Pretty annoyed by Notes feature, which deleted my last three days of diary for some unknown reason. It is now (at time of writing) Burns Night (Thursday), and three days after my operation. Have been feeling extremely tired the last couple of days, but paracetamol eased the situation today, and while Dot has been at the theatre I wrote part of my sermon for Sunday. Earlier I also sent out a rota. 

I drove her there after Bridget had done the cleaning, and Dot and I had meat balls for supper. David picked up Bridget, and they went off to celebrate Burns Night, though David didn’t know that when he left. Earlier Dot had driven to Alburgh and picked up a cake for Bridget: the usual spectacular confection by Marion. 

Lucy rang: as always she is in far worse a state than me, with a kidney infection. 

Yesterday (Wed) Dot drove me to the doctor’s, where I left my hospital letter for Dr Hampsheir and picked up a reserve specimen jar. Afterwards we went to Morrisons for some food, which was probably a bit much for me, as I had to go and lie down for a while. In the evening Dot went to orchestra rehearsal, and David FaceTimed me. We had a long and very interesting chat on books, infrastructure and technology. At some point earlier the community nurses rang me (after I had got in I touch earlier) and arranged to take my catheter out next Wednesday, which could be worse. 

Have had a couple of baths with catheter in. No problem. Harriet came round and knocked a bit off the front door, which I eventually managed to replace. I also managed to get the washing machine going again: had turned off the input water by mistake a few days earlier when trying to stop the sink tap dripping.

On Tuesday, the day after the op, I felt more or less OK. The weather was dreadful; so we stayed in. Sorted out night bag etc and responded to loads of inquiries as to my health. I have read quite a bit of Return of The God Hypothesis, a science book that is very interesting but quite dense at times. I guess other things happened on Tuesday, but I can’t remember what they were. Dot has just arrived home – she walked from the theatre because the weather was quite benign. 

Friday – Quite pleasant weather, though windy. Plenty of blue skies. Felt a bit grotty after bath, but again much better towards the end of the day. Dot walked into city and bought a toaster while I did a bit more of my sermon. Then charging connectors and Vitamin C arrived from Amazon, and Dot got back just in time to drive me up to the chemist’s to pick up my pills. Bit of a queue, but mainly because of customers’ ineptitude. Bit cold for street meet and Des and Chris away, but invited Mark and Sarah over, plus John. Had good discussion. Afterwards had pizza and watched third episode of After the Flood – quite good thriller – and a bit of Michael Portillo walking South-West path. 

Saturday – Wind dying down: not too cold. Dry. Fixed bathroom sink and finished my sermon. Ray rang – also Kim, who’s in London but wanted me to book tickets to see The Chosen series 4 at Vue next Thursday, which I did. Watched Ipswich lose 2-1 to non-League Maidstone in FA Cup (second half), cooked venison steaks and did big crossword in Telegraph, which was quite satisfying. Watched film Mean Girls, which was good, especially the first half. 

Yesterday (January 22) was much warmer than recently, in the aftermath of a storm that was far worse elsewhere in the UK. Bit stormy for me too – my long anticipated cystoscopy took place under general anaesthetic. Dot took me to hospital, and the preamble took about three hours, during most of which nothing happened. I was first of the three in our room to be operated on. Seemed to go ok, but I now have a catheter again – for a week. Sounds familiar. No pain yet, but we’ll see. Everyone involved was helpful. Got some input from the surgeon afterwards. He sounded confident.

While I was in the Arthur South Day Care Centre, where it all took place, I wasn’t able to contact Dot, and as it got towards the end of the afternoon, she became a bit worried. However she eventually got a call and I was picked up. Felt more or less OK during the evening, much of which was spent letting people know I was still alive, after David FaceTimed and we had a long chat. This morning I am a bit uncomfortable, but everything seems to be working. However, I had the second of two very bad nights. Couldn’t stay asleep.

On Wednesday just over a week ago (17th) it was pretty cold, but nothing compared to the Highlands, where it was reportedly minus 14, or Ontario, where I’m told it was minus 25. Dot got back from church before 3.30pm and in the evening was at orchestra rehearsal while I did some clearing up. We had chicken, which wasn’t very impressive. Can’t remember the last time I cooked chicken I liked, unless it was roast. Haven’t been feeling too great today, but as usual better in the evening. Never managed to get any response from the hospital.

