Thursday 31 January 2013

Wild weather

It is a day of wild weather today.   One minute brilliant sunshine, the next heavy showers; but always an incredibly strong wind.   I thought I would walk after lunch with the farmer and Tess but after one field I had to turn back as the wind was literally blowing me over.   I suppose the plus side is that it is beginning to dry the fields and the roads after all the snow last week.   But even Tess found it hard going, getting blown along as she sniffed at every rabbit hole.

Yesterday it was our monthly Poetry afternoon and it was at my house this month.  I am sure we all love our Poetry afternoon - it really is a most civilised meeting and we get to hear poetry we know and love as well as poetry we have never heard before. I baked a lemon tray bake, which is good for me to do as I do these things so rarely these days and I am sure I am right when I say that everyone enjoyed the whole afternoon.   There were nine of us and we heard poetry by Christina Rosetti, Charles Causley, Thomas Hood, John Betjamen (Summoned by Bells), Sharon Olds and others.   I must say that after listening to S read from Summoned by Bells, I can only say that anyone who thinks John Betjamen is a second rate poet can't have read the poem S read.   We were enthralled - his knowledge of London and the way he takes us round is just beautiful.   This, added to the fact that S reads so beautifully, was such an experience.

Today I have booked us a week's holiday in Norfolk for May, staying at a lovely hotel which has been highly recommended to us.
Our room  will look out over the sea and we shall have a week of pure luxury - I think the farmer deserves that after all his hard work over the year.

Still reading Roads to Santiago and enjoying every word.   It is so full of brilliant 'mots' that I have begun to keep a notebook and take a note of them all, as there are too many to remember.

If you live in the UK - stay upright.

8 comments:

Rachel Fox said...

Extra windy here yesterday too (and we are used to wind on the east coast!).
That hotel holiday sounds lovely.
x

MorningAJ said...

Lovely hotel overlooking the sea. Not Blakeney by any chance? That IS a lovely place to stay.

angryparsnip said...

Our weather is so strange too, windy, and the fluctuation of temperatures is so strange.
We are either 15 degrees colder or 10 degrees to warmer than we should be.

Poor Tess to windy to sniff rabbit holes ?

Your holiday sounds wonderful !

cheers, parsnip

Hildred said...

I am fond of John Betjeman - there is a fine BBC video of Summoned by Bells here, Pat. I think you would enjoy it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsDb-dgXnU4

Heather said...

I nearly got blown off my feet in Sainsbury's car park this morning but otherwise the day was kind and quite sunny after an early downpour.
Your holiday sounds perfect - hope the weather behaves for you.
Nice that you could stay put for your poetry afternoon, though sometimes it isn't as relaxing when one is the hostess.

ArtPropelled said...

In no time you will be counting the days until your holiday. We go away in May too. Something to really look forward to.

Rachel Phillips said...

I am pleased to see you are coming to Norfolk again this year. I hope you enjoy your visit. If you fancy a coffee and a danish pastry in Waitrose do let me know! Rachel Phillips

Golden West said...

How fun to plan a getaway! I was struck too by how old the lady in the picture looks - way beyond her 55 years. But I think life expectancy back then was closer to 60 or 65. Also, you are right, Thomas is a Siamese cat - we think he's an apricot point. We always tease when spoiling him and call him the King of Siam.