Friday 12th September 2025

Woke around 0900. Belly painful after yesterday’s walking. Numbness in my heels for some bizarre reason. Got up…Aki had made tea. Porridged at the dining table. Aki departed for town…meeting up with Tammy for lunch and art at the National Gallery. Listened to music and did a bit of doom scrolling. Made a tuna salad for lunch. Aki returned around 1500, dodging the showers. Abdominal pain showing no signs of retreating. Kath phoned from High View to pass on the news that dad had signed a contract to have his novel published...on further examination, this turned out to be via vanity publishing house, Austin MacCauley, who were stinging him for £4,000 for the privilege! Dad seems happy with the prospect...I just hope he's not counting on getting any of his money back. Aki had bought some Greek style pork shoulder for dinner, which we ate with black beans, rice and vegetables. Watched "Sing Street"...a third rate coming of age movie surrounding a young Dublin schoolboy who finds escape from a traumatic school and home life through forming a band with some random school mates...not a patch on either "Once", nor "The Commitments"...

Thursday 11th September 2025

Slept through until 0800…a sign of progress at long last! Got up and made tea. Porridged at the computer. Finished filing my phone photo collection. Aki made soup for lunch. Took a semi-shower in the bath tub. Aki went out to fulfil a dental appointment…I followed shortly thereafter to attend the GP surgery. The nurse removed my wound dressing. She seemed to think it was healing well, but applied a new dressing, suggesting I come back on Monday. Walked up to Tesco and bought some odds and ends. By the time I got home my belly felt painful. Aki was back when I got in…her dental application had gone to plan. She cooked dinner…ravioli with a tomato sauce, before heading off to No.120 for Book Club. 

Wednesday 10th September 2025

Managed to sleep through until 0545. Had to get up to use the facilities…it remains an agonising manoeuvre, which sets my day up very negatively. Made tea and sat at the computer for a bit. Aki got up at 0800. Porridged at the dining table. Feel very tired this morning…could happily sleep standing up, but for the risk of falling over! Aki cycled off to Rowing Club, hoping to dodge the showers. Watched a panto on YouTube which had been produced at the Old Vic about 20 years ago, and screened on ITV…pinching ideas for audience participation. Aki back for lunch. She put an egg and halloumi salad together. Sat about working on moving photos about on my iCloud apps. Aki warmed up the remains of the salmon and couscous meal we'd had the other night, for dinner. Watched the new Mitchell and Webb sketch show on C4...the production values are very high...beautifully lit and shot, but the material is patchy...though we very much enjoyed the airport security gate staff!!! Felt generally a bit more comfortable for most of the day, though getting pain in the abdomen again come the evening. Hope tomorrow's appointment with the nurse moves things on in a positive direction...

Tuesday 9th September 2025

Woke around 0515…dozed until 0600…my back too uncomfortable to sustain a much needed lie-in. Got up and made tea. Sat at the computer for a bit before porridging. Aki got up around 0830. Listened to music and tried to nod off at the dining table. Put a chicken salad lunch together. Aki cycled off to Clerkenwell to look at tiles…we’ve decided to abandon the shower tray commission, and instead go for wedi board and a large, quartered, non-slip tile. It hailed while she was out and about! She returned home via Waitrose. Pasta and a tomato sauce with meatballs for dinner. Cheese and biscuits for afters. Watched England thrash Serbia. In much discomfort this evening…not looking forward to trying to lie down in bed…

Monday 8th September 2025

Managed to sleep through until 0500. Too uncomfortable to stay in bed so got up and made tea, and sat at the computer. Nodded off a bit in the chair. Belly remains very sore. Can’t help feeling that I’ve popped my stitches every time I’m forced to engage my stomach muscles! Porridged and downed my opioids for breakfast. Sat about trying to make the hours go faster, with little success. Aki made lunch. I phoned the GP…made an appointment with the nurse to have my dressing removed on Thursday. Aki made a dal to have with a defrosted chicken korma for dinner. Filled an hour or so by downloading Amazon’s photo storage app…unlimited storage means I can start deleting photos currently stored on my iPhone…

Sunday 7th September 2025

Woke around 0215 in great discomfort…very painful having to utilise my stomach muscles to get out of bed. Sat at the computer for a bit, killing time, before nodding off fitfully in the office chair. Couldn’t face going back to bed so killed time reading the BBC website on the iPad. Porridged at 0830 so as to take an opioid. Aki got up around 0900. I sat at the dining table for the rest of the morning trying not to move. Aki cycled off to Rowing Club. I prepared lunch before she returned…had mine on my own as I needed to take my opioid with food. Now in constant pain…feel as if I’ve been run through with a Samurai sword! Somehow got through a long afternoon. Aki cooked salmon for dinner. Kath FaceTimed from High View where they were marking mum and dad’s 68th wedding anniversary with chicken tikka masala. Listened to the US Open tennis final between Alcaraz and Sinner…start delayed by security checks as Trump decided to show up…

Saturday 6th September 2025

Woke around 0245 needing the loo…absolute agony rolling out of bed. Walked around the living room for a bit, too terrified to try and lie down again! Sat at the computer and did a bit of work reconciling the Rapunzel script…managed to nod off for a bit a couple of times, in the chair. Aki appeared around 0945. Feeling in constant discomfort now. Aki prepared a late brunch. Sat about waiting in vain for the dreaded bowel movement!!! Aki persuaded me into bed before she cycled off into town to run a couple of errands. Managed to get a couple of hours sleep. She brought me tea and a fruit salad once she’d returned, all of which I managed to consume whilst lying in a prone position! Dozed until dinner time…Aki cooked a tasty pork stir fry. Managed a bowel movement at last. Got back into bed and got some shut-eye…