Tag Archives: easter

Bewilderwood comes up trumps again

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Led by Amy, the children cross the rope bridge from the centre of the maze

Well into a wintry April, and this is being unexpectedly written on a new iMac, which I bought from the Apple store in Chapelfield, with a little help from David and Phil Coomes, on Good Friday. The idea is that I can now upgrade to iCloud, but this hasn’t happened yet, despite David taking some considerable time on his last day here pushing files across. We still have to do something about iWeb, which will no longer be supported. However, I have to say the computer itself is a delight. Looks good, feels good, so it must be good. And only £999. Plus Applecare, of course. I am seeing if I can manage without Word and Excel, but if not, I can get it from Amazon, the Apple guy pointed out helpfully.

This came at the end of a week with David, Oliver and Amy, who arrived on the Monday – a week too late for the warm weather. But despite a day of continuous rain on the Wednesday, we still had a good time, including a Maundy Thursday visit to Bewilderwood, which continues to delight. We were accompanied as last year by the Coomes family, with all four children getting on really well together. They stayed at the Premier Inn on Duke Street – not the ideal spot, but apparently a lot cheaper then the Nelson – and came to us for all their meals except breakfast.

Oliver was not too well after the first day or two, but manfully kept going, though David had a touch of whatever it was, and so did Dot and I. As I write, she is still coughing: she hasn’t been able to sleep well, and this lunchtime she had quite a frightening coughing fit provoked by eating something that irritated her throat. She didn’t come to church yesterday, but recovered sufficiently to get to the traditional Red Lion lunch with Phil and his family, including both sons, their wives, and the German contingent. Had quite a long chat with Joe (Wizemann), and the meal was good, though too large as always. Very pleasant time.

As a result of Dot’s illness, and the fact that I wasn’t feeling good myself, I rang Ian Fosten and excused myself from what was apparently an oversubscribed Seagull gig. Watched too much TV instead. But the morning service was enjoyable: I led it as usual, and John Easton preached and did Communion. Quite a good number in the congregation too.

Before the children left on Friday afternoon we had a game of football on Mousehold that either ended in a 4-4 draw, 3-1 to us or 6-5 to them, depending on who you asked. David had a procedure at hospital on the Saturday, but seems to be recovering well. Nothing to with the football.

Flood of puns from broken cistern

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A squirrel performs acrobatics to reach our peanuts

Pretty quiet Easter, really – partly because Dot was recovering from some kind of respiratory tract problem (cold, or allergy) and was less energetic than usual. I had intended to go to the Maundy Thursday service at St Luke’s but in the end, typically, didn’t. The weather was very warm until today, when a cold wind brought the temperature down, but not low enough to be unpleasant. On Good Friday, after food shopping, we took some flowers up to the Rosary and then some more to the cemetery at North Walsham. Following that we called in at Jessie’s for a cup of tea, and I managed to break something in her cistern, giving rise to a flood of puns on Facebook.

On Saturday David drove up and met Dot at Ethel’s while I cooked roast beef, which we enjoyed later on, followed by Dr Who, which continues to be remarkable. Sunday was a very busy day: I led the Communion service, which attracted a mammoth nine people, including me, the preacher (John Easton) and the music group (Dot and Phil). Felt good, though. Dot and I were slightly late for the traditional family meal at the Red Lion in Eaton, but not enough to make any difference. Always good food there, and nice to see the German side of the family (Birgit, Joe, Ilona, Elfrida). Afterwards David drove off home to Caddington – the children had been in Ireland with Vicky, and it was nice to see David on his own for a change – and Dot and I had a brief break at home before heading for the Seagull Theatre, Lowestoft, for another evening of poetry and song. Ian Fosten was on good form.

Today I spent some time in the garden, cutting down some stuff that was spreading far too quickly, and in the process removing some rose branches that Dot had apparently been trying to train over on to the trellis. Ho, hum. On the whole, a satisfactory hour or two, especially as I managed to resurrect the church’s Easter candle (see what I did there?). The wick had been unlightable, but I managed to cut the wax back and restore it to a healthy state. Sometimes my practicality amazes me.

While this was going on, Norwich City – who despite my pessimism had beaten Ipswich 5-1 last week – also came back from the dead to beat Derby 3-2 with a goal in the 95th minute, triggering incredible scenes at Carrow Road and in our garden, where Dot was listening to the radio and talking to Anne, who spent a couple of hours with us while Philip was at the match.

