Ignore all previous hectic weeks. This was one was really exhausting, as I prepared for our Scottish holiday and tried to sort out two burning issues: Andrew’s pension credit and the British Gas situation as it relates to St Augustine’s. Having heard nothing for six weeks about Andrew’s money, I rang the pension service and was told that they needed my power of attorney. It would have been nice if they had actually told me this earlier instead of waiting for me to ring, and I am not terribly optimistic now that I’ve sent it to them. I suspect it may get lost somewhere. Of course the fact that I’m going on holiday will confuse them totally, despite the fact that I’ve told them verbally and in writing. I’ve also heard nothing about what money needs to be sent to The Langleys – and of course can’t get through to Coventry City Council at all. I’ve left a message. More confusion looms.

At first British Gas couldn’t do anything about my queries in response to their price-rise letter, because I was not Vicky Myers. So I had to e-mail them the change of treasurer. Then someone was supposed to ring me when I returned from holiday but rang the same day instead, and after much discussion we agreed a new contract: or at least he told me about a new contract, and I agreed to it. Apparently for this it didn’t matter I wasn’t Vicky Myers.  It’s a funny old world.

But it can be a nice old world if you can afford it. Last Saturday we had a lovely evening at Morston Hall with the Robinsons to celebrate their birthdays and Anne’s retirement (I think that was the excuse). Top-class food, of course, and top-class service too. I restrained myself from drinking as much of the excellent red as I would have liked and drove home – too fast, apparently (Philip Robinson). But no hangover, which meant my sermon on Sunday was relatively coherent, and afterwards we celebrated Anne Travis’ 90th birthday with a cake supplied by her daughter. Anne, who has not been well, came after the service and seemed quite bouncy, as well as very appreciative. Her actual birthday is tomorrow, and Dot collected money and bought her some flowers and chocolates, which we took round to Chris Fiske’s this morning so that she can deliver them when we’re on our way to Caddington. It was nice to see Chris Denton and Zoe on Sunday.

As well as ploughing through paperwork during the day, I played chess on Monday evening: a rapid tournament in which I got totally won positions in four of the five games  and lost two of them. I also lost one I deserved to, so a pretty poor result really, except that I beat my bête noir, Terry Glover, with a very nice finish.

The weather has been much more pleasant, with only a shower or two today. Hope it’s not building up to some solid wetness in Scotland. On Tuesday, after more phoning and writing, I accompanied Dot to North Walsham, where we visited the cemetery and had tea with Jessie, who seemed very well. We got back in time for some quick fish chips before making our way up into the city crowds celebrating the Canaries’ promotion, and got a reasonable view of the open-top bus from near the Forum on Theatre Street. As the crowds dispersed (or moved on to a later viewpoint on the route) Dot and I went into St Peter Mancroft for a concert by the Navarra (string) Quartet. Impressive musicianship, but on the whole I preferred the lunchtime concert on Wednesday at the Assembly House by Mark Lindley (cello) and Elena Kiseleva (piano), which was stunning. We got there with seconds to spare after getting up late and misjudging the time.

Afterwards  we had lunch at M&S, and I bought some slippers and socks for the holiday. I then went and paid in some church money at Lloyds before heading home. Much of today has been spent packing, but with lots of other things to do as well. In the end I moved the printer downstairs because it stubbornly refused to connect wirelessly. Printer offline, it bleated inaccurately. It will probably stay down here now. Rang David to see how his bad back was progressing, and booked in at Loch Fyne tomorrow for a birthday meal. Now we just have to get there in time.

While all this was going on our neighbour opposite (No 19) has been doing extensive work to his property and has been removing huge amounts of soil and rubble in skips: a real challenge for the skip lorry necessitating lots of juggling with cars and vans. I kept ours out of the way in the drive as much as possible. Hopefully no bodies will be unearthed. Phil is keeping an eye on the house while we’re away: he and Joy came round Sunday afternoon to survey the plants.