Anticipating considerable expense on our electrical adventures, we were hit by a further large prospective bill when the plumber came on Wednesday to fix what we thought was a small leak in the shower room. Turns out that the whole room may be affected, and it will cost an estimated £2500 to put right. This will start on September 9 and see us exiled to the guest bedroom for a week.

It’s an ill wind, because the lockdown has meant that we have had to forgo our usual holidays, and we therefore have enough in our account to cover all this comfortably. The electrician has almost finished (I think), and has installed wall lights in the lounge, lights on the wall behind our bed, a new hob on the cooker, two lights in the garage and various other smaller things. He also completely restructured the main fuse box, and rewired the lights in the loft, which he considered dangerous. I did have my suspicions and am relieved that he’s done that. Well, all of it, actually.

We are now waiting for our lounge ceiling lights to arrive at John Lewis, not to mention the dishwasher from Hughes. We also have to go and look at some tiles for the shower room, as well as some better flooring. It’s all go.

It’s been quite a busy week – for Dot, anyway. On Monday she drove Anna to Bernard Seaman’s funeral at Hingham (he is Phyllis Seaman’s brother, but she couldn’t go because she’s in a care home, with restricted movement). Dot saw Sylvia Ford, David’s former head teacher at Alpington, who is Bernard and Phyllis’s niece.

The next day we (or mainly Dot) sorted out the garage, and she took two sackfuls of stuff to Age UK. She also bought a clock and a duvet from Sainsbury’s. I trimmed back the ivy a bit, but still feel tired after doing small amounts of physical exercise.

On Wednesday Gary did a great deal of the electrical work, and the plumber (Robin) came at 5.30 to give us the bad news – or some of it: the full import of what needed to be done was delivered by phone later. I got back to work on some of the Paston letters.

Next day it was sunny enough (off and on) for Dot to do some of her art retreat work in the garden, while Gary continued his electrical marathon indoors. We watched a fair amount of television, including Octopussy (James Bond) and the final episodes of Counterpart, which had been lent to us by Paul (on DVD). This is a very clever concept involving duplicates of a city and the people in them – Berlin, actually – both existing at the same time. Sounds a bit corny, but works very well, though you have to concentrate. In the evening we rang David, who had been quiet for a while. He seems OK.

Earlier, as Gary was leaving, my cousin Ann rang from Liverpool, wanting to know when Kathleen had died. I looked it up and told her (2011). She also had Bev, her niece – so my cousin once removed – with her; and I had a chat with her too. She is about to leave for Belfast to stay with her daughter Palmira.

Yesterday Anne and Dot did the Shardlake (Kett’s Rebellion) walk that I did some months ago. It was very windy day, though quite warm, and it was hard for the leader – Paul Dickson, who I know pretty well – to make himself heard. They both enjoyed it, though, ending with coffee in the courtyard at the Maids Head.

In the afternoon Paul brought Holly round for quite a long chat, and at 6pm we had the usual wine in the road session. We forgot initially, and I was a bit reluctant, but it turned out to be very enjoyable, in spite of the wind. Mark and Ciara joined Des, Chris and ourselves. Our new lights in the bedroom are working very well, which may be one reason why we were late getting to sleep.

The hot weather continued at the beginning of last week. Gary the electrician came on Tuesday and rapidly found lots of things wrong, including the main fuse box. He is putting everything right, but I anticipate some considerable expense. He has already put in two new porch lights, a boiler room light, and various earths. He has also mended the fan in the bathroom.

On Tuesday evening, the entire Cake and Compline group came round, carefully spaced, and sat in the garden from 7pm till 9pm. I hadn’t had a very good day, but I was better in the evening, and I managed to lead Compline all right. Very pleasant time, and definitely the second best event of its kind this week.

The best of course was on Thursday, when Vicky, Oliver and Amy drove up from Aylesbury to spend a couple of hours with us. They brought their own food, drink and tablecloth, and Dot arranged the garden carefully. We had a really nice talk, and David and Chrissy dropped in by FaceTime. The weather was still warm, but slightly cooler. Lovely to see them.

