Tag Archives: anna

Party for Paul mixes different emotions

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Jon Welch, someone else I should probably know, Shaun Lowthorpe and Helen Ashworth
Jon Welch, someone else I should probably know, Shaun Lowthorpe and Helen Ashworth

Very warm couple of days this weekend, dissolving into heavy rain around teatime today. Dot has just gone out to the Greens’ for a “girls’ night out” involving Vicky and Ruth, and I stayed in to play host to Maryta, Paul and Holly and their stem ginger cake. We went round the Hendersons’ last night for a meal, and Holly was supposed to be there for that, but she had a stomach problem and didn’t arrive till today: glad I was able to see her.

Earlier yesterday there was an unusual event at the home of Pat and Lesley Prekopp at Burgh, near Aylsham. Paul Durrant, former EDP news editor, has been diagnosed with cancer (oesophagus, I think) and has only a few months to live; so they arranged for him to be at this party and for as many of his old colleagues as possible to come and see him. He was quite gaunt but in reasonably good spirits, though obviously emotional, and he gave a good speech. I spoke to him as Maryta and I left and I said it had been a real pleasure. It was clear that he had tears in his eyes, which may seem an obvious thing to say, but I found it moving.

Paul 'Duzza' Durrant, legend of the newsroom
Paul ‘Duzza’ Durrant, legend of the newsroom

I took Maryta; Brian had been intending to come but was too ill, and Robin had a previous engagement. The setting was beautiful and the weather extremely warm; the food was good too. Met a number of former colleagues/friends: Tony Wenham, Ian Clarke, Trevor Burton, Emma Lee, Annette Hudson, Sarah Hardy, Stacia Briggs, Helen Ashworth, Louisa Griffith-Jones, Ian Bullock, Bill Woodcock, Sarah Brealey, James Goffin, Pete Kelley, Jon Welch, Rachel Moore, Mike Pollitt, Denise Bradley, Alison Croose, Andrew Stronach, Shaun Lowthorpe, Mark Harrop and others too numerous to mention or who I’ve forgotten. Left after 2½ hours but would probably have stayed longer if I’d been alone: Maryta, of course, knew far fewer people than I did. Apparently when Duzza left he got a round of applause.

Even earlier yesterday Colin and his youngest son Jordan came and cut our hedge, which gave us more light into the kitchen and garden, as well as a rather smug feeling, which dissipated when he pointed out that Dot’s car had a flat tyre. However, I’ve pumped it up and it seems to be staying up – at the moment.

On Friday we had a surprise when  Bronwen Edwards of InPrint fame came round out of the blue and stayed for a drink. She was staying in a hotel on Prince of Wales Road. Hope to see her again.

Thursday saw us on the Broads in the afternoon. We hired a day boat for a couple of hours with Fred and Sue and sailed down to Salhouse Broad. We had a cup of tea while we waited and a meal in the Hotel Wrexham when we returned – fish and chips for Dot and me. A really pleasant afternoon which made us wonder why we don’t do it more often.

The kitten and the rabbit

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Geoff sitting in his garden at Rockland
Geoff sitting in his garden at Rockland

I am now backed up. I have an external hard drive . If only that were true: in fact it is the computer that is backed up, now being linked to Time Machine, as it was designed to be. I myself am struggling along with the same old operating system that is showing signs of wear and tear. And I can’t get back to what I used to do.

I can’t even see very well, because I have new varifocal glasses that are designed to be clear in three different ways, but are in fact unclear in at least three, probably more. This morning I had to put my old reading glasses on to read the paper.

Oh, well. I’ve managed to walk about four miles today – mainly to the Norfolk Record Office to hear a talk by Elizabeth McDonald on “Books the Pastons Read”. Similar to the one she did at Dragon Hall, but not the same. Quite interesting, as Stephen Fry might say.

Last night we had a mammoth PCC meeting to discuss the increase in the parish share and how we were going to meet it. One of those dreadful meetings where you wish you were somewhere else. If church is about raising money, I’m not interested. I have a meeting scheduled with the new treasurer for the parish, one Susannah McGuire. I was relieved to find that she probably knows less about church accounting than I do. Sadly, that is not much.  I warmed to her.

Earlier, before I got my non-focal glasses, I had a visit from Adrian Bell, the potential publisher of our tanka book. He seemed reasonably impressed. It’s just about done; I’m now waiting to hear from him what other information he needs to go in it, such as price, and whether it should have a spine – which is about as ironic as you can get.

After the piano tuner left (see last post) I went out to Rockland to see Geoff. The weather was pretty cold, but dry, and he was keen to walk in the garden. So we did it. A little unsteady, but in the circumstances remarkable. He had his carer, Lisa, with him, and she was lovely – made tea and provided (Sophie’s) fruit cake.

Next day (Friday) I went out to see Lucy, who continues to recover slowly from her cracked ribs. She has a personal assistant (carer) called Priscilla, who is also lovely. The two of us tried to put up a washing line in the garden: she was much better at it than me. She is also gradually organising the house, which will be interesting. Meanwhile the kitten and the rabbit have a peculiar relationship: the kitten puts its paw through the bars of the rabbit cage and touches the rabbit, which ignores it. Doesn’t try to get out of the way – just ignores it.

Which is what I wish I’d done with the idea to employ a UEA intern for the Paston Heritage Society. This has now reached a ridiculous stage, with the lad doing very little work but clocking up huge numbers of hours. We received a bill from the UEA which Lucy is refusing to pay. Anna is very worried. I am now retiring from the conflict and letting them get on with it, which is a pity, as they’re both friends. At the moment.

