After a Eurostar journey from Paris to London, a taxi ride across London, then another train from London to Norwich, we arrived at my friend Maureen's house in Mulbarton, a lovely little village near Norwich. Angie (Maureen's daughter) picked us up from the railway station so that Maureen could complete the feast she was preparing - Christmas dinner! And what a feast! Turkey with home made stuffing, every vegetable under the sun, Xmas pudding, biscuits, chocolates, cheeses.... It was absolutely delicious! And all of this laid out on the Xmas tablecloth with the bon bons, crystal glasses and special Xmas china, not to mention the gold plated cutlery.

We spent 3 days catching up on every life event - our lives, Maureen's life, kids' lives, relatives, pets, previous neighbours and friends . If there was a connection to any of the three of us, however tenuous, it would have been discussed!! And to fortify ourselves so that we were able to continue such deep and insightful discussions (!), we ate and drank ourselves through the vast contents of Maureen's fridge (Maureen obviously thought we needed to be fattened up so had bought endless savoury and sweet food, so we willingly obliged. By the end of the three days, we both felt a little like the stuffed turkey we consumed on day one!!).

Throughout the visit, we caught up with Angie and Paul (Maureen's son) who unsurprisingly have inherited their parents wit, and kept Garth and me in stitches, paying us out something shocking. What happened to those small children that I first met 30 years ago who were sooo polite?? No respect in this younger generation!!!

Finally, I should mention Flash, who still thinks he is a human being rather than a dog. Last visit we photographed him perched up beside Maureen in the campervan where he looked like he was driving the van. This time he has a new trick (because just driving the van has got sooo mundane). He looks out of the window until he sees the postman, then barks like a madman (mad dog?) until Maureen opens the front door. Then he hares down the street and collects the mail in his mouth, bringing them back to Maureen in record time! I think the Keen personality has rubbed off on him too!

Our time together went all too quickly, as it always does when you are with great friends that you see rarely.

We return to London later today on the train - Garth will be staying in London, and I will be heading to my cousin's house to catch up with my mother's side of the family.