It’s getting a little milder, but not sure if it will last. Mainly dry, I’m happy to say, except Wednesday, when the air was full of water, though nothing much “fell”. Unpleasant and cold. I went to the supermarket.

The day before, I met Dot at the Cathedral (she had been for an early lunch with Carrie at the Sahara) and we took some time looking round the David Holgate exhibition in  the Hostry, which was superb. He was a jazz bassist, sculptor and letter-carver who died in 2014. I came across him briefly when I was involved with the 20 Group project Voices and Visions, and I have a passing acquaintance with his apprentice Philippa Fawcett, who is a similarly excellent letter-carver.

David carved the two beautiful statues by the west door of the Cathedral – one of St Benedict and one of Mother Julian, and he has a great deal more work within the Cathedral. I intend to do the tour of them very soon. The exhibition was really stimulating – there was an excellent video – and happened to be invigilated by another acquaintance – Susan Curran, of Larks Press.

In the evening we went to cake and compline at Claire’s. I was given a lift with Judy while Dot made her own way there because she had a meeting at Little Plumstead school. We spent some time discussing St Augustine’s Way and were joined (coincidentally) by Anna, which was nice.

On Thursday the weather improved slightly, but it was still very cold, with the odd flake of snow. I took Phil up to the hospital for a conference with his consultant, who could only offer to revisit his spinal operation to try to put right the tear. This however is a more dangerous operation than the previous one, with some unpleasant risks, such as meningitis. Phil decided to go for it, as the alternative was continuing severe pain. It will take place on February 17.

In the evening we went to the Theatre Royal for a ballet – Coppelia – by the Russian State Ballet of Siberia. As it was still very cold we took a taxi, but walked home. I am not a big ballet fan, but Dot is, and I am glad to say that I quite enjoyed it, mainly because the dancers and costumes were excellent. Admittedly the whole story, such as it was, was sown up before the interval and the second “half” was just a series of dancers showing off their expertise, but still…

Yesterday the weather took a decided turn for the better. It was quite sunny and warmer; so I got a lift from Dot on her way to yet another meeting at Little Plumstead, and walked up from near the River Green at Thorpe across Pilling Park, Lion Wood and the Rosary. This takes in three quite steep climbs, and by the time I got home I was pretty tired, though it was only a couple of miles in length.

Today the weather is quite nice again, and Dot will be off to Carrow Road shortly. In the evening the Hendersons are coming round for a meal.

Winter still lingers on, which is not surprising as we’re still in the middle of January. Today it was around 3-5C all day, despite the fact that it was sunny most of the time. It was a pretty active day for us. We started by visiting Rosie and exchanging Christmas presents – a little late, but the first opportunity since Dot was ill. Meadow Farm was looking good; fortunately the eight dogs were out of sight. Rosie herself was pretty well apart from her back: she’s had medication for her heart that has worked well.

After leaving Rosie we had lunch at the Gunton Arms – toasted sandwiches and tea. A great setting in a deer park, and a relaxed atmosphere. We then tried to raise Sheila, first by phone and then by calling at her place, but she was either out or asleep. Dot put her present through the door and we moved on to Happisburgh, most of which is still there. We had a short walk and used the facilities before proceeding by a somewhat circuitous route (via Hickling) to Catfield, where Dot had to attend feedback on a SIAMS inspection.

I left her to it and drove to How Hill, where I walked down to the River Ant in the dusk. No-one else was there, and it was breathtakingly peaceful. I took a few pictures and got back to Catfield in time to read quite a bit of my book before Dot emerged. The school received a “good”. It also has a head teacher called Mrs Nutbeam, which ought to make it outstanding, especially as it’s part of the Swallowtail Federation.

Yesterday we had a baptism service at church for a little Polish girl called Kaja, whose family lives in The Lathes. I did the prayers. Afterwards we had a special session over a bring-and-share lunch to discuss our setting up St Augustine’s Way, which went pretty well, possibly because LD wasn’t there. Afterwards Dot and I watched Star Trek: Into Darkness on Netflix: David gave us a Netflix Gift card for Christmas.

Progressing backwards, Dot went to Carrow Road on Saturday to see Norwich City beat Wolves 3-1, which was a pleasant surprise. JC had decided not to bother, which he may now regret.

On Friday night I drove to Pinky’s at Halesworth, taking particular care as the temperature was as low as 0C at times on the road. There were slightly fewer poets than usual, and I read three poems, all of which I’ve written this year: After Midnight, Smile at me Again and The Worst That Can Happen. They seemed to go down well. Someone else read Leonard Cohen’s stunning song, Alexandra Leaving, and the poem he based it on – The God Abandons Antony by C P Cavafy.

The windscreen company called me early on Saturday to say they’d rearranged my appointment for Sunday. Apparently there was a system problem, whatever that is. There’s probably a crack in it. I called back to say Sunday was no good and rearranged it for Monday. In the event a nice man came and did the job on Monday, so that was all right.

