Tag Archives: oliver

Here and there in Herts (and Beds and Bucks)

Uncategorized, , , , , , , , ,
Sunset from Dunstable Downs.
Sunset from Dunstable Downs.

Back in Norwich, with plenty of sleep to catch up on. Not Amy’s fault: she was a model child, and could probably have looked after herself if she could drive. It was the early mornings and the multiple journeys: I seem to have covered a good chunk of Hertfordshire, plus pieces of neighbouring counties.

Friday was an interesting day. The journey to school was smooth, with none of the problems of the previous day. Dot settled down to cleaning limescale off the shower, and I did a bit of reading. We picked up Amy at 4.15pm, and I saw Becky (Amelie’s mother) arrive and meet her parents, who appeared to be taking Amelie’s brother Sebastian somewhere while Becky waited for the girls. We decided to take Amy home and collect a change of clothes (as a precaution) before heading towards Felden, just the other side of Hemel Hempstead.

The M1 was fine, but the bits before and after were crowded, and we seemed to take an age getting through Hemel Hempstead with its famously weird (but efficient) roundabout. Amy was worried about being late, but in fact we arrived ten minutes before Becky and the other girls and chatted to Becky’s parents or sat quietly in the car, depending on who we were.

Not wanting to go back on to the M1 on  a Friday evening in rush hour, we reset the satnav for “shortest” instead of “fastest” and ruled out motorways. At first this backfired badly, as it kept returning us to where we started, but in the end it guided us through some side streets and on to the Leighton Buzzard road, when we arrived quickly and surprisingly at Water End, not far from Beechwood Park. Dot started on cooking the lasagne, and we decided it was best if I picked up Oliver from the Travellers’ Rest.

This went well, and I delivered him back to Caddington for his meal. I had a bite or two before setting off for Felden again, using the new route, which again worked well. I was only a minute or two late to pick up Amy at just after 8.30pm. I was invited in: the house was beautiful and in a lovely setting on Felden ridge. Becky chatted for a while about schools and other things, and then Amy and I drove back again to Caddington, where I fell upon my lasagne and, shortly afterwards, into bed.

Not quite such an early start on Saturday. We were at Dunstable Leisure Centre in good time for Amy’s swimming lesson at 9am, followed by Oliver’s at 9.30. We met Claire, a chartered surveyor, whose son James is in Oliver’s group, and enjoyed a  hot drink. Afterwards we returned to Caddington, where Amy unwrapped her presents and got a visit from Grace. Amy seemed to like her sponsored snow leopard. I found that Grace had also sponsored one; so snow leopards are safe in Caddington.

Next up was the birthday lunch at Flamstead Harvester. Very pleasant, though it’s hard to resist eating too much of the free salad. The waitress was excellent. Returning to the house, Grace came round again, before heading off to Dubai. Amazing. The four of us then set off for Aylesbury, following the satnav route until it was overruled by Oliver directing us to his school, which we caught a glimpse of as we turned back to Vicky’s house.

We found this with the combined help of Oliver and the satnav, and Vicky invited us in for a cup of tea. The children invited us to look round the house, and then we had a viewing of the rather frightening video of Oliver driving a Ferrari at 100mph. It was nice to see where the children spent half their time.

Heading back to Caddington, we had to divert when police blocked the Whipsnade road where, it transpired later, a motorcyclist had been killed in a crash. This just put us back on to the road over Dunstable Downs, where I got some quite nice pictures of the sunset.

We set off for home just before 7pm and had an easy journey – Dot driving – arriving about 9.15pm after calling in at the Hitchin garage for petrol, food and flowers (a bouquet for Heather the next day). Both totally shattered when we got to Norwich: watched a bit of TV and didn’t unpack till today…

…missing out Sunday completely. But we still had to get up reasonably early to reach St Luke’s by 9.30am for a rehearsal with their worship band (four guitars, keyboards, flute, violin, viola – and that was without Phil, who didn’t make it). This Communion service was the final appearance by Nicholas before his departure for Aspen at the beginning of next month, and included a bring-and-share lunch, for which Nicholas sat me next to Stuart, presumably so that I could talk to him. Other than playing our instruments, we didn’t take any leading role in the service, but being in such a big music group was fun.

