Tag Archives: theatre

Short hair, broken fan

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Another shot from our Whitlingham walk
Another shot from our Whitlingham walk

Here I am waiting to have a sigmoidoscopy. It doesn’t happen till early this afternoon, but already my stomach is churning (actually it’s being doing it for days). Not sure if it’s foreboding or an actual stomach upset. The operation is minor, of course, but it’s the bit before and after I’m not keen on. I’ll keep you posted if I survive.

Dot is out visiting a school but will be back to accompany me to the hospital, in case I need sedation, which I am much in favour of. I am totally against unnecessary pain, and I’m not all that much in favour of necessary pain.

Happily our heating is back on. The boiler fan broke on Tuesday, leaving us with an electrically powered group meal in the evening. Quite cosy in fact, but the rest of the house was decidedly chilly. The gas man turned up the next day at 10am, at precisely the same time as our hairdresser, who had been rescheduled from Monday. He took some time to work out the problem, but then happily was able to fix it.

Meanwhile Dot was rather nervously having her hair cut short: it looks good. Mine is pretty short too, but it pales into insignificance beside Dot’s. Hair and boiler were both sorted in time for Dot and I to drive to the NRO to hear Anna’s “Paston Treasure” talk, which as very good. Judy was also there and so, surprisingly, was Lucy, rising from her sickbed and driven by Diana.

In the evening, while Dot was at orchestra, I walked up to the Maddermarket and got a ticket to see The Seagull, in which two of my former colleagues at ECN were performing. The theatre was sparsely populated, but the acting was good, though I think the guy who shot himself at the end (spoiler alert) should have done it much earlier. Trevor Burton was excellent, as was David Newham. The older woman/famous actress didn’t help the plot by being clearly more attractive than the young Nina who was supposed to be luring Trevor away from her.

I nearly missed the opportunity of seeing the play because I was unexpectedly asked to play chess for the A team in the evening, but this proved to be a false alarm: one of the regular players recovered from a bad back and beat the Norfolk champion. So that was all good.

Yesterday I called on the parish treasurer, Susannah, who lives in a house overlooking Carey’s Meadow in Thorpe. A totally stunning view. We had a conversation about splitting the parish share, which we agreed should be 70-30. I have no idea whether this is right or not. I suspect not. (Definitely not. – Ed. mf)

Later, while Dot was shopping after lunch with Sue Eagle and friends, I drove to Paston for a meeting of the trustees. A painfully slow process – and that was just getting there. The meeting itself was OK, though I was surprised to hear that Lucy was disputing the bill from the UEA, although  she’d told me she was paying it. I am having nothing more to do with it.

Stories of my life

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Amy and Nana at Jessie's

A breathless week or so, leaving me too busy to keep up to date. David and the grandchildren have been with us since teatime on Tuesday, and David has been very unwell with a heavy cold. Happily the rest of us have been OK, and Oliver and Amy have been exemplary. Yesterday we went shopping in the morning for clothes and did the grand tour in the afternoon, starting at Jessie’s, then moving on to the cemetery, Auntie Sheila’s and Rosie’s. Real pleasure to be with the children, who showed lots of interest in the conversation and were very patient. Amy slightly disappointed that the dogs were not to hand at Rosie’s (they had been bad dogs and were being “punished”) but happy to talk about them and where they slept.

Today the weather is a bit better (mild and dry) and we have been to see Auntie Ethel. Oliver has just taken some photographs for a quiz he’s compiling, and I’ve printed them out for him. We’ve also been to the Puppet Theatre to see Red Riding Hood – very impressive, especially when one of the two puppeteers handled two puppets simultaneously and also did quite different voices with them at considerable speed. And almost as impressive as my running off another quiz for Amy after we returned home, via the Cathedral.

Several noteworthy events since my last post: on Wednesday last week we had lunch with the Kibbles at Prezzo’s, and they came back here for coffee. Dot had to dash off to one of her schools, so I had to keep them entertained with stories of my life. I’m not sure “entertained” is the right word. On the Friday was the Archant pensioners’ Christmas lunch extravaganza, but first we had to locate a unit on the Hellesdon industrial estate to obtain some Gift Aid envelopes. Mission accomplished just in time, Dot dropped me at the airport Holiday Inn for the lunch and social gathering. Johnny Hustler gave quite a good speech, given that I dislike him,  and the food was passable, given that they were catering for about 150. Yompers Bruce and Robin were present, but I sat with Frances and Val, plus organiser Debbie and her sidekick Melissa, or possibly Merissa, who gave me an extra couple of goodie bags to avoid having to return them to the office. Dot picked me up just before 3pm.

