View from a Room In Bloomsbury

I have been gadding up to London all the Bank Holiday weekend though perhaps gadding is not the right word for Britain Yearly Meeting, the annual get together of the Quakers at Friends House in the Euston Road.
I stayed at an hotel in Tavistock Square that was overrun with Quakers which must have been odd for the other people staying there,-all those bearded sandalled men and sensibly shod women.  My room on the eighth floor overlooked the green leafy square and walking  to Friends House several times a day was a delight. In the middle is a statue of Mahatma Gandhi who studied law at UCL (where grandaughter M has just graduated)  and there are memorials to Mothers for Peace, a cherry tree in memory of Hiroshima victims, a memorial to Conscientious Objectors.  There are benches commemorating musicians and artists, a bust of Virginia Woolf, and a plaque to Charles Dickens. Every walk across that square was a voyage of discovery.
It is quite an Experience to be in the midst of up to a thousand Quakers sitting in silence in the large Meeting Room at Friends House  Though of course it was not all silence and there was lots of talk and discussion too as well as meeting up with many old friends.    Every year we have the Swarthmore lecture on Saturday night which I was looking forward to but I was hampered by not having my hearing aids. They mysteriously disappeared just before I left. I suspect B.Wiggins who may have either chewed then up and swallowed them or he has hidden them which he has done before with my spectacles.  
He is on an expedition along the South Downs Way with daughter J and grand daughters M and T plus other dogs, horses and friends They are doing the bit from Brighton to Eastbourne. He must be walking his little legs off and it is pouring with rain today too. But I am driving to Battle later to bring him home. It seems very quiet here in Ditchling without him.

Far From the Madding Crowd

I went to see Far From the Madding Crowd in the Village Hall performed by the local Am Dram Society the other night. My heart sank when I read the programme and saw that there  were thirty nine scenes. My boredom threshold is very low and often find that things go on far too long and sleep intervenes. But it was excellent, very well acted, and I stayed awake throughout. I was worried about the sheep episodes but they were done off stage quite convincingly. Such a dramatic tale it is and thankfully a happy ending. I have started to read some Hardy again but not the very sad ones as they are so upsetting.
There is more drama over the bungalow. I had a letter from the solicitor saying that she has discovered that it is on what was originally Church land and there is something called Chancel tax, dating from the Reformation or some such time.   This means that I could be liable to have to pay for a new church roof.  (And me a Quaker too)  I sent the letter on to son C who has kindly offered to try to sort it out.    My hopes of moving in early June seem doomed to disappointment.

Where Oh Where had my Little Dog Gone?

On Friday, old friends M and N came to visit from Totnes. We went for a walk up Lodge Hill
after lunch with B.Wiggins. It was a lovely sunny afternoon and we were talking away and enjoying the lovely views, but when we started to walk home, we realised that Wiggo was missing. We spent about an hour calling and calling and hunting, wondering if he was stuck down a rabbit hole. Eventually we sadly walked home, only to find him sitting on the doorstep looking very pleased with himself. He had found his way back through all the traffic, a miracle that he had not been run over.  Yesterday, grand daughter M cut his hair. I cannot afford Twinkletoes, the Poodle Parlour at the moment with the impending house move.   He does not look quite so cute without his facial hair (his Bradle Wiggins type ginger sideburns). but he can see better.
No date yet for the move, but as far as I know it is going ahead.It is going to be a DIY job, with grandchildren, sons, daughter and son in law helping. Luckily I got rid of such a lot when I moved from Winchester only three years ago. It will be a bit like Birnam Wood to Dunsinane with all my garden pots, some of which have grown very tall.
I went to hear Tracy Chevalier talk about her new book: The Last Runaway, part of the Brighton Festival. I love her novels (The Girl with the Pearl Earing, Remarkable Creatures and others) She was a brilliant speaker.   I enjoyed the book which is about a Quaker Woman in 1850`s America who helped runaway slaves.  Known as the Underground Railroad,  Quakers and others gave food and shelter to slaves escaping to Canada. I hope the book is made into a film, as it may become a good bit of Quaker Outreach. Tracy Chevalier now often goes to meeting.

May morning missed

I intended to get up at 5am this morning for May 1st, as I read in  the Ditchling Dialogue,that the Morris Men would be dancing on Lodge Hill at sunrise. I woke up in time but then remembered that I don`t like Morris dancing. . It is so aggressive with all that stick bashing and stamping, so I turned over and went back to sleep until  6.30am, when I got up and went for my usual pre brakfast walk wiith B,Wiggins.  I wish it would warm up a bit, I feel cold to my very bones as I sit writing this..    B.Wiggins got trodden on the other day so he is walking on three legs again. He can run very fast and does not seem bothered but I took him to the vet which he thoroughly enjoyed as he is so sociable. There are no broken bones so I suppose it will get better in time, but in the meantime we limp along together, me with my creaking knees and him with his gammy leg. Well they always say that pets and their owners get to resemble each other.
I went to lunch with a new friend the other day. She used to teach at the central School of Speech and Drama. Rather to my surprise she suggested we read a bit of Shakespeare together in the afternoon so we read a chunk of Midsummer Nights Dream and very enjoyable it was too. I think we should read plays together more often.