The previous day our new cooker hob had arrived. Not quite so exciting, and Gary found several things wrong with the way the cooker was wired and pronounced it too long a job to start till his next visit, which will be some time next week.

Yesterday it was a bit cooler, and Dot and I drove to Hughes, where we bought a dishwasher. It’s out of stock at the moment, but will no doubt arrive eventually. We also called in at Aldiss and then drove to John Lewis, where we bought three expensive lights and ordered two more for the lounge. At some point during this excursion Dot lost her Fitbit, with its its exciting new strap. We retraced our steps to no avail, and Dot tried again this morning, with a similar result. I showed her how to use a Steps app, but she is not happy.

Incidentally, as well as the electrician, my hospital discharge letter arrived on Tuesday, revealing that my problems had been rather more complex than I thought, which may explain why I am taking a long time to recover. Yesterday I felt pretty rubbishy all day, until the evening. Last night I slept well and have been feeling quite good today. This may or may not be because I have decided to go back to the ubiquon that Debbie brought me. Not what I would normally do, but then I remembered the flood, the boat and the rescue helicopter.

Quite a busy week, but Dot has managed to fit in her retreat and has just done some exercises. Today is very grey with quite a bit of rain, but still reasonably warm.

And so it goes on. Three very warm days in succession, though it got cool yesterday evening, when we happened to be sitting outside Fred and Sue’s caravan at West Runton. It had been very warm when we arrived, but by the time we were having something to eat it had clouded over and become quite chilly. I was glad I had taken my jacket, and Dot had brought her grey top.

Had a good time with them, though, and I probably felt as well as I’ve felt since I became ill, and had no trouble driving home. This despite it being an eventful day: our hedge was cut in the morning, and our hair too, though not by the same person or with the same implement. Linda put some highlights in Dot’s hair, and Colin and his son Jordan (studying to be a lawyer) trimmed our hedge very nicely. They also cut down the conifer in the front garden, which was getting too big for its boots.

The garden is looking bigger and lighter, though Dot has spent a lot of time today (when it’s still very warm) clearing up. I made the mistake of giving her a hand and cutting back the ivy at the front: I wan’t doing it for long, but I felt shattered and had to lie down. The lack of energy is extremely frustrating. Ray at church is having the same problem, but in his case I think it’s his heart. He’s about the same age as me.

I know that, because we went to church this morning for Communion led by Liz Cannon, all of us dutifully distanced and wearing masks. It was all a bit ridiculous really – not the service, the precautions. Anna did a nice lectio divina on Jesus walking on the water. Phil Gazley was there, and so was Matt, who had a feature in the EDP this week on his cycling business.

We did a Zoom Cake and Compline last Tuesday but are planning a get-together in the garden this week. Earlier that day Anne came round for a while: she’s worried about hospital tests she’s having. Afterwards Dot went to the Garden Centre and bought some Nyjer seeds for the goldfinches.

On Wednesday Roger and Debbie came and had drinks in the garden with us, which was very pleasant. Not quite so hot, but comfortable enough.

Andrew’s birthday was on Thursday. I sent him some books and a bar of chocolate, plus a card (separately) and half-expected him to get in touch, but he hasn’t. It would be nice to get over and see him, but I don’t know when that will be possible. Also on Thursday our painter Barry brought his wife Carol for a drink in the garden. He also brought us a sausage roll each, but of course I couldn’t eat mine. Too much fat. Dot ate them both (but not both at once). Carol is very nice – first time we’d met her. Barry is going to do some more painting next month.

On Friday it was extremely hot, and we had our usual drink in the street. I got very tired after half an hour or so and had to come in. Earlier I had rung the ward to ask about my discharge letter from Dilham Ward. The Sister was apologetic and promised to post it to me. The next day I got a letter form the hospital, but it was cancelling my appointment for September 18 and then reinstating it – same time, slightly different place. I’m hoping the discharge letter will arrive tomorrow.

Interesting and very close Test Match between England and Pakistan, which we won by about four wickets, thanks to big innings from Woakes. Stokes is out for the next two tests, so there’s a chance Woakes will retain his place.

