Picking up the pieces after a horrendous 2021

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I last blogged from Mexico in 2020 & after that, for various reasons, Covid of course being one of them, I couldn’t bring myself to start another. But the world moves on, and as I have been travelling in a very muted way over the last few months, it suddenly felt like the right time to start again, so here goes!



Millions of people have suffered over the last 2 years and we did not escape. Gilli contracted Covid right at the start of the spread of the virus in the UK, which eventually turned into horrific Long Covid, I fell and dislocated a shoulder which took 6 months of exercise to approach normal use again and just as we thought we were over the worst we were hit by a totally unforeseen nightmare. After struggling with ‘indigestion’ for months, at the end of May Jim was diagnosed with a terminal disease and he died only 5 weeks later. The world turned upside down and might never right itself again. We were together for over 50 years. I could say so much about Jim on a personal level, but this is not the place.



I have decided to carry on travelling as we planned. Whether this is possible or enjoyable without Jim remains to be seen, I can only give it a try. The thought of settling down in one place was far from our minds anyway and the thought of doing so without Jim makes it even less attractive but obviously at some point age/health might make it necessary but until that day I shall remain a nomad.



So to bring you up to date, I spent 87 days in Lanzarote before Christmas. I would have stayed longer but post Brexit 90 days is the maximum. It was a good place to rest, to enjoy the warmth, eat and drink with friends and start to think about the future. Seeing friends Santi and Irma, and their son Perú, and getting to know Marie Claire, my neighbour, helped me settle and feel that I had company, as well as the friends who came to visit. I am very grateful for their support.



We had a family Christmas in Swaffham Bulbeck with Anna & James then the plan to spend time between Cambridgeshire and London had to be modified because of Omicron. It made sense to stay clear of London and Gilli while she was teaching. So Swaffham Bulbeck became my main home but to give Anna & James space during the week and of course to help enliven the dark days of January & February I also spent time in a small pub/hotel in West Norfolk.





It is surrounded by wonderful scenery and numerous bird reserves as well as only being fifteen minutes from the beaches. The first time there, no food or housekeeping was available as staff were sick or isolating but by my second visit normal service was resumed and it is a warm and welcoming place with wonderful cooked breakfasts. So friendly that on my last visit I had difficulty retiring to my room to do the quiz with Trish & Rob as everyone in the bar wanted to join in. My next visit in March will probably be my last until the autumn as the area will become busier in the summer. I enjoyed the quiet, often having whole reserves to myself.





I have fallen in love with the area, the combination of flat land and water, ( yes, back to swamps again!), big skies, fields ploughed ready for spring or full of new crops and of course the MAMMOTH mounds of sugar beet awaiting collection in fields near the road, together with the tiny, windy roads and glorious isolation make it very special for me. That is before we mention the wildlife, huge flocks of birds including avocets, lapwings, wigeon, teal etc, even cranes. Then to see them rise up off the water in great flurries of anxiety when a raptor, most often a marsh harrier, circles high in the sky is amazing. It must be, as it managed to distract me from the weather and as long as I wrapped up the walking was superb. My only complaint was after a spell of rain there was so much mud that by the time I returned to my car I could hardly lift my boots off the ground as I must have had 2 kilos of clay glued to each foot! I also saw a weasel cross in front of me, pheasants everywhere, and the somnolent grey seal colony at Horsey Gap.





I never thought I would say this but my journeys were only possible because of the Sat Nav. It took me safely along single track country lanes, completely lacking signs and often encountering farm vehicles bigger than aeroplanes, Without it I might still be driving round in circles.



My next expedition was fractionally further away, to an Airbnb in Leiston just outside Aldeburgh in Suffolk. I went there because I don’t know the area but also because NatureTrek, a specialist wildlife travel company, was running a couple of full day guided birdwatching tours. The guide, Brian Small, is amazing, not only does he have an encyclopaedic knowledge of the birds and their habits but he can also identify their sounds. At one point by a busy lake with hundreds of birds he managed to pick out the sound of one bird of a different, unusual species, and scanned the thousands through his scope until he found it! Seemed like magic to me!



Pauline and Colin visited from Essex and we went to Sutton Hoo, the Anglo Saxon burial site where it is believed King Rædwald was given a lavish ceremonial burial. Jim and I were there some years ago but partly because of the interest created by the film, The Dig, and partly because there have been further excavations, the site has expanded and it made an interesting visit despite the icy wind viciously scouring our faces whilst we listened to a talk for an hour standing outside on top of the mounds.



On my way to Leiston I had stopped off at West Stow, to visit the Anglo Saxon village. The site was excavated and the artefacts found are on display but the outdoor museum is an experimental site. As so little is known about the Anglo Saxon way of life the researchers use any evidence they can find to piece together how they thought the people lived. They have quite a lot about their diet which seemed very healthy, but little about the houses, so they build what they think they were like and test out how viable they are. For example, it was originally believed that the pits they found were the base of the house and that the roof came down to the ground. Then they found out that wasn’t possible because the pit soon filled with sand and there was no space for the inhabitants! Now they are experimenting with planks over the pits and a higher roof. I was fascinated by the amount of trade that took place in the early 600s with places as far afield as Sri Lanka, the Mediterranean and Scandinavia. Our view of the ‘Dark Ages’ is changing as a result of this research and the finds at Sutton Hoo.



I was surprised to learn that there are mounds at Sutton Hoo that haven’t been explored because archaeologists want to leave them for later generations to excavate so they might be able to make use of new techniques not known at the present.



That is the end of my catch up blog for the moment. I hope you enjoy the pictures even if birds are not your passion, and that you have come through the past two years with health and sanity intact. Let’s hope we can look forward to an easier year in 2022.


ps Don’t forget there are more photos at the end, 35 in total.

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Photos

Surprise!
Boats sneak up where you least expect them on the Broads

RSPB path
No wellies!

Interesting weather
I loved the contrast of dark sky & sun on reeds, but downpour of hail 2 minutes later

Seal pup
Many washed away by exceptionally high tide this winter