Feeling proud...

This morning we set off at 7.30am for Thetford in Norfolk, for Mikey's Army Camp Open Day. We used Gladys and she gave us an arrival time of 9.01am but once onto the stretch of the A14 near Cambridge we came to a halt and virtually crawled this whole section.

When we turned off onto the A11 we came across more roadworks as they're widening the road and we crawled along once more. Our arrival time had changed to 9.30am but we were drawing up at the gates two minutes before that which was a relief!

We were directed to a large canteen where we were able to get a coffee, thank goodness, but no grub, which upset Sophie a bit! She complained of feeling hungry and we had said we would stop on the way, but with all the hold-ups, we just ran out of time!

At 10.30am we all gathered on the Parade ground to see our sons and daughters. Luckily we had sat on the right side as no-one had really told us where to go! Our side was for the Cadets of Rutland and Northamptonshire, whilst Leicestershire were on the other side of a large tent which is where all the dignitaries were sitting. The sky was a mix of blue sky and big grey clouds but thankfully it remained dry all day.

When the Cadets came marching in all the parents stood and anxiously looked out for their children. By a stroke of good luck Mikey came in and stopped just in front of us!

We sat through the Parade for over an hour as there were lots of medals and commendations given out and I'm just glad that there was a fair amount of cloud to hide the sun as it would have been very hot indeed. In fact one young man almost fainted as he was standing holding a banner and was dressed in a heavy jacket and trousers. He was made to sit down for a while and given some water but I did feel for all the Cadets with their uniforms who were luckily, able to sit down through the proceedings.

Mikey chatting to a higher-up in the Army!

After the Parade all the parents gathered on either side of a small road to see their sons and daughters marching past...

Sophie made Mikey laugh as he marched past!

Lunch was a hectic affair - we followed Mikey to where he was billeted but they remained in their company so there was no opportunity for a hug and a chat until we were back inside the canteen. The food was OK but it was very busy. Keith had fish and chips while Sophie and I chose meatballs with pasta followed by a chocolate muffin. Mikey finally came over to see us and I grabbed a quick kiss. He seemed very happy and said he'd enjoyed himself which was great.

In the afternoon we watched all the different companies (and squadrons...no idea what the difference is!) compete with each other. The competition was based on the Commonwealth Games but Mikey wasn't taking part at all, which was a bit disappointing. We watched the mayhem until 3pm and then decided to head for home as we had a feeling the traffic would be bad again.

The different companies lining up for the competition

Predictably, it was slow going through the roadworks on the A11 but much better on the A14. The heavens opened near Huntingdon with huge storm clouds overhead and the rain was so hard I could barely see to drive.

Before going home we turned off the A14 and decided to try and find a riverside pub we'd heard good things about. We drove to the village of Aldwincle and explored every road and lane with no luck. To be honest, we wasted almost an hour searching for the pub and when we got home Keith had a look and discovered it was hidden in the village of Wadenhoe which we'd driven through twice!