Train tripper

I love trains. So yesterday we spent getting on and off trains all round East Anglia. Lovely flat land as far as the eye can see. And the English countryside! And the cloudscapes! Green green green! There’s also a lot of water because we were on the edge of the Norfolk Broads where a lot of people spend their time cruising in river barges and boats. I went on a boat trip from Ely to Cambridge once and loved it, almost eye to eye with the waterfowl! My daughter said” I’m going to get off, I can walk faster”. Lots of different points of view in this family. I’ve sent you a famous song which is worth listening to, maybe with subtitles because there’s a lot of boating vocabulary! Go on, singalong!

We arrived in Lowestoft in time to have lunch in the “Joseph Conrad”. I should imagine you’ve all read his “Lord Jim” or at least seen the film. Of course you all know of the 1970’s film by Francis Ford Coppola “Apocalypse now,” based on Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”. The walk along the seafront was great, very bracing (that’s English euphemism for quite chilly and windy!), the buildings a reminder of when no one jetted off to foreign destinations, before Spanish package holidays became the norm and you had a seaside holiday at home! There was an amazing kaleidiscope of dress. People in wind jackets, people in vests. There honestly weren’t a lot of people on the beach which is nice and sandy; everyone had a windbreak and I noticed a conscientious life guard watching the bathing kids with close attention. I’ve bought you a rude postcard, they don’t sell them any more because of political correctness I suppose. They used to be pretty off -colour,about vicars and actresses. I think this one is quite inoffensive.

Then off to Norwich. I’d read a glowing account of the town but maybe I went the wrong way because I found it very tacky, so many ambiguous nightclubs and girlie bars. Didn’t like it at all. But we did find the cathedral. ( The cathedral is in the news because the dean had a helter-skelter installed in the nave temporarily). Nothing ever comes near Ely cathedral I’m afraid, but this one deserves a better, longer visit. Especially Cathedral Close full of green lawns and trees, and beautiful old houses.

>On the way back ,knackered! I saw lots of piggeries and you’ll all be pleased to know that my breakfast bacon came from porkers living in the open air with space, green grass and mud to roll in. If you’re not a vegetarian that’s a comforting sight.