Tuesday 9 May – Another hectic day, crowned by my falling over in the kitchen, fortunately without serious injury. I think. Earlier catching up with loads of stuff pre-holiday. Booked meal at Baginton for Thursday after Simon said he wouldn’t be able to make it for an afternoon coffee.  Went co church with Dot for ceilidh practice at lunchtime – also present Phil, Matt and Anna playing, plus Carrie learning to call, plus abut eight dancers. Went up to chemist to get Dot’s pills but they were in chaos, and she had to go back later in the afternoon, when it was just as bad – except that she managed to get the pills. Just before that Des had washed and cleaned the car for £20, which went to Medecins sans Frontieres. Thunderstorm while Dot was at chemist’s. Later took Eleanor to Cake and Compline at Claire’s. Good cake. Managed to work out rota forJune and July.

Wednesday – Another thunderstorm in late afternoon, but earlier quite mild and dry. Spent most of the day preparing for our holiday, and decided not to go to Halesworth in the evening, though I probably could have (Good move. I later heard from Lynne there were 23 there!). In the morning posted card to Rodney, then walked up to Rosary. Surprisingly, Andrew’s flowers were ok. Rosary Road closed to cars again. Des came round in the afternoon to check on what to do while we’re away. 

Thursday – And so the holiday begins. Managed to get everything packed and in the car by 11.30. Dot drove to Cambridge Services, and we had coffee and sandwiches in the sun!  Then I drove to Coventry. Booked in, and after a cup of  tea we went for a walk, finding ourselves on a bridge over the giant roundabout on the A 45. Interesting. Picked Oliver up at 6pm – traffic quite bad. After chat in room we went down for meal. Service extremely slow but food very good – especially my ribeye. Oliver told us that Chrissy’s company was having a major launch as we ate. Drove him home and returned. Dot very tired after two glasses of wine and is sleeping (I think) as I write this. I had Coke. Weather mainly mild and dry, but thunderstorms elsewhere.

Friday – Dry, but with a coolish wind. Decided to skip breakfast, and stopped at services on M11 toll for pain de chocolat and croissant. I continued driving with no major hold-ups till we got to Carnock Richard services, where Dot started driving. Then on to Tebay farm shop/services in the Lakes, which was incredibly busy, but we had lunch there, and then got some petrol. On again to Abington, but left motorway too early because of satnav problem; so had to get back on and eventually arrived around 5pm. Walked around a bit, lay down for a bit, then had Chinese stuff which Dot loved but I wasn’t so keen on. No more lamb shank…. Interchange of texts with David re yesterday’s launch. Watched Masterchef and Not the Nine O’clock News, purely because Diana Morgan was presiding. The rest of it’s usually rubbish nowadays. Excellent article in the Daily Telegraph about the misuse of fact-checking on social media. We’re in Scotland!

Saturday – Beautifully warm and sunny. Had leisurely breakfast (traditional, included in hotel price), then set off north. I drove first , and most of the way it was straightforward. But there was a huge hold-up where we joined the A9 – a notorious black spot anyway, but major road works. Managed to avoid hitting anything and reached the turn to Luncarty/Stanley with no further trouble. Stopped just short of Blairgowrie at a new Starbucks, which was rather nice. Then Dot drove: no real incident except that we were held up by a ditherer; so we waited for a while and then had a nice clear run over to Braemar. Drove in to have a look, but no change except large numbers of bikers, like everywhere else. On to Ballater – pointless traffic lights installed at the bridge by Auchallater – and got some petrol before going to the house. About 90 minutes early, but it was ready for us. Lovely place. Walked round the town in the sun – all quite reassuring. Bought food at butcher’s and Co-op. Very tired. Unpacked, cold meal and after many vicissitudes managed to get the television to work. Saw a good programme on Tutankhamen. Bed earlyish.

Sunday – Big contrast to yesterday. Rain most of the day and markedly cooler. Walked to church during a lull – strange service – shorter, with only three hymns and about 30 people. Afterwards drove up to the Log Cabin, surprised to find the new bridge at Gairnshiel not yet open. Log Cabin quite lively : had lunch there – Dot had soup and I had very nice sandwich. Popped over to graveyard briefly. Drove back via Balmoral: clouds very low but plenty of people there. Discovered I could get certain TV programmes on my iPad. Watched Dalgliesh and an episode Of Ted Lasso. Went out for short walk late in evening and were impressed by what they’ve done at Ella’s old house. Looks really good. Read some of Dominion. 

