Frustrating day: bright blue sky outside, but I spent most of it trying to make sense of the church accounts. I’m sure they’ll be straightforward in future, but it’s quite difficult knowing exactly where to take over, and why some of the January figures appear in last year’s accounts. There was also the matter of a receipt for something that doesn’t appear to have been paid… Ah well.

It didn’t help when the power went off momentarily in the middle of it all, and the man putting the bookcase in said it was nothing to do with him. Which it probably wasn’t, in fact, as he was outside at the time. He was with us most of the day too, partly because the section on which the bookcase stands had been underestimated and had to be recut and shipped out to us. Amazingly, this happened the same day, and it is now finished. Looks impressive. I think.

Although it was bright today, it remains very cold. Yesterday I went for a three-mile walk in Beccles while Dot visited June, and the chill on my cheeks was quite noticeable. Good walk, though, over Beccles Fen. Cheered me up: I had been feeling down earlier.

On Saturday Dot and I went up to the Museum in what Chuck Berry would call drizzling showers and got a one-to-two talk on the origin of Norwich street names by a guy from Suffolk. Not sure why this wasn’t a full-scale talk, but afterwards we did go to a full-scale talk on monks and nuns in the city, which contained some fascinating information that I will no doubt soon forget. The man giving the talk was not a natural public speaker: his tone and volume both varied, and it demanded fierce attention to get the nub of his gist.

We also went into the current art exhibition, which focused on 1914-46 and contained what I thought was some pretty average art. Some good stuff as well, of course. While Dot was in the film installation I bumped into poet Hillary Mellon, who was uncharacteristically subdued.

Vicky had come round to lunch on Friday to initiate me into the accounts, but I’m not sure I remember much of it. George was making quite a lot of himself. There was something about Gift Aid which I really ought to remember, but don’t.