Still in Canada:

Sunday 25th – Mainly rain, but went for a walk in the middle of the day when there was a break in the clouds, and did about 4000 steps, down to Mount Hope Road and back. Finished reading The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena, about a couple whose child is taken. Very good. Great meal of roast chicken in the evening, then watched Dune again. Still good. Message from Oliver said he would be climbing Snowdon on Tuesday. Feeling a big sinus-ropey early on, but better towards the end of the day.

Monday 26th – Forecast rain didn’t materialise until afternoon – in Toronto, anyway. Suspect it started much earlier in  Caledon, but we had travelled to the Sherway Mall, which is upscale, unlike the Conestoga one. Roger and I looked round !ndigo, which had a copy of the Amor Towles book, A Gentleman in Moscow, so I bought it for Chrissy. Wandered round a bit on my own, then we all met up for lunch at Joey’s (I think). Very good meal, which we paid for. I had steak with innovative crispy mashed potatoes and asparagus. Plus wine and introductory free champagne because we had to wait for our table. Heavy traffic on way back, and I dozed off for a few minutes. After a short break we watched Page Eight, a thriller starring Bill NIghy. Again, very good. Quick snack – rest of pavlova plus cheese and biscuits – we played cards, unfortunately. Quite late in bed.

Tuesday 27th – Skies very threatening in the morning. We got up late and after breakfast travelled to the Dufferin Museum, about 40 minutes away. Interesting stuff there, including a reproduction of an early Dufferin house, and a section on Cornflower Glass, which is very impressive. Took a few pictures and then home, arriving just after 2pm for lunch of chicken pie and salad. After lunch went for short walk – rained a bit as we returned home.  Watched four episodes of State of Play, which were excellent. Supper of cheese and biscuits after Episode 3. Oliver messaged to say he had climbed Snowdon by Llanberis track – up and down in five hours. .

Wednesday 28th – Overcast and quite cool, but not uncomfortably so. After breakfast we drove to Alton (about 35 minutes) and visited the Mill, where we had been once before. Looked at some exhibitions, and I spoke to a young woman called Sam, who was being advised by Roger on fonts for a forthcoming book she was writing (imaginary letters). We had a chat about visual arts/poetry combination and the possibilities with reference to Inprint. Gave her my website address. Afterwards looked at a couple of waterfalls and then home via a quick stop to buy food at Bolton. Roger had a phone call to say his new car would be ready next week. Cake and tea, then Dot and I went out for a walk, round to the right and back via Scott. Chilliest it’s been, and a mite damp, but not too much. Had supper of salmon, then watched final two episodes of State of Play, which were well done.

Thursday 29th –  Sunny but cold at first. Woke to find Hurricane Ian had smashed through the causeway at Sanibel, leaving the islands without road connection to the mainland. No aerial pictures yet, but we fear Captiva may have been breached again. Soon warmer, and we all went out for a walk; the others did the full eight, and I did a slight variation. Then for lunch we went to an Italian restaurant in Kleinburg called Belsito’s Trattoria. Excellent meal. I had a veal steak recommended by a man at the next table, and it was delicious. Dot and Roger had fish, and Barbara calamari. I had a Laphraoig! Excellent service and nice atmosphere, but parking tricky. Walked up and back through town afterwards. By now very warm. Tired on way home and collapsed on bed when we arrived. Later walked round garden, then watched The Politician’s Wife (all 3 episodes) with a break for nibbles. 

Friday 30th –  Sunny and warm after a sharp start. Dot had a bad night; so we were a bit late up. Drove north to Hockley Valley and walked part of the Bruce Trail and an offshoot of it. Beautiful and quite hilly, though no great views because of trees. Walked over 9000 steps; so over four miles. Have walked in total further this month than any month since last October. Afterwards we drove to Adamo winery, where we had celebrated our golden wedding anniversary, and had a mista board and wine, defying local hornets. Then home via East Caledon, where I bought some wine.

