The railway carriage in which Edith Cavell’s body was brought back to England, together with the unknown soldier.
At last our MX5 arrived back this morning, and it seems in good nick, though we haven’t driven it anywhere yet. We got a call from the garage just after 8am, and after trying to persuade them to deliver it this afternoon, we settled for as early as possible – around 10am. It eventually arrived at 10.30am, by which time Dot had left for the Archant coffee morning. After signing a few documents and paying some money I followed her up and arrived around 10.50am, to find Maryta and Paul, and Tricia and Brian already there, with the Limmers following soon after. A very large gathering altogether, and we booked for the Christmas lunch in the canteen.
The Hendersons came back for tea/coffee, and on the way home I picked up our new cordless vacuum cleaner from Doddle in the station (a drop-off shop). I am developing a cold-type thing, which is getting irritating – sparked off by dust from the garage clear-out, I think. Got tired out walking home yesterday and had to lie down. Slept for over an hour.
We had been to Jamie’s to meet Audrey and Bent for lunch, which was excellent: steak frites and a blackberry and apply pavlova. Afterwards we said goodbye to Audrey and Bent (who are buying a caravan at Beeston Regis) outside Jarrolds, paid in some cheques, visited the Forum for an architecture exhibition in which Roger’s redesign of Jessie’s bathroom features, popped in to a mini-display about Edith Cavell in a railway carriage parked outside, bought some birthday cards in Jarrolds and walked home.
Not much happened earlier in the week except for the garage clear-out, which was pretty tiring and is not yet finished. I have had some interest on freecycle for old tapes and German books, but nothing definite yet. Still, we’ve thrown away a lot of paper and have plans for disposing of more stuff. But the weather today and yesterday has not been inspiring, with much drizzle and gloom.
I preached on Sunday morning and got good reviews, and on Saturday Dot watched Norwich lose 2-1 to Leicester, thanks to more bad refereeing. The England rugby team also knocked themselves out of the world cup in a predictable kind of way.
Lots of rain last week, but the weekend turned nice, which was just as well, because we were fitting a lot in.
The Stedmans were coming to stay for a couple of nights so that Michael could officiate at a wedding at Bergh Apton. Dot had arranged for the Robinsons to join us for roast chicken on the Friday evening, but this was thrown out slightly when Mick rang to say Gill was extremely tired and was missing the wedding rehearsal. So the meal was for five instead of six, but nonetheless enjoyable.
Mick stayed the night and left after breakfast on Saturday to fetch Gill. We discovered at the last minute that they were not coming back for lunch but going straight to the wedding; so we were able to go down to Caddington earlier than planned to give Oliver his birthday presents. We got there shortly after 12 (diverted because of Duxford Air Show) and had lunch with the family plus Philip and Jane and their children. Lydia is now 14 and Alistair 10. When we arrived (and before the Coomes’ arrival) Oliver impressed us by doing some pretty thorough house cleaning. Not bad for a 13-year-old.
The children spent much of the time on computer games, but during the afternoon we all went over to the nearby field and had a good time playing first football and then basketball on the hard court there. I surprised myself by doing quite well and scoring a few goals: no doubt the pitch was just small enough for me to cope. Not so good at basketball, though I eventually managed to get one in the basket (after the game had finished).
We stayed for an evening meal but had to leave straight afterwards. The journey home was easy, and we arrived, strangely, at exactly the same time as the Stedmans; so they didn’t have to use their borrowed key. It was lovely to be able to fit in the Caddington trip.
We didn’t see an awful lot of Gill, because we all had a fairly early night. After breakfast yesterday Dot and I left for church about 10.15 (I was leading the service), leaving the Stedmans to lock up the house and leave not long afterwards. They are both (I think) over 80 and need to take their time over things: Gill was very worried about packing for a forthcoming cruise.
After church and an inspiring sermon from Howard, Dot decided to invite Phyllis Seaman to lunch, and she was able to accept. This went very well; she seemed quite perky. This was our weekend for entertaining people in their 80s, but afterwards we were entertained ourselves by the Hendersons: we had tea, wine and cake while listening to Norwich draw 1-1 at Anfield. I say listening: the radio was on. As a result, the Hendersons are coming to Ethel’s funeral. I’m not sure why.
Late in the day on the footbridge over the railway near Thorpe marshes.
