The day

Another lovely sunny day. My brother and sister-in-law, Robert and Liz, came all the way from Shrewsbury and returned this evening, and I greatly enjoyed their visit. We saw some of the Somerset Levels, before going to the Ninesquare woodland near Collard Hill, south of Street, and enjoying the views and the sunshine among the trees. Before we left the birds began their evening song, completing the joy.

Trevor set off on his bicycle after lunch for Templecombe station and so to

London, but promises to be back soon. Barbara is to visit tomorrow. John Smart will come tomorrow morning, bringing violin, so I have written a tiny album-leaf for us to try to play - well, that I shall try to play; John will have no difficulty.

I was so glad when Charlie got me a set of Narnia books, and I was able to copy out the bit about Reepicheep.

Had a phone call from Tony Joyce, my vicar when I went to Downend as junior curate. He and Mary are kindly planning to visit. Lovely message from Downend fellowship as well.

Hope to post pics of the woodland tomorrow.

Miracle on Walton Hill

Well, it seemed like a miracle to me. After spending the morning in bed, and enjoying visits from Michael, and from Bob Parker, fresh from the Caribbean, I was invited to a have a bath without the electric mechanism that gets me in and out (and incidentally makes it difficult to lie down and relax. When I began to get into the hot water I noticed not only my three new rubber ducks, but the bath surrounded by celandines picked by Charlie. It quite broke me up and released the tear-ducts!

Meanwhile Michael and Trevor held deep and detailed talk about making one more audio CD of seven of Michael's pieces that we had managed to record. We hope that a disc called Parsons Plays Kidd will emerge soon, for very limited distribution - not commercial at all.

Next (after entertaining the GP in the bath - my Grande Levee, like Louis XIV's) - I welcomed Trevor's invitation to come out and enjoy the sunshine. And what sunshine, what a perfect spring day. We drove gently up to the parking place near the windmill, and relaxed there in the late afternoon warmth for an hour and more.

The wonderful thing for me was that although I left the house feeling that everything was becoming an effort, by the time Trevor had pushed me in the wheelchair half way to the top of the viewing hill I was getting out and walking, and feeling all the better for it.

The views of the Levels are superb, and we also took our lives in our hands and crossed the road to admire the Walton views. By the time the breeze was blowing slightly chilly and we thought we should return home, the sun outlined the sheep in a most pleasing manner.

An interpretation board was helpful. I remembered how hard we found it in the Street Society to get even something that passers-by would take for granted to be constructed, I think our board on the history of Street was definitely worth it.

A strange poem

Christopher Smart wrote Rejoice in the Lamb while confined to a lunatic asylum, I believe.

Below is an extract, including a mouse "a creature Of great personal valour". I do wonder whether C.S. Lewis had Smart in mind when describing Reepicheep. I'm hoping to be able to quote a little bit about Reepicheep soon.


I don't have a cat called Jeoffry, but next door's cat Stimpy comes in a lot, and is extrememely affectionate,

For I will consider my cat Jeoffry.
For he is the servant of the living God.
Duly and daily serving him.

For at the first glance
Of the glory of God in the East
He worships in his way.
For this is done by wreathing his body
Seven times round with elegant quickness.
For he knows that God is his saviour.
For God has bless'd him
In the variety of his movements.
For there is nothing sweeter
Than his peace when at rest.

For I am possessed of a cat,
Surpassing in beauty,
From whom I take occasion
To bless Almighty God.

For the Mouse is a creature
Of great personal valour.
For this is a true case--
Cat takes female mouse,
Male mouse will not depart,
but stands threat'ning and daring.
If you will let her go,
I will engage you,
As prodigious a creature as you are.

For the Mouse is a creature
Of great personal valour.
For the Mouse is of
An hospitable disposition.

The length of our days is seventy years

Yesterday was all about the beginnings of life. The grandchildren took centre stage, merry and bright.

This morning we are expecting professionals to come and focus on looking after me. The care people are to come and we are to discuss how they may come to supplement the nursing and other care that Charlie and Chacquie are at present able to give me. I'm sure an extra pair of hands will be valuable soon to them.

