Wednesday, November 14 – ten days ago – Showery and cold. I left at 10.40 to take Mike Read to Graham Wright’s funeral. Lots of nice things said (rightly), but a complete absence of the supernatural. Also the civil celebrant spoke too quickly. No singing or prayers, but some good music – Hey Jude, Albatross, Whiter Shade of Pale… Also there was Frances from the ECN library (where Joy Wright worked), and we sat with her, because she didn’t know anyone else. Afterwards left Mike with some chess friends and rushed back to join Bridget’s birthday party at the Maids Head. 

Bit of a struggle to get there (walked from home), especially as I couldn’t find Bridget & Co (including Dot) in the hotel – had to ask. Lovely refreshments of sandwiches, chips and tea. Dot had been given a lift up by Colin Wright (no relation), who is fixing our front wall. Also there were the Cake and Compline group (except Phil and Vicky) and some people from Christ Church who I’d met. Oh, and David (Archer) of course. Took some nice pictures. Dot and I walked home afterwards, and I took the opportunity to lie down – feeling cold and tired. Later cooked some eggs and baked beans, and Dot went to orchestra rehearsal with Janet and Nova, at a temporary venue off the ring road near Sprowston. I spent hours trying to work out how to pay for scratch card parking (largely because I  had to upload a utility bill, which is not as easy as it sounds). Managed 5000 steps. Heavy rain evening and weather warning of possible snow in Norfolk tomorrow. Had FaceTime with David: he had a good journey back.

Thursday and Friday – Ill. Thursday was very wet, and I had felt so bad during the night with stomach pains etc that I never got up. Should have gone up to walk-in centre, but thought I’d give it a chance to sort itself out. Mistake, obviously. Woke at 7 the next day and discovered the walk-in centre was already open. Dot heroically drove me up there, and I was seen in about ten minutes. Not too impressed with nurse, who reminded me of Philip Robinson (Sorry, Philip). He prescribed a different antibiotic, and we drove down to Boots at Riverside to get it – had to wait a quarter of an hour for them to open. Went back to bed. 

Antibiotics had to be taken with food, which was awkward because I wasn’t hungry. Discovered later in the day that I’d forgotten to take my usual pills both yesterday and today. Colin is making progress with the wall, and Dot had a long visit from Nikki. Lots of nice messages from others, and Des also came over, together with Mark and Sarah with flowers, drink and chocolates for her birthday. Really kind. Later Dot went over for indoor street meet at Des’s, and I found a card to give her. Not exactly what I’d planned. Put off Parish Pump, thank goodness, in view of what followed. 

Saturday – Again very wet, but I didn’t venture out. Dot made arrangements to get Anne and Kim to her concert, and spent a long time receiving gifts, visits and messages for her 80th birthday. She is very popular, unsurprisingly. She is lovely, after all. She left for rehearsals at about 3 and gave me a ring halfway through. Rehearsals very good. And so was concert. At end Dot was singled out for having a significant birthday and everyone applauded and sang Happy Birthday. Wish I could have been there. She got back just after 10, accompanied by a woman screaming in the distance (no idea). David, Oliver and Amy wrote lovely things on Diderot about her. There was probably more: I was in a bit of a haze. 

Sunday – Slight improvement in afternoon, both in the weather and my condition. Had long bath, ate soup and jelly – oh, and a round of toast earlier. Finished reading Exit Music – pretty good – in bath. David checked in by FaceTime and Dot wrote many thank you notes. I caught up on e-mails. Felt quite a lot better but still very tired. 

Monday – Lovely in Norwich, but very wet by the time we got to Blakeney. Bit of a miracle we did, as I was still feeling well below par. Some kind of miscommunication with Evetts meant we did not meet till cocktails. I wasn’t really with it. Dot did most of packing and organising, checking with Colin and neighbours. I ate some soup and jelly and a few biscuits, and watched a bit of football on TV. I am now not really in pain, but have a sore chest and am hoarse, as well as heavy-headed. 

