Thursday, March 26 – Quite cold, bit of wind. Dry.  Tidying up etc, then drove Dot to the Marsh Harrier for a very pleasant lunch with Allan and Julia. I had steak followed by a delicious blackberry and apple crumble with ice cream. Got home just in time for Bridget – 3.30. Had chat and cup of tea with her, then caught up with computer stuff. Had a light tea and then David FaceTimed, and we had quite a long talk. All seems well over there. Afterwards we watched Love Actually, which I think is a superb film, very clever in its construction and extremely funny. It also has great actors and is quite subtle in recognising different kinds of love. 

Friday – Cool with showers. Grey. Window cleaner came at 9.30; so had to get up. Then rep came to talk about new back door. Nice chap with local connections. Agreed to get new door and paid deposit. After lunch Kim came for chat and tea. She seemed tired – has probably been doing too much with her damaged hip. I took her part of the way home after we’d picked up my prescription pills from pharmacy. Dropped her near Maids Head.

No-one around for street meet and weather was bad; so did not go out. Mark getting home tomorrow. Des and Chris on holiday in France. Made salmon en croute and watched a bit of football – England v Uruguay – in which England were poor and Uruguay routinely fell over as if mortally wounded. Pretty pathetic. Then Beyond Paradise and an episode of A Woman of Substance . Had diarrhoea for no apparent reason. Bit of a headache. 

Saturday – Sunny at first; some rain; chilly and windy in the evening. Wrote two pieces for Parish Pump – one on the Great Exhibition of 1851 and the other on the General Strike of 1926. This was mainly (but not entirely) after I’d  taken Dot to rehearsals at St Catherine’s Church on Aylsham Road. After sardines on toast back home  I picked up Kim from near her flat and took her to Dot’s concert. We somehow managed to get a seat in the front row, which was fun, sitting next to Angela and Rodney. Also spoke to Adrian and Jane and to Mary and Neville, among others. Concert was very good, with music allegedly from every decade of the orchestra’s existence. Bit cold, though, as were interval drinks. Afterwards took Kim home: continuous talking from Nova, though I’m not sure what it was about. She gave me a bar of chocolate when we dropped her off at home. Watched a bit of news: little progress in Iran war. Might even be spreading. 

Palm Sunday – Clocks forward. Cloudy and dry at first, becoming windy and very wet in the evening. Did not go out but watched St Luke’s Communion on YouTube, then Songs of Praise. Dot watched Norwich City football while I caught up with messages and other things. Got quite a lot done. Had pies for supper, then watched two more episodes of The Other Bennet Sister, followed by The Capture, which becomes less credible by the minute but nevertheless very exciting. Speaking of less credible, the final episode of the current series of Death in Paradise reached new depths of impossibility. So impossible in fact that it became very funny. Buying chair from John Digby. Awaiting delivery date. Had diarrhoea again. Don’t know why. 

Monday – Cold, especially in wind. Snow over Glenshee. Felt dodgy, but could eat all right. Had a bath and did hard sudoku. After lunch put out bins and added a bit to the garden bin from leaves and overhanging twigs. Then answered e-mails. Felt better after second lot of paracetamol. Cooked salmon. Dot and I tidied up kitchen: looks much better. Watched first two episodes of Hidden Assets, which is not a game show but a thriller – and a very good one. Also University Challenge. Trying to rearrange visit from Sam after I got Dot’s hospital visit at the wrong time in the diary. 

Tuesday – Bit of a strange day. Sort of expecting Sam to call round in late afternoon, but he didn’t  – may come tomorrow. Dry and not too cold. Most of the day feeling quite below par, but decided to ignore it, and so quite enjoyed most of it, except the bit where I discovered one of my tyres was flat. Saw Mark early on and had a chat in the street: he seems glad to be back. A bit later Dot and I went up by bus to Red Lion Street and then walked to the Ivy, where we met Angela and Rodney and had lunch. Very good meal – a belated birthday present from them to us. I had a minute steak and one of my favourite sweets, whose name I’ve forgotten. Oh yes, crème brûlée – thank you, Dot. Also Provence rosé and tea to finish. Good service and had a long chat centring on Angela and John’s family tree, which I’m beginning to get the hang of. Left them with some minor jewellery from my aunt Thelma, which they confirmed was not worth very much, but will value at the shop.

