Tag Archives: oliver

2 July 2007

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A pause for refreshment during the Cley Marshes hike. The refreshment hut – an interesting conglomeration of brick and random pieces of dodgy-looking wood – was due to be pulled down in spring, but evidently survived the threat. The drinks were surprisingly good, and at this point the weather was lovely – warm and calm. A couple of hours later it was tipping down. Present at refreshment were Dave and Julia Evetts, and Dot.

Anyway we’ve just had lovely weekend with David, Vicky and the children – despite the Hollywood Bowl being mysteriously closed when we arrived for our session. They obviously saw us coming. Inistead, after much cogitation, all of us except David went by train to Wroxham and back. During our 30 minutes at Wroxham we walked over to the Bure Valley railway and saw the little train arriving.

The road out of Wroxham towards Coltishall was closed by police with several vehicles in attendance, and in this morning’s paper we found that a young person had been killed when their car hit a wall. No idea why it hit the wall.

On the Sunday the weather was still iffy, and we all went to see Auntie E at Hethersett. Took Amy’s tricycle but couldn’t get Oliver’s tractor in the car, so I spent some time explaining to him how my car’s air conditioning worked, which naturally fascinated him. During this, I discovered that I didn’t know exactly how it worked, but I have a better idea now. Auntie E seemed quite well.

In the afternoon we were mainly indoors, though Oliver had a go on the tractor for a short while. Amy got extremely interested in wood lice, as well as the water feature, but fortunately didn’t combine the two.

This morning I took Phil to the doctor’s. He’s had a bad bout of flu and now has severe UTI; so they’re in a bad way at the moment. Dot is working on her last inspection report of the term.

21 June 2007

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A big week for Oliver, who has learned to ride his bicycle. He showed real determination and independence, and it was great to see his delight when he managed it – on a video sent by David. Today I was able to see him riding down the street “live”: David held a webcam out of the window, and Oliver went up and down two or three times, with Vicky watching from a distance. The picture here goes back a couple of weeks, when he was still getting a helping hand in the garden from Nana (but always wanting to do it on his own). This afternoon he goes with his mother to his new school for a familiarisation visit.

Dot missed this morning’s ride because she was inspecting a school at Wreningham. On Tuesday she was out all day taking Aunt E to visit Aunt J at North Walsham. Rather wish I’d gone, but I did speak to both of them: E to find out why Dot was so late back, and J later to thank her for keeping a paper for me and to mention that I’d met a friend of hers (Yvonne K) at Welborne. Dot and E had lunch at Elderton Grange, and Dot was enthusing about it.

The weather has improved a bit: it’s quite warm, but we still have occasional quite heavy showers. Other parts of the country are much worse hit: part of a rail track was washed away on the England/Wales border.

I spent most of yesterday working on a translation / interpretation of the Lord’s Prayer using the original Aramaic text and commentary on it. Aramaic is a much richer language than English, because its words (and their roots) have wider associations, usually based on verbs and vital human activities. I was trying to create a sort of prayer-poem, and I was reasonably pleased with it. It’s based on a book called Prayers of the Cosmos by Neil Douglas-Klotz. Obviously I don’t speak Aramaic, so I was heavily dependent on the translations and expansions given. Here it is (feel free to skip):

You who created all things perfectly
out of what did not exist
You who are mother and father to us
the source of light and blessing
whose breath flows through and transforms all it touches
rising and shining in space so that we can know you
through the song and vibration of the universe

we plant a garden
a holy shrine
within ourselves
separate
letting go all that would distort or inhibit
your focusing light,
your wisdom, your peace

Come like a fruitful arm
a coiled spring
to release the potential of the earth
Come and fill your children
with delight and faith to go forward
bearing the music and the spirit of your kingdom
in new directions

As stars swirl together in harmony
your heart’s desire is an irresistible force
Let this be true of our hearts too
in word and vision
without break or discord
as we sigh together with the living earth
our home

Take us forward step by step
Give us the food and understanding that we need
Breathe into us warmth, passion and creativity
Produce within us fruit and light
fulfilling what lies within the circle of our lives
an illumined measure of your abundance
nourishing each other