On Sunday there was a joint service at St Luke’s because the Archdeacon was paying us a visit. Dot stayed at home, but I played guitar. The Archdeacon, whose name is Karen, preached well, I thought, and there were refreshments afterwards, which is when it all fell apart. Apparently people on the DCC and doing things like preaching and leading were supposed to stay behind for a chat, but this was mis-announced by the vicar as a question-and-answer session, which I wasn’t really interested in. Everyone else from St Augustine’s felt similarly and we all left, apart from Carrie, who was of course embarrassed by the “lack of interest”, as was the Archdeacon. Ho, hum.

At the DCC the following night Carrie was absent for personal reasons, Phil was absent as usual, and Eleanor said she would be resigning in April because she didn’t have time – which is fair enough as she is the main chaplain at the hospital. If Howard stays off the DCC I doubt if we’ll be able to get a meaningful one together for next year.

After church on Sunday Dot and I went to see Jessie and ate some mince pies. We also took some presents for her birthday, which is on Saturday.

Yesterday Dot and I decided we’d go to the Castle Museum to see the Olive Edis photography exhibition before it was taken down. I had already seen it but was glad of the opportunity to see it again. Afterwards we went over to John Lewis, and I got downhearted by the chaotic road works and refused to buy anything from John Lewis, because their CEO was in favour of the Transport for Norwich changes. This disappointed Dot, who wanted some lamps. We did have a cup of tea and a cake between us, but that was because we had a voucher.

We got home in time to have our hair cut by Linda, who broke with tradition by keeping to the appointment we had originally made. It is very cold today, but my blood tests turned out OK, except that my cholesterol is up a bit.

Dot is still not fully recovered, but on Tuesday she decided she was well enough to go to the funeral of Barbara O’Brien  at Earlham Crematorium. It was cold but sunny, and at the crematorium we joined up with Peter, Denise and Keith Wright, plus Bernard and Mary Pitt and Madeleine Jary and Christine ?, who knew me but who I struggled to remember.

Bart wrote an excellent appreciation of his mum, read by the vicar, who led a short but very good service. It’s not till you come to sing Abide with Me in such a context that you realise how good the words are.

Afterwards we intended to go home, but Dot felt well enough to proceed to the Fat Cat in West End Street for the wake – especially as our friends were also going. We parked in the community health car park as the building appeared to be shut. The Fat Cat is ein gemuetliches Haus, and we enjoyed talking and eating what turned out to be a sumptuous feast, including an unexpected but delicious fried egg sandwich. We stayed till the end.

In the evening we were picked up at home by Judy and taken to the Greens’ Julian evening, where more delicious food was served – only bites, but lovely all the same. A good conversation too, about Mary and her significance for Julian and for Christians generally.

The next day was very medical. I had a blood test late in the morning, and this was followed closely (after a brief lunch) by taking Phil up to the hospital for a pre-op session. After this I took him home and then took Dot back to the same hospital for her biannual check on her colon. While she was in there I delivered some post to Ollie Bliss, the St Augustine’s treasurer, and then had a short walk in the woods off Colney Lane before Dot rang to say she was ready – surprisingly early. As a result we were able to go and pick up my medication from the chemist and then go to Morrisons for food and petrol.

Maryta and Paul called round late the next day for coffee (after a phone call), and after they went we had supper and watched a film called The Pledge, which the Coomes had given us for Christmas. Very good film – from a story by Friedrich Durrenmatt – but not exactly uplifting.

Today we woke to find the predicted snow. Just after I got out of the bath I got a call from the hospital to say I could pick up Phil, who had had his operation (more of an injection, really). Despite the bad road conditions in the snow and slush I got there on time (11.10) but was asked to wait for half an hour because the surgeon wanted to talk to me. Bit worrying, but in fact it turned out he wanted to talk to Phil.

Phil seemed Ok when he emerged, but he immediately noticed a crack in my windscreen, which was a bit mysterious, because I hadn’t noticed it before or heard anything. After I delivered him home and had lunch I rang the windscreen company, and they should be fixing it tomorrow. Just before evening, Roger came round on his way to meet Debbie at the Nelson and left us free tickets to a V&A exhibition.

Here we are, past Epiphany, and Dot still hasn’t recovered. This morning I persuaded her to go to the doctor’s. She managed to get an appointment with a nurse, who said she had a particular virus that was prevalent this winter and which was extremely persistent. Hopefully she will soon expel it from her system. She is better, but still has some quite alarming coughing fits. She is having blood tests.

This is not to say she has been confined to bed, or even to the house, though she hasn’t been out very much. Last Wednesday she fulfilled an appointment at a school (North Elmham) and survived, but it took a lot out of her.

The next day I drove to Coventry to visit Andrew and take him his Christmas presents. It was quite a pleasant day, and the drive was fairly straightforward, with the new A14/M6 junction cutting a few more minutes off the time. Andrew seemed down but improved as I spoke to him, and eventually we went out for a short drive and even shorter walk in Memorial Park, starting from Coat of Arms Bridge Road.

However I learned from the staff that he had been quite bad recently, doing a lot of screaming and swearing, and being verbally aggressive. Strangely they seemed to take this in their stride and seemed quite positive towards him. He is on antibiotics (possible UTI) and is having his medication adjusted, which can’t help. He didn’t seem as well physically, either, being short of breath and easily tired.

