A couple of weeks ago Douglas and I went to see the movie Hamnet, which is based on the book of the same name by Maggie O’Farrell. Hamnet was William Shakespeare’s only son who died of the bubonic plague aged 11. He contracted it after his twin, Judith, fell ill with it. In the film he lay next to her and asks God to spare her and take him instead. This is what happens, he dies and she recovers.

I didn’t have a very good idea of what the movie was going to be like. If anything, I thought it might be a little hackneyed. I could not have been more wrong! It is essentially the story of William and Anne (or Agnes) Shakespeare and their family. They had three children, a daughter and then twins: a boy and girl. Hamnet, the older of the twins, is the boy. The film was moving and at points both Douglas and I were in tears.

I won’t give any spoilers other than to say perhaps the most affecting part was to see Hamnet delirious and having convulsions. I am certain that this is what I went through when I had measles which evolved into encephalitis. The scenes on the screen felt familiar, as though I had been through it. I was just six years old, and although my mother told me I couldn’t remember anything, I do. I’m not certain how true the depictions of day-to-day life were, the Elizabethan village was remarkably clean and ordered. The acting was excellent and the story gripping.

I continue to exercise. Most days I walk the magical 10 km, which is pleasing. I missed the day when it rained from nine to six. Although we set off, the rain started before we crossed the main road, perhaps fortunately. As we were walking past the local barber shop, and it was empty of customers, I diverted and had an overdue hair and beard cut. It is really convenient, of course it is primarily the beard that needs attention.

In late January Ailsa and I went for a very long walk, over 12 km. It was a really nice day with plenty of sunshine. We walked through the glorious Norfolk countryside to a pub for lunch. The path follows an old railway line; the tracks were taken up decades ago. It has been turned into a wonderful recreation route, called the Marriott’s Way, which is tarred for some lengths. The Way stretches from Norwich to the market town of Reepham and then to Aylsham. Much of the route is in the valley of the Wensum River. In total the route is just over 40 kilometers in length.

We joined it on the outskirts of Norwich and walked to a public house in Drayton. Obviously, since it was a railway, it is flat. That is not bad for walking, and it passes through some attractive and mildly undulating countryside.

The food was not great; indeed, we thought it had been plated and left for some time before being brought to the table. I had fish, chips and mushy peas; the fish was meagre and slightly dried out and the chips were mediocre. Ailsa did not get exactly what she ordered. However, it was welcome after the exercise, as was the tea.

It took the service a long time and there was little point in raising complaints. The place was understaffed, but the people on duty were friendly and as efficient as they could be. I had a look at the Tripadvisor review website, and discovered I was not alone in thinking it could have been better.

The global political situation causes me great concern. Trump has sown the wind, but he won’t reap the whirlwind, it is the poor and disenfranchised people of the world who will. I don’t think anyone would have held USAID up as a model of charitable giving with good governance. Nevertheless, it was run by people with the best of intentions, was extraordinarily generous, and kept many people alive. There can be no doubt that we have lost a great resource. They supported some of our work in Durban and the region, and many staff became friends.

By the time you read this we have made it through January. According to popular science ‘Blue Monday’, the third Monday in January is ‘the most depressing day of the year’ (in the Northern Hemisphere). The sun rises a little earlier and sets a little later every day, a cause of optimism.

Ailsa and I went to Norwich for a talk by local public historian Dr Alison Dow on the connections between 18th Century South Africa and Norfolk. This was hosted by the Norwich Society, and held at our central public library and events centre, The Forum. It was well attended, albeit mainly by the clearly retired ‘class’. She focused on the period from about 1750 to 1900 and on three or four big names in the area.

Needless to say, the people she was talking about were all upper-class and some were aristocrats. The most interesting fact I learnt was that one wealthy and notable person who decided to join the 1820 settlers in the Eastern Cape area took 20 families with him. They came from Lammas, his village in Norfolk! I don’t think they had a clue as to what they were getting into. Rowan (the daughter) and Ledger (the grandson) were in the area of the Forum, so we met for lunch.

The third week of January saw the annual gathering of the great and the good (and some more dubious characters) in Davos in Switzerland. Due to my expertise in looking at the socio-economic impact of AIDS I was invited to a couple of these meetings in the early 2000s. It was an amazing experience for me, and I learnt a great deal.

What I found truly remarkable then was that all the South Africans were invited to a specific pre-caucus. We talked about how we could make the event work for the country and sell South Africa. The amount of goodwill and commitment was considerable, and we were all treated as equals, our desire to see South Africa developed being paramount. There was news I saw that suggests this still happens.

The dominant personality for the most recent meeting was, of course, Donald Trump, who gave a rambling address. It lasted over an hour and, as far as I could see, the main point of substance he made was that the US is not going to use force to take over Greenland, though several times he said Iceland when he clearly meant Greenland.

We have another three years of him as president. Of course, this eclipsed other global issues, most notably the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Global climate change did not even get a look in, except when Trump was rude about windmills.

Rowan and Douglas were of an age to enjoy the Harry Potter books from the moment they were published. They really enjoyed them, and I must admit I did too. The author, JK Rowling, decided to move into another genre, detective fiction, under the pseudonym of Robert Galbraith. The series features a disabled ex-servicemen detective called Cormoran Strike and his partner Robin Ellacott.

I bought the latest, The Hallmarked Man, some months ago. I had put off starting it because I was looking forward to it so much and wanted to savour the experience. Sadly, it became a burden. At 897 pages it is too long. I resorted to writing down a list of characters and events, in order to keep the goings-on in my head. When I got halfway through it, I had to go back and begin again since I had completely lost track, even with my notes. But I persevered and it is done.

I have many books I am looking forward to reading on my shelves but think the next one will be shorter (it would be hard to find a longer one) and perhaps on an entirely different subject. I make use of the local library, in particular the inter-library loan system, where for 60 pence one can order any book in the county collection. It might take some time, but it eventually arrives locally. Unfortunately, the last set of orders all arrived at once, and I felt overwhelmed. Let me finish here!