There’s been a slow thaw for the last couple of days. We’re hovering around the 1C – 2C mark, and although there is the occasional light snow/sleet shower, there’s no increase in the snow covering, and our road is gradually clearing. Other parts of the country are different, with very low temperatures in the Midlands, North and Scotland. Things were not looking so good on Saturday, and we had been considering walking to church, but yesterday morning there was no real problem. About the usual number at church; my sermon was a bit controversial (fire and water), but there was no riot. In fact everyone hung around for a long coffee, except Liz.
We’ve been fairly snug for the last few days, not going out much, except to the supermarket. Dot did go into the city, though, and bought a new frying pan. I’ve been working on the editorial training stuff for Anne, but today will be switching to the poetry talk I have to give at Costessey Junior tomorrow. This afternoon Dot is doing a Philosophy session at Sprowston, with a follow-up next Monday. We’re catching up on a recording backlog, and yesterday saw The Cider House Rules, a film from a novel by John Irving. Very moving and beautifully constructed. I love the way he writes.
Have also finished The Girl who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest, by Stieg Larsson. Brilliant, compulsive book, but you have to read the first two of the trilogy before attempting it. Its plot is almost entirely devoted to the aftermath of the second book and rather depends on your having read it. So sad that the author died after writing it. Nothing more to come…
Thrush on bird table: a rare visitor in the snow.The road outside our front door earlier today.
Plenty of snow fell last night, some during the morning and a bit more this evening, but during the day the temperature hoisted itself above freezing, and I was able to drive to the chemist for my repeat prescription. Quite a pleasant little outing, in fact, as there were so few vehicles on the road. Hard to get warm, even inside the house, though the heating is functioning normally enough. The Broadband connection has also miraculously reasserted itself and all seems to be well. Spent most of the day writing my sermon for Sunday: have also been asked to write and present an appreciation of Rosemary – from the church – at the funeral, which is a bit of an honour. Dot has been sorting out her schools, but of course they’re all closed, and her intention to fix up visits has been frustrated. Usual complaints about closed schools from those who regard schools as child-minding institutions. England held on miraculously for a draw in Third Test in Cape Town (just round the corner from where we stayed at the Vineyard), which means we’re leading 1-0. Could easily have been losing 2-1. That’s sport for you. Have booked hotel in Portsmouth for Holly wedding, just before realising that Portsmouth is very, very close to Southampton. We could call in and see my nephew. David Kett is also close by. This is a part of the country I rarely visit, so it would be handy to drop in…
Granddaughter Amy waiting for the return of her father from the shops, and wearing some of her favourite shoes.
Strange times: like living in a parallel universe, all white and cold and completely detached, and awaiting what Dr Who might call “something big and dark out there”, except it’s big and white, and returning tomorrow. Still, the road is navigable at the moment, so we’ve just been out to purchase Coalite and logs. Tuesday Group should be happening tonight. Earlier had a long lie-in after Dot’s busy day yesterday, when she presented Philosophy for Children to about 50 teachers at North Walsham and was rewarded with a delicious lunch. Some anxiety from Dot about getting there, so I drove to the bottom of the road for her, but the main roads were quite clear. Our bright new bin proved deficient (the lid wouldn’t close) so we returned it to Bessemer Road in exchange for a good version (we hope) on her return, then called in to do some serious supermarket shopping on the way back. I ventured out to play chess in the evening, but instead of the knockout game I was expecting, I was drafted in to play as a guest in the A team. Unfortunately this coincided with a stomach upset which rather disturbed my wa, though I probably can’t blame losing again solely on that. I did have quite an interesting position at one point.
On Sunday morning there was a moving service in memory of Rosemary, who was always such a welcoming figure at the church – and probably the person most responsible for keeping it going in many practical ways. Her family (including a sister from America) were there, and I think they were moved by what members of the congregation said. She is going to be very sorely missed. Afterwards there was a meeting aimed at sharing out some of her jobs, at least on a temporary basis. Most of the immediate problems centre on hall hiring, which Rosemary was in charge of, but I’m sure many other unexpected things will surface.
