Heart attack

Saturday, March 07, 2020

Calmer Weather and Camphill Days

I'm now taking Alfie out for his early morning walk a good deal earlier now that it's light by 7.30. I had to wake him up, which is unusual because it's usually the other way round. I was surprised that there was some ice on the car's rear window when we walked past and it was good that the howling wind had gone and no rain! The puddle along the path which we walk along towards Oldbrook Green was gone and I am glad we don't have to walk through it. By the time we'd crossed Oldbrook Boulevard and went to the doggy bin I saw the 'Mystery Lady' walking along the road near The Cricketers public house. She was hardly dressed appropriately for such a cold morning, although I don't see her stop any vehicles.

I went to Camphill as usual. We did a rehearsal of 'Stranger Danger' and I stood in for one of the regulars who doesn't always appear in the morning. I got into trouble from one of the ladies. I'm not sure exactly what I was supposed to have done wrong, but anyway, we didn't rehearse for long because after last week, when we had the visitors and things were disordered as a result of not knowing they were coming, this week we watched more of 'Oliver!' and then began to work on the improvisation that Teo had suggested. We still have to more of the films to watch, which I expect we will get round to next week.

(Thursday) Another calm day on the weather front. I'm going to Camphill this morning, helping with a teacher's conference which is being run in the Chrysalis Theatre. I'm not leaving home until after 9 o'clock in an attempt to avoid the aggressive driving I have to endure as I drive there and the volume of traffic should hopefully be very much reduced.

I left for Camphill a good deal later than usual and the traffic wasn't as hectic as it is if I go earlier. Cross the roundabouts at Marlborough Street, Childs Way and Portway, before I eventually reached Camphill was a good deal easier than on other occasions.

Three tables had been set up in the foyer of the Chrysalis Theatre, with coffee and tea and cups as well as biscuits and other snacks ready for the conference delegates. A couple of the residents who are part of the Tuesday drama workshop were already in attendance behind one of the two bars, organising coffee and tea, but Matthew, who has latched on to me since I started volunteering with the group, wasn't around and I soon learned that he was in hospital. He is diabetic and he doesn't take control of his blood sugar levels, which often get dangerously high. So, because he wasn't there, I had to help serve tea and coffee and make sure that there were adequate supplies when they ran low. The delegates arrived around 9.45 and we started to serve them their tea and coffee. The first session the delegates had was at 10.30 and two of the residents did the introduction to The Chrysalis Theatre, which we had done several weeks ago as a practice and it reminds those who use the Chrysalis things such as fire safety and where the toilets are. This gave us time to get the cups washed and they were stacked in the washing machine behind one of the bars and then taken out when finished and repositioned on the tables ready for when the delegates came out (which was around 12.15.) I had been wondering what they were going to eat for lunch and discovered that they were having pizza, but I imagined that they would order from Domino or Pizza Hut and have them delivered, but I soon discovered that they were being made in the Camphill bakery and that we would have to go and collect them with two trolleys. We went over to the bakery with the trolleys and, walking into the bakery kitchen, there was a delicious aroma, of pizzas and on several metal serving platters were the pizza slices, which were placed on the trolleys and then taken over to the Chrysalis. Unfortunately they had to be put on tables which had been set up on the stage, behind the screen which had been lowered for the conference, being used for the computer projector. We had to sneak into the theatre with the trolley and put the pizza on the tables, but we weren't actually supposed to go in with the conference still in progress, but there was no other way to get in and set the platters up. It has only just occurred to me that the Chrysalis doesn't have dock doors which would allow scenery to be taken in or out and very little space to store scenery as you would normally have in a theatre, something I have used and seen in the theatres I've worked in. This would normally been how we could have got backstage without disturbing the conference.

A lot of the pizzas didn't get eaten. There were several platters which came back to the foyer and it meant that we could eat some of them! The remainder were taken to the various homes within the Camphill community. I just don't think the teachers who came to the conference were all that keen on pizza, but Camphill and in particular, the Chrysalis, doesn't have a professional kitchen to prepare food, with the main consideration being storage of food in refrigerators to keep food at the correct temperature.

The conference came to a close at 2.30. We were wondering if the delegates would come out and spend time in the foyer chatting and want coffee and tea, so we were ready, but nobody wanted a drink although some gathered in the foyer area but gradually dispersed. One the theatre was clear we began clearing up, folding the tables, folding the table cloths and generally tidying and I was finished by 3.30.

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