Monday – Not a bad day: plenty of sun, chillier with a few drops of rain. Picked up Allan and Julia from Aberdeen Airport. Their plane was very late, and the parking cost £22 – later mostly reimbursed by Allan. Drove back to Ballater, and after glass of wine walked round the town. Fire Brigade held practice session in house opposite. Had pizzas and strawberry tarts, and talked. Higbees detected smell in their bathroom. Went to bed pretty early.

Thursday was fairly mild and mainly dry, though there was rain while we were in the Maddermarket in the evening, watching Iolanthe. Very good production, including David Archer and some other people we knew, Sillars related. Caught up with chess games, posted a parcel, and put blog on site. Dot went to Cringleford School, and when she came home we went up and voted. Sent Steven some money towards a new laptop. Val says Luke has not been doing too well. 

Friday was pretty nondescript, until at about 3.45 there was thunderstorm. Quite dramatic. Had our hair cut at 10.30, but before that I had caught up with various small jobs, such as choosing the hymns for Sunday, checking my bank account and editing my pictures. Most of the rest of the day was spent preparing the evening meal – I like to think I helped quite a bit with clearing away, vegetables, and so on. In a spare moment watched East of Ipswich by Michael Palin, which was really good – brought back memories of my adolescence.   

Met in street despite threatening clouds. Des, Chris and Mark only. Howard and Paul round for meal – Anna was ill – went pretty well. Very long story from Howard about a book he’s reading. Nice fish pie and cheese with mushrooms. Extremely tired by the time we got to bed – around 11.45pm. 

Saturday was very odd. Dismal weather – lots of rain in the afternoon, ideal for the King’s Coronation. Not. Obviously we watched it – all two and a half hours of it. Quite spectacular, as expected. Managed to write three out of the four pieces for Parish Pump – on William Byrd, Henry Moore and the birth of the NHS. The first two were unexpectedly difficult – or maybe I was just tired, for some reason. The bathroom fan broke, annoyingly in its “on” position. Eventually managed to turn it off after finding our from the internet how to get the front off (turned power off upstairs first). Can’t switch it on, of course, but I can live with that. Watched a two-parter of Dalgliesh, which was superb, then the last episode of Magpie Murders, which was is possible even better. FTd David and Chrissy: they seem well. Had a discussion about generational issues – firm/floating and few/many. 

Sunday was mainly dry, at least where we were, and quite mild. Went to church in the morning: played guitar with Steve and Adrian; Dot on violin; Matt on piano. Anna still not well. Howard did more on Ecclesiastes. Daniel and Nikki came. Graham popped in at the end: he wasn’t very happy with the Coronation, which he saw as a glorification of privilege. After lunch we drove out to Buck Brigg to see Rosie, who looked very fragile – so much so that we didn’t let her make tea for us. She said it was almost entirely her back that was the problem.

Dot popped up to the local Coronation picnic afterwards – but only briefly. I prepared some poems for the evening session at the Seagull, which went quite well: fewer people than usual. Read Kingfisher Suit, Bubble Room, Where the Deer Come Through, Hide and Two Penguins. Also Figure in Stone, which is a Mother Julian Poem and is now on a few railings around Norwich, together with 19 others.

Joan Murray, who I used to know as an artist at InPrint, turned up: good to see her. Lynne and Sue not present, and no music! HIgh Christian content. Met Jenny, Ian’s daughter, who Dot used to teach at Tuckswood. She now has children aged 5 and 8. Bridget came over too. Watched MOTD2. Bed very late.

Yesterday was hectic. Mild and dry until evening. Wrote my last Parish Pump piece (on the Loch Ness monster) and then Dot and I walked up to St Gregory’s green, where Dot was bell-ringing with the Greens, the Archers, Georgina, Eugena and the Greens’ neighbour. Bit windy, but they did OK. Kim was also there, and I had a chat with her.

