Today is Saturday, September 7, and it’s still warm and dry, though much of the country has had loads of rain. There are plenty of clouds, but also some very warm sun, as we found this afternoon, when we went to Mautby church for a reading from a new book on Margaret Paston by the author, followed by questions from Rob Knee. The main session wasn’t so great –  I was feeling on the brink of sleep – but had some interesting conversations afterwards, not least with Rob, Penny, Peter and Brenda. Also with a woman who was the PhD student of the author and seemed to know all there was to know about Richard Calle’s family. Good refreshments: we donated, and bought the book.

Earlier we’d been to Morrisons for some vital shopping and then had a quick lunch in order to get to Mautby by 2pm.

Last Sunday (Sep 1) was also warm and dry. Drove to church and parked in old spot at entrance to The Lathes. I was leading, and Liz did one of her Godly plays – not one of her best, to be honest. Several extra people there – 31 in congregation. Had DCC afterwards, but had to drive Ray home first in case he heard what was going on – according to churchwarden. So did that – delayed by road closure on Angel Road, which has been closed for ages. DCC meeting was fairly brief and we had a late lunch.

Chilli for supper in time for me to go to Seagull. Fewer than a dozen people there; so no repeat of last time’s late finish. Sat with Julia and Doug Duke, and Kaaren, who forgot her poems and had to read from her phone. Before readings I walked up to clifftop because I was early. Read six poems –   Thelma, Sermon, Grandparents’ Grave, The Crowd, Snape to Iken, Living in Shadow (from Mist and Fire). Drive home went quite well. As I arrived home Dot was having FaceTime with David and Chrissy. I joined in for about 40 minutes. 

Monday was quite warm and dry, but plenty of cloud. Got up at 7.40 and took car to be done at New Image. Was given a Kia courtesy car with no instructions – but it drove quite well. Back home for breakfast and puzzles as usual. then watched England stroll to another cricket win and went to Morrison and Boots. Sean and co just back from Ipswich celebration – amazing, apparently. Later we walked up to Bishop Bridge, across and back down the riverside path. Felt very tired. Met Mary Cozens and a friend of hers and had a brief chat. Later Des offered to lend us his four-hour permit if we needed it, because we couldn’t put our courtesy car on the road. Dot made a blackberry and apple crumble. 

Tuesday was overcast, but dry. We drove up to the Archant breakfast event and sat with Tricia. Brian seems pretty bad and is not keen to come out. Robin had laryngitis; so they didn’t come. Had a chat with David Newham, and as a result booked to see the Christie play he’s in at the Maddermarket next week. Felt strangely lethargic most of the day, but the two of us went for a walk round the block about teatime. Dot cleaned up in case the Altmans come round tomorrow, but they rang very late and said they wanted to meet us at the Theatre Royal at 10.30m.  So cancelled Bible study. Watched Wallander starring Kenneth Branagh, which was pretty good. Earlier we had a longish Facetime with Oliver, who told us all about his time with friends in Greece, which sounded great.

Wednesday was overcast much of the time, with rain threatening, but none actually arrived – in Norwich, anyway. We got the bus up to Orford Place just after 10am and then walked up to Theatre Royal, where we were scheduled to meet Peter and Joan Altman, our friends from a Swiss holiday in 2016. Their coach arrived just after 10.30, and we walked down to Jarrolds (Peter and I losing Dot and Joan on the way), where we had coffee in the small area downstairs. Talked for quite a while about health and other things, then walked over to the Exchange restaurant, where we paid for lunch. I had an Italian sandwich. All of us had a lot of rocket. We then walked back up to the Theatre Royal by a slightly different route and said goodbye. Really nice time with them.

Dot and I went to M&S, and she bought some new jeans, and then we got some fruit from the market and walked home, by which time I was very tired. Still, I’d had a call from New Image, and so I went to pick up our car, which had been done – looked very good. I had only done about 11 miles in the courtesy car, which cost us about £140 (three days) – clearly stupid. But then so was the accident. 

Back home we watched the first episode of the new series of Slow Horses – very good, of course – and then went and lay down for a while. In the evening Dot was picked up by Janet for the first orchestra rehearsal of the new term. Oliver got in touch to say he’d seen Slow Horses too.  I transferred some more slides; Dot was a bit late home, and we watched a French real life police thing (first of six). Dot is now reading the Mick Herron book The Secret Hours. 

