What a lovely day! A bright, crisp blue sky, it’s Amy’s seventh birthday, I’ve hung out the washing and Another Country is complete. David sent me the final PDF this morning, and I have burned it on to a CD ready for Rob to pick up tomorrow. Nice to meet a deadline – thanks to David, who has really made the book look good. We shall have to make him an honorary Paston trustee…
The temperature has certainly dropped, but when the sun it shining it’s hardly noticeable. All right, it is noticeable, but not objectionable. Quite marked in the evenings, though, and we’ve been out the last three evenings. On Monday we went to the Cathedral to hear a lecture by Cambridge Professor Colin Humphreys, who has done some in-depth research on the events of Easter week, resolving apparent discrepancies in the Gospels. Fascinating stuff: he has established that the Last Supper was on the Wednesday and the Crucifixion on the Friday, with much of the Thursday taken up with the trial. The actual date of the Crucifixion was April 3, AD 33 – at 9am. None of this may seem to matter much, but it is encouraging to see that apparent discrepancies can be resolved if you accept the rather obvious fact that people writing at the time knew more about how things worked at the time than we do. A key factor in this is that different calendars were in use, for example. Prof Humphreys is a scientist, and he was assisted in his work by an astro-physicist, among others. His book is called The Mystery of the Last Supper.
The lecture was very good, but even more entertaining were the attempts made beforehand to get the technology working. At one stage nine cathedral clergy and lay people were clustered round, trying to make a laptop communicate with a projector. It proved beyond them until a young lad in jeans came forward and solved it almost instantly. He should get a cathedral post – a canon, perhaps.
On the Tuesday our group met at the Archers’ house on the other side of the city. We gave Ian a lift, and I walked up to his house (about a mile) to give myself some exercise. Invigorating. David cooked jacket potatoes, Vick supplied sublime pears in cider, and Bridget took the evening off at the theatre with David Essex. Some people have no idea…
Last night we were at the Cathedral again – this time in the lovely Westron Room at the Hostry – to hear poet Anthony Thwaite speak about the King James version with special relevance to poetry. Some interesting stuff, much of it autobiographical, but he rather marred his argument by comparing the KJV with the New English Bible all the time and not mentioning (till questions) the NIV, which is a far better modern translation. The NEB, in fact, is pretty awful, and the Dean, who was in the audience, pointed out afterwards that it was not used in the Cathedral at all. The Dean also made some good points about the importance of using language that was familiar to the audience. I have the feeling that my mother or one of her friends knew Mr Thwaite some time in the past (he is 81), but I didn’t pursue it.
David tries to block a throw from Oliver to Amy (hidden)
Here we are at last in warm Ontarian sunshine, all gathered in close proximity to Roger and Barbara’s pool. Granddaughter Amy has taken on the role of organiser in the pool, while Oliver is trying to teach Dot and me how to swim better. He shows talent for it, but in me he has a recalcitrant pupil. They were both very taken by the Murray property when we arrived at teatime yesterday, after a journey that was less than smooth but without serious impediment.
It began at around noon on Thursday, when Dot and I drove down to Caddington. No real problem, though a stretch of the A505 was closed and we had to detour through Royston. Great excitement at 1 Winchfield, from where the taxi whisked us away to Gatwick Premier Inn South. I say “whisked”, but we soon got snarled up on the M25 and had to do a lengthy detour through towns I was only dimly aware of. Journey time three hours, or about twice as long as it should have been. We disembarked wearily and ate a quick meal in the adjoining restaurant, where our waiter Arthur was a Lenny Henry double – in manner if not in appearance. Good food – and good service as it happens.
A different taxi turned up on time at 8.30am, but it wasn’t big enough to take us all, so David, Dot and the children went in the first one, and I waited for a new one, which eventually turned up and left me a little bit away from the main drop-off point for the south terminal, leaving me to find Departures by a circuitous route. Happily I ran into David eventually, and he directed me to Air Transat check-in, which was happily quick. Security wasn’t bad either.
We ate breakfast in Cafe Rouge and then made for Gate 15, where we had to wait an interminable time to board – nearly 45 minutes late. The journey was pretty straightforward, though tiring, and the three adults among us watched Unknown, a rather good thriller. More hold-ups at Baggage Reclaim, where we waited for ages before they even started coming through. As a result the Murrays had been waiting for us about 90 minutes.
Roger took the luggage, David and me, and the girls went in the other car. Lots of traffic, but we eventually made it, and suddenly it was all worth while.
Colin has just finished cutting our hedge – very bravely without the use of an aqualung. It tipped down for the first couple of hours, but it has now finished, and it’s bright but a little windy. Later today Dot is going to the football match, courtesy of Jonathan’s spare ticket, and I shall be off later in the afternoon to Cromer for a poetry reading.
