The almost edge-of-the-seat excitement about the value of our Archant shares ended today, when we received a latter to say they were now officially worthless. This is the result of a company restructuring – the main reason for which, as far as I can tell, is to save the pension scheme. So that part is good – for the moment, at least. To put it in perspective, the shares were only worth about 50p each, though at one point I could have sold them – and indeed did sell most of them – for £20 each. Ho, hum.

Meanwhile our extensive electrical work continues, though we may be entering the home stretch. Our new lights in the lounge are now installed, and yesterday Gary put in new sockets in the bedroom, including charging points. He is now working on the other bedroom socket and replacing a connecting box in the loft. He still has to do a check on the remaining sockets in the house to ensure their safety. When he eventually leaves, this should be the safest house in the road, electrically speaking.

The plumbing is another matter. Robin will start on our shower room on September 9, but before that he will be fixing the cistern in the bathroom, which is falling apart. I have had to turn off the water that feeds it. The one in the cloakroom downstairs also needs a replacement part because it is not shutting off properly after it’s flushed. These problems arose immediately after an Anglian Water guy fitted a new meter outside, which I’m sure is a coincidence. Fairly sure, anyway.

Last Saturday seems a long time ago, but if I remember rightly we visited the tile shop and Dovetail, where we found some flooring for the bathroom. The tile shop were very helpful, but in the end we decided to let Robin sort it out, because some of the work will be fiddly. The next day we went to the usual St Augustine’s service at St Luke’s, and I did the prayers for Liz Day, who had a bad knee (presumably from kneeling). As it turned out, she did come to church anyway. There was a bit of a bombshell at the end of the service, when priest-in-charge Sarah said she would be leaving in November to take up a similar post at Carleton Colville, where I went to Marjorie’s funeral not so long ago. We will miss her: the future for the church is once again shrouded in uncertainty.

On Monday we drove to North Walsham, did a bit of shopping in Sainsbury’s and put some flowers on the two graves, then continued to Mundesley and walked on the beach. It was warm and sunny, and there were quite a few people around, but not so many as to threaten social distancing. Afterwards we bought an ice cream (sorbet for me – both very good) and drove home via the Rosary, where we put some flowers on my parents’ grave for their anniversary (Aug 27).

The next day I spent mainly writing my Parish Pump articles after consulting with Anne in case she’d made other arrangements. Meanwhile Dot sorted out her tax stuff. We watched a couple of films – A Most Wanted Man and The Importance of Being Ernest. The former was excellent but had a typical John le Carre downbeat ending; the latter was brilliant but had a poor soundtrack, which was annoying.

Wednesday was very wet to start with but had cleared up in time for us to go to Vicky’s for Cake and Compline. It was cooler than of late, but she had a fire pit in her garden; so we weren’t cold. We gave Eleanor a lift, and everyone was there. Spoke to Jared and Amy: it was a really nice evening.

Yesterday was an all-action day, during which I managed to finish my sermon for Sunday (though I suspect I will be adjusting it today) and Dot did the last day of her retreat, which she’s really enjoyed. Gary arrived at 9am, and at 10am Matt came round to have a look at my Brompton bike, which he said was worth several hundred pounds. He spent quite a long time on it, and took it for a ride in the road afterwards. Des continues getting our groceries: when I suggest we could get them ourselves now, he looks quite disappointed. So he continues to help us. I wrote three poems.

As Gary was leaving, Robin arrived; so we showed him the defective loos, and he said he’d fix them before doing the shower room. he also made a decision on the tiles – I’m not sure what it was. Later we watched Life of Pi, which was excellent, and David FaceTimed us. The grandchildren are now in Scarborough, celebrating Julia’s birthday. They, Vicky and Matt are staying in the flat, while Julia and Dave are in a hotel.

The weather here and there has been rather windy, but worse in other parts of the country, with some flooding in places. Dot has been up to the lighting shop to buy bulbs for our lounge lights, which proved pretty expensive but have a two-year guarantee; so that’s all right.

Anticipating considerable expense on our electrical adventures, we were hit by a further large prospective bill when the plumber came on Wednesday to fix what we thought was a small leak in the shower room. Turns out that the whole room may be affected, and it will cost an estimated £2500 to put right. This will start on September 9 and see us exiled to the guest bedroom for a week.

It’s an ill wind, because the lockdown has meant that we have had to forgo our usual holidays, and we therefore have enough in our account to cover all this comfortably. The electrician has almost finished (I think), and has installed wall lights in the lounge, lights on the wall behind our bed, a new hob on the cooker, two lights in the garage and various other smaller things. He also completely restructured the main fuse box, and rewired the lights in the loft, which he considered dangerous. I did have my suspicions and am relieved that he’s done that. Well, all of it, actually.

We are now waiting for our lounge ceiling lights to arrive at John Lewis, not to mention the dishwasher from Hughes. We also have to go and look at some tiles for the shower room, as well as some better flooring. It’s all go.