Have finished another couple of books: Orchid Blue, by Eoin McNamee, which is about the dubious conviction of a young man for murder in Northern Ireland – poetically and beautifully written, but suffering from the disadvantage that it was a true story and thus deprived of any satisfying twist in the tail; and The Song Before it is Sung, by Justin Cartwright, which is also based on true history but manages to introduce enough fictional content to give it the necessary uncertainty – again, beautifully written and containing some fascinating ideas about different reactions to the horrors that life sometimes throws at us (in this case, Hitler). Conjured up place and period in stunning fashion.

Home-grown hunt compulsory

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Oliver's party in celebration of Norwich City

As it turned out, Dot got home comfortably before David and the children arrived on Thursday, and we had a really enjoyable weekend, despite some less-than-perfect weather. Most of it was cold and almost as much was wet too. During a particularly fierce hailstorm on Saturday, water came into the living room via a hole behind one of the wall lights. Nothing very excessive: something similar happened many, many years ago and put itself right without any building work being required. But I’ll keep an eye on it.

On Good Friday we had the compulsory Easter egg hunt in the garden after considering and rejecting a couple of professional events elsewhere. The children insisted that the home-grown variety was what was required, and amazingly we collected as many eggs as we hid. Several times. Amy had a tendency to tell everyone where the eggs were, but this didn’t detract from the fun. The weather failed to dry out, so we played games indoors in the afternoon, and I introduced Oliver to table curling (don’t ask) and Tri-Tactics. He took to both, despite the latter being quite complex. At bedtime he was allowed by his Dad to watch the first 20 minutes of the Norwich game on his iPhone, but City failed to respond and went down 3-1 to lowly Tranmere, thanks to some memorably bizarre refereeing decisions. This rather put the damper on things following a triumphalist party he and Amy had organised earlier in the day to mark the team’s achievements this season. He is probably Norwich City’s biggest supporter in Caddington, if not Bedfordshire.

On Saturday we visited A Ethel for a short while and then went to the Castle Museum. Highlight there was a guy in the keep giving a brilliant talk on weaponry over the years, featuring longbows and the different types of arrow. I learnt a lot (including the revelation that the army that turned up at Agincourt would have beaten the one at Waterloo easily, because the arrows had so much greater range: get that into a song, Abba). Oliver was fascinated, but Amy was keen to keep moving. Some split supervision resulted. Eventually David and I visited John Lewis to look at scanners: an unnecessary excursion, as David later mended my current scanner. He then disappeared in search of other items and I went to pick up Dot’s shoes, which I had taken for repair on Thursday.

Yesterday I was leading the Easter service at church, and Oliver came with me to help set the room up. Dot and Amy arrived later, and there was a reasonably large congregation of 18, including four children. Phil was there; so I was able to concentrate on leading instead of playing guitar as well. Both children were brilliant: Amy played quietly throughout, and Oliver paid close attention. He was invited by John Easton (presiding at Communion) to pour water in the cup, and did so very professionally! After the service we proceed to the Red Lion at Eaton for what has become a traditional meal organised by Birgit. Twelve attended: apart from us there was Birgit and Joe, Phil and Joy, Birgit’s mother, her brother Joe and his wife Ilona. Lasted well over two hours and required some running games outside during the latter stages. Excellent food.

David and the children left around 7pm: Oliver and Amy are heading to Scarborough today with their mother. Dot and I, after some clearing up – mainly by Dot – watched the Bahrain Grand Prix and Match of the Day. This morning the rain relented and Dot and I went to North Walsham to see Jessie and insert flowers into the cemetery. Had some over so visited the Rosary and pout some on Mum and Dad’s grave too.

A goldfinch in Jessie's garden

During Dot’s inspection at Hickling she met my old friend Lily, who now plays piano for the school. During our visit to Jessie today we saw several goldfinches, which I had never met before.

15 April 2009

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Photograph of Stella and Dot at Cringleford by the River Yare, during a tour of the city (by car). Stella stayed with us overnight and has just rung to say she got home safely. Very pleasant interlude: we had lunch at Prezzo’s. The previous two days were also fun, with David and the grandchildren joining us on Easter Sunday for a family meal at the Red Lion in Eaton. Also present: Phil, Joy, Joe, Birgit and Birgit’s brother Joe, his wife Ilona and Birgit’s mother. It was a long meal, so I took first Amy and then both children for a walk down to the river. Really enjoyed that. They’re lovely to be with.

