Another Norfolk wedding & a visit to The Broads

As it seems my every waking moment is consumed again by assignment reading and writing, I know that by the time this is published it will be hugely outdated but a) at least I won't be doing anything exciting in the meantime to over-shadow and b) it was a weekend just too good not to write about!

Far too many of my friends are being totally grown up and marrying people which is terrifying but of course also incredibly exciting and I do love a good wedding. This one took us to Norfolk again (there's clearly something in the air there) and to the undiscovered (by me at least) village of Little Ellingham which if I do say so sounds like something out of a quintessentially English film or TV show but it's actually very real.

Slightly disorganised as always, we sadly booked too late to check-in to the apartments we liked in the city so we ended up in a B&B outside of Norwich on the River Yare in an area called Postwick (or 'Possick' because of course it is Norfolk after all and nothing is pronounced as it looks). Advertised as being set on 400 acres of land we thought it would be a nice base for the weekend and a definite break from London city life.

Friday night came and we were on our way. Out of London in record time thanks to Mr Knowledge, we were soon flying along the motorway (pretty much literally) with a beautiful sunset alongside us after a wonderfully sunny day and tunes blaring.

Google Maps triumphed again as we jiggled our way along a long, dark and dusty track littered with pot holes and shrouded in hanging mist, feeling grateful that we were sitting in a 4x4. The single lamppost at the end of said track set the scene for somewhere with potential to be a bit creepy but actually it was super cosy and with the friendliest welcome (even though we were apparently a day early. Whoops).

After a very comfortable night's sleep I was of course straight to the curtains to discover what actually lay outside having not seen much of anything in pitch black the night before. Endless green bathed in sunshine drew me straight up and out. Following a hearty breakfast accompanied by the sound of excitable cows we decided to go for a walk around the farm in pursuit of fresh air and nature before coming back to get ready for the afternoon's frivolities. Blowing out the cobwebs and all of that.

The wedding itself was a very pretty affair with some truly villagey touches. White, blue and yellow was the colour palette and there were flower petals to be thrown as confetti. Throughout the service, smiles and laughs were seriously abundant and we then trundled along in a vintage bus (definitely my highlight) to the reception in a neighbouring village pub. A truly lovely day and, in true English style I must also comment on how lovely the weather was for the occasion!

Can you tell I liked the bus?

The next day, getting up was no struggle when a) we knew what awaited us outside and b) the smells and sounds of breakfast began to waft our way. Each time we visit Norwich we like to make the most of being in that part of the world so we often take a detour. Being on the river had inspired us, we were off to The Broads.

I don't think I'd been to The Broads in at least 10 years but I'm pleased to report that (of course, it's Norfolk) nothing has changed. After a quick bit of research in the morning about where was best to go if only for a day, we first headed to Woodbastwick.

A twenty minute drive from where we were staying, we wended our way through woodland until thatched rooves began to peep through the trees then we knew we were in the right place. A flint church and a selection of quaint cottages made for pretty viewing before we moved on to our next port of call, Ranworth.

Woodbastwick had been a little too far in-land for us to find any water but Ranworth was right on the egde of one of the basins so we were immediately greeted by a whole host of boats. We took a walk through the nature reserve to Ranworth Broad where we stopped for a while to marvel at the plethora of bird life and surreality of the setting.

Ranworth also had a church and this one with a tower you could climb so obviously we did! It was rather precarious but we made it up and down unscathed and the view was pretty spectacular so definitely worth it. There was even a pleasant breeze which was very welcome on what was turning out to be a bit of a scorcher.

Our final stop was Wroxham and Roy was prevalent the moment we turned onto the main road that would lead us to the village centre; Roy's Jet, Roy's McDonald's and then of course Roy's of Wroxham itself and my personal favourite, Roy's Toys.

Here we sat along the riverside to enjoy cool drinks in the sunshine whilst watching boats gently gliding by. It was a truly beautiful end to a truly beautiful weekend. I think maybe there might be a boating holiday on the horizon one day, we'll see.

Celebrating a Quarter of a Century

I'm still undeniably child-like when it comes to birthdays. So of course I woke up at stupid o'clock on mine, automatically full of birthday beans and eager to commence celebrations.

Presents were opened in bed with the best company and I even got a plate of cupcakes to enjoy (lemon & poppyseed complete with lemon curd filling) accompanied by a rendition of Happy Birthday to rival all others and two candles to blow out. The day made an excellent start!

