It’s windy, a bit rainy and unsettled now, but last Thursday it was very warm, and I felt fine. Dot drove me up to the hospital, and after taking a couple of wrong turnings (on foot) we located Radiology. There were few people about, and we didn’t have to wait long. The radiologist was very pleasant and seemed surprised I’d been advised to have a fat-free diet – but that was probably nothing to do with the scan. Needless to say there were no results for me, and I was told that as it was urgent, it would probably take a couple of weeks…

Back home I felt well enough to catch up with some stuff on my computer. Wrote an article for my website and inserted a poem I’d written after my hospital stay 12 years ago when I had my prostate removed. Quite a few people responded to the article over the next few days, and sent best wishes.

The next day it rained a bit at first but was still very warm. Dot and I walked separately up to Boots to fetch our new glasses – long awaited. Again, few people around, and all went well. Very tired – didn’t fancy eating in morning, but had some sorbet when I got home. No real pain, but had a very bad night because I had to keep passing water as a result of the injection preceding the scan. Paul rang just before we went. Bought some flatbreads on the way home, then ran into Mary Cozens, who now lives round in the Recorder Road area. Later I took the plunge and rang Green Flag to cancel our breakdown policy on Dot’s car, which we haven’t owned for about six months. Took me about half an hour to get an answer, then about a minute to do the deed. Wonderful! You can’t do it online, of course.

It’s been hard to know what to eat, and I haven’t had much appetite. Have been keeping the fat intake low, but not at zero.

Had a fairly lazy day yesterday after quite a lot of rain overnight. Watched Norwich City play Manchester Utd in the FA Cup (quarter-finals), and they were very unlucky to lose after going down to ten men when Klose got a red card, which looked rather induced by the Manchester Utd player to me. Excellent goal by Todd Cantwell meant we were 1-1 at full time, and only lost at the very end of extra time.

Watched Spectre in the evening, and Dot fell asleep halfway through; so I washed up while she caught up. Earlier I rang my Aunt Thelma’s care home and made sure they had my details.

Another slow day today, but I have the liturgy ready for this evening. Spoke with David on FaceTime in the afternoon, and have been having text exchanges with Oliver about Norwich City.

I am in bed on a very warm Wednesday morning, and I have a pain in my side. This is disappointing, because yesterday was almost perfect: no pain at all, and I felt quite well. I wrote a couple of articles for Parish Pump, did a little editing for Paston, had a bath and watched a couple of films – most of War of the Worlds and all of The Magnificent Seven.

In fact I’d had very little pain for several days; so I’m not sure what’s going on. It’s a rather different pain, though: it doesn’t make me feel ill; it just hurts, and then mainly when I breathe deeply. Sorry – bit obsessed with pain at the moment. I have my CT scan tomorrow. Yesterday Dot went for a walk with Anne in Poringland, and while I was still in bed Carrie called. Had a chat from the window: she and Al are far from well, but she just keeps going.

We’ve cancelled Hello Fresh temporarily, because I’m not eating fat: Dot had an inventive few days eating what we had, and we gave one of the meals to Des when he brought our shopping last Thursday, when it rained quite bit to start with. Later Dot went for a walk down by Carrow Road. Judy phoned and David FaceTimed. We watched The Weaker Sex and an Italian film, Girl with a Pistol, which was quite good despite its plot leaps and coincidences. Took video of blackbird feeding babies.

The next day we got a letter from the hospital giving my scan appointment, which was a week away. Dot picked up some painkillers from the chemist. I had had a fairly unsatisfactory phone call with a doctor from Thorpewood the previous day, but at least he gave me enough painkillers to get to the scan. Watched Norwich lose 0-3 to Southampton – no inspiration there – and didn’t go out for the 6pm street drink. Not sure anyone did. Got my Father’s Day present from David – the latest Bob Dylan album. Have now played it of course, and I have to say it’s pretty impressive.

I was a bit better on Saturday, with the painkillers working pretty well. Over the weekend we watched all four episodes of Murder in the Outback – a documentary about a killing that may never have happened, one of the dodgiest witnesses I’ve ever come across, and a man convicted of the crime – and jailed for 28 years – who probably didn’t do it. All very unsatisfactory.

