Monday – Bank Holiday. Dry but cooler and overcast. Robin the plumber came just before 10am, fixed our shower door and arranged to do other tasks after much discussion. Did usual Monday crossword and quite a difficult sudoku. Watched a fair bit of television. Des came round to tell us John Digby had had a heart attack, but is recovering. Hard for Tara, who is not well herself. In the afternoon went to Morrisons to stock up again, and I cooked duck legs with French fries – cooked in oven. Quite nice actually. Saw the end of The Count of Monte Cristo on iPlayer. Rather sad. Also a continuation of Secret Service, where a second person I liked died. Also 100 years of Life on Earth, which they seemed very smug about.
Tuesday – Sunny and reasonably warm. Up early to go to the Town House for our monthly meeting of Archant pensioners. Sat with Tricia, Robin and Shelagh; quite well attended. Eric and Peter Franzen, the editor, came over to talk separately. With R & S, we were the last to leave. Then drove up to plumbing shop off Ketts Hill and bought a new tap for the kitchen, plus a screen for the bathroom shower. Hope they fit. Then back home, where Dot read in the garden for a while.
While we were out, they cut down the tree which dominated the view from our back bedrooms. Not a great tree, and arguably we get more light now. Interestingly I noticed a few hours later that I recognised the view from our bedroom window – the tree was not there when we moved in! Meanwhile had a bit of a stomach upset, though I managed to eat shepherds pie supper with no problem. Hope it’s ok tomorrow because I’ve arranged to drive to Swaffham to deliver some old Christian books to a charity that redistributes them in undeveloped countries. Have packed them in the car. Watched a couple of dramas that are ongoing, plus a documentary on the River Dee which I think is an updated version of one we’ve seen. Also last episode of Secret Service, which is set up nicely for a second series. Pity they killed off one of my favourite characters. Well two, actually.
Wednesday – Grey and light rain for most of day. Chilly. Had a very bad night, getting up several times with diarrhoea, but recovered enough to drive to Swaffham to donate well over 100 Christian books to Books Aid. Went the back way but still a number of diversions. Met Ken Jeffery – a nice bloke about my age and after dropping off books had cup of tea and chat with him and his wife, Christine, who went to the Blyth School! We seemed pretty much on the same wavelength – he also plays guitar – and ukulele! Home about 4pm. We had a very light meal before Dot went to orchestra with Janet and Nova. Played through some En Passant games and responded to Tricia, asking for help with Brian’s computer. May go round there tomorrow, after Jake has been to look at bathroom floor. Watched Amandaland and 2026, both brilliant.
Thursday – Quite pleasant weather. Jake came round to look at bathroom floor and give advice. Felt quite ill and lay down for a while before lunch, which was avocado and egg on toast (fast becoming a staple). Watched football, then drove up to vote; bit of a waste of time. Greens got in. Bridget came to clean, and afterwards I cooked sausages – lovely potatoes. Found compline (Ita 2). Sent out invitation to Compline, including Nikki. All came except Phil and Eleanor. Good session, in which Nikki took a big part. Dot cooked birthday cake for Judy and David (80 and 60). went down very well. Played Goodness of God video, which provoked discussion about different ways of worshipping. Nikki played us a song she sung to an iTunes music video. Great voice, very jazzy.
Friday – Mainly bright and quite warm. Busy day. Drove to Uncafé for breakfast with Tricia and Brian. Discussed his computer problem. Later FaceTimed David to speak to him about it. And later still Dot dropped me off near Magdalen Street so that I could go to the computer shop at the end and ask about computer possibilities on Brian’s behalf. They were very helpful. On the way back from Uncafé, we picked up the shower screen : not easy. Discovered we could lower the back seats to accommodate it. After dropping me in Magdalen Street Dot went on to Talk at Two, one of Bridget’s series at Christ Church, Eaton – about the Norwich Shawl, which she really enjoyed: heavy on history.
I walked home via The Close and got into conversation with an Irish couple who lived on Mersea Island in Essex but had been very taken by Norwich. They were staying at the Holiday Inn at Carrow Road. In their 70s, I should think. Nice couple. Tired when I got home and lay down for a while. Street meet in the warm for a change: Des, Chris, Matt, Jon, Joe. Pleasant chat: almost no mention of election. Sad to say Norwich went Green, probably because of students. Better elsewhere. Cooked lasagne and watched an interesting documentary on the evolution of England’s motorways, then a mediocre murder mystery set in Italy where everyone spoke English and an irritating English detective was assisting local police. It would never happen. Writing not great either. Watched a bit of the news.