Tuesday, February 24 was quite pleasant, on the whole. Mild. Hole in Riverside Road as promised by the council, but there was access for cars, though there was a long queue towards the lights round a repair lorry. Anne came round to see Dot while I caught up on EP chess games. Afterwards  Dot and I walked to the bottom of the road and round the block. Dot wasn’t feeling too good (temporary sore throat) and I had my usual head and neck problem. Caught up with e-mails and watched TV including Silent Witness, which was very clever, and a couple of Ice Road Truckers. Cooked fish cakes with cheese filling and mashed potatoes. Quite nice. 

Wednesday was the first really nice day of the year. Sunny, dry and warm. Finished catching up with EP chess games, and decided to have some time out at Felbrigg Hall. Walked a little but mainly had some lunch. I had a scone, Dot had warm croissant with bacon. Sat in sun then went into shop and secondhand bookshop and bought books and cards. Then sat for a while in front of the hall and discussed its architecture. Oh yes we did. Drove home and bought first petrol of the year! When we got home Dot decided we should clean out the bird feeders; this took some time because I lost one of them for a while. Hard to believe, but… Had soup for supper, followed by fruit. Then Dot listened to Norwich v Sheffield Wednesday – 2-0. Discovered Fred had obtained two tickets for Leeds-Norwich cup game. 

Thursday was still quite pleasant, though there. was a bit of a cool wind. Rain after dark. Had a bath and after lunch (yes, avocado and egg), rang Ray Fiske and on discovering it was ok, went round to see him. He seemed a bit better than last time I spoke to him, and we chatted for well over an hour. Came  back and watched another episode of The Chosen. Had more trouble than usual getting it on screen, but managed it eventually.

Dot stewed some apples while I cooked a roast chicken dinner (prepared). Burned my wrist a couple of days ago and it looks rather red. Treating it with Savlon. Discarded a couple of recorded TV series after watching opening episodes: quite pleased to make that decision, which we both agreed on. Watched University Challenge, which seemed to be getting more difficult: the winners only just scraped over 100, and the losers around 80. Also watched quite a bit of football, including European. Several bad refereeing decisions. FaceTimed David and Chrissy: they have been helping their friend Amanda and her family after Amanda’s mother’s death. Still lots of snow there.

Friday was mainly dry, with some sun. Not too cool. Sent presents to Chrissy and messaged Joy  about Phil’s birthday list. Bridget came round to clean at 11. Had proper meal at lunchtime because Dot had mouth op in afternoon which would mean she couldn’t eat much afterwards. Had steak pies – ate at kitchen table for a change.

Drove Dot up to hospital in late afternoon – quite a lot of traffic but dropped her off in good time, then went to park the car. Got back to her with seconds to spare, and I was able to go into the operation with her. Sat only a few feet from her and was able to. see into her mouth as they removed a polyp. Nurse and two doctors all female, all brilliant. Walked back to car: easy drive home. Dot even came out for street meet for half an hour – I stayed quite a bit longer. Des, Chris, Jon, Matt, and more briefly Sarah, Sam and Ciara. Dot’s mouth seems to be healing well. I had some biscuits and cheese. My burn also seems to be coming along OK. Watched a programme about the making of Gavin and Stacey which was very well done, then one on wildlife  in London and the next episode of The Chosen, which continues to be really good.

Saturday was cooler and windy, with some light rain. Dot’s mouth seems to be healing well. No real pain, she says. But she can’t eat normally – had some bread and butter after yoghurt and honey. I had a bath, then we listened to Leicester v Norwich, which City won 2-0. Both felt a bit cold, and Dot had a sleep.  I lay down for a few minutes. Cooked salmon and mashed potatoes for supper, and Dot was able to eat it – and enjoy  it, apparently. Watched a lot of TV – a two-part documentary about the  2011 Japanese tidal wave and its threat to Fukushima nuclear power station. Pretty devastating. Also watched football and Death in Paradise. Oh, yes – and there’s war in the Middle  East – primarily between Iran, Israel and the US. Iran also bombing other states, like Dubai and Bahrain. Very unpleasant. Seemed a very short day.