Monday was quite warm in the sun, but chilly out of it. Anne came round and went into the city with Dot. Meanwhile, I walked along the riverside path to the Jarrolds bridge and back along the other bank, staying on the rarely open lower level along the quay. Practised guitar for a bit, and when Dot arrived home she waited on the step for ten minutes because she thought I was out – I didn’t hear the doorbell, and she misinterpreted the Find a Friend info, thinking I was walking along Riverside. Edited a lot of Paston pages.

Dot had PCC Zoom in the evening, and I rewatched some of Fargo – a truly wonderful film.  Then we watched Fawlty Towers, followed by Deutschland 89. Earlier saw Line of Duty, and both the latter coincidentally ended with a double gunshot, leaving us not knowing the outcome. Very exciting.

Tuesday was again quite warm, with a mixture of sun and cloud.  Did some more Paston pages, then edited my pictures (I do this regularly). After lunch we drove to Morrisons to buy some chocolates for Philip Robinson, plus a couple of other things. Then we progressed to the Rosary, where I cleaned up my grandparents’ grave pretty thoroughly. I have ordered a flower-holder from Amazon.

From there we drove to Cary’s Meadow for a short walk. We arrived home at the same time as Des and Chris, who had been out for lunch at village near Dereham; so we had chat with them – and were joined by Mark, then Bob and Mary briefly. Cooked salmon, then watched Norwich lose second home match in succession, 1-0 to Watford. Phil Coomes left a message with funeral details. Watched a bit of Robin and Marion, which wasn’t very good (we may not watch the rest), then all of The Mauritanian, which was brilliantly done but quite harrowing when it showed what happened at Guantanamo Bay. Did not reflect well on top people in USA, including Obama. 

Wednesday was mainly sunny, but with quite a chilly wind. I put together three Parish Pump pieces, on Sax (who invented the saxophone), Jesse Boot and Prince Philip. After lunch we drove to Poringland and spoke to Anne and Philip (delivering his birthday present of chocs) before going for a walk along lanes to Howe, then back via my aunt’s former house at the end of Leafyoak Lane. I was told that this would be two miles, but it turned out to be well over three. Felt pretty tired.

Zoom Compline (Dot made chocolate cake!) with a full complement, then watched some of Animals, an Irish comedy, followed by a bit of  MOTD, Spurs beating Southampton 2-1 in the last minute. Our blackbirds have returned – or at least two random and quite friendly blackbirds. Hard to tell whether they’re the same ones.

Today I finished the Pump pieces with one on Curt Jung, and did some fine tuning on the Paston Gresham Castle page. Did a bit more sorting of poems, then found some old songs, which I practised. Quite pleased with some of them. After lunch Bridget arrived to do some cleaning for the first time. Dot had the arrival time down wrong; so she was nearly two hours later than expected. Had tea in the garden first. While she was working, Dot took the old coffees up to the shop for recycling and bought some milk which had been unavailable in Morrisons when Des visited.

Later we went on a virtual tour in the Scottish Highlands, “climbing” the final 200 metres of the Pap of Glencoe, guided by Craig, who was excellent. Almost felt as if we were there! Weather conditions were superb. We then watched the end of Animals, a very strange film about two young women “finding themselves” – or at least, one of them did. Afterwards the first half of The Far Country, a western set in Alaska and starring James Stewart. We were both so tired, for some reason, that we went to bed at 10.30pm. I felt quite odd, but seem to be OK now.

Start of a new week (if you’re a Monday person), and Dot was up early because Anne is arriving for a walk – or possibly a shop, or both – in the not-too-distant future. It’s sunny after a cloudy start and still chilly, though it’s forecast to get quite warm later in the day. I’m tempted to go out and start the car, because the battery went dead yesterday and, although it was charged and I took it for a 30-minute drive, there’s always that smidgeon of doubt…

I’ll come back to the battery later. Meanwhile, last Tuesday was a bit chilly but dry, with quite a bit of sun. After lunch I walked with Dot up to Boots for her eye test (no problems) and then left her there and walked back through the Close, Bishopgate and along the riverside path. I was pretty tired at the end. Dot didn’t get back till about 4.30. We watched Too Close,  a new thriller that was very well done, though I wasn’t entirely convinced by the storyline. We also watched Alien: Covenant, which was also well done but quite frightening, and then a good documentary by Gyles Brandreth on Jane Austen.  Had five peppered mackerel between us because they come in packs of five.

Wednesday was a mixture of sun and cloud, with quite a cold wind. Nearly finished writing my sermon for Sunday, then after lunch drove to Caistor and we had a longish walk at Venta Icenorum. I was not impressed by the Norfolk Archaeological Trust, who locked the gate at the END of a path across the main site while leaving the one at the beginning of it open: so we had to climb over a gate to get back to car. There’s much more walking available there now: we crossed the river and walked along the bank on other side. There’s a new entrance, too.

We watched the postponed Masterchef final – all three finalists were excellent, but it was clear who was going to win, and the other two knew it as well. Returned a call to Ray and Chris in querying about our health, and Dot did lots of violin practice. I booked a virtual trip in Jerusalem and a week at Snape in October.

