At the end of Thursday Dot went to handbell ringing at the Greens (I drove her), and I did a bit more on my sermon, but nowhere near enough. Felt very tired. Cleared stuff out of utility room into garage. Dry in the evening. 

Friday was mild and dry: foggy to start with. Spoke to Amy on FT and checked arrangements for next day.  Dot did a lot more sorting out, and I finished my sermon. After lunch Dot went to the shops. I put my Canadian poems into final form, and we packed Amy’s presents. Evetts rang around 4pm, and we had a long chat about various things, including Seckford Hall and Vicky’s health. Out in the street at 5.30pm, with Des, Chris, Mark, Ciara, Sean, Mary and Matthew. Waved goodbye to Phoebe as she went out on the town for her 17th birthday. Felt a bit under the weather (probably too much to drink + fish and chips) and laid on bed for a bit, but got up to watch Professor T, then went to bed early. 

Saturday was a very busy day. Fairly mild and dry.  Amy arrived with Vicky and Matt (and David’s table and chairs) at 10.30, and we had a cup of coffee before V&M departed for Reepham to see Kerry. We had lunch with Amy before taking the bus up to UEA for the open day there. Easy journey. She checked in, and we had a look at the library before walking down to the Sainsbury Centre, where she was going to a talk on art history, which she wants to combine with archaeology and anthropology. Very interesting talk by a couple of lecturers, but Dot started coughing and had to go out towards the end. Amy stayed for tour of the Art History area while I found Dot and we went to have a drink. But Amy’s tour ended pretty quickly, and she came up and joined us at the cafe.

Walked back up and caught the bus halfway up. Incredibly slow journey into town. Got off at Orford Place and walked home via The Walk, White Lion Street, the Arcade, Back of the Inns, London Street and The Close. Looked at Canada pix till V&M arrived at 5.30 to take her home. Earlier we had given Amy her presents – some earrings and a picture by Kasia Coleman that she had wanted us to leave her when we died! She seemed very pleased.

In the evening I took Dot up to St Mary Magdalene for a concert. Wasn’t sure whether to go myself, but I was glad I did. They had some singers and did some good dramatic stuff, particularly Gilbert and Sullivan. Dot was worried about her lack of practice, but it all sounded good to me. Beverley Aspinall was playing again. I spoke to Neville, Mary, Vicki and one or two other people. Capacity audience. Earlier Norwich City were 2-0 up against Sheffield United away but managed to draw 2-2. Pukki missed a penalty. On the plus side, Liverpool lost to Nottingham Forest. 

Very wet Sunday. Thunderstorms in afternoon. Had to park car in St Matthew’s Road overnight because the bottom of our road was inaccessible from 9 to 11 because of road runners. Wonderful! At church played guitar and gave sermon on humility (a strong point of mine), which was quite well received, though I’d been a bit worried about it. Afterwards spoke to Nikki, and to the Rev Hilary Wakeman, who comes occasionally and who asked for a copy of the sermon. So either she liked it or I’m in trouble with the Bishop. Fairly quiet day after that: I caught up with my e-mails, and later we watched a couple of episodes of scandi noir Wisting, which was very good. 

Monday – was dry and quite pleasant. Went to church in the morning – dropped off by Dot, who then called in on Phyllis. Had a Bible study with Leanne and Alison. Went pretty well: Leanne brought little Evelyn, but she was pretty well behaved. Dot came later. Annette came to see us at 2pm, and we spent a long time talking and showing her the Canada pix. Caught up on (rather sad) news about Lisa, Caroline etc. Annette stayed till after 5.30pm, when I made the meal. David FTd and we heard about his time with Chrissy in Kingston. Sounds pretty good.  Quiet evening; bed fairly early.

Tuesday was a bit cooler than I expected when I was deciding what to wear to travel to Coventry to see Andrew. Not too bad, though. Caught train at 10am after taking a Covid test! Train fairly full because it was half term – a fact I had overlooked – but not too bad. Got to Liverpool St on time and got tube to Euston Square, walking the rest. Caught train immediately and was in Coventry before 1.30pm. Got sandwiches from M&S and ate them before walking over to Andrew’s via an impressive new Coventry Station building.

Spent about 90 minutes with Andrew – he was bit all over the place and stooping, but not in pain. Spoke to girl with green hair, who was quite impressive: she managed to sort out his DVD player and said she would take him to buy a new razor. Was not asked for Covid test result or required to wear a mask. Got a train to Euston at about 4.15pm (delayed) and found a non-optimal seat near a woman with a cold. Easy transfer via Euston Square again, and just in time to get the 5.50pm to Norwich. Pretty full, of course. Dot met me at the station, and had a meal of smoked salmon on toast before listening to Burnley v Norwich, which  ended 1-0. While I was away Dot reorganised my bathroom, removing the bookcase and putting it in her room. Looks quite good.

