Busy time since I last posted. Failed to find anyone to accommodate Riding Lights actors, but it turned out not to matter: other avenues had yielded fruit. I’m not particularly good at persuading people to do things that they might find onerous, though when we put up Nigel Forde +1 in 1984 it was actually a lot of fun. Long time ago … the year I became chief sub on the Eastern Daily Press, and the year we moved to Aspland Road, making commuting so much easier for both me and David – walking to work and school respectively.
Rang up hospital this morning to inquire about Andrew, and he seems to be doing suspiciously well. No date yet for discharge, but I also spoke to The Langleys, and they are happy to have him back there, which would be nice, since we have his room nicely set up now.
I had a hearing test at Boots last Tuesday (free offer) and discovered my hearing was pretty much OK, though not perfect. – ie good for someone who’s about to get an old age pension! Have been trying to keep walking, though the weather has been very mixed. I managed a walk back to Eaton from Hethersett when Dot dropped me off there on Thursday (about four miles) and another walk back from Bally yesterday (2½).
The weather was excellent on Friday for the Paston reception to launch their plans for the church extension. We took Howard and Anna, who were impressed. Howard spent a lot of time reading the carvings in the church, and Lucy showed them The Book. Anna is keen to get it into a Castle Museum exhibition, tied in with Paston stuff they already have. The Paston Heritage Society people (Jo, Brigitte et al) were there in 21st century clothes, which was a bit disconcerting. They are usually in costume. When we emerged quite late from the church the sky was still blue, and the whole setting glorious.
By the next day, a complete change. As we arrived for Ed and Jenny’s wedding at Christ Church, New Catton, the lead-grey skies started spitting rain, and by the end of the service it was tipping down, which rather destroyed any chance of official photographs, though I took some informal ones. The formal ones were taken in a marquee after the wedding breakfast at Mannington Hall – a superb setting, even in the rain. The food was high quality, as were the speeches – some of the best I’ve heard. The wedding itself was unusual in that Ed’s mother married him: or to clarify slightly, the couple were married by the Rev Liz Cannon, Ed’s mother, who coincidentally Dot and I know from way, way back. Other friends present: David and Bridget, Vicky (with husband and daughter, very briefly), Tim Mace and Peter Pyke, a former member of our Tuesday group. At our table, with the Archers, were Liz’s sister Christina Potter and her husband Melford. Discovered they holiday frequently on Sanibel, but weren’t able to talk much about it, because it emerged as we were leaving the tables and moving into the bar area for the cake cutting. The cake, incidentally, was strikingly original: a creamy confection on top, with clusters of fairy cakes below.
On Sunday I was responsible for the sermon, and in the evening we invited some people round from church: as one of them was a vegetarian, another could not eat gluten or dairy and the third was a child, this was a bit of a challenge, but Dot surmounted it in her usual efficient fashion. Spent quite a bit of time helping the girl (a very bright six-year-old) to learn chess – at the instigation of her father.
Yesterday we went out for a meal with friends we met in Egypt but who go to St Luke’s. Spent most of the evening telling each other our life histories, which was surprisingly interesting. Earlier in the day we had been to Bally to pick up the picture I’d bought from Martin Laurance. We arrived at the same time as the Archers, who I suspect are stalking us. Introduced them to Annette, and when we left Bridget was considering buying a picture from her. Chatted to Annette, Martin and Rupert, and ran into Dot’s friend Maggie and her husband Malcolm. Now about to go to hear Caroline read poetry and sing in a church in St Benedict’s.
