Tag Archives: beccles

In the footsteps of Anne Boleyn – up to a point

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Hever Castle – childhood home of a Queen

On the brink of being ill for several days last week, but seem to have fought it off, though I’m not 100%. Main problem was an irritated upper respiratory tract, but also had an upset stomach and was feeling very tired. However…we made it to Hever Castle, Kent, home of the young Anne Boleyn and once owned, I’ve just discovered , by Sir John Fastalf, of Paston fame. It came to him through his wife, Millicent Scrope, and left him before he died.

Beautiful place, too. We had a large room with massive double bed, and the castle gardens were stunning in the late afternoon sun on Monday, when we arrived. In the evening we went to the King William VIII pub just outside the main entrance and had crayfish and steak pie (two separate items). Earlier we had the best Victoria sponge I can remember in the castle’s restaurant.

The journey down was straightforward until we got within about five miles of the Dartford crossing, when the traffic became very, very slow – often stationary. Fortunately we had plenty of time and arrived here less than half an hour after the earliest admission time. There is a billiard room and a luxurious lounge.

Yesterday was much chillier, but we made the most of the sun in the morning to walk round the lake after conquering the water maze! Felt pretty exhausted afterwards, for some reason, but Dot left me lying on the bed and went to the shop, after which we had a meal in the cafe. Dot;’s was apparently very nice, but my fish and chips was on the cool side.

Afterwards we went round the castle itself, which was quite impressive. From Anne Boleyn’s bedroom window we could see our bedroom window, but we didn’t lose our heads. In the evening we stayed in our room, ate sandwiches, read and watched a bit of TV.  Not all at once.

After some more walking in the grounds this morning, involuting a visit to the regimental museum and the church where Queen Elizabeth’s grandfather was buried, we had a cup of tea in the cafe and departed north. A very easy journey this time, stopping at the M11 services for a drink and a bite to eat, plus a bit of petrol and pumping up the tyres.

Last Wednesday we went to June Wallace’s funeral at the Hungate (Methodist) Church in Beccles. Nice service, and good to see Ian and William again. Had quite a long chat with William, who is living in an unconverted barn in Sussex and has a pet jackdaw. He is still creating leather and copper art for very rich people, has problems with his kidneys but is very positive. Amazing bloke. Ian has two teenage children and is divorced. He is a self-employed lorry driver. His ex-wife was there but didn’t sit with him or with the children. We stayed for refreshments.

On Friday Dot was rehearsing with the orchestra; so I took Judy to the Octagon Chapel for an event called The Sound of Silents. It consisted of old films of Norwich accompanied by local bands: Mammal Hands and Birds of Hell (which is one bloke with guests). Interesting audience split: young people who came to hear the bands and couldn’t really appreciate the films on one side, and older people who lived the films but found the music intrusive on the other. I liked the music, but found it a bit loud at times. Glad I went, though.

Then there was the weekend with the Coomes, which went well but quite quickly. Contrary to the weather forecast, the Saturday was not pleasant and pretty wet, off and on. Dot and I went to Morrisons in the morning, and we had a light lunch when the Coomes arrived. Then at 5pm we had a meal at Prezzo, followed by the concert at St Cuthberts. The latter went very well: the best I’ve heard them. Judy was there again, as were Fred and Sue, plus of course Neville and Mary.

We took the Coomes to church on Sunday as usual. The vicar spoke about Edith Cavell: today was the 100th anniversary of her death. Afterwards we went to Prezzo again (!) and then walked along the riverside path, where we encountered Ian Bullock briefly. The weather had changed to sunny and very pleasant. The Coomes left at around 4.30pm, and Dot and I watched rugby world cup and then Formula 1, then more television. We were pretty flaked out.

So all out packing was left to Monday  morning. But it worked pretty well really. My only worry was that I discovered a small leak in the bathroom before we left. I left towels on the floor and hoped it didn’t escalate. When we got back today the towels were soaked, but nothing worse. I rang up Anglian Water, with whom we have insurance, and as I write a plumber is trying to sort it out.

Dog replaced by budgerigar

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Another avant garde, innovative, not to say derivative, bit of camera work at the Bergh Apton sculpture trail

Doesn’t time fly? And so much happening… Last Friday, for instance, it rained quite a bit. We had excellent lunch with the Higbees at Newton Flotman, made a quick visit to Diocesan House to pick up documents for Dot, and then made for Bungay in the evening. There was a private view at the Cork Brick gallery : Annette and two other women, Diane Griffiths and  Georgina somebody.  The theme was animals, so not really my cup of tea, though Mike’s incidental drawing of a horse was stunning. Annette had some interesting new ideas as well, and Diane had some pretty nifty book work on show – particularly liked one called Book of Salt. Martin and his girlfriend were there, and we spoke for a while to Jane West (McClintock), who writes poetry and is from Norwich.

Down in Suffolk again on Saturday, when we were invited at short notice by June W to an early pizza supper (home made) at Beccles. Preferred the crumble afterwards, and the budgerigar – though the latter was not part of the meal. It appears to have replaced a dog, which has to be good. June seemed on good form, though she deteriorates markedly when you speak to her on the phone, as I did a few minutes ago. She has an appointment with the gynaecologist, which is a good thing: she has been trying to speak to one for ages.

On Sunday I preached a Pentecost sermon and Dot led the prayers at short notice. I had forgotten to mention to her that she was on the rota. In the afternoon we went out into the chilly, soggy  winds of North East Norfolk and took flowers to the cemetery (it was the anniversary of Dot’s mum’s death). Afterwards we visited Judith Rand at Bacton: she is recovering from a double bypass-plus operation. She showed us around her impressive Great Barn house, which would be worth well over a million if it was not in Bacton but Blakeney. Still couldn’t believe it when she said she didn’t think she’d get more than £400,000; she will be selling soon because she can’t look after it on her own, especially now. Afterwards called in at Jessie’s, where we found Roger waiting for his evening meal. Still managed to fit in a cup of tea, but we were home before 6pm.

Monday’s weather was much improved – quite warm, in fact. I called in to see Kathleen. She looks very frail but seemed pleased to see me. She finds it hard to talk and can’t hear easily, so it was bit hard going, but I was very pleased to be there. Read to her a bit from the Bible at her request. Am now involved at Paul’s request in getting him power of attorney. Earlier I bought Dot a new printer, as the wi-fi is so erratic on the one we have. After consulting David, we now have two printers, both connected by wire to their respective computers. That should sort it out. There are times when advancing technology is just not worth the bother.

Yesterday I returned to 12 The Close, where I had tried unsuccessfully to pick up some library lecture tickets the day before. It turned out that I should have been picking them up from the Cathedral Estates Office, and not Friends of the Cathedral, as I had assumed. Well, which would you have guessed if you just had the address? Tuesday Group in the evening featured a rejuvenated C, who had experienced a big improvement after we prayed for her the previous week. Today I have had a high number of phone calls, all from real people and relevant to life as we know it. Exhilarating.