Two big events this week: the Prime Minister resigned and our guest bedroom has been redecorated. Not sure which is more chaotic. Strangely the redecoration of one room seems to affect the whole house. Similarly the resignation…all right, you get the idea. Actually there were three big events: today Amy is 18!! Rather puts the other events in the shade, now I think about it.

So, back to last Saturday, which marked three days out of four without a bath! Quite clean, though. David FTd us following Norwich City’s 2-1 loss to Watford, which we watched on NOW TV, after I had spent about half an hour setting it up. Went through long process and was then told I needed the app! Aargh. It’s as if they don’t want you to use it. Still, was just in time for kick-off. Watched it on my iPad.

Earlier went to see Paul and Holly, who was up for her mum’s birthday. Maryta still pretty bad, scarcely saying a word to her daughter. Paul looked very tired. Even the dog is in a bad way, its legs very weak. Renewed our membership of Scottish National Trust – £87.  Dot spent a long time preparing the guest room for Barry to paint it, and I helped in a small way, as well as keeping the kitchen tidy and improving my study. Rang appliance repair guy twice but had no reply. Still, managed to cook a pizza in the upper oven. Took some old clothes up to St Luke’s to assist those in need, and had a chat with John Easton. 

Sunday was fairly mild; dry till evening. Felt quite under the weather in the morning: not sure why. Better later. Drove to church and led service. Carrie came late because she had been Ill and Al was also in a bad way. Afterwards Dot went with Anna and Sophie and Graham to see Phyllis, who is very frail. I took Ray and Chris home and waited for Dot in Thomas Tawell car park. Went for walk with Dot after lunch – brief encounters with Sarah and then Bob and Mary. Started watching Wisting – a new Norwegian noir. Also saw an hour of Nicola Benedetti playing various pieces – stunning talent and a really nice person too. Went to bed early to read. 

Monday was drizzly to start with, but later quite warm and sunny. Dot got up early to greet Barry, who arrived at 8 to paint the guest bedroom. He’s done quite a lot. Later Andrew Brierton rang and then came to fix the cooker, but we couldn’t reproduce the fault. He did however show us how to fix the filter on the hood and the easy way to replace the bulbs. We are now testing the cooker on and off to see if it’s OK. It is so far.  

I went up to church and we were able to have a Bible study, with Leanne, Alison and Stacey. Lots of other people around too, including Darsha. After Barry had gone Dot and I went to Homebase to buy cooker bulbs and to Dunelm to get curtain rod, then to Morrisons to buy food. Later did dome reading; also watched MOTD2 and two of the Four Quartets performed by Ralph Fiennes; followed by a film, The Running Man, which had some good points – specifically Lee Remick – but was weak in script and photography, though fairly entertaining.

On Tuesday I spent too much time trying to make my Facebook account work properly on my Desktop. Gave up in the end. It’s fine on my iPad and phone. Quite a pleasant day weather-wise. Barry is still painting. I gave Stacey (church) a lift to Hughes on Hall Road to buy a fridge-freezer. In the end she paid about £320 for one she hadn’t seen because it was in the carton. Hmm. Dropped her off at Steve’s, who had taken an autism test and done “badly”.  Not sure what that means.

Caught up on stuff again, then went to see Norwich City lose 0-1  to Luton. This was definitely “badly”. City had a man sent off and didn’t seem to have any energy or much idea what they were doing. Luton weren’t particularly good either, but they scored. We should have scored twice. Took Des because Jonathan was at the theatre. Watching Ralph Fiennes recite (by heart) the third of Four Quartets. Interesting. 

Wednesday was quite pleasant, dry and mild. Barry with us from 8am again. Spent some time helping him to get the curtain pole on straight. He also painted the downstairs loo. Total for three days: £350. Dot got the guest bedroom looking really nice, and I spent ages putting the books back in the bookcase, but in some sort of order. Quite pleased with the result.

Started writing sermon, but didn’t get far. Bridget came and did some cleaning. Still lots of stuff all over the house, waiting to be put away. Dot went to orchestra with Janet in the evening, and it went very well. I took some more clothes to St Luke’s and tried to give them some books, but they weren’t interested. Afterwards walked over to station and got some cash out – mainly to get my steps up. Read some of Imagine Heaven, and when Dot got home we watched the penultimate episode of Doc Martin. Sadly Spurs lost 2-0 to Man Utd.

Today it rained most of the day, often quite hard, but it wasn’t too cold. Dot went to buy boxes to pack up redundant stuff. Helped clear up in morning, but by lunchtime was exhausted, partly because I had a bad night last night. And of course there’s a lot of dust about, largely as a result of the Prime Minister resigning…

Finished Monday by watching another episode of Karen Pirie on ITV hub, which is a bit of a trial because of the numerous and long adverts. Persevering because it’s pretty good and the last episode is recorded on “proper” TV. Earlier had a long talk with a BT guy about a new HomeCare contract, but sorted it out in the end. He arranged for  an engineer to look at the radiator in my room tomorrow. Miraculously, after I spoke to him, the radiator started working.

