I am at present reading the book Tombland by C. J. Sansom which is set in Norwich at the time of Kett's Rebellion. It's a rather slow moving story and I'm up to the part where Kett and his men are setting up camp on Mousehold Heath. I'm not sure that, if the action hadn't been set in and around Norwich, I would have persevered with it as it's rather an over-long book.
It's nice to imagine the areas of Norwich mentioned and how they would have been in the 16th century. It had particular resonance to me as it's set around the Tombland area of Norwich - somewhere I frequented every day at school between the age of 11 and 18.
I particularly remember Saturday nights when we went to the White Horse (I think that was its name. It's now the Wig and Pen, so called because it's close to the law courts which didn't exist in that location when I was at school). Landlord of the pub was known to all as Arthur. I was 18 so legal as far as alcohol was concerned. A few of the others were still 17 but it didn't seem to matter.
I used to meet with school friends there and we would just sit and chat and drink. One of the most boring evenings I have ever had was when most of them had been on a school skiiing trip - a trip I didn't go on. The entire evening was taken up by them talking about what had happened on the trip. They obviously had a great time but I had no interest or knowledge of what they were talking about.
The same thing happened a few years later when we were newly married and lived in Beccles. Anne had university friends around and they talked all night about their experiences - experiences I had no knowledge of. I think I ended up making my excuses and going to The Crown in Blyburgate for a drink.
There's nothing worse than an evening of "Do you remember Stephen who was in A class. Do you remember what he did that night we went out in Norwich" when you have no idea or interest in who Stephen was or what he did.
If I'm in the presence of old colleagues, friends etc who are unknown to a partner or somebody I'm with, I try not to talk too much about the past as I'm very much aware that they would be bored.
As I've mentioned before, I went to the Norwich School and occasionally, when I'm thinking of the past, memories of my time there come back and I will bore you with them from time to time. See I'm even doing in writing what I promised not to do. I wonder if anyone reading this is a contemporary of mine.
Anyway I was talking the other day with a couple of my third cousins (that's in the times when six people could meet together). We were talking about playing pranks at school. I remembered an English teacher by the name of Richard Willmott who everyone called Dick for obvious reasons! He wasn't one of the best loved teachers. He was young and had a sharp temper which meant many boys tried deliberately to wind him up to get a reaction.
In one of the classrooms we had collapsible desks. On this occasion a boy by the name of Russell Francis who everyone called Powser or Powse (I have no idea why), tied all the desks together with school scarves.
I have no idea what prompted Dick to pull the scarf at the front but he did. All the desks collapsed in domino style. Dick went berserk and threatened to send us all to the Headmaster.
Powser just looked at him and said "But Sir you did that, not us."
On another occasion we were on a school trip to Grimes Graves in Norfolk, close to Brandon (which admittedly is in Suffolk). We all stared singing "where will we be in a hundred years" to the tune of the funeral march. Dick wasn't impressed. Isn't it strange that that is the memory I have of that trip. I can't remember Grimes Graves at all.
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The rules for borrowing books from libraries in Norfolk (including Hethersett) changed from yesterday. Hopefully details below will clarify what is quite a complex situation, although they might change again in view of the new lockdown. I will keep you up to speed on that one.
Since March, library books have been automatically renewed and borrowers could have up to 45 items out. Now books will have to be renewed or returned by their due date. Each item can still be renewed up to 12 times providing it hasn't been reserved by someone else. The number of items that can be borrowed is dropping from 45 to 20 and any items overdue will be subject to charges from 22nd November.
Before lockdown borrowers were only allowed 15 items and could only renew a book three times.