Tag Archives: tanka

Losing track of time

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Dot, Sue and Fred on the beach near Beeston
Dot, Sue and Fred on the beach near Beeston

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.

Farewell to Philomena

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philomenaThe talk at Halesworth went all right, despite my rather sketchy knowledge of tanka. It was sunny but much, much colder then the previous day. I drove through Bridge Street but failed to locate the driveway where I was supposed to park; so I left the car in the pay-and-display and walked down. After finding it, I returned for the car. Made some  money on it, too. Paid 70p for parking but found £1 in the return slot.

The tension persisted while I had a cup of tea in the adjacent cafe and established that the talk was to be in the library. In the library the group, some nine strong, were given an exercise which was supposed to last about 15 minutes, but as they all had to read out what they’d written and everyone else had to comment on each effort, it actually lasted nearer 45 minutes. Ah, well. I did speak eventually and they seemed to be happy. The organiser, Tom Corbett, bought me a sandwich afterwards, I had a chat with some of the group, and the drive home was very relaxing.

I had quite a good night’s sleep after that, but the next day I had a chess game, playing for the A team against Norfolk and Norwich in the semi-final of the Williamson Cup. They were desperate, as I believe I mentioned. I walked there (they play at Thorpe House school) and played pretty well, considering I hadn’t had a competitive match for months. Then I did a pretty close impression of Norwich v Stoke:  I won a piece and should have finished off the game easily, but simplified when I shouldn’t have and eventually drew when all the pawns came off.

This was made worse by (a) the fact that my opponent was graded considerably below me and (b) the unfortunate detail that if I had won we’d have made the final. Still, the team captain managed to throw away a much more obvious win and lose; so I can’t really feel too bad about it. Afterwards I had to find a side gate and climb down a bank to get out of the school grounds (the gates only opened for cars), and then predictably had another bad night. I only have the stamina for half a game of chess nowadays.

The next day was better. I delivered Phil’s presents and birthday card and then went up to the chemist to get a prescription for Dot. On my return the plumber came and put a new ballcock in the tank in the loft, and on this basis (and a word from the vicar) I recommended him to Paul and Maryta for work they want doing on their potential new house on Ipswich Road.

That night (Wednesday) I slept badly again, waking with severe pains in my stomach. Looking back, this may have been caused by mouldy bread. I noticed today that the loaf I had used for supper on Wednesday was going off in a big way. Anyway, I had recovered enough not to put off Roger and Sue Eagle, who were scheduled to come for lunch on Thursday, did, and stayed till  about 5pm. Dot made soup, bread, a dessert and a rhubarb crumble, and we had a really nice time. We’re hoping they will join us for a week in Scotland later in the year.

Had quite a reasonable night last night and noticed this morning that I’ve lost a quarter of a stone. My blood test came back clear, but I’m still not feeling 100 per cent. Have written a few Lent poems.

Today was Philomena’s funeral. She has lived next-door-but-one to us for some 30 years, but I discovered much more from the funeral homily in the RC Cathedral than I ever knew about her. Her maiden name is O’Driscoll, for instance, which is much more fun than Humphry. Very nice service. I walked there, and Dot arrived by car after an early lunch with Carrie at the Reading Rooms. Also present: Mary from next door; Diane, who used to live next door; and her predecessors, whose name escapes me. They now have a big B&B on Lower Clarence Road. He used to drive round the city in a horse and cart, but he now has a mobility scooter.  There must be a song in that. Or maybe not.

David has been in Canada all this week and returns tonight. We haven’t been to the cinema this week yet. May not make it now.

Chess men found in pub

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The start of a great photographic career: Phil
The start of a great photographic career: Phil Coomes with father David, early 1970s

Beautiful sunny winter’s day today, but not so much fun in the Thames Valley, where they have “the worst floods in a decade”. It may be because I’m getting old, but a decade doesn’t seem very long to me. Still, the flood are very bad (I’ve seen the pictures), and we’re fortunate to have avoided so much of the stormy weather. The United states is bitterly cold, with creeping ice (I’ve seen the video).

Dot is up at the surgery with the nurse, looking at the results of her blood test, and is intending to walk home. I’m standing by to pick her up in case of sudden rain or sudden tiredness. My own car us in the garage, having at last had its air conditioning fixed (I hope). This morning, after dropping it off, I walked to the chemist’s in Heartsease to pick my pills up – a distance of well over four miles. While at Heartsease waiting for the bus home I ran into Diane Bowman and Philip Mason, which just goes to show.

Yesterday we had a meeting of the Paston trustees at Mundesley. I chaired it in the absence of Rob, and there was lengthy discussion on the accounts, with Lucy and Peter failing to find common ground until I realised that the critical issue was not VAT, but Lucy’s failure to count one of the invoices, which she had received by e-mail but not been able to open (and therefore ignored).