Tuesday – Mainly sunny, but with some heavy showers. Not that I would know, as I stayed in bed after joining the others for breakfast. Managed to eat boiled egg, croissant and a bit of fruit. Thought I was on the up… but got very tired and had to sleep while Dot drove others to Jarrolds Letheringsett and then Holt. She got back mid-afternoon, and I finished lots of puzzles in the paper, including tough sudoku. Felt a bit down before supper, but managed a small plate of Binham Blue fries, plus rather too much drink. Afterwards we joined the Evetts in their remote room for a splash of Jack Daniel’s and some chat, before making our way precariously back to our room. Meanwhile after leading Oxford 1-0 for a long time, Norwich conceded in the 96th minute, a fact noted by Dot’s cousin Adrian. 

Wednesday and Thursday – Weather mixed. Think the previous night’s drinks didn’t go down well, because I had a bad night followed by a bad day. Dot took Dave and Julia to Wells, and they seemed to have a good time. Dot was almost complimented on her driving, which is in fact excellent. I was brought some soup by room service – cauliflower soup, very nice. Seemed to have a better night and was able to get to breakfast (boiled egg) and then help with packing and paying. Left about 10, just after Julia and Dave. Journey back no problem, and watched some football with Dot for about an hour +.  Then stomach hurt a lot (gas); tried bath but had to go to bed and slept for 2-3 hours, after which I felt better. David FaceTimed: Chrissy has flu, and so has Roger. We had quite a long chat. Dot went to shop, and on her return I took my last tablet with biscuits, cheese and jelly. Stayed in bed. 

Friday – Sunny. Looked nice, but I didn’t go out. Felt decidedly better, though I had to take paracetamol. Ate a bit – Dot did me boiled egg. I helped sort out newspapers, and then she drove to the Marsh Harrier for lunch with Julia and Allen.  They had asked her a couple of days ago whether she wanted to postpone, but she hadn’t seen it. While she was out I shaved and had a bath, which made me tired for some reason. Brown bins haven’t been emptied despite protests from Mark.

Later street meet was in our lounge because of rain: Des, Chris, Mark, Matt, Ciara and Dot. I was in bed after having eaten some soup. When they went I went down and watched two episodes of Shetland with Dot. After she’d watched the end of a Vera she’d been looking at, she brought me a cup of tea. Earlier David FaceTimed: Chrissy still quite ill, and so apparently is Roger.

Friday November 14 – Very wet all day. Feeling quite bad, too, until evening. Still on paracetamol and of course antibiotics. Dot and David went to Morrisons to stock up with food, including vegan stuff for Amy. Then David showed me some new features of Diderot, which was exciting. Can’t wait to get more on there. Slept a bit in afternoon. Oliver and Amy arrived just before 7.30pm, both on good form. Dot had just got food ready, and so we ate almost straight away. Some mild political discussion. Cleared up with Dot while Oliver went to bed in living room, Amy in Dot’s study and David in spare bedroom. We were in bed just after 11. David had spent some time earlier looking through old photos, often with hilarity. 

Saturday – Less rain, but plenty of damp in the air, sometimes escalating into drizzle. Felt groggy in the morning, but much better by evening. Dot and I took bus up to Castle Museum, and the others walked. Had a good look round, but were somewhat underwhelmed by the changes. View from battlements very wet and misty. Oliver bought us a scone and tea/coffee. Dot, Amy and I walked back via Bookshop and The Close. Quite tired. Had evening meal at Gem at 5pm: very good, especially the Turkish tea. David very kindly paid. Back home watched Scotland lose narrowly to Greece. Over 6000 steps. 

Sunday – Still mainly overcast but dry. Chilly. Felt pretty rotten most of the day  – prawns? alcohol? – but improved late evening. Didn’t eat too much, though Dot did a nice salady afternoon lunch. Earlier David and Oliver went out for walk and picked up croissants for breakfast. Later I had a lie-down, and the other four went into the city visiting various shops, including Waterstones. Dot got home first on her own and we watched part of Songs of Praise. Saw Oliver off on the 1703 via Cambridge because main line wasn’t running. Later we watched the goals in Albania 0-2 England. Later Kevin and his girlfriend Tracey came round and we had a chat before leaving them to it. Watched an episode of Shetland while Amy did university stuff online. David went to pub for an hour or so with K and T. Cleared up: quite late in bed. Only about 2000.

