Wednesday, April 1 – Warmer and dry. Call to say car was ready – puncture fixed – I went over to pick it up before 10am. Seemed Ok. Cost £32. Then drove up to pharmacy with Dot to pick up her pills, and in an additional exciting adventure drove to the hospital for a physio update for Dot. She seems to be doing fine. Our next date is May 19.
When we got home we received a phone call from Angela to say that my aunt’s rings were worth £170, which is about £120 more than I expected. Bridget arrived to do cleaning, but we had only a short chat with her before Sam and Elliott arrived. Had quite a long talk with them before they departed for home – spoke about family tree and many other things. Elliott, now 12, has matured a lot and was good to be with. Sam seems to be doing well all round and is very likeable. His brother is not in such a happy place and seems to be obsessed with his alleged autism/neurodivergency. Sam did not say this: I am drawing conclusions. Pity, because he is talented in many ways. Sam and E stayed in guest cottage at Eckling Grange. Lucy is working and did not make the trip.
In the evening, after sausages, we watched the end of Seven Dials, an Agatha Christie mystery on Netflix, and an old episode of Endeavour which had similarities to The Wicker Man. Then we rearranged the living room in preparation for arrival of new chair. Also Amy FaceTimed and we talked about her coming to Ballater in June, among other things. Have now paid for cottage. All very exciting. Had been feeling odd all day, but felt better by bedtime, for some reason. Bridget has raised her charges, at our suggestion. Now £21 for 90 minutes. Reflects rising fuel costs…
Thursday – Dry, quite bright but chilly. Had a bath, then around lunchtime drove to Morrisons with Dot and stocked up in a minor sort of way, then bought petrol which had gone up to just over £1.50. Don’t really mind it being more expensive as long as I can get it. Two long trips in the offing: to Buxton later this month and to Ballater in mid-June. Because John (Digby) had put back his ETA to 4.15 we watched a bit of television. Also put commode and support thing in garage. Planning to ring a number I found on both items to have them collected or take them to where they’re needed.
John arrived with his daughter Sofia with our new chair, which we’re buying from him for £250. It has a high back and is adjustable. Sofia helped him to get it up to our living room, with a bit of assistance from me. She then went off to gym. When John was making sure it was ok (he had to take the legs off to get it upstairs) David FaceTimed and was able to see the rearranged room. Chair is quite comfortable and essentially supports my head. I’ve had a bit of trouble with my head recently. After he left with his bank transfer and we had a longer chat with David on other matters, I cooked some salmon, which was not as good as usual for some reason. Then finished watching final two episodes of A Woman of Substance, which was good in one way – showing that revenge is not sweet – but deeply unsatisfactory in another – unpleasant people got the last laugh. Oh, well, as Peter Green would have said. Did say, in fact.
Good Friday – Mixed cloud and sun, but dry. Cool wind. Toyed with the idea of going to an event at St Luke’s early on but in the decided to make sure Dot was all right, though she was happy for me to go. In the afternoon drove Dot to Carrow Road, and she managed to get a lift to the top. Then Jonathan and others looked after her. I met her on foot afterwards (City drew 1-1 with Portsmouth) and we walked home, running into Steve Fiske on the way. He seemed in good spirits.
While Dot was at the match I checked out the record player and played a couple of songs – Bert Jansch and Bob Dylan. Suddenly remembered that it was Friday and put out message that we’d be a bit late outside, because we were tired out. In the end Dot took a stool and I leant on something. Jonathan and Matt came out, and Joe for a while. Later cooked mediocre pizza, followed by hot cross buns and some fruit. Watched an old Vera, which was very good, and a Beyond Paradise that I found hard to follow because I kept dozing off. Head has been heavy again. Took some more paracetamol, but only one lot.
Saturday – Cold wind , but dry. Had a bath and felt better in the morning but not too great in the afternoon. Watched the Boat Race, which was won by Oxford women and Cambridge men. Commentator (on Channel 4) pretty awful, and neither race was very exciting. Later watched Southampton beat Arsenal – deservedly – in FA Cup quarter final. Chelsea beat Port Vale 7-0 and Liverpool lost 4-0 to Manchester City. Cooked some chicken that I had extracted from the freezer yesterday. Not great, but Dot liked it. We had banana and blackberries afterwards. Dot says she is walking more easily in bare feet. She also put some cleaner on the patio. In the evening we watched another episode of Hidden Assets. Very few steps. Odd sort of day.
Easter Sunday – Dry and quite pleasant after Storm David, which didn’t affect us much. But there’s been plenty of snow in Scotland. Dot and I went to Communion at St Luke’s, because there wasn’t one at St Augustine’s. Really good service, and nice welcome from vicar and others. Music was particularly good. Chatted to several people afterwards. We had already listened to a Communion on radio at which the new Archbishop preached, mentioning a desire for peace in the Middle East, as most people would. This was interpreted by BBC and others as using her sermon to call for an end to the war. In fact it was one or two sentences in a sermon about Easter. Journalists, huh?
Spent too much of the rest of the day watching TV, though we had a good FaceTime with David. I think he interpreted my new chair as a sign of advancing age, which it probably is. Had sea bream for supper, followed by hot cross buns. Videoed two of our favourite songs from Songs of Praise for use at Cake and Compline. Also watched another episode of Hidden Assets and two of The Other Bennet Sister, which really is well done. Felt odd most of day, partly head and partly elsewhere. Not ill, though. Not yet, anyway.