Youth Bike Rally

I will gloss over the Talent Show performance at school and just hope that the video doesn't make it onto youtube!! Will also try not to rant about how crap City Link are at actually delivering parcels. Had to go to some industrial estate 11 miles away to collect it. Once I finally got let in the building I got told to 'wait there', then finally received a box... that looked as though it had done 4 rounds with Tyson! Checked the contents when I got home... my new power kite looked like it had survived, but I chickened out of packing it for the weekend.

Relatively short drive to somewhere in Lincolnshire for the Youth Bike Rally. Arrived in time to set up Holy Joes in the school hall. Don't tell anyone but I was secretly quite glad the gazebo had got blown away overnight Thursday, as we stayed relatively warm and dry over the weekend. Going was quiet, and we was hungry, so me and Chris went off in search of a chippy. Successfully. Mostly chatty with Les and Ian and Chris, then bed at 12.30, having got back out of bed twice, once to brush my teeth and once to retrieve my new windscreen cover as it was about to disappear across Lincolnshire in a small gale. My new curtain worked very well though, and the newly fixed LED ceiling lights were fab (and didn't drain the battery over the weekend).

I got the lay-in Saturday, and a shower and EEB before starting my turn serving. It was all going well, left on my own for most of the day, went round and looked at bikes and chatted to kids when other CMAers were around, and a small rain induced nap at lunch. Unfortunately all went pear shaped later on when I got told off for topping up a boiler (as I had been doing all day). Went off to the van for a cry. One day I will just give up trying.

My view for most of the weekend..

Anyway. Made many many Deluxe Hot Chocolates, and endured the world's worst disco. Me and Les were the only ones dancing (and that was just pogo-ing to Nellie the Elephant, and then my inability to resist dancing to Wham!)

I got the early shift and managed to get both boilers lit, and changing a gas bottle (once informed that gas bottles actually have the opposite thread to normal). Coped with the breakfast rush on my own too (one tea and one coffee!). I fear that the next rally may be ever so slightly more hectic. Packing up easier without having to get a gazebo down, and deciding to put tents in binbags and chuck them in the van.

These are my favourite bikes.. think I like the shark bike the best.. the kids that made it were the best (and addicted to DHC by the end!)

Found a geocache on the way back (sadly just out of Lincolnshire) and tried chocolate cake with beetroot in it at Les' house (and played with lovely Collie) and saw inside Terry's garage (Tiger 90, new Bonnevile and a Honda VFR).

Unpacked quickly, then, as it was both sunny and windy me and Gladis headed off for the derby road playing fields. As I was fiddling with attaching the lines 2 guys arrived.. with a 10.5m flexifoil surf kite and a landboard! Ben was very helpful with some tips.. he said he used to have a Radsail, it was good and he learned to landboard on it. I learned how to spin the kite, and unspin it, although this is trickier! Can land it, reverse launch it.. and most of all... get dragged around a field by it!!!

Ben's mate having a go.. Ben also had a go when he returned with broken wheel and punctured kite from the other side of the field! Please to see that they to got dragged around a lot!

No comment about England and penalties (although maybe if they showed the women's games instead everyone would be happier!) and will just note that today (Mon) I feel about 90!!!

Wind

Sat prestwold
Sun windsurf

Sent from my iPhone

E. R.

Saturday.. into the city with Pops, he fixed Bumble's handbrake and replaced a ball joint (luckily not exploding the torsion bar) and worked out why the LEDs were on the blink. I went shopping. In the wrong Mall. Last time I check with Dad. Still, meant I wandered past (and into) the Animal store, and met the Norfolk CMA guys on my way past the Forum. Got chatting with Greg when he said he'd charge me if looked at his Harley any longer!

Got my magnets in Clas Wotsit, (bit of guidance in play there I felt) and then mooched round the NCFC shop and the Disney Store (Muppets not released yet boo hiss, consoled myself with new jammies!). Thought the guy in the Apple store had done me a favour and sorted my iCloud. Found out later that what he'd actually done was delete the whole of my calendar!

