I have just started putting the rubbish out: so of course it’s started raining after being dry and quite warm all day. David is on his way to the airport in Toronto, and Dot has just arrived back from Bedford, where she has been delivering P4C training. I have taken delivery of two crates of wine to see us well into summer, and have been invited to send my Lent poetry book to a publisher. I have also booked a holiday in the Outer Hebrides for the end of July and taken a call from Minster Lodge, where Andrew seems a bit shaky: had quite a long talk with him, though. I have been planning to go and see him later this month.

Quite a lot of things going on at the moment. The accountants’ version of the church accounts bears little resemblance to either mine or Simon’s, and he’s trying to arrange an appointment with them. I have to put together a book of poems and narrative that will also double as a kind of guide to the Pastons in Norwich. Most of the material already exists; so it’s a question of designing and editing.

This is one of the things that came out of our first Paston Footprints steering meeting, at Rob’s house on Friday afternoon. There is an awful lot of work required to go on to the next stage of the NHLF bid, and of course it’s all in the air still. Ho, hum.

Following the meeting Rob and I had a drink at the Ship in Mundesley, and when it transpired that they didn’t do sandwiches on Friday nights, we progressed to the Bacton chip shop, which produces good stuff but is excruciatingly slow. While in the queue we met Susan Curran and her husband; she was giving the talk at Bacton Village Hall to a joint meeting of the PHS and the Bacton Local History Society.

It was a good talk, but not totally uncontroversial. Were the Pastons serfs? She thinks so, but I’m not so sure. How come a serf could marry the daughter of a notable lawyer? The talk was actually on the hilariously expensive Funeral of John Paston, and she is an interesting speaker, with lots of research under her belt.

Dot was not at the meeting because she was rehearsing for her SIllars concert at St Cuthbert’s the next day. This turned out to be another good one: not only Paul and Maryta but also Carrie were in the audience, as well as a few others. The Hendersons came back for a coffee/tea afterwards.

On Sunday I was preaching again, and the service (led by Eleanor) was followed by a surprise PCC meeting (in the sense that we’d all forgotten) to agree the parish reports and accounts. Needless to say the latter was not possible. Nice to have the St Luke’s PCC members come to St Augustine’s for a change, though. Lunch was bit late as a result, and as it turned out, Dot was a bit late leaving for Bedford. Still, she arrived at about the same time as Barbara, who was coming from Devon.

Felt a bit lethargic today, but did manage to get into the city to pay in some church cheques.