The next day we were at the Higbees for a delightful evening meal with their friend Heather, whose husband Graham had been delayed on an oil rig. And Sunday, of course, was the big event of the winter: St Augustine’s Christmas service, communion and lunch. I had written the service and led it – quite a lot of work, but happily everyone appreciated it, and I got a very kind note from Howard afterwards. Nice meal, to which everyone contributed, and Matthew was back from Palestine and still working on the PA system. I put up notices on the hall gates to say they’d be locked on Christmas Day. Now I have to remember to unlock them ready for Boxing Day. One of the notices had vanished when I visited the hall a couple of days later to read the electricity meter. No surprise there.

Have been having quite a lot of trouble over hall bookings – specifically arranging to meet the person who organises it. Happily she has decided the job is too much for her, and a new regime will start in the new year. Result.

Dazzling expertise in brilliant play

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Dave, Julia and Dot exit the Bridge Inn at Acle to continue the last part of our walk.

The Paston week at Dragon Hall came to a very misty end on Sunday. I had to preach at St Luke’s in the morning, and that went very well: I don’t think I’ve ever had so many appreciative comments. I spoke on the parable of the talents and gave a very different view from the normal one – that it was really about the behaviour of very rich people, a talent being worth probably well over £100,000. The final servant came out as being the hero.

I got to Dragon Hall just in time to lead the 1pm walk, which had the biggest number of the four in attendance: we started with seven, but dropped three (mother and two children) at the top of Mountergate while the father continued with us. In contrast to Saturday, I then had a woman who was very knowledgeable about the history of Norwich, but thankfully I avoided any drastic mistakes. We weren’t able to get into St Andrew’s Hall again – and sadly not St Peter Hungate either, because my phone for some reason decided to drop O2 and I couldn’t ring the woman who was supposed to let us in. However, that was the only glitsch, and David helped me restore the phone in the evening.

The next day we had our hair cut early, and I popped over to Dragon Hall to see if I could help with the get-out, but the Berrys and Diana were almost finished by the time I got there.

Julia and Dave arrived at lunchtime, and after some food we went for a riverside walk to look at the new bridge – which sadly wasn’t yet open. However, we walked up to Fye Bridge and then back down the other bank. In the evening we saw How the Other Half Loves by Alan Ayckbourn at the Maddermarket, and it was brilliantly done. The actors were superb and the direction spot-on. Since there were two different things happening on stage constantly, it all had to be timed to perfection, and it was. It’s no exaggeration to say the expertise was dazzling.

Tuesday was Dot’s birthday, and so we spent most of it shopping – at least she and Julia did, after an initial joint swathe through M&S. Then we had a light lunch (scone), and Dave and I departed for the Castle Museum, where we saw (among other things) an excellent exhibition on the family as portrayed in art. Anne joined us for an evening celebration meal at the Last Wine Bar, which was pretty good.

The weather brightened up yesterday for our walk. We started at Acle and walked across the fields to Upton, then back through the marshes and along the river bank to the Bridge Inn, which is apparently owned by Marco Pierre White. We had a very light bar lunch, but the service was impressive. We then walked a bit further along the river and then cut back into Acle and to the car – the car in this case being Dave’s because at the outset my car had failed to start. As I write, I am awaiting the Mazda Europe Assistance man to diagnose and hopefully fix the fault.

In the evening we went to Prezzos, then watched Frozen Planet, during which Julia and I took it in turns to fall asleep. Dave and Julia left after breakfast this morning.

Angels in the roof

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The weathervane designed by J S Cotman on Knapton Church

We’re in the midst of some quite summery weather, with only a slight edge to the wind to suggest that we’re coming into autumn. Yesterday I led a group of four (Rob, Caroline, Kit, Dot Cobley) on the walk from Pigney’s Wood and up the Green Lane (Paston’s Way) into Knapton. Stayed a while at Knapton Church, trying to work out why Knapton was never mentioned by the Pastons – and failing. Lovely angels in the hammerbeam roof. Very little Pastony to see on the walk, but we did have time to discuss our forthcoming book of poetry, which I have proposed we call Another Country, though we probably won’t. We’ve set ourselves a deadline of a fortnight to gather all the material, which is ambitious but essential.

In the evening it was Peter and Joan’s golden wedding at Park Farm. Happily they were both able to get there, despite looking frail. Even Aunt E made it, delivered by her helper Melissa, and it was a pleasant evening. Spent much of it talking to Angela and Vicki, and even ventured a dance with Dot.

