Oliver is now (Sunday the 25th) in Canada. Here, last Tuesday (20th) it was warm and dry. Dot found my summer shirts in the loft, and I wore one to go to Bawdeswell Garden Centre to have lunch with Julia and Allen. Had whitebait – nice. Felt a bit iffy all day but better in the evening. Have been drinking water for usual reason. Also peppermint tea. Spoke to Mark and Jon when we got back. Sarah not having her op till next time Mark comes home. Watched some football and finished off Parish Pump – though not happy about one of the items. Lots of conflicting information. (First rocket lunch in 1950). After light tea – biscuits and ham and cheese, plus leftover salmon – we watched first two episodes of a thriller called Long Bright River, set in America and pretty good. Had another search for Dot’s book The Case for Heaven, but it still eludes. Headache.
Wednesday. Cooler, some sun; showers elsewhere. Went to church for Bible study. Discussed “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life”, but not very successfully really. Probably better to revert to reading a book, or part of one. People who are revamping church “garden” started work today – they seem very nice. Phil back from Italy but didn’t come till Taizé. Dot and I took short walk to Anglia Square to see changes: thought it would be shut, but only the shops were shut. The square is still open. Wrote new article for Parish Pump to replace one I wasn’t happy with; so went with Sir Robert Peel, the 1935 Yangtze floods and the 2005 London suicide bombings. Dropped: 1950 Cape Canaveral rocket launch, which had lots of contradictory info. Wildly different estimates of how high it went, for instance. Not entirely clear why the first launch should be called Bumper 8. Anyway… Dot went to orchestra in evening with Janet and Nova. I managed nearly 5000 steps through the day. We watched another episode of Long Bright River as well as (after several attempts) brief highlights of Spurs’ 1-0 win over Manchester United in Europa Cup Final. Feel quite a bit better but still getting very odd sensations in head and stomach. On the plus side, still alive.
Thursday – Some light rain very early, but mostly dry and not too cool. Still feeling fairly odd, but able to carry on with stuff generally. Chose hymns and took card for Paul’s birthday up to post; Dot and I went to Morrisons to stock up. Altogether managed over 4000 steps. Cooked complicated meal of duck, then we went to DCC meeting at the new vicarage. Managed to park eventually. Stopped Dot driving up no-entry street: she had been confused by my directions. Didn’t enjoy DCC meeting. Watched first day highlights of Zimbabwe test, which was so easy for England that it was boring, then a Villages by the Sea episode on Alnmouth, where I’d stayed with Andrew. Didn’t look very familiar, but then I did go to sleep during the middle of it. The programme, not the holiday.
Friday – Reasonably warm. Up quite late. Think I’ve worked out what might be wrong with me: enlarged spleen. Sounds weird, but can’t find anything else that fits the symptoms. Most of the time I feel all right, though. Perhaps it’s shrinking. Caught up with playing through EP chess games, edited pix and checked bank account. Did quite a bit of walking up and down and reached the high 4000s again. Did some work in the garden, mainly cutting back ivy. Later met in street as usual, but without Mary, who has a migraine. Des, Chris, Ciara, Matt, Joe and Sam there. Mark arrived very late – had been out for meal with friends and had enjoyed the cocktails. Interesting conversation with Ciara (mainly) about Whitsun, which is a couple of weeks away. Cooked pie for Dot, and lamb steak for me. Watched more cricket, Austen and Red Dwarf, as well as another go at Villages by the Sea, during which we managed to stay awake and Alnmouth looked more familiar.
Saturday – Warmer than it looked. Rained early on but threatened later rain did not materialise. Had a bath and then walked over to the bus with Dot, but got a different one to go further, intending to walk home from the RC Cathedral area. However, this plan fell through when a Polish woman asked me where the city centre was and if she had time to look round before her train left at 2pm. I got off with her at Red Lion Street and set her in the right direction, heading down The Walk.
Then I walked up to Chapelfield Gardens and from there through Little Bethel Street to the City Hall, where some kind of demo was going on. Not sure what it was. Looked in at an exhibition in the Undercroft but didn’t like many of the pictures. Headed on through the market and from there through the Arcade and on to London Street, where Dot was busy in Jarrolds. Up towards the Cathedral, and in Queen Street bumped into Stephanie Caine, a friend I hadn’t seen for a while and who was having trouble with subsidence, as well as asthma. Had a chat, and I then went on down through the Cathedral, past Paddington and into the cloisters for a quick look: then home, feeling very, very tired. Had worn a raincoat, and it was too hot.
Had lunch: meanwhile Dot was having lunch with Kim in Jarrolds. She bought several things with Rhodes in mind. Had soup for supper, watched Zimbabwe lose Test (but play quite well) then Dot prepared prayers for tomorrow. Watched two more episodes of Long Bright River – not enough rapids for my liking. Took paracetamol. Still feeling weird.