Have written a little on training church magazine editors in preparation for the visit of Anne Coomes next week (weather permitting); will do more this week. Also have to prepare a talk and practical ideas for a poetry session at Costessey Junior School, also next week. A little worried by the erratic behaviour of the Broadband connection, which is absolutely fine during the day, but in the evening it goes slower and slower very quickly, until it’s unusable. Could it be the same problem I had before, maybe linked to installing Snow Leopard? I may have to call on technical support…
Day two of the new year draws to an end: bright but cold. Forecast for rest of month is very cold, which means that the Met Office’s mild winter forecast is wrong again – unless of course their January forecast is wrong. Tricky stuff, forecasting. Only left the house once today – to post a few thank-you letters written by my conscientious wife. Took it easy generally, but did manage to install Snow Leopard on my computer. My last Christmas present arrived – Emily Smith’s latest CD. Haven’t heard all of it yet, but what I have heard sounds excellent.
Yesterday two lots of visitors. At lunchtime (but not for lunch) my nephew Sam and his wife Lucy, who are in the process of buying a house in Southampton and are rightly upbeat about the new year. In the evening the Hendersons, with whom we dined at Cafe Uno on Tombland. Uno not at their best: the meal can best be described as ordinary and the service as poor, largely because they had too few staff. It was some time before we even got a menu. Suggestion to Cafe Uno: either have enough staff on, or close the restaurant for New Year’s Day. I know, it is tricky forecasting. Paul didn’t seem at all well, but we had a good time together, walking down through the Close and glancing briefly at the new cathedral hostry before ending the evening with coffee and a look at a few pictures on our Apple TV!
A new year, pronounced twenty ten. Or is it? We shall see. People have got used to saying two-thousand-and because of obvious confusion over twenty-nine and so on, but now that problem is in the past, as so many others are. Will we change? Maybe not. Once we have an idea in our heads, it tends to stick around. A dusting of snow lies on Aspland Road, and the sky is blue over the cathedral; we await the arrival of my Southampton nephew and his wife for a pre-lunch pop-in. Temperatures are still low enough to make driving up the hill less than straightforward.
We arrived home last night about 2am after a laid-back evening with the Robinsons, featuring a lovely meal and a Very Hard Quiz devised by Anne. Well, do you know the capital of Greenland, or what you call a collection of ferrets? Me neither. Well, I do now, and I’m sure it will enrich my life. We also had quite a discussion on family history and a brief stab at charades, which led to my showing them how to access the BBC iPlayer so that they could see a little bit of the brilliantly funny Outnumbered, which I ludicrously attempted to describe as the whole word instead of by syllables. Champagne at midnight, impressively expensive fireworks surrounding the London Eye, some very odd music from Jools Holland’s not-live Hootenanny, and an extra mug of green tea to make sure I was under the limit.
The other highlight of yesterday was picking up a new bin from the John Lewis warehouse after the lid on the old one fell apart. It has a lovely movement, as Alan Partridge might say. I am now reinstalled in my study and about to install Snow Leopard, but I shall wait till my son is available in case of technical problems. He has been strangely offline for quite a while.
After excellent Christmas Eve Communion service, got to bed by about 1am, then left for Caddington about 10.30. Straightforward journey, but plenty of traffic. Snow negligible until nearing Luton, but still lying heavily in Winchfield and surrounding areas. Lovely Christmas lunch cooked by David, followed by opening of presents. Oliver showed his expertise on new F1 Wii game. David generously got us Apple TV, which means we can see our pictures on full screen, as well as renting videos and playing music. Brilliant! After tea (very little capacity) we watched Dr Who, which seemed a reasonable thing to do.
On Boxing Day picked up Andrew from Coventry and got him back to Caddington by 1pm for lunch – this time beef, cooked by Dot. Rather over-bought on the meat front. Still plenty of turkey left over on Christmas Day, and although we managed to finish off the Boxing Day beef, we had another turkey to cook at home. Andrew and I got home around 6.30pm, Dot travelling about 30 minutes behind with David and the children. I duly cooked the turkey and carved it before going to bed. Earlier we had spent a chaotic time unpacking various presents, and the children got to bed very late.
