The weather is still warm, but a drop in temperature is forecast after midweek. So summer may be nearly over. Still, we have been making the most of it. Last Tuesday, for instance, we had a lovely lunch with Sue and Roger Eagle in their exquisite garden at Hempnall. Very enjoyable, and I relaxed a little with the diet. Don’t know if that affected why happened later in the week.

Anyway we had good news: our dishwasher was in and ready to be delivered, and we had a date for an engineer to look at our defective hob. In the evening we resorted to a Zoom compline because the new Rule of Six prevented eight of us getting together in Vicky’s garden as we did last time.

On Wednesday we had a lie-in and listened to the latest episode of Ms Rolf on Mother Julian. Dot went to the shops in the afternoon and got three picture frames which she spent the rest of the day filling with three pictures: they look very good. There was a slightly cooler wind, but this had abated somewhat by the next day, when we travelled to Felbrigg Hall to meet Dave and Julia. We arrived almost exactly on time, but needless to say D&V got there first (and were let in even though they were early – booking because of COVID).

We had a drink and then went for a walk round the walled garden, followed by lunch (I had soup). There was a certain amount of queuing for that. Afterwards we went for another short walk till about 3.30pm. I didn’t feel i could walk any further; so we left them heading south over the fields and drove to North Walsham, where we visited Sainsburys and the cemetery. In the evening we watched an exciting game of ODI cricket in which Australia narrowly beat England from an almost impossible position. Then David FaceTimed us as we were getting into bed. He looked more relaxed than he has recently.

On Friday Anne came round and while she was here Gary the electrician arrived with his bill, which I paid immediately as I had the Barclays website open. It was probably the quickest he has ever been paid by anyone. Dot and Anne then went off for a walk and lunch in the city, and while they were gone I had a horrendous pain in my stomach – so bad that I almost rang her. Glad I didn’t, because it eased off after a bit, though it left me exhausted, and I was lying on the bed when she got back. I now think it was another stone, because since then (until this evening) my urine was orange again, and I was feeling distinctly below par. However, I am now OK, I think. Until the next one.

The next day was warm, and the dishwasher arrived. The men from Hughes wouldn’t remove our facia boards; so I had to demonstrate my DIY expertise by removing them myself. They were then able to install the machine, and as I write it is washing its second lot of dishes. After they left we watched NCFC play Preston NE at Carrow Road. This was on TV, of course, though there were 1000 fans present. Actually it was on computer, but I managed to transfer it on to TV for the second half, much to Dot’s delight.

Meanwhile there was drama at the Tour de France when the man everyone expected to win was overtaken on the last stage – a time trial, which he was supposed to be good at. I would mention the names of the two men involved, but they’re both Slovenian, and I can’t remember them.

Today we went to church and made a bit of a mess of the last hymn. It was all a bit of a disaster because I had to go home for my glasses, and both Phil and Dot need me there to feel secure. I know – ridiculous. Anyway, the first two songs were more or less OK. Afterwards we decided to give our surplus guitar to one of Carrie’s needy groups.

This afternoon I cut a bit if ivy and trimmed a couple of shoots at the top of the hedge. Andrew rang up, but for some reason FaceTime wouldn’t work, though we could hear each other. He sounded perky but mainly incoherent. In the evening we watched an excellent drama about serial killer Dennis Nilsen, followed by a documentary on the same subject.

Dot and I have just returned from the dentist, £216 poorer after an examination and cleaning. COVID regulations in place; so we had to arrive a quarter of an hour apart and wait outside until the door was opened for us. Fortunately it’s a beautiful day today – sunny and warm – so that was no problem. I can see how it might become quite unpleasant as autumn turns to winter. We’ll see what it’s like in 11 days’ time, when I am due to have some laser treatment on an upper right pocket – a snip at just over £300. 

