It’s Sunday, May 12, sunny and warm, as it has been for a few days. There have also been some Northern Lights in the vicinity, and a rather large geomagnetic storm originating on the sun is about to hit us, though with what effect no-one really knows. Musk is worried about his satellites. We have just been to church, where Howard continued his sermon series on Ecclesiastes, and after the service we had a rehearsal of the ceilidh band for next week: I was a bit late for that, as I had to take Ray home. I’m not particularly good at ceilidh music anyway, but I disguise the fact quite well. Present: Dot, who is now much better vertiginously speaking, Anna, Phil, Alison, Jaya and Matt. So three violins, a cello, two guitars and a piano.

When we got home, we discovered that Jonathan had power-washed our front wall. The wall looked good, but the surroundings were a bit messy. Still, nice of him. While we were out, Norwich drew 0-0 with Leeds in the home leg of the Championship play-offs.

Going back to Monday May 6 , it was mild with some sun. Dry. The Bank holiday weather forecast was completely wrong. Dot was feeling quite a lot better, but I felt very tired with pains in lower body and upper thighs. Hard to get up from a sitting position on sofa. Caught up with lots of stuff in the afternoon. Dot drove up to Homebase and Garden Centre, and I walked up to meet her at Ketts Hill roundabout. We then called in briefly at the Rosary. Longish phone call with Paul, partly about his June 3 party, which we had failed to tell him we can’t to go to because we’ll be in Scotland. Watched a bit of snooker world championship, won by Wilson. Also Blue Lights, still brilliant. Cooked duck again. Pretty good. 

Tuesday – Sunny and mild. Dot much better: I felt really tired halfway through the day, but not too bad generally. We both went to the Archant pensioners’ breakfast, which was sparsely attended. Most of the time sat with Richard Batson, then David Wakefield turned up, but no-one else from editorial. Robin and Shelagh at home with suspected Covid/flu. Afterwards went up to fetch my pills – Heartsease roundabout open after many months. Then drove down Thunder Lane to buy stamps – all post offices near us are shut – and on to Morrisons, where Dot bought a few things and I went to Boots to make sure my loyalty card remained activated. Bought water, Coke and some eye-soothing stuff.

Dot did quite a lot in the garden, having bought a new plastic greenhouse which she erected. I cleared up in the house, booked the Lindisfarne Inn and applied for my next driving licence (every three years after you’re 70). In the evening we drove to Sussex Street, parked and walked to DCC meeting at Howard’s. On time for 7.30 – unfortunately it was 7pm. There you go. Judy was late too. Longish meeting but all went well. Walked back to car and drove home to watch pigs dying on Clarkson’s Farm. Very sad. 

Wednesday was another mild and dry day, with plenty of sun. Dot was feeling quite a bit better, and so was I. Went to church together, and I led Bible study. She had a bit of a turn during it, but not too bad. (Debbie, Judy, Ellie, Phoebe, Steve: finished Philemon and switched to Colossians.) In the afternoon she spent quite a time in the garden, creating a new seating area. I cleared up indoors. We watched another episode of Red Eye, a rather good thriller that takes place in an aircraft. In the evening I went to Halesworth for poetry. Nice to see Lynn, Elizabeth, Sue F and Sue M, Kaaren, Marianne and others, but it’s a long way to go to read two poems, one of them without an introduction (because of time constraints). Good journey both ways, though, and home well before 10pm. Dot now has a very sore finger – something else to worry about. However she put something on Diderot and spoke to David about it. 

Thursday dawned mainly sunny, mild and dry. Just right, really. Drove over to a Poringland to see Anne and Philip and deliver Anne’s birthday presents. Had tea/coffee, then went to visit Thelma, who is now bedbound but still fairly cheerful. Very hard to communicate because of her deafness. Showed her a couple of pics of Joanne, Eddie, Sandra, Phil and Joy, but she didn’t really recognise anyone. Also showed her some old family pix (on my phone), in which she was more interested. Bridget was cleaning when we got home; had a chat with her in the garden. Had quite a late meal (yellow haddock), then tidied room up, including updating Cornerstone sheets and cutting driving licence in half as requested – part of the process of getting a new one. Watched a bit of TV – on coastguard rescues, which I find strangely fascinating, and Vegas/Gibson comedy. Dot not feeling too bad: same with me, given moments of fatigue. 

Friday – you guessed it: sunny and warm. Took Dot up to Spire Hospital for appointment with Mr Princely about her vertigo. Half an hour – pretty thorough. He felt her balance was a bit off, but no BPPV at the moment. As it seemed to be improving he suggested leaving it for a couple of months, with the option to come back if it got worse. She had a walking on the spot test, in which she veered markedly to the right, to her astonishment. Nice surroundings. In the afternoon I posted my driving licence (cut in two) back to DVLA. The new one had already arrived. Watched quite a bit of TV and went out for street meet – big gathering (Des, Chris, John, Jonathan, Sean, Ciara, Phoebe, Matt, Angela, Sarah – and Mary for a moment). Fish and chips. More TV. Very tired. 