Monday – Cold with very occasional rain – notably when Dot and I walked over to the station with David and Amy for them to catch the 11am to London. They were in good time, and we think Amy got to Southampton in time for her lecture. Afterwards I had a bath and eventually felt better: the antibiotics seem to be working, unless it’s the prayers. Helped Dot to clear up and get rubbish together, then went to lie down, just as Kim rang and asked if she could come round, which she did (she was at the station). She’s still in a bit of pain from her fall but is planning to go to Aberdeen for Christmas. Ho, hum. Watched a bit of TV in the evening (no surprise there). Put rubbish out and went to bed. 

Tuesday – Cool. Small amounts of rain. Dot and I drove out to Catfield school to pick up sugar. On the way had a look at how they were progressing with dualling the A47. Quite a lot of sugar to pick up from the school, and on the way home we called in at the surgery to pick up some specimen jars (unrelated). Later in the day we tidied up the house, and then Harriet and her boyfriend Paul called, but halfway through I had to take a call from Nikki, who needed some advice. Had quite a long chat, and she is popping round again in a couple of days’ time. In the evening we both cooked the meal and watched an episode of Edge of Darkness, an oldish thriller.  Very good so far. Scotland beat Denmark 4-2 in time added to qualify for World Cup. Kenny McLean, the Norwich skipper, scored from near the halfway line to wrap it up. We watched David’s progress across the Atlantic until he was safely home. 

Remembrance Sunday seemed quite mild and dry, but I didn’t go out because I was feeling lousy. Got up quite late and had a bath, but then lay down again. Eventually wrote blog and an e-mail or two. Had a light lunch and watched quite a bit of TV. Gradually improved. Found my head test results online which seemed to indicate I didn’t have anything serious. But who knows? Watched football (loss by Liverpool) and various other things like Grand Designs and University Challenge, plus the next episode of Trigger Point. Before that, cooked salmon and cleared dishes away. Meanwhile David is in England and staying with Lorraine at Bromley. 

Monday – Miserable day. Heavily overcast with quite a bit of rain. In bed most of day, feeling down. At least I’ve stopped shivering, but have headache and now a cough! Signs of UTI too. Am drinking water. Dot is looking after me: she had to put bins out. Had a bath in afternoon and watched a bit of TV. David is now with Oliver in London. Got up a bit in evening to watch final episode of Trigger Point – very good. 

Tuesday – Weather slightly better. Some blue sky, but rain in the evening. Still felt pretty bad in the morning and stayed in bed while Bridget cleaned. Got up and had lunch with Dot, but then went back to bed while Dot went to Morrisons. Mike Read rang about Graham Wright’s funeral, and I said I’d take him if I was well enough. Helped Dot unpack food, then had another lie-down. Felt better in evening and helped cook meal. Ate it together and watched TV for much of evening, including documentary on Rhodes that brought back memories for Dot. David is at Peterborough for his conference. Watched him approach Norman Cross on A1(M) and sent message, but it wasn’t delivered. Earlier Barry came round and did a little painting, while I retreated upstairs!

Wednesday – Variable weather. Some rain. Not too cold. Woke up early feeling awful but took paracetamol and improved. Later had a bath and watched a little TV. Barry came back and finished the painting, then had a cup of tea with us. Put some new photos of family in frames, which was quite tricky as far as size was concerned. Wrote a couple of pieces for Diderot – one on my first journey to America and another on a really nice pic of my parents and me. Took some more paracetamol and gradually felt better, though tired. Went over to meet David at the station (he arrived about 7.15), while Dot made really nice supper of salmon and roast potatoes, plus fruit and cake. Had chat as we ate, and he went to bed early. We followed soon after. Again, very low on steps. Dot has pain in her back – probably muscular. 

Thursday – Lovely day – not too cold and mainly sunny. Feeling groggy at first: took two doses of paracetamol, then decided to go on antibiotics, which I was prescribed some time ago. Felt better having made the decision, but still had mild headache.  Dot and I went up to St Stephen’s on bus (long wait) and into Apple, where we were put into queue to buy her new iPhone. Went and had lunch at Costa, returned at 2pm, about the same time that David got there. He had been working (UK colleagues realised he was in the country and available). 