On Thursday Dot and I drove out to Hempton, near Fakenham, where Caroline Gilfillan was launching her new book, Poet in Boots, at the Bell. This was, I thought, a pleasant country pub, but Dot was not too impressed. I was able to have a beer and go to the loo without any trouble: what more could one want?
The launch consisted of a few poems read by Caroline and some songs from her friends, one or two of which were very good. All round it was a very good evening, though we only really knew Caroline.
The next day was Oliver’s birthday, and we sent him messages, hoping that he got his card. We will be taking his presents at the end of this week. At the end of the day it was warm and sunny; so we went for a walk on Thorpe marshes, which was marred only by flying insects, one of which bit Dot on her eye, which gave her a bit of trouble for a couple of days. Otherwise it was an idyllic evening, with a couple of herons and calm water, and a grebe in the distance.
On Saturday we went to the Hendersons’ for an evening meal after getting rid of stuff from the garage. We expected it to be just the four of us, but their neighbours from Lime Tree Road were there as well. Nice food, pleasant company. Sunday was rainy. After church, where we played the music in the absence of Phil, I did some church sitting for the Heritage Day while Dot went home to practise her violin, her time being cut short a bit by her neglecting to take the door key. As I had started the day by forgetting the church hall key, this rounded things off nicely. (All because we were using the courtesy car.) The church hall water leak problem is ongoing, but now there is a lighting problem. The vicar has apparently decided to leave everything practical in Howard’s hands, which is all very nice, but Howard has a job, a wife, two daughters and a grandchild.
After church Dot and I went to see Jessie, which was lovely as always.
Monday saw us heading for Wimbledon in rainy weather that turned quite chilly later. We stopped for refreshments at the Services on the M11, because I was feeling pretty tired, but then continued without incident across the Dartford bridge (which reminds me, I have to pay for the crossing – pause – done) and along the southern section of the M25 before following the satnav directions in towards Raynes Park, where we parked in Waitrose’s car park next to the station.
I was driving Dot down because of anticipated difficulty in finding the place, and was then due to get the train back while she met up with Barbara. This actually happened, but we had loads of time to spare; so we went into Starbuck’s for a snack and then wandered round a bit in the rain. Eventually I got an earlier train than intended and then a tube from Waterloo to Stratford, which turned out to be a bleaker station than I expected. So I persuaded a ticket lady to let me out and use the toilets in the Westfield centre, and then let me back in again. I then walked up and down the platform – it was getting pretty chilly – until the train arrived. I had a specified seat in first class, which turned out to be not available, but there were loads of others and I got a better one (single, with table).
Today was much better after a rainy start, and I went into the city to pay in some cheques, including one for me (from the PHS) that I’d found in my jacket pocket. Ran into some people looking for Dragon Hall in the wrong place, and then spoke to Ed Read, who told me he and Jenny were going to try and adopt. Made myself hot lunch with leftover toad in the hole and – to be honest – rather wasted the afternoon, listening to YouTube songs and eventually getting round to finishing this, just as I see Dot is about to arrive.
June is continuing along its dull and generally unpleasant path as far as the weather is concerned. Today is very grey, and there are occasional spots of rain. Dot is having lunch at Biddy’s with her friends Sue and Helen, and I will shortly be transporting Phil and Joy to the opticians. I have a bit of trouble with my ears and called in at the surgery this morning to see about an appointment with a nurse. It was suggested that I ring up for an on-the-day appointment or go to a walk-in centre. I thought maybe there was something wrong with my hearing…
James Finley came to St Luke’s for a return visit on Friday and Saturday, and this went well even without Nicholas. I was assisting with various day-to-day things, and I also managed to get Agape to record it, and the Christian Resource Centre to come with their bookstall; so that was good. Cathy from Agape bought six of my Iona books, and someone else bought one too, which was an unexpected bonus.
Dot was not there on the Saturday because she was rehearsing for a Sillars concert at Salthouse in the evening. But before that Colin came round to fix the garage door again, and he also fixed the gate and provided a new coping stone. I went to the concert, of course, as did Anne and Philip and Maryta and Paul. Sounded pretty good to me, but of course my hearing is deficient at the moment. Dot took a guest clarinettist, Tammy, in her car.
On the Sunday I was leading the service again, as Eleanor had a double booking. Dot decided this was one of our 2 days (in our 5-2 diet), but this proved difficult to maintain in view of the stuff we were doing, which included a little bit in the garden.