Yesterday the grandchildren returned home with their father after staying with us for a couple of action-packed days. We travelled down in very cold weather (2C) to Caddington on Wednesday afternoon for Amy’s sixth birthday, and after birthday tea we brought them home and put them to bed. No sign of dozing off in the car nowadays. The next day we had to wake early for the piano tuner, and Oliver took a keen interest in what was going on. Later we went for a walk in Lion Wood, where they enjoyed the hills, and ended up in Pilling Park. Oliver was very tired because he’d slept badly, so we returned to the car and drove round to pick Dot and Amy up. However, they’d found a high wire and no children around, so Amy had been whizzing up and down, as had Flopsy. Oliver then had a resurgence of energy and had several goes on the wire and on other equipment. Afterwards drove to Venta Icenorum, because Oliver is doing a school project on Boudicca. Eventually found a Boudicca’s Way sign for him to photograph with his iPod. Most signs were either falling apart or vandalised. Early night for both as they were exhausted and Dot was off to a DCC meeting that I was quite relieved to avoid. I read them a book and they were both reading in bed on their own before going to sleep. Oliver was interested in the Children’s Bible that he found.
Yesterday we took them up to the Castle Museum to view the Boudicca Room. Amy wasn’t keen on Boudicca, or on stuffed animals, as she’s quite a sensitive little soul, but Oliver took some more pictures of coins, pots and notices. We paid a visit to the shop and then had a snack in the cafe before I returned home to dress in a suit for a special Archant reception at the Cathedral Hostry to mark 140 years of the EDP. Just a snack, wine and a chat really, but it was good to reminisce with so many former colleagues for 90 minutes or so. I shall name as many as I can here, starting with the ones I spoke to (more than 20): Keith Skipper, Biddy Collyer, Roy Strowger, Grace Corne and Rex Hancey (columnists); Ian Collins, Rosemary Dixon and Annette Hudson (who had put the exhibition together); Bill Smith (photographer); John Cushion, Richard Batson, Ian Clarke and Alison Croose (current and former chief reporters); current editor Pete Waters and his PA Sandra Mackay; former editor Peter Franzen with his wife Kathy; leader writer Colin Chinery; features editor Sarah Hardy; feature writers Steve Snelling and Angie Kennedy; plus training school head David Paull and David Newham, with whom I had a long chat about writing and putting on plays. Also glimpsed in distance: Peter Hannam, Trevor Burton’s father, Richard Bond and Jacqui Meadows. Notable absentees: Martin Throssell and Paul Durrant. Wine good quality, sandwiches quite acceptable, considering they were taken from packs bought from local supermarket. Afterwards returned home to find kitchen dominated by two dens. Oliver completed his five facts about Boudicca very quickly, and has his pictures in reserve. He then beat me at Tri-Tactics. Still, I had won my chess game on Monday, so I could take it without whimpering.
David arrived around 5.30pm, and at 6 we went to Prezzo’s for a meal. Children both quite tired, but ate fairly well, though Amy found it hard to stay upright. They left not long afterwards, leaving behind only a giant ladybird, a homework book and the melody line to Let it Be. Of course we didn’t know that till afterwards.
Another Monday. Where did the week go? Seven days ago I was rather dreading a visit to the dentist, but it turned out well: sensitivity proved less serious than I thought. Still, I have to see the hygienist this week…
On Tuesday things turned exciting. I was informed by my son on Monday evening that Oliver was expecting us at about 10am the following morning; after an initial hollow laugh we decided to see what we could do and ended up leaving the house at 8.15am. Despite heavy traffic, and to everyone’s astonishment, we got to Caddington just after 10.15am, and an hour or so later we were Norwich-bound with grandchildren loaded. We stopped at Cambridge Services for lunch, just in time to stop Amy dying of hunger, and got home mid-afternoon.
We were fortunate to get the loan of Fred and Sue’s caravan at Beeston Regis (West Runton) for a night (or more, if we’d wanted to), and so we left fairly early the next morning, arriving at about 11.30 and in good time for the Red Arrows display at Cromer Carnival. Happily we didn’t have to leave the site: there was a great view from the cliffs, and I took many pictures, of which a surprising proportion turned out quite well. The sky was completely clear while this went on, but as soon as the Hawks disappeared into the distance, clouds started to come over. Still it remained dry and reasonably warm, but as the tide was right in we decided to go and visit Aunt Jessie. This was followed by a visit to Sainsburys for food and a few small items of clothing for the children, and on our return we went down the new steps to the beach: extremely steep, but a great improvement on having to walk all the way to West Runton to gain access to the sand. The tide was still quite a way in, but there were some pools round the groynes on which we sailed a couple of boats and looked unsuccessfully for crabs. Both children were quite successful at getting pretty wet.
