Saturday 14 February (Valentine’s Day) – Brighter day, dry but quite cold. I sorted out much of the charity money in between watching Winter Olympics and various other things. Presented Dot with a Valentine card, and she had sent me a Jacqui Lawson version. Did avocado and egg for lunch, then duck in hoisin sauce, which has become one of Dot’s favourites, for supper. Also had some champagne, which is the first alcohol I’ve had for more than a month (in preparation for my scan yesterday). Didn’t seem to do either of us any harm – in fact we both felt better when we went to bed than when we got up.

Had brief chat with Des and Chris as they passed with Charlie. Norwich beat WBA 3-1 to get into 5th round of FA Cup. Toure scored again. Dot cleared up part of utility room, and I cleared up her clearing up. Scotland beat England in the Calcutta Cup. Felt very Scottish.

Sunday – Backward step for weather – first rain, then quite a bit of snow, but it didn’t lie (lay). Also cold. Didn’t go out. Dot got up before me for the first time this year, though by then she had been brought a cup of tea and breakfast in bed. I finished the charity money, and we watched Winter Olympics as usual – our second gold medal (in mixed team snowboard racing). Also part of curling (not so good) and the second half of Wales v France, with France winning very easily. Felt French.  Dot not feeling very hungry so I made her baked beans on toast, while I had egg and fried potatoes. Had quite a long chat with David and Chrissy, who has had root canal work. Watched Songs of Praise and went to bed fairly early. 

Monday – Mainly dry, but quite cold. Revolutionary sort of day, I suppose. Had quick bath and then took Dot to Morrisons for short shop: she managed by using the shopping trolley to support her. Took a photo and put it on Facebook. Lots of responses. We changed the sheets and duvet cover and returned to our normal method of sleeping – together, with me nearest the door (in case I need to escape). We both still have a cough, but thought we could manage.

I tidied up the bed in the spare room and then spent nearly an hour putting some leaves in our brown bin, then putting the bins out for emptying. During clearing up indoors I broke a glass and so had to wrap that up in a box and label it. Felt very tired after all this. We tidied up the house generally to fit in with our new arrangement! Cooked salmon, which went down quite well. Watched some of Winter Olympics and Call the Midwife, as well as an old episode of Ice Road Truckers and Would I Lie to You?

Tuesday – Dry, some sun but cold. Dot still has quite a bad cough, but mainly morning and evening. Breakfast in bed. Interesting podcast on what happens when you die. Read the rest of How the Church Lost the Way – not brilliantly written but some fascinating insights. Watched quite a bit of Olympics. Got bins in. Dot getting around more easily. Long phone call from Fred about getting a ticket for Leeds cup tie and celebrating Joyce’s 80th next month. GB men’s curling team falling apart (but they got through – Ed). Some good speed skating. Dot made pancakes for Shrove Tuesday. Very nice. I cleared up – in bed quite early. Des brought Private Eye round. Checked route to funeral and moved car on to road to make room for Bridget.  

Wednesday – Very cold, but mainly dry. We’re both gradually improving, and we got loads more responses to Dot’s Facebook pic. Today she did quite a bit of tidying up, and we washed a duvet cover and a sheet, among a few other small things. Slight problem with washing machine, which lost a bit of water. Not sure why.  Had a quick FaceTime with David, who was in a car park, having taken Nova somewhere. Des got us fish and chips because it was Ash Wednesday. Not sure I always follow his line of reasoning. For some reason, I’m going off fish and chips.  More Winter Olympics – quite good curling. Also watched second episode of Call the Midwife. Don’t feel great, but probably well enough to go to John’s funeral tomorrow. 

Sunday, January 8 – Very strange day. Felt sort of lonely, though of course Dot was here. Both of us were feeling below par, but I felt better after I had a rest in the afternoon and took some Paracetamol. Dot also felt better towards evening, as she often does. Both of us still coughing quite a bit. Watched a bit of Olympics: curling was interesting. Also a documentary about bad weather, Songs of Praise and Call the Midwife. Cooked avocado and egg for lunch and pizza for supper, because Dot didn’t feel like fish. Part of bad weather documentary was about heatwave in 2022, which reminded me that it coincided with my gall bladder removal. When I checked back I found that the operation included a liver bleed. Odd, Holmes? 

Monday – Dry and not too cold. Drove up to chemist to get pills for Dot. Both of us still feeling ropey: I was feeling better towards evening Watched some Olympics, but disappointing. Our curling team threw away their match by achieving 0-5 on one end – a near-impossible feat. Big Air skateboard drove me crazy: the commentary team gave the impression of a couple of Year 8 lads with a joint IQ of 50, and the competitors all did more or less the same thing. Cooked sea bass in evening – just about ok. Long talk with Amy on FaceTime after I rang her by mistake. She is interested in coming to Scotland. Dot hardly moved all day. Did some washing and put bins out. Dot cancelled her oral appointment on Wednesday – no problem. 

Tuesday – More greyness and damp, and getting a little colder. Woke about 7am and checked on Dot, who was coughing a lot. In the end I stayed with her and after I got  drinks we both went to sleep again. Didn’t awake till around 11am. Felt quite weary for some reason. Dot had a shower and got up. I eventually joined her. Had very little lunch and watched quite a lot of Winter Olympics. Uk came fourth in quite a lot. Annoying how many events have to have judges involved – eg ski-jumping. Surely the point is how far you jump, which can be easily measured. But no – style is an issue. This is just jobs for the boys. Cooked salmon, which was nice, then I cleared up and we listened to Oxford v Norwich. Norwich scored in the first minute and our new  striker, Toure, from Australia, scored a hat-trick. Result 3-0.  Afterwards watched an episode of Silent Witness. 

