The churchyard also contains the remains of a saint and so I feel impelled to briefly relate the story of St Withburga and to do that we have to travel back to the eighth century and all the turmoil that those days brought with it. Some of the history has been muddied over the centuries but for some the tomb of St Withburga is still a place of pilgrimage and mystery.
Withburga died in 743 and was buried at Dereham. Her body was said to be uncorrupted by age or decay when her tomb was opened half a century after her death, and the church and the tomb subsequently became a place of pilgrimage. When her relics were stolen on the orders of the abbot of Ely Abbey, the remains were re-interred at Ely next to her two sisters. In 1106, Withburga's body was again examined and found to be intact.
At the site of Withburga's tomb outside the west end of the town's parish church there is the remains of a holy well associated with the saint, which according to her legend rose on the site of her grave after her body had been stolen. Of a second spring, located further west and called Withburga's Well, which was recorded in the 18th century, no remains exist.
There's much more to the legend but that's enough for now.
* *
Well I threatened to do it and so I have. I've applied to go on the television quiz programme The Chase. It could be a few months before I hear whether I've got an audition but I will keep you informed.
* *
As some of you know the other four fifths is quite badly deaf and at times I get frustrated but I'm probably not as tolerant as I should be.
"Do you want to go to the gym," I might say.
"Fish and chips," might be the reply.
I find it quite difficult at times when I say something and the answer is not based on what I say but on what it is assumed I have said.
But I digress.
The other four fifths' great niece is profoundly deaf but cochlear implants revolutionised her life. She has fought through adversity and is carving out a niche for herself as an actress.
I can do no better than use Olivia's own words, featured recently in a magazine article. So here goes.
Olivia is on a mission to bring more deaf representation to the theatre.
"The theatre is a fabulous place to be, people just take you for who you are, with or without cochlear implants."
“I don’t know if I was born with hearing loss because looking back, it was thought that I had some hearing as I would change the tone of my babble depending on the situation. I had a telephone babble, a cross/angry babble, a general chitchat and lots more, and I passed my hearing screening at 7 months old at 40 decibels. Further hearing tests were carried out at around 12 to 14 months, and it came as quite a shock to my parents when they were told that I was profoundly deaf. My family was devastated.
It was a bit of a whirlwind; I received my hearing aids and was assigned a Teacher of the Deaf. But it was at that time that my parents started researching and asking questions about cochlear implants. It was uncharted territory for my parents but if cochlear implants could give me the chance to access sound like other children, it was a chance that they were willing to take. I was referred to The Yorkshire Cochlear Implant Service at Bradford Royal Infirmary to see if I fitted the criteria to be a cochlear implant recipient. The result was yes, so we then started the process that led to getting my first cochlear implant in 2007.
I had my switch on prior to me starting mainstream nursery school in 2008 where I already had a Statement of Educational Needs (SEN) in place, so I then had one to one support from my first day at school. At the age of 5 I was given the opportunity to have a second cochlear implant, and after further discussions with my surgeon my parents decided to go ahead with the second implant.
Primary school was good, I had lots of friends and great support. But unfortunately, in Year 5 the school decided that my support should be reduced. They didn’t understand the help that I needed and said they could no longer fully meet my needs, so in 2015 I left all my friends behind and moved to a mainstream school with a resource provision for deaf children. It was sad but I never looked back. The support I received was fantastic and I made so much progress in the year that I was there.
I moved on to a secondary school again with a resource provision for deaf children, where I spent most of my lessons with classroom support. The support I received was fantastic, I couldn’t have asked for anything more. I made new friends, but I found that where I had many friends in the past, a lot of the girls at high school didn’t want to know me because I was deaf and that didn’t change from the first day to the last day. A shame really because I would have been a great friend!
I enjoyed school in particular Drama, Art and Sport. I also did Levels 1, 2 and 3 in British Sign Language which was very useful as some of my deaf peers were non-verbal. As I had cochlear implants sign language was something that I did not have experience of, but I picked it up very quickly. I made good progress at school and passed 8 GCSEs as well as my 3 Levels in British Sign Language.
Next, I secured a place at college studying Drama. I had a fabulous 2 years and made loads of friends, wearing cochlear implants suddenly didn’t seem to matter as much. It was hard work and long days, but I took part in some amazing productions. I also had the opportunity to teach sign language to my peers which we included in a singing and dance piece performed in London in 2023. I left college in the summer of 2023 with 4 A Levels in Drama and Performing Arts, and in September last year I began my degree in Acting at Leeds Conservatoire. Could I have achieved all that without my cochlear implants? I would say not.
Drama and dancing is a big part of my life. I started dancing when I was 3 years old at a local dance school which I still attend when my time allows. I also have a good social life with my ‘dance family’. I’ve been part of the ensemble in a couple of musicals at Wakefield Theatre Royal with Wakefield Youth Music Theatre where I made some amazing friends. The theatre is a fabulous place to be, people just take you for who you are, with or without cochlear implants.
I would love to work in the theatre and raise awareness there for the deaf. I would also love to bring a deaf theatre to the north of England. Over the next couple of years, I want to achieve my Level 6 in British Sign Language and Interpreters Level. So, if you don’t see me in the theatre, you might catch me in the corner of your television!
If anyone is wondering if they should have their child implanted or not, I’d say go for it. It certainly changed my life and I’m glad that my parents made the choice for me. Mainstream school can be tricky as some (not all) teachers don’t always understand hearing loss. If you get the chance to choose a mainstream school with a resource provision for deaf children then take it, it made such a difference for me.
I count myself as very lucky as I can both speak and sign, which is not something that everyone can do. I work hard and sometimes find things difficult, but I always try my best. As for my cochlear implants; I wouldn’t be without them."
*. *. *
Apparently everyone is talking about Benson Boone. I know this is true because The One Show told me last night and what the One Show says is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
I haven't been talking about Benson Boone. Until last night I had never heard of him. I have heard of Pat Boone but nobody is talking about him because he died years ago didn't he? Well no actually he's approaching his 90th birthday. But he's strictly old school.
So what about Benson Boone (no relation)? Didn't know what to expect but hey ho he wasn't as bad as I feared despite being labelled as a tik tok sensation. At least his song didn't dissolve into thudding drum and bass. His voice reminded me of Geoff Buckley (vaguely). I suspect he will have a clutch of number ones before disappearing without trace. Oh by the way if you haven't already gathered, Benson Boone is an American singer songwriter.
*. *. *
One of the most embarrassing things to watch on television is elderly people trying to prove that they aren't really elderly by breaking into a run or some other silly action.
"Look at me. I may be old but I can still run five yards." You know the kind of thing.
Bruce Forsyth did it a lot. In his later years he staggered down some steps and broke into a tap dance for which he got a thunderous round of applause as if still being able to move is a miracle at a certain age.
The latest in a long line of people to do this is US president Joe Biden who tried to prove that he can still break into a trot despite being 81. All he proved was how easy it is for a president to look and act ridiculous when he's trying to be youthful and exhibiting a degree of fun and achieving none of those things.
*. *. *
Sales of our book are going well.
Good to see Beyond Paradise back on our screens even if the producers of the programme seem to have their counties mixed up. The drama is supposed to be set in a town in Devon which is quite obviously Looe which is firmly in Cornwall.
Enough for today, no more they cried.