We’ve just been for a three-mile walk at Venta Icenorum, the Roman town about three miles outside Norwich, and this is Dot approaching the church in a mist that lifted as we arrived and came down again as we left. Other pictures on Flickr. In between, quite briefly, bright sunshine. We did the longer walk around the site, found a couple of swans on the river, which was flowing briskly, and some magpies on the hill on the other side. The combination of mist and sunshine was spectacular at times, with naked trees coming out of the mist like Romans emerging from the past. After finishing the round we walked a further mile and a quarter on permissive paths that have only recently been opened along the sides of fields. We walked up to a low ridge (the only sort you get in Norfolk) and sighted a tiny shrew by a marker post. Then walked past an Anglo-Saxon burial site marked by pines reaching into the sky, through the mist, towards the sun. All very pleasand and unexpected: in Norwich it has been bright sunshine all the way.

Earlier today looked at some cottages in Scotland for a possible holiday with David and Vicky and the children. We also received the sad news that Bernard O’Brien had died on Christmas Eve. It is his funeral tomorrow, and we hope to go. Bernard was our neighbour for 12 years in Yelverton – a gentle, eccentric giant.

Dot has been busy with her philosophy for children. She spent most of Monday at Terrington St Clement with Sue and Roger Eagle, and they have another three dates there in the next couple of months. Then she was down at Barbara’s all yesterday afternoon after we had had our hair cut. Naturally I have been putting the time to good use, though I can’t quite remember what I did. Our Tuesday Group was at the Archers’ last night, which meant we didn’t have to worry about cooking.