Hello everybody. Yes, another twelve months have anno dominoed across the board, all of a clatter, and we’re up to the double six with the star on one half and the sprig of holly on the other, again. An eventful year? Yes, by our standards.
irst, the federation scare which had threatened local schools was blown out of the water at a hostile public meeting. An official said, in desperation-‘If you don’t want it, it won’t happen!’, and the meeting replied with one voice-‘We don’t want it!’ Quick vote- unanimous ‘NO!’ – end of story. The officials ran, just as the tar and feathers were being broken out.
alerie did lose a half day of her one and a half per week, from September, but supply work all but topped it up, plus she’s just been told of a tidy stretch of extra work in the first quarter of next year, which will fit in nicely while I’m ‘resting’-a purely technical term.
had very good season- the best for eight years. It concluded with a flurry of commissions, then I’ve just topped it off with the best exhibition I’ve ever had. It was at home, for just one weekend, and boy was it hectic! It was more like a January sale than an exhibition. We were numb with shock when it was over. Oh, and I picked up a few more commissions for when I go back to work. I wouldn’t say it makes us rich, but we are at least seriously solvent for a while.
f course, any money disposal problem would always be neutralised by John and Miriam. They soak up money like social blotting paper. As they increase in age and stature, in appetite and taste, interest and awareness, they develop this limitless capacity to absorb resources- money, food, shower space, time, travel –and money. Though they aren’t averse to earning it for themselves. Miriam (14 next week, school year nine) took over John’s monthly freesheet news-round, then she took over his weekend job at the boatyard where my studio is (Miss Pump-out of 1999) when John moved to a part time job at Sainsbury’s- trolleys, yes, but checkout too, and if he goes away to university, he’ll just transfer his part time job to another branch. He’s still on the Moped, but he takes his driving test in January- his instructor says he’d pass now.
iriam continues to scare the hell out of me- just by being the graceful, beautiful, talented, rational, mature, sweet, strong, gentle creature she is. I did say, she’s not 14 yet. She got to swim in a show at the Yarmouth circus, this year. For you Outlanders, Yarmouth’s permanent circus building has a ring that floods like the Blackpool one, and in fact, the usual summer performance, now, is half circus and half water spectacular. This was a special show written as part of the annual Norfolk and Norwich Festival. Next year, subject to other commitments, she may swim in the summer show, but I rather feel that the other commitments will prove too much; she is a very busy lady.
s for Valerie and me, we just pootle along on our mad, gay round of Sainsbury’s, Wayford Bridge Farm Shop, Thurne for Mrs Bertie’s vegetables, to Rodney, the Ludham Butcher, then scurry back to our cosy burrow. After a delicious supper, we see who can stay awake longest through the Nine O’clock News, then off we go to bed to sleep like Christians.
ow it’s almost time to fire up the festivity boilers, pump up the calliope and the mince pies, rollout the shunkle and the puff pastry, deck the halls and doctor the puddings. The curtain-raiser will be Miriam’s birthday sleep-over- she and five close friends- ‘the Brody Set’, munching, nibbling, grazing and gossiping in a circle of sleeping bags on the lounge floor, well into the wee small hours.
hen there’ll be carols and such, with the last flurry of cleaning before the jollity sets in. Time for a re-assuring skip through Betjeman’s Advent, a sympathetic nod to Elliot’s Magi, and their ‘cold coming’, a moment’s pause by Hardy’s ‘lonely barton, by yonder coomb’ then sing with Laurie Lee’s childhood friends, and feel ‘two thousand Christmases come real
s for the milenium, well, Valerie’s Dad will be with us for the duration, and we observe the Carter family New Year traditions, which means Valerie and I take it in turns to watch Dad sleep away the last hours of 1999. The children have already booked pass-outs. Then a minute before the chimes, Valerie will nip outside with her bag of token necessities (piece of fuel, coin, twists of tea, sugar, etc.) to perform the first footing, as her Mom did for so many years, and hers before her. Even if Dad weren’t here, we daren’t not do it, nor would we want to. Then a glass of champagne, courtesy of Dad, kisses, hugs, smiles and tears all round, and ten minutes later we’ll all be dreaming in the 21st century.
owever, before that, we will be celebrating Christmas, with good food and drink, with music and fun, with friends and family and memories, but mainly with love, and we very much hope that you will be doing the same.
Merry Christmas Everybody,