Thursday – Overcast again, but quite warm and no rain, unlike the south of the country. Drove to chemist to pick up my pills. In the afternoon we got a bus into the city and walked up to the Theatre Royal to book tickets to a musical based on the welcome Canadians gave to plane passengers stranded after 9/11. Very nice ticket office woman. Then walked down to Jarrolds, where Dot booked a table for her and Anne for open evening, then stayed on to get her lip/chin thing. We had a pear and ginger tea each before I left and walked home through The Close.

In the evening after I cooked basa we watched Jailhouse Rock, delightfully interrupted by Amy FaceTiming: she is very busy and received her uni timetable while talking to us. She seems happy, though. Told us about concert she went to. Her degree is Biology with Marine Biology. While she was on, Dot got call from Roger about going out to see them. She rang him back and heard about an accident he’d been involved in some time ago in North Walsham. No one hurt, but car a write-off. 

Yesterday was warm and dry again, unlike London and southern England. Drove to Poringland in the morning to see Sheila Crisp and a cremation celebrant – Jill Yaxley – about Thelma’s funeral. Spent about two hours on it, choosing music, reading etc. They liked my poem and wanted me to use it. After Jill went, spent another half hour or so discussing the eulogy with Sheila. In the afternoon wrote the eulogy, which I sent to Sheila: she liked it. Quite tired after all that. Out for street meet: Des, Chris, Sarah, Mary, Bob, John, Jonathan, Matt and Angela. Out there for about a couple of hours. Very busy day, but not many steps. Gave Des advice on Air Transat: his cousin has died, and he wants to go to the funeral. 

Bank Holiday Monday was a very good day. Mainly sunny and quite warm. Wrote up my blog and sent quotes to Oliver and Amy, then we left for Snape. Quite a good run via Alburgh and Halesworth, and we timed our arrival at Two Magpies, Darsham, just right to get a table for lunch, despite a huge influx of people. A waitress told me to sit down and gave me a menu!  Had an amazing full English, and Dot had a superb ham, pesto, tomatoes and fig on sourdough bread. Also bought a couple of huge croissants which we ate later (evening meal!).

Arrived at Snape, parked and read our books for a while to allow food to digest! Then went and looked in shops; bought some soap, an oven glove and oil, among other things. Admired much else. Then got an ice cream, and Dot had a cup of tea. Went back to car for a bit, then decided to go for a river trip down the Alde to Iken. Beautiful weather, high tide. Four other passengers in boat. Woman in charge was good with info.

Back in time for drink in Plough and Sail before concert by United Strings of Europe. Very talented group – 8 violins, 4 violas, 3 cellos and a double bass. All pretty young. Five pieces, two longest by Strauss and Schoenberg. Britten Studio not full, but audience very enthusiastic. Very hot – had ice cream and water during interval. Four from boat in audience. Left just before 9.30pm and home by 10.30. Came via Beccles. Watched a bit of MOD2 before going to bed. Noticed when driving that my eyes aren’t opening wide enough. Wonder what that’s a symptom of. 

Tuesday – Weather very similar. Drove Dot to violin lesson with Anna, which ran over, apparently. Meanwhile I went home, had lunch and then drove Mike Read to Cromer to visit Owen and Kathy Hindle.  Took the direct route and arrived a little early. Owen was worried about his pills and eventually went by taxi to pick them up (they should have been delivered).

Mike and I chatted to Kathy, who speaks very softly and is often hard for me to hear.  We discussed eyes and ears, persuading her to get an eye test for reading glasses. I also tried to help with her keyboard learning programme, but her iPod needed charging; so we didn’t get very far. Stayed quite a long time and I arrived home at 5.15pm. Had smoked and peppered mackerel, which doesn’t need cooking. Watched start of new “thriller”, Sherwood, which wasn’t very uplifting, and a documentary about midges. FaceTimed with David, who seems well. Oliver is headed for Athens. 