There are other loose ends on the care front. A hospice nurse has promised to help fill in an attendance allowance application; she says it takes an hour.

There's also my disabled car cards which have not come any nearer, and would be really useful. I don't know whether I have to ring them.

Anyway, in the midst of practicalities, here is the psalm about length of life.

Lord, you have been our dwelling place
       throughout all generations.

 ² Before the mountains were born
       or you brought forth the earth and the world,
       from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

 ³ You turn men back to dust,
       saying, "Return to dust, O sons of men."

 ⁴ For a thousand years in your sight
       are like a day that has just gone by,
       or like a watch in the night.

 ⁵ You sweep men away in the sleep of death;
       they are like the new grass of the morning-

 ⁶ though in the morning it springs up new,
       by evening it is dry and withered.

 ⁷ We are consumed by your anger
       and terrified by your indignation.

 ⁸ You have set our iniquities before you,
       our secret sins in the light of your presence.

 ⁹ All our days pass away under your wrath;
       we finish our years with a moan.

 ¹⁰ The length of our days is seventy years—
       or eighty, if we have the strength;
       yet their span is but trouble and sorrow,
       for they quickly pass, and we fly away.

 ¹¹ Who knows the power of your anger?
       For your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you.

 ¹² Teach us to number our days aright,
       that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

 ¹³ Relent, O LORD! How long will it be?
       Have compassion on your servants.

 ¹⁴ Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,
       that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

 ¹⁵ Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
       for as many years as we have seen trouble.

 ¹⁶ May your deeds be shown to your servants,
       your splendour to their children.

 ¹⁷ May the favour of the Lord our God rest upon us;
       establish the work of our hands for us—
       yes, establish the work of our hands.

Gathering of the clan

All my children and grandchildren are now in Street or Glastonbury, plus my sister, which is why there hasn't been an update recently - nor will there be for a while

Just thought I'd let you know.

After a night's sleep

Half past seven. Sun streaming through the window and lighting up my little bedroom picture gallery which includes a photo of Sue, a drawing by Rowena of Barbara, the Battle of the Boyne in oils, and the Rocky Valley in County Wicklow in a water-colour.

Outside the wind was blowing that eucalyptus tree that partly blocks my view of the Tor, and birds were singing in chorus.

I really was very tired last night, but used the new banisters to help me up to bed. When the man had fitted them yesterday morning I asked him if they wouldn't put splinters into you but he assured me no. While I was out someone else came to inspect the work and agreed with me, so the wood was polished, and I am now confident it's OK. It is always a blissful moment when I lie back in bed and relax.

But the evening had been excellent. Charlie picked Rowena and Nicolette up from Castle Cary station and I suggested they looked in here before going to The Bear for the night. They came like a breath of fresh air, admired the results of Chacquie's and others' hard work to make the house neat and tidy, and played my piano - which I love to hear. Nicolette has been having lessons for only a few months, but can play convincingly - she was very unwilling at first, but soon got into it. Rowena found a hymn book and played some of her favourites, including some of my favourites, too, like Jesu lover of my soul to the Welsh tune. When Charlie came back from delivering the girls to their hotel, he sat down and sight-read some more from the hymn book. He has a lot of ability.

This morning I was able to use a zapper and listen to my brother and my mother talking on tape - now on CD - about Annesley and Acton relatives she remembered.

Now I'm lying back taking it easy, with the laptop on a second of those hospital tables, this time holding the laptop in a good place for use, but not pushing down on me.

Today's jobs and delights include Barbara's family coming to see me, and getting an order of service printed for tomorrow's baptism. Dorothy will come this evening, and I had a message yesterday that Cass, Giles' Mum, hopes to make it, too, tomorrow morning. Lovely if she can.

My day

Well, activity goes on. Helen whisked me off after lunch to accompany her as she had a singing lesson with Julie (who is in the Grade 8 exam photo), and I enjoyed playing favourite songs like Silent Noon.

When we returned to the house we heard that one of the doctors had called, and wanted me to see her at the surgery straight away. It sounded serious, so Helen kindly took me there, and after about 15 minutes the doctor saw me. She had been alerted by the district nurse yesterday, and gave my legs and tum a good going over. Fortunately she was very reassuring, so it was good I went.

