And so, at last, it happens. This morning, after a bad night, Dot tested positive for Covid, and I followed suit an hour later. Feels like a head cold in my case, and I don’t think it’s much different for Dot. Have been frantically cancelling stuff and warning people to avoid us. We had been due to have lunch with Kim… I did manage to finish off my Parish Pump pieces on the abolition of slavery, the iPhone and Harry Potter, but I have now resorted to paracetamol.

To revert to the right order, last Friday was still sunny, but the wind was slightly chillier. Met Paul Dickson at The Merchant’s House to talk about my book, which will be published on April 30, and possible ways of promoting it. He has quite a few ideas. Enjoyed talking to him on various subjects – tours, music and so on. Was with him more than 90 minutes, then walked down to Cloisters to meet Dot, who was waiting to photograph Louise and David after their wedding. We both walked the labyrinth while we were waiting and got a few pictures when they came out.

Later went to Morrisons for food and petrol, and against the odds got back in time for the 5.30 glass of wine. Mark is on his way back to America – I  saw him leave at about 6am, when I got Dot a cup of tea – but Des, Chris, Jonathan and Ciara came out. Saw Phoebe briefly (gave her some tomatoes) and a woman with a dog from further down. After HF we watched 90 minutes of Masterchef. Dot fell asleep during Not Going  Out, after having had a bad night and feeling ill earlier (she tested negative for Covid at this point).

Saturday was mainly sunny but with a very chilly wind, as we discovered when we went to Carrow Road, watching Norwich lose 3-0 to Newcastle. I had to pop back as we started out to collect a parcel for Des that Amazon had left outside, and met Dot at the stadium. Watched a lot of TV, including the first two episodes of Chivalry, a sort of ok comedy starring Steve Coogan, and the last episode of Hidden, which was pretty good and partly in Welsh. Had quite a long FT with David, in which he showed us some old photos and objects. 

Sunday was sunny but again with quite a cool wind. Church in the morning. Played in the worship group. Heather did an imagination thing based on Thomas, which gave me an idea for a poem. Well over 20 there, but it turned out later that Carrie had Covid: she’d had been feeling “rubbish” but came to church anyway. There may be a theme here. After lunch Dot and I walked up to the Bishop’s Garden for an open day – not very spectacular, but quite pleasant. Met Mike Cumberland and family, plus Alaric and Barbara Bryant. Had tea and bun. Watched some football and first episode of Life after Life, based on Kate Atkinson book, which was excellent. Spoke to Kim on the phone, trying to fix meeting, but not sure if we succeeded. Kavana is having trouble at Warwick, and Kim may go up to see her. 

The weather was much the same on Monday, though apparently it’s been raining in Aylesbury, where Amy was still not very well. She (and David) spoke to us on FaceTime after I’d been to hospital for my ultrasound this afternoon. That went very well: managed to find a route avoiding all the hold-ups and road works and Dot got me there in good time; went in early; guy doing it was training someone, so he was very thorough. Suggested my gall bladder wasn’t very abnormal, though it had stones, which is not a problem unless they’re blocking the bile duct. Apparently my liver is higher up than normal, though again no problem.

Walked over to UEA, but got a bus from there – was feeling quite tired, probably because I hadn’t eaten since breakfast. Walked again from Orford Place. Earlier I cancelled the Bible study because of Carrie’s covid; she could have infected any number of people (and furniture) on Sunday. Dot changed her violin lesson to Friday. Couldn’t have lunch so did a bit on computer: edited pix and typed out my Lent haiku, which I sent to Psalmody group and got quite a good reaction. In the evening we watched a bit of football and The Blues Brothers, a brilliant film, if only because of the car chases. Completely off the wall.

Yesterday was a bit cooler, with a little rain in late evening. Walked up to Golden Dog Lane in the morning to pick up car from Dot, who drove there for a soirée with Anna, who was playing violin with someone else on piano for a Brahms violin concerto. The workmen are eventually doing some work on Riverside Road after disabling it for three months. Picked Dot up again later, and after lunch she drove to Thurton for a DSSO visit. While she was there I got a call from the hospital saying my operation would be on May 5 if it was all right with me. I said it was. Shortly afterwards I got a call from Carrie asking if I took funerals! I said I didn’t. (She was due to do one, but has Covid. Did I mention that?) Wrote two thirds of my Parish Pump pieces, then spent most of the rest of the day watching TV –  Grace (a detective series, which was pretty good), Masterchef and Life after Life. Felt a bit odd.

