Summer is still with us. Last Friday (August 9) was warm again. An odd day – Dot had cystitis and drank lots of water. I hung out washing and after an early lunch picked up Eleanor and her friend and drove them to Christ Church, Eaton, where Eleanor gave a shortish talk on kindness and compassion. Matt and Amanda came, and of course Bridget was there. Matt told me a lot about bees, some of it truly amazing, during tea and cake afterwards. Drove Eleanor back to the Great Hospital.

Dot rested most of day, watching the Olympics, which occasionally got so uninteresting that we watched an old episode of Vera. I went out for street meet: only me and Mark to start with, then Des and Chris, John, Tara (briefly), Jonathan and Matt. Dot stayed indoors. Lot of talk about house adaptations, prompted by John revealing the hat he was planning to move, which is very sad. Council workers have cut away much of the shrubbery by the steps. Not neat. 

Saturday was warm and dry, but not all that sunny. Dot was a bit better, but she spent a lot of the day relaxing – though not before she watered the garden. She missed listening to most of the football – first game of the season, away to Oxford – because she thought it started at 3 instead of noon. City lost 2-0 and played badly; so just as well. After that she did the ironing, but that was it.

I sorted out some books and put two more boxes of slides on the computer. Meant to do more, but cooked meal (kippers from Cley, which were very nice) and got lured into watching last day of Olympics. Pleased that my favourite for a GB medal got a bronze (Georgia Bell), even though she was largely ignored by the commentators, who were obsessed by Laura Muir (fifth). Not as obsessed as they were by KJT, though, who would have got a gold in the heptathlon if she learnt how to throw a javelin. Cleared up and managed to notch up over 4000 steps in the house. Obviously I can’t throw a javelin, or do anything else that KJT does. Another odd day: miss Dot’s joie de vivre. 

Sunday was very warm and sunny. Dot still under the weather – literally, to some extent. She didn’t go to church but was very quiet all day, though she watered the flowers and mended some chairs. I did go to church and played in band with Anna and Matt. Excellent sermon on kindness (to others and self) by Graham. Liz presided at Communion. Judy sworn in as churchwarden. Took Ray home afterwards: he didn’t seem any worse but said his legs had been bad. Meanwhile, Oliver has arrived in Waterloo for a couple of weeks. End of Olympics: wasted hours watching closing ceremony, which was like prog rock – very clever but boring. Songs pretty hopeless. Only good bit was Tom Cruise taking flag athletically to LA, though when he got there you wished he hadn’t. 

Monday was hot and dry. A few drops of rain late evening. Did a lot of clearing up, as did Dot, who is feeling much better. Threw away old unused CDs. Picked up books from church and got them and quite a few others ready to take to charity shop. Caught up with emails too and sent quotes to Oliver and Amy. Put one or two books in library on the hill and added some steps: well over 5000 today, despite heat. Organised my room: Dot did living room and kitchen. I cooked chili con carne in evening after bacon and fried tomatoes for lunch. Bit excessive.

Tuesday – Hot again, and dry, despite weather apps saying it was raining. Howard came at 10am to regrout a tile or two in the bathroom. I put out books in the drive for anyone who wanted them, and one or two were taken. I wrote a poem and a bit, and an article on the Olympics for my website. Started playing through EP chess games that David LeMoir had had a problem sending: worked ok. Anne came at around 2pm, and she and Dot went for a walk, calling in at the garden centre for a drink before tackling Harrison’s Wood, where they got lost for a while. I went off a walk at about 6pm, but although it was mainly in the shade, I still got pretty hot and tired. Route: Foundry Bridge, Recorder Road, riverside path, Pull’s Ferry, up towards Cathedral but through to Recorder Road, couple of circuits of car park and home. Finished chili and watched rest of Spent, a comedy which had its points, but a lousy ending. 

Yesterday was warm and dry again. Judy came round to watch The Chosen (3:3), and then we all went to church for Bible study, which went well for a while until someone (probably Steven) started talking about Muslims, after which it got a bit tedious. Afterwards Dot and I took the books to Age Uk on Plumstead Road, our usual charity shop, but they didn’t really want hardbacks. So we left the paperbacks and proceeded to Morrisons, to buy food for Friday’s reunion. After that I tried the books on the new Cancer shop near Boots, and they were happy to take them all. Lot of lifting. Felt quite tired towards the end of the day. Drank a lot (mostly not alcohol) – and watched quite a bit of TV, including the first new episode of Vienna Blood, a historical thriller, which is very well done. Tidied up in the bedrooms and in the house generally. Put crate and rucksacks in the loft. 

It’s Friday, August 9th, Amy is back at work in Whipsnade Zoo after spending three days with us, and Dot has cystitis. The weather is windy, with mixed cloud and sun, and we both had quite a good night’s sleep. Thought you’d want to know that. Am halfway through the second chapter of Steeple Chasing, bought for me by Oliver and Amy, and it’s really good – stories from old and remarkable churches around the country.

So, a week ago it was warm too, but in an oppressive way. Some cloud later in the afternoon. Dot and I walked to buy a birthday card for Denise and a plant from Morrisons. Tried to buy ear wax treatment from Boots, but nothing there. Walked back by river, and I felt really hot by the time we got back. Had to lie down. Went out for street meet – Des and Chris, Mark and Sarah, Jonathan, Mary, Matt. Out quite a long time, and legs were quite sore towards end. Dot did mussels and then fruit salad. Watched a bit of Olympics and penultimate episode of The Turkish Detective , which has become oddly compulsive. Dot has contacted her Wall Hall friends, and almost all are coming. 

Saturday was much cloudier and slightly cooler, but not unpleasant. Watched the end of The Turkish Detective, which turned out to be excellent. Also a bit of Olympics, including golf andmen’s rowing eight. In the evening went to Denise’s 80th birthday party at Coldham Hall, which was good. Lovely to see Keith, Elaine, Clive et al. Also the Pitts, Elaine’s children, Ollie and Tommy, and Linda and Paul (Self), who turned out, amazingly, to be related to Dot through Jimmy Wright, his grandfather. Went back to Denise’s afterwards for a drink (tea) and chat, when all this came out. 