Since then Charlie has cooked the most exquisite supper with unusual mushrooms and cheeses. Meanwhile Chacquie has been going through some of my stuff and putting photos together ready for me to label - that's another little project. Charlie found a VHS player so that I could watch the video made in 1994 of Yeomen of the Guard in the Strode, in which I had a small part. John Gray kindly lent it to us. I have taken a little excerpt and put it on YouTube, so that will be on the blog later.

Tomorrow will be another full day...

Today's big project - accompanying a Grade 8 singer

The last musical challenge that I had in mind happened today. A lively friend of Helen Lunt's, Julie, asked me some time ago if I would accompany her Grade 8 singing candidate Cat in the Associated Board exam today.

We had a few rehearsals - all too few - and today Cat came to collect me at noon and drove me, beautifully, to Chard Baptist Church where the exams are being held.

We arrived in good time, and were able to have a run-through in the church hall, where there was a perfectly acceptable piano.

One of the songs, Schumann's Widmung, is one that Helen and I have performed. Helen sings it in A flat, and at a speed that I got used to. Cat's book has it in G flat, the key with 6 flats including C flat, and Cat takes it much faster than Helen. It was fine, and the examiner after the song said "Thank you. You do realise what you are putting your accompanist through?" So I felt appreciated!

Anyway, it was good to have been able to fulfil that promise. I think Cat (on the left in the photo) will have done very well.

We had most interesting conversation in the car. We had both taken A level English Literature at the Strode, but with different teachers, and we shared our love of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and of Wordsworth. I told her some of the stories of my family and she told me about her father's achievements and about her grandmother with a fund of family anecdotes. When I said I'd been listening to recordings of my Mother made by Robert 25 years ago, and urged her to record her grandmother, she thought it was a good idea.

Anyway, we got on like a house on fire, and I am so glad of the opportunity to have got to know her a little. Thanks, Cat, and thanks, Julie.

To be honest, the physical effort in playing the harder piano parts is now noticeable. I'll have to think carefully what else I want to play and possibly record.

Photos of Cambridge visit

Trevor has just sent these. They have turned out well. Thanks, Trev.

My trip to Cambridge 1 - ARLT

For over 25 years I have been involved with ARLT, the Association For Latin Teaching. My first Summer School was in the 80s at Chichester, and I went to that because it was jointly run by ARLT and official HMIs, (Schools Inspectors). I knew nothing about ARLT but thought that if official people were involved it must be OK.

That was the last time ARLT got government help in this way, so I'm glad I got to know them when I did.

I thoroughly enjoyed the week, which was run by Veronica Anstey. The person who really made me welcome and drew me in was Belinda Dennis, who I later discovered taught my sister Latin at Harrow County School. Belinda encouraged me and I think got me on to the committee in fairly quick order, if not immediately that year, then the next year.

Eventually I became such a habitue that they asked me to direct a Summer School myself, which I did in Exeter. It was an experience. I arranged demonstration lessons, the last demo lessons at a Summer School. The Oxford Latin Course was brand new then, and I got Maurice Balme to come and teach some local children, organised by the university teacher training college and coached before they appeared in public by John Hazel. I thought the lessons went well, but Belinda thought the teacher 'behaved badly' - don't know why.

I got Sue MacDougall to give a slide show on the Renaissance, The New Rome, and Colin Watkins from my school to talk about Roman bee-keeping. We had two HMIs there.

After that I kept hanging around until they asked me to be President. That was a three year stint. During my time we changed the name to leave out 'reform', but we kept the letter R, which is now de trop. I tend to type it in lower case, but it's an embarrassment.

When I retired finally I took on the ArLT website and have spent many thousands of hours over the years getting it into shape.

Anyway, this is all background to yesterday's Cambridge trip.

ArLT runs two annual events, a Summer School and what used to be a Refresher Weekend, the first weekend in March, and is now a day, and tends to be called an INSET Day. This year the day was held in the International School at Cherry Hinton Hall, 4 miles outside Cambridge, a lovely venue. It is clearly a happy place. One member of the Day has a child there and say he loves it.