The Day of the Queen’s Funeral, Monday 1, was warm and dry, in both England and Canada. We woke at 5.30am and caught some preliminaries. The service started at 6am (11am BST). Watched pretty much all of it, including processions and services at Westminster and St George’s Chapel, Windsor. Good sermon by Archbishop Justin Welby – lots of emphasis on the Queen’s faith. Slow moving but dignified series of events. Took about five hours altogether. Brief chat with Oliver at one point.

Chrissy had got an early train into Toronto to meet the subject of her book, Mr Manji, and while David went to meet her on her return we did a longish walk. Before that we had an interesting talk with him about former homes and memories of them. Had something to eat when they got back and did quite a bit of reading. They went out for a walk, and Dot did part of it with them to bring her steps up to 6000. Later had meal and discussion about balanced diets. Helped clear up and went to bed just after 10pm – a long day!

Tuesday was mild; very warm as we walked home from the Conestoga Mall, where we had spent much of the morning. Bought a pair of trousers and some Tommy Hilfiger socks. Enjoyed Indigo bookshop and eventually bought tea and a croissant in the Starbucks there. Dot had a snack of apple, peanut butter and trail mix that she was euphoric about. Read in the afternoon, and I finished Frost and Fire – a collection of short stories by Roger Zelazny, bought for me by David. Very good, especially a sequel to Larry Niven’s The Magic Goes Away. In the evening the four of us went to Bauer Kitchen in the middle of Waterloo, where I had steak frites. The steak was delicious. In fact the whole meal was very enjoyable. Dot had a gnocchi dish recommended by Barbara. Waitress was excellent. 

Wednesday was mild on the whole. Read a lot to start with, then went for a walk just as rain threatened. Fortunately it held off: we met Lucy, a Hungarian who knew who we were presumably by recognising my resemblance to David. After we got back it rained quite heavily for a while. David drove us to Farm Boy and we picked up enough for lunch, plus. Came back and had lunch – chicken, sausage rolls etc, then read again. Sent off e-mail to George Kelly about the NIE reunion. David and Chrissy had to take a neighbour, Janet, to hospital. Dot did a walk on her own, and I did one alone later (to avoid leaving houser unattended). Rained again, quite heavily, during supper, and Seth arrived home from Venice about 10pm, transported by his father’s girlfriend (and his father).

Thursday was markedly cooler, with a a little light rain. Up by 8am to go to Farmers’ Market with David: he sat and did some work while we walked round (after having a very light breakfast). Bought a few small presents, and bracelet and earrings for Dot. Then home. Sophie arrived after lunch. Very windy weather and a bit threatening, but we risked it – wearing our raincoats – and did a longer walk than we intended, taking in something Rustic and Old Abbey Road up to the mall. Autumn seems to have arrived right on schedule, overnight. I finished reading The St Zita Society by Ruth Rendell, which was not as good as I hoped it would be. Ted got very jumpy in wind, going in and out. D&C went to the shop, I think. Anyway, they disappeared with Sophie and possibly Seth. After very nice evening meal, Sophie returned to her home. 

Friday was pretty cold, but mainly sunny. Went for longish walk after breakfast, and met Ted on the way back; then did some reading. In the afternoon we watched England lose 1-0 to Italy, playing very badly. David and Chrissy took us to Costco, an amazing warehouse store, and then we all went for a slightly shorter walk after  D&C got coffee from Tim Horton with Timbits (doughnut pieces). In the evening ordered pizzas from Domino – delicious – and watched Licorice Pizza, an offbeat and funny film. Then a bit of baseball, with New York beating Boston 5-4. Put article and poem on website.

Saturday 24th – Transfer day. Dry till evening, but a bit chilly. David and Chrissy drove us to Caledon, stopping en route at the covered bridge, where we took some good pictures. Saw a Mennonite on a bike. The six of us had an excellent brunch, including waffles and deconstructed hash browns, with fruit. After the sad departure of D&C – we had had a great time with them – we went for quite a long figure of eight walk. Felt pretty tired, with a bit of a headache. Light supper and long conversation before bed. 