Here we are in August. I have just posted a birthday card to my brother Andrew and called in at the Rosary afterwards. Still feeling very tired; so I kept to the bottom quarter of the cemetery, but it was very beautiful. Sat for a while, then wandered home. Wish I didn’t feel so tired. They have cut a lot of the top of the tree in the car park of the Norfolk Wildlife Trust, and out kitchen is much brighter. Dot has been working on the garden so that we can have eight people round (including us) for Cake and Compline next week. I think she’s succeeded.

Yesterday was a good day, though I worried that I might be taking on too much. We went to church, which was the St Augustine’s community meeting at St Luke’s, because it’s much bigger. Went pretty well. I did the sermon, and Dot did the prayers. Quite a large number of people there, including Jenny. Phil was leading. Afterwards we hung around outside and chatted for a bit, then went home for lunch.

In the afternoon we drove to Beachamwell, just the other side of Swaffham, which is about 50 minutes away, to have tea and scones with Anne and James Whittet, with whom we had been to Israel. We already knew them quite well, because James is a poet and worked with us on some of the Paston stuff. He comes from Islay and is very quiet. He writes a lot of sonnets. Also there was Sarah Carter, who also came to Israel and lives at Litcham. She is training to become a vicar and will make a very good one, I should think. We all had a really interesting conversation because we shared the same background and interests.

We sat in Anne and James’ garden, which was very rural and beautiful. Next to us was a big lavender bush covered with bees. The weather was just right: warm but not too hot, and enough cloud to avoid our getting sunburn.

The previous day was the Cup Final, in which Arsenal beat Chelsea 2-1 (the wrong result for Spurs). The day before we had a visit from an electrician, who proved to be alarmingly thorough. We told him what we wanted, and he told us what was wrong with our electrical system. I can see a lot of expense looming.

Highlight of the week, however ( you see how I’ve been leading up to this?) was David and Chrissy’s wedding last Wednesday. In normal times we would have been there, but because of the Covid restrictions, they had to have a small ceremony at Waterloo City Hall, followed by a celebration at their house with four of their friends and Chrissy’s children. Even Barbara and Roger, who only live an hour and a half away, were unable to go.

We Zoomed in on the rejoicings and had a drink with them – Cava supplied by Paul Henderson. Dot wore a long dress but no hat, despite my encouragement 🙂 They were clearly very happy, which was great to see, and they sent us some pictures the next day. Oliver and Amy joined in on FaceTime later, but we didn’t see them. We did have quite a long chat with Amy on FaceTime yesterday, and have also spoken at some length with Julia and Dave.

Another strange week, of course. No gallbladder pain, but feeling very tired and tempted to stay in bed. Antibiotics seem to be working (how would I know?) but had quite bad diarrhoea at lunchtime after feeling odd during the morning. This afternoon, however, I have just been for a short walk towards the Julian Bridge. Dot left me to continue towards the shops, and I walked home. Glad it wasn’t any further. Quite windy, but not cold. Not warm either.

We had quite a bit of rain yesterday, but of course I didn’t go near it, though I did put out the bins. It was our 52nd wedding anniversary, and Dot got a lovely card for me. I responded with a map card of Braemar and the Linn of Quoich, one of our favourite spots. We had had the card for ages, but didn’t want to send it to someone for whom it would have no meaning.

Earlier in the day Paul came round, and after the three of us had a drink I had quite a long talk with him while Dot went up for a successful visit to the chiropodist. Dot cooked some grilled steak in the evening as an anniversary meal.

Dot went to church on Sunday (St Aug at St Luke’s). It was Communion led by Sarah and went very well despite the oddness of everything. Next Sunday I’m supposed to be preaching. We’ll see. Tonight’s Zoom Cake and Compline has been called off because David, Bridget and Vicky are all camping, or loitering within tents, as I call it.

Dot had a long phone conversation with Caren Gazley this morning. She has had gall bladder problems for years but resisted having it out for a long time. She is now on a waiting list for an operation.

