As the Wind Blows

Steering a motor boat is a bit like steering those cars at a games arcade, or to a lesser extent, driving a car with power steering. The wheel doesn't feel like it has any tension so as soon as you turn the wheel the boat will turn though, depending on the speed, the boat itself may not turn as quickly as you turn the steering wheel. And you may look like a drunken sailor, at least until you get the hang of it. I drove a motorboat!! It wasn’t very fast it was only 5mph, but it was such a fun and relaxing way to travel I really want to do it again!

I’ve never been to Venice and I can’t imagine that the houses in the Norfolk Broads are anything in comparison, but with their bright green lawns, colourful flowers and big flashy boats parked in their ‘drive’ ways, it’s like something out of a fairy tale. Half the time I felt like I was on a normal suburban street with only boats in the drive ways instead of cars, but the ducks and swans that kept swimming past the boat reminded me that I was on the water ways. Imagine going into your backyard to catch a fish for dinner (I’m sure people who don’t like fish will catch my drift. . .), it would just be such a peaceful lifestyle. And really the Norfolk Broads would have been perfect had it not been for the weather.

Wandering around the Victorian styled coastal town of Cromer reminded me a bit of Cinque Terra – the narrow streets, the colourful houses, the sea and the touristy atmosphere. There is one thing though that a coastal town in Italy is unlikely to have, and in fact we were told it was the only one in England, and that is an end of pier theatre. Yes I went to a cabaret show at the end of a pier with a bunch of oldies, in fact the average age of the town’s population would probably have been 60, but the audience at the show were all tourists I presume. Regardless, I felt like an English person going away to the coast for the summer holidays. If only it had been warm enough to go for a swim.  

For the sake of completeness I ought to mention that I also visited Sutton Hoo a place where they unearthed a ship full of treasures from a burial ground in Suffolk. Most of the treasures are at the British Museum (and if you’ve read one of my earliest blogs you’ll know my feelings about that place), so really there’s not much there. On the plus side I did become a member of the National Trust  - whoo! Free entry to historical places around Britain! The only issue now is, how do I get to these thousands of sites without a car? hmmm