There was a cold wind on Thursday, with showers. Walked up to the Forum with Dot to meet Janet Bower for coffee, which we drank legally outside but mostly under the overhanging roof. It lasted an hour and a half, and we got quite cold towards the end. Picked up groceries from Des on way back. After lunch I drove to the chemist to pick up my pills: when I got back Sonata man had arrived with split-second timing to service the alarm. Nice bloke. Later we watched My Cousin Rachel, from the novel by Daphne du Maurier. It was pretty good, but the hero was an idiot. Finished writing my sermon and practised hymns with Dot.  In the evening we Zoomed with Heather, Simon and Sam for an hour and 20 minutes, which was very enjoyable. 

Still a keen north-east wind on Friday, and I touched up the sermon (bit of a theme here) while Dot Zoomed with Barbara. After lunch we went for a heygo trip on the border of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Very wordy with not much movement, but quite compelling, giving us the Israeli view of the situation but in a very fair way (he urged us to take a Palestinian virtual trip too). Then we walked to the Rosary.  The in-street drink was revived at 5.30pm. We split into two groups because of our numbers and I spoke to Phoebe, Freddie, Mary and Bob at some length. Dot had fishnchips, supplied by Des as usual; I had smoked salmon and boiled eggs. We watched Live and Let Die – great boat chase – and then Rewrite, a Hugh Grant romcom that I really enjoyed.

Saturday was not so cold, and sunny with very little wind. Dot spent a lot of time recording her Sillars violin piece and then trying to convert the file to mp3. I wasn’t really able to help, but in the end David happened to FaceTime, and he did it for her. He told us about the tighter lockdown over there, which is a bit disappointing, but they all seem well.

It was my father’s birthday; so I walked up to the Rosary and put three daffodils from our garden on the grave. Then we watched the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral, led by the Dean of Windsor, who couldn’t have looked more miserable. Music was quite good, though. Norwich were promoted despite losing 3-1 to Bournemouth in evening after having a man sent off – wrongly, I think, because the Bournemouth player’s tackle was reckless. Pukki was injured too, and so was Handley, though he kept playing. Riotous celebrations outside Carrow Road, apparently.

Sunday was sunny and reasonably warm, but cold out of the sun towards evening. As mentioned, the car had a dead battery; so Des took us to church and we walked home, tired and hungry. I borrowed Carrie’s guitar and preached, though not at the same time. Sad news from Phil: he has bladder cancer, and is awaiting an operation. Obviously distressed. We spent some time with him afterwards.

On arriving home I called Mazda European Assistance after checking that I had renewed our membership. A guy with an impressive van arrived about 5pm after I’d told them there was no hurry. It transpired the battery was dead because the bonnet was open. I had filled up with petrol the previous day and pulled the bonnet catch instead of the filler cap catch by mistake. I meant to push the bonnet back down but forgot, and when we got home I didn’t notice that the car refused to lock. Apparently this was sufficient to drain the battery overnight, because it kept sending signals to itself that the car wasn’t locked and the bonnet was open.

After he recharged the battery and carried out various checks, I drove out through Thorpe to the bypass, then to the A140, Dunston Common, Stoke, Caistor, Trowse and back through the city. Almost exactly 30 minutes, as recommended. Before the Mazda man arrived I tok the opportunity to ring Alan and Rosemary and had quite a chat with Rosemary, who is suffering a lot with her stent, which keeps getting infected. The hospital won’t remove it despite the nurses and GP saying that it needs doing.

In the evening I cooked chilli con carne, and we watched the start of a new series of Call the Midwife, preceded by an exciting grand prix in Italy, won by Verstappen, with Hamilton second and Norris third.

Things were strangely calm last Thursday morning. It was still coldish, but warm enough for a walk. I went up to the Rosary, out the back and along to Gas Hill, which I descended after a brief excursion down St Matthew’s Terrace and St Leonard’s Terrace. I then walked home along Riverside Road and found Dot, who had been cleaning up the garden ready for Saturday, chatting to Mark. Surprised he was up and around, but he seemed OK. Finished my chess article and sent it off, then David FaceTimed to say Jannie Comes was seriously ill and on a ventilator. She had had a fall and a stroke. I rang Kristine to let her know and e-mailed Anne C, who rang me back. Spent some time replying to people who had e-mailed me after receiving a fake message when my Hotmail account was hacked. 

It all happened on Friday, which dawned grey and dull, with quite a bit of rain despite the forecast. Dot walked over to Boots in morning, and we got a surprise phone call, wanting us to fix our second jabs for the next day. After establishing that this would be in the morning and not interfere with our grandchildren’s visit, we graciously accepted. I rang Vicky to let her know, and we agreed that any reaction to the jab was unlikely to happen until 24 hours later.

