Tag Archives: winterton

David, Chrissy and party

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Dot, Amy and Oliver on the brink
Dot, Amy and Oliver on the brink

David, Chrissy and the grandchildren have come and gone. It was a rather unusual visit that seemed to pass too quickly. It opened with a bang: Dot arranged an Arbonne party at the house for Wednesday evening, to which many of her friends were invited. Parking problems were surmounted through the use of chauffeurs (Julia), remote  parking (Anne and Bridget) and my positioning the MX5 in Rosary Road to make room for Sue and Judy. Too much detail, I hear you say.

The party seemed to go well, though I’m not sure how financially successful it was: in any case there is a suspicion that most of the friends came to see Chrissy, David and the grandchildren. I can hardly blame them for that.  I should make clear that it is Chrissy who is the Arbonne consultant, not Dot.

The weather has been warm, and some of the party was in the garden. On the Thursday Dot and I took the children to Winterton, one of their favourite spots, where we had a late lunch at the cafe and followed it up by some hide-and-seek in the dunes, which my ankle stood up to reassuringly well. Even Dot was able to move about a bit 🙂 We also spent some time on the beach, when all of us paddled.

While we did this, David and Chrissy were doing my Norwich Paston walk, partly as a test for some software he’s writing. They appeared not to get lost. There was also a great deal of table tennis played, with Oliver improving visibly as the three days progressed. In the end he was beating both Dot and me. Amy spent a lot of time watching some kind of drama on her small screen, and did not welcome intruders.

L:ate on the Friday David and Chrissy took my car to Suffolk to visit a cousin  of Chrissy’s. Earlier Richard had called round coincidentally and was able to talk to David about websites and similar matters.

The Caddington contingent returned home on Saturday just after lunch, following a visit to Hobbycraft and Morrisons and an unsuccessful search for a Mr Whippy. Sorry, Amy. The journey went well – probably a good time to travel.

After a rest in the afternoon, Dot and I went next door for a meal. Much of it was in the back garden, the weather still being very warm. But it ended in a thunderstorm:  we rushed home to take washing off the line when we saw the lightning, but returned for another half an hour.  Good food and drink and some enjoyable conversation, mainly philosophical 🙂

But this thunderstorm was nothing compared to the one that hit Norwich yesterday afternoon. We had been to church, where I preached on God being with us, and were sitting watching television when there was a huge, prolonged cloudburst. It wasn’t long before water came into our living room again. It seemed to come down the walls, but there was more on the floor than seemed to be indicated by marks on the walls. We got the towels out again and mopped it up.

Next door had flooding in the bathroom, and are having a builder round tomorrow. He is popping in to see us too.

In the evening Dot and I went to Lowestoft for a Seagull performance. We read a tanka series together and then I read a couple of my other poems which were well received, especially by Kaaren Whitney, who wants me to read at some other place in Suffolk in August. Uniquely, there was a guest poet, Rodney Pybus, who was pretty good, but it left little time for others, and the whole thing didn’t finish till after 10pm, by which time we were pretty tired.

End of a Scottish era: the cottage is sold

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The wee house at Ballater: our home from home for more than 20 years

End of an era. The wee house at Ballater has been sold – back to the council from whom it was originally bought. One can only hope they now do something constructive with the whole site. Today we received a parcel from Ella with a memento: a small column with a Farquharson crest on it. It will be really strange being somewhere else in Ballater. It’s like losing a home: we had become so familiar with it.

Meanwhile, Dot was sitting in the garden during a momentary burst of sunshine and slight heat yesterday  when a Wildlife vehicle backed into our wall. No damage this time, but it heightens our suspicions that the fallen section mentioned earlier was indeed provoked by a collision. Maybe the cutting back of the hedge makes it easier for the rear of vehicles to reach the wall. Unexpected consequence. No word from NWT yet.

