Sally's Journal

Hmmm, I feel odd. A bit of a sore throat, and perminently thirsty, and always the wrong tempurature, be it too hot or too cold. Still, it could be worse.

ghoti had asked me the interesting question "where would you go if you had a time machine".* And while musing on this, my cynical streak drew the analogy with asking someone 100 years ago "where would you go if you had a space machine?" There are hundreds of over romantic answers to both, going to pet dinosaurs, watching the major events of history, exploring our beautiful countryside, visiting historical buildings. But I've *had* a car for ages now, and all I really use it for is going to tescos. So I assume that the real answer to the time machine question would be "to the supermarket".

Anyway, with this in mind, the sun shining, and the lure of the sea strong, I took the car and drove east. I found framlington castle (probably not worth the money, but I'm an English Heritage member, which ment I could jut run round the walls enjoying the glorious view without trying to listen seriously to the audio tour and feel I was getting my moneys worth :-) )and finally made it to Minsmere, which was fabulous. I watched tits at the feeders, and the swooping sandmartins, and walked down to the beach, and wandered along the beach until I walked up the cliffs and found myself at Dunwich Heath. Then I went back to Minsmere watching the nuclear powerstation and enjoying the feel of waves on my feet, and headed inland. I heard the boom of bitterns! It's the strangest noise. I'm not sure I could even remember it now, but when you're told what it is (in my case by a man talking to his wife nearby) it's unmistakable. I may even have seen a bittern, although I suppose I'll never know. I had it in my mind they were small dipper like birds, so when I went to bittern hide and spent a while watching an odd heron sized thing making surprisingly short flights it never crossed my mind that what I was looking at might not be a heron. Until I read the sign on the wall saying that bitterns were nearly heron sized. Anyway, the whole thing was great. Lots of sun and sand and birds. I drove back very tired, and very happy.

*Yes, I will answer all your questions at some point, promise

Hmmm, I feel odd. A bit of a sore throat, and perminently thirsty, and always the wrong tempurature, be it too hot or too cold. Still, it could be worse.

ghoti had asked me the interesting question "where would you go if you had a time machine".* And while musing on this, my cynical streak drew the analogy with asking someone 100 years ago "where would you go if you had a space machine?" There are hundreds of over romantic answers to both, going to pet dinosaurs, watching the major events of history, exploring our beautiful countryside, visiting historical buildings. But I've *had* a car for ages now, and all I really use it for is going to tescos. So I assume that the real answer to the time machine question would be "to the supermarket".

Anyway, with this in mind, the sun shining, and the lure of the sea strong, I took the car and drove east. I found framlington castle (probably not worth the money, but I'm an English Heritage member, which ment I could jut run round the walls enjoying the glorious view without trying to listen seriously to the audio tour and feel I was getting my moneys worth :-) )and finally made it to Minsmere, which was fabulous. I watched tits at the feeders, and the swooping sandmartins, and walked down to the beach, and wandered along the beach until I walked up the cliffs and found myself at Dunwich Heath. Then I went back to Minsmere watching the nuclear powerstation and enjoying the feel of waves on my feet, and headed inland. I heard the boom of bitterns! It's the strangest noise. I'm not sure I could even remember it now, but when you're told what it is (in my case by a man talking to his wife nearby) it's unmistakable. I may even have seen a bittern, although I suppose I'll never know. I had it in my mind they were small dipper like birds, so when I went to bittern hide and spent a while watching an odd heron sized thing making surprisingly short flights it never crossed my mind that what I was looking at might not be a heron. Until I read the sign on the wall saying that bitterns were nearly heron sized. Anyway, the whole thing was great. Lots of sun and sand and birds. I drove back very tired, and very happy.

*Yes, I will answer all your questions at some point, promise