Great Weekend!

I've had a fabulous weekend!

Saturday was spent at my sister's house, eating, drinking, watching footie, chatting, lounging around.......




That's Kev my bruv in law, and Holly, eleven going on 16 I think.


That's the Argentina vs Cote D'Ivoire match, which was great fun! I enjoyed that more than the England match.

On Sunday morning there was a French market in Ipswich. I popped down and felt that with the sun and all the French people and all the French produce I had been transported! I bought wonderful, juicy, drippy peaches, real Charentais melons, tomates en grappe, tarte au citron, baguettes and real croissants. When I brought them home we all stuck our noses into the croissants bag to get a smell of the France we know and love. (then I stuck them in the freeezer until after the diet!)

Sunday, I had forgotton that I'd agreed to do this 'Driving Challenge' for charity with Nicola and a friend of hers. She picked me up at 1 oclock in her soft top BMW! We drove through the beautiful Suffolk countryside to the venue (RAF Bentwaters - where they do TOP GEAR stunts!) (as well as Fifth Gear and other things). From 2pm to 6pm we drove or were driven in about eight different types of vehicle! Started off in a military vehicle called a D.R.O.P.S.

where we were given a lesson in discharging ammunition to the battle field in less than 40 seconds (!). After that we drove artic lorries. I was a complete wimp - I had 40 tons of container behind me and had to do a slalom course (in a lorry!). Needless to say I killed upteen fictional pedestrians as my trailer mounted the pavement or went into oncoming traffic! I will look upon lorry drivers with a new respect from now on! (hear that Wendz?) And as for all those gear ratios!

Next we went on these bubble thingies, which were great fun! You had two levers to control them, they were like bumper cars and a light relief after that HGV! Then we could go on two of the following: JCB diggers, enormous tractors, gritter lorries or a coach. I chose the JCB digger because it was stationary and I'm a wimp. Then I went on the gritter lorry which was just like a normal car really, no funny gear ratios!

Next we got a ride in a fire engine, complete with siren! They don't let us drive those since someone rolled one last year! The fire engine took us to our next vehicle which was the four by fours. This was FUN! I had an automatic ex military long wheel base land rover and we drove 'off road'! Great stuff.

I forgot to say that earlier we went on quad bikes. I kept thinking of how Ozzy Osbourne and Rik Mayall rolled theirs. So I was wimpishly slow on mine!

After the landrovers we went in a limo to our next and final vehicle which were the sports cars. Two of them were Audi TT's and thinking of LeChat, I chose one of these. Well, I am a wimp of the first order! We had to drive (with an instructor, I had the Stig) down a runway and round a chicane and back up! Down the runway was fine but I was too wimpy to reach 100 (80 I think) and then the instructor told me to take the corner without breaking!!!!! 'Trust me' he kept saying. I couldn't, and I breaked (broke?). One of the problems was no knowing the road, and the heat haze didn't help, it was HOT HOT HOT. I realised I was a complete weakling so I asked him to take ME round next! WOW! What an experience. He did a complete Jeremy Clarkson, I thought he was going to roll the thing. I just sunk in the passenger seat and said 'shit' alot. He thought it was very funny!

Oh, actually finally, we went on golf buggies. Much more my thing!


This is Nicola climbing into one!









When we got home, sunkissed and full of happiness, I persuaded my family to go back out to the 'deep' countryside to a pub where we sat outside on the village green in the setting sun drinking and eating a plate of their home made chips. Bliss.

It looks like while I'd been away they'd been making their own fun! You see what happens when you deprive your kids of normal stuff like badminton nets?