It’s all about poetry in this week’s The Bar Man column, by Jeff Hoyle…
A busy weekend became even more complicated when Sue discovered that she could not make it to Lynn for the course she was presenting owing to problems with the railway. Strikes? Engineering? Leaves? Who knows.
Anyway, we could not disappoint the 20 people who had signed up, so we offered to collect her from near Cromer. In truth this was not very onerous as we booked a night in the Dormy House at West Runton to avoid a 7am start on Saturday morning and had a lovely day.
A stop for lunch at Wiveton, made famous in the Normal for Norfolk TV series, was enlivened by the sight of Desmond himself wandering around in an old tweed jacket and shorts. Coffee and cake in the Tea Room at the Corner House in West Runton were delightful and a walk down to the surprisingly nice beach took us past a model of the famous mammoth that was discovered there, and which seems to have provided the template for the painted ones on the Quayside and in the Walks in Lynn.
A pint in the Good Beer Guide-listed Village Inn was great, and I doubt it was better patronised even in the heyday of the Pavilion which once stood behind it and, I am told by people of a certain age, was the premier rock venue in Norfolk.
It was good to see that the Dormy House had a couple of cask beers, and we were well rested when we picked Sue up on Saturday morning, delivering her to the Friends Meeting House in good time for her day examining fairy tales. This history was fascinating but I was rather apprehensive about writing poetry. Still, what’s the worst that can happen? You decide.
Little Red Riding Hood
Bad girl or good?
The wolf’s destiny hangs by a thread
A good meal or an axe to the head.
Goldilocks or the bears
Who sits on the chairs?
Who sleeps in the bed?
Many are hungry, who will be fed?
Follow the yellow brick road
Can Judy carry the load?
How will the director ensure
The lost little girl stays pure?
So, what’s the verdict? Schoolboy doggerel or the work of the next poet laureate?
Either way, it was fun and after a few days of cake baking (not me), transporting poets and organising the course it was good to relax in the evening. No more cooking for the Bar Wife – we headed down to the Stuart House Hotel and had a delicious meal washed down with a pint or two of Lacon’s Encore.
Warm and cosy, with a faint jazzy soundtrack playing in the background, this was the perfect end to a hectic day. Next morning we returned Sue to Wells, where she was meeting up with her partner and had a wander round this lovely town, the quayside looking spectacular in the bright sunshine.
Then it was time to drive down to Walsingham to pick up Cathy. She had come on pilgrimage for Nottingham for the weekend and while she completed the Benediction, Procession and Sprinklings we had a wander round the bluebell-dotted grounds of the Abbey, a first time for me. But perhaps not the last. Should we do it all again? Encore indeed.
jeffhoyle@btinternet.com