Yesterday we dodged the showers and went up and had a giant teacake each at Jarrolds. I paid in the church cheques and Dot went on to do a bit of shopping and cooking while I made some real headway on the talk I’m giving on the EDP to my CNS colleagues next month. I now have a 30-slide PowerPoint presentation in place and just need to get the final version of the speech sorted out.
Amy has just spent a week on the Isle of Wight with her school, which seemed to go very well. Oliver is having trouble with his dental brace and with his skin (impetigo?), but apparently he now has help with both of these and is feeling happier.
My shoulders are much better, despite (or possibly because of) strenuous exercise in Scarborough. Still, I think I will go to see Sharon on Wednesday and see what she says.
Pre-Scarborough, we enjoyed a compline and cake evening at Howard and Anna’s with Vicky, Judy and the Archers, which was as convivial as regular readers (Dot and I ) would expect. This was followed by something almost as exciting – the Archant pensioners’ coffee morning, though the only editorial presence apart from myself were Robin and Shelagh. We had quite a long chat with Hazel, Alan’s widow.
Dot and I took the train to Scarborough, and the journey up there was very pleasant, with plenty of room in the trains and everything on time. The Evetts met us at the station at about 2.15pm, and after refreshments we walked into town from their flat by the high-level route, which we hadn’t done before, and after a snack in M&S (and purchase of wine and biscuits) got the No.7 bus back– our only casualty being a seagull bomb attack on Julia’s jacket.
The next day was pleasantly warm, and we walked in to town by way of the beach, stopping en route for tea/coffee at the Palm Court cafe and buying hats to protect us from the sun. After lunch at the Cafe Columbus it was suggested (I cannot say by whom) that we talk a ride on the speedboat advertised opposite. Julia demurred, but the rest of us went for it and found ourselves on the faster of the two vessels – the Rocket. It was an exciting ride round into North Bay and back: only ten minutes but pretty exhilarating, with plenty of up and down as well as side to side. Happily, we did not get wet.
Afterwards, we walked round the harbour and had an ice cream before walking back up into the town (quite a climb) to catch the bus home. Quite along wait for the bus on this occasion.
Friday dawned much duller and with a spot of rain to start with. However, that was not repeated and by the time we had driven to Cedar Barn, near Thornton le Dale, the sun was shining so much that our outdoor snack with Janet and John (not the famous literary drop, but friends of Julia and Dave) was eaten under considerable heat. Dot and I had a Sally Lunn (an agreeable kind of Yorkshire teacake).
After leaving J & J we travelled to Sutton Bank (just under 1000ft), where we took in the “finest view in England” (James Herriott) before undertaking quite a strenuous walk to the Kilburn White Horse. This landed us too close to said horse to see it clearly; so after returning to the visitors’ centre for refreshment we drove to Kilburn itself for a fine view of it, thence returning to Scarborough past Byland Abbey and through Ampleforth.
We returned to Norwich on Saturday, a windy but quite pleasant day. This journey was more trying as the trains were pretty full. On the first stretch to York we sat next to two young couples who disposed of two bottles of wine in 45 minutes; on the next stretch (after our own modest refreshment at Costa) our neighbours were sharing what appeared to be champagne and looking extremely guilty. On the final stretch we were adjacent to a woman who had left her “vital” valuables in a hotel safe and was making arrangements over the phone to retrieve them.
In the evening we had arranged to go to a performance by Adrian and Bridget Plass at the Central Baptist Church. We went with Judy and met the Archers there. The new vicar-elect was also present, with some St Luke’s members, and we were introduced to him. Janet and Graham of Montauroux fame were also there. Had the opportunity to chat with Adrian and Bridget and bought the new book. It was an excellent evening, extremely funny at times but also moving.
It was a rare Sunday, as I was neither leading nor preaching, and I managed to avoid falling asleep (we were still both very tired after the journey and Dot had proclaimed a “2” day – we are on a 5-2 diet. In the evening however we were invited in impromptu manner to the Hendersons’ for a drink and both had a glass of wine there. But I had only one crisp.
Today is very pleasant. We discovered an attempted break-in yesterday that had damaged the garage door at the back; so it was fortunate indeed that builder Colin was due to come today to look at a few jobs that needed doing. He arrived while I was in the bath; so I had to get out to speak to him. I then got back into the bath while Dot went to a meeting at Thorpe High School, and Colin came back again to remove the door handle for comparison purposes. So I had to get out of the bath again. What fun.
