Friday 12 April  – Mild and dry. The scaffolders finished taking their stuff away, and we went for a walk down Bungalow Lane by the marshes – all very run down, but we found Thorpe Ferry and a cafe that we didn’t know existed, run by a very nice Thai woman. Had tea and coffee then walked back. I finished my En Passant chess games. Out for street meet – Des, Chris (who has a chest infection and went to the walk-in centre), Mark, John, Jonathan, Matt. Des got us fish and chips, which were excellent, and we watched TV. 

Saturday was again mild and dry. Went up to podiatrist with Dot, and while she had her other ingrowing toenail dealt with I walked up to the cemetery and had a stroll round. Am trying to get my walking up again. In the afternoon Dot worked in the garden. Bob brought us a second bottle of wine to compensate for the trouble we’ve had with scaffolders working in our garden. Not much trouble really. Also flowers! Norwich beat Preston 1-0 away, scoring very late on. Watched Grand National. Had sea bass. 

Sunday – Still fairly mild, but with the hint of a cool breeze. Dry. Drove to church and led the service, with Anna doing lectio. After fried lunch walked up to Rosary with Dot and removed dead flowers. Bluebells looking good. Reached over 4500 steps for third day running, but had backache, which I hope is muscles rather than kidney. Had pizza in the evening. Watched a couple of episodes of scandi noir and the final one of Criminal Record on Apple TV, which was good. Also a Chaplin film, The Kid, which was brilliant. 

Monday – Complete change in the weather. Cold, very windy and some heavy rain, including hail. A few bright intervals. Linda came and cut our hair. I had a bath and felt very tired afterwards. Reading The Rest is History, which is a strange mixture of the fascinating and the trivial. Printed out some liturgy pages. Graham came round for safeguarding meeting with Dot and Howard, but Howard forgot to come. He took part by phone. In the evening we gave Judy a lift to Bridget’s for Cake and Compline. Should have been at Eleanor’s, but she was ill. Phil didn’t come. Nice scones. 

Yesterday was still pretty chilly, with wind and a fair bit of rain. Went to Morrisons in the morning, then after a quick lunch we drove to Sainsbury’s at Thorpe to take part in an NHS cancer test by giving blood. Later Dot walked up into the city and bought a bra, followed by a meal with Kim and a performance of Edward Scissorhands – a modern ballet, which they both enjoyed. Dot walked home afterwards: it had stopped raining. 

Today was no real improvement, weatherwise. Generally pretty damp, but with some dry spells. Drove to church for Bible study, which turned into a free-ranging discussion with both Ellie and Judy absent. I then drove home while Dot stayed, but just after I fried some potatoes I got a call from Dot, who had had a very bad coughing fit. I drove up to fetch her and took her to the walk-in centre. They said 45 minutes, but it was nearer half an hour.

I drove home but was again called by Dot pretty quickly. She has a chest infection and was prescribed antibiotics – specifically from her chemist on Heartsease: so we drove up there. She has been taking it fairly easy for the rest of the day, though she says she doesn’t feel really ill. I’ve been feeling pretty ropey, but I’m not sure why. Not bad enough to get out of looking after Dot, I’m happy to say. I walked up to the post office and posted a birthday card to Angela, too. Watched first episode of new series of Blue Lights, which was excellent. Also watched Midsomer Murders to see if it was as bad as I remembered. It is, but I don’t know why. Bad acting? Bad directing? Bad script? General disbelief? Who knows?

Almost forgot – it’s my father’s birthday. He would have been 111.

Friday, April 12, and it’s still mild. I’ve just taken Dot up to the hospital for a blood test: sat in the new housing estate to wait for her, but it wasn’t long. When we got home the roofers were waiting politely to ask if they could go in and take the rest of their stuff away – apart from the scaffolding, which apparently goes this afternoon.

To complete last Saturday – the D’Souzas got home from their Egyptian holiday about 9pm. Pretty mild day. Celebrations after City’s 1-0 win against Ipswich. Cooked chili con carne and we watched a film, some football and part of an Abba  documentary. 

Sunday was dry and fairly mild but very windy. Anna had migraine: so only Dot, Martin and I in music group. Congregation bit on small side – 18 – must have heard I was preaching. Dot did prayers. Sophie had a message while I was speaking! Howard and Matt are halfway through mending the wall. Took Ray home: his legs are pretty bad. Took Des his key back. They had a good time in Egypt. Spent most of day watching TV, including new Apple series called Criminal Record, which is pretty good. Spurs won and Liverpool only drew – both good. 

Monday was mild again. Mainly dry, till late. Drove up to chemist to pick up pills while Dot gave urine sample at surgery: she also heard she had to have a blood test at the hospital later this week – not sure what for. She still has severe coughing/choking fits occasionally, but she is improving. Des came over to show us his grandson. Gravel has been delivered for next-door front garden. Caught up with e-mails etc. Watched a lot of TV again. We changed bed. Dot did a lot of washing and felt very tired. Very warm in sun. 