Dot did a church school inspection on Thursday at Brisley, and so didn’t get back in time to accompany me to the private view for Martin Laurance’s exhibition at the Theatre Royal. It was the collection of paintings he did on Orford Ness, for which I think he was sponsored by the National Trust. Rather a bleak setting, but he does bleak rather well, especially with his surprising splashes of unusual colour. Really like his work, but resisted the temptation to buy. Pity he’s moving to Kent. Spoke to Hilary Mellon and Rupert, who’s just been diagnosed with diabetes. Elspeth R was there but pretended not to see me again. Don’t know what’s going on there.

While on the subject of the Theatre Royal, we attended a production of Madness of George III on Monday that was absolutely superb. David Haig played him brilliantly and got a standing ovation.  The play itself was compelling, mixing tragedy and humour intelligently.

In other news, I’ve just finished my sermon for tomorrow and have booked to see Adam Cohen at the UEA in November. I have also finished Sam’s novel – prompted by a plea for feedback – and responded. Apparently I was the first of his readers to do so.

 

 

Scarborough and the fatal four

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Grosmont rail station

Loose ends: I did visit Kathleen, and she proved surprisingly perky, chatting for well over an hour. I did deliver part of a poetry and art workshop at Oxburgh Hall on a lovely sunny day, and it went very well – the only problem being that I could not see the screen of Dot’s laptop in the marquee. It was too bright. After some while I gave up and took the laptop into the armoury, where I completed typing the workshoppers’ poems before returning to the marquee to print them out. Dot arrived late morning and joined in, and we had five others, including Paston artist Kit Price-Moss. All produced good poems, plus some lively artwork with the assistance of Annette. All middle-aged women, interestingly. The day before I had helped to set up the Paston exhibition, again in very nice weather.

After Communion on Sunday we had lunch at home and then set off for Scarborough by the direct route. Quite a straightforward journey, except that we were stopped by the police on the A17 as part of a random sample for a little lecture on road safety. This centred, needless to say, on speed, and might have been suitable for a class of teenagers thinking about driving. The lecture was given by a female member of the local safety partnership, and I would have loved to give her a few arguments, but I didn’t want to delay our journey in order to do so, so I satisfied myself by suggesting the “Fatal Four” were lion, elephant, rhinoceros and hippo when she was angling for speed (hah!), seat belts, drink and mobile phones. It did inspire me to write a piece on the dangers of driving slowly, which will soon appear on my website.

We arrived safely at Scarborough around the estimated time – 6pm – and enjoyed an evening meal with Dave and Julia. We then spent three days with them without going anywhere near Scarborough town or beach. The weather was good on the Monday, so we drove to Goathland, home of the TV series Heartbeat, where we parked and walked to Grosmont, just under four miles away along the line of an old railway track. Mostly downhill, with a brisk wind behind, and very pleasant. Had a snack in Grosmont and then caught a North Moors Railway train back. In the evening we went to the Stephen Joseph theatre and saw a remarkable Alan Ayckbourn play based, surprisingly, on a time travel device. It worked very well, although Julia really didn’t like it at half-time. Most enjoyable and very clever, I thought. Communicating Doors starred Liza Goddard and Laura Doddington.

Helmsley Castle
Helmsley Castle

Next day was supposed to be rainy, so we headed for Nunnington Hall. In fact it didn’t rain at all and was less windy and therefore even nicer than the day before. Nevertheless we enjoyed the hall and a brief trip into Helmsley afterwards. In the evening we had a very good meal at Tuscany Too, a restaurant half a mile down the road from the Evetts’ apartment. So good in fact that the richness of the food meant I had trouble sleeping that night.

cliffs
Cliffs near Flamborough Head

On Wednesday we travelled in two cars down to Flamborough Head, so that we could continue on to Norwich afterwards. An impressive spot with a smattering of twitchers, but we walked along the cliffs, which were dramatic: could have stayed much longer. As it was we climbed the lighthouse, then had lunch (fish and chips for Dot and me) and set off for home about 3pm, following Dave and Julia until they turned off for Hornsea and Tracy Savage. We continued into Hull (probably a mistake) but emerged unscathed ono to the A63 and headed for the A1, where we stopped for refreshments at Blyth (nice one) before heading for Peterborough and home along the A47. No real traffic problems, and we got home just before 8pm. This was a longer route, but more relaxing to drive. The A17 and A15 are all right if you don’t mind travelling in a 45mph convoy all the time.

Yesterday I went to the dentist to check that his treatment of my sensitive teeth had worked – and it had, so that didn’t take long. Bought some presents for Oliver and an iPod for his Dad to give him, then ran into Martin Laurance. Dot was taking a head out to lunch, so I spent the rest of the day writing Oliver’s latest Little story – Little and the steps too far. Today I finished it off (with pictures) and am now catching up with various other things, like paying bills, writing e-mails and choosing hymns.

