The Day of the Queen’s Funeral, Monday 1, was warm and dry, in both England and Canada. We woke at 5.30am and caught some preliminaries. The service started at 6am (11am BST). Watched pretty much all of it, including processions and services at Westminster and St George’s Chapel, Windsor. Good sermon by Archbishop Justin Welby – lots of emphasis on the Queen’s faith. Slow moving but dignified series of events. Took about five hours altogether. Brief chat with Oliver at one point.
Chrissy had got an early train into Toronto to meet the subject of her book, Mr Manji, and while David went to meet her on her return we did a longish walk. Before that we had an interesting talk with him about former homes and memories of them. Had something to eat when they got back and did quite a bit of reading. They went out for a walk, and Dot did part of it with them to bring her steps up to 6000. Later had meal and discussion about balanced diets. Helped clear up and went to bed just after 10pm – a long day!
Tuesday was mild; very warm as we walked home from the Conestoga Mall, where we had spent much of the morning. Bought a pair of trousers and some Tommy Hilfiger socks. Enjoyed Indigo bookshop and eventually bought tea and a croissant in the Starbucks there. Dot had a snack of apple, peanut butter and trail mix that she was euphoric about. Read in the afternoon, and I finished Frost and Fire – a collection of short stories by Roger Zelazny, bought for me by David. Very good, especially a sequel to Larry Niven’s The Magic Goes Away. In the evening the four of us went to Bauer Kitchen in the middle of Waterloo, where I had steak frites. The steak was delicious. In fact the whole meal was very enjoyable. Dot had a gnocchi dish recommended by Barbara. Waitress was excellent.
Wednesday was mild on the whole. Read a lot to start with, then went for a walk just as rain threatened. Fortunately it held off: we met Lucy, a Hungarian who knew who we were presumably by recognising my resemblance to David. After we got back it rained quite heavily for a while. David drove us to Farm Boy and we picked up enough for lunch, plus. Came back and had lunch – chicken, sausage rolls etc, then read again. Sent off e-mail to George Kelly about the NIE reunion. David and Chrissy had to take a neighbour, Janet, to hospital. Dot did a walk on her own, and I did one alone later (to avoid leaving houser unattended). Rained again, quite heavily, during supper, and Seth arrived home from Venice about 10pm, transported by his father’s girlfriend (and his father).
Thursday was markedly cooler, with a a little light rain. Up by 8am to go to Farmers’ Market with David: he sat and did some work while we walked round (after having a very light breakfast). Bought a few small presents, and bracelet and earrings for Dot. Then home. Sophie arrived after lunch. Very windy weather and a bit threatening, but we risked it – wearing our raincoats – and did a longer walk than we intended, taking in something Rustic and Old Abbey Road up to the mall. Autumn seems to have arrived right on schedule, overnight. I finished reading The St Zita Society by Ruth Rendell, which was not as good as I hoped it would be. Ted got very jumpy in wind, going in and out. D&C went to the shop, I think. Anyway, they disappeared with Sophie and possibly Seth. After very nice evening meal, Sophie returned to her home.
Friday was pretty cold, but mainly sunny. Went for longish walk after breakfast, and met Ted on the way back; then did some reading. In the afternoon we watched England lose 1-0 to Italy, playing very badly. David and Chrissy took us to Costco, an amazing warehouse store, and then we all went for a slightly shorter walk after D&C got coffee from Tim Horton with Timbits (doughnut pieces). In the evening ordered pizzas from Domino – delicious – and watched Licorice Pizza, an offbeat and funny film. Then a bit of baseball, with New York beating Boston 5-4. Put article and poem on website.
Saturday 24th – Transfer day. Dry till evening, but a bit chilly. David and Chrissy drove us to Caledon, stopping en route at the covered bridge, where we took some good pictures. Saw a Mennonite on a bike. The six of us had an excellent brunch, including waffles and deconstructed hash browns, with fruit. After the sad departure of D&C – we had had a great time with them – we went for quite a long figure of eight walk. Felt pretty tired, with a bit of a headache. Light supper and long conversation before bed.