Afterwards, with autumn hastening on, we more or less collapsed into the sofa and watched lots of television. Today we were late up and have been slowly unravelling. Although it was tiring, we loved being with Amy and being part of her routine, and spending a day with Oliver too.

It’s now raining, and there is the promise of strong winds later. I got out just in time to pay in some church cheques, and Dot picked up her pills. David no doubt is recovering from his journey. We spoke at length on FaceTime yesterday, and he seemed pretty well. Today is Amy’s birthday, but we have been unable to contact her yet.

Hockey near Otterspool

Uncategorized, , , , , , ,

And here we are in Caddington. Amy is programming something on Google, Oliver is on Facetime from Aylesbury and Dot is cooking fajitas. I have just finished a John Le Carre book, which ended up in a predictably depressing way that I guess is realistic as far as the Congo is concerned. I picked it up at Edingthorpe Church while showing Dave and Julia one of the Paston walks.

We drove down here yesterday, stopping off to see Aunt Ethel on the way. She was healthy enough but a bit concerned that she and John were being asked to take on the running of the home following their arranged marriage. Interesting idea.

We arrived in plenty of time to have a bite to eat and then drive down to Aldenham to watch Amy playing hockey at Edge Grove School. We met Emma and had a chat, than after the game – in which Amy looked pretty good to me – all the parents / grandparents were invited for  a match tea: sandwiches, cakelets and hot drinks. Very civilised.

On the way home we drove in to neighbouring Wall Hall College, which is now private roads and pricey dwellings for the super-rich. Once back on the M1 we could catch a glimpse of Otterspool, which I understand has suffered much the same fate.

We got home to Caddington around 4.45pm, and Dot cooked chicken chasseur with pasta. Then, following a plan we had only just found out about, I drove to the Travellers’ Rest at Edlesborough to meet Vicky (and Oliver) and take delivery of various bags of clothing and other items. By now it was raining hard as forecast, but this had dispersed by the time we woke up this morning, shortly before 7am.

We were more or less spectators as Amy got herself breakfast, and we left around 7.40pm. Despite being held up by a rear-end shunt (not us), a traffic jam on the A505 and a bin lorry in the narrow streets of Markyate, we made it to school in good time, and Amy disappeared in search of her school shoes which she – in common, it turned out, with several other girls – had left behind when setting off for her hockey match the day before. These duly turned up, but she is now minus a sock.

We turned up early to meet Amy out of school, and the journey both out and in was uneventful. Grace popped round for a bit, then Amy went to hers, then Grace came back … and eventually was fetched by her father. Amy had a bath and we watched some catch-up TV on Dot’s laptop; then had an early night. Earlier in the day we had visited Sainsburys and spoke to a woman who had to get up at 5am to get her granddaughter to school. Going a bit far, in several ways.

Before our journey south, on Monday we were given a lift by the Archers to Judy’s for our occasional cake and compline. In a later e-mail David A said he had felt “below par” and thought I was too. I didn’t know that.

Oxnead event fulfils hope

Uncategorized, , , , , ,
Oliver at the wheel of a fast-moving Ferrari.
Oliver at the wheel of a fast-moving Ferrari.

After months of planning, the big Paston event at Oxnead Hall slotted neatly into place on Friday. The weather was fine – often sunny – dry and warm, and the 80 or so invited guests were able to explore the extensive gardens without recourse to umbrellas or wellington boots. They were welcome by Rob, sitting by the car park, checking them off his list – one of his few moments of relaxation.

Interestingly, the Eagles arrived very early, largely because they had the time wrong. But many others drove in before the official start time, including some distinguished Paston experts like Jean Agnew. So much like Jean Agnew, in fact, that it was Jean Agnew – author of A Whirlpool of Misadventures, a collection of Robert Paston’s letters.

