Monthly Archives: December 2014

Cars flood festive roads

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I still have the broken tooth. Rang the dentist this morning, and they are closed for refurbishment. I am booked in for January 7, which is not really what I was looking for, but on the plus side it doesn’t hurt: it’s just a bit uncomfortable. I have been told to ring back if it does start hurting. Preventative dentistry – not.

The journey back to Coventry was a bit of a nightmare, though the weather was not a factor. Every car in the country seemed to be on the road. Thank goodness the Elveden bypass was finished: no problem there. But there was a problem on the A14, and after Cambridge  we detoured via Eaton Socon and the A1. More queues approaching the A1, of course, but after that not too bad, and I aborted a plan to turn off at Junction 1 on the A14. Half a mile later this was revealed as a huge mistake, with a very slow queue for over five miles approaching the M6 junction. On the plus side, we did get through Coventry all right and dropped Andrew off. He seemed fine.

Many trepidations about tackling the M1 down to Caddington, but in the event it turned out not bad at all. Lots of traffic, but moving steadily, and we reached Winchfield quite quickly – only to find the heating had failed and the house was very cold. I spent a lot of time trying to fix it, but in the end restored to the electric emergency override as recommended by David. Went to shops, then petrol station, had chicken curry and went to bed early.

Yesterday we woke in good time to pick David up from Heathrow. The M25 was clear at such an early hour (8-9am), and we arrived in plenty of time to park and await his emergence from Arrivals. The journey back was a bit busier, but still no problem, and after a cup of tea we left him to sort out the heating (which he looked as if he might be doing) and drove back to Norwich, pausing briefly to get some bread and a beef casserole from the Hitchin M&S Simply Food petrol station.

Again, lots of traffic, but everything was moving well until we got to Norwich, where everyone seemed to have decided to go shopping – in their cars. Attempting to avoid Riverside, we got stuck on Ber Street/Thorn Lane for a while before reverting to Riverside by way of Rouen Road. This turned out to be OK, but still…

Felt very tired and eventually had a bath, but recovered enough to help Dot clean up the house and prepare for our visitors today. Norwich City managed to build on their excellent 6-1 win a couple of days ago by losing 2-1 at Reading. We ended the day by watching TV: Victoria Wood, Wallander, Match of the Day.

Now we are about to go to Morrisons.

 

Managed to avoid falling

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Oliver's present to Nana
Oliver’s present to Nana

I think that was what is known as a fairly quiet Christmas – in the end. Of course there was a fair amount of preliminary rushing around. On a sunny and not too chilly Christmas Eve I took Dot’s MX5 to Coventry and returned with Andrew. A pretty good journey both ways, with few lorries on the roads.

Andrew didn’t seem at all well when I arrived, and I wasn’t sure about taking him, but he improved on the journey, becoming less agitated and quite talkative. It seems clear though  that this kind of break from his routine is not necessarily good for him, and he did say that he wasn’t bothered about coming to Norwich; so a rethink may be in order in future years.

We got back by late afternoon, ready for a lovely meal of salmon, and with plenty of time to prepare for the Midnight Carol Service. Because Andrew seemed fragile, Dot decided to stay at home with him, and I ventured forth with service sheets, gate locks, notices and a certain amount of trepidation. But Eleanor and Howard were already there, as was Liz, with ideas of how to change the service which I rejected.

Everything worked, even the heating, and there was a congregation of 60-70 to try to read the service sheets by candlelight. Not that easy. Eleanor and I had a tricky time working out where the steps were, but we managed to avoid falling. I took the first half of the service, and she took over for the Peace and Communion. I assisted Phil with the Cup, which I don’t much like doing, but there wasn’t much choice.

Visitors included Matt Creber and his mum, and Chris Denton with both Zoe and Ben, but numbers were a little down. The collection went directly to Carrie (about £150) and I managed to fix the notices and lock the gates without much trouble, though of course I had to wait till everyone had finished using them. Got home just after 1am and wasn’t in bed till 2am.

Christmas Day itself was very quiet. The weather wasn’t inviting; so we stayed in and, after opening presents, mainly watched television. Dot went to visit Roger, Jessie and Co at Paine Road in the afternoon, and in the evening we had a little FaceTime with the Murrays and David in Canada. (We also had a brief session the previous night, just before going to sleep.)

On Boxing Day Andrew and I went up to the Rosary with some flowers for Mum and Dad’s grave. Misty and atmospheric: cold but quite pleasant really. As we got home, Phil arrived in a sorry state – exhausted by the walk. So Andrew and I drove him home (after the customary drink and chat), and got back for another beautiful lunch – same as yesterday.