Normal service is resumed, with David safely back in Canada, and Oliver and Amy – well, in Ireland, actually. I am about to go and have lunch with my publisher; so things may happen there. Dot is feeling a bit under the weather but hopes to walk up and see Louise Robinson emerge from the Cathedral a married woman: the wedding is in one of the chapels.

We had a lovely day yesterday. It was sunny with a bit of a cool breeze on the coast, but nothing to worry about. We drove by a circuitous route to Blakeney, seeing much of inland North Norfolk, and parked on the carnser, using our National Trust card: an obliging kiosk man gave me a special ticket because the Scottish card wouldn’t scan. Had a substantial scone and tea in the Two Magpies, then walked out a bit, but a recent high tide had made the path muddy; so we didn’t venture too far.

Drove to Salthouse Church to view an art exhibition and got talking to Charlotte, who was one of the artists and who had a very interesting story about becoming a Christian. She lives in Norwich and wants to keep in contact with us. Went for a short walk afterwards towards the sea and then bought an ice cream, which we ate while watching some baby mallards. Then drove home by a more direct route, to find Bridget already in the house and cleaning (we had been trying unsuccessfully to contact her). Had a light tea and then drove Judy and Eleanor to Cake and Compline at Bridget’s. Back home, we watched the last episode of The Thief, his Wife and the Canoe, which was well done but rather sad.

Going back in time, last Saturday was quite mild. Norwich lost 3-2 to Man Utd, but should have won. I edited some more Paston stuff while Dot went to Morrisons then made some pesto. Spoke to David and Chrissy on FaceTime, then watched a bit of TV, including MOD, on which Norwich looked pretty good. 

Sunday was mild and mainly sunny. Nice Easter Sunday Holy Communion led by Liz Cannon and with a good sermon by Howard. About a couple of dozen people there. Later went for a walk round Cathedral way and accidentally attended part of Festal Evensong led by the Dean, Jane, with a very good sermon by the new Bishop of Lynn, Jane Steen. Processed out of west door and finished in front of Hostry. Liked the accessibility but not the attempt to get money from people. Watched a fair bit of TV later, but nothing really worth mentioning. Oliver and Amy travelled to Ireland. 

Easter Monday was pleasantly mild. Walked up to church in the morning to help prepare for a random roast lunch event, which amazingly attracted about a couple of dozen people. Spoke to most of them: enjoyed it. Dot drove up slightly later. I also walked home (taking a rest on the way) while she drove up to the garden centre and bought £70 worth of plants. Meanwhile I had collapsed on the bed – felt completely exhausted, I suspect as much from having a heavy meal as walking a long way. Eventually had a cup of tea and recovered. Watched the end of Grantchester, which still fails to convince, then a second episode of The Thief, his Wife and the Canoe, which would not be believable if it were not true. Decided not to have another booster.

Tuesday was a bit cooler, but quite comfortable. Finished off a couple of poems and wrote a piece for my website, then went with Dot to Boots and the card shop, then sorting office to post card to Angela. Feeling a bit sniffly, either a minor cold or hay fever. Don’t actually feel ill, but it’s annoying. In the afternoon Dot did a lot of work in the garden and I did quite a bit of Paston editing. Spent some time talking to a blackbird just outside the back door, then put the bins out. Watched Masterchef and unusually felt the wrong person was told to go home. Then another episode of Canoe, featuring an excellent journalist, and an episode of The Split, in which I dislike everyone except Stephen Mangan. Watched an excellent short interview with  Wim Wenders, one of my favourite film directors, about a photograph he took of the road to Emmaus. 

Wednesday was sunny and warm out of the breeze. Read quite a lot – now about a third of the way through Middlemarch. Beautifully written but demands a lot of attention. Had intended to go to cinema in the afternoon, but wine arrived just too late; so we went in the evening and saw Operation Mincemeat, which was pretty good : Dot liked it more than I did. True story, so not quite as satisfying as it might have been. Was feeling below par most of day, but ok later. 