Wednesday – Mainly grey and wet again, though there was a short dry period in late afternoon. I think we’re both improving, but I had a headache and Dot mainly stays in the living room after she gets up. I had a bath, then while Bridget was here chatting and cleaning, I went to Morrisons. Arrived back just after she left. She made the beds, which was unexpected. Put together a late lunch and then watched the second episode of Silent Witness before clearing everything away downstairs. Later watched some Winter Olympics – no medals yet for UK, but the men beat China at curling. I then cooked some fish cakes with cheese inside, which were really nice. Got Dot a Banoffee PIe, and I made a jelly earlier; so I had some of that with blackberries. Saw a programme on pilgrimage by Simon Reeves, which was quite good despite his lack of belief. 

Thursday – Another unexciting day, grey and damp. We stayed in bed all morning and felt quite tired. Dot is improving as far as her leg is concerned, though she still has quite a bad cough. I have a generally heavy head, with occasional coughing. All my glasses seem to be not strong enough, although I’ve just had new ones. Made avocado and egg again, which was quite nice. Watched quite a bit of Winter Olympics again and caught up with e-mails. Wrote a small piece for Diderot. Dot walked around a bit and sorted some ironing out. Cooked sausages in the evening: the sweet potatoes looked off (after cooking) so shared my potatoes with Dot. Had only bought the sweet potatoes yesterday. Took some EDPs over to Des – he and Chris are much better after both having colds. Lots of snow still in Scotland. 

Friday – Bad night as expected, since I had set the alarm in anticipation of my hospital appointment. Got up about 8 and made tea – couldn’t eat anything (nil by mouth) till after scan. Had bath and got Dot some Weetabix, then left around 9.30, arriving at hospital with about half an hour to spare. First stage was getting measured: I was 12 stone 8 – a bit heavier than I thought, though of course I had my clothes on – and 5ft 7.5, which was quite surprising. I was told it was normal to shrink, so that’s ok then.

I waited a long time, then went and asked the receptionist how long it would be. She got me through immediately: I think she had forgotten about me. I was fibroscanned by a very pleasant East  European nurse, who gave me the impression that nothing serious was wrong. She didn’t seem to think it would be a good idea if I started drinking again, saying: “You don’t want to keep coming back here, do you?” I smiled. She got it immediately.

So back home through very light showers; Dot was still in bed and we had our usual very quiet day. Neither of us was too hungry; so we had soup, followed by fruit. No-one was keen to street meet; so we didn’t. It was cold and grey, and people were watching the Winter Olympics. Later in the evening we got a gold medal on the skeleton – our only medal so far, but a very impressive one by Mark Weston. Watched Ice Road Truckers and went to bed early after clearing away. Dot is certainly getting more active, though she is stuffed up. I’m not completely better, either. We are a merry duo. 

Tuesday, February 3  – Grey and uninviting. So at Dot’s  suggestion I rang the surgery instead of going there and was able to book a blood test on Thursday at Dussindale – coincidentally Dot has an appointment there slightly earlier for something quite different. I had eventually realised that the Hospital had been expecting me to make these arrangements. I also contacted Sonata to get our alarm upgraded, after paying their call-out fee which had for some reason arrived by post instead of e-mail like everything else from them. I wasn’t feeling great still; so Dot suggested I postpone shopping till tomorrow, when Anne was visiting and could keep an eye on her. So that’s what’s happening.

We had lasagne and watched half the cup semi-final between Arsenal and Chelsea, which was so boring we didn’t watch the second half and didn’t care who won. Later we watched two episodes of Silent Witness on iPlayer because I had omitted to record the first of the new series – then realised it was one we’d seen before.  iPlayer can be useless sometimes. I did remember bits of the first bit, but Dot didn’t (which is unusual); so she wanted to see it all. She is doing very well and manages most things on her own. It remains for us to get to Dussindale on Thursday. I am definitely feeling better, with the occasional doubt. Very late in bed. 

Wednesday – Occasional glimpse of sun. Dry. Latter stages of cold. Occasional outbursts. Anne came round to see Dot at about 11, and I drove to Morrisons to stock up as usual, though I didn’t feel much like it. Annoyingly lost Lowry bag (slipped off trolley, I guess). Asked at customer services and then searched shop without success. Anne had just left when I got back, and Dot checked that she could reach the car for tomorrow (and get in it with the new handle thingy). Mark came out to speak to her, which was nice. He had been enjoying PM’s discomfiture at Question Time over Mandelson issue.

Took pic of Dot by car. Then brought shopping in and sorted everything out. Actually I didn’t finish sorting till just before bedtime, because Bridget came to clean and disrupt. Dot and I watched new Silent Witness that we meant to watch yesterday. Very good. After light supper (sea bream in pan) we watched concluding episodes of After the Flood, though the endings of these things are rarely completely satisfactory. David FaceTimed and we had quite a long chat, shared with Sophie’s cat. Sort of a cat chat, or a chat chat, as the French might say. 

Thursday – Uninviting weather: damp and chilly. Had to be up early to get to Dussindale surgery for two appointments: Dot for bone density discussion at 9.30 and me for blood test at 10.20. Despite unexpected road closure at Thorpe we got to the surgery, which I had researched on Google Earth, at 9.29. Waiting room nearly empty. Dot went in almost on time, and I was called in about five minutes later. Many tubes of blood taken by Olga, who was friendly in a severe sort of way, and vice versa. When I was finished Dot was waiting, and so we arrived home before the actual time of my appointment. Dot had no problem with getting in and out of car using the assist handle. She also didn’t need support frame as long as I was there. Did some puzzles and had a bath followed by avocado and egg. Didn’t feel too great in afternoon but after salmon supper went ahead with Cake and Compline in evening, which went very well: Archers, Vicky, Claire, Judy, Nikki. Nikki lingered on and was very helpful as usual. Dot sneezing a bit – worrying. 