Thursday was still very cold, with a few spots of snow. As always, felt much better in the evening than the rest of the day. Wrote a piece for my website and have also written another poem, which is encouraging. Idea for another one, too, based on the second half of a brilliant documentary on buffalo, which we’ve just seen. Also enjoying a new TV thriller called After the Flood. Earlier on Leanne and Nikki came round for refreshments. Had a good chat, and I drove Leanne home and Nikki to pick up her daughter from school. They both had a very hard upbringing but are really inspiring. Dot bought food for our party tomorrow, and as an experiment I cooked some lightly smoked salmon, which turned out really nice.

Friday was cold again, but dry. Linda came round late morning to cut our hair, and in the afternoon we prepared for our party, which turned out to be very successful. No one wanted to go home, and we didn’t get to bed till midnight after clearing up. Present: Des and Chris, Mark and Sarah, Jonathan, Sean, Ciara, Phoebe, Matt, Mary. Angela is in Scotland and Bob has a bad cold. Dot did some lovely food. I supervised the heating up and helped serve drinks. Some really good conversation.

Saturday too was cold, and windier. Somebody has left a jacket at ours, but I don’t know who. Dot went to football with Des: I didn’t feel like sitting in the cold, which is ironic, because I later had tingling in my nostrils and was worried about my op. While Dot was out, Kim came round and we had a good talk about her difficulties and mine. She is constantly on the move and is heading north again soon. City beat West Brom 2-0, which made Dot very happy. While she was out I put the extra chairs in the garage, emptied the bins and cleared up generally. Watched a bit of light TV in the evening.

Sunday was less cold but becoming very windy and wet. Gave Ray and Heather a lift to church this morning. Nice service led by Liz C, and “sermon” by Heather. Had to rush off afterwards to George Hotel off Mount Pleasant for winter lunch with CNS survivors. Long wait for food but very good: sat with Tony F, Peter B and Neville and Mary. Did quite badly in Norwich quiz. Excellent talk by optician. Home around 5pm – felt quite tired. Bridget called in to pick up her car. Watched football, something about the Thames floods of 1928 and then Vera. David FaceTimed – encouraging messages from many others for op.

Just back from church, where we did another Bible Study on Revelation, with Dot, Steven, Debbie, Ellie, Nikki and Leanne. Jude is still in Devon following the death of her sister Jen and apparently also has a bad cold. Dot stayed at church afterwards for Taizé. It’s dry but very cold; so I may fetch her, but otherwise she’ll walk home. I missed a call from the hospital and am having trouble contacting them: not sure what it’s about.

Back last Friday (12th) the weather was a bit mixed toward the end of the day – bit of rain too. Went over to Chris’s for street meet with Mark and Sarah: Des in bed with bad cough. Good talk. Later I cooked venison steak and we listened to Norwich City win 2-1 away against Hull.  In the middle of it Debbie rang for Taizé discussion with Dot, and towards the end David FaceTimed. He and Amy both seemed well: she’s returning home tomorrow, but there’s a storm in the offing. Hopefully it will be past by the time she goes. Then contacted by Adrian, who was keen to show us the Norwich goals. Said Happy Birthday to Clarissa for tomorrow. Watched an episode of W1A before going to bed. Feeling very tired. 

Saturday was chilly again, but dry I think, though we didn’t go out, except to take some papers to Des, who seems to have improved: he umpired hockey today! Put some stuff in the loft and read a bit, as well as rehearsing hymns. Amy started her journey home. Bit snowy there. Watched quite a lot of W1A as well as two documentaries on the Post Office scandal.

Sunday  was quite cold, but dry. Forecast of possible snow overnight. Strange day. Drove to church in the morning,  and Dot walked home. Because Jude is in Devon, we offered to transport Ray, but Graham had already arranged to pick him up or take him home. Led the prayers and played guitar with Dot on violin and Matt on piano. Found words to hymns where Jude hid them! Amy landed safely after avoiding a volcanic eruption on Iceland and reached Aylesbury successfully. Rest of the day watched a lot of TV, including football, a very strange but compelling Korean film called Decision to Leave, then in the evening Grantchester, followed by Vera, which demonstrated how bad Grantchester was, as if we didn’t know. Have decided not to watch it again. 

