Dot has just driven off to visit Anne, and we are into the 54th year of our marriage. Yesterday (of course) was our 53rd wedding anniversary, as well as Norfolk Day, and we celebrated it by having lunch in the Maids Head, reputed to be the oldest hotel in the country. The meal was excellent, as was the Provence rose. It was quite warm, and we dodged the rain – including a torrential shower while we were eating. On the way home we met Eleanor by chance outside the Cathedral, then went inside and thanked God for our 53 years. We would have seen Dippy the Dinosaur, but he closed early: a put-upon curate was turning people away.

Later we collapsed on the sofa and watched quite a lot of Olympics and some Mayan MC, in which an awful lot of people are getting shot. The Olympics are more interesting than we expected. The surgery has now put off Dot’s telephone consultation till Aug 8!! Unbelievable. I have threatened to send them an e-mail saying she has passed away, but the repercussions might be unacceptable. Dot is threatening to move surgeries.

We had messages of congratulation from David and Angela, and after I had put Dot’s picture on Facebook, more than 50 other people.

Returning to a more orderly turn of events, last Friday was definitely a bit cooler, but we met outside at 5.30 for the usual street chat – there was a good showing. In the evening we watched the last episode of Fargo – bit mysterious. Keep feeling we missed something. Also Death in Paradise. Very low steps today.

Saturday was reasonably warm but overcast. Caren and Phil came for lunch. We started with drinks in the garden and lots of good conversation. After eating we walked up to the Rosary, then into  Lion Wood and round by Cintra Road. Tired. Dot and I slept for a while after they left.

Sunday was mainly overcast with occasional sun, but none of the forecast rain. Heavy on clergy at church, with the Rev Graham leading and the Rev Simon preaching (very well). Had long chat with him afterwards and encouraged Graham, who did very well at adapting to our idiosyncrasies.  Greens away, also Cannons and Phil. Took glass frame to Matt’s house afterwards in Christchurch Road. Watched the film Yesterday again (good, but better first time: great ending) and an episode of Beck. Lay down for a while, then got the big ladder out and cut ivy back on back wall. Watched some Olympics and walked with Dot up to the sorting office to post a birthday card for Christine Fiske. Went to sleep while watching Baptiste. 

Monday started with a dark sky but was quite warm. Caught up with emails and wrote website piece and poem – the latter while sitting in Morrisons car park as Dot was shopping. Earlier I had updated the car sat nav at a cost of over £100 – but at least it has the right roads on it. Can’t turn radio off, though, without losing directions. Drove up towards Plumstead to check. Also checked car tyres after the tyre alarm went off the other day. Down a bit, but not much. Prepared old novels to take to Adrian for his fete. The gas man came and serviced our boiler, and we watched Olympics again. Gold in swimming, diving and mountain bike race. Yippee. The mountain bike gold was particularly impressive.

The warm weather continues, but we’re getting thunderstorm warnings, which is a bit worrying in view of the horrific flooding in Germany. Nothing much going on today, by which I mean that I’m catching up at the computer. (finishing Parish Pump, etc). Dot is preparing for the visit of the Gazleys tomorrow.

Sunday afternoon was very hot, and after church we were pretty inert. Had quite a long FaceTime with David, during which Chrissy told us all about her new book. We watched a couple of episodes of The Killing 3, plus the end of the Tour de France and the British grand prix, where Hamilton won controversially, though we felt his move was ok. 

Monday was hot again. Mary and Neville Thrower came for  lunch – avocado, then salmon. We had a drink in garden first, tea upstairs afterwards. Graham wrote asking me how he should do Communion; gave him some hints after ringing Jude, but mainly passed the buck. Not sure we can get into the safe for the Communion vessels, but I have a cunning plan if not.  Anyway, Carrie is apparently better (not sure she ever had Covid). Watched several more episodes of The Killing 3, and our blackbird came indoors.

It was still hot on Tuesday, but slightly more bearable. Dot was not feeling too good with labyrinthitis; so I drove her to Worstead School, where she was attending a farewell celebration for the cook after 50 years! While that was happening I repeated my walk and added a bit on: felt pretty tired in the heat near the end, but most of it was fine. On the way back to Norwich we took a slight detour in Horstead to see where Lucy is now living. Watched the last two episodes of The Killing 3, which were very good. Had a sneaking feeling we might have seen it before. What a terrible memory I have. Afterwards I went to Morrisons to buy some Kwells for Dot – searched the main store without luck, then discovered the pharmacy was open. Watched an episode of Beck after I cooked kippers, then went to bed early: I had had a bad might the previous night, but much better this time.