I popped down to the shop to get some coffee and some curry paste, but apart from that we stayed in again and watched television. Later a large chunk of one of my back teeth broke off for no apparent reason.

Today there is a wintry forecast, but at the moment here it’s sunny and looks quite inviting. We shall be leaving in about half an hour to take Andrew back to Coventry, and then travel on to Caddington, where we shall stay the night.

Coffee machine trumps globe light

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On the brink of Christmas. Tomorrow comes the traditional drive to Coventry to fetch Andrew. Today featured the big shop at Waitrose, with Roger due to pop round later.

Back in Caddington several days to go, I took David to Heathrow with quite a lot to spare, thanks to very reasonable traffic, and got back to Caddington even quicker, taking advantage of the spare time to fill up with petrol before having a bath. (That didn’t come out quite how I meant it to.) Later we transported the lovely Amy to Aylesbury: her directions were immaculate, but there was a lot of traffic in the town, and Oliver was home well before we got there.

We waited for Vicky to get back, heard evidence of Oliver’s huge improvement at keyboards, and I shared some TV watching with Amy. We left soon after Vicky got home and headed for Milton Keynes to take advantage of the beautiful A421. Sadly that road had been violated and abused, and there was a 40mph speed limit for almost its entire length, for no obvious reason.

We turned off to try to find a pub, but could find only a Chinese restaurant, and eventually we made do with a Little Chef as we joined the A1. I had an excellent Olympic breakfast, while Dot had something much more sensible. She was driving, and the journey after that was straightforward.

The next evening we joined the Hendersons and friends for a pre-Christmas party and had a good time, meeting people we’d lost touch with, such as Philip and Heather Butcher, Chris and Caroline Brown (David’s old head), Neil and Harriet from Saxlingham and the Dowdeswells. Relaxing, and with some nice things to eat.

I can’t remember what happened the next day. Perhaps Phil came round. I was undoubtedly catching up with countless Christmassy things, making sure all was prepared for the Alternative Christmas Truce Carol Service, and Dot was certainly very busy. I believe she got some service sheets printed for Christmas Eve at some point.

The ACTCS actually went very well, and Geoff and Sophie came along, which was extraordinary – and extremely encouraging. He seemed considerably better. Vicky II was also there with Amy II.  The meal was pretty good, and afterwards we shot off to North-East Norfolk, calling in briefly on Sheila, who had a bad cold; then putting flowers in the cemetery; then diverting to Mundesley to return Lucy’s computer and pick up her cheque; and finally arriving at Jessie’s for tea and  mince pies.

Yesterday I went into the city  to pay in cheques, buy a lock for the church gates and obtain some presents for Amy. I then made the mistake 🙂 of calling in at M&S to find Dot and Anne in the cafe, following which we bought some crackers in BHS (interminable queue) and looked for a globe light for Dot for Christmas. Failing this, we repaired to Jarrolds, where Dot wanted to buy me a book, and on the way out we stumbled across some coffee machines, following which Dot didn’t want a globe light any more. The coffee machine was quite heavy, but apparently it suits requirements. Certainly looks nice.

Later I dropped Andy and Joy’s present in, and while I was there David Street and his girlfriend Sasha called; so we had a brief reminisce. In the evening I played in the Bob Royall Christmas event at the chess club, featuring a number of  types of variant chess (knight can’t take pawn, nothing can move backward, no checks unless it’s mate and queen can’t take any piece, etc). Did predictably badly at this, though two or three of my losses were on time. One good game and a couple of wins.

Julia and Alan Higbee called this morning and were the first to sample the new coffee. Following this we headed for Waitrose, which was predictably stormy  but not unnavigable. We purchased a chicken and some salmon and numerous supporting cast. Later we finished wrapping the presents, but before that remembered we had to pick up my jumper from the dry cleaners and take a couple more items to Dipples. In doing this we discovered that the traffic in the city was pretty bad. Ah well, it’s Christmas. Nearly.

Missing impossible

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Naomi arrived late on Sunday and stayed a couple of nights, departing at 1pm on Tuesday after an abortive attempt to do more work at UEA had ended in boredom. She bought us flowers and chocolates, which was very sweet.