Monday was extremely cold but dry. Felt pretty ill most of the day but improved in the evening. Rang hospital this morning, and they eventually decided they needed to do an MRSA test and also bring aspecimen in. So we went to hospital about 2.30 and of course Reception knew nothing about it. Had to wait a long time and go back to Reception before I was seen. Then they thought I was there for a whole pre-op, but I wasn’t. Fortunately the pre-op nurse I’d seen before happened by and vouched for me.  She also gave me some documents I needed re checking in next week. I said I wasn’t feeling too well, and she said they might have to give me a long- term antibiotic. But I haven’t heard that the test was positive; so perhaps I’ll be ok.  Afterwards we went to Morrisons for food. Watched a lot of TV again and almost forgot to put rubbish out. 

Saw long documentary on buffalo, which was a lot better than it sounds, then a two-part Silent Witness. 

Cold again on Tuesday, but quite pleasant: blue sky. Dot went into the city to get some cards from Jarrold’s, and I caught up with some computer stuff, primarily to do with Phyllis Seaman’s legacy. Feel I might almost know what’s going on now.  Dot continues to practise both violin and piano, which is great. In the evening watched several of the original episodes of Not Going Out, which were very funny, and then some FA Cup football, in which Bristol City beat West Ham 1-0 in a replay. Then David FaceTimed us and I told him what happened. at the hospital. Had quite a long chat about how people are inconsistent and don’t do what they believe to be right (cf Bates v Post Office). The right people are more important than the right system.

It’s Friday, January 12, and pretty cold. Had a bad night, but after a bath drove to my new chemist’s and obtained the prescription I’d ordered – just like that. Over lunch, we finished watching the dramatic reconstruction of Mr Bates v the Post Office, which was really well done and made everyone who watched it very angry: it was about senior executives refusing to accept that there was a flaw in their computer system and deciding to prosecute sub- postmasters for non-existent thefts. The top PO executive, sadly, was also ordained.

Not feeling great these last few days, but I expect everything will turn out OK. Back last Sunday the two of us finished the cottage pie, watched a bit of FA Cup football (Arsenal 0 Liverpool 2) and then drove to Lowestoft for a Seagull session. Went very well: Sue bought a copy of my Let’s Do It Anyway book. Read three poems from it and three others: War Zone, House on the Hill, Christmas tanka, Let’s do it anyway, Quiet Life and Dinosaur in the Cloisters.  Kaaren and Lynne said very nice things about my poems. First night in new room: theatre is being refurbished. Ian in good form. 

Monday was very cold. Some snow/rain. Gas man came about 10am and fixed a valve in the airing cupboard. I drove up to the old chemist and picked up pills which must have  been there a while. Also Dot’s prescription, more surprisingly. When I got back we went to Morrisons.  Later Dot went up to the city on a bus to pick up hair colouring and buy a cake. I chose hymns and sorted out compline for later, then had a bath. Felt a bit peculiar. Wrote a poem. Cake and compline in the evening: all present except Judy, whose sister had a stroke or heart attack following an operation in Exeter. Judy went down by train. Prayed for her, obviously. Watched Call the Midwife but went to sleep for some of it. 

Tuesday was again cold but dry. Should have put garden waste bin out, but it’s usually the same day as the blue bin, and that’s tomorrow. Everything changes for Christmas, but in my opinion it’s a ploy by the council to avoid collecting so many bins. We both spent much of the day clearing up the house, and I eventually managed to get the TV working properly – but only after Dot stumbled on a new/old  BT box under the sofa. This worked ok, but of course all recent recordings had gone. On the plus side there was an old series of recordings of W1A which were very, very funny. Also watched Silent Witness and Vera – both excellent. They were streamed, though. Claire called in at lunchtime to pick up her diary which she’d left behind last night. Had bit of a chat. Judy’s sister in Exeter is in a bad way and probably won’t live. 

Wednesday dawned extremely cold, but dry. Dot and I drove up to church, and I led Bible study, after a delay while I looked for hymn words file. Couldn’t  find it. Sadly the one person who would know – Jude – was in Exeter with her dying sister; so I couldn’t really ring her. Dot stayed for centring prayer and Taizé, plus cafe. In the evening Dot went to orchestra, and I went to Halesworth and read three poems – Sixty years, Make peace not furniture and Behind the Tombstones. Met Peter Willis, former head of Hickling School, who had been inspected by Dot. Watched a few more episodes of W1 A from 2017(?) Very funny.  Have a sore eye for some reason. 

