Saturday, March 21 – Sunny and warm. Should have gone out. However, we remade the bed and had a couple of meals, and Dot washed the sheets and pillowcases before listening to Norwich beat Charlton 0-1, which more or less ensures their survival. As an added bonus, Liverpool lost. Watched some athletics (world indoor). Gold medal for UK in 3000 metres: Josh Kerr. Good race. Then EFL highlights followed by documentary on problems caused by social media. Interesting, but didn’t mention the positive free speech angle – that i,s a way of getting at the truth when official channels all give the same dubious story.  Someone said not being allowed to question the answers is worse than not being allowed to answer the questions. Felt very tired tonight. 

Sunday – Pleasant, dry and mainly bright. Forgot to take tablets and felt much better. Decided to query long-term effects of two of my tablets. Last day of world indoor athletics championships: we got four golds – Josh Kerr, Keely Hodgkinson (800m), Georgia Hunter Bell (1500m) and Molly Caudery (pole vault). Spurs lost 3-0 to Nottingham Forest at home. Aargh! In the afternoon went to Blue Boar garden centre to buy some patio magic (cleaning fluid) then bought some petrol. Dot drove for the first time since breaking her leg. No problem. Cooked duck in between athletics events. Spoke to Amy earlier after ringing her by mistake. She seems very well. 

Monday – Mainly sunny, some cloud. Dry. Caught up with various things this morning and watched Sunday’s football. Spurs appear to be on the brink, but you never know… After lunch we drove up to the garden centre again because we couldn’t get patio cleaner to work. They sorted the immediate problem, but it still wasn’t impressive. No proper flow through hose. Nevertheless Dot managed to get some done. I investigated changing holiday dates but decided not to. Des came round and told us he is going on his European train holiday this week. They have been in Lichfield because their daughter had a painful illness at the same time as her husband had tonsillitis. Cooked sea bass – tricky because everything happens at once. Watched a bit of TV including University Challenge, Scottish loch tour thingy and a couple of old episodes of Outnumbered, which is brilliant however often you see it. 

Tuesday – Windy but dry till evening, when it became very windy and wet. Took Dot into city for 10.30, when she met Anne at travel agent’s and then for lunch and  other things at Jarrolds. I  returned home and had a bath and lunch before picking up Mike Read and taking him to see Owen Hindle at Bury. (Both men are chess masters.) Tried new route via Elveden which worked surprisingly well.

Owen, who is 86, seemed fine, though he spends a lot of time watching the news from various channels worldwide. He continued to do this while we were there, though he showed us round and made us tea and coffee and provided biscuits. I now know a lot about the war. Amazing collection of chess books. Didn’t see Mark and Liz, who now works for BBC, but we had a visit from a British Gas man, who couldn’t service Owen’s boiler because he had Mark’s boiler details (they live a few houses away). Mike and I returned home about 4.20 and made quite good time, though it became slow near Norwich (single lane on A11). Dropped Mike off and drove home. Cooked pies for supper. Watched a couple of old “specials” – Dad’s Army and Keeping up Appearances. The former was funnier. Dot bought three tops and arranged a train holiday to Nice in September. 

Wednesday – Windy and quite chilly. Both had a bad night. Emptied dishwasher and cleared up kitchen in preparation for Linda’s arrival shortly before 10am to cut our hair. Tried it slightly longer at back… went over to Des’s to check I knew how to operate door lock. After lunch went to Morrisons – Dot had coffee after getting a couple of things and then found water filters. Sorted out stuff while Dot fed tumble drier and then we lay down for a while – both feeling tired. Dot did some practising. Had soup for supper, plus hot cross buns. Drove Dot and Nova to rehearsal at Sewell Park, then fetched them later. Spoke to Penny and Janet. Watched A Woman of Substance – a series of wrong decisions. Her, not us. Substance isn’t everything.

Winter appears to be in retreat – at least temporarily. On Monday (Mar 16) it was bright to start with; greyer later with a little rain. Phil and Joy came round at about 11.30, and we gave him his birthday presents and card. Needless to say he didn’t unwrap them or even look at the card. But I expect he has by now. Joy looked very small and fragile. Had quite an interesting chat, and we had lunch after they left. Watched quite a bit of TV, including episodes of Amandaland – last one very good; made me laugh and cry. Had rather a late supper – salmon. As I was putting bins out, Des brought Private Eye round. 

