Friday was bitterly cold, so we gave a miss to two open studio private views: Annette’s at Diss, and Rupert and Martin’s at their new home above Fitt Signs in St Augustine’s. We hardly stirred, in fact, but we did make it to Fitt Signs on Sunday after Morning Worship (it’s about 100 yards from the church) and found the dynamic duo in good form: spent some time talking to them and so gave the other two studios in the building a miss. Bought a few small things. St Augustine’s has at last, after many months, reopened to traffic, which is pretty exciting. To be more accurate, not at all pretty and only mildly exciting, but it doesn’t take much… Still lots of work going on in the vicinity, and I’ve no doubt there will be for many, many months.
On Saturday we had been invited to the Kibbles’ for evening meal: had a very good time, with the conversation registering a high number of words per kilo. Rod is pretty intellectual in a nice way and tells a good story: Val knew several people I used to know in my youth at Surrey Chapel, as well as several others (different ones) that Dot still knows in the educational world: so plenty of fuel there.
Our main meal on Sunday was taken care of too: one of our regular visits with Heather, Simon and Sam to the Ali Tandoori for curry, after a brief foray into the King’s Head, where we ran into artist Martin Laurance again and Dot claimed to be stalking him, to the apparent consternation – or was it bemusement? – of the two women he was with. Good meal and even better service at the Ali, where the staff treat Heather – and therefore the rest of us – like one of the family. Excellent conversation again, but I got acid reflux afterwards. Interestingly, it was exactly the same meal and the same result as last weekend. Must be very sensitive to something in it. Pity.
Don’t think I’ve mentioned that we now have a VHS player/recorder: a Christmas present from Dot and me to ourselves. Have played bits of one or two old tapes – one of them a film I took when I borrowed Derek’s camcorder and filmed extensively on our first visit to Scotland, plus a bit on our return, featuring several relatives and our son! More excitement: the skirting board man (who Dot taught, if you remember) came on Saturday and fitted out the living room – an excellent job, as far as I can see, and very reasonable. Then today Colin came and put some boards down in the loft: he’s finishing off tomorrow. Another guy who’s very thorough and, as a big plus, didn’t fall through the ceiling.
Dot and I popped into the city around lunchtime to do a bit of shopping and exchange a sweater, and we somehow ended up in Jarrold cafeteria. Don’t know how that happened. Had a scone. Am rather concerned because I’ve started putting on weight again; so I shall be watching what I eat for the next couple of weeks, before succumbing to Christmas. Well, you can’t watch what you eat over Christmas.
It’s still very cold, with a sprinkling of snow overnight and a lingering mist today. But much easier to walk around in that it was last Saturday, when the temperature was actually higher. Thass a mystery, as we say in Norfolk. On the way home from the curry restaurant on Sunday we thought we saw smoke and flames coming from the Cathedral, but it was just mist lit up by the floodlights. I hope.