It’s Monday again, and we’re just back from giving blood as part of a cancer research programme. This took place at Sainsbury’s, Pound Lane, and was particularly efficient. I asked my nurse if she would come into hospital with me next time I was there, as the hospital people, even the doctors, are hopeless at it. She demurred. David, Oliver and Amy are back in Aylesbury, having spent Saturday and Sunday with us. More of that later.
Last Wednesday was mainly dry, but there was at least one very heavy shower, which I got caught in as I left Kim’s to get to the car. I had called round so that she could give me some supplements to tackle my illish feeling. Had cup of tea with her and a chat while Dot was rearranging the house for the visit of David & Co. I had helped earlier. I got back before 4pm so that we could go over to Des and Chris’s for tea and chat. Then back home for chilli con carne part two before Dot was picked up by Janet for orchestra rehearsal. Did some Paston editing while she was out. Had taken some pills and felt a bit better.
Thursday was very windy. Intermittent sun, with red kites in Aylesbury. Dot dropped me at church for the Bible Study session – much delayed because Leanne was late and Nikki even later. Leanne brought Leah, her eldest daughter, for a while. Dot picked me up after midday, and we headed straight for Aylesbury. Got there just after 3pm. Took stuff out of the car and put some in. Chrissy FTd, then Oliver arrived with his friend Daniel. Also, separately, Amy. D, O and D loaded boxes and other stuff into our car and pumped up back tyres to take the weight. We ate some chicken and other stuff that Dot had brought, then headed home. Straightforward journey, except that several notices said the A14 was closed when it wasn’t. Dot drove to petrol station at Thetford, where we filled up (general fuel shortage caused by idiotic Extinction Rebellion activity) and I drove the rest of the way. Watched Kate and Koji and went to bed.
Friday was quite pleasant, but with a chilly wind. Went to Morrisons in the morning to get food for the weekend. I walked back so that Dot could get the food bags in the front seat. (We were under strict orders not to unload heavy boxes from the car.) Dot spent a lot of time baking a cake for David’s 50th. Also a lot of clearing up. I felt very tired in the afternoon and had a sleep on the bed, but after that I was fine – went out for the customary drink. Mark was home, and Jonathan and John stopped by – later Tara came for a while, but John was out running. We went in to have supper, partly because Dot was cold. Had a good long chat, though. Now tending to eat supper downstairs. Afterwards saw a bit of TV.
Saturday was again quite pleasant, but coldish. Anne arrived before 9am and we arranged for her to park in Des’s drive. Then she, Louise and Charlotte left for the train. Linda forgot to come to cut our hair; so we spent the morning clearing up and preparing for our guests, as well as tracking them on our phones. We had a bite to eat, then David and the children arrived about 2.30pm, driven by Oliver, and Amy nervous in the back with all the boxes.
Phil and Jane, with Lydia and Alastair, arrived not too long afterwards. We had a good chat, then Dot and Amy mainly got out the buffet, with some help from me. Oliver and Alistair played table tennis, as did Amy for a while. Then we had the buffet followed by the cake (David’s 50th) and champagne. We got the stuff in from both cars and put it in the garage – not as much as I thought. Following further chat the Coomes left and Dot and I cleared up. Then we watched F1 qualifying followed by highlights of Villa 0 Spurs 4, and a look through our recent photographs at Amy’s request. But she was very tired, and we went to bed fairly early, with Oliver sleeping in the living room on a mattress.
Sunday was Palm Sunday, but of course we took no practical in church activities. The day was quite pleasant, and I was feeling a bit better. After breakfast and a buffet leftovers lunch, David, Dot and Oliver left for the match. There was a problem because unknown to us, one of the tickets had been cancelled by its owner (Chris) ; so David had to come back and get the fourth one. Norwich beat Burnley 2-0 and looked quite good, apparently. I had a nice time with Amy, looking through lots of her pictures and then trying out some HIghway Code practice questions.
Later we went through the stuff in the garage, and David and Oliver sorted out some minor problems with the computers and (especially) TV. They have got rid of Airport 22, and for some reason the picture on our TV seems much better. David also installed a label printer in my study, which will be handy. I cooked salmon, and they eventually left about 8.30pm. We tracked them much of the way home. Lovely having them all here.