Cromer - our first place in England

Nora in a phone booth
Stalks of Foxgloves
Cromer - a seaside town
Cromer view

Whippy ice cream (soft serve)

a garden gate

our condo
in the trees on the way for a hike to town

Our first place of residence in England would be Cromer, a small seaside town. When we said to people “we’re staying in Cromer” they would reply with either “where?” or “Why?” This painted a rather gloomy picture for me – I imagined some dismal condo in a lost and forgotten town. First we needed to do a little grocery shopping for the week – as finally I would get to cook. We stopped at a large market called Asda – translation – Wal-Mart of the UK. Yes, they are the affiliate – it sucked big time – After the long drive I was hungry and A Mc Donald’s inside beckoned me for a bite to eat – I was thinking a green salad and fries. I ordered a fish stick happy meal, so my first fish and chips in England was at a Wal-Mart Mc Donalds. Oh God! (Please pity me now) Actually, it wasn’t that bad and it’s a funny story. We bought our groceries – then headed out for our Cromer condo. I was pleasantly delighted and extremely content with the location and accommodation. Inside our condo … it was a decorators nightmare … it was mauve, green and beige – like 1980 exploded and never left. The dining room was elegantly furnished with an antique dining table and a china cabinet. I decided to make a pot of bean soup – I found the directions and it read: for a bean salad add tuna … not this isn’t what I wanted … To Hob – soak beans overnight – boil add onion etc. okay that sounds like soup – but what is Hob? A hob is the stove. So I cooked the beans on the hob and made a list of words I needed to learn whilst in the UK. David and I went that evening to play trivia and met a couple who were on “holiday” with their daughter and her friend. They invited us to their condo for a glass of wine and we talked for a few hours. Crawford and Jackie were their names and they helped me with my new British vocabulary – which included hob.
Our next morning in Cromer we decided to take a hike into town – we past the gate, onto the dirt / mud pathway, through the wooded forest and out onto the cliffs overlooking the ocean – the beauty was astounding and I couldn’t help but snap photo after photo. Once along the cliffs and overlooking the ocean, the sun was on my face and the wind kissed my cheeks. We walked past wild fox gloves in shades of purple, pink and white – they were everywhere … glorious, abundant, bursting with color and breathtaking. How could anyone ask us why are you staying in Cromer? Isn’t this bounty from Mother Nature quite enough to take anyone’s breath away? The sky was blue, the hills were green, the wind was cool, the sun was warm … this was England … pure and simple. Every so often there was a bench placed perfectly to sit upon where you could gaze at the blooms and see down to the crashing ocean – could this get any better? Only if the God’s were to zap chocolate and red wine into my hands!
We found the town of Cromer to be enchanting – like a storybook. The streets were lined with shops so different than the ones back home – Brisbane Antiques, seafood shops selling dressed crabs and cockles, Waverly cake shop, Whippy Ice Cream (soft serve), Mary Jane’s fish and chips (where we were advised to go for “proper” fish and chips), many bakeries and shops selling items to go crabbing off the side of the pier. To us, Cromer was a quiet town, similar to Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard – a seaside community that is proud of its heritage and provided us a warm welcome.
Cheers! nora gail