She bought the phone – young man and woman very helpful – plus a cover for it and a new protection sheet for my phone. Took a while. Then Dot and I walked home via Boots while David took a look around town. Chat with Mark as we arrived. Later cooked chilli con carne for three. Dot added fruit salad (afterwards, not together). We all watched a great episode of Outnumbered where no-one can get through on the phone, then after a chat, went to bed early. I took my second antibiotic tablet. Feeling a bit better. Started raining late evening – severe rain warning for tomorrow. 

Tuesday, November 4 – weather quite pleasant. Up fairly early to drive to Archant Pensioners’ Breakfast. Lot of ordinary (ie non-Archant) people there: so had to wait for eggs and mushrooms. They were also short of coffee. Lot of pensioners there too, including Robin, Shelagh and Tricia. Also present Peter Franzen and others. Quite late home. Decided to clear up some leaves at home – bit of a mistake, because I was exhausted afterwards. Lay down and eventually had a bath while Dot went up to Jarrolds open evening. On the way she fell over, but not badly, and while in the city ran into Jude (Sayer) and later Kim, who was on her way home from a funeral.  She bought cards and gifts and got home about 9pm, by which time I was feeling better. We watched Murder before Evensong and then went to bed. Fewer than 3000 steps. 

Wednesday – Officially mild, but with an argumentative wind. Drove Dot to her violin lesson in the morning and then walked up to post a wedding card to Holly and Rich.  They are marrying on Saturday. During lunch got a call from the surgery about reviewing my medication. Think it went ok, despite my refusal to take blood thinner which I believe caused a problem which led to cystoscopy. Later Dot dropped me at hospital for a CT scan, which went well – that is, it was very quick and painless. No results of course. Walked to bus after sheltering from shower in the car park. Bit of a slow run because of road works: went to Tombland (it was No 11) and walked home through Close. Met Michael and Margaret in Aspland Road and had a chat: they seem disgustingly well. Had pizza for supper, and Dot went with Janet to orchestra rehearsal. Bonfire night but cloudy: fireworks in distance but no sign of promised super moon. When Dot got back we watched the first episode of a new series of Shetland. 

Thursday – Alarm set for 7.30 – got tea. Dot got going quickly, and even more remarkably, Anne arrived early. They caught the 9.30 train and arrived in London about 11.15. Meanwhile I made much slower progress and had a bath. Eventually I put some slides on my computer and made a jelly. Had mysterious message about possible fraud that I thought was a scam – even after consulting with Dot on the phone – but it turned out she had had her purse stolen, together with four credit cards. She did not discover this until she had got home – I had met them at the station at about 10.30. Chaos ensued: the thief had taken £250 + £100 from a Barclaycard account and the same from M&S. Eventually managed to contact Barclays and cancelled both of their cards. By morning had also reached M&S and John Lewis; so now awaiting new cards. Neither of us slept very well, but other than that Dot had a really good day in London, with afternoon tea at The Ivy on King’s Road. Probably. 

Friday – Still quite mild and dry. Woke late and sorted out John Lewis after Dot had problem contacting them initially. Felt tired most of day but better in the evening. Between them Jon and Mark have got rid of some of the remaining leaves. Answered a question on Diderot and showed Dot the pictures I had transferred from slides yesterday. Went to Morrisons about 4pm, which seems like a good time, because not many people there. Mark had gone earlier and it was packed. Street meet with Des, Chris, Matt, Jon, Mary…. Left a little early to cook pies for our supper. Bed early – just managed 4000. 

Saturday – Pretty mild and dry. Busy day: had a bath, then Annette arrived just before lunch by car (instead of bus/train as anticipated), and after some talk with Dot she and I set off for Fakenham. Traffic very bad and couldn’t park at first; so around 20 minutes late for Caroline Gilfillan memorial, which turned out to be really good. Lots of nice food and a surprising number of people I knew – eg Rob and Penny Knee, Dave and Kay Riggs, Su Lee (not in a good state healthwise), James and Ann Knox Whittet, Dave and Liz Radley and others known only by sight. Plus of course Alex Grose (Su’s daughter) who organised it with her sister. Spoke to all. Good songs from a couple of young lads, plus a video of Caroline performing. Among other things.