Wednesday – Pleasantly warm and dry again. Edited my Snape pix, some of which are quite good, and Dot and I drove to church, getting there surprisingly early. Steven not there for Bible study, but Rachel joined us; so an all-female cast except for me. Went reasonably well. Afterwards had lunch, and Dot went to shops while I cleared up generally. Met John in street: he’s just returned from Greece, where it was pretty hot – we said Oliver was on his way out there. Had quite a long chat. Late in afternoon dropped Dot at podiatrist – all well afoot – then drove up to cemetery and tried to find my grandparents’ grave, but failed. Had good walk though – saw two deer. Picked up Dot and drove home through city. In evening watched two episodes of Kafka on More 4, recommended by Jonathan. Really good: very unusual. 

Thursday – Still pleasantly warm and dry. Drove up to New Image car body shop off Thorn Lane and arranged for car to be done – cost over £1000. Wonderful. Tried to ring Cousin Barbara to arrange visit, but no answer. However, got call from Sheila re Thelma’s funeral, and am going to meet celebrant at hers on Sep 6 to put a service together. Got half of big ladder out, and with Dot’s help tore most of the creeper off the back wall. Quite satisfying. Brown bin full. Bridget came to clean and told me I should not use a ladder, but I felt very secure up there. Watched episodes 3&4 of Kafka. He was a very odd fellow. Great writer, though. 

Friday – Weather remained much the same: very pleasant. At long last extracted the old tractor from the narrow pathway at the side of the house and managed to get it into the car, together with some assorted rubbish that had accumulated there, such as a broken table and a heavy can of what might once have been paint. Drove up to the tip on my own, and amazingly it was not at all busy. I extracted the tractor etc and deposited it all in the appropriate bin. Glad to have done it: I had been meaning to do it for such a long time, and it was much easier than I thought it would be. How often that happens.

Before that I’d managed to grab a couple more bits of creeper from the bedroom window. Dot has been preparing her talk for Bridget, and today she did a run-through for me. It seemed pretty good. Put a new bit on Diderot. Tried to ring Barbara again, but no answer. Went out for street meet: Des, Chris, Sarah, John, Tara, Jonathan. Fish and chips. Pix from those not present again: Mary and Mark. Watched cricket, then another episode of Kafka. Have read quite a lot of The Secret Hours by Mick Herron. Excellent writing. New series of his Slow Horses starts next week.

Saturday 31st August – Still pleasant enough, but much cloudier and slightly cooler. Dry, though. Walked up into the city quite early and bought some clipboards for Dot’s talk, plus some chocolate for Joy’s birthday, then Victoria plums and blackberries from the market. Then while Dot listened to Norwich beating Coventry 1-0, I watched the last bit of Kafka, which I had missed last night when I went to sleep. Nothing unusual there. Really good series, though. After lunch we drove out to Dereham to deliver Joy’s birthday presents, most of which I had got from her wish list on Amazon. They were preparing to go for a meal at Joe and Birgit’s. Apparently Joe is not feeling too upbeat at the moment. Drove home and had chilli con carne. Watched cricket: superman Joe Root was the star. England winning easily again.

Extremely active week, all in all. Oliver appears to be getting around in Athens.

Another week shoots by, and here we are at August Bank Holiday, about to go to a concert at Snape. The past week, however, has not been without its incidents. Yesterday Dot found her lost ring: it was stuck in our card box, and we found it as we looked for birthday cards for Kristine, Anne (Coomes) and Julia. Not only that, Oliver returned from Canada – a journey we missed entirely because our WiFi was down. Anyway…

Last Tuesday (August 20) was quite warm and dry, as I may have mentioned in my last post. In the evening we drove Howard to Vicky’s for a cake and compline birthday party. Anna had a migraine. Good evening, with lovely food and drink, but as I wrote this at 11.15pm I had quite strong acid reflux (very rare nowadays) and took another lansoprazole. At least, I think I did. I may have taken a Vitamin C tablet. Quite uncomfortable, anyway. And Dot lost an earring. So not the ideal end to the day. 

Wednesday was fairly warm but breezy. Disaster continued as I got up early to go to the surgery with a specimen – part off my “annual” review – but in the process of doing so collided with the end of our wall and knock the top off as well as scratching the car quite badly. No idea how it happened. Not like me at all. Replaced the pillar and put T-Cut on car but the latter wasn’t all that successful. Still, no dent and no-one hurt. Annoying, though.