It’s been quite a busy week – for Dot, anyway. On Monday she drove Anna to Bernard Seaman’s funeral at Hingham (he is Phyllis Seaman’s brother, but she couldn’t go because she’s in a care home, with restricted movement). Dot saw Sylvia Ford, David’s former head teacher at Alpington, who is Bernard and Phyllis’s niece.

The next day we (or mainly Dot) sorted out the garage, and she took two sackfuls of stuff to Age UK. She also bought a clock and a duvet from Sainsbury’s. I trimmed back the ivy a bit, but still feel tired after doing small amounts of physical exercise.

On Wednesday Gary did a great deal of the electrical work, and the plumber (Robin) came at 5.30 to give us the bad news – or some of it: the full import of what needed to be done was delivered by phone later. I got back to work on some of the Paston letters.

Next day it was sunny enough (off and on) for Dot to do some of her art retreat work in the garden, while Gary continued his electrical marathon indoors. We watched a fair amount of television, including Octopussy (James Bond) and the final episodes of Counterpart, which had been lent to us by Paul (on DVD). This is a very clever concept involving duplicates of a city and the people in them – Berlin, actually – both existing at the same time. Sounds a bit corny, but works very well, though you have to concentrate. In the evening we rang David, who had been quiet for a while. He seems OK.

Earlier, as Gary was leaving, my cousin Ann rang from Liverpool, wanting to know when Kathleen had died. I looked it up and told her (2011). She also had Bev, her niece – so my cousin once removed – with her; and I had a chat with her too. She is about to leave for Belfast to stay with her daughter Palmira.

Yesterday Anne and Dot did the Shardlake (Kett’s Rebellion) walk that I did some months ago. It was very windy day, though quite warm, and it was hard for the leader – Paul Dickson, who I know pretty well – to make himself heard. They both enjoyed it, though, ending with coffee in the courtyard at the Maids Head.

In the afternoon Paul brought Holly round for quite a long chat, and at 6pm we had the usual wine in the road session. We forgot initially, and I was a bit reluctant, but it turned out to be very enjoyable, in spite of the wind. Mark and Ciara joined Des, Chris and ourselves. Our new lights in the bedroom are working very well, which may be one reason why we were late getting to sleep.

The hot weather continued at the beginning of last week. Gary the electrician came on Tuesday and rapidly found lots of things wrong, including the main fuse box. He is putting everything right, but I anticipate some considerable expense. He has already put in two new porch lights, a boiler room light, and various earths. He has also mended the fan in the bathroom.

On Tuesday evening, the entire Cake and Compline group came round, carefully spaced, and sat in the garden from 7pm till 9pm. I hadn’t had a very good day, but I was better in the evening, and I managed to lead Compline all right. Very pleasant time, and definitely the second best event of its kind this week.

The best of course was on Thursday, when Vicky, Oliver and Amy drove up from Aylesbury to spend a couple of hours with us. They brought their own food, drink and tablecloth, and Dot arranged the garden carefully. We had a really nice talk, and David and Chrissy dropped in by FaceTime. The weather was still warm, but slightly cooler. Lovely to see them.

The previous day our new cooker hob had arrived. Not quite so exciting, and Gary found several things wrong with the way the cooker was wired and pronounced it too long a job to start till his next visit, which will be some time next week.

Yesterday it was a bit cooler, and Dot and I drove to Hughes, where we bought a dishwasher. It’s out of stock at the moment, but will no doubt arrive eventually. We also called in at Aldiss and then drove to John Lewis, where we bought three expensive lights and ordered two more for the lounge. At some point during this excursion Dot lost her Fitbit, with its its exciting new strap. We retraced our steps to no avail, and Dot tried again this morning, with a similar result. I showed her how to use a Steps app, but she is not happy.

Incidentally, as well as the electrician, my hospital discharge letter arrived on Tuesday, revealing that my problems had been rather more complex than I thought, which may explain why I am taking a long time to recover. Yesterday I felt pretty rubbishy all day, until the evening. Last night I slept well and have been feeling quite good today. This may or may not be because I have decided to go back to the ubiquon that Debbie brought me. Not what I would normally do, but then I remembered the flood, the boat and the rescue helicopter.

Quite a busy week, but Dot has managed to fit in her retreat and has just done some exercises. Today is very grey with quite a bit of rain, but still reasonably warm.

And so it goes on. Three very warm days in succession, though it got cool yesterday evening, when we happened to be sitting outside Fred and Sue’s caravan at West Runton. It had been very warm when we arrived, but by the time we were having something to eat it had clouded over and become quite chilly. I was glad I had taken my jacket, and Dot had brought her grey top.

Had a good time with them, though, and I probably felt as well as I’ve felt since I became ill, and had no trouble driving home. This despite it being an eventful day: our hedge was cut in the morning, and our hair too, though not by the same person or with the same implement. Linda put some highlights in Dot’s hair, and Colin and his son Jordan (studying to be a lawyer) trimmed our hedge very nicely. They also cut down the conifer in the front garden, which was getting too big for its boots.

