Tag Archives: car

14 July 2008

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My birthday weekend: the picture shows my two cakes, my two grandchildren and my son and daughter-in-law, concentrating hard on the matter in hand. Plus the back of Dot’s head.This was just after they arrived, early Saturday afternoon, and we had cakes, tea, and present-opening. I got lots of books, which is just right for me, plus a couple of DVDs – a film (from Dot) and In the Shadow of the Moon (from David) – which looks at the people who’ve been to the moon and has other features too. He also got me a book on how to build a spaceship, so he might be trying to tell me something. In the evening we had roast beef and pink champagne, which was delicious.

On the Sunday we all went to West Runton and made use of Fred’s caravan. First we had lunch there, then went down through the village to the beach and had a great time with the children in the rock pools and watching the tide come in. It was a beautiful day – blue skies and warm – and I took lots of good pictures. Unfortunately I did have a problem which may or may not have been a urine infection. It seemed to improve a little during the day, and in the end I took the first of two antibiotic tablets that I had been oversubscribed, followed by the second one this morning, when I felt quite a lot better, though I had slept badly.

Yesterday was not a good day for motor vehicles. First Dot nearly hit a car when emerging from Aspland Road with David as a passenger (Vicky and I were ahead with the children). Disaster narrowly averted. Then, or possibly just before, Phil had a crash at the Puppet Theatre roundabout. He was going straight ahead in the outside lane when a woman in the left-hand lane decided to turn right and hit him in the side. She was an American, lost and with left-hand drive, but no excuse. Happily another driver stopped and offered to be an independent witness. He also took pictures, I believe. Phil rather shaken and faced with a wait before his car is roadworthy.

Then just as David and Vicky were packing to go home at about 7.15pm, their car keys got locked in the car. They called the RAC, who came very quickly but took two and a half hours to break in and retrieve the keys. Apparently he could have done it quicker but didn’t want to damage the paintwork. Impressive security, though. At first the children watched proceedings, but eventually they went to bed and to sleep, which raised a problem when the keys were eventually retrieved at about 10.15pm. To go or stay? They decided to go, and left just before 10.30pm, with two sleepy children carried down from their beds. We got a text message at 1am to say they were home safely and the car was unpacked.

I now await sarcasm from certain quarters not a million miles removed from Nottingham about my use of a caravan, but of course there is a world of difference between a static caravan and one that is cluttering up the roads. That’s my story, anyway.

6 June 2008

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Norwich Cathedral in a sunset sky, taken from our bedroom window and later cropped and straightened! See also Flickr and Cathedral website.

Rather a dismal week, weather-wise, with plenty of rain – especially today, when I went up to the hospital with Dot for my pre-operation assessment. Cyclist nurse Liz very pleasant, with a sense of humour. Everything seems OK, but her warnings of what might follow the operation were a little worrying. I don’t really even want to think about catheters and various other tubes draining things from my body. Still, It’ll all be over by Christmas. Came to the sad conclusion that I will not be able to go to Blakeney for the annual reunion in a couple of weeks’ time.

On Tuesday we had a good gathering for our meal (10, with us), and Dot came up with a scintillating starter involving pears, rocket, watercress, mayonnaise and roquefort cheese sauce. Yes, it was a Delia special. Delicious. On Wednesday, stomach juices on alert again: we went with Jessie to the Rushcutters for lunch, and I had a beef and ale pie that was gorgeous. Yesterday the weather relented a bit and we did a few things that had been waiting for a while: took some rubbish to the tip, some other stuff to a charity shop and booked the MX5 in for an MOT and the Mazda 3 for new tyres at some totally horrendous price approximating to £450. You could get nine tanks of petrol for that.

Parked in the city and had lunch at the Espresso in John Lewis – a favourite place for sandwiches and a cup of tea – or in Dot’s case a large piece of cake and a cup of tea. Then bought me a dressing gown for hospital, a new mobile phone for Dot and picked up tickets from the Theatre Royal box office. These were for an Agatha Christie play in the evening – And Then There Were None, the politically correct new title for Ten Little …. Unusual play in that everyone did it. Theatre sparsely populated: started pouring with rain as we walked home, but we made it without getting soaked.

29 January 2007

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This is the promised picture of David’s new car – an Astra. Actually the first car he’s ever bought.

Dot is still not very well. She spent all day in bed yesterday with her sinus infection, and I would have liked her to stay there today, but she insisted on coming with me to North Walsham to put flowers on her mother’s grave. It’s her mother’s birthday today. Now she’s gone to have herself weighed, but that shouldn’t take long. Not that I think it’s a good idea.

I’m playing chess later and could do with a win, as I’m having a very mediocre season. But I’m not tremendously optimistic.

Yesterday I was doing most things at church. I was the only musician (using the word loosely); I also did the sermon and the prayers. In the evening I went to Ambient Wonder, which consisted of a labyrinth (there will be a write-up on it eventually on www.ambientwonder.org).

I have discovered that the name Lenton is very old, going back at least to the Domesday Book in 1086. It probably meant originally two or three pallisaded houses in a forest clearing – from two old English words which gave us “lea” and “town”.

There are two English places called Lenton – one in Lincolnshire, probably Leofa’s tun, but spelt Lenton since 1202. It is south-east of Grantham, near Ingoldsby. The other is a suburb of Nottingham, on the river Leen, which is a corruption of a Celtic word for a river or other waterway. My wild guess is that the Lincolnshire village was founded by someone who came from Lenton in Nottinghamshire. It’s not far away. Just follow the A52.

27 January 2007

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The last of the snow on the hill above our house yesterday. Today it’s still pretty cold, but the sky is blue, and Dot has recovered sufficiently to go to the shops. We were going to see Aunti Ethel, but didn’t want her to get what was left of the cold.

Dot also managed to get to a performance last night of Brecht’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle (Der kaukasische Kreidekreis) by the National Theatre at the Playhouse. I dropped her outside and parked behind the Green’s. The place was packed, largely with teenagers who must be doing the play for A-level, so lots of chattering in the foyer. We were in the balcony – bit squashed, but an excellent view.

The performance was on the mind-blowing side of mellow and included the most intriguing array of technical effects I have ever seen on stage. Not least impressive was the way a doll was used as a baby, but manipulated very realistically and with one of the cast producing convincing baby noises through a microphone. The singer was a very powerful presence, backed by drums and odd electronic instruments, effectively tying the action together. This was useful, as the action is often chaotic and spans time and space.

The actors were tremendously energetic but had a huge range of styles. All had several roles, including technical ones. Many a tour de force, especially the two leading roles and the judge in the second half. A memorable evening.

After that we even survived watching the cricket, in which England were humiliated even further by Australia, scoring only 110 and then failing to take a single Australian wicket, except one run-out. When will someone notice that Flintoff often plays badly when he’s captain and Strauss plays badly when he isn’t? The solution is not rocket science. You get the definite impression that the team has more or less given up, and FF can’t do anything about it. Pity: he’s a great guy.

David and Vicky bought a new car yesterday: an Astra less than one year old, from a garage in Harpenden. He sent us pictures over the net and I’ll use one soon. Looks impressive. Oliver is very keen.