Tuesday, October 11 –  Again didn’t sleep too well. Up in time for arrival of Anne , who is having lots of problems with Philip (though he was well enough for them to go to Blakeney on Friday). We showed her all Dot’s Canada pictures on TV, and Dot gave her a couple of small presents. Still feeling very tired. Quite a big shop at Morrisons and filled up with petrol. Took Eleanor to Judy’s for Cake and Compline. Dot told everyone about Canada and the book she’d read – Imagine Heaven. Watched University Challenge earlier and a new comedy called Stuck, by Dylan Moran, which is pretty good. As I was cooking supper the downstairs power went off, and it took some time to persuade it to come on again. Problem is with the cooker, but not sure what, why or where.

 Wednesday was quite chilly but not too bad for walking. Bit of rain around teatime. Interesting day. Gas man came around 8.30 and fixed our radiator – problem was the pin in the switch, as I suspected. He also checked the boiler and turned it down “to save money”. He left just after 9am, and Dot woke up at 9.30am, not knowing he’d been! At first she refused to believe it, but I convinced her.

We went into the city about 11.30am to see Charlotte’s exhibition at St Peter Mancroft, and bought four cards. Then went to Jarrolds to buy a card for Amy, but there was nothing that was any good. Ended up in The Bay seafood bar and shared a plate of salmon – very impressive. Then Dot went on to church to help with the Taize event, and I went home, intending to pick her up at 2.30pm. Sadly I discovered she had the car key with her; so I walked to meet her in The Close. Both of us have done a lot of steps today! Dot went to orchestra in the evening, picked up by Janet. I caught up with e-mails and finished editing pictures. Watched Doc Martin – good stuff.

Thursday – Dry after overnight rain. Bit chilly. Got up early. Darsha, a Sri Lankan woman in need of a place to rest during the day, arrived with Carrie about 9.40 and stayed till about 2.30 – we gave her lunch. We had a chat, then she watched TV while Dot went shopping for her music room project and I caught up again, creating a shared album of edited pix, among other things. In afternoon Bridget came and did some cleaning: I had a chat with Des and Jonathan about inept bush-cutting by council.  Watched Ridley and another episode of Karen Pirie. Both pretty good. 

Friday – Fairly mild, but damp. Darsha with us again, but I managed to get a bath in first. Went to dentist’s with Dot, both had check-up, but I need a filling next month. Tried again to get birthday card for Amy and eventually succeeded. Also a bit of food from M&S and some fruit from the market. Called in at St Peter Mancroft, on the off chance that Charlotte might have been packing up, but she wasn’t there. Instead bumped into Sophie (formerly of The Lathes), whose very athletic children are having trouble with injuries.

Very tired in the afternoon after assisting Dot with wrapping curtains for Darsa and moving a bit of furniture. Went to sleep on the bed, and Dot went out without my noticing. Usual 5.30 drink with Des, Chris, Mark and Ciara, but D&C left early for an engagement at Reepham. Dot went to buy fish and chips at 7. We watched final episodes of Ridley and Karen Pirie. Very impressed with latter.

The Canadian saga comes to an end:

Thursday, October 6 – Went to bed at 8.30pm after both falling asleep during Shetland. An. exhausting day, which started as Wednesday. After a nice meal supplied by Barbara, David and Chrissy drove us to the airport, parking expertly very close to Terminal 3 and taking us in, directing us to the baggage drop and then security , where there was a huge queue. Got through eventually – D&C waved goodbye after about 20 minutes.

We went and sat in the Gate area (39) after buying a banana each. Eventually boarded and thought we might have an empty seat next to us again, but eventually a youngish woman who might have been a Russian spy came and sat in it. She was very quiet except for one trip to the toilet. Rubbish meal and pretty uncomfortable flight, but did get a small bottle of wine. Watched Cry Macho, starring Clint Eastwood, which was pretty good, but I went to sleep halfway through. Not for long, though. Watched second half towards end of flight.

Easy at Gatwick; caught Purple Parking bus (lively driver) and reached car easily. Now 11am Thursday, and sunny. Drove home – long queue on M25 because of failed traffic lights on A12, apparently – and stopped at M11 services. Sandwiches at Starbucks in fairly leisurely fashion. Carried on driving because I felt Ok despite streaming nose, which was very irritating and still hasn’t stopped. Dot took over at War Memorial. Unpacked my case, and we both made some essential payments and did some sorting out.