Afterwards I tried to find some of the Julian poems, but without success – apart from the one at St Gregory’s. Tired from so much walking, and after lunch we had to walk again to the football, where Norwich lost to Blackpool 1-0. Pukki got dramatic send-off. Really tired after walk back, but after fried eggs we went over to Des and Chris to see their holiday pix from Mexico and Costa Rica. Great cocktail and interesting talk about Christians and Jews. Recommended The Chosen. Felt surprisingly better, despite the excellent cocktails.

Walked up to the Rosary last Saturday afternoon: it was warm and sunny.  In a late kickoff Norwich lost 2-1 away to West Brom, though with a proper referee we would have won 2-1. Manager has promised consistency; so we’ll probably lose the last match of the season as well. Anne and Sophie picked up car around 11, having been delayed. 

Sunday – Ding Liren is world chess champion, though the Daily Telegraph chess column doesn’t catch up till Thursday. Sunny and warm again. Joint service at St Luke’s: in nine-strong worship band, which was a lot of fun. Several of the others play – or have played – with genuine bands, eg Steve Fiske and Phil Gazley, not to mention Nicky. Communion service, quite full; lots of appreciative people.

Afterwards Dot went back to chair painting, which I fear may be becoming an addiction. I dithered: ditto. In the early evening I walked up to Mousehold Street, Dot picked me up and we  went to St Mary Magdalene for a Lady Julian service, which incorporated a new 15-min musical piece by Ian Hytch, former conductor of Sillars. Vicki playing, also Ros and Janet. Lesley Mitchell led prayers really well; spoke to her afterwards. She likes my poems; so she must be ok. Spoke to her husband too. Excellent sermon by self-proclaimed Julian “nut” which I found personally very encouraging. After late meal watched final two episodes of Lost: Those Who Kill  – Danish noir. Very well done. 

Bank Holiday Monday – Mostly sunny and fairly mild, but rained a bit at lunchtime when we were having lunch with Angela and Rodney in Gem. They stayed with us, chatting till teatime. Later watched TV – last episode of Blue Lights, which was an excellent series, and the second episode of David Copperfield, nicely done. While putting out bins, noticed that Ciara had parked in our drive. Had to get her to move, because Janet was parking in our drive very early the next morning.

Tuesday – Chilly wind, but dry, and overall temperature not too bad. Went to Archant breakfast on my own, because Lucy was coming to see Dot. Only eight there, including first-timer Frank Gordon. Brian in hospital with chest infection; Robin had migraine. Sat with Eric and Linda and one of the printers. Afterwards at home had chat with Lucy. In the afternoon was feeling extremely tired; Dot dropped me off at Rosary with some flowers in a new pot I had bought for Andrew’s grave (mainly bluebells). She went on to Homebase and Morrisons. I sat in Rosary for quite a long time: very peaceful. In the evening watched end of Great Expectations, which was pretty good, and a couple of other things. Had interesting exchange on What’sApp with Kim about prophecy and the Coronation. Janet picked up her car at about 9.30pm. Dot has painted some more chairs.  

Wednesday – Dry: a bit cooler. Dot went to Tasburgh in the morning, then went cross-country and called in at Brooke to drop off the sugar crate that we’d had for about five months. At lunchtime she went into the city, and as she went we had a chat with Mark, who’s leaving again next Wednesday. Then Bridget arrived to do the cleaning. I bought Hiarcs chess engine that had been on my other machine but didn’t transfer: later I played through April En Passant, where my name was mentioned in passing and someone called Oliver Lenton was playing for Cambridgeshire. ! wrote a light piece for my website incorporating the Coronation and chess. Dot went to orchestra in the evening. Earlier I went to pick up nasal spray from chemist, who were in chaos again. 

Have written three poems this week, and I think they’re quite good.

By late Monday I was getting a bit worried about my pills, which would run out in two days’ time. Nothing from the chemist. Meanwhile I finished the first article of four for Parish Pump –on Blaise Pascal, an amazing man. Dot nearly finished painting the table outside: an intricate job, but it looks good. 

On Tuesday there was an arranged FaceTime with Heather and Simon at 11am, which went well: we made a tentative arrangement to meet them in Coventry on the way to Scotland.. Watched an episode of David Copperfield, then drove to the chemist’s to demand my pills, which they surprisingly had, though they weren’t ready. Then on to Morrisons to buy food. Left Dot to have a look at the shops while I unpacked food and had some cider. She then rang to get me to pick her up, as she had bought eight cushions. I decided I wasn’t over the limit so went and picked her up.

