minutes, while I confessed to the defender of Bungay’s reputation. “You’re right” I said. “You don’t have burglars in Bungay!” Fritz was very tired, so he stayed behind with Julia and after she had delivered us at the church at Earsham, where we’d finished the day before, we were soon in the fields. Within five minutes I was standing in the middle of a large meadow, struggling to hold the guide book, the dog’s lead and the GPS whilst searching for the magnifying glass that was to be hung round my neck on a brown velvet ribbon, dispensing with the need for glasses. Despite having studied the GPS handbook and practising its use (admittedly far too little!) I found it difficult to select the correct information and decided to sit under a tree and read the book again. Large fields were spread around me in all directions, liberally edged and divided by clumps of deciduous woodland. The lovely countryside made walking a joy and I began to use the GPS more than the Angles Way guide book. There was an abundance of rabbits, which kept Rudi leaping at the end of the lead, and as I resumed the idyllic path by the River Waveney, a stoat darted into the verge of cow parsley, leaving its still warm prey of baby rabbit lying abandoned. No doubt he returned for it as soon as Rudi and I were out of sight. There were many times that I regretted not carrying the camera and I’m conscious that there have been no photos on the journal for a week or two. Bear with me – we’re beginning to get into the routine that will carry us through the next eight weeks and soon we’ll have difficulty knowing which picture to choose. On Tuesday the 31st, we had our first scheduled mini Granny Trek. We met Bob Flatt and Brenda Le Grys at Bateman’s Barn, South Elmham, and were joined by Sonia with her spotty dog Ben. Setting off into the lush green countryside, we were halted by a phone call from Julia. “Another lady’s arrived to join you” she said. “That will be Betty” said Brenda. “I’ll go back for her.” Apart from one fleeting glimpse, that was the last we saw of her. Ambling along slowly for a while, we waited for Brenda and Betty to catch up. They didn’t – and we forged ahead, with increasingly frequent pauses until it became clear that poor Bob had missed the path. He was such a kind person and so concerned, but it was a lovely day and apart from some rather lively horses, the walk was uninterrupted pleasure. However, when we eventually reached a village, it was clear we were a couple of miles in the wrong direction. Julia had telephoned to ask our whereabouts just before we discovered this, so I tried to ring her back to ask for a lift. Unfortunately she was chatting to Brenda and had left her mobile on the car seat. I could imagine exactly what had happened and pictured it ringing away with no ears to hear it. Bob, Sonia, Ben, Fritz and I sat in a row on the corner of the village street, watching the cars go by and wondering if we’d ever be rescued. Of course, Julia eventually returned to her phone and she and Brenda were soon collecting us. In the melee of reunion and explanation a car drew up alongside and an elderly gentleman got out. Thrusting a £10 note in my hand he said: “I read about you in the paper. I think it’s wonderful and I might see you again in Llandovery.” With that he was gone and I was left to marvel at the extraordinary meetings with strangers that occur on these adventures, both on the Jogle and now on the Granny Trek. That afternoon we moved the motor home to Honeypot Caravan Park at Wortham and felt we’d really begun to make progress. Remember you can see the latest news on the red strip at the bottom of the Home page or see where I am going on the various Route pages. |