Norfolk Antique and Collectors Fair

Today we went to the Norfolk Antique and Collectors Fair, held at the Norfolk Showgrounds, just a short drive from home. Parking was all in paddocks, which due to the constant rain were soft and muddy. Both the car and our feet got very dirty.

The fair was both indoors and outdoors. It kept threatening to rain and the vendors outside had all their wares laid out regardless, on tables and tarpaulins on the wet ground.

Inside, it was much nicer, with the main venue heated, but out back another part of the indoor venue had no heating at all and was very cold, so vendors were all rugged up in hats, jackets and gloves.

We were there maybe 2 hours and saw the usual array of collectibles, including furniture, clothing, china, cutlery, toys, books, and so on. A very interesting display due to the size of the event and because in the UK there is so more more available than what we see at home.

I spotted a few things we're very unlikely to see in New Zealand, or things that were just a little odd.

WWII memorabilia...

Gun and weapons...

Golliwog...

Playboy doll (why do these even exist?)...

Afterward we went to the local pub "The Copper Beech" for a carvery roast lunch. The rain was returning, and with a high of 4 degrees, we stayed home for the afternoon.

Around Norwich

We've had a lazy day here, due to it being unseasonably wet and cold. With not a lot to report, here's a couple of amusing photos.

The first is up the road from us, the road has remained flooded lately, presumably due to blocked drains. Some smarty pants has put a small "no fishing" sign on the footpath.

Second, down the road from home, the roadside is covered in molehills. This has been a common site everywhere we've been, but I thought I'd stop at the local molehills to take photos. I'm amazed how many rocks are in each pile, it must be hard going being a mole.

Wroxham & The Broads

Today we drove a short distance to Wroxham, a small town which is the gateway to the Norwich Broads (simply known as "The Broads").

The Broads are a system of waterways in the forms of rivers and lakes, all interconnected. Many are man made. This is a popular place to visit, there are many tour boats that take people on a 90 minutes journey out on The Broads (this is what we did), there are also many privately owned boats parked up and also boats for hire to suit a range of budgets.

Nature is also very important on The Broads. There are strict speed limits, and many species of plants and birds live here in a balance which is also carefully managed by humans.

The boat we went on, the Queen of the Broads, was very nice, two levels. Below, you sit at tables that are slightly below water level, so looking out the window is only just above water level, great for bird watchers. Upstairs is covered but with open sides, a great view but as today it was only 4 degrees it was very cold up there. I held on for about 30 minutes taking photos, before heading below to sit with Helen and Gwen.

So here's a selection of what we saw on our trip.

Wroxham, where all the boats are parked up...

Some of the private residences along the River Bure... (all you need is money!)

A view showing the width of the River Bure...

Out onto Wroxham Broad...

Heading back on the River Bure, sharing with other boats...

After our tour, we walked a short distance into town where we had fish and chips with mushy peas for lunch, sitting down in the local chippie shop. On the way back to the car, we noticed there are plenty of swans here waiting for people to feed them.

Next we visited Miniature Worlds, this claims to be the "largest indoor modelling attraction in the UK stretching over 10,000 square feet with some of the largest model railways in the world on permanent public display". This may be true but honestly we were underwelmed and thought the entry price was a little steep for what we saw. I guess the building spans 10,000 square feet but the model railways are only a small part of that. However looking beyond the train sets they had some impressive collections of toys including Matchbox cars, Scalextric slot cars, dolls and more. Actually it's great to see these toys preserved in original condition, someone ought to do it, and if my entry fee helps them achieve this then I'm happy.

Here's some of the train sets...

Slot car set (pit lane)...

They also had some train simulators, Helen and I had a play, a bit of fun but honestly once the train is moving there isn't a lot to do except watch the tracks ahead!

They also had a penny arcade, many old machines on display, including this one which gives me the heebie-jeebies.

It's Good Friday today and heavy rain forecast. We did some supermarket shopping, then made it home just before some nasty weather rolled in. A quiet afternoon ahead.