Thursday was again dry and mainly sunny at first, butbdamp later.  Had an early bath so that I could take Dot to meet Russell Stowe and purchase her violin bow. He had been locked out of Anteros and was standing in the street! She bought the one she wanted and was soon home. Watched last W1A of final series on Apple TV, and the original Red Dwarf! Later saw the first three episodes of Mr Bates v the Post Office – brilliant but appalling, even worse than I already knew.

Earlier Bridget came and cleaned the house: I felt quite virusey but took paracetamol and was able to drive us and the D’Sousas to the Town House for a cheap carvery. Just in time to get last bit of beef. Others stuck with gammon. Tasted quite good.  Des had nagging cough: hope it’s the tail end of something rather than anything infectious. Could see from window as I went to bed that Mark has returned – his car is outside. 

Watched four (yes, four) episodes of The Tourist last Tuesday, partly because it was so good and partly because the TV was playing up, and we didn’t have access to things we’d recorded. Tried to get some sense out of the hospital, but no response.  Debbie asked Dot to go to Taizé tomorrow because she was getting a cold (Debbie, not Dot).

Wednesday was mixed, rather damp and chilly. Dropped Dot at church so that she could help supervise meditation and Taizé. Then came back and had lunch while Bridget did some cleaning. TV was still playing up, despite my efforts. However, watched the end of The Tourist, which was really excellent – unusual combination of violence and humour with some excellent acting. Hospital phoned and fixed operation for January 22. Dot discovered that it was orchestra rehearsal, and just got ready in time. While she was out I wrote the first part of my sermon for Sunday, on Ruth. 

It was dry most of Thursday, but heavy rain in evening. Drove Dot up to Anteros at 10am, where she met Russell Stowe, who gave her a choice of four violin bows, which she brought home for a week. She walked back home and arrived not much after I did. Phil arrived at noon and we had a cup of tea before going to a thanksgiving service at CityGates for David Green, who had died on Nov 17 without telling me. Good service with food afterwards. Myra recognised me and seemed pleased to see me. Later spoke with Phil to Barbara (David’s sister) who I’d known well, and to David’s son Andrew, who I congratulated on his eulogy. He reminded me of his father when speaking.

Talked to a number of other Surrey veterans, including Derek Haylock, who looked  ill. Myra has terminal cancer of pancreas. Dot dropped us at church and picked us up. After taking her home I drove Phil home by the A47 and came back the back way, driving through shallow flood water at Lyng. Watched quite a bit of TV, including Wild Scandinavia and the first part of a Netflix serial. All via Apple TV because BT box was still not working properly. Dave and Julia Evetts rang and we chatted for about half an hour. They’re off to St Lucia shortly. 

Friday was a bit grey and bleak, but Dot went into city in the afternoon, when the rain stopped. Earlier she decided to hang some new “Christmas” lights round the kitchen – a precarious operation that meant I had to assist: couldn’t bear the thought of her breaking a leg while falling off a high chair. TV still not working properly. Finished sermon and chose hymns. Weather pretty miserable; so Des and (later) Chris came round ours for drinks. Des also got fish and chips. We watched another three episodes of Fool Me Once, which is intriguing. 

Saturday was not a bad day outside, butI was feeling a bit low, partly because my head was congested and I needed to get to church the next day because I was preaching; and partly because the central heating developed a fault in the middle of the night: it was blazing away despite the switches all showing “off”. The only way I could turn it off was to go out into the garage. Same during the day – I’ve booked an engineer for Monday morning.

That was annoying enough, but even more time-consuming was the TV, which I tried many ways to sort out. I think now  it may be the aerial, which I’ll have to get someone to look at next week. Meanwhile we can still get Apple TV etc, but it’s all very confusing – and frustrating. Dot was listening to Norwich’s FA Cup match this afternoon, but they only managed to draw 1-1 with Bristol Rovers at Carrow Road. Afterwards she walked round to Morrisons to get some food for supper, then made a cottage pie. Have sent Oliver’s Christmas present to Coventry – he’s just back there, and the second of Amy’s two books arrived this morning.

Finished watching Fool You Once, which was really very good. Had FaceTime with David, Amy and Oliver – all seemed quite jolly. 