It was almost as nice yesterday when I went to St Augustine’s for the first time since March (I missed the previous Sunday because the plumber was still working.) Today the electrician is back, testing our sockets; so I’m temporarily without wifi and writing this on the laptop. Anyway, I found it a bit weird at church, with spacing and masks. But coronavirus seems to be making a comeback; so I don’t expect any relaxation in the rules any time soon. 

In the evening Howard and Anna came round for a garden gin evening, which isn’t as riotous as it sounds: there was quite a bit of nibbling involved, most of which I couldn’t eat because it was high in fat. Still it was OK. Dot spent half of the afternoon (if not more) getting the garden organised, and we called into Morrisons to get some tonic water and a few other things. We also filled up with petrol.

And the previous day, of course, we had been on the road – our first long journey since arriving back from Israel. The weather was good, and it went well. We stopped at Caxton Gibbet petrol station for Dot to use the loo. We used Google maps, and it took us on a lovely route avoiding road works and through the very pretty village of Woburn. At Swan Close we sat in the garden while Oliver, Amy and Vicky sat in the conservatory. We took our own lunch and drinks (no gin) and had a really pleasant two and a half hours. Oliver seemed very pleased with his presents, and Amy opened one of hers. Oliver’s 18^thwas actually the day before, but the children are both back at school. The journey home was even easier.

There has been a hold-up with the shower room, because the flooring is not in stock and, like the dishwasher, has no delivery date. We went back up to the Dovetail showroom, thinking of getting something more immediately available, but nothing at all seemed to be available; so we stuck to what we had and are awaiting a call. Meanwhile we have moved back into our bedroom. Happily the shower is usable.

In other news, we visited Lucy on Tuesday and had tea in her garden. She is intending to move back to the coast but can’t sell her house at the moment. Had quite a long chat about Paston and other things. It seems her aim in getting the Lottery money was quite different from what we are mostly doing, but I’m not sure she ever got that across. She seems to assume that you know what’s in her mind. She is still on chemo, so not feeling particularly well, though as always she hangs on, I’m happy to say. Her brother wasn’t given the best treatment and died. He and the three sisters all have the same rare cancer.

On Thursday, Matt popped in to return the combination lock for my bike. He had worked the combination out by using safe-cracking methods. It turned out to be a number I knew, but not one I had thought to try, which just goes to show. In the evening Dot went to an actual live PCC, which was surprisingly short.

The week went surprisingly quickly, as weeks do nowadays. We watched another James Bond film, and this was the first one that really wasn’t very good – Never say Never Again, with Sean Connery and far too much water. I should mention in passing that Norwich won the first game of the season, 1-0 away to Huddersfield.

Much more autumnal over the last couple of days. Yesterday evening (Saturday) we took Howard and Anna to Janet and Derek Bower’s new bungalow at Taverham for a barbecue, and it turned pretty chilly. I was wearing a jacket to start with but switched to a heavy coat later on. The food was delicious. I had to restrain myself a bit because of my low-fat diet, but probably ate stuff that I shouldn’t have. I did manage to keep the wine to legal limits, as I was driving.

The bungalow is quite big on a substantial and interesting plot. Both bungalow and plot were described as “small” by Derek, but then they used to live in a rather large house in Lothersdale with expansive views over the Yorkshire Dales. I know, because we house-sat for them once while they were in South Africa, where they own an apartment at Gordon’s Bay. As we had been there and to other parts of the Cape, we were able to converse fairly knowledgably about the area, which was nice.

Earlier in the day we had our hair cut and watched England beat Australia at T20 cricket. I knew the result but managed to keep it from Dot, who was overjoyed when England turned round a hopeless position by taking lots of late wickets and restricting the run chase. Quite near the end it looked so impossible for England to win that I thought I must have got it wrong. Meanwhile in the Tour de France, Adam Yates is still in yellow after a very tough mountain stage, but there are some very good riders within reach. I also managed to squeeze in some Paston work.

