Very, very wet today. Drove Dot down to the Scole Inn for 10.30, where she met Barbara, and they proceeded in Barbara’s car to St Helen’s for a P4C session tomorrow. Made good time despite the weather.
Yesterday was exciting: I went to church in the morning while Dot cooked a roast chicken lunch for David and the children, who arrived separately. David drove up from Caddington, but the children had spent the night at the Wensum Valley Hotel, following a wedding at Reepham the day before (Kerry from Bury), involving a train and a drone taking pictures. Vicky dropped them off and picked them up again at 3pm after lunch and a quick game of Dixit, which they had bought me for my birthday.
David also bought me three books and a protective screen for my iPhone. Amy and Oliver also brought me some biscuits from France.
After the children had gone David went through loads of stuff in the garage and loft with us, looking for stuff he wanted us to keep, and stuff we could get rid of. The latter was in the majority. He left quite late.
Dot’s Aunt Ethel has died. It was quite sudden in the end. Angela rang during lunch yesterday to say she was not well, and when she spoke to Dot later, it was all over. No doubt there will be chaos over the will: no-one knows if she made one or, if she did, where it might be.
A warm and dry day at the moment, though we’ve had plenty of rain in the last few days. The worst was on Wednesday, when Dot went down to see Barbara in her newly re-tyred car. Unfortunately, when she backed out from the parking space at Metfield she collided with a metal plate on the fence which managed to drag out the front of the car and deposit it on the ground. We then managed to do all the wrong things in the wrong order, with the result that the car is now in our drive awaiting a visit from someone representing the underwriters, who is resolutely failing to give us a time of arrival.
First Dot rang Green Flag, who came and fixed up the car so that it could be driven home. Unfortunately the GF man also suggested she ring the insurance company, and while she was doing this it got extremely complicated. She didn’t want to take pictures, because it now didn’t look bad, and she forgot to mention that the GF man had come. To cut a long story short, the insurance company sent a very nice man from down the road who transported the car to our driveway.
Meanwhile I had driven down to Metfield and back for no good reason (I thought the car might be taken to a local garage, which would have left Dot stranded). Because we were then away for two days, the underwriters’ man couldn’t contact us (despite Dot saying specifically that he should ring her mobile number) and he is still proving reluctant to actually speak to us. No doubt he fancies a long weekend away.
All very annoying. At least most of the rain happened while Dot was in the house.
On Thursday we headed for Leyton and a couple of days with the Coomes. We were delayed slightly because Dot had left her computer charger cable and plug at Barbara’s, and Barbara had hung it in a bag on her door for us to pick up. This added both time and distance to our journey, and the bit on the A140 was particularly slow: I always hated that road, and it has, unbelievably, got worse. The rest of the journey down the A12 wasn’t too bad, fortunately, and we arrived at Leyton around 1.15pm.
After a leisurely lunch we decided it was too late to go anywhere before the journey to Bond Street for our evening meal at a Lebanese restaurant called Fairuz. The tube was packed (Coomes said this was strange for a Sunday: I’m worried about him), and it started to rain as we emerged – fortunately only lightly. The meal was excellent, as was the wine. By the time we got home I could hardly keep my eyes open.
Yesterday it was dry and we went to William Morris’s house in Walthamstow. I drove, which was more of a challenge that I thought it would be. London is thick with buses, and there are so many markings and signs that it is hard to keep a lookout for pedestrians. But we eventually made it, and Dot spotted a car park. The house is beautifully organised as a museum, with interesting displays, and it’s not too big. We ended with a cup of tea in the cafe, during which I got a phone call from Minster Lodge to say that Andrew had been taken into hospital again after behaving bizarrely.
I rang the hospital today and even spoke to Andrew, who didn’t seem too bad at first but then became rather agitated. The nurse said he had seen Andrew like this before. Haven’t we all?