The best news of the week happened before we went to Scarborough. Dot visited the doctor to get the results of a blood test and was told she did not have diabetes, and the relevant readings were all down. A weight off our minds.
An exceptionally busy week goes by, and the busyness continues. This afternoon I head for Mundesley for a Paston trustees’ meeting, and tomorrow I drive to Coventry to visit Andrew. Fortunately my health continues to improve. But back to the past…
Tuesday last week saw another Archant coffee morning, this one with the addition of Maryta, plus Brian Caldecott and Tricia. Clearly an EDP subs’ takeover is in the offing. Good to see Brian, who looked well although he isn’t (he has rheumatoid arthritis).
Saw Maryta again the next day, when the Hendersons took us on a North Norfolk trip, starting with a longish dog walk at Felbrigg Hall, where we saw frogs mating and enjoyed a light lunch, continuing at Beacon Hill (Roman Camp), where they lost the dog – sadly not permanently; it returned to Dot and me while they were off down the ravine looking for it – and on to Blakeney, where we had a shorter walk and then an excellent afternoon tea at the Blakeney Hotel, overlooking the marshes. Discovered to our surprise that the Hendersons had not been to Blakeney before: that’s what comes of living south of Norwich. Weather fine, with a chilly wind.
On Thursday Dot had a violin lesson with a friend from the orchestra and completely lost track of time, so that I had to ring her and remind her to come home and see Sam, Lucy and Elliott, who had dropped in during a short visit to Norwich. Elliott very smiley and crawly; Sam less so.
On Friday we were off to the north coast again, this time to visit Fred and Sue at Beeston Regis. We visited Cookie’s at Malthouse and the called at the Cley Wildlife centre, which has been much improved, despite being pretty good to start with. Our neighbours the Norfolk Wildlife Trust can’t be short of money. From the centre the marshes looked much more open; most of the trees had disappeared following the tidal surge.
On the way back to Beeston we stopped at Sheringham, where I had a delicious gooseberry ice cream and we watched a girl called Karen lovingly construct a message in stone on the beach to her boyfriend Len (we’re making several assumptions here). Back at Beeston we took a stroll along the beach, where I managed to lose the eyepiece to my binoculars. Again, a lovely dry day, but with a chilly wind in the evening. It even rained on our way home, but that was probably very localised.
On Saturday Dot spent most of the day (if not all of it) preparing for the visit of Chronicle and spouses (Rob, Penny, James, Ann) for an evening meal. This was supposed to include a discussion about the progress were were making on the next Chronicle project, but we had such an interesting discussion on other matters (some theological) that we never got to that. I will raise it today when I see Rob for lunch.
Yesterday I preached a bit, and Eleanor led a Holy Communion in her lovely understated way. Vicky came, as did Ruth and Steve, so we had four children in the congregation. We have discovered that the new vicar is gay, or if not exactly gay, unnecessarily happy. In the afternoon Richard came round with the delightful Maddy and Darcy, and we had an Easter egg hunt followed by other excitement and a certain amount of food. Norwich scored a last-minute goal to beat Bolton, which meant Dot was pretty happy too.
A series of tanka I wrote for Lent has been accepted for inclusion in the spring edition of the Atlas Poetica, published in America. Surprised and delighted.
Amy, Oliver, Paul, David and Dot at Caistor St Edmund, hunting for fragments of pottery
Unusual follow-up to one of Dot’s meetings, in that it led to the exposure of someone putting in false expenses – who claimed to be there, but wasn’t. Despite his prolonged and protested innocence, it was eventually proved that he was lying in his teeth. As a result he was “embarrassed”. Can’t say who it was, or where the meeting.
On Tuesday last week we had a compline and hot cross bun at Judy’s in the company of the Archers. A nice evening, except that the cool temperature (18C) led to my suffering a bit of a relapse. In fact I’m still not right, and nor is Dot. We both have a bit of a cough, have few reserves of strength and (in my case) tend to shiver and (in Dot’s) get too hot. Still, we have managed to carry on, because mostly it’s not too bad. Very irritating, though, as it affects our sleeping too.
Despite that we had a great time with the grandchildren and with David. We picked Oliver and Amy up at lunchtime on Wednesday and got the bonus of a very nice potato and leak soup from David. Good journey home and a rather late night after watching some of The Ark on TV.