Warm sun and a cool breeze today. This morning we went up to Hay Hill to witness the Saltmine outdoor Passion Play, which progressed up to the Forum and late around and into St Peter Mancroft. Very well done indeed, though the ending sort of drifted into singing, which for me lost some impetus: everyone else seemed to like it, though. We caught glimpses of various people we know, including our window cleaner, and I spoke to Geoff Lawton (face from the past), who seemed pleased to see us. Also spoke to Nikki and one or two strangers, including Jesus’ aunt, if you see what I mean. We are now back home listening to the game between Man Utd and Norwich, which has gone from 0-2 to 2-2. And counting.

Monday was a mixture of sun and cloud; quite mild. After giving blood for cancer research in Sainsbury’s car park (the blood-giving, not the research), we spent much of the day reorganising after the weekend, re-establishing the music room and sorting out CDs and other things. Felt very tired until evening. FTd David briefly and discovered why WiFi had been moved: because it is now connected directly with the BT box (with much clear picture). Cleared the living room and watched Dynasties , during which we both went to sleep, then later an episode of Hidden and an episode of Bridgerton on Netflix.

Tuesday was warm and dry. I walked into the city to pay in a cheque n the afternoon. Felt very tired when I got back, but otherwise felt better than I have done for ages. Watched a lot of TV, none of it very remarkable. Brief talk to David about picking stuff up from Vicky’s. Said we were happy to do that.

Wednesday was fairly warm; a few drops of rain. Went to Morrisons again to buy food, while Bridget was cleaning the house. She had witnessed one of her clients being scammed, but couldn’t stop her. Later drove to new recycling depot on Cromer Road: took some time to find it, because there was no signposting on the NDR. Huge amount of road works in various places, but no-one doing anything. Big hold-up at North Walsham roundabout, then another one on Fifers Lane, then on Catton Grove Road. Later watched several episodes of Bridgerton, which is very good and quite funny. Also fairly short FT with David: he looked very tired. His flat has now been cleared. Posted Easter cards to Andrew and Thelma and arranged for Easter Egg to be delivered to Andrew. Didn’t feel too bad today.

Thursday was quite pleasant, fairly warm. Walked to church for the usual Thursday event and met John Drake in Magdalen Street. Had a chat. Church session quite good, except that Evelyn (Leanne’s daughter) was sick and fairly destructive towards the end. Dot came later and drove me home. In the afternoon Des came round with some plants, Dot and I practised some hymns and had an early supper before picking up Anna to go to St Cuthbert’s for the Maundy Thursday service. Played in music group. Small congregation and intrusive music from back room; so not ideal. Would have made a good service at St Augustine’s. Felt hungry for some reason. Watched Masterchef and Kate and Koji – last episode. David had reached his Gatwick hotel, and Oliver and Amy reached home at 11.54pm, tracked most of the way by us! We read the last of 40 Lent psalms. I have written at least one haiku for each one.

Yesterday was pleasantly warm. Sorted out worship songs after file broke. After lunch Dot and I walked to the Rosary and put some flowers on the graves. Beautiful up there. Finished watching Bridgerton and one or two other things. Pretty good, actually. Went out for drinks with Des, Chris and Mark, then Des got us fish and chips. All this time David was travelling home to Canada. He arrived at Waterloo just after 11pm our time, just after 6pm Canadian. 

It’s Monday again, and we’re just back from giving blood as part of a cancer research programme. This took place at Sainsbury’s, Pound Lane, and was particularly efficient. I asked my nurse if she would come into hospital with me next time I was there, as the hospital people, even the doctors, are hopeless at it. She demurred. David, Oliver and Amy are back in Aylesbury, having spent Saturday and Sunday with us. More of that later.

Last Wednesday was mainly dry, but there was at least one very heavy shower, which I got caught in as I left Kim’s to get to the car. I had called round so that she could give me some supplements to tackle my illish feeling. Had cup of tea with her and a chat while Dot was rearranging the house for the visit of David & Co. I had helped earlier. I got back before 4pm so that we could go over to Des and Chris’s for tea and chat. Then back home for chilli con carne part two before Dot was picked up by Janet for orchestra rehearsal.  Did some Paston editing while she was out. Had taken some pills and felt a bit better.

