We leave the hotel at 09:30 and drive to the Suffolk
coastal town of Alderburgh about twenty miles north of Ipswich. I haven’t been
here for a few years and can’t remember anything about coach parking, dropping
off and picking up so I’ll have to rely on good old sat nav!
It is another gorgeous day as we arrive in this lovely
old seaside town and I drop the passengers off where I’m told! I then drive
through the town to park and come across three parking bays the other side of
the High Street which would have been more convenient for the passengers than
where I did drop them. Oh well I’ll know next time!
Alderburgh is only a small town so wherever I stop it is
not far from anywhere. This is a very old fashioned seaside resort with no
amusement arcades or fun fair rides and is all the better for it. The
quaintness seems to suit the surroundings.
We enjoy a couple of hours here before driving to Ipswich
where we have a cruise on the River Orwell booked.
Again I don’t know where the quayside is so put my trust
in the little black box!
Our cruise departs at 14:00 and I have to call the boat
people in advance with an arrival time so they can meet me by the quay and
remove the bollards so I can reach the boat.
We depart Alderburgh at 12:45 and forty minutes later I’m
leaving the A12 and driving into Ipswich in search of the quayside.
We are very close now as I turn into a road that has a
dead end sign which I take to mean it finishes at the bollards at the quay.
No! It finishes at a new junction a couple of hundred
yards from the quay where my only way out is to drive off the road onto the
wide pavement and go down a short one way street the wrong way and hope Old
Bill is not about!
I am trying to do this and it is patently o
We are now back on sat nav directions and are a minute
from the quay when I end up in another road I can’t get through this time at a
block of flats. Backwards I go again and then drive to the river where I can
see it ahead of me and call the man again to ask for help!
He can see me and all I need to do is turn around and I’m
there!
The block of flats are new and situated between the road
and the quayside and the new junction I can see from where I park near the
boat!
I stay behind to do some work while the group go off on a
3½ cruise in the brilliant sunshine.
There are a few cafes here and I go for a late lunch once
the boat has gone.
It is lovely being parked on the quayside as I’m right by
the water with a view of the harbour and lots of space about me.
The boat is a little late returning and it is 17:50
before we are away from here although they have all enjoyed the trip immensely.
We arrive back at the hotel by 18:30 and I had booked
dinner for 19:00 but we may have to come in a little later which the hotel seem
okay about.
It is our last night tonight and I arrange for a
collection bowl to be passed around amongst the group for anyone who wants to
tip the staff. Once this has returned to me I go off in search of the duty
manager so I can present it to her in front of everyone and she then has the
chance to thank them all.
I eventually find her and give her the money, she smile
thanks me and goes off! I thought the least she could do was just turn to the
group and say thank you especially as I had asked her to come to where we sit
for dinner to collect it. I didn’t like that.
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