We arrived at 10am, helped with the setting up and did a full rehearsal at 11am, which went pretty well, under the watchful eye of Dot. Among our friends who attended: the Hendersons; the Archers; Jessie, Roger and Jude; Claire Carrington; the Kibbles; the O’dells; Lucy Edwards; Karen Smyth and Liz McDonald from UEA; and of course the Eagles. Not the band.

We had forgotten to bring a packed lunch; so at about 1pm we nipped into North Walsham to get some sandwiches from Waitrose – and used the opportunity to purchase a bouquet for Penny (we had already got four other bouquets for Lucy, Oxnead owner Beverley Aspinall, Ann and Ruth at Rob’s request).

The performance itself went smoothly, and I felt reasonably confident in my 17C costume (a sentence I never thought I would write). Dot and I combined well on our song, and we got some good responses afterwards. We also got some amazing PHS food – a veritable high tea which included a chocolate and rum cake made by Dot. Rob gave a brief speech and I trotted on with the bouquets, including our surprise one for wardrobe mistress and set designer Penny. Lucy came with Naomi for the last half-hour or so: she was quite ill and should have been in Papworth, but it was good that she was able to put in an appearance, what with her being the PHS founder, and the event being (among other things) a celebration of its 21st birthday.

After chatting to as many people as we could, we spent quite a long time clearing up, which included chair removal, washing up and transferring a great deal of stuff into waiting cars. Felt pretty much exhausted at the end.

The next day Colin gave our hedge a good cutting, and the garden looks much more attractive. Dot couldn’t resist a great deal of tidying up in his wake (not that he left it in a mess: he’s very thorough), and I’ve cut back the foliage around the kitchen window. Dot has also bought some new plants, mainly for the front garden.

On Sunday Nicholas made one of his last appearances at St Augustine’s. He’s just received the go-ahead for his visa, and should be leaving in early November. Afterwards we called on Elvira at her invitation for a cup of tea, but largely so that she could show us her new flat. Later still we had a meal at Prezzos with Neville and Mary Thrower (Neville is a former CNS contemporary, and Mary is in the orchestra with Dot). Very enjoyable, but I’m a little worried, because all three of them were getting over bad colds, which naturally makes you feel you’re catching them.

Meanwhile the scaffolding in our back garden awaits the arrival of the builder to work on the roof. Dot is out all day at various schools, and Barbara is due to visit after that for a P4C consultation. In other news, I have put together the bones of a book on Iona featuring poems and pictures, and Oliver has driven a Ferrari at 100mph, apparently earning praise from his tutor. It was a birthday present from his mother (I think). What a star! As long as he doesn’t get too much of a taste for fast cars…

Children and poetry highlights of the week

Uncategorized, , , , , ,
Dot walking near Worstead
Dot walking near Worstead

An exciting week, with two highlights: first, Oliver and Amy (that’s one), and second, the Suffolk Poetry Festival.

On Wednesday we headed for Caddington to collect the children for a short half-term stay with us: quite a while since they’ve been here on their own. The weather over the three days wasn’t ideal, but we had a great time around the house; so it didn’t matter. Table tennis came into its own, as did several other games, most of them invented by Amy. Dot even managed to fit in a blood test (before we went on the Wednesday) and an ECG (on the Wednesday afternoon).

We returned them on the Friday, managing to get them home by 1pm: they had a playdate with Chloe and Thomas in the afternoon. It’s all go for them too. Road works outside Luton are getting difficult, and as a result we found two new ways home: the first, on Wednesday, up the M1, along the A421, A1 and A428, joining the A14 at Cambridge – further but still quite quick; the second was a little detour round Stockwood Park, approaching the bedevilled roundabout from the less congested side. Much less congested, actually.

We had a slight alarm on the Tuesday, when after a huge downpour that lasted most of the morning we ended the day by finding water under the record player unit – not much, but it would have filled a bowl or two. Bit of a mystery: the walls were dry, the ceiling was dry, it was nowhere near the window, and we could only conclude that water had come down the chimney and through a gap where the floor joins the wall.

Unless it happens again, I shall treat it as a freak event and do nothing. I should imagine finding the gap and fixing it (if that is the problem) might be quite costly.