The rest was straightforward, but afterwards Lucy told me that John Care had just died, and Naomi was in a mental hospital in London, having had a kind of nervous breakdown. She (Lucy) also has a chest infection. Life is never straightforward for her.

The previous day, while Dot was at Park Farm, I walked to the Ruchcutters for a meeting with Joy, publisher Adrian and printer Nick Gorvin about the tanka book. Very pleasant time, quite a bit of which was spent talking about chess, since three of us coincidentally were chess players. Had a Caesar salad and chips (!), then walked home after dallying for a while by the river with Joy. In the evening Dot had a particularly good orchestra session.

On Tuesday, before pea soup with the Tuesday Group, Rob called in to discuss the agenda for the Paston meeting and stayed for tea and biscuits.

Sunday and Monday were rather strange for me, because Dot had a P4C session at Stowmarket starting early on the Monday; so she stayed at Barbara’s overnight. As usual, I had loads of time to get things done and failed to do so. I did go out for a walk on the Monday, though. The P4C was as always very well received. Dot is a bit of a star, really.

Fine tuning and football

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Dot at the Bella Vista, Cromer
Dot at the Bella Vista, Cromer

Norwich City eventually lost 7-0, but we don’t need to dwell on that. After all, Manchester City put five past a Champions League team a few days later.  Just hope we do a bit better against West Ham on Saturday – Dot and I have tickets.

The weather has been a bit mixed, and we’ve reached that stage in the autumn when the ground never seems to get dry. The last two days have been wet and lethargic, but today looks brighter. I hope to go and see Geoff this afternoon, but at the moment I’m waiting for the piano tuner and his football commentary. Dot is on her way to a school at Bradwell after Mary next door came round for a few signatures. She is applying for a new job. Ex-head teachers rank way above ex-journalists and poets on the respectability scale.

Rather disappointingly, I failed to register in the winners’ list at the Seagull poetry competition, but Rob Knee was joint first (and had another commended). He and Penny were at the NRO yesterday for a talk by Anthony Smith on how Fastolf got on in 1450 (I paraphrase).  A dense but interesting 50 minutes, especially after they got the microphone working. I wrote a piece for my website based on it.

Penny’s mother has just died, and I was able to commiserate. This meant, however, that I missed chatting with Judy, who was also there.

Because of the damp weather I drove to the NRO, thus failing at the second fence in my bid to walk to all of the talks. The tanka book is now finished, and I have only to establish some sort of meaningful dialogue with the publisher. However, Joy is in a bad state again. We need to get it published for her.

Still in the middle of “discussions” with UEA over the PHS intern who claims to have done over 80 hours’ work but has produced very little. Mistakes on all sides, I think. He should have been much more closely monitored.

Dropped in at the Forum on Monday to look at a display of Holocaust poetry that featured a translation by Kristine – oddly, from English into German. Adjacent to the small exhibition was a circular table, around which a number of earnest middle-aged academic-looking people were holding a discussion group. Each had a pot of tea. I wrote a poem about it called The Holocaust Discussion Group.

In the evening we had a meal at Prezzo with Angela and Rodney, followed by coffee at home. The meal was courtesy of Auntie Ethel, whose house is now cleared out and all-but forgotten. She herself seems physically well and enjoying the home.

I have now booked the hotel for Florida and the seating for all the flights. But I haven’t managed to persuade Coventry City Council to tell me how much they’re paying towards Andrew’s accommodation. It will be nice when that’s sorted.

On Tuesday we had nine for our regular Group, and we celebrated November 5th with sparklers in the garden afterwards. The piano tuner seems to be getting on well.

Spring about to disintegrate

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Edingthorpe Church from the lychgate

Almost springlike today, with blue skies and a distinct rise in the temperature. Sadly, it is all forecast to disintegrate tomorrow, with rain sweeping in. It was lovely yesterday too, when I drove out to Paston in response to a call from Lucy. Afterwards I called at Edingthorpe Church, which is a beautiful spot, then walked a bit down the Weavers’ Way, from the point where the Yarmouth Road meets the North Walsham bypass. Yes, I’m keeping up my walking routine, but not losing any weight. My blood pressure just better be down…

Of course forgetting to take my pills yesterday, and then losing at chess, didn’t help. I played pretty badly against Chris Tuffin until I lost a piece, then pretty well, but it was too late. Unfortunately, he followed the same pattern but didn’t lose the piece.

Still writing tanka with Joy, though I’m a bit late with the final one in the current series. Must get down to it. On Sunday I read five poems at the Seagull, which seemed to go down well. Hope to do some songs next time, if Phil can fit it into his now busy schedule.

On Saturday we visited North Walsham, refurbishing the flowers at the cemetery and dropping off a cardigan to Sheila (she had lent it to Ethel at the funeral). We then spent most of the afternoon with Jessie, listening to Norwich lose 4-0 to Manchester Utd. The tea and cake made it worthwhile. Called in at Waitrose afterwards, and Dot got a refund on some flour – together with more flour. What nice people.