Tuesday was sunny and not cold. Dry. Head felt funny most of day but took Paracetamol at about 4.30, and from about an hour later it was OK.  Before that I’d had a bath and we’d been to Morrisons to restock. Dot got one of two things, then had a coffee. I got some Optrex from the chemist because my eyes had been a bit dry. At around 6.15 we drove up to the Maids Head and parked in their car park, which turned out to be free if you were using the hotel. We were guests of Janet Bower at a Rotary meeting/meal because Rob Knee was speaking about the Pastons on my recommendation. He spoke for about 20 minutes and answered questions. The food – meat pie and mashed potatoes with gravy – was very good, and I enjoyed what he had to say, though of course it was mostly familiar to me. I was able to assist in a very minor way during questions. We were home well before 9pm, which was nice, and we watched the news and an episode of Ellis. 

Wednesday – Very busy day and lovely weather: sunny and quite warm. Judy arrived later than planned to park car in drive, but managed to catch train on first leg to funeral in Kent, home of meningitisB. Hope she avoided it. Took Ciara and Des to Uplands at Kirby Bedon, home of Helen and Chris Lamb, where we had annual celebration of sugar distribution. Dot (and I) got bottle and card, as we were “retiring”. Lots of chat and very nice food.

Rushed home at 2pm to meet Fred, who came round while Sue was attending Notre Dame reunion. Had some interesting discussion about Christianity, while eating eclairs and drinking tea. At end of afternoon got call from urology about catheter, during which I discovered I had been doing it wrong (sequentially rather than technically). Will see what happens next time – probably tomorrow (It was fine – Ed). Drove Fred back to Poringland (he and Sue were staying at Janet’s) and got involved in heavy traffic on way back. However in time to make soup and toast, which we consumed before I drove Dot and Nova to orchestra rehearsal at Sprowston. Picked them up at 9.30pm, and we watched second part of  Ellis before going to bed. Poor end to Ellis – left one important thread completely hanging. 

Thursday – Sunny and quite warm. Had a bath. Phil came round about 11.30, travelling by bus, and had a coffee. I then drove him to Hurricane Way, where he was attempting to demonstrate he was OK to drive. While he was doing that I walked up to the end of Hurricane Way to see if there was a view of the airport or the distributor road, but there wasn’t. As soon as I got back I was summoned by the people from the test place – bit worrying: I thought Phil might have collapsed. But I was told that he had been doing fine: however he didn’t have the necessary DVLA approval to drive temporarily. So they couldn’t proceed. He had to obtain official permission, which sounds like red tape to me. He was upset of course: it meant he couldn’t even drive his own car.

I drove him home and then returned. This involved a diversion because of a road closure at Lyng. Got behind someone who apparently thought diversion meant maximum 20mph. But I got home in the end, to find Bridget about to start cleaning. She did the kitchen and utility room. After she left we had mackerel fillets and Christmas pudding. Oh yes we did. Watched a couple of episodes of A Woman of Substance, which is excellent but sad. Also watched Euro football. Spurs looked quite good. 

Friday – Sunny and dry. Cooler later. Tidied up and caught up in the study. Put up poster in window for Bridget’s next series of Talks@2. Made avocado and egg on toast for lunch. Anne came round and had a chat, mainly with Dot. Mike rang to confirm our Bury trip on Tuesday. Watched documentary on oil tanker spill at Milford Haven 30 years ago. Blamed on use of oil when the real culprit was incompetence at the port.

Went out for street meet, but met only Matt, and Sam briefly. Angela’s father has died aged 100. Des and Chris in Lichfield looking after grandson, whose parents were ill. Spoke briefly to new neighbour moving in down the road. Later cooked lasagne, watched some athletics and then a documentary on Neil Sedaka, who died last month. He reminded me of Bob Monkhouse in looks and manner of speaking. Brilliant musician, nice bloke: prefer his early songs, though. He should tell more jokes. Well, he should have. He’s dead now. Nice wife.

