It’s turned very cold again, with a sharp wind, but the snow that fell briefly last night has gone. I drove Phil home while it was falling: he’d called to print something out, and we had a long conversation about various problems, especially his roof. In the end I arranged for him to meet Vicky tomorrow: coincidentally, she’s in charge, for Orbit, of work going on next door to him.
It’s been raining most of today, but I’m glad to say that on Sunday and Monday it was dry, because on those days I was showing Mary Paulson-Ellis, a writer from Edinburgh, round some Paston sites in North-East Norfolk and in Norwich. She was accompanied by a colleague, Nic, from UEA, with whom she’s working on a Paston project for the 26 writing group. It’s all Norfolk-based and connected with the fact that Norwich is England’s first Unesco Creative City of Literature.
On the Sunday I rushed to Paston from church lunch to meet Mary and Nic at Lucy’s house, Lucy being still in Benjamin Court at Cromer, recovering from her broken shoulder and bruised foot. Mary was brought by her brother, and Nic had his wife and young son with him. Jonathan was very hospitable and good with the young lad, taking him up on the roof and out into the garden while Mary, Nic and I looked at various Paston-related books (eg Fenn first and second editions and our own handmade book).
Afterwards we went on to Paston Church and then Bromholm Abbey, where Nic and his family made for home while I took Mary to meet Lucy at Cromer. On the way home from Cromer (in the pitch dark) I showed Mary Oxnead Hall and the church, but we decided not to get out of the car!
On Monday I met them at St Andrew’s Hall, and we went in and looked at the roof and the Paston coat of arms in the doors, thence taking in the usual Paston sites: Peter Hungate, Elm Hill, Cathedral and King Street, before going via the Julian Shrine to the Museum, where we viewed the Paston Treasure before having tea and cake. I walked them down past the Guildhall bef0re leaving them. Quite a stimulating time. They want me to do an MA in Creative Writing. I don’t know why.
Continuing the Paston theme, I met Sarah Power at Dragon Hall on Tuesday, drawing up a rough plan of what we would do there on May 31. I now have to get a couple of paragraphs of publicity to her before Feb 22. It’s all go. No Tuesday Group last night, though: several call-offs, which was just as well because of the snow.
Having the usual problem with getting our brown bin emptied: alleged to be “not out” again, but of course it was. I have now been promised a site visit, whatever that is. It still hasn’t been emptied. Have just seen that a new prime number has been discovered, containing 17 million digits. It is so big that even Norwich City Council bin emptiers would be able to see it.