The gas man cameth while I was at church last Sunday, and he got our central heating going again. Apparently a safety switch that I didn’t know existed had popped out. We don’t know why, but since he adjusted everything, our water is boiling hot. I’ve turned it down once and may have to do so again. Still, everything is working.
Later we went to the Hendersons for a light supper, and later still Paul drove us (without Maryta) to the Theatre Royal for a concert by a St Petersburg orchestra; Prokoviev’s 1st, Rachmaninov’s 4th and Rimsky Korsakov’s Scheherezade. Or something like that. It was very good: Dot loved the last one – one of her favourites.
On Monday we went for lunch with Angela and Rodney at what used to be the Ugly Bug at Colton, but is now the Norfolk Lurcher. We all had fish and chips, which was very pleasant. Beforehand we viewed the new Ellis kitchen, which was pretty impressive, and afterwards we went back for tea/coffee before hastening home to get our hair cut (Linda had rescheduled from the previous week).
David, Oliver and Amy arrived late on Wednesday, and on Thursday we walked into the city before having to leave them to see a play at the Hostry Festival that we had booked up for months before. Very good it was too: Anglian Mist, performed by the Stuff of Dreams Theatre Company in the round. We were very close to the actors, and it was extremely impressive to watch their concentration and all-round skill.
That was in the afternoon. In the evening we watched Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. I’d forgotten how good a film it is.
Yesterday the weather turned a good deal chillier, but it was still dry. We had an early lunch and drove to Winterton, where we had a traditional and good game of hide-and-seek in the dunes (north side) before wandering on to the beach, where we had a little sun and saw a couple of seals in the water. Then we drove home via Sea Palling and Happisburgh and watched Wonder Woman in the evening. Another good film with some interesting similarities to Crouching Tiger, and some Christian symbolism too. Worked very well.
This morning we had breakfast at Costa on Prince of Wales Road before David, Oliver and Amy left for Bishop’s Stortford, where they had a date with the Coomes family. It was really lovely having them here: we’re lucky they’re such lovely children, and David isn’t bad either… He gave us a bit of an insight into what he’s developing in Canada.
After lunch, Dot went to watch City lose 2-1 to Derby while I went to the Hostry to see a Julian-based production involving music and dancing which actually wasn’t very good. I met Judy outside, and the vicar arrived independently and quite late. He seemed quite taken with it, though he didn’t appear enthralled while it was taking place. I though the dancing was a bit predictable, the music untuneful and the words (apart from Julian’s own) unimaginative. Lots of people looked at their watches.
After walking with Judy to the bus stop by the station, I walked up the road and into the cemetery to get my mileage up. This has been a pretty good month in terms of consistency. I am also noting my blood pressure over a week for the benefit of my surgery. Big difference between morning and evening. Clocks go back tonight.