We were going to set off from Street at 6 am on Saturday but Barbara sensibly suggested staying in Cambridge instead, so at short notice Charlie got everything ready and we set off, with me relaxing on a laid-back passenger seat with pillow and blanket. A good journey, and Trevor met us at the other end. We shared a family room at a Travelodge and we quite comfortable and rested for the INSET.

I shall write more about the INSET perhaps on the ArLT blog, but here I just want to talk about the excellent friends there. My mind being not what it was, I can't be sure of mentioning everyone I want to, but one or two anyway.

Wilf O'Neill, whom I've known from rhe 80s, has his own sight problems, but does more for the Classics than most of us. Among many, many other things he looks after recordings ARLT has made and makes and sells CDs of them. He was honoured with an MBE a few years ago. He is an organist, and incidentally a real ale expert, and he had arranged that a Mass was said that day for me - with lots of Latin!

Hilary Walters is another longstanding friend. She has taken many roles in ArLT, and has been a power in getting things done. I have relied on her over the years for advice and action. Her husband Pat has also been a good friend. He has a lovely modest way with him, and a sort of fun that hides his great erudition. Hilary has run Summer Schools, been President, and now represents ArLT on the JCT, Journal of Classics Teaching. She asked me for an article for the forthcoming issue, which I hope people may find practical. Hilary and Pat have organised days when a group of us come up their way to record, in Latin, set texts for exams. One of their former pupils, Richard Dawkins (no, not that one), is a sound recording expert, and comes up from London to his parents' home to work his audio magic for us. I've enjoyed these sessions, and Mr and Mrs Dawkins' hospitility.

Now my alarm has gone and I am going to get ready to go to Holy Communion at King's College Chapel. To be continued.

....

Now that I am home and it's Sunday evening, my memory has gone AWOL and I am not sure I can continue the roll-call of ArLT friends as I meant to.

Robert West is another immensely learned and reliable friend. He is also a lover of music, and Sue and I met him at the Three Choirs Festival a few years ago and shared experiences. He has been treasurer of ArLT for a goodly stint, and makes it all seem so easy. The latest set of accounts, that we saw on Saturday, even I could understand.

There is a Linda and a Lynda who are both good friends.

Lynda Goss has a house in Uphill, near Weston-super-mare, and when I lived in Locking we were not far from each other. Lynda works very hard keeping Latin going in the midlands area, and has shared very helpful and practical tips with other teachers on how to get your parents enthusiastic, and persuade your head teacher that Latin is a good idea. She was so successful in one school that they banned her, or perhaps just tried to, from giving a presentation on a parents' evening, for fear too many would choose Latin. I may have got that wrong, but it was something like that. Balloons and badges tend to appear at such times. Lynda keeps the ArLT photo albums, but has lent them to me to digitalise, which I have done. You can see the result here.

Linda Soames is the ArLT President, and it has been great getting to know her and her husband over the years. When we had to find a replacement Director at short notice for the Cambridge Summer School a couple of years ago, Bob Soames, who has a Classical background though he isn't a teacher, stepped in and used his business organisational skills to run a very good Summer School. I remember the Language Show where ArLT, along with other Classical organisations and the Cambridge Classics Project share in running a stall and keeping the Latin and Greek flag flying, when Linda came along to help. It was so good to see her.

Peter Geall has been a breath of fresh air in ArLT. A little bit of background. When I first went to a Summer School ArLT was a very, very traditional body, even though its aim was Reform. All the course members, for example, were sent official-looking invitations to Sherry with the President on one evening, and we felt we had to dress up and practise our cocktail-party conversation for the event. If you read through the accounts of Summer Schools as published in the ArLT magazine Latin Teaching, you get a feeling of deja vu quite quickly. They all sounded exactly the same. Well, when Peter became part of the Association he made it his job to look at what we did from the point of view of the ordinary teacher, particularly the teacher in a state school. And he came up with one big radical idea: a shorter course, including a weekend. Older members were hard to convince, but Peter was given his head and directed the first short Summer School, which was a triumph in terms of numbers. Our 35 or 45 people jumped to 70 or 80, and there was a buzz about the place that had gone missing in Summer Schools. We have even since alternated longer and shorter Summer Schools, and it's not too much to say that it has revitalised ArLT. I am honoured that Peter counts me as an ally, despite my age!