Tuesday was still fairly mild, but overcast and quite a lot of rain. I stayed in, but Dot went to Morrisons in the afternoon. I caught up with three months of En Passant – playing through the games – and kept up to date on the computer. Saw the end of Passenger, a crime drama, which was a complete cop-out. I should sue them to get the time we spent watching it refunded. Rob dropped off some poetry books for me to take to the Caroline Gilfillan celebration at the end of the month. Norwich drew 2-2 with Sheff Wed away after being 2-0 up after 17 minutes. Watched fourth episode of Criminal Record on Apple – very good. 

Wednesday – Overcast and windy, though fairly mild. No total eclipse here, but big in America and Canada. Quiet day. Spent a lot of time on computer, playing through some more En Passant games and generally sorting things out. Watched a lot of TV again. Adjusting to Dot’s new diet plan: had sweet potatoes this evening. Happily the duck was very good. In late morning Judy came round to watch The Chosen, and stayed for two episodes. Dot sorted through lots of old photos, with Diderot in mind. FaceTimed David in the evening. 

Thursday – Quite mild again, and dry. After lunch I picked up Mike Read from his house, and we drove to Cromer to visit checks stars Owen and Kathleen Hindle. Owen is now 84 and Kathy’s in her late 70s. They were very welcoming: tea and cakes offered repeatedly! Discovered Kathy was born in Gorbals (Catholic) and once lived in Ballater Road, Glasgow.  Also that Mark Hindle (their elder son) was now married to Liz Nice, one of my former trainees and now in a senior management position in the company!! They live at Bury St Edmunds. House (bungalow) full of chess books – Owen insisted I take two duplicate ones. Took pictures in the garden. When I got home Bridget was still here; so was able to say hello. Dot is now on a diet so we don’t have the same food as each other, which is interesting. I think that’s the word. I had sausages eggs and fried potatoes – she had eggs and fried sweet potatoes in tortillas. Watched a bit of TV  football and Masterchef.

As I write this, Dot is at Carrow Road, hoping that Norwich hang on to beat Ipswich in the big local derby. At the moment they are leading 1-0. She has got over her cold (enough to go out, anyway), but I am feeling pretty tired, especially after walking her down to the ground. Have been feeling quite tired recently, for some reason.

Monday was overcast at first, but some sun later. Dry. Got up late. Dot had a cold, but this made me do more things and therefore feel better. Thanks to Oliver’s link we were able to watch Norwich lose 3-1 to Leicester on Sky TV. In the afternoon I did a bit of work and Dot went for a walk. Looked at our photos on TV. I cooked the meal – salmon. Afterwards we watched Fargo: think O and A liked it. To bed fairly late. 

Tuesday was dry most of the day, but wet in the evening. Not too cold. Dot now had pretty bad cold; hoped (vainly) it would go away by Friday. This morning she went up to the surgery to get checked over for general health, and got some advice she would rather not have, involving not eating things she likes. While she was out, Oliver, Amy and I looked at our old photobooks, and when she came back we went to Gem for lunch, which was very pleasant. They set off for home just after 3pm and made good time. They both had plans for this evening! Dot took it easy and I did quite a bit of clearing up, involving moving the car, making the bed, washing dishes, putting the bins out and so on. We watched the end of the Coma drama serial, which was pretty good, actually, and then a documentary about the UK hurricane of January 1990.

Wednesday was fairly mild and mainly dry. Strange day. Dot was feeling pretty ill all day with cold symptoms and stayed in bed till mid-afternoon. I was feeling pretty mediocre but quite a bit better than her. Bridget came late morning and did the cleaning, while Dot stayed in her room to avoid giving her a cold. Bin men came quite early. i caught up with some e-mails and started to think about my sermon. Dot came down and we watched a bit of TV – a really good programme about the Zambezi, and the first episode of a drama series called Passenger. I made a soup from some leftover chicken and later cooked some smoked haddock. Went to bed early.

Thursday – Grey day, with lots of rain later. Not cold. Stayed in all day, except for going over to Des’s with papers. While I was there he messaged me to ask me to turn on solar panel boost.  Dot was still bad to start with, but improved quite a bit later, though not before I’d contacted Joy to suggest postponing tomorrow’s birthday meal. After a phone conversation we agreed to do that. I felt mediocre early on, but improved. David FaceTimed early evening as I was cooking a meal (pies), and he said Amy the had caught the cold. I wrote my sermon during the afternoon after spending ages trying to get Microsoft Word back for Dot after it had disappeared during a Mac upgrade. Eventually shared my Microsoft 365 with her, and happily it retrieved all her files. Watched a bit of TV in evening, including a documentary on the Yukon river, plus Professor T and a couple of other things. 

Friday started very wet, then dry and quite mild, with some sun: ended with rain again. Very full day. Drove out to Dereham to bring Phil and Joy into Norwich to their solicitor for will-signing; then drove them home again. Tired. After lunch went to Morrisons and bought food and petrol. Dot still suffering, with bad cough: unfortunately Harriet arrived just as I was leaving. Had long talk with David on FaceTime, mainly about Diderot – he’s made some simplifying changes. Looks good. Went out for street meet with Mark, Matt and Jonathan, and met Maybelle, who has moved into No9, with her husband (Daniel?).  Des and Chris still in Egypt. Had mussels for supper, then watched two more episodes of Passenger, which is weirdly compelling. Then Beyond Paradise, which was pretty silly. 