Annette and I left about 5 and had a good journey, arriving home at about 5.45. Dot had been at Carrow Road – saw City lose 2-1 to Leicester, setting a new record for run of home losses, leading to sacking of manager not long after wards. After Annette had left, Dot and I drove to Stoke Holy Cross for bonfire party at John Digby and Tara’s new house in Poringland Road. We were the only members of Street Meet to make it – Des and Chris had a cold and others had different reasons.

Really nice evening – John and Tara and others very welcoming. That was after we found the house – unbelievably there was a 41 on each side of the road (road name change) and it took a while to find the right one. Dot rang door bell on wrong one: lady very kindly gave directions. Spoke to John’s oldest daughter Isabella, who is doing Eng Lit and Philosophy at Durham. Lovely bonfire, setting and good food, though they had said there wouldn’t be much. Home about 9.45pm. Meanwhile David was on his way to the airport. 

Thursday, October 30 – Dry and quite pleasant. Blue sky over Cringleford in the morning, when I dropped Dot at the hospital for a mouth appointment. She has a small polyp which will eventually be cut out. I went and parked by the Willow Centre after popping into Tesco express, then walked around for about 20 minutes. Very pleasant. After I picked her up we went into Tescos again and bought some flowers for Mary – our next port of call, mainly because Neville has had a stroke and is struggling a bit. Happily he was at his best today, according to Mary. Stayed for a while then drove home for lunch.

Afterwards rang Ray and, after Dot and I had a lie down, he rang back to say we could go round at 3.30 – which is what we did. He didn’t seem too bad, though of course his legs are a problem for him. Home around 5pm and I cooked salmon a bit later. We were both feeling pretty tired (perhaps because of two early mornings in a row). Nevertheless we watched the first two episodes of the new Trigger Point, which is about bomb disposal and very well done. Dot lying down well before 11, which is most unusual. 

Friday – Dry but windy. Up a bit late. Caught bus to Unthank Road. Late, slow and lots of passengers; so arrived between 5 and 10 minutes late at Eleanor’s. Fortunately I had forewarned her. Her dog was no trouble. Had lengthy talk about Canada and New Zealand and (later) church developments. She gave us carrot soup plus bread rolls with cheese, ham and sausages. Oh, and wine  – which meant our alcohol total was way up for the day, because we had street meet later – after again having to wait for a bus.

Quite a few outside – Mark is home for six weeks, plus Des, Chris, Matt, Sam and (briefly) Joe, who then went trick or treating with Cleo. Angela still in Scotland. Much talk of Norwich restaurants.  Later had toast and watched a few things, including Murder before Evensong, which isn’t really very good. Don’t really like clergy assisting with murder investigations, because it would never happen. 

Saturday – Bright and dry; not too cold. Rain in the evening. Bit windy from the west. Probably last decent day for a while. Walked with Dot to Carrow Road, where Norwich contrived to lose yet again – this time 2-0 to Hull. I walked home by river and was hot and tired when I got there. Lay down for a bit. Watched quite a lot of TV, including the first episode of the new Mick Herron series, Down Cemetery Road. Very good, as you might expect. Cooked salmon for late lunch (with baguette) and chilli con carne for evening meal. Did a hard sudoku and a few other puzzles. Sadly, Liverpool won (Villa played so badly in front of their goal that you suspected they wanted to lose), and Spurs lost at home to Chelsea. 

Sunday – Started with a bit of rain but became quite sunny and pleasant. David gave us a FaceTime call, and we talked about his upcoming visit, among other things. Sadly BlueJays narrowly failed to win World Series. Intended to go for walk at Sweet Briar marshes, but it was shut; so ended up at Earlham cemetery for a very pleasant walk. Visited my grandparents’ grave and then Phyllis’s. Had late lunch and watched a lot of TV, including football, Hamza wildlife programme and another episode of Trigger Point, which manages to be brilliant at the same time as impossible in the situations it constructs. Finished yesterday’s chilli. 

Monday – Dry and not cold, but a bit windy. Felt strange all day, but a bit better in the evening. Dot did a lot of cleaning and re-arranging, and as usual we watched too much TV, including football and Trigger Point. Cooked sausages and put out rubbish. Very little energy, but managed 4000 steps, nearly all indoors. Couple of entries in Diderot – Adelboden and Andrew in Northumberland.