Friday – Weather continues miserable – grey and wet. Dot’s coughing and sneezing continues, but she says she doesn’t feel too bad. Nevertheless we are still sleeping separately, partly because I’m still coughing and sneezing, though I feel better most of the time. Rang Ray, who sounded very down. Think I helped a bit. Eleanor came round for a while through the rain and got the Whole Story from Dot. Des also called in and took away papers. Chris has been quite ill after visiting grandchild in Lichfield; Des not great either but he got us fish and chips. So no street meet or indoor substitute. David FaceTimed and we had quite a long chat about wokeness and various other things. Later on in evening watched Call the Midwife and Death in Paradise. 

Saturday – Odd bouts of brightness, but mainly grey and wet. On the plus side,  Norwich City beat Blackburn 2-0, and on the minus, Spurs lost and Dot seems to have a worrying version of what I’ve had. Lot of coughing and reverting to separate bedrooms. I’m still coughing and full of whatever it is, but managing to make meals and look after Dot. Obviously better than I have been. Did washing, dried it and put it away, probably not quite where it should be. Managing to keep house fairly tidy. Emptied bins. Made the mistake of watching rain-drenched rugby match which Scotland lost to Italy in Rome, then some incomprehensible Olympics snowboarding. I hate snowboarding. Did catch a decent downhill. Also watched first part of documentary about insane guy who is swimming round Iceland despite being prone to seasickness and getting hypothermia after two hours. Couldn’t help liking him. But why? Life is a mystery. Well, his is. 

Saturday, January 24 – Dry but chilly. Up in time to welcome Paul Henderson, who came by car and so I had to move our car down the road. He brought sweets for Dot and we had a long chat, including an interesting interchange between Paul and Dot on the subject of self-flagellation among Greek philosophers.

After lunch of overripe avocado on toast and an attempt by me to poach an egg without means of support, Kim arrived and stayed all afternoon. Kai did not come because he was mourning the death of his cat in Saudi Arabia – not a sentence you can write often. Kim brought flowers and took away her Christmas cake – a bit late, but there you are. I gave her a lift home and then cooked salmon with courgette, which wasn’t what it might have been. The salmon was good, though. Watched University Challenge and went to bed early after rearranging the duvet. Also sorted out charity candidates. Quite tired. Going back to my post-polio-syndrome theory, which is probably just as wrong as Kim’s theory, which centres on vaccine side-effects. Dot is progressing really well . Oliver is in Milan, where Inter beat Pisa 6-2 after going 2-0 down: Amy is in Bristol. 

Sunday – Dry and not too cold. Not exactly a day of rest. Did giant crossword in yesterday’s paper, then got breakfast; afterwards sorted out utility room a bit and refilled bird feeders as well as cleaning out the water for them. Found a new bulb for lamp by the piano and put others out in the utility room. Dot did quite a bit of ironing and I sorted out the bedrooms afterwards as well as putting the clothes away (and getting them out). Had a bath before that and narrowly avoided dropping another book in.

Later did lunch – ham on toast – and watched yesterday’s Premier League matches and Songs of Praise. Then sorted out books and put most of mine in the study, looking sort of tidy. Got rid of dead flowers. Dot watched more of current series of Riviera. Noticed there are riots in Milan, but happily Oliver seemed to have moved on to Como – later back in Milan again. Cooked chicken Kiev for supper, then watched Call the Midwife, which has a good feel about it, and The Night Manager, which doesn’t but is very good anyway. Lots of snow in Canada. 

Monday – Dry but grey. Cold. Woke quite late: breakfast in bed. Afterwards rang my cousin Barbara, who seems in good shape except that she has bought a groundsheet “for sitting on on the beach” which it turns out is too big. The groundsheet, not the beach. I think. Dot had a shower. Usual cracker-based lunch. Afterwards went to Morrisons to stock up as usual. Asked about my More card, but customer services didn’t know what to do. Gave me a number to ring. (It’s not registering on my phone) Put food away and tidied up. Had some prayers. Watched yesterday’s Match of the Day and did a little washing. Had soup for supper followed by toast. Put rubbish out. Dot listened to Norwich beating Coventry 2-1 after being 1-0 down. Adrian praised their play, largely because he doesn’t like Frank Lampard. David FaceTimed  to congratulate Dot. Watched another episode of Blackshore. Good.

Tuesday – Very grey, cold and wet. Still, much worse in other parts of the country, with deep snow in some places and flooding in others (eg South-West). Still loads of snow in Canada, as well as parts of USA to the south. Very quiet. Dot managed to change her next dermatology appointment. Only emerged to retrieve food caddy and wash it out. For some reason have developed a cough, which is more irritating than anything. Not much happening; so watched fair bit of TV, including two episodes of Blackshore and two of After the Flood. Dot watched repeat of yesterday’s match. Earlier had a bath and read a bit of Diaries book that Kristine bought us. Very interesting. Also finished big crossword. Dot much better and can get around without frame. Oliver back home; Amy in Southampton.   

Wednesday –  Bright but mainly grey. Dry. Woke latish, got breakfast and then went to sleep again. Not feeling great: cough and feeling tired. Had bath and then made lunch. Watched  A House in Time, which was brilliant – story of what happened to two up-market blocks of flats in London and Berlin and their occupants during the Second World War. Very moving. In the evening felt rather hollow: eventually cooked yellow haddock, and we watched the second two-thirds of Chariots of Fire, an excellent and very Christian film – even if you don’t go along with the central premise about Sundays. When I was at school I did something similar, declining to take part in a schools chess congress that I would probably have won, because it was on a Sunday.  No film made about it though. 

