Summer at last

Adhisthana, June 2024

UJ returned from her trip back home late in the evening and I was away to the retreat centre first thing next morning, so we didn't meet. Apart from her outstanding command of English degenerating a little to just being excellent, she seemed to be very well and made supper for me a few days later when I got back. Most of the time, however, we operate separately as she works during the day and barely emerges from her room until late evening and I am usually doing something else by then. We watch TV together by appointment.

I had just two days back home this time between stints at Adhisthana. One of my tasks within this period was to get the car through its MOT, which it managed on the second attempt after failing because of a seized rear brake calliper that also damaged the brake disk. That day also contained my board games group, which I continue to enjoy a great deal. 

The following day I spent with Lola II in Oxford - we had plans for several things to do as well as going to the Weston Library for its latest exhibitions, but we ought to know by now that after we've set aside time for talking there's often little time for anything else. We managed one exhibition, which was about Franz Kafka. I learned that he had a full-time job in insurance and only wrote in his spare time, he never married but was engaged three times (twice to the same woman), and he died in 1924 of consumption, outlived by his parents.

Then back to Adhisthana for my last week, and all of a sudden I had too much work to do, so there are a couple of threads dangling that I might have to deal with from home. Those last three days also included perfect weather, a summer solstice barbeque and a retreat for classical musicians, which led to me finding out that one of the women's community plays the flute. I managed to remember to take my clarinet and a book of duets, and we got together to play one evening.

The end of any service to the Adhisthana community is marked with modest celebration that includes snacks at the morning tea break and a round of 'rejoicing' -  many people gather and anybody can chip in and say something nice about you. I find it difficult to endure the attention, despite all the lovely things that are said. They also gave me presents - I asked for perishables only (nothing that I have to clean or dust), so I got a bar of chocolate, some incense, and a 'voucher' for any Adhisthana retreat in the next year.

So then it was home again in time to prepare for a visit by The Bursar and The Quiet Man. The Bursar was planning to run in the Leamington Spa Half Marathon on Sunday but hadn't done enough preparation, and The Quiet Man is having time off due to injury, so they didn't run but both came to visit anyway. The weather was probably too hot for comfortable running but perfect for showing them the beauty of the town, having an ice cream and sitting in the garden.

New Year was in June

Sheafhayne Manor, June 2023 (photo credit: Lola II)

Many times, a group of my friends and their partners have gathered in some large house to celebrate the New Year. Up until now, this has always taken place in December and January, but this year we gathered in June and reaped the benefit of warmer weather and light levels that allowed walking beyond 3pm, not to mention the joy of eating dinner outside.

We returned to the house in Devon where we'd spent the last holiday at New Year (2021-22), but with fewer people: only eleven of us this time. I drove with Lola II and Mr M, stopping for lunch on the way and then doing a major supermarket shop for the group before arrival and the process of picking bedrooms - we all chose a different room from the one we'd had before.

Over the week we went on long walks and shorter walks, those who brought bikes went cycling, we cooked for one another and ate out at cafes and restaurants, visited National Trust houses and their gardens, played games and attempted a fiendish jigsaw which remained unfinished at the end of the week when it was time to go home. 

A Buddhist friend of mine who used to live in Stratford before she moved to Devon joined us for one walk. Two of our number revealed that the reason that they had to leave us for two days in the middle was because one of them was going to become Irish on Tuesday afternoon. They drove and sailed all the way back to Ireland, attended the citizenship ceremony and drove and sailed back, then cooked us a barbeque in the evening in a truly heroic fashion. So we were nine Brits, one Australian and one European when we arrived, and eight Brits, one Australian and two Europeans when we departed.