Two other noteworthy events last week. On Monday I lost a chess game to John Allison in the Dons knockout competition. I got a very good game and with one move I could have had a winning position. Unfortunately I didn’t see it, and it’s particularly annoying because it’s a move I could have seen and would have seen in the past. It reinforces my decision not to keep playing (except in exceptional circumstances).
Much more noteworthy on Tuesday was our neighbour Simon’s funeral at the RC Cathedral. Dot and I walked up there and met Bridget on the way. She was worried because she has a problem with her stomach and is awaiting tests. The funeral itself was packed and moving: it was led by a family friend, who is a deacon at the Cathedral. Bob and Mary were there, but Mary was too emotional to talk afterwards.
We didn’t go to the cremation, but we did pop in to the Coach and Horses for the Reception, where we talked to Mairead’s friend Rachel (daughter of the deacon), and to Rachel’s mother, who is really nice. Also had a brief chat to Simone, who is Bronwen’s friend – bit of a coincidence – and said Bronwen was still in Norwich. Rather worrying.
Jon Welch, someone else I should probably know, Shaun Lowthorpe and Helen Ashworth
Very warm couple of days this weekend, dissolving into heavy rain around teatime today. Dot has just gone out to the Greens’ for a “girls’ night out” involving Vicky and Ruth, and I stayed in to play host to Maryta, Paul and Holly and their stem ginger cake. We went round the Hendersons’ last night for a meal, and Holly was supposed to be there for that, but she had a stomach problem and didn’t arrive till today: glad I was able to see her.
Earlier yesterday there was an unusual event at the home of Pat and Lesley Prekopp at Burgh, near Aylsham. Paul Durrant, former EDP news editor, has been diagnosed with cancer (oesophagus, I think) and has only a few months to live; so they arranged for him to be at this party and for as many of his old colleagues as possible to come and see him. He was quite gaunt but in reasonably good spirits, though obviously emotional, and he gave a good speech. I spoke to him as Maryta and I left and I said it had been a real pleasure. It was clear that he had tears in his eyes, which may seem an obvious thing to say, but I found it moving.
Paul ‘Duzza’ Durrant, legend of the newsroom
I took Maryta; Brian had been intending to come but was too ill, and Robin had a previous engagement. The setting was beautiful and the weather extremely warm; the food was good too. Met a number of former colleagues/friends: Tony Wenham, Ian Clarke, Trevor Burton, Emma Lee, Annette Hudson, Sarah Hardy, Stacia Briggs, Helen Ashworth, Louisa Griffith-Jones, Ian Bullock, Bill Woodcock, Sarah Brealey, James Goffin, Pete Kelley, Jon Welch, Rachel Moore, Mike Pollitt, Denise Bradley, Alison Croose, Andrew Stronach, Shaun Lowthorpe, Mark Harrop and others too numerous to mention or who I’ve forgotten. Left after 2½ hours but would probably have stayed longer if I’d been alone: Maryta, of course, knew far fewer people than I did. Apparently when Duzza left he got a round of applause.
Even earlier yesterday Colin and his youngest son Jordan came and cut our hedge, which gave us more light into the kitchen and garden, as well as a rather smug feeling, which dissipated when he pointed out that Dot’s car had a flat tyre. However, I’ve pumped it up and it seems to be staying up – at the moment.
On Friday we had a surprise when Bronwen Edwards of InPrint fame came round out of the blue and stayed for a drink. She was staying in a hotel on Prince of Wales Road. Hope to see her again.
Thursday saw us on the Broads in the afternoon. We hired a day boat for a couple of hours with Fred and Sue and sailed down to Salhouse Broad. We had a cup of tea while we waited and a meal in the Hotel Wrexham when we returned – fish and chips for Dot and me. A really pleasant afternoon which made us wonder why we don’t do it more often.
A chilly and wet day today: a foretaste of autumn. But most days are still warm and summery; so we can’t complain. Yesterday afternoon we had drinks in the garden with Anne, who departs for a Mediterranean cruise on Thursday, hoping not to be confused with Libyan migrants. In the evening Dot and I went to the cinema and saw Trainwreck in the company of a largely young and female audience. We guessed we were not the target market, but it was nevertheless a very funny and rewarding film, with some wonderful dialogue.