Wednesday, March 11 – Dry, some sun, wind developing in evening. Plumber scheduled to arrive between 8am and 6pm: eventually arrived at about 2.30pm and agreed with my diagnosis of the leak, then fixed it in pretty short order (new washer). Nice guy – off to Brundall after us.   Dot had shower and practised violin. Went to shop after plumber (Callum) left. Dot got very tired; so she sat out most of the shopping and the unpacking. New cover for iPhone arrived. Very good. Cooked pies, which were very nice. Took Dot to rehearsal at alternative venue – the Diamond Centre in Sprowston. Lots of traffic going because of City match; but it had vanished by the time I came back. City beat Sheffield Utd 2-1 after being 1-0 down at half time. Dot over the moon when I picked her up and gave Nova a lift home. Watched an episode of Ellis, a police drama. Interesting, but not entirely sure about it. 

Thursday – Dry but very windy, getting worse: rain forecast overnight. Took washing line down. This morning we took the bus to visit Paul Henderson and spent a couple of hours chatting and drinking tea/coffee. Then took my Skecher shoes back and got a size 9 (instead of 8) and they seem OK. Dot bought a pair for indoors. They were in the sale and discounted further for Mother’s Day! Got bus home, but Dot was aching a bit by the time we got there. Bridget came to do cleaning, and Dot and I watched football, including a horrendous European loss for Spurs thanks to their players slipping. Very suspicious.

Got letter from consultant saying there wasn’t much wrong with my liver or pancreas, which was extremely reassuring. Definitely no cancer. Des brought us some fish and chips, and we watched more TV, partly so that Dot could rest. A Woman of Substance was good, but the first episode of a travel documentary on India, fronted by Andrew Alexander, made me even less desirous of going there than I was already. Which is saying something. Mumbai and New Delhi seemed like hell on earth to me/us. Cancelled recording of rest of series. Rang Joy/Phil earlier with birthday wishes. Phil’s 74th birthday.

Friday – Dry and quite bright, but windy. Yesterday Dot got a phone call offering her a bone scan today, at 1.20pm, because of a cancellation. We were able to take it, so we drove to the hospital just after lunch and everything went so smoothly that it was all over by 1.25. (We had arrived just after 1.) Des and Chris away in Lichfield, but Dot and I met outside with Matt and Ciara – and later Sam. Mary had a cold, so stayed indoors. Joe’s father died a day or so ago; we had met him several times because he often brought Cleo home – nice chap. She was very upset, as was Joe. Death was quite sudden – of cancer only about a month after diagnosis. We had yellow haddock and watched Death in Paradise. No sign of end of Iran war. David FaceTimed and we had a long chat. It’s snowing again in Waterloo. 

Saturday – Quite bright and dry but a bit chilly. Was about to have a bath when Leanne contacted Dot and asked if she could come round. Obviously we said yes and quickly got up – it was about 10.30. We had coffee and cake with her and she stayed for three hours. Lovely talking to her. She has a hard time with her children but is a really loving mother.

After she left we had something to eat, and I then watched three rugby matches – last day of the Six Nations. Ireland beat Scotland 43-21, Wales beat Italy 31-17 and France beat England with the last kick of the match, 48-46. All good matches. Quite glad France beat England because they’re a better team, but if they hadn’t, Ireland would have won the tournament. Ideally would have liked Scotland to win, but Ireland were just too good. In the midst of all this Norwich beat Preston 2-0 and moved up to the top half of the table. Sadly Dot still not fit enough to go to the match , but she is actually progressing well. 

Sunday – Bright and dry to start with, but dull and rainy later. Bridget came round to park her car before getting a train to Bury (via Diss) for a Mother’s Day outing with her sister. However, it turned out that the trains weren’t running, and the replacement bus service had gone. So she drove, and it all turned out OK.

Meanwhile David and Chrissy FaceTimed: they had sent a bouquet of flowers and some chocolate that were on the doorstep when Bridget arrived. Had quite a long chat again. Dot was obviously very pleased. After lunch (avocado and egg) we watched quite a bit of football, and I whittled down my e-mail collection, as well as cleaning, tidying and making the bed. Sent some money to Open Doors. Had duck for supper, then watched first two episodes of drama The Other Bennet Girl, which was good. Finished evening by watching Spurs get a 1-1 draw at Anfield. Among other games. Dot is worried about swelling in her ankle, but it’s not painful. Tried a bit of massage, which seemed to help. 

