Life as we Know it

Gosh, what a couple of weeks we have had. The Ginge has started a new job in a new hospital (a bit far away for my liking) and I have just started my final year of university. It is now five years since I started at medical school, so it is very exciting to think that this time next year, I will actually be a doctor. We are both settling in very nicely and enjoying our respective challenges. I am particularly enjoying being in an environment where people outnumber pipettes. In between working, we have been doing some very lovely things. Croquet and boules in the garden in Norfolk; learning the intricacies of the former from the Ginge's dad and reminiscing over playing the latter on childhood camping holidays in France. The familiar plunk as the ball hits the ground and the elusive click of a direct hit. A walk up to Bradfield, a small village outside of Sheffield; realising that I feel at home there and dreaming of making the views and the fields my own. A wander around Sharrow and Eccleshall; finding a perfect little shop specialising in restored antiques, falling in love with our new wardrobe and chest of drawers (pictures to follow soon). Playing housewife; baking carrot muffins for breakfast, eating them hot and soft from the oven, smothered with cool yoghurt and sweet honey. Relishing in our glut of vegetables, turning them into a fresh and fragrant summer soup to be eaten in the sunshine. Helping the Ginge to recreate a childhood holiday meal, including takeaway chips collected in a saucepan; confirming that I love the silly small things that we share with each other, just as much as the big stuff. 

A Flirtation with the Norfolk Summer

It was with a heavy heart and a pouty bottom lip that I agreed to get into the car on friday evening.  Whilst I was very excited about a sunny weekend in Norfolk, I did not at all fancy the two hour journey it would take to get there,  especially not in a stuffy car with windows that looked out onto the beautiful weather we would be missing. 

Mollified by the prospect of what awaited us (and a large cappuccino),we set-off. Actually, the journey was very pleasant. Thanks to ridiculous levels of friday-traffic, we were forced to take a roundabout route along country lanes, flanked by neatly ploughed fields and blossoming hedges. 

We excitedly looked about us for glimpses of sunlit village churches and listened to some absolute gems on the radio; including a fantastic big band concert and an introduction to my new heroine, Florence Foster Jenkins; a lady who loved to sing, even though perhaps she wasn't at all good it. 

Anyway, we made it in the end and were greeted with family hugs and a delicious home-cooked meal. I immediately sank into a state of happy contentment in which I remained, all weekend. 

Saturday was spent at Oxburgh Hall; a perfect, Tudor haven of red brick walls, barleytwist chimney stacks and heavenly gardens. I was particularly excited by the kitchen garden and newly planted orchard. How I long for one of my own!

We had a very civilised picnic lunch. Home-cooked ham sandwiches with ripe tomatoes and early British asparagus, all washed down with a cool glass of local apple juice and a slightly warmer one of ale. We even ate at a table. With chairs. I didn't know what to do with myself. It was a world away from the picnics of my heathen childhood, when we would merrily munch away, cross-legged on the ground. 

There was a lovely woodland walk, where I spied lots of pretty flowers and awesome insects.  

There was even a little ruined church, just outside of the grounds. It was magical and all the more beautiful in its downfall. I could have daydreamed there for hours.  

After we got home, Andy and I went for a little wander up the road, to another ruined church. I very excitedly recognised it as the church at which the author of one of my favourite blogs, Wellies and Vogue, had her incredible wedding. 

 There is something so wonderful about an old church. I love imagining the lives that have been lived there. The love, the loss, the hope, the longing and the joy of the timeless community that has worshipped there, at one time or another. 

We did lots of other lovely things, like sitting out in the garden, reading in the sun and eating delicious King's Lynn shrimp by the riverside. We even finished the weekend with a trip to see the Queen, at Sandringham, although sadly we couldn't stay for tea.

Before I met Andy, I had never been to Norfolk. Now, I am completely in love with the place and I simply cannot wait to go back.