Winter

I am afraid there were only 15 at our Christmas morning service. I found this depressing. However, I was pleased that three of my fellow members of Brockley Cricket Club were present. I enjoyed the rest of the day with my brother Philip and his family. In the afternoon when the boys were playing football and the woman out walking, Philip and I sat in his conservatory talking: a sign of the times. In the evening came the big surprise! Isaac, Philip’s eldest son, got down on one knee and proposed to his girl friend, Stephanie. The reactions to this public display of love were mixed! Joseph, his brother, looked distinctly uncomfortable – as did the rest of the men. Beccy his sister kept saying, “I’m shocked! I’m really shocked! Really, really, shocked!” Philip was heard to mutter, “How’s he going to keep her?” His mother, Sandra, in the kitchen missed the drama. And Stephanie? She wept for joy! I came home – full of wind!

On Boxing Day I had my friend Dorothy Haylock and her sister to dinner. We enjoyed the meal and had some laughs. Dorothy had been loaned a book entitled, ‘The joy of sex’, and wanted to know whether I would like to borrow it. It would look great on my window sill for all the visiting Grace Baptist preachers to dip into! In retrospect I am very glad to have had this happy time with Dorothy and her sister as it was not long before Margaret passed away.

After bird watching one Friday with Tommy we dropped into a cafe on the Moreton Hall Estate for coffee. It is a cafe where all the waitresses know Tom’s name! While we were there an Irish couple came in with two tiny, pretty girls. The youngest one had a horn to blow – she couldn’t be parted from it! It was a present from the family priest! Her father agreed with me that only a bachelor would give such a present for Christmas.

My three brothers and I met up for a meal in a local pub to celebrate my 70th birthday. In the past when we have all been together we have spent our time arguing who is the best cricketer. On this occasion we made lists of our ailments to see who might die first. I think the fact I have reached 70 gives them all some hope of living a little longer. When I was reviewing my 70 years with Tommy Bamber I said, “I suppose I could have done with a bit more love.” He said, which was kind of him, “But you’ve loved much – when it was hard to love – and that’s more important.” I don’t know – I’m not entirely convinced.

Sometimes little things can give a lot of pleasure. In January my friend Henry Pawsey dug up a tatty, disreputable, much patched, multi-coloured, tarmac path and laid some concrete. It looked so much better. Every time I look at it I am pleased! It’s better than an oil painting!

On Feb 4th I had a really exciting day. One of my former pupils of 40 years ago, Beverley Andrews, invited me to have coffee with her in Bury St Edmunds. After an hour of animated conversation two more old pupils turned up: Anna nee Bushel and her brother. What a treat. It is just such a pleasure to renew acquaintance with those you have to all intents and purposes lost. The only downside was that after 2 hours drinking gallons of coffee I was hyper all afternoon.

Another very happy occasion was a retirement party thrown for Mr Clear, Deputy Head at Debenham High School. Mr and Mrs Crawshaw, the Headmaster and his wife, did him proud – and what a lavish spread Mrs Crawshaw put on. It was good to see so many old colleagues.

Winter bird watching ended with the excitement of a bittern in flight at Lackford.

Spring

Sadly, age caught up with me with a vengeance this spring. I umpired my last hockey match. This is partly due to the demise of veteran’s hockey. The remnants of Bury Veterans now play with younger players in a league that demands qualified umpires. As I tended to umpire according to my own rules my services have been dispensed with. However, I also find it very difficult to stand upright for 35 minutes due to lower back pain. I also did my last long walk with John and Marion Skull in May. We walked along the Deben and then above the Mill river valley. It was a lovely day – with fine views. Everywhere was fresh, green and verdant. It was a day to make your heart sing. But I just kept thinking how bad the pain in my back and legs was!!

I certainly did an awful lot of bird watching in spring with my friend, Tommy. We had a wonderful morning walking along the Little Ouse at Santon Downham. It was exciting to see the lesser spotted woodpecker and a host of small birds: kingfisher, grey wagtail, siskin, goldcrest, marsh tit, coal tit, long tail tit and tree creeper. What a haul! The highlight of our year occurred on May 4th. My friend Tommy got a tip off that there was a very rare bird at Livermere. We both abandoned household chores and raced to the scene. A small group of the West Suffolk bird watching aficionados were standing by the edge of the lake all with telescopes focused on the long billed dowitcher. A new bird for the list! They get harder to come by as the years pass.

