Falcon Middle School, Sprowston

After a particularly appalling nights sleep, I got up at a very early hour and prepared for the long hike from Essex up to Norfolk for today's Henry visit. I had driven up from Somerset to my parent's house in Mountnessing the day before. On stepping out of the front door at about 5.30 am I was presented by piercingly cold clear morning. My car had a light dusting of snow across it and the morning sky was flecked with scudding clouds.

Soon I was on my way, up the jolly A12 (a road I am now far more familiar with now that I no longer live in Essex) and made very good headway. The faintly ridiculous Sarah Kennedy was waffling on the radio about how grateful she was that the wind had dropped. She clearly wasn't standing on the forecourt of the petrol station on the A12 where I was. I have no idea where the wind was coming from (Antarctica at a guess) but I knew where it was going. It was howling round me!

I soon found myself in Norwich, a delightful city, a winding my way past Carrow Road (home of Norwich City FC) and on the road up to Sprowston itself. This was a completely new school for me, but it was truly wonderful. A fabulously warm welcome from everyone and I was even allowed to park in the disabled parking bay when there was no space left in the car park - though I did make it clear that I would be happy to move if necessary. There was about 70 children today and despite being very quiet at the start they soon warmed up as the day got going. Lunch was very nice, a warming sausage pie with thick gravy, followed by Bakewell tart with custard!

The afternoon sped by and the jousting was just wonderful. In the grand final the gents got way out in front, but the ladies pegged them back and finally snatched victory with a quite magnificent anchor leg from their last lady. Lots of laughs and thank yous and a promise of a return visit next year. Sounds good to me.

The drive back to my parents was relatively easy and I am now about to have a small drink with my father and then allow my mother to molly coddle me with a proper home dinner. Very nice! Tomorrow its back to Norfolk and Drayton Middle School.