Thursday – Pretty dull and cold but largely dry, unlike elsewhere in the country, where there has been snow and/ or flooding. Cough is worse. Feeling tired. Nevertheless made breakfast and lunch as usual, and Des delivered us fish and chips. As Bridget had already delivered us a large cake I wasn’t particularly hungry and left a lot of the chips. Kept a fairly low profile to avoid infecting Bridget – or David, who came to pick her up. Watched Euro football (Spurs won 2-0) and then a few episodes of comedy. David FaceTimed with Chrissy and after that I went to bed, using my new hot water bottle for the first time. Earlier I picked up pills from chemist and asked surgery about blood test letter. They suggested I ring the hospital. Not helpful.

Friday – Grey and sometimes damp. Cold. Felt pretty ill most of the day, with coughing and streaming. Despite being warned about this, Amanda and Matt came round. Interesting talk about old Norwich. Managed to keep going but felt worse later. Cooked egg and avocado for lunch, then chilli con carne for supper. Watched a few things on TV. Slept in spare room because I was pretty disruptive. 

Saturday – Nondescript. Terrible day for me – can’t remember the last time I had such a bad cold: continual sneezing, water pouring out of stinging eyes, coughing. Managed to do what needed to be done for Dot. Thank goodness she’s quite mobile now. Made meals. Norwich lost 1-0 to Middlesbrough but played well, apparently. Freddie H-W made his debut on Final Score – lots of followers from Aspland Rd including proud aunt Ciara.

Sunday and Monday – Weather not much different. Cold still really bad yesterday, but I managed to cook all right for Dot, who is making excellent progress. Felt rotten all day and was in bed when I wasn’t getting food. (I didn’t feel any worse while I was getting the food.) Improved a bit today, but couldn’t eat much. Put bins out. Watched last episode of The Night Manager, which was awful. 

Monday, January 19 – Quite pleasant: dry and not too cold. Actually got out of the house – firstly to go and post a card to Sandra: I met an Irish guy I used to work with as I was coming back and going up the slope, and we had quite a long chat. Wish I could remember his name. He lives up on Rosedale Crescent, where my uncle Frank used to live hundreds of years ago, pre-Bracondale.

Later I went out again to put bins ready for emptying. Had our standard lunch with crackers, ham and so on, and in the evening a Borscht soup that the Gazleys had left us. Surprisingly I quite liked it, though I couldn’t bring myself to tackle the lemon curd cheesecake. Mark e-mailed to offer assistance. Haven’t actually seen him since he got back. Dot finished reading How the Church Lost the Way and was quite enthusiastic. We watched a few things, including EFL football which featured Wrexham v Norwich, Ice Road Truckers (remember that?) and Lynley – a  particularly good episode. 

Tuesday – Quite pleasant, though a bit grey. Not too cold. Missed the northern lights again last night. Just got out of bath in time to let Anne in (the house, not the bath): she had just been to the dentist for a particularly unpleasant procedure, but she and Dot were able to talk all right.  After lunch watched football and a bit of bowls (oh, yes) and then I drove to Morrisons for my weekly stock-up. Left it a bit late; so it took a bit longer than usual. Bin men came, including – surprise, surprise – the garden waste collection. Felt unexpectedly tired, though we had both slept well the last two nights. Put food away and then cooked duck for our evening meal – forgot it took so long; so we were a bit late. Not a problem, because Dot was listening to Norwich City v West Brom on radio. City won 5-0 away!! Afterwards watched After the Flood, a rather good thriller. 

Wednesday – Very grey day, also windy and wet. Not a very good night because I had to get up in time to go to ear clinic. Got us breakfast and then walked up to the other end of St Benedict’s – about 20 minutes – for my appointment with attractive ear expert. Got there early but she started straight away – very professional. £50. Think it went ok. Walked back and was pretty wet when I got back, so had a bath. I know. Then made avocado and egg lunch, and Dot came down to living room to eat it.

Did a lot of clearing up and rearranged the living room so that I could use the brown chair. Sofa now under window. Did some work on Parish Pump, but felt very tired; so watched part of a recording of yesterday’s match with Dot. Sorted out bins. Cooked sea bream for supper. Watched After the Flood and Patience. Patience is getting a bit irritating. Autistic people have no sense of humour. Did well over 7000 steps today. Dot did 321. She’s doing really well.  She had a phone call from Sophie at church, which was nice. 

Thursday –  Dot had shower – second time full on. She’s been walking without her boot and came downstairs just holding on to banister. So good progress. Did my two Parish Pump pieces, on the Dunblane massacre and the Hindenburg disaster: very upbeat. Bridget came to do cleaning but forgot hoover. Watched football and (later) Patience – quite a good episode. David Archer called in and picked up TV, which we’re lending him – or at least David is. Rearranged my room afterwards. Seems bigger. David FaceTimed with input from Chrissy and Amy. I received date for another scan on Feb 13: lots of detail implying excess alcohol intake, which is rubbish. No mention of gall bladder removal, which I think may be to blame. On the plus side, my ears seem better. 

Friday – Another damp and grey day. Linda came round to cut our hair, and then I had a bath and made cracker lunch. As requested, drank a litre of water at 3pm before leaving for hospital – a journey that was less stressful than anticipated, given that it was school leaving time, wet and Friday. Arrived for CAT scan in good time and parked car in multi-storey, checking with another user how it worked, because I’d forgotten. Waited about ten minutes before I went in for scan, on the heels of another woman, with whom I had a quick chat. I was then mistaken by the nurse for her husband and invited to go and sit with her as she recovered. The nurse soon realised her error, though.