Earlier researched Hong Kong for Pump. Quite complicated. Watched an episode of Blue Lights, which was excellent, and later the film Grease, for nostalgic reasons. Oh, and the opening episode of Malpractice, a thriller, which was very promising. 

Wednesday was still cool, but mainly dry. Only went outside to pump up car tyres (the alarm had come on) and put EDPs through Des’s door. Finished writing Parish Pump pieces (Pascal, Hong Kong, Windrush and Queen Elizabeth’s coronation) while Dot visited two schools – Worstead and Alpington. Upgraded iOS system to Ventura, and suddenly my Desktop items appeared. Dot went to orchestra in evening. Cleared up study. 

Thursday started quite mild and dry, but it began raining in the afternoon and got pretty wet later. I walked up to the Cathedral Chapel of blessed memory in the mornin, to view an exhibition of charcoal portraits by James Kessell, Sandra’s husband. Very, very good. Had a brief chat with him but was interrupted by another guy, who he knew. In the afternoon Dot went to Long Stratton school, and I reorganised the Desktop and installed Google Earth. Bridget arrived to do cleaning shortly before Dot got home. In the evening I drove Dot to handbells because it was raining, and Bridget brought her back. I watched Aftershock, a film about the Nepal earthquake of 2015. Interesting.

Friday was mildish; not actually raining, but some moisture in the air at first. Dot went to Hethersett School, and I walked up to the Britons Arms for tea with Jim Green and a “chat” about various issues, on some of which we disagree. Felt OK afterwards, though. Walked home, popping into the Cathedral and cloisters to add a few steps. In the afternoon Dot went up to her chiropodist’s. Street meet at 5.30, though the weather had turned much cooler. Good time, though, with Des, Chris, Mark, John and Ciara. Watched two episodes (ie one story) of Dalgliesh, which was first-rate. 

This morning was sunny and quite warm, and we cleared up the house in preparation for the visit of Caren and Phil, plus Kim. I cut back a bush that was intruding on the front path. Earlier Anne had left her car on the drive while she went off to London (I think). After tea/coffee, much chat and very little to eat, our visitors left. After lunch Dot went outside and did some more seat-painting, while I walked up to the Rosary. Very pleasant up there: fleeting sight of a deer.

The last few days’ weather has been variable, as if attempting to edge towards summer but then taking a step or two back. Wednesday saw a chilly wind, but it was dry. Wrote piece for website in the morning, and then took Dot up to church Taize. Picked her up afterwards and spoke to Nikki, Leanne, Judy and Debbie. Gave Nikki a lift to pick up Indie from school off Earlham Road and had an interesting conversation with her about Leanne and the state of the world – found ourselves agreeing with just about all she said.

Afterwards Dot dropped me near the Catholic Cathedral, and went to the garden centre. I walked home. Met Harriet in St Giles and had a chat, then Michael and Margaret in London Street. Had a long talk with them about walking and books, among other things. Michael is very keen on Philip Larkin. Dot went to orchestra in the evening: I started writing my sermon for Sunday. 

Thursday was bright in the morning, rain in the afternoon, dry but overcast in the evening. Still writing sermon: not sure about it. Anne and Dot went into city and then had lunch together at Gem. I didn’t feel too good: cold and tired, but improved later. Mark is back from Norway and was making a space in the front garden for his bins – invited us over to look at their back garden and have a cup of tea.

Bridget came to clean as usual but was a bit late and did only an hour. In the evening I drove Dot to handbells – dropped her off in Fishergate and drove to Southwell Road, then walked through Mill Close, round Brian Avenue to Hall Road, up the alley next to my Grandma’s then back down Hospital Lane. Have been given an appointment in June to review my medication after hanging on phone for about 20 minutes. 

Must have been feeling very tired after that, because I forgot to record two days. On Friday we were rather overbooked – cake and compline in the evening, but we had a street meet session at 5.30 and had ordered fish and chips for 7pm. So I pushed the C&C back a bit, which worked fine. Full attendance, including Phil. During the street meet we all visited Mark’s garden to see Colin’s work: impressive. Also told by Ciara that she and Sean had got married! Whereupon Mark revealed that he and Sarah were getting married later in the year. 