"Ginormous" crab in the net
On Thursday we got down to the beach by 9.30 to catch the low tide. It was already coming in, but had a long way to travel, so we were able to do a bit of crabbing in the rock pools. We managed to catch three smallish ones, and then Amy spotted one that was officially described as “ginormous”, and we managed to get it into our net. We were all a bit nervous about it until a boy wandered past, had a look and nonchalantly picked it up. I guess you either have it or you don’t. Eventually all crabs were returned to the wild, and as the tide came in, there was some sandcastling, game-playing and even clay-pot-making – Oliver being inspired by some pots Sue had made and left in the caravan.
After lunch we packed up and drove home by way of the Wizard Maze at Metton. We hadn’t been sure whether to stop or not, but it was a huge success. First we tried to find a number of letter clues in the maze, splitting up on gender lines. Oliver and I found all but two or three, slightly more than the girls, who left the maze early for Amy to play on the varied items in the play area: bouncy pillow, swings, pedal-karts, bales of hay etc. When Oliver and I joined them Dot managed to work out the magic words from the letters we had, and so we won the prize of an activity book and pencil for each of the children. When Oliver got the play area he joined in enthusiastically, and was particularly good on the quad bike. Amy typically made a friend, named Emily, and she had a brother named Barney who was a year older than Oliver. All four had fun on the hay bales before we left quite late for home. Very warm. We were lucky with the weather: we only had the caravan because Fred’s daughter decided not to use it because of the unsettled forecast.
Much quieter day on Friday, which was very warm indeed, making bus drivers very tetchy. Nevertheless we took a bus into the city, where the Norwich City shop was obligingly shut for a refit. I managed to get Oliver a scarf somewhere else in the Mall, and followed up this coup by buying him a casual jacket which he picked out. Meanwhile Dot was buying hair slides for Amy. We walked round a bit in search of the open-top bus tour, but failed to find it. However, we did buy hats for the children from the market, as I was worried about the sun on their heads, and then got a bus home. Not content with this, we then drove to see Auntie Ethel, who gave Oliver a radio and Amy a necklace. After this we went to Prezzo’s for supper; the children were understandably very tired by the end of the day, and we got them into bed quite early, though not before an extremely elaborate car-and-brick construction spread across the floor in the kitchen. David arrived around 10pm, just after we finished watching the cricket.
Oliver prepared to support those Yellows
On Saturday David and I took Oliver to see Norwich City beat Swansea 2-0 in a game they had looked like losing. Ruddy saved a penalty and we then got an own goal, followed up at the death by a brilliant volley from new player Simeon Jackson, who’s Canadian. Meanwhile Dot took Amy to buy flowers and then drop in on a party for Phyllis Todd, who was 100 yesterday. We had originally thought the party was taking place on the Sunday and had kept it clear, but the best laid plans… David and the children departed about 7pm, and we flopped out on the sofa.
Communion service at church yesterday was followed by very little activity from us. We ended up watching four episodes of Battlestar Galactica back-to-back; in our defence the second, third and fourth were actually one story. It really is very good. I’ve finished Avilion, which turned out very well, though you wanted it to continue. Heavy rain and high winds were forecast overnight, but I slept through most of it, and the weather had improved a lot by the time Dot left at 9am to present her Philosophy 4Children to a summer school in Suffolk.
Our home for a fortnight: Pant y Cafn, on the Llanberis path to Snowdon
Slept in till 10 this morning after a tiring few days: both Dot and I had been slightly unwell following our holiday, though not bad enough to stop us functioning more or less normally. The journey back from Wales on Friday had been arduous, though it started in a very relaxed way as we called in at Swallow Falls, near Betwys-y-Coed, at Dot’s suggestion. Worthwhile, despite having to pay to get in (£1.50 each). Falls thunderous after all the rain in recent days. Petrol in Betwys, then drove on to Telford, making slow progress after Llangollen because of heavy traffic. Paused for a snack and then on to Coventry via M6 toll after being warned of heavy congestion on “free” M6. Called in to see Andrew in hospital and found him much improved, quite coherent, able to engage in conversation and even inquire about David and what we had been doing. Arranged to send him a diary, because his memory is so poor that he likes to write everything down. Also arranged to see him on his birthday and take him out for a meal.
Continued onwards, with traffic still heavy but moving steadily. Stopped at Thrapston for a meal, then continued across the Fens. Traffic almost at a standstill around Huntingdon: discovered afterwards that much of it was probably generated by the Secret Garden Party, a music and arts festival that was so secret I had never heard of it. Rather irritating, but we discovered from radio traffic bulletins that the alternative route along the A14 was even worse. After that things improved a little, and we reached home just after 7pm, having set out at 10.15 from Llanberis (after dropping key off). Collapsed on sofa to watch Tour de France.
