So Christmas is receding into the distance, under a grey and soggy sky. There was lots happening in Canada, as David’s excellent pictures revealed, but not quite so much here, though Boris resisted the temptation to shut everything down. I suspect there would have been mass civil disobedience if he had.

Last Thursday was another grey day, with some rain which we largely avoided. We went to Paul’s for a pleasant Christmas get- together, much of which I spent speaking to Philip Butcher and to Jo and Robert Conway, neighbours who are left-wing cycling fanatics. Also Holly and Joe: talked a lot about their jobs. Liked the sound of Holly’s boyfriend. 

Christmas Eve was grey and damp. My Pinsentry gave up the ghost; so I downloaded the Barclays app and sent money to Oliver and Amy, plus a card to Oliver and made another couple of payments. In the afternoon I dropped off a card and book for Joy, then drove to see Thelma – bit of a wait for her but stayed for about 50 minutes. Home for huge Christmas meal. FTd Canada, where all were gathering at Palmer Circle. Des and Chris brought nibbles round. Didn’t go to Midnight Communion. Watched Carols from Kings and end of The Girl Before, which was quite interesting.

Happily Christmas Day was a bit brighter: dry but very cold. Woke late (9.20) but squeezed in a bath before we went up to the church to help with lunch for about half a dozen droppers-in, including Harriet, and Carrie’s off-piste granddaughter Jasmine. Went pretty well. Had quite a chat with two or three of the men. We opened our presents to each other before that, but when we came home we opened the rest. Cleared up and watched some TV, including Vienna Blood, a very good thriller set around 1900 or earlier. FaceTimed David and Chrissy, but Amy was speaking to her mum. Got lots of books and an excellent bag from David, plus a really nice pen and notebook. 

The greyness returned on Boxing Day – with plenty of rain. Woke late again. Dot went to watch Norwich lose 5-0 to Arsenal, spending quite a lot of time sorting out her Covid passport. I stayed at home and cleared up. Another big meal in the evening, then David and Amy FaceTimed us and showed us their presents. Watched Death in Paradise Christmas special and then Norwich on MOTD.  No church. 

Yesterday, not much change weather-wise. Grey with lots of rain, but not too cold. After doing lateral flow tests we drove to Coventry with Andrew’s presents from Phil and Joy. Traffic very bad on the way there: we left at 10.35 and didn’t arrive till 2.15. Huge queue at Barton Mills, a bit on the A14 and much more at the entrance to Cambridge Services. Very wet after Thetford. Andrew seemed well; we took videos of him opening his presents and helped him to look at the DVD we’d sent him. Stayed for 90 minutes. Journey back wasn’t so bad. Stopped  at different services (Brampton?) for croissant and tea/coffee. Dot drove first and last. Bought petrol in Norwich, then were too tired to do much else. Watched a bit of TV. David sent some great pix of Christmas in Canada. Did I mention that?

Dot has just discovered that Paul’s get-together this evening is two hours earlier than she thought; so she has hurtled into the shower. She spent some time in the city earlier, doing last-minute shopping while I went up to the Rosary to put flowers on graves, and in the process wrote a new poem – the first I’ve done for some time. Now Bridget is here doing the cleaning. Covid news decidedly better today – Ferguson accused of bad science.

Going back a bit, last Friday was grey and damp, but not too cold. Spent most of the day indoors. I finished the rota and the preparations for the carol service. Dot wrapped presents and went to Morrisons. There was no Friday drink in street, because people were being very careful and cancelling attendance at the Monday get-together with neighbours. Dot and I posted cards, then went to Jude’s for drinks and nibbles. Really enjoyed it. Her neighbours Chris and Becky were there: very pleasant. They left at 9 but we didn’t go till about 10.30. 

Saturday was damp and grey. Stayed in, except for posting cards in the afternoon. Dot worked very hard, and I gave her a hand with decorations and so on, though there times when I felt tired out and not really with it. Choked when I fell asleep watching TV – quite frightening. Rehearsed the script for the carol service. Paul came round in late morning and brought presents. Amy’s flight was still on, and everyone was on the edge of their seats. All football matches except one were postponed because of Covid, which is spiking again. Boring.

Sunday – and Amy is in Canada! She arrived at David’s house after an exhausting but quite trouble-free journey, apparently. We had been tracking her flight just about all day. Admire her greatly for going through all the annoying paperwork and tests. She has come of age!