On Saturday Amy came up with Vicky and Matt, who were visiting Kerry at Reepham. Amy had lunch with us, and then when Dot went to an abysmal football match (Norwich 0-3 Swansea) I drove to Strumpshaw Fen with Amy and we did a walk down to the river. I explained that’s where her story (Amy and the Lost Princess) was set. Weather was reasonably warm, and it was very enjoyable. Amy spotted a deer, and we also saw a heron, an egret and a marsh harrier. Got back in good time, but disgruntled people were already pouring out of Carrow Road. Had tea and cake, and V&M picked Amy up around 7, stopping for a cup of coffee. 

Yesterday was quite pleasant to start with but then turned much colder, very wet and grey. Went to church, and I preached the sermon I had been dreading all week, but it turned out well, funnily enough. Also played one of my songs in Communion, assisted by Steve. In the afternoon David FTd, and we commiserated with him about Spurs’ rather poor performance against Newcastle (1-6). Funny how Norwich and Spurs are often appalling at the same time.

This morning Dot drove me to open church, where I did a Bible study with Steve, Jude and Stacey – plus Ray for the last few moments. There were a few drops of rain, but I ignored them and walked home around midday. Felt a bit better so far today.

Last Friday it dry most of the day: rain in the evening. Went out for “street meet” at 5.30pm – on our own again. Fell foul of man with dog , who accused me of kicking it when I used my knee to push it away. I told him to get his dog out of here, and he swore at me, but then put it on a lead. Watched Norwich lose 5–1 to Middlesbrough on NOW TV. Not the most exhilarating experience. Discovered how to put a pic on my blog using iPad, which was more exciting. 

Saturday was also dry and quite warm, really. Got up quite late – not sleeping too well. After lunch walked into the city with Dot to see the Dragon Hall stall at Forum. Next stall was the Polish one, and Adrian was going from one to the other. So we had a chat with him. Also ran into David Archer and Ros from Sillars. On the way to the Apple store paused to chat to David and Bridget in St Stephen’s Church having a coffee. Then actually bought a new iMac. Very heavy: Dot waited with it outside the store while I walked home to get the car. Lay down when I got home, and Dot did a bit of browsing in different shops. When she got home David FTd – Spurs had lost again – and he ended up assisting us in setting up the iMac, which was extremely helpful, especially the bit involving Microsoft and Dropbox. Later both felt very tired, but watched a bit of TV.

 Sunday was dry and quite mild: fair bit of sun. Went to church in the morning: I was leading, and thankfully no-one brought any Stop Oil banners. Service went quite well: Dot did the prayers. Afterwards walked up to Phyllis’s house with Anna and Carrie  to look for cash that C thought she had left there. It was in fact still there. Later did a little bit of gardening with Dot, extracting a recalcitrant plant from a pot, and put the old computer in the garage (unfortunately didn’t fit the new box). Des and Chris arrived home from Costa Rica (via Lichfield). Watched some football, plus a couple of IT Crowd episodes and Great Expectations, as well as an excellent 1993 film, Down Among the BIg Boys, starring Billy Connolly.

Monday was bright and fairly mild. My father’s 110th birthday – noted on Facebook with a photo of his wedding: several responses, mainly from relatives, of course. Used new computer quite a lot – very fast. Lots to find out about it, though – for example, having a bit of trouble working with photos. After lunch went to Morrisons. Felt very tired afterwards: not sure why. Watched four episodes of scandinoir. Bit noir. bit scan. Finished IT Crowd.

Yesterday was mainly bright, but still a chilly wind, though warm in the west of Scotland, apparently. Not too bad here: I walked up to the Rosary while Dot was at a diocesan training session, and it was really quite pleasant. Passed Mary and Bob on the way, and had a chat in the cemetery with a woman I think I’d spoken to before – if I remember rightly her name was Pamela: she’s a widow in her 70s or 80s. In the afternoon my stomach was a bit upset, and I felt really tired: had to go and lie on the bed. Dot joined me, and we both went to sleep. Watched a very good old film called The Mouse that Roared, featuring Peter Sellers in several roles. Continuing to watch Blue Lights, about police in Belfast, which is excellent.