On Sunday I dropped Andrew off at Phil and Joy’s before 10pm, then continued to set up the church for the morning service. Dot and the children came later, and at first I thought there would be only two others, but eventually we had a full complement of 11, including three children. Relaxing atmosphere, contrasting strongly with preparation of another fantastic meal afterwards, eventually with two brothers, one sister-in-law, one son, two grandchildren milling around while Dot tried frantically to get it all together, with a little help from me. Eventually one brother and sister-in-law went home: meal as always brilliant.
Joe and Birgit came round on Monday morning, then took Andrew to Phil’s while the rest of us bussed into the city and found thousands and thousands of people milling around in search of salvation – in this case something to buy. We managed to get a dress for Amy from M&S but failed to return the original too-small dress because I’d forgotten where I’d put it. Found it as soon as we got back, of course. Also bought Horrid Henry book for Oliver. Popped into Caffe Italia, but it was full, so eventually landed up at home for a snack. Andrew delivered back by Birgit. Had full meal in evening – amazingly, got Andrew involved in game of Coppit with the children – before David set off for home with the children. He managed to forget one or two items (critically, one of them was the Wii power pack) and so the next day we arranged to meet at Coventry, where I delivered said items and Andrew at about 3.30pm. Afterwards David and I had a drink in a local pub, located by iPhone, before going our separate ways. Think he passed me on the M6, but not sure. I got home about 7.30pm, and had a quiet evening with Dot, sandwich and TV. Managed to avoid more heavy snow falling just west of Coventry, but did get plenty of heavy rain on the way home. Today in Norwich murky, damp and very cold.
Sadly, in the midst of all this Christmas hustle and bustle, we learnt that our friend Rosemary had died. She had been ill, but seemed better last time we saw her. She had fluid on her lungs and died in her sleep – I think on Boxing Day night. There will be a special service remembering her on Sunday. She will be a huge loss to the church as well as to her friends. For many years she has singlehandedly made sure the building was maintained, clean and prepared for services. She has also managed all the hiring of the hall. She was also extremely encouraging and for many on the fringe was the “face” of St Augustine’s.
Last two days building up nicely to Christmas. Rather hesitantly out to North Walsham on Wednesday, but the roads were clearer than expected. Sainsburys at North Walsham was packed, however, and we abandoned hope of getting into the car park and stopped on Mundesley Road. Pretty full in the shop, but it all went fairly smoothly, including encounters with Lucy and Naomi, and later with Judith R from Bacton. Stocked up on a trolley full of food and inched across still frozen pavements to the car. From there to the cemetery, which was beautiful. Snow deep, crisp and even, and it didn’t seem cold at all in the sunshine . Left a couple of plants because all the water pots were frozen solid. On to the depths of the countryside, where the roads were still pretty treacherous – or put another way, pretty and treacherous. Got through without much bother, though, and arrived at Rosemary’s at the same time as her cousin Sharon and her boyfriend Nick – both police officers. Tried to look innocent. Tea and cake, followed by a brief appearance from her seven dogs, and we were off home. Got up the road OK, and five minutes after we got inside with the food, Phil and Joy rolled up, followed a short while later by Heather S and then by Vicky. Nice to see them all: P & J left when Heather arrived, but she stayed and chatted with Vicky.
Today was milder, and we left just after 11am for Alburgh to pick up the Christmas cake from Marion. Roads around Alburgh were still very snowy, and there was a flood at Hempnall, but still no real problem. Drove back to Yelverton, where Denise had invited us to drop in for drinks. Turned out to be quite a lot of rather delicious food as well. Eventually old friends put in an appearance: Barbara and Bart, Bernard and Mary, Madeleine and Jeff; also of course Clive (briefly) and the lovely Elaine, with her husband David and two children, Oliver (3+) and Tommy (15 months). They now live in Poringland, almost opposite Caistor Lane. Peter was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, partly because he’s just had successful cataract operations on his eyes which means he doesn’t have to wear glasses. His knee is clearly still giving him problems, however. Really nice time.
Roger called round on our return, and then Dot and I prepared the house for Christmas. We are now waiting to go to the Midnight Communion. The computer on which I’m writing this has been moved up to the living room so that I can use it while Andrew has the study as a bedroom. Weather forecast quite reasonable for the journey, and for the next few days.
Aspland Road after the true grit treatment. Car in drive, stage left.