Walked with them back to Red Lion Street, ,from where we got the 25 bus home, calling at the station to get some milk. But they didn’t have any. After some recovery time I checked the tyre and discovered that it had lost about 10psi in a couple of hours; so drove round to Kwik Fit and left it for the night. They will sort it first thing tomorrow. I hope. Then back home lay down for a while. Had some thawed hot cross buns and watched some of the Agatha Christie Seven Dials mystery on Netflix, plus a bit of the under-21 game on YouTube at Carrow Road between England and Moldova, which England won 4-1 without impressing. Norwich City’s Fisher came on towards the end.

Saturday, March 21 – Sunny and warm. Should have gone out. However, we remade the bed and had a couple of meals, and Dot washed the sheets and pillowcases before listening to Norwich beat Charlton 0-1, which more or less ensures their survival. As an added bonus, Liverpool lost. Watched some athletics (world indoor). Gold medal for UK in 3000 metres: Josh Kerr. Good race. Then EFL highlights followed by documentary on problems caused by social media. Interesting, but didn’t mention the positive free speech angle – that i,s a way of getting at the truth when official channels all give the same dubious story.  Someone said not being allowed to question the answers is worse than not being allowed to answer the questions. Felt very tired tonight. 

Sunday – Pleasant, dry and mainly bright. Forgot to take tablets and felt much better. Decided to query long-term effects of two of my tablets. Last day of world indoor athletics championships: we got four golds – Josh Kerr, Keely Hodgkinson (800m), Georgia Hunter Bell (1500m) and Molly Caudery (pole vault). Spurs lost 3-0 to Nottingham Forest at home. Aargh! In the afternoon went to Blue Boar garden centre to buy some patio magic (cleaning fluid) then bought some petrol. Dot drove for the first time since breaking her leg. No problem. Cooked duck in between athletics events. Spoke to Amy earlier after ringing her by mistake. She seems very well. 

Monday – Mainly sunny, some cloud. Dry. Caught up with various things this morning and watched Sunday’s football. Spurs appear to be on the brink, but you never know… After lunch we drove up to the garden centre again because we couldn’t get patio cleaner to work. They sorted the immediate problem, but it still wasn’t impressive. No proper flow through hose. Nevertheless Dot managed to get some done. I investigated changing holiday dates but decided not to. Des came round and told us he is going on his European train holiday this week. They have been in Lichfield because their daughter had a painful illness at the same time as her husband had tonsillitis. Cooked sea bass – tricky because everything happens at once. Watched a bit of TV including University Challenge, Scottish loch tour thingy and a couple of old episodes of Outnumbered, which is brilliant however often you see it. 

Tuesday – Windy but dry till evening, when it became very windy and wet. Took Dot into city for 10.30, when she met Anne at travel agent’s and then for lunch and  other things at Jarrolds. I  returned home and had a bath and lunch before picking up Mike Read and taking him to see Owen Hindle at Bury. (Both men are chess masters.) Tried new route via Elveden which worked surprisingly well.

Owen, who is 86, seemed fine, though he spends a lot of time watching the news from various channels worldwide. He continued to do this while we were there, though he showed us round and made us tea and coffee and provided biscuits. I now know a lot about the war. Amazing collection of chess books. Didn’t see Mark and Liz, who now works for BBC, but we had a visit from a British Gas man, who couldn’t service Owen’s boiler because he had Mark’s boiler details (they live a few houses away). Mike and I returned home about 4.20 and made quite good time, though it became slow near Norwich (single lane on A11). Dropped Mike off and drove home. Cooked pies for supper. Watched a couple of old “specials” – Dad’s Army and Keeping up Appearances. The former was funnier. Dot bought three tops and arranged a train holiday to Nice in September. 

Wednesday – Windy and quite chilly. Both had a bad night. Emptied dishwasher and cleared up kitchen in preparation for Linda’s arrival shortly before 10am to cut our hair. Tried it slightly longer at back… went over to Des’s to check I knew how to operate door lock. After lunch went to Morrisons – Dot had coffee after getting a couple of things and then found water filters. Sorted out stuff while Dot fed tumble drier and then we lay down for a while – both feeling tired. Dot did some practising. Had soup for supper, plus hot cross buns. Drove Dot and Nova to rehearsal at Sewell Park, then fetched them later. Spoke to Penny and Janet. Watched A Woman of Substance – a series of wrong decisions. Her, not us. Substance isn’t everything.