End of Easter Week – it’s now halfway through Friday afternoon and sunny at the moment. It’s been a mixed week as far as weather is concerned. Monday started very wet, but cleared out just after lunch, and I walked with Dot down to Carrow Road. Norwich 0 Rotherham 0. Walked back via Morrisons and river bank. Watched TV in evening. Headache. 

Tuesday was bright in the morning: gradually got cooler and then rain. Walked up to Apple shop, but it was very busy because of school holidays. So didn’t get anywhere – partly because I wasn’t in the right mood. Walked back, feeling pretty down for various reasons. Anna came to lunch and then gave Dot a violin lesson. I lay down for a while. Rang Cresta care home to fix a visit with Thelma for the next day. Watched the end of Why didn’t they ask Evans? – a Christie adaptation – very clever and well done. Also some other stuff. Naomi cancelled visit because she wasn’t feeling well. 

Felt very down on Wednesday morning because of poor night and a couple of other things. Barry arrived about 1pm and I left him with Dot to do some work in the bathroom. Then I went to see Thelma on my own. Took big collage of pictures of Andrew, as well as a few others – one of Sandra and two of Joanne (and Eddie) taken from Facebook. Had a bit of a problem on the way there because of warning light re automatic stop/start. Eventually turned it off, but by the end of the day it was back on again and appeared to be working fine.

Thelma was a bit more animated than usual, but still very deaf. Told me about Bob (Sheila’s brother), who came to see her from Loddon. Later went to Morrisons with Dot and bought food. In the evening watched four episodes of The Bay, which was pretty good. Two to go. Received another tanka book from Joy: daybreak. Good stuff.

Yesterday was mainly bright and dry, but with some sharp rain showers, especially in the morning. Vicki Ellis came round for coffee and eventually stayed for lunch, which was very enjoyable. When she left we drove to Foxley Wood, hoping to see some bluebells, but were disappointed. Although we have bluebells out in our garden, there were none at Foxley. Had quite a long walk, which was rather muddy and not very interesting, as well as being poorly signposted.

Arrived home just in time to see Bridget, who we had forgotten was coming initially, though we were in touch by phone from Foxley. Dot gave her some advice on wall paint. In the evening saw last two episodes of The Bay, which remained pretty good. Amy got in touch about her visit on Saturday. Matt is ill, and eventually we decided it was best to postpone till the following week. 

This morning the Sonata alarm man came just before 9am: fortunately I had taken the precaution of getting dressed. No problems there. Later Linda came round, and we both had our hair cut. Des and Chris are still away. Dot is in the garden as I write.

It’s Easter Monday and pouring with rain from a leaden sky. So, to go back a week, at the end of a nicer last Monday we went back to church for an evening Open Mic – I read a couple of poems (Some kind of lamb and Easter Sky), then Dot and I did And the Band Played On  – all well received. Some other good poems – very personal ones – from Steve and Nikki. Matt played hurdy gurdy etc etc. Good evening. At home we watched the final episodes of Unforgotten (superb) and Warship, an excellent documentary. Dot has hurt her knee by falling on way back to car – worried it may give her trouble. Probably pulled muscle.

Tuesday – Blue sky, warm sun but still a chilly wind. Prayed for Dot’s leg last night, and it was much better this morning. We went to the Archant breakfast club and had a full breakfast as usual. Chatted to the usual suspects, and gave Bill Smith’s greetings – Bill is a photographer who I met outside the Cathedral the day before – used to work for Archant. Afterwards we went to Morrisons for food – also filled up with petrol when I realised we were down to 81. Felt odd in the afternoon – lay down for quite a while. Watched a couple of episodes of Blue Lights – good stuff – and some football. FTd Canada and spoke to David, Oliver and Chrissy. Asked about getting new computer. 

Wednesday – Quite nice weather. Dot went to Taize and then up to garden centre. Bridget came to do cleaning and then dropped me off at the Puppet Theatre, and I walked home along the riverside path, taking a detour up into the Lower Close. Very tired afterwards, for some reason, and had a lie down for a while. In the evening watched a lot of TV as well as cleaning house up.

