Another Jaunt

         For no other reason than it looked great and tasted even better! Luxury bread and butter pud.

Yesterday was what I can only describe as a "PerfickDay". From start to finish. Well, actually it started off by raining in our neck of the woods, but by the time I had driven as far as Dereham - about halfway to my friend Sue's in Wymondham, the rain stopped. By the time I got to her's the sun was shining and it just continued improving all day!

Sue has a lovely garden - though she'd say it was getting overgrown and ...mutter...mutter...but really it is so pretty.

I love raised beds.........

Even in decay there is beauty..love-in-a-mist

...and giant allium...I have some to take home and disperse...

We had planned our day well, Sue and I. First we had a trip to Hobbycraft as Sue's daughter wanted some dyes...a throwback to the 60's Alice was about to tie-dye a dress. Sue and I picked up one or two odds and ends. No, no photos, and I'm leaving it to your imaginations what I came home with. Suffice to say black marker pens of several descriptions comes into it!

Then we drove across to Trowse, which now is just a district of Norwich but I suspect was once a pretty little village - I wish I'd taken more photos. We lunched, not here...

....it looked so attractive I had to show you........but here, right across the road....

I couldn't get a proper photo of the outside, but inside was very fresh and cool, just what we needed.

And here is one of its most discerning diners. Sue can always find a good veggie restaurant.We had:

and very god it was too. Then we headed back to Wymondham to the Arts Centre. We 'd popped in there a couple of weeks ago and noticed an upcoming exhibition which included a friend of Sues, Kerry Buck.

I love Kerry's work, and did come away with a beautiful print...though I was spoiled for choice. The light was poor this morning when I photographed it but you can see how lovely it is.What's that you say? ROOKS????? But you loathe and despise them, Lynne! Yes I do, but I love seeing the cordivae family expressed in paint...or fabric, come to that.

And the text is just perfect, as I spent years getting my husband to admit the noisy creatures at the bottom of our garden were rooks, not crows!

Just to rub it in! Not yet decided where it's to go, but it will settle in to the cottage very nicely indeed.
And coincidentally, I was chatting to Kerry and she knows Yvonne (of S&B fame) and has exhibited with her in the past. Expect a call soon, Yvonne! What a small world it is.

But that's not all! Feeling quite warm and in need of a restorative cuppa, we set off a  little way to visit the Egg Shed. Now this is a newish enterprise run by a young woman called Annabel Barber, who lives at Cavick House Farm. A fine arts graduate, Annabel works part time at the Sainsbury Centre,  but has Big Plans for developing arts/crafts and sociability on the farm site. (You can tell how much I was drawn to this, can't you? I must take the Stitch & Bitch girls, they'll love it.)

We found Annabel and her lovely mum Julie tending the front garden, and I do mean getting down to it with lawn mower and weeding bucket. The farm supports several breeds of sheep, pigs, and free-ranging hens. The ambience of the place is wonderful...helped of course by the brilliant weather we had yesterday.

The whole thing works on an honesty principle, and it works. While we were there several people drove, walked and cycled up to pick up their boxes of eggs, look aren't they magnificent, love the boxes!
So Annabel decided that people might just be needing a cuppa when they've popped in so she opened the Tea Shed. Sue and I checked it out and quenched our thirst in the shade with a generous couple of Earl Greys!

         The wonderful metal rooster looks as if he's creeping up on the thirsty chook! Love it!

Annabel has future plans for a barn which she'd love to present as an arts and crafts cafe. BLISS! and throw in some live music I said...... Anyway, check out their website www.annabelseggshed.co.uk

Second coincidence of the day, Sue's friend Max is a garden photgrapher -  see her article coming out in October's Country Living - and has asked Sue to model with her new Pashley bike (it's a little cutie, basket and all) actually at the egg shed - would you believe it?

Time to get back to Sues, then off I set for my melodeon lesson...love it! Nick's friend Edda was visiting from Sweden, along with another Nick. Together the three of them form Triette making the most fab music on fiddle, guitar, mandolin and melodeon. And at the end of my lesson Nick asked if I'd like to play a number with them all so we did the CEG which is a Swedish Polska. Fynn joined in on cello. Oh I could have cried, it was so lovely to be playing such a beautiful tune with such great musos. My day couldn't have got any better.

Gentle drive back home in the sunshine, little traffic on the roads. Back to regale Jim with the splendours of my day, bliss! Catch you soon, hope you had a brilliant Tuesday too.