I forgot to mention that last Thursday we went for a meal with Ruth and Steve. Finding their home in Hethersett was a bit of a challenge, despite stopping and phoning them from the end of their drive. Ruth’s directions persuaded me that it wasn’t their house, but eventually Steve came out and guided us in. Very pleasant evening.

7 April 2009

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A photograph of my mother’s sister Vi, who has just turned 93. She is in Cape Town, in what they call Frail Care, with her husband Richard, also pictured. Her daughter Sandy and Sandy’s husband Alex, who live not far away in Table View, are also in the picture.

Have been feeling pretty frail myself the last few days. Practically anything I do leaves me tired out. I’m hoping it’s just an after-effect of the antibiotics and am trying to ignore it. The weather has turned quite springlike, though there’s a chilly wind today. The garden is looking terrific following the attentions of Garden Man Colin and Dot – a formidable team. Two chairs have been delivered to the upholsterers, the carpet has been cleaned and the bathroom taps are halfway fixed. They’ve stopped dripping, but on the minus side, they don’t turn on and off with any great conviction. My Twitter list is developing too.

Sunday was pretty busy, with church lunch and a an Ambient Wonder planning event in the evening. It could have been followed by an exciting DCC meeting on the Monday, but I took the precaution of booking myself a chess game, which I managed to draw. Dot had no such excuse, and claimed the DCC meeting was actually quite interesting. She is busy booking events for the visit of the Murrays in May. We seem to be booked in for tea at The Ritz, and possibly a sailing experience at Blakeney. Meanwhile I’ve got tickets for the Maddermarket for a Terence Rattigan play. For four of us, that cost £40, with the added benefit of it being a picturesque, historic and truly lovely theatre. I also booked Dot and I to see HMS Pinafore at the Theatre Royal later this month, which cost just under £40 for the two of us, after a £20 discount that I had been given for another reason. Something doesn’t add up: perhaps it’s why the Theatre Royal is often half empty, except for guaranteed audience-pullers.

21 November 2008

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Latest picture of Dot’s Aunt Ethel, who we visited on Wednesday, after lunching at Park Farm. She was in good spirits. In the evening we went to see Romeo and Juliet, put on by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Theatre Royal. All very well done – set about half a century ago – but marred somewhat because there were thousands of schoolchildren in, and the ones behind us couldn’t stop talking. I wrote to the manager to complain about it, partly because a couple of couples in our row didn’t come back after the interval, and it is £20 a ticket.

Last night we went with Anne and Philip to St Benedict’s Restaurant for Dot’s birthday meal, which was excellent. I felt I could tackle a steak and mushroom pudding, and it was beautifully done. Philip gave us a lift, which was nice because it was very cold. I have been feeling very tired recently, but paracetamol usually helps, and I felt fine for the evening. Today we went (a little late) to the James Finlay sessions at St Luke’s. He’s a former monk who specialises in Thomas Merton but talks generally about contemplative prayer and allied subjects. Very laid back and (but?) very, very good. I came back home this afternoon because I was tired, but Dot returned after popping into the city and really enjoyed it. One of the reasons I came home was because I want to go this evening, when he’s speaking in the Cathedral. I’ve just taken some paracetamol in anticipation!

Dot and I were supposed to be part of the team gettying stuff ready, but I really wasn’t up to it. Very blustery and cold today, which means several layers are compulsory for the Cathedral. Snow is due tomorrow. Wonder what it’s like in Scarborough…

6 June 2008

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Norwich Cathedral in a sunset sky, taken from our bedroom window and later cropped and straightened! See also Flickr and Cathedral website.

Rather a dismal week, weather-wise, with plenty of rain – especially today, when I went up to the hospital with Dot for my pre-operation assessment. Cyclist nurse Liz very pleasant, with a sense of humour. Everything seems OK, but her warnings of what might follow the operation were a little worrying. I don’t really even want to think about catheters and various other tubes draining things from my body. Still, It’ll all be over by Christmas. Came to the sad conclusion that I will not be able to go to Blakeney for the annual reunion in a couple of weeks’ time.