We watched The Mission together on Monday, which raised some interesting questions. When she had gone, Dot and I watched the last episode of The Missing, which raised even more questions and provoked an article in the Telegraph today complaining about good TV serials that end weakly. This one certainly fitted the bill, leaving the viewer in the air and detracting from what had gone before. I suspect that this happens because writers (or directors) have their eyes on possible sequels, but it’s really not good enough when you’ve invested eight hours of watching into it.

Have spent a lot of time on preparing sheets for the Alternative (Truce) Carol Service and working on possible formats for the MIdnight Service on Christmas Eve. Also on writing and posting Christmas cards and wrapping up presents. Today as we were coming out of the door to travel south to Caddington I remembered to take Birgit and Joe’s presents and Joe and Ilona’s card to Hethersett. Both of them looked pretty ill, but they are off to Germany tomorrow, just as David is off to Canada.

This is a historic day. For the first time we travelled down the A11 between Thetford and Barton Mills and it was all dual carriageway! At last it’s open. We had doubted it would be finished in our lifetime, but it is, and it’s a beautiful bit of road.

Exciting day yesterday. Dot was out at Fleggburgh school most of the day, so I walked over to the supermarket in the morning to buy food for a little party in the afternoon, when we had a Chronicle meeting followed by a bring-and-share get-together.

Rob arrived at about 2pm, followed by Caroline, Dot, Annette and Mike, and Penny and a pregnant Charlotte. Then Linda to cut our hair and Colleen to deliver Kleeneze stuff. And somewhere in all that (near the beginning, I think) Andy delivered a present from him and Joy. A fun day altogether, and five empty wine bottles at the end. Annette and Mike returned for a cup of tea after doing some shopping, but the others left for good when Linda arrived.

Now we are looking after Amy while David going to Aylesbury to see Oliver before his departure for ten days in Canada. I walked round the village with David, delivering Christmas cards before he went. Hard put to keep up with him.

Problem with the vagus

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View from the Julian Bridge last week.

The week continued on its breakneck course, with plenty of Christmas preparation: cards, presents, carol service preparation and so on. The weather has turned very cold, with a brisk wind, but it is happily bright and dry, both of which get my vote.

On Thursday we went to Sue and Roger Eagle’s in Hempnall for lunch, preceded by a brisk but chilling walk round the village. Then came an excellent spicy cauliflower soup, which would have been enough for me. However, it was followed by a pork main course and a  small but rich sweet – at the end of which Dot had one of her funny turns, where she goes into a cold sweat and can’t move. I got her to the loo and she recovered, but not really enough to stay, and I took her home, where she collapsed on the sofa.

From disparate sources we later discovered that this was a case of overstimulation of the vagus nerve, where the the overfed stomach demands too much blood, and leaves too little for the brain. It doesn’t last long, but it’s pretty frightening when it happens. This is the third time Dot has had it. In her life, that is. The most recent time was in the Last Wine Bar.

On Friday she had pretty much recovered and drove me to the Archant pensioners’ lunch after I’d dashed to the supermarket to slot in a £40 shop (thus obtaining an essential voucher) and dropped a Christmas pudding on someone’s foot. Luckily, being a northerner, he hardly felt it.

The pensioners’ lunch was the usual traditional affair, with the wine on offer dwindling to a trickle. Sat on a depleted subs’ table with Robin Limmer and Bruce Robinson on my left,  and John Kitson and Terry Reeve on my right. Mr Kitson proved remarkably entertaining. Also present: Sue, Frances, Julie… Sadly absent: Brian Caldecott, attending the N&N for some kind of operation. Shock of the day: among 16 pensioners reported dead in the past year was stone hand Martin Rodwell, who I had met not long ago at Blakeney and who had looked really well. Apparently he got cancer in his liver and pancreas, and died within 11 weeks of the diagnosis. A sobering thought. He was a nice bloke. Always got on well with him.

On Saturday, Norwich City scored three goals in six minutes while I was taking my brother Phil home from a walking visit. He finds it hard to walk more than one way now, which is rather sad. Norwich City beat Huddersfield 5-0. Later I drove Dot up to the Methodist Church on Chapelfield, braving the homegoing football drivers, so that she could rehearse for her evening concert there.

I left the car in the (free) car park and walked home, buying a hook for the bathroom on the way; cooked some food (I had earlier cooked some for Dot); fixed the hook on the bathroom door; and then walked back, arriving with about ten minutes to spare. (The hook is to ensure privacy for Naomi, who is staying with us tonight and tomorrow night; the main lock is defective.)