Friday – overcast with rain in the evening. Woke at 9.15, just in time for Linda coming to do our hair at 10. Had bath afterwards. Harriet came round in afternoon and at 5.30 we went out for the usual drink, despite promised rain, which arrived shortly afterwards. Quite chilly. We retreated to underneath shelter of roof. Mark , Sarah, Ciara, Matthew and John, plus Des and Chris. Quite political. Home for omelette and baked beans before making another attempt to watch last episode of Shetland. This time successful. Earlier FTd Amy because I thought her birthday was the 10th for some reason, and started panicking about presents. She put us right, and we discovered she is coming up to UEA for visit on the 22nd! She may be going there, because she likes the course! 

Saturday – Bit chillier: four layers at football, which Norwich lost 3-2 against Preston, rather unluckily. Gradually catching up with stuff. Phil let me know about his operation, which was successful but painful. Wrote prayers for tomorrow and practised some music. Not particularly good. Watched a couple of episodes of Doc Martin. David FTd – he’d seen most of the match. I recognised his house. Very tired at end of evening.

Sunday – not a good night. Legs still itchy. Woke Dot up in time to get to church, where I did the prayers. Liz had “vision” towards end of Chris in golden robes – not like Liz at all. Strangely Dot and I had just sung in Communion “I will fill this house with glory”, one of my short songs. Meeting of DCC afterwards to discuss building hire rates: managed to miss most of it by saying hello to Ed, who dropped in, then taking Ray and Chris home. After meeting practised music for ceilidh. Phil worried about his hands. After lunch FTd Amy, who is coming up to UEA in a couple of weeks and wants us to look round the campus with her, because her mum is not well. We said we’d pick her up on the Friday if necessary. Watched all available episodes of Doc Martin and caught up with Norwich football on TV. Bed fairly early.

Monday – Still feeling very tired. Rain overnight, but sunny later. Chilly wind. Dot dropped me at church, then drove home and eventually took a taxi up to the hospital because the buses were abysmal and therefore too risky. She had an annual eye test; so couldn’t drive. Session at church was OK, but no Bible study. Had long talk with Carrie afterwards about function of hall – agreed with her that it shouldn’t be run as a business. Walked home (small part of way with Robert), and got there before Dot because bus was very slow. After lunch caught up with football on TV, and then both of us were immersed in catching up with other stuff.

After supper on Friday (chicken wings) we watched The Martian, which was excellent. 

Saturday, October 1 – Very pleasant weather most of the day, despite a chilly start. Drove to Creemore, about an hour north-east, where they were holding a two-day arts festival. Had sugar-heavy breakfast at the bakery (cherry Danish for me), before visiting the old station, where a couple of guys – guitar and bass – were singing Last Thing on my Mind,  then various studio exhibitions. A few of them were excellent (eg Susan Auld, Martha Bull and a friend of Roger’s called Sarah); others were very average.

Visited a few shops too, and I chatted to a number of people. One guy liked Dot’s perfume or maybe just her. We took more sugar-heavy stuff home to eat with a cup of tea, and Dot bought one or two items. David is apparently not too bad, but his team lost to Arsenal, whereas ours beat Blackpool 1-0 away. Roger spent some time on his machine, cutting the lawn. Many messages saying last night’s NIE reunion went really well. Did a bit of reading and fell asleep. Lovely steak for supper – afterwards watched pilot of Lewis: excellent. 

Sunday October 2 was quite cool to start with, but became warmer, especially in the sun. Had big breakfast at about 11am (pancakes, bacon, sausages and fruit) then half an hour later did a three-mile walk in the Albion Hills, genuinely just down the road, off Old Church Road. Nice autumn colours and a few turtles. Later read and slept a bit. David and Chrissy arrived just before 6pm, and we travelled to Orangeville for a meal at Greystones, paid for by David. Dot and I had lovely burger. Merry ride home, and all in bed by about 10.15pm.

Monday October 3 – Sunny with early frost. As I came down into the kitchen to get Dot an early cup of tea (Barbara, David and Chrissy were there) three coyotes walked across the frosty lawn. I was too slow, but Chrissy got a couple of pix, which she sent me. David and Chrissy did work in the small room: we had breakfast. Dot and I went out for a walk, then  David, Dot and I had a talk out on the deck while Barbara was cooking the lunch.
Afterwards, David and Chrissy left, and the four of us went for another shortish walk. Having problems with itchy ankles and shins for some reason. Did a bit of reading after we got back. E-mail from brother Phil saying he was having an operation to repair an umbilical hernia at King’s Lynn on Wednesday. Later watched a couple of episodes of Lewis, then went to bed.

Tuesday October 4 was our last full day; beginning to feel tense. Latish breakfast – scrambled eggs and smoked salmon. Finished reading Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, which was often good. Went for a walk in the Hockley Valley and found a weird caterpillar. Quite good views, but felt very tired , as I did for most of the day. Later had salmon and mashed potatoes, and a discussion about Covid which wasn’t very helpful. Sent some photos of our Orangeville meal to David at his request. Later watched another Lewis episode – one of the best. 