The scan was a bit more elaborate than I had anticipated, involving a canula and some dye, but it went smoothly. Had to wait for ten minutes afterwards before canula was removed, then walked over to car park, ringing Dot on the way, inserted car registration and paid by card (£3.40) before driving out, the barrier lifting as I approached it. Drove back down Newmarket Road, which was not as bad as I anticipated, and then home via Ber Street and Prince of Wales Road, arriving just after 5pm.

Des rang Dot just as I was telling her what had happened, and we found ourselves inviting them and Mark and Sarah over for the street meet drink. Didn’t tell anyone else – hope they didn’t take offence. After nearly two hours they left and I cooked sea bass with toasted sourdough before watching Would I Lie to You? and Mystery Road, which has absolutely no characters in it that I like. Not sure why we’re watching it. Cleared out tumble drier and washed up while Dot watched Riviera. 

Wednesday, January 14 – Mainly pleasant day, getting rainy later. Quite busy. Nikki came at 12.30 with carrot cake, and we had our usual upbeat talk. Then Anna arrived at about 2.40 and I gave  Nikki a lift to Earlham Road so that she could meet Indie out of school. Meanwhile Anna kept an eye on Do,t and when I got back I joined in the chat. We had missed lunch again; so when Anna left I did our usual lunch.

Watched a bit of TV, caught up with washing and cleaning, then updated my blog. Later cooked some soup. Felt very tired. Dot’s foot felt a bit tight, possibly because it’s swollen. Earlier our neighbour Jonathan came round because I’d messaged him to see if he was Ok, because his bins were out but his car in. He had had a stent put in and can’t drive for a week.

Thursday – Damp and grey. Dot doing well, and is able to get into living room very easily, and to kitchen without much trouble. My head still very odd (yes, I know), and I took some paracetamol, which helped. Bridget came to clean in the afternoon (we’d been in bed most of the morning) and Dot managed to have a shower before she came . She didn’t actually get in the shower, of course. Had a late “supper”  – chicken kiev – just after Bridget left and a sort of lunch later. Usual cleaning up. 

Had a call from Tony to see if we were going to the CNS thing tomorrow: I said Dot wouldn’t but I probably would. However, I have now rethought this, and probably won’t. She would be on her own for too long, I think. Watched a fair bit of TV, including Patience, which is quite clever, and have finished the Christmas University Challenge series.

Friday – Mainly bright but quite cold. Dot did some ironing after we rigged up ironing board in spare bedroom. I didn’t go to CNS reunion, which apparently went very well. Rang ear clinic (not the normal one) and got an appointment for next Wednesday. Rang Sonata and got an apology: they promised to get in touch about upgrading our alarm system. Have decided to get chair for living room. Dot definitely improving: she was in living room most of day (after ironing). Cooked avocado and egg on toast for lunch, and Des got us fish and chips for supper. That was after short street meet with just the four of us: Des, Chris, Matthew and me. Am reading really good epic poem – Sea Change – that David bought me. It’s set in Norfolk. 

Saturday – Pretty nondescript sort of day. Both woke up late and got up much later. Dot’s leg is progressing well. Norwich beat Wrexham 1-2 and Dot listened while I caught up with this and that – especially e-mails. Call from Adrian after match to say he thought Wrexham played badly. Meanwhile he and Clarissa are likely to move to Wrexham to be nearer to kids and C’s mother. End of another era. Tish to stay in Corwen. Dot ironed sheet and duvet cover after I’d helped fold them. Had crackers and usual lunch, then yellow halibut for supper. Watched first two episodes of good Irish police procedural called Blackwater. Mark is home.

Sunday – Quite pleasant weather. Dry. Up late: Dot had real shower and read and then watched Norwich City match (yes, the same one) while I had a bath, during which I finished Sea Change – really good, and the book cover was designed by Anna’s sister. Had avocado and egg on toast (not in the bath). Watched a bit of snooker and Songs of Praise. Gazleys came round with soup and cheesecake but couldn’t stop.

Des and Chris came over with onion bajhees , which I heated up and we ate before Hunters’ chicken that I’d bought and cooked. Afterwards ate some fruit in a jar, which was very nice. We were not in the jar – the fruit was, though not while we were eating it. David FaceTimed us, and we were joined by Oliver. Wide-ranging talk. Oliver is going to Milan to watch a football match. Afterwards watched Call the Midwife, cleared up and went to bed. Dot has been much improved and can get around on her own. Very late in bed. 

Friday, January 9 – Rain all day and pretty cold. No street meet: Mary in Spain, Mark in Brazil. Rang Ray Fiske in morning: sounds pretty bad. Judy offered to help us because I “looked tired”. Trouble is, I would have to explain what needs doing, which would probably take longer than doing it. Usual lunch for the two of us. Anne came at 3 and stayed a couple of hours. Dot seems much better – taking far fewer pills. In the evening cooked salmon and washed rags and a tea cloth, though not necessarily in that order. Watched a bit of TV – Christmas University Challenge and an Australian drama, plus Would I lie to you? which is very funny. 

Saturday – Dampness gradually dried out, and the afternoon was quite bright, though still cold. I didn’t have a very good night and felt quite odd today – took paracetamol. Well, someone has to. Janet Smith came go see Dot just after 10.30, and brought a plant. After she went I had a bath to try to feel better, but went to sleep and got one of my books wet. Spent some time later putting kitchen paper between pages, which Dot tells me is a Howard remedy.

Had egg on avocado on toast for lunch during which we watched Macclesfield (Northern Division) beat Crystal Palace (Premier League and holders) 2-1 in the FA Cup, followed by the usual hysteria from commentators. Saw a bit of Spurs v Aston Villa, which Spurs lost 2-1, though they looked much better in the second half. Had soup for supper, followed by fruit salad. Watched three episodes of The Little Drummer Girl (Dot has already seen four), which was pretty good.