PS They won 1-0. Dot was quite pleased.

It’s April 1 – no kidding. We were roused by some guys wanting to access our back garden so that they could do work on the chimney next door (more accurately, the joint chimney belonging to Bob and Sean). No, really. We were. Dot has a sore throat, and I’m a little bit the worse for wear, and Oliver and Amy are still in bed as I write. No, Amy’s just come down.

Last Wednesday was mostly dry and cool. A busy couple of days in prospect became much less busy when I told Kristine I had a cold: she is still suffering from a chest infection and antibiotics that make her feel sick; so we cancelled her visit for Thursday. I managed to do the Bible study at church with Judy, Steve, Debbie, Leanne and Dot, which went quite well. Dot stayed on for Taizé etc and didn’t get home till 4.30pm. I had phone call from Paul, who has been to Belize. He seemed well. Some confusion over a possible meeting with Nikki etc on Saturday. Decided to give it a miss (it was eventually cancelled). Dot went to orchestra rehearsal in the evening. I watched some football and part of a documentary about Indian railways that was unexpectedly interesting. Cold is a bit annoying but not as bad as I used to get them. 

Thursday was mainly dry, but some heavy rain in the afternoon. My cold got worse, and I felt pretty rotten all day. Glad Kristine didn’t come. Stayed in bed most of morning while Dot went to shops. Around lunchtime got up and wrote a couple of things for Diderot. Read quite a bit of Peter May book I bought in Buxton. Very good. Watched a bit of television – finished Schitts Creek again. Cooked evening meal. Went to bed early. 

Friday – Dry. Felt pretty down all day with a cold and cough. Finished Peter May book – Freeze Frame – which was very good. Watched a long documentary on the Serpent, a serial killer, which was a bit different because done by  interviewing him. Interesting. Dot went to football: Norwich won 2-1 against Plymouth. Spoke to Oliver on FaceTime to try to arrange visit, but will try again tomorrow to see if I’m feeling better. 

Saturday – Dry. Felt better than yesterday, but still well under par. Bit  of a headache, some sneezing and a slight cough. Did quite a bit of clearing up, especially after we spoke to Oliver around midday, and he decided they would come. Dot went to Morrisons, and I popped over to Des’s to leave some papers there and tidy up. Set the alarm off by mistake, but soon put it right. Dot made a couple of cakes – one for church and one for us. Watched a bit of a drama called Coma, which is quite good. Earlier watched football and the boat race (women and men – both won by Cambridge). Oliver and Amy arrived about 9.30, and we looked at some old photos. Oliver and I went to bed while the other two watched Gilmour  Girls, I think. 

Easter Sunday started quite pleasant, but by the end of church slid into a pretty horrible grey and wet day. Took Oliver and Amy to church, and they got a very nice reception from people generally. I decided not to play in the band, and they did very well without me. Nice service led by Liz, and with a good sermon from Howard on the Resurrection. Some nice conversations afterwards. Stayed in rest of day: David FaceTimed – he was rear-ended in his new car, but no serious damage other than a dent. Did a series of quizzes with Oliver and Amy, with the usual results. Lovely evening meal of chicken, roast potatoes, parsnips, beans and gravy. Played hunt the Easter chicks, with again the usual results. Earlier at Oliver’s request I played some Bob Dylan and a couple of other songs that everyone seemed to like. Bed quite late – now British Summer Time, but no one told the weather. 

Last Friday (22nd) – the final day of our Derbyshire break – was a bit of a nightmare, but dry. It took ages to drive home from Buxton, firstly because a fatal crash closed the M1, then by funereally slow traffic on the A52, our escape route, then by hold-ups on the A1, the Newmarket bypass, the A11 and the Norwich southern bypass. We were both exhausted by the time we got home.

One bright spot was afternoon tea at the lovely village of Corby Glen, off the A1, in a tea shop recommended by a cleaner in McDonalds, where we’d stopped under the impression it was general services and then used its loos. An earlier stop at Trawell services on The M1 was a vision of society falling apart. We left quickly. Later we stopped at Cambridge Services, which were at least civilised. We got home at 5.30pm and almost immediately were street-meeting with neighbours – Mark, Jonathan, John and Ciara. Des and Chris are in Egypt.

Back indoors we watched a little TV until Dot suddenly got vertigo again. She hasn’t had it at all on holiday. Couldn’t work out why this should be. After a quick bite she went to bed, and I did some clearing up before joining her. To cap if all I got a ticket for speeding – my first ever. Aaargh! 

Saturday was very cold, but mainly dry. Some rain in the evening. Both of us felt below par. Dot had a bad attack of diarrhoea and was feeling very delicate generally. Nevertheless she came with me to Morrisons in the evening, as we were nearly out of food. I spent most of day writing four articles for Parish Pump – on Beethoven’s 9th, Rock Around the Clock, G K Chesterton and two mile-record holders – Roger Bannister and Diane Leather. Took a blood thinner, which I think made me feel worse – cold and achy. 