On the same day Phil was seeing a consultant about his back problem, which it seems may have been exacerbated by the operation. They are now having a meeting of all the doctors involved (spinal and Parkinsons) to try to sort out what the real problem is, and what they can do about it. This should happen within a fortnight. Phil is in a lot of pain and has been put on morphine.

Meanwhile, I have three friends being treated for breast cancer, another with a degenerative disease and yet another in a wheelchair with continuing back and leg problems that could prove fatal. At the other extreme I myself saw a doctor on Saturday because of my continuing problems with a spot above my upper lip, which had become torn and was full of blood. Oddly it vanished overnight on Thursday, but I went to the doctor anyway and am having an array of blood tests later this week.

Later on Saturday wise were visited by Fred and four members of his family: his son John and grandson Tom; his son-in-law Mark and his son Freddie. I think that’s right. Mark’s wife Katie has had a very hard time over Christmas, with meningitis and other infections, but seems to be recovering OK. The Fredmobile was parked in our drive while they went to watch Norwich City draw 2-2 with Southampton in the Cup, thanks to a last-minute header. They called in for tea and cakes afterwards, which was nice, then drove back to Banbury.

Yesterday more faces from the past: Nicholas and Heather Vesey called into church after the service with their children, Sam and Jessica. Dot wasn’t there because of her cough and tiredness, and Nicholas said he was sorry to have missed her. I had quite a long talk with  Heather. Howard took the service, and because Eleanor had forgotten she was preaching, he did a meditation on Little Gidding, which I enjoyed very much.

This morning I went to Rob’s for a Paston Footprints meeting, which I found it hard to work up much enthusiasm for, partly because I was tired and arrived late following a long phone call with Carrie about the (unsatisfactory) work being done on the church hall. Still, Naomi is taking over as project manager, so things may be looking up.

Have struggled into the New Year. Dot has been ill ever since the Friday before Christmas, sometimes in bed all say, sometimes emerging for a while, and eventually being around most of the time, but coughing, spluttering and running out of energy. It seems she has the type of heavy cold shared by the Queen, among others, and it has severe symptoms and just hangs on in there. It’s viral, of course, so there’s nothing to be done. After all, this is only the 21st century.

I have done a huge amount of cooking and washing up, among other things. I now know everything there is to know about turkey crowns, ribs of beef and roast potatoes in goose fat. Dot got out of bed last Wednesday to accompany me to the supermarket, where we got £178 worth of food to tide us over into the new year. I don’t think Dot should have gone, but she had plans and was reluctant to see them go by the board.

David, Oliver and Amy arrived on the Thursday (29th), and we had pizzas in the evening, as well as opening most of our presents. The following day we had our real Christmas meal, which I cooked, as Dot was not feeling up to it, apart from the gravy. It wasn’t bad, actually.  David went out and bought a new router, my BT hub decided to give up the ghost. He also fitted additional memory into my computer, and all is going really well at the moment.

On New Year’s Eve, Dot cooked the meat, but I did everything else except the soup, which Dot had invented and was delicious.. The Robinsons came round and we had a proper New Year’s Eve experience, with my traditional quiz, Amy’s impenetrable picture quiz and a rather nice meal. We ended the year by playing Twenty Questions and (sadly) watching Robbie Williams on TV while Dot and Philip discussed the tribulations of Norwich City.

Earlier in the day Kevin, Lisa and Matthew came round for a drink or two, and we talked about the past, and the present. He is currently involved in buying a hotel in Southport, but I can’t talk about that. Nice to see them.

On Sunday I managed to rouse myself to lead the service at church. I even found one pathetic little candle (all the others were missing), and managed not to lose control when Adrian turned up and expressed himself. We had Anna, Adrian and Carrie as our worship group, and three in the congregation (Mary, Judy and Julienne).

The rest of the day was quite quiet (the weather was extremely unpleasant – damp and cold). I seem to remember that we played Dixit. At some point I managed to provoke the spot above my mouth to start bleeding and broke my glasses, but that may have been some other day.

Yesterday was one of those days that are spent in anticipation of something happening in the evening – in this case the family was returning home. Oliver had contracted Dot’s cold, so he stopped playing table tennis (I shall probably never beat him again), and was clearly not feeling well. In the afternoon we watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which on reflection was probably not suitable for Amy, though Oliver enjoyed the silly humour.

After a light tea (we had had a proper cooked lunch), the family gathered itself together and left at 6.45pm, reaching home safely. Dot and I mooched around a bit and watched Sherlock on TV, as well as having a lengthy telephone conversation with Dave Evetts, who appears to have booked us into Blakeney for a week in July. I still haven’t managed to visit Andrew.

Today I woke just in time to make a late appearance at the Archant coffee morning, largely because I wanted to get my glasses fixed at Boots. They transferred the lenses into new frames for free! I have also booked my spot in to see the doctor on Saturday at an unearthly hour, though I did consult the pharmacist at Boots, who said seeing the doctor was probably a good idea. He also said I should not have let it bleed, which suggested he would have been good with stable doors and horses as an alternative profession.