Tag Archives: Nicholas

Turner, but not Burma

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Poppies at the Tower of London: you can almost see them flowing out of the window.
Poppies at the Tower of London: you can almost see them flowing out of the window.

Quiet week last week, or maybe my memory’s gone. I see to recall attending a private view at the Theatre Royal for Martin Laurance and a couple of other artists (ML impressive as always), but the only person there I knew apart from Martin was Hilary Mellon. Dot was working hard at home: she has quite a lot on at the moment.

We were due to spend the weekend with the Coomes in London, but David was taken ill on the Thursday night with a bad bout of nocturnal epilepsy, which left him in a lot of pain. So instead we arranged to go down on the train for Saturday only and meet Kristine at Liverpool Street. The train was full and we eventually found ourselves sitting next to a very pleasant and interesting couple: the husband was an aerial photographer, and we learnt some intriguing things about CGI and created landscapes. He also showed us some pictures he’d taken from a helicopter of the 800,000 poppies at the Tower of London.

After meeting Kristine we took a tube to Victoria and eventually found a pub-restaurant she’d booked called The Phoenix, which was terrific, and took us although we were 15 minutes late. The food was first-class. We all had sea bass, and Dot and I shared some chips. Afterwards we tubed to Pimlico and walked to the Tate, arriving just before our allotted time of 3pm.

Not sure why galleries have to be so hot. After reaching the second room (of six) I had to go to the loo and take all my clothes off, but I did put my shirt back on again. Extensive show of late Turner paintings, and as I love Turner I could have stayed all day – but it was tiring, and we eventually repaired to the shop and then the cafe.

Kristine stayed on the tube while we changed for London Bridge, where we found it hard to find the river and ended up in the back streets of Bermondsey surrounded by massive construction works. But after inquiring of a construction guy we eventually hit the river by HMS Belfast, where we had a very expensive glass of wine (over £15 for two) on the upper deck of the cafe (not the ship). Still, no doubt we were paying for the view, which was superb.

Afterwards we proceeded to Tower Bridge and walked over it to the Tower of London and its poppies, which even in the dark of early evening were more than impressive. From there we intended to take the tube from Tower Hill to Liverpool Street, but the tube station  was closed, and a notice informed us it was a short walk – which, compared to the West Highland Way, it certainly is. I am used to walking between Liverpool Street and London Bridge, but wasn’t at all sure of myself here, and we had to ask a couple of people, both of whom were extremely helpful.

London seems to be covered by construction work at the moment. However, we made it in time for the 8.30pm train, which again was packed, and we dozed most of the way home.

Our unexpected availability on the Sunday meant we could not only go to church, but also re-insert an abandoned meal with the Greens and Barbara Vidion at our house, during which the visiting trio majored on Burma, where the Greens had just been, and which Barbara was due to travel to. Nothing that was said would have enticed me to visit Burma, but this is no doubt a deficiency on my part.

However, the feeling is shared by Julia Higbee, as was revealed when we visited her and Allan for lunch yesterday at Newton Flotman. Dot drove; so I was able to indulge more than usual, and we had a lovely meal and conversation. Autumn is drawing on, but the weather is good at the moment: crisp and mainly dry, with plenty of sun.

I should mention that on Monday I obtained £300 in dollars as a gift for Nicholas from St Augustine’s congregation. Dot and I delivered it to him in the afternoon, and he was effusively grateful. He is already looking American. While on the theme of travel, Dot and I have just committed to a week in the South of France with Fred and Sue next May, travelling from Luton airport. Fred is making all the arrangements; so I am quietly confident.

Oxnead event fulfils hope

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Oliver at the wheel of a fast-moving Ferrari.
Oliver at the wheel of a fast-moving Ferrari.

After months of planning, the big Paston event at Oxnead Hall slotted neatly into place on Friday. The weather was fine – often sunny – dry and warm, and the 80 or so invited guests were able to explore the extensive gardens without recourse to umbrellas or wellington boots. They were welcome by Rob, sitting by the car park, checking them off his list – one of his few moments of relaxation.

Interestingly, the Eagles arrived very early, largely because they had the time wrong. But many others drove in before the official start time, including some distinguished Paston experts like Jean Agnew. So much like Jean Agnew, in fact, that it was Jean Agnew – author of A Whirlpool of Misadventures, a collection of Robert Paston’s letters.

We arrived at 10am, helped with the setting up and did a full rehearsal at 11am, which went pretty well, under the watchful eye of Dot. Among our friends who attended: the Hendersons; the Archers; Jessie, Roger and Jude; Claire Carrington; the Kibbles; the O’dells; Lucy Edwards; Karen Smyth and Liz McDonald from UEA; and of course the Eagles. Not the band.

We had forgotten to bring a packed lunch; so at about 1pm we nipped into North Walsham to get some sandwiches from Waitrose – and used the opportunity to purchase a bouquet for Penny (we had already got four other bouquets for Lucy, Oxnead owner Beverley Aspinall, Ann and Ruth at Rob’s request).