Yesterday was – yes – warm and dry, but failed to go out because I was writing Parish Pump pieces on Tolkien, Gideons and York Minster. Also practised ceilidh songs and hymns for tomorrow with Dot and watched a fair bit of TV, including more of Clarkson’s Farm. Spurs won for a change. Had four-way FaceTime with David, Oliver and Amy. Everyone seemed pretty jolly. Dot did quite a lot in the garden after buying some clematis from the garden centre (Highways). She also had very long phone call with Angela. 

Tuesday April 30 was fairly mild, and dry till mid-evening. Decided to do some tidying up on parents’ and grandparents’ graves; so I drove up to  the back entrance of the Rosary with tools and stone cleaner. Took a while: was feeling pretty tired by the end. When I got home discovered that Dot had had really bad vertigo and rang the doctor. She fixed an appointment for tomorrow afternoon (“I am desperate”) and has been pretty fragile the rest of today. So I hung out the washing and later got it in  (it was raining) and dried it. Watched a bit of TV (Blue Lights is really excellent), then I cooked duck and sweet potatoes for Dot – I had fried ordinary potatoes. I then cleared up – had run the dishwasher earlier – and made sure the kitchen was OK.  Went to bed quite early. Des not back from Lichfield – bit worrying. 

Wednesday  was warm and mainly sunny. Tried to start on sermon, but didn’t get very far. Dot not too good in the morning. Bridget came at 11.30 to do the cleaning and at 1pm I zoomed into a Norfolk Record Office talk on St Benet’s Abbey mill, which was fairly interesting, but I would have like a bit more on the Abbey itself. Took Dot to see doctor in afternoon – took two hours altogether, including about 45 minutes waiting in surgery and about half an hour with Dr Hampsheir, who was very good and sort of recommended she should go private. Dot will ring tomorrow. He also gave her a pill that has helped.

On the way home Riverside Road was badly gridlocked – took us about 20 minutes from roundabout. When we went to Morrisons about 90 minutes or more later it was still quite bad: appeared to be some kind of holdup beyond Carrow Road. Still, shopping was fairly easy and Dot seemed much better. Later Des and Chris got home – they’d had a rough time helping their daughter at Lichfield with her new baby (Archie) after an emergency Caesarean. Des popped over and got the whole vertigo story. Watched Professor T, which included the death of my favourite character. Great. 

Thursday was another warm and dry day, which I failed to take advantage of because I was writing my sermon, which I did manage to finish. Took Dot up to get her usual pills, then she spent much of the rest of the day – despite her vertigo – preparing the meal for tomorrow. Des came over again and gave us an alfonso mango, which was delicious. Harriet also dropped by, but I dissuaded her from speaking to Dot. My head was very poppy all day, and I had an on-off pain in my side which may have been gas. Watched the film Widows in the evening – not what I expected, but well done, though it didn’t make you feel good. 

Friday was grey and wet. Anne and Philip came round for lunch. Philip managed better than I had imagined, though of course he moved very slowly. He certainly hasn’t lost his appetite – Dot did a lovely salmon dish with potatoes, tomatoes and asparagus, followed by a sticky toffee and pear pudding. Really nice. Philip got upstairs ok and we had quite a long talk. Then cleared away, and it was too wet for street meet; so Des and Chris came over here for a couple of hours. Had a very early night, and Dot went to sleep quickly. I have finished my The Rest is History book. Dot’s vertigo was bad in the morning, but better for quite a while after she took her pill – both times. Philip thinks she’ll be all right if she takes her medication and drinks two glasses of water. He said that several times. 

Saturday was quite pleasant: dry and reasonably warm. Dot still suffering with vertigo off and on. Went up to church for clearing out in the morning as I was feeling reasonably well, but there really wasn’t anything to do – at least there probably was, but I couldn’t work out what it was. Spoke to several people who inquired about Dot. Back to watch Norwich’s final match of the season on NOW: had a lot of trouble getting it on big screen and then wished I hadn’t bothered, because they played really badly, losing 1-0 to Birmingham, who were relegated. No apparent effort. Later updated sermon slightly and went for a walk over Bishop Bridge, down to the Great Hospital and across to the lawn in The Close, then home. Cooked sea bass but was very tired and not hungry. Watched a bit of TV, including Clarkson’s Farm series three and The History Boys, which is brilliant. 

Sunday was quite mild, with a fair bit of sun. Dot has been feeling much better, but didn’t go to church. I played in the band and gave the sermon – on love – which went down quite well. Took Ray home as usual. he is going a bit downhill.  Had a problem with my stomach and lower back later on, but we went out for a walk round the riverside path to the Adam & Eve, then back through The Close. Des took my air rifle to see if a guy he know can do something with it. In the evening watched a few things. Ate while Amy FaceTimed us. Later on, when we were in bed, David FaceTimed us. Earlier had almost gone to Lowestoft for poetry, but realised in time it was next week. At least, I think it is.

There was still a very cold wind on Wednesday (24th), with a mixture of sun and showers. Judy came round to watch The Chosen, and then all three of us went to church for Bible Study – joined by Debbie, Steve and Phoebe (for the first time). Did most of Philemon! Afterwards Dot and I drove directly to Salthouse to see the Christian artists’ exhibition; had a chat with Charlotte Ashenden and bought a few cards. Also spoke to Ian Dyble’s wife. Afterwards called in at the Manor in Blakeney for tea and cake – it’s getting very smart – and got home around 5pm. Had pea and ham soup for supper, watched Masterchef and then Dot went to orchestra rehearsal with Janet. Neither of us was well, but we were pretending we were. 