I also enjoyed a day out bird watching with cousin, Andrew, his wife, Viv, and son, Stephen. They were really enthusiastic which made it a pleasure for me to take them round. It was just as well we were never far from a public toilet! Then later in the spring I went out with my brother, Philip, his son, Joseph, and Joseph’s glamorous girl friend, Harriet – who I kept calling Charlotte. Harriet had been given strict instruction from Joe not to do or say anything that would upset old, uncle Johnny. It is a pity she wasn’t warned to wear Jeans as we had to negotiate beds of nettles.

March was a sparkling month. On Sunday 25th the daffodils were out and forsythia, magnolias and cherries in bloom. I had a nice lunch with my friends Richard and Carolyn Plowman. After dinner we sat and watched four rats gambolling on the lawn. Richard made frequent forays to chase them off but after resting briefly in an adjacent ditch they soon re-appeared to play in the sunshine. As March ended the weather deteriorated drastically. All thoughts of drought and hose pipe bans were dispelled. It wasn’t until May 18th that I went to roll the Brockley Cricket pitch for the first time. It was good to see so many there: callow youths practising, children being coached and parents steadily knocking back the lagers as they watched. After I had finished rolling the wicket I had the supreme delight of listening to Mouser Martin as he described the various bowel investigations he paid £1800 to have!! I celebrated with a couple of Budweisers and felt quite light-headed.

I was pleased to go to the farewell celebration of Mr Crawshaw’s 23 years as headmaster of Debenham High School. It was good to see how happy Mr and Mrs Crawshaw were. He could be happy for a job well done and she could be happy in anticipation of seeing more of her husband!

I was fascinated to watch a TV program called,’ 56 up,’ that charted the progress of a series of people from the age of 7 to 56 at seven year intervals. One woman who had been sulky, sullen, moody and miserable throughout her teens and early twenties was transformed by the love of a good man. She actually grew more attractive as she aged. It illustrated how important a good relationship is to happiness.

Summer

On June 4th a thrush sat right at the top of the spruce tree in my garden and sang its heart out all evening. It is such that makes life worth the living!

In early June I went on holiday to North Norfolk. For the first time ever I abandoned my tent and stopped in a comfortable, well equipped, clean and well-appointed chalet in East Runton. I very much missed being close to nature: seeing the sun set and hearing the birds sing. I also missed the informal chats with other campers and watching the children play. A good bed was some compensation. A highlight of my holiday was a gorgeous evening by the sea at Sheringham. The wind dropped, the sun shed a golden light and the seaside had that early evening stillness both restful and peaceful. A second highlight was a visit to Beeston Common where I chatted with a man photographing butterflies. He pointed out the rare marsh fritillary and Pugsley’s orchid – both of which I had never seen before.

In July I had a fleeting visit from two old pupils, Patricia and Fiona, from my days teaching at the girl’s grammar school in Bury St Edmunds. They bought me a little plaque with an inscription to an inspirational Geography teacher. It was not long, however, before Fiona was questioning my ability as a gardener. She thought my potted fig ought to be put down. She said, if there was an organisation for the protection of houseplants I would be a prime candidate for prosecution. I have to say I am very fond of my fig! It has survived in spite of years of neglect and mistreatment. It is a plant after my own heart!

In July I conducted the funeral of one of our members – Mrs Ivy Flanaghan. Carolyn Plowman and I had earlier visited her twice in the care home in Cambridge where she was resident. It was a home catering for dementia sufferers and as such not exactly uplifting. One visit was brightened by a delightful, lively, merry Indian lady. She told us that Ivy started and ended her day by reading the Bible – a good example to us all!

My old friend KB made me laugh with one of his tales. He went to B & Q on a Wednesday to benefit from a 10% discount. He bought a toilet seat. When he presented it to the cashier he was told that there wasn’t a discount on bathroom and kitchen fittings. KB’s reaction was to say, “But I wan’t it for my shed.” The cashier spluttered and stuttered a bit but stuck to his guns whereupon KB said, “Well that’s a bummer!” KB’s wife, Anne, laughed; even the cashier was impressed, but KB didn’t get his 10% discount.