On Saturday it was still cold , but Dot and I had tickets for Norwich v West Ham. In fact we had three tickets, so we invited Phil, who called round by chance the previous afternoon. City played very badly in the first half, so at half time I predicted we would win 3-1. Amazingly, we did. I am now regarded as a prophet. I am without honour in my own country, of course.

All systems needing attention

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Warning sign near St Olave's

Have just booked a visit from the gas man – thought I’d better get the central heating fixed before Christmas, although it’s more or less OK at the moment. Speaking of faulty systems, I went to the doctor’s yesterday, and he gave me a relatively thorough going over but couldn’t come to any conclusions about various intermittent symptoms. So I’m in for a blood test next week – on what would have been my mother’s 100th birthday. Doesn’t time fly?

In other news, the weather has been quite dry by day, and mild, but windy at times. Neither Dot nor I has been 100%, but we’ve been out and about, and have bought most of our Christmas presents, except for close family. Last night we went to a special evening at the Living Rooms, just this side of Poringland, which sells ethically sourced furniture and smaller items. Nice atmosphere, mince pies, and we bought a few things too.

Raced up to the Castle on Tuesday to hear a lunchtime talk from Anna on some of the pictures in the Family in Art exhibition. Really good. Afterwards we had lunch at M&S, and while Dot went to a schools events at the Cathedral, I bought our Christmas cards from the charity shop. Thought I’d made ample provision in cash, but after buying stamps too, I had to go to the cash machine to complete the transaction!

On Wednesday – a lovely sunny day – I drove out to North Walsham to deliver a cheque to Rob Knee as part of the Another Country payment and to discuss future ideas for the Paston Heritage Society. Quite a fruitful discussion: we felt that maybe the full exhibition had had its day and the church project was a bit of a dead duck. We’re going to suggest pulling out of the church project – partly to see the reaction of the PCC – and concentrate on smaller events, producing cards, maybe a leaflet on the Pastons in Norwich and look at the possibility of using St Peter Hungate as a Paston centre in the city. We’ll also be looking at opportunities to use readings and maybe more wide-ranging ideas (songs? monologues?) to sell the book. I’ve suggested the latter to the other poets, who seem keen.

Afterwards I called in at Jessie’s for a cup of tea and a biscuit. She seemed well. We talked about her retirement from the Blind Association (?), where she has been a helper for many years. Coincidentally, at the PCC that evening curate John Easton announced that he was stepping down after 40-45 years, and he and Jean will be taking a back seat. They are both over 70. Bit of a shock, that. At the same time, Nicholas is keen on starting an alternative type of evening service, which sounds interesting.

Bears walking off the shelves

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One of the two award-winning dens, with its creators

Delightful week, despite the chill wind for much of it. Son and grandchildren visited, and Philip and Jane and their two children camped nearby in the Premier Inn; we spent most of the time together, and I even missed an Archant agm, I was having so much fun.

Our family arrived on Monday. I was due to play chess against Yosif in the evening, but typically he didn’t show up, and I returned for a quiet evening. On Tuesday the Coomes arrived, and we organised lunch and supper for nine. In the afternoon most of us walked into the city by way of the Cathedral Close (leaving Dot fixing the evening food) and then went to the Museum, followed by the Norwich City shop, where I bought a Canaries bag for Oliver and two teddy bears for Amy – one pink and one a traditional yellow. Apparently the NCFC teddy bears are walking off the shelves in the current climate of optimism. As I write City are 2-1 up against Nottingham Forest, being watched by Dot, who got a free ticket from the Robinsons.

On Wednesday we all went to Bewilderwood and survived the chill quite well, considering. Ended up in a den-making competition, with Dot spearheading one, and Phil and David leading the other. Both did exceptionally well, I thought. Another meal at ours in the evening, but the trend changed on Thursday, which was a bit warmer, in a relative sort of way. Everyone except me went to Cromer (Dot by train), bercause I had to wait for the alarm to be serviced and then go to the dentist to have a crown fitted. Not an actual crown, though that would probably have been cheaper. The process (with earlier preparation) left me with little change from £1200, which is about £1000 too much for any tooth work, in my opinion. Of course, I wouldn’t tell the dentist that. They have drills.

Owing to an earlier blunder, I had booked Dot and me into the Maddermarket in the evening, so instead of enjoying a leisurely meal in the Premier Inn with the others, we had a quick starter and then hurtled up to the theatre for an excellent performance of Alan Bennett’s 40 Years On. Sat next to James Goffin – to whom I owe my four years’ teaching at UEA (I took over his course) – and afterwards had a chat with David Newham, another former colleague and long-established Maddermarket actor, who said he was hoping for a part in the forthcoming Under Milk Wood.

Today was much warmer, but it was also the day of departure for our visitors. In the morning we took them up to Mousehold and had a game of football which I feel may take me several days to recover from. Good fun, though. Oliver is dead keen, and very skilful too. Amy organised a party lunch with some assistance from Dot (or should that be the other way round?), and I said goodbye early to meet Anna at the Castle. We were supposed to proceed to Dragon Hall for a meeting on Paston plans, but Sarah at Dragon Hall postponed twice within 24 hours, so I had to spend almost an hour with Anna, which was of course a real trial, not to say very pleasant indeed. Someone needs to get an armlock on Sarah, though.