After quite a pleasant few days, winter is showing signs of coming back again. Nevertheless, we are about to go to the supermarket. It’s not really that bad, just a bit chilly and the occasional downpour. Got caught in the rain a couple of times on Monday when we took some old paint tins to Crown Paints as part of an “amnesty” and then walked up to Santander to make a small change to our ISAs. We now earn ridiculously little interest instead of infinitesimal. I’d been putting this visit off for ages, but eventually gave up looking for anything better because life is too short…

Also got round to doing a number of other things that had been in the back of my mind and gathering dust. I’ve applied for – and obtained – a new visitor parking permit, which now comes in two forms: four-hour and scratch card. Anything to make life more complicated. Dot and I also filled in a long survey about how active lives we are leading – clearly too active  to fill in a survey form promptly. There was other stuff too.

Have just discovered that our second new sofa will be arriving next Thursday, and (more sadly) that my former colleague David Paull has died. He was in a bad way the last time I saw him – been battling prostate cancer for many years. Have supplied a quote for the EDP and got lots of comments on Facebook.

I was able to divulge this information (obtained from Frances) to the Archant pensioners at the coffee morning yesterday. The usual suspects were in attendance, and I was able to discuss with Paul which of us would have been able to bowl four balls that weren’t all hit for six against the West Indies in the last over, enabling them to win with two balls to spare. We agreed that the answer was probably both of us, which means one of us should replace Stokes in the England team.

Directly afterwards Dot and I drove to Swaffham for lunch with the Higbees, which was pleasant as always, though Allan has had a chest infection all year. I blame the sawdust (he’s a woodcarver).

Moving backwards, Dot went to Carrow Road last Saturday to see Norwich City beat Newcastle 3-2 by scoring in the 93rd minute, which is almost exactly the opposite of what they usually do. This gives us a real chance of staying up, but we could very easily blow it. Dot was very excited, and I must admit I was too, especially when I was watching Final Score and they said: “There’s been another goal at Carrow Road.”

Later in the evening we went to the Hendersons for a meal. Holly was home for a break before heading out to somewhere in the desert for a six-month stint of logistics. She had her skiing trophy, which she won for finishing the downhill first of those not in the British team. Magic.

The next day I led the service, and we went to see Jessie in the afternoon before heading back to the Cathedral for a trimmed down Soul Circus that turned out to be really good. It was called Tales of the Unexpected and featured a journey round the Cathedral, some stories, some cake and water and an unusual take on the Road to Emmaus story. I may adapt this into a poem. It was led superbly by Canon Andy Bryant and was very moving.