Wednesday October 5 – Bad night, undoubtedly because we’re leaving today and I “discovered” that our seats on the plane weren’t together. However I checked in this morning and found I could change Dot’s seat to next to mine. We did most of our packing before breakfast, and afterwards Dot and I walked right and down to Mount Hope Road, then 100 yards or so up it. Very quiet except for man delivering mail to boxes. Back home via Scott Road. 

Still in Canada:

Sunday 25th – Mainly rain, but went for a walk in the middle of the day when there was a break in the clouds, and did about 4000 steps, down to Mount Hope Road and back. Finished reading The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena, about a couple whose child is taken. Very good. Great meal of roast chicken in the evening, then watched Dune again. Still good. Message from Oliver said he would be climbing Snowdon on Tuesday. Feeling a big sinus-ropey early on, but better towards the end of the day.

Monday 26th – Forecast rain didn’t materialise until afternoon – in Toronto, anyway. Suspect it started much earlier in  Caledon, but we had travelled to the Sherway Mall, which is upscale, unlike the Conestoga one. Roger and I looked round !ndigo, which had a copy of the Amor Towles book, A Gentleman in Moscow, so I bought it for Chrissy. Wandered round a bit on my own, then we all met up for lunch at Joey’s (I think). Very good meal, which we paid for. I had steak with innovative crispy mashed potatoes and asparagus. Plus wine and introductory free champagne because we had to wait for our table. Heavy traffic on way back, and I dozed off for a few minutes. After a short break we watched Page Eight, a thriller starring Bill NIghy. Again, very good. Quick snack – rest of pavlova plus cheese and biscuits – we played cards, unfortunately. Quite late in bed.

Tuesday 27th – Skies very threatening in the morning. We got up late and after breakfast travelled to the Dufferin Museum, about 40 minutes away. Interesting stuff there, including a reproduction of an early Dufferin house, and a section on Cornflower Glass, which is very impressive. Took a few pictures and then home, arriving just after 2pm for lunch of chicken pie and salad. After lunch went for short walk – rained a bit as we returned home.  Watched four episodes of State of Play, which were excellent. Supper of cheese and biscuits after Episode 3. Oliver messaged to say he had climbed Snowdon by Llanberis track – up and down in five hours. .

Wednesday 28th – Overcast and quite cool, but not uncomfortably so. After breakfast we drove to Alton (about 35 minutes) and visited the Mill, where we had been once before. Looked at some exhibitions, and I spoke to a young woman called Sam, who was being advised by Roger on fonts for a forthcoming book she was writing (imaginary letters). We had a chat about visual arts/poetry combination and the possibilities with reference to Inprint. Gave her my website address. Afterwards looked at a couple of waterfalls and then home via a quick stop to buy food at Bolton. Roger had a phone call to say his new car would be ready next week. Cake and tea, then Dot and I went out for a walk, round to the right and back via Scott. Chilliest it’s been, and a mite damp, but not too much. Had supper of salmon, then watched final two episodes of State of Play, which were well done.

Thursday 29th –  Sunny but cold at first. Woke to find Hurricane Ian had smashed through the causeway at Sanibel, leaving the islands without road connection to the mainland. No aerial pictures yet, but we fear Captiva may have been breached again. Soon warmer, and we all went out for a walk; the others did the full eight, and I did a slight variation. Then for lunch we went to an Italian restaurant in Kleinburg called Belsito’s Trattoria. Excellent meal. I had a veal steak recommended by a man at the next table, and it was delicious. Dot and Roger had fish, and Barbara calamari. I had a Laphraoig! Excellent service and nice atmosphere, but parking tricky. Walked up and back through town afterwards. By now very warm. Tired on way home and collapsed on bed when we arrived. Later walked round garden, then watched The Politician’s Wife (all 3 episodes) with a break for nibbles. 

Friday 30th –  Sunny and warm after a sharp start. Dot had a bad night; so we were a bit late up. Drove north to Hockley Valley and walked part of the Bruce Trail and an offshoot of it. Beautiful and quite hilly, though no great views because of trees. Walked over 9000 steps; so over four miles. Have walked in total further this month than any month since last October. Afterwards we drove to Adamo winery, where we had celebrated our golden wedding anniversary, and had a mista board and wine, defying local hornets. Then home via East Caledon, where I bought some wine.

The Day of the Queen’s Funeral, Monday 1, was warm and dry, in both England and Canada. We woke at 5.30am and caught some preliminaries. The service started at 6am (11am BST). Watched pretty much all of it, including processions and services at Westminster and St George’s Chapel, Windsor. Good sermon by Archbishop Justin Welby – lots of emphasis on the Queen’s faith. Slow moving but dignified series of events. Took about five hours altogether. Brief chat with Oliver at one point.