Thursday – Showers, but not too cold.  Caught up with lots of stuff in the morning. Dot went to garden centre at Tasburgh and while she was out, Barry came round to look at some grouting she wanted doing. Later David and Oliver FTd and we had a long and very helpful discussion about buying a new desktop computer and a phone. In the evening Dot went handbell ringing at Howard’s. We were going to walk together, but it started raining; so I drove her. I did quite a lot of steps indoors. Watched Race Across Canada, which has great scenery.

Good Friday – Dry, but still with a chilly wind. Drove up to St Luke’s in the morning for a reflective service – about 30 present but only four from St Augustine’s. Dot made cake for tomorrow, and I went for walk, initially to buy small chocolate eggs for the cake, but then further afield, up to the Cathedral via Bishopgate. Outside Cathedral met Liz Day, and we had a chat. Meanwhile Dot was listening to Norwich beat Blackburn 2-0 away. Booked Baginton, Abington and Blakeney – the last of which was extremely expensive, following its upgrade to boutique hotel. Watched an old film, Laura, which was good for its era, then Beyond Paradise and Would I lie to you?

Easter Saturday – Dry, fairly mild but mostly overcast. Paul dropped his car off around 11.30 to go to London. Kristine arrived from London at 11.45, and we met her at the station. After tea/coffee we took her to Gem for a meal.  Very nice, but I felt decidedly ill during the afternoon after we walked up to the Rosary (see picture). Very tired and odd feeling in stomach. Better later, though. Kristine left at 18.30, and Paul got back at about 21.15 and retrieved his car. 

Easter Sunday – Mild at first, becoming colder around teatime. Went to church for Communion led by Liz. I did the longest Bible reading in the history of the world (all of Romans 8), and Carrie (who chose it) did a nice short sermon. Naomi was there, and we had a big music group including Steve. Told Jim what I thought of climate action afterwards, but we remain friends: he goes on Just Stop Oil crusades. In the afternoon Dot and I went for a walk in what started out as pleasantly warm weather. Riverside walk very busy. Had drink at Wig and Pen, which was very pleasant. Back through Close, stumbling on Cathedral congregation exiting West door for finale of service outside. Watched football, a couple of episodes of IT Crowd and a new Agatha Christie, Why Didn’t they ask Evans? David FTd to wish as Happy Easter. Oliver back in England.

Blue sky today – warm sun but a chilly wind. Walked up to church and, despite the sparse attendance, had a good Bible study (1 Corinthians) with Steve and Stacey and, for the last few minutes Ray, who had been to the doctor’s. Dot picked me up and we had lunch before returning for a brilliant talk by Matt on flooding in Norwich: excellent words and even better pictures.

Wednesday last week was milder, but heavy rain in the evening. In the afternoon we went up to Sainsbury’s to have our blood tested as a cancer trial process. Second year. All very jolly, but left s substantial mark on my arm. Went in to Sainsburys afterwards and spent our £10 vouchers, plus quite a lot more. Bought some nice wine as a present! In the evening Dot went to orchestra. Accidentally got one of my credit cards blocked as an anti-fraud measure. Had been on a dodgy site to get a pdf file changed into Word. Seemed perfectly genuine… Ah well. Getting new card in the post, eventually. 

Thursday was bright and mainly dry, but a few drops of rain as I walked up to Kim’s for lunch. Dot was at Anne’s, but she arrived at Kim’s around 11.45.  Really nice lunch. Got home just in time for Bridget, but while she was here I felt really tired and had to lie down. Very odd sensation. After a sleep I felt more or less OK. Dot had been working in front garden – looks nice (so does the garden). We watched TV most of the evening – Coogan’s Bluff then Ted Lasso and a really good episode of The IT Crowd. 

Friday – lots of rain. Didn’t go out, apart from a pleasant visit to Paul’s this morning, and so very few steps. Fewer this month than last (which had three fewer days), but March has been very unpleasant. Dot did find a dry gap to do some gardening, though. Watched an Oscar-winning documentary about Novotny, which as you might expect was excellent. Can’t really understand why he didn’t think he would be arrested when he went back to Russia.

Saturday – Quite a bit of rain, but not while I walked Dot to the football, which we lost 1-0 to Sheffield United. Printed out some Communion service sheets, and my keyboard ran out of battery power: had to walk down to convenience store to buy some batteries. Cooked some meatless sausages, which I bought by mistake. Not too bad, but both of us had slight stomach upsets. 

