Matlaske Village Fete

My day began at 5.20am when I heard Mollie leaving for her long drive to Clitheroe. A very brave girl going all that way on her own, but she had planned it, and keen to get on the road well before other traffic, she was up at 5. I wasn't really worried about her, well perhaps a little bit, but I had every confidence in her ability. She kept us updated on route, and arrived by 11. Now she has a few days with her friend Kiara and her family as a start to her holidays.

I did doze a bit until 7.30. Then Jon and I drove to Aylsham where we picked Henry up and went to Aylsham garden centre for coffee and cake. We also had a wander around looking at plants. They are preparing for more building work, and Henry will be doing the electrics. We dropped Henry back at the house he is sitting, and went home. I plugged my bike in, in preparation for the evening, and then we drove in to Cromer. We bought some lunch and sat on the beach to eat it. The weather was actually quite nice, and holidaying families were making the most of it. Then we visited a few charity shops before heading back to the car.

On the way home we went to Homebase and spent quote a lot of money on white paint for the bathroom. It was the homebase own brand, but we needed undercoat for wood, plus topcoat for wood and bathroom paint for walls and ceiling. All white. We also plan to do the bathroom nextdoor with the same white - so i am hoping that will be OK.

We got home about 4 and were having a cup of tea when Henry arrived. He had decided to come with us to the Matlaske village fete - music and pizza is how it is advertised. As it was just the 3 of us and such a nice evening, we decided to cycle. Its just 4 miles to the adjacent village. We loaded our bikes up with our small folding chairs and raincoats, donned our cycle helmets and took off up the lane. It only took about 20 minutes - Jon and I had the added advantage of electric bikes, but Henry is young and fit!

We settled ourselves in our chairs with beer to wait for our freshly made pizzas (pre- ordered) whilst being entertained by a live group of musicians. The atmosphere was lovely, just like a proper village as you imagine (like Granchester, complete with vicar - lol )

We had a couple of hours enjoying being part of the annual village celebrations, before cycling home. See extra for my £2 bric a brac stall purchase!

One more thing, for my Howard family. A lady came to us to sell us raffle tickets, and we got talking. It turned out she knows a couple of my (distant) Ketteringham relatives. My great uncle Sidney lived in Matlaske all his life, and my dad would take us with nana to visit him there. He lived in the most amazing 16th century house at the end of the village, linked to his job on the estate. It made a big impression on me, for such a small child. He brought up his family there, and dad was close to his cousin Geoff, who has long since passed away. But Geoff's family is still nearby and clearly known to locals. It made me feel like I belonged here. I still have that quarter bit of Norfolk in me, after all.