Tag Archives: ovid

Number crunching

Uncategorized, , , , ,
No, I'm over here

As we move into summer (or at least BST), the air gets cooler, but the sunny skies remain. Friday and Saturday last week were quite warm – the sort of weather that tempts you outdoors, and so of course we were indoors most of the time, at an Enneagram workshop at St Luke’s. The ideas behind the enneagram are fascinating (click here), but the practice turned out to be a bit tricky because of the size of the group, which reached the 100 mark. A lot of time was spent on panels featuring the various personality types, and as there were eight out of nine that weren’t you, attention tended to flag. Some sections of the group resorted to setting up a new enneagram, which began 8 = irritating, 9 = boring, 1 = impossible. Of course this referred entirely to the panellists: I know some lovely 8s, 9s and 1s. Where were they? Obviously I can’t reveal my personality type, but it came between 4 and 7. Yes, you’re right: it was 5½. Which doesn’t exist. Ho, hum.

All very mathematical and probably not essential to life as we know it. Last week we had a bit of social interaction, starting at the Castle Museum on Tuesday. Because of a miscalculation, we arrived on time, but the lecture hall was still packed. Fascinating talk on Ovid and his effect on medieval painters, which is a lot more fun than it sounds. For one thing we saw some great pictures; and for another the speaker was a witch. Of course I didn’t know that till afterwards. She certainly spoke entertainingly and triumphed over a stutter that would have defeated a lesser person. An elf, for instance.

On Wednesday we entertained the Higbees, which is always good. They appear to have sold their place in Italy, which is frustrating for Dot, who never got to see it, but probably good for them, though they put a lot into the place and will undoubtedly miss it. On Friday it was the Eagles: as a bit of a challenge, Dot invited them on the evening of the Enneagram event so that she had plenty of time to prepare. Or not, as the case may be. Nevertheless we did a quick shop and it was all very nice. Another entertaining evening, which didn’t end till nearly 1am. Sue and Roger are off to Hong Kong now. We may not go very far, but we have friends who do.

In between these two social whirls Dot and I visited my aunt Josephine, who is still languishing in Cromwell House on Cecil Road, which she admits is very nice, but wants to be elsewhere – preferably at home, looking after herself. She doesn’t react well to being looked after. I ought to know what personality type that is, but I don’t. To be more precise, she would rather be in her own little place in Hethersett, because she admits the house she shared with people who are now dead (her father, Joyce, Frank) might be hard to live in. She is very entertaining and a lovely person, but I think it might be hard to take care of her.

Ethel is in Hethersett of course, and Marion Roberts Court might suit Josephine. One day last week (I don’t remember which) Dot went to see her and dropped me halfway there so that I could get some exercise. I walked 2½ miles and had a cup of tea. It was warm (the weather, that is: the tea was very hot). Ruth is in Hethersett too; so are Joe and Birgit. It’s very popular. I don’t know what number it is. Countries have numbers too, apparently. England is 6.

Titian, Ovid and the Shrew

Uncategorized, , , , , , , ,
Dot and Tim on Stapleford HIll, just above the Hemlock Stone

Our Nottingham visit concluded (as it were) with a visit to the Theatre Royal to see an RSC version of The Taming of the Shrew which turned out to be both unnecessarily coarse and strangely compelling. This is a play that could never be written today, and despite my natural political incorrectness, I found myself recoiling at the treatment of women in it, much more than at the coarseness. Beautifully acted, though, and a good evening.

The next day found us on the road home, with the mist gradually lifting to reveal the promised blue sky. We stopped at Cambridge Services for a quick lunch at Costa Coffee, then again at Elveden to buy some food for the following day, when Audrey and Bent came for lunch. Astonishingly, it was four years since we’d seen them, and so there was much catching up to do. At table all afternoon, and when they left I travelled with them to Martineau Lane for guidance, then walked home. (I didn’t get any guidance.)

On Saturday Dot and I were at Framingham Earl High School for an informal evening concert in aid of a Malawi schools link, organised by Sue Eagle, who did some singing. A variety of differing acts of varying quality – some of them surprisingly good. On Sunday we spent far too much time watching Battleship Galactica, but Norwich had lost 1-0 to Newcastle, so we had to do something to distract ourselves. On the plus side, Jensen Button won the first F1 grand prix of the season.

Yesterday Dot did some DSSO stuff and ended up at North Walsham with some belated mother’s day flowers for the cemetery. I was in Norwich paying in some church money when it occurred to me that I could get a bus out to North Walsham for free, so I did – meeting Dot at Jessie’s for a cup of tea. Quite a quick journey in lovely bright weather.

Today we went up to the Castle Museum to see Diana in action – sorry, that should read Diana & Acteon (ho, ho), a painting by Titian which is being lent to the museum for a couple of weeks. Also an hour-long talk by an expert on Ovid’s influence on medieval painters: impressive. The picture itself was pretty good, though I have to say I think Diana’s head is too small. Perhaps she was famous for having a small head, though you would expect a goddess to sort that kind of thing out. Otherwise, a magnificent piece of work. No doubt Titian, were he alive, would be gratified to hear me say so.