Another fantastic day – I drove out to Blakeney, looking for locations for Martin and his house. It was idyllic and strange and faintly off-kilter – in short, exactly what I was looking for.
I pitched up at a local hotel, and despite the fact that not a single customer seemed under 75 treated myself to Sunday lunch. It was… okay, though the meat in my roast beef was a little fatty and the vegetables had been boiled to within an inch of their lives.
After that took the Norfolk Coast Path and buggered my feet. But it was still beautiful and a good four miles, so felt virtuous as well as compelling. The landscape was flat, rough planes, and apparently has been heavily damaged by the Dec 2013 floods.
After that I did afternoon tea back in the hotel and worked on Chapter Twelve. It’s about Margot talking about her mental problems to Martin. I then drove out to Morston in the pouring rain to catch the boat to see the seals:
The boat was lovely, the seals adorable. But the landscape, composed entirely of sandbanks and gull feathers (masses of nesting colonies of terms) was compelling. There was a big dead bull seal on the beach. Apparently they live about 20 years, the females twice as long. Loved the taste of salt on my lips. Was sharing a boat with a party of American students and a couple up from Cambridge. Gliding back, I was actually considering looking into buying a boat. Still not entirely sure I have dismissed the idea.
We also had the nesting terns pointed out to us. Dear God, the noise they make (click to play)!
Very pleased. Thought of a lot of things, and after doing the spreadsheet of victims into the wee hours last night and scaring myself half to death, feel the week has been me back to normal.
