Had a terrible night last night – the worst I can remember for months, possibly years (except when I was in hospital). At 2.30 I took a couple of pills – one for my stomach, which was queasy – and at 6.30 decided to have breakfast and a cup of tea. The papers had arrived; so I took them back to bed and did the sudokus and other puzzles. Still couldn’t get to sleep for more than a few minutes at a time. At some point I had a dream in which I was going mad, but couldn’t do anything about it. We were by the sea, and the tide came in on to the road. I’m sure it’s all very meaningful, but it’s now just after midday, I’ve had a bath and am extremely tired and a bit hungry, though not yet mad.
Last Tuesday was drizzly, but Anne came round and went for a walk with Dot. We had a phone chat with David Archer, then later of course he joined us for the Zoom Compline (minus Kim, for undisclosed reasons). At some point we watched a new detective drama called Grace, which was pretty good, and the Likely Lads film, which for me was nostalgic and good fun, and for Dot absolutely hilarious. It’s a long time since I’ve heard her laugh so much. Despite my bad back (now much improved), I managed 4000 steps.
On Wednesday, a major event: tree-cutting on the path behind our house, which had been promised for ages. It was cool and a bit rainy; so not much fun for the cutters. Dot took Harriet for a walk after lunch, an event she described as “a nightmare”. They lost the dog, and Harriet spent most of the walk on the phone to other people. I wrote the first half of Sunday’s sermon and watched the rest of Life on the Road, featuring Ricky Gervais as David Brent. Despite him being obnoxious as usual, the end was well done and rather sad. Also watched Norwich beat Notts Forest 2-0, then in the evening High Plains Drifter, and as a result were late to bed . Walked just over 3000 steps, all indoors.
Thursday was wet and cool again, but there was no stopping the tree men. I finished reading A Gentleman in Moscow, by Amor Towles, which was totally brilliant. Dot had a long Zoom with Barbara Vidion on P4C. My back was still quite bad, though slightly improved. Didn’t walk very far, but finished writing my sermon. Watched The Terror, which is really not very good, and Elizabeth R, which is 50 years old and very good indeed.
Friday was sunny and quite mild – a welcome change. The tree men finished and left a rake behind, which I rescued. Not a bad job, though I had been hoping they would cut more. I examined the ones remaining and decided they weren’t really a threat to our roof.
Posted a couple of cards and walked in the Rosary. Quite a few people about. Later Dot walked on her own. At 5pm we watched Riding Lights’ lockdown passion play, Breaking Day, which was excellent, as you might expect. Also watched The Falklands Play, from the 1980, which was well done, with Margaret Hodge a much better Mrs Thatcher than Gillian Anderson in The Crown. Over a few days we watched The Lost Tapes of Daniel Barenboim on Beethoven, which was extremely informative and, well, scintillating, I suppose. Printed some unrelated music out for Phoebe. Back still quite bad.
Saturday was much duller and chillier, but no wind. Dot did some cleaning, while I went for a walk round The Close. Not all that comfortable, as I was still in a bit of pain. Norwich drew 1-1 with Blackburn – a fair result, though we missed a couple of easy chances. Dot and I cleared a pile of leaves by the steps that had been annoying me for ages, using the forgotten rake. Watched France v Wales at rugby – an amazing game won by France 32-30 in overtime. We had quite a long chat with David on FaceTime.
It was grey again on Sunday. I rewrote my St Augustine’s Way liturgy for Howard, then edited my sermon. I heard that my tanka and haiku had been included in a booklet called On A Knife Edge, which accompanies a national exhibition by the Lettering Arts Trust. Very pleasing. I filled in the national census form, and we had a philosophical discussion with David, Chrissy, Oliver and Amy. I also wrote report on St Augustine’s Sunday worship for the annual parish meeting, and then Dot and I walked on Cary’s Meadow, getting back in good time for the Zoom service at which I preached. This was recorded and is available on line if you have the access code. Watched quite a bit of Crock of Gold documentary about Shane McGowan while Dot watched Spurs match on phone.
Yesterday started out with blue sky, then intermittent sun. Dry, coolish. Walked with Dot on Mousehold after taking her to Tesco to buy water filters, then had an accidental chat with Des. Watched more rugby (recorded), then Unforgotten, which continues to be very good indeed.