The tide is turning. Last Friday (the 15th) was pleasantly warm. Sue and Roger Eagle came for lunch. Sue had a heart operation a week ago; so she did well to make it. Dot did an elaborate series of courses, which seemed to go down well. They brought some nice rosé. They left just before 5pm, and we managed to clear up almost everything by the street meet at 5.30pm. Des, Chris, Sarah, Matt, Angela and John, who met Tara off train at 6.30pm. She had been submitting papers concerning her stay in Britain – 29 years on. David FTd, and he suggested she employ lawyers. Had quite a long chat with him. Then watched end of Screw – very good.
Saturday was again pleasantly warm. Drove up to church at midday and sat in church as part of Heritage Day duty. Quite interesting. At 1pm Dot returned home for lunch and then went to the football. I stayed another hour, then ate sandwiches in the church hall and walked to Carrow Road along King Street. Got there in good time. Met Steve outside, and he asked us not to say anything about his father until he came along to church after the service. HIs father (Ray) is very ill with cancer and may not last more than a few weeks or less. Met Dot in Carrow Road lounge, and we watched the match, which Norwich won 1-0 against Stoke. Could have gone either way, to be honest. Walked home together of course. Tried to contact Howard about service tomorrow – unsuccessfully – but spoke to Judy. Oliver and Amy are back in Aylesbury.
Sunday was a bit cooler, with some rain in the afternoon. Went to church in the morning: Howard leading, Carrie preaching. All waited afterwards for Steve to come over and tell us about his father. It being Steve, this went on for some time.
Monday was pleasant in the morning, but heavy rain in the afternoon. Discovered we hadn’t locked the car, and some items had been stolen, including the leather bag in the boot and my driving glasses. No damage, though. Dot and I went to see Ray, and he seemed a little better than I’d expected, though obviously quite bad. Had quite a long chat with Lyndsey, and to a lesser extent with Derek. Called in at church on the way back to pick up bag I’d left there, and ran into Leanne and Nikki. Nice to see them. Dot went to chemist and garden centre while I had lunch. Got calls from police about thefts, and eventually a forensics woman came round – very pleasant, very young. She took fingerprints and checked various points in the car as we were having supper. Earlier I had looked around the area to see if anything had been thrown away: Dot’s glasses on pavement.
Tuesday was cooler. Bits of rain. Dot drove me to Magpie Road, and I walked the rest of the way to Ray’s. Derek was there with a couple of nurses. He thought I wasn’t coming because his sister had told me not to. But she hadn’t. Ray not too good – is getting hospital bed tomorrow. Alex, Derek’s girlfriend, came – very nice, good with Ray – then Ollie, Lyndsey’s (possibly) ex. Then Nikki, from church, who got on well with Ray. Two more nurses came, and Nikki and I left. Walked with her to Magdalen Street – she was really inspiring; felt that she was already in heaven with her (dead) baby at the same time as living here. She got £20 out to pay for something she and Leanne were going to. I gave her an extra £20, then was a bit worried it looked bad! Walked home; quite tired. Dot got back from visiting Anne and we had lunch. In evening we drove to Golden Dog Lane for DCC, which went quite well. Debbie and Carrie not there. Turned heating on for short while in afternoon.