Sunday was. very slightly cooler, with quite a lot of cloud. Had a very bad night because of stomach  problems after large meal and mixed drinks (I suppose). Had to go and sit in chair in living room for an hour or two. Drove to church after discovering a car parked outside our house for about a month had been moved. Road works on both Riverside Road  (closed) and Rosary Road (traffic lights), which was very helpful. Quite a small congregation. Played in band with Dot, Matt, Anna and Steve, with Phil leading service. Anna did lectio. Howard was home ill after journey north for wedding. Took Ray and Harriet home: both in poor state.

In the afternoon read the rest of Islamophobia, which was very good at pointing out the devious methods used to make people hate Israel. Felt pretty tired, but after supper (duck) went with Dot to post thank you card to Denise. Watched some Olympics and had a fairly short FaceTime with David, who is throwing stuff out, as we are. 

Monday – Heavy warmth with a fair bit of cloud. We took stuff from garage up to the tip, where the heat was quite oppressive. Quite a queue, and it took a while to put stuff in the right bins, but it worked out well. Felt very tired in the afternoon and developed a sore left eye and a headache on that side. Dot did a lot of work in the garage, garden and shed, making things look really good. I lay down for a while, cleared up indoors and cooked evening meal. Watched a fair bit of Olympics as usual – some good cycling performances and gold medal for Keely Hodgkinson in 800m. I had predicted stardom for her many years ago. 

Tuesday – Overcast, and the first rain in days from mid-afternoon. Still warm though. Went to ECN pensioners’ breakfast but only had a mug of tea because of plans for later in the day. Robin, Shelagh and Tricia there. Brian not too good, apparently. First appearance by Dominic Castle. Afterwards went to Morrisons. Watched a bit of Olympics and cleared house ready for arrival of Amy, who came on 4.20 train, just after it started raining. Had tea and cake, and she showed us some pics. Had salmon and salad. Watched a bit of athletics and then I showed her some pics. Quite late in bed. 

Wednesday – Another bad night: downstairs for an hour. Dry, patchy cloud, a bit windy but reasonably warm. After breakfast we took Amy to Blakeney for quite an active day. We parked at the Manor Hotel, then wandered out by the channel: the tide was going out. Then we visited a number of shops, bought some cards etc and returned to the hotel for lunch. I had steak frites, which was excellent. Amy had fish fingers in burger, which she swapped with Dot (mackerel tart) because hers had dill, which she can’t eat.

Then we drove to Cley, parking near the end of the coast path, and walked into the village: traffic congestion was worst I’ve seen, but only for a while. Bought fish from Smokehouse and a book from the bookshop, then headed back to deli for additional purchases. Dot had also bought samphire on harbour front in Blakeney. Drove to Cley beach car park and we walked some way across shingle and back. Dot then drove us home via Sheringham and Cromer road, then Banningham, Buxton etc. in the evening Amy spent a long time looking at David’s old photos. Had latish but delicious supper of smoked mackerel and Dot’s bread, catching the silver from Hudson-Smith in the 400m. Close race. I went to bed after watching an episode of Outnumbered, and left Dot and Amy watching Gilmour Girls.  

Yesterday we had a few drops of rain early evening, but otherwise it was dry and quite warm, though mainly overcast and windy. Had breakfast in garden. Walked up to city and visited Boots, then the Scandinavian shop (I sat in street for a while), then up to the Castle, with its bright new entrance, and had some lunch in it’s bright new café. While looking round Castle, including an interesting exhibition by Roger Ackling, we somehow became aware that there was a problem with the trains. Eventually established there was a huge fire at Ipswich and no trains running to Liverpool Street. Certain amount of angst at this, but we suggested alternatives, and eventually David confirmed that our suggestion of travelling on the 5.27 to Ely and King’s Cross was the best bet. 

Meanwhile we exited the Castle and visited the market, then the Arcade, the Body Shop, Tickety Boo and the Book Hive, at which point I set off home, but only arrived a couple of minutes before Dot and Amy. At that point I discovered from Dot that Bridget wasn’t coming – probably a good thing in the circumstances. We had a pizza and extras after tea in the garden. Walked over to the station in good time for Amy to catch her new train, and it wasn’t as crowded as I expected. Followed her on app all the way home – all went smoothly – while we sorted out the house and Dot watered the garden, because the earlier rain wasn’t hard enough. Watched some mainly mediocre Olympics and went to bed early. Amy sent pic of herself watching Gilmour Girls in bed.    

And so life returns to normal, if by normal you mean frightening. But we were fortunate to have a few days where life was extraordinary and beautiful – and not just because it was sunny. It was the enjoyment of seeing our wider family and having our son with us.

Sunday was warm and dry, but then so was the rest of the week. Parish barbecue day, but missed it (and church) because David was still here, and we wanted to do stuff with him. Spent a while sorting out the garage so that we could easily get at all parts of it. Pile of stuff to be chucked out – mainly recyclable, often cardboard. David also transferred quite a few slides to computer, and we got them up on my study TV, after putting a new battery in the remote and resetting the Apple ID password. Nice to have a tech expert with you.

Late lunch, then off to North Walsham after putting some flowers in the Rosary for Andrew and Mum and Dad. David remarked on he narrowness of the roads. We put flowers on the graves in the cemetery there; then David and Dot walked into town. I intended to park in the market place, but you can’t do that any more; so I paid 50p to park by the library and went and found them on Yarmouth Road after an excursion into the market place. Drove home via NDR and  Plumstead Road, taking in a brief tour of Tombland.

Dot created a chicken patty meal which went well with my potatoes and peas. Afterwards David went to have a drink with Kevin at the Red Lion, and no sooner had he left than Amy Facetimed and arranged to come to see us in early August. Watched cricket and some news. Hezbollah seem to be attacking northern Israel. Nothing new there.

Monday – you guessed it – was very warm and dry, but not unpleasant. Breakfast with David in the garden again. He left on the 11.32, and had a meal in London with Lorraine before travelling to Gatwick for an overnight stay. Meanwhile I was catching up with e-mails, payments and various other things. Watched a bit of Olympics, especially Tom Pidcock winning mountain biking in spectacular fashion. Also a couple of episodes of The Turkish Detective. Put out rubbish and cooked a meal of leftovers, including fried potatoes and mince, with eggs. Walked up to post office to post birthday card to Linda Shingles. Did a bit extra for steps. 

