THE CLARE'S TRAVELS AROUND THE WORLD

Picture of Karl Clare ♛

Karl Clare ♛

2024 – August – Catch Up & Road Trip – Day 1

It’s been a whole 48 days since the last blog which apart from Covid times might almost be a record. It means it has been a while since we have been away. This was always the plan as we wanted to be at home to enjoy the lovely British summer. Well, that went well, as summer only seem to finally arrive in the past 10 days. The damp and the cold really started to impact our mood, so much so that we ended up booking a trip for June 2025 to cheer ourselves up. So, you can now guarantee that all of June 2025 will be scorchio in the UK. I blame the new Government, I’m sure it used to better weather under the old one.

It’s still the best time of year to be a Norwich supporter as I am now full of unbridled enthusiasm for the new season, despite some poor performances in the pre-season matches.

We have been to the Theatre many times, the highlights of which were ‘& Juliet’ which was excellent and The Gwyneth Paltrow musical – I wish you well, which had been laughing aloud from the first minute. I would recommend both.

There was a trip to London to collect Karen’s new car which she is now very happy with.

Golf is probably best glossed over as after having a couple of good’ish rounds I had more that are best forgotten. However I did manage to retain joint ownership of the family Lanzarote Crazy Golf Open Trophy which this summer was held at Blofield.

Now that ‘schools out for summer’ we have been cramming in outings as much as possible with days out, especially as our Historic Houses membership ends at the end of the month. Last week alone we visited Mannington Hall, Hoveton Hall and Sandringham. I probably enjoyed them in reverse order but just don’t mention the £9 to park at Charlies gaff. I remember as a boy that Dad used to park almost outside the Norwich gates on the grass all day for free.

We had a lovely day out at Edgbaston with the boys for Day 2 of the third test against the West Indies.

Karen’s big stress during this period has been with the need to find an alternate Care Home for her Mum after her current one formally said that they could no longer provide the levels of care she now needs. After lots of work her move to a home that Karen is happy with is set for the Monday after this trip. Fingers crossed it all works out and for Barry who starts his new job and career on the same day.

We have also been making the most of the weather by going in the hot tub late at night. There is nothing better than being in there in the dark, with all the pretty lights on and some gentle music playing in the background.

So, onto this trip. The plan is to head North and then come home via Cardiff. Yes, we know that does not seem an obvious route but we think there is method to our madness which will become clear as we go along.

We left home at 8.15am and headed to our first stop which was to be Springfields Outlets. Karen couldn’t let the opportunity of visiting the M&S outlet if we were going within 25 miles of it. She relieved them of one of their tops to add to her collection which I assume she curating to donate to the V&A as there is no way she will ever be able to wear them all.

After a quick free coffee takeaway for Karen from Nero (thanks Octopus Energy) we headed to stop number 2 which was Hornchurch Garden Centre where we had arranged to meet Karen’s sister Debra for lunch. It was all very nice and a good chance to catch us with each other and find out what had been happening in her life.

The 3 hours passed quickly but at 2.45pm we were back on the road, this time heading to our accommodation for the night just outside Thirsk. We were lucky with the roads today as again the drive was straightforward. Our room at The Poplars was worthy of the impressive reviews and we were happy as we settled in.

We ventured into Thirsk to have a look around and decided to have Fish & Chips in the main square and ate them on the tables outside surrounded by lots of other people doing the same. It was really all quite lovely in the early evening sunshine. We walked around the square and declared that we both liked the look and feel of Thirsk.

Back in the room we cracked open a bottle of Winbirri Rose watching the Olympics that we had brought with us to try. It was our first bottle from our investment and the grapes we had harvested. It was delicious.

After that we retired for the first night of our road trip.

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