Quite warm and dry on Saturday, June 29. Very busy day. Judy came early to drop off her car to take train to London to see her niece. But not before Colin (and Jordan) arrived to cut the hedge (£160). Also trimmed ivy and fixed stone at corner of wall. I got cash out to pay them. Later I spent a lot of time and effort rearranging cupboards in both main bedrooms, checking loft for projector (fail) and finding slide scanner underneath desk in study. Got rid of old medical stuff and put current items in order, making room for music books in cupboard and tidying top shelf in my room. Discovered I have two full boxes of catheters which should last indefinitely. Well, almost.
Watched Switzerland beat Italy 1-0 and then a ridiculous thunderstorm-interrupted game in which equally ridiculous refereeing made sure Germany beat Denmark 2-0. Denmark had good goal disallowed and Germans were awarded non-penalty. Also saw excellent first-day highlights of Tour de France and checked over talk I’m giving to Bridget’s church group. Not happy about it because I can’t get clear idea of how technology will work. Slide scanner didn’t work either. Old technology.
Sunday started wet but improved. A bit cooler. Went to church and led service – did prayers as well. Was originally supposed to be a joint Communion with St Luke’s, but no clergy available, and only one person came from St Luke’s because Melissa was being ordained, and I think everyone went to that. Howard preached. Had chat with Amanda about how we met our other halves. Took Ray and Harriet home: he seems to be getting worse and she still has her car clamped.
Quite a long chat with Michael, our neighbour, about walking and politics. Watched England scrape through against Slovakia after equalising in the 96th minute and then scoring again in the first minute of extra time. Still pretty dire until subs came on. Also saw Tour de France highlights and a bit of the Spain-Georgia match, which Spain won 4-1. Quick FaceTime with David: Sophie had a seizure, but she seems to be OK now.
Monday was overcast but dry till evening, when there was a fair bit of rain. Mark has left for three weeks with his ship, off Australia. I have found the projector and think I can buy a connection that would work. However David Archer has come up with some other suggestions, most of which I don’t understand. To be safe, I have prepared a different talk which doesn’t require technology. Tried them both out today – the latter with Dot as audience. Spoke to David briefly on FaceTime, and he agrees about slide scanner – probably out of date. Dot got pills from chemist and bought some more plants. Watched France scrape through 1-0 against Belgium and then Portugal likewise against Slovenia. The later defended brilliantly but couldn’t shoot. As a result Portugal won 3-0 on penalties.
Tuesday was a bit cooler. Overcast mainly, rain very early. Drove to the Archant breakfast – food not quite as good as usual, but Robin and Shelagh were there, as was Tricia. Robin had stitches and bruising on his face: looked very nasty but he functioned ok! Brian has also fallen over but is ok. Dithered around in afternoon and actually went to sleep. Ordered connectors/adapters for talk on Friday but don’t think they’ll be necessary. Went to the church (Christ Church Eaton) this evening for a talk on labyrinths which was surprisingly interesting, given that public speaking was not one of the leader’s gifts. About 15 there and we took Des, who had seen the notice in our window! While there checked iPad with projector – or at least David Archer and his colleague Julie did. Seemed to work ok.
Saw a bit of football and tennis. Both British No 1s won – Katie Boulter and Jack Draper (both lost in next round). Andy Murray decided not to contest singles in view of his many infirmities. Turkey beat Austria 2-1 thanks to a brilliant last-minute save by Turkish goalkeeper , and the Netherlands beat Romania 3-0. Dot feeling very tired – head still funny But she did sort out a lot of the garage and a cupboard in the kitchen; so…
Dot was a lot better on Wednesday. Cooler, overcast sort of day with splashes of rain, but nothing much. Not in Norwich anyway. Judy came round and we watched 2:7 of The Chosen, then I drove up to church to lead Bible study. Dot thought she’d stay at home and rest. Judy joined the study, and so did Debbie, Steven, Ellie and Phil. Went much better than last week.
After lunch Dot walked up to the dentist and got a clean bill of health, plus an actual bill of well over £100. When I walked up (late, because I’d been checking my new connectors and found that neither of them fitted) I just managed to get there in time. Got prescribed some new toothpaste and I persuaded him not to clean my teeth, which I think causes more trouble than it cures. He did an x-ray, which revealed nothing seriously wrong. Receptionist in jolly mood.
Met Dot in John Lewis afterwards, and she may have bought me a birthday present. Walked home and felt completely knackered when I got there. Phil said Clare had had a similar head to Dot and it eventually went away (try not to picture that). Ordered some Grove Books for the group. Watched a little bit of tennis (win for Radicanu), and then cleared up while Dot went to orchestra. Prepared connectors for return to Amazon. After Dot got home watched Mark Cavendish win brilliant sprint which made him winner of most stages in the Tour de France – ever!
Thursday was quite a tiring day: dry but mainly overcast and breezy. Got up fairly early and sent back stuff to Amazon (wrong adapters), then picked up pills from chemist. At various points during the day wrote my sermon (though it may not be quite finished) and chose hymns. Helped Dot catch up with her puzzles. Bridget came and cleaned for an hour, and Sarah popped over to return cake container: she seems ok. Dot and I drove up and walked a bit to register our votes (for two different people). I ordered what might be the right adapters from Amazon. Watched some tennis – Andy and Jamie Murray being knocked out of doubles. Had a long FaceTime with Amy about her concert, her health and other things. And last but certainly not least – Oliver got a first at Warwick. Brilliant!