Thursday was very windy. Intermittent sun, with red kites in Aylesbury. Dot dropped me at church for the Bible Study session – much delayed because Leanne was late and Nikki even later. Leanne brought Leah, her eldest daughter, for a while. Dot picked me up after midday, and we headed straight for Aylesbury. Got there just after 3pm. Took stuff out of the car and put some in. Chrissy FTd,  then Oliver arrived with his friend Daniel. Also, separately, Amy. D, O and D loaded boxes and other stuff into our car and pumped up back tyres to take the weight. We ate some chicken and other stuff that Dot had brought, then headed home. Straightforward journey, except that several notices said the A14 was closed when it wasn’t. Dot drove to petrol station at Thetford, where we filled up (general fuel shortage caused by idiotic Extinction Rebellion activity) and I drove the rest of the way. Watched Kate and Koji and went to bed.

Friday was quite pleasant, but with a chilly wind. Went to Morrisons in the morning to get food for the weekend. I walked back so that Dot could get the food bags in the front seat. (We were under strict orders not to unload heavy boxes from the car.) Dot spent a lot of time baking a cake  for David’s 50th. Also a lot of clearing up. I felt very tired in the afternoon and had a sleep on the bed, but after that I was fine – went out for the customary drink. Mark was home, and Jonathan and John stopped by – later Tara came for a while, but John was out running. We went in to have supper, partly because Dot was cold. Had a good long chat, though. Now tending to eat supper downstairs. Afterwards saw a bit of TV.

Saturday was again quite pleasant, but coldish. Anne arrived before 9am and we arranged for her to park in Des’s drive. Then she, Louise and Charlotte left for the train. Linda forgot to come to cut our hair; so we spent the morning clearing up and preparing for our guests, as well as tracking them on our phones. We had a bite to eat, then David and the children arrived about 2.30pm, driven by Oliver, and Amy nervous in the back with all the boxes.

Phil and Jane, with Lydia and Alastair, arrived not too long afterwards. We had a good chat, then Dot and Amy mainly got out the buffet, with some help from me. Oliver and Alistair played table tennis, as did Amy for a while. Then we had the buffet followed by the cake (David’s 50th) and champagne. We got the stuff in from both cars and put it in the garage – not as much as I thought. Following further chat the Coomes left and Dot and I cleared up. Then we watched F1 qualifying followed by highlights of Villa 0 Spurs 4, and a look through our recent photographs at Amy’s request. But she was very tired, and we went to bed fairly early, with Oliver sleeping in the living room on a mattress.

Sunday was Palm Sunday, but of course we took no practical in church activities. The day was quite pleasant, and I was feeling a bit better. After breakfast and a buffet leftovers lunch, David, Dot and Oliver left for the match. There was a problem because unknown to us, one of the tickets had been cancelled by its owner (Chris) ; so David had to come back and get the fourth one. Norwich beat Burnley 2-0 and looked quite good, apparently. I had a nice time with Amy, looking through lots of her pictures and then trying out some HIghway Code practice questions.

Later we went through the stuff in the garage, and David and Oliver sorted out some minor problems with the computers and (especially) TV. They have got rid of Airport 22, and for some reason the picture on our TV seems much better. David also installed a label printer in my study, which will be handy. I cooked salmon, and they eventually left about 8.30pm. We tracked them much of the way home. Lovely having them all here.

There was a very cold wind on Friday, but it was mainly dry. I visited Alan Harrison again to sort out a letter to the editor correcting a couple of mistakes in his article. Too cold for Friday drink. In the evening we watched quite a bit of Masterchef, plus a long documentary on the 2002 Soham murders and a good episode of Not Going Out. 

Saturday was still cold, but it was sunny much of the day. Did not go out. Caught up with chess games in En Passant. David FTd to ask if the Coomes could come up while he is here. Later Amy FTd too, quite excited because her father is coming home tonight. Norwich drew 0-0 away to Brighton and played very badly, if radio is anything to go by. Changed all bed sheets, and Dot washed most of them. I adjusted the toilet seat in the shower room again. Watched another Masterchef and a film – Double  Indemnity, with Fred McMurray. Very good. 