It seems a long time ago now, but David and the children left last Thursday after a really nice few days, and our ex-best man Fred arrived around 7pm the same day, staying the night so that we could all go the CNS Old Boys’ event at Dragon Hall the next morning. The latter was sunny but still pretty chilly, but it all went well. Dot immediately met someone she knew: Mary Thrower, who plays clarinet in the same orchestra as her. She is the wife of former classmate Neville, who I never knew all that well.

Adrian O’dell, the organiser of all this reunion stuff, gave us a tour of the Hall that was surprisingly informative, and we then had a talk from Peter Bussey on the Large Hadron Collider, where he has worked. He did well with a difficult subject, but it left our brains a little fuzzy. Then on to Yellows for a meal that was described later as “not quite Premier League”. But the company was good. As well as Fred, we spoke to (the Rev) Graham Drake, and others including Barnard, Chadwick and Cowell from the L stream.

We spent the rest of the day recovering from the food (amount rather than quality), but on Saturday we were out again – first at Winterton, looking unsuccessfully for an earring that Dot had lost earlier in the week, and later at the Kibbles’, where the conversation is even more filling than the food. The next two or three days were spent catching up with things that had been set aside while the grandchildren were here and exciting things were happening: I caught up with some Chronicle stuff and sent a potential blog to B J Epstein at the UEA. I was quite pleased with it, but I haven’t heard back.

Yesterday I struggled to get out of Norwich for a Chronicle meeting at Kay’s. Big hold-ups on the inner ring road and on the Aylsham road; so I diverted on to the Reepham Road and approached Wood Dalling from behind, as it were. Happily I was able to find Kay’s rather remote cottage without much trouble. We spent much of the meeting discussing the potential recording of a CD, and we did trial recordings of small sections that worked well in the end, after David (Kay’s husband) struggled to make the machine work properly. And he’s an expert. Why is sound technology so difficult?

We also talked about out plans for the year and allocated a few tasks. I am producing a script for Dragon Hall and printing some letters for reading at Paston Church at the open day in a couple of weeks’ time. We also fixed a date for rehearsal, which is good.

Now I am about to have my hair cut by Linda, then my shoulder massaged by Sharon. One of my better days.

Touch of deja vu, this time with children

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Chilly trio atop Ranworth church tower

Certain amount of déjà vu this week. It’s just as cold, but thankfully remaining dry. And again I found myself at Ranworth and the Castle Museum in Norwich (though not simultaneously). This time in the company of David, Oliver and Amy, who are staying with us for a few days.

We went to Ranworth on Easter Monday, and I managed to fulfil my promise by buying the map I had looked at with Andrew. This time it was priced! We spent some time at the visitor centre and then had something to eat at the church tea rooms. We caught the second shift coming on duty, and they kept telling us they had no idea where anything was, or indeed if it was at all, which suggests a certain failure in organisation. However, they were very friendly, and the tea was good.

Afterwards we climbed the tower – a steep process made even more difficult by the need to pass some people coming down. The children took this in their stride and made the summit easily. Needless to say the wind was blasting across, but the view was even clearer than last week.

On Tuesday we took the children to Winterton while their father did some work, and we had a good time as usual in the dunes while becoming increasingly aware of our advancing years. I fell over almost immediately while executing a body swerve, and then wrenched my arm while tagging Amy (or, looking at it from her point of view, not tagging Amy). Meanwhile Dot also fell over, though not so dramatically, and we discovered later that she had lost one of her earrings.

Earlier we had had baguettes and rolls in the cafe, which was packed – possibly because it had featured in a national newspaper recently as a top food spot. We always knew that, of course, but we had previously benefited from the fact that it doesn’t look it at all. Quite unprepossessing and lacking in style, but hey, the food is great, and so is the tea. Afterwards we drove to North Walsham and had even better tea with Jessie, followed by a visit to the cemetery.

Yesterday we took in the Castle Museum with Oliver and Amy and half the population of Norwich – presumably because it was still so cold outside that the beach was out of the question. Some interesting items for the children to tackle, and games to play, but the battlements were out of order and the dungeon trips full. We ended with some tea and cake and a trip to the shop before meeting Daddy in M&S and buying Oliver some trousers.