The next day we visited Gressenhall. The weather was unexpectedly good – sunny and not too cold – and we were outside most of the time, taking pictures and making videos in the wood, and going for a lovely walk by the river and an exceedingly boring tractor ride. The cafe was pretty good, and there were some interesting old things to be seen, like a schoolroom and a shop. Also saw a horse ploughing in the distance. Drive home was rather convoluted after I avoided going through Dereham (probably unnecessarily). Saw the rest of The Ark. Pretty good.
On Good Friday Dot was helping some people from church with some singing on the Haymarket. After David arrived in late morning, Oliver and I went to meet her, and we all went to the museum to gather material for a project for Amy. Built bridges and arches and played old games.
The Hendersons invited us to walk with them at Caistor St Edmund on Saturday, and we just made it before they gave us up (10.35). Pleasant walk, encompassing the new bridge and field across the Tas. Paul very good at teaching Oliver and Amy Roman things. He has a real gift. Afterwards we had lunch (pizza and salad) at theirs. Later we had a roast meal at home.
On Sunday, despite feeling pretty awful when I got up, I went to church to play music and do the prayers for the Easter Communion. By the time I got there I wasn’t too bad. Adrian arrived and accompanied me on his acoustic bass, and Howard joined in on the piano for the final traditional Easter hymn (Christ the Lord is risen today). Howard took the service, and Eleanor preached. All very lovely; I found myself last to leave, which was not what I had intended at all.
David and the children left in late afternoon after a second shot at Amy’s new game, which involved setting up shops and telling stories and making money. She is quite a girl.
Today I took some flowers up to the Rosary while Dot went to watch Norwich City beat Sheffield Wednesday 2-0 and moved to second in the Championship. I think we’re safe from relegation now.
Half-term week seemed empty, but it filled up fairly rapidly. The first three days saw blue skies, but yesterday it rained in the afternoon and evening, and today it’s just chilly and grey. I’ve just been up to the city to buy some new paper for the printer and was picked up by Dot on her circuitous way back from collecting her pills. Well, that paper is pretty heavy.
On Tuesday we eventually managed to fulfil our promised visit to Mairead and Simon for a cup for tea. The children were with his father; so we had a fairly uninterrupted hour or so, if you don’t count the dog. Simon seemed a lot better, but still awaits news of what they can do about his leg, which gives him a lot of pain. In the afternoon Dot and I went up to the Castle and heard Rob speaking in the person of John Paston III abut the Pastons in Norwich. Nice costume. Penny was there too, and so was David Clegg, the lutanist, who I failed to recognise without his hat.
In the evening we gave a lift to Judy when we visited Claire for Pancakes and Compline. I have a great fondness for pancakes, and it’s sad that we seem to have them only once a year. All present and correct, which was nice.
On Wednesday morning I at last managed to visit Mary Welander at Eckling Grange, which was a strange experience. She is 98 (almost) and has very poor eyesight, but is quite alert. Once I’d explained who I was things went reasonably well; I replaced the battery in her clock and read her post to her. She has nice little bungalowette in the grounds of the main house, and has been there for about 30 years, since her return from Malaysia, where she had been as a nurse for the previous 30 years.
She has connections with Surrey Chapel (as well as being Joy McCall’s niece) and she went out to China as a nurse/missionary in December 1945 on a troop ship to Bombay, followed by a train across India and a light plane into China. She was at a hospital in north-west China, near the Gobi Desert, until she was deported by the Communists. She returned to England, working for a while in 1951 at North Walsham Cottage Hospital (amazingly enough) before someone realised that the nurses who’d been in China (and could speak the language) would be good in Malaysia, where there were a lot of Chinese. So off they went.
I left when her lunch of liver and bacon arrived. It didn’t look very exciting, unlike the first part of her life. Later in the day Dot and I visited Jessie, who is a mere 82 and very lively. Excellent tea and buns. I always enjoy seeing her.
Yesterday evening Paul and Maryta came round for supper of fish pie and carrot soup, though not in that order. Paul seems to be feeling at a bit of a loose end after his retirement, though he says he’s writing a book about being a headmaster. Maryta is doing lots of riding and dog-walking. Both of them are worried about their neighbours’ proposed extension, which does sound a bit intrusive.