Sunday was dry but still fairly chilly. Drove Dot to church and then had to park on Oak Street – getting to be normal.  Didn’t play guitar; quite a nice Palm Sunday service. Nikki and Luke there. Interesting chat with Nikki afterwards. Took Ray home; held up by traffic on Riverside afterwards, which meant I had to hurry lunch before rushing off to Beccles for Lynne Nesbit’s concert at the Hungate Church. Very enjoyable though not my usual thing. Operatic songs and poetry (hers, read by someone else). Met Ian Fosten afterwards and had a chat: Lynne introduced us to her son – nice bloke. Drove home – held up by traffic on Riverside. Getting to be a theme. David FaceTimed shortly after I got home and talked about his new car. Seems very pleased with it. Later did most of church rota and watched a bit of Schitts Creek, which we’re watching for the second time. 

Monday was cold but dry. Had a bad night and felt rather below par all day. Dot woke before me and made a cup of tea, mainly because the landing clock was slow and I thought it was much earlier. After finishing reading Damnation Alley by Roger Zelazny in the bath, I drove Dot to Anna’s for her violin lesson, then progressed to the chemist’s by way of two long hold-ups on Salhouse  Road. The chemist gave me some antibiotics which it transpired the doctor had prescribed for a UTI that I didn’t have. Had to go back for the pills I really wanted, but hung on to the antibiotics just in case.

Later walked up to Jarrolds to meet Kim, and we were joined later by Dot and had a cheese/paté board and some wine, followed by coffee/tea. Good talk with Kim, as always. Walked home in very cold wind, then finished church rota while Dot wrote letters. Very tired. 

Tuesday – Dry most of day; not quite so cold. Rain in the evening. Have what I suppose is a cold, though it’s nowhere near as bad as the ones I used to get (yet). Despite that we drove to Swaffham for lunch with the Higbees. Inevitably Julia said I was looking well. Very nice meal – moussaka. Their daughter Alex popped in afterwards. I thought she looked quite a lot like Chrissy, but Dot didn’t. Earlier Dot had driven up to the surgery to get her pre-diabetes tests, which were all good. I didn’t feel too great in the evening, but we watched a fair bit of television, including a really good BBC4 documentary on Warsaw by Dan Cruickshank. On the plus side, Dot has not had vertigo again.

Last Friday was still fairly mild but windy. One or two heavy showers.  Dot had lunch at Gem with Paul Dunning, her former boss at Diocesan House, who seems really nice. Was worried that she wouldn’t be well enough, but she seems much better. Nothing for me from the surgery all day. Forgot to ring them in afternoon because I was distracted by Dot coming back and luring me upstairs – to watch TV. Went outside at 5.30 and stood in our drive out of the wind for drinks. Present – Des, Chris, John, Jonathan, Matt, Ciara. Rained about 6.30, which cut it short. Des got me fish and chips, and Dot had some of my chips. We watched Mothering Sunday, an excellent 2021 film. 

Saturday was the first day that really felt like spring, especially in the cemetery at North Walsham, where we put flowers on Dot’s parents’ and sister’s graves. We got the flowers – and one or two other things – from Sainsbury’s, where they were having trouble with their computer system and we could only pay in cash. Fortunately, we had enough. Naomi had been supposed to come round at 11 for some chess practice, but she was feeling unwell.

After North Walsham we went to Irstead staithe, which was lovely and quiet, and then called at Neatishead shop, where we bought spelt bread and cheese : we ate it when we got home – delicious. While Dot listened to City beating Stoke 3-0 away I drove up to the Rosary and put flowers on the three graves.  Also managed to watch two more rugby matches- Ireland just beating Scotland and Italy beating Wales in Cardiff. Later England just lost to France, which makes up for some of their earlier luck. Later spoke to Oliver and arranged to meet him for supper on Monday. So I booked a room at Baginton, after almost getting the date wrong. Oliver went to Silverstone today and drove a rally car – a late birthday present, apparently. 

Sunday was an odd day. Not cold, but for some reason I felt very tired, and so did Dot. Picked up Ray (Judy and Carrie were away). Music rehearsal was quite difficult; so I sat most of it out. Then one of the songs went wrong, which almost never happens. Anna got timing awry, which confused everyone. I did the sermon, which a couple of people seemed to like, but it felt awkward. Nikki brought Indie, which was nice: she’s very sweet. In the afternoon Dot took the car to be cleaned, and we did quite a lot of packing. David FaceTimed in the evening, and we had another long chat: he is about to get a new electric car delivered. Hope it works out well. 

Monday was pleasant – dry and not too cold. Had our hair cut by Linda and then finished packing. I had a bath, we had lunch, and we left about 1.40pm after being interrupted by scaffolders, who were inquiring about putting a ladder in our garden to complete work on next-door’s chimney in a couple of weeks. They also took scaffolding down in front of house. Dot drove to Cambridge Services, where she had a coffee and I took over. Rest of journey mostly straightforward. Oliver arrived in Coventry, finished packing up his stuff for Easter and came over to Baginton, where we were staying, for a meal, which turned out to be delicious – and we also had a good talk, before he drove back to Aylesbury. 

