Remember the cough? I still have it, and I’m getting pretty fed up, I can tell you. My head is still not clear. Even worse, Dot’s symptoms came back with a vengeance and she was in bed nearly all day yesterday, coughing, sneezing and taking Paracetamol. We are supposed to be going to the theatre tonight, and Dot is as ever optimistic, but I’m not sure how she intends to suppress her spluttering. I’m also a bit nervous about having a coughing fit myself. Oh, joy.

To complicate matters, Dot’s cyst on her thigh has also grown again. She went to see the nurse, and she’s now on antibiotics.

She did cancel her UEA diabetes-research appointment this morning, and we had our hair cut last Thursday, which encouraged us a little. Dot went into the city with Anne on Friday, which may not have been a good idea. Philip’s test results were not the best he could have hoped for, which is a bit worrying.

On Saturday Dot was keen to go and order the other sofa at Better Furniture, which we did – having been reassured by the manager about the colour. After hesitating, we also bought a velvet chair in the same style. Yes, we are squandering our son’s inheritance.

In the afternoon I went to Mundesley for the final short story workshop, after watching the first half of the Norwich-Liverpool match on BT sport. We were winning 2-1, and later managed 3-1, but nevertheless managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory and lost 5-4, following a 95th-minute goal, thus adding to the prevailing gloom aroused by Dot’s returning symptoms. I don’t think I slept more than an hour on Saturday night.

I did get to church, though. This was a bit of a struggle, because everyone who could sing wasn’t there. I can normally sing a bit, but the cough plays havoc with my voice. Despite this, I had to do Dot’s prayers, read the first lesson and lead the chants as well. Nightmare. The vicar did a sermon on the inclusive love of God. Afterwards I waited till he’d gone before telling Ray, Chris and Elizabeth about one of his reasons for doing this. This sounds sneaky, but it’s not a secret; he knew the congregation would be told and he could have told them himself. It would have fitted nicely in his sermon. All very confusing.

The sky is blue this morning. I think I may have to go to the shop and buy some food. Dot is out of bed and dressed but still upstairs. I have sent off the final version of my short story and declined a couple of dates to visit the Coomes, while offering others.

Evening at Bramerton Woods End, after Geoff Saunders’ funeral.

Dot and I continue to make some improvement and have been out and about, purchasing a new sofa and a new bed from Oakfurnitureland. I don’t know what wood they’re made of – oh, wait…yes, I do. The bed will be delivered in a few weeks, but the sofa is handmade and won’t be ready till May. We looked at a leather sofa in another shop but hesitated at the last minute when the colour on the swatch didn’t match the sofa on show.

We completed the purchase today after reconnoitring on Tuesday. Today we also went to see Auntie Jessie on her birthday and had sausage rolls. Afterwards we went to the cemetery and also to the Rosary, leaving daffodils in our wake. After that Dot cleaned the roof of her car and then came in and had her hair cut. Me too, of course.

Yesterday we had a mammoth shop at Morrisons, and on Tuesday we went to Cake and Compline at the Archers’. A very pleasant evening, except that Bridget had a bad cold. The weather has been very cold too: snow in Caddington, but not here. Frost on the windscreen, though.

Monday was quite intense, starting for me with a Paston trustees’ meeting at Mundesley and continuing for both of us with a strange DCC meeting at Howard’s. We went through a huge amount of business – including my finance report – knowing that there was an elephant in the room. I think that’s the phrase. At last the vicar said in his closing points that he was proposing to set up in a civil partnership with a young Ghanaian who needed a visa to get into the country. We agreed to discuss it as a congregation in a couple of weeks’ time. Lots of disquiet.

Church on Sunday had been enjoyable, with a lovely sermon from Eleanor, and I managed to play the hymns without coughing. The cough is still lurking, however.