Had to wait for receptionist before I could leave the specimen, but the chemist came through again with my pills. Jude came round for The Chosen 3:4 and I drove to church, but Debbie was late so had to wait for Dot and Jude before we could get in. Still on beginning of Acts. Discussed Pentecost and speaking in tongues generally. Then I drove to Vicky’s to pick up the marrow that Dot had forgotten in the process of losing her earring: had quick look round, but no sign of earring. The marrow was there, though. Had chat with Jared about his job. Later cut down ivy on the front of the house so that it would stop growing up towards roof space. Cooked venison grillettes. Watched test match v Sri Lanka, then another episode of Vera. 

Thursday was cooler and quite windy. Remains of hurricane blowing over tonight. Showers last night: possibly tonight too. Got up early because Bridget came to clean at 9.30am. Started writing sermon and have now almost finished it. Also chose hymns. After lunch Dot drove me to Ber Street, and I picked up special toothpaste from dentist. Full of fluoride : have just discovered it’s toxic and may lower your IQ. 

Walked from dentist to market and bought plums, greengages and blackberries. Then on up London Street and eventually Magdalen Street, where I discovered Rupert Mallin’s exhibition was right at the other end, beyond Anglia Square. As a result did lots of steps. Had good chat with Rupert: he was showing big drawings designed as scenery for a play. He told me Hilary Mellon was very ill. Walked home. Have tried to arrange for a company called ChipsAway to fix the paintwork on the car, but have reached an impasse on the precise paint colour: can’t find anything that says what it is. Watched some more of Battle of the Bagpipes. Strangely compelling. England seem to be winning cricket, but amazingly it’s dull and rainy in Manchester. 

Friday – Warm and dry, but a bit windy. Tricia rang early to say Brian was unwell: so our visit to The Foundry was cancelled. Rang Robin to let him know. No progress with ChipsAway : they got in touch late in the day to say they couldn’t do a three-stage paint job. Went to Morrisons in afternoon – mainly to get mince to go with our marrow. Wrote quite a bit of article on Chopin for Parish Pump, but not as much progress as I hoped. Spent a long time organising pix to send to Otterspool girls. Out for street meet – Des and Chris, Matt, Jonathan. Late meal of mince and marrow, then Naomi came round to make mojitos. I’m not sure why. Had a good chat with her though. Finished watching bagpipes. Very good. Cricket. 

Saturday – Rain overnight, and continued wet and windy all day. Cooler. Early call from Dr Prior about my medication: she was very nice and has fixed me up with an appointment in a couple of weeks to discuss effects of statins, which may be making my feet hurt. Spent most of the day finishing my Parish Pump articles, then couldn’t send them because our Broadband went down. Still don’t know if it’s an external or internal problem: tried all the usual things. Very frustrating. Dot went to football and saw Norwich draw 1-1 with Sheff Utd. Another good game, apparently, but after three games we have two points. Watched England win at cricket but mystified as to why Root was not given out LBW when the ball was shown to be going to hit the wicket. Sri Lanka unlucky with ball change yesterday too. Saw odd bits of TV, including someone called Sam Smith singing at Proms. Not sure what he was doing there. 

Yesterday was dry; coolish breeze but generally quite warm. As mentioned, Oliver came back to England, but we missed tracking him because our WiFi was down. I eventually fixed it, but by then we’d received a message from David, telling us he was back. Went to church in morning, avoiding convoy of trucks taking kids to seaside. Phil led and I preached: only three of us in worship band (Dot, me + Matt). Only 13 there because a few were at Greenbelt. General agreement that it was a nice service, though. Discovered that Mike and June, two fairly new members of our congregation, live on Rosary Road. Sent off my Parish Pump stuff as soon as WiFi was fixed. Dot and I walked up to sorting office to post three birthday cards. Watched a bit of TV, including The Eagle has Landed – a good film with a couple of continuity issues. You don’t often see good Germans in a war film. 

Bit cooler today (Tuesday 20 August), but still comfortable enough for us to have coffee in the garden with Robin and Shelagh Limmer. Good couple of hours’ chat: Robin has a remarkable memory for a 92-year-old. Dot and I watched a bit of bagpipes documentary on TV while we ate lunch.