Thursday – Same old weather. David Archer left car in drive while he went to London. I felt good when I woke up but went downhill: felt very cold again. Better by evening. Dot still stuffed up, but seems to be recovering. I finished Parish Pump articles: last two on Mallory and Sudan. Bridget came to clean: I sort of said I’d do a new treasure trail for C&C group for September, starting at the Cathedral and ending at the Assembly House. Des got fish and chips instead of tomorrow, when they’re going to Lichfield to see their new grandson. Difficult delivery for daughter. Rang Annette to check on arrangements for Saturday. 

Friday was still cool and grey, but mostly dry. Dot felt very under weather this morning: so I drove her up to the surgery, and amazingly she was able to get an appointment for 4pm. This meant I had to get the bus home from my 3pm hospital appointment, looking at my flow. That didn’t go too well as I find it hard to perform on demand, but it was helpful in that they told me I should be reducing my catheterisation to once a week. I was already reducing it, but will now do it faster. Should be getting another flow appointment in June. Yippee. Meanwhile Dot got a good going over by a nurse practitioner and was given some nasal spray as well as instructions on how to do the special manoeuvre to stop her vertigo. Also told her she no longer had chest infection. She did the manoeuvre later and it seemed to have worked – for a while anyway. My skin has started itching again, and I’m very tired. Can do stuff ok though. 

Saturday was overcast and cool but mainly dry. Dot has been having lots of trouble with vertigo: we tried the manoeuvre described by the nurse practitioner, but it didn’t seem to work after all – in fact it was worse for a while. Annette rang to say she had an ear infection and couldn’t come to Caroline Gilfillan’s memorial afternoon at Hempton Memorial Hall. As I’d been intending to pick her up, that made it much easier for me : sad for her though. Despite her condition, Dot went to match – Norwich drew 2-2 –and I left around 1pm with my box of books and CDs and plate of food, which I’d remembered to cook at the last minute when Dot reminded me.

Traffic was heavy getting out of city, but I got to Hempton in time. About 25 people there altogether – several others were ill – including organisers Dave and Liz Easley, Kay and David Riggs, Di Griffiths, and Elizabeth Bracken from Beccles. Almost everyone contributed – I read Rebecca Clayton, from the Oxnead book. Songs, poems and so on. Even a couple of recordings of Caroline reading and singing. Left at just after 6.15 and got home just after 7pm. Cooked salmon ( though I didn’t need it). Amy FaceTimed to check on our health. We watched  some TV including a short documentary on the Yardbirds and a bit of Match of the Day. 

Sunday was still wintry: mainly grey and quite a bit of rain. Bad day for Dot: her vertigo was giving her a lot of trouble, especially in church in the morning. She sat at the back with Liz and didn’t play in the music group. Graham led and Howard preached on Ecclesiastes again. Took Ray home: he was not too good today – got a helping hand to car from Amanda. Tried the Epley manoeuvre again with Dot. Doesn’t really seem to work. Best when she sits quietly watching TV. All very unlike her usual bubbly self: quite worrying. Didn’t feel particularly well myself: head, teeth and eyes not at their best. Watched last Montalbano and a couple of other things. Carrie came round because Dot was bad and had a chat and cup of tea. 

Yesterday was a much nicer day. Lots of sun, and milder, though still windy. Dot and I decided to go for a bluebell walk in Lion Wood. Drove up to back of Rosary, then walked through Lion  Wood – plenty of bluebells on the west side. Eventually emerged at Pilling Road and met a couple of people looking for Barrack Street. Then back to car and a brief excursion into Rosary to look at graves, which need some TLC. Back home, felt very tired and lay down after lunch. Then went into garden to cut back ivy. After supper watched Night Mail – a brilliant little film that made you feel good. Later David rang and we had a really long talk about various things, including Dot’s vertigo problem (which seems to be improving) and Diderot, especially how we remember our past. I have a bit of a pain around my right groin. If it’s not one thing, it’s another. 

Sunny spells on Thursday 18 April, with more rain in the evening. Dot hasn’t been at all well, with her head/ear problem recurring. But she improved towards evening, as did I – I had been feeling pretty ropey, but not too ropey to function. Had a bad night and was up early – probably my speed awareness course was on my mind. This started around 9.15 and was run by Natalie, from Suffolk, who did a pretty good job. There were about nine of us.

It was pretty predictable, but the stuff about recognising speed limits and types of road signs was good. The stopping distances stuff was nonsense because it ignored visibility and anticipation, and there was general acceptance that driving slowly is safer, which it isn’t. However she came across well and did as good a job as she could given the circumstances. Dot had a at very quiet day, but had a distanced chat with Bridget when she came to clean. Needless to say we watched a good bit of TV, including Masterchef, Professor T and a Palin documentary on Nigeria. Printed out a hymn for Sunday (Cornerstone).