Sunday – Dry at first but rain later. Cold. Listened to radio service, then Songs of Praise later. Also plenty of football, the rest of The Little Drummer Girl and another episode of The Night Manager. Usual lunch, and duck for supper. Felt pretty rubbish most of the day, either cold or itchy or both. Dot still making progress, I think. Put out rubbish. 

Monday – Mainly dry; much warmer. Hospital day. Got up early after difficult night, possibly because alarms set.  Always seems to happen. Roger and Debbie arrived at 10am to take us to the hospital. Roger’s height and weight very helpful on slope. Took push bar. Arrived in good time, to find the fracture clinic was just inside the East door. Picked up wheelchair, checked in and after a while (not too long) were told that she needed an x-ray (some doubt about whether she had plaster); so we went round there – not far – booked in at radiology and walked down to the x-ray rooms.

Waited quite a while, and I was not allowed to go in, but it went OK. Back to the fracture clinic and were eventually called: I did go in that time. Liked the doctor, who was very reassuring and said Dot was making good progress. Dot waited outside while I looked for the dermatology clinic and the gastro clinic, the second of which was not where it was stated to be on the internet. Eventually found it. Dermatology clinic was easier, being almost next door to the restaurant – our next stop. 

Bit cool, but I got us a scone, sandwiches and sweet to share, as well as drinks. I was due a call from the gastro clinic; so we left early for dermatology and had not got settled when my phone rang. I went out into corridor for quite a long chat. The doctor was keen to know as much as possible and seemed sorry not to be able to see me in person. He seemed to think there was some urgency, and has promised an appointment for a proper scan of my liver and abdomen as soon as possible. Meanwhile I had had a call from urology, who are going to get in touch again tomorrow morning. It seems they may be taking some notice of my progress. However the urgency is a little worrying.

I returned to dermatology where Dot was sitting stranded in a wheelchair but had managed to check in. We actually got to see a doctor early, and after some discussion Dot agreed to have a photo of her mole taken and to get it checked after three months. The doctor didn’t seem worried though. We made our way back to the fracture clinic seating, where I got Dot a coffee. She rang Roger, and he said he could get back to the hospital in about 40 minutes. That is what happened. We got Dot back into the car, and I dumped the wheelchair back where I found it. (Happily Roger’s car was big enough for us and for the walking frame.)

Traffic worse, but we were home well before 4.30pm, and Roger and Debbie came in for tea/coffee and Christmas cake, during which we heard a big sonic boom. Annoyingly, the gastro guy had told me to drink minimum alcohol before the scan. In the evening I cooked pies and we watched some. Christmas Uni Challenge and Call the Midwife. I cleared up and we went to bed quite early.

Tuesday – Much damper, but not constant rain. Urology woman rang as scheduled about 10am, and we had a chat, but not a terribly productive one. Later I had a bath, and in the afternoon I went to Morrisons and stocked up. While bringing food in I met Phoebe, who sent her best wishes to Dot. Dot made it downstairs, and we washed some clothes etc. Watched Pointless, which was.  Towards evening, as I cooked a ready meal lasagne, I realised we hadn’t had lunch, but it didn’t seem to matter. Finished off fruit salad. Watched Lynley, which was quite good. 

Just before that, Angela rang to say her brother John had died. He had been ill for a while, but it was a bit unexpected. He was in hospital. Always liked John when he was younger – he reminded me of his father Walter, and he had a great sense of humour – but something went wrong later on. Bit of a drink problem in the end. Very sad, especially for his daughter Donna, who was with him when he died. Her mother died not long ago. 

Sunday, January 4, 2026 – Again, didn’t seem much like Sunday, as Christmas didn’t seem much like Christmas or New Year like New Year. Very cold day with snow on ground but none falling. Quite a few people out, including Chloe playing snowballs. Did quite a bit of tidying up in preparation for taking decorations down tomorrow (if we’re back from hospital in time). (Ha! – Ed)

Norwich City managed to lose 2-0 to Stoke at home, which meant Dot was glad she couldn’t go. Sounded pretty pathetic. Started watching the last Ashes test, in which England are doing quite well. (Ha! – Ed) Des put some grit on road to enable Dot’s transport to reach us tomorrow. Message from O’dells to say neither of them too good: he has a bad knee, and she has a serious spinal problem. Phil tripped over his dog. Woof, woof. Put some more water in the piano  – a three-monthly ritual – then put together what has become a “traditional” lunch of crackers, cheese, ham, pâté, salad. In evening heated up the quiches that Bridget and David brought. After supper we both watched episode 2 of The Night Manager. 

Monday – Still cold. Bit of snow overnight and early afternoon. Very annoying day, because transport to hospital didn’t show up despite a couple of reminders, and we couldn’t get a new appointment from the clinic, mainly because they don’t like answering the phone. So we have to go through it all again – except that we shall be using our own transport. Dot spent most of day in living room – dressed because she was expecting to go out. I did a bit more clearing up in between feeling a mixture of angry and mildly ill.

Dot is definitely making progress and is vowing to get up every day for the rest of her life. Took Mary’s casserole dish back and discovered she’s going to Spain on Wednesday. Did usual lunch of crackers, cheese, ham etc etc, and steak pies for supper. Cleared snow off car and inserted new front seat cushion for Dot. I think it’s OK. Remade her bed. After supper FaceTimed David and brought him up to date with events. While we were speaking to him, a text appeared giving Dot a new appointment next Monday (12th) – by which time I hope I (and someone else) should be able to take her. In fact between us we have three appointments at NNUH that day! We might make it a special outing…

Tuesday – Mainly dry and bright. Hovering just above zero. Rain late in evening. Went to Archant pensioners’ breakfast – no subs and a guy I’m sure I know but can’t place. Eight in all. Had a bath afterwards, then went to Morrisons to stock up. Met a blonde woman I’m sure I know, but again names failed me. She had a very small grandchild. After lunch we watched Lynley. Set in Norfolk and pretty good, though Dot kept dozing. She was down in living room again. During the day she got two extra hospital appointments on unrelated matters (dermatology and oral). We now have three appointments next Monday between us. Cooked chicken Kiev and put out rubbish. Cleared up a bit, including sorting washing, and started on the mechanics of that. Two loads. Bed late after more tidying. 