Cambridge - Centre for Computing History

Today we returned to Coalville to try on some more motorcycle gear that had been ordered in for me to try. The return trip to Coalville is 300 miles (483km), mostly on dual carriageways A11, A14 and M1 with a few local roads at either end. Basically, a whole day on the road. The speed limit is 70mph on nearly all of these roads, so we moved along at a good pace, and the traffic wasn't too bad except for some areas near Cambridge where there were road works.

The trip was not for nothing, I really liked one of the jackets and made a purchase.

On the way to Coalville we drove for 3 hours non-stop. On the way back, bang on midday, we peeled off the A14 at Leicester to a huge Sainsbury's, where we filled up with Diesel (a very good price here), grabbed some drinks in the supermarket, and also had lunch in their cafe (well actually mine was a breakfast meal with sausage, egg, bacon, hash brown etc).

Fed and watered, we stopped at Cambridge for something different. Online I had found the Centre for Computing History and wanted to take a look. Helen and I are computer and gadget geeks from way back, and expected to see a bit of computing nostalgia.

Upon entry, the first room contains The Megapocessor. I was mesmerized by this. These days we take microprocessors for granted and they are in everything we use from computers to cars to kitchens. They are small, fast and inexpensive. But what if you want to see the inner workings of a CPU? The Megaprocessor was created by hand to achieve just that; make a CPU entirely out of individual transistors and LEDs so people can play with it, and see it working. There's a good article about it on The Register. Quoting some vital statistics:

• ~42,000 transistors
• ~10,000 LEDs
• Over a million solder joints
• 4 years in the making

This is very, very cool and the website is well worth a read to fully appreciate how impressive this is.

Looking around the rest of the museum, they had a huge array of old home computers, business computers, etc, many in working condition. Here's some things I saw, which we either had at home, or friends had, or I read about in magazines and always wanted (I'm sure Dad remembers me wanting lots!), or I used at University.

BBC Micro, created in Cambridge...

Atari 2600...

Commodore 64...

Commodore Amiga...

Apple IIe and Apple Macintosh...

Check out this old Toshiba laptop with monochrome LCD display, what a clunker!

Original IBM PC, next to Commodore CPM...

NeXT, first time I've ever seen one of these...

Digital VT101 "Dumb" Terminal...

Technology is moving so fast, it's important that old equipment like this is kept to remind us where we came from. Some of the things we saw today, in computing terms is as old as Rome or Stonehenge. This place is well worth a visit for any geek, and it looked like further exhibits were being created so its future looks even brighter.

Cromer and Holt

Today it was cold and wet. With a high of 4 degrees, and persistent light rain, it wasn't the most pleasant. Also Helen has caught a cold so wasn't feeling up to too much.

We went for a drive to a quilting store, where again Helen made a small purchase. She attempted to use an old £5 note we've had since her last trip here, it wasn't accepted because the UK has moved to plastic £5 and £10 notes. Not to worry, we had other means of payment.

Next we went to the seaside town of Cromer. Here the town sits above the beach, with numerous pathways down to the water. The pier here has the usual amusements but today walking out on the pier, it was cold and bleak and didn't feel much like fun at all. Holding the camera under my umbrella to keep it dry, my hands were freezing.

Once we finished walking on the pier, we had to walk back up to the town, where many streets are narrow and also very quiet today.

While here, Helen stopped at a bank and exchanged our paper £5 note for a new plastic version. Eager to ensure it is accepted, we stopped at a fish & chip shop to buy some chips, which we put salt and vinegar on because that's how it's done here. Actually, the purpose of this purchase was to warm our insides after the cold walk. I carried the chips back to the car (to warm my hands) and we munched on them while the rain continued to fall.

Next we drove to the town of Holt, this is where we visited last week to go on the steam train. Today we parked up in town and had a look around the shops. The shops in Holt are very much boutique and a little different from what you see elsewhere.

In town there is Byfords, a small 5-star hotel, with a lovely bakery and restaurant attached. We sent inside for a sit-down lunch. I had a sausage roll with mash and greens, and I would say it was the best sausage roll I've ever had. The rich, dark gravy and mash made it even more appealing.

After that we returned home, for a quiet afternoon. We are on holiday, after all.

Here's a map of where we drove today.