Not a very exciting day today. Very cold (a north wind), and intermittent rain. No plans to go for a walk. Our grocery has been delivered, and Dot has been walking in the garden. Briefly. I have registered for a survey that includes taking another covid test, following an invitation from the NHS. Looked at a couple of holiday cottages in Suffolk, but decided to put it off.
Last Friday seems a long time ago. We watched a brilliant film called Bringing up Baby, which featured Audrey Hepburn in amazing form. I didn’t know she was that good. Earlier I walked up to the Rosary while Dot did the garden: there was some tree work going on in the Rosary – not entirely sure what, possibly thinning out at the very top. Dot had fish and chips, and we watched Vera because it’s soothing.
Saturday was sunny again, and we got up late. After lunch we went for a walk on Mousehold and got pretty tired. Also had a cup of tea in Chris and Des’s driveway; it was just warm enough to chat comfortably. After that we watched The Plank, which was extremely funny, and later a modern film called Edie, starring Sheila Hancock as an old widow (83) who wanted to climb a mountain. It was surprisingly good, made even more so for us, because they used the rather esoteric hotel in Lochinver that we stayed at a couple of years ago. The mountain, of course, was Suilven – not tremendously high but quite inaccessible. Apparently SH actually climbed it; so perhaps I could… Probably not; so I wrote a poem about it instead.
My book got a euphoric response from Joy McCall, but then she is on my wavelength. Very encouraging, though. She put it on Facebook, which is more than I did. I have sent it to a few people.
It was extremely foggy first thing on Sunday, and quite chilly. I had a bath and finished Heather’s book, then wrote to her about it. Not the sort of thing I’d normally read, but quite nicely done, if you’re interested in cultural sexism. Norwich beat Wycombe Wanderers 2-0, and I led a Zoom service, with Dot doing the prayers. Howard preached. In the afternoon we walked round Bishopgate and the cut-through. Amy got in touch, and Dot spent quite a time on the phone to Anne.
Monday was cold but dry. I walked up to the postbox to post a few books, but that was it. Dot had a longish Zoom with Barbara about P4C, and a PCC meeting in the evening. We also had a conversation with the Evetts. I had a strange moment when I stepped outside the front door and suddenly realised it was completely quiet: no motor vehicles, nothing – and we are in the middle of a city. It was about 11pm.
The next day was still cold but dry. Dot had a Zoom violin lesson, and after lunch we both walked to the Greens’ to deliver some music – met Howard coming out of a neighbour’s house, then met Maureen (from No 6 ) at the bottom of the road and Sarah, who was popping into Mark’s. He is in Alabama again. I booked a couple of days at Blakeney while the Evetts are there, and a check-up at the dentist in about three weeks’ time. In the evening we had a chat with David and Chrissy (it was her birthday). They seemed to be having fun. Started watching a new Scandi Noir (Finnish this time), and saw the end of Marcella, which didn’t impress me. Almost everyone in it was borderline insane, and by the end conveniently dead, except for Marcella herself (spoiler alert) and a baby she had taken from its shot mother to replace the one she’d lost in an earlier series. Completely unconvincing.
I’ve started reading the book that Dot was very keen on: A Gentleman in Moscow. It’s very well written and heart-warming in the best possible way. Funny, too. The weather yesterday was very cold, but no wind at all. Posted a card and went to the Rosary with Dot, saying hello to our “mate” who does maintenance there. Norwich beat Brentford 1-0. Pukki missed a couple of sitters. I cooked the Hello Fresh meal while Dot watched the first half, and we watched the second half together. Watched the first two episodes of The Terror, a much-hyped series about Franklin’s ill-fated attempt to find the north-west passage. Not sure how they’re going to stretch it over ten episodes.