Friday started off wet, then dry but with a cold wind from the north. Got up early to be ready for the guy coming to service our alarm, but he didn’t come till nearly 10am. Had a bath afterwards and felt tired out as a result. Felt pretty ropey most of the day, but went out for street meet ( all male – Des, young John and Mark) and despite the low temperature felt better, though I was out for nearly 90 minutes. Dot didn’t feel up to it: she is halfway through her antibiotics. Cooked salmon afterwards and we watched TV. I fell asleep during Beyond Paradise. Earlier Dot and I looked at ceilidh music. 

Saturday was dry, coolish, windy. Strange day. Dot had a bad night. Got her a drink around 4am. Neither of us got much more sleep. Wasn’t feeling great, but went to church to help with spring-cleaning. Very little energy, but I did a bit. Found some old treasurer’s files, which went out, and some of my poetry books – and my cousin Adrian’s – which I brought home. Felt very tired and went to sleep after lunch: woke to find Dot, amazingly, intending to go to Carrow Road.

I took her in the car – slow because of Morrisons-generated queue. Came home and watched episode of Beyond Paradise that I had largely slept through yesterday. City drew 1-1 with Bristol City. Cooked venison grillettes, then we watched a couple of episodes of This Town – a drama series based mainly in Birmingham at the time of the IRA troubles, but brilliantly done and with good music. In between the two episodes, wrote prayers for Sunday. 

Sunday was a similar day, weatherwise. Cold wind becoming tiresome. Dot stayed in bed while I went to church and played in worship group with Steve and Matt. Also did the prayers. Afterwards took Ray home after fetching car from way up Oak Street. Watched quite a lot of TV, including end of Wisting (Norway noir) and more of This Town. David FaceTimed and we had a slightly shorter talk than usual. Cooked eggs and bacon – Dot had a rather more exotic egg concoction. 

Monday was still chilly and overcast, but mainly dry. Felt pretty lousy in the morning and toyed with taking my random antibiotics, but Dot didn’t mention them when she came out of the shower, so instead I went to the ear clinic (now on St Augustine’s) and had a microsuction clear-out.  Left ear was bit painful – wax stuck to eardrum, but felt better afterwards. Before that Dot went to Morrisons for food, after I’d checked with Joy that she and Phil could come for lunch tomorrow. I wrote two out of the four pieces for Parish Pump, on D-Day and 1984. Too much information! We decided not to go the parish AGM: Dot was definitely improving but was not right yet. I cooked salmon instead. We watched some TV, and Dot finished her Peter May thriller. Mark has gone to Australia.

Yesterday (Tuesday) the weather was pretty much unchanged: cool, overcast, some rain. Neither of us felt particularly well in the morning, but we didn’t want to put off Phil and Joy again; so we went ahead, and it worked out very well. They arrived just after noon and had coffee while I cooked chilli con carne and mushrooms. Dot had bought poppadoms, and we had mango chutney etc. All went down well. Cheesecake afterwards, and quite a long talk after that – found we had similar opinions on some critical issues.

They left around 5pm, and I dozed for a while, then we watched the last three episodes of This Town, partly because the penultimate one lost about half an hour in recording; so we caught it on iPlayer and then watched the last one, which doesn’t broadcast till next week. Excellent production and a good ending, despite a negative review in Private Eye. 

Friday 12 April  – Mild and dry. The scaffolders finished taking their stuff away, and we went for a walk down Bungalow Lane by the marshes – all very run down, but we found Thorpe Ferry and a cafe that we didn’t know existed, run by a very nice Thai woman. Had tea and coffee then walked back. I finished my En Passant chess games. Out for street meet – Des, Chris (who has a chest infection and went to the walk-in centre), Mark, John, Jonathan, Matt. Des got us fish and chips, which were excellent, and we watched TV. 

Saturday was again mild and dry. Went up to podiatrist with Dot, and while she had her other ingrowing toenail dealt with I walked up to the cemetery and had a stroll round. Am trying to get my walking up again. In the afternoon Dot worked in the garden. Bob brought us a second bottle of wine to compensate for the trouble we’ve had with scaffolders working in our garden. Not much trouble really. Also flowers! Norwich beat Preston 1-0 away, scoring very late on. Watched Grand National. Had sea bass. 

Sunday – Still fairly mild, but with the hint of a cool breeze. Dry. Drove to church and led the service, with Anna doing lectio. After fried lunch walked up to Rosary with Dot and removed dead flowers. Bluebells looking good. Reached over 4500 steps for third day running, but had backache, which I hope is muscles rather than kidney. Had pizza in the evening. Watched a couple of episodes of scandi noir and the final one of Criminal Record on Apple TV, which was good. Also a Chaplin film, The Kid, which was brilliant. 

Monday – Complete change in the weather. Cold, very windy and some heavy rain, including hail. A few bright intervals. Linda came and cut our hair. I had a bath and felt very tired afterwards. Reading The Rest is History, which is a strange mixture of the fascinating and the trivial. Printed out some liturgy pages. Graham came round for safeguarding meeting with Dot and Howard, but Howard forgot to come. He took part by phone. In the evening we gave Judy a lift to Bridget’s for Cake and Compline. Should have been at Eleanor’s, but she was ill. Phil didn’t come. Nice scones. 