Sunday – Cloudy start becoming brighter, but chilly wind. Church – Heather took over lending from Howard and did “sermon” – discussion really, not my favourite. I did the prayers, and several people thanked me; so must have been OK. Palm Sunday, of course. Had chat with Nikki, who is having a girl (18 weeks); Steve; and P, who is feeling very down. Ray seems OK. After lunch Dot and I walked to Rosary. I have a new goal of 4500 steps. Sun quite warm. Watched a fair bit of TV, including Grace and an Arena special on Frank Sinatra. Have finished reading The Lincoln Highway, which I enjoyed very much, including the joke. 

The atmosphere has been unsettled recently. Last Thursday saw a mixture of dry but windy weather, followed by rain in the evening. I finished my Parish Pump articles – on the Tea Act, David Livingstone, Bob Dylan and the creation of Israel – and went for a walk down by the river, picking up some lentil crisps on the way back. As I arrived back I got distracted by Michael and Margaret on the subject of the strange proliferation of Turkish barbers, with a word in passing from Ciara. So I missed Bridget’s arrival. Dot was making a cake for Sunday. Watched the last couple of episodes of Gold – excellent – then a documentary about it (the Brink’s Mat robbery at Heathrow). Also put the previous episode of this blog on the page with pic and drop cap!  

Friday was blustery, with a few drops of rain here and there. Dot did some more gardening, and I paid Phil the second instalment of Andrew’s money. Tried to put my share in my ISA, but for some reason that didn’t work. Kim dropped in on her way to the station and gave us a ticket for Sunday’s concert – requiring us to find someone to give it to. We already have tickets. After lunch we drove to Mannington so that Dot could go to a textiles exhibition organised by Penny. I went for a walk on the estate – mainly on a beautiful boardwalk, where there was a hide overlooking a lake. When I met Dot out (nice to see Penny and Rob) I took Dot down to the boardwalk. Heard that Sam didn’t get the job at Norwich School – very disappointing for him. Quiet evening watching TV.

Saturday was again blustery with some rain, but not too cold. Oliver is in Canada, and Amy FTd us – we talked about her driving and her plans. Dot finished in the back garden, and I sorted out the charity cash.  Took a long time – then walked up to the sorting office to post the cheques.

Sunday was coldish, but mainly dry. Church in the morning, having survived the transition to BST successfully. It was Steve’s birthday – good to have him in the band. Howard did an obscure sermon on Ecclesiastes. Graham looked nonplussed. After lunch watched Unforgotten, which is really very good. Saw a bit of England’s 2-0 win over Ukraine, and later the Boat Race – female and male, both won by Cambridge. Went to Theatre Royal for the aforementioned concert by Swedish Philharmonia – brilliant, especially the Serbian violinist who played Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto. Sibelius Symphony No 2 was also excellent. Went in a taxi with Mary, who we gave Kim’s ticket to. Remarkably her seat was right in front of me. We walked home. 

Monday was mainly bright and dry, with a chilly wind. Had a very bad night, but got up in time to go to church: more remarkably, Dot got up in time to take me. Chatted to Steve and Ray in particular, but no Leanne, no Nikki and no Bible study. Walked home at 12 (Steve accompanied me to the bus stop at Anglia Square). Wrote several e-mails and did some reading: also watched quite a bit of TV, including Grace. Dot went over and had coffee with Sarah, plus chatting to Colin about her garden plans. Worrying.

Tuesday was miserably wet and cold. Dot went to a headteachers’ conference at the Cathedral – an annual event which always delivers something interesting. Problems arose for anyone coming in on the Trowse bypass, because of more council incompetence with temporary lights. Anne missed her train, but parked here after Dot had gone and caught a later one. I went to Roy Hansell’s funeral at St Luke’s. Sarah Q was there and also the rarely seen Kibbles – Val in some difficulty after a recent spine op. Had a few sandwiches and cup of tea. Wrote a piece for my website and tidied up a poem. Dot brought me home a spicy beef quiche, which was nice. Watched quite a bit of TV, including A Hard Day’s Night and an episode of Unforgotten, plus a documentary on anti-war activists in Russia.