I walked up to post a letter and then round to Morrisons’s, where I got some cash out for the children. Then it was announced that the Duke of Edinburgh had died at the age of 99. TV schedules were trashed, which was fair enough up to a point, but then veered into the wildly excessive. BBC1 and BBC2 were broadcasting the same thing at the same time, over and over again. I quite liked Prince Philip, but this rapidly got too much. It also totally overshadowed the new that Jennie C had died, which I didn’t discover till the next day, when Kristine rang us.

Before that, however, we had risen early on Saturday and driven up to Lionwood for our jabs. All went amazingly smoothly. Our appointment was for 9.10, but we arrived there at about 8.50 and went straight in for jabs. We were home by 9.20. It was a good day – dry, partly sunny and slightly less cold, with no wind. Kristine rang as were preparing for the children. We lit the cheminiere but decided it as too smokey for Oliver, so put it out again.

I texted David about Jennie as the grandchildren were arriving, just before 1pm. It was just about OK to eat in garden – it wouldn’t have been the day before or the day after – and we opened Christmas parcels with David on FT. Gave Oliver and Amy, who were quite perky, £50 each as well. Vicky was also in good form. Afterwards we all walked up to the Rosary, which was very pleasant. Vicky hadn’t been there before. Walked home and had a drink before they left at around 4pm. We then watched the second half of the Norwich game against Derby, which they won 1-0. After supper we watched a couple of things and both went to sleep during a play. Felt pretty awful when I woke, with a very fuzzy head. Went to bed early and had a pretty mediocre night. 

Woke early yet again on Sunday, feeling very tired. Dot too; so we decided not to go to church – after much indecisiveness on my part. Felt quite down. Showery, unpleasant day, often hailing fiercely. Had bath and sent off prayers to Phil and Howard for use in service. Felt a bit fluey, though not excessively. Carrie suggested singing national anthem outside at church – happily this was not taken up. She also suggested a Latin service at a medieval fair in autumn. Not convinced. Phone call from Debbie about updating Meditation website.  Apparently she, Howard and Martin (Smith) had had a Zoom meeting about it, which is interesting as I’m the only person who updates it.   

Had a deep night’s sleep.  Yesterday we had blue sky most of the day. It was chilly but not too bad, and I walked with  Dot to post sympathy card to Phil Coomes, then to Rosary for a shortish walk while Dot went home feeling very tired. Nobody in cemetery – wrote website piece about it. Found some writing training stuff and sent it to Anne C at her request. She seemed very happy with it.

In the afternoon Dot went to Verena for a massage. We watched Line of Duty, which was very good as always, though I’m not sure how they can spin it out for another three episodes. Too many people are getting killed or sacked. We then rewatched the play we had fallen asleep in – Sitting – and discovered it was really excellent: a three-hander written by Katherine Parkinson (who was also in it) and very cleverly staged and directed using Zoom, or some such. Brilliant idea and superb acting.

It’s the Thursday after Easter, and just a mite warmer than it has been the last few days. I am in the process of writing a chess article for the local magazine, En Passant, and have been looking up some games from my early days. Surprisingly, I’ve found all the ones I was looking for and am starting with the one I won the school chess championship with – a Queen sacrifice, no less. Possibly not sound, but there you are… Dot is Zooming with Barbara about her p4c pack, which I have been editing with her this week so that it can go online. Des should be bringing the groceries over shortly.

Easter Sunday was sunny and quite warm. We had Holy Communion at church – a lovely service led by Liz Cannon, with Howard speaking, or should I say conjuring – a word he uses very frequently. I played guitar and sang; I also read the lesson because Ray has eyesight problems and was nervous in case he couldn’t decipher it. We sang the last hymn outside (I played guitar), and apparently a woman from Sussex Street came over, having heard it from afar! Steve Fiske came to church at Anna’s invitation: he has been having health problems.

We (or rather Dot) gave an Easter egg to Sophie and family from The Lathes, and later to John’s kids and Phoebe and Freddie! We also sent several e-cards. After lunch we walked to the Rosary in very pleasant weather and then cleared the garage ready for the new freezer. We also watched the boat race, which was on the Great Ouse near Ely. Cambridge won both races narrowly. There were a couple of very good Easter programmes on TV. Later by contrast we watched Line of Duty, in which another policeman was killed. Not good for recruitment.

Huge change in the weather overnight. Bitterly cold on Easter Monday, with snow showers (not settling). I had a bad night and woke early. Sorted out some poems for a new book, then watched the original Death on the Nile (brilliant), Intruder (a new series), and Fawlty Towers (an old series, but still hilarious ). We FaceTimed with the whole family.  Too cold for a walk; managed 3000 steps inside. Dot ordered a vacuum cleaner.

Tuesday was still cold, with bits of snow on cars and roofs. Finished Godfrey’s book, Shifting Sands, which was very good but contained a number of errors and too few maps. I offered to edit the second edition! Lots of windy snow and hail showers. Dot had a violin lesson and long chat at Anna’s. I walked 5000 steps mainly indoors, and the new freezer arrived. Saw Norwich beat Huddersfield 7-0. Watched The Syndicate serial – not bad. Cooked salmon. Chris drove Mark back from hospital after the operation on his leg. Had a brief chat with them as I was putting the bins out ( a day late because of the bank holiday).

