Our "business" at the moment is to get ourselves back to Malaysia. This involves keeping on top of the ever-changing regulations, and making sure we're taking the requisite measures in the right order. It's all a little stressful, to be honest.

One absolutely indispensable requirement is a negative covid test taken no earlier than three days before our scheduled arrival in Malaysia.

This is not that easy to come by in the UK, and after investigating several possibilities, and discovering potential loopholes in most of them, we eventually took the most expensive but apparently most reliable option, and booked ourselves in at a London clinic.

So on Monday we picked up a car, which we will (if all goes well) hand back at the airport on Thursday.

And yesterday we got up bright and early to drive to London. No-one wants to drive to London, but we didn't want to risk the train and underground at this critical juncture. Thank goodness for Google maps and their useful directions... And thank goodness for apps that allow you to pre-book a parking space.

We ate our lunch (hotcake ham sandwiches and cold sausages) on a street corner bench. And we took the test. It's unpleasant. The throat swab makes you gag, and the nose swab makes your eyes water. So it's depressing to know that we have several more of these joyous experiences in front of us...

We didn't want to stay on in London. At the moment it seems far too crowded, and you just feel you're for ever trying to avoid people. So we drove straight back to Norwich. The traffic had thickened up by now, but we made reasonable time. We left the house at 7.30, and were back by about 3.15.

Well in need of a bottle of wine by then...

This morning -- in hopes of a negative outcome, and no other obstacles -- we did our quarantine shop. Enough of the daily necessities of life to see us through two weeks' isolation, including two pairs of light casual pants for me. My quarantine pants... I came to the UK (in January, remember) with mostly winter gear. I have one pair of light outdoor trousers that I recycle endlessly, and two pairs of indoor trousers that will be too warm for Malaysia (they're a bit warm even here now sometimes). "I've never met anyone who lives in Borneo," said the lady on the till. She wished us lots of luck for the journey back.

_*_*_

But all work and no play is not a good plan. So, in addition to all this, we've been walking. Our usual salve and salvation, which we're going to so miss in our quarantine period...

Within the city of Norwich itself is the Plantation Garden. In 1855, Henry Trevor, the well-to-do owner of an upholstery and cabinet-making business, bought the lease of an old quarry just outside the city walls, and set about turning it into a garden.

It's a delight. There's a Gothic fountain, an Italianate terrace, an abundance of vegetation, a wonderful spread of flowers, and an eclectic collection of decorative brick and stone.













We also did another of the circular walks based on the Wherryman's Way. Starting in Surlingham, which was as far as we got last time, the route took us into the Surlingham Church Marsh Nature Reserve, and then along the river to the Ferry House Inn.

(This, by the way, is another of the many establishments that have tried really hard to organize things so that their customers can safely come back and enjoy their services. We've encountered so many businesses that have devised one-way routes, streamlined ordering processes, provided hand-sanitizer, and so on. I salute them. So much ingenuity and effort have gone into these endeavours. It's sort of moving... Not that we personally are rewarding their attempts. We feel as though we're perched on a knife-edge at the moment, and just can't afford to take any risks.)






On the way back, you can see the tranquil ruins of St Saviour's, in its emerald green setting.




Just to keep things even, we also walked another of the Marriott's Way circular routes -- the one that goes through Costessey (pronounced "Cossey").

It's a pleasant walk, along a stretch of the old railway, and through fields and woodland. You pass the former Hellesdon station and the medieval church of St Edmund's.






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We had a long wait for our test results today. We were supposed to have them by about mid-day, but they didn't roll up until after 6 pm. So it was a very, very anxious afternoon.

But... They're here. And they're negative.

So it looks as though we're on our way...

Farewell, Norfolk. You have treated us extraordinarily well, and we'll miss you.

And farewell, everyone we love over here in the British Isles. We'll miss you enormously. But as soon as times are better, we WILL be back. Promise.