Wednesday – Bright and dry; snow more or less disappeared but storm warnings everywhere. Exhausting day, too. Dot came down into living room and I made a couple of meals. Also did washing and drying, then remade bed, which was really tiring. Dot sat by Christmas tree and took lights and decorations off it. About lunchtime Howard came round and fixed the sink in the shower room – there was a bottle top stuck in u -turn. He also looked at cistern and is going to fix it. Good innings by Bethell in Ashes. Switched to sleeping with Dot, but on “her” side so that she can get to loo easily. Didn’t have a very good night. 

Thursday – Started dry and reasonably bright but by evening Storm Goretti was with us, which in our case meant pouring rain. Elsewhere it was much worse. Had bath, then finished pulling down Christmas decorations and putting them in the loft. Also took down Birthday and Christmas cards. Bridget came around 2.30pm, while Dot was still in bed, and did a two-hour clean. I had done avocado and egg for lunch followed by baked cod for supper – the latter was not too popular.

Dot and I had barely finished eating and were watching the last throes of the Ashes when Judy arrived for Cake and Compline. Also present: Bridget, David, Claire, Vicky and Nikki, who was as inspiring as ever. Quite a good time altogether. David FaceTimed just as we were packing up. Dot rang him back as I was bidding the others farewell, and we had a long chat. Cleared up afterwards and watched the end of the Ashes. Meanwhile Dot has arranged for her cousin Roger to take us to hospital on Monday in his “big car”.

Wednesday 31 December – And so the old year shuffles off, and we won’t be sad to see it go. After my being ill for a fair bit of autumn and messing up her birthday, Dot broke her leg in the week before Christmas and is confined to bed.

It wasn’t all bad, of course. Today has been bright and quite chilly, and especially memorable because Oliver and Amy drove from Aylesbury to see us, make us lunch and then drove back again. We managed to keep it a surprise  from Dot until they arrived, which was lovely for her. They put together a really nice lunch of croissants, cheese, ham, salad and crisps. After they left at 3pm it felt a bit empty; we watched yesterday’s Match of the Day and a couple of other things. Dot watched two episodes of Stranger Things and then got involved in something called Riviera. I watched a programme featuring Bob Monkhouse’s last show – to a private audience of other comedians. I’ve always liked Bob Monkhouse, partly because he delivered my favourite joke: “They laughed at me when I said I wanted to be a comedian. They’re not laughing now.” For some reason he reminds me of David Coomes.

I cooked some yellow haddock for our supper and watched a Champion Masterchef programme in which nobody did anything wrong but someone won. 

Thursday, New Year’s Day – Quite cold, but dry. Had a quick bath because Anne was coming to visit Dot. She arrived about 10.30 and stayed for a couple of hours. I joined in the conversation to start with but then left them to it. Cheered Dot up again, I think. House alarm went off twice for no apparent reason; I moved lighting wire away from main box, and nothing has happened since. Watched the end of Riviera on Netflix with Dot: she saw the whole first series. I cooked soup (pea and ham hock) and we finished off the blackberry and apple. Also had some mulled wine. Then watched (separately) the new first episode of The Night Manager, which was excellent. 

Friday – Very cold wind but dry. Snow in Braemar: A93 closed. So much  for my hopes for the alarm: it went off again at 3.15am; I reset it and it went off once more at 5.20am, at which point I rang the engineer. He arrived around 7.30am and thought he’d fixed it by adjusting some wires, but as he went to drive away it went off again, upon which he revised his opinion and felt perhaps the whole system needed to be updated; so he removed the battery and fuse, which prompted the outdoor alarm to go off for about ten minutes, as he predicted. Nothing since, thank goodness. 

Naturally I felt rather tired when I woke again at around 7.45pm. Took some paracetamol (as yesterday) and felt better by late afternoon (as yesterday).  Had a bath and then realised I should have been at Boots to collect my new glasses at 11.30. I rang them, and they said any time in the afternoon was OK. I walked up at 2pm, and the glasses seemed fine (after adjustment). Tried to get red milk on way back , but the one-stop shop had everything but; so I returned to Tesco on Prince of Wales Road and got their penultimate bottle, as well as some marmalade. Almost 7000 steps by end of day. Brief greeting of Michael and Margaret as we met on Aspland Road.

Later Mary came round with magazines, just after Dot had descended to living room for the first time. Fred rang – he’d heard about Dot. Then Janet and Derek Bower came and were able to have coffee with Dot. They brought a perch chair: not sure why.  After they left Dot went back to bed and I went over for street meet indoors at Des and Chris’s with Matthew. Very pleasant. Des got us fish and chips, but in taking it upstairs I spilled red wine on the stair carpet. Better keep Dot in the bedroom. Watched a very funny Would I lie to you? then some football – four matches, two goals. Washed and tidied up and went to bed.

Saturday – Very cold. Quite a bit of snow early on.  Des cleared our path late in the afternoon, when the snow had eased considerably. I went outside purely to empty rubbish – no real problem. Slept quite late and stayed in bed for a while reading paper and doing puzzles. Interrupted only by a routine call from the surgery checking on Dot’s medication. Crackers, cheese, pâté and various other items for lunch.