Yesterday was still cold, but not so windy. A bit of sun, but still stayed mainly indoors and had a very low step count. Strange day: we joined in a virtual tour of Old Jerusalem, which was very good, especially towards the end. I then had a What’sApp message from Vicky Myers to say my hotmail account had been hacked and was sending people messages asking for a “favor”, which deceived one or two people, although I’m not sure what the hacker was getting out of it. I changed the password, and toyed with closing the account, but Microsoft were making it very difficult to do anything.

In the middle of all this, Dot’s new hoover was delivered, and I started sorting out chess games for the article. Took grocery list over and chatted to Chris, then John, who was planting sunflowers for his daughter. Transferred some food into new freezer. Paul rang. Watched football, then Intruder, then The Terror, which was really not very good. I’m not sure why – perhaps the unconvincing setting, perhaps the ridiculous supernormal beast, perhaps the lack of women… Don’t know why they bothered.

It’s Easter Saturday, a dead day. But there was a kind of resurrection this morning when Linda came round and cut our hair. We now have a new life. It’s a bit chilly outside and snow is forecast for next week, but…

The current chilliness, though seasonal enough, contrasts sharply with the beginning of the week. Monday was pleasantly warm and sunny, and we drove to North Walsham, called at Sainsbury’s to buy flowers and proceeded to the cemetery. From there we went to Ebridge Mill, and walked along the North Walsham and Dilham Canal for a bit over half a mile. Very pleasant indeed. There was a lot of traffic on the roads, and hold-ups on the way home, but we got back just in time to have tea in the street with the neighbours, restricting ourselves to groups of six or less. I spoke to Jonathan and Mark, who has a badly injured knee following an accident in the States, and is going to haven operation very soon at Spire. I was tired after our walk, but cooked salmon, and later we watched the new Line of Duty, which is as mysterious and entertaining as always.

Tuesday was sunny again and almost as warm. We visited Phyllis at Thomas Tawell House, and she seemed pretty well. Afterwards we walked up to the Rosary after posting a letter to Andrew, then did some Paston editing. Spent an hour on phone to Lily, whose birthday was a few days ago, then ordered a freezer from John Lewis. Chatted briefly to Des and Mark.

Wednesday was still warm but cloudier. I finished preparing for our Zoom Compline and started getting  a new collection of poems together. Dot has been putting together some rather nice Stations of the Cross collages for church, and after lunch we dropped them off at church, then drove to Catton Park and walked round it. Beautiful area, but sadly overrun with dogs. Dot spent some time in the garden, and in the evening we watched The Lone Ranger film, which was to my surprise very good indeed, with great action sequences.

Next day, cold air returned, but it was dry. Dot spent a lot of time Zooming with Barbara, then spent the rest of the day working hard on her P4C pages, which are looking very good. I worked on my poems, then posted Easter cards and walked up to the Rosary, where I had a brief interchange with four women of about my own age or older, which was nice. Come home and had bath, then edited another Paston page.  Cooked salmon and watched The Terror , which has improved slightly. Spoke to Des and then Austin, the window cleaner.  Later we had our Zoom Compline, again without Kim, then watched most of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, mainly because part of it was filmed on a mountain we went up in Switzerland – the Schilthorn.

On Good Friday we watched the Riding Lights passion play again in bed – it was still brilliant –  and later had a discussion on it on Zoom, organised by Howard. Only four of us – Howard, Judy, Liz C and me, but Sister Pamela (living on the Isle of Mull) was also with us to begin with – sound only and with no idea why she was there. How can you join a Zoom meeting by mistake? Dot missed the discussion because she was watching Norwich City draw 1-1 with Preston after conceding a goal with the last kick of the game. I walked round Bishopgate and Cathedral Close. The weather was cool and grey, but not too bad. We finished  watching OHMSS.

Some time during the week we watched the final episode of Unforgotten, which must be one of the best police series ever.

Summer is in the air, the sky is blue, it’s reasonably warm, restrictions have been relaxed and we’re about to go to North Walsham. After lunch, that is. I’ve just written to Andrew, who seemed pretty down yesterday when I spoke to him briefly on the phone. I was told I could visit him, but of course there is still the distance problem. Maybe next month…

Last Tuesday, which marked a year since the first lockdown, I was tired most of the day and did very few steps. I did however manage to write three Parish Pump articles, and we watched Love and Mercy, about Beach Boys’ leader Brian Wilson, which turned out to be surprisingly good.

The next day was not too cold, and the sun came and went. I did the church rota and then walked up to the dentist while Dot was engaged in a Zoom DSSO meeting, during which she gave a good talk on the importance of DSSOs. I know it was good because I saw her notes, and because everyone said so. The dentist said there was nothing he could do except take my back tooth out, and it wasn’t really bad enough for that. Since then, however, I have been having trouble with one much nearer the front, which reacts strongly to cold. Annoying.