Chrissy had got an early train into Toronto to meet the subject of her book, Mr Manji, and while David went to meet her on her return we did a longish walk. Before that we had an interesting talk with him about former homes and memories of them. Had something to eat when they got back and did quite a bit of reading. They went out for a walk, and Dot did part of it with them to bring her steps up to 6000. Later had meal and discussion about balanced diets. Helped clear up and went to bed just after 10pm – a long day!

Tuesday was mild; very warm as we walked home from the Conestoga Mall, where we had spent much of the morning. Bought a pair of trousers and some Tommy Hilfiger socks. Enjoyed Indigo bookshop and eventually bought tea and a croissant in the Starbucks there. Dot had a snack of apple, peanut butter and trail mix that she was euphoric about. Read in the afternoon, and I finished Frost and Fire – a collection of short stories by Roger Zelazny, bought for me by David. Very good, especially a sequel to Larry Niven’s The Magic Goes Away. In the evening the four of us went to Bauer Kitchen in the middle of Waterloo, where I had steak frites. The steak was delicious. In fact the whole meal was very enjoyable. Dot had a gnocchi dish recommended by Barbara. Waitress was excellent. 

Wednesday was mild on the whole. Read a lot to start with, then went for a walk just as rain threatened. Fortunately it held off: we met Lucy, a Hungarian who knew who we were presumably by recognising my resemblance to David. After we got back it rained quite heavily for a while. David drove us to Farm Boy and we picked up enough for lunch, plus. Came back and had lunch – chicken, sausage rolls etc, then read again. Sent off e-mail to George Kelly about the NIE reunion. David and Chrissy had to take a neighbour, Janet, to hospital. Dot did a walk on her own, and I did one alone later (to avoid leaving houser unattended). Rained again, quite heavily, during supper, and Seth arrived home from Venice about 10pm, transported by his father’s girlfriend (and his father).

Thursday was markedly cooler, with a a little light rain. Up by 8am to go to Farmers’ Market with David: he sat and did some work while we walked round (after having a very light breakfast). Bought a few small presents, and bracelet and earrings for Dot. Then home. Sophie arrived after lunch. Very windy weather and a bit threatening, but we risked it – wearing our raincoats – and did a longer walk than we intended, taking in something Rustic and Old Abbey Road up to the mall. Autumn seems to have arrived right on schedule, overnight. I finished reading The St Zita Society by Ruth Rendell, which was not as good as I hoped it would be. Ted got very jumpy in wind, going in and out. D&C went to the shop, I think. Anyway, they disappeared with Sophie and possibly Seth. After very nice evening meal, Sophie returned to her home. 

Friday was pretty cold, but mainly sunny. Went for longish walk after breakfast, and met Ted on the way back; then did some reading. In the afternoon we watched England lose 1-0 to Italy, playing very badly. David and Chrissy took us to Costco, an amazing warehouse store, and then we all went for a slightly shorter walk after  D&C got coffee from Tim Horton with Timbits (doughnut pieces). In the evening ordered pizzas from Domino – delicious – and watched Licorice Pizza, an offbeat and funny film. Then a bit of baseball, with New York beating Boston 5-4. Put article and poem on website.

Saturday 24th – Transfer day. Dry till evening, but a bit chilly. David and Chrissy drove us to Caledon, stopping en route at the covered bridge, where we took some good pictures. Saw a Mennonite on a bike. The six of us had an excellent brunch, including waffles and deconstructed hash browns, with fruit. After the sad departure of D&C – we had had a great time with them – we went for quite a long figure of eight walk. Felt pretty tired, with a bit of a headache. Light supper and long conversation before bed. 

Tuesday started warm and dry, but concluded at Gatwick with quite heavy rain. We finished packing and after checking in online and FaceTiming briefly with David – plus texted advice from Oliver – I filled up with petrol, and after lunch we left Norwich with Dot driving. Took the A140/A12 route. Went reasonably well: swapped drivers somewhere near Chelmsford and arrived at the hotel at around 4.20pm. Queue to book in, but ok. Had meal at 6.15pm – I had fish and chips and Dot chilli con carne. Sat next to really nice couple from South-West Wales who were going to Corfu really early next day. Returned to room. I was going to spy out the land, but it was too wet. Watched a bit of TV, including Queen’s coffin being flown from Edinburgh to London and being driven to Buckingham Palace. Big plane. 

It was still raining in the morning. Dreadful night – hardly any sleep. Drove to Purple Parking – attempted to follow directions but got completely lost, then happened on it almost by chance. Straightforward after that. Shuttle bus was waiting and dropped us at North Terminal in good time. Bit of search for Air Transat baggage drop, but when we found it, all went very smoothly. Security almost did, but one of my trays failed to scan; so it had to go through again. Almost forgot it. Lost belt loop, temporarily.

