The old joke is that this doesn’t seem like a new year – it seems like one we’ve used before. But of course it is new, and everything in it is new, which I suppose is reassuring. Today is bright and still after severe storms, and I’ve just returned from the doctor, who told me my blood test results were A1 and my PSA level below 0.1, though I do have slightly high blood pressure. Well, who doesn’t?
Poor old Julia is in much worse condition, having broken and dislocated her ankle in a restaurant fall in Lapland before breakfast on New Year’s Eve. Very painful, and hard for everyone, with clinic visit, ankle manipulation and making sure she was fit enough to travel home the next day. She had an operation in hospital at Nottingham and will be in plaster for six weeks; it will be a year before she’s fully recovered. The word “fully” is flexible, since it covers a plate and screws in her ankle. We were due to be walking together in Derbyshire at the end of this month: that clearly won’t happen; we’ll have to wait and see whether we meet there or not. I suspect not.
Reverting to much more trivial matters, Dot and I used the Robinsons’ tickets to go to Carrow Road on New Year’s Eve and saw Norwich score in the last minute to draw 1-1 with Fulham. Not the best game ever, but much excitement at the death! Happily the weather was relatively mild at the time, but it’s been much colder and wilder since.
After Communion the next day we went out to see Jessie, who invited us to stay for high tea. This worked well, since we had been cancelled the second night in succession, with Anna suffering from migraine. Would have been awkward if we’d been committed to the Greens’ and offered tea by Jessie as well, with the table already set! Roger and his girlfriend Liz arrived later in the afternoon (we’d got there before 3pm) and we had a very pleasant time – Liz is in PR and publishing, and so we had much in common.
Our third evening booking in succession did survive: we met Heather, Simon and Sam in the Plough on St Benedict’s on Monday and later moved to the Clipper Indian restaurant for an excellent meal. Had a great time with them, as always.
Dot and I have decided to book ourselves a day a week together, and the first occurred on Wednesday, when we started off in Aylsham, looking at some vinyl flooring which may have been superseded by John Lewis (we’ll see), had lunch at the Old Tea Rooms in the town and then drove to Overstrand, where we tackled one of the walks the Coast Partnership had sent me for checking. It turned out to be one we’d done some years ago, but it was very enjoyable despite the cold weather: about four miles inland and then back to the coast. To complete a very full day, I went to a long meeting of the Paston trustees in the evening and was so late back that Dot had begun to worry about my safety – by this time the winds were very strong, and they continued strong through yesterday, which included the John Lewis visit.
In the midst of all this busyness – I still have to write a sermon, choose some hymns, turn my latest Little story into a book and write a new story for Amy, among other things – I have managed to write a poem. Unfortunately, it is not one of the five poems I have to write in response to pictures Ian sent me. I don’t really have time to write this blog. Oh dear, too late not to.