After lunch I did quite a bit of Paston editing on the QR pages, and managed 5000 steps. Later we watched Singing in in the Rain, which was good up to a point, but with some totally irrelevant dance sequences in the middle, the only compensation being the very striking Cyd Charisse. We also watched the last episode of the excellent Elizabeth R. Did she die of lead poisoning? No-one knows.

Thursday started very sunny. Dot had a Zoom with Barbara Vidion in the morning and a walk with Anne at Poringland in the afternoon. I walked up to the Rosary and home via Cotman Road. Later we continued watching The Terror, though it’s really not very good. We shall watch it to the end, not to see what happens but to show that we can. Norwich’s Dave Hanley, who can never get a header on target for City, scored with a header for Scotland. In the evening we had a Zoom DCC, without Matt or Phil. It was OK.

On Friday the weather gradually worsened – windy, then rain in the afternoon. My leg was a bit painful, as it has been for a while – happily, as I write it seems to be fine. We got up late, and I had a bath. Dot worked on a written version of her DSSO talk for wider distribution, and I did some work on a Palm Sunday liturgy, then put the rota on my calendar and on the website. We had a FaceTime with David, who now has official permission to be in Canada until the end of the year. Des got Dot fish and chips again, and I had an omelette. Early night, low steps.

Next day it was sunny and windy. I watched the end of the France-Scotland rugby match, and was glad I did, because it was extremely exciting. France inexplicably held on to the ball when they could have kicked it off field and won; then Scotland got a penalty and scored, more than four minutes into added-on time. The score was 27-23, I think. The winning pass was thrown by stand-in fly half Hastings after the first-choice fly half had been sent off .

Later I walked with Dot to the Rosary; then, after the TV jammed (I sorted it out later) we watched a film on Netflix called A Call To Spy, based on the true story of two women in the second world war. It was pretty good. We also watched the first episode of a new series of Keeping Faith, but both agreed we wouldn’t watch any more, because the lead actress was permanently hysterical and extremely irritating. Don’t know if it was her fault, or the scriptwriter’s, or the director’s. No football because of the international break.

The weekend weather turned out not to be as bad as forecast, but it was windy and a bit chilly. Start of British Summer Time, and we cooked our evening meal in daylight!  Led the church service while not feeling too well, but felt better in the afternoon. Liz Cannon preached and later we FaceTimed with Amy and Oliver, who both seemed quite perky. Wrote a piece for my website on free speech for minorities. Ended day by watching an exciting Bahrain Grand Prix – Hamilton just holding off Verstappen – and some international football highlights. Pukki scored a penalty for Finland, and (we discovered later) Hernandez scored for Cuba.

Had a terrible night last night – the worst I can remember for months, possibly years (except when I was in hospital). At 2.30 I took a couple of pills – one for my stomach, which was queasy – and at 6.30 decided to have breakfast and a cup of tea. The papers had arrived; so I took them back to bed and did the sudokus and other puzzles. Still couldn’t get to sleep for more than a few minutes at a time. At some point I had a dream in which I was going mad, but couldn’t do anything about it. We were by the sea, and the tide came in on to the road. I’m sure it’s all very meaningful, but it’s now just after midday, I’ve had a bath and am extremely tired and a bit hungry, though not yet mad.

Last Tuesday was drizzly, but Anne came round and went for a walk with Dot. We had a phone chat with David Archer, then later of course he joined us for the Zoom Compline (minus Kim, for undisclosed reasons). At some point we watched a new detective drama called Grace, which was pretty good, and the Likely Lads film, which for me was nostalgic and good fun, and for Dot absolutely hilarious. It’s a long time since I’ve heard her laugh so much. Despite my bad back (now much improved), I managed 4000 steps.

On Wednesday, a major event: tree-cutting on the path behind our house, which had been promised for ages. It was cool and a bit rainy; so not much fun for the cutters. Dot took Harriet for a walk after lunch, an event she described as “a nightmare”. They lost the dog, and Harriet spent most of the walk on the phone to other people. I wrote the first half of Sunday’s sermon and watched the rest of Life on the Road, featuring Ricky Gervais as David Brent. Despite him being obnoxious as usual, the end was well done and rather sad. Also watched Norwich beat Notts Forest 2-0, then in the evening High Plains Drifter, and as a result were late to bed . Walked just over 3000 steps, all indoors.

Thursday was wet and cool again, but there was no stopping the tree men. I finished reading A Gentleman in Moscow, by Amor Towles, which was totally brilliant. Dot had a long Zoom with Barbara Vidion on P4C. My back was still quite bad, though slightly improved. Didn’t walk very far, but finished writing my sermon. Watched The Terror, which is really not very good, and Elizabeth R, which is 50 years old and very good indeed.

Friday was sunny and quite mild – a welcome change. The tree men finished and left a rake behind, which I rescued. Not a bad job, though I had been hoping they would cut more. I examined the ones remaining and decided they weren’t really a threat to our roof.