Yesterday was still pretty chilly, with wind and a fair bit of rain. Went to Morrisons in the morning, then after a quick lunch we drove to Sainsbury’s at Thorpe to take part in an NHS cancer test by giving blood. Later Dot walked up into the city and bought a bra, followed by a meal with Kim and a performance of Edward Scissorhands – a modern ballet, which they both enjoyed. Dot walked home afterwards: it had stopped raining. 

Today was no real improvement, weatherwise. Generally pretty damp, but with some dry spells. Drove to church for Bible study, which turned into a free-ranging discussion with both Ellie and Judy absent. I then drove home while Dot stayed, but just after I fried some potatoes I got a call from Dot, who had had a very bad coughing fit. I drove up to fetch her and took her to the walk-in centre. They said 45 minutes, but it was nearer half an hour.

I drove home but was again called by Dot pretty quickly. She has a chest infection and was prescribed antibiotics – specifically from her chemist on Heartsease: so we drove up there. She has been taking it fairly easy for the rest of the day, though she says she doesn’t feel really ill. I’ve been feeling pretty ropey, but I’m not sure why. Not bad enough to get out of looking after Dot, I’m happy to say. I walked up to the post office and posted a birthday card to Angela, too. Watched first episode of new series of Blue Lights, which was excellent. Also watched Midsomer Murders to see if it was as bad as I remembered. It is, but I don’t know why. Bad acting? Bad directing? Bad script? General disbelief? Who knows?

Almost forgot – it’s my father’s birthday. He would have been 111.

Friday, April 12, and it’s still mild. I’ve just taken Dot up to the hospital for a blood test: sat in the new housing estate to wait for her, but it wasn’t long. When we got home the roofers were waiting politely to ask if they could go in and take the rest of their stuff away – apart from the scaffolding, which apparently goes this afternoon.

To complete last Saturday – the D’Souzas got home from their Egyptian holiday about 9pm. Pretty mild day. Celebrations after City’s 1-0 win against Ipswich. Cooked chili con carne and we watched a film, some football and part of an Abba  documentary. 

Sunday was dry and fairly mild but very windy. Anna had migraine: so only Dot, Martin and I in music group. Congregation bit on small side – 18 – must have heard I was preaching. Dot did prayers. Sophie had a message while I was speaking! Howard and Matt are halfway through mending the wall. Took Ray home: his legs are pretty bad. Took Des his key back. They had a good time in Egypt. Spent most of day watching TV, including new Apple series called Criminal Record, which is pretty good. Spurs won and Liverpool only drew – both good. 

Monday was mild again. Mainly dry, till late. Drove up to chemist to pick up pills while Dot gave urine sample at surgery: she also heard she had to have a blood test at the hospital later this week – not sure what for. She still has severe coughing/choking fits occasionally, but she is improving. Des came over to show us his grandson. Gravel has been delivered for next-door front garden. Caught up with e-mails etc. Watched a lot of TV again. We changed bed. Dot did a lot of washing and felt very tired. Very warm in sun. 

Tuesday was still fairly mild, but overcast and quite a lot of rain. I stayed in, but Dot went to Morrisons in the afternoon. I caught up with three months of En Passant – playing through the games – and kept up to date on the computer. Saw the end of Passenger, a crime drama, which was a complete cop-out. I should sue them to get the time we spent watching it refunded. Rob dropped off some poetry books for me to take to the Caroline Gilfillan celebration at the end of the month. Norwich drew 2-2 with Sheff Wed away after being 2-0 up after 17 minutes. Watched fourth episode of Criminal Record on Apple – very good. 

Wednesday – Overcast and windy, though fairly mild. No total eclipse here, but big in America and Canada. Quiet day. Spent a lot of time on computer, playing through some more En Passant games and generally sorting things out. Watched a lot of TV again. Adjusting to Dot’s new diet plan: had sweet potatoes this evening. Happily the duck was very good. In late morning Judy came round to watch The Chosen, and stayed for two episodes. Dot sorted through lots of old photos, with Diderot in mind. FaceTimed David in the evening. 

Thursday – Quite mild again, and dry. After lunch I picked up Mike Read from his house, and we drove to Cromer to visit checks stars Owen and Kathleen Hindle. Owen is now 84 and Kathy’s in her late 70s. They were very welcoming: tea and cakes offered repeatedly! Discovered Kathy was born in Gorbals (Catholic) and once lived in Ballater Road, Glasgow.  Also that Mark Hindle (their elder son) was now married to Liz Nice, one of my former trainees and now in a senior management position in the company!! They live at Bury St Edmunds. House (bungalow) full of chess books – Owen insisted I take two duplicate ones. Took pictures in the garden. When I got home Bridget was still here; so was able to say hello. Dot is now on a diet so we don’t have the same food as each other, which is interesting. I think that’s the word. I had sausages eggs and fried potatoes – she had eggs and fried sweet potatoes in tortillas. Watched a bit of TV  football and Masterchef.

As I write this, Dot is at Carrow Road, hoping that Norwich hang on to beat Ipswich in the big local derby. At the moment they are leading 1-0. She has got over her cold (enough to go out, anyway), but I am feeling pretty tired, especially after walking her down to the ground. Have been feeling quite tired recently, for some reason.

