Friday 14th – Sunday 16th/Monday 17th August
As a family, we were due to go to France during May Half Term for a week’s holiday on a campsite in ‘mobile home’ accommodation. Mobile Home is a weird description since the homes really don’t move! Surely they are either static caravans or, if you’re going up-market, a lodge based on a portakabin!
Anyway, because of the Coronavirus Pandemic, we’ve postponed France to 2021. This weekend at Haven in Caister-on-Sea was therefore a sort of mini-break compensation for our missed trip and a taster for our France trip next year.
Below is a library shot of our two ‘mobile homes’.
Friday 14th August
Elaine had volunteered to take over the food planning/ordering from me. Very kind indeed, especially as she is working full time. She is a manager and obviously knows how to manage. The best management in this case was to further delegate the food task she had taken on to Emily and Lucy!! 😂 A HouseParty call was arranged and people were given jobs to do/items to bring etc. A shopping list was made, a Costco trip was undertaken and a Tesco order created.
Husband and I, as the advance party, volunteered to collect the Tesco order. It should be noted at this point that there are three Tesco stores in Great Yarmouth ………….. we managed to locate the right one on the second attempt! Shopping for a weekend for 12 people involved many crates of food/household items and the car was already pretty full. Tesco were great, the order was perfect and the two people on Click and Collect – in trying times – were lively, fun and doing a great job on the organisation and cleaning front as well as giving tourist advice!
Before collecting the food we wandered around Great Yarmouth for a while looking for a suitable spot for elevenses. We found public loos on the seafront, the cleanest ever seen, but the selection of elevenses spots required to meet my exactingly high expectations, which do not include grease and ketchup, was grim. We were about to give up when we spotted a small corner shop – Nicola Café – which didn’t look too bad. It turned out to be run by friendly Italians and had simply the best coffee Husband has tasted in some time and a fab (Italian) croissant.
Checking in at the site, Haven were on great Coronavirus organisation at the entrance. Our two mobile homes were incredibly clean and felt a safe haven (joke) in which to stay.
The food unpacking was quite a task sorting and dividing between our two mobile homes. My brother and Elaine arrived and he immediately stole the single box of Heroes from the young folks’ mobile home and brought it back to the grown-ups’ mobile home!
The rest of the Famo arrived and the excitement began. Em had had a scan that morning and she and Chris now knew the gender of their new baby. A cake had been made by Great Nana and the centre filled on the day by Em with the appropriate colour mini-balls. It was Teddy’s role to cut the cake to find out if he will have a little brother or a little sister in January.
After a jolly ‘pizza night’ at the young folks’ mobile home, the grown-ups returned to the peace and quiet of our home, only to be interrupted by some late night (and slightly blurry) revellers outside the decking seeking the stolen box of Heroes!!
Saturday 15th August
OK the weather wasn’t exactly hot and sunny. In fact there was a haar making everything somewhat damp! But the site is positioned right on the beach so we packed a picnic and set off for some quality beach time. It was a little windy and we were almost the only people there but, hey the kids had fun. My brother notsomuch – you can see him below huddled behind the windbreaks under various fleeces! 🤪
Sensibly it was decided to have lunch back at the site ….. creating the upside of sand-free sandwiches! We ate at tables in one of the central areas so the kids could play in the playground afterwards. At one point it was discovered that Husband was suddenly in sole charge of all three children. It is well known that Husband is really not keen on children so, of course, they are completely attracted to him!! “Fester, Fester, Fester!!” 😱🤣
The afternoon was ‘free time’ and Great Nana joined Husband and I for a drive through Filby village, which has the most amazing floral displays, then a very short walk to a viewpoint over Ormesby Little Broad.
You see those brambles either side of the path? I think it is one of those which has snagged the scar on my leg from my bicycle accident. 😬
The mini-walk was followed by a nice cuppa at The Acle Bridge Inn http://www.aclebridge.co.uk alongside the River Bure. Whilst posing for the photo, you can just spot Great Nana pouring her remaining tea into the saucer!! 😂
Saturday night was BBQ night; we decided against cooking the Costco chicken; it had been chilled the whole time but had a bit of an unusual aroma.🧐 Even with the loss of the chicken there remained a considerable amount of food!!
JW doing a great job on the BBQ 
Sunday 16th August
Two parties set off in another haar, one for Crazy Golf in Great Yarmouth and one to Wroxham ‘capital of The Broads’. A return visit for us for tea and cake at the The Wherrymans http://www.wherrymans.co.uk by the bridge in Wroxham. The boat hire next door was open; it must just’ve been a 1.00 p.m. return time forming a pleasingly smart line up.
Back at the site for tea on the decking and then Evie, Teddy and Grauntie Ann rode around the block and to the beach on bikes; Evie and Teddy able to ride for the first time together on two wheels now that he has mastered it fully.
And then the major packing up and dividing of leftovers. Em, Chris and Teddy were staying Sunday night, but the rest of us are leaving early evening. Just before departure we had a takeaway of fish and chips on the site.
Then a gathering at Haven’s famous giant deckchair for one final photo.
The journey home for us was in the most horrendous rain storm through which I’ve ever driven; the amount of water coming down and flooding across the roads was epic. This was my view through the windscreen. 😳
OK it wasn’t France, and the weather was mainly a haar* or a mizzle, but it was a really fun weekend, especially for the kids. Lots of lovely memories made. 🥰 x
* Haar – according to Wikipedia – In meteorology, haar or sea fret is a cold sea fog. It occurs most often on the east coast of England or Scotland between April and September, when warm air passes over the cold North Sea. The term is also known as har, hare, harl, harr and hoar.
TiddleyOmPomPom on Tour 