Tuesday was, oh yes, very warm and sunny. Read quite a bit of Israelophobia book – very good. Followed David’s flight home. He arrived on schedule and was driven back to Waterloo. I sorted out some books and put David’s special ones in the spare bedroom. Also uploaded a couple of boxes of slides. We went to Morrisons and stocked up. Watched quite a lot of Olympics, especially tennis – Murray scraping through again – and swimming –a great win by the 4×200 relay team. Also gold in shooting (trap). Anna came round to teach violin and had tea in garden. She’s still not quite well. 

Wednesday – aha! Warm and dry again. Very busy day. Jude came round to see The Chosen 3:2. Bridget arrived near the end, and Debbie rang Jude to say she’d be late at church. Resultant confusion meant I set off for church on my own. Met Steve outside, but lack of a key meant we couldn’t get in until Jude and Dot arrived. Then did Bible study with Ellie, Jude, Dot and Steve: think it went pretty well. I drove home, leaving Dot to walk home after meditation. Was able to have a chat with Bridget before she left ,and Dot rang to say she wanted a lift from Tombland: she was tired and quite hot.

Kim arrived about 3.30 for tea in the garden: Dot had meanwhile invited Ellie, and she turned up a bit later. Very long conversation: Ellie is a bit hard work, though she comes from Huddersfield. At the moment she’s wanting to move, but is unsure about how to go about it. While we were talking Howard came to look at our bathroom floor and was quite reassuring. He is going to regrout one of the tiles. Kim stayed quite a while after Ellie left. She invited us to Norway. Not sure…. Watched a bit of Olympics – mainly swimming, but gold for Alex Yes in triathlon. Dot kept a watching brief while I did the washing up. 

Thursday – Thunderstorm warning but…nothing happened. Still very warm and dry. Got up early (7.40) to give train-bound Howard his laptop which he left yesterday by mistake. Chose hymns for Sunday and printed out Psalm for Anna. In the afternoon we drove up to Thorpewood, and I picked up my pills and arranged a medication review. Then we went for a walk on Mousehold. Traffic on Gurney Road really bad: idiots at council have shut Plumstead Road again because their new roundabout is dangerous. Also road works on Rosary Road in case you go that way.

Wrote a piece for my website on how I regretted not attending my graduation ceremony, in the light of Warwick. Watched more Olympics, including Murray’s last match, which was a bit of an anti-climax – loss in straight sets. American opponents applauded him. Amy said the train ticket was expensive: we offered to pay, but in fact Vicky is paying. Dot did loads of washing and ironing. Jeannie rang up about coming up with others in a couple of weeks. My left eye is a bit funny, but I expect it will pass. Possibly pollen. Feel a bit better generally.

Last Saturday (July 20) remained warm and dry but with a shower in the early afternoon. David went to Stonehenge with Oliver. Later in the afternoon Dot and I drove to Morrisons and bought food. I looked through some old photos. Anna is not well; so looked out an old sermon to use tomorrow. Dot was doing the prayers. Watched cricket and Tour de France, plus some athletics. Joyce has an infection in her thigh injury. 

Sunday was still pretty warm.  Drove to church and led service as well as delivering my repeat sermon, which seemed to go down well. Dot did prayers and also got a good response. Took Harriet home afterwards, then returned to help with our contribution to the street fair. We had a book stall, and one or two people bought one of my poetry books or the Paston walk book. Had long talk with Ellie: her views seem very similar to Kim’s, and she also comes from Huddersfield! Won some wine in the raffle. All seemed to go well generally. Watched end of Tour de France and cricket, and a couple more episodes of Tokyo Vice. Spoke briefly to Des. Paul left his car in the drive at 8.30 and returned about 6.30 with Holly’s dog and Liz – though to be fair he had taken her with him. It was the first time we’d really met her. Seems nice. Very tired at end of day. 

Monday continued pretty warm, though with a breeze. Linda came round at 9.45 and did our hair, following which I had a bath and read a chunk of To Kill a Mockingbird, which is brilliant.  Felt extremely tired after lunch (often do after having my hair cut), but cut some of the trailing plants away from the front windows. Wish I could manage more. Then I drove up to the Rosary to check on the graves, which turned out to be OK. Did some extra steps, mainly up High Green. Bit of a struggle. Cooked some duck, and Dot made a cake. Edited a short piece for Debbie and sent Ellie a copy of my sermon. Finished Tokyo Vice, which was very good but too long (10 hours). 

Tuesday was still fairly warm, but windy. Dry. Went through quite a few slides on the machine and transferred them to computer. Dot went to the shops, and my second parcel arrived – one of two books for Oliver for a graduation present. Both map-related. Tidied up my room, chose compline and then hymns for Sunday. Finished watching The Jetty, which was pretty good, though the lead character didn’t carry much conviction, despite being played by Jenna Coleman. In the evening walked to the Great  Hospital for Cake and Compline. Everyone except David (rehearsal) and Phil eventually turned up, despite obstructive behaviour by people on gate. Who are these people? And why? 

Wednesday was overcast and slightly cooler. Didn’t feel too well: very tired. Got an e-mail from Anne Coomes asking for Parish Pump articles by next Tuesday. Not the most convenient, as David arrived today from London. Nevertheless I wrote two articles today and started on a third. Dot spent most of the day tidying house. She has also done a dessert and a cake. Met David at station just before 6pm. Later shared FaceTime with Amy. Julia has had a fall and injured her leg: she is in hospital on IV antibiotics. I cooked salmon, potatoes and beans. Lay down for a while afterwards. Later looked at some photos on TV – David’s and ours. Earlier finished To Kill a Mockingbird, which was brilliant. 

Thursday was very grey but not cold. A few drops of rain. Finished my Parish Pump pieces on Sydenham, Malcolm Campbell, the Forth Bridge and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Had brunch around 11.30 and set off for Coventry about 2.45. Dot drove at first, and we swapped at Cambridge Services. Quite an easy journey, though plenty of traffic about. Arrived at Old Mill, Baginton, about 5.30. Had gin and tonics outside and received a message from Oliver with parking info. Then had meal, which was ok but very, very slow. David went to bed, and Dot and I did a walk round the car park – plus. Suspect two tables in restaurant contained graduation celebrants. 