Last Thursday was another warm day, but some rain from late evening and overnight. Sad news – Andrew Partridge from St Luke’s died quite suddenly from sepsis. David LeMoir’s En Passant book arrived and contains quite a few items from me, including a poem and my games when I won the Norwich Dons June Swiss in 2000. That’s a year, not a time. Again preparing for tomorrow. Went to Morrisons in the afternoon, and later fixed the rail in the back garden, which had been working loose. Bridget came to clean for two hours.

 Friday was very warm again, the overnight rain having dispersed. Busy day of course, because it was the Otterspool reunion. Spent the morning completing preparations. Just after I’d moved the car I saw Christine and Jeannie on the path above the steps – they were staying at the Premier Inn and were reconnoitring! Called Dot, had a quick chat, and they continued walk.

Everyone turned up – first Pete and Liz in his Bentley 6; parked on street. Then Christine and Jeannie (again), Pat and Barry, who parked in the drive, Jacqui and Brian  and Rob and Sue, who parked by the garages opposite with kind permission/connivance of Des and Mark!  Everyone seemed well except for Brian, who was shaky and had an oxygen machine. He was driving, though – in fact he is an Advanced Driver, he told me. We sat in the garden for Pimms and lemonade, followed by food – over-catered as usual. All very nice though. Had chats with several, particularly Christine and Pete. Got quite hot. Later had tea/coffee and looked at some old Otterspool photos on screen.

They all left by about 6pm, and we spent some time out on the street. Feet hurt. Watched Chariots of Fire.  Pete and Liz were staying at Caister Hall, Sue and Rob at Stalham, Pat and Barry camping somewhere near Kelling, Jacqui and Brian at the Holiday Inn (not sure which one). 

Saturday – Warm and dry, but wet and cold in Cape Town, apparently. My cousin Sandra got in touch to send me a podcast of her daughter, Karen (Coetzee). Had trouble accessing it, but I have it now – it’s on YouTube. We spent quite a bit of time clearing up. Dot went to the football match in the afternoon – I walked with her. Good game, apparently. Norwich 2 Blackburn 2. On the way back by the river I met Jonathan Burrows and discovered he no longer plays chess. Had some leftover salmon for evening meal after going with Dot to post a card to Jennie Downing. Watched a programme about the NC 500 in Scotland, then the first part of a murder mystery called We HuntTogether. Discovered Oliver was on Lake Erie, or very close to it – but without David. (It turned out he was with Jackson).

Sunday – Warm again and dry. Church in the morning. I was leading, and Anna did a very good sermon/lectio on Psalm 111. Minute’s silence for Andrew Partridge. All went pretty well, I think. Took Ray home as usual: he was complaining about stomach pain, relating to his cancer. Call from care home as we arrived at house saying my aunt Thelma died this morning “peacefully”.

Had lunch, then Dot dropped me at Plantation Garden, where Annette’s band, Daisy and the Continentals, were playing. Kind of jazz, quite entertaining. Had chat with Annette and took a couple of videos of the band, then walked home. Got quite hot and tired. Dot had been clearing up. In the evening, after mackerel kippers, we watched more episodes of We Hunt Together, which is pretty good from many aspects. Had FaceTime with David, Oliver and Amanda, who clearly does exist. Bit rainy over there. Watched a bit of Match of the Day 2, which was pretty boring: too much talk. 

Monday was warm but a bit windy. A little rain in late evening. Linda came and cut our hair, and I got a call from the surgery to see if I could make an appointment with nurse at 11.40. I could, if I cut short my bath; so I did. Glad I did because it was my favourite nurse, Emma Richardson, who is always very kind. She had also had a TiA experience similar to mine – no real problem, but banned from driving from four weeks and life insurance on mortgage cancelled. Aargh! She did my blood and took a sample. I have to supply a urine sample in a couple of days.

On way home I bought some stamps. In the afternoon I went up to solicitors to sign another Phyllis document and managed to get Anna there at the same time. Almost there! Only have to read meter now. I think. While I was out Sheila Crisp rang about Thelma’s death and said the funeral had been paid for. Put a bit about Thelma’s death on Facebook fairly late in the evening and have already had several responses, including one from Joanne, Edward’s daughter. Watched the end of We Hunt Together, which was excellent but for an irritating non- dénouement.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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