Earlier that day I had been to a PHS Trustees’ meeting at Mundesley. It was still raining hard, but not as bad as in the morning. I picked up Rob and gave him a lift. Lucy was not so good and told us that her cancer had returned. She will be having new treatment in a couple of months, but is soldiering on for now.

On Saturday we went to the Suffolk Poetry Festival in Stowmarket – chosen, I guess, for its easy access. Ho, ho. I was part of a small group from the Seagull poetry event, and I got to read three poems, plus a pentaptych tanka with Dot. This cost us £50, which represented £25 each entry to afternoon and evening of the festival.

I wasn’t over the moon about the money, but in fact I really enjoyed the day, partly because Caroline Gilfillan was one of the featured readers in the evening, and we were able to chat quite a lot. Other featured readers were Kate Foley (superb) and Luke Wright (totally off the wall and a great entertainer), but some of the other readers were good too. The weather was reasonable, and the journey no problem, though it took about an hour (roughly 40 miles). Dot was complimented on her reading and her jacket.

Yesterday afternoon Dot and and I went to Open Studios in Muspole Street, calling in briefly at St Peter Hungate first, as it was open. Saw Sophie Cabot, one of the trustees and a reader at the Julian Week. At Muspole Street we saw Martin Laurance, Lucy Edwards, Martin Mitchell and a couple of others artists – one printer and one jeweller. A warm day and a pleasant walk.

Today I’ve been to the supermarket, done a bit of catching up (but more to be done), then attended a Chronicle meeting at Fakenham, which left me with much more work toward the new Oxnead book and upcoming performance. I am about to have my hair cut, and then we will have a meal with Angela and Rodney at Prezzos to discuss A Ethel. Well, someone has to do it.

Exploring Oxnead

Uncategorized, , , , , , , , ,
Part of the original Oxnead Hall buildings
Part of the original Oxnead Hall buildings

It’s that difficult time when you’re almost ready to go on holiday, but not quite. In fact in about 90 minutes’ time I shall be showing a visiting author round the Norwich Paston sites, which will take up most of the afternoon, so that should take my mind off it. There has also been some dramatic and unexpected news from church, but I can’t reveal what it was – yet.

We have had our hair cut, so we are ready for anything. I was even ready for another request from Parish Pump to write a 300-word piece for May – this time on Gerard Manley Hopkins, who happens to be one of my favourite poets. Managed to put the words together yesterday, and they’ve been accepted.

Monday was quite exciting, and not just because it rained extremely hard in the evening. Caroline, Rob and I visited Oxnead Hall in the morning to look at where and how we could put on a Chronicle performance in September (26th).  The piece will centre on the history of the hall, and afterwards we rehearsed the first draft and made some improvements, which I have to work in on my return from Florida.

The hall’s owner, Beverley Aspinall, made us very welcome and showed us round the gardens and into a couple of amazing performance spaces they have available – one in what were the barns, and the other in the orangery.

In the evening we went with Judy to Vicky’s, where we were joined by David and Bridget for tea, wine, cakes and compline. I forgot I wasn’t driving, so didn’t have any wine. I really think senility is setting in.

Yesterday we spent preparing for the holiday, partly by catching up with paperwork and partly (mainly Dot) getting the clothes together.  Which leaves Saturday and Sunday, during which the Norwich City manager was sacked following a poor display at home to West Brom (0-1) and we had a really nice service at church, with Phil leading. I did the sermon and prayers, and Dot read a long passage about the raising of Lazarus. Several people said they liked the sermon, which was nice, and in the afternoon we went out to see Jessie at North Walsham, which was also nice.

I have the American dollars, and unfortunately Oliver has impetigo, which means he has to go to the doctor’s tomorrow (he’s been once). Hope it doesn’t prevent him enjoying the holiday. We have fed the fish for Sam while they were away and woke them up this morning (Sam and Ellie, not the fish) to make sure they were back when we saw a strange man wandering in and out of their house. Turns out he was fixing the boiler.