Will Griffiths of the Cambridge Classics Project was at the Saturday meeting as a speaker. He is someone I greatly admire, someone who has done as much for the revival of Latin in the country as anyone. You do get to know people more quickly when you are working together, and physical work is better than any for this. We worked together preparing things for the first Language Show we had a stall at, stuffing handouts in bags, arranging furniture and so on, and I feel we have been good friends ever since.

Ow! I've wandered from my original intention as I reminisce about this association. What I really wanted to say was that on Saturday I was able to greet these (except Lynda who wasn't there) and other friends, and say a fond goodbye to such good and loving people. Linda was very kind in what she said as President/Chair of the meeting, and I'm afraid my tears were not far from the surface.

But I'm so glad I was able to get to this meeting, start the handover of what I have been doing, mainly on line, and make difficult but heart-warming farewells.

Other parts of my trip to Cambridge must have another post.

What happened today

It has been a lovely early spring day again. I can just about see Glastonbury Tor from my bedroom window. We used to have a clear view, but a neighbour grew a tree that blocks it a bit now.

I visited my dear friend Michael Kidd, and had the blessing of a full laying on of hands, as Sarah wnet from one part of the body to another, spending time over each, and letting, as she said, love channel through her.

Then I went ot see a delightful friednly oncologist at Musgrove Park Hospital, and we reviewed how I was doing. To my great relief and pleasure she advised what I really want in my heart, that they should not interfere with surgery or chemotherapy. She told me that chemo had only just over a 50/50 chance of doing good, and that she didn't think it was the best for me, because it might make some of my remaining time needlessly unpleasant.

So the plan is that I stay here at home, looked after by Charlie, Chacquie and the teams of nurses, deat and drink what I enjoy, do the activities that I enjoy and think important, and expect to lose energy, but probably not suffer pain, until my Lord calls me home.

With that I am more than content.

What happened yesterday

I had a very happy time yesterday with the recording of my church music, and do appreciate so much Helen's setting it all up. I was very flattered that Malcolm asked to use some of the pieces. As I told him, they were all written for the less than professional (to put it mildly). And better sung than filed away. The sound the four of them made unaccompanied was really beautiful.

Dorothy and David and Chacquie came to church to hear, and all said they enjoyed the time very much. I was not too tired at all. After sitting up for soup and sandwiches with the guests I retired to my sofa and spent a restful evening, with Charlie helping me at bedtime with all the practical things like taking the right pills and getting my laptop set up by my bed for using now when I feel bright and fresh. In fact the sun is streaming in on my little picture gallery n the bedroom - in the centre, an oil painting of William of Orange at the Battle of the Boynne, below it an Irish landscape in watercolour by a well-known Irish artist, not my cousin Gladys, to the left a photo of Sue, and a watercolour by my grandmother of her house in Wicklow, and to the right a pencil drawing of Rowena of Barbara.

Chacquie (her name was spelled in the normal way, but she decided she was going to be distinctive!) spent the time while the rest of us were at supper going through my bedroom like the proverbial dose of salts. She knows me so well that she does just what I would want, and doesn't throw away anything she sees I might have a use for; but the result is a tidy-looking bedroom. And she found the base for the video camera Charlie was using, without which we can't get the film onto a computer. A long-felt want. The quality of video is better on the proper video camera, naturally.

Charlie is going to the Red Cross this morning to hire a wheelchair for the Cambridge journey. The Social Services are going to fix an extra handrail for the stairs, on the wall. Two people came from there yesterday, one of them with ten years' experience, and the other new to the service, but lived in BeiJing and speaks fluent Chinese! So we had a delighted recognition and exchanged a few words in Mandarin. I think he will come again and we'll have another go. I am so rusty. He excused himself saying he hadn't spoken for 5 months. I said I hadn't spoken for 50 years!

