Last night nerves and a Festival First

Ooh, ooh, oh --- twingle twangle twingle --- that's my nerves, that is, as I try to spend an hour of two in constructive relaxation in anticipation of a rather fraught afternoon. This evening I shall be in the Cathedral singing with the massive choir

'Old Bags' are doin' it for Themselves

Good to see that Aylsham's first Plastic Bag Free Day passed without any of the unpleasantness generated by Sainsburys' "Take an Old Bag Shopping" campaign last month. The company blandly denied intending to cause offence after mild protests from Age

All on a Bright May Morning

A Merry May Morning to you. Bright Phoebus is making a valiant attempt to rise high over Mousehold, where the combined Morris talent of Norwich should be doing their stuff right now, and I am getting on the right side of a pot of hot tea before going

Spend your way out of the 'ten per cent blues'!

Well, it's been a tense few days out here in the sunny pastures of Pensionland, as we waited for our April payslips to see what the damage was. After a bit of pencil chewing and calculator prodding, Invisible Woman can proudly announce that despite a 50%

With Sandy on the shore

This serene spring morning is filled with thoughts of Sandy Denny, not that it needed the 30th-anniversary reminders in the media. Sandy's death hit me hard: we were born in the same year and damn' nearly died in the same year. I remember looking at the

The true Norfolk tradition (woo-woo)

The Wednesday acoustic sessions at the Nelson seem to get madder and madder. This week I rolled up to find an Executive Decision had been taken (because someone had brought along a US-loco woo-woo whistle) to have a theme, viz: "Trains". Result: instead

Skylarks, George Orwell and me

Just logged on to the 5-day forecast and wished I hadn't, since it reads: Cloudy, Light Rain, Heavy Rain, Heavy Rain, Heavy Rain. After some good jaunts out since the start of the year, I am getting cabin fever. Apparently science has proved that

Balls (winning)

Oh the joys of retirement, ten past nine and still in my dressing gown, watching other people work, viz: the team of chaps putting replacement windows in the flats opposite. Mine were done in January, which is why I can pretend I am Noel Coward of a morning

And words can do so much!

I do love words. It's the way harmless-seeming letter-combinations dropped on to paper in all innocence or seriousness have the potential to explode into multiverses of delight. There's been a particularly fine crop this week. First on to the doormat,

Rejoice! my sock has come to me

Regular readers (oh yes there are -- and I know where you live) may remember a discussion last year about the essentially untrustworthy nature of supposedly inanimate objects, with special mention of the migratory nature of socks. Well, post-holiday

Norwich - three times as cultural as Liverpool!

Surprisingly little trumpeting seems to have been done about the news from listings website LocalLife that when it comes to arts and entertainment, Norwich knocks the new European Capital of Culture into a cocked hat. They calculated that we have approximately

Round Yarmouth with Bosoms and Besoms

Praise be - after a horribly dull week, Plough Saturday dawns brisk and sunny and off goes I with the Norwich Kitwitches on their now-traditional visit to dance the Molly for the citizens of Great Yarmouth. Serious traditionalists will explain that

The Tenth Lesson and Carol

Do you, gentle reader, include yourself in that seventy-seven per cent of the population who expose themselves as once-a-year churchgoers by not being able to remember an entire Christmas carol? Fear not, Cinders, said she, you shall go to the Watchnight

Upstaged by a piece of wood!

Oh, but this is so galling.   I brought Jimmur the Jig Doll home from Traditional Music Day because everybody loves a dancing doll and it was a way of joining in sessions rather than sitting waiting to asked for a song while the musicians had

Get stuffed! I in't no turkey

As a long time singleton and far beyond the stage where you have to Do It for the Kiddies, I remain fairly immune to the more hysterical elements of the festive season. (Perfect tree! Perfect wrappings! Perfect sprouts! Perfect dress!) However, it would