Friday was a busy day. I was feeling a bit below par and had to walk up to the ear clinic, near Howard’s. On the way I encountered Howard and his smaller granddaughter in Golden Dog Lane: she was gorgeous (about two years old). As two years ago, Nick – the ear clinic man – was hard to find, even after I’d got into Cavell House, where he now works. Eventually I found the Reception for the building, which was on the first floor, and I was quickly picked up by Nick. The vacuuming operation was very quick, though the left ear was more tricky than the right. I can now hear a bit better.

Afterwards I walked to Jarrolds and bought a card for Oliver, then proceeded along the Walk to the bank, where I changed two illegal £10 notes for a £20. I still find it difficult to tell the difference between illegal notes (paper) and legal ones (plastic). You might think it was obvious…

In the afternoon Dot went to the shops then tried to visit Phyllis at her care home, but they had booked in too many people for the same time; so she was sent away. In the evening we watched Sully: Miracle on the Hudson, which is an excellent film. I knew the story and didn’t know how they would go about filming it, but it was superbly done.

Despite the coolness we enjoyed more wine in the street with Chris, Des, Mark and John-on-the-end. I wore a winter coat, and that was fine. During the day we had a FaceTime from Amy , and while we were talking to her, David and Chrissy joined in, which was nice.

Robin the plumber has been with us all this week; so we have been sleeping in the guest room and having to be ready to greet him at 8am (except today, when it was 9pm). I am beginning to feel a bit tired. This evening he finished all he could do until the floor is laid, which should be in the next couple of weeks. The new shower looks pretty good. We will probably continue to sleep in the guest room for a while, until we are sorted out. Meanwhile, we got the interim bill from electrician Gary, which was just over £2000. Could have been worse.

Earlier today I stayed at home while Dot went to church and did the intercessions. I thought I should be here in case Robin needed me. In the afternoon Paul and Maryta came round for tea/coffee and cakes. Maryta was much the same. Before they came, the Evetts rang and we talked about holidays and things. I cut back some ivy while Dot was at church and also did another Paston letter.

There was another live T20 cricket match today, England v Australia, again won by England. I recorded it and we watched it with a delay so that we could talk to the Hendersons. We also watched the Tour de France and are about to watch the Grand Prix. It’s all go.

Everything is out of kilter, even the Tour de France, which usually starts back in July but has only now, on September 3, reached its sixth stage. We are of course following it on ITV4, not so much because of the exciting action but because the team of commentators are pretty much the best on TV for any sport. And of course there always is some exciting action. I have never been tempted to watch it live, though I could.

We did watch the T20 cricket live last Sunday, because it was a momentous event (apparently) – the first live cricket on the BBC this century. It lasted four hours and wasn’t particularly interesting because the pitch was too “good”, which means there was nothing in it for the bowlers. In my view that’s “bad”, but there you go. We won it because Morgan scored a hatful of runs after wrongly being given not out lbw as soon as he came in. The Grand Prix was even less interesting, but David and Chrissy FaceTimed us, which was much more fun.

Earlier we went to church (St Luke’s again) and I did a sermon on suffering (mainly) which seemed to go down quite well. Afterwards Matt came round to get the combination lock off my bike so that he could see if he could crack it. I don’t think he has. Dot popped round to see Sarah, who broke her wrist while looking round her prospective vicarage at Carlton Colville. I refrained from asking her if she thought God was telling her something (!). She’s having an operation tomorrow but is in quite a bit of pain.

I should mention that the previous day it rained almost incessantly, but we snuck up to the Old Library Wood towards evening and bought a halloumi burger for Dot from some very nice local people in a van. In normal circumstances (regarding my health, I mean) I would have bought a wild boar burger, but I thought it was a bit risky. My £10 note on behalf of Dot was rejected because it was a paper one, which is odd because I’m pretty sure I got it out of a machine. The burger was £5, by the way, and the murals on the wall by the road are very good indeed.

