April

Well the end of March turned out to be far busier and far more interesting that expected.

It started on Thurs 22nd with an evening of salsa dancing at a local restaurant. There is a group of 20-30's that Sarah is involved with who occasionally socialise and I go out to support her. It was much more fun than expected (although I like dancing) and despite being nervous I thought that most of the time I acquitted myself well. It was only a beginners class after all. Are certainly going to go again when Sarah's work schedule allows.

Then Friday was Kirsten's leaving do. After a meal in an Italian restaurant and a few beers we sadly said goodbye to Kirsten as she moves to work for Northamptonshire to work for the Environmental Education Department. Gone but not forgotten. We will miss you

On Saturday there was Sarah's birthday Ceilidh. I like dancing and have a bit of experience with county dancing but a lot of my friends don't and thus the image of my friends looking confused by a right hand star or forming arches and casting around the circle was priceless. Sarah had a good time in the second half after she relaxed despite there being a lot of people from her churches. I loved it and can't wait to ceilidh again.

Sunday - played korfball against Framlingham Earl, in a friendly, who are a new team. Despite this they have a couple of good players and are tactical astute due to their coaching. We were winning comfortably until our coach decided to referee to encourage them (not the first time) and we need a last minute penalty to draw 6-6. Last game of the season next Sunday.

Monday - Ben (who is Jenny's on-off boyfriend) did a piano recital for Jenny as a birthday present. Some of the pieces, I think by Dvorak, performed by two people sitting at the same piano were stunning but the best piece was by Beethoven. It was written late in life when he was deaf and you can hear the frustration and anger at not being able to hear the music. It was often the context of the music which is more fascinating than just listen. At the point in time what was the composer thinking and what were the political situation that the composer was living in.

Tuesday - korfball training

Wednesday - Russell Howard (the blonde one from Mock the Week) came to play at the Norwich Arts Centre. He was excellent although a lot of his comedy is based on human bodily functional or sexual dysfunction. He made a 25 second rant at religion which made Sarah defensive but apart from that we really enjoyed it. At the end of it Scott and Lisa left at such speed we thought that they had gone home but it turned out they went to the bar and were expecting everyone else to duly turn up but we went home instead and they sat there for about 20 minutes before realising that no-one else would be turning up.

Friday - Mel's leaving do at Bedfords restaurant. A nice evening of chat with a few beers. The bar serves my favourite lager, Staropramen, from Czech Republic. I usually dislike lager and prefer my real ale but I make an exception for Staropramen. Mel seemed unhappy that not many people were going on from the bar at 11 but most of us were shattered after a long term. Mel is going to Acle (about 10 miles from Norwich) so although she will be missed at work she will still be around socially. Good luck Mel

Saturday - My birthday treat to Sarah was a trip to London to do some sightseeing type things. We caught an early train and had breakfast of croissants and orange juice on the train.

First stop - St Paul's Cathedral which is just stunning. The Dome and the artwork located on it is amazing. It is painted in a 3D way do it looks like it is not a flat surface and whatever I write will not do it justice. If you go up to the Whispering Gallery and put you face against the wall and whisper it can be heard on the other side of the dome. This was cool but the fact it still worked despite the windows looking like there were in the way. There are also a couple of very special paintings.

Second stop - John Wesley's house and chapel. As a Methodist Sarah had wanted to visit this place and overall it was a fraction disappointing. The church was okay but not that unusual and the museum lacked focus and any interactive elements. As Sarah pointed out a church is its people not the building. The house on the other hand gave an insight into the way Wesley worked and the conditions he was striving to change. Two other things of note. 1 We saw Lord Griffith and 2 we worked into someones house whose day was open by accident.

Third stop - Tate Britain
The main gallery is a copy of the anti war art that was in Parliament Square and while you may not agree with the war the strength of feeling the passion and the humour of the protest is striking. My favourite was a red triangular sign with the picture of a man hold a petrol pump nozzle to his head as if he is about to commit suicide. There are lots of other galleries in a broadly historical theme and while individual pictures stand out I had no overall favourites (maybe the seascapes).

Final Stop - The Mousetrap
A classic Agatha Christie play that is the longest running play on in the West End. Really enjoyable made more so by the fact that I guessed the murderer at the half time interval (not with any certainty) just going on who was the most unlikely. The way the cast were able to inject humour into a whodunit by change of tone, body language and small gestures made the play. The only downside was being on the front row of the upper circle (sounds excellent) but the safety railing divided the stage into two and for Sarah four as she had a post and a railing.

Sunday played korfball scoring the winning goal with about two minutes to go beating Dragons2 6-5. Then went to the pub quiz going 8th out of 10with a dismal 80 out of 120. Too depressed to write about this any more.