Garage gives up ghost

Uncategorized, , , , , , ,
Hickling Broad recently
Hickling Broad recently

Well, I did make it to Caddington, and very glad I did. We actually went down on the Saturday morning and stayed till teatime, after the children had been picked up by Vicky. Had time for a good chat with both Oliver and Amy, and Oliver showed me what Minecraft was all about. I now sort of understand it. David showed me how to use Evernote, which is more exciting than it sounds.

Dot drove both ways because I still wasn’t feeling good. In fact I’m still not feeling good. I think I’m getting over it and then I suddenly feel quite ill, with a lot of pressure in my abdomen and feeling shaky. Then I have crackling in my head. Paracetamol is quite good. If I weren’t going to see the doctor next Monday, I would probably have been in for an emergency appointment by now.

I’ve been well enough to carry on with most things, though. On Sunday I played guitar and led the prayers. On Monday we had our hair cut, after Dot had taken my glasses into Boots and got a new screw fitted (they fell apart in church on Sunday). And after we’d taken three pictures to be framed and returned the projector to the church hall so that Stuart could use it. On Tuesday I didn’t do much either.

Yesterday Dot and I went to the cinema at midday and saw The Monuments Men, about saving stolen art from the Nazis. Very good, but not brilliant. I would like to have seen Kristin Scott Thomas in the Cate Blanchett role, but then I like to see Kristin Scott Thomas in anything. The minor roles were particularly well played, and our use of the Odeon card enabled us to get two free tickets!

Arriving back from Morrisons in the rain on Tuesday, I opened the garage door, and it convulsed and spewed out some nasty black, oily tubing. I managed to feed it back into the hole it came out of – at the cost of getting very oily hands. Internet research revealed that attempting to mend garage doors can result in death or serious injury (I exaggerate slightly), so I contacted a local firm recommended by Colin Wright. A guy came this morning, and we have ordered a new door, which should be with us by next week. Meanwhile, I can open the current door and get the car out, if I’m very careful.

Now I have to find a plumber to fix the tank in the loft.

Kay has “resigned” from Chronicle – probably temporarily – for personal reasons, and Dot will probably be doing some reading and maybe violin-playing for our next performance. Not till September, probably, when we’re booked into Oxnead Hall for our new still embryonic Oxnead collection. Meanwhile I’ve been working on getting it into some kind of order, which is quite tricky as most of the stuff we’ve written is about one end of the timeline. Yes, Sir Robert.

I’ve also managed to produce (today) a financial report for the DCC on Monday. No news from Howard on transferring the account. Did I mention that Howard and Anna had invited us to go to Iona with them in June? They have. Looking forward to it. It’s going to snow tomorrow, allegedly.

Narrow quiz win for Mrs Robinson

Uncategorized, , , , , , , ,

 

My mother sitting in the sun outside our flat in Fernleigh Road - with Dot in the background. Early 70s.
My mother sitting in the sun outside our flat in Fernleigh Road – with Dot in the background. Early 70s.

Since the dawning of the New Year and its attendant rain and wind, we have combined two major events with a lot of lying around, watching television and trying to catch up on sleep. The return journey to Coventry with Andrew worked well: a bit slow on the way there, but very quick and easy on the way back.

New Year’s Eve was spent in the company of the Robinsons, and very congenial it was too. Dot cooked a delicious moussaka, with perfect pea soup as a starter, and in between courses I gave them  a quiz that I had prepared earlier: 42 questions on 1964 (50 years ago) and 2014, with a few pictures of famous people thrown in. Philip may have still been suffering from the prostate biopsy he had the day before (or possibly the resultant alcohol ban) but he came in third, with Anne beating Dot by half a point. Pretty much a perfect result, you could say. Nothing suspicious there.

They stayed until well after 1am – the three of us imbibing much champagne and prossecco, and Philip enjoying his antibiotics – with some not very good music courtesy of Jools Holland in the background at first. While saying goodbye, we encountered our neighbours – Mary, Bob and Felix – returning in evening clothes from a night out at some Carrow Road function. Dot, being very merry, invited them in for a drink and nibbles, and it was 3am before we went to bed.

