Feeling very autumnal today – and yesterday, in fact, when Dot and I decided to take a Heritage Day opportunity to look at the North Walsham and Dilham Canal after church. We started walking along the bank in a rather chilly wind but had to turn back and avail ourselves of the facilities. Still, we picked up a nice map and booklet and will explore further in future. We took the opportunity to visit the cemetery.
I was a bit nervous about the church bit, because I was preaching again and decided to talk about the problems facing the church, the way it behaved like a business and so on. When I wrote it I overlooked the fact that the vicar would be there, though I was informed of this the day before when I met Chris and Ray Fiske in the old church. What was I doing in the old church? I was greeting visitors for another aspect of the Heritage Weekend. I sat for an hour in the afternoon (while Dot prepared to go to Carrow Road), and by the time I left (at 3pm) there had been just over 60 visitors in total. I had a couple of interesting conversations, though, and managed to direct two people to the Quaker Cemetery down the road, which was in fact locked. I didn’t know that. They didn’t seem to mind.
Anyway, most people seemed to like the sermon, and the vicar didn’t say anything. I idid get a couple of texts and an e-mail from Debbie, though.
Earlier in the week the DCC meeting mentioned last time went reasonably well, and on the Wednesday Dot and I drove to Coventry to see Andrew. We took him into the city and bought some much needed clothes, mainly from Marks and Spencer’s, but some shoes from Clarks and a watch from Hinds, the jeweller’s, not to mention a razor from Boots. We also had something to eat in the M&S cafe. Andrew seemed quite hungry, although he’d had lunch, which we hadn’t. Helen and staff at Minster Lodge were very pleased to see us, or if not, pretended well.
On the way back we were warned by our satnav that we should travel by an alternative route through Papworth because of a traffic jam on the A14. I had already decided to do this anyway, but it showed the satnav was on the ball.
The next day (Thurs) we had a Footprints meeting at Mundesley. This was odd, in that on the way there I was feeling decidedly under the weather, but immediately on arriving I felt bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and contributed to the meeting in a much more positive way than I normally do. Afterwards I called in at Jessie’s, where I had dropped Dot, for lunch.
Another big day on Friday, but not till late, after I’d had a go at the Footprints minutes and the sermon. We drove down to Caddington to meet the school returnees at 4.30pm, having purchased something to eat at the Co-op. We were delivering Oliver’s birthday card, small present and some cash: his main present is a computer game which isn’t released till later this month. He was already immersed in Destiny 2, the computer game of the moment, which his father had bought him.
Anyway, we stayed with Amy while Oliver and his father went swimming (well, only Oliver was swimming, but his father took him), and we played Pictionary, followed by charades. On being told that I couldn’t draw, Amy said I only had to draw quickly and with clarity. So that was all right. We stayed quite late, and on the way home we had to find a way round a piece of the A505 that was being resurfaced. We managed OK, though we put on about six miles in order to travel what would have been less than one.
Today I finished editing the holiday pictures and put some on Flickr and one on Facebook. I have the opportunity to play in a blitz chess tournament tonight, but I don’t think I will.