Thursday - will now start blogging again.

First of all - my apologies for the long delay in blogging. A fortnight ago today Ann and I went off to Leicester to attend a 'handfasting' in the family. From there we motored down to Milton Keynes and stayed over with Sarah and Mikey for a couple of nights. It was great to see them and the grandchildren. On Saturday we had a very pleasant lunch with Frank and Jane, Mikey's parents. A thoroughly enjoyable weekend. Then on Monday we motored down to Devon, where Ann's middle brother David had taken a flat in Sidmouth - the ground floor of a regency house with a lovely wide sea view. Sidmouth is a compact little town with pre war ideas and great self confidence. Took lots of photos and when I can get the hang of this *&+%*+£$"* digital camera again I will post some on the blog, but at the moment it is sulking. Anyway, we spent three most enjoyable days there and finally returned home last Friday. Since then have been working hard, and occasionally wasting time trying to make sense of the camera/computer relationship and failing dismally. Will get Craig to come round and exert pressure on it to behave. Weather getting colder. Choir practice this evening. Must go and do some more work now. Will say this for the computor :- it does make me feel like leaving it alone while I go and get on with things I do know how to do.

Even more Monday.

This is Ann walking up churchyard path to church in (yes, you've guessed it) Monks Eleigh. Just practising - Mike.

More Monday.

Same village as previous blog - Monks Eleigh- loved the hearty little black car. Think I've finally got the idea of putting photies on blog. Visiting friend All P went through it with me this morning - fingers crossed I've got it right. Our old friends Barbara and Alan are about to go off on their annual winter migration to southern Europe, so they motored across to see us for our yearly get together. They came in their mobile home which they parked in our friend Margaret B.'s large garden overnight. We spent yesterday afternoon wandering round Hadleigh's annual street fair, then home for supper at which Margaret joined us - Yanson's delight for main course- layers of sliced potato, sliced onion, anchovy fillets, cream, then baked in oven until nice and brown on top - swedish dish and delicious. Margaret took them back to her's in her car - they slept in their mobile home, and I picked them up again at 8a.m. this morning. Breakfast, after which I went into surgery for a blood test, returned and got Alan to teach me (again) to put 'photies on blog. Then one good game of scrabble - Ann played a cracking game - putting a seven letter word across a triple word score and winning easily. Alan and Barbara then set off for Essex to visit Alan's father, who is 93, before their winter pilgrimage. This afternoon we went and picked seven and a half pound of sloes for this winter's sloe gin. After this years wet summer the sloes are blue, ripe, but not very big - don't know good the gin will be - we'll se -or rather we'll taste. Ann's just called down that cup of tea is available so will close.

monday.

/this is very pretty locl village, Monks Eleigh. Good pub there, Good grub therein. Thoroughly recommend it. Back later.

Thursday.

Went into town first thing this morning to bank, and to purchase a decent pot plant etc. Then at 11 a.m. in car and drove over to Frinton, where we went to an at home to celebrate the sixtieth wedding anniversary of our good friends John and Ann C.-T. Took them a card and the pot plant- left these on the front door step and then wandered round to the garden to join the party. Champagne and nibbles. Their two daughters had put the party on, and THEIR daughters served the food. Sons in law served drinks - champagne or Buck's fizz. Grandson took photographs. Lovely family do covering several generations. Family and friends altogether about 60 of us. Thoroughly enjoyed it and felt very privileged to be with them. Hadn't seen the daughters for some years - good to see them again - all the granddaughters seemed very grown up - one a policewoman now - had a nice chat with her. On leaving, Ann and my Ann got their diaries together for us to go over there for supper, sometime in October (I think). Slept in car most of way home, and, if I'm honest, for an hour thereafter (effects of three or four glasses of champagne I fear.) Choir practice this evening - went well, we both felt thoroughly on song for once - further effects of champagne maybe -will try that idea over on Ann. Home and sausage casserole for supper. Nursery comfort food and very nice too. Goodnight all.

Saturday.

Today was the Deanery Fete day. Ann was helping in the kitchen so went off into town at around 9.30 am. Hilary and I were running the raffle stall so I went in at 11.30 am. the fete started at 12 Noon in the Deanery garden. The raffle stall was very busy indeed. We ran out of raffle books quite early but went on using a pad of a thousand cloakroom tickets. Someone then handed in a dozen or so unsold raffle books, but half an hour later we had sold all these so went back to using the cloakroom tickets. There were all the usual attractions except no coconut shies and no Punch and Judy show. The dog show was larger and better than ever. All the stalls seemed very busy, and Ann told me that the refreshment tent sold a hundred and seventy three ploughman's lunches. The raffle was drawn at 4p.m. and I eventually found that I had won a river trip for two along the Orwell to Harwich next summer. Look forward to it. We walked home a bit after 5p.m. both feeling thoroughly and pleasantly tired. A good busy day. I wish you all a good, quiet, night.