Winter appears to be in retreat – at least temporarily. On Monday (Mar 16) it was bright to start with; greyer later with a little rain. Phil and Joy came round at about 11.30, and we gave him his birthday presents and card. Needless to say he didn’t unwrap them or even look at the card. But I expect he has by now. Joy looked very small and fragile. Had quite an interesting chat, and we had lunch after they left. Watched quite a bit of TV, including episodes of Amandaland – last one very good; made me laugh and cry. Had rather a late supper – salmon. As I was putting bins out, Des brought Private Eye round. 

Tuesday was sunny and not cold. Dry. Head felt funny most of day but took Paracetamol at about 4.30, and from about an hour later it was OK.  Before that I’d had a bath and we’d been to Morrisons to restock. Dot got one of two things, then had a coffee. I got some Optrex from the chemist because my eyes had been a bit dry. At around 6.15 we drove up to the Maids Head and parked in their car park, which turned out to be free if you were using the hotel. We were guests of Janet Bower at a Rotary meeting/meal because Rob Knee was speaking about the Pastons on my recommendation. He spoke for about 20 minutes and answered questions. The food – meat pie and mashed potatoes with gravy – was very good, and I enjoyed what he had to say, though of course it was mostly familiar to me. I was able to assist in a very minor way during questions. We were home well before 9pm, which was nice, and we watched the news and an episode of Ellis. 

Wednesday – Very busy day and lovely weather: sunny and quite warm. Judy arrived later than planned to park car in drive, but managed to catch train on first leg to funeral in Kent, home of meningitisB. Hope she avoided it. Took Ciara and Des to Uplands at Kirby Bedon, home of Helen and Chris Lamb, where we had annual celebration of sugar distribution. Dot (and I) got bottle and card, as we were “retiring”. Lots of chat and very nice food.

Rushed home at 2pm to meet Fred, who came round while Sue was attending Notre Dame reunion. Had some interesting discussion about Christianity, while eating eclairs and drinking tea. At end of afternoon got call from urology about catheter, during which I discovered I had been doing it wrong (sequentially rather than technically). Will see what happens next time – probably tomorrow (It was fine – Ed). Drove Fred back to Poringland (he and Sue were staying at Janet’s) and got involved in heavy traffic on way back. However in time to make soup and toast, which we consumed before I drove Dot and Nova to orchestra rehearsal at Sprowston. Picked them up at 9.30pm, and we watched second part of  Ellis before going to bed. Poor end to Ellis – left one important thread completely hanging. 

Thursday – Sunny and quite warm. Had a bath. Phil came round about 11.30, travelling by bus, and had a coffee. I then drove him to Hurricane Way, where he was attempting to demonstrate he was OK to drive. While he was doing that I walked up to the end of Hurricane Way to see if there was a view of the airport or the distributor road, but there wasn’t. As soon as I got back I was summoned by the people from the test place – bit worrying: I thought Phil might have collapsed. But I was told that he had been doing fine: however he didn’t have the necessary DVLA approval to drive temporarily. So they couldn’t proceed. He had to obtain official permission, which sounds like red tape to me. He was upset of course: it meant he couldn’t even drive his own car.

I drove him home and then returned. This involved a diversion because of a road closure at Lyng. Got behind someone who apparently thought diversion meant maximum 20mph. But I got home in the end, to find Bridget about to start cleaning. She did the kitchen and utility room. After she left we had mackerel fillets and Christmas pudding. Oh yes we did. Watched a couple of episodes of A Woman of Substance, which is excellent but sad. Also watched Euro football. Spurs looked quite good. 

Friday – Sunny and dry. Cooler later. Tidied up and caught up in the study. Put up poster in window for Bridget’s next series of Talks@2. Made avocado and egg on toast for lunch. Anne came round and had a chat, mainly with Dot. Mike rang to confirm our Bury trip on Tuesday. Watched documentary on oil tanker spill at Milford Haven 30 years ago. Blamed on use of oil when the real culprit was incompetence at the port.