Tuesday was wet at first in Coventry, but the rain stopped just as we left, after a nice breakfast and a bath. Dot drove most of the way, but we changed over quite a bit north of Ashbourne, just in time for me to fall foul of a mobile speed camera. Arrived at Buxton around 2pm, shortly after the Evetts, and were able to book in early, courtesy of the lovely Jenny. Then all four of us walked down to the pavilion, where we had lunch (shared egg mayo roll) and then walked round the park and the town. I bought a new Peter May book cheap and some pen refills. Then had tea again in chocolate shop before Dave and I trudged back to the hotel, followed some time later by the two ladies. Pretty tired and not all that hungry at supper time. Steak nowhere near as good as yesterday. Chatted with waiter, who we knew.  Dot had cramp in her legs but managed to make it up to bed. 

Wednesday was damp but not too cold. After a very pleasant breakfast we made for the station, suitably attired, and bought tickets for Manchester Media City. Ticket office man very helpful. Train takes an hour to get to Manchester Piccadilly, where we transferred to the excellent metro, and in a further half an hour reached Media City at Salford, where BBC and ITV have big buildings. Our goal however was The Lowry, where we used the toilets, much to Julia’s relief, and had lunch. Staff very helpful. Then on to the Lowry galleries, where we saw an excellent 20-minute film about him, followed by a good short talk from one of the young assistants.

Looked round the galleries, which were very good, and then went to the shop, where we bought some cards and some tea – the latter because it was in some Lowry-illustrated tins. Then returned to Buxton by same route. Train very busy, and we sat near a tiresome woman who was on the phone just about all the way to Whaley Bridge, speaking loudly about her business dealings. Walked back to hotel. Heard from David that his new electric car had been delivered after an earlier scare about a minor battery fault. Evening meal was again too large but quite pleasant. 

Thursday started wet and continued that way till the afternoon, when it turned dry, but colder with a brisk wind. Dave drove us to Quarry Bank mill at Styal in Cheshire, where we had been before, but we lost our way quite differently. Got there eventually, had tea/coffee in main café and then looked round the mill-owner’s house before walking up to the garden café, where we had lunch. Then to the workers’ cottages, where we were given a tour by a guide who was slightly left of centre but very interesting. The Engels-Marx connection was quite striking. Getting quite cold as we visited the garden shop again, and then took the road home. Or one of them. 

Last Sunday (10th) was damp and cold. In the evening we drove to Lowestoft for Seagull poetry. Ian seemed a bit less than 100%. Quite a number there, including Lynne (bought her new book), Kaaren, Elizabeth, Ivor, Peter, Joan and her friend Bridget plus some others. Read five poems – Soil and Sea, Strathyre Honeymoon, Looking for Narnia, The Space Between and Underground – and had a look at refurbished theatre seats. Ian seemed quite down about church – diminishing congregations. Tortuous drive home behind people who thought 45-50 in 60 limit was perfectly reasonable. 

Monday was a bit overcast; not too cold. In the morning I drove to Dereham to drop off card, present and wine for Phil, who had just returned from doctor’s after blood test. Quite an easy drive, and a good conversation. Back for lunch. Dot went to Riverside shops in the afternoon and bought two pairs of shoes (one later returned) as well as some food. I had a look at my sermon for Sunday, but didn’t get far. Later watched some football, a programme about Henry VIII, and the last two episodes of Prisoner (Danish), which was pretty dark. Dot getting a bit of vertigo today, but has e-mailed doctor. Spoke to roofer next door, who said it would take another couple of days. Mary apologised for noise, but there hasn’t really been any. 

Tuesday was drab and damp, but fairly mild. Wrote quite a bit of my sermon for Sunday and looked at hymns. Dot lunched with Sue Eagle and Sandra in Swainsthorpe. In the evening Cake and Compline, with the Archers, Judy, Eleanor and Vicky. Claire was absent with a cold, and Phil was on his way to Provence for a holiday. Dot and I both felt under the weather – she with minor cold symptoms and me with tiredness and headache: possible recurrence of UTI or effect of blood thinners. Took paracetamol and was ok for C and C. 

Wednesday was dry and quite mild but dull. Bad day for both of us, healthwise. Dot had quite a bad cold and cancelled orchestra. I felt pretty lousy, but managed Bible study. However I decided against Halesworth poetry. Requested antibiotics for what I thought was a UTI, and had to go to surgery to provide a urine sample. Was expecting a call back in the afternoon, but nothing happened. As usual felt better in the evening, and we watched Howard’s End, a very good film. Too tired to do anything useful in the afternoon. 

Bit of sun on Thursday, and pretty mild. Kidney stones clinic rang over an hour late, but we had a short conversation, and he reassured me that my stones were very small, and there was no need to do anything except drink three litres of water a day(!) and have a day without meat or fish a week. I tried to find out what caused the original bleeding, but he said it might have been caused by the self-catheterisation, which would have been tricky as I hadn’t self-catheterised for years. He basically didn’t know. However, he said they were sure there wasn’t anything serious in the kidney. Didn’t feel as reassured as I might.