On Wednesday the Hello Fresh delivery man made me get out of bed. Had a quick bath then drove Dot up to the surgery for her “diabetic” eye test. Apparently all good. I went for a walk while she was being seen, without straying far from the surgery. Had HF meal for lunch, and I left at 4pm for Snape and a private view of the Lettering Arts Trust/Suffolk Poetry Society exhibition. Arrived at Snape early enough to go to the loo (they locked them as I emerged) then went for a short walk. Idyllic setting. Found cottage where we’ll be staying in October.

The exhibition was quite small. Poets present that I knew: Lynne Nesbit, Beth Soule, that Dutch bloke, Kaaren Whitney, Sue M… No readings, but then I didn’t think there would be. Drove home after an hour. Diversion near Halesworth. Arrived home about 8.15pm. Another very warm day. Dot feeling a bit better. Watched another Beck.

Yesterday was warm and dry again, and Dot was still feeling a bit better. She had asked online for a consultation with the doctor, but no call came. No surprise there. Eventually she got an e-mail telling her to respond if she’d not heard; so she responded this morning, and she still hasn’t heard. Wrote most of my stuff for Parish Pump, and Dot discovered after some angst that she didn’t owe the Inland Revenue anything: in fact they owe her about £400. We went to Morrisons and bought food and petrol, dropping papers into Des first. Bridget came and cleaned; Dot and I watched webinar by Nick Stone on photographs and John Crome. Quite good but not brilliant. Later we watched Endeavour and the penultimate episode of Fargo (fourth series).

Well into my 77th year and starting to feel it – or maybe I’m just not getting enough sleep. Yesterday my chest felt tight, and I was extremely tired. Still, it is very hot. Carrie claims to have Covid, but her symptoms sound like hay fever to me. Anyway she’s self-isolating, and so I had to preach instead of her today. I was also leading the service and organising the hymns; so it was all a bit much – for the congregation, anyway. Still, it went all right. Only 13 of us: Howard and Anna are in London, and Phil’s mum has just died. Afterwards a couple of people from The Lathes joined us for coffee and biscuits, and Dot and I had quite a long chat with Sophie, a kind woman who is having a really tough time through no real fault of her own.

Very hot now – and in Coventry too, as I discovered when Andrew FaceTimed. He’s not entirely reliable, of course. He said he wanted a new record player for his birthday, but then changed it to a new record. I may have to make further inquiries. Last Wednesday, however, was cool and breezy at first, becoming warmer. Dot had a DSSO zoom meeting in the morning: I walked into the city with Oliver and Amy. Oliver tried to buy me something from Vodafone on David’s behalf, but was unsuccessful. Apparently they only sell it online.

Amy bought chocolates for the Evetts (and us), then Oliver bought books from Waterstones. Dot made a lovely lunch, then there was much discussion about where to go. Eventually we decided on Ranworth and had a lovely walk and ice cream / sorbet. Home just after 5pm: Colin came round to discuss garden projects and showed us his Jaguar – extremely impressive. Had pizzas for supper, then played pic quiz, then Cluedo, then the most amazing game of Dixit in the history of the world. Amy was amazingly inventive, and we all collapsed laughing.

Thursday was cool and breezy, unlike the rest of the  country. Had brunch with O and A at 11am, and they’d gone by 12.  I collected a book from the parcel office – it was a birthday present from Joy McCall with insufficient postage. Started on my sermon but had trouble copying from iPad to Desktop. Dot went to a sudden Ofsted feedback at Hainford, and Eleanor delivered some cakes for Compline. The latter was switched from the Archers’ garden to our living room at the last minute because the Archers felt it would be too chilly. All present except Eleanor. Good session! Watched Tour de France afterwards. 

Friday was warm and sunny, with a slight breeze. Bridget came to do the cleaning, and we left her to it so that we could drive to Houghton Hall for my late birthday present: Tony Cragg sculptures in the grounds. Went a bit astray getting there, but arrived just after 11am. Had a drink then walked round the grounds and looked at the sculptures, which were brilliant – also took in some of the permanent sculptures, including Sky Space, which we loved last time. A few sculptures were inside the hall – just a couple of rooms. Went back for lunch at the café – I had pea and mint soup, with sourdough bread, which was surprisingly good. When we finished the sculptures we looked round the walled garden and saw the flaming fountain, then returned for a final cup of tea before driving home. Brilliant day, crowning a lovely birthday week. Had our usual drink in the sun with the neighbours when we got back. then I cooked a Hello Fresh meal, and we watched Endeavour and Death in Paradise. Very tired. Chose hymns for Sunday.

