Friday the thirteenth turned out to be quite pleasant, and I went for a walk round the Cathedral area. Dot had problems contacting one of her heads (Aziza) on Zoom, but she sorted it out eventually. The weekend was very unpleasant – wet and windy. We spent far too much of it watching TV: two films – The Magnificent Ambersons, an Orson Welles product that I thought was better than Citizen Kane, and Wagon Master, an old John Ford Western that was rough at the edges, but very entertaining. We also saw the last two episodes of DNA, an excellent Danish thriller with a thoughtful ending. On Sunday we caught the first two episodes of the new season of The Crown on Netflix – fascinating in many ways, but I’m not sure how accurate the script is. Mrs Thatcher was portrayed rather badly by Gillian Anderson, though it may have been the fault of the script/direction.

Before that we had Zoom St Augustine’s, which for some reason was at 6pm. Howard hosted it and preached, but I led it. I have put a rota together for December and January, but of course if we’re still locked down we’ll be zooming again. The Turkish Grand Prix was really good, on a wet track with Lewis Hamilton showing how good he is by coming from sixth on the grid to win it and take all-time top spot over Schumacher. Lance Stroll led for a long time but fell apart at the end. I’m not sure why. His teammate Perez held on for second.

Monday was a much nicer day – dry, but cold. I would have gone for a walk but Dot was in the back garden most of the day, making it look good in its new incarnation, with pebbles and crazy paving where once there was gravel. As a result I felt I needed to be around to answer the door, because we were expecting a number of parcels. It is Dot’s birthday on Sunday. I also have two new jumpers.

In the evening we watched a Science and Faith lecture on Zoom. Good content, but poor delivery. It was by a theologian who has a new book out with the word “Ramified” in the title. In my feedback I pointed out that this was not a word that anyone used, and the organiser wrote back, agreeing with me. I think theologians produce books for each other, in a language of their own. We avoided the discussion group, but went back for the questions at the end.

I was on Zoom again yesterday (third day running), when I decided to take part in the Jurnet’s poetry group meeting. Quite interesting – I read a poem called This Is Not It – but I recognised very few people, except Hilary Mellon and one or two others. It turned out that we had three people from the United States (not Jurnet regulars), one from Ely and another from somewhere else outside Norfolk. Some quite interesting poems, and it ran the full two hours.

Weather-wise it was quite a mild day, though rather overcast. Good for walking, and I ended the day with over 7000 steps. I walked round the outside of the riverside path (past Zaks) and noticed a young couple swimming from the opposite bank, which I thought was a bit reckless, though they seemed to be having fun. A bit further on I passed Trevor Burton, a former EDP colleague, and said hello. On to Whitefriars, via a new path through to Barrack Street and a look at the city wall at the bottom of Silver Road. I was looking for Ship Yard, which used to be off Cowgate, but I think all trace of it has disappeared, and it is probably underneath the NCB factory.

I came back by the other side of the riverside path and over Bishop Bridge, after which I happened on Jude Sayer sitting on a bench almost opposite her house on Riverside Road, and we had quite a long chat – so long, in fact, that Dot rang me to see if I was all right. I said I was with a woman. Dot was in the front garden when I returned, doing more excellent work, and Bob and Mary were talking to her, in masks. They were arriving home from a walk.

I’m happy to say that the new phones are working well. It certainly helps to have one in the living room. I am trying to choose poems from my last ten years to include in a new book, but am having difficulty thinning them out. Today is sunny, and Dot has just gone up to the sorting office to post a birthday card to Bridget. She is going to Alpington School this afternoon, and I intend to take another walk.