Tag Archives: paston

16 August 2008

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Lucy Care, Caroline Gilfillan and Lisa D’Onofrio at Thursday’s Bally meeting to discuss various aspects of the Paston Book – running order, finance, exhibitions and so on. Annette was also there. More pictures on the InPrint website. The meeting lasted two hours and got a number of things sorted out, though some were left vague as usual.

I wasn’t feeling particularly well and eventually decided to go to the doctor’s with another urine infection. I was prescribed antibiotics by Dr Macris, who I hadn’t met before. To be fair, he probably hadn’t met me before either.

Yesterday Dot spent a long time in the city, with Carrie, who she met for lunch. I walked up to the newsagent’s and the sorting office (twice) – the second time to send off my Flip camcorder, which hasn’t been connecting to my computer properly. I had an e-mail exchange with the support team, who eventually told me to send it back to Windsor for repair or replacement. In late afternoon we called in at Dunston Hall to pay for our ruby celebration, then went on to Newton Flotman, where we had a Greek meal with the Higbees. Very enjoyable: Allan revealed that he had made some lovely wooden bowls, and he offered to make us one if we supplied the wood. Back home by just after 10pm.

In an hour’s time I will be at the hospital to have my catheter removed, which will be a relief. I’m a little bit tense of course, but hope that all will go well and I’ll be back home this evening.

13 August 2008

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Another picture from Sunday – this one is of our friends Bridget and David Archer, members of our Tuesday Group and just two of many who didn’t come last night, when we almost had an all-time low of three until Claire turned up late. Vicky was the other one, and the four of us had a very pleasant evening.

Earlier Dot and I had been out to Paston to deliver some acetates for Lucy. Jack was there, looking quite chirpy at 95, and so was Naomi, plus Lucy’s sister, niece, niece’s husband and great-nephew. So obviously we had a cup of tea and passed a pleasant half hour before departing for North Walsham to drop in on Jessie for another cup of tea. She had fallen over on some uneven pavement and had a few cuts, but seemed more or less OK. I instructed her not to do it again.

On the way home we saw evidence of the downpour that had swept across a narrow band of Norfolk in the morning and kept us in bed (well, it doesn’t take a downpour to keep us in bed, but it’s a good excuse). By afternoon it was was reasonably pleasant, but the showers have continued into today, and the forecast is not too wonderful.

According to my Norfolk Almanac of Disasters, nothing really bad has ever happened here on August 13, and this record continued today, as far as I know. Dot went down to Suffolk just in case, but mainly to meet Barbara, with whom she is working on Thinking Skills for Children. I got quite a lot done in her absence, including fetching a prescription, giving a bit of money away and reading an interesting essay on Kafka by Zadie Smith (in the Telegraph Review section). Have been in contact with Flip technical help about my new camcorder, which won’t connect properly to the computer, and it looks as if I’ll be getting a new one. This evening I’ve printed out all the Paston poems on quality paper so that they can be put up on exhibition. Dot continues on her mammoth task of sorting out all our photographs.

I’ve also entered five poems (mainly from the hospital series) in the Aesthetica Competition.

11 August 2008

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After torrential rain on Saturday, we had a warm day on Sunday for our church day out at Mangreen Hall, just outside Norwich. I’d been feeling quite down the day before and woke up feeling distinctly dodgy, but in the end decided to go and immediately felt better. It turned out to be a really good day – relaxing and invigorating – and the company was excellent, as well as the setting. The picture shows Dot playing violin (electric) with Matthew, and the two of them accompanied me singing one of my old songs that I’d updated slightly for the occasion. A good selection of bring-and-share food at lunchtime, and lovely grounds, including a stone circle, to relax in. Took quite a few pictures. The day ended at 5pm, but we spent quite a time chatting to various people before leaving. Home just after 6pm, and it started to rain about five minutes later. Watched Olympics round-up – first UK gold medal from Nicole Cooke in the cycling road race, who proved to be so hyper that she was completely uninterviewable.

Today has been much quieter. Martin Laurance came round to pick up a CD with one of my Paston poems on it for transfer to an A3 acetate. He later came back with the acetate, which I’ll deliver to Lucy tomorrow. I’ve also put together four A4 sheets of Mangreen pictures which look pretty good, I have to say. Well, I don’t have to, but I will.

9 August 2008

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Haven’t seen the family for a nearly a month, and it will be the end of August before we see them again – must be the longest period we’ve been without seeing them. They’re off to Nottingham today and then to France on the 15th. So here’s a picture of us all together at Fred’s caravan at West Runton four weeks ago. Clearly the food was good.