Monday was overcast at first, but some sun later. Dry. Got up late. Dot had a cold, but this made me do more things and therefore feel better. Thanks to Oliver’s link we were able to watch Norwich lose 3-1 to Leicester on Sky TV. In the afternoon I did a bit of work and Dot went for a walk. Looked at our photos on TV. I cooked the meal – salmon. Afterwards we watched Fargo: think O and A liked it. To bed fairly late. 

Tuesday was dry most of the day, but wet in the evening. Not too cold. Dot now had pretty bad cold; hoped (vainly) it would go away by Friday. This morning she went up to the surgery to get checked over for general health, and got some advice she would rather not have, involving not eating things she likes. While she was out, Oliver, Amy and I looked at our old photobooks, and when she came back we went to Gem for lunch, which was very pleasant. They set off for home just after 3pm and made good time. They both had plans for this evening! Dot took it easy and I did quite a bit of clearing up, involving moving the car, making the bed, washing dishes, putting the bins out and so on. We watched the end of the Coma drama serial, which was pretty good, actually, and then a documentary about the UK hurricane of January 1990.

Wednesday was fairly mild and mainly dry. Strange day. Dot was feeling pretty ill all day with cold symptoms and stayed in bed till mid-afternoon. I was feeling pretty mediocre but quite a bit better than her. Bridget came late morning and did the cleaning, while Dot stayed in her room to avoid giving her a cold. Bin men came quite early. i caught up with some e-mails and started to think about my sermon. Dot came down and we watched a bit of TV – a really good programme about the Zambezi, and the first episode of a drama series called Passenger. I made a soup from some leftover chicken and later cooked some smoked haddock. Went to bed early.

Thursday – Grey day, with lots of rain later. Not cold. Stayed in all day, except for going over to Des’s with papers. While I was there he messaged me to ask me to turn on solar panel boost.  Dot was still bad to start with, but improved quite a bit later, though not before I’d contacted Joy to suggest postponing tomorrow’s birthday meal. After a phone conversation we agreed to do that. I felt mediocre early on, but improved. David FaceTimed early evening as I was cooking a meal (pies), and he said Amy the had caught the cold. I wrote my sermon during the afternoon after spending ages trying to get Microsoft Word back for Dot after it had disappeared during a Mac upgrade. Eventually shared my Microsoft 365 with her, and happily it retrieved all her files. Watched a bit of TV in evening, including a documentary on the Yukon river, plus Professor T and a couple of other things. 

Friday started very wet, then dry and quite mild, with some sun: ended with rain again. Very full day. Drove out to Dereham to bring Phil and Joy into Norwich to their solicitor for will-signing; then drove them home again. Tired. After lunch went to Morrisons and bought food and petrol. Dot still suffering, with bad cough: unfortunately Harriet arrived just as I was leaving. Had long talk with David on FaceTime, mainly about Diderot – he’s made some simplifying changes. Looks good. Went out for street meet with Mark, Matt and Jonathan, and met Maybelle, who has moved into No9, with her husband (Daniel?).  Des and Chris still in Egypt. Had mussels for supper, then watched two more episodes of Passenger, which is weirdly compelling. Then Beyond Paradise, which was pretty silly. 

PS They won 1-0. Dot was quite pleased.

It’s April 1 – no kidding. We were roused by some guys wanting to access our back garden so that they could do work on the chimney next door (more accurately, the joint chimney belonging to Bob and Sean). No, really. We were. Dot has a sore throat, and I’m a little bit the worse for wear, and Oliver and Amy are still in bed as I write. No, Amy’s just come down.

Last Wednesday was mostly dry and cool. A busy couple of days in prospect became much less busy when I told Kristine I had a cold: she is still suffering from a chest infection and antibiotics that make her feel sick; so we cancelled her visit for Thursday. I managed to do the Bible study at church with Judy, Steve, Debbie, Leanne and Dot, which went quite well. Dot stayed on for Taizé etc and didn’t get home till 4.30pm. I had phone call from Paul, who has been to Belize. He seemed well. Some confusion over a possible meeting with Nikki etc on Saturday. Decided to give it a miss (it was eventually cancelled). Dot went to orchestra rehearsal in the evening. I watched some football and part of a documentary about Indian railways that was unexpectedly interesting. Cold is a bit annoying but not as bad as I used to get them. 

Thursday was mainly dry, but some heavy rain in the afternoon. My cold got worse, and I felt pretty rotten all day. Glad Kristine didn’t come. Stayed in bed most of morning while Dot went to shops. Around lunchtime got up and wrote a couple of things for Diderot. Read quite a bit of Peter May book I bought in Buxton. Very good. Watched a bit of television – finished Schitts Creek again. Cooked evening meal. Went to bed early. 

Friday – Dry. Felt pretty down all day with a cold and cough. Finished Peter May book – Freeze Frame – which was very good. Watched a long documentary on the Serpent, a serial killer, which was a bit different because done by  interviewing him. Interesting. Dot went to football: Norwich won 2-1 against Plymouth. Spoke to Oliver on FaceTime to try to arrange visit, but will try again tomorrow to see if I’m feeling better. 