Meanwhile Chrissy had arrived at David’s for  a quiet New Year’s Eve, and on Thursday (the 2nd) Dot and I went down to join them for a day with the Coomes family. We arrived just after 1pm, and Oliver and Amy some time later, delivered by Dave and Julia. Thereafter the four children busied themselves with computer games (mainly the mysterious Minecraft), partly in the  company of Grace from down the road – a delightful girl who seems happy to go along with whatever Amy decides to do. Which is a good plan, it has to be said.

Chrissy and David cooked a very filling lasagne, preceded by rather inviting nibbles, and it was altogether a really nice day. The Coomes left just before us at around 8.30pm, and the journey home was very easy.

Yesterday saw some very wet and windy weather, including some hail, but Dot managed to walk to Morrisons during a break in the wetness. I have done very little walking in the last few days. Inertia is closing in. Still, I have written one and a half poems and have read half a book.  I also threw a shampoo bottle left-handed into the bin from the bath, which is why I wrote the poem. There are storms and floods in the West Country but Chrissy has reached the freezing fields of home safely.

Christmas unwrapped

Uncategorized, , , , , , ,
An old slide of Dot in the early 1970s with out Fiat 500.
An old slide of Dot in the early 1970s with our Fiat 500 – or was it 600?

Midnight Communion on Christmas Eve was a lovely service, but by the time we emerged at around 12.30 on Christmas morning it was pouring with rain and pretty cold, so my task of fixing notices to the gates and locking them for Christmas Day proved rather less than straightforward, especially as I had to wait until everyone had passed through before locking them.

Christmas Day was – well, Christmas Day, and of course we spent most of it unwrapping, cooking and eating. It was lovely having David and the children with us. Boxing Day was also fun, if a little less frantic. David, Oliver and I went to see Norwich lose 2-1 to Fulham while Dot and Amy went to see Frozen at the cinema. The weather was sunny but cold, though relatively still in between the storms that hit different parts of the country both before  and after Christmas.

On the 27th we had invited Richard Beales and his daughters, Maddison and Darcy, for lunch (chicken curry), and we had a lovely time with them. The children got on well – Oliver (nice boy that he is) looking after Darcy (4) and Amy playing with Maddison (6) after the latter had got over an initial burst of shyness. We found out a lot of background stuff about Richard and the business, and he and David got on well. All of them left at about the same time – around 7.15pm.

The children transferred to Vicky the following day after she had returned from Ireland in a Force 11 gale, but not before they had gone with David to Heathrow to meet Chrissy, who is staying with him for a few days.

I was up fairly early on Saturday to go and fetch Andrew from Coventry. Didn’t feel too well on the way over (I think the fried potato was starting to go off) and the traffic was heavy, so it took about three hours, with a stop at Cambridge Services. The journey back, which ended just after dark, was a bit quicker, and we managed to get home just before the football crowds emerged from Carrow Road, with Norwich having achieved a double home Christmas failure, losing 1-0 to Manchester United.

Yesterday we took Andrew to St Augustine’s for a really nice service led by Phil, with Carrie preaching. Dot read, and I did the prayers. Andrew had a long conversation with Harriet – not sure what about, but probably him – and Anandi and David were there: they are house-sitting for Howard and Anna, who are in Burma with Nicola and Beth. At least, we think they are: they didn’t take their phones.

On the way home we called in to see Joy and Phil, who were under the impression Andrew wasn’t coming home till the next day. Andrew had some presents for them. We stayed only short while because Joy was clearly tired.

In the afternoon Andrew and I walked up to the Rosary, and I was delighted to find that the flowers I’d put on Mum and Dad’s grave before Christmas were still there, despite the strong winds and rain in between. Andrew cleared the area of fallen branches, and we visited one or two other graves of well-known names from the past.

We will leave for Coventry after early lunch today. I am about to go out and get some money for Andrew, and perhaps a present for the staff at Minster Lodge. Louise Robinson has left her car in the drive while she goes to the sales in London. Her idea of heaven (I quote) and mine of hell.

