Norwich...'a fine city'...

A very good friend and colleague is leaving our department and moving to a job in another area of the country. We have become very close friends since she joined us 6 years ago and I will be very sorry to see her go. Of course, we will remain friends and I know we will make every effort to keep in close contact - she has seen me through some tricky times in the last few years and I cannot imagine losing touch but equally, I'm realistic enough to know the landscape is inevitably shifting a bit. At the moment, we live about 5 mins from each other, with a good range of 'favourite haunts' in the neighbourhood and the 'shall we just meet in 10 mins at...?' conversations are going to become a thing of the past. But, I'm trying to embrace the change and think this is yet another new chapter, new places to explore I'm sure and an even greater reason to make an effort to make time for life outside work.

I have been trying to put together a collection of photos of folk at work for her and decided to intersperse them with some of the local landmarks. Yesterday was glorious (thank goodness I didn't wait til today!!) and I took a walk around the city from home in a rough circuit of places to remember. It gave me another dose of appreciation for where I live - everywhere has its pros and cons but all in all, I think Norwich lives up to its motto...it's certainly not a bad place to live!

Just around the corner from me is Norwich Playhouse - home to theatre, music, comedy and a lovely pub garden...plus an onlooking dragon from this summer's 'GoGo Dragons' exhibition (a trail of painted dragon statues around the cities streets and shops)...

Just past the playhouse a bridge crosses the River Wensum that runs through the city centre. Looking down the river, the cathedral spire stands out...

This is old industrial Norwich but now redeveloped with newer housing blocks alongside the medieval and industrial buildings. Some of the canoes were out enjoying the sunshine on the river...

Norwich University of the Arts is housed in beautiful old buildings. Through this archway is a lovely courtyard with the ruined walls of much earlier architecture...

Much of Norwich is pedestrianised which makes it entirely walkable. Heading into the city centre with St Andrews Hall on the left...

...towards my favourite movie spot. My son used to tease that this is a very middle class cinema, with a mix of current and eclectic films and what he described as 'a better aroma of clientele' - of course he was teasing me and not really making a judgement about people here or elsewhere. But I am not ashamed to admit that I like its small screens and cosy theatres, and the fact you can take a very nice glass of wine in with you! I feel ok about going here on my own and just losing myself in a film for a bit. And it has been a regular haunt for my friend and I.

The castle remains an imposing structure in the middle of the city and houses a museum which has been reinvigorated, with much interactive opportunity in amongst the stuffed animals and Egyptian mummification exhibits of such fascination from my childhood...

Looking away from the castle, towards the market place, is the ornate Royal Arcade, perhaps not as spectacular as the array of arcades in Leeds, but rather lovely all the same...

Gentleman's Walk is the main thoroughfare that runs alongside the marketplace and shop fronts...

From the Walk you can pass the side of the Haymarket looking up towards the county library, housed in the fabulous rebuilt Forum building, also home of the BBC studios and with an amphitheatre like area which provides a place to sit, to meet and to watch an array of life and activity.

When I was a child this statue of renowned 17th Century Norwich medic, Sir Thomas Browne, overlooked a fountain. Now it is an open, stepped area with quirky sculptures, commonly used as a place to meet and often frequented by buskers and the crowds they gather.

At the top of Hay Hill the plaza widens, with the Forum and City Hall dominating the view...

and overlooking beautiful St Peter Mancroft church...

The Assembly House is nestled beside the city's Theatre Royal, a lovely grand building with stunning ornate interior decor. As a child, this was the place that we came for schools music competitions and I can remember seeing The Yellow Submarine in the room that was the Noverre Cinema (I seem to remember my parents leaving the three of us - none of us very old, I'm sure - at the cinema whilst they nipped to the shops!). Now, it hosts a lovely restaurant that does a good afternoon tea or pre theatre dinner and the old Noverre is the venue for blood donation - nothing quite like feeling virtuous under crystal chandeliers!! :)

We are lucky to have green spaces in our city - Chapelfield Gardens a leafy haven, popular with families and runners, as well as folk just hanging out on the grass in the sunshine...

From there, I wandered back across the front of the Forum and City Hall and across the top of the colourful market, the castle in the mid distance now...

...before heading back towards the boho end of town, the lively Norwich Lanes, full of quirky shops and cafes, past the war memorial and the decorative old Guildhall...

The bicycle shop is perhaps my favourite little place to eat, drink and just relax and definitely the go to spot for my friend and I. When I was 16, I was bought a Raleigh bike from here (it really was a bicycle shop!) - my first new bike (my Dad was an auction house fan - I had previously had a range of slightly dodgy hand me downs!) which I was very proud of. Now it serves lovely tapas like food as well as bigger meals and a very drinkable glass of Malbec at just the right temperature...!

