We have reverted to rain again, but at least it’s fairly warm. I thought twice, but eventually walked up to the Assembly House for the Archant agm and arrived just in time. Had a chat with Doug Bird and Adam Aiken and squeezed into a seat next to Mike Almond and Kevin Maddams. Lengthy speeches, and no dividend, but there seems to be a ray of digital hope through a link-up with an American company.
Long queue for food afterwards but eventually grabbed a chair and sat with Ivor Harvey, Mike and Peter March for a convivial lunch and much reminiscence. No-one present from EDP subs, needless to say. Meanwhile Dot was at the Cathedral for a Head Teachers’ Conference.
Last night another annual meeting – this time the parish one. The St Augustine’s table was seven strong and fairly merry. Anna brought several half-empty bottles of wine. Obviously I could only drink a limited amount as I was driving. The meeting itself was a trifle boring and predictable, but hey, aren’t they all? The Rev Simon Stokes tried to be reassuring.
Earlier in the day Dot her annual session with the diabetes nurse, which turned out to be a counselling session in which Dot tried to make the nurse feel better. She’s good at that – and her non-diabetes was fine too. Later she went to the shop, and timed her absence to coincide with Roger Mason’s unexpected visit.
The previous day we called to see his mother after I led a service at church. Dot dropped me off at Rob’s to discuss the Lucy situation with him and Peter. This gave me a new perspective on what was at the nub of it – the cause of Lucy’s resignation from Footprints and as trustee of the PHS. This is not the place to go into it, but it’s really a clash of ways of working, which I guess is nobody’s fault but might have been anticipated. Lots of problems as a result, of course.
Jessie seemed pretty well, but sadly the bird’s nest in her box has been destroyed by a bumble bee. Something else you don’t expect.
The previous day Des and Chris arrived home after their long holiday in New Zealand, and we had a prossecco in the garden. It was still pretty hot, but there were a few drops of rain from a clear sky.
Two meals out the previous two days – on Thursday with Eleanor at Eaton, foolishly arranged for 6pm, which meant that getting across the city was horrendous. Almost hit a couple of cyclists when emerging from Branksome Road on to Newmarket Road; they were travelling towards each other on the path, meeting as I emerged into a line of traffic. Completely mad. Other than that, it was a lovely evening, and we ate in the conservatory with the doors open.
On Friday we went to the Eagles’ for a meal, and had an amazing lamb and filo pastry concoction that’s pictured above, with a yoghurt sauce. I had eaten too much starter and couldn’t finish it, but it was pretty impressive. Another nice evening.