In the summertime when the weather is high You can stretch right up and touch the sky
Well, what a summer that was. There were virtually no days when we couldn’t touch the sky. I have never known days before when we had to stay indoors with windows and curtains shut just to keep cool.
So, what else has happened since our last trip in June to California. As ever quite a lot. Karen went back to driving after her broken arm and finished off the rest of the summer term with lots of bookings for work.
My knee problem was initially thought to be a meniscus tear (now though the consultant is unsure what it is). However, the strong cortisone injection into the kneecap he put in has removed about 80% of the pain for the time being and providing I don’t push it too much then on a day to day basis it is just about bearable.
There was a period where I seemed to be driving to London almost every day. We saw Ed Sheeran at Wembley (he was good but we would rate this as the 4th best of the 4 times we have seen him). We also saw Coldplay at Wembley (3rd time seeing them it was breath-taking as ever). Then we had a day seeing the Van Gogh Immersive Experience and for someone who doesn’t get too excited by art it was truly magical, followed by an evening at the Abba Arena seeing the ‘abbatars’. By any standard this was terrific as well.
I went to the cricket at Trent Bridge, Old Trafford and Lords. Disappointingly despite the long hot summer, two of those days were badly interrupted by rain.
There were our weekly rounds of golf and a boy’s weekend away playing at Heacham Manor which was good clean fun.
We finally had our new fitted wardrobes installed as Karen would say she had been waiting over 20 years for them. This necessitated a mass clear out of all of our belongings in the bedroom. I wonder how long before the clutter starts to amass again.
Sadly, we also had two funerals to attend which gave us both time for reflection. Also of course we lost our monarch just a month after we had visited the inside of Sandringham House for the first time and saw where she loved to spend Christmas.
We caught up with lots of friends and had fun hosting both Pizza & BBQ evenings with many of them.
I did a little bit of reporting of events at the Holt Festival for the EDP which we both enjoyed. We were also both interviewed in the garden at home for Look East for a piece about the Michael Buble concert at Blickling which was fun. I haven’t mentioned once that they cut Karen out for the shorter late night bulletin!
The new football season started and as I write this, we are 2nd in the championship. No idea how as we have not played well at all yet. Instead, it says a lot about the standard of the opposition.
Also, sadly we came to the end of the road for Karen’s Mum being able to cope with living alone at home. The falls were becoming all too frequent and in all honesty the move should have been made months if not years earlier. It was however a really tough decision for Karen & her brother to make and many tears were shed as they moved her into Badgers Wood Care Home. Thankfully she seemed to have settled in really quickly and she also really knew it was the right thing for her.
That has caused much other work as the bungalow has to be emptied and sold to pay for the Care Home Fees. The bungalow will however remain in the family with Neil as he is in the process of purchasing it. This has made his Nanny happy as well and perhaps softened the blow of her moving out.
Then unbelievably whilst we were out walking in Gorleston Karen managed to trip over the pavement and break her other arm. After 60 years of no hospital admissions, she breaks both arms in a 4-month period. I am back on chauffeuring duties for a while.
And so, this brings us to this trip, our first proper cruise to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary. It was going to be to Alaska but as that trip departed from Canada, their Covid restrictions in place at the time caused us to switch the cruise to a trip instead around the Adriatic. Alaska we will visit another time.
As our departure day approached, we were both very apprehensive. Neither of us think we are cruise type people. We both hate the thought of being told what to do and when on a holiday. But we are trying to go with an open mind, although easier said than done.
Let the cruising begin…..