Happily, Linda did turn up and we had our hair cut. Pretty exciting. The next day we drove down to Burston to have a very nice lunch with artists Annette and Mike: excellent bread cooked by Mike, among other tasty things. It was a bit of a rush, as we then had to drive into Diss to see their shop – Designermakers21 – before racing back to Brooke, where Dot had to attend a feedback session at the school, earlier than expected at 3pm.
The shop was impressive though a little chilly, and Dot bought a cushion and candle shade. It was even colder outside. We dropped Mike off at his home and then Dot drove up to Brooke, arriving about eight minutes late, but only a minute or two after they’d actually started. However, she was in such a hurry that she left the car with me right outside the school gates, forgetting that I had had wine for lunch. Magically, I managed to park it without committing an offence.
On Friday Dot was out much of the day, but returned in time to greet the Hendersons at about 6.30pm. We had a drink, then supper at Prezzo’s, which we finished just in time, as Maryta walked out in protest at the language from an adjoining stag do. They came back to ours for coffee.
Yesterday I walked Dot to Carrow Road, where she was disappointed to see Norwich City lose to Brentford (1-2) and afraid of being labelled a bad-luck charm. She has certainly not been fortunate in the matches she’s seen this season. She now has to decide whether to continue to have a season ticket next year.
The day was not spoiled, however, as we then travelled to the Banningham Crown for an excellent meal with Roger and Jessie. The pub has been much extended, with new car parking and paths, and the staff are as pleasant and welcoming as ever. The pump where Dot’s mum used to sit and eat crisps in the 1920s while her father was in the pub is now incorporated in extra eating space, where we happened to sit. I had Guinness and steak pie, followed by a superb pavlova, which had a predictable effect when I went to bed, and made for an uncomfortable night. Lovely evening, though.
Today is slightly milder, but not a huge amount. I took the morning service, with Howard preaching, and we had four children present: Beatrice and Benjamin, with their mother Ruth; and Amy and George, with their mother Vicky and her mother Helen, down from Yorkshire. All good. We had thought of going for a walk this afternoon, but in the end it didn’t happen.
Feeling very down and tired, which is not the ideal start to a new year. Slept very little last night, stirred myself just enough to get Dot a cup of tea at 7.20am before she left for a P4C session at Heather Avenue, then lay awake till after 9.30. Eventually had a bath and crawled downstairs about 11.30am. Cannot work up enthusiasm for anything.
We did have a lovely time with David and the children, managing to do something every day. Last Tuesday (the 30th) we visited Jessie, and on the way there I dropped off and delivered a cheque to Rob Knee, having a brief chat with him and Penny before walking the rest of the way. Cold but moderately invigorating, I seem to remember.
On New Year’s Eve we had a pizza and drink at the Hendersons’ at lunch time. In the evening Roger came round for a meal, and the festivities included the mandatory quizzes – including two very hard photo quizzes from the children which took us up to midnight. There was a brief concert from Queen on TV, with their new (very good) lead singer.
On New Year’s Day, after something of a lie-in, we all went to see The Penguins of Madagascar at the cinema, and I only dozed off once or twice. It was actually quite reasonable, and the children enjoyed it.
The next day Birgit and Joe came round in the morning, and after a light lunch we headed for the Maddermarket to see The Borrowers, which was really excellent, making light of the obvious problems in staging. The actors were superb, and it was just the right length. By accident we got five seats behind each other downstairs, and this caused some concern until it became clear that the adjacent seats were not going to be filled, and so David and the children were able to sit together.
On Saturday Richard, Maddy and Darcy came round both before and after lunch at Prezzo’s, and when they departed in late afternoon, David and the children packed and headed home while we did a bit in the house.
On Sunday we woke to a frozen street, and it took me some time to get the car going. Even when it did it insisted on telling us that the tyre pressure was wrong: not sure yet if this was a result of the cold, or if there is indeed a genuine problem. A visual check revealed nothing obvious.
Rather an odd morning at church, or maybe it was just me. Eleanor, who was presiding at Communion, had a bad cough and so Dot distributed the bread while I sang. Phil was away, as were several other people, but we got a few from Carrie’s group there, plus a Latvian couple who wanted to have their baby baptised. When we left, Anna and a helping group were solving a problem with one of the curtains.
I had a quick look for a stopcock, which Stuart has been writing e-mails about, but couldn’t see anything obvious. Back home I tried to get the new Apple TV to work (David kindly bought it for us at Christmas), but after some partial success failed almost completely. On the plus side, we can now watch YouTube and see Flickr on the TV.