Through forgiveness return us
to our uncorrupted state
clear and unburdened
free of secret debt and hidden entanglements
accidental offences and frustrated hopes
Embrace us with the purity of emptiness
just as we free and forgive others
consistently
repairing relationships

Do not let us be diverted from the purpose of our lives
by surface temptations
or seduced by what is false
and illusory
Do not allow our minds to be lost in forgetfulness
like flags waving aimlessly
in the wind
but break the seal that binds us to what is immature, unripe
or inappropriate
Free us to walk your path with joy

For your field is fertile and all-sufficient
You determine all in your royal universe
Yours is the force that produces and sustains
Yours is the glorious song
light and sound in balance
astonishing fire
from one age to another
in the cycle of time
gathering to gathering
mysterious
grounded and true

31 May 2007

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These are my grandchildren, Oliver and Amy, taking part – albeit unwittingly – in an InPrint art installation at the Open Studios. The installation is called Shaded, by Rupert Mallin and Tonia Jillings: more can be seen on it at www.inprintartsandpoetry.co.uk. The children were just having a rest while we all chatted at the private view on the 20th.

I’m just back from a St Augustine’s LMT meeting at Horsford. LMT members: at least 10. Number present: 3. Clearly a priorities problem, except for Dot, who is in Caddington looking after the above grandchildren. I shall be going tomorrow. Today I cleared up a few outstanding things. After months of dithering I went to see about an improved gravestone for my parents’ grave, and I followed that by going to see a former colleague who is in Aylsham Hospital – hopefully recovering from cancer. Bit odd being in the place where my mother and father-in-law died. Good visit, though. J was very upbeat and looking quite well, though in a wheelchair. Her sister was also there.

Lovely day today for a change: some sun and warmth. Yesterday popped down to Bally again in between writing Monday’s page. Lone vigil by Annette. Piece appeared on my poetry prize in today’s EDP Art, Antiques and Collectibles supplement. Not sure which category I fall under.

14 April 2007

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This is Dot with Oliver and Amy at Stockwood Park, taken last week on a lovely warm day. It’s even warmer now, and Dot and I are shortly going to Dunston Hall for a carvery meal. Some time since we’ve been out for a meal, after all the excess of Florida.

My cough is a lot better, but my throat is now just sore enough to be annoying, and I don’t feel particularly good despite a longish sleep last night. The Green Party called this morning – Rupert Read and a couple of henchwomen – and failed to convince me that their transport policy was anything short of silly. They think there’s a 50% chance of my voting for them, but in fact it’s much lower than that. There’s not much chance of my voting at all.

Dot had a bone density scan this afternoon, and came out as superwoman. Of course I knew that anyway. Well above 100 per cent, whatever that means.

I’ve finished writing my sermon on the persecuted church: not St Augustine’s – the other 200 million. I’ve just discovered that we only have four weekends free till August.

11 April 2007

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This is a drawing by my grandson Oliver, aged four and a half, of a calculator. Remarkable attention to detail. Since the last blog entry, Dot and I went down to Caddington and looked after the children for three days while their parents worked. Dot was just getting over a virus which had made her cough really badly. She was just about OK for Caddington, and I was fine, but now I’ve got it. Very unusual – during the day it’s hardly noticeable, except that it makes you very tired, but in the late evening and during the night, coughing is very severe – stemming, I think, from mucus coming down from the sinuses. No real nasal problem, though my eyes get sore in the evening. No sore throat, either. I’m not grumbling.

At Caddington we took the children to Woodside Farm on the second day: it was very cold, and we eventually repaired to the Play Barn, where the two of them occupied themselves for almost two hours in the Toddler section. The next day must have been about ten degrees warmer, and we went to Stockwood Park, where there was a lot of running around. Amazing place: some beautiful gardens and a very acceptable cafe. Amy had go to the loo two or three times, but mainly to look at herself in the full-length mirror.

The Ambient Wonder Easter event went quite well, despite my worrying about how it was actually going to work. About 40 people visited 12 Stations of the Cross, and I managed to rig up a loop on a combination of IPhoto, ITunes and Garageband – with a monologue I had written for Simon of Cyrene.

