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.