Weather has been a bit up and down this week – the odd thunderstorm and some quite heavy rain, interspersed with warm and calm periods. Like me, really. One minute I feel very positive, the next I’m quite under the weather and suspect something is going wrong with the catheter. Have odd pains here and there, and my stomach isn’t quite right, though it’s much improved. However, in a good moment I decided to carry on living as if nothing was wrong, and I hope to maintain this attitude for at least the next few minutes – and maybe more, as they say in dating ads. Not that I read dating ads, of course.

Andrew seemed to have a good birthday, despite not coming home. I rang him up in the evening, which pleased him, and he was quite bubbly. He got our present and seemed to really like it, and he also got quite a few cards. A friend in Coventry had taken him out for a meal, and The Langleys had made him a cake. Phil has got his car and computer fixed, so quite a good week, sibling-wise. I have been in and around the house, doing some more work on the Paston book for Lucy. Yesterday Dot and I both had our hair cut, and Linda’s partner Mike had a measure-up in the shower room to see what he could offer Dot in the way of shelves, cupboards and surfaces.

Today Dot and I are practising a couple of songs for tomorrow, which is the church day out at Mangeen. I am working on the principle that all will be well, which is an established Norwich attitude originated by Julian, or possibly God.

26 July 2008

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My nephew Joe and his wife Birgit, who came round on Thursday night with Birgit’s brother (also Joe) and his wife Ilona. Very pleasant 40 minutes or so in the garden before they left for Phil and Joy’s. It continues very warm – pleasant in the day, unpleasant at night, and I’ve not been sleeping very well. However, I am generally feeling better.

Thursday afternoon proved a long session at Paston, deciding what goes in the book, but it turned out to be unstressful. Everything we wanted to get in looks as if it’s going in, and we managed to marry up poems and images quite nicely. Today Lucy came round and printed off some acetates. I had thought she was going to do something much more complicated with them, but in the end I could easily have done what she did. In fact, I did. She just happened to be here at the time – after buying the acetates first, of course.

Yesterday, after a really bad night, I was going round in a daze, though getting one or two things done. Phil and Joy came round to use the computer: Phil found a dead Lenton in the Telegraph with Norwich connections, but she is no-one I know. There are far too many Lentons around to keep track of now.

Today, after Lucy did her stuff, Heather Savigny came round with her friend Simon, and we all went to the Coach and Horses round the corner for lunch. Surprisingly good. They came back for coffee/tea afterwards, and I managed not to get in a discussion about climate change with Simon, who works in the carbon reduction industry. He has a good sense of humour, and we had an excellent time.

Tomorrow is our ruby wedding anniversary, and we’ve booked into the Victoria at Holkham for a couple of nights. That’s after renewing our vows at church in the morning. Apparently they run out after 40 years.

24 July 2008

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Rather an embarrassing picture of me on a horse, which must have happened in some sort of alternative reality, otherwise known as the late 1960s. It was unearthed by David in a selection of old slides that I rashly let him take away and examine. The place is Wales – more precisely, Green Lane, Corwen, behind what used to be Dot’s aunt and uncle’s house. The person in control of the horse (clearly not me) is Tish, otherwise known as Julia, one of our lovely bridesmaids, who almost coincidentally, now lives in precisely that house with her sister Gloria. Or she did last time I heard.

This week has been very busy, and I’m feeling extremely tired. I also have a slightly annoying condition (I’m not sure it’s an infection) in the area of the operation, but I’m hoping it will go away rather quickly. It did before. All adds to the tension, though. On Monday I had the blood test that will eventually reveal whether the operation was totally successful. Blood in my right arm proved elusive, but the nurse eventually found it in my left arm, despite the computers all being down.

Tuesday was hectic. Annette R came round and we tried to sort out what was going into the Paston book. This involved a lot of printing out of poems and making of lists. We eventually decided I needed to go out to the workshop yesterday to discuss things further with Caroline and a couple of the poets. So I did, and then we decided I needed to go out there again today, with all the poems (I hope) printed out in the correct font for us on the photographic plates. On the way I’m picking up a book from Jessie which may be of interest to Lucy.

Also on Tuesday Barbara came round to do some work with Dot on their Thinking Skills project. We all had lunch together. In the evening a gang of seven came round, and I cooked chili con carne for them. Towards the end of the evening I felt so tired I almost crept out of the room and up to bed, but I just managed to hang on until the end. Not that I didn’t enjoy it: it was just very tiring.