Earlier in the day we extracted a large amount of bedding, mainly in the form of duvets and pillows, from the loft, spruced it all up a bit and took it to the Jubilee Hall (next to St Luke’s on Aylsham Road) for the benefit of some Congolese people who are gathering there in preparation for the funeral of two cousins who drowned in Thorpe Marshes nature reserve. The boy, aged 11 was called Bonheur and lived in The Lathes. The church gave his family £200 on Sunday toward expenses surrounding the funeral.
Later on Sunday Dot and I went to Walpole Old Chapel, near Halesworth, for the annual poetry reading. It was almost too well attended, because the reading started at 5pm and didn’t finish till well after 8.30pm. I was scheduled to read last, which – viewed in pop music terms – has to be good. It was a bit of a marathon, though, despite the half-time drinks and cake, and by the time I got to read it was not only extremely chilly but also nearly dark. There was only one light in the chapel. Still, we hung in there, despite the counter-attraction of a bird that got in and couldn’t get out, and I got a pretty enthusiastic reception. They even laughed at my jokes. I read three newish poems: After Sun, A Train Approaches and Proof of Heaven.
Elliott makes himself at home in the garden
Proceeding backwards, on Saturday Sam and Lucy came round with Elliott, and went into the garden, where Elliott had a great time pulling flowers apart and transferring stones into places they shouldn’t be. Dot got out David’s old train set and a tractor, both of which Elliott played with and then departed with. Meanwhile Norwich City scored their first win in the Premiership, beating Sunderland 3-1 away.
Earlier last week the main event was the arrival of Adrian and Clarissa by boat on Wednesday. We had a call from them while Dot and I were at Jessie’s in North Walsham. I was on my way to a Paston assignation, but Dot was on her way home after visiting Peter at Cromer for some p4c film editing. Dot dropped in on Adrian after she got back – as did Roger, who also been at North Walsham – and I completed the party when I arrived back from the Paston event. Good to see them: they had Menna’s three girls with them – Maddy, Olivia and Isabel. All delightful, especially Maddy, the oldest.
The following morning they came up for coffee and biscuits before departing for the city as Dot left for the dentist. They had a packed programme. In the last two days they had to get the boat back to Potter Heigham, via Breydon Water, visit Yarmouth (don’t ask me why) and call in on Jessie.
The Paston event mentioned consisted of an informal trustees’ meeting with food (mackerel pate) in the rather chilly garden of the Ship Inn at Mundesley, followed by tea and coffee at Lucy’s. She is not too good, since her last-ditch cancer treatment provoked an allergic reaction. It is hard to say how bad she is, because she always seems to come back strongly, but she didn’t feel well enough to proceed with Rob, Peter and myself to Bacton village hall, where we met the Bacton Historical Society with a view to their helping us in our NHL bid. We got an encouraging reception, and enjoyed a 40 min tape of Bacton people reminiscing about previous times. It was much more interesting than it sounds.
Heads still spinning, we arrived home this afternoon from Caddington to find that Mairead’s husband Simon had been found dead near a railway bridge. I spoke to him a few days ago and know he had been in a lot of pain and had poor prospects of improvement, but he seemed cheerful enough, as he always did. Obviously Mairead is devastated, but she is made of stern stuff: the children are the same ages as our grandchildren. We’ve offered to help, but she has family with her at the moment.
We’d spent the night at Caddington with the children while David went swimming on Monday evening and to London this morning. We delivered them to friends at Markyate for a sleepover before leaving at lunchtime. Oliver is programming his own computer game: most impressive. Amy’s ears are adjusting to being pierced, and she looks sophisticated.
