Dot’s cousin Rosie, pictured at her North Norfolk rose nursery when we visited with the Murrays in May.

Dot has had a bad couple of days. Though her throat improved dramatically (so it clearly wasn’t tonsillitis), whatever it was initially turned into a really bad congestive head cold, and she was in bed all weekend. I did my nurse-cook impersonation and kept her well-fuelled with food and drink while worrying constantly that I might catch it, which would inevitably delay my operation. All right so far, though I am by no means 100%. Last night she was coughing really badly, and I had a bad night myself for unrelated reasons, having to get out of bed almost every hour. So feeling a bit woozy. Foolishly, although she cancelled this morning’s DSSO meeting, Dot has gone off to Dussindale for another meeting with Sue Eagle. She has this admirable determination not to let people down, but I fear it could get her into trouble.

We watched the men’s final at Wimbledon: a real epic, with Roddick just failing to survive against Federer, 16-14 in the final set. Despite admiring Federer, I didn’t want Roddick to lose. Nobody should have to lose a match like that. Dot is now reading Franny and Zooey, by J D Salinger, which has been on my bookshelf for possibly 40 years or more without my reading it. I finished it a couple of days ago and thought it was excellent. All that time I had thought Zooey was a girl… Nothing much happens, but the conversation and description make the whole thing really vivid, and the ideas – especially when worked out at the end – are fascinating. I picked it off the shelf because I saw a reference to it in Into the Silent Land, by Martin Laird, the guy who spoke at St Luke’s recently. I intend to read that, so I thought it might be a good idea to read F & Z first, so that I could understand the reference. Glad I did.

Have written a liturgy/meditation/poem for the Ambient Wonder event which will be trialled on Sunday before being put on at Greenbelt in August. Quite pleased with it. Have also provisionally booked the Ballater cottage for a second week in Scotland – all depending how I recover from the operation, if indeed I am well enough to have it. The weather has broken: now much fresher and with some heavy, thundery rain this morning – fortunately not till after I had gone up to the hospital for a blood test.