A walk around Thaxted - 7 September 2022

The forecast was uncertain with the possibility of showers, so the new camera was left at home.  Thaxted is right on the edge of our range in the Leaf, so we set out, taking it carefully – no hard acceleration, no hard braking (unless it's REALLY needed) and lower than usual top speeds. I stayed at 60MPH rather than 70MPH on the A12.  The directions were perfect, so we ended up in the free car park where the walk started. We had just enough range for the return journey. We were soon off out of the town, through Walnut Tree Meadow and into the countryside. 

An Oak in Walnut Tree Meadow

Thaxted, along with the rest of rural north Essex, is a lovely area, but I wouldn't want to live there because of the proximity of Stansted Airport. Throughout the walk, as the noise of one plane faded and silence returned, the noise of the next one began.  There was no let up, it was too distracting.  Along the edges of the fields, the blackberries were ripe and large and juicy, not at all like the ones in Billericay.  Maybe they benefitted from watering, and fertilisers put on the crops that were grown and are now harvested.

The walk was well described and for the most part straight forward.  There were only a couple of times that we had to check where we were.  The main confusion was caused by a closed road.  A separate bridge had been built over the river Chelmer for pedestrians.  It was well off the road and at that point I lost my position for a while.  

We returned to town through residential streets, still being distracted by the noise of planes, arriving in the town centre opposite the Swan Hotel.  Perhaps we had walked faster than the guide book expected, or perhaps we had missed a bit of the walk, it was not quite lunchtime yet.  So we had a cup of tea in the hotel and waited patiently (well, sort of!).  On the dot of noon, the barmaid/waitress came to our table and took our order.  I have praised her efficiency elsewhere – it is very unusual for hotel or restaurant staff to be that 'on-the-ball'.

The food we ordered (pub lunch, but slightly better presented) arrived in a reasonable amount of time, it was a nice lunch and very welcome.

After lunch, we took a walk around the church.  

The organ has recently been restored.

While we were wandering round, a heavy shower passed over.  Poor old Sarah Westly is getting wet.  The sound of dripping water led us to her stone.  I hope the church can get its roof repaired.

We then took a walk around John Webb's windmill, which is also requiring some restoration, so an internal visit is not possible.

Back in the car park, I set the Leaf's sat-nav to economy, and we began to follow the route provided down the B184, the B1008 and to the junction with the A120.  Here the sat-nav shows a different junction, so I ended up on the A120 heading east, instead of the B1008 heading south.  Now the available range is a problem.  The new mileage estimate says we will arrive home with maybe 10 miles (ca. 16 km) to spare.  That's less than 10% battery, we know from experience that the instrumentation might shut down before we get home, so a public charger is required.  We find a new EV charging court on the A131, it's only a short diversion.

All types of charging are available

Pulling onto the court and guessing where I need to be, I am approached by a guy drinking coffee, who works there and is directing people and explaining how to use the chargers – brilliant, just what I need.  Thankfully, there is no app required, I plug in, scan my credit card and the car begins to charge.  We go into the Costa for a cup of tea and sit outside drinking it for a few minutes.  When we get back, the car has 50% extra charge, so we're off home and suitably relaxed.  If all charging was like this, I'd go further with my EV.

Alabama 2019 - Days 1 & 2: Surprise! and a Helicopter

Friday 22 Nov

The day is dedicated to travel, from the time we get up at about 7am the focus is preparation for the trip.  The taxi is due at 10:30, we are ready by 10:20 (unusually!).  It arrives in good time, although sitting in the back seeing many clocks showing different times is disturbing, even when the maximum difference is 2 minutes.   The journey is good, none of the contingency time is needed, so we end up with time to kill in Terminal 3.  I suppose that is what they want.  Going through security there is an elderly man having his bags searched.  A bottle of ketchup, or something similar, is found.  It is held together with parcel tape.  It is above the 100ml limit so will have to be surrendered.  I feel sorry for him, he seems more confused than angry.
There is still 2 hours before the gate opens.  We paid £12.00 for a salad, sandwich and 2 waters at Eat, the airport is a rip off - but you know that.

Sitting at the gate, an old man sits opposite me and says "Hurry up and wait, hurry up and wait".  It sums up my feeling but I am not in a conversational mood and avoid further eye contact.  This was a mistake.  When boarding was called we both got up at the same time and there was a gentle clash of heads.  He was OK, so was I.

The flight left 25 mins late, but was ready to go on time.  We were informed that the arrival time was not affected.  We settled in, if you can do that on a plane.  There is free WiFi (allegedly), you are not allowed to use it to message people.  For me it didn't work, no internet connection was provided.  I have since been told I should have installed an app.

The choice of films did not seem inspiring, I watched:

Storm Boy
This was the best of the three, the story told by a grandfather to his granddaughter of the rescue of some baby pelicans.   The backdrop to the story is another piece of conservation, and the two are cleverly woven together.

 
Toy Story 4
A formulaic extension to the franchise, watchable but not inspiring.


I am Mother
A skynet story, or is it? The sole girl being bought up by a robot (mother) gets to discover the real world.  As Sci-Fi goes the telling is better than the idea with this film.

Airline travel is NOT environmentally friendly, but there are some obvious small things that could be done:

1. Serve a fork, knife and spoon as required, not every time.
2. Give out what's asked for, not tooth brush and paste, and eye shades to everyone.  This is already done with headphones. 

We arrived 30 minutes early, which made for a better flight than usual.  To compensate, we were put in the slowest line through immegration.  People from the next flight overtook us.  The queue management this time was awful, this has not always been the case, so I suppose it depends on the staff.  Our bags were set off the usual carosel, waiting for us. It took at least 45 minutes from start of the queue for the particular desk to being officially allowed in.

Robert met us and drove us home.  Robbie's face (surprise) and Madelyn's hug made the whole day worthwhile.  Total travel time is about 18 hours. 

Saturday 23 November

We slept badly.  That is not a surprise, there is jet-lag to be overcome as well as overtiredness.  Saturday morning set the pattern for the rest of our time here:

• Get up, breakfast, walk Mauve, shower and be ready for the rest of the day.

We went out to a yard sale. A couple opened their house, priced up their items and invited people around.  We bought a few odds and bits.  I can't see this working in the UK, but let me know if I'm wrong.
Just across the road was another of Karen's friends - Erica and her two boys, her husband was recording a Vlog, so we didn't meet him. They have a lovely roomy, airy house, with the lounge area open to the roof.

After that we did our first shopping.  By then the rain had started and the standing water meant a shallow paddle in to and out of the supermarket. (approx $153 was spent)  The self service check outs are as unreliable here as in the UK.

After lunch, back at the house I helped Robbie build a Lego helicopter, here's the finished article.

Another dog walk, and home for beef stroganoff. Before that I was playing with the children, chasing and catching them, Mauve could not resist joining in.  She doesn't know her own strength though, so had to be put in her crate.

Grandad was tired and dozed off on the sofa.