Friday – the big day – was sunny and pleasantly warm, except in Paris, where it rained hard on the Olympics opening ceremony. We woke early and had a small breakfast at 8.15. Tired and not hungry, but otherwise a better day health-wise. Amy and Vicky arrived and we all drove to our allotted parking place together. Dave and Julia were supposed to meet us there, but parked elsewhere for some reason. Oliver came to meet us in his gown and we walked to the arts centre, where we found we all had a seat in the main auditorium.

Bit of a wait, then good speech by Chancellor and later by gaming tycoon who was a former graduate. MC was brilliant – funny and entertaining. Oliver came pretty late in the list (alphabetical order) but it was a great moment. Took lots of pictures. Afterwards we all lost each other but eventually came together. Evetts had something to eat in Pret A Manger while we watched the traditional throwing of hats in the air. Got a couple of good pix. Later the Evetts and Amy, after many photo shots, left for the Cotswolds. Both Dave and Julia looked a bit fragile.

We gave Oliver our gifts. Then we had lunch in the Dirty Duck, Oliver showed us round the campus and we drove to his last flat – quite nice. He emptied his stuff into his car with a bit of help from us, and then Dot, David and I left for return journey to Norwich. Quite a lot of traffic, with a few hold-ups, especially at Barton Mills. Didn’t stop at Cambridge Services but I stopped driving at Newmarket bypass services – very tired, and we got some petrol. Dot drove the rest of the way. Amazingly we got home in time to catch the end of street meet. Des, Chris, Mary and John. Had salad supper and went to bed. An exciting day. 

Saturday was still warm: had breakfast in the garden. David spent a lot of the day going through his stuff in the garage and reallocating it in a way that is both neater and more logical. Certain books are more important than others. There are CDs too. Garage now much more appealing. Des and Chris used our tickets to hear Rob Knee’s talk on Edward Cole at the Maid’s Head. Went down well. Today was our 56th wedding anniversary, but we both forgot until Dot got a message from Angela! Put a short piece on Facebook and got 32 comments. Thought about going out for a meal, but it was Norfolk Day, and the city would have been packed. David did a short walk. Cooked chili and watched swimming and cricket. Oh, and rugby. 

I have now been 79 for a week. How long can this go on? Norman Wisdom said that three things happen when you get old. The first is that you forget things, and he couldn’t remember the other two. I know what he means. I forgot to make a note of what I did at the end of Thursday and all day yesterday (the 19th), but after extensive research yesterday has swum into a kind of focus. I put it all down to the global IT outage which played havoc in so many areas – but not ours. Not even David’s really, because his flight from Toronto to Gatwick wasn’t affected, though the airport was crowded and there was a huge amount of traffic on the M25.

He eventually ended up at Aylesbury – transported by Amy and Oliver, who FaceTimed us later in the day to give us information about his graduation, which is at 10am on the 26th. I have therefore booked rooms at the Old Mill for David and us on the Thursday night.

Yesterday was in fact pretty busy, and also very warm and sunny. In the morning we took some stuff up to the tip, including Dot’s printer, and then some books to the church hall for a sort of summer fair tomorrow afternoon. Met Robert at the tip and at the church hall. Is he stalking us? Back at home Des and Chris invited us over for a drink (non-alcoholic) in their garden with Sarah, which was very pleasant. Later of course we had the street meet, restricted to D,C, Dot and me, plus Jonathan, who was in jolly mood: he has stuck an official-looking notice by the steps, warning that CCTV is watching. This is intended to dissuade druggies and drunks, but I’m not sure it does. We don’t really have much trouble in that area. As to the street meet, we started out on the pavement, but moved into the shade of our driveway, which was much more comfortable.

Going back to last Monday, it was mainly overcast but dry till very late, other than a few spots of rain. Walked up to city to complete my Cake-and-Compline trail. Successful, but got very tired. Dot went to Morrisons, and we made the beds together after she’d done some washing. Cooked duck. Watched Tokyo Vice then first episode of The Jetty, with Jenna Coleman, which was quite good. After putting rubbish out I spent a while talking to Jonathan about living in Aspland Road. On the whole, I think he likes it. But see above.

Tuesday was cloudy with some sun. A bit of rain in the morning. Sent off for SD card and tyre inflater. In the afternoon I drove Dot up to the hospital to see her friend Joyce, who was pretty good, considering, and had other friends visiting too. Meanwhile I drove to Poringland to see my aunt Thelma, who is 95 tomorrow. Took her a card and some flowers, but she was asleep all the time I was there – apart, apparently, from when I was outside her room as they came in and checked her. I was there for 75 minutes, and it was really odd seeing her more or less motionless except for light breathing. Spoke to her and touched her, but no response. Still, I was glad I went. Got home slightly before Dot and posted David’s British Museum card to Amy, who as I write (11.20pm) is on the M40 near Banbury. This evening Dot and I went to a DCC meeting at Graham’s and had a couple of sausage rolls. Debbie said a lot. Dot said much less but said it better. Asked Howard to look at our bathroom floor. Watched Tour de France. 

Wednesday saw a marked improvement in weather. Largely sunny and warm. Jude came round to watch The Chosen – Series 3:1. I went with her to church for Bible study: Dot followed. Ellie, Jude, Steven, Debbie. Bit hairy in view of Colossians 3:18ff, but put across what I thought was a sensible interpretation. Drove home – parcels arrived, and so I pumped up tyres, which were all about 6psi down. Hardly surprising in view of the length of time I had left them unpumped – and reassuring, in that they were all down by about the same amount. Spoke briefly to John while I was doing it, and to Mary : it’s Bob’s birthday tomorrow. Dot left her phone at home (and her glasses); so no way of knowing what she was up to. Cunning. Eventually she showed up after taking the long way home along the riverside path. Later I went for a much shorter walk up to Bishop Bridge and then back along the riverside path, plus a bit on the end, while Dot gardened. Had a chat with Des on return and later Claire called with a birthday present – a jar of gooseberry jam. Terrific! Watched Tour de France and a couple of episodes of Tokyo Vice. David FaceTimed about his forthcoming visit plus a chat about memories. 