The rest of the weekend was the usual holiday recovery schedule, with some additions. I bought Andrew a diary and posted it to him, and Dot went out for a meal in the evening with Anne for Charlotte’s hen party at Pinocchio’s, which apparently set new records for slow service. Dot had a main course of fish and a piece of cake to follow. This lasted from 7.30pm until around 11pm, though I guess it wasn’t entirely the restaurant’s fault. You know what these hen parties are like. Dot got home just before midnight, and we forced Anne to watch our holiday pictures on Apple TV.
On Sunday we had a really good morning service, led by Howard with a brilliant sermon by Mark Tuma on prayer – why the disciples asked to be taught how to pray, and why Jesus told them (what it meant). Thought it was just right for us. We had arrived feeling a bit low, especially after discovering that it was no longer possible to park on Sussex Street, and felt really encouraged by the whole thing. Gave Harriet a lift home, then watched the German Grand Prix – blatant rule-breaking by Ferrari went unpunished, predictably – then went to see Phil and Joy and thank them for looking after the house while we were away.
Our Welsh holiday featured heavy amounts of rain, while our home county was mainly dry and sometimes very warm. Still, we had a good time. Obviously I kept a diary, and it goes something like this:
Friday 9 July
Started out from Norwich in very warm weather – high 20s – having to circumnavigate the men who had at last arrived to mend the potholes in our road. Ended at Llanberis around 18C, with pouring rain and low cloud. We’d taken the back road round the Berwyn and were balked constantly by slow drivers, so I was rather stressed by the time we met Adrian at Cerrigydrudion for a brief chat by the side of the road. Did a little shopping in Llanberis before meeting Ian Torr, the owner, at the house, situated high above the village and on the Llanberis path to Snowdon. Amazing position; amazing house, even in the rain. It would be hard to beat the view from the lounge or our bedroom.
The train to the summit of Snowdon could be seen and heard from our house every half hour
Saturday 10 July
Continuing rain, sweeping down the hillside, but quite warm. Got up late and drove into town to do extensive food shopping. David and the children arrived just after 2pm. After lunch the rain paused for a while, and we went for a walk up the road. Later Oliver, Dot and I went into Llanberis again to get additional shopping. The gate to the property has to be padlocked shut because, amazingly, people have parked in the drive and walked up the mountain. So we are told. Watched third place match in World Cup: Uruguay 2 Germany 3.
Sunday 11 July
Dry and quite warm. Eventually walked down into village and after dithering around went to the Electric Mountain centre, where we had a very pleasant sandwich and took the tour into the caverns under Elidir mountain to see the huge machinery involved in electricity generation (pump storage system). Most impressive. At home, watched the Tour de France – stage won by Andy Schleck. Then I wandered out for a reconnaisance walk on the hill. On the way back met David and showed him where I’d been. Walked about six miles today. Had supper, watched some of the British Grand Prix, then the World Cup Final, which was predictably unexciting. Spain won 1-0 in extra time, shortly after Oliver retired exhausted to bed.
Oliver reaches the summit of his first hill in Wales
Monday 12 July
I am 65. Quite warm weather, pleasant for walking. After opening my presents, we all walked across towards Moel Cynghorion, and Oliver and I climbed Tyrn yr Aelgerth, 409m high. Came down by quite a hard route, and Oliver was excellent. We walked about four miles altogether. In the evening we had a birthday meal at the Lake Padern Hotel: steak followed by raspberry pavlova. Delicious.
A boat ride on Llyn Padarn, looking back up the Llanberis Pass.
Tuesday 13 July
Started fine and dry, but rain came later. Dot and I took washing to the launderette and picked it up about 4pm (free to us because the launderette owner also owns our house). Also bought food, then all went to Padarn Country Park, starting with a 45-minute boat ride, continuing with a sandwich at the café, then walking up to the Quarry Hospital (dodging the school parties) before ending at the Slate Museum, by which time it was raining steadily. Excellent demonstration of slate cutting, with lots of humour. Then into town, bought poles for Amy and Oliver at outdoor shop, plus map and walks book. Home for fish and chips. David walked home from town, as he did several times.
The floating restaurant, just behind Caernarfon Castle, selected by Oliver for our lunch. Good, too. Oliver and Dot in foreground, Amy and David making slower progress.
Wednesday 14 July
Quite a lot of rain, especially on the way to Caernarfon, where we parked on the quay, the rain stopped and we visited the castle, which is impressive. David and Amy did their own thing on the battlements for a while, but we eventually met up and had a surprisingly good lunch on the floating restaurant, next to the swing bridge. Then drove back through more heavy rain, stopping in village for brief shopping. Later walked some of way up Llanberis path but turned back as grey clouds hastened towards us. Just got home in time. Earlier in day Oliver and I visited the tea room to check on the weather forecast and were shown round the old cottage in which it is based. Oliver beat me at Mah Jong.