Went out for street meet, but met only Matt, and Sam briefly. Angela’s father has died aged 100. Des and Chris in Lichfield looking after grandson, whose parents were ill. Spoke briefly to new neighbour moving in down the road. Later cooked lasagne, watched some athletics and then a documentary on Neil Sedaka, who died last month. He reminded me of Bob Monkhouse in looks and manner of speaking. Brilliant musician, nice bloke: prefer his early songs, though. He should tell more jokes. Well, he should have. He’s dead now. Nice wife.

Wednesday, March 11 – Dry, some sun, wind developing in evening. Plumber scheduled to arrive between 8am and 6pm: eventually arrived at about 2.30pm and agreed with my diagnosis of the leak, then fixed it in pretty short order (new washer). Nice guy – off to Brundall after us.   Dot had shower and practised violin. Went to shop after plumber (Callum) left. Dot got very tired; so she sat out most of the shopping and the unpacking. New cover for iPhone arrived. Very good. Cooked pies, which were very nice. Took Dot to rehearsal at alternative venue – the Diamond Centre in Sprowston. Lots of traffic going because of City match; but it had vanished by the time I came back. City beat Sheffield Utd 2-1 after being 1-0 down at half time. Dot over the moon when I picked her up and gave Nova a lift home. Watched an episode of Ellis, a police drama. Interesting, but not entirely sure about it. 

Thursday – Dry but very windy, getting worse: rain forecast overnight. Took washing line down. This morning we took the bus to visit Paul Henderson and spent a couple of hours chatting and drinking tea/coffee. Then took my Skecher shoes back and got a size 9 (instead of 8) and they seem OK. Dot bought a pair for indoors. They were in the sale and discounted further for Mother’s Day! Got bus home, but Dot was aching a bit by the time we got there. Bridget came to do cleaning, and Dot and I watched football, including a horrendous European loss for Spurs thanks to their players slipping. Very suspicious.

Got letter from consultant saying there wasn’t much wrong with my liver or pancreas, which was extremely reassuring. Definitely no cancer. Des brought us some fish and chips, and we watched more TV, partly so that Dot could rest. A Woman of Substance was good, but the first episode of a travel documentary on India, fronted by Andrew Alexander, made me even less desirous of going there than I was already. Which is saying something. Mumbai and New Delhi seemed like hell on earth to me/us. Cancelled recording of rest of series. Rang Joy/Phil earlier with birthday wishes. Phil’s 74th birthday.

Friday – Dry and quite bright, but windy. Yesterday Dot got a phone call offering her a bone scan today, at 1.20pm, because of a cancellation. We were able to take it, so we drove to the hospital just after lunch and everything went so smoothly that it was all over by 1.25. (We had arrived just after 1.) Des and Chris away in Lichfield, but Dot and I met outside with Matt and Ciara – and later Sam. Mary had a cold, so stayed indoors. Joe’s father died a day or so ago; we had met him several times because he often brought Cleo home – nice chap. She was very upset, as was Joe. Death was quite sudden – of cancer only about a month after diagnosis. We had yellow haddock and watched Death in Paradise. No sign of end of Iran war. David FaceTimed and we had a long chat. It’s snowing again in Waterloo. 

Saturday – Quite bright and dry but a bit chilly. Was about to have a bath when Leanne contacted Dot and asked if she could come round. Obviously we said yes and quickly got up – it was about 10.30. We had coffee and cake with her and she stayed for three hours. Lovely talking to her. She has a hard time with her children but is a really loving mother.

After she left we had something to eat, and I then watched three rugby matches – last day of the Six Nations. Ireland beat Scotland 43-21, Wales beat Italy 31-17 and France beat England with the last kick of the match, 48-46. All good matches. Quite glad France beat England because they’re a better team, but if they hadn’t, Ireland would have won the tournament. Ideally would have liked Scotland to win, but Ireland were just too good. In the midst of all this Norwich beat Preston 2-0 and moved up to the top half of the table. Sadly Dot still not fit enough to go to the match , but she is actually progressing well. 

Sunday – Bright and dry to start with, but dull and rainy later. Bridget came round to park her car before getting a train to Bury (via Diss) for a Mother’s Day outing with her sister. However, it turned out that the trains weren’t running, and the replacement bus service had gone. So she drove, and it all turned out OK.