Sunday was till cold but dry. Heating didn’t come on in church; so it was pretty cold there till we turned it on and it warmed up. i led the service, and we had a good number, including Nikki’s brother Luke, who we took home. Leanne is getting very upset by Evelyn, her daughter, who we think is autistic and keeps hitting her. Only Dot and Matt in the worship band, but they did well.

Had a brief chat with John and Tara as we got home : T is having a bad time with long covid. I’m not quite right –  still shivering and  a bit heady. David arrived back in UK during service – met by Oliver and Amy. Had a FaceTime with them all later at David’s flat. Watched a fair bit of TV – end of Peaky Blinders (pretty good) and third episode of Hidden, a Welsh crime series. Also football and   the boat race (discovered iPlayer works best through phone and screen mirroring). Nikki got in touch before church to say how much she liked my poems – Leanne also agreed. Very chuffed. 

Yesterday was mild but still windy. Early rain cleared by mid-morning and Dot took me to Plumstead Road when she went to get her pills, and I walked home through Lion Wood and the Rosary. Took papers to Chris. Dot went for a violin lesson at Anna’s in the afternoon. When she came back I dropped some music round to someone on St Matthews Road for Anna. Brief chat with David about books then watched a film, Who was that Lady? – which was very funny. 

Today there was a bIt of rain about to start with, but it was dry for most of the day. We went to the Town House for the monthly Archant pensioners’ breakfast – plenty of people there, including the usual suspects. Afterwards we went to Morrisons to stock up on some food for the weekend (among other things). No lunch because of late breakfast ; most of afternoon spent clearing up, Dot in the garage and me in the kitchen, getting ready for David’s stuff. 

 Spoke briefly to David on FT and agreed to go down there on Thursday to bring some stuff back. Watched last episode of Holding (pretty good) and first episode of the latest series of The Split, which is much like a soap but has some quite good actors. Also the final of University Challenge, which was very close but went to the wrong team (IMHO). 

Just a short one this time, and that’s not an April Fool joke – or maybe it is. Summer has turned into winter, despite the Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s e-newsletter, which started: “After the rigours of winter, April feels tender and mild.” As they live next door to us, and we’ve had snow and an icy wind the last couple of days, they must have the heating turned up.

Wednesday was pretty unpleasant. Rain started in the afternoon, and it was quite cold, though not as cold as Buxton, where it was freezing at 9pm. Dot went to orchestra in the evening, picked up again by Janet. Popped over to Des with EDPs, which have built up over a number of days. No sign of an article on Alan Harrison, which had been promised by the Head of News. Had a bath and caught up on reading. 

Tuesday was much already much cooler than the weekend. I didn’t venture out, but Dot spent all day at a Head Teachers’ Conference at the Cathedral Hostry. I caught up with all kinds of things on the computer. We had a light meal in the evening. David FaceTimed again: he’s given notice on his apartment. Watched a number of TV programmes – catching up again. Feeling a bit odd. Sore shoulders and very heady. 

Yesterday was very cold indeed, with wind and occasional snow or hail showers. Dot dropped me off at church just after 10am, and after refreshments I led the usual Bible-based discussion, proceeding through John’s Gospel and taking in the wedding at Cana.  As well as Leanne and Nikki, I had Steve and Helen, from Bowthorpe, and Stacy, who goes to Surrey Chapel sometimes. All very exciting. Dot came back later, and afterwards we went to Morrisons for food and petrol. At Morrisons we ran into Ruth Colmer and had a good chat. She’s looking very well. Bridget came in the afternoon for cleaning. Dot’s knee is much better. Watched quite a bit of television, but nothing memorable. 

Today I got up very late, finished off a piece on 20mph limits for my website, which everyone will hate, and e-mailed Alan Harrison to tell him how to send a letter to the EDP to complain about mistakes in his article, which appeared today on Page 39. Needless to say the mistakes were introduced after I sent the original story in. It also took almost a month to get printed. Times have certainly changed.