Monday was Bank Holiday – apparently the coldest for many years. No comment. We spent most of the day preparing for the plumber, Robin, who rescheduled our work for this week – a good thing, but it meant Gary the electrician had to postpone his final day because he didn’t want to share the house with a plumber. He has done just about all the work but needs to make some final checks. So we were making the main bedroom available for Robin and moving our stuff from there and the shower room into the guest bedroom and Dot’s study. We also filled the car up with petrol – or at least I did while Dot bought a few things in Morrisons. In the evening I drove Dot and Eleanor to the Oaklands Hotel in Thorpe, where they and other members of our Compline group were having a birthday meal with Claire. Very good, apparently. Dot was dropped off later by the Archers on Rosary Road, and I went to meet her as she came down the path through the wood.

Robin arrived at 8am on Tuesday and started work on the cistern in the bathroom. By the end of the day (or was it the next?) he had it fixed, as well as the one downstairs. They had started to leak water into the pan, and the upstairs one had some broken bits inside. He is now (Thursday) well into the shower room and has relaid the floor. He managed to get away without removing the fitted cupboards, which is good, and he has also taken out the bidet, which will give Dot more room. He seems very thorough. Dot has ordered some flooring from Dovetail, and it will be fitted by them when Robin has finished.

Also on Tuesday I at last got round to visiting my Aunt Thelma in the Cresta Run care home at Poringland. (I have decided to call it that instead of Cresta Lodge because it seems more appropriate.) I had to book an appointment, phone them when I reached the front door, then go and wait by a side door until someone let me through that and took me to a spot outside Thelma’s window, which was ajar. I had to wear a mask through all this, but took it down while speaking to her because otherwise she wouldn’t have heard anything. We had a good conversation for about 45 minutes, and she seemed well, though she is not very mobile. She has an excellent memory. I took her a book and a couple of photographs, but these had to be put in quarantine for 72 hours before she could have them.

Yesterday morning, after watching highlights of another T20 match – this time rather more exciting and won by Pakistan – Dot and I spent some time trying to sort out her diocesan e-mail problem (again). We couldn’t make much progress, and so she rang the IT people. I stood by to see if I could help, but I really wasn’t much use except for the occasional interpretation until they decided that she needed an app. After installing the wrong one we eventually sorted it out, and now it seems to be working fine, as long as she uses the app instead of the system she’d been using up to now.

Late in the afternoon I took Joy’s presents round for her birthday and had a fairly brief chat with her and Phil. She didn’t look too well, to be honest, and is down to seven stone. My friend Joy (McCall) is also not too good, but her husband Andy is even worse (though he has both legs). He has problems with his spine, hips and bowels and has had to leave work. He also can’t act as her carer any more; so they are having people in, with all the additional specialist problems that entails.

I’m still working on the Paston letters and have booked visits to the dentist and ear clinic. For the former I had to update my health form, which was a bit of a challenge. Last night we went to bed early – partly because we had been pretty busy and partly because we’ve been getting up early for Robin.

The almost edge-of-the-seat excitement about the value of our Archant shares ended today, when we received a latter to say they were now officially worthless. This is the result of a company restructuring – the main reason for which, as far as I can tell, is to save the pension scheme. So that part is good – for the moment, at least. To put it in perspective, the shares were only worth about 50p each, though at one point I could have sold them – and indeed did sell most of them – for £20 each. Ho, hum.

Meanwhile our extensive electrical work continues, though we may be entering the home stretch. Our new lights in the lounge are now installed, and yesterday Gary put in new sockets in the bedroom, including charging points. He is now working on the other bedroom socket and replacing a connecting box in the loft. He still has to do a check on the remaining sockets in the house to ensure their safety. When he eventually leaves, this should be the safest house in the road, electrically speaking.