We did make it to the Julian meeting, and it proved very enjoyable. Anandi was there, and so was Elaine from St Luke’s, plus Vicky, Judy, Debbie and of course the Greens, who were their usual hospitable selves. Unfortunately we didn’t feel well enough to walk; so I had to restrict my wine intake.

Since then Dot has managed to fulfil all her appointments while still being far from fit. I seemed to be getting better but now feel worse again. I had to get up early on Thursday to get to an 8.40 hospital eye appointment, which went all right (I have a small cyst on my retina that is apparently “insignificant”, according to the Russian doctor).

That wasn’t too bad, but I didn’t feel like doing much afterwards. Yesterday we took Anna and Liz to Geoff Saunders’ funeral at Surlingham: weather was sunny but cold, and we came out of the church to find our car jammed in at the back of a huge agglomeration of cars in a farmyard being used as a car park. Had to wait, of course, but then drove to Woods End for the wake (having left Liz to find her own way home) and had a pleasant chat with an 84-year-old Czech lady from Bergh Apton.

Afterwards Anna came back for another cup of tea and a bit of a discussion about the future of the church, and then Dot and I went to the Hendersons’ for a meal. About that time I started to feel quite ill, and eventually I had diarrhoea – after which I felt a bit better.

Today, after a poor night, I have a headache and feel cold, and I still haven’t got rid of my cough. My stomach also feels a bit fragile. I’m getting pretty fed up with feeling ill.

On the plus side a contact through Genes Reunited sent me a picture of Dot’s grandmother Emma with her father Oliver, a few months old, on her lap. Lovely picture.

Disappointingly, I’m still far from well. My cough keeps threatening to clear up, then decides not to. I never feel quite warm enough, and my head is fuzzy. I also have a sore eye, which is a novelty. Fortunately I have an unrelated eye appointment at the hospital on Thursday morning at some unearthly hour; so I shall at least be able to ask about it.

I haven’t been out much, but have been to the shops a couple of times. Dot is now up and about but still coughing quite a bit; however, she seems to be progressing a bit more than I am, though that may be because she’s better at hiding feeling ill. She did go to Park Farm this morning and called at Morrisons afterwards.

I have, however, been to Coventry. I got a call on Saturday from Minster Lodge saying Andrew was in a bad way. I spoke to Andrew, and he didn’t seem too bad, but I thought I ought to go and see him, especially as I hadn’t been able to give him his Christmas presents because of my illness. Happily it was an easy journey in reasonable weather, and I didn’t really have any problems.

I was with him for about an hour and a half, and gave him his presents and had quite long chat. I don’t think there was any real need for me to have gone, but it was a relief to have got the journey over with. I also dropped off Joe and Birgit’s Christmas present on the way!

The journey back wasn’t quite so easy, and it started raining after I’d stopped at Cambridge Services, but there was no real problem, though I was very tired, of course. Having trouble remembering when I didn’t feel tired, in fact.

Obviously I’m able to do things (unlike the first week) and have managed to complete the church financial report, which is a bit of a relief. Tonight we’re supposed to be going to he Greens’ for a Julian meeting, but not sure if we’ll make it. Part of me thinks if I just stay indoors I’ll never get better…

I see I was a bit optimistic there. Still feeling decidedly less than hunky dory, though I am able to move around and have even left the house twice: yesterday to get a puncture fixed on my car and today to go to the shop and buy us some supper, which I later cooked. Roast leg of lamb, since you ask.

I still have a lot of tiredness and congestion, though it’s looser and will no doubt clear up soon. (See how the optimism keeps creeping back.) Dot, however, is full of catarrh and has almost all the symptoms I had, plus a sore throat. Determined not to let people down, she fulfilled her P4C date in north London yesterday, but was in a sad state when she got back. She has been in bed since, apart from brief visits to the living room.

Everything on the horizon has been cancelled, including a performance by our band on Friday and a visit to London on Saturday (to meet Heather and Simon). Happily Geoff Saunders’ funeral is not till Friday week; so we should make that.