Saturday – Dry. Felt better than yesterday, but still well under par. Bit  of a headache, some sneezing and a slight cough. Did quite a bit of clearing up, especially after we spoke to Oliver around midday, and he decided they would come. Dot went to Morrisons, and I popped over to Des’s to leave some papers there and tidy up. Set the alarm off by mistake, but soon put it right. Dot made a couple of cakes – one for church and one for us. Watched a bit of a drama called Coma, which is quite good. Earlier watched football and the boat race (women and men – both won by Cambridge). Oliver and Amy arrived about 9.30, and we looked at some old photos. Oliver and I went to bed while the other two watched Gilmour  Girls, I think. 

Easter Sunday started quite pleasant, but by the end of church slid into a pretty horrible grey and wet day. Took Oliver and Amy to church, and they got a very nice reception from people generally. I decided not to play in the band, and they did very well without me. Nice service led by Liz, and with a good sermon from Howard on the Resurrection. Some nice conversations afterwards. Stayed in rest of day: David FaceTimed – he was rear-ended in his new car, but no serious damage other than a dent. Did a series of quizzes with Oliver and Amy, with the usual results. Lovely evening meal of chicken, roast potatoes, parsnips, beans and gravy. Played hunt the Easter chicks, with again the usual results. Earlier at Oliver’s request I played some Bob Dylan and a couple of other songs that everyone seemed to like. Bed quite late – now British Summer Time, but no one told the weather. 

Last Friday (22nd) – the final day of our Derbyshire break – was a bit of a nightmare, but dry. It took ages to drive home from Buxton, firstly because a fatal crash closed the M1, then by funereally slow traffic on the A52, our escape route, then by hold-ups on the A1, the Newmarket bypass, the A11 and the Norwich southern bypass. We were both exhausted by the time we got home.

One bright spot was afternoon tea at the lovely village of Corby Glen, off the A1, in a tea shop recommended by a cleaner in McDonalds, where we’d stopped under the impression it was general services and then used its loos. An earlier stop at Trawell services on The M1 was a vision of society falling apart. We left quickly. Later we stopped at Cambridge Services, which were at least civilised. We got home at 5.30pm and almost immediately were street-meeting with neighbours – Mark, Jonathan, John and Ciara. Des and Chris are in Egypt.

Back indoors we watched a little TV until Dot suddenly got vertigo again. She hasn’t had it at all on holiday. Couldn’t work out why this should be. After a quick bite she went to bed, and I did some clearing up before joining her. To cap if all I got a ticket for speeding – my first ever. Aaargh! 

Saturday was very cold, but mainly dry. Some rain in the evening. Both of us felt below par. Dot had a bad attack of diarrhoea and was feeling very delicate generally. Nevertheless she came with me to Morrisons in the evening, as we were nearly out of food. I spent most of day writing four articles for Parish Pump – on Beethoven’s 9th, Rock Around the Clock, G K Chesterton and two mile-record holders – Roger Bannister and Diane Leather. Took a blood thinner, which I think made me feel worse – cold and achy. 

Sunday was dry but still fairly chilly. Drove Dot to church and then had to park on Oak Street – getting to be normal.  Didn’t play guitar; quite a nice Palm Sunday service. Nikki and Luke there. Interesting chat with Nikki afterwards. Took Ray home; held up by traffic on Riverside afterwards, which meant I had to hurry lunch before rushing off to Beccles for Lynne Nesbit’s concert at the Hungate Church. Very enjoyable though not my usual thing. Operatic songs and poetry (hers, read by someone else). Met Ian Fosten afterwards and had a chat: Lynne introduced us to her son – nice bloke. Drove home – held up by traffic on Riverside. Getting to be a theme. David FaceTimed shortly after I got home and talked about his new car. Seems very pleased with it. Later did most of church rota and watched a bit of Schitts Creek, which we’re watching for the second time. 

Monday was cold but dry. Had a bad night and felt rather below par all day. Dot woke before me and made a cup of tea, mainly because the landing clock was slow and I thought it was much earlier. After finishing reading Damnation Alley by Roger Zelazny in the bath, I drove Dot to Anna’s for her violin lesson, then progressed to the chemist’s by way of two long hold-ups on Salhouse  Road. The chemist gave me some antibiotics which it transpired the doctor had prescribed for a UTI that I didn’t have. Had to go back for the pills I really wanted, but hung on to the antibiotics just in case.

Later walked up to Jarrolds to meet Kim, and we were joined later by Dot and had a cheese/paté board and some wine, followed by coffee/tea. Good talk with Kim, as always. Walked home in very cold wind, then finished church rota while Dot wrote letters. Very tired. 

Tuesday – Dry most of day; not quite so cold. Rain in the evening. Have what I suppose is a cold, though it’s nowhere near as bad as the ones I used to get (yet). Despite that we drove to Swaffham for lunch with the Higbees. Inevitably Julia said I was looking well. Very nice meal – moussaka. Their daughter Alex popped in afterwards. I thought she looked quite a lot like Chrissy, but Dot didn’t. Earlier Dot had driven up to the surgery to get her pre-diabetes tests, which were all good. I didn’t feel too great in the evening, but we watched a fair bit of television, including a really good BBC4 documentary on Warsaw by Dan Cruickshank. On the plus side, Dot has not had vertigo again.