Later went to see Mike Read, who returned the chess articles he had borrowed. He has annotated a few of my games to go in En Passant! We also agreed to go out to see Owen and Kathy Hindle in April. When I got home I rang the surgery, who had no information on my urine sample and suggested I ring tomorrow afternoon. Finished my sermon and chose hymns. In the evening watched two-hour documentary on missing Malaysia flight. All very suspicious. Dot has not been particularly well but insists she’s getting better. I’m not too bad.

It’s a damp and rather dismal Sunday. Dot and I went to church as usual this morning. We played in the band, and she did the prayers. Afterwards we took Ray home – he wasn’t feeling too happy – and then had lunch. There had been a packet of flowers on the doorstep waiting for us when we got home – it was from David for Mother’s Day. He later FaceTimed us, and we had quite a long chat about a book he’s writing. I rang Ian Fosten to check the poetry session was on at Lowestoft this evening, and spoke to his wife, Bridget. It was.

Last Sunday (March 3) was dry and still fairly cold. David FaceTimed us then too, and we had a long talk about pictures for Diderot and one or two other things. Watched a lot of TV, finishing off Alice and Jack and watching Death in Paradise. Slight TV problem, but it was ok after I restarted the BT box. 

Monday was dry, and a bit chilly. Dot cleaned the house while I caught up with e-mails and a few other things. Still feeling tired and heady; ears under pressure. Amy started work at Whipsnade. In the afternoon Dot and I walked up to Castle Meadow for the “under streets” tour, starting from what used to be the old Ponds shoe shop. We were guided by Holly, who was brilliant, full of information. The “streets” themselves were not so impressive, but the history was. Afterwards we had tea and cake at Harriet’s tea shop until it closed (about 15 minutes), then walked home. In the evening we watched the final episode of Trigger Point, which was very clever, and rewatched the final episode of Alice and Jack on stream, because I realised the version on our BT box had somehow lost about 20 minutes. The whole thing was quite impressive, really: unusual. I wrote a poem inspired by it. Had a message from “David Kett” which was a scam trying to extract money. 

Tuesday ‘s weather was variable – sunny in the morning but overcast later. We drove to the Archant pensioners’ breakfast. In the absence of Robin, Shelagh, Brian and Tricia, we sat at the “main table” and had our usual breakfast – quite crowded restaurant , other than in the Archant area. Spoke mainly to Bill, Richard and David Wakefield. Afterwards went to Morrisons for a fairly big shop: Dot got some unusual stuff for  a meal on Thursday with Kim and Kai. In the evening she went to PCC and I spent a couple of hours catching up and writing another poem.

Wednesday was quite warm in the sun as I walked up to the dentist – my appointment had been brought forward because my new crown had arrived. All went quite well despite my trepidation, but the £1300 bill seemed a lot for a half-hour appointment, which included repair of another tooth. Said goodbye to receptionist Alison, who is leaving at the end of the month, and walked up to Bonds, where Dot picked me up and took me to Bible study. I had expected to be late, but in fact we were on time. We looked at a booklet on the reliability of the New Testament and discussed some Aramaic comments on the first five verses of John. Quite helpful. Decided to switch to looking at John’s Gospel again, having got as far as the first five chapters of Revelation. Several thought it was hard going… which I could understand.

Dot stayed for Taizé, and I drove home. She got back (walking) just after 3pm and a bit later had a conversation with Anne on the phone. Later I drove Dot up to orchestra rehearsal. Bit chillier then. Cleared up and watched an episode of The Chosen that Judy and Dot had watched earlier. About the woman at the well, among other things. Extremely moving.

Thursday – Chilly but dry. Had skipped a day with blood thinner and felt better yesterday, but about lunchtime today it returned (I had taken blood thinner this morning). Dot went to chemist for pills and called at M&S on ring road, plus garden centre. Spent rest of day preparing for visit of Kai and Kim in the evening. I cleared up my room as well as helping Dot. Ben Price (Green. Party) called – must be an election soon. Bridget arrived at about 4.10 and did cleaning. At 6pm Kim and Kai arrived for supper. Dot did really nice meal. Lovely evening; cleared up and rather late in bed. 

Friday was quite a pleasant, dry day, but still pretty cold. Nevertheless Des, Chris, both Johns and for a while even Sarah joined us for our street meet, following which we ate up the remains of yesterday’s meal and much later FaceTimed both David and Oliver. Oliver’s presentation seems to have gone very well. Earlier Anne came round, and she and Dot went to the Cathedral refectory for a coffee while I tidied up. I have my room pretty well organised now. After lunch I did our regular charity giving and walked up to the post office to send some cheques. Sadly I seemed to be getting mild cold symptoms, almost entirely nasal. Dot has trouble with her head, foot and back. Nothing too serious, but annoying for her. 

Saturday – Sunny; quite pleasant, but with a chilly wind. Dot drove to Morrisons to pick up a bit of grocery while I cleared up. After lunch we walked to Carrow Road, picking up my ticket from Jonathan when we arrived. Great match – Norwich beat Rotherham 5-0 and moved into the play-off places. Watched rugby: England beat Ireland by a single point. In cricket England lost badly to India, 4-1. Feeling a bit better. 