The plumbing is another matter. Robin will start on our shower room on September 9, but before that he will be fixing the cistern in the bathroom, which is falling apart. I have had to turn off the water that feeds it. The one in the cloakroom downstairs also needs a replacement part because it is not shutting off properly after it’s flushed. These problems arose immediately after an Anglian Water guy fitted a new meter outside, which I’m sure is a coincidence. Fairly sure, anyway.

Last Saturday seems a long time ago, but if I remember rightly we visited the tile shop and Dovetail, where we found some flooring for the bathroom. The tile shop were very helpful, but in the end we decided to let Robin sort it out, because some of the work will be fiddly. The next day we went to the usual St Augustine’s service at St Luke’s, and I did the prayers for Liz Day, who had a bad knee (presumably from kneeling). As it turned out, she did come to church anyway. There was a bit of a bombshell at the end of the service, when priest-in-charge Sarah said she would be leaving in November to take up a similar post at Carleton Colville, where I went to Marjorie’s funeral not so long ago. We will miss her: the future for the church is once again shrouded in uncertainty.

On Monday we drove to North Walsham, did a bit of shopping in Sainsbury’s and put some flowers on the two graves, then continued to Mundesley and walked on the beach. It was warm and sunny, and there were quite a few people around, but not so many as to threaten social distancing. Afterwards we bought an ice cream (sorbet for me – both very good) and drove home via the Rosary, where we put some flowers on my parents’ grave for their anniversary (Aug 27).

The next day I spent mainly writing my Parish Pump articles after consulting with Anne in case she’d made other arrangements. Meanwhile Dot sorted out her tax stuff. We watched a couple of films – A Most Wanted Man and The Importance of Being Ernest. The former was excellent but had a typical John le Carre downbeat ending; the latter was brilliant but had a poor soundtrack, which was annoying.

Wednesday was very wet to start with but had cleared up in time for us to go to Vicky’s for Cake and Compline. It was cooler than of late, but she had a fire pit in her garden; so we weren’t cold. We gave Eleanor a lift, and everyone was there. Spoke to Jared and Amy: it was a really nice evening.

Yesterday was an all-action day, during which I managed to finish my sermon for Sunday (though I suspect I will be adjusting it today) and Dot did the last day of her retreat, which she’s really enjoyed. Gary arrived at 9am, and at 10am Matt came round to have a look at my Brompton bike, which he said was worth several hundred pounds. He spent quite a long time on it, and took it for a ride in the road afterwards. Des continues getting our groceries: when I suggest we could get them ourselves now, he looks quite disappointed. So he continues to help us. I wrote three poems.

As Gary was leaving, Robin arrived; so we showed him the defective loos, and he said he’d fix them before doing the shower room. he also made a decision on the tiles – I’m not sure what it was. Later we watched Life of Pi, which was excellent, and David FaceTimed us. The grandchildren are now in Scarborough, celebrating Julia’s birthday. They, Vicky and Matt are staying in the flat, while Julia and Dave are in a hotel.

The weather here and there has been rather windy, but worse in other parts of the country, with some flooding in places. Dot has been up to the lighting shop to buy bulbs for our lounge lights, which proved pretty expensive but have a two-year guarantee; so that’s all right.

Anticipating considerable expense on our electrical adventures, we were hit by a further large prospective bill when the plumber came on Wednesday to fix what we thought was a small leak in the shower room. Turns out that the whole room may be affected, and it will cost an estimated £2500 to put right. This will start on September 9 and see us exiled to the guest bedroom for a week.

It’s an ill wind, because the lockdown has meant that we have had to forgo our usual holidays, and we therefore have enough in our account to cover all this comfortably. The electrician has almost finished (I think), and has installed wall lights in the lounge, lights on the wall behind our bed, a new hob on the cooker, two lights in the garage and various other smaller things. He also completely restructured the main fuse box, and rewired the lights in the loft, which he considered dangerous. I did have my suspicions and am relieved that he’s done that. Well, all of it, actually.

