Another busy few days – particularly the last two. Yesterday Dot and I went down to Caddington together – but in separate cars – to celebrate Oliver’s ninth birthday (which is in fact tomorrow, but hey, let’s not quibble). We arrived in time to eat our packed lunch before going to school with David to pick up Amy. We then brought her back, and Dot and I returned an hour later to pick up the birthday boy. Surprise for both children!
David cooked lamb for the evening meal, and Dot contributed a blackberry and apple crumble from fruit foraged in their garden. Oliver opened our presents, which mainly related to his Hornby train set, and David swiftly inserted the new items (he also bought some track). Made the layout much better, I thought. Oliver and Amy both in good form: first time we’d seen them since Canada.
I then drove home, leaving Dot to stay overnight and enjoy another day there, joined by the Coomes. I had to be in Norfolk to take Lucy’s role in the Blofield Paston Heritage Day, which consisted of giving talks relating to the Paston book and the family history. I had spent quite a lot of time in the last few days researching the Pastons’ Blofield period, with some success. I was thus able to speak with rather more authority than would have been the case a week ago. It still wasn’t a huge amount of authority, but it was good enough, especially as most of the talks centred on the handmade book, which is now three years old.
Lucy did come for a short while, but she was too ill to take any effective part. Caroline and Rob contributed to the central talk (ie the 2nd of 3) by reading poems, and Diane from Oxburgh also read hers. They seemed to go quite well. Naomi and her boyfriend were also there helping for a while, as was Simeon, who is moving into a house two streets away from us. Jonathan was also there, as were his parents. I also met a classmate from the CNS – David Pilch. They crop up everywhere. Nice bloke. The Blofield people generally did a superb job, and loads of people came. I was especially impressed by the teddy bear balloon rides, although these occur very rarely in the Paston Letters.
Skipping back a week to last Saturday, we were at Wymondham, enjoying a barbecue in the sun with the parents of Matt Creber, our former lodger, who is now in Palestine. He was also at the barbecue with his American girlfriend Laurie, who I spent quite a lot of time talking to. She’s a sweetie. Dot and I also talked a lot with Wayne, an astro-physicist who teaches RE and has ideas a lot in common with Dot’s philosophy for children. We gave him a lift home to Thorpe where, coincidentally, I have just discovered that the Pastons had a home in the 16th century (Thorpe Hall). Wayne lives in Bishop’s Close, however, which is another coincidence: Thorpe Hall was more recently owned by the Bishop of Norwich.
Matt’s parents were lovely, as was his sister. None of these ordered two large items for the church amplifier when they meant to order one, but Matt did, which meant I had to pick it up from the church hall, repackage it and send it off. It cost over £13 to send, so it might have been better value for money to flog it on eBay. Or something. While picking it up I also checked a broken window in the hall, which was not as bad as it sounds (double glazing), brushed some cobwebs off the guttering and windows, and swept loads of stones off the hall surround. No, I’m not the churchwarden: Matt is. He’s in Palestine. I may have mentioned that.
That same evening (Thursday) Dot and I went to the Cathedral Hostry to hear a talk on the language of the King James Bible given by Gordon Campbell. This may not sound exciting, but it was brilliant: he’s a really witty speaker and knowledgeable too. Picked up a lot of information, most of which I’ve already forgotten. I wish I had a better memory, but then if I did, who knows what I’d remember…
This was the second evening in a row we’d been to a lecture, which must constitute some kind of record. The previous night we were at Paston Church to hear Richard Hoggett, the Norfolk coastal heritage officer, launch the Paston Reading the Past in our Landscape project. He as also a good speaker, and much of what he had to say was really interesting, though I have to say pre-history is not a great love of mine. He was able to point us to a lot of interesting online material which will relate to the Pastons. There will be a number of events over the next six months.
On Tuesday Dot spent a very wet day (or part of it) at Beeston Hall School, near Sheringham, with Barbara for a P4C session. She came home very positive and bubbly about it. In the evening we had a smallish Tuesday Group. Smallish, but beautifully formed.