Friday, March 6 – Bright first thing, gradually deteriorating. Rain in the evening: so we invited Streetmeeters to ours. Des and Sue came: also Mary and Matt. Drank Des’s wine by mistake. Earlier looked through some family tree stuff and discovered I had a number of birth/death/marriage certificates  Also discovered my great great grandfather from Harlestone was a baker. War in Middle East escalating. Dot found a leak in cupboard under sink, but I can’t see where it’s coming from. It doesn’t seem continuous. Cooked trout for supper. Very nice. 

Saturday – Cold with some rain. Haven’t solved leak problem but have taken precautions. Still can’t really see where it’s coming from. Will probably have to have it fixed. Dot had shower and washed hair. After lunch watched amazing rugby game; score Scotland 50 France 40. Meanwhile Italy were beating England. Dot was making cake; so we went to shop to buy cocoa powder, marmalade and cooking butter. In evening took Des and Chris to Poringland for supper with John and Tara. Nice meal (salmon) and chat. Evetts rang halfway through, and Dot said we’d ring back later, but when we did just after 10pm Julia was in bed: so have postponed till tomorrow afternoon. John and Tara have lovely chalet bungalow near pylons. Watched an episode of Motherland and went to bed after checking leak again. 

Sunday – Grey with a few drops of rain. Fog in the evening, especially on my way back from Lowestoft, where I read six poems at the Seagull: Heading towards Icy; I knew you’d come; Signs of life; and Linn of Quoich, Mist and Fire and A Question for David from my 2003 book. Only eight there including Ian. Lynn Nesbit the only woman: she explained how to live life by using a pendulum. (Don’t ask.) Earlier we listened to a really good service from Ruanda on Radio 4. Dot iced cake and did some practising. Early lunch: watched recording of Italy beating England 23-18 at rugby and EFL matches. I did quite a lot of clearing up, as did Dot while I was at Lowestoft. When I got home we watched highlights of FA Cup matches, including Norwich losing 3-0 to Leeds. 

Monday – Grey but dry. Not too cold. Had a bath, then took Dot’s thank-you card for John and Tara up to the sorting office, passing Sarah on the steps. We both (me and Dot, not me and Sarah) made sure the house was clean.  Leak still there, but small. Dot checked that Amy got home OK from London last night. I went over to station to meet Kristine, who arrived at 12.45. All went down to Gem for lunch – had mezes and a bottle of rosé. I finished with Turkish tea. Home for chat – Dot did stunning cake, but we forgot Kristine is gluten-free. I took her back to the station at 5.30pm and she messaged later to say she was home. Meal cost £117. Didn’t do much for rest of evening except watch last episode of Call the Midwife and an episode each of Songs of Praise and Death in Paradise. Had been feeling extremely tired all day with head cracking. Took paracetamol, which helped and was much better by the time I put the bins out and we went to bed. Quite good chatlet with Archbishop Sarah on Songs of Praise. 

Tuesday – Quite bright and not too cold. Discovered that Paul had fallen out of his bath and had been in hospital with broken ribs and collapsed lung. Dot did some washing. After lunch I took the bus into the city – a 15, which stops outside Chantry Place. Went to Apple and got the protective glass on my iPhone replaced – £34. Then bought some shoes at Sketchers. Walked up to dentist and dropped off hospital letter. Receptionist Charlie very welcoming! Walked home – very tiring. Over 4000 steps for second day in succession. Had to lie down for a while. Cooked duck for supper, and we watched a number of things, including an early episode of The X Files, which they’re rerunning on Channel 5. Shoes I bought were uncomfortable; so Dot has adopted them. Ordered a cover for iPhone from Amazon and booked a plumber for tomorrow. 