We spent most of yesterday at Coventry with Andrew, taking him to Brandon Marsh nature reserve and visiting several bird hides. The locals were very friendly. We saw a heron feeding, some green sandpipers, numerous geese, a cormorant or three and what may have been a young hobby. Sadly, no kingfisher. Andrew was surprisingly interested. We had lunch in the cafe there: steak pie for the two of us and salmon fishcakes for Dot. Later we had tea and cake in Memorial Park. We were fortunate with the weather: the forecast rain turned out to be very slight and occasional.
We had arrived in Coventry at the Premier Inn (south) on Leamington Road around 5.30pm on the Sunday. We had originally planned to spend the earlier part of the weekend with the Coomes in London, but this was cancelled early on Saturday morning because David had a very painful shoulder. Instead Dot and I went out on Saturday for a meal at Jamie’s, which was excellent, and went to church on Sunday, where we had the unusual experience of simply being part of the congregation. The new vicar was leading Communion, and the atmosphere at the service was very good.
Back on Wednesday last week Richard brought the girls round for lunch (spaghetti bolognaise), and I had a game of table tennis with each of them, imparting extravagant praise when they managed to hit the ball. It was a nice few hours. When they left Dot and I retrieved the Mazda 2 from the garage , where it was getting its first service. In the morning I had walked much of the way home, but got a bus some of the way, discovering en route that getting through Tombland was a challenge for pedestrians as well as cars – a challenge I failed, ending up going past the Adam & Eve and cutting through to the Close.
Tuesday night’s Cake and Compline went well, with a full complement of attendees. Still jet-lagged, we just managed to keep our eyes open.
Line-up at Palmer Circle: Jackson, Oliver, Seth, Amy and Sophie.
Returned on Sunday from a fortnight in Canada, staying with the Murrays in Caledon – most of the time with Chrissy and her children, and all of the time with David, Oliver and Amy. Quite a strange time, really, in that we simply stayed at 88 Palmer Circle nearly the whole holiday and read books, plus playing a little croquet and badminton. The weather was mostly very hot, and the mosquitoes and other insects were biting.
My attempts to get Oliver and Amy to Niagara came to nothing, mainly because none of the three vehicles available could take seven people. Instead David, Chrissy and the children went into Toronto on the second Thursday (making use of the subway from Kipling), summited the CN Tower and visited the Aquarium. Roger and I assisted in the transportation to Kipling, both ways. The next day the Vanderkooy children departed, heading for camp somewhere up north.
Dot came to Kipling with us in the morning, and Roger took us to Glen Williams, a delightful little village with a cafe that served proper tea. There was also an art studio, glass-blowing and a river. We came home the pretty way, close by Forks of the Credit national park on the Niagara Escarpment, which we visited properly on the Saturday morning – yes, the day we came home.
Forks of the Credit sounds more like a financial institution than a national park, but it is in fact a beautiful stretch of wild land (the Credit is a river). We walked to near a waterfall and caught a glimpse of it, but the proper viewing platform was closed for safety reasons. On the way back, Dot and I took a short cut which no-one else believed was there (possibly excepting David and Oliver, who did the polite thing and stayed with their hosts) and got well ahead. A small but significant triumph.
Following this we went to Erin, where there was an excellent fish and chip shop, followed by a stop at Alton Mills Arts Centre, which was impressive. Beautifully landscaped and with good quality artists. Oliver, Dot and I got separated from the others and visited the mill race, which was spectacular, then stopped at the cafe, where Dot showed the assistant how to make tea.
Earlier in the week the girls went shopping at Don Mills shopping complex while the boys went to the Nottawasaga Inn Resort, where we played mini golf, table tennis and table hockey. We also went on various slot machines, and Oliver managed to obtain gifts for Amy and Sophie. We also had lunch in the restaurant, with which we were not very impressed, mainly because of the strangely tasting water. Good view, though.
Other than that our only outing was on Tuesday 27th – our wedding anniversary – to the Blu restaurant in Yorkville, Toronto, for an evening meal. This was excellent; even though we arrived quite late, the staff were very friendly and helpful (I think Roger’s brother Rob knew the waitress and had primed her). The food was first class, and we got an anniversary cake too! OK, the price we paid was very high (over $500) but for a special occasion it was worth it.