Posted a couple of cards and walked in the Rosary. Quite a few people about. Later Dot walked on her own. At 5pm we watched Riding Lights’ lockdown passion play, Breaking Day, which was excellent, as you might expect. Also watched The Falklands Play, from the 1980, which was well done, with Margaret Hodge a much better Mrs Thatcher than Gillian Anderson in The Crown. Over a few days we watched The Lost Tapes of Daniel Barenboim on Beethoven, which was extremely informative and, well, scintillating, I suppose. Printed some unrelated music out for Phoebe. Back still quite bad.  

Saturday was much duller and chillier, but no wind. Dot did some cleaning, while I went for a walk round The Close. Not all that comfortable, as I was still in a bit of pain. Norwich drew 1-1 with Blackburn – a fair result, though we missed a couple of easy chances. Dot and I cleared a pile of leaves by the steps that had been annoying me for ages, using the forgotten rake. Watched France v Wales at rugby – an amazing game won by France 32-30 in overtime. We had quite a long chat with David on FaceTime.

It was grey again on Sunday. I rewrote my St Augustine’s Way liturgy for Howard, then edited my sermon. I heard that my tanka and haiku had been included in a booklet called On A Knife Edge, which accompanies a national exhibition by the Lettering Arts Trust. Very pleasing. I filled in the national census form, and we had a philosophical discussion with David, Chrissy, Oliver and Amy. I also wrote report on St Augustine’s Sunday worship for the annual parish meeting, and then Dot and I walked on Cary’s Meadow, getting back in good time for the Zoom service at which I preached. This was recorded and is available on line if you have the access code. Watched quite a bit of Crock of Gold documentary about Shane McGowan while Dot watched Spurs match on phone.

Yesterday started out with blue sky, then intermittent sun. Dry, coolish. Walked with Dot on Mousehold after taking her to Tesco to buy water filters, then had an accidental chat with Des. Watched more rugby (recorded), then Unforgotten, which continues to be very good indeed.

Just a normal day in lockdown – well, not quite. This morning I woke before 5am and remembered I had to do a covid test before 8am, because the courier was due to collect it between 8am and 6.30pm. As I was awake, I thought I might as well do it then; so I did. It was quite unnecessarily complicated, as it was the other half-dozen times I’ve done it – even the box you put it in has to be constructed, and I have to work it out painstakingly every time. If I was actually ill, I’m not sure I would be able to do it. But I’m not – I had been selected randomly as part of a study; so it took me well under an hour. I couldn’t get back to sleep, of course (nor could my wife), and shortly after 7.30am I received a text message saying it would be picked up between 2.30pm and 6pm. Very helpful. I wonder how many billion pounds it cost setting that up.

Now it’s just after 10am, and I’m feeling very tired. Dot is waiting for her friend Anne to come and join her in a walk, which is now legal, apparently. It’s not quite raining.

I’ve had a bit of a bad back for a few days, which is annoying. It got worse after we discovered the freezer had broken down. It was probably not the discovery, which happened late on Sunday evening, but the extracting of various items and shifting the freezer away from its slot in the boiler room. I don’t know why I did that. Anyway, we salvaged a few items, threw some away and cleaned out the waterlogged appliance. Dot did that bit. I took some fish cakes round to Judy’s, who I happened to be speaking to on the phone the next day.

On the way back I called in at the Rosary and found that the flowers on my parents’ grave were looking good, despite the wind and rain of previous days. The weather seemed mild, but when I went out later with Dot we found there was a bitter breeze. Misled, I had not taken my hat. We walked over the Julian bridge and into Mountergate, then did the small circle through the Close and into Bishopgate. Later we ate some fish from the freezer, and I did a quite detailed response to the latest idiotic traffic plan, which includes closing Thorpe Road to cars coming into the city and making St Matthew’s Road and Chalk Hill Road one-way (going up). It’s only a question of time before they make Aspland Road one-way.

Obviously the plans will make our journey home from the east longer and more liable to hold-ups, but that doesn’t matter if it’s easier for cyclists. Not very green, as I pointed out. Interestingly I had just had a chat on the doorstep with our local city councillor, a nice bloke called Ben, who is probably Green (strangely, he didn’t say). We agreed on just about everything, including the traffic plan.

Let me run through the last few days, which included the annually significant three – Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Thursday – some heavy showers – was the anniversary of my mother’s death. Friday – more showers and windy – was Phil’s birthday. And Saturday – same again – was the anniversary of my father’s death. On Thursday I walked up to the Rosary and for the first time I can remember since my uncle Paul’s, there was a funeral in progress. As it ended there was a particularly heavy shower, but happily by then I had reached the shelter of the chapel porch, where I chatted to a couple of workmen. Later I wrote my website piece and we watched the film Margin Call, which was about a Wall Street crash situation and was pretty good. You could almost see how it might have happened.