The performance itself went smoothly, and I felt reasonably confident in my 17C costume (a sentence I never thought I would write). Dot and I combined well on our song, and we got some good responses afterwards. We also got some amazing PHS food – a veritable high tea which included a chocolate and rum cake made by Dot. Rob gave a brief speech and I trotted on with the bouquets, including our surprise one for wardrobe mistress and set designer Penny. Lucy came with Naomi for the last half-hour or so: she was quite ill and should have been in Papworth, but it was good that she was able to put in an appearance, what with her being the PHS founder, and the event being (among other things) a celebration of its 21st birthday.

After chatting to as many people as we could, we spent quite a long time clearing up, which included chair removal, washing up and transferring a great deal of stuff into waiting cars. Felt pretty much exhausted at the end.

The next day Colin gave our hedge a good cutting, and the garden looks much more attractive. Dot couldn’t resist a great deal of tidying up in his wake (not that he left it in a mess: he’s very thorough), and I’ve cut back the foliage around the kitchen window. Dot has also bought some new plants, mainly for the front garden.

On Sunday Nicholas made one of his last appearances at St Augustine’s. He’s just received the go-ahead for his visa, and should be leaving in early November. Afterwards we called on Elvira at her invitation for a cup of tea, but largely so that she could show us her new flat. Later still we had a meal at Prezzos with Neville and Mary Thrower (Neville is a former CNS contemporary, and Mary is in the orchestra with Dot). Very enjoyable, but I’m a little worried, because all three of them were getting over bad colds, which naturally makes you feel you’re catching them.

Meanwhile the scaffolding in our back garden awaits the arrival of the builder to work on the roof. Dot is out all day at various schools, and Barbara is due to visit after that for a P4C consultation. In other news, I have put together the bones of a book on Iona featuring poems and pictures, and Oliver has driven a Ferrari at 100mph, apparently earning praise from his tutor. It was a birthday present from his mother (I think). What a star! As long as he doesn’t get too much of a taste for fast cars…

Beginning of the end of an era

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The sea encroaching at Salthouse
The sea encroaching at Salthouse

Significant week in the history of St Augustine’s.  We had our annual meeting on Tuesday – excellent food from Karen & Co as usual – and a good talk from visitor Keith Elliott, representing Inclusive Church, which the parish is thinking of joining. Then Nicholas dropped his bombshell – he and his family are leaving, and going to Aspen, Colorado, some time in the summer.

Actually, we already knew this, but most of the people present didn’t, and there was a bit of a stunned silence, followed by a few nice things being said. Obviously things will be difficult in the interregnum, but I think it’s the right move for him.

Mr Elliott was staying the night with us. I’d already walked him up to the Cathedral in the afternoon, and he was a considerate guest. We also felt we were on his wavelength. The next morning Nicholas came round to have a chat with him, and after a walk on his own Keith joined us for a cold lunch, during which the man came to service the burglar alarm. Not great timing, but he was very pleasant, and things went smoothly.

In the afternoon Rob and Caroline came round for a Chronicle read-through and discussion. I have a bit of reorganisation to do on the Oxnead script, as well as some design work on the forthcoming book. Time marches on: I’m a bit worried that it won’t get done in time, but I expect it will.

On Thursday evening we went to Claire’s for dinner after a day of wondering whether she’d remembered or not: she ignored an e-mail and didn’t answer her phone, but in fact all was well and we had an excellent meal.

All week a Toys R Us trolley had been languishing on the pavement outside, and we’d been a bit worried it might end up being pushed into our car, or someone else’s. Eventually I worked up the energy to push it through the city and back to its base. It was heavy and had a bit of a mind of its own (especially downhill), but I took it up Prince of Wales Road, Queen Street, St Andrew’s and down Westwick Street and left it outside the shop. On the way back I spoke to a Big Issue seller who had been a trolley boy in Hamilton, outside Glasgow, and used to fetch back trolleys that customers had taken home. That’s what we need here.  He was against independence but wasn’t allowed to vote because he didn’t live in Scotland.

In the evening Linda cancelled our hair appointment again, and we are rescheduled for next Wednesday. Tonight we were due to have Fred and Sue to stay before the CNS reunion event tomorrow, but they have cancelled too for family reasons, though they’re hoping to come down tomorrow morning. This morning Maryta and Paul called in for coffee while looking at two more houses, their original vendor having created problems. They have the kind of schedule  that makes our hectic ones seem positively sedentary.

False alarm involving grandfather

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My father's father: rumours quashed

I have amended my previous posts, in which I suggested that my paternal grandfather may have been married before he married my grandmother. It now seems this was a false alarm generated by the site which I use to research my family tree: I sent off for the marriage certificate and was told that while my grandfather did get married at that time, it was not to the woman in question. In which case, I guess, it was probably to my grandmother. I will be having a closer look at what went wrong and will report back! Excitement over.

The weekend went quiet yesterday after a joint service at St Luke’s to mark Nicholas’ ten years as our vicar. Dot and I played in the joint music group, which went well after a jittery start, and I did the prayers. Nice occasion.