Dot bought some perfume, and we had croissants at Starbucks. Then after a wait, down to Gate 50, and eventually priority boarding (Option Plus). Had a spare seat next to us! Free wine and Pringles. Watched Dune. Tireder and tireder as journey went on – all in masks. Some confusion at Toronto when using machines etc but got through easily in the end. Bit of a wait for baggage, then through to be met by Chrissy and David. Sunny and warm, but loads of traffic on the road; so took a bit of time to get to Waterloo. Then had nice buffet and wine, were shown bedroom in basement and went to bed at 21.30 – which would have been 02.30 in England. Unsurprisingly I was totally shagged out.

Thursday was chilly to start with, becoming pleasantly warm. Woke very early of course,  got Dot tea, then after breakfast (fruit, pancakes and maple syrup, then sausages) went for walk with David and Chrissy round Anndale Park and into a neighbouring road (Sugarbush) that reminded me a bit of Palmer Circle, but more compact. After a snack Dot and I did another walk round neighbouring roads and through park again. Lunch was soup, and in evening we had sole, chips and salad. Took it easy during the afternoon. Dot took lots of pictures of inside of house. After supper we saw some pictures of Oliver and Amy’s visit, plus the beginning of Licorice Pizza film. Dot let cat out by mistake but she came back. Oliver FaceTimed very late (for him).

Friday was sunny and quite warm. Very good sleep. Wrote piece for George Kelly, and took picture of us drinking wine (apparently) in driveway to send to Des. Quite cold and wet in Aspland Road, it seems. Later went for walk with D&C on a slightly longer route, followed by lunch, followed by sleep. Then to Antiques Market – fascinating stuff. Bought wine and salad. Jackson came home feeling a bit down. Watched baseball in the evening – Blue Jays 6 Baltimore Orioles 3. Accompanying hot dogs. 

Saturday was warm again. Got up early to visit the Farmers Market. Had a croissant there for breakfast and a jam doughnut that I ate later. David had French toast with maple syrup and bought me a Roger Zelazny book. Dot had muffin. Huge place, indoor and out. Some good stuff. Bumped into M’wanda, who used to work with David and Chrissy. Lovely woman.  Bought some plums.

Later went to beautiful new library and then Farm Boy for food, but not before we’d watched Spurs beat Leicester 6-3, with a hat-trick from Son, who only came on for the last half an hour. After returning home and unloading groceries, walked down to Fromagerie and bought some cheese (surprise!) and one or two other things, including too much gelato. Then had a rest while D & C went to Zehrs for a couple of things. Lovely meal with cheese board to follow! Jackson explained what a mechanical engineer does, as opposed to a metallurgist.

Today saw the first rain of our visit, but most of the day was warm and dry. Sophie arrived before we got up and seemed well recovered from her cold. Happily we got up before Barb and Roger arrived. Had a delicious breakfast with them centring on fruit, pancakes and turkey bacon, with maple syrup. Afterwards we all (except Jackson) went for a walk in the park. I felt very tired, and my stomach was a bit queasy, but it was very pleasant. The rain – quite heavy – came after we returned. Had a long chat with Barb and Roger while David and Chrissy went for another walk. The Murrays left after they returned. We did some reading while D&C had a rest.

Thursday Sep 8 – The Queen is dead. She died at Balmoral in the afternoon. We shall be out of the country for the funeral, which is sad. In local news, the weather has been showery but fairly warm. In the morning Dot was washing and ironing, and I was writing a piece for my website. In the afternoon we picked up our pills and then went to Go Outdoors, where I bought a new raincoat at a ludicrously low price after Dot noticed my old one was a bit ropey. Very pleased.

Bridget came round to clean, and it was not until she left that we heard that the Queen had died. All normal TV stopped after that, of course, and an increasingly tired-looking Huw Williams soldiered on, saying much the same thing, quite professionally, over and over again. We veered off to watch some cycling and an episode of Shetland, during which David FaceTimed us to commiserate.

Friday was cooler, with quite a bit of rain. Sorted out a lot of stuff, partly in preparation for tomorrow. In the morning I took my aunt Thelma out for a drive: we went to Bramerton Woods End, or whatever it’s called nowadays. Rained on and off, but not while I picked her up and dropped her off. She seemed to enjoy it, but not a huge reaction. Drove past both her old homes, but she seemed not to remember them, which is odd. Mostly she has a good memory. Her older house on Shotesham Road seems to have burned down in a field fire – just a shell left.

Drank to the Queen on our usual 5.30 meeting – mainly the four of us and Matt, with Ciara popping in near the end and Mary momentarily earlier. Watched some more bits and pieces on the Queen and new King as he was driven from Northwood to the Palace, where there were hugs and crowds of “ordinary people”. Also watched first episode of new Doc Martin. 

Saturday was warm and mainly sunny. Up early to greet Robin and Colin, who were here to fix the garage fascia, the cistern in the toilet and the shelves in my study, which Robin moved down from Dot’s room. As a result I had to reshuffle just about everything in the study, moving my computer on to the far desk, which entailed resetting the Wi-Fi and moving a couple of other plugs. Looks good, though. Also involved moving the gateleg table upstairs, which was quite a challenge.

