Yippee ~ I’ve completed my Inflatable Tour of Norfolk. Last night at Whittingham I had to abandon ship and sleep on the riverbank again due to the HMS Loopy rapidly losing air. It was a cold night and when I woke up there was frost on my bivi bag. I gradually packed up all of my equipment one last time and pumped up the HMS Loopy who had gone all mushy overnight.
I slowly rowed the short distance into Norwich and saw an unusual black water bird sitting on a fence near the railway bridge. I took some photographs but I have no idea what it was ~ if anyone can identify it from the picture I’d be really keen to know what it was.
Rowing through Norwich & going under all the bridges was very exciting. I stopped for a little while at Norwich Yacht Station to pump up my good ship one last time. The final leg of my journey took me past Pulls Ferry, the Cow Tower and under 4 more bridges. As I approached St Georges Bridge I was astonished to see balloons & flags & crowds of people waiting and cheering me in. Oh what a lovely surprise and me & the HMS Loopy thoroughly enjoyed our finish. When I climbed out of my ship my first priority was to have a big hug with my lovely husband Steve. After that it was so good to be able to meet the people from the Norfolk Wildlife Trust, the RSPB and all my family & friends & school children who had come to welcome me home.
I was given some lovely momentos & flowers and an inflatable banana from my friend Nancy ~ this really made me laugh. Radio Norfolk & Mustard TV both interviewed me & then finally it was time to pull my dear ship the HMS Loopy out of the water and deflate him.
Of course this has been a very personal challenge for me this year ~ raising money for the Norfolk Wildlife Trust and the RSPB in memory of my dear Mother in Law, Doreen. On behalf of these charities and my Father in Law, Roy, a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has sponsored me and helped me during the voyage of the HMS Loopy.
Farewell for now from Mandy ( back on dry land again ) xxx
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The Inflatable Tour of Norfolk is completed
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