Tag Archives: house

Lighting in the loft

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Spring flowers in the Rosary, pictured on iPhone during my walk yesterday

Rainy and miserable today, with Dot off into North-East Norfolk for a meeting with a friend. Yesterday Allan H was round all day, mostly in the loft, installing lighting so that Dot can spend even longer up there than she does now. Unsurprisingly, it proved a longer job than expected, but it seems to have worked. While clearing up afterwards, Dot produced a suitcase of old paperwork which proved to be mainly her letters to me before we married, plus some rather bad short stories and poems I wrote in the same era, and a few photographs. Also my mother’s handbag and some letters she’d written to me. No doubt I will be leafing through it all some time in the near future.

While this was going on I walked up to the Rosary on the way to the supermarket (trying to get some exercise) and became rather melancholy for no apparent reason. Envisaged David and Oliver coming to see my grave and Amy asking Dot: “Why did Grandad die?” I do tend to be a bit morbid nowadays. Snapped out of it fairly quickly on reaching the supermarket, which was overrun by half-term families. Dearth of rice, for some reason, but managed to get some for Tuesday Group meal, which featured Matt on curry. Dot had to run the gauntlet of football traffic to fetch him, but I devised a cunning route for her that worked a treat. Didn’t work quite so well when I took him home afterwards, but you can’t have everything. Even Norwich City managed to thrown away a win, and Spurs went one worse by losing 3-1 to Blackpool. Meanwhile in New Zealand a huge earthquake devastated Christchurch: Louise Robinson came round in the afternoon (when I was out, annoyingly) to reassure us that her parents were not involved, but in fact Anne had texted us in the night with just that message. Christchurch is part of their itinerary, but at the moment they are in Auckland. Very thoughtful of Louise to realise we might be worried.

Last Saturday was probably my most energetic day  for years. We spent most of it painting a couple of walls in the living room – a process that also included going to the shop for extra paint; touching up two coats all round the room where the skirting heating had been; glossing the skirting board; moving three bookcases to different levels; hoovering the entire house; and, mysteriously, sorting out my tools drawer and stumbling across 28 screwdrivers. Quite enough for one day, you might think. But in the evening we had the Greenacres round for a meal: Sheila is a teacher I’ve worked with a number of times over the years and her husband David, who we’d never met, is an ex-police officer.  Dot and Sheila had never met either. As Dot had done most of the painting, I cooked the main meal and purchased most of the starter from the supermarket. Something must have gone right, because we had a really good time.

Other things going right: I managed to draw a difficult chess game against Yarmouth on Monday. I played a German dentist who had no local grade but seemed pretty strong to me. Was pleased to hold a tricky bishop-and-pawns ending. Sadly, our captain lost a won game and we are now probably heading for the dreaded drop. Felt for him, as he is very keen and an excellent captain, as well as being a nice bloke. And on Sunday at close to 11am we were staring at a congregation of about five for Communion, but we ended up with around 20. Don’t know why that happens. Scarily, David Coomes is threatening to come to our service on April 10 when they are visiting and I’m leading.

29 May 2007

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Just my kind of path. An especially lovely section of a walk just outside Halesworth in Suffolk: almost like a way into another dimension. Taken on a beautifully warm day in April. Now, as we approach June, we have had rain almost non-stop since Sunday morning, and a particularly cold kind of rain too. Waiting in the Bally Art Factory for visitors to show up has become a bleak affair. On Bank Holiday Monday, when we might have expected a few small crowds, there were 20 all day: considering there were four InPrint members there, this was an unhealthy percentage. Not to be put off, we did a poetry reading, recorded by Rupert’s camcorder and played back on a laptop afterwards.

Saturday, when Lisa and Annette did a poetry print workshop, was bit more healthy, and so was Sunday. On the Saturday, when I was patrolling outside the workshop, I managed to sell four cards with my poetry on and a couple of books, which was a bit embarrassing as it looked as I had been pushing my own stuff. I am psychologically incapable of doing this, but still… It’s very nice to hear strangers say they like your poetry, though.

R is stepping down from being secretary of InPrint because of pressure of work, so I am taking over temporarily until it’s discussed at the June 10 meeting. I foresee a rather intense discussion as I know that different people have different ambitions concerning the group.

Dot has been working hard on school reports and has just about finished two of the three. This afternoon we took a break and went to look at a house in Thorpe End. Lots of pluses: intriguing nooks and crannies and unexpected rooms; large garden; excellent kitchen; good location. But I was put off by the proximity to a busy road and the evidence of eastern religion: grotesque statues and artefacts. Then there was the enormous dog… I guess if someone came round and gave us £400,000 for this house tomorrow, I would put in an offer, but this is unlikely.

2 May 2007

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A typical Norfolk loke, this one is not far from Felmingham, on the troad to Antingham. There is a possibility that it’s the famous Bunny’s Loke, down which I cycled with Dot many years ago and which features in my story Realm, about a missing girl. However, Dot is not at all sure about this: she wasn’t with me when I took the picture.

It was a chilly day, and I was assessing a trainee in Cromer who has now completed her NVQ portfolio. My visit on Monday this week – quite a different sort of day, sunny and quite warm, but with a brisk NE wind – was my last, and I “celebrated” by finding a part of the town I didn’t know existed. Intending to have a game of putting, I discovered it was shut, so I continued up the cliff path and found a beautiful walk up to the lighthouse and the golf course. Masses of bluebells, and great views across the stormy sea and back to the town, where the church tower dwarfed everything else. I returned back through some woods. Very refreshing.

Dot was spending a day at Salhouse school delivering Philosophy for Children with Barbara – returned quite tired and went to sleep while I played in the John Swan rapidplay tournament at my chess club. I scored 3/5 and was equal fourth out of 14. Lost my first game, then won two and drew two.

Yesterday a guy came round from the estate agent’s to value the house – not that we necessarily want to move, but just to see what it’s worth in case we do. Discovered that our next door neighbour is trying to sell. The B & B market has taken a big hit with new Travelodges in Norwich. We haven’t got a value yet, but will no doubt hear from him in due course. She was given £275,000 but doesn’t believe it. Nor do I.

Last weekend was busy. On the Friday night we had two couples round for a meal – excellent time, but got to bed very late. Then on Saturday we went to South-East London to visit the Hendersons, who we had only seen briefly for a couple of years. In the evening we were their guests at a choral concert (Stravinsky and Haydn) at Blackheath Halls, which I enjoyed a lot and got a poem out of! The school chair of governors and his wife came back for coffee. He was tall, and she wasn’t.

We had a relaxing Sunday, just talking and (briefly) walking, catching up on news. The journey back through the Blackwall Tunnel was surprisingly easy, despite the ludicrous speed cameras and equally ludicrous speed limits. I can’t see any excuse for a prolonged 40mph limit on a three-lane dual carriageway with no pedestrian access. What actually happened was that I tried hard to keep to the limit, because I knew about the cameras, whereas the locals who knew where the cameras where came hurtling up behind me, overtaking on both sides, and then braking sharply for the cameras. I was the hazard, getting in everyone’s way because I was sticking to the limit.

The unrealistic limits actually lead to people driving faster where they can get away with it. A sensible 50 or even 60 would command a lot more respect and compliance, and would certainly be safer. I really don’t know why people can’t see that. Is it just dogma?

Today is pleasant – sunny and warm. We are in the middle of a spell of very nice weather which I suppose I should be making the most of instead of writing a blog. So later Dot and I will go into the city and have lunch, probably at Cafe Italia.