Feeling pretty exhausted after some hectic days. Dot is still not well, coughing a lot, though she is getting around and doing stuff. Weather fairly cold and dismal.
Last Thursday Dot and I picked up the remaining sugar from Kinsale Avenue school and took it over to Swafield, where we put it in a bin to be collected. Fortunately it was dry. Met an “old” guy who turned out to be 67 and to have permanently dodgy knuckles after being in a local gang when he was young. Very friendly. Drove on to see Jessie before returning home.
In the evening Dot went to her Sillars Christmas meal in Eaton: I delivered her and picked her up. She emerged with conjunctivitis as well as everything else, but seemed to have enjoyed it (the meal, not the conjunctivitis). I had a chat with Neville while picking her up.
The next day I picked David Archer up at 12.30 and took him to Cromer for an operation on his piles. He had a long wait because the surgeon was held up in gridlocked traffic in Norwich, which is a bit ironic. All went well, though, and we got back surprisingly easily by using the part of the ring road I rarely touch.
On Saturday it was very cold – just “right” for cleaning up the church in preparation for Christmas. I assisted with some sweeping, putting out the tea lights and erecting the small artificial Christmas tree. Many others there, including Carrie, Howard, Judy, Matt (a new member of the congregation) and Ray and Christine. Before getting there I had picked up Dot’s car from Harvey Lane, walking up through the Rosary and Lion Wood but avoiding the up-and-down section because I didn’t feel up to it (or down). Car excellent value at £160. I gave Steve £180. Dot didn’t feel well enough to help at church.
On Sunday Dot still didn’t feel well but was determined to play in the afternoon concert at Blofield. So I went to church without her, intending to see her at Blofield. However, despite checking (or that’s what I thought I was doing), I took both car keys; so had to rush home after church to give her one of them so that she could get to the rehearsal, then returned to church to get all my stuff. Hectic. Didn’t seem hardly any time to grab a toast cheese before driving to Blofield. Had to park a considerable distance from the church, but Dot had asked Robin and Shelagh Limmer to save me a seat.
Pretty good concert – not quite as long as usual – with good refreshments. Spoke to Sue and Roger Eagle as well as the Limmers, and Barbara Pilch told me about a Footprints meeting in January. Also spoke to Neville again, plus a few orchestra members.
Monday turned out to be even more frantic, but at least it wasn’t raining. I tried to post some parcels at both post offices, but they were packed out, and I had arranged to meet Dot up at the Apple Store, where she had fixed an appointment for someone to look at a problem with Safari not opening. I was making my way there after abandoning the second post office, but was clearly not going to make it; so I rang her. The appointment was at 3.15; so I went home while Dot had her waxing at Jarrolds. She was still feeling bad; so she went to the drop-in centre, where she had a 2½-hour wait.
I had been to Morrisons to get food for a meal with Jude in the evening, and had just got in the door when Dot rang to suggest I go up to the Apple Store, as she wasn’t going to be ready. I called in to the drop-in centre to pick up her computer and give her a book, and while I was there (about 2.45pm), she got a call to say they were ready for her at the Apple Store. So I hurtled up there, and eventually a guy sorted it out by preparing the MacBook Air for me to install a new version of Yosemite when I got home. I called in the drop-in centre on the way. Dot was still waiting.
So I went home, saved her Desktop material by dragging it into iCloud, and installed the new version of Yosemite. This took some time, of course, but I was able to get the food ready while it was doing it, and Dot got home just after 5pm. We were just about ready for Jude when she arrived at 6pm. After that it was quite relaxing, but I walked almost six miles altogether.
Yesterday, after I’d posted the parcels at the empty sorting office, we had our hair cut, which always has a bad effect in winter, and I haven’t felt really well since. Anne came round for lunch, and later we went to see Jessie. We arrived at about 5.50pm, and Jessie was asleep. When she woke up she thought it was 6 in the morning, and what were we doing there that early? She sorted herself out eventually, but didn’t seem too good, having had quite a bit of pain.
From there we went to the Scarborough Hill House hotel, where we had our wedding reception 50 years ago, and had a meal with Angela and Rodney, Teresa and Peter. The place was a bit the worse for wear, but the food was quite good, and the six of us had a good chat. While we did so it started pouring with rain, and by the time we drove home there was an impressive amount of standing water just about everywhere.
Today I picked up my trousers from the cleaners and then spent the rest of the day finishing the Christmas cards and wrapping presents. Dot went and bought food for tomorrow night, when our neighbours come round, and Howard called in around 5.30pm with the cunning study table he’d made for us, which makes the bed bigger for Oliver (or anyone else). After phoning off and on during the day (and all other days) M chose this moment to arrive. But she didn’t stay long.