In the morning we had the much-anticipated alternative carol service, which went very well. It included a song from Graham which was excellent, and some pretty good performances. Kim came sans mask and was not kicked out. I gave everyone a copy of my latest poetry book. Just nibbles afterwards, instead of the usual meal, because of the Covid risk. Finished article for EDP on the CNS Christmas lunch, but was not sure they’d use it. It was very late and the picture was not very good. (In the end they did use it as an Opinion piece, which is mystifying.) Watched the first episode of a new thriller, The Girl Before, which was pretty good. We’re now on the eighth series of Friends (out of ten).

Another grey, damp day, as was Monday. Went for a big shop at Morrisons early on – and came through it surprisingly easily. Got petrol. Back in time to receive cake from Marion. then had haircut and bath. We’d invited several neighbours round for the evening, but in the  end only John, Tara and John’s two younger children came. Had a really nice evening with them. FTd David and Amy, and forgot to put the bins out till I was in pyjamas. Got to 4000 steps with ten seconds to spare. Did O Antiphon – a kind of meditation – while writing this. Did lateral flow test. Negative. 

Tuesday was cold but still. High cloud. Early exit to Dereham, where we dropped off presents at  Phil and Joy’s, then proceeded to Angela and Rodney’s for tea/coffee and biscuits. Very nice. Drove home via Lenwade because the A47 was very busy, then after lunch I drove Dot up to St Augustine’s, where she picked up Carrie and a box of goodies for Sophie and Alex. I walked home while they drove to Spixworth, then wrapped Dot’s presents and made the bed as well as clearing up.

Felt shattered: eventually took paracetamol and acidophilus, but also noticed ears were pretty blocked (left one quite painful when I pushed at it). When I cleared them a little I felt better. Prepared Compline for the evening. Present: Eleanor, Kim, Vicky and Amy, Claire, David and Bridget. Watched The Chosen (children episode), then ate food Dot had prepared (and others had brought), and did the Compline. Really nice evening: halfway through Judy and Carrie showed up for exchange of presents. Earlier Dot did lateral flow test: negative.

Wednesday was very cold: ice on windscreen. But fairly bright and dry. Busy day. Drove to North Walsham for tea/coffee with Roger and Debbie, who have transformed their bungalow. Then to Sainsbury’s and the cemetery, where I got wet feet (wrong shoes, long grass), and thence to Paston, where we left Jonathan’s parcel. On to Rob and Penny’s to drop off present and card, then to Lucy’s to drop off her present and Naomi’s and have a brief chat: she has a chest infection, though apparently it’s not infectious..

Back home for soup and a short break, plus a brief FT with Amy and David, then to church for carols and nibbles. Started with handbell-ringing, but I was too late – having trouble parking the car. Walked around for a while, then went back for chat with Ellie and others. Ellie looked well. Then played carols with Dot and Anna on violin and Martin on piano for everyone to sing. Helped to clear up: did washing up. Back home watched second episode of The Girl Before. 

Lovely weather today – blue sky and very mild. Posted cards while Dot took parcels to post office; then we walked up through the Close to the Hostry exhibition and bought a couple of items of jewellery for Dot for Christmas from Hazel Davidson’s collection. Quite a palaver paying for them, but I chatted with a chair maker – beautiful stuff – who had recently lost his wife. Then walked up to meet Dot at Jarrolds after buying some acidophilus and a Norwich magazine we’d seen advertised.

Later had a long chat with David, mainly about whether Amy should travel to Canada in view of the worsening Covid situation, with the Government showing signs of panicking. Then later Carrie called and had a long talk – mainly with Dot – about her Covid problems. Bridget came and did the cleaning, and we had a chat with her about what was likely to be happening at Christmas – all rather disheartening. Meanwhile Phil K is in hospital having a second bladder cancer operation.

Meanwhile I finished off the alternative carol service and printed congregational sheets. Earlier I read a brilliant piece about the Transfiguration which cheered me up considerably: the idea of being filled with light.

Watched the final parts of courtroom thriller You Don’t Know Me, which were very clever but a bit of a cop out.

Last Saturday turned out to be a very mixed bag. Fred, Kate and two boys arrived at about 3pm and had snacks as arranged. I then walked them down in the rain to Carrow Road, and Kate to the Odeon, where she was meeting a friend.  I arranged for Fred to use a key I lent him to open the door afterwards, drop off the ticket and take his present and cards. Norwich lost 0-1 despite playing well, and I walked up to Dot’s concert in the rain, which was now much heavier. Meanwhile the match finished and Fred & Co returned to the house, but didn’t go in, thus missing the cards and present. More importantly, Fred didn’t put the ticket through the door, which left Dot distinctly unimpressed. He now had to get it back to her for Tuesday’s evening game.

