Week 126 of Gibraltar Diary

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Sunday 8th August 2010

The Cable car seems to run seven days a week but I rather lost interest when I realised that the much vaunted restaurant on the summit is not open to the public but is only used for private functions.

I content myself, yet again, with the Rock Hotel outdoor restaurant by their pool. You can use the pool as a none customer by paying something like £350 for the season (which seems to run from April Fools Day to about the end of September). You don't have to pay this to eat in the poolside restaurant, though.

Amazingly, the place is packed! So, let me revise my earlier message. Don't come to the Rock Hotel to eat but if you do, LEAVE YOUR MOBILE PHONE AT HOME. Got that American brat?

Monday 9th August 2010

If this is Monday then I must be on my way to Manchester via Monarch. This is a civilised airline that lets you book a definite seat in advance rather than participating in an undignified scramble like on certain airlines I could mention. Like Easy Jet and Ryanair for example.

Tuesday 10th August 2010

They say you should never perform with children or ...

... animals but my girlfriend has gone off to see her family and is breaking both these rules.

This lake my look tranquil but it is in fact a fiery furnace with the temperature over 35 degrees Centigrade. Phew!

Wednesday 11th August 2010

I pick my girlfriend up at Manchester Airport and off we go to Norfolk. On the way we call in at a "New" Little Chef. I order orange juice and am surprised when it does not show up in a plastic bottle. The waiter explains that this is because it is freshly squeezed. Yes, I say, but what about the plastic bottle?

Gradually it dawns on me that they actually squeeze oranges on the premises! But the surprises have only just started. Soon a cast iron bowl of mussels in their shells appear followed by a trifle made with real fruit and cream and stuff. We walk out in a happy daze. Real food! It is like staying at the Salvation Army and finding they have room service and bidets. Amazing.

Thursday 12th August 2010

This is a Norfolk Wherry. If you look closely you will see that they are pushing the thing from the back with a dinghy eqipped with an outboard motor. This is part of the decline in standards over the last 100 years. If we are ever going to do without oil they will have to do better than that.

Friday 13th August 2010

There is virtually nothing for sale up here and a huge number of houses have been modernised in the last three years. This house looks nice but needs a new roof. Also, the garden is so nice that it can only get worse.

Saturday 14th August 2010

Most of the waterways are constantly churned up by idiots going too fast but this dike to the west of Barton Broad is an exception. We chug along quietly hoping to see the Kingfisher we spotted a few years back but he is not around, unfortunately.

In the evening we reluctantly leave Norfolk and drive to London via Ipswich.


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