Weather still very wintry, but nowhere near as bad as at Caddington – to pick a village at random – where the snow has been deep and the power off. On Sunday we inched down the icy road to make it to church for the alternative carol service. Surprisingly large congregation: Ruth made it from Hethersett just in time to read my long poem, which she did beautifully, and Dot and Matt made a great job of the dramatic interlude. The music sounded pretty good too: Emily guested on violin, and Matt brought a small accordion. Amazing: I had been intending to do the blessing after Communion and found a Christmas prayer by Robert Louis Stevenson that I was going to use. However, Nicholas went straight into the blessing, using – unbelievably – the same prayer. It’s not well known; I just came across it on the Internet the same day. Spooky. Nice meal afterwards: Vicky and Jared excelled themselves, despite Vicky being under the weather. Took Anne Travis home, then despite going the long way round to get a run at the slope, failed again to reach the critical point and had to park at the bottom. So more grit-spreading etc on Monday morning, which freed the road enough for me to get the car to the driveway again. All this exercise ought to be good for me. I walked into the city to buy a few presents, mainly books, but then relaxed fairly thoroughly. Missed the Christmas chess event. Too risky.
Local robin, very friendly.
Today made a fairly early start. Got the bus up to Eaton Park and delivered Paul’s Christmas card, then walked across the park to George Borrow Road to deliver Sylvia and Jack’s. As I was putting it through the door, the Number 35 bus pulled up opposite and I was able to get it back to the city centre, once we’d made it past a big traffic jam by the RC Cathedral. Walked through to the Forum in case any ice sculptures remained. They didn’t. On to Jarrolds, for bin bags (very Christmassy), and another book from the new independent bookshop, the Book Hive. This time for Philip. Think I have all the presents now. Dot is busy wrapping as I write. She loves doing it, and I’m no good at it.
Made brave attempt to fix the shredder, but suspect the motor has gone. Did manage to put the alarm clock together after it had fallen apart – which certainly impressed me – and also repaired a tiny chess rook which had got smashed in the bathroom. It would be better if tiny chess pieces didn’t drink – they can’t handle it. Then Michael came and fixed a plug and a cistern, so it was clearly a mending day. Meanwhile, Dot had gone shopping – mainly for Amy. I walked to Morrisons to get food for tonight’s Tuesday Group. Turning quite nippy again. Heather S rang to say her son Sam had been very ill for quite a while, with flu followed by pneumonia, necessitating several trips to the hospital. Happily he is now recovering, but it has been a difficult time for them.
Our two cars in their overnight slot before my attempts to dismantle the road.
Cold, cold, cold. Just back from Morrisons, where we ran into a crowd of Norwich supporters en route to the game against Huddersfield. Another first for BBC Look East, who listed the fixture as an away game last night – so that was nearly right. Pavements not too bad on the way there, but much icier on the way back. Managed to stay upright, however. Might be tricky for homegoing supporters. Quite a pleasant day, other than the cold, with mainly bright skies. Spent most of the morning retrieving our two cars from the bottom of the hill, where we’d had to park them last night after a lot of slipping and sliding. Took a spade and chipped some icy snow away to make some clearish ground for my car to make it to the top, but Dot’s MX5 was much more difficult, as it has rear-wheel drive, and the back end kept threatening to slip away. Linda arrived to cut our hair and made it to the top, encouraged by me from a strategic spot at the bottom! While she was doing Dot’s hair, I spread some sand on the road from the store at the top, using a spade and our brown bin as an improvised wheelbarrow. I also cut some more ice away. By the time she’d left, the sand had caused some ice to disappear, and there was also a slight, short thaw. As a result, my next attempt to reach the top – after Linda had left – was successful. The MX5 is now in the garage, and my car is in the drive, ready to slide down on its way to church tomorrow. During all this I chatted to Michael and to the family from number 11, as well as waving to Ellie at her bedroom window. She told me she’d made a snowman yesterday, and I think I spotted it up in the Old Library Park on the way back from the post office. Also helped a guy in a van to get out of the bottom of the road, with some use of the spade and a certain amount of traffic direction.