I have done a bit of reading and completed a few poems, as well as catching up on a few TV series and following the cricket. Don’t really like plonking myself in front of the TV, but don’t really feel like doing much else. Last day on antibiotics tomorrow; hope that will be a good thing. Dot is pretty well and very positive as always. What a star.

Written yesterday, July 22, in hospital

It’s 9am and it feels as if the day has half gone, but at the same time has hours and hours to go. It seems quite pleasant outside, when I catch the occasional glimpse. I have been in hospital for a week but hope to be going home this evening. 

I thought I had got over my June gallstones,  but on my birthday I felt bad, and with occasional relief the day after – I was able to go a garden centre with Dot, for instance – it gradually worsened. By Wednesday teatime it got much worse, and Dot rang 999. A clinician rang us back and decided we should go to A&E. So we did.

The usual tests ensued, and I ended up on a side room on Easton ward. Long time ago. After pain relief, I was transferred to Dilham ward (bed 9-1), had another CT scan, followed by a procedure involving putting a camera down my throat, through my gullet and into the gall bladder(or just below it) to remove a suspected stone, lodged near my pancreas. Turned out there was no stone (or it had passed or been miraculously dispersed – which I don’t rule out) but there seemed to be a fistula, which had trapped food. I wasn’t clear what a fistula was. The whole concept of eating I found very off-putting. Later a doctor drew me a diagram, which helped – with my understanding, that is. 

It was then decided I needed an MRI scan to take a closer look. I could have had this the next morning, but the nurses forgot to tell me not to eat and drink after midnight. In fact I had diarrhoea and asked specifically if I should eat.  I was told yes, I should flush it through. Pretty angry. Another day’s delay, with my hands and arms covered with bruises from attempts to affix cannulas. Made you really appreciate someone who knew how to take blood. 

Eventually I had the MRI scan, at about 7.30am on Tuesday. I was told there were no complications, but I had to fight the infection with at least two sorts of antibiotics – one oral, one intravenous. I needed to stay in hospital until my blood was back to normal. So I was sort of dumped back in bed and left for monitoring, while much more interesting and worse-off patients got all the attention. Quite rightly of course, but annoyingly if they happened to be South African, deaf, noisy and determined to get their rights. 

Gradually the diarrhoea abated and I felt a bit more like eating. Dot kept me going all through with daily two-hour masked visits, which were particularly valuable when I felt low. After the first few days I was able to read and have finished Ancillary Mercy and several newspapers, plus sudoku. 

The MRI scan was more complicated than I thought, involving lots of holding my breath, which was quite difficult. Amazingly thorough, though. Hard to imagine anything not being seen. Main problem with ward as usual is under-provision of toilets. I was “told off”  twice for using women’s toilets, but there is only one men’s toilet, and that’s often unusable. In fact all the sane nurses said you could use either; so I did. 

There is some confusion over whether I’ve had pancreatitis or not. However it’s apparently not my fault. Obviously guilt was my big worry. 

All pales into insignificance compared to Peter Walker, who was in the centre-opposite bed until yesterday.  Had a brief chat with him at one point. As he departed it became clear that he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer (probably liver) and was being taken to Priscilla Bacon Lodge. He looked totally devastated – and probably was. 

Incidentally I am now confident I don’t have COVID-19. Not yet, anyway. I have had at least six tests, all negative. 

Written today, July 23, at home

Dot came to see me in the afternoon, and eventually I was almost rushed away, without my discharge letter, because there was a printing problem. The duty doctor was a bit uncertain, because my white cell count wasn’t improving as much as it might. I was uncertain too, but really didn’t want to spend another night in hospital. So we made a run for it, with the assistance of nurse Mary, who had all my drugs ready, including a pack I know nothing about and as far as I know haven’t had before. They seem to be painkillers.

Felt very woosy on the way to the car and later – in fact I still do, a bit. Had a bit of food in the evening but not up to much. Went to bed early, as far as I can remember, and slept reasonably well. Dot has been doing her online retreat today, but we had lunch together. Amazingly, no phone calls (up to now, which is after 5pm). Des delivered the groceries, though. Timed to perfection so that Dot could go to the door.

Had a bath and went to sleep in it, which made me feel very strange. Watched a bit of TV, and later sat in the garden for a few minutes. Weather mild. Birds still friendly.

