Last night I had quite a good night’s sleep, which was reassuring as I was just getting tireder and tireder. Today I’m catching up with thousands of e-mails (hyperbole) while Dot is at an alternative sports day at St Luke’s. I don’t know what that is, but whatever it is, Dot is playing music at it with Anna and Matt, and possibly Phil, though apparently Phil has fallen over and cut his chin.
Dot was playing music last Saturday too: a Sillars concert at Cromer parish church on the theme of water. She was taken by fellow second fiddle Janet Smith, and I turned up around teatime on a grey and unexciting day. The concert was very good, though the size of the church made the audience seem small. Paul and Maryta came, as did Dave and Julia from their Blakeney hideaway. Also Peter Stibbons, who was surprised to see so few Cromer people there.
P & M left at the interval, which was pretty good going for Maryta, and afterwards Dot and I took the Evetts back to Blakeney before going home.
The weather had improved by Sunday, and apparently everyone was out in it, because I led the service, preached the sermon, and wrote the prayers for Dot to read. No-one else was available, and the congregation just scraped up to eleven. We took our time packing afterwards and reached Blakeney just before 5pm. We had Room 14 at the Manor Hotel – a nice semi-suite just round the corner from the dining room. Obviously the Evetts had Room 1. The food was pretty good, as usual, but the bacon was smoked: so Dave had boiled egg, or sometimes scrambled.
On Monday I drove to Thornham, and we had a coffee/tea before returning to the car for an extra item of clothing. I can’t remember what it was, but it was just as well, because I’d left the engine running. I didn’t think it was possible to do that, but apparently it was.
After putting that right, we walked thorough Thornham and then across the marsh and out past the usual bleached timber towards Holme, before turning back inland and back to the Thornham Deli again, where we had lunch. Afterwards we decided to go to Burnham Market, but when Julia said we could find somewhere for a cup of coffee (we had just walked out of a cafe) I panicked and left them there while I drove to Burnham Norton – a very quiet spot where I wrote a poem. At the last minute I checked with a church ruins book I have and found there were ruins of a Friary on the hill; so I called there on the way to pick the others up. When I picked them up, I found they hadn’t been to a cafe at all. We drove to Wiveton fruit farm and booked lunch for Wednesday.
On Tuesday there were a few spots of rain, but nothing to speak of. It was still warm. We drove to Cley nature reserve , and coffee/tea and then walked out to the beach and along the shingle to the beach car park. Julia found this quite difficult. From there we walked into Cley and took refreshment at the Artemis cafe, which had run out of fruit scones. So I had ginger beer only. The Evetts though I was angry, but in fact it was quite refreshing. We walked back to the nature reserve, which had closed two sections of its car park for no apparent reason. Perhaps newts were nesting there.
The next day the rain thickened as we walked to Morston in waterproofs before calling at the Anchor Inn for coffee/tea. I had nothing, because I was full from breakfast. Julia didn’t have much because her soya milk tasted funny. We caught the Coasthopper, which was 15 minutes late, and returned to Blakeney to pick up the cars. We had checked out earlier. We then drove to Wiveton for lunch at the fruit farm: very nice. I had grilled peached and watercress, plus something else, followed by gooseberry and elderflower creme brûlée. The Evetts shared one of those, despite the large spoons.
We reached home exhausted and did very little for the rest of the day, except catch up on TV highlights of the Tour de France.
On Thursday I went for a Quiet Day at Filby for authorised worship assistants. I met some people from South Norfolk and a man from Ormesby, plus the local vicar, who led it. She did very well; the first bit in particular was quite encouraging, and we ended with Eucharist. Rain had been promised for the whole day, but in fact it was only the odd shower, and I was able to walk down to the Trinity Broads. Apparently I was spotted on my walk by the Hendersons, driving back from their daily visit to St Benet’s Abbey. I wrote four poems, which made six in a week. No-one else from St Augustine’s or St Luke’s was at the Quiet Day. There were about 18 in all.
Yesterday was my birthday. I am now 74. Dot and I were driven by the Robinsons to the Blakeney Hotel for a change of scene, and had a very good meal there. The starter and the sweet were particularly good. Dot, Anne and I went for a short walk afterwards, but it was quite windy, blowing onshore. Philip drove us home. If he had driven any slower, he would have been going backwards.
In the evening we did a joint Facetime with David, Oliver and Amy, which was nice. Canada seems a fun country, but I’m not sure Amy was all that happy. David sent me a gift-wrapped chess book from Amazon, and Dot bought me various things, including a scope, which came all the way from China, on a slow boat, but made it the day before my birthday. I had to collect it from the sorting office, where someone recognised me: “Aren’t you that bloke from ECN?” I was.