Dot and I had just been to church, where I led the Easter Communion, with John Easton presiding. The next day David and I took Oliver to watch Norwich play Watford, and Norwich won well, 2-0. Meanwhile Amy went with Dot to Wroxham Barns and had a great time on various rides, showing lots of confidence.

I went to the doctor’s on Tuesday morning, because I’ve been feeling very tired, and all is not well in the usual area. All sorts of odd pains, queasy stomach, headaches. Just don’t feel I’m getting any better. Doctor not particularly confidence-inspiring. Water sent off for testing again, and a blood test fixed for ten days in the future. Some sort of urgency lacking, I feel. I wonder if falling over would get someone’s attention.

Anyway, the taps are now beautifully fixed and the chairs beautifully covered. The oven’s bust, though. Always something… Last Wednesday the Paston evening at the Grapevine went really well. Stephanie showed up unexpectedly, and we gave her a lift home. I read a couple of poems, Lucy and Annette spoke, and there was some medieval singing. Only two problems: no media interest, and very, very few sales. Still pretty confused about what Lucy wants me to do with the Paston Guidebook. She also asked me to do a poetry walk on May bank holiday weekend. It would give me £200, but I really don’t feel like it at the moment. Not sure how far I could walk, for one thing. Lisa may well do one.

On Maundy Thursday we had tea at Morston Hall by way of research for the Murrays’ visit in May. Very pleasant, but we were the only ones there, apart from a couple of flies. We also tracked down a yacht charter company at Morston and have booked three hours’ sailing. Lovely warm weather in North Norfolk. David texted to say it was pouring with rain at Twyford.

On Good Friday an excellent and very moving Ambient Wonder event at St Luke’s attracted about 50, including about ten children. I did the opening and closing liturgy, if it can be called that. Some short responses might be more accurate.

Have struck up a relationship with Ellie, who lives nearly opposite. She’s two. Very sweet.

25 March 2008

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Grandchildren Oliver and Amy gang up on Dot outside our house over the Easter weekend, which was very cold indeed. Snow came and went, there was high wind and it was generally unpleasant. Nevertheless, it was full of pleasant things.

On Maundy Thursday Dot and I went to a meal at St Luke’s which was combined with a kind of meditation event afterwards. About 50 present, and food by Suzanne and Ali – therefore excellent. No-one was allowed to help themselves, so those who had perfected the art of looking hungry, or were sitting next to a generous and perceptive person, did best.

On Good Friday our family came to visit for an extended weekend. In the evening Julia and Barbara, a couple of friends, came round to share a meal with us, and on the Saturday I was involved with the Paston Medieval Fair and Open Day in St Margaret’s Church, sharing responsibility for a poetry and print workshop with Annette Rolston on behalf of InPrint. Had to get there by 9am. As I passed through Walcott, the sea was very, very rough and spraying the road. Chaos at the church as cars and vans unloaded in a situation that was totally unsuited – pretty medieval in fact. Added to the mix were mud and a gale-force, bitter wind.

Despite the conditions, visitors numbered over 500 – possibly 800, someone said. Annette and I were constantly busy, mainly with children wh0 wanted to print themselves a bookmark or letter/poem. Rupert turned up at the outset and helped us set up; Caroline and Lisa, with her family, came at the end. Mid-afternoon Dot turned up with the rest of our family – extremely brave of them – and Oliver and Amy printed some pictures – or at least Oliver did, and Amy chose some shapes to go on a bookmark, which Annette printed for her later. While all this was going on strange medieval events were taking place inside and outside the church – dancing and rabbit-skinning, to name but two. One particularly brave medieval group pitched camp in the graveyard.

Packing up took for ever, with a bit of hassle from the locals, who wanted their groundsheet back and their table in the vestry. But in the end I got back to Norwich before the others, who had been visiting Jessie in North Walsham.

No rest on Easter Sunday, when I organised our church service. Went quite well, but overran badly, which made us a little late for the second major event of the day – a family meal at the Red Lion in Eaton (a few yards from where my mother was born, as it happens). As well as the six of us there were Phil and Joy, Birgit and Joe, and Birgit’s brother Joe and his wife Ilona, together with her mother – these last three on holiday from Germany.

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.