Thursday was warm and dry. A little cloud. Dot spent a lot of time in the garage, partly finding books to take to church for sale and partly getting stuff ready to take up to the tip tomorrow. I had a go at my new slide scanner and managed to get it to work all right – at least I got some pictures on to the computer. Will try a few more in the next day or two. Cut a few strands of clematis (or whatever it is) away from the kitchen window. Would like to do more extensive cutting, but Dot likes the look of it. Bridget came to clean as usual. 

This is an exciting week, with David due to arrive in the UK at the end of it. Today (July 15) we are making the beds – or at least Dot is, with a little help from me. But already something unexpected has cropped up: Dot’s friend Joyce, whose husband Ivan died not long ago, has fallen in her bathroom and broken her hip. After managing to alert the neighbours by hitting the door with her stick (oh yes, she did) she has been taken to hospital, and Dot is planning to visit her. We were alerted by Fred this morning.

Last Thursday (see earlier post) it stayed dry in the evening. Kim came round late afternoon and stayed for a chat while Bridget left and Dot got ready. Then Dot and I walked to the Greens, where we had supper with them and the Bowers, plus Vicki. Derek seemed much better than I expected. Very nice meal – excellent fish pie – and good conversation. We walked home via St Faith’s Lane just after 10.30pm. Right foot hurting quite a lot. Watched small bit of Tour de France and went to bed. 

Friday was my 79th birthday. Unbelievable. Overcast, cooler and quite a bit of rain, especially in the evening.  Nevertheless we managed to walk up to Bishop’s for lunch – a surprise from Dot. Really nice meal, beautifully presented. Afterwards walked down to Scandinavian shop on London Street and then home as it started raining. Earlier I had opened presents in bed: books from Phil and Joy, chocs from Anne, wine from Kim and chocs, clothes and sweets from Dot. David sent me a slide copier to put old pix on computer. The Prime man bringing it wanted a code, and Dot had to ring David to get it (about 6.30 in Canada: he had been about to ring us). Watched a few things on TV, including cricket and Tour de France. Raining at 5.30; so we invited neighbours round. Des, Chris, John, Mary came: Dot served Prosecco. At end of day had to retrieve papers that Dot had put in wheelie bin. Got quite wet. 

Saturday – Didn’t get wet. Stayed in all day. Weather overcast but only spits of rain on windscreen as Dot went to garden centre and bought new squirrel-proof bird feeder, plus some plants. Both of us got up late, and I got a late card from Heather and Simon, who have moved. Also had a conversation with Stephanie, who I rang by mistake while checking when her birthday was (15th). Looked at new slide copier but it does seem to need a card: I’ll check properly later. Watched a bit of Wimbledon (ladies’ final and men’s doubles) and both of my preferred player(s) won. Unusual. Cooked salmon and walked a lot in kitchen, reaching 4000 steps. Wrote a bit more of treasure trail. 

Sunday was overcast but dry. Neither cold nor hot, like the Laodiceans. Drove to church and found a convenient spot in Sussex Street. Played guitar with music group, in this case Martin, Dot, Phil , Adrian and someone Adrian brought – Daniel, who may be Sufi. Liz took Holy Communion and preached. Quite a few absentees, for example Howard and Anna, Matt and Amanda, Jenny, Steven… Total of 15 present. Took Ray home again, but Harriet was also absent. Dropped in birthday card for Stephanie on way home.

After lunch caught a bit of the Wimbledon men’s final, won rather easily by Alcaraz against Djokovic, who was very generous to him afterwards. They seemed to like each other, which was nice. Princess of Wales made a rare public appearance – looked very thin. Later of course watched Euro24 final, which we lost 2-1 to Spain by playing negatively, as we had done throughout the tournament. Palmer came on and scored, but too late. Just before it started Bridget and David came to pick up their car after their visit to Edinburgh, and asked for advice about roof repairs. We said yes. Don’t know if that was the right answer. 

Today is Thursday, 11 July, and although it’s reasonably mild, it’s a bit chillier than it has been, and there has also been quite a bit of rain. This morning I decided to visit my brother and deliver him and Joy a bottle of wine and some chocolate for their wedding anniversary tomorrow. I got a link to their son Sam’s sermon on Sunday and a cup of tea. On the way home it rained quite heavily in the Lenwade area. It was dry in Norwich, but by the time I went to get some petrol after lunch, it was raining here. Why hadn’t I got petrol on the way home? Because when I changed trousers this morning I forget to switch my wallet, and so had no money.

Later Bridget came to clean, and Anne dropped in with what I suspect is a present for my birthday tomorrow. We happened to watch the women’s semi-final at Wlmbledon between Paolini and Vecki, which was the sort of match you didn’t want either of them to lose. Unfortunately (or not) Vecki did.

Last Friday, the 5th, was warm but mainly overcast; dry until late evening, when it rained hard. My new adaptors arrived and fit this time. Had an early lunch and drove to Christ Church at Eaton, where after much setting up I gave my talk on my experiences at the EDP.  Hard to use mike, read my script and read slides at same time, but other than that it went very well, and I got good feedback. About 20 people there in all. Organised by Bridget. Mike and Amanda came and a couple of people from our Taize group (Steve and Jane). Tea and biscuits afterwards. Had been feeling pretty rotten beforehand but took various pills and was all right. Afterwards lay down for a while, then went out for street meet. Des’s sister and her husband were there: also John, Jonathan, Matt. Mark is away. Forecast rain held off. Dot cooked excellent sea bass and we watched football and tennis. France beat Portugal on penalties after dire match, and earlier Spain beat Germany 2-1. Radicanu won again. 

Saturday provided the odd shower, but was reasonably warm. Complicated day. Made sure my sermon was Ok. Drove Dot to St Andrew’s, Eaton, for orchestra rehearsal at about 3.30pm and returned home to watch England play Switzerland in quarter-finals. Cooked bacon and eggs at half-time. England were a bit better but not interested in actually shooting till they went 1-0 down with about ten minutes to play. Then Sako scored with an excellent shot from the right. I had to leave before extra-time, but I suspect they had their eyes on the penalty shoot-out, on which apparently they had done a lot of research and practice. They just avoided losing before that and won the shoot-out 5-3; so that worked well.

