On Tuesday morning, on the way to dropping me off at the railways station in Dover, Jools asked if it worth it for a pint of beer.
And let’s be honest, she has a point. If it were just about beer, then travelling up to Norwich for a few pints when the country is recovering from storm damage, and when there was no clear way on how I was actually going to get to Norwich. But, thanks to the wonder that is Twitter I was able to get updates and ask questions of the railway companies and make educated (for me) choices on the best route.
So, she dropped me off, and I climbed aboard the first high speed service up to that London. On the way I was checking my Twitter feed and it became clear I could not go the normal route, as it was still blocked by fallen trees. So, as per the advice I stayed on the train to St Pancras and then walked to King’s Cross and waited for a train to Cambridge. With just 30 seconds before departure time, the platform was announced and there began a sprint by several hundred people hoping for a seat.
I got one, and we left a few moments later, trundling up the ECML and then into deepest Cambridgeshire. We had a half hour wait at Cambridge before the train pulled in and then another scramble ensued to get another seat. And then off to Ely, Brandon and onto Norwich! Yay, beer ahoy!.
It was great running over the fens to Ely, looking at the great cathedral getting bigger and bigger. And then over the flatlands more as we turned east towards Suffolk and home ground. In the end I arrived in the city only 90 minutes later than planned, which was not bad. And I had arranged to be met by a Flickr friend to show some of the lesser known places in the City to snap. And then back to theirs for lunch before being set down outside St Andrew’s Hall for the festival! Top day ahead.
Sarah’s husband dropped us off in Colgate where we visited three churches there, only one open, sadly, but nice to get out and stretch my legs. We walked back up past St Andrews to the market and then into St Peter Mancroft via the Form which I had not been into before. All the while I was taking shots of course, and taking in the familiar and not so familiar sights. We ended up at the Catholic cathedral, another church I have not been into before, and it was a real pleasure in going inside one of the lesser known cathedrals in the country.
It was then back to theirs for lunch, which they had so kindly offered, and we had very nice spaghetti and they also provided me a with a very nice bottle of Abbot Ale. After some chatting there was enough time for me to rush over to the other side of the city to check in the hotel and then be dropped off outside St Andrew’s Hall ready to queue to the beer festival.
Oh, the excitement. Oh, the anticipation! The hour passed quickly and half five arrived and we were ushered in. I got my glass, my beer tokens and rushed to get my first drink, half of Adnam’s Old. Lovely and perfect to warm up with. Next into the other hall for a pint of Redwing’s Pale, which was wonderful. And so on for a couple of hours when it became clear that I did not know anyone, and there being nowhere to sit, and despite having a hot pork roll, a pork pie I was hungry, and so in a surprising move I decided to leave the beer festival after just over a couple of hours and look for a place to eat.
I had set my mind on a place on Prince of Wales Road called Fatty Arbuckle’s, but that seemed to have closed, and so I found myself at the Riverside and chose a Greek place and ordered some stuffed vine leaves and kebabs. And in another surprising move I then went back to the hotel and crashed out on the bed before ten.
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