Dot managed to get down into living room for most of the afternoon, during which Bridget and David came bearing gifts, including food. Nice for us all to be able to sit in the same room. Then Des brought round food Mary had made for us – spaghetti bolognaise and  a strawberry dessert. Dot got back in bed to eat it more comfortably, and afterwards we watched The Holdovers, an excellent film about boys kept back at a boarding school over Christmas, under the supervision of a disillusioned teacher. Really well done. Felt quite ill at different times during the day – head was all over the place and I felt sick at one point. But as usual during the evening I felt better. 

Thursday (Christmas Day) – Bright, dry and cold. Dot is making some progress but is still confined to her bedroom and bathroom. To avoid doing damage in the night I am sleeping in the spare room. Both of us woke latish and during the day FaceTimed or were FaceTimed by Amy (with Dave, Julia and Vicky) and David and Oliver (later including Barbara, Roger and Chrissy). After breakfast we opened our presents, and I then tidied up.

Our Christmas dinner was supposed to come from church, but by 4.30 I had given up and started preparing meat and vegetables. Then Carrie arrived with food – there had been problems with cooking. So when I had sorted things out I heated it, and we ate: it was quite good. However I still cooked the turkey as it was ready to go. We watched Christmas episodes of Call the Midwife and Amandaland: the latter was very funny.  Tried to watch on Dot’s computer while lying in bed, but we both had neck problems; so I switched to the living room. Cleared up downstairs before going to bed. 

Friday – Cold but dry and bright. Hail and ice in Waterloo. Dot seems to be slightly better but still almost immobile. Got her breakfast, then had a bath – cut short for some reason I can’t remember. Spent a couple of hours cooking Christmas dinner: the turkey was already cooked but had to be sliced. Cooked roast potatoes, parsnips, carrots, sprouts, Yorkshire pudding, stuffing and pigs in blankets. Stuffing awful but everything else good, especially the potatoes. Did quite a lot of clearing up, especially after the meal, and watched a bit of senior snooker. Later Dot and I both watched Call the Midwife, which was commendably high on Christianity and Jewishness. Earlier we listened to Norwich City beating Charlton 1-0. Dot watched quite a lot of Amandaland while I was cleaning up. Totally forgot it was Friday; so no street meet, especially as many others were away. Had quite a long FaceTime with David, Oliver and moments of Sophie and Chrissy. 

Saturday – Weather not quite so good, but positively benevolent compared with Waterloo. A little damp at times but not too cold. Only went out once, to give EDPs to Des and return a dish in which he had kindly supplied us with Italian-style nibbles. Felt a bit overcome at times, but much improved by the end of the day. Managed to watch The Italian Job – quite a funny ending, but I suspect they left it there because they couldn’t think of anything to do next. I’ve read a novel or two like that.

Also watched the Fourth Test in the Ashes, which was an astonishing win, marred by the way they presented it on iPlayer – very poor editing. Watched one or two other things either together (King’s College Carols) or individually. More supportive messages from friends and FaceTime from David, which is really encouraging for Dot. Phoned fracture clinic three times to change appointment, but no response despite promise to phone back. Cooked second slightly less complicated Christmas meal which went quite well. Earlier cut into Christmas cake, which was delicious (one of Marion’s).

Sunday – Chilly and a little rain, I think, though yet again I didn’t go out. Naomi threatened to come round but went to sleep instead. Finished responding to Christmas e-mails. Dot much the same, though I think feeling a little better. No response from fracture clinic: tried ringing hospital switchboard, but no luck there either.  Had crackers and cheese etc for lunch and then turkey sandwiches in the evening. Turkey now finished – will be running out of certain food soon. Found lots of paracetamol scattered round the house, so no worries there. Watched Match of the Day and Death in Paradise, which gets less and less credible, though quite enjoyable. Dot managed to give herself a good wash. All this is not in the right order, but time becomes less and less clear. Hardly felt like a Sunday: couldn’t find St Luke’s service, which is usually broadcast. Perhaps it was a joint service. Made a very small start on Parish Pump.

Monday – Cool; some rain. Lot of hassle in the morning trying to contact the fracture clinic, but they finally rang back while I was downstairs, and Dot fixed an appointment for Jan 5.  Now I have to see if we can arrange transport: Dot has been practising walking, but I don’t think we can rely on that. Spent much of day writing three pieces for Parish Pump: Mary Shelley, L S Lowry and Queen Victoria’s funeral. Sent them off (checked by Dot) about 2245, shortly after Norwich City lost 1-0 to Watford. Deflected goal in 96th minute. Naomi came round to bring presents from her and Lucy, and we had a chat. She didn’t see Dot. Later David FaceTimed: Oliver is back in Aylesbury, but Roger and Barb’s basement is flooded because it’s very  cold there and sump pumps failed. Spoke to Joe as I moved the car – he sent good wishes to Dot. Feel very tired, but cleared away. 

Tuesday – showers; cool. Rainbow over Morrisons. Bridget came to clean “as a friend”. Paid her as usual. While she was here I put petrol in the car and bought some food from Morrisons. Not as crowded as I thought it would be. We rang surgery on advice from Bridget or someone else, and they have arranged transport for next Monday despite our giving the wrong time for the appointment (corrected later). In the afternoon Leanne brought some wine and chocolates and had a chat with both of us in the bedroom. Her partner Rosco came to the door because she’d left her phone downstairs and he couldn’t reach her: she was supposed to have met him from the station. He seemed fine; Leanne is amazing, coping with all sorts of problems. Most of the day Dot seemed much better, but she had pain in the evening, possibly because she missed some pills. I cooked some salmon and stewed blackberry and apple. Felt very tired for some reason. Put rubbish out.