Tuesday started warm and dry, but concluded at Gatwick with quite heavy rain. We finished packing and after checking in online and FaceTiming briefly with David – plus texted advice from Oliver – I filled up with petrol, and after lunch we left Norwich with Dot driving. Took the A140/A12 route. Went reasonably well: swapped drivers somewhere near Chelmsford and arrived at the hotel at around 4.20pm. Queue to book in, but ok. Had meal at 6.15pm – I had fish and chips and Dot chilli con carne. Sat next to really nice couple from South-West Wales who were going to Corfu really early next day. Returned to room. I was going to spy out the land, but it was too wet. Watched a bit of TV, including Queen’s coffin being flown from Edinburgh to London and being driven to Buckingham Palace. Big plane. 

It was still raining in the morning. Dreadful night – hardly any sleep. Drove to Purple Parking – attempted to follow directions but got completely lost, then happened on it almost by chance. Straightforward after that. Shuttle bus was waiting and dropped us at North Terminal in good time. Bit of search for Air Transat baggage drop, but when we found it, all went very smoothly. Security almost did, but one of my trays failed to scan; so it had to go through again. Almost forgot it. Lost belt loop, temporarily.

Dot bought some perfume, and we had croissants at Starbucks. Then after a wait, down to Gate 50, and eventually priority boarding (Option Plus). Had a spare seat next to us! Free wine and Pringles. Watched Dune. Tireder and tireder as journey went on – all in masks. Some confusion at Toronto when using machines etc but got through easily in the end. Bit of a wait for baggage, then through to be met by Chrissy and David. Sunny and warm, but loads of traffic on the road; so took a bit of time to get to Waterloo. Then had nice buffet and wine, were shown bedroom in basement and went to bed at 21.30 – which would have been 02.30 in England. Unsurprisingly I was totally shagged out.

Thursday was chilly to start with, becoming pleasantly warm. Woke very early of course,  got Dot tea, then after breakfast (fruit, pancakes and maple syrup, then sausages) went for walk with David and Chrissy round Anndale Park and into a neighbouring road (Sugarbush) that reminded me a bit of Palmer Circle, but more compact. After a snack Dot and I did another walk round neighbouring roads and through park again. Lunch was soup, and in evening we had sole, chips and salad. Took it easy during the afternoon. Dot took lots of pictures of inside of house. After supper we saw some pictures of Oliver and Amy’s visit, plus the beginning of Licorice Pizza film. Dot let cat out by mistake but she came back. Oliver FaceTimed very late (for him).

Friday was sunny and quite warm. Very good sleep. Wrote piece for George Kelly, and took picture of us drinking wine (apparently) in driveway to send to Des. Quite cold and wet in Aspland Road, it seems. Later went for walk with D&C on a slightly longer route, followed by lunch, followed by sleep. Then to Antiques Market – fascinating stuff. Bought wine and salad. Jackson came home feeling a bit down. Watched baseball in the evening – Blue Jays 6 Baltimore Orioles 3. Accompanying hot dogs. 

Saturday was warm again. Got up early to visit the Farmers Market. Had a croissant there for breakfast and a jam doughnut that I ate later. David had French toast with maple syrup and bought me a Roger Zelazny book. Dot had muffin. Huge place, indoor and out. Some good stuff. Bumped into M’wanda, who used to work with David and Chrissy. Lovely woman.  Bought some plums.

Later went to beautiful new library and then Farm Boy for food, but not before we’d watched Spurs beat Leicester 6-3, with a hat-trick from Son, who only came on for the last half an hour. After returning home and unloading groceries, walked down to Fromagerie and bought some cheese (surprise!) and one or two other things, including too much gelato. Then had a rest while D & C went to Zehrs for a couple of things. Lovely meal with cheese board to follow! Jackson explained what a mechanical engineer does, as opposed to a metallurgist.