Meanwhile the concert was excellent. Angela, Rodney, Chris, David and Bridget were there, and I sat a table with the first three. Afterwards walked home with Dot and Chris, and watched Match of the Day.

Sunday was dry and much milder. I was unable to park anywhere near the church and eventually drove up to St Luke’s and parked there, which is obviously not ideal. Preached a sermon that I think was OK, though it appeared to upset Carrie, but I think this was in addition to some comments some other people had made to her. Most people were wearing masks (now mandatory), but Kim and Dee weren’t, and I don’t think they’ll come while we’re wearing them. I wore it on and off, as did Dot.

Quite a nice communion service despite that, with Graham presiding. Decided not to have a Christmas meal, just nibbles and tea/coffee next week. Think we’ll probably go ahead with the Alternative Carol Service.

After lunch watched the Abu Dhabi grand prix, which was as close to a fix as you could make it. Hamilton was set to win easily; so they had a safety car and then moved all the intervening cars out of the way. How they can get any satisfaction out of that I don’t know. No respect for Verstappen. I won’t be watching F1 next season. Pity: if this had been a fair race I would probably have been cheering him on in 2022. Anyway, got some nice comments about my sermon from Matt and Kim. Had an evening meal at Gem with Elwira and David – went very well. I had three good mezzes. 

Monday was dry and fairly mild. Dot went shopping in the afternoon, and I did quite a bit of work on the computer, especially Christmas-related. In the evening walked up to Prime on Tombland – part of the Edith Cavell pub – and had a really good meal with Howard and Anna. My duck was superb, and so was the rest of it. Drank two thirds of a bottle of Sauvignon blanc. Talked a lot about church and other stuff: Howard was excellent.

Tuesday was quite warm and dry, though overcast. Had quite a bad night but recovered. Did a lot of card-writing and present-sending , both online and in real life. The ticket arrived from Fred, to great relief all round. Dot posted some cards and bought some stamps. Went to football with Dot in evening, using Jonathan’s ticket. Awful match. City lost 2-0 and played very badly. McLean missed an open goal.

Yesterday was relatively mild and dry, with sun in the morning. I walked up into the city, had a look at the Hostry exhibition, then bought cards at Revelations. Spoke to Michael and Margaret on the way home. Spent most of the day after that writing Christmas cards. Drove Dot to orchestra get-together at church hall in Old Catton (took her own meal) and she spent some time talking to Vicky. Janet drove her home. Omicron figures very high and Whitty panicking. Again.

Quite an exciting day in prospect. Dot is busy practising for her concert this evening (for which she given up her football match) and is spending just about as much time on it as she did choosing her skirt. I exaggerate, of course. It’s a dry day at the moment, with some sun, but still pretty cold. I am catching up with a number of things on my computer, including writing this. Fred and members of his family are on their way from Banbury: he will be taking advantage of Dot’s ticket to watch Manchester United beat Norwich.

Meanwhile a “new study” states that there will be a huge increase in Covid cases in January. We need to stamp out new studies.

Monday was pretty miserable, sending with a DCC meeting at Graham’s house, at which I expressed my views about Covid restrictions. Ended up with a “compromise” about closing the door but opening windows, plus a headache, which is very unusual for me. Possibly a result of frustration. And of course it will all be worse now.

Horrible weather again on Tuesday. We had intended to walk to the Town House (Stonehouse) for the Archant Christmas lunch, but it was about to start raining, and it was very cold. So we drove instead and got a spot in the car park because we were early. Had a carvery (excellent turkey and beef) and some profiteroles containing ice cream, which were not so good. Nice group of about 15, including Brian and Tricia, Robin and Shelagh, Su Lee, Eric and Linda, and Bill. Pouring rain as we drove home, and it kept on during the rest of the day. Windy too. Wrote most of my sermon for Sunday. The window cleaner arrived just before the rain. David FaceTimed, and we had quite a long conversation. 

Not much improvement in the weather on Wednesday, though I didn’t go out. It was mainly dry, admittedly. II wasn’t feeling too well, actually, and not sure why. Seemed to be the stomach area, and I was worried during the night that I might have gall bladder problems again. But I think it was just an upset stomach – possibly those profiteroles. Dot went to a DSSO meeting followed by another Christmas lunch, and I sorted some stuff out and updated my Alternative Carol Service, which is now about finished. Will it be held, though?