Failed to find the geocache at the Arts Centre, and then the Kite place was closed. So home for toasties. And an 'off chance' text to Chalkie. He did want to go to Hemsby (rather that the Rec.. v windy) so that's where we spent the afternoon. Wind had disappeared on the beach (offshore, drat) and Chalkie's kite was still rubbish, so we took mine up into the dunes to catch the wind. And catch it we did!! Even the 1.8 can shift me when it catches a gust! I detect Pops is a bit dubious about the new kite plans.. he is a bit of a scaredy cat.

Hot Choc and a chat about Grandad's jobs, then the tupenny falls, then Bingo. Unfortunately there is no special prize for winning two in a row (and Chalkie won too and stole half a win!). Donuts and home for a yummy bake thing.

Fri

Rain lego

Sent from my iPhone

Thurs

Yarmouth train bacon butty car park bressingham gallopers museum trains dodgems jay fox

Sent from my iPhone

I rode the Snails!!!

Up fairly early despite the rain, eager to test Chalkie's amazing iPad stand to start the LegoF1 car movie. Got 3 pictures in then discovered I didn't have the right bits to make the supercar. Drat. Started again with the F1 car. Didn't get much further before being unable to find a piece. God lent a hand, and the piece required was sitting on the top in the 30 year old Basic box in the cupboard.

Rain eased off so tried to get a plan out of parents. Ended up deciding on Great Yarmouth. The idea of this week was reminiscing for Pops, and so we went to relive his childhood seaside trips.

 Started off with chips on the market, and paper bags full of sweets for afters.

Then wandered down Regents Street trying to avoid all the tat shops and chavs from Leicester and headed for the beach to scoff ice creams and play with the kite.

Rain stopped play so dived into the cafe under the pier for a cuppa. Jon sent this..

After the rain sort of abated we went through the back entrance to Joyland. The cars still made that thunderous noise as the go through the tunnel and the barrels still looked the same, though probably feel a lot smaller if you're inside them. What used to be space mountain with loads of sci fi things inside, designed by Tim's Dad, has changed again. But there was only one ride we wanted to go on. Of course we tried to pretend that we were doing a reconnaitre for Jay Jay suitability purposes, but that's rubbish really. We just love the snails. In fact, I was still wearing my sticker several days later. That took some explaining.

I really wish I had kept my mouth shut on the ride. Two reasons, firstly so that you can hear the Snail itself, which sounds exactly like Ma's old Riley Elf, and secondly, because I sound like an idiot.




I guess the really tragic part is that we paid the extortionate price for the ride photos (Alton Towers has a lot to answer for!), but we were feeling bad for not actually having anything for Pops to unwrap on the morrow.

Next was a walk down the promenade in the hope of finding a couple of caches. Was kind of hoping we'd take a ride on the horses. Never been on them. Noticed that the devices shown below don't really work..

Pops was the spotter today. Its in here somewhere..

The next one was worse. I found the spot, under the pier. Could not find the cache. I'd given up having looked and stuck my fingers everywhere. Then Pops spotted it. As usual, somewhere I thought I'd both looked and had my hand. Oh well. I really should give up at this.

I can still beat him at Air Hockey though. And eat more donuts than him. Especially if they are last batch of the day bargain donuts! However the donuts may have been both a blessing and a curse. It was only while waiting for them we looked at the time. Mum then wondered what time the car park shut. We hurried back. And found out. It shut about 5 minutes before we got there.

No luck from phoning their office or security. The nice man in the pub saved us a trek to the train station, when he spotted the Peterborough bus waiting just outside. Didn't take too long to get to Norwich bus station, but we'd just missed the bus home, so we had an entertaining game of iSpy (lol... Apple have taken over my brain) for 40 mins before the thrills of a top deck ride back to Hellesdon.

Around 11 by the time we got home... so good job we'd had the donuts!! 

Hello Queen!