On Tuesday we had a good gathering for our meal (10, with us), and Dot came up with a scintillating starter involving pears, rocket, watercress, mayonnaise and roquefort cheese sauce. Yes, it was a Delia special. Delicious. On Wednesday, stomach juices on alert again: we went with Jessie to the Rushcutters for lunch, and I had a beef and ale pie that was gorgeous. Yesterday the weather relented a bit and we did a few things that had been waiting for a while: took some rubbish to the tip, some other stuff to a charity shop and booked the MX5 in for an MOT and the Mazda 3 for new tyres at some totally horrendous price approximating to £450. You could get nine tanks of petrol for that.

Parked in the city and had lunch at the Espresso in John Lewis – a favourite place for sandwiches and a cup of tea – or in Dot’s case a large piece of cake and a cup of tea. Then bought me a dressing gown for hospital, a new mobile phone for Dot and picked up tickets from the Theatre Royal box office. These were for an Agatha Christie play in the evening – And Then There Were None, the politically correct new title for Ten Little …. Unusual play in that everyone did it. Theatre sparsely populated: started pouring with rain as we walked home, but we made it without getting soaked.

22 February 2008

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This is Dawn Jones, my cousin Ann’s daughter, and her family. We’ve recently been in contact over family history, and she has access to my tree on Genes Reunited.

We’ve been to see a couple of plays in the last two days. On Wednesday, Dot and I went to the Theatre Royal to see The Deep Blue Sea. Incompetently, I had booked the wrong performance online, but we went up anyway, and there was no trouble at all in not only changing our tickets from 2.30 to 7.30, but getting exactly the same seats. This was because the theatre was two-thirds empty, which was quite surprising.

It was one of those odd productions where everything seemed to be fine – acting, script, direction – but the whole thing never quite gelled. I think it was because the two lead characters who were supposed to be passionate about each other didn’t convince the audience of their passion. Still, it was quite enjoyable.

Last night we went to the Maddermarket with Audrey, a friend who is staying with us. We saw Funny Money – a farce – which was very well done by the amateur cast, including two people I know quite well from the EDP – David Newham and Trevor Burton. I also noticed Trevor’s father, the Rev Jack, in the audience. The script was hilarious and must have been difficult to carry off, with numerous confusing name changes. Of course the Maddermarket is a very attractive theatre, and we were in the front of the gallery, which gives a close view of the stage. So lots of fun.

Yesterday I also had an appointment with Mr Sethia about my ongoing prostate problem. He wanted to carry out another biopsy under general anaesthetic, because my PSA level had increased. But I persuaded him to let me have another blood test first, which is happening on Friday. If the PSA hasn’t fallen, I will be having the mammoth biopsy as a day procedure. In fact I have been feeling very well recently (possibly because I’ve lost a stone) and the night-time symptoms are much less. I quite often sleep through the night, which is unusual in men my age, even without the prostate problem.

Probably too much information. Sorry. The weather has changed: cold and bright has become milder and damp, which I don’t like so much. We are about to go to Dunston Hall with Audrey for lunch.

6 December 2007

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Grandson Oliver goes round his home crazy golf course at breakneck speed. Meanwhile I got through a chess game at breakneck speed, agreeing an early draw in a sterile position against Fakenham on Monday. My grading is plunging, and I’m due to play for the A team tomorrow as a stand-in.

Oliver’s other grandparents have been with us during the last three days, and we’ve had a great time despite some really dismal weather, which seems set to continue. On Tuesday we took them to the Bally Art Factory studios, and to my surprise they bought three of Annette’s pictures, plus one from another artist as a bonus. We then had lunch at the Assembly House, which was good but slow, and followed it up with a walk round Norwich. Unhappily the continental fair had packed up early because of wind and rain in the morning, but by afternoon it was quite pleasant. We bought some cheese on the market, plus one or two other things.

In the evening we went to the Theatre Royal to see Comedy of Errors: a truly excellent performance by the Royal Shakespeare Company. The new theatre is mostly impressive, but I don’t like the long rows in the Circle, with no centre aisle. You won’t catch me in the middle of one of them.

This morning the Evetts departed after breakfast, and Dot and I went up to the church hall to unpack some furniture for the upstairs room, which Heather C had brought in a van. We also unpacked a Christmas tree and installed it in the corner, with some help from Liz and support from Rosemary. Looks pretty good.

I checked on my blood test results, and discovered my PSA level was up quite a bit, which is disappointing. Now 12.7, which is equivalent to about double that, because I’m taking a drug to reduce the size of my prostate. Rang the hospital, and Mr Sethia’s secretary said he would be in touch. My symptoms are no worse – better most of the time – but I wasn’t feeling particularly well when I had my blood taken. Whether this is relevant is another matter.

Dot is just off to Gillingham School where she is a governor. She has just heard that they are having an Ofsted inspection next week. On the Atlantic chart, a series of lows are lining up against us.