Thursday 15 July
Overcast, but rain held off till late afternoon. Went into town, bought monocular for Oliver, and Dot fell over spectacularly but not seriously. Walked up to waterfall, and David and Amy walked home from there while Oliver, Dot and I went back to the High Street for the car. Home for lunch, then to Dolbardon Castle ruins and a walk across the lake meadow. In the evening heavy rain and very high winds, which got worse about 1am. Boiler very smokey: moved Oliver into David’s room. Stormy night.
Amy and Oliver refresh themselves with Twisters after an exhausting session on the beach at Dinas Dillwe
Friday 16 July
Grey and wet start, though wind died down quite quickly. Drove to beach at Dinas Dinlle, recommended by Steffan at tea room. Sort of Welsh Walcott. Kids had great time on beach, getting themselves wet, and eventually we climbed the hill fort, which is 3000 years old and almost as much fun as the play area below it. Turned chillier as kids played there, and we drove home for fish and chips, with something different for Amy, of course.
Oliver after his conquest of Snowdon
Saturday 17 July
The big day. Started rainy, but improved as forecast. Ian came up to check the boiler. David, Oliver and I climbed Snowdon by Llanberis path. Oliver did really well: I had to stop more often than him on steep sections in second half. Eventually made it to the restaurant about a quarter of an hour before Dot and Amy arrived by train. Very cold on top, with a strong wind. Terrific achievement by Oliver, who showed real determination in the unpleasant conditions near the summit. Thousands of people in and around the restaurant, but Dot got us tea eventually, and we all visited the very top. Then we all walked down. Very cold at first, with some sharp rain for a few minutes, but rest of day was dry. Amy did well, and Oliver even better. Dot had knee trouble towards the bottom, as did David, and my ankle felt fragile, but it held out apart from a couple of twinges. All made it back by 6.40pm. David, Oliver and I had started at 11.05am, and Dot and Amy got the 1.30pm train. My pedometer gave ten miles total, but David’s iPhone GPS gave 8.6 miles, which is probably more accurate. Took almost as long to get down as it did to get up. All exhausted, but kids recovered quickly – Halfway House café stop on the way back being a big help. All early to bed. Ian had brought our washing back and left it inside.
Amy, David, Oliver and Dot in the Llechwed slate mine
Sunday 18 July
Very wet all day. Capel Curig had more rain than anywhere else in the UK, plus flood warnings. Water pouring off mountains as we drove to Llechwed slate caverns at Blaenau Ffestiniog in the afternoon. Bought petrol in Betws-y-Coed. Took Miners Tramway tour, and Oliver and Amy bought some slate, plus some sweets from olde shoppe. Drove home via Beddgelert and the Nant Gwynant pass. Watched The Damned United on TV, plus documentary on Clough. Both unexpectedly good.
Monday 19 July
Very wet again. Don’t know where it all comes from. A bit drier in Corwen. Had lunch with Adrian and Clarissa after a lightning drive to The Plough Inn at Llandegla, an excellent and friendly pub restaurant. On way back called in to see Julia and Glaves, Nathan, Nigel and Rona at Tynddol. Rain descended again in force as we drove home.
Tuesday 20 July
Showery. David and children left at 11.30 after a cooked breakfast. Made good time and were home by 4.30pm. Meanwhile Dot and I went down to Llanberis and swapped Oliver’s walking pole for a new one. Dot bought walking boots and socks, and I bought a fleecy top. Had tea and scones in café and then drove up into hills, where we got a good picture of Snowdon, temporarily cloud-free. Bought food and went home. More extensive rain in the evening, but a spectacular sky.
Adrian, Clarissa and Dot on the mountain near our house
Wednesday 21 July
Quite a lot of sunshine, with spots of rain now and again. Adrian and Clarissa came over for lunch – an hour later than expected because their satnav dumped them in Beddgelert, where they had no phone signal. Eventually reached Llanberis after consulting tourist office there (more helpful when he switched to Welsh) and phoned us from Llanberis. I’d been waiting in the lane on and off for about an hour after an early foray into town to post cards and dispose of bottles. After lunch on the balcony we walked on the path over the railway to the stream and back, and had tea, coffee and Welsh bread at tea room. Steffan and Adrian got on very well in Welsh. Stayed at the house after A & C left and eventually watched The Unforgiven. I’d seen it before, but forgotten most of it, especially what a good argument it is for forgiveness.