Tuesday.

Had friends in for coffee this morning. In order of arrival :- Sue and David, Daphne our near neighbour (husband Peter couldn't come - he still works three days a week) and Terry, whose clock I delivered and set up about ten days ago. Strike not reliable (as I rather expected) but it has been stopping. This surprises me but we are going over to have a look at it tomorrow afternoon, so hope I can spot what's wrong and induce it to behave better. Coffee morning went well. Conversation general until nearly midday when I found I had been giving a lecture which started with ember tongs, and went on to tinder boxes, both manual and mechanical, and ended with John Walker's invention of 'friction lights' in 1827. Must guard against tendency to ramble and stick to topics of more general interest. Surprised Ann didn't rein me in. Worked in workshop most of afternoon and completed restoration of copper tinder box, thoughts of which may have triggered this morning's pontification. Cleaned shoes and boots this evening, which should keep me looking respectable for the coming week. Pottering in garden this evening and spotted buds on Morning Glory (Ipomia) , Heavenly Blue variety, so with luck should have a nice display well before the first frosts finish them off. Been such a wet and cold summer that I really thought they would come to nothing. Nearly bedtime and an early start tomorrow, so goodnight all.

more saturday

This is a Ferdinand Pichard rose we put into our garden earlier this year. It is very like the old Rosa Mundi, and the scent is superb. We put half a dozen rose bushes in and this one is the best. Will put some more of these on the blog when I've become more familiar with using the camera.

Saturday

Today our good friend Craig showed us how to add photies to the blog and the resulting picture is of your friend the blogger in his cellar. Still under tuition so will add more later.

Monday.

Last thursday I finally got my new shed, that I intend using as a forge, delivered. This morning I finally got around to nailing up the fire resistant boarding around the forge area. This seemed a sensible business precaution when setting up a forge (however small) in a wooden potting shed. Later finished off edging tiny pond for frogspawn (and eventually tadpoles, and hopefully, frogs) next spring. This afternoon we drove over to Polstead and went for a walk. Stood beside the large pool from which the village is supposed to take its name (originally Poolstead) and watched two young anglers (10 to 12 year olds I should think) land a large carp. When weighed, it turned the scales at seven pounds. They had quite a fight landing it, and then an almost equally tough fight putting it back in the pool. Nice youngsters. Walked across meadowland where we have found mushrooms in the past but none today. Still we heard an owl hooting and also saw a green woodpecker that we had heard 'yaffling' earlier. Most enjoyable afternoon. Home about five thirty. Spent evening pottering on computer. I think in modern parlance that should be pottering on the 'pooter. Nearly time for bed now. Goodnight.

saturday continued.

Scrabble went well. No fireworks, but the four of us played four games and won a game each. Very satisfactory, as was the tea Ann put on. Agreed to all meet at Doris's for next scrabble next week. Good night.

Saturday.

Been a nice hectic week this last one. So much so that I can't remember much of it. Still, let's try. On monday (I think) took Terry's little thirty hour wall clock back and reinstalled it. Bit bothered about the strike. Very unusual arrangement to it, and some evidence of it having been altered early on. Still, having installed it we had tea and cake and waited for it to strike five, which it did perfectly, so hope I've solved the problem. On Wednesday ran Gran back as far as Ely. Ann dropped me off at Tricia's where I reroped her grandfather (clock that is). It's a lovely primitive old country gentleman. Good to see them both again. Then on to the Fire Engine House where David had booked lunch for the nine of us. Three of us ordered poigeon and bacon casserole, and rather to our surprise got a complete wood pigeon each. When I make a pigeon casserole (or pie) I usually use just the breast meat in chunks; so to make a casserole with whole pigeons- well it must have been quite a casserole! The Fire Engine house does rather pride itself on using local produce. Very good meal in family company. After the meal transferred Gran's luggage to Time and Sue's car and found that I'd left her small suitcase behind. Apologised to Gran for this and she said :- "Never mind, dear. I'm not bothered. I've got a wardrobe full at home." Nice, sporting way to take my booboo. She's a gentlewoman, is my Ma-in-law. Yesterday (Friday) Ann and I motored, with Sue and David up to high Norfolk to have lunch with Liz Allport and see her new cottage. Semi retirement seems to suit her well. Only semi as I think she'll always be an antique dealer. The cottage is a lovely flint built home set in a georgeous small garden (but bigger than ours). The garden is my ideal in that it is a cottage garden set in an old orchard. Behind the house surprisingly are some very mature oak trees. The cottage is much roomier inside than it appears from the outside. We were all very favourably impressed with her new home. For lunch Liz gave us a superb lasagne with garlic bread and a green salad, followed by raspberries with a meringue and cream. She then produced a cheese board with home made bread, after which we withdrew to the withdrawing room for coffee. While we were coffeeing Liz showed us some of her new stock including one piece she wasn't sure about and wanted my opinion on. It turned out to be a very nice piece of Indo/Persian koftgari work, which I purchased from her just before we left. Altogether a lovely day out. Must knock off now as we are giving a scrabble tea this afternoon. May add more later depending on the ferocity of the scrabble.

