Summer Holiday

I have had a week away in my favourite place, Southwold, where we have a beach cabana. Mr C insists this is what we call it, rather than a static caravan, which is what it actually is. It is in the most beautiful setting, between the beach and the harbour, with views over the marshlands to one side, and across the harbour on the other. The beach is a two minute walk away and it's 20 minutes into the town. There are so many lovely places to eat and drink and shop, and we walk everywhere.

We have been thinking that this might be our final year, but I immediately changed my mind the second we drove over the little bridge into the town and my spirits lifted. I had forgotten how much I love it, and it really is the best place I know. Being there helps me to focus on writing because everything is so basic. We have no electricity or running water. We wee in a chemical toilet and walk to the shower block for a shower or a poo - Mr C is in charge of emptying the chemloo and draws the line at solids. We have a little gas powered fridge which isn't big enough to house anything much bigger than a packet of ham, some cheese and a bit of salad. We use solar lights and there isn't even a radio. Actually, that's not strictly true as there are quite a few radios, all of them the very latest in modern solar technology, researched and reviews checked painstakingly by Mr C. But none of them work. Last year he bought an amazing Roberts DAB solar radio which was guaranteed to work, but lost the instructions (or threw them away because instructions are for cissies) and we can't even get it to work with brand new batteries. The only one I can get any sound from is an old wind up solar radio which used to work OK until it fell off a table. Now if you wind it up for hours, it will just about last for the duration of PopMaster. And it only works if I am standing in a certain location, and holding the aerial. If I try to balance it on a chair or shelf, or dare to step away from the aerial, it just buzzes and won't even enter into negotiations for at least 24 hours. There is no wifi - I can use data on my phone but my battery goes flat really quickly and I have to save it to take millions of photos of skies and thistles ( both amazing in Suffolk; the best you will find anywhere), but also for my running soundtrack.

So my phone SIM card goes into my tiny little white Nokia which is not smart, but the battery lasts for the whole week.

My friend Bec who wishes hereafter to be known as Beccles Bec, even though she lives miles away from Beccles, came for a sleepover and a catch up. We went to The Nelson, which is my favourite pub, and had chilli and nachos and drank lots of cider. I discovered Adnams Wild Wave cider, which is a slightly less sweet version of Woodpecker. If you like cider, you should give it a try - delicious. And then the midges feasted on my legs under the table, despite the ton of insect repellent I had sprayed just before setting out. I apparently need to invest in some Skin So Soft body lotion from Avon. I react quite badly to bites and stings and now have big purple bruised lumps all over the backs of my legs over a week later.

In spite of this, I love the simplicity, the fact that there is total peace and I can read whenever I want to, and the writing just seems to flow out of me, because I am so unfettered by TV social media or any outside influences. I have just the sea, the beach, the harbour and the estuary and a pretty little town.

Mr C and L came at the weekend and we had a lovely couple of days before it was time to come back home.

We ate all the wrong things - lots of cake and scones and I drank too much and ate too much, but it was worth the 5 pound weight gain. And I think it did well to remind me that if I return to my old ways of eating, I will return to my old size, and that is something I definitely don't want to do. L has been trying to teach me to do planking - in an attempt to firm up my tummy, which I blame on 3 caesarians but is more likely due to cake and biscuits. I got into the position she told me to, but apparently my tummy was touching the floor (I think it was just a loose dress), so didn't count. It was very hard, and I could only hold the position for 30 seconds, although it seems that opinions are divided and that 30 second planks might be the way to go. They are actually all I have got - but I will give it a shot - even though it is a killer, and see if it makes a difference. My nephew's wedding is fast approaching and if it planking doesn't work, I will need to invest in some seriously heavy duty control knickers.

We did lots of walking and exploring and even went in the sea. (See slideshow on the right. )L had spotted a little footpath on the drive in, and wanted to see where it went. It took us up to the far side of the pier, which is somewhere we never go. I was surprised how lovely it was - much quieter than the main beach. We went for an ice cream and had a bit of a traumatic experience with a lost baby seagull which was very cute, racing around the crazy golf course. Suddenly what we initially thought was its mother landed close by and looked as if she was trying to get it to go home, but then things turned ugly and she started shaking it and picking the baby up in her beak and dropping it - very traumatic. One of the golf people frightened away the nasty gull and the baby ran under the hedge where I believe its actual kindly, gentle mother was waiting.

I continued with my running whilst away, although I am still convinced that I am getting slower. My new run took me from the harbour entrance to the caravan site, up the main road, past the Gun Hill Cafe which always makes me dribble with its wafting bacon and coffee smells, along the promenade and onto the pier.

I ran to the the end of the pier and then turned back and headed back the same way (the photo is the view from the pier) On Saturday morning I was running back along the pier when I spotted to my horror, a big group of runners - obviously some sort of club. Inevitably, they all reached the pier just as I did and I ran along the promenade behind them, with the gap slowly widening with each step they took. I did think about trying to keep up, but not for long as I knew that it might kill me. And then just as I was almost at the end of the promenade and feeling red faced and heavy legged, two very tall dark haired young men sprinted past me. I hoped they might be the Brownlee brothers, come to carry me home but they may have been a mirage. Every run I do seems to be harder than the previous one and each time I set out, I am convinced I will not finish it and I have to still trick my brain into thinking I will just get to halfway and then walk, or just to the end of the road, but then I keep going. I actually don't think that my body is the problem. It's my brain which is trying to sabotage my efforts, so If anyone has any suggestions as to how I can get it on side, please let me know because my resilience is starting to fade and one day I might just start listening to the brain. I am hoping to do park run again this coming weekend, as the weekend after it is the Colour Run at Abington Park. Eeeek!

I am pleased to report that I received several Love Island updates while I was away, so when I sat down to watch Sunday evening's episode, I was all up to speed. This year the couples who are settled are far less interesting to watch, and I just want to drag Tommy away and make him single again. My favourite boys are Curtis and Ovi, who would both be invited to join the old ladies' Love Island line up as I have decided that we need to have a bit of entertainment. Also invited would be Kiefer Sutherland and Sawyer from Lost ( he left a lasting impression). I would also like to have a funny man, maybe Eddie Izzard although I wonder whether he might be a bit too clever for me and Ulrika. Jimmy Carr is very amusing but he would make us all look like giants - I once saw him scurrying around Selfridges food hall in Birmingham and he was so tiny that I did think about putting him in my pocket and taking him home. Alan Carr is another possibility although the novelty might wear off after a couple of hours as he is very outspoken and would make me think twice about wearing a bikini. Anyway, we had better get cracking because it all finishes in a couple of weeks. What will I do in the evenings then? Must be almost time for Silent Witness again. At least there is that to look forward to.