Sunday, March 1 – Spring! Some brightness, but lots of cloud and intermittent drizzle.  Caught up on another month of EP Chess. Up to date now. Wrote some e-mails – mainly to Kristine and Joy, the latter after sending off for presents for Phil. Watched football. Spurs lost again – 2-1 to Fulham. Ukrainian couple called to see if we knew any Ukrainians in the area (!). I suggested Des might be a link, but not sure they went there. Later Des called and said Bob (next door) had suggested they might not be genuine. True enough. Will be alert.

Cooked sausages for supper, and they went down well. Watched the last episode of Season 5 of The Chosen: all very well done. I believe Season 6 is in production. Also watched Ice Road Truckers and Call the Midwife. Bit late in bed. Earlier Oliver FaceTimed us, and while he was on we were joined by David and Chrissy, who opened her birthday presents (her birthday is tomorrow). Oliver is training for his marathon. Meanwhile war in the Middle East seems to be escalating. Khomeini, leader of Iran, seems to be dead. Other countries involved as well as Israel and US.

Monday – Pleasant: sky mainly bright and reasonably warm. Drove Dot to hospital for her 11.30 physio appointment, which went well. Again, I was allowed to go in with her. Physio Rachel very pleasant. Good time of day to get to hospital. Afterwards bought doughnut and cake from hospital café and had light lunch. Looked at my autobiography afterwards and realised I ought to bring it up to date. Could take a while. Also walked to sorting office and posted a card from Dot to Jeannie. Achieved over 4000 steps today. Cooked chicken, potatoes and peas, and we also had some jelly and ice cream. Both felt a bit tired before supper and lay down for a while. Sorted out rubbish and put bins out.  Watched football, a grand tour of the River Ayr, and the penultimate episode of The Lady. Oh, and University Challenge, where I got Sturm and Drang and sonata (from its structure). Bed rather late. 

Tuesday – Dry, not too cold. Some sun. Busy day. Up fairly early to go to Archant Pensioners’ meeting. Good breakfast – Dot had extravagant-looking waffle instead, because of her mouth. The stitches dissolved later in the day, and her mouth now feels almost normal. After light lunch Roger called in and had coffee and KitKat. Good chat. Afterwards I cleared up and brought emptied bins in, then cooked salmon. Sorted out mistake on newspaper bill.

Judy arrived about 7.30, and we gave her a lift to Bridget’s for Cake and Compline. Also there David, Vicky and Claire. Really good evening. Vicky just back from Hong Kong. Claire about to have operation on foot. Nikki not there because her father was having heart operation at Papworth. Phil in France. Bridget read extract about a poem from excellent Malcolm Guite book. Not his poem, but very good: Maps, by Holly Ordway. I led a compline which I had printed out earlier – after sorting out a problem with one of the printer cartridges. Dot told story about Moslem woman who met Jesus in a near-death experience and knew him immediately. Home fairly late. Judy has new cat – Lola. 

Wednesday – Grey. Toyed with idea of ordering a new cover and protective screen for iPhone, but realised that taking the old protective screen off might be tricky; so decided to get that done at Apple (Putting the new one on would be straightforward, oddly.) Guys from Sonata arrived at 1.30pm to fix new alarm boxes. Spent some time installing new control panel and box, but discovered they needed to get up to bell on outside wall and as usual didn’t have a long enough ladder. So they’re coming back. New panel much more complicated, so have put off using it so far, but will have a go tomorrow.

Cooked lasagne then took Dot to her first rehearsal this year. She enjoyed it and intends to play in the concert, which she hadn’t thought she’d be able to. Janet brought her home. I spent the evening listening to YouTube music. We both watched the final episodes of Silent Witness, which is getting more and more convoluted – this story was about firms working with AI and sabotaging each other. Late in bed. Earlier put some poems together to read on Sunday at the Seagull. Haven’t written any poems this year. 

Thursday – Dry and mainly blue sky, but a little chilly. In the morning went to see Mary and Neville for tea/coffee and had a really nice time. Neville has had a stroke but seems much better. Watched Match of the Day over lunch. Bridget came to clean at 3.30, which was nice. Had fish cakes for supper, and I fried some potatoes – bit of a dry combination. Followed with strawberries and then half a hot cross bun while watching Dark Knight – a Batman film that didn’t really impress me: rather incoherent and violent in tone. Also too long; so rather late in bed after clearing away. Set alarm to see if it works. It did when we went out. Felt a bit funny today: slightly chilly and popping in my ears. Not ill, though. Spurs lost again: getting a bit tedious.