Even more Friday.

Hello again Ruth and Tribe. Having reread my last blog I see that I've left out the point ot the story. Which is that (as Pa used to say when telling the story) "She picked off a long line of lillies as neat as you please with an air rifle, cutting each one off about a foot above the ground." I hope that makes it clear. Great Gran sends her love to you all, as do Mummy and I. Love Pa.

Some more Friday.

Hi Roo, this time this blog is in answer to your query regarding your Great Gran's shooting escapade circa 1926?or 7. She says it occurred when she was 18 or 19. She was upstairs in Pa's bedroom where she was allowed to be because he was poorly at the time. Pa's bedroom was at the end of the back landing on the left. The room that Mummy and I had as our bedroom until you turned it into an upstairs sitting room when we were out one weekend. It is also the room (oddly enough) where I shot a hole in the wall beside the door using a long snaphaunce locked barbary musket in 1963, but that's another story. Great Gran says that she used an air rifle from the window. She says that the gravel drive was below the window as it is now, but that a pathway went from the far isde of the drive to the summer house or folly in the park. To the right of this path ran the line of lillies. They went from the edge of the gravel drive to a point level with the right hand end of the pond. Some of the same lillies were still at the end of the pond when we went back there in 1977. They were the type known as (I think) crown royal lillies. That would give a range of about ten yards (from the window to the far side of the drive) to about thirty yards or so to a point level with the right hand end of the pond. Great Gran also says "I thing Grandpa Will must have been annoyed, but he didn't say anything, I don't know why". I think I do. If I'd been Grandpa Will, and had seen such an exhibition of sharpshooting as that, I'd have kept me trap shut. At least until I'd seen Gran put the rifle down.

Friday.

Yesterday Ann motored across to Wisbech to pick up her mother who is to spend a few days with us. Gran (who will be 99 on the 5th of November)coped with the two hour car journey very well. In fact when she'd been here half an hour she accepted my invitation to come down and have a look at my cellar (I shall have to learn to call it the undercroft - 'cellar' doesnt do it justice), Gran was very impressed with it. This morning our good friend Jenny arrived here at 11.30 am, and after showing her our new home the four of us piled into her car and she drove us to the Swan at Monk's Eleigh where we had lunch. An excellent lunch it was too. I had a duck's leg (I think it must have been an Aylebury duck) on a bed of red cabage. Ann had halibut on samphire, Gran had plaice in a parmesan sauce, and Jenny (who had had a starter) had a bowl of fresh shrimps. All had been cooked on the premises while we waited, and all (we all agreed) was excellent. Then home, coffee in the garden, and Jenny set off home. She loved our new home, and indeed it was lovely to see her. I don't know how she copes. She has a very sick husband to nurse, combined with a high powered job (and a business partner who is less than fully sympathetic). Yet she still manages to be (as Gran remarked when she'd left) a ray of sunshine. Must stop now. May add more later.

Sunday, Day of Rest ?????

Went in to church early for choir practice. Did several jobs before choir practice, e.g. prepared hymn boards, hung them up, wound vestry clock, etc. Then to choir practice where choir master/organist was in vile mood because several members were late ( I think they may have been late because of their fear that choirmaster might be in vile mood). He spent the practice muttering malevolently at choir, and as I am deaf I have the privilege of bellowing "EH?" at him so he ups the decibels of malevolent muttering so we can hear what he's muttering and I wish I hadn't bothered. Eventually he mutters,inaudibly, that he supposes it could have been worse, and I remark (audibly I hope) that this is high praise indeed chaps. We then go and get robed up, and so to service, during which we perform creditably, and choirmaster is said to be quite pleased. Don't know the truth of this report as choirmaster certainly doesn't confirm it.

saturday.