Rain threat and hidden printer

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threeplusadrian
Old family picture shown to Sam, featuring (left to right) myself, Sam's father, Andrew and our cousin Adrian. Taken at Dovercourt, I believe.

Annoying day yesterday. It looked very much as if it was going to rain, so I kept putting off going for my usual walk. Then it didn’t rain, but it kept looking as if it were going to. The people of Norwich should thank me for not going for a walk, because if I had, it would certainly have rained. Annoying element of day part two: my printer went missing. Not literally. It’s still upstairs, attached to my wife’s computer, but now my computer can’t find it. It’s looking for it, it keeps assuring me. It just can’t find it. It has the right name, and when I don’t want to use it, it tells me it’s ready, but when I try and print something, it just looks for the printer. So everything I want printed has to be e-mailed to Dot first, which is tiresome. Checked on Google for solutions, but they were either incomprehensible or didn’t work. One was so silly even I knew it wouldn’t work, and it didn’t.

Still, by way of compensation, I did get a few things done. Nicholas came round in the morning to talk to Dot about organisation of the John Bell visit while I had a look at the draft of his book (in which I figure among the thanks). After that we discussed changing the liturgy as the first stage in a consultative process which may or may not turn out to be interesting. Later, in the evening, nephew Sam came round and we had a catch-up chat. Also showed him some photos of Wales and some old family pictures, which I’m sure he found rather more compelling. Lucy had been out all day with her mother at Norjam, which is not a new local preserve for spreading on toast but a gathering of Guides, and she didn’t get back in time, so I took Sam home around 11pm.

Oh, and I updated my website, partially rejigging it at the same time.

On Monday we went to Hempnall for lunch at Sue and Roger’s. Lovely house and lovely meal. Made the mistake of rearranging carpet cleaning man for 4pm and had to leave earlier than we would have done. Got back just in time, largely because there were no vehicles on the road between Hempnall and Stoke Holy Cross – a rare phenomenon – and I was able to eat up the miles in the MX5. Nice to drive that for a change.

Tuesday started with a trip to the surgery to get my blood tested. Waiting room packed, which meant of course that when the first name was called, no-one responded. Why does this always happen? Got in 20 minutes late and blood was removed. Now the wait to see if it’s behaving itself. As I had predicted, I was a bit late returning to get my hair cut by Linda, but no-one seemed to mind. In the evening the Tuesday Group was down to five, and knowing that our resident vegetarian was going to be absent, I cooked chili con carne, which I have to say tasted pretty good.

Today is bright, and I shall be going out shortly to see if I can get my eyes tested (get it?). Dot has already been to Park Farm, and she is following this up by shopping at Morrisons in preparation for our friend Jennie’s arrival this afternoon. She will complete the morning with a visit to the dentist, which sounds like fun. I have just rung the hospital in Coventry to confirm that Andrew is Ok to go out for a meal tomorrow, and it seems he is doing well.

Jazz and fruit

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Oliver, Amy, dinosaurs
Oliver about to lose his head in the Dinosaur Park while Amy looks on, slightly concerned

A bit cooler the last two days, with some quite heavy rain yesterday. Dull today, with a slight threat of rain, but nothing has materialised yet. I went into the city this morning to get some euros, having found 100 of them in my reserve currency position. Also bought a new battery for my Panasonic camera: oddly the Panasonic shop didn’t have one (despite knowing they were out and ordering one only for a previous customer), but the Norwich Camera Exchange did. A shop to be recommended. After purchasing the euros went to St Margaret’s again, this time for an art exhibition in which my cousin’s son Lewis (“Kitsune”) featured. Imaginative paintings of a surreal nature which were as good as almost anything else there.

This afternoon checked over my Italy file, revealing that our flight on Thursday is at 10.35am. Also discovered that our return airport, Florence, is also very small, which is encouraging. I don’t mind small airports, though I’d prefer it if they weren’t Italian. Being in Italy, though, I suppose the odds were that it would be Italian. Everything seems in order, and I will be checking in online early on Wednesday.

Yesterday Nicholas was leading Communion and remarked on the poor state of the hall, which is true enough. Someone has spilt an awful lot of wax on the carpet and made it worse by trying to clear it up using the wrong materials. The stool was badly marked, the altar table that Dot and I bought has been extensively scratched, and the loo seat has needed replacing for three weeks. Apparently it has been hard to find the right fittings. Rather depressing. When Rosemary was in charge, such things would have been dealt with so effectively that we wouldn’t have known they’d happened. Nicholas is a bit worried because the Bishop is visiting next Sunday, and by coincidence, most of the key members of the congregation are going to be away. Ho hum. No, it really is a coincidence. People are so busy.

In the evening Dot and I went to an Ambient Wonder event held upstairs because the downstairs was booked by someone else, who didn’t turn up. Good session, though, with mint julep by Anna. Jazz and the fruits of the Spirit. You have to think about that quite a lot. Former music group member Elspeth made a brief appearance before deciding it wasn’t for her. Cast of about 12, with two Germans. Friends of the Archers.