Back across another bridge for the last few hundred yards home...

Periodically, I wonder about pulling up and resettling elsewhere. But there is a lot that holds me to this place. And at the moment I think I'll stay put. I may just be taking a few trips further afield in the interests of friendship...

S x

where is the year going???

I can't believe I haven't managed to write anything for over two months! And actually, when I look at my camera, I haven't stopped to capture anything either. This year seems to be flying past in a blur of 'weeks to be got through' - we have had health issues, house insurance issues, work issues... There seems so little time away from work that fitting everything else in to the time off seems to have left no time for stopping and appreciating... That isn't intended to be a whinge about it - it just is what it is. I have been back to yoga for the last few months and enjoying it enormously (though haven't even made it to all those classes!) - I feel a bit like it helps me rebalance and accept, or at least attempt not to make judgements about whether I'm coping with life or not. Some stuff I just can't control & I am trying to just let it be. (I can't say I always succeed but I'm trying!!)

Two weeks ago my youngest boy finally left home - he hasn't gone far, just the other side of the city to share with a friend. It has been another adaptation process - I am glad for him, he really needed to do some independent living and however much we tried, it was next to impossible for us to fully relinquish our traditional roles while he was living with me. And in a way, I'm glad for me too - I have a spare room now, and a space I can use for working (I am typing this at a desk & not on my lap in bed - such a novelty!!), the food stays in the fridge for longer, the washing  machine is on less often... But goodness, I have missed him too! Way more than I thought I would!! And I really have to face the reality that I am on my own. And not sure how or when that will ever change. Four years after my marriage fell apart and over a year since my divorce, I have not so much as looked at the prospect of another relationship - not even sure I know how any more. So, for now at least, I have to learn to  live with my own company, enjoy the space and enjoy the company of friends when I can. Maybe thats not so bad.

Yesterday, I finally managed the next stretch of my coastal walks, picking up where we left off at Overstrand and following the beach to Cromer.  Looking back towards Mundesley it seems really overcast in these pics but actually (for the first time in days!) it was warm and sunny - must have just clicked during a patch of cloud!

Beautiful smooth sand and gentle lapping waves at Overstrand...

This was decision-making moment... Having taken my Mum, the idea being a gentle stroll, then lunch, do we clamber over the groynes and keep walking or do we turn back at this point??

Bearing in mind Mum is in her 70s we probably should have gone with the latter...but she's fairly determined (can't think where I get that bloody-minded streak from?!!) so on we went, Cromer pier visible in the distance...

It was so warm, I couldn't resist dipping my toes in the sea. On reflection this is a rather odd photo - my feet look teeny (they are really not!)

As you get nearer to Cromer the top part of the beach becomes much more pebbly, quite big lumps of flint, worn smooth by the sea. Essential to find a lucky 'stone with a hole' (anyone else do this??!)

The sand was drying out and it was a bit harder going - about this point I realised I had underestimated the time Mum would need and we were probably going to overshoot the time I'd put on the car, whether we went on to Cromer or back to Overstrand! Plus it was really warm by now so we took a detour off the beach up the cliff...

Some welcome shade and lovely view back through the trees...

but boy, were there a lot of steps!!!

It's when you look back at how far you've come...

and then look up and realise the top isn't even in sight!!

By now, I'm also feeling extremely guilty that I didn't make an executive decision and head back to Overstrand before the groyne! I'm not sure Mum's knees and hips are up to this!! Eventually, the steps give way to a grassy slope beneath the lighthouse and on down into Cromer town...

I do love that you get a whole different perspective when you walk into a town; normally approaching by car I never get this view as I come at it from a completely different direction.  The beach and town were buzzing with families & holidaymakers and the sea was so clam and blue - little bit unusual for the North Sea which often looks a bit 'murky'!

Poor Mum was badly in need of a sit down by this stage so we plumped for the first cafe we saw - which was disappointingly short on food! A cup of tea and a cake later we decided to get a taxi back to Overstrand (no way, could I make her walk back again!!).

It was a lovely walk but something of an eye opener for me. Probably the first time I've really realised how much my Mum has slowed up. And that I probably have to give her less choice about what we do. I guess we all do it - the mind is willing and can powerfully convince you that you can still manage things you probably can't very readily. It also made me more determined than ever to keep active and maintain my fitness! Mum potters but doesn't do much for sustained periods and it really showed. If I am going to be on my own I am not going to settle for ambles along the promenade until I absolutely have to !!!

I think I'm about half way round the Norfolk coast now - I wonder if I'm actually going to manage to complete it this year!! Need to go more often than once every couple of months!!!

Next week maybe...

Sx