On Friday we took the car to deliver Phil’s presents (on the doorstep), then put a card through Howard’s door and drove up to the chemist to pick up Dot’s prescription. Afterwards we walked on Mousehold (the nearer side), which was bit muddy. I felt quite tired and had a bad stomach pain as we neared the car, but it was very short-lived. Later Dot had fish and chips, and I did an omelette. We watched a couple of films – Lady Macbeth (artistically excellent but not uplifting) and The Man Who Would Be King (a ripping yarn written by Rudyard Kipling and made a success by Sean Connery and Michael Caine).

Unusually we spent Saturday morning reading the papers. I walked on my own up to Bishopgate in the afternoon, and down a little path at the back of the bridge where I’d never been before. Got a couple of interesting photos. Later Amy FaceTimed us. I watched England beat France 23-20 at rugby – quite a good game – then we watched Another Year, a Mike Leigh film in which nothing much happened, but it was absolutely brilliant. Great performance by Lesley Manville as an office worker past her best (though she still looked pretty good to me) who tried desperately to fit in but couldn’t. The final scene, in which no words were spoken except in the background, was stunning. Highly recommended.

Sunday was strange. Still rainy, had a bad night and felt wiped out. I read in the bath for quite a while, then we watched Norwich beat Sheffield Wednesday 2-1, followed by the second half of India beating England at T20 (or toytown cricket, as Paul Henderson and I call it). As we had paid for a NOW TV pass, Dot then watched a bit of the Spurs match, in which they lost to Arsenal but scored a brilliant goal through Lamela. I led our Zoom service, and David FaceTimed, though not at the same time. We discussed a number of books. Watched the end of the Finnish thriller The Man in Room 301, which was pretty good, with a pleasing finish (ho, ho). The same could not be said of Bloodlands, in which setting up a sequel was obviously a priority.

Still here, though at times it seems hard to register the fact. This might mean I have mental health issues, because most people seem to nowadays, but in fact I think it’s just the temporary effect of having my movements restricted. Bit like being in Moscow, post-revolution, or in East Berlin when the Wall was up. These two examples spring to mind because I’m reading an excellent book called A Gentleman in Moscow and have just started watching a very good TV series called Deutschland 1989.

At least I’m not in hospital. Our friend Harriet was in with a heart attack this last week, but is now out with a stent. Dot and I are both more or less OK, though the appalling weather yesterday didn’t help: it was raining hard most of the day, and cold and windy too. Today the sky is a little brighter, but it’s still very windy, and the rain isn’t far away. I’m still waiting for my voluntary covid test pack, and can’t log into the Boots site to fix the eye test they want me to have.

It’s no wonder I’ve taken to watching old films. This week we saw Brighton Rock, based on the Graham Greene book, and featuring Richard Attenborough as a 17-year-old who looked about 35. I guess people aged faster in those days. Good fit, if you can forgive the lack of subtlety, and an excellent ending. But then Graham Greene was a brilliant writer. Last night we watched In the Loop, a sort of sequel to the TV series The Thick of It, which was scintillating but depressing, and not just because of the continual cursing. No, I know it’s not an old film.

Last Friday was Doreen’s birthday, and the day Oliver had his vaccination. He seems to have had no side-effects. Both grandchildren are of course back at school now. Dot was busy recording music and having a Zoom meeting with one of her head teachers; otherwise we would have gone to North Walsham. Instead we went the next day. I was a bit nervous, because it was neither local nor essential, strictly speaking, but of course we posed no threat to anyone. We called at Sainsbury’s in NW and then went to the cemetery to place flowers. Beautifully sunny and calm. On the way home we had a look at the bungalow Roger and Debbie are buying in Spenser Avenue, close to the high school, and then put some flowers on Mum and Dad’s grave. Dot walked home from there.

In the afternoon we watched Norwich beat Luton 3-0 to go ten points clear at the top of the table. David and Chrissy FaceTimed to show us their new furniture – donated to them by Barbara and Roger, who are having a major refit. The next day Spurs won 4-1; so a good weekend, football-wise.

On Sunday, as well as our Zoom service, we watched The Godfather, which we had never seen. Very long film, but extremely good, and we really enjoyed it. On Monday Dot had a long Zoom with Barbara Vidion about expanding the P4C material for use online, and in the afternoon, although it was raining slightly, we fulfilled an appointment with Janet Bower, who was on one of her expeditions into the city (she lives in the wilds of Taverham). We met her at Pull’s Ferry and then walked her up to the Rosary, which she was keen to see. We gave her a kind of guided tour in less than ideal conditions, but she seemed to enjoy it. I think we got more (general) information from her than we imparted ourselves. I was very tired by the time we reached our house, and of course we couldn’t invite her in; so Dot accompanied her back to the Close, where her car was parked.

Afterwards we watched a lot of TV. I sent some poems to the Suffolk Poetry Society magazine. Don’t know if they’ll publish them. I’ve been writing a lot recently, partly because as part of Lent I’ve been trying to compose something every day after we read a Psalm together and pray. This seems to prompt other poems too.