The rest of the Easter Weekend was quite quiet: I was feeling a bit rough, so Dot did the relative rounds. Incidentally, Aunt E bought Oliver a radio for Easter that was an immense hit. Yesterday Barbara V came round to brush up on philosophy plans. I did a new front page for the leaflet which went down quite well, but Microsoft Word is very hard to handle for that kind of thing. It won’t do the simple things, like divide an A4 landscape into three even columns plus margins. Or at least, it probably will, but I don’t know how to.

Today I went up to Bally to meet Bronwen and plan the positioning of our joint piece using her photos and my poem, Unable to find North. She then came back here and we selected the images we thought we’d use. She has now returned to Beccles. The weather is very warm for the time of the year, and I’ve had my hair cut. Bit traumatic – L is moving salons after about 20 years.

David has finished the InPrint website, which everyone seems really pleased with.

9 February 2007

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Yes, it’s been wintry recently. Not so much in Norwich, where we’ve had a little snow which melted fairly quickly; but in much of the rest of the country there have been quite heavy falls, as can be seen from the picture of my grandson (left) with the snowman he built – possibly with a little help from his Dad and sister. This is in Bedfordshire, and much of the Midlands and West have caught it. Here in Norwich it’s been bitterly cold, but now it’s raining. Warnings of ice on the roads, but fortunately I don’t have far to go tomorrow.

Today I did actually get out of the house and walked back from the plumbing shop – about two and a half miles with one or two detours, including a non-stop climb of Gas Hill – always a good test of how fit I am. Quite surprising, really.

The plumbing shop visit was to pick up tap inserts to repair the bathroom sink taps, which had been broken by a visitor. For reference, I hammered the insert into the tap head, then pushed the tap head on to the shaft. The shop suggested doing it the other way round, but it proved impossible. It’s working at the moment. I don’t think they really knew, though they were very helpful – for instance in getting the old insert out of the tap head.

Saw A on the way home – her father has had a massive stroke and is in a bad way.

Dot went to Watton in the snow yesterday, but it wasn’t too bad. Vicky has been in Hull and had a tricky journey back to Nottingham, where she spent the night. David had been going to come to Norwich to discuss the website(s), but he had to look after the children yesterday, and the weather was still dodgy today. So we had a webcam session.

During the last couple of days I’ve also written my page for Monday and written a couple of poems for tomrrow, which is InPrint’s Creative Day. We’re hoping to get well on the way towards preparing a presentation for the Welborne Arts Festival. I’ve also put together an Ambient Wonder event (www.ambientwonder.org) that Dot and I are curating on Sunday. The idea is for loads of people to come up with ideas and we sort them out, but there wasn’t much input, and I’m not very good at delegating. So I had to come up with some ideas, which is bad news.

Yesterday morning, one of Dot’s head teacher colleagues came round, and the three of us put together some questions for a music quiz for the National Association of First and Primary Heads annual conference in April. Very few on Bob Dylan – unprecedented restraint.

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.

23 January 2007

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Extremely wintry today, with light snow showers and temperatures not very much above freezing. Dot isn’t too well, and we’ve cancelled tonight’s meal. She has a sore throat and painful sinuses, but has managed to write her inspection report on Hilgay School. I ventured out to get some photographs processed and to take up some renewed prescriptions, as well as post a letter and fill the car up with petrol.

Yesterday my chess game was cancelled, and so I didnt go out at all, but Dot went to Necton School for one of her consultant visits.

The weekend was busy: we left at lunchtime on Friday for Caddington and arrived in time for me to meet Oliver out of school. He seemed pleased to see me! He and Amy were on good form, and on Saturday we looked after them while David and Vicky went to look at some used cars. In the end they bought a different one – an Astra – which we saw when we all went into Harpenden in the afternoon. We also bought some new shoes for Amy and had some tea and cake in the Lily Lounge – very nice.

More tea and cake on Sunday when we went to Aunt Jessie’s at North Walsham for her 74th birthday dinner. We were there by midday after quite a good journey. Also Roger and Phil, Janet and Ray, as well as Frank, of course. Pleasant lunch and afternoon conversation.

Before travelling to Caddington I had been to the hospital and was told to carry on taking the pills, as they seemed to be doing me some good. No worse, certainly, and probably rather better. I’m optimistic.

The picture is of my brother Andrew in typical pose at Winterton in a very cold wind between Christmas and New Year.