Monthly Archives: January 2010

Giving full attention

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Cley
Julia and Dot during a previous get-together at Cley. This weekend's walks will be considerably less summery.

Bit of internet activity on the family tree front, but nothing of any substance yet. Tomorrow we’ll be heading into – or at least passing close to – the area where my paternal grandparents came from: Northamptonshire, Warwickshire, Nottingham, Mansfield, Sheffield. According to some sources,my grandfather worked on the Nottingham tramlines at one point; and my grandmother was born in Sheffield. We’re having lunch at Nottingham with the Evetts and then heading into Derbyshire with them for a hotel weekend, based at Buxton. It’s very cold here in Norfolk, and not likely to be any warmer in Derbyshire, but the forecast is for some brightness.

Dot is out in the city somewhere, staying much longer than she intended. This morning I introduced my brother Phil to a friend in the refectory at Norwich Cathedral and left them to chat while I delivered Dot to Carrie’s, then went up to the garage to book the car in for a service and MOT next week. Got a new battery for Dot’s car keys, but it still doesn’t work. Maybe there’s something wrong in the car.

Very good Tuesday Group at the Archers, with tasty vegetarian food including a nice curry sauce, followed by good discussion on not giving full attention. Or to put it another way, putting the Kingdom of God first. Yesterday Dot went by train to Ipswich for a P4C meeting and was half an hour late after the first train was randomly cancelled. Wet, cold and horrible day. I discovered that the large amount of money I had withdrawn from a Norwich Union bond to pay for Andrew’s fees had been held up for lack of a form which I didn’t know they wanted. They hadn’t bothered to call to me to tell them they wanted it, so I am now stuck with either paying the fees late or finding nearly £2000 temporarily from elsewhere. Usual Norwich Union lack of interest in the customer. I shall be glad when the whole Bond is withdrawn, and even gladder when his fees are paid for by Coventry social services department.

Have discovered that if British Airways cabin staff do vote to strike, it won’t be before March 1, which means we can get to Canada, but might not be able to get back. Much the better option. Also discovered that there shouldn’t be any trouble reaching Heathrow by train on the day we go, which is a relief.

Burns back with cold sun

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From the archive, not long ago: a technological Christmas

After a series of dismal, grey days, sun and ice return. Well, not quite ice, but it’s very cold, though much nicer to be out in than it has been recently. Yesterday a north-easter cut through us as we visited North Walsham cemetery, and although we were there only a few minutes, it took a long time to get warm again. Earlier we had visited FM at Wroxham: he didn’t look too well, mainly because he had a huge, bloody bruise on his eye. No-one knew how he got it, and of course he couldn’t remember. He had been found in someone else’s room, and his glasses were broken. Afterwards we took J to Wroxham Barns restaurant, and I had a pie while the other two were more moderate. After the cemetery we returned to J’s and had a cup of tea. In the evening I won my first game of chess for weeks, which was one way of celebrating Burns Night.

I’ve booked what looks a rather exciting cottage on the slopes of Snowdon for July. Oliver and Amy are keen to get there as soon as possible. The rest of us are pretty keen too, but Dot and I have Canada, Florida and Italy first. This is turning into a year of holidays. I’ve also written a couple of poems, so (although the poems are rather downbeat) my mood is improving. One of the poems is about January,and the other is about Haiti.

Among other exciting news, I’ve had a swingeing haircut, and the battery on my car went dead. No connection. (See what I did there?) The latter happened on Sunday morning, so we had to unload the musical instruments and cram everything into the MX5. It was a tight fit. The battery went dead because the boot was not shut properly – a familiar problem. A music stand had jammed in there after I brought Dot home from a meditation and chanting violin rehearsal at St Julian’s on Friday. Still, Mazda Assistance didn’t take long to fix it, though I had to take it for a longish drive to recharge it. The actual event was on Sunday evening – went very well, apparently, though I resisted the temptation. Well, you’ve got to resist some temptations.

Man is Man are women

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In memory of our friend Rosemary: mementoes in the church hall

Have been looking back again – well, glancing back. Discovered a Lenton Priory of Cluniac monks founded around the 12th century in the Nottingham area. Also a connection with Buckinghamshire, and there are a Scottish branch of Lentons from the Peebles area. I wouldn’t mind a Scottish connection, but the furthest back I can reasonably go is still Peterborough-Northamptonshire and the 17th century. All those agricultural labourers.

Back in the 21st century, and time keeps slipping by, far too quickly for the most part. In 16 years I shall be 80. How scary is that? I shall have to make the most of the present day. Last night spent three hours of it watching Man is Man by Brecht at the Playhouse. Fascinating stuff, beautifully put together on the whole,and yet an audience of only about 60. I can only put it down to having no-one famous from TV in the cast. Is that all people want nowadays: either famous-from-television or high culture like Shakespeare, ballet and opera? There doesn’t seem much room for cutting-edge theatre – even cutting-edge theatre that’s over half a century old. The cast was entirely female, as it happens – the kind of joke Brecht would have enjoyed. At least I imagine he would: I have my own image of him.