Last Friday was still fairly mild but windy. One or two heavy showers.  Dot had lunch at Gem with Paul Dunning, her former boss at Diocesan House, who seems really nice. Was worried that she wouldn’t be well enough, but she seems much better. Nothing for me from the surgery all day. Forgot to ring them in afternoon because I was distracted by Dot coming back and luring me upstairs – to watch TV. Went outside at 5.30 and stood in our drive out of the wind for drinks. Present – Des, Chris, John, Jonathan, Matt, Ciara. Rained about 6.30, which cut it short. Des got me fish and chips, and Dot had some of my chips. We watched Mothering Sunday, an excellent 2021 film. 

Saturday was the first day that really felt like spring, especially in the cemetery at North Walsham, where we put flowers on Dot’s parents’ and sister’s graves. We got the flowers – and one or two other things – from Sainsbury’s, where they were having trouble with their computer system and we could only pay in cash. Fortunately, we had enough. Naomi had been supposed to come round at 11 for some chess practice, but she was feeling unwell.

After North Walsham we went to Irstead staithe, which was lovely and quiet, and then called at Neatishead shop, where we bought spelt bread and cheese : we ate it when we got home – delicious. While Dot listened to City beating Stoke 3-0 away I drove up to the Rosary and put flowers on the three graves.  Also managed to watch two more rugby matches- Ireland just beating Scotland and Italy beating Wales in Cardiff. Later England just lost to France, which makes up for some of their earlier luck. Later spoke to Oliver and arranged to meet him for supper on Monday. So I booked a room at Baginton, after almost getting the date wrong. Oliver went to Silverstone today and drove a rally car – a late birthday present, apparently. 

Sunday was an odd day. Not cold, but for some reason I felt very tired, and so did Dot. Picked up Ray (Judy and Carrie were away). Music rehearsal was quite difficult; so I sat most of it out. Then one of the songs went wrong, which almost never happens. Anna got timing awry, which confused everyone. I did the sermon, which a couple of people seemed to like, but it felt awkward. Nikki brought Indie, which was nice: she’s very sweet. In the afternoon Dot took the car to be cleaned, and we did quite a lot of packing. David FaceTimed in the evening, and we had another long chat: he is about to get a new electric car delivered. Hope it works out well. 

Monday was pleasant – dry and not too cold. Had our hair cut by Linda and then finished packing. I had a bath, we had lunch, and we left about 1.40pm after being interrupted by scaffolders, who were inquiring about putting a ladder in our garden to complete work on next-door’s chimney in a couple of weeks. They also took scaffolding down in front of house. Dot drove to Cambridge Services, where she had a coffee and I took over. Rest of journey mostly straightforward. Oliver arrived in Coventry, finished packing up his stuff for Easter and came over to Baginton, where we were staying, for a meal, which turned out to be delicious – and we also had a good talk, before he drove back to Aylesbury. 

Tuesday was wet at first in Coventry, but the rain stopped just as we left, after a nice breakfast and a bath. Dot drove most of the way, but we changed over quite a bit north of Ashbourne, just in time for me to fall foul of a mobile speed camera. Arrived at Buxton around 2pm, shortly after the Evetts, and were able to book in early, courtesy of the lovely Jenny. Then all four of us walked down to the pavilion, where we had lunch (shared egg mayo roll) and then walked round the park and the town. I bought a new Peter May book cheap and some pen refills. Then had tea again in chocolate shop before Dave and I trudged back to the hotel, followed some time later by the two ladies. Pretty tired and not all that hungry at supper time. Steak nowhere near as good as yesterday. Chatted with waiter, who we knew.  Dot had cramp in her legs but managed to make it up to bed. 

Wednesday was damp but not too cold. After a very pleasant breakfast we made for the station, suitably attired, and bought tickets for Manchester Media City. Ticket office man very helpful. Train takes an hour to get to Manchester Piccadilly, where we transferred to the excellent metro, and in a further half an hour reached Media City at Salford, where BBC and ITV have big buildings. Our goal however was The Lowry, where we used the toilets, much to Julia’s relief, and had lunch. Staff very helpful. Then on to the Lowry galleries, where we saw an excellent 20-minute film about him, followed by a good short talk from one of the young assistants.

Looked round the galleries, which were very good, and then went to the shop, where we bought some cards and some tea – the latter because it was in some Lowry-illustrated tins. Then returned to Buxton by same route. Train very busy, and we sat near a tiresome woman who was on the phone just about all the way to Whaley Bridge, speaking loudly about her business dealings. Walked back to hotel. Heard from David that his new electric car had been delivered after an earlier scare about a minor battery fault. Evening meal was again too large but quite pleasant. 

Thursday started wet and continued that way till the afternoon, when it turned dry, but colder with a brisk wind. Dave drove us to Quarry Bank mill at Styal in Cheshire, where we had been before, but we lost our way quite differently. Got there eventually, had tea/coffee in main café and then looked round the mill-owner’s house before walking up to the garden café, where we had lunch. Then to the workers’ cottages, where we were given a tour by a guide who was slightly left of centre but very interesting. The Engels-Marx connection was quite striking. Getting quite cold as we visited the garden shop again, and then took the road home. Or one of them.