A walk....

On Monday I took a short walk around Fincham to get accustomed to my surroundings and to blow away some of the cobwebs that had set in after last week. We are currently staying at the Timbers hotel which is beautiful, rather than rooms there are individual log cabin rooms, all equipped with a bedroom, bathroom and the best part - a lounge area! I could quite happily stay here all the time, the workers are all beyond lovely, and nothing is too much hard work for them. The only negative side is the lack of phone signal, this would normally drive me crazy but it was actually been nice to cut off most of my contact with the outside world - we have free Wifi so my social media addiction is still alive and well!!

These are some of the photographs I have taken this week, I only have my iPhone with me so they aren't of the greatest quality but you'll get a good idea of just how stunning the surrounding area is.

I loved this horse, especially in his warm jacket.

Horse - Love!

Blackberries.

The sky at lunchtime - this was as bright as it got all day.

The leaves are changing.

Red berries.

I loved how red this bush was!

The view from the hotel room.

The individual log cabinesque rooms.

Norfolk

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to be able to spend a week in Norfolk with Stuart before I went back to work. He is staying in the beautiful village of Fincham, which is close to the RAF base where he is working. 

Until the age of 18 I was bought up in a tiny village in the Midlands which I hated, everyone knew everyone else's business and they remembered everything. I applied to Universities in London so that I could leave the village and experience city life, I ended up with the best of both worlds - I lived in Trent Park, a beautiful area surrounded by grass, deer and squirrels but I was only 30 minutes away from the hustle and bustle of central London. After graduating I went from London to Manchester, and absolutely fell in love. Manchester had everything I needed, shops, art, entertainment and most importantly I made some great friends up there. I never thought I would want to live in a village again, however aged 26 I find myself longing for the connections you have in a small place - knowing who your neighbours are and knowing you can knock on there door whenever you need help. Should Stuart get the job in Norfolk we will be making a permanent move up there, setting down roots and finding our own way in this game of life and I for one cannot wait! My few brief trips up there have been breathtaking and I look forward to exploring more of the Norfolk countryside.

Chalk and Cheese -- a review

Last Thursday I went up to Norfolk to spend a few days with my husband, we wanted to eat out but couldn't decide where to go, Stuart asked some of the people at work and Chalk and Cheese came out tops, so a table was booked and off we went!

Chalk and Cheese is located in a tiny little village called Shouldham, I love villages and as we drove through this one I completely and utterly fell in love and immediately added it to my 'to view' list if we do end up moving up this way. As we drove into the car park we were greeted by this:

                               (from the website)

Chalk and Cheese used to be a Victorian School which was converted into a home in 2001 before being expanded into a farm shop, bar, restaurant and accommodation. As I walked through the front door it felt like I was walking into a friends house, from the warm welcome by the chef to the adorable dog keeping guard on the rug, I was in love! We were invited to take a seat in the bar - which was exactly how I would love my future lounge to be.

the view from our table.

the bar.

our coasters - adore them!

Our table.

The seating area.

I normally feel uncomfortable in bars, never knowing where to sit, how to act, what to order etc... however this bar was incredible, it felt like I was in a friends lounge where I was free to look around and order in my own time. Our orders were taken and they were extremely accommodating, there was so much on the menu that I wanted that I couldn't decide what to order. They offer a pizza which you can watch being made in the wood fired pizza oven. Whilst we were waiting we were given some calamari which is easily some of the best calamari I have ever eaten. I have to admit I was a bit confused about what was going on, I wasn't sure if the bar was also the restaurant or if there was somewhere else to go - all became clear though when we were escorted to our table in a beautiful conservatory.

There were 4 tables set up which I loved - it meant that Stuart and I could have a conversation with each other without competing with other people. There was a small system providing music, which provided a lovely background noise without being too much (I hate when you go out for food and are having to talk above the music in order to have a conversation). Almost immediately we were brought our starters, mine a particularly delicious Bruschetta (£4.95) and Stuart ordered Cheesy potato wedges, minus the cheese (£2.75).

(yes I took a bite before taking a picture!)

After devouring the starters there was only about a 5 minute wait for our main courses, amazing! I had ordered the Spaghetti Bolognaise (10.95) whilst Stuart had Roast leg of lamb with swede, roast parsnips and garlic and rosemary potatoes (£12.95).

I am a huge hater of lamb, the smell, the texture, everything - however, for the first time in my life I was tempted to try some, I didn't but the intent was there! This was easily the best dinner I have ever eaten in a restaurant in my life. Everything about the service was fantastic and we were left to enjoy our dinner without being asked every 5 minutes if everything was ok!

When we had finished dinner and regretfully had to turn down dessert as we were just too full, we were invited to go back into the bar area to relax and let our dinner go down. This time we took full advantage of the huge sofas which were unbelievably comfy, I could've just curled up and gone to sleep in fact! 

I adored this restaurant and would highly recommend it to anyone who happens to be in the area, even if you aren't near by it is well worth a visit, maybe stay over and take advantage of the beautiful looking rooms (yes I checked them out on the website!) Chalk and Cheese was less restaurant and more eating dinner at a friends house - it is definitely one of the better things about Stuart working up in Norfolk, i'll definitely be suggesting we go back the next time I am able to visit him!

The Gents toilet :)

The sign on leaving - love!

The restaurant at night - taken as we left.

Website - http://www.bed-and-breakfast-west-norfolk.co.uk/default.asp

Telephone - 01366 348039

Listening to - Desperate Housewives on TV catch up, waiting for hubby to come back from work

Feeling - Hungry (i'm sat opposite the specials board in the hotel!)

To do - Print off photos for my nans 90th birthday present.   

The first hurdle is always the hardest.

76 days ago I got married, we stood up in front of our family and friends and promised to love each other through the easy and the hard times, never did I think the hard times would come so quickly.

My husband is a locum sport and exercise rehabilitator, we moved to Canterbury as he was based at the barracks here in town and we very quickly fell in love with the city. Unfortunately as an agency worker he had to take a break in employment which coincided with us returning to the UK after our honeymoon. This was amazing, in one sense, as it meant that we started married life spending lots of time together. We struggled through each week, budgeting like crazy, researching free days out and planning all the exciting things we wanted to do once the money started to come in again. Then we got the news that his next job would be in Norfolk, 141 miles away from our home in Canterbury.

I am lucky, I have a husband who 100% supports what I do and encourages me every step of the way, it's only fair that I do the same for him. There is every chance that at the end of his temp contract he will be offered a permanent job up there, if this happens we will relocate and I will rebuild my school all over again. This isn't the hard part, I'm lucky I can work anywhere, the hard part is being apart. The lack of company during the evenings, the silence in the house, the overwhelming feeling of loneliness. I was brought up to be independent and my parents did an amazing job, I love my own company and am happiest when I am immersed in a book or watching a history documentary, however I also love having the company of others. I have been surprised just how hard this last week has been. Whilst we have been able to facetime in the evenings (an amazing invention!) we don't get to speak much during the day as he is obviously working and can't be distracted, next week we will talk even less as I generally don't get home form work until 11pm at the earliest. This is the toughest part for me, I don't want to be a 'weekend wife' and I am busy trying to come up with ways to keep our marriage exciting when we have such limited contact with each other.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to keep things interesting when we are so far apart?





Feeling - Melancholy and hungry (there's a banana bread baking the oven and it smells amazing!!)
Listening to - Legally Blonde (trying to get some ideas for next weeks classes)
To do - Go into town and get my fringe cut, I am now struggling to see!