Essex

was fine. Suffolk was foggy and flat but OK.
We did some unusual things, such as going to Wetherspoons for lunch. Wetherspoons does a good line in special offers and the Braintree Wetherspoons is in the old cinema. Barney was very happy to see lots of old photos of the cinema as it once was and deeply disturbed by one special offer...A burger and a drink was cheaper than the same burger on its own. Was there something wrong with the drink? Was it some old drink they were trying to get rid of?
We never found out.
On sunday, today even, we all trundled off to visit Frangelita and duly admired the new flat then went to The Star at Lidgate for a catalan lunch. Great Grandad has a passion for mussels. Barney cooked him mussels for dinner on Saturday evening but he couldn't resist mussels for at lunch today. Because we weren't enormously hungry but were feeling a little bit skint, we had a lot of starters and there was a moment when we thought GG was going to have two lots of mussels. But he settled for soup followed by mussels. Andy also had mussels so you could say mussels has been the theme of the weekend. (we were once invited to a party. The theme of the party, we were told earnestly, was to be cheese. We've never forgotten it).
On the way back to Braintree, we stopped to look at a house Barney thatched as an apprentice, 27 years ago.
Roof still looking pretty good, but due for a rethatch this year. The current owners only moved in three days ago and were delighted to be shown pictures of the last rethatch under way. And while I was taking pictures for Barney I sneaked in a typical Suffolk view.
Eventually we rolled home, rather full of mussels and some time later I found Tosca in one of her favourite cosy places. It's always a bit disconcerting to glance down at the laundry basket and see one of my knickers scatching its ear. But I suspect it's even more so when you're scratching your ear or just sleeping peacefully to have an enormous pair of knickers thrown on top of your head. So we're even :)