Meanwhile David and Chrissy FaceTimed: they had sent a bouquet of flowers and some chocolate that were on the doorstep when Bridget arrived. Had quite a long chat again. Dot was obviously very pleased. After lunch (avocado and egg) we watched quite a bit of football, and I whittled down my e-mail collection, as well as cleaning, tidying and making the bed. Sent some money to Open Doors. Had duck for supper, then watched first two episodes of drama The Other Bennet Girl, which was good. Finished evening by watching Spurs get a 1-1 draw at Anfield. Among other games. Dot is worried about swelling in her ankle, but it’s not painful. Tried a bit of massage, which seemed to help. 

Friday, March 6 – Bright first thing, gradually deteriorating. Rain in the evening: so we invited Streetmeeters to ours. Des and Sue came: also Mary and Matt. Drank Des’s wine by mistake. Earlier looked through some family tree stuff and discovered I had a number of birth/death/marriage certificates  Also discovered my great great grandfather from Harlestone was a baker. War in Middle East escalating. Dot found a leak in cupboard under sink, but I can’t see where it’s coming from. It doesn’t seem continuous. Cooked trout for supper. Very nice. 

Saturday – Cold with some rain. Haven’t solved leak problem but have taken precautions. Still can’t really see where it’s coming from. Will probably have to have it fixed. Dot had shower and washed hair. After lunch watched amazing rugby game; score Scotland 50 France 40. Meanwhile Italy were beating England. Dot was making cake; so we went to shop to buy cocoa powder, marmalade and cooking butter. In evening took Des and Chris to Poringland for supper with John and Tara. Nice meal (salmon) and chat. Evetts rang halfway through, and Dot said we’d ring back later, but when we did just after 10pm Julia was in bed: so have postponed till tomorrow afternoon. John and Tara have lovely chalet bungalow near pylons. Watched an episode of Motherland and went to bed after checking leak again. 

Sunday – Grey with a few drops of rain. Fog in the evening, especially on my way back from Lowestoft, where I read six poems at the Seagull: Heading towards Icy; I knew you’d come; Signs of life; and Linn of Quoich, Mist and Fire and A Question for David from my 2003 book. Only eight there including Ian. Lynn Nesbit the only woman: she explained how to live life by using a pendulum. (Don’t ask.) Earlier we listened to a really good service from Ruanda on Radio 4. Dot iced cake and did some practising. Early lunch: watched recording of Italy beating England 23-18 at rugby and EFL matches. I did quite a lot of clearing up, as did Dot while I was at Lowestoft. When I got home we watched highlights of FA Cup matches, including Norwich losing 3-0 to Leeds. 

Monday – Grey but dry. Not too cold. Had a bath, then took Dot’s thank-you card for John and Tara up to the sorting office, passing Sarah on the steps. We both (me and Dot, not me and Sarah) made sure the house was clean.  Leak still there, but small. Dot checked that Amy got home OK from London last night. I went over to station to meet Kristine, who arrived at 12.45. All went down to Gem for lunch – had mezes and a bottle of rosé. I finished with Turkish tea. Home for chat – Dot did stunning cake, but we forgot Kristine is gluten-free. I took her back to the station at 5.30pm and she messaged later to say she was home. Meal cost £117. Didn’t do much for rest of evening except watch last episode of Call the Midwife and an episode each of Songs of Praise and Death in Paradise. Had been feeling extremely tired all day with head cracking. Took paracetamol, which helped and was much better by the time I put the bins out and we went to bed. Quite good chatlet with Archbishop Sarah on Songs of Praise. 

Tuesday – Quite bright and not too cold. Discovered that Paul had fallen out of his bath and had been in hospital with broken ribs and collapsed lung. Dot did some washing. After lunch I took the bus into the city – a 15, which stops outside Chantry Place. Went to Apple and got the protective glass on my iPhone replaced – £34. Then bought some shoes at Sketchers. Walked up to dentist and dropped off hospital letter. Receptionist Charlie very welcoming! Walked home – very tiring. Over 4000 steps for second day in succession. Had to lie down for a while. Cooked duck for supper, and we watched a number of things, including an early episode of The X Files, which they’re rerunning on Channel 5. Shoes I bought were uncomfortable; so Dot has adopted them. Ordered a cover for iPhone from Amazon and booked a plumber for tomorrow. 

