monday again

Today we drove over to Bury St. Edmund's and met up with David and Jo about midday. Adjourned to the cathedral refectory and had (as usual there) very good lunch. Jo and I had lamb casserole, Ann and David had, repectively, salmon and gammon. Pud :- two rhubarb and ginger crumbles, and two apple pies. All with custard, of course. After a fairly lingered over lunch, the ladies went off to trawl the charity shops, and David and I returned to the cars to transfer a strimmer from their boot to ours. We are to deliver it to cousin (or niece - whichever way you look at it) Becky on our way home - small detour involved. After transfer of strimmer I take David to St. Mary's to look at George Graham clock, and Mary Tudor's grave. Strange to think an English Princess/Queen of France is buried in a small Suffolk town. Still the church is fit for a Queen. Walked back to the Angel Hotel and order pot of tea for two in the lounge while we wait for our wives to arrive, which they do almost immediately, so we change the order to pot of tea for four and biscuits. Chat and imbibe tea until about four o'clock when we decide that we really must go and deliver strimmer to Becky, so reluctantly break up tea party and set out. Stop on way at an allotment to buy small bunch of flowers for Becky. At Becky and Matthew's we are greeted by five year old Megan who instantly enquires if I have brought red handkerchief with me. Am impressed by her memory and produce large red snuff hanky, and proceed , under close scrutiny from Megan and Jacob (aged eight) to turn it into mouse/rat/rabbit. then make it jump and run up my arm. Megan, as usual, very impressed by this. When it jumps off my shoulder and I ask Megan to retrieve it for me, she approaches it very cautiously, and after making quite sure that it is now showing no sign of junmping up and running off, she eventually (and bravely), picks it up and (holding it very firmly) returns it to me. Jacob (being a rather sophisticated eight) watches all this very carefully, but eventually appears rather impressed. Performance repeated until arrival of tea and scones, when mouse/rat/rabbit's head and tail are pulled simultaneously and it turns itself back into snuff handkerchief. This magic taught me fity odd years ago by another Suffolk man, my great uncle Maurice Young, who would have been gratified by its continuing popularity. Children, thank God, don't change. Becky has inherited her Aunt Ann's magic touch with scones, which are excellent. Lovely day, but not the weather, which tiddled down on the way home. Good night.