Also wrote a short piece to go in some Christmas cards or Christmas e-mails. Dot came home about 3.30pm and we watched a couple of episodes of Friends. Janet came round shortly before 7pm, and she and Dot walked up to St Stephen’s Church for their orchestra rehearsal. Meanwhile I more or less finished my sermon, wrote some Christmas cards, did some Paston editing and then wrote a piece for my website, as well as transferring a recent poem there.

Oh, I also walked up and down the kitchen until I had amassed 4000 steps. They are now on their way home (10pm) and I’m feeling quite tired. Bet they are too.

Thursday was cold. We drove over to Philip and Anne’s for a visit. Philip didn’t seem too bad. Then on to Hempnall, where we picked up a considerable amount of sugar that Roger had collected from schools for charity. Sue has had a bad fall outside the dentists’s (ironically) and broke some teeth as well as injuring her wrist. She was surprisingly cheerful. Had another drink there. At 4pm I took the car up to the garage to have mirror glass fitted (£83); meanwhile Bridget had arrived to do the cleaning. In the evening we went to Gem with Mark, Des, Chris, John and Tara – our neighbours – for a meal. On the way we ran into Eleanor, who seemed quite perky, considering. Very pleasant time at Gem. Rained a bit on the way home. Idiots at Westminster have instigated Plan B, with more mask-wearing, etc etc Amy told us she hadn’t been too well for some time and was awaiting the result of tests

Fri day was very cold but dry. Quite a strenuous day, actually. Started by driving to Worstead School to pick up some bags of sugar (less two they forgot to give us, it turned out later). Then on to Swafield, where we unpacked all our sugar and put it in the bin at the farm, to the great relief of our suspension system. Then to Sainsbury’s in North Walsham, where we did some food shopping and Dot bought a top for her concert tomorrow. Then home.

In the afternoon I swept up quite a lot of leaves, then ran hot water over my hands to thaw them out. Amy FaceTimed us for quite a long time about her medical results, which were good: she just needs more Vitamin D. She also spoke a lot about pupil-teacher relationships. We sorted out our present list and watched the second episode of a very good thriller, You Don’t Know Me. Read the diocesan guidance on the new Covid restrictions, which was depressing. Changed my sermon a bit as a result.

The weather continues to be unpleasant, as does the atmosphere, news broadcasts and the performance of Norwich City strikers. I wonder if it’s possible to hibernate for a few years. It’s now the start of a new week, wet, cold and dark, and Dot is shopping while I make a vain attempt to catch up with many things I have to do.

Going back to last Wednesday, it all ended up pretty wet, miserable and cold. Dot went to orchestra practice and I played through the best games on the Norfolk chess championship, after clearing up. 

Thursday was cold and showery, and we got an early phone call from the Diocese asking Dot to go to an Ofsted feedback at Worstead school. Awkward, as we were about to travel to Swaffham for lunch with the Higbees, but it transpired that the feedback would be at 5pm: so we felt we could do both. Drove through heavy rain with a touch of snow to Swaffham but arrived 5 minutes early.  We had a lovely meal – chicken etc – and left about 3.15. Heavy traffic in Swaffham, because it was school-out time, but ok the rest pf the way.

We picked up stuff from home and continued to Worstead. Did a bit of walking while Dot was in school, but it was damp and very cold; so got back in the car. The school did well. we got home just after 6pm, had a quick cup of tea and a couple of episodes of Friends, and Dot was off to PCC, while I made the bed and put on the dishwasher. Cakes and coffee served by Graham; so Dot was quite late back. 

Friday was grey and damp, but warmer and not actually raining most of the time. We walked up to the Maids Head for the CNS reunion Christmas dinner (second Christmas dinner in two days). Chatted to Ray Houseago and signed a poetry book for him. Sat on a table with Alan Harrison, one of the speakers, plus Cindy and Michael Huggins, and Ros and Les Pye. Meal was good, but a bit too much of it. Turkey and Christmas pudding for me. Two even older boys than me were interviewed by Adrian about their life stories: Alan Harrison and Joe Parfitt. Walked home – very tired afterwards. Des, Chris and Mark came over for drinks in the kitchen for a couple of hours. 