This morning Ann was taking the car into town to do a bit of shopping so I rode in with her. Bought some statice as Ann wants some for vase in hallway, (don't know how to pronounce that- should it be statiss or statichee ?), then returned books to library and took two more out. Then walked home. After lunch went to play scrabble with near neighbour. Took her a small bunch of statiche (had bought Ann two large bunches), which pleased her. Four of us, Doris(our host), Joyce, Ann and meself. Two very good games, then tea, then two more scrabbles. Doris won first three games, then Joyce won the fourth. Pleasant afternoon. After supper Ruth 'phoned from Sweden. She has had two of her sisters and their families to stay with her this summer (not at the same time) and said how well the visits went. Her youngsters had enjoyed their cousins staying, too. I find it very satisfying that all my grandchildren are growing up knowing their cousins and putting together some very colourful childhood memories. They have been walking in the forests, swimming in the lakes, catching fish (and cooking and eating them), and building a sand castle (their is a lake near Ruth with a sandy beach). They all want to go back to Sweden next summer and stay with their Aunt, Uncle and cousins again. When Lizzie said she wasn't sure that she could afford this her three offered to go without any Christmas presents this year if the resulting money saved could be put towards a return visit to Sweden !!!!! Ruth and I also talked about blogging, and I wanted to go into why I keep this blog with a view of getting comments on why we blog, but I find that I really must go to bed now, so will pu it off to a future blog (perhaps). Goodnight all.

Hoorrah for Craig, the computer tamer.

Further to my entry of July the 31st regarding a light heavyweight contest between my recalcitrant Hindi spouting computer, and local champion Craig the computer tamer, I am glad to report that it was a foregone conclusion, as Craig won by a knockout in the opening seconds of the first round. The computer was heard later whimpering quietly to itself; promising to stick solidly to a nice English script, and never again to show off by by breaking out into indecipherable Hindi script. A triumph for traditionalism, I think.

This मचिने.

This machine has been playing me up lately. It has suddenly (and for no reason that I can work out) developed a predilection for writing in Hindi. I say that I don't know why this has occurred, but I strongly suspect that the cause is an attack of pure swank on the machine's part. Could it be, you may think, that the machine just got bored with my mundane English, and developed a desire to show me what it could do ? Well, you may be right, but in that case, why didn't it go for something a bit less exotic ? French maybe, or latin (giving us a sporting chance of understanding in part). But Hindi !!!! No, as I said before, pure swank. This has been going on for some days now, so I have been unable to give details of everyday life in Suffolk. The details of why, at an at home last Saturday, I found myself declaiming, with another poetry enthusiast, the tragedy of The little one eyed idol to the North of Khatmandu, are now lost to posterity, or why later the same evening, by popular request, I was obliged to give details of the Ramsbottom family's adventure usually refered to as Albert and the Lion. All lost because this machine refused to record things in a sensible English script. I think I've sorted it to some extent, but anyway, on Thursday my good friend Craig (our local computer tamer) is going to come in and give it what for, and generally make it behave. Well, that's geiven it fair warning! SO THERE!!!

Thursday.

Yesterday got home in the late afternoon and found a message from Hilary on the recording machine to say that she had a spare ticket for Trevor Pinnock's European Brandenberg Ensemble playing chunks of Bach's Brandenburg Concerto in St. Mary's. Ann happily accepted the spare ticket, and I trotted off down to the Church and was fortunate enough to be able to purchase a ticket for one of the last half dozen seats still available. It was an incredible evening. I haven't words to begin to do it justice. Can't think why it wasn't better advertised. It was part of the Suffolk Villages Festival this summer. The church was full so perhaps it was as well it wasn't better advertised. When there's music like that available part of me regrets my deafness more than ever and part of me thanks God that I've enough hearing left to be still able to appreciate such music. I'm becoming fulsome, so will move on to today and say that Sue and David dropped in for coffee this morning, it was lovely to see them. Choir practise this evening. It went well, and we also discussed the cut and colour of proposed new cassocks, being presented by Sylvia Willis-Betts in memory of her late husband Frank. Very generous of her, she's a lovely person. Must get off to bed now. Got a busy day tomorrow. Goodnight all.