Then Dot, Oliver and I took the bus home while Amy, after some indecision, stayed with her Dad for further shopping. They arrived home just in time to join us for a meal at Prezzos and chocolate dessert at home. Meanwhile part of our rear containing wall has fallen down into the Wildlife Trust car park, but it was not hit by a vehicle. Oh no. Actually it may well not have been. We await a conversation with the NWT people.

On Easter Sunday we couldn’t persuade any of our guests to join us at church, which was a pity, because it was a nice service, led by Geoff, and quite well attended. It also featured some chocolate eggs at the end.

Crabbing, climbing and table tennis

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Amy with crabbing net

And so we emerge from a hectic week…into another one. Dot is already out visiting schools, and I have a visit to the dentist tomorrow and to the doctor on Thursday. The latter doesn’t sound much, but it looms pretty large. There is a root canal involved.

I was in the sunny city, paying in church money, on Wednesday, when Dot called me to say Oliver and Amy wanted to come to us a day early. Naturally, a plan was quickly devised, and with Dot busy finishing a PIB (pre-inspection briefing), I set off to meet David halfway just outside Newmarket near Snailwell – a spot identified on Google maps. All went well, except that halfway there the warm and sunny day evaporated into heavy rain, and I realised I hadn’t brought my anorak or taken my guitar out of the boot. No worries, however: the rain turned back into sun before we met, and there was plenty of room for the children’s luggage.

We had a great three days with the children, despite a bad weather forecast. On the Thursday we went to Sheringham, where it was mild enough to have a picnic on the beach after Oliver and I had climbed Beeston Bump (calling in at Fred’s caravan on the way and finding Liz in situ) and Dot and Amy had done some shopping. We also did a little crabbing, and after I retired defeated, the children “teamed up” with another family, who had bait. As a result, Oliver netted one.

Oliver at the summit of Beeston Bump

We then drove (as a result of a miscalculated and rash promise made earlier) to Winterton, in time to have a quick game of hide-and-seek in the dunes before the rain started, and a few drops quickly turned into a downpour. We repaired to the cafe for refreshment and then rushed wetly to the car. We had taken Dot’s car for a service earlier in the day, but it was now too late (and too wet) to fetch it; so I left it till the next morning. The next morning was also very wet, as was the whole day, and we spent most of it in the house or garage, where Oliver showed an amazing aptitude for table tennis. As he’s very competitive, this wasn’t enough for him: he wanted to win every game too. Meanwhile Amy made a den under the table and did some cooking indoors. We finished the day off with a 6pm meal at Prezzo’s: the children are a real joy to take out – or actually do anything with.

David arrived at lunchtime on Saturday, after being held up because the police had shut the southern bypass after a fatal accident. We had roast beef for lunch, and Oliver did his best to beat Daddy at table tennis when Daddy wasn’t tackling my computer. I popped up to St Peter Hungate at 3.30pm to check that the afternoon session with the visiting viols was going OK. I spoke to Lucy and Jo, both of whom seemed very ill, but didn’t hear the viols, who were taking a break. I went back at 5pm for the rehearsal with Rob, Caroline and Kay, and it went well, so I returned home to say goodbye again, picking up the poetry books I’d forgotten at the same time.

I also went and picked up a music stand from the church hall, at the same time replacing a notice which had either blown off or been ripped off, or both (the wind had been very strong the day before). The evening performance –  Heroine of Hungate – took place as David and the children were driving back to Caddington and Dot was cleaning up the house: it did go well, but the audience was very small – only a dozen, including relatives and friends. Hilary came, as did Catherine Mapes. I blame the poor publicity because the viols messed us about (no, we don’t want to perform; yes, we do; no, we can’t do it in the evening….)

Felt totally shattered yesterday morning, but had to leave at 9.30 for the Archdeacon’s Visitation at St Luke’s and a combined service and bring-and-share lunch. Worship music went well, and Dot and I were able to sing three of my songs for the Communion service. The archdeacon, the Ven Jan McFarlane, did a brilliant sermon about writing people off by labelling them: it sounds fairly ordinary, but she did it exceptionally well and brought in all kinds of other stuff.