Tuesday, February 24 was quite pleasant, on the whole. Mild. Hole in Riverside Road as promised by the council, but there was access for cars, though there was a long queue towards the lights round a repair lorry. Anne came round to see Dot while I caught up on EP chess games. Afterwards  Dot and I walked to the bottom of the road and round the block. Dot wasn’t feeling too good (temporary sore throat) and I had my usual head and neck problem. Caught up with e-mails and watched TV including Silent Witness, which was very clever, and a couple of Ice Road Truckers. Cooked fish cakes with cheese filling and mashed potatoes. Quite nice. 

Wednesday was the first really nice day of the year. Sunny, dry and warm. Finished catching up with EP chess games, and decided to have some time out at Felbrigg Hall. Walked a little but mainly had some lunch. I had a scone, Dot had warm croissant with bacon. Sat in sun then went into shop and secondhand bookshop and bought books and cards. Then sat for a while in front of the hall and discussed its architecture. Oh yes we did. Drove home and bought first petrol of the year! When we got home Dot decided we should clean out the bird feeders; this took some time because I lost one of them for a while. Hard to believe, but… Had soup for supper, followed by fruit. Then Dot listened to Norwich v Sheffield Wednesday – 2-0. Discovered Fred had obtained two tickets for Leeds-Norwich cup game. 

Thursday was still quite pleasant, though there. was a bit of a cool wind. Rain after dark. Had a bath and after lunch (yes, avocado and egg), rang Ray Fiske and on discovering it was ok, went round to see him. He seemed a bit better than last time I spoke to him, and we chatted for well over an hour. Came  back and watched another episode of The Chosen. Had more trouble than usual getting it on screen, but managed it eventually.

Dot stewed some apples while I cooked a roast chicken dinner (prepared). Burned my wrist a couple of days ago and it looks rather red. Treating it with Savlon. Discarded a couple of recorded TV series after watching opening episodes: quite pleased to make that decision, which we both agreed on. Watched University Challenge, which seemed to be getting more difficult: the winners only just scraped over 100, and the losers around 80. Also watched quite a bit of football, including European. Several bad refereeing decisions. FaceTimed David and Chrissy: they have been helping their friend Amanda and her family after Amanda’s mother’s death. Still lots of snow there.

Friday was mainly dry, with some sun. Not too cool. Sent presents to Chrissy and messaged Joy  about Phil’s birthday list. Bridget came round to clean at 11. Had proper meal at lunchtime because Dot had mouth op in afternoon which would mean she couldn’t eat much afterwards. Had steak pies – ate at kitchen table for a change.

Drove Dot up to hospital in late afternoon – quite a lot of traffic but dropped her off in good time, then went to park the car. Got back to her with seconds to spare, and I was able to go into the operation with her. Sat only a few feet from her and was able to. see into her mouth as they removed a polyp. Nurse and two doctors all female, all brilliant. Walked back to car: easy drive home. Dot even came out for street meet for half an hour – I stayed quite a bit longer. Des, Chris, Jon, Matt, and more briefly Sarah, Sam and Ciara. Dot’s mouth seems to be healing well. I had some biscuits and cheese. My burn also seems to be coming along OK. Watched a programme about the making of Gavin and Stacey which was very well done, then one on wildlife  in London and the next episode of The Chosen, which continues to be really good.

Saturday was cooler and windy, with some light rain. Dot’s mouth seems to be healing well. No real pain, she says. But she can’t eat normally – had some bread and butter after yoghurt and honey. I had a bath, then we listened to Leicester v Norwich, which City won 2-0. Both felt a bit cold, and Dot had a sleep.  I lay down for a few minutes. Cooked salmon and mashed potatoes for supper, and Dot was able to eat it – and enjoy  it, apparently. Watched a lot of TV – a two-part documentary about the  2011 Japanese tidal wave and its threat to Fukushima nuclear power station. Pretty devastating. Also watched football and Death in Paradise. Oh, yes – and there’s war in the Middle  East – primarily between Iran, Israel and the US. Iran also bombing other states, like Dubai and Bahrain. Very unpleasant. Seemed a very short day. 