At the concert I sat with Maryta and Paul, having greeted Neville Thrower, whose wife Mary was on clarinet. It was a good concert, with Dot on second violin looking very good. Tea and biscuits at the interval, and a chat with the oboeist, who is Peter Bussey’s sister. All these CNS connections… Speaking of which, we have been invited to Adrian O’dell’s 70th next May. We know all the top people. After the concert Dot and I went back to the Hendersons’ for wine, tea, cheese and biscuits. Very nice.

This morning had a Communion led by Eleanor, with Howard preaching on the Magnificat. Dot has been dealing with cards and presents this afternoon. I have completed my allocation, but there is still much to do. Like a leaflet for the Midnight Communion, for instance.

Surprises all round

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Hectic couple of days. Monday was completed by a walk to Howard’s, where I formed part of an advisory group for Carrie’s activities. This was followed by a meal with Howard and Dot, who had just arrived, and that was followed by a DCC meeting.

A surprise attender at the DCC meeting was Liz, who had a couple of complicated proposals as usual. We sort of agreed the first one, concerning her use of the hall for meditation sessions, but the second was so obscure that after she had presented it for about ten minutes, no-one knew what she was talking about. We suggested she produce a one-page paper on it.

I presented my financial report, and we agreed to contribute whatever was necessary to make up St Luke’s shortfall on their parish share, since we had received an £18,000 legacy and were temporarily affluent. Dot and I walked home afterwards. Very cold. Wished I hadn’t taken the large lever arch file.

Yesterday I visited Lucy after dropping Dot off for her ladies’ lunch at the Mercure Hotel on the ring road. Had a pleasant time with Lucy and Naomi, both of whom seemed quite well, and I now seem to have Lucy’s computer to take in for repair.

Back in Norwich, I picked up Dot and Sue from the lunch and dropped Sue in town. I then walked back into town to pick up the watch I had left for a new battery when I went in earlier to pay in cheques. On the way home I was asked directions to Earlham crematorium by three Essex people in a car. Since they were so far away from where they needed to be, I saw no alternative but to travel with them.

While doing so I discovered that they were already so late for the crematorium that it was pointless going, and so I took them to the Eagle pub on Newmarket Road for the wake. They were profusely grateful, but I declined a pint.

I then walked home again, met chess colleague Jon Burrows on the way and caught a bus outside Debenhams for the last section. Dot didn’t seem to have been too concerned about where I was (she had been at Morrison’s).

I then cooked my own dinner (if you remember, Dot had had a Christmas lunch with the ladies) and compiled a Christmas Compline from sources on the internet and elsewhere. At 8pm Judy, Vicky and the Archers arrived and we had some Christmas nibbles and mulled wine before listening to Dylan Thomas’s superb A Child’s Christmas in Wales, which David Archer had brought on CD, and then doing the Compline. Exhausted, Dot and I then watched A Question of Sport. I don’t know why.

Today she is at a DCC meeting at Diocesan House.

A bad day for the roses

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Tim,, Jude and Dot at the refurbished Wensum Sports Hall.
Tim, Jude and Dot at the refurbished Wensum Sports Hall.

They raved about Mr Turner, and the more I think about it, the more I think they were probably right. I should probably watch it again, because it’s a bit of a slow burn. Three excellent performances: Timothy Spall, of course, as the surprisingly unrefined Turner,  Dorothy Atkinson as his put-upon but devoted maid, and Marion Bailey as the “profoundly beautiful” Mrs Booth, a memorably good woman.

Most of last week was spent dealing with church financial matters (including a financial report for the year), and writing and rewriting a sermon. Plus various other sedentary matters. Feeling shivery on and off, and although the weather has turned very cold, I don’t think it’s that. Quite disconcerting.

We also had an unexpected visit from Simon (Wakefield), who had fallen over and injured himself. We took him in, warmed him up and Dot bathed his wounds. He was quite shaken. His leg is getting worse, and there is a risk that it might have to be amputated. Very sad. Such a nice guy.

On Friday I called in to see Joy and Andy, and Joy (a former nurse) suggested my minor problem might be hormonal. Nothing really fits my symptoms; so I shall try to give up thinking about it and hope it goes away. Had a good if shivery time with the McCalls, eating Stella McCartney “sausage” rolls and a bit of carrot cake. I took her a rough copy of my Iona book, which has now gone to the printers, complete with a bar code that I got for free off the Internet and is probably therefore deficient. Took two “sausage” rolls home for Dot, who gave them the thumbs up.