We are now waiting for our lounge ceiling lights to arrive at John Lewis, not to mention the dishwasher from Hughes. We also have to go and look at some tiles for the shower room, as well as some better flooring. It’s all go.

It’s been quite a busy week – for Dot, anyway. On Monday she drove Anna to Bernard Seaman’s funeral at Hingham (he is Phyllis Seaman’s brother, but she couldn’t go because she’s in a care home, with restricted movement). Dot saw Sylvia Ford, David’s former head teacher at Alpington, who is Bernard and Phyllis’s niece.

The next day we (or mainly Dot) sorted out the garage, and she took two sackfuls of stuff to Age UK. She also bought a clock and a duvet from Sainsbury’s. I trimmed back the ivy a bit, but still feel tired after doing small amounts of physical exercise.

On Wednesday Gary did a great deal of the electrical work, and the plumber (Robin) came at 5.30 to give us the bad news – or some of it: the full import of what needed to be done was delivered by phone later. I got back to work on some of the Paston letters.

Next day it was sunny enough (off and on) for Dot to do some of her art retreat work in the garden, while Gary continued his electrical marathon indoors. We watched a fair amount of television, including Octopussy (James Bond) and the final episodes of Counterpart, which had been lent to us by Paul (on DVD). This is a very clever concept involving duplicates of a city and the people in them – Berlin, actually – both existing at the same time. Sounds a bit corny, but works very well, though you have to concentrate. In the evening we rang David, who had been quiet for a while. He seems OK.

Earlier, as Gary was leaving, my cousin Ann rang from Liverpool, wanting to know when Kathleen had died. I looked it up and told her (2011). She also had Bev, her niece – so my cousin once removed – with her; and I had a chat with her too. She is about to leave for Belfast to stay with her daughter Palmira.

Yesterday Anne and Dot did the Shardlake (Kett’s Rebellion) walk that I did some months ago. It was very windy day, though quite warm, and it was hard for the leader – Paul Dickson, who I know pretty well – to make himself heard. They both enjoyed it, though, ending with coffee in the courtyard at the Maids Head.

In the afternoon Paul brought Holly round for quite a long chat, and at 6pm we had the usual wine in the road session. We forgot initially, and I was a bit reluctant, but it turned out to be very enjoyable, in spite of the wind. Mark and Ciara joined Des, Chris and ourselves. Our new lights in the bedroom are working very well, which may be one reason why we were late getting to sleep.

The hot weather continued at the beginning of last week. Gary the electrician came on Tuesday and rapidly found lots of things wrong, including the main fuse box. He is putting everything right, but I anticipate some considerable expense. He has already put in two new porch lights, a boiler room light, and various earths. He has also mended the fan in the bathroom.

On Tuesday evening, the entire Cake and Compline group came round, carefully spaced, and sat in the garden from 7pm till 9pm. I hadn’t had a very good day, but I was better in the evening, and I managed to lead Compline all right. Very pleasant time, and definitely the second best event of its kind this week.

The best of course was on Thursday, when Vicky, Oliver and Amy drove up from Aylesbury to spend a couple of hours with us. They brought their own food, drink and tablecloth, and Dot arranged the garden carefully. We had a really nice talk, and David and Chrissy dropped in by FaceTime. The weather was still warm, but slightly cooler. Lovely to see them.

The previous day our new cooker hob had arrived. Not quite so exciting, and Gary found several things wrong with the way the cooker was wired and pronounced it too long a job to start till his next visit, which will be some time next week.

Yesterday it was a bit cooler, and Dot and I drove to Hughes, where we bought a dishwasher. It’s out of stock at the moment, but will no doubt arrive eventually. We also called in at Aldiss and then drove to John Lewis, where we bought three expensive lights and ordered two more for the lounge. At some point during this excursion Dot lost her Fitbit, with its its exciting new strap. We retraced our steps to no avail, and Dot tried again this morning, with a similar result. I showed her how to use a Steps app, but she is not happy.