Made it to church this morning and did the sermon, which lots of people seemed to like. Almost everyone except Anna was in the music group, though Martin played piano. Afterwards had quite a long chat with various people, including Steven, who has been left with a large water bill and a threatening letter for the church. Meanwhile our treasurer is in Vietnam… Damp is getting more and more evident in the church hall. Drove home and turned the heating on: took a long time to get warm, because it’s turned much colder, though at least it’s dry. Even outside.

This all seems very familiar. Perhaps I’m stuck with a used year instead of a new one. I have left a message at the hospital and am waiting for a return call to fix a date for my operation. The first number put me on to a second one, which was unmanned but gave me a third number, which was also unmanned. And to make things even more familiar, the television has stopped working for no apparent reason.

It’s Tuesday, January 2 and very wet. Earlier we drove to Archant breakfast at the Town House: we were the first to arrive, because I knew we had to leave early to get to my appointment with nurse Jane Waters at Thorpewood. Had our usual breakfast. Attendees a bit thin on the ground, but Robin and Shelagh made it, as did Bill and Richard, plus Eric, Linda, Jennie D and a printer whose name I don’t know. Got up to Thorpewood ten minutes early via the Seven Speed Bumps from Hell on Thunder Lane, but didn’t go in till nearly 15 minutes after appointment time. Then she just looked at my blood pressure charts and said I was OK to have the operation. 

Back in the old year, last Thursday, I cut a different finger with my other Christmas knife. This time there was quite a flow of blood, thanks to the blood thinner I’m taking to get my blood pressure down enough to have an operation. Eventually it stopped and we watched North by North-West – cooked a fried meal. Chose hymns. 

Friday was windy and mainly dry. Dot went food shopping, but otherwise not much movement. No street meet, because Des and his brother-in-law Steve were still recovering from Covid, while Chris has a cold. Lots of people ill this Christmas. My blood pressure – I thought – was still surprisingly high: perhaps I should move around more! Am reading a couple of books I got for Christmas: one SciFi one, Raft, and one on Bob Dylan.  Finished off the turkey (made a soup).

Feeling strangely lethargic, actually. My cut finger was still a bit weird – bled a lot and it’s still sore. Just discovered Oliver is back in Aylesbury: first time he’s crossed the Atlantic without our tracking him. Also haven’t got him (or Amy) Christmas presents yet. Dot practised violin this afternoon, and we watched the final two episodes of Slow Horses – series two. Really good. Norwich lost 1-0 to Millwall away, and we watched the Call the Midwife Christmas Special, where everything turned out wonderfully as always. Nice. Changed blood-soaked plaster on finger. Looks OK. 

Saturday was grey and rather damp. All very quiet, except that Anna came round to give Dot a violin lesson before she sets sail for Vietnam tomorrow. Dot went to Homebase and to M&S on Mousehold to buy some stuff for tomorrow night. Watched a lot of TV, including the film Oppenheimer, which was excellent and very long. Cillian Murphy in lead role. Had to rent it for just under £5. David and Amy FaceTimed, commenting on a piece I wrote about Dot for my website. Later had smoked haddock and watched Murder is Easy, an Agatha Christie plot with ridiculous updating to introduce racial elements. Still quite good, though. 

Sunday – New Year’s Eve. Weather a bit of a mixture. Chilly wind. Went to church in the morning, played guitar and did prayers. Dot read lesson. Spoke to Des on way home. He is recovering from Covid. In evening went to Kim’s for New Year’s Eve party – lovely buffet-type food. Too much. I drove; so had very little alcohol. Played interesting game involving dice and parcels, which I won accidentally. Saw fireworks at midnight. Kim prayed for Dot and me for the coming year. Drove home and after a few technical difficulties had FaceTime with David, Amy and Oliver for about half an hour, which was lovely. Got into bed just after 1.30am. 

Monday – New Year’s Day. Cold but dry till evening. Woke up pretty late after a good night’s sleep. Had a kind of brunch after bath, then watched a bit of football till Dot left to attend a real football match at Carrow Road. Norwich did well to hold Southampton 1-1, and Dot was bought a whisky by the man from Fakenham who sits in front of her. Watched a good documentary on Wild Scandinavia and had chilli con carne. Then a film, Out of Sight, which was very satisfying. Bed early.