Had an unusually vigorous day on Saturday, which was sunny and not quite so cold. I cut down the roses in the back garden (except the ones making their way up and around the arch) and then annihilated the ones in the front garden. While I was doing this, Bob got me a cup of tea, which was nice. Broke off for lunch and then a walk up to Wensum Lodge, where Roger was assisting at the open day to mark its refurbishment.  They’ve done an excellent job there. A woman tried to persuade us to play pickle ball, but Dot was heading for the city to pay in a cheque and do a bit of shopping, and I had to get back to finish the roses. However, stayed long enough to meet Jude, who had dropped in after conducting a city tour from the front seat of a coach.

Back at the house I finished off the roses and managed to stuff about two thirds of them into the brown bin, and the rest of them into the green plastic tub. Hard work. I may not do it again for a year or so.

In the evening we took Jude II (Reynolds) to Eleanor’s, where we had been invited for a meal, and had an enjoyable evening, featuring burnt roast vegetables, which we all agreed we liked. Really. Eleanor is very sweet.

Yesterday, after a night during which I felt very hot, I reverted to shivery mode and managed to give a sermon on Advent and taking life seriously, which went down quite well. In the afternoon, after taking the rare opportunity of watching Norwich City win a game, we visited North Walsham cemetery and then Jessie, who produced some trademark mince pies. She seemed very well and can get up the stairs with no problem at all.

Today I’ve written a couple of pieces for Parish Pump, sorted out some cards and presents, got rid of some old papers and carrier bags at Morrisons, posted a parcel and some cards and put out the rubbish.  I’ve also written this, and I now have to walk to Howard’s for (a) a meeting about Carrie’s activities (b) a quick meal and (c) a DCC meeting. Dot will be joining us for the latter two. She has cleaned out the utility room and is still working on cards and presents. It’s all go.

Earlier Martin Smith called round with £247 in Enneagram money. I have e-mailed the speaker to find out how much of it he wants.

Little known facts

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We got our first Christmas card today - from this happy couple, photographed in August at the lovely Linn of Quoich.We got our first Christmas card today - from Sue and Roger Eagle, photographed in August at the lovely Linn of Quoich.

Happily Dot arrived back from Liverpool safely after stopping for fish and chips at a pub (the Generous Briton) in Brant Broughton, Lincolnshire. I spent the rest of the week writing an outline for a new Pastons drama for Chronicle (the Pastons in Norwich), among other things. Did very little walking, with or without my app.

Slight recurrence of pain in left side, which I now think may be down to excess acid in my stomach, because I had reduced my lanzoprasole. I have upped it again, and it was better yesterday.

Quite a busy weekend. Discovered at the last minute yesterday that Steve Snelling (a former colleague) was speaking at the Castle at noon on the first world war Christmas  truce of 1914; so rushed up there while Dot was getting some tablets from the chemist. An interesting one-hour talk which revealed some facts little known by me. For example, it happened over quite a long front where the trenches were rudimentary; it was almost entirely instigated by the Germans – for the most part Saxons who were broadly speaking against the war; and senior officers were appalled and threatened dire consequences if it happened again.

Jonathan had offered an extra ticket for Carrow Road; so after lunch Dot and I headed in that direction. It was chilly, but not too bad. The football was pretty dire, though. After scoring in the 9th minute, Norwich City conceded within ten minutes and then again (both from corners). They never really looked like scoring again themselves: set-up and tactics unconvincing; choice of players and substitutions mystifying.

In the evening we went to the Robinsons’ for a meal. Other guests: Bernadette and Barry Hutchings. Was a bit worried about my digestive system, and so took it carefully, but no problem. Very pleasant evening with good conversation.

Yesterday I led the Advent Holy Communion, with Eleanor preaching and presiding. Nice service, though only 15 present. In the evening we went for a meal at the Kerrisons’, giving the Greens a lift. A pleasant time after I had found somewhere to park (about half a mile away, and I’m not exaggerating). Fortunately I’d dropped the others off first. Didn’t find the conversation quite as easy as the previous night; maybe we didn’t have as much in common other than church. Perhaps it’s just random.

On Friday, incidentally, Dot and I made our fist visit to the cinema for some time. We arrived early for the 5.30pm showing of The Imitation Game and went to the Queen of Iceni (Wetherspoons) for a glass of wine, which was surprisingly good and amazingly cheap. I suspect it must have been happy hour or something. The film was excellent – not totally true to the history,  but then it didn’t claim to be. Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley were both excellent. Today we’re going to see Mr Turner, which everyone has raved about.