The Bursar and Lola II, Sidmouth promenade

Games played were Pitchstorm, Codenames and the Bucket Game; places visited included coastal towns Beer, Branscombe and Sidmouth; National Trust sites were Montacute House and Killerton, both of which were delightful and included interesting walks as well as interesting properties. Killerton was my favourite, due to the enthusiastic volunteers who were keen to share as much information as you were prepared to listen to, and encouraged interaction to the extent of actually being able to look at books in the library and to play their piano and organ. Luckily our party included a competent pianist (not me) who had been practising tunes for singing back at the Manor. So Killerton was treated to a rendition of Life on Mars on the organ, which was lovely.

Mr MXF was the most enthusiastic cyclist and rode off early every morning to bring back breakfast pastries. Both our Europeans and Lola II and Mr M all brought whisky and Lola II made her signature gulloeblobs consisting of stem ginger in chocolate. The weather was so good that we ate outside nearly every evening. It was a wonderful and relaxing holiday with people who are easy to get along with, and due to the Splitwise app we didn't even need to do the convoluted accounting to work out what everyone owed everyone else.

Sidmouth, June 2023 (photo credit: Lola II)

High Table

Lovely capital decoration at the gate of a restaurant, Cambridge, February 2022

Thanks to Lola II having another birthday, I was invited to attend 'High Table' at Christ's College, Cambridge. Lola II and Mr M had been holidaying in Cambridge for a couple of days before I turned up and had been royally entertained while lodging in The Bursar's Rooms in College. 

I had to give some consideration to my outfit, given that I no longer even have to be smart enough to go to work. I fished out the Lady Shoes, tried on the last smart thing I wore (for my nephew's wedding) but I felt it clashed with my slightly purple hair, found something else that would do, along with earrings and everything. As it turned out the Lady Shoes just had a weekend away without having to do any work as I wore ordinary shoes in the end.

The evening proper started with sherry in The Bursar's rooms. I discovered that we were going to Do Things Properly, even though it turned out that The Bursar had forgotten that students don't have the option to attend a formal dinner on a Saturday. So rather than actually being at the High Table in front of a load of undergrads and postgrads the six of us (The Bursar, Lola II, Mr M, me, JW and JD*) were dining very exclusively in the Senior Combination Room (just a fancy name for a wood panelled room with a dining table in it).

Despite being within that room, Doing Things Properly meant that we didn't sit down at the table until Tim the Deputy Butler came in and announced that Dinner Is Served. Also, The Bursar insisted on standing to read the Grace Before Meals, which in the main Dining Hall is quite long but with our small party was shortened to just two words. The table setting always includes a piece of College silverware, which in our case was something known as the FA Cup due to looking a bit like that trophy. On discussion with Tim it was replaced with a sculpture of a Yale** - a mythical creature similar to a goat with two horns pointing in different directions which features on the Lady Margaret's coat of arms, she being the college's Foundress.

We were served with three courses with wine and then, on a different table in front of the fireplace, with cheese and a different wine (after we had stood to receive The Bursar's Grace After Meals). In a further college tradition Lola II was presented with a bottle of wine by JW which was recorded in the latest of a series of books dating back many years. Entries other than the presentation of wine and port include various bets between college members and also fines awarded - in 1836 Mr Darwin (Charles, for he is a Christ's alumnus) was fined a bottle of wine for being 'too late in hall'. It was a lovely evening full of ancient tradition.

On Sunday Lola II and Mr M went to visit mum and dad, JD and JW went out for a cycle ride while I met another friend for a pub lunch and jigsaw exchange, and more friends for supper. The theme of Cambridge friends was extended to Monday when CERNoise (blog reader extraordinaire) came to visit me to survey the famed Lola Towers which she had previously only read about. "It really exists!" she exclaimed. We had lunch in my favourite Indian restaurant (Indian food being hard to find on the French/Swiss border) and had a short tour of Leamington, which sadly didn't put on its best weather for the visitor.

* JW and JD = new names for family JJL&J since L&J have grown up and moved out.

** Note from Mr M: The mythical Yale has no connection to the US university, which was named after an Irish benefactor whose name sounded like Yale. They do use a Yale (the animal) in places at Yale (the university), but only because it shares a name with the gentleman.