Saxmundham

Now for the work part of my trip.

First step was to take the train to Saxmundham via Cambridge and Ipswich for training for my live-in care work. Harry kindly drove me to Cambridge first.

Saxmundham was a quaint little town and I was able to walk each evening to explore it. The weather reminded me of a childhood nursery rhyme...."One misty moisty morning when cloudy was the weather" etc.

The training was enormously comprehensive and professionally organised. My fellow trainees from Poland, Zimbabwe, Sth Africa, New Zealand, Scotland and Spain soon became friends as we trained and sat exams, hoisted and "manually handled" each other, dined and relaxed together. The tension of studying each evening for the next mornings exams kept us pretty quiet. Two  of our number failed and went home. We all felt very flat that day. We had to have a 75% pass in everything including practical manual handling tests. Nothing but the best. All of the staff there were supportive and friendly at all times. A good company in many ways.

Police checks here are a nightmare though. If anyone who has my name ( I have had 3) or my birth date has committed a crime against a vulnerable adult or child, it would be a criminal offence for me to work as a carer in the UK until further checks are made. The further checks take up to 12 weeks! I was told that I MUST have a plan B.

However, plan B came into effect unexpectedly!

My cycling friend Martin from Birkdale in Queensland emailed me suggesting that I contact his sister in Manchester. Their Mother needed a respite live-in carer and would be very interested to chat to me.

End result, I  have a private  job .Marie and I were delighted with each other from the first and we are both having a splendid time. Once I have "fettled" up some breakfast and we are ready for the day we head off down to Grannies Bay or Fairhaven Lake or anywhere that takes our fancy with me pushing Marie in a wheelchair. Our longest walk was 4 hours so I am getting my exercise.

My Garmin 705 Edge navigator is a gem.  It knows that I am cycling   On  my 2 hour daily afternoon rides, after I have explored along winding tiny farm lanes, taking marked cycle routes or wherever looks interesting, I set my Garmin for "Marie" and it directs me on shortcuts, through the woods and onto cycle ways and quiet roads by the shortest way back. It's great!

I had the weekend off...... SO... an expedition was in order!

Excited to be off on my first overnight independent ride, panniers packed, I set out from Lytham St Annes northwards along the promenade. Even the sand dunes had daffodils growing along the edges!

Blackpool was very colourful with so many beach side old fun parlours, roller coasters and ferris wheels and a general carnival theme. The promenades all of the way are very wide. Loads of room for all.

 A horse galloped along the beach. It was a cold bleak day but people, dogs and horses were out walking or cycling enjoying the beach front. I love my thermals! I am always cosy wearing them and my goretex jacket .

 Up at the ferry terminal at Fleetwood on the River Wyre, I boiled up water an sipped a welcome  hot cuppa. It was my first use of my tiny stove. Waiting passengers with their take away coffees were intrigued at my antics as I sheltered the gas flame from the cold wind. Weird Ozzie!

The tide was very low so it was a challenge wheeling my loaded bike down the steep ramp with its tight turns. The crew helped me aboard and we were ferried across to the other side. It saved cycling the long way around and allowed me to continue on along the quiet  scenic coastal roads

 At Condor Green I found another wonderful bike trail marked 5 miles to Lancaster. Beauty! A good dirt track through the woods. Ripper! More dogs, walkers and horses...I had to dodge the horse heaps :-) .

In Lancaster, I took the bridge over the Wyre and the cycle path took me another 5 mile down to Morecambe bay. It is such an interesting place.  Eric Morecambe the famous comedian who lived there took his name from his favourite childhood home.

Morecambe bays other claim to fame is it's tides that rush in at 9 mile( 14.5 kms) an hour combined with its very dangerous quicksand. The sand is made up of smooth round granules which combine with the water from the incoming tide to form a potentially lethal mix. The more you wriggle the deeper you sink. 20 Chinese illegal cockle gatherers met their death on the beach there one night.

All day I had stopped and chatted to interesting characters and one told me of a bike trail back to Lancaster along the canals. How picturesque! People live in many of the barges. Some are cluttered with bicycles old chairs and all kinds of paraphernalia. Most were brilliantly painted. A gorgeous stretch to ride along with lots of ducks enjoying a swim in the canal.

Warm Showers.

A new and delightful experience for  both parties!

warmshowers.org is a worldwide cyclists hosting other cyclist organization. I had contacted Tim requesting to stay. He replied with a most welcoming and friendly email. I rang him along the way and he met me along the canal pathway.

Tim and Jackie and their daughter Beck live in a flat facing Lancaster Castle across the road. We all were relaxed and laughing from the first moments.I could not have imagined or wished for a more congenial family to stay overnight with. We had such a fun time.

We went out that night. First we arrived at the Hollywood Bar for a fund raiser night for teachers at the school where Jackie is secretary. 2 teachers will be walking the Sinai desert in November to raise money for children. There was music and dancing and  folk enjoying a good night out.

Next we went to a pub where seven talented musicians played very lively Russian and Turkish music. The pub was packed and cosy. The atmosphere was excellent. At midnight we walked around the corner to the flat. It was 1 o'clock when we got to bed and we awoke to English summer time with the clocks now forward an hour. Census night also here.

I went on a guided tour through Lancaster Castle. It still operates a court house and a prison inside its walls although the prison is about to close. It was really fascinating wandering through. An amazing glimpse into a past age. Wow! I must say though that the tour guide, although polite and an absolute font of knowledge did not show a glimmer of a sparkle or smile or even any personality whatsoever.

Tim escorted me out over the cobbled streets and through Lancaster until I reached the A588. He gave me impeccable instructions for the most direct route home but I was speeding along and gazing at daffodils, I took a left fork instead of a right and "oh my gosh, I'm sure I wasn't meant to be in Garstang!"

I consulted the map trying to decide which was now the most direct route home, munched a pear, swigged some water and decided to use the Garmin. I keyed in find "Marie" and off I peddled through a maze of small roads and bike paths as well as main roads. Sometimes I doubted the direction I was taking but I decided to give the navigator its head and Hey Presto I arrived home an hour earlier and almost 10kms shorter than I had expected. Amazing.

One more week here at Lytham St Annes and then I am off to Bath to work for 2 weeks. I have 4 days to get there so will be able to cycle down.