Snape

Some time ago I decided to book ahead for a performance of "The Messiah" at Snape Maltings, a little pre-Christmas treat for us.

Up the A12 to the Suffolk food Hall for lunch, with the spectacular open views of the Orwell Bridge...

Then it was on to Snape Maltings where the light was fading fast, it being the shortest day.

We were staying in Aldeburgh, so we drove on to our hotel.  The concert was a delight - so many tunes familiar even to those of us with no musical knowledge.  However, my heart sank when I saw that the chap sitting behind us had a bag of sweets.  And, yes, he thought it was fine to annoy everyone around him by rustling. Time for my best glare I thought, and it worked.  The fact that he and his partner did not return after the interval perhaps tells us something.

In front was an elderly gent who obviously knew the piece well.  We reached the Hallelujah Chorus and he was the first to rise to his feet, followed by most of the audience.  There was something thrilling in standing for that music, a kind of affirmation of traditional community.  We enjoyed the whole thing.

And, finally a pair of children's jumpers knitted from a mystery yarn thrust into my hands with a part finished cardigan at Spinners and Weavers.  These should keep someone warm.

Weather permitting

Some time ago, I booked for us to have a weekend away, making use of trains and buses to revisit the little cottage on the north Norfolk coast where we enjoyed a week in September.  I gave this pair of Ecco walking shoes a good polish because the plan was to walk along the coastal path.

It has to be said that the forecast was not promising, but we were lucky with the weather when we arrived.  This is Cromer Pier in the sunshine.

We were back at East Runton, where there is a beach under chalk cliffs.

Here you are looking not at sand but at a seam of chalk which runs out across the beach itself.

Saturday was a wet day, so the costal path plan was abandoned.  My husband took the bus in one direction to the bird reserve at Cley Marshes, while I caught the bus and then the train to Norwich.

Norwich Cathedral was running a Christmas Fair, and was absolutely packed with people. All around the cloisters were stalls selling every sort of chocolate, chutney, and gin you can imagine.

Norwich is always a visual delight: here a goldsmith's doorway relocated to its current site.

Sunday was a better day, so we planned a longer walk across woods and fields to Fellbrigg.  East Runton has this curious feature of two railway viaducts, one no longer in use.

We climbed up Incleborough Hill - this is as much of  hill as Norfolk runs to.

Aylmerton church in the distance.

and, eventually Fellbrigg itself, where we had lunh outside in the sun.

At this point I inspected the heel of my right foot, where I could feel a blister starting.  I was stunned to see that the trusty Ecco shoes had not just sprung a leak but had lost a whole chunk of the heel.  Fortunately, they held up until we were back at the cottage.