Today saw the first rain of our visit, but most of the day was warm and dry. Sophie arrived before we got up and seemed well recovered from her cold. Happily we got up before Barb and Roger arrived. Had a delicious breakfast with them centring on fruit, pancakes and turkey bacon, with maple syrup. Afterwards we all (except Jackson) went for a walk in the park. I felt very tired, and my stomach was a bit queasy, but it was very pleasant. The rain – quite heavy – came after we returned. Had a long chat with Barb and Roger while David and Chrissy went for another walk. The Murrays left after they returned. We did some reading while D&C had a rest.

Thursday Sep 8 – The Queen is dead. She died at Balmoral in the afternoon. We shall be out of the country for the funeral, which is sad. In local news, the weather has been showery but fairly warm. In the morning Dot was washing and ironing, and I was writing a piece for my website. In the afternoon we picked up our pills and then went to Go Outdoors, where I bought a new raincoat at a ludicrously low price after Dot noticed my old one was a bit ropey. Very pleased.

Bridget came round to clean, and it was not until she left that we heard that the Queen had died. All normal TV stopped after that, of course, and an increasingly tired-looking Huw Williams soldiered on, saying much the same thing, quite professionally, over and over again. We veered off to watch some cycling and an episode of Shetland, during which David FaceTimed us to commiserate.

Friday was cooler, with quite a bit of rain. Sorted out a lot of stuff, partly in preparation for tomorrow. In the morning I took my aunt Thelma out for a drive: we went to Bramerton Woods End, or whatever it’s called nowadays. Rained on and off, but not while I picked her up and dropped her off. She seemed to enjoy it, but not a huge reaction. Drove past both her old homes, but she seemed not to remember them, which is odd. Mostly she has a good memory. Her older house on Shotesham Road seems to have burned down in a field fire – just a shell left.

Drank to the Queen on our usual 5.30 meeting – mainly the four of us and Matt, with Ciara popping in near the end and Mary momentarily earlier. Watched some more bits and pieces on the Queen and new King as he was driven from Northwood to the Palace, where there were hugs and crowds of “ordinary people”. Also watched first episode of new Doc Martin. 

Saturday was warm and mainly sunny. Up early to greet Robin and Colin, who were here to fix the garage fascia, the cistern in the toilet and the shelves in my study, which Robin moved down from Dot’s room. As a result I had to reshuffle just about everything in the study, moving my computer on to the far desk, which entailed resetting the Wi-Fi and moving a couple of other plugs. Looks good, though. Also involved moving the gateleg table upstairs, which was quite a challenge.

In the midst of all this I walked up to church and back to receive visitors (with Stacey) for the heritage church bike ride. Chatted with Stuart and a couple of visitors. Watched a lot of royalty on TV, mainly to do with Charles’ accession but also about the Queen in the 50s. Lots of church services, which must be a good thing. Faith in the spotlight, from Charles too. Also watched Ridley, a police drama, which was pretty good. Very tired at the end of the day. 

Sunday was warm and dry. Up early to watch cricket, then to church for Communion led by Graham. I played guitar. Traditional hymns, of course. Dot led prayers. Leanne popped in afterwards: lovely to see her after several weeks – she’s had a busy summer with her boat and boyfriend, Adam. Got the cases down out of the loft and did a lot of packing. Also spoke to Andrew on the phone. Then had FaceTime with Oliver – it’s his 20th birthday! Our parcel hadn’t arrived because of a postal strike – probably  same goes for the card. In the evening watched more cricket and the last two episodes of State of Happiness, which were very good. Also a concerto performed by Nicola Benedetti – brilliant violinist.

Monday was a strange day. Warm and mainly dry, till evening. Made final preparations for travelling. Finished Canada app and checked other things.  Redistributed some books in my room and out of the bathroom. Didn’t go to church, but probably could have. Answered several e-mails. Put out rubbish. Des came over and we showed him what needed to be done (very little). Watched funeral service at St Giles. Karen Mathieson sang in Gaelic. Later watched another episode of Ridley – not quite as convincing as last time. England won final test against South Africa.

