Not a restful week, but it was never going to be. And it seems to have done the trick. Although I’m quite tired, there’s now a very good reason for it, and my teeth are all right too.

We left on Monday, on the 0957 train for Nottingham. It was noisy, there wasn’t much room, and the weather was middling. The journey went quite well, however, and Dave Evetts was waiting on the platform to greet us. He took us on the shiny new tram to Toton, and we walked to their bungalow, on which the decorator was still working – the final stages of repair following its collision with a car earlier in the year.

After lunch we went for a walk in the park near the university, preceded by a brief walk round an art gallery and another tram ride. Afterwards we took the tram back again. We ate in. The weather was quite warm.

On Tuesday things became a bit more strenuous. We drove to a point near the Hemlock Stone and went for a quite hilly walk to a garden centre, where we enjoyed lunch before walking back a different way. This included quite a stiff climb to a triangulation point. Later we took the tram again into Nottingham, and after a drink went to the cinema and watched Our Kind of  Traitor, an excellent John le Carré adaptation released this month to middling reviews.

Following this we ate at Le Bistrot Pierre: excellent French food. I had chicken and chips, though it was obviously phrased differently. Then back on the tram again…

On Wednesday it was much cooler and with some rain in the air. We drove to Southwell, where we had a drink and then visited the Minster, which was impressive – all the more so because I’d never heard of it. It contained a stunning angel window and much else, including a new stained glass window focusing on the second world war (brilliant) and an equally brilliant series of stations of the cross in what looked like lead or pewter. And – coup de grace – in the chapter house was a seat with the name Lenton on it.

Out back there was another ancient building where kings and archbishops had trod, and some picturesque ruins. We returned to the refectory for lunch, then drove to the nearby Southwell Workhouse, which was a model of its kind, and which was well served both  by helpful human guides and an excellent audio guide system. In fact if it had not turned really cold and wet, it would have been wonderful. As it was there was some element of eagerness to get to the end (much of the tour being either outdoors or open to the elements).

In the evening we took a taxi to Stableford and La Rock restaurant, which was pretty close to perfect, for a restaurant. We started with cocktails and continued with first-class food, accompanied by excellent service. Expensive, yes, but a lovely experience.

Our final day at Nottingham, which started still quite cool but got warmer, began with a shortish walk to a nearby garden centre (anyone sensing a theme here?) for a drink, followed by a light lunch and departure by tram for the station – the Evetts accompanying us to the tram terminal at Toton Lane. We arrived at the station in very good time, and the journey home was more relaxing, though without benefit of buffet.

Today we were unable to lie in, because we were scheduled to meet the CNS Class of 61 at Carrow Road for a tour and lunch. The tour, led by Bill Punton, who I had watched playing in the early 1960s, was brilliant. I had the opportunity to take the manager’s chair at a “press conference”, but the highlight was undoubtedly Bill Punton’s commentary, which was a real eye-opener as to what went on when he was playing – much of it quite violent. No substitutes; so they were patched up and played on, sometimes with broken bones. Literally.

Afterwards we had a talk from Ray Houseago, one of my classmates who was company accountant at Carrow Road for seven years. He had some surprisingly pleasant things to say about the much-reviled Robert Chase, and much else too. Some very interesting questions. Afterwards we had a lunch that could just about be described as adequate if you were in a good mood, which I was.  One of the leaders’ wives was so incensed at the lack of quality that she obtained a group refund of 50%.

Happy to say Fred was able to come and seemed quite well recovered from his illness over Christmas and beyond. Sue missed the tour and talk but came for the lunch, which was followed by a quiz, at which our table did not really shine.