Sunday was Midsummer’s Day, and Father’s Day; so I played my album. Sarah the vicar rang up, because she had only just discovered I was ill. I managed to lead the St Augustine’s Zoom service: Dot set us up in the kitchen, using her laptop, and she read a piece from Robert Llewelyn about prayer and waiting which she had come upon while praying for me. She did it really well. Afterwards I felt exhausted and went to bed for about 90 minutes.

Since then the weather has been warm. On Monday Dot walked into the city and made an appointment at Boots on Friday for us to have our glassed fitted: lockdown restrictions have been eased somewhat. She also bought some fruit from the market. Amy FaceTimed me and sowed me her redecorated room, which was pretty impressive. She is always impressive of course.

Can’t say I’m enjoying the fat-free diet. Bit of a trial finding something that tastes nice and is good for me. Eating a lot of boiled eggs, tins of clear soup, quite a bit of fruit and some unbuttered bread and biscuits. No fun at all.

Bad few days. Eventually I had to ring 111 about my stomach, then go to the drop-in centre, then a couple of hours later to A &E. Dot couldn’t stay because of the Covid regulations.

I made slow, tortuous progress. They gave me morphine but didn’t ask me if it worked, which it didn’t. So I was in considerable pain with very little happening (Not sure if the y have fully comprehended the concepts of “emergency” and “urgency”) and eventually ended up in Dilham ward for assessment, then on Easton ward about 2am.

I had another Covid test, given me by a nurse (her first time) – and it almost made me sick. No-one told me whether it was positive or not; so I suppose it wasn’t. That makes three identical tests, all negative. I think I am impressing David with the number of tests I’m having.

I saw a couple of doctors, then a surgeon in the morning, but no-one was sure what was wrong. I was probably giving wrong answers to questions, because on reflection my head hasn’t been right and the pain did move about. The surgeon  wanted me to have a CAT scan (or CT scan, as they call it in Nottingham), but there was no slot available; so Dot picked me up mid-afternoon on Sunday and I have been home ever since.

My condition has varied a lot. Watched St Augustine’s on Zoom on Sunday, but was definitely not feeling well enough yesterday to take part in Cake and Compline, and Bridget organised it. Dot said it was good: I feel I have a lot of people praying for me. I feel quite a bit better at the moment.

Sheila Crisp from Poringland rang on Monday to say my last remaining aunt, Thelma, had gone into a care home – frail but mentally OK. Had quite long talk with Sheila after Dot took initial call.) There will be a lot to do there in due course, my being next of kin and all.

Have been eating  no-fat food on doctor’s instructions in case I have gallstones. Spoke to Paul at some length, and to Andrew on Sunday just after arriving home from hospital. Feeling very tired a lot of the time.

This evening however have had a reasonable meal. Halfway through watching The Sailisbury Poisonings. While flopping about have also watched The Take, an excellent thriller and several episodes of Mayans MC, which no-one talks about but is very good, though rather violent. We also saw Sticks and Stones, which was flawed but quite well done.

I am not in a good place at the moment, as they say. It has been raining most of the afternoon, and most of last night I was in a lot of pain with a stomach ache and the usual worries – could it be appendicitis, kidney infection etc? In fact I think it was a combination of things. I had forgotten to take my pills, including Lansoprazole, which blocks stomach acid, and I had some rather sharp grapes before going to bed, as well as some goat’s cheese earlier.

I was awake from 2am with what I think was painful gas, and nothing would shift it. In the end I had a bath, then went back to bed and took Paracetamol. Eventually I dozed off and woke at 10.50 this morning. Been feeling tired all day, of course, and my guts are not right.  Had a very small snack (biscuits and cheese) for lunch, and we’re going to have tinned fish on toast this evening.

I have not had the result of  my COVID test yet. I sent off for it on Saturday, and it arrived after 4pm on Monday – just to late to do the test that day because I couldn’t book a return courier after 4pm. So I had to wait till Tuesday morning to book a return courier, and couldn’t actually register and do the test till after 9pm. All very complicated again, with the additional problem of putting a cardboard box together. Not feeling too good, though Dot told the vicar I was fine, so I must have been.

Partly for that reason we didn’t wake up early enough on Sunday to attend St Luke’s Zoom service, but I led St Aug’s Zoom in the evening, though I forgot to include the agape meal. Liz Day did a good talk.