Sunday, March 1 – Spring! Some brightness, but lots of cloud and intermittent drizzle.  Caught up on another month of EP Chess. Up to date now. Wrote some e-mails – mainly to Kristine and Joy, the latter after sending off for presents for Phil. Watched football. Spurs lost again – 2-1 to Fulham. Ukrainian couple called to see if we knew any Ukrainians in the area (!). I suggested Des might be a link, but not sure they went there. Later Des called and said Bob (next door) had suggested they might not be genuine. True enough. Will be alert.

Cooked sausages for supper, and they went down well. Watched the last episode of Season 5 of The Chosen: all very well done. I believe Season 6 is in production. Also watched Ice Road Truckers and Call the Midwife. Bit late in bed. Earlier Oliver FaceTimed us, and while he was on we were joined by David and Chrissy, who opened her birthday presents (her birthday is tomorrow). Oliver is training for his marathon. Meanwhile war in the Middle East seems to be escalating. Khomeini, leader of Iran, seems to be dead. Other countries involved as well as Israel and US.

Monday – Pleasant: sky mainly bright and reasonably warm. Drove Dot to hospital for her 11.30 physio appointment, which went well. Again, I was allowed to go in with her. Physio Rachel very pleasant. Good time of day to get to hospital. Afterwards bought doughnut and cake from hospital café and had light lunch. Looked at my autobiography afterwards and realised I ought to bring it up to date. Could take a while. Also walked to sorting office and posted a card from Dot to Jeannie. Achieved over 4000 steps today. Cooked chicken, potatoes and peas, and we also had some jelly and ice cream. Both felt a bit tired before supper and lay down for a while. Sorted out rubbish and put bins out.  Watched football, a grand tour of the River Ayr, and the penultimate episode of The Lady. Oh, and University Challenge, where I got Sturm and Drang and sonata (from its structure). Bed rather late. 

Tuesday – Dry, not too cold. Some sun. Busy day. Up fairly early to go to Archant Pensioners’ meeting. Good breakfast – Dot had extravagant-looking waffle instead, because of her mouth. The stitches dissolved later in the day, and her mouth now feels almost normal. After light lunch Roger called in and had coffee and KitKat. Good chat. Afterwards I cleared up and brought emptied bins in, then cooked salmon. Sorted out mistake on newspaper bill.

Judy arrived about 7.30, and we gave her a lift to Bridget’s for Cake and Compline. Also there David, Vicky and Claire. Really good evening. Vicky just back from Hong Kong. Claire about to have operation on foot. Nikki not there because her father was having heart operation at Papworth. Phil in France. Bridget read extract about a poem from excellent Malcolm Guite book. Not his poem, but very good: Maps, by Holly Ordway. I led a compline which I had printed out earlier – after sorting out a problem with one of the printer cartridges. Dot told story about Moslem woman who met Jesus in a near-death experience and knew him immediately. Home fairly late. Judy has new cat – Lola. 

Wednesday – Grey. Toyed with idea of ordering a new cover and protective screen for iPhone, but realised that taking the old protective screen off might be tricky; so decided to get that done at Apple (Putting the new one on would be straightforward, oddly.) Guys from Sonata arrived at 1.30pm to fix new alarm boxes. Spent some time installing new control panel and box, but discovered they needed to get up to bell on outside wall and as usual didn’t have a long enough ladder. So they’re coming back. New panel much more complicated, so have put off using it so far, but will have a go tomorrow.

Cooked lasagne then took Dot to her first rehearsal this year. She enjoyed it and intends to play in the concert, which she hadn’t thought she’d be able to. Janet brought her home. I spent the evening listening to YouTube music. We both watched the final episodes of Silent Witness, which is getting more and more convoluted – this story was about firms working with AI and sabotaging each other. Late in bed. Earlier put some poems together to read on Sunday at the Seagull. Haven’t written any poems this year. 

Thursday – Dry and mainly blue sky, but a little chilly. In the morning went to see Mary and Neville for tea/coffee and had a really nice time. Neville has had a stroke but seems much better. Watched Match of the Day over lunch. Bridget came to clean at 3.30, which was nice. Had fish cakes for supper, and I fried some potatoes – bit of a dry combination. Followed with strawberries and then half a hot cross bun while watching Dark Knight – a Batman film that didn’t really impress me: rather incoherent and violent in tone. Also too long; so rather late in bed after clearing away. Set alarm to see if it works. It did when we went out. Felt a bit funny today: slightly chilly and popping in my ears. Not ill, though. Spurs lost again: getting a bit tedious.