Approaching Christmas with a broken toe

Uncategorized, , , , , , ,
Dot with Norwich City stars Nathan Redmond and Paul McVeigh
Dot with Norwich City stars Nathan Redmond and Paul McVeigh

More storms across the country, but not too bad in Norfolk. David and the children have been here since Sunday afternoon, and we have been busy preparing for Christmas. After Dot and I had our hair cut, we stayed in most of yesterday because of rain and wind, though I slipped out to Carrow Road to upgrade one of the Boxing Day match tickets from senior to adult. David has broken/injured his toe, and much of his foot is bruised, so he finds it hard to walk far.

Nevertheless we all went up into the city today (when it was much sunnier, though still a bit windy) by bus, and got some clothes for Oliver and a few other things. To save David’s foot I walked over to the Castle Mall to renew his car tax, and then we had a hot drink in the M&S Cafe before visiting Hotel Chocolat. From there four of us returned home, leaving David in the city to get one or two other things.

He arrived home just after Roger called and left; then Dot went out to see Auntie Ethel. On her return, having cleaned the car, she remained at home with the others while I called in at Phil and Joy’s. They seemed in much better spirits. It seems Lucy is quite a lot better and at home. The baby is OK too, give or take some colic and constipation.

Later, while the salmon was cooking, I organised a quiz which Oliver won. The scoring was a little esoteric.

Bit of a panic in the rain at Waitrose on Saturday evening when we attempted to pick up the turkey we thought we’d ordered. In fact it turned out that we hadn’t; so we bought one off the shelf, and bought quite a lot of other stuff too.

On Sunday the alternative carol service featured a bit of dialogue between Dot and me, plus four of my poems, as well as the usual readings and carols followed by Communion. The Christmas meal that followed was decidedly better than the one at the Archant pensioners’ lunch in the Holiday Inn.

Tonight Dot and I will go to Midnight Communion, and I will put notices on the gates and lock them afterwards. The children have been discussing how early they will be allowed to get up tomorrow. Dot and I have been discussing how long we’ll stay in bed.

Flying visit to Caddington

Uncategorized, , , , , , ,
Part of Amy's Christmas decorations, featuring Frosty and what appears to be a bear
Part of Amy’s Christmas decorations, featuring Frosty and a bear

Time is passing frighteningly quickly. Either that, or I’m moving frighteningly slowly. I spend too much time sorting out difficulties, usually computer-related, and being distracted – also computer-related. However, today I have managed to send out the invoices for use of the hall and have created a leaflet for use in the alternative carol service. The latter shows once again that my printer is not working properly, and several attempts to clean it have not helped. I may have to get a new one. Or use Dot’s.

A storm is brewing, with high winds already here and the promise of a storm surge bringing flooding on the coast comparable to that of 1953. You always think it’s not going to happen, but they probably thought that about Lyonesse. Well, actually they probably didn’t think about it at all.

Happily we travelled to Caddington yesterday and not today. The occasion was Amy’s participation in the Beechwood concert for senior citizens (that’s us). She played her cello and also sang with a choir. Afterwards Dot and I gorged ourselves on sandwiches and mince pies with cups of tea. We then took Amy home, and I returned with David for Oliver, meeting Natalie and Emma. We stayed for an hour or so, then had to hurtle off (much to Amy’s disgust) to get Dot to an orchestra rehearsal. We were a bit late.

On Tuesday Dot and I had a scone and drink in John Lewis’ cafe before meeting Judy outside and walking down with her to the NRO, where Lucy was defying illness and injury to give a very good talk on John Fenn – the penultimate lunchtime lecture of the Paston exhibition. Rob and Penny were there, as was Diana as Lucy’s chauffeur. Afterwards we walked home and bumped into Lena outside Morrisons.

On Sunday I preached on optimism, and in the afternoon we drove to North Walsham, the cemetery and Jessie (not simultaneously).   She was a bit below par because Ray’s funeral was the following day.

Meanwhile Phil and Joy have rushed down to Southampton because Lucy has had a problem following the birth of Elliott and is having treatment. An anxious time for all of them. The baby seems to be fine, though.