A full week ahead

My diary seems fuller than usual for next week.

Monday I have two pleasant musical appointments. One is to rehearse songs with a candidate for the Associated Board exams, whom I hope to accompany at the exam itself, and the other to discuss organ playing for a different exam, with my good friend John Foreman, landlord of the Ring o' Bells in Ashcott and organ devotee.

On Tuesday I am looking forward to my brother and sister-in-law's visit. That will be a real treat. They have recently moved to a village near Shrewsbury, where they are living in a vicarage in return for my brother giving 3 days a week including Sunday helping the vicar.

Wednesday is a hospital appointment, which will steer us towards the best kind of chemo treatment.

Thursday I am to see another good friend who is willing, God bless her, to keep a close eye on me when the chemo treatment begins. My children know me well enough to see that I need someone to keep me right on the practical side. Then on Thursday early evening Helen Lunt has arranged for four singers to sing my church music for recording. Well, to make a start anyway.

Friday is another treat, Not only shall I be going to see Michael Kidd, as I do most Fridays, but his daughter will be down from the Isle of Arran with her dogs, and will be giving a show with them to Pat Kidd and the other residents of The Lawns in Ashcott. This multi-talented lady has been a Crufts judge, and is skilled in healing.

Saturday my son and I hope to be off to Cambridge for a day with Classics teachers, under the Association for Latin Teaching.

So if there's not too much blog activity next week, it could be that I'm going to be spending the rest of my time asleep! 

Home music making - a lost art? Not here!

Helen Lunt has just left, after spending an hour or more playing her cello and singing, as I played the piano.

Making live music is about 750 times better than sitting down and listening to the radio or a CD, no matter what the difference in performance quality. One is immediate and personal. The other has gone through so many processes, and may well owe its final polish to clever editing. It's like a photograph of the real thing.

Anyway, we played what we thought was going to be by one less-known composer, but it turned out to be a concerto by Handel. It really was superb music. We were both sight-reading, so not doubt it wasn't perfect, but we got immense pleasure from it.

Oh yes, and we played the Mendelssohn Song Without Words, the only one he ever wrote for cello, that Steven Isserlis played as an encore at that wonderful recital of his. Really a very lovely piece.

Then Helen kindly played one of my pieces for the camera. It is called 'To Chloe', and has a little story to it.

At a Latin teachers' Summer School in Chester several years ago one of the teachers had brought her bassoon, to join in the entertainment on the last evening. So I thought it would be nice to write her a tiny piece specially for the occasion. We had been rehearsing other pieces together, and had got quite friendly. (She is now a priest.) Came the evening of our Roman Dinner, with a professional expert in Roman cuisine doing the honours, watched with interest and helped by the regular college cooks. All the teachers came draped in sheets (they knew enough about Roman dress not to call them togas!) and during and after the dinner there was entertainment in the form of Latin poetry. Another friend and I performed an Ode by Horace where each verse is spoken alternately by the man and the woman, as a lovers' quarrel and reconciliation is worked out. The man claims that 'Thracian Chloe now rules my heart', at which point I moved over to my bassoonist friend. So when I wrote this little piece, I called it 'To Chloe.'

Floods in Street? What floods?

The BBC reported Street and Walton as two of the worst places for flooding today. They quoted Norman Evans of the Fire Service:

Road conditions were "atrocious", he said. The worst hit areas were said to be Chard, Ilminster, Shepton Mallet and Street.

In the village of Walton, near Street, residents Jane and Tony Bird said their 11-year-old son, Jack, who had slept on a mattress downstairs with friends, woke up floating.

I didn't see any of it, but the assistant in the local shop said she had seen roads flooded and that her father had experienced worse road flooding. Someone said this evening that fields were not flooded where she went today. People are blaming poor road maintenance and the fact that drains are no longer kept clear.








I saw an example of that in miniature in Sainsbury's car park at mid day. There was a large area of flooding when I arrived, but someone with tools was feeling around for the drain, and when I came out the lake had disappeared. I've posted the photos I took.