Sunday 3rd January 2010

The cats woke us at around half six, Jools got up and fed them, and then we both fell back asleep until gone eight. That is how weekends should be spent.

We got up and made breakfast before heading out for the short drive to the cliffs at St Margaret's for a walk along them and to see what we could see. We parked at the Dover Patrol, and the wind whistled. Back home in Norfolk it could be described as a lazy wind as it felt it went right through rather than going the long way round.

We fastened our coats, put our silly looking warm hats on, and headed northwards towards Deal; not that we would be walking all the way to Deal, but in that direction. France was hidden by mist, but ferries could be seen hurrying across. The light changed minute by minute over the fields, we could see the snow over near Ramsgate at the airport, sunlight shone through the snow as it fell from low clouds.

We turned inland, along hedgerows, now bare of berries and fruit, in a circle, past a flock of cold looking sheep, back to the Patrol, and Bluebirds. Bluebirds is a cafe in the old Coastguard station; it's small, but the food is good, and at this time of the year is warm.
Even though our house was near, we felt the urge of their bacon butties and a warm cup of tea, or coffee, and so went in, and got seats at the last time right by the woodburning stove.

The thick-cut sandwiches came with a few thick slices of fried potato, and was wonderful. Walkers and the less mobile sat side by side and munched, as the owner brought out plate after plate of home-cooked cakes. If we didn't get out now, we'd never escape!

Jools dropped me back home whilst she went to visit her family, and I settled down to watch Leeds beat Manchester United in the cup, before the more serious matter of week 17 of the NFL season, and to find out if the season would end for the Steelers; they won, but so did others, and so the season ended. Maybe for the best.

We had steak and ale pie, lots of veggies and wonderful fried potatoes cooked in goose fat, with a huge jug of onion gravy for dinner. Wonderfully warming, and so full up I settled down for an evening in front of the TV.