TimeOut

G99
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Going back to my roots

last week i went back to my parents for a few days mainly to get away from the stagnation that life at home has become and to recharge my batteries. i have always been a regular visitor, but for most of my adult life i have been with partners/wives/children. this was the first time in years and years that i had visited on my own and it turned out to be an excellent experience for me.

my parents live on the east coast of England, in the most easterly town in the british isles which is also the start of the Norfolk broads, a waterway man made several hundred years ago by digging peat for fires. it is now a superb place for watersports including yacht and speedboat racing and a favourite destination for holidaymakers.

On saturday i decided to go to Norwich, the city in which i was born and only 25 miles from 'home'. the reason i was born in Norwich was due to the lack of maternity facilities any nearer to home. despite only spending a few days in the Norfolk & Norwich Hospitals maternity ward i have always had a bond with the city.

Norwich is a very historic city with a centre consisting of small narrow cobbled streets, many many public houses and over 30 churches within perhaps 2 square miles. it has been a trading place since the vikings first occupied the UK with the river Wensum running through the centre. it has a castle, cathedral, remnants of the city wall, cobbled streets, everything, in fact, that you would expect in a city with such a history.

i took my camera in order to try to capture some of its history so here goes.

firstly, the Castle, high on its hill. extremely well preserved and now a museum to the history of norwich. 

i was truly going backwards in time on this trip so had the right watch for the occasion.

now the cathedral, equally well preserved, but that is the way with 'the Church', they have the money to keep their properties in good order. i have an embarrassing confession to make, i once sang in the cathedral when i was a choir boy at my local church. not something i did for many years.

pics of the inside of the cloisters, a quiet area for contemplation.

the river Wensum runs straight through the old city. i didnt even know it was there until this visit and i was transfixed. it was quiet and placid, totally at odds with the busy city surrounding it. at one time it would have been bustling with tradesmen, sailors and goods would have been piled on the dockside. now there are just apartments and old houses. in fact there are many many modern apartments that have taken the place of the derelict storage sheds.

just one of the many cobbled streets in this small part of the city. not easy to walk on and nearly impossible to cycle on.

coming forward in time we have the Royal Arcade which closely resembles Burlington Arcade in London so probably built at about the same time, late Victorian or early Edwardian i would guess.

finally one of the more humorous hobbies that strange men in beards indulge in, Morris Dancing. i really dont understand why grown men want to hop around with bells on their legs, but there is often beer involved in great quantities which may explain it.

no beer today as it was at StAndrews Hall, a former church, to raise money for Haiti. when i were but a lad, at 15, i came here to see Iron Maiden just after they had released their first album. an unusual location for a heavy rock band i think.

in the more modern part of the city i came across 3 very nice watch shops. at one the staff were not particularly friendly, but at the other 2 i had a great time. one had the new Seiko Ananta range including the Spring drive chronograph. they did admit to having only sold one since November, their reasoning is that unless you know about watches you wont understand the siignificance of the spring drive and assume that Seiko are a cheap brand. they sell far more Rolex than anything, not because they are the best, but because, in the opinion of the owner, people have a bit of money, want a watch and automatically go for a rolex, then ask where the battery goes   this is not my opinion, but an observation made by the man who does the selling.

in another i had the chance to try on the Omega Ploprof. its hard to compare it with the original as i let that go some years ago, but it is a lovely well built dive watch.

anyway, enough about watches. i enjoyed my day as the weather was very good. it is a city that draws me back and i think i could be happy if i chose to live there. at the moment, my home is for sale and i have no real preference as to where i live, my children are grown up, my stepsons dont seem to bother with contacting me so i can live anywhere. Norwich is only 90 minutes by train from London, the road access is excellent, there are loads of top quality apartments for sale at good prices, many with underground parking, including apartments in the very building i was born in as the hospital has moved. it has 3 good dealers selling everything from Patek to Seiko, there is a University and teaching hospital so there will be lots of women (one is enough, but it would be good to have a choice). what more do i need?

i hope you enjoy my trip back in time as much as i did.

Graham