Yesterday was another warm day – quite hot, in fact. Spent most of the morning writing sermon. In afternoon went to Morrisons to buy food, some of it gluten-free for Monday. My CNS article was in the EDP. Caught up with one or two other things, but was feeling extremely tired. Watched the new Formula 1 Sprint gimmick, then a couple of episodes of The Killing 3. Also the Tour de France. Received an email from Lucy saying she’d moved to Horstead. He house is called Mole End, which is almost guessable.

Oliver and Amy are with us. But before that… Last Wednesday was dry and fairly warm, though windy. I spent the morning catching up with e-mails, rejigging the rota and putting it in the calendar and on the NCMC site. Helped Dot prepare for Des and Chris, who came round at 6pm for a meal, beautifully prepared by my wife. We watched England beat Denmark 2-1 AET in the Euros semi-final (og and Kane), which turned out to be the high point. Federer was knocked out of Wimbledon in straight sets.

Thursday was warm but breezy at first; rain later. Julia and Allan came over for lunch. Sat in the garden to start with, then transferred indoors. Bridget arrived to do cleaning about three minutes after they left. Later Sean left his car in our drive because the road was packed, but we didn’t know that till the next morning, when Chris was hit by a car coming out of a garage at the bottom of road. These two events are unconnected. Had a good time with the Higbees.

Friday started warm, but very heavy showers in the afternoon as we drove to Dereham to see Phil and Joy’s new bungalow at Eckling Grange. Heavy traffic meant it took ages to get out of Norwich, and we were half an hour late. No 19 was very nice, spacious and well furnished. Now all they have to do is get rid of stuff from 36 Anchor Street and sell the house. Earlier, Paul came round: he seemed a bit better than a last time, but very uncertain as to what to do about M. Earlier still Dot went to have her feet done in the city, then walked to Anna’s for a violin lesson. I picked her up, but again heavy traffic caused by a lane closure on the flyover that looked totally unnecessary.  Meanwhile I walked up to St Stephens post office in attempt to sort out renewal of my driving licence, which DVLA have totally cocked up. But this was fruitless too. 

Saturday was fairly warm, but with drops of rain in the air. Did a lot of catching up on the computer in the morning, and as a result did a very low number of steps. Kim B came round for cup of tea at 3pm, and we had a long and fascinating conversation, telling her most of our life story. She didn’t go till after 6pm. David rang later and we had another long conversation. Watched first episode of Time, which was well acted but pretty grim. Then a bit of cricket. Bed late.

Sunday was again quite warm, but with rain in the evening.  Led service in the morning with new assistant priest (Graham) in congregation. Howard was late for first choral song because he was fetching Phyllis. Afterwards we had a discussion about future Covid restrictions – Graham very nervous because he has only been vaccinated once. Judy also wanted to continue wearing masks, and Debbie was so convoluted no-one knew what she wanted.

Lot of preparation in afternoon for Oliver and Amy coming tomorrow. I cut a lot of ivy down,  and Dot prepared beds. Djokovic won Wimbledon again and England predictably lost on penalties to Italy In Euro final because after scoring early on they didn’t press. They then brought on two penalty specialists two minutes from the end, and both of them missed. Bad management. Texting David, Oliver and Amy throughout. Elements of crowd pretty unpleasant.

Some rain on Monday, but nowhere near as much as forecast. Warm again. My 76th birthday. Sorted out stuff preparatory to visit of Oliver and Amy, then went to Morrisons, filled up with petrol and stocked up with food. Put bins out, and O & A arrived about midday. We walked up to the Ivy for lunch, a birthday present from Dot! Had duck liver pate and fish cake, plus two glasses of wine. Then to Lakeland and bought a very expensive frying pan; home via Book Hive, where Oliver bought book for Amy. David FTd, and we had conversation, but I felt quite ill and went and lay on bed for over an hour. Dehydration maybe. After tea went outside despite drops of rain and had a drink – whisky in my case.  Others played table tennis,  and then we played YouTube songs to each other. (Dot bought me  some books and a clock for the study. O & A bought me an Owl.) Oliver has sorted out Word and a couple of other things on my iPad.