Dot on the high path round Llyn Idwal
Thursday 22 July
Familiar low cloud and persistent rain at first. We went into Llanberis to drop off washing and have a cup of tea at very Welsh café on High Street, Back to house as sky cleared: encountered workmen making sure the road was clear of hidden dangers for Snowdon runners on the Saturday. Drove over mountain to Bethesda, then Llyn Ogwen, where we walked up to Llyn Idwal and decided to walk round the lake after speaking to a girl who’d just done it in “about 40 minutes”. Climbed up quite a way at the head of the lake but were unsure of the path and a bit hesitant to go on, partly because my footwear wasn’t the best (hadn’t been expecting a climb of any sort). So we retraced our steps, then found the short-cut path round the head of the lake: soggy but passable. So completed the circuit and probably did about three miles, though I forgot to take my pedometer. Small amount of rain as we started, but otherwise fine and not cold. Cup of tea on return to the car park at Ogwen Cottage, then back home for meal. Evening sunny and warm, with good weather due after we leave.
Amy and Oliver on collision course at the Dinosaur Park. Hope their tyres hold up.
Very warm June so far, coinciding happily with visit of grandchildren: first time we’ve had them both together without one of their parents. We picked them up late on Wednesday. Dot had been to a meeting at Diocesan House, where she had a speaking role, and I waited outside and we continued south-west from there. The Watton road was quite pleasant until we reached Watton itself, which was totally jammed and took ages to free itself. The culprit: a combination of market day lorries and a complete absence of police to ensure vehicles could get through. When we eventually freed ourselves we had another pleasant stretch until the Brandon-Mildenhall road, which has a lunatic speed limit of 40 all the way past RAF Lakenheath. Almost dozed off. Rest of the journey was good. We had tea cooked by David, and then brought the children back to Norwich: a smooth journey featuring much I-Spying.
On Thursday we all visited Rosie and her nine dogs. Some trepidation on the part of the children, but they eventually got used to them, and Amy ended up with several of them in her arms. Cup of tea, cake and a tour of the gardens also featured. On to North Walsham, where we called in on Jessie briefly before heading back to Norwich. Dot’s MX5 had been in the garage overnight with a mysterious water leak, which turned out to be rain collecting where it should have drained out: in other words, blocked drainage holes. I picked it up en passant, dry and, in my case, £45 lighter. This was followed by the excitement of our having our hair cut by Linda, with Oliver surprisingly being more interested than Amy at first. Then went to Morrisons for some food, and I managed to drop a bag and fracture two bottles. How exciting is that? Fortunately no other harm done, and we ended up having fish fingers and chips (Oliver and me) and pasta, cheese and beans (Dot and Amy).
Yesterday was Dinosaur Park day, and we had a great time. Oliver was delighted to find all the stamps so that he could get a medal, and Dot had packed a picnic for us. Although there were a lot of people there, the place was easily big enough to accommodate us, and there were no long queues, even for ice creams. We arrived home in time for Oliver and I to present our highly rehearsed show on guitars and vocals, consisting of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star (Oliver solo guitar), A Little Help from my Friends (Oliver lead guitar, Grandad rhythm) and Let it be (Grandad vocals and guitar). Huge audience response. Amy also had a show featuring various circus acts involving hula hoops and other items. Evening meal was at Prezzos, Daddy arriving from Caddington just in time.
Up pretty early this morning for excitement of various kinds. Went to shop to buy some additional food for lunch in the garden, and Daddy and children left shortly afterwards. (After the lunch, that is – not after seeing what I’d bought.) Rest of the day clearing up and watching TV. Dot had long-distance call from Canada about her healing and angel experiences. It was Roger’s brother John, who has written a book on similar experiences and wanted to use Dot’s stories when doing some talks on related topics.
An enthusiastic Amy tries to put a spring in Oliver's steps
At last the weather has turned warmer. Walked three miles back from Joe’s at lunchtime after beating him 3-0 at chess (the first luckily on time, but the other two quite good games), and stepped into John Lewis’s to research TVs for Andrew, adding a diversion to Timberhill to buy Claxton Opera tickets. Very pleasant. The weather was quite good at the weekend too, which we spent at Caddington to celebrate prematurely David’s 38th birthday – actually today. On the Saturday we were joined by Philip Coomes and family, and had a really good time, rather too much of it spent playing football in the garden, which meant I was exhausted in the evening and went to sleep through Dr Who.
Oliver is developing into a really good little footballer, and Lydia and Alistair aren’t bad either. Meanwhile Amy has developed a French accent, though only while talking to her dolls. The various French numbers feature strongly, but although I didn’t recognise any other words, they sounded as if they ought to be proper French words, even if they weren’t. Taught Oliver a bit of guitar after I managed to get it roughly in tune and Dot finished it off. Oliver is also learning cello, and Vicky came round in the evening to give him a lesson. Amy has a keyboard in her bedroom, so it’s just a question of time… On the Sunday we had lunch at the Harvester nearby: just right for a family, though Oliver was feeling rather poorly, with a cold suddenly developing. Had a decent steak.
