This is usually said in a sarcastic way when I'm told that somebody big is appearing in a concert.
e.g Stormzy is playing Norwich.
"I wouldn't cross the road to see him."
It happens time after time after time but there was a busker in Norwich yesterday that I would have crossed quite a lot of roads to see. I would have got a bus and walked home if necessary. But by the time I heard that Sam Ryder was giving a free gig in Norwich City centre it was just too late.
If I'm honest I'm not too fussed about his music but it is him as a human being that I'm fascinated by.
A few months ago he was enjoying the glitz and glamour of coming second in Eurovision with a song that was spectacularly good compared to the usual dross we put out. And after that in interviews he came over as a genuine and friendly chap.
Yesterday he came to Norwich to busk, to play in the street, to chat and have his photo taken with people and genuinely to brighten up a rather dull day.
By the time I found out about this via Facebook it was just too late to go into Norwich, but I did watch it on a live feed from the Norwich Evening News. It looked a lot of fun. Sam and a couple of musicians were moved on from Chantry Place because the road was being blocked by quite a crowd that had gathered and he was moved by security. He took that all in good humour and moved to outside the Forum and just continued.
Here is a man that has stayed friendly, stayed humble and he deserves every ounce of success that comes his way. He is even having a launch party for his new album at Norwich Waterfront on December 13th. His album comes out on December 9th and I'm looking forward to listening to it.
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Yesterday we drove down to Church Farm in Hethersett to get this year's Christmas Tree. Didn't take long to pick one. Last year we left it a bit late and had a very limited choice. So this year we bought it earlier but won't be picking it up until next week as we feel it's still a little too early to be putting a tree up
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And so we finish our travelogue. Here is our last day
Over 18 hours in the air on two flights with the clocks going back a total of eight hours - two lots of four. By the time we touched down at Gatwick our brains were well and truly scrambled and we had no idea whether it was night or day although the sun rather gave it away. It was mucus central on our row on the aircraft. Anne has had a really nasty cough for the last five days. She did COVID tests but they were negative. We sat next to a guy who had an even worse cough. It will be a miracle if I don't get one shortly.
I passed pleasantries with the young man. He asked where we were going and I said Gatwick. So am I he replied amidst coughs.
Now as the plane was only going to Gatwick it came as no surprise to find that was where he was going. Anywhere else and he would have been on the wrong plane.
Towards the end of the journey I watched a film about the death of John Lennon. It was a semi documentary and for the first 30 minutes was quite confusing. Overall it was quite powerful and centred on the attempts to save Lennon's life after he had been shot. There were one or two things that just didn't quite add up.
At no time did we see Lennon's face although there were some quite grizzly and bloody operation scenes.
One young doctor in particular fought so hard to keep Lennon alive, massaging his heart and literally being heart broken when he couldn't save him. There was a very poignant moment towards the end when he said something along the lines of
"This was a man whose music I grew up with and there I was literally with his heart in my hands."
As I said there were moments that just didn't add up. Nobody seemed to realise who it was until his identification card was read out. They failed to recognise one of the best known men in the world. Overall a decent film if a tad confusing
We arrived home to a mountain of mail as usual- mainly holiday brochures and bills. But there was great sadness telling us that Daphne Reekie had died. Some local people may remember Daph and Bill Reekie who used to live in Hethersett. Bill was village archivist for many years and a member of our quiz team. They were lovely people.
They were our neighbours when we moved into our present home. We had two young children at the time and they later admitted that they were slightly concerned when they heard a young family was moving in on a road primarily populated by people of a certain age.
On our day of moving in (we only moved from a mile away) we were trying to sort out boxes when there was a ring at the door. It was Bill to say hello and he was carrying a teapot with some freshly made tea.
That set the tone for our relationship over their time living next door. Our boys adored them and when the boys were in their teens, Bill and Daph would pay them to do small jobs.
Bill died a number of years ago in his nineties but Daph lived until she was 87. We will forever remember Daph for her enthusiasm, her love and her kindness and in her own words being the old bird who liked to drive fast and leave younger drivers standing.