Saturday was cold again, though there was some sun at first. Drove up to the chemist to pick up Dot’s pills. The chemist has gone downhill since it was taken over. Very slow. Then on to Morrisons for shopping. Extremely busy, especially at the tills. After lunch watched a bit of Buxton v Morecambe F A Cup (0-1) then we walked up to city to meet Kim for drinks. Failed to get in Cosy Club or Jarrolds but ended up at Bill’s, where Kim is well known and we got a free bottle of wine for no good reason, plus tea, coffee and some bits of bread and olives (and a cocktail for Dot). Had a good conversation about this and that. Walked home through the Close and had a Hello Fresh supper which, unusually, was only average. Felt very tired. Watched some of MOTD.

Yesterday was cold again, with rain later. Nice service at church. Norwich lost 3-0 to Spurs. Watched Songs of Praise Chorister of the year and got it right again. Hamilton deservedly won the Grand Prix despite dubious tricks by Verstappen. Sorted out some Christmas plans and bought some presents for Amy. Feelings running a bit high by e-mail about leaving the church door open for ventilation, with a bit of climate change and other stuff thrown in. I stayed clear of it, but there’s a DCC meeting tonight which could go badly wrong, despite the promised mince pies.

At the end of Friday, David FaceTimed us to say he now had a bank account and a credit card, helpfully called Infinity. Good news, but followed in the next few days by bad. There is a new variant of Covid called Omicron, which almost no-one can pronounce. This means of course that we must cave in and start introducing new restrictions, because eventually someone might die of it. Or be tested positive for it and die of something completely different, which is of course the same thing.

As if in sympathy, the weekend came up with some really bad weather, especially in the north, where there was loads of snow. In Yorkshire people were trapped in a pub for three days, which must have been awful, especially as they had a band with them. Saturday in Norfolk was very unpleasant – cold, windy and loads of rain from early afternoon. We went for tea and mince pie with Paul Henderson in the morning, and I accompanied Dot to the football in the afternoon, dodging most of the rain. Norwich drew 0-0 with Wolves and should have won. They played well, especially Brandon Williams. Pukki missed two or three fairly easy chances.

Sunday was another unpleasant day with lots of rain, and snow in other parts of the country. We had a small amount early on, but nothing lying. Preached and did prayers at church, where Carrie insisted on having the door open. Very cold. I delayed sermon so that people could put their coats on. Several people liked what I said. Later we finished off watching Showtrial, which was very well done. Unusually, had an evening Advent meditation service at 6pm led by Graham. Played guitar: Phil came but was unable to play, possibly because of Parkinson’s, possibly lack of practice during his illness. Anna and Dot played violin. It was a joint service, but only 14 came, unsurprisingly. I read one of my poems (Compline, temporarily renamed Advent). Heather Cracknell was there: she is now coming regularly. Also the Eastons. Pouring with rain afterwards.  Later in the evening I slipped on the bottom stair and landed on my heel. Got a very strange hot sensation in my head and couldn’t balance for a few moments. Haven’t experienced anything like it before. 

Monday was sunny, but very cold to start with. The heating failed again, though I had turned down the thermostat rather than turning the heating off. Took the car up to be serviced and did a reasonably long walk while it was being done. All good, except that we need a new offside mirror. Did a lot of work on the computer in the afternoon, especially on Paston material and editing pictures. Had a late evening bath after watching the final episode of The Outlaws, a brilliant series. 

Yesterday was dull, but much warmer. Showers. Busy morning: Linda came round to do our hair, then Rob and Peter called in for a PHS meeting. This was just ending when the gas man arrived to fix our boiler. It now seems to work properly. In the afternoon I did a Covid test (ridiculously complicated) and an associated survey. Also wrote to Mike Read, thanking him for sending me one of his chess annotations. Then I wrote up the PHS minutes, after walking up to the post office. Edited pictures and paid a £4000 Barclaycard bill (£3000 of it for boiler). Later watched Newcastle v Norwich on Amazon Prime. Newcastle had a man sent off after nine minutes, but we were losing 1-0 till Pukki scored in the 79th minute. We didn’t create very much. Watched several episodes of Friends to lighten the mood. Still, Norwich are now in double figures and third from bottom. Will it last?

Today is pretty miserable: grey and wet. I took Dot up for her violin lesson with Anna just before 10am, and arrived back as Naked Wines delivered our box that should have come yesterday. Between showers I walked up to meet Dot around 11.30am, after the Hello Fresh box had arrived. Had a bath, and later Bridget arrived to do the cleaning. She is still here as I write, at 2pm, and it’s raining.