Norfolk daze

Our visits to the People's Republic of Norfolk have taken on a soothingly repetitive rhythm: arrive late Friday evening (either by design or courtesy of the railways); get up late, go into town for a cheap but excellent haircut (Jem at Method), meet the 'rents at Loch Fyne for a late lunch, into M&S to buy underwear and teabags (240 Extra Strong One Cups), and then home for dinner and, usually, a Channel 4 "list" show -- you know, one of those super-cheap TV programs with a decent voiceover and lots of rentagobs like Stuart Maconie. Sunday involves reading the papers, heading to Sainsbury's for more essential items unavailable over here -- decent veggie stock powder, magic dusters, vast slabs of Dairy Milk -- and then a bit of a walk before heading to the joyously simple and laid-back Norwich Airport.

This weekend was no exception. The haircut was top-notch; the mussels in Loch Fyne very tasty; I got several outfits at the new House of Fraser; and the Channel 4 show in question was "Britain's 50 top comedy films", voice-overed by fellow Norfolk boy Stephen Fry (we went to the same 6th form college!) but, refreshingly, without Stuart Maconie or his fellow Z-list "celeb" peers who usually appear on "I love whatever you'll pay me to talk about." No, this had commentary from the likes of Kevin Smith, and the top three films -- as voted for by you, the British public -- were Shaun of the Dead, Airplane, and at No.1 Life of Brian. Fine films all and an easy way to waste several hours. And despite a short delay at the airport due to high winds, our journey home was straightforward. Even the dreaded security checks seem far more amenable and less stressful when administered by someone with a strong Norfolk accent -- although I was bemused that a man ahead of me was complaining about the fact that he wasn't allowed to take his roll-on deodorant in hand luggage. "Why doesn't anyone tell you these things?" he remonstrated with the guard; she looked somewhat nonplussed and ventured that it had been all over the news for the past month, but he was not satisfied. Muppet.