Thursday, February 19 – Weather terrible – grey, misty, wet, chilly. Dot had a very bad night and decided not to go to her cousin John’s funeral at Hepworth – a decision I fully backed. So I went instead and managed to get lost between Diss and Hepworth, mainly because I took the road through Diss and not the A143. Miraculously managed to get there in time, after reaching the village and being unable to find the church. Asked passer-by, who was torn between telling me and running away in case I tried to drag her into my car.

Parked opposite church in a “car park” where everyone was mutually blocked. So had to get away quickly afterwards instead of staying for refreshments. Still, everyone seemed pleased I was there. Not a sparkling service, but I discovered lots of things about John that I didn’t know. Road home was quite easy, and I managed to get home before Bridget left. Felt cold during afternoon; so took vest off. Sounds silly, but it worked. Wrote up blog. Watched a lot of curling: GB got through to final. Cooked supper, cleared up and watched a bit of football. 

Friday – More rain and greyness, softened slightly by promises of imminent warmer temperatures. Dot had a good night (me not too bad) despite knowing we had to be up by 9am for Linda to cut our hair. It all worked, and Dot had highlights and me a trim, followed by a bath (on my own). Had a slightly less than perfect avocado with our last eggs for lunch and ordered some replacement Papermate pencils for Dot. Watched a lot of Winter Olympics again, and I had a look at Parish Pump material. We went over to Des and Chris for drink in view of abysmal weather and had a couple of hour’s chat with them and Sarah (Mark went back to Brazil this week). 

Saturday – Not quite unremittingly wet, but not all that dry either. Warmer, though. Drove Dot to Boots at the end of the morning, and went in with her to buy a variety of items, not unincluding sandwiches. Traffic surprisingly ok, despite Norwich match looming – they lost 2-1 to Birmingham. On the plus side, Ireland beat England at rugby by a large score. Felt very Irish. Scotland beat Wales – just. Penultimate day of Winter Olympics. GB managed to avoid winning gold in curling but at least got a silver.

Wrote two pieces for Parish Pump – one on Francis Bacon and the other on Richard D’Oyly Carte. Anna and Howard called in unexpectedly on way home from station to say hello and were impressed with Dot’s progress. Watched Death in Paradise and some football. After we’d been in bed for a while Dot saw an email which seemed to indicate her coffee had been delivered earlier. So she made me go outside and look for it. While I was outside she realised she had overlooked another email which said the delivery guy had missed us and the parcel had been dropped off at Matalan. I decided not to go and knock Matalan up. 

Sunday – Weather a bit more pleasant – dry and quite warm. Bit windy towards evening. Another very odd day, doubling as the final day of the Winter Olympics. We got a bronze in the half-pipe for women skiers, largely because the judging was totally arbitrary, as is most judging. Looked good for gold to me. USA beat Canada in ice hockey final, mainly because the Canadians missed two or three open goals. Watched a bit of rugby, France beating Italy fairly easily. Got very annoyed with my different Apple machines failing to sync Mail. No idea why. Arsenal beat Spurs 4-1; so not a great sporting weekend. Head/neck felt very heavy. Watched final bit of documentary on guy who swam round Iceland. Completely mad. Oh: it was Sunday, so we listened to a morning service, watched Songs of Praise and took in an episode of The Chosen. 

Monday – Some blue sky and quite mild, though the wind was a bit chilly. Rain later. Sorted out problems with Mail and then, after Dot had showered and washed her hair, we drove to Morrisons, calling in at Matalan first to pick up the coffee that had been left there (drop-off point). Dot was feeling a bit tired; so had a coffee at the Morrisons coffee bar halfway through while I finished the shopping. After lunch dealt with a few e-mails, having watched last night’s Match of the Day and agreed with the pundits that Spurs disallowed goal at 2-1 should have stood. (I’d already thought that.) played through some chess games in the afternoon, then cooked lasagne. Watched first two episodes of The Lady, about the Duchess of York’s crazy dresser, which was excellent. No Winter Olympics! 

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.