I discovered the result while Dot’s concert was in progress. Excellent concert, despite it being music from shows and films, which is not my favourite. Switched seats at interval to sit with Angela and Donna and had a good view of Dot, for a change. Also there: Adrian and Jane, David and Bridget, Bernadette Wapshott and her husband, plus of course Neville and Graham. Spoke to several members of the orchestra, including Mary and Yvonne and her husband, who are Scottish. I had parked quite a way from the church; so Dot sat on a bench by the bus stop while I fetched the car. City centre quite crowded, of course. 

Sunday was mixed. Started fine and a bit windy, but dry until about 6.30, then thunderstorm as I left for poetry at the Seagull. Heavy rain later at Lowestoft too. Large attendance at Seagull, including, surprisingly, Liz and David Cannon, who were staying at a local hotel. Liz read three poems – one a very good one about their marriage, based on Naming of Parts. Read five poems –Long Lens, Bungalow Lane, Wildlife, Plain Sight and Holy Island – and the evening didn’t finish till nearly 10.30 – far too late. Home around 11.10pm. Earlier went to church and I did sermon, which went quite well, I think. Dot spoke to Addi afterwards, and Abbay – she’s doing a good job. Dot, I mean. Took Harriet and Ray home again. Harriet still has car clamped but is now paying the fine; so hopefully it will be sorted out soon. Phil and Sharon are trying to fix mike. Caught up a bit on TV in the afternoon, and I cooked some steaks before leaving for Lowestoft. Radicanu out, having previously dropped out of her scheduled mixed doubles with Murray. 

Monday was mainly dry, but rain in late evening and overnight.  Frustrating day, really. Caught up with blog and e-mails in the morning. In the afternoon Anne came round to see Dot, and I went out. I posted card to Roger Mason (birthday) , then started planning out Treasure Trail for C&C group, starting at the Cathedral. At some point, either before I left or during the walk (though I can’t imagine where or how) I lost my glasses and haven’t been able to find them. Good job I bought three pairs. Dot came out to meet me by the big lawn in front of the deanery, and just after she got there, Eleanor arrived with dog. Walked down to river with her and then home, by which time  I was quite tired. Search for glasses yielded nothing. Even rang Anne to see if she’d picked them up by mistake. Watched some tennis and the second episode of Tokyo Vice, which began to make sense.

Tuesday was overcast but mild: rain in the evening. Woke up quite late. Put a few things on Diderot. We went to Morrisons and got some food and plants. In the afternoon I took Dot to Anna’s for a violin lesson and on the way home dropped in at the Cathedral, just in case my glasses had been handed in. Checked with welcome person, who directed me to the verger’s office, where they took my name and phone number. Also retraced steps from yesterday, but no glasses. Didn’t really think there would be. When I got home I walked up to sorting office to post birthday card to Roger. When Dot got home (walking) we watched a bit of Wimbledon. I had done the first few verses of the Cake & Compline trail. Think it works. Cooked eggs, bacon and sausages, and we watched the first Euro24 semi-final. Spain 2 France 1. First half was excellent, but then Spain did an England and it got a bit tedious. Watched Tour de France highlights as usual. 

Wednesday – Quite mild and mostly dry. Jude came round to watch The Chosen as usual, and afterwards I drove to church but had to leave the car up by Wensum Park and was five minutes late for Bible study. Dot and Jude came in a few seconds later. Discussed hymn preferences before looking at passage. Debbie disappeared; so it was just Dot, me, Steve and Jude. Ellie was otherwise engaged. Went fairly well. Dot stayed for Taize. In the evening Dot and I drove to Wensum Valley hotel for the Sillars summer party. Pretty good – excellent buffet, and we were able to sit outside for drinks first. Spoke to Penny, Mary and Caroline , and Vicky and Anthony, but mainly to Steve and Yvonne, the bass clarinetist. They’re Scottish, and we had quite a long chat. All punctuated by roars from the bar when England score or thought they had. Semi-final of Euro 24 ended 2-1 to England (against Netherlands). Saw highlights when we got home. Early in the evening Debbie rang about a poem being used by Mike on the new new church website – still don’t know which one it was. Ho hum. (Now I do – Thursday: it was The Nature of Reality, from my Waving from a Distance book. I had to look it up.)

Quite warm and dry on Saturday, June 29. Very busy day. Judy came early to drop off her car to take train to London to see her niece.  But not before Colin (and Jordan) arrived to cut the hedge (£160). Also trimmed ivy and fixed stone at corner of wall. I got cash out to pay them. Later I spent a lot of time and effort rearranging cupboards in both main bedrooms, checking loft for projector (fail) and finding slide scanner underneath desk in study. Got rid of old medical stuff and put current items in order, making room for music books in cupboard and tidying top shelf in my room. Discovered I have two full boxes of catheters which should last indefinitely. Well, almost.

Watched Switzerland beat Italy 1-0 and then a ridiculous thunderstorm-interrupted game in which equally ridiculous refereeing made sure Germany beat Denmark 2-0. Denmark had good goal disallowed and Germans were awarded non-penalty. Also saw excellent first-day highlights of Tour de France and checked over talk I’m giving to Bridget’s church group. Not happy about it because I can’t get clear idea of how technology will work. Slide scanner didn’t work either. Old technology. 

Sunday started wet but improved. A bit cooler. Went to church and led service – did prayers as well. Was originally supposed to be a joint Communion with St Luke’s, but no clergy available, and only one person came from St Luke’s because Melissa was being ordained, and I think everyone went to that. Howard preached. Had chat with Amanda about how we met our other halves. Took Ray and Harriet home: he seems to be getting worse and she still has her car clamped.

Quite a long chat with Michael, our neighbour, about walking and politics. Watched England scrape through against Slovakia after equalising in the 96th minute and then scoring again in the first minute of extra time. Still pretty dire until subs came on. Also saw Tour de France highlights and a bit of the Spain-Georgia match, which Spain won 4-1. Quick FaceTime with David: Sophie had a seizure, but she seems to be OK now. 