Yesterday I gave Naomi a lift back to Norwich from Paston, then had lunch at home before walking up into the city to do several errands, including picking up my new reading glasses. Very hot day. I got a bus back. Meanwhile Dot was having lunch with Jessie at Wroxham Barns, and City Care were cutting branches off trees at the end of the road, possibly (or possibly not) in response to an e-mail I’d sent warning about the possibility of more branches falling off and causing damage.

This morning I’ve been finishing off the printing. It’s another warm day, and I leave for Paston in less than an hour.

20 July 2008

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David and son Oliver face the fury of the waves at West Runton last Sunday. I suppose “fury” may be putting it a bit high, but at least they’re in there together and having fun. Now it’s a week later, and Dot is at Ambient Wonder. I was intending to go, but got a stomach upset just as we were about to set off. Stomach seems to be OK now, which is a bit disappointing – not that my stomach is OK, but that I didn’t just ignore it and go. Oh, well. Preached at church this morning and also had to play guitar, because of a lack of musicians. Afterwards six of us went to the Gibraltar Gardens for lunch – a carvery. As the other four were Annette, Ali, Trevor and Liz, it was a lot of fun. The sun came out and we looked at the river afterwards, and wondered about going over to North Wales together. I don’t think it’s likely to happen, but it was nice thinking about it. Dot and I have booked to go to the Victoria Hotel at Holkham next Sunday, which is our ruby wedding anniversary, and we’re going to stay for two nights. Bit expensive, but it should be really nice.

Dot did her church school inspection on Thursday and wrote up her report on Friday, which is a bit of a record. I wrote a request for a second opinion on A’s condition and caught up on my in-tray. Phil came round later, and I looked at the accident report he had to put together for his insurance company: he looked at my second-opinion letter. My new Flip camcorder arrived, but I haven’t had a chance to get to grips with it yet. Looks very straightforward and promising. Later Joy invited Dot and me to a showing of Prince Caspian arranged by Surrey Chapel at the Hollywood Cinema. This was at 10.30am on Saturday, but we managed to get up in time to pick up Phil and Joy and get us all there in good time! The film was excellent. Joy had real trouble with the steps at the cinema, though, and we had to go and get the car from the car park so that she didn’t have to struggle to get back there.

Later yesterday, Mike, Annette R and Lisa popped in, and we had a talk about Paston and Lucy and how things were going. Really good to see them. I shall now probably be seeing Annette on Tuesday to help plan the book, and again on Thursday at Paston, to follow up the Wednesday workshop. I have been feeling quite a lot better, and next week I should be able to drive (six weeks after my operation). I am having a blood test tomorrow morning, which should give an indication as to whether the operation was a complete success. My consultant will tell all on the 31st.

Watched quite a lot of the Open this weekend and was delighted by the result, especially with an Englishman in second place. The Tour de France was pretty exciting today, too.

11 July 2008

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This has been a quiet week, really, in terms of physical activity. I haven’t been out much, except on Tuesday, when Dot dropped me at Richer Sounds on her way up to the garage to purchase four new tyres for the Mazda 3 (over £500 – I blame Gordon Brown, since I don’t think anyone has blamed him for the cost of tyres yet). At Richer Sounds I asked for £80 back, as I hadn’t claimed on my warranty cover for my hi-fi over three years. To my surprise, there was no loophole: they handed it over without any problem, once I had worked out how to get in the building. The front door was locked and no-one had the key; apparently everyone arrives by car and uses the back entrance in the car park. I bought a cable that may or may not be useful. I need to speak to my technical expert, who may also advise me on whether or not to buy a Flip camcorder, which seems ideal for my needs. I am very tempted to go for it immediately, but won’t. Probably.

Anyway, on my walk back home I took the picture above from Fye Bridge before walking through the cathedral and realising I was actually very tired. I sat for a while, then continued home. Later on Annette R called and we had a chat about progress with the Paston project, which seems to be going well, though Annette is a bit concerned about practical aspects of putting the book together. Later on in the week I responded to a collagraph from Sharon Teague with a poem I was quite pleased with, using imagery from jousting and chess. I used a title I have been trying to use for ages: Blue Days, Black Knights. Buddy Holly would have approved. Perhaps.