The garden is looking bigger and lighter, though Dot has spent a lot of time today (when it’s still very warm) clearing up. I made the mistake of giving her a hand and cutting back the ivy at the front: I wan’t doing it for long, but I felt shattered and had to lie down. The lack of energy is extremely frustrating. Ray at church is having the same problem, but in his case I think it’s his heart. He’s about the same age as me.

I know that, because we went to church this morning for Communion led by Liz Cannon, all of us dutifully distanced and wearing masks. It was all a bit ridiculous really – not the service, the precautions. Anna did a nice lectio divina on Jesus walking on the water. Phil Gazley was there, and so was Matt, who had a feature in the EDP this week on his cycling business.

We did a Zoom Cake and Compline last Tuesday but are planning a get-together in the garden this week. Earlier that day Anne came round for a while: she’s worried about hospital tests she’s having. Afterwards Dot went to the Garden Centre and bought some Nyjer seeds for the goldfinches.

On Wednesday Roger and Debbie came and had drinks in the garden with us, which was very pleasant. Not quite so hot, but comfortable enough.

Andrew’s birthday was on Thursday. I sent him some books and a bar of chocolate, plus a card (separately) and half-expected him to get in touch, but he hasn’t. It would be nice to get over and see him, but I don’t know when that will be possible. Also on Thursday our painter Barry brought his wife Carol for a drink in the garden. He also brought us a sausage roll each, but of course I couldn’t eat mine. Too much fat. Dot ate them both (but not both at once). Carol is very nice – first time we’d met her. Barry is going to do some more painting next month.

On Friday it was extremely hot, and we had our usual drink in the street. I got very tired after half an hour or so and had to come in. Earlier I had rung the ward to ask about my discharge letter from Dilham Ward. The Sister was apologetic and promised to post it to me. The next day I got a letter form the hospital, but it was cancelling my appointment for September 18 and then reinstating it – same time, slightly different place. I’m hoping the discharge letter will arrive tomorrow.

Interesting and very close Test Match between England and Pakistan, which we won by about four wickets, thanks to big innings from Woakes. Stokes is out for the next two tests, so there’s a chance Woakes will retain his place.

Here we are in August. I have just posted a birthday card to my brother Andrew and called in at the Rosary afterwards. Still feeling very tired; so I kept to the bottom quarter of the cemetery, but it was very beautiful. Sat for a while, then wandered home. Wish I didn’t feel so tired. They have cut a lot of the top of the tree in the car park of the Norfolk Wildlife Trust, and out kitchen is much brighter. Dot has been working on the garden so that we can have eight people round (including us) for Cake and Compline next week. I think she’s succeeded.

Yesterday was a good day, though I worried that I might be taking on too much. We went to church, which was the St Augustine’s community meeting at St Luke’s, because it’s much bigger. Went pretty well. I did the sermon, and Dot did the prayers. Quite a large number of people there, including Jenny. Phil was leading. Afterwards we hung around outside and chatted for a bit, then went home for lunch.

In the afternoon we drove to Beachamwell, just the other side of Swaffham, which is about 50 minutes away, to have tea and scones with Anne and James Whittet, with whom we had been to Israel. We already knew them quite well, because James is a poet and worked with us on some of the Paston stuff. He comes from Islay and is very quiet. He writes a lot of sonnets. Also there was Sarah Carter, who also came to Israel and lives at Litcham. She is training to become a vicar and will make a very good one, I should think. We all had a really interesting conversation because we shared the same background and interests.

We sat in Anne and James’ garden, which was very rural and beautiful. Next to us was a big lavender bush covered with bees. The weather was just right: warm but not too hot, and enough cloud to avoid our getting sunburn.

The previous day was the Cup Final, in which Arsenal beat Chelsea 2-1 (the wrong result for Spurs). The day before we had a visit from an electrician, who proved to be alarmingly thorough. We told him what we wanted, and he told us what was wrong with our electrical system. I can see a lot of expense looming.

Highlight of the week, however ( you see how I’ve been leading up to this?) was David and Chrissy’s wedding last Wednesday. In normal times we would have been there, but because of the Covid restrictions, they had to have a small ceremony at Waterloo City Hall, followed by a celebration at their house with four of their friends and Chrissy’s children. Even Barbara and Roger, who only live an hour and a half away, were unable to go.

We Zoomed in on the rejoicings and had a drink with them – Cava supplied by Paul Henderson. Dot wore a long dress but no hat, despite my encouragement 🙂 They were clearly very happy, which was great to see, and they sent us some pictures the next day. Oliver and Amy joined in on FaceTime later, but we didn’t see them. We did have quite a long chat with Amy on FaceTime yesterday, and have also spoken at some length with Julia and Dave.