Gradual change in the weather this week. Saturday was sunny and warm. Dot did loads of washing while I caught up with various post-holiday things. After lunch she went to the match: Norwich beat Coventry 3-0. I went to meet her and we popped into Morrisons for baking apples and lentil crisps. Had salmon for  tea. Watched football and State of Happiness. Had a longish FaceTime with David.

Sunday was warm again. Woke unexpectedly late but had bath before church, which I led. Liz Cannon preached – good. She asked for comments – bad. Carrie was off to Scarborough to stand by her granddaughter at trial of man accused of stalking her. This was eventually adjourned for a month to give her more time to prepare – an outcome described as “good”, though I’m not sure why. Debbie gave a sermon instead of praying. Gave Ray and Chris a lift home (Chris not looking too well). Practised for evening session at Lowestoft, where I did “Passing through” and “Feel like I’m Falling Apart”, with Dot on her new violin. Also read three poems. Slightly smaller group than usual.

Monday was mild but humid: threatening rain but never quite arrived. Busy day. Woke late after bad night – bit of a rush to get to church. No Nikki and Leanne. Afterwards drove straight to Taverham for light lunch with Derek and Janet. Very nice. Then home  – very tired because of wine (Dot had been driving) – and cut back some ivy. Put out bins. Then walked up to Eleanor’s for Cake and Compline. No Vicky or Claire, but good evening. Judy gave us a lift home and we watched first stage of the Tour of Britain, which ended at Glenshee. Liz Truss new Prime Minister – hopeful. 

Tuesday was still warm, but some rain overnight and then in evening. I went to the Archant breakfast without Dot, who had a long list of things to do. Spoke to Brian and Tricia, Richard and Bill mainly. Then met Dot at Morrisons, and we visited a couple of shops. Frustrating afternoon: tried to create travel wallet, but final step wouldn’t work (discovered on Thursday that it didn’t work for joint accounts, a fact they might have mentioned); spent ages trying to sort out phone for Canada; then arranged Canada ETA. Annoyingly our return flight has appeared in the wrong place on our diary, though the confirmation receipt is correct. Not sure what to do about it. Had password problem on hotel/parking site. DCC in evening: thinking of giving it up and leaving it to Dot. Watched a couple more episodes of  State of Happiness. Ho ho. 

Wednesday was marginally cooler, but still pleasant. Showers, some heavy, but none lasting long. Had a bad night and was very tired in the morning. Have edited and captioned 125 photos taken at Blakeney. Posted cards while Dot went into city to buy clothes – several of them for me. She was out for several hours, and I caught up with e-mails and associated jobs, such as changing dentist date and booking at the Theatre Royal for next February. Also cleared up the kitchen and bedroom. In the evening Dot went to orchestra and I went to the Cathedral to hear a talk on science and faith. Bridget was supposed to have been coming, but she cried off at the last minute. Talk was excellent, but they then went into small group mode, and I left. Discovered later that the lecture was almost exactly a chapter from a book I read about 15 years ago, including photos and map. A good book, but still…

Today Dot is doing more preparation (washing and ironing), and I’ve arranged to see Thelma tomorrow. Feel I’m a bit more abreast of what’s going on, whatever that is.

Monday (Aug 29) was cooler and quite breezy, with some showers later. Dinghies were out racing early on, with a high tide catching a couple of cars out. Car park man closed the carnser late and by then unnecessarily. Oliver had bought croissants but did not run. We walked to Morston and had rather splendid pizzas in the Anchor, plus a quick go on darts. Rained as we left, and we called in at an art exhibition by Eddie Goodridge, which was really very good – oils. Had a chat with him and bought some cards. Rain eased off and we walked back to Blakeney. I was exhausted and lay down for a while. The other three went to Cley to buy some fruit. After tea got rid of rubbish, then played Yucca – a bizarre Canadian card game – and watched another episode of Clarkson’s Farm. 