Today was grey at first, but when we got to Winterton the sky brightened, and it was warm with some blue sky. Walked towards Hemsby and then had a picnic. Beach cafe has vanished, but toilets have vastly improved. Then walked the other way. Oliver drove us. Called in at Hemsby on the way home. In the evening Dot went to a meeting at the Coach and Horses on safeguarding with Howard, Graham and Fran from St Luke’s. Oliver and I went too at a separate table, but Amy stayed at home. Lost to Oliver at table tennis, then cooked supper and cleared away. Pretty tired.

Weather has been unreliable the last few days. On Thursday last week it was cooler, with dampness in the air.  Dot and I went for a walk in Harrison’s Wood, which was more interesting than I thought it would be, before picking up her pills from the chemist. Later Bridget came and brought us fish cakes, as well as cleaning the oven. We watched tennis and cycling, and the last episode of Before We Die, which was pretty good, though not for the Croats involved. Also Fargo, which is getting harder and harder to follow. Had FaceTime with David and Amy together: Amy seems to be growing before our eyes. Oliver meanwhile is in Padstow with three friends and his girl friend, Olivia.

Friday was a bit warmer. We had our hair cut, but before that I posted Joan a birthday card and my poetry book.  Later we walked up to the Great Hospital and left a birthday card for Eleanor (with one from Bridget). She was enjoying a rare visit from her son, Sam, so we didn’t stay. Felt very tired afterwards, for some reason. Our usual street rendezvous later was alcohol-free for me, because we were going to Philip’s 80th (81st) birthday do. Which we did, driving to Stoke Mill for a really excellent meal with Philip, Anne, Brian, Pat, Louise & Dave, Sophie & Rich and Charlotte & Chris. Was as careful as possible with meal, but probably had quite a bit of fat, because it was super-delicious. Moules mariniere, chicken, creme brûlée. Girls all lovely, and Philip did well in view of his recent rash and other problems. Anne was understandably a little worried.

Discovered Brian and Pat were members of Surrey Chapel and knew David and Myra Green quite well: sadly it seems Myra is housebound and David is becoming very forgetful. Murray lost, Spain beat Switzerland on penalties and Italy beat Belgium. Home about midnight.

The next day it rained at first, but by the time we got to Mulbarton (through very heavy traffic) it had become dry and warm. We went for a walk with Caren and Phil round Mulbarton, then had tea and cake and a long talk with them, which was quite refreshing. Returned home by a devious and less busy route. However, Dot has not been feeling well – dizzy and a dodgy stomach. She watched tennis while  it rained hard outside, and I caught up with computer stuff and prepared prayers, and later we both went to Morrisons. England beat Ukraine 4-0 and we FaceTimed David briefly before watching the Tour de France.

Sunday started off warm, but there was some rain in the afternoon. Church in the morning, of course: I led prayers, and Howard used his new liturgy for St Augustine’s Way – pretty good. Phil was back, sans guitar. Had a long talk with Kim, just returned from Scotland. Later watched a fascinating YouTube talk between a Rabbi and vicar in London, which saw Christianity as the child of Judaism, interrupted by a FaceTime talk with David and Chrissy. Oliver had a good time in Cornwall, apparently. Watched Grand Prix, Tour de France and the final two episodes of The Killing 2 – partly on iPlayer because one episode failed to record. Bed late. 

Monday was warm, with a breeze, and rain in the evening.  Rejigged the rota to include our new assistant priest, then walked to the Rosary after lunch – Dot went into the city to buy ingredients for lunches later in the week, then later to Morrisons for the same reason. Watched some Wimbledon, but nothing very exciting. Big hope Emma Raducanu retired in the second set with breathing difficulties. Watched programme revealing Mountbatten to be the villain I always thought he was. Bad influence on Charles (that’s just my view).  Ordered wine.

Heavy showers yesterday, which we managed to avoid. We walked up to John Lewis for reinstated coffee morning with Robin, Shelagh, Brian and Tricia, then back via Julian Bridge. After lunch drove to Blofield and helped Peter with3D photography in the church while Brenda did the new walk until halted by cows and calves on path. Also chatted to Barbara Pilch, who is off to Scotland this weekend.  Watched some Wimbledon and, after an omelette, Italy beating Spain 4-2 on penalties to reach the final of Euro 2020. Cavendish won third sprint stage in Tour. Not feeling great: took two lots of paracetamol and acidophilus. Head swimmy and stomach dodgy. Had a bad night on Monday– but last night wasn’t so bad. Wrote this while Dot went to Morrison’s. Des and Chris are coming round tonight, and the wine has arrived. I’m about to have a bath.