We have finished Season Three of Cardinal and have watched four out of six episodes of the most reason season. It’s not due to finish till next Wednesday, but we may watch it on iPlayer tonight.

Have been housebound for several days, except for one walk up to the Cathedral. Dot has been getting new soil from the people at No 7 and is doing good things to the garden. The blackbirds are multiplying, which has been fascinating.

A couple of days P came round out of the blue. He was in a bad state because his car had been hit by a visiting vehicle, and I had to calm him down and explain what he needed to do. He is not helped by his Parkinson’s in such situations. He stayed a long time. Bit worried abut him, but spoke to Joy, and I think things are being sorted out.

As well as the COVID test kit, several other things have arrived, including some more cheese, some device for cleaning my ears, and some first class stamps. Ear thing worked reasonably well, but still have a noise in my head all the time.

Yesterday I had a longish chat with B, whose husband has been put under a restraining order because of his unreasonable behaviour. He had told her she was schizophrenic, and i had to reassure her. She isn’t, of course.

Real change in the weather today; although there have been occasional bursts of sun, it has been mainly wet and cold – so much so that I had to turn the heating on again. I have hardly been outside, and it seems unlikely that I shall fulfil my quota of 4000 steps – the first time for over two months.

This is partly because I’ve been feeling quite unwell over the last day and a half, and am on Paracetamol for the first time sine the coronavirus scare started. I feel very tired, my head is stuffed, and I have had a dodgy throat – though that seems to have improved this afternoon. I also have a sore foot, though that must be a side issue – or possibly a foot issue. Dot seems to be fine, thankfully.

Over the last few days we have watched two full seasons of Cardinal, which is set in Algonquin Bay. Very well acted and plotted detective series, though on the minus side it’s extremely gory. We started watching it on iPlayer because a new series has started this week, and we thought we ought to see the earlier seasons. We got about an hour into the first one before realising we’d seen it years ago. I don’t think we’d seen the second one, though.

Our weather is not being reflected in Canada, where the sky is blue and the weather warm. It was like that here last Sunday, and we had lunch outside after St Luke’s Zoom Service for Pentecost, for which Dot and I shared a reading. Afterwards we went up to the Rosary, noting that there were more people around. Then there was St Augustine’s Zoom service , which ran rather late, partly because Howard, who was hosting it and therefore had a pivotal role, was late. He had been laying a patio. Vicky was also late. Afterwards we watched Great Expectations, during which I fell asleep two or three times. Old film, rather badly miscast, except for Mr Pocket.

Dot put some new soil down on Monday. It came from Matt and Angela (No 7), and they have since supplemented it with more. Had lunch outside, and had a lie down afterwards, followed by a walk to the Cathedral. Saw the Dean and said hello.

Tuesday was quite busy. It was still warm, and Anne came round in the morning for coffee in the garden after a walk with Dot up to the Rosary. I walked up on my own later and found some gravestones I’d been looking for which marked a train crash at Thorpe Station in 1882. At tea time we had a FaceTime meeting with Julia and Allen Higbee, during which I suddenly developed hay fever, which is odd because awe were in the living room at the time. It may be that that led to my feeling ill yesterday and today, but it had subsided by the evening, when I led a Cake and Compline session. Our tech expert David A completely lost track in the middle, and I had to take over as host, which was the first time I’d done it.

Hello Fresh arrived on Wednesday, and we began to catch sight of baby blackbirds being fed. Dot and I walked around the new development at St Anne’s Wharf, which is very nice if you have a flat looking on to the river, and I developed a pain in my right foot for no apparent reason. Not quite gone, but much better. David FaceTimed us in the evening: actually he FaceTimes us a lot, but I don’t always mention it. Really nice to be in contact with what’s going on in Canada.

Yesterday Dot did quite a lot of work in the garden, clearing out a new area under the hedge, and I had a very long phone conversation with Matt, followed by a short walk during a sunny break. Wasn’t feeling very energetic and went to bed early.

Felt pretty rotten first thing this morning, but took Paracetamol and had a bath, after which things improved. Caught up with e-mails. Dot did a lot of DSSO work, partly on computer and partly on the phone, and we spoke to David and Chrissy on FaceTime. More baby blackbird incidents. Evening wine in the street session cancelled because of the weather. Apparently Peter Stibbons is not well and has been in bed today.