A Drive On The Wild Side

I'll start by putting the record straight and pointing out that this is not my photo. It wasn't even taken this year but it is the closest I could find to what we came across as we headed towards Marion's early morning fitness class at Ufford Park today. The memory on my phone was full and when you are stuck in a queue of traffic attempting to reverse and turn around, deleting unwanted photos on the iPhone and stopping to take snaps is not a top priority and unlikely to win you much love from fellow road users. Of course we'd heard all about the storm but we'd both slept well and it wasn't really very windy when we left Framlingham at 8 o'clock so we thought that our area had escaped the worst. After all, we were living near Sevenoaks in Kent in 1987 when virtually every tree within a mile of our house came down; this felt nowhere near as severe.

Following our noses we found our way away from Hacheston where the blockage lay and eventually reached the A12 after a hairy drive through floodwater and around other fallen trees on partially blocked roads. By this time the winds were so strong that the car was shaking and drivers were proceeding very gingerly.  But we made it to the gym with time to spare. Sad to say, although Marion's instructor was there, the hotel and spa had been hit by a power cut so the gym was closed and we had to look for an alternative route home. I decided to give very minor roads a miss but still had to turn back on the Glenham road and had some very tight squeezes on the Saxmundham road but got back home safely before ten. On reflection the journey was a bit foolhardy and reckless (we can't say that we weren't warned) but the conditions seemed benign when we left. The intense winds lasted for only a few minutes but they brought down so many trees that their speed must have been immense.

Shortly after we got home a delivery van arrived with this beautiful bouquet of scented roses, stocks and other flowers in an attractive pot. It was a thank you from Dave and Jane who stayed with us last week - what a kind gesture.

Determined not to be thwarted by the wind we logged onto Fitness TV on the Smart TV and did a workout (not before drawing all the blinds to ensure that nobody could see me prancing around the dining room in my shorts). I found it quite hard work (having two left feet doesn't help with the dance like steps) but Marion went on to do a Pilates workout too.

That should help with the diet. We're sicking to TescoDiets meal plan religiously and hope that we get results soon. Since we started on Saturday we've had chicken salad, chicken stir fry, chicken ciabatta rolls and there's more chicken tomorrow. I love a glass or two of prosecco or white wine while relaxing in the bath on a Saturday evening but this week I had to do with slimline tonic - not quite the same. Mind you I didn't fall asleep in front of the telly and that might tell me something.