In the evening our family’s hobnobbing with the senior echelons of the Church of England continued when Dot went to the commissioning service for the new director of Norwich Youth for Christ and met the Bishop, with whom she’s pretty chummy. She pleaded with him not to become Archbishop of Canterbury, and it would indeed be a big loss for Norwich, though probably brilliant for the country at large. I have a great admiration for him (as you probably noticed). She really enjoyed the service, at St Andrew’s Eaton, which I had given a miss in the hope of getting some rest – almost certainly a bad choice. I make a lot of them.

4 January 2009

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A serene Princess Amy plays with visitor Matthew (not Harry) Potter in the living room. Matthew’s parents Kevin and Lisa joined us all yesterday afternoon after David and his family had gone to visit Kerry at Easton in the morning. Kerry is Vicky’s friend from way back. She used to live at Bury St Edmunds, which was obviously more appropriate for rhyming, though less convenient. At teatime, after the Potters left, the six of us went to Prezzo’s for a meal, and the children were great, despite Amy falling off her chair at the outset. Surprisingly, she didn’t find this funny.

It’s been pretty cold this year, and today the temperature has hovered around zero. There’s a risk of snow tomorrow, when we’re supposed to be visiting Bruce at Sheringham and giving Brian a lift. On Friday we all visited A Ethel and then A Jessie (following a visit to Sainsbury’s at North Walsham). We’ve been eating quite a lot of food, I’m sorry to say, and the extra weight gained will take a bit of losing. We did our best on New Year’s Day, when all six of us, plus Julia and Dave, went for a walk at Winterton. It was overcast, but not too cold, thanks to a lack of wind. I introduced Oliver to the art of tracking people through the dunes, and he had nearly as good a time as I did. We laid several successful ambushes, including one on Dot and Amy, who were also tracking through the dunes, only slower. Amy was mainly looking for good places to rest. David, Vicky, Julia and Dave were behaving like adults and walking in the valley. The Hemsby/Winterton valley has been a key place: I had lots of fun there in the 50s and 60s, then introduced it to David in the 70s, and now Oliver loves it too. An excellent New Year outing, which I entered in my new Walker’s Diary!

Dave and Julie had joined us for New Year’s Eve and left on the Saturday for Paul and Leanne’s. With impeccable timing, Leanne produced her second child – Sophie – yesterday, all ready for grandparents to admire. Our New Year’s Eve went really well, including the usual quiz and champagne. Anne and Philip joined us, and I adapted the quiz so that everyone could consult instead of being in competition. It worked quite well, though of course they got most of the answers right between them. Today the family left just after breakfast, and Dot and I went to church – since when she has been doing a lot of clearing up (with a little help from me). When we got home, there were two toy cars in the hall, but an empty house. Rather sad.

8 June 2008

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Dot seen through the remains of a building at Winterton, where we went for a shortish walk this afternoon. Today brought a more than welcome change in the weather, which had been grim all week. The sun came out, and it was warm, with a fresh breeze from the north. We walked out to the beach and then into the valley and back along the dunes.

Enjoyed this morning’s service, where I preached about faith, with special reference to people having their prostate out (!) Used two of my favourite three biblical passages, Job 19: 25-27 and Daniel 3: 17,18.

Yesterday was pretty wet, and I did not venture out, but I did manage to write a piece for my website, among other things. I thought today would be my last chance for a while to go for a walk. On Friday evening we had dinner at Dunston Hall, which was good without being outstanding. Very enjoyable, though, and some good wine. Company excellent (Dot).

Just back from church, where seven of our friends met with us to pray for me and my operation tomorrow. Felt inspiring just to be there, and now feel confident that all will be well. Many others have also said they’ll be praying and thinking of me.

This will probably be the last entry for a while. Should be out of hospital by next weekend, but not sure I’ll be feeling up to writing a blog. We’ll see. June was never my favourite month.