Incidentally, as well as the electrician, my hospital discharge letter arrived on Tuesday, revealing that my problems had been rather more complex than I thought, which may explain why I am taking a long time to recover. Yesterday I felt pretty rubbishy all day, until the evening. Last night I slept well and have been feeling quite good today. This may or may not be because I have decided to go back to the ubiquon that Debbie brought me. Not what I would normally do, but then I remembered the flood, the boat and the rescue helicopter.

Quite a busy week, but Dot has managed to fit in her retreat and has just done some exercises. Today is very grey with quite a bit of rain, but still reasonably warm.

And so it goes on. Three very warm days in succession, though it got cool yesterday evening, when we happened to be sitting outside Fred and Sue’s caravan at West Runton. It had been very warm when we arrived, but by the time we were having something to eat it had clouded over and become quite chilly. I was glad I had taken my jacket, and Dot had brought her grey top.

Had a good time with them, though, and I probably felt as well as I’ve felt since I became ill, and had no trouble driving home. This despite it being an eventful day: our hedge was cut in the morning, and our hair too, though not by the same person or with the same implement. Linda put some highlights in Dot’s hair, and Colin and his son Jordan (studying to be a lawyer) trimmed our hedge very nicely. They also cut down the conifer in the front garden, which was getting too big for its boots.

The garden is looking bigger and lighter, though Dot has spent a lot of time today (when it’s still very warm) clearing up. I made the mistake of giving her a hand and cutting back the ivy at the front: I wan’t doing it for long, but I felt shattered and had to lie down. The lack of energy is extremely frustrating. Ray at church is having the same problem, but in his case I think it’s his heart. He’s about the same age as me.

I know that, because we went to church this morning for Communion led by Liz Cannon, all of us dutifully distanced and wearing masks. It was all a bit ridiculous really – not the service, the precautions. Anna did a nice lectio divina on Jesus walking on the water. Phil Gazley was there, and so was Matt, who had a feature in the EDP this week on his cycling business.

We did a Zoom Cake and Compline last Tuesday but are planning a get-together in the garden this week. Earlier that day Anne came round for a while: she’s worried about hospital tests she’s having. Afterwards Dot went to the Garden Centre and bought some Nyjer seeds for the goldfinches.

On Wednesday Roger and Debbie came and had drinks in the garden with us, which was very pleasant. Not quite so hot, but comfortable enough.

Andrew’s birthday was on Thursday. I sent him some books and a bar of chocolate, plus a card (separately) and half-expected him to get in touch, but he hasn’t. It would be nice to get over and see him, but I don’t know when that will be possible. Also on Thursday our painter Barry brought his wife Carol for a drink in the garden. He also brought us a sausage roll each, but of course I couldn’t eat mine. Too much fat. Dot ate them both (but not both at once). Carol is very nice – first time we’d met her. Barry is going to do some more painting next month.

On Friday it was extremely hot, and we had our usual drink in the street. I got very tired after half an hour or so and had to come in. Earlier I had rung the ward to ask about my discharge letter from Dilham Ward. The Sister was apologetic and promised to post it to me. The next day I got a letter form the hospital, but it was cancelling my appointment for September 18 and then reinstating it – same time, slightly different place. I’m hoping the discharge letter will arrive tomorrow.

Interesting and very close Test Match between England and Pakistan, which we won by about four wickets, thanks to big innings from Woakes. Stokes is out for the next two tests, so there’s a chance Woakes will retain his place.

Here we are in August. I have just posted a birthday card to my brother Andrew and called in at the Rosary afterwards. Still feeling very tired; so I kept to the bottom quarter of the cemetery, but it was very beautiful. Sat for a while, then wandered home. Wish I didn’t feel so tired. They have cut a lot of the top of the tree in the car park of the Norfolk Wildlife Trust, and out kitchen is much brighter. Dot has been working on the garden so that we can have eight people round (including us) for Cake and Compline next week. I think she’s succeeded.

