Norfolk seaside holidays were a staple part of my childhood. From Hunstanton to Wells-next-the-Sea, Cromer to Sheringham, visiting the East Anglian coast during the summer was the norm. In a year where individuals are taking more domestic holidays to avoid the UK’s quarantine rules, my family are proud to be trend setters. We have been holidaying within old Blighty for years. A staycation it is most definitely not.
Norfolk is probably my favourite county in the UK (outside Greater London). I feel a profound connection to that part of Britain. The coast is beautiful, the towns quaint and pleasant. Calm is all around, which, unless you’re into action breaks, is what a holiday is all about. Despite this, we've never visited Norwich. A city so near to us - slightly larger than Cambridge - where BBC Look East is based, it is remarkable that we’d never greeted the place with our presence. Until this summer. Partially in aid of my mother’s 50th birthday and partially in desperation to escape Cambridge, Norwich became our temporary home for a week. In a way, its similarities to Cambridge are striking. Though it takes a while to orientate yourself, the main pathways become recognisable after a few days. There are plenty of high street brands to get past - at times I feared Norwich was simply a ‘clone city’. Once we’d found the market, I’d calmed down. Right in the city centre, it was full of vibrance and buzzing with energy. Vast numbers of people were permanently strolling, even on weekdays. I wondered whether it was the UK’s New York: somewhere that never sleeps. No, I later realised. Nothing could beat London on that front. ****************************************************************************************************************** I am a proper city break traveller in that I love supporting independent businesses. Yes, their hygiene standards may be less regulated, but low quality food outlets will soon be found out and people will stop buying meals there. Perhaps this view is slightly pessimistic - I seem to think that I’ll only ever visit a location once and therefore need to cram as much into my stay as possible. The best places, of course, lure you back again and again. This was the case with Cafe 33, an independent foodie place located on Exchange Street. A great business will always feature an outdoor queue. It shows lots of people like the product and are willing to wait for it. This was always our test at the seaside - whichever fish and chip shop has the longest queue would be the one we joined. Thanks to social distancing and the ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme, that rule doesn’t work so well now. However, our queuing on both experiences was worth it. On the first occasion, I had a fine salmon eggs’ Benedict which was brilliantly made. The whole experience was a pleasure from start to finish. We went back again to see family who had visited Mum for her birthday, where I had a sweet potato and avocado salad. Again, the plate was clean at the end and my stomach comfortably full. The staff were fantastic in their service and while, during coronavirus, they would usually only accept groups up to six, they very kindly accommodated a table for seven. Power to them! ****************************************************************************************************************** Soon, I shall be returning to Warwick. The autumn term will be very different from the two I had enjoyed in my first year, not least because all lectures will take place online. There will, unfortunately, be fewer opportunities to meet up with people. Though I look forward to the term, I often wonder how life would - or wouldn’t - differ if my life had taken an alternative path. What if I had gone to a different university? We partially experienced this by visiting the University of East Anglia (UEA) campus. Mostly deserted of people, it’s just outside the main Norwich city centre. We saw the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, which houses a huge array of sculptures, paintings, woodwork and creations of human ingenuity. When my mind wasn’t having a huge internal philosophical debate about what counts as art, I was looking around the campus’ external architecture. Though a book cannot be judged by its cover, the buildings looked like they were used for Grange Hill while the ‘modern’ art was better suited to a Transformers film. I’ll leave you to judge whether that counts as aesthetically pleasing. ****************************************************************************************************************** I’ve come to realise that within the urban I seek the rural. Though I aim to live in a city for my entire professional life, and simply love the hustle and bustle of exploring, the rural aspects within a location are deeply important to me. Thank goodness then, we had the chance to visit the Plantation Gardens. A small National Trust style nature location, they bought so much pleasure as we relaxed one Sunday morning. The array of flowers, various shades of green and stellar stone walls made it an unforgettable place to visit. A mixture of steps and walkways allowed us to feel totally engrossed and engaged within the nature. Similarly, I had tried to keep up jogging both in Twickenham and Norwich. With my trainers and a simple jogging kit, I have not let the holidays become an excuse to stop jogging. Right by our AirBnB were Chapelfield Gardens, which contained a suitable pathway for jogging around a few times. Within the park was a huge circus marque with seating that didn’t look particularly socially distanced! One evening, I overheard a performance. While there are obvious risks to such performances restarting, the sound of clapping and cheering and laughter was a joy to hear once. ****************************************************************************************************************** Our holiday ended with Harriet’s. An East Anglian branch of tea rooms, they have shops in Cambridge, Norwich and Bury St Edmunds. Visiting there to conclude our holiday was a real treat, not least when cream tea - scones and jam! - are involved. The food as ever was fantastic with brilliant service. I imagine that is what hospitality staff have had to readjust to. A customer could have brilliant food. If their customer service experience is poor, they are unlikely to visit again. While things may be hectic behind the scenes, it has to appear effortless and completely calming for customers. The best restaurants manage that fantastically. The worst often fall, quite literally, flat on their face.
2 Comments
CK
25/8/2020 14:07:39
A lovely account.
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5/10/2020 12:50:23
Music Classes for Kids aged 8-15 Piano/Guitar/Drums/Sax/Violin/Singing
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