What made me laugh even more was Stewy Fisher’s account of my nephew Isaac’s antics one Friday night in Newmarket. He went on the binge and decided he would practice his tight rope act by balancing on top of a high wall. When a passing policeman told him to get down, Isaac objected and insisted on his inalienable right to walk on a wall if he wanted to. He was arrested and put in the cells for the night. At this point he had a cunning plan. He decided he would be more comfortable in Newmarket hospital so he collapsed. However, when a blubbery lipped policeman bent down to check his breathing he thought he was going to be given mouth to mouth resuscitation and leapt to his feet faster than you could say, “Houdini!”

Peter Webb, gardening supremo of Stanstead, told me about a visitor to Hartest who was doing research on the village. He approached an old boy leaning on the Hartest stone and asked him why there were two pumps on the village green. “Well yar see one ‘ull give yar cold water and t’other hot!” Well it amused me!

Autumn

September was by my standards a busy month. On Sept 2nd our visiting speaker was my dear old friend, John Eley. He excels all our other preachers in the hair department. Rumour has it that ladies queue at his till in Ipswich Marks and Spencer to compliment him on his luxuriant locks.

I enjoyed visiting my brother Peter and his wife, Olive. Peter and I had a drink at a riverside pub in Kingston. The bar man must have recognised me for a Suffolk half wit. He never asked me what size glass I wanted but poured me out a huge goblet of white wine – which with Peter’s lager came to £12. I had indigestion for the rest of my visit. Still it was nice sitting in the sunshine watching pretty young mothers walk past pushing babies in their buggies. On the way home by train I was intrigued by a very small girl who kneeling on her seat tried to attract the attention of the gentleman in front of her. He refused to acknowledge her existence. She had better luck with the seat behind her which was occupied by a little Japanese girl. It was not long before their dollies were kissing. I got off the train at Stowmarket with the mother and her daughter. I commented on the daughter’s indefatigable energy. “That’s nothing,” said the mother, “she’s been on the go all the way from Cornwall.”

In the middle of the month I spent four days with Paul and Ruth in Hastings. My brother and I did three days bird watching. We were spoiled by Ruth who got us a meal each day on our return. I was fascinated to hear two ravens honking as they flew overhead at Dungeness. It is a very distinctive sound and not one I have heard before. One evening I visited my nephew Michael and his wife Beccy. It was a treat for me to spend a little time with their children. Joshua chatted cheerfully. Phoebe snuggled up to practice her reading. Gracie wriggled and writhed very fetchingly in her million dollar dressing gown and Chloe was her usual lovely self.

At the end of the month I endured self-inflicted torture. I bought some very expensive, very heavy, rich, brown curtains for the large windows of my lounge. I had to order and fix new curtain rails. To do this I had to buy a new drill as my old one gave off as many sparks as a Catherine wheel. The curtain rails sort of clicked into plastic supports. I never quite understood the mechanism. I was getting on well with the second rail: click, click, click. Only one to go .... But could I get the rail to click into the last support. I struggled and sweated. No click! I rested – and struggled again – but to no avail. In the end I was in such a state of desperation I resorted to prayer. Just one more try – yes – you’ve guessed it – CLICK!!!

In early October I had a lovely evening with my brother, Philip’s family. We went to view my niece, Beccy’s, art exhibition in Cambridge. It was a great exhibition and she sold 10 paintings on the night and 9 more since. After the private viewing we went to a trendy bar for a meal. We all basked in Beccy’s success and it was a very happy evening. My brother succumbed to the usual Reed grumpiness blaming me for walking so slowly to the pub that he got soaked to the skin. I had an umbrella!

At the end of October I went to the annual combined Speech and Prize–giving at Debenham High School. I was delighted at the end to meet up with Laura nee Vanstone who I taught 20 years ago. She was one of my favourites in spite of finding Geography difficult. Her long hair and long legs were some compensation. She told me that 7 years ago she became a Christian. That news gave me much pleasure.

Much of my time is still spent preparing sermons and writing for my website. I am struggling through Romans at present. It is making me cross! I had several encouraging emails this year.

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