Tuesday dawned cool and overcast. Oliver ran to Cley and walked back, getting caught in a shower as he neared the croissant shop. After breakfast he drove us to Cley NWT, and we walked to a couple of hides. Then back to the centre and lunch – I had a scone and one of Amy’s cheese and tomato sandwiches. Afterwards went to art exhibition by Sally Temple, who uses fingers and oil to paint excellent pictures. Bought some cards and chatted to her. She took to Oliver and Amy and gave some good advice; she has children of the same age.

Amy bought a lovely glass for Saoirse, whose 18th birthday is coming up. Then drove into Cley and parked by the village hall, walking round town and calling in to the bookshop (bought two books). Then bought some fish and ham from Cley Smokehouse. Drove to Salthouse and walked on the shingle beach. Home for another episode of Clarkson’s Farm and tea, then Oliver and Amy left at 6.45pm. Made good time and got home in just under three hours. Meanwhile Norwich City beat Birmingham (a) 2-1 in injury time, and we went to bed early, missing our guests.

Wednesday started with some rain, and continued with a heavy shower after I fetched croissants. Bit chilly too, with a brisk wind, but later it became dry and warmer. Had a bath, and later we put our boots on and walked out on to the marsh to the west of Blakeney, hoping to find where the water went, or if it was navigable out to the harbour that way. But we couldn’t go far – stopped by muddy dykes. So we walked out the other side of the main stream toward the abandoned boat.

Before that, however, the police had closed the road by the Manor Hotel for no obvious reason other than ‘Accident’. It turned out however to be an unexplored bomb in a nearby field, and as we walked seaward, they exploded it. Very exciting. All of us had been within 50 yards of it (possibly nearer) on Sunday. Dot bought a crab sandwich for her evening meal and I had a pot of mussels. I also had one of the grandchildren’s birthday present pots of terrine – black olive of that ilk, and very nice too. Wrote a couple of poems and read some of the book I bought at Cley: Ian Rankin’s Tooth and Nail. Very good. After tea we walked up the High Street looking for Yew Tree Cottage (where Sophie and Rich were staying), then down Little Lane and back round by the Spar shop. Watched a bit of Repair Shop, during which Fred rang to ask if boys could park on Saturday, and then Shetland, revealing that Tosh survived. Yes!!!  Also a bit of Premier League football – not very inspiring results. 

Thursday was bright and warm, though with a brisk wind. Kristine texted to say she’d missed her train, and would arrive an hour later (11.28). Because of traffic we still managed to be late for her, though the obscure disguising of the station at Cromer didn’t help. Drove back along the coast road; she loved the views and the apartment. After a drink we went for a walk round to the other holiday possibility and then over the Pastures, down Little Lane and back down the High Street. We then drove to Cley and had a late lunch at the George and Dragon: smoked mackerel and chips in my case. Then on to Cley NWT, where we took in the view and went to the loo.

Back to the car park at Cley beach, where we went down to the water’s edge and on the way back found a pair of glasses. Left them on a bench, as the car park man had vanished. Drove back to Blakeney: girls did a bit of shopping, or at least shop visiting. Had tea (cheese and cakes), looked at some pictures and chatted before travelling back to Cromer, where Kristine left on the 19.03. Back at the apartment we cleared up and read.

Friday was sunny and pleasantly warm. Got up early (no croissants), packed and were out of the apartment by 10am. Drove up road and got in a very lucky space while we picked some blackberries just off the path to Morston, then bought tea/coffee and drank it while sitting on a bench. Drove home in time for hair cut at 1pm.  I had a bath. Drove to Dereham with Joy’s birthday presents and stayed for an hour. Phil is having a rough time with Parkinson’s. Back home in time for drink-out, where the Blakeney bomb was quite a topic. Quite a gathering, too. Des fetched fish and chips for us. Watched Sanditon and an episode of State of Happiness (scandi noir) then finished unpacking and went to bed. Both very tired.