Following supper with the Hendersons last Saturday, I realised I was supposed to be leading the service the following day. This was only temporarily alarming, and by the next morning all was in order. Liz Cannon did some Godly Play instead of a sermon. This is infinitely better than it sounds, and had the virtue of making the church year sound not only logical but inevitable.
In the afternoon we visited Jessie after taking flowers to the cemetery at North Walsham. It was Dot’s mum’s birthday. She would have been 97.
I have just read three books – Testimony, by Robbie Roberston of The Band (good stories about early Band and Bob Dylan, among many others); Dear Mr M, by Herman Koch (a very clever novel about a Dutch novelist and youthful indiscretions), and The Lewis Man, by Peter May (compelling thriller set in the Hebrides, with lots of local colour). I am now reading a book dissecting the science we think we know, which is fascinating.
On Monday Dot and I went to an exhibition at the Victoria & Albert museum. As this happened to be in London, we went there, leaving on the 11am train, travelling by Circle line to South Kensington and then walking via a subway to the V&A. As soon as we got there we ate in the cafe – each of us had a baguette with salad.
The exhibition was Revolution? Records and Rebels 1966-1970, and we had been given free tickets by Roger, who had been given them by Judith, who works at the V&A. Normally it would have cost £16 each to get in; so it was something of a bargain. It was also sensationally good, with a location-sensitive sound system and plenty of video archive. It culminated in a film of Woodstock projected on to walls and ceiling.
Afterwards we made our way by pavement and tube to Leicester Square, and thence towards Covent Garden, where we happened on an Apple store, which was fortuitous, as we needed a new charger connection for Dot’s iPhone. In the event we got two, so that we didn’t have to keep swapping them around when we went in the car. We also got directions to a wine bar called Li Veli (at least, that’s where we ended up), where we had some excellent wine, some coffee and some olives for very slightly less than we would have paid to go into the exhibition.
Afterwards something peculiar happened, and it wasn’t because of the wine. I think it actually happened earlier, when we came out of Leicester Square tube station. I normally have a very good sense of direction, but in trying to reach Tottenham Court Road, nothing seemed to make sense, and I eventually came to the conclusion that what I had thought was north was in fact south, which is about as wrong as you can get.
This feeling was confirmed as we approached Trafalgar Square, and after that it was plain sailing. We went down to the embankment to have a look at the river, which was where it should have been, and then caught the tube from Embankment back to Liverpool Street, where we were just right for the 7.30pm back to Norwich. A really good day.
Yesterday Annette came to lunch. I went and bought some cheese and salad, but in the end we had sausage, egg, bacon and chips, plus a good catch-up conversation. She and Mike are no longer vegetarians (obviously), and their new living and working arrangements are going well. She looked very well, and has a new car. New to her, anyway.