I almost forgot: we did have another couple of outings to buy food with David and Chrissy, and I took a couple of short walks, one of them with Dot. Chrissy also took us to the rail crossing on Mount Hope Road, because … well, because we wanted to go.
At Forks of the Credit
During the fortnight we read a number of books, mostly recommended by Barbara. They were: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, by Rachel Joyce; Proof of Heaven by Eben Alexander; A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra; The Great Gatsby, by F Scott Fitzgerald; The Afterlife of Stars by Joseph Kertes; and two funny books by Nora Ephron – I Feel Bad about my Neck and I Remember Nothing.
The Joyce was brilliant, the Alexander intriguing ( a near-death experience), the Marra a complex but mainly good novel set in war-torn Chechnya, the Kertes a clever (sometimes too clever) novel of brothers escaping from Hungary, and the Fitzgerald classy.
I also wrote a few poems and walked into the pool with my iPhone in my pocket. Attempts to save it by putting it into rice proved futile, and yesterday I obtained a new iPhone 6 from O2. I had been planning to get one anyway; so I was not as distraught as I might have been.
The week was haunted by a guinea pig, which was resident in the girls’ room and which seemed to be causing serious allergy problems for Barbara. Fortunately, not for anyone else. She survived, but was clearly uncomfortable much of the time.
Barbara is writing a cookery book, and the first week consisted of meals that were destined for it – all of them delicious. On one occasion Chrissy’s friend Michelle, her children Jackson and Ryan and her parents (Lynn and Jim) came for lunch; and on another a couple of business colleagues – Rick and Shirley – with the addition of Rob Murray, who proved pleasant and entertaining but looked gaunt.
The journey both ways were largely uneventful. On the way there David had organised everything, and he and Chrissy were with us and the children. On the way back it was just us and the children. First problem was that Amy had to unwrap her present for her Mum at customs. This did not go down well, but she recovered. We distracted her agony by going to a restaurant in the airport that used iPads to order, and Oliver demonstrated his expertise. Good food too.
The flight was normal, but in England it was very warm, and we had difficulty finding the bus at first (I hadn’t noticed instructions were on the ticket). It was a long trip to the car park, via the North Terminal, but that was nothing compared to the journey from there to South Mimms, where Vicky was waiting. There were two accidents on the M23, holding us up, and the M25 was agonisingly slow: we came to a halt repeatedly. The children went to sleep until we speeded up nearer our destination.
Vicky, who had gone blonde, was cheerful despite her long wait, and we handed over successfully. Then we had quite a bit to eat in Starbuck’s, as well as drinks and drove home. I almost dozed off once, but was roused by rumble strips, and we paused for fresh air at the A11 Monument.
Happily our brown bin had been emptied, and although our parasol had been blown on to the bird bath, no damage resulted. We watched reruns of the Third Test, made do with minimal repast and went to bed about 10.30pm.
My talk to the CNS Old Boys on the Friday before our holiday went well after Dot dashed home to get a connector for the computer. The food at the White Horse in Trowse was also good, and the tour of the Norfolk Record Office that preceded it was excellent too. our journey to Gatwick was also fairly smooth, although after we were dropped by the APH bus at the airport we had a bit of a problem finding the hotel (there was a tunnel direct from the airport, but we didn’t know that). The room was OK, but we had trouble finding a small amount of food and eventually restored to a bar snack. The staff were all very friendly, though.
Since getting home we’ve been in a bit of a haze, but I had my glasses fixed after getting the iPhone 6, which I’m very pleased with. We’ve also unpacked, of course, been to the supermarket, had our hair cut by Linda (today) and sorted out stuff for the bins, including a particularly ugly food caddy.
I’ve also been to an Archant coffee morning, and Dot has been to see her Aunt Ethel, who is not at all well. Still not back in phase, and we have cake and compline tonight, though I’m not sure who’s coming.
