Drought is now in full swing. It’s rained every day recently, often for a long time. Yesterday we had a hailstorm, and it’s pouring outside as I write, thus putting paid to our projected pitch-and-putt with the Robinsons. Helpfully, Anglian Water has sent us a leaflet describing lots of different ways to save water, like spending two minutes less in the shower. I would put this into effect immediately, except that I don’t have showers in the normal run of things. It doesn’t say anything about baths. One question: if water pipes are leaking all over the place, shouldn’t that be helping in terms of the water table? I suspect not, but I don’t know why.
Anyway, Dot has baked a cake. So we can have afternoon tea instead of pitch-and-putt. And I’ve managed to write my sermon for Sunday, though I have no doubt it will be changed before delivery.
Yesterday was my father’s 99th birthday, and today is Jack Earl’s, which means he is one day younger (than my father). And has lived 57 years longer, which doesn’t seem fair. Having a bit of trouble with his daughter at the moment: Rob and I went to St Peter Hungate on Monday to sort out plans for our event there in June; on reporting these to Lucy, it turns out that she wasn’t anticipating an evening event or sharing the proceeds with the church, both of which we’d agreed. So not sure what will happen. I have written a linking script and Rob has designed some publicity.
Dot is considerably better, but still has a bit of a cough. She spent most of the day yesterday at the Cathedral for a church school head teachers’ conference. Meanwhile I went to the John Innes Centre in pouring rain for the Archant annual meeting. Very few people there that I knew: no-one from EDP editorial except the editor, and no editorial pensioners. Spoke to Robyn Bechelet, Kath Silver, Ann Lown, Mike Almond and Doug Bird before I spilled some red wine on myself and made a fairly swift exit, pausing only for a bit more of the delicious buffet, which seems to get better every year.
Johnny Hustler gave an interesting talk (oh, yes he did) about Archant innovations, including a device whereby you could use an iPhone to run a video by pointing it at an ad in a magazine, which seems pretty amazing to me. Whatever next? No, don’t tell me.
On Sunday we went to have a look at Happisburgh, where they have astonishingly built a new car park on the cliff and a ramp down to the beach. They are also in process of demolishing some cliff-edge houses. Dot and I walked down to the beach and back in a bitterly cold wind, then repaired to Jessie’s for a cup of tea, with Roger in attendance.