Monday was overcast but dry till evening, when there was a fair bit of rain. Mark has left for three weeks with his ship, off Australia. I have found the projector and think I can buy a connection that would work. However David Archer has come up with some other suggestions, most of which I don’t understand. To be safe, I have prepared a different talk which doesn’t require technology. Tried them both out today – the latter with Dot as audience. Spoke to David briefly on FaceTime, and he agrees about slide scanner – probably out of date. Dot got pills from chemist and bought some more plants.  Watched France scrape through 1-0 against Belgium and then Portugal likewise against Slovenia. The later defended brilliantly but couldn’t shoot. As a result Portugal won 3-0 on penalties. 

Tuesday was a bit cooler. Overcast mainly, rain very early. Drove to the Archant breakfast – food not quite as good as usual, but Robin and Shelagh were there, as was Tricia. Robin had stitches and bruising on his face: looked very nasty but he functioned ok! Brian has also fallen over but is ok. Dithered around in afternoon and actually went to sleep. Ordered connectors/adapters for talk on Friday but don’t think they’ll be necessary. Went to the church  (Christ Church Eaton) this evening for a talk on labyrinths which was surprisingly interesting, given that public speaking was not one of the leader’s gifts. About 15 there and we took Des, who had seen the notice in our window! While there checked iPad with projector – or at least David Archer and his colleague Julie did. Seemed to work ok.

Saw a bit of football and tennis. Both British No 1s won – Katie Boulter and Jack Draper (both lost in next round). Andy Murray decided not to contest singles in view of his many infirmities. Turkey beat Austria 2-1 thanks to a brilliant last-minute save by Turkish goalkeeper , and the Netherlands beat Romania 3-0. Dot feeling very tired – head still funny  But she did sort out a lot of the garage and a cupboard in the kitchen; so…

Dot was a lot better on Wednesday. Cooler, overcast sort of day with splashes of rain, but nothing much. Not in Norwich anyway. Judy came round and we watched 2:7 of The Chosen, then I drove up to church to lead Bible study. Dot thought she’d stay at home and rest. Judy joined the study, and so did Debbie, Steven, Ellie and Phil. Went much better than last week.

After lunch Dot walked up to the dentist and got a clean bill of health, plus an actual bill of well over £100. When I walked up (late, because I’d been checking my new connectors and found that neither of them fitted) I just managed to get there in time. Got prescribed some new toothpaste and I persuaded him not to clean my teeth, which I think causes more trouble than it cures. He did an x-ray, which revealed nothing seriously wrong. Receptionist in jolly mood.

Met Dot in John Lewis afterwards, and she may have bought me a birthday present. Walked home and felt completely knackered when I got there. Phil said Clare had had a similar head to Dot and it eventually went away (try not to picture that). Ordered some Grove Books for the group. Watched a little bit of tennis (win for Radicanu), and then cleared up while Dot went to orchestra. Prepared connectors for return to Amazon. After Dot got home watched Mark Cavendish win brilliant sprint which made him winner of most stages in the Tour de France – ever! 

Thursday was quite a tiring day: dry but mainly overcast and breezy. Got up fairly early and sent back stuff to Amazon (wrong adapters), then picked up pills from chemist. At various points during the day wrote my sermon (though it may not be quite finished) and chose hymns. Helped Dot catch up with her puzzles. Bridget came and cleaned for an hour, and Sarah popped over to return cake container: she seems ok. Dot and I drove up and walked a bit to register our votes (for two different people). I ordered what might be the right adapters from Amazon. Watched some tennis – Andy and Jamie Murray being knocked out of doubles. Had a long FaceTime with Amy about her concert, her health and other things. And last but certainly not least – Oliver got a first at Warwick. Brilliant!

Touch of summer this week. Last Sunday (June 23) was warm and dry. Church in the morning. Heather led and preached, but she wasn’t fully fit. Good, though. One of hymns, chosen as a request from Steve) didn’t fit the tune anyone expected. Ho, hum. I did the prayers. Took Harriet and Ray home. Harriet has had her car clamped for non-payment of a fine she has actually paid. Another cock-up by the council. Felt quite tired and achy in the afternoon, but Dot gave me a massage and I took paracetamol; so felt ok when we drove to Paul’s for supper. Very nice meal – we really like his new house, and we had a good chat too. Parking was very difficult. Scotland lost 1-0 to Hungary; so out of Euros.

Monday was again pretty warm and dry. Started well – did some tidying up in garden and prepared to do charity money, but then decided to install Dot’s printer. This was a nightmare because it wouldn’t find the WiFi in spite of my putting the booster in Dot’s room and then moving the printer down to my study, near the router. Suspect a couple of settings may have been wrong. After talking to David, who FaceTimed us to let us know the timetable for his visit next month, I found a USB connection and with the aid of a couple of adapters connected the printer direct to Dot’s computer. This worked!! Spent almost the entire afternoon on it, though, and got quite grumpy. Hard to believe, I know. Similarly grumpy when Italy scored in the last minute of added time to draw 1-1 with Croatia.

Dot discovered Sarah is going in for a hysterectomy next week. Our evening meal with Anna and Howard was postponed because co-guest Derek Bower woke with high temperature. Did chilli con carne instead. 

Tuesday was hot. Walked up to Boots in the morning to get three new pairs of reading glasses – they seem ok. Went through charity money and sent off several cheques, which I posted on the way to the solicitors in the afternoon. Met Anna there, and we signed a couple of documents relating to Phyllis’s will. Then walked home, and I realised later that my feet were hurting, possibly because I’d been wearing sandals. Toes and instep quite painful: head heavy as well, and Dot has funny head too. I quote. Watched England draw 0-0 with Slovenia, marginally better but very frustrating until they brought on Palmer and Gordon, but it was too late by then. Also watched another episode of The Responder, which is weird. 

On Wednesday saw the last episode of The Responder. Not impressive. Hot weather again. Bridget arrived after 11am and parked her car in our drive so that she could walk to Eleanor’s. Idiots at Great Hospital have decided visitors can’t bring cars in, despite ample space. Later drove with Dot to church for Bible Study: Ellie, Debbie, Judy, Dot and Phil. Wasn’t really happy with how it went. Back home, went to meet Bridget, who had to wheel her hoover from Great Hospital to ours. Coming up Aspland Rd, met Natalie and her husband – she is an Anglia TV newsreader, I think, and she knows Eleanor and now Bridget.