Here we are at Sunday again (March 3) – still a bit chilly but dry, and almost in sight of spring. Just back from leading the service, with Carrie preaching, sort of off the cuff but pretty good. Congregation boosted by a family of five who I’d like to say were black, if that’s not racist. Very nice people, and they seemed to enjoy the service, though they arrived very early and had to sit around for quite a while, seeing as most of our congregation arrive within a minute or two of the start. Slight exaggeration, but not much…

A week ago, the heating at home was still playing up. Had long FaceTime chat with Amy and David, spending quite a bit of time exploring Diderot. Watched a bit of rugby highlights: Italy just missed beating France. Then Death in Paradise. Tongue hurt for some reason. 

Monday was very cold but dry. Early phone call from Carrie saying she was ill and could I go up to the hall in case A turned nasty (hasn’t been taking his medication). I was waiting for the gas man, but said I’d go later. Gas man (Barry) came almost immediately and fixed the problem as well as doing a service. Valve had apparently been adjusted before but needed replacing, which he did. Nice guy. Then the scaffolders arrived for next door and put scaffold up at the front of the house, but left before finishing because they had an “emergency”.

Dot went to Morrisons and I walked up to the church hall. A had already been and was refused entry by Debbie, much to his annoyance. I stayed for lunch, which was unusual and very nice – prepared by Addy (also black and lovely) in Carrie’s absence. Tuna cooked in pepper with potato, egg, cheese, courgette and salad, followed by large fruit salad. Had long talk with Steve, as well as with other men on our table. Dot picked me up around 2pm. We did clearing up for tomorrow and then watched quite a lot of TV, including new Danish noir, Trigger Point, Call the Midwife and the end of the Shuttle documentary: usual problem – aloof management, no flexibility. 

Tuesday – Still cold but dry. Roger and Debbie came round for lunch and stayed till after 6pm – so had a really good chat. I cooked chilli con carne, and Dot did a starter and bought tiramisu for sweet. More scaffolding went up round the back early on, disrupting arrivals at NWT.  Not much effect on our garden. In the evening watched a few things, including Jack and Alice, which has improved, and the film Robin and Marion, which was OK. Mouth seems ok, which was just as well as I was going to the dentist the next day. 

Wednesday was dry and not too cold. Not a very good night, but felt better at around 5pm. Also felt Dot’s head (vertigo) was better. Dot drove me up to dentist, where I discovered from Charlie that Alison was retiring next month. Then underwent long and uncomfortable removal of crown, and preparation for new one. Walked home and took paracetamol. Bridget round to clean. Dot went to Morrisons, then I helped her to repair the big mirror, which fell down off chest of drawers. She went to orchestra in the evening, and I wrote another poem. We then watched the end of The Challenger, about the space shuttle. Very good.

Thursday – Very wet all day, but not too cold Amy arrived with Vicky and Matt, who were staying at the Ship Inn at Mundesley. They went straight on and we had lunch; then I felt very tired and had to lie down. We watched a couple of things after that, including songs, and then walked up in light rain to the Ivy through the Close. Had lovely meal. I had duck liver parfait and then sirloin, both excellent. Good service as always. Waiter took pic and we sent it to Oliver, who had been in touch. Walked home by more direct route – still raining. Watched some songs, and I went to bed. Dot and Amy stayed up a bit. Earlier a meeting at St Augustine’s about gate locks ended unexpectedly well. We weren’t there, of course. 

Friday – wet in morning; dry rest of day. Very cold throughout. After late breakfast with Amy we all walked up to the Castle, where we looked at an exhibition of old industrial paintings of Norwich which included some interesting stuff on Caley’s and some fascinating films on driving through Norwich in 1950. Could remember a lot of it, especially a short lights-governed one-way section in Rampant Horse Street, and of course Stump Cross. Walked home and had late lunch, then instead of a street meet, because it was so cold, Des, Chris and John came round for drinks. Des got fish and chips for us, and Amy had a sausage. Then watched a film – Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, which was pretty good. Also a couple of episodes of Schitts Creek. I went to bed while Dot watched Gilmour Girls with Amy. 

Saturday – Not a great day healthwise. Two lots of paracetamol. Very unusual. Felt shivery and heady. Weather a bit less cold and mainly dry, but severe hail mid-afternoon. Chrissy’s birthday – Amy set up FaceTime with Canada. Had sent Chrissy chocs and two books. Before breakfast drove up to chemist to get pills, but it was shut! Kettle broke; so Dot drove to Morrisons to get new one. Amy and I watched F1 Bahrain while Dot went to football. Norwich beat Sunderland 1-0. Earlier Naomi  came round for football tickets. She looked well, but isn’t. She can’t eat anything at all at the moment. Arranged to play chess with her in a couple of weeks.

