We knew today was going to be cooler and so planned a trip out to the Yarmouth Pleasurebeach amusements for the day. This was after we were all awoken by the loud reports of gunfire at dawn as the local shooters greeted the new wild-fowling season in customary fashion. The shots were quite near and sounded as if they come from Crabbett's Marsh, the private half of Hoveton Little (or Blackhorse) Broad and surrounding fields.
The family were keen to get out early after breakfast and caught me somewhat by surprise with their haste but we were eventually ready. We stopped off at Lathams of Potter Heigham for morning coffee. On arrival in Yarmouth, I hovered in the car with Sam whilst Diana bought the girls their unlimited-rides arm-bands and then we left them to play and parked at the other end of Pleasurebeach so as to take the dog for a walk along to the harbour entrance.
For once, we had remembered both the binoculars and VHF hand-held radio and could properly monitor the shipping movements in and out of the harbour on Channel 12 and this added to our enjoyment. A good walk for Sam. We met an elderly and confused lady on the way who had become detached from her family and so comforted and helped her back to her holiday caravan. She was one of three ladies I saw crying in public today as the result of some stress or other and I felt that life was coming to a pretty pass when people are so sad.
Lunch together at a good and cheap cafe and then home to Harnser in time for tea. Just a short walk for Sam after his dinner as he had been active all day and then I took the family straight out to Norwich to see the screen version of "Much Ado about Nothing". We all enjoyed it, though Della was less sure for not understanding the Old English dialogue. The wit and literacy skill of Shakespeare transcends the centuries and, even if the settings were dramatised by splendid photography and excellent screenplay, this only added the same excitement that the audience would have felt in "The Cockpit" when simple drama was such rich entertainment.
Home quite early and then my journal and some correspondence with Diana before bed. I spoke to Daniel this evening about the possibility of him coming to Scotland with me, particularly if Nigel would be "unavoidably detained"!