14th February 2011

Valentine’s Day began with an unexpected twist. That evening, Lee appeared unannounced, bearing a giant card for Sarah before dashing back to Nottinghamshire after a brief visit. Earlier, I had enjoyed my first coffee of the day and was greeted with a card from Sue. Embarrassingly, I had nothing to exchange; several years ago, we had mutually agreed not to bother, and I assumed that policy still stood. Apparently, not.

It crossed my mind that she might be getting sentimental in her later years… or perhaps she’d laced the coffee. Later, I did have a slightly “dicky tummy” and put it down to romantic butterflies. Still, too late to alter the will now.

The following Tuesday, I drove to Thurcroft to stay with Nan for a few days. The sun was unusually bright for February, so one afternoon we ventured to Rother Valley Country Park, but not before buying Nan a new microwave from a local shop. Once a patchwork of meadows and bullrush beds, the park is now a reclaimed open-cast site. We strolled to one of the lakes, picked up a pewter bracelet for Charlotte from the craft shop, then drove around to admire the ducks. Lunch in the café was a chilli done just right, enough heat to warm the soul without incinerating it.

That evening, we watched Wales get soundly beaten by Ireland at football, much to our dismay.

On Wednesday, we lunched at the White Elephant Thai restaurant in Dinnington before I tackled the quince bush in Nan’s garden and planted a few spring bulbs. Later, David appeared as if by magic, bringing with him a 2TB hard drive for me to fill with films for his return to Bulgaria. I obliged, leaving barely a gigabyte of space. We rounded off the day with England v Denmark on the telly, which turned out to be surprisingly enjoyable.

Thursday brought lamb chops for lunch and a drive to Newark to collect some ceramic plant pots Charlotte had left with her neighbour during the move to Rothwell.

On Friday, Sue was summoned at 1:05 pm by St. Joseph’s Catholic School to handle a class wrestling with a “lively” new pupil. She dashed off and returned by 4:30 pm, just in time for our customary curry night. Charlotte and Lucas arrived mid-afternoon, before popping next door for some reflexology. Suraj appeared soon after, and Jamie and Harley dropped in briefly to say hello, and, more importantly, to use my computer. After polishing off the curry I’d prepared that morning, Sue and I entertained the youngsters until they left at 9 pm.

Saturday afternoon saw me refereeing Loughborough University’s 2nd team against Oadby Wyggs’ 2nd team, a blisteringly fast game that left my legs feeling shorter by an inch. I missed the England v Italy rugby match on TV, but made it home in time to witness Scotland’s humiliation at the hands of Wales. Somewhere during the second half, Brigitte popped in to announce she and Sue were off to the Cinema Club. By the time they returned, I’d nodded off to sleep on the sofa. Sarah, it turned out, had done the same in her bedroom.

Sunday morning began at the allotment, where I planted a row of grapevines from Wilko. Back home, Jamie and Harley were once again loitering by my computer. We later collected Sarah from Savers, and she drove us to Charlotte’s for dinner, beef for most, chicken for Suraj and Harley. I, of course, ate enough to regret it.

Ellis is getting quite mobile and is now requiring constant supervision. Lucas and I played “roll the car down the corridor” under Charlotte’s nervous gaze at her recent pristine paintwork. We left at 7:30 pm to catch the final ever episode of Lark Rise to Candleford, a Sunday ritual for Sarah and me that will now leave a void.

In a fittingly romantic end to Valentine’s week, I planted three more rows of vines, ten white, ten red in total. It may not be Bordeaux, but in a few years it might produce a fine vintage… or, failing that, an excellent eBay listing.