I cooked evening meal – salmon. Dot was going to go to her concert at St Stephen’s Church by taxi , but it failed to turn up (Courtesy Cars), so I drove her (with Amy) and then returned to find Vicky and Matt had arrived to pick Amy up – as anticipated – and as they were all getting into the car, the taxi arrived – over half an hour late. So I got the taxi to take me up to the concert, where Kim and Kai had been saving me a seat in the front row. Also there – Bridget, David and their goddaughter; Sue and Roger and two friends;  Neville; Graham. Spoke to Ros and Mary. Good concert, full house. Dot and I walked home – part of the way with Kim and Kai – and were pretty cold and tired when we got there, carrying violin and stand. Watched football and went to bed. 

Forgot to mention last time that I’ve just read Matthew Williams’ book on The Masterful Mr Collins – a former city engineer who transformed Norwich between 1890 and 1920. Very short but interesting – at least to someone who lives in Norwich. Last Monday (19th) was a bit cooler but dry. Spent most of the day writing four Parish Pump articles – on Bach, Byron, ABBA and Boko Haram.

Also went to Morrisons with Dot. Minor car crash at junction into shops complex, and police showed great restraint in not closing the road. Watched football and the second episode of Jack and Alice, a TV drama which is a bit strange. Thought it had finished today, but apparently not. Also watched a Panorama documentary on where Hamas gets its money, which was surprisingly balanced. 

Tuesday  was a bit windy but dry, and not too cold. Wrote piece for website on flooding in Norfolk and used ten-year- old flood poem linked loosely to an owl and Godfrey Sayers. Anna came to give Dot a violin lesson. In the evening we walked to the Greens’ for a DCC meeting: Graham, Howard, Jude, Debbie and Carrie there, but not Phil, who forgot. Wine from Howard. Quite a long meeting, mainly about safeguarding and community issues, plus finance. Carrie’s last DCC meeting, and she made the most of it… Jude gave us a lift home and we watched a programme about walking in the Peak District, with Bill Bailey and Alan Davies. Radiators very warm again, but everything off. Suspect erratic thermostat. 

Bad night. Had to get up in night to turn central heating off – again. Seemed OK on Wednesday , though. Bit of a miserable day, weather wise: very damp. Jude came round to watch an episode of The Chosen, and Dot and I then drove to church for Bible Study. Went reasonably well, but Dot had to leave halfway through to go to chiropodist – more work on her ingrowing toenail, which was a bit painful. Jude, Debbie, Stephen and Ellie  present. When we finished I walked home; didn’t seem too bad at first but got wetter and wetter.

Called in on Mary to see how they were, following a roof collapse in one of their bedrooms. They’re OK, but apparently they have to have the whole roof replaced, which might impact on us through scaffolding in our garden. Not quite sure how that’s going to work. After Dot arrived I had a bath because I was so wet and obviously having a bath would help. We did some puzzles afterwards, and in the evening I drove her up to orchestra rehearsal because her usual lift couldn’t get her there in time. Wrote a couple of poems, and she got a lift home. Watched first part of a documentary on the Columbia shuttle disaster. 

Thursday – Very wet, though it was fairly dry to start with, and Dot went up to Jarrold’s for a chin wax, having initially had doubts because her head was a bit dodgy. Went all right, though. However, she got very wet walking home (I had driven her up there), having bought cheese and  lingered in the White Company. Watched episode two of the Shuttle documentary and later rang up my cousin Barbara, who seems OK. Said I would go and see her soon. Monday? Bridget came and did cleaning. Watched How to Marry a Millionaire, which was brilliant except for a totally pointless, prolonged and tedious piece of orchestral music at the outset. Dot washed her foot and then did an exercise to put right her dizziness. 

Much better night, and Friday was pleasant, weatherise, with some blue sky. Quite chilly, though. Wrote another poem and fiddled about with the study, tidying things up and looking for talks I’ve done, so that I can make an offer to Bridget, who wants someone to talk to her church group. Found a couple of plays I’d written and can hardly remember. In the evening we met outside with Des, Chris, Jonathan and Matthew and talked with Mary for a few minutes after she got out of a taxi, Des suggesting that she ought to get a few quotes for her roof work. Very  cold weather; mashed potatoes were terrible, and the TV went wrong again. 

Saturday was coldish but not too cloudy. In the afternoon we went out and pruned the roses: earlier Dot had cleaned the front path and the patio while I did the prayers for tomorrow. The TV seems to have put itself right – watched quite a bit of rugby (Scotland beat England, and Ireland beat Wales). Dot listened to City drawing with Blackburn 1-1 away. Meanwhile the heating, which had been ok for several days, seems to have gone wrong again: think it’s the thermostat. Green Party want to hire church hall to talk about climate change. We voted against it, but I think everyone else is in favour. 

Today has been busy, and I haven’t been feeling that great. It’s been cold, too. Had to turn the heating off last night, which meant I had to get up early this morning and turn the boiler on. Now I’ve booked a service for tomorrow morning, when I hope the system will be put right. Had a bath, turned the heating off and drove to church. Not the smoothest music ever, but I think the prayers went OK. Afterwards moved the car to the end of Sussex Street and walked to Kim’s, where we had lunch. Felt very tired. Kai was also there and talked an awful lot, though he was quite entertaining and we had a good time, despite my feeling as if I was slipping downwards. After we got home I turned the heating on again, and now I feel better.