Seeing the girls off to school and then leaving in time for my Norfolk shooting lesson with mixed results. Some shopping for ammunition in Norwich and then on to Heronshaw planned the Ropes Hill Dyke roadworks and the resumption of work with Alan on Harnser
Diana called me very early this morning, being under the mistaken impression that I had to leave early for Norfolk. I actually had time to see the girls off to school and review the mail and check that I had everything I needed before taking off in the Range Rover. My first point of call was the shooting ground at Thetford and I arrived in time for my 10.00am lesson with John Buckle. The weather had been very wet all night and this continued this morning. I had to don my waterproofs from the start, and I kept them on after loading up and then wore them again for my lesson whilst the instructor got very wet! I did a little better than last week, hitting most of the clays that were crossing and doing particularly well on those that were high overhead. I then floundered with those going-away shots missing just about all of them.
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The instructor thought that I was still trying to give them a lead but I could not master it anyway. I was also concerned to find that my gun mis-fired a couple of times on the right-hand cylinder and that the instructor thought that the lever spring was on its way out which meant that I would have to get a gunsmith to look at it soon. On to Norwich, stopping for lunch at a Happy Eater on the way as the storms had caused a power cut on the first Little Chef that I tried. I parked in the city centre and went first to Upper Goat Lane to exchange my newly-purchased waist-coat for one a size smaller and then walked round to a nearby gun-shop where I bought a large leather cartridge bag and some No 6 and 4 cartridges. A plate of sea-food from my favourite market stall and then off to Horning as the rain still fell. I was pleased to find a letter from the last neighbour agreeing to get the road surfaced and so made calls to the Treasurer of the Residents Association and then the contractor to get the work under-way. I also called Jewson’s for my heaters and some more Masterboard before getting changed and starting work.
I cut and fixed two more ceiling panels before Alan Giddings came and, after a discussion, we arranged for him to come and resume work on Monday. A call to Steven Bloom to book him for next week as well and so I hope to get the side of the boat-house clad to stop the birds pecking at the building paper. I heard from Nigel on my cellular telephone whilst driving up. He had obtained the details on some farmland for sale on the Hail Weston/Paxton border and will be sending me a copy. I asked Alan about shooting opportunities in Horning, and he will be asking his employer whether there are any pheasant days left vacant at a price and will also call me when the geese come in to feed on the estate. It evidently needs cold weather for them to feed on the fields and then they shoot them on the flight-path rather than on their feeding field as that does not discourage them from coming again. The working time gone as Alan left, I went in to make and eat some ham sandwiches and then updated my journal before by bath and bed.