On the way home we decided on the spur of the moment to call in to see Joan at Baldock. Against the odds, she was in and had a couple of friends with her. They insisted we stay, so we had a pleasant hour or so there. The female friend had been to Wall Hall College, so she and Dot had something in common, though they weren’t there at the same time. Joan has just had another granddaughter (Harriet’s) and is going up to Leeds to see her today.
Yesterday Dot had to go to Acle school in the morning, but she got back in time to come with me to the lunchtime Norfolk and Norwich Festival concert we’d booked for at the Assembly House. Good value at £7. Superb cellist Jessica Hayes paired with Polish accordionist Rafal Luc. An unlikely team, but I thought it worked well, though Dot was not as convinced. Both agreed that the accordion solo of Mendelssohn’s Organ Sonata No 6 was brilliant, sounding just like an organ: tremendous force and amazing dexterity and feeling. Called in at John Lewis afterwards for tea and looking for an iPod dock, but couldn’t find what we wanted: similarly failed later at the Apple Store.
We’ve been fortunate with our Festival choices: on Friday we went to St Andrew’s Hall for the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra, which was absolutely brilliant, especially during the opening Borodin. The final Shostakovich I found less memorable, though it was technically well-nigh perfect. Violinist Chloe Hanslip was great (except in actual stature) for her performance of Philip Glass’s Violin Concerto No 1, which I thought was brilliant. At the end the orchestra did a couple or encores featuring their livewire redhead drummer Alla Mamyko. The percussionists were fascinating throughout.
As it turned out, Dot got home comfortably before David and the children arrived on Thursday, and we had a really enjoyable weekend, despite some less-than-perfect weather. Most of it was cold and almost as much was wet too. During a particularly fierce hailstorm on Saturday, water came into the living room via a hole behind one of the wall lights. Nothing very excessive: something similar happened many, many years ago and put itself right without any building work being required. But I’ll keep an eye on it.
On Good Friday we had the compulsory Easter egg hunt in the garden after considering and rejecting a couple of professional events elsewhere. The children insisted that the home-grown variety was what was required, and amazingly we collected as many eggs as we hid. Several times. Amy had a tendency to tell everyone where the eggs were, but this didn’t detract from the fun. The weather failed to dry out, so we played games indoors in the afternoon, and I introduced Oliver to table curling (don’t ask) and Tri-Tactics. He took to both, despite the latter being quite complex. At bedtime he was allowed by his Dad to watch the first 20 minutes of the Norwich game on his iPhone, but City failed to respond and went down 3-1 to lowly Tranmere, thanks to some memorably bizarre refereeing decisions. This rather put the damper on things following a triumphalist party he and Amy had organised earlier in the day to mark the team’s achievements this season. He is probably Norwich City’s biggest supporter in Caddington, if not Bedfordshire.
On Saturday we visited A Ethel for a short while and then went to the Castle Museum. Highlight there was a guy in the keep giving a brilliant talk on weaponry over the years, featuring longbows and the different types of arrow. I learnt a lot (including the revelation that the army that turned up at Agincourt would have beaten the one at Waterloo easily, because the arrows had so much greater range: get that into a song, Abba). Oliver was fascinated, but Amy was keen to keep moving. Some split supervision resulted. Eventually David and I visited John Lewis to look at scanners: an unnecessary excursion, as David later mended my current scanner. He then disappeared in search of other items and I went to pick up Dot’s shoes, which I had taken for repair on Thursday.
Yesterday I was leading the Easter service at church, and Oliver came with me to help set the room up. Dot and Amy arrived later, and there was a reasonably large congregation of 18, including four children. Phil was there; so I was able to concentrate on leading instead of playing guitar as well. Both children were brilliant: Amy played quietly throughout, and Oliver paid close attention. He was invited by John Easton (presiding at Communion) to pour water in the cup, and did so very professionally! After the service we proceed to the Red Lion at Eaton for what has become a traditional meal organised by Birgit. Twelve attended: apart from us there was Birgit and Joe, Phil and Joy, Birgit’s mother, her brother Joe and his wife Ilona. Lasted well over two hours and required some running games outside during the latter stages. Excellent food.
David and the children left around 7pm: Oliver and Amy are heading to Scarborough today with their mother. Dot and I, after some clearing up – mainly by Dot – watched the Bahrain Grand Prix and Match of the Day. This morning the rain relented and Dot and I went to North Walsham to see Jessie and insert flowers into the cemetery. Had some over so visited the Rosary and pout some on Mum and Dad’s grave too.
A goldfinch in Jessie's garden
During Dot’s inspection at Hickling she met my old friend Lily, who now plays piano for the school. During our visit to Jessie today we saw several goldfinches, which I had never met before.
Kevin, Lisa and Matthew Potter with grandson David. Not a great picture.