Tuesday, February 24 was quite pleasant, on the whole. Mild. Hole in Riverside Road as promised by the council, but there was access for cars, though there was a long queue towards the lights round a repair lorry. Anne came round to see Dot while I caught up on EP chess games. Afterwards  Dot and I walked to the bottom of the road and round the block. Dot wasn’t feeling too good (temporary sore throat) and I had my usual head and neck problem. Caught up with e-mails and watched TV including Silent Witness, which was very clever, and a couple of Ice Road Truckers. Cooked fish cakes with cheese filling and mashed potatoes. Quite nice. 

Wednesday was the first really nice day of the year. Sunny, dry and warm. Finished catching up with EP chess games, and decided to have some time out at Felbrigg Hall. Walked a little but mainly had some lunch. I had a scone, Dot had warm croissant with bacon. Sat in sun then went into shop and secondhand bookshop and bought books and cards. Then sat for a while in front of the hall and discussed its architecture. Oh yes we did. Drove home and bought first petrol of the year! When we got home Dot decided we should clean out the bird feeders; this took some time because I lost one of them for a while. Hard to believe, but… Had soup for supper, followed by fruit. Then Dot listened to Norwich v Sheffield Wednesday – 2-0. Discovered Fred had obtained two tickets for Leeds-Norwich cup game. 

Thursday was still quite pleasant, though there. was a bit of a cool wind. Rain after dark. Had a bath and after lunch (yes, avocado and egg), rang Ray Fiske and on discovering it was ok, went round to see him. He seemed a bit better than last time I spoke to him, and we chatted for well over an hour. Came  back and watched another episode of The Chosen. Had more trouble than usual getting it on screen, but managed it eventually.

Dot stewed some apples while I cooked a roast chicken dinner (prepared). Burned my wrist a couple of days ago and it looks rather red. Treating it with Savlon. Discarded a couple of recorded TV series after watching opening episodes: quite pleased to make that decision, which we both agreed on. Watched University Challenge, which seemed to be getting more difficult: the winners only just scraped over 100, and the losers around 80. Also watched quite a bit of football, including European. Several bad refereeing decisions. FaceTimed David and Chrissy: they have been helping their friend Amanda and her family after Amanda’s mother’s death. Still lots of snow there.

Friday was mainly dry, with some sun. Not too cool. Sent presents to Chrissy and messaged Joy  about Phil’s birthday list. Bridget came round to clean at 11. Had proper meal at lunchtime because Dot had mouth op in afternoon which would mean she couldn’t eat much afterwards. Had steak pies – ate at kitchen table for a change.

Drove Dot up to hospital in late afternoon – quite a lot of traffic but dropped her off in good time, then went to park the car. Got back to her with seconds to spare, and I was able to go into the operation with her. Sat only a few feet from her and was able to. see into her mouth as they removed a polyp. Nurse and two doctors all female, all brilliant. Walked back to car: easy drive home. Dot even came out for street meet for half an hour – I stayed quite a bit longer. Des, Chris, Jon, Matt, and more briefly Sarah, Sam and Ciara. Dot’s mouth seems to be healing well. I had some biscuits and cheese. My burn also seems to be coming along OK. Watched a programme about the making of Gavin and Stacey which was very well done, then one on wildlife  in London and the next episode of The Chosen, which continues to be really good.

Saturday was cooler and windy, with some light rain. Dot’s mouth seems to be healing well. No real pain, she says. But she can’t eat normally – had some bread and butter after yoghurt and honey. I had a bath, then we listened to Leicester v Norwich, which City won 2-0. Both felt a bit cold, and Dot had a sleep.  I lay down for a few minutes. Cooked salmon and mashed potatoes for supper, and Dot was able to eat it – and enjoy  it, apparently. Watched a lot of TV – a two-part documentary about the  2011 Japanese tidal wave and its threat to Fukushima nuclear power station. Pretty devastating. Also watched football and Death in Paradise. Oh, yes – and there’s war in the Middle  East – primarily between Iran, Israel and the US. Iran also bombing other states, like Dubai and Bahrain. Very unpleasant. Seemed a very short day.