Holiday approaching fast. Dot is completing her packing today – or at least making a list – prior to a day in London with Anne. I will be packing too, but I have a “dress” rehearsal with Chronicle this afternoon.
Last night I met my god-daughter Holly for the first time since her wedding. She is now divorced and seems very happy: we had a lovely evening with her and her parents, Paul and Maryta, at Prezzos. The waiter was excellent, and Paul insisted on paying. How much better could it get? They also spent some time with us before and after the meal, and I discovered that Holly is a science fiction fan, especially Iain M Banks and Alastair Reynolds. I recommended Robert Holdstock’s Lavondyss and Mythago Wood, and lent her copies.
Dot was particularly pleased to have a good meal, because she had been fasting over Monday night in preparation for a blood test early yesterday. This meant that she was not able to have either the tea or the cake at Bridget and David’s during our monthly “cake and compline” gathering. Still, she could do the compline. Judy took us in her new car because she was a bit worried about parking it next to ours. So she had to park it at the Archers’, which is even more of a challenge.
On arrival home we forgot to retrieve the child seats which she had left at ours, so I took them to her yesterday morning while Dot was waiting for her blood test.
On Sunday we had another downpour or two – the biggest one as church ended. We were afraid that our living room would be flooded again, and were relieved (and surprised) to discover no water at all on the floor when we got home. The rain and wind were apparently the tail end of Hurricane Bertha – much worse in some other parts of the country.
We were a bit hesitant about fulfilling our scheduled visit to Walpole Old Chapel, near Halesworth, in the late afternoon for a poetry reading. But in Suffolk there had been little rain, and it was sunny and quite warm (though a bit windy). We were amazed at the number of people there – probably around a couple of dozen or more reading – and we all got to read three shortish poems or two long ones.
I read Something is required, Flood levels and Pelican, and they seemed to be well received. Mike Bannister, the organiser, was very welcoming and wanted me to read again at another Suffolk group. Another woman (wife of Hebridean poet James Knox Whittet) was convinced she knew me, but we couldn’t work out where or how. The whole affair lasted about 2½ hours. The chapel itself was amazing.
All this followed a full Saturday, which started with Dot visiting the doctor and getting a positive response to her complaint about her thyroxin tablets being cut. (She had been feeling under the weather, apparently as a result.) This doctor restored her former dose and said she could quote him if they tried to cut it again.
From here we proceeded to Jessie’s and then to the Gunton Arms, where we had an unexpectedly full lunch. I had been anticipating a sandwich, but we were sat at a restaurant table, so I felt I had to order a proper meal. This was a mistake, but quite typical of me. However, the shoulder of lamb was excellent. I shouldn’t have had the cheese and biscuits, though. Felt too full the rest of the day, which included Denise’s 70th birthday party in the evening.
This was fun, despite our not knowing many of the people there: it is after all 30 years since we lived in Yelverton. We chatted with the Jarys and especially enjoyed catching up with Keith, Clive and Elaine. I also had a longish chat with Barbara, who is not well but remains cheerful. It was also nice to talk to the Wrights’ new next-door neighbours, a youngish couple (though they have an 18-year-old boy who is interested in journalism).