MAY 1981
The month of May began with me and my sister Tiggie on a visit to see friend Bill in Yorkshire. We had arrived in Whitby on the evening of April 30th. It had been a clear blue sky on Thursday, but by Friday May the 1st it was raining. It was still rainy on Monday, the May Day Bank Holiday, and on Tuesday my sister and I returned to Norfolk.
On Wednesday we had a large export order from M. Texier in France; also Lizars paid for their last month’s order. I went to post but sent the Texier order by inland postage by mistake. There I met my fiend David Storey (head of Eaton Primary School and the double bass player in the Mozart Orchestra). On Friday I had a Tax Refund of £100 which I paid into the Building Society. On Saturday I bought some local honey in Newton Flotman.
On Wednesday the 13th I was dropped off at the livestock market to attend the auction, but the lots were so rubbishy that I got my sister come and pick me up. I went back in the afternoon and bid up to £9 for violin. It went for £19 in the end, too expensive for me but at least I got practice in bidding. At Thorpe library I got out my current favourite novelist’s autobiography (Anthony Powell) but I think I have already read it.
On Sunday we went to Southwold and had a drink at the Lord Nelson before visiting the Sailor’s Reading Room. On Sunday we had a fish supper; I had trout, while Tiggie had a bloater which was passed over the hedge by Mrs Matthews. On Monday morning we discovered that our car had been rifled through by a thief in the night; this is very unusual, or we would not have left the car unlocked. Tig thought her plimsols had gone, but they had only been moved; the one thing we missed was a packet of potpourri. We were careful to lock the car when we left it to walk the dogs at Maston Lane – it had three violins inside!
On Thursday the 21st of May I re-haired the cello bow, tuned it and then spent some time playing the instrument. (I found a copy of the Piatti cello tutorial in the cupboard.) I also glued up the bass where the table was loose. My latest project is to make myself a viola d’amore, and as a first step I drew up a plan.(This was as far as I got with the project.) I spent most of my time practicing my double-bass.
On Monday the 25th I went up to the top floor of 29 Surrey Street and found that the roof ha been leaking again. However I cannot find any damp patches in the attic. I had to cut a piece of wood to size for alterations to the the kitchen door; the circular saw came in handy for this. I had to take the door off to get a good fit – the Surform was just the thing for this; luckily I had the tool I needed. Then I nailed two bits together. We called at the Feathers in Framingham Pigot for a drink on the way home for lunch. It is still cold enough to need the fire lit, and I sat by it and wrote a long letter to Bill. We picked some wild mushrooms which we will have fried.
My sister Tig received £100 from our sister Christine in Canada, for her rapidly approaching birthday. She went out to the Building Society to pay this in. We had a caller who wanted to buy a magnifier, but we had run out, having sold our entire stock and readied them for dispatch; I had to unpack one that was ready to be posted! We had another sales lead from the Electronics Times; we have had plenty of these, but no sales!
I had news of the summer meeting of the Oxford Society, which will be held at the Bishop of Lynn’s house in Ranworth. For next month’s recital at Holkham Hall that Beverley and I are due to attend our tickets have arrived, we will be sitting in row C.
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