Yesterday was a good day, though I worried that I might be taking on too much. We went to church, which was the St Augustine’s community meeting at St Luke’s, because it’s much bigger. Went pretty well. I did the sermon, and Dot did the prayers. Quite a large number of people there, including Jenny. Phil was leading. Afterwards we hung around outside and chatted for a bit, then went home for lunch.

In the afternoon we drove to Beachamwell, just the other side of Swaffham, which is about 50 minutes away, to have tea and scones with Anne and James Whittet, with whom we had been to Israel. We already knew them quite well, because James is a poet and worked with us on some of the Paston stuff. He comes from Islay and is very quiet. He writes a lot of sonnets. Also there was Sarah Carter, who also came to Israel and lives at Litcham. She is training to become a vicar and will make a very good one, I should think. We all had a really interesting conversation because we shared the same background and interests.

We sat in Anne and James’ garden, which was very rural and beautiful. Next to us was a big lavender bush covered with bees. The weather was just right: warm but not too hot, and enough cloud to avoid our getting sunburn.

The previous day was the Cup Final, in which Arsenal beat Chelsea 2-1 (the wrong result for Spurs). The day before we had a visit from an electrician, who proved to be alarmingly thorough. We told him what we wanted, and he told us what was wrong with our electrical system. I can see a lot of expense looming.

Highlight of the week, however ( you see how I’ve been leading up to this?) was David and Chrissy’s wedding last Wednesday. In normal times we would have been there, but because of the Covid restrictions, they had to have a small ceremony at Waterloo City Hall, followed by a celebration at their house with four of their friends and Chrissy’s children. Even Barbara and Roger, who only live an hour and a half away, were unable to go.

We Zoomed in on the rejoicings and had a drink with them – Cava supplied by Paul Henderson. Dot wore a long dress but no hat, despite my encouragement 🙂 They were clearly very happy, which was great to see, and they sent us some pictures the next day. Oliver and Amy joined in on FaceTime later, but we didn’t see them. We did have quite a long chat with Amy on FaceTime yesterday, and have also spoken at some length with Julia and Dave.

Another strange week, of course. No gallbladder pain, but feeling very tired and tempted to stay in bed. Antibiotics seem to be working (how would I know?) but had quite bad diarrhoea at lunchtime after feeling odd during the morning. This afternoon, however, I have just been for a short walk towards the Julian Bridge. Dot left me to continue towards the shops, and I walked home. Glad it wasn’t any further. Quite windy, but not cold. Not warm either.

We had quite a bit of rain yesterday, but of course I didn’t go near it, though I did put out the bins. It was our 52nd wedding anniversary, and Dot got a lovely card for me. I responded with a map card of Braemar and the Linn of Quoich, one of our favourite spots. We had had the card for ages, but didn’t want to send it to someone for whom it would have no meaning.

Earlier in the day Paul came round, and after the three of us had a drink I had quite a long talk with him while Dot went up for a successful visit to the chiropodist. Dot cooked some grilled steak in the evening as an anniversary meal.

Dot went to church on Sunday (St Aug at St Luke’s). It was Communion led by Sarah and went very well despite the oddness of everything. Next Sunday I’m supposed to be preaching. We’ll see. Tonight’s Zoom Cake and Compline has been called off because David, Bridget and Vicky are all camping, or loitering within tents, as I call it.

Dot had a long phone conversation with Caren Gazley this morning. She has had gall bladder problems for years but resisted having it out for a long time. She is now on a waiting list for an operation.

I have done a bit of reading and completed a few poems, as well as catching up on a few TV series and following the cricket. Don’t really like plonking myself in front of the TV, but don’t really feel like doing much else. Last day on antibiotics tomorrow; hope that will be a good thing. Dot is pretty well and very positive as always. What a star.