Yesterday was also cold and saw a lot of snow. However, Dot decided to go on her planned trip to Park Farm, Attleborough and Hethersett, which she completed successfully until she reached the bottom of the road: then, while parking the car on ice, she scraped the wheel that she’d just had refurbished. Not a happy bunny. I went to the Archant Pensioners’ Lunch at the Holiday Inn by the airport, though not everyone made it. Frances rang to say it was snowing hard at Cromer, and she didn’t make the trip, though Su Edgeler made it from Bacton on crutches. Well, not all the way on crutches. She did use a car. Sat with her and Robin and a group of ex-printers; we were joined by the current head of Archant Print, and all the printers had a go at him about the mistakes in the EDP. He took it very well. Had a chat with the new editor and others including David Paull, the input pool, Peter March, Alan Atherton, John Barlow from the stone, Ian Cunningham, Tony the ex-chief photographer, Ray Church, the guy from Surrey Chapel and Frances Pearce. Plus others. Signs of some cutting back: very small sherry to start and only one glass of wine, though that suited me fine. Meal was very pleasant Christmas fare, and there was a supplementary mince pie. Well staffed and organised. On the whole I preferred it to the previous venue. No sign of Brian or Bruce, however. Bruce has just been in hospital, but Brian’s status remains a mystery. We got a Christmas card from him and Tricia, but he shows no sign of emerging. I dropped off a Christmas card at his house afterwards. As usual, no reply to the doorbell.
The snow started on Thursday, when Sharon came for lunch, arriving mid-morning during a brief blizzard. Had a good time, featuring a variation on my chili con carne, using chick peas, which seemed to go down well. Dot took Sharon home (the snow had eased), chanced on Denise and elicited an invitation for Christmas Eve drinks, and went to Morrisons afterwards to pick up a cake for the evening, when we managed to reach church for a get-together for members of the various groups after picking up Matt from Lakenham, where it seemed to be snowing harder than it was our side of the city. Weather not at all good, but about 20 turned up for a bring-and-share, and we ended with a recital of various Christmas poems. Not one of the great evenings, but reasonably pleasant.
Have finished reading The Defense by Vladimir Nabokov. Beautiful writer: there’s a fantastic comic description of two guys making their way home from a very jolly evening and finding the protagonist, Luzhin, sitting on the pavement. As I write, Norwich and Huddersfield are drawing 0-0, and play has just finished in the South Africa test. No, wait, Hoolahan has just scored. Can Norwich hold on? England, 352 behind, look likely to lose, but you never know. (Norwich 3-0 Huddersfield – result)
Spent much of the day in North-East Norfolk. Weather absolutely appalling: incessant rain, temperature just above freezing, sky heavily overcast. I suspect thousands of people must like this sort of weather, because they all take their cars out in it. It was worth it, however. Visited my wife’s aunt Sheila (who is actually her mother’s cousin), and Sheila’s daughter Teresa, who was our bridesmaid 41 years ago. Had a good time there, featuring a sausage roll and mince pie, then moved on to Paston, where we left a present for the Cares. Doors were open as usual, but shouting evoked no response, so we assumed they were out. Later e-mail on another subject from Lucy made me think she probably wasn’t, however. Back to North Walsham, where we picked up some Philosophy stuff from the printer and moved on to Jessie’s for another pleasant hour or two, this time featuring a kind of cake. We resisted the lure of the cemetery, which would probably have felt like the Arctic tundra on a particularly bad day.
Most of yesterday went on sorting files from the second drawer of the filing cabinet. Contained quite a lot of stuff that brought back memories, which made it slow going. Still bits of it hanging around in the kitchen. Dot was busy completing her inspection report, and about 5pm we abandoned it all and went to the Rushcutters for a meal, using a 2-for-1 voucher that had been e-mailed to us. Superb chicken and mashed potato for me; lovely trout for Dot. Later we went to a PCC meeting at St Luke’s to discuss the proposed change-of-use proposal for their car park which, if it went through, would enable the council to use it for housing at some point in the future. Determined to resist this, though it could be a tricky one. The diocese would like to make some money out of it, and the council doesn’t like cars. Still, we have a clued-up lawyer in our camp, not to mention God – though his views are by no means certain on this particular issue.
On Monday I managed to lose another game of chess. After getting a good opening I found myself lagging in development when my opponent failed to fall for any of the tricks in the position. I then made a disastrous choice of move which gave him all the positional advantages. I found myself with no sensible plan and in due course fell apart.