Wanted to do something Jubilee-y for the last day of the celebrations. So we decided on Sandringham. Got there at lunchtime, so had a picnic in the Country Park.

Very English.. the thwack of leather on willow (well.. tennis ball on cheap wood)..

... and a cream tea (minus the tea)

We had to defend ourselves from an invader..

First view of the house.. not as big and grand as we expected, but very nice..

The low bit to the right isn't as big as it looks.. it used to be a bowling alley!

We went in the Royal Entrance.. the same one as Queenie! And went round all their rooms on the ground floor. Was cool to be in the same place they've been, see their dining table etc. Again, suprisingly small in there. No photos allowed though, and the claw and ball on their stool nowhere near in the same class as Grandad's.

Not the comfiest saddle ever..

The coolest of Charlie's toy cars... complete with electric motor, revolving number plates and water machine guns..
 

Petrol engined.. 40mph..

Trying to learn this for Trivial Pursuit purposes..

Mum having flashbacks to Grandad's shed..

We were wondering why Queenie's Roller doesn't have tail/brake lights.

Full size car for Charlie.. restored MG C GT

Another toy Aston Martin

Fire engine (not a toy)

Clearly trainers aren't working for me.. I need to try some alternative footwear..

Only the English could award a medal for bravery... to a pigeon!

We wondered if Speckled Jim ever got one. This was my favourite 'souvenir'

Nosh in the stables..

Museum and garages in the old stables.. surely there must be other stables there..

So that's where Grandpa from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang landed..

More fine vistas..

Just made the gift shop in time for my pencil (and tea accessories) then went to try to find the 2 nearby caches. Aborted attempts to find the first, due to a fence. Tried to be lazy and get nearer the second in the car. Failed. Obvious from a mile off in the end. Well, 20m off.

Lovely meal in a random pub somewhere on the way home. Spent the time wondering who the lady in the fur coat in the framed photo was. Asked in the end. Landlady's sister had not been one of our guesses.

Northrepps Jubilee Party

Sunday: Helen's Beach Party. Failed to cope with Steve being a liar. Stood out in the gazebo in the pouring rain for ages before conceeding defeat. Stick legs must be genetic!

Ems had been doing some baking inspired by the Jubilee River Pageant!!

 Monday:  Trying to blog from the iPad. Not sure I can get photos up from here, although it does it's own journal iCloud thing which is quite groovy. Anyways. Got there just in time to grab a sausage roll and a few crisps (which promptly blew away) before the heavens opened..

Nope.. Can't work out how to get photos up. Drat.

Back on the trusty Macbook..

Chalkie improvising in the absence of a brolly..

Trying to be all arty..

Rain let off so down to the park.. the boy pulls some hilarious faces on the swings..

Big boys toys time.. can't wait to get a bigger toy hehe..

Back to Jon's for a cuppa. And a right good smack on the head. I fell backwards while playing with JJ and tonked my head on the box behind the sofa "it's alright, that was my head not Jay Jay's". Maybe that should have been my cue to stay at home.

The fete at the village hall kicked off with the tug of war (North repps won bragging rights over South), there was a kids penno comp, leftovers at the bar, bouncy castle for JJ.. and a welly wanging competition.

This was Pops' first effort. And this was my view of it...

 The next time I saw it, the welly had hit my lens, smacking the camera into my nose and then out of my hands. An impressive aim, given that there was a whole field for the welly to land in.

That one didn't hit me. And I didn't quite get revenge, but that's only because Chalkie and Pops were wise enough to stand out of range. Which wasn't that far. Pops won with 13.9m to my 10.8. Oh well. Just glad to get home alive in the end! (Plus the Ping Pong tournament is currently at least 8-3 to me)

Queens Jubilee concert was good. Dunno why we stayed up beyond midnight to watch it when we were watching the recording anyway. 

Lego progress: bits sorted in categories. Chalkie has delivered a genius contraption to hold the iPad. He should patent it. I need to paint it white and put an apple sticker on the back!

Right, time to leave the duvet behind and seek coffee and plans for today...