In the midst of all this I walked up to church and back to receive visitors (with Stacey) for the heritage church bike ride. Chatted with Stuart and a couple of visitors. Watched a lot of royalty on TV, mainly to do with Charles’ accession but also about the Queen in the 50s. Lots of church services, which must be a good thing. Faith in the spotlight, from Charles too. Also watched Ridley, a police drama, which was pretty good. Very tired at the end of the day. 

Sunday was warm and dry. Up early to watch cricket, then to church for Communion led by Graham. I played guitar. Traditional hymns, of course. Dot led prayers. Leanne popped in afterwards: lovely to see her after several weeks – she’s had a busy summer with her boat and boyfriend, Adam. Got the cases down out of the loft and did a lot of packing. Also spoke to Andrew on the phone. Then had FaceTime with Oliver – it’s his 20th birthday! Our parcel hadn’t arrived because of a postal strike – probably  same goes for the card. In the evening watched more cricket and the last two episodes of State of Happiness, which were very good. Also a concerto performed by Nicola Benedetti – brilliant violinist.

Monday was a strange day. Warm and mainly dry, till evening. Made final preparations for travelling. Finished Canada app and checked other things.  Redistributed some books in my room and out of the bathroom. Didn’t go to church, but probably could have. Answered several e-mails. Put out rubbish. Des came over and we showed him what needed to be done (very little). Watched funeral service at St Giles. Karen Mathieson sang in Gaelic. Later watched another episode of Ridley – not quite as convincing as last time. England won final test against South Africa.

Gradual change in the weather this week. Saturday was sunny and warm. Dot did loads of washing while I caught up with various post-holiday things. After lunch she went to the match: Norwich beat Coventry 3-0. I went to meet her and we popped into Morrisons for baking apples and lentil crisps. Had salmon for  tea. Watched football and State of Happiness. Had a longish FaceTime with David.

Sunday was warm again. Woke unexpectedly late but had bath before church, which I led. Liz Cannon preached – good. She asked for comments – bad. Carrie was off to Scarborough to stand by her granddaughter at trial of man accused of stalking her. This was eventually adjourned for a month to give her more time to prepare – an outcome described as “good”, though I’m not sure why. Debbie gave a sermon instead of praying. Gave Ray and Chris a lift home (Chris not looking too well). Practised for evening session at Lowestoft, where I did “Passing through” and “Feel like I’m Falling Apart”, with Dot on her new violin. Also read three poems. Slightly smaller group than usual.

Monday was mild but humid: threatening rain but never quite arrived. Busy day. Woke late after bad night – bit of a rush to get to church. No Nikki and Leanne. Afterwards drove straight to Taverham for light lunch with Derek and Janet. Very nice. Then home  – very tired because of wine (Dot had been driving) – and cut back some ivy. Put out bins. Then walked up to Eleanor’s for Cake and Compline. No Vicky or Claire, but good evening. Judy gave us a lift home and we watched first stage of the Tour of Britain, which ended at Glenshee. Liz Truss new Prime Minister – hopeful. 

Tuesday was still warm, but some rain overnight and then in evening. I went to the Archant breakfast without Dot, who had a long list of things to do. Spoke to Brian and Tricia, Richard and Bill mainly. Then met Dot at Morrisons, and we visited a couple of shops. Frustrating afternoon: tried to create travel wallet, but final step wouldn’t work (discovered on Thursday that it didn’t work for joint accounts, a fact they might have mentioned); spent ages trying to sort out phone for Canada; then arranged Canada ETA. Annoyingly our return flight has appeared in the wrong place on our diary, though the confirmation receipt is correct. Not sure what to do about it. Had password problem on hotel/parking site. DCC in evening: thinking of giving it up and leaving it to Dot. Watched a couple more episodes of  State of Happiness. Ho ho. 

Wednesday was marginally cooler, but still pleasant. Showers, some heavy, but none lasting long. Had a bad night and was very tired in the morning. Have edited and captioned 125 photos taken at Blakeney. Posted cards while Dot went into city to buy clothes – several of them for me. She was out for several hours, and I caught up with e-mails and associated jobs, such as changing dentist date and booking at the Theatre Royal for next February. Also cleared up the kitchen and bedroom. In the evening Dot went to orchestra and I went to the Cathedral to hear a talk on science and faith. Bridget was supposed to have been coming, but she cried off at the last minute. Talk was excellent, but they then went into small group mode, and I left. Discovered later that the lecture was almost exactly a chapter from a book I read about 15 years ago, including photos and map. A good book, but still…

Today Dot is doing more preparation (washing and ironing), and I’ve arranged to see Thelma tomorrow. Feel I’m a bit more abreast of what’s going on, whatever that is.