Bit of a delay there. A lot going on: amid all the preparation for our holiday, I’ve written a new poem, entered poems for two separate poetry competitions, updated my website with quite a protracted piece and written up lengthy minutes from the DCC meeting last Wednesday. That’s quite apart from real life, which has included another ground-out chess win, this time in 66 moves, and taking my car to be serviced, MOTd and have its rear brake pads replaced: it turned out to be the most expensive service, and with the renewal of Mazda Assistance came to well over £400, just when I didn’t need the expense. I say “real life”, but of course that’s open to dispute.
The DCC meeting included much about keeping the church hall going: our new cleaner had several suggestions, some of which we have adopted. Howard was a key figure: he worked with the cleaner on the suggestions and also with a guy who surveyed the hall for longer-term work required. Unfortunately for some reason Howard didn’t turn up to the meeting and couldn’t be contacted, which hampered us somewhat. Still don’t know what happened.
On Thursday Mark and Naomi Tuma came round for a meal. I knew Mark a bit, but Naomi hardly at all, so it was a time for life stories. Discovered Naomi was Scottish, from the west coast near Oban. Good conversation: I don’t have to say Dot’s food was excellent, so I won’t. But it was. Incidentally, while on the subject of mouths, one of my teeth has been giving me a bit of trouble, so I’ve booked to see the dentist tomorrow. Not painful, but feels as if it could become painful, which is unsettling when you’re about to go to Canada.
On Friday had lunch with Keiron Pim at the Wine Cellar on Guildhall Hill. A while since I’d seen him; he is a former of trainee of mine who has recently won a well-deserved award as East Anglian feature writer of the year. He is a beautiful writer and is interested in the same things as I am: he plays blues guitar and is also books editor at the EDP. He has a little girl of 16 months and is married to another of my trainees, Rowan. Wine Cellar a very nice spot; had an excellent Spanish omelette which, together with a substantial meal at home in the evening, got me rather worried about my weight. On discovering that it was indeed up a few pounds I went for a three-mile walk on Saturday morning before meeting Dot in the city and buying a suitcase. This seemed to help (especially the suitcase), as I have now lost a bit, despite having David and the grandchildren up from Saturday evening till Sunday evening. Or maybe because of… Oliver and Amy in very energetic mode; we were joined by Kevin, Lisa and Matthew for the Sunday afternoon, and it was good to see them again. All seem well, and the grandchildren have had good school reports. Amy making excellent progress on writing and reading, and Oliver doing well at his times tables, coached by Dot. (The difference between professional coaching and what I would have done was all too apparent and good to see.) David switched Dot’s photos to my machine so she has some space on her laptop. We spent some time looking at old Lenton family photographs on Apple TV. Some of them were new to both David and Dot. Not sure how that happened.
On the Saturday Dot had had coffee with Anne, who has invited us to a celebration meal for Philip’s 70th birthday at the Swan in Southwold on April 24. This is a disaster, as it is the same weekend that we are seeing the Coomes, in a much-postponed London visit. Not sure what to do about it.
While walking on Saturday I visited the Rosary and noticed that Dorothy’s gravestone was missing. After much hunting around I realised it must have been removed to have Thelma’s name put on it. Either that or Dorothy was a double agent and all traces of her existence are being removed. I favour the former explanation. Now into our final week before leaving the country and still waking up in the night and thinking about what needs to be done.
Had a great weekend with David and the children, although I was not feeling at my best. After dark on Saturday we went by bus up to St Stephen’s and then walked through Chapelfield Mall and across to the Forum, where they had a tall Christmas tree instead of an icing rink. To be honest, I was not terribly impressed: all it had was white lights. The children seemed quite happy though: the City Hall lights were much more striking, changing colour every minute or so. Walked home via the Arcade and London Street. Had home-made fish and chips (sausage for Amy) which I cooked, as it was Dot’s birthday weekend.
On the Sunday I had to preach and play guitar. Had found some interesting information about Hebrew letters and the first verse of the Bible, among other things. One of the congregation, who is studying poetry at UEA, was very interested and asked for more information, which I e-mailed to her later. Went to Prezzo’s for very good lunch, during which there was a fierce squall – high wind and fierce rain – outside. Happily it had passed by the time we went home, but the weather was still not good enough to go our in the afternoon, so we spent it playing games and watching a bit of football on television.
On Monday I didn’t see Dot after she departed to visit Barbara at about 3pm until late in the evening: she went on from Barbara’s to a governors’ meeting at Gillingham, and I played chess at the club against King’s Lynn. I didn’t play too well and eventually blundered a piece. The team won, but an extra point would have been useful. Today Dot has been out again, this time at Swaffham for a church school inspection. I’ve been preparing for Tuesday Group, but have also entered four poetry competitions.