Not only did the gas man come again to drain the system and put a new valve in, but we had to have another gas man come on Saturday, because the boiler wasn’t working. Unfortunately this coincided with a couple of chilly days, but it seems to be all right now.

We had our hair cut on Friday after more than three months, which was a great relief. Unfortunately it may have been a shock to the system – combined with the cold house – because by the time we got to my 75th birthday on Sunday I was in a sad state, feeling rotten and not eating anything all day, which was sad for Dot, because she had wanted to celebrate by taking me to the coast. I was convinced I had Covid-19, but I probably haven’t. Anyway we shall soon know because I’m about to take my fourth test , if I can work out how to put the cardboard box together.

I did manage to lead the Zoom service in the evening, but it was touch and go. All I had to do was sit at a table and read the liturgy, then give a slightly controversial talk. June joined for the first time (from Beccles).

Another thing that may not have helped my condition was standing out in the road having a glass of wine on Friday evening and chatting with the neighbours. Seemed pretty harmless, but that’s what I did just before going into hospital a month ago.

The highlight of my birthday was FaceTime with David, Amy and Oliver in the afternoon. They had sent me some books – one on the Fens and Ancillary Mercy – and a stand for my iPhone.

I wish I felt more lively and well. If it’s not one thing, it’s another. Yesterday it was partly my head and partly my stomach, but in a different way to what what it had been earlier. I had a high temperature for a while. Most of the time I just want to go to sleep. Must be very depressing for Dot.

The gas engineer come today and enjoyed himself so much he stayed for over two hours. Not only that, he’s coming back on Tuesday, because he’s not sure that everything is right yet. There was a problem with one of the valves, and now he thinks there may be a blockage somewhere. Nice bloke. Hopefully he’ll sort it out.

We also got a letter from the hospital with a date to discuss my scan. September 18!!! On the plus side, it could mean there’s nothing seriously wrong, but on the minus side, I still don’t know what the problem is and so can’t really adjust my diet appropriately, and don’t know if I need to adjust it at all.

I rang the surgery this afternoon, but they hadn’t got the results yet. They suggested ringing back in a week. Fortunately, I’m not in pain at the moment.

So the diary is filling up. Next Friday we should be able to get our hair cut, barring a Covid-19 spike in Thorpe Hamlet, and on the 20th Oliver and Amy are planning to visit us, which is certainly something to look forward to.

Yesterday Anne came round in the morning, and she and Dot went up into the city . Dot bought some fruit from the market. It was verging on chilly, but in the afternoon Dot and I went up to Roger’s and had tea in the garden with him and Debbie, which was very pleasant. Even chillier today, though.

This morning I sorted out the liturgy for Sunday. We had another Cake and Compline on Tuesday, which went OK, though David (“screenitis”) and Claire (exhausted after annual leave, plus toothache) didn’t make it. Last night I had my first “proper” meal for several weeks – white fish, potatoes and asparagus.

The young blackbirds are getting to know us and are as familiar as their parents now.

It’s windy, a bit rainy and unsettled now, but last Thursday it was very warm, and I felt fine. Dot drove me up to the hospital, and after taking a couple of wrong turnings (on foot) we located Radiology. There were few people about, and we didn’t have to wait long. The radiologist was very pleasant and seemed surprised I’d been advised to have a fat-free diet – but that was probably nothing to do with the scan. Needless to say there were no results for me, and I was told that as it was urgent, it would probably take a couple of weeks…

Back home I felt well enough to catch up with some stuff on my computer. Wrote an article for my website and inserted a poem I’d written after my hospital stay 12 years ago when I had my prostate removed. Quite a few people responded to the article over the next few days, and sent best wishes.

The next day it rained a bit at first but was still very warm. Dot and I walked separately up to Boots to fetch our new glasses – long awaited. Again, few people around, and all went well. Very tired – didn’t fancy eating in morning, but had some sorbet when I got home. No real pain, but had a very bad night because I had to keep passing water as a result of the injection preceding the scan. Paul rang just before we went. Bought some flatbreads on the way home, then ran into Mary Cozens, who now lives round in the Recorder Road area. Later I took the plunge and rang Green Flag to cancel our breakdown policy on Dot’s car, which we haven’t owned for about six months. Took me about half an hour to get an answer, then about a minute to do the deed. Wonderful! You can’t do it online, of course.

