No sooner were we back from one hotel than we were off to another: this time the King’s Head at Great Bircham. Our second visit: Dot was doing a church school inspection at the primary school down the road, and I decided to accompany her to the hotel because I like the area. I like the hotel too, though it’s a bit pricey. Lovely room with a huge bed and good food in the restaurant, though the service is sometimes endearingly and sometimes irritatingly amateurish. There is a new owner since our last visit, but there was no perceptible change.

While Dot was inspecting I headed for the coast – first at Holme, where I walked over the golf course to the beach and stayed for an hour; then at Thornham, where I walked along the coast path back to Holme Dunes nature reserve, which is run by our next-door neighbours, the Wildlife Trust. Bought a gooseberry ice cream at the visitors’ centre and then walked back, after a brief foray through the dunes and on to the beach. Both walks (together) amounted to about five miles.

Despite some threatening clouds, there was no rain until I was sitting in the car waiting for Dot to emerge from the school – rather later than expected at 4.30pm. Needless to say, she chose to come out precisely when the short shower was at its heaviest. So she, who had been indoors all day, got wetter than I did.

Since then we have been preparing for France – or at least, I’ve been preparing for France while Dot wrote her report. We’ve also worked in two visits to the dentist (one each, neither involving any work) and answering various questions from Phil about how the church hall radiators should be sited. I carefully took a radical view so that I can say “I told you so” when the majority decision goes horribly wrong. I now have to write a sermon to be delivered on Sunday week just after our return from France. I blame the organiser of the rota: yes, me again. It’s tempting to preach on radiator placement, but I shall probably resist it.

After a hot day yesterday, the weather has realised its mistake, and today it’s raining, quite hard in many places. The forecast is not good either, and at least two of our friends are camping this weekend. That can’t be good, can it?