Tiptoe through the tulips .. crowds

I can remember back in 2022, when I was a lad, (don’t you dare laugh) visiting the tulip fields in West Norfolk. It was a wonderful meditative experience (or at least that’s the way I remember it)

I wandered around in the sunshine, chatted to a few of the volunteers and took a few photographs of the rows and rows of beautiful flowers.

Maybe we should go again, I thought, to renew the experience and reshoot images of the flowers. This time trying to find somewhere to park involved a trek similar to that involved around Carrow Road when Norwich are playing Ipswich. There were lots of visitors, visitors with their large families, children’s buggies, old people’s buggies, ice-cream stalls, burger bars and of course a cake stall.

Maybe I was unlucky – it was after all a Friday – but most of the East Midlands seemed to have had the same idea.

I didn’t mind the crowds – that was until couples wanted to stop in the middle of the rows of flowers. I waited – not terribly patiently as you will imagine – while young ladies arranged, combed and brushed out their hair so that the young man brandishing his mobile phone in her direction took the shot.

There were selfie sticks being carried along the middle of the rows “shooting a movie you see mate!” I felt a little disinclined to be his “mate” as he tripped carelessly along – but at least he was moving and maybe sooner or later I could take my shot. However matey, still brandishing his selfie stick began twirling round and round. “Got to get it all in you see.” I couldn’t see and couldn’t imagine what the effect would be on the poor souls who had to watch his video. I suspect they’ll all feel dizzy or simply close their eyes – which rather defeats the object of the exercise.

Eventually I managed to take some pictures before it was time to go home.

Fortunately I could remember in which block we had parked and sooner or later we rediscovered the correct row. I felt I learnt more about humanity on a day-out than I did about tulips.

The photographs show the displays were, as ever, stunning. Thank goodness for Photoshop though in order to remove some of those tiptoeing/ tramping through the tulips.