It was gone 11 by the time I had recovered enough from the excitement to partake in a shower and to generally make myself more presentable. And so we made the long and winding journey to Kew.

Actually although I was a little bit worried about not having enough time to fully explore the gardens (we had an early dinner reservation), I think at this time of year, just a few hours was plenty.

First we headed into the magnificent Victorian Palm House where some robins had made themselves very much at home and we were well and truly steamed (in the literal sense). Then it was straight to the Waterlily House which I managed almost to convince myself could quite easily be in one's own back garden... in my dreams.

Strolling around vast lawns, into exotic worlds and between rocky canyons (of miniature proportions) was truly a delightful way to spend an afternoon. I think we've resolved to return in the summer months where a whole day could be spent lounging beneath, upon and amongst an abundance of greenery.

The evening's dinner reservation was at Bob Bob Ricard, a restaurant in Soho serving luxury English and Russian dishes. The interior and atmosphere was ooft. The service was ooft. The food and drink were seriously ooft! We definitely didn't want to leave.

Two grown up activities were sandwiched between the frivolities of the morning and the Jenga contest that ensued upon our return from the restaurant. This frivolous, denial of being a grown up theme was the one that then continued into the following evening.

Our strength was built up in Breakfast Club where the true diversity of their menu was proven when all ten of us ordered something different! There was lots of mingling for silly photos and catch up conversations before we moved on to Bounce for some serious ping pong.

I don't know quite what I was expecting but what greeting us when we arrived was a pleasant surprise to all. Neon, graffiti everywhere and a shrine to the founder - or would you call them inventor - of ping pong, it was special. An hour flew by way too fast though!

Once our time was up and drinks were polished off, we wended our way back to Seven Sisters for continued game playing; a bit more Jenga, a spot of Uno Dare and Mousie Mousie, a personal favourite of mine and one of those party games where I always scare people with my lightning speed reactions, even after a few birthday cocktails.

Somehow, next thing we knew the dawn chorus was in full song and it was almost 6am. Apparently vigorous games are the way to induce wide awake-ness so as to extend celebrations... I certainly wasn't ready for them to end.

Dreading 25 though I may have been, so far it's been pretty excellent!

GoGoGorillas!

Summer has finally reared its beautiful head, and upon completing my PGCE year, the time has come to make the most of Norwich before I disappear! Although I did have to return to school on Monday and Tuesday of this week, there was no need to prepare for the two days and so last weekend was well spent ‘relaxing’ in the only way I know how... by wandering for miles. A most exciting occurrence in the form of a friend returned from a year abroad in America meant that a very English weekend was in order; so we became tourists in our own county, and in what has been our own city for three and four fond years. 

The summer in Norwich is always full of surprises, and last week the gorillas descended! During one of my teaching practice placements, one of the teachers had been commissioned to paint a gorilla, so I’ve been very excited to see them, and my first weekend off seemed the perfect opportunity! GoGoGorillas! are a collection of sculptures painted by local and regional artists, community groups and schools. Each one is sponsored, and will eventually raise funds in an auction at the end of the event for Break charity and the Born Free Foundation. There are 53 large gorillas, and an additional 66 baby gorillas decorated by local schools across Norfolk; it is currently rather difficult to walk more than a few paces in the city centre without being accosted by one in a shop window, or bumping into one as you turn a corner!

As a self-confessed walkaholic, I didn’t think that 53 gorillas in a day would be too much of a challenge, but it turns out that Norwich isn’t the tiny city I think of it as, and the gorillas are pretty well spaced out! However we did manage a respectful 30ish, and many more babies! At this point I don’t feel that writing about them does them the best justice, so here are a few of my favourites to speak for themselves (absolutely, definitely worth doing the trail if I may say so - I am determined to finish it at the next opportunity)

(Claim to fame gorilla - saw him/her in the progressive stages)

More gorillas this way; possibly the most colourful of my Facebook albums!

Post gorillas there was recovery in the form of summer cocktails at The Assembly House (which I will miss HUGELY), and a very tasty macaroon selection from Macarons & More (which I can’t believe I’ve only just discovered)!

The next day we bounded off to the Sainsbury Centre and prompted by a staggering collection of artefacts from around the world, created a bucket list of countries to visit, before paying a visit nearer to home to the ponies and donkeys at the sanctuary behind the lake. A picnic on a jetty, and a good old fish and chip lunch the day before; I do believe I’m quite good at being typically English (particularly good at being stubborn in my determination to walk everywhere; our feet HURT by the end of the weekend - so much for 'relaxing').