It’s been hard to know what to eat, and I haven’t had much appetite. Have been keeping the fat intake low, but not at zero.

Had a fairly lazy day yesterday after quite a lot of rain overnight. Watched Norwich City play Manchester Utd in the FA Cup (quarter-finals), and they were very unlucky to lose after going down to ten men when Klose got a red card, which looked rather induced by the Manchester Utd player to me. Excellent goal by Todd Cantwell meant we were 1-1 at full time, and only lost at the very end of extra time.

Watched Spectre in the evening, and Dot fell asleep halfway through; so I washed up while she caught up. Earlier I rang my Aunt Thelma’s care home and made sure they had my details.

Another slow day today, but I have the liturgy ready for this evening. Spoke with David on FaceTime in the afternoon, and have been having text exchanges with Oliver about Norwich City.

I am in bed on a very warm Wednesday morning, and I have a pain in my side. This is disappointing, because yesterday was almost perfect: no pain at all, and I felt quite well. I wrote a couple of articles for Parish Pump, did a little editing for Paston, had a bath and watched a couple of films – most of War of the Worlds and all of The Magnificent Seven.

In fact I’d had very little pain for several days; so I’m not sure what’s going on. It’s a rather different pain, though: it doesn’t make me feel ill; it just hurts, and then mainly when I breathe deeply. Sorry – bit obsessed with pain at the moment. I have my CT scan tomorrow. Yesterday Dot went for a walk with Anne in Poringland, and while I was still in bed Carrie called. Had a chat from the window: she and Al are far from well, but she just keeps going.

We’ve cancelled Hello Fresh temporarily, because I’m not eating fat: Dot had an inventive few days eating what we had, and we gave one of the meals to Des when he brought our shopping last Thursday, when it rained quite bit to start with. Later Dot went for a walk down by Carrow Road. Judy phoned and David FaceTimed. We watched The Weaker Sex and an Italian film, Girl with a Pistol, which was quite good despite its plot leaps and coincidences. Took video of blackbird feeding babies.

The next day we got a letter from the hospital giving my scan appointment, which was a week away. Dot picked up some painkillers from the chemist. I had had a fairly unsatisfactory phone call with a doctor from Thorpewood the previous day, but at least he gave me enough painkillers to get to the scan. Watched Norwich lose 0-3 to Southampton – no inspiration there – and didn’t go out for the 6pm street drink. Not sure anyone did. Got my Father’s Day present from David – the latest Bob Dylan album. Have now played it of course, and I have to say it’s pretty impressive.

I was a bit better on Saturday, with the painkillers working pretty well. Over the weekend we watched all four episodes of Murder in the Outback – a documentary about a killing that may never have happened, one of the dodgiest witnesses I’ve ever come across, and a man convicted of the crime – and jailed for 28 years – who probably didn’t do it. All very unsatisfactory.

Sunday was Midsummer’s Day, and Father’s Day; so I played my album. Sarah the vicar rang up, because she had only just discovered I was ill. I managed to lead the St Augustine’s Zoom service: Dot set us up in the kitchen, using her laptop, and she read a piece from Robert Llewelyn about prayer and waiting which she had come upon while praying for me. She did it really well. Afterwards I felt exhausted and went to bed for about 90 minutes.

Since then the weather has been warm. On Monday Dot walked into the city and made an appointment at Boots on Friday for us to have our glassed fitted: lockdown restrictions have been eased somewhat. She also bought some fruit from the market. Amy FaceTimed me and sowed me her redecorated room, which was pretty impressive. She is always impressive of course.

Can’t say I’m enjoying the fat-free diet. Bit of a trial finding something that tastes nice and is good for me. Eating a lot of boiled eggs, tins of clear soup, quite a bit of fruit and some unbuttered bread and biscuits. No fun at all.