On Tuesday the weather was still fairly spring-like, and again the milk was either not delivered or stolen from the step. I suspect the latter: it happened again today, and I think we’ll have to cancel deliveries. Pity. I did think of doubling our order and seeing if the thief would take one bottle and leave us the other, but Dot is not keen on this idea. She cleaned up the utility room while I did the charity money, and after lunch we walked to the sorting office and then round to Morrisons, mainly to buy some birthday cards. It’s Phil’s birthday tomorrow – which means that today is the day my mother died, and Saturday is the day my father died.

Dot extended her walk to King Street, buying a take-away coffee and drinking it on a seat by the Julian bridge while I walked straight home, still tired from the day before. As well as Brighton Rock, we watched The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, a Narnia story that was very well done indeed. Highly recommended.

Yesterday, as I said, winter returned, and I did the lowest number of steps I’ve done for a long time. Obviously we didn’t leave the house. Roger and Debbie dropped in so that we could sign their wills: it was nice to see them. In the afternoon we did a Virtual Tour of Elm Hill, Tombland and the Cathedral led by a very soggy Paul Dickson. Brave of him to go ahead with it. Later David and Chrissy FaceTimed us; they seemed happy. In the evening we watched the latest episode of The Terror, based on Franklin’s expedition to find (or not find) the North-West passage. I suspect it’s not very good, really.

Dot has just taken advantage of a sunny interval to walk up to the sorting office to post a letter. I am staying in in case Des delivers our groceries, but intend to go out later, unless the weather deteriorates.

Not a very exciting day today. Very cold (a north wind), and intermittent rain. No plans to go for a walk. Our grocery has been delivered, and Dot has been walking in the garden. Briefly. I have registered for a survey that includes taking another covid test, following an invitation from the NHS. Looked at a couple of holiday cottages in Suffolk, but decided to put it off.

Last Friday seems a long time ago. We watched a brilliant film called Bringing up Baby, which featured Audrey Hepburn in amazing form. I didn’t know she was that good. Earlier I walked up to the Rosary while Dot did the garden: there was some tree work going on in the Rosary – not entirely sure what, possibly thinning out at the very top. Dot had fish and chips, and we watched Vera because it’s soothing.

Saturday was sunny again, and we got up late. After lunch we went for a walk on Mousehold and got pretty tired. Also had a cup of tea in Chris and Des’s driveway; it was just warm enough to chat comfortably. After that we watched The Plank, which was extremely funny, and later a modern film called Edie, starring Sheila Hancock as an old widow (83) who wanted to climb a mountain. It was surprisingly good, made even more so for us, because they used the rather esoteric hotel in Lochinver that we stayed at a couple of years ago. The mountain, of course, was Suilven – not tremendously high but quite inaccessible. Apparently SH actually climbed it; so perhaps I could… Probably not; so I wrote a poem about it instead.

My book got a euphoric response from Joy McCall, but then she is on my wavelength. Very encouraging, though. She put it on Facebook, which is more than I did. I have sent it to a few people.

It was extremely foggy first thing on Sunday, and quite chilly. I had a bath and finished Heather’s book, then wrote to her about it. Not the sort of thing I’d normally read, but quite nicely done, if you’re interested in cultural sexism. Norwich beat Wycombe Wanderers 2-0, and I led a Zoom service, with Dot doing the prayers. Howard preached. In the afternoon we walked round Bishopgate and the cut-through. Amy got in touch, and Dot spent quite a time on the phone to Anne.

Monday was cold but dry. I walked up to the postbox to post a few books, but that was it. Dot had a longish Zoom with Barbara about P4C, and a PCC meeting in the evening. We also had a conversation with the Evetts. I had a strange moment when I stepped outside the front door and suddenly realised it was completely quiet: no motor vehicles, nothing – and we are in the middle of a city. It was about 11pm.

The next day was still cold but dry. Dot had a Zoom violin lesson, and after lunch we both walked to the Greens’ to deliver some music – met Howard coming out of a neighbour’s house, then met Maureen (from No 6 ) at the bottom of the road and Sarah, who was popping into Mark’s. He is in Alabama again. I booked a couple of days at Blakeney while the Evetts are there, and a check-up at the dentist in about three weeks’ time. In the evening we had a chat with David and Chrissy (it was her birthday). They seemed to be having fun. Started watching a new Scandi Noir (Finnish this time), and saw the end of Marcella, which didn’t impress me. Almost everyone in it was borderline insane, and by the end conveniently dead, except for Marcella herself (spoiler alert) and a baby she had taken from its shot mother to replace the one she’d lost in an earlier series. Completely unconvincing.

I’ve started reading the book that Dot was very keen on: A Gentleman in Moscow. It’s very well written and heart-warming in the best possible way. Funny, too. The weather yesterday was very cold, but no wind at all. Posted a card and went to the Rosary with Dot, saying hello to our “mate” who does maintenance there. Norwich beat Brentford 1-0. Pukki missed a couple of sitters. I cooked the Hello Fresh meal while Dot watched the first half, and we watched the second half together. Watched the first two episodes of The Terror, a much-hyped series about Franklin’s ill-fated attempt to find the north-west passage. Not sure how they’re going to stretch it over ten episodes.