Sarah is out of hospital, having had her hysterectomy, but apparently has covid, though not badly. That is to say, her test was positive, if you believe in that kind of thing. Bridget did our cleaning. In the evening met her again when I walked up to St Peter Mancroft for a talk on faith and film. Extracts from films good, but didn’t like the discussion format, especially when so many of the comments were painful. Bridget and David gave me a lift home. Irritating road works on Riverside Road have vanished. Wore trainers with no socks, and feet felt better. Temporarily.

Thursday – Still pretty warm. Wore shorts! Caught up with editing and captioning my photos – no small task. In the middle of it, Dot had a lot of trouble with Word, which I tried to sort out. Not sure if I’ve done it, but it’s working at the moment. Before that I went to visit my Aunt Thelma in her care home. She’s fading fast, I think. Her 95th birthday is in three weeks’ time and she looks very fragile: slim and little appetite, confined to her bed. Hard to communicate with her now. I don’t think she really hears me well, and she says very little. I gave her a little drink, and an assistant came in with a small mug of tea just afterwards! I was with her for just over an hour, and we both went to sleep at one point. Terry Alcock funeral today; so I had to avoid Carrow Road. Watched final episode of The Outlaws: excellent, unlike The Responder.

Friday – Cloudier and a bit cooler, though warm in the sun. Oliver climbed Kinder Scout with Cameron. CNS Reunion at Willow Centre in Cringleford. Lovely setting. Saw Fred at outset before he went to Ivan’s funeral. Usual crowd. Plus Nick Butcher and Steve Chadwick, who lives in Hamburg and spoke in the afternoon about Deutsches Leben. Interesting, but he spoke very softly. Fred was back in time for that. In the morning, Adrian had put together an autobiographical film about his life, moving around the world in various roles. Very well done. Followed by lovely buffet from Jane. Back in good time for street meet: Des, Chris, Mark, John, Jonathan, Ciara, Matt, Angela and briefly Phoebe. Afterwards watched new comedy show Douglas is Cancelled, which was brilliant in every way. Then a short Dispatches piece about how motorists are being screwed by councils and government. True. We’re all doomed. Doomed, I say. My feet are a bit sore where the trainers rubbed against my instep. Not mentioned by BBC News, strangely.

Another warm and sunny day, thought there was one shower in mid-afternoon. Kristine arrived at 12.44, and I met her at the station while Dot finished preparing food and setting table. She had already been to the shop for a few final things, and I had started writing prayers for tomorrow, which I finished after she left. Had a lovely meal with her, and we walked her over to the station at 5pm for her train, which couldn’t be changed. Came back, cleared up and watched some football (Portugal 3 Turkey 0).

Last Tuesday (18th) was fairly warm and dry. Gas man came early, but farmed out job to an outside agency after finding water in the electrics near the pump. Outside agency coming next day. In the afternoon went with Dot to Rymans to buy printer, but customer service was so bad that we walked out again and had tea and croissant at a new cafe in Davey PLace, where Cath Kitson was. Very good. Then walked up to John  Lewis and bought a printer online, with their help.

It was scheduled to arrive in a few days. Felt exhausted after walk home, but did much of the rota and chose hymns for Sunday. Arranged to see solicitor re Phyllis on Friday next week. Des (back from Lichfield) helped us change position of hanging basket so that the right flowers were in front. Then cooked meal – duck – and chose compline for Cake and Compline: Dot had cooked a fruit cake earlier. Two absentees: Eleanor at Canons’ meeting and Phil somewhere else. One never knows where Phil is (turned out to be BInham). Nice evening. 

Wednesday was mild, with some sun. Dry. No phone call from Dyno, who were doing our central heating repairs; so a bit tense, not knowing when they’d come. Drove to church to do Bible study with Debbie, Stephen, Jude and Ellie. Went quite well. Then drove home so that Dot could go to Taize (one of us needed to be at home). About half an hour after she left, Dyno turned up – a couple of guys who did a great job, repairing stuff in airing cupboard and a valve on a radiator in our bedroom. At least I assume it was a great job: they were friendly and impressive, and it all appears to be working. They were here for a couple of hours.

Later I took Dot up to have her toe done; good job I did, because she had anaesthetic and a swollen toe. I went for a walk up West Pottergate while it was being done. Interesting. Years since I’d been up there. Later I cooked a meal, and then she went to orchestra – picked up by Janet. I wrote a couple of Parish Pump pieces, then realised I’d forgotten about the Scotland-Switzerland match and went up to watch the second half. Result 1-1 was probably fair, though Scotland were a bit unlucky. Incidentally Dyno are a British Gas company, not an outside agency. 

Thursday – Warm and dry. Happily central heating seemed ok. Left it on by mistake last night. Completed two pieces for Parish Pump, on George Stubbs and Joseph Priestley. Went with Dot to Morrisons – filled up with fuel and bought food. Dot had to take care of her foot; so spent some time reading in the garden. Bridget came to clean, and we had a chat about my upcoming talk. Watched England draw 1-1 with Denmark. Very negative and deserved to lose. Went for meal with Mary and Neville Thrower – had a good time, though Neville was a bit shaky. Lovely dessert. Lots of talk about various ailments and reminiscences. Discovered that Mary and Neville got engaged at Linn of Quoich!! They stayed at Bridge of Cally. Amazing.

Friday was mainly sunny and warm. Finished other two Parish Pump articles (Hitchcock and Explorer 6) but not before a surprise visit from my brother Phil. He had come in by bus to enquire about assisted travel by train to Princes Riseborough to see Sam’s new house. In the end I think he decided against it. But I gave him a lift back to Dereham. The window cleaner had come earlier, and later Dot’s new printer was delivered. Out in street for a long time – interesting discussions, especially between Dot and Ciara. Cooked meal and also salmon for tomorrow. Watched some football but nothing very exciting. No surprise there. Also penultimate episode of The brilliant The Outlaws.