Earlier in the day I had some blood removed from my arm – part for the hospital to test my PSA level, and part for a research group looking at prostate cancer. For them I also had to fill in a lengthy questionnaire packed with unanswerable questions like “How many x-rays have you had, and how old were you when you had the first?” Really! I also discovered I didn’t know what hardly any of my relatives died of. Even my mother… On the way home I kept giving way to other traffic and stopped for a woman crossing the road very slowly. Got a very pleasant feeling from being in harmony with my fellow-humans. Am I cracking up?

We had seven at Tuesday Group, which is a nice number. I revealed a little of the research I had done on the Amalekites and Dot revealed her cooking expertise again. The latter was probably  – and quite rightly – appreciated more. She has been quite busy in the educational world this week. On Monday she spent a whole day on Philosophy at a Norwich school, while my contribution to the day was yet another loss at chess. Sunday was a good day: controversial sermon by Howard in the morning, followed by enthusiastic discussion about self-esteem and the nature of sin. Some frightening ideas on the latter (not from Howard). In the evening we went to an Ambient Wonder social event at the Workshop cafe-bar on Earlham Road which turned out to involve a certain amount of planning, which I was unable to put a stop to. Good time, though.

One thing I forgot to mention: yesterday a guy from the Statistics Office called and interviewed us for about 20 minutes about our lives, work, health and so on. Part of a random survey. Very pleasant guy – just right for the job. Today I finished The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry, which is a beautifully written and poignant book which left me once again despairing at what my fellow human beings do to each other. Same sort of feeling from Dances with Wolves, which we watched a few nights ago. The Guardian typically described Barry’s book as an attack on the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland, but it’s actually a revelation of what happens when small-minded people get power they shouldn’t have. And there are too many small-minded people about.

After the Lord Mayor’s snow

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A very rare coach-and-horses Christmas card: recorded for posterity and especially for Bruce Robinson, who takes a special interest in such matters.

At the last the snow has gone, to be replaced by a really dismal day, with heavy cloud and heavy rain. It may not be as cold, but it feels colder, and inside St Augustine’s Church this morning it was icy indeed for Rosemary’s funeral, despite the warmth generated by a packed church. She had asked for bright-coloured clothes to be worn, so I wore my blue-white jacket, and I was not snug. But as I was representing the church by giving a eulogy for Rosemary, I thought I had better resist putting my windproof jacket on. It went quite well, I think, because no-one came up to me afterwards to remind me of things I had omitted. The music group had a shot at I am a new creation, and that was OK too, but Howard wielded the organ for the other hymns, chosen by Rosemary. Afterwards everyone repaired to the much, much warmer church hall for food and drink provided by the congregation, while clergy and family went up to the crematorium at Horsham St Faith. Altogether I think Rosemary would have approved.

Yesterday, before the rain, we went to see Avatar in 3D at the cinema with Annette and Mike, after they came round for a light meal. Slightly mixed about the film, but technically it was very impressive indeed. I think it worked well: not sure quite what I wasn’t sure about, and I won’t discuss it here in case anyone who reads it hasn’t seen the film. Definitely worth a visit, I’d say. Earlier in the day Dot got a chip in her car windscreen fixed by a mobile unit in Morrison’s car park and picked up some more fuel for the fire. I disposed of some paper and bottles in the recycling area as no recycling truck has been viewed in our vicinity since well before Christmas.

Earlier in the week I lost my fifth chess game in a row, then talked about poetry to some 7-11-year-olds at Costessey Junior School. That went quite well, though I feel I haven’t quite got it right yet. Still, the children produced some interesting stuff. Anne C postponed her visit because of thick snow in Derbyshire, so I’ll have to continue with preparing editorial training material without her input. May have to resort to emailing. I could probably manage that.

On Tuesday had a unique Tuesday Group at Howard’s, during which we read through about half of King David’s life story. This provoked some controversial debate, largely centering on the Amalekites, so I’ve done some research as a kind of follow-up for next week. They seem like a pretty unpleasant bunch. The debate aside, the food and wine from Howard were as always excellent. This was followed by an emergency DCC meeting at the vicarage on Wednesday to discuss matters arising from Rosemary’s death. Basically she did just about everything, and we’ll need about six people to replace her. In the absence of one or two key members I took the minutes, which proved quite challenging, but the atmosphere and co-operation was good. Vicky has put in an awful lot of work sorting out papers and money matters. Everyone’s worked pretty hard and without a word of complaint. Not that I’ve heard, anyway. They may all be complaining about me, of course.

Fairly snug days

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Sun through the trees behind our house.

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…

Behind closed doors

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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…

Detached

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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…

Tricky forecasting

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Nephew Joe's wife Birgit, a few days ago.
Nephew Joe's wife Birgit, a few days ago.

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!

Twenty-ten

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Grandson Oliver on a Norwich bus a few days ago
Grandson Oliver on a Norwich bus a few days ago.

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.