Later we had a good evening with the Tuesday Group, though I had to take paracetamol before they arrived, as I was getting a bit the worse for wear. Surprisingly, it worked very well. On Wednesday Linda came round and did our hair, following which Dot disappeared into the city to meet Barbara. Pretty miserable weather, and I declined the opportunity to join her there to purchase a new anorak, which I will eventually have to do, much as I hate shopping for clothes. The Tour de France has started, which is always a good sign, and Dot and I are following it closely on ITV4, which gives it an hour a night – or about 40 minutes once you remove the adverts. So of course we always record it and skip them.

Dot has been busy completing a distance learning task related to her school inspections: she has almost finished, but it seems to have taken up a huge amount of time, considering that she’s not getting paid for it. I have started writing an account of my prostate adventures and have completed a kind of prologue – the period leading up to my operation. I am intending to include the poems I wrote while in hospital and just afterwards, but can’t imagine who – other than family and close friends – would be interested in reading it. Nevertheless, I feel it should be done. I don’t know the ending yet, or course.

Last night, while I was watching England do remarkably well at cricket, Dot went to a PCC meeting which must have been one of the shortest on record. Why do I miss all the good ones? Apparently Nicholas is thinking of taking three months off to write a book on Developing Consciousness. I wonder if our joint effort a few years ago will feature or if this will be a completely new book. I may get an acknowledgement, but I suspect it will end up as one of the many pieces of writing I’ve completed and then failed to get published. Or to be more accurate, failed to make much attempt to get published.

I got a surprise e-mail from a guy in Weymouth who knew a Margaret Lenton who turned out to be the grand-daughter of my great-grandmother’s sister. There must be a word for that. Facinating stuff, actually, because she was quite a distinguished composer. The guy may even send me a CD of her music. This is possibly the most interesting Lenton I’ve come across in my genealogical adventures. Unfortunately she’s dead, and neither she nor her only sister married or had children.

Had a long phone call this morning from the social worker in Coventry, saying the doctor is quite worried about Andrew, following certain memory tests, and wanting to talk about transferring him to another team and possibly another residence. Phil and I are very much against this, as he seems so happy where he is and enjoys his freedom. A change might result in him having to be accompanied whenever he goes out, and he would hate that. After talking to Phil this afternoon, I will probably write (as suggested by the social worker) and ask for a second opinion.

The weather is calm at the moment, but thunderstorms are forecast for today and tomorrow, followed by much better weather from Sunday. Hopefully this will mean we can use Fred’s caravan early next week.

1 June 2008

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Rather a nice picture of Oliver and Amy emerging from the jungle, which not many people know is situated at the rear of their house. Amy is typically nonchalant, while Oliver has managed to find water – not difficult in the circumstances, as the rain had hardly stopped. This weekend has been drier. Yesterday I went out to Paston and found myself involved in Caroline’s poetry workshop, which turned out to be fun. I was reminded about some unusual verse forms that I might employ. Afterwards I walked over to the cliffs through a field of barley and then along the cliff and back: a triangular route of about a couple of miles. Took a few pictures. On the way home followed a stream of 45mph drivers who seem to think going more slowly is going to save them money on fuel. If only they knew how much danger it’s putting them in…

Today was church lunch: a rather odd affair with most of the regulars away but numbers made up by irregular visitors. The service had a strange, disjointed kind of feeling. Trevor is back after his hernia operation, which is encouraging, and Chris has received a temporary all-clear on her tests. In the afternoon Dot and I popped in at Bally Open Studios, mainly to see Rupert, who was there with two of his collaborators – photographer and friend Shirley, and film-maker Mark Sargeant. He is still showing much of his parents’ work, and there was an amusing installation of a man disappearing under sand, which made witty use of the broken factory floor.

14 April 2008

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Oliver feeding the animals at Wroxham Barns during his recent visit. The weather then and now is changeable and quite chilly. Yesterday, when I went to Paston to drop in on a workshop run by Annette and Lisa, I drove home through a massive cloudburst, with some thunder and lightning as a an added extra. Stopped by the side of the road and wrote a bit of a poem. Also found a path from the village of Paston over to the cliffs, which I will tread in more clement weather. Took a couple of pictures of Bromholm Priory before the rain set in.

Earlier, Holy Communion at St Augustine’s – and a good congregation. Apart from me, that is. I’m just average. Suzanne preached for the first time: I now know lots about lambs. This morning Dot has been out shopping and is now cleaning the house in preparation for the arrival of Stella, who is staying overnight. The NCMC website is finished and will go live in the next day or two.