Sunday 9th August 2026

Woke around 0700 with back ache...sat up for a bit before managing to nod back off. Aki rose to water her (and the neighbour's) plants, and prepare for Rowing Club. I got up and porridged before she cycled off eastward. I ventured out into the late morning heat, and took a bus to Archway, then walked across to the southern extremities of Hampstead Heath. Picked up a coffee, a chicken sarnie, and a sausage roll, and found a bench on the Heath. Bit too warm in the shade...strolled down to Gospel Oak train station, and caught the Suffragette Line back to Upper Holloway, then a bus to Nag's Head. A lot of football supporters in Gooners shirts...it transpired that they were to hold a friendly with Dortmund...the new season is almost upon us! Popped in to Waitrose to buy some vegetables for supper, then walked home. Aki lunched at Rowing Club. Finished off the aubergine curry, with dhal and roti for supper. Headed up the road to The Shaftesbury for our monthly band rehearsal...George and Katherine (from No.127) had brought a couple of new tunes along, that they'd heard on their trip to Stornoway last month. Keith from No.34 turned up with his bodhran. The room was a bit warm...enjoyed my pint of Guinness! Walked home afterward...George nearly got in a spat with a dodgy looking bloke who rode his electric bike at us on the pavement! He was masked, and probably had a machete down his trousers!!! 

Saturday 8th August 2026

Got up and porridged. Pottered around not doing very much in the morning. Aki drafted an email to RoofPro, replying to their renewed quote for parapet repairs...just shy of £5,000!!! Hopefully we can get a contribution from the freeholder of next door. I walked round to the GP surgery for an appointment with the nurse...they wanted to take my blood pressure. It seems as though they were alerted by the team at UCLH. The nurse was a very chatty Jamaican lady...we had a good laugh. She gave me a machine to take home, so I can log measurements twice a day. Back home to prepare lunch. The Hazardous Waste Company are due to pick up our tins of unused paint and wood preservative on Tuesday, so I taped up the boxes we'd put the tins in, and marked them with contents lists, as per instructions. We headed for the Harringay Ladder late afternoon...Kearsey and Kieran hosted a small gathering of rowing folk to mark Kearsey's birthday. They have had a lot of work done on the house, including a rather neat Japanese garden to the rear, where we sat out chatting and eating. Had an entertaining chat or two with mad Dr Dee...she's on the ADHD spectrum, and has two kids who she suggests have inherited the condition! Life at her house sounds a bit of a challenge...she gets through nannys at a rate of knots! We were among the last to leave at around 2200...walked down to the bus stop on Green Lanes in the company of Steph and Ellie, then caught a No.29 bus back to Holloway...

Friday 7th August 2026

 

Aki up with alarm at 0730. I got up a bit later to make myself a mug of tea, and retreated to the bedroom for a bit. Aki still in the meeting when I came back down around 0945. Ray and Steph appeared, and we sat out in the garden until Aki appeared, and we convened for croissants in the kitchen. Packed our overnight bags, and Ray drove us all over to Bexhill to meet up with Rob and Shelley for lunch. Glorious day for an amble along the prom. Popped into the Pavilion to take a quick look at the current art exhibition, then walked round to Picasso's Italian eatery. Rob and Shelley in good fettle. Shelley has taken to writing poetry. Rob is thinking about retiring from Birkbeck next year. Food was OK. We took another walk along the Prom afterwards, where we said our farewells to Rob and Shelley and Ray drove us back to Eastbourne via the coast road. Sat about in the back garden drinking tea until it was time to go...Ray and Steph drove us to Polegate station, and we bought something to eat on the train from the nearby Co-op. Uneventful journey...got in around 2130...shower and bed...

Thursday 6th August 2026

Woke at 0700 with back pain...got up and brought a mug of tea back to bed. Packed a bag ahead of our trip to Eastbourne. Porridged. Set off for Victoria Station to catch the 1024 to Eastbourne. Had a nice chat with a Franco-Italian couple who were heading off with their 2-year old to pick up the 4-year old from her dad's in Bergamo. They got off at Gatwick. Earwigged a lengthy argument amongst three musicians who'd got on at Victoria with guitars and snare drum...they were debating what to do with the middle eight in a song they were about to record...it went on for almost an hour, until one of them suggested "We just stop talking about it"...we rolled into Eastbourne just before noon, and walked to the sea front. 

Enjoyed a lemonade at Bistro Pierre beneath a Martello tower, then headed for my favourite fish 'n chip cafe, The Holiday Inn, for lunch. Walked off the calories by heading up the coastal path toward Beachy Head. The Rude Mechanicals were putting on an adaptation of The Wife of Bath in a big top in Helen Gardens. It was a full house. The show was overlong, but a lot of fun...terrific costumes and polystyrene 'wigs', and the six players played multiple roles, and various instruments...they all had great voices...not a head-mic in sight! We got to say hello to Georgie afterward, and congratulated her on her depictions of various male characters...great ball scratching, and man-spreading going on! Ray and Steph appeared in the tent, and whisked us back to their pad in Willingdon for dinner...a tasty fig and ham starter, followed by coq au vin. We repaired to the back garden and sat out until dusk, then moved to the living-room. Had a good catch up. Quizzed them on their recent trip to Rouen. They are planning to take a trip to Padua by train in the autumn. Aki snuck off to bed around 2230, as she had to get up in the morning for a zoom meeting. The rest of us followed not long thereafter...

Wednesday 5th August 2026

Woke around 0630 with back pain. Sat up in bed for a bit before getting up to make tea. Climbed back into bed with my laptop and downloaded the last of yesterday's inspection photos. Porridged. Aki cycled off to Rowing Club. I headed for Southwark and another visit to Tate Modern, this time to catch the Tracey Emin exhibition before it closes. Had a coffee in the Member's Cafe to strengthen my resolve. 

The exhibition was stunning...the honesty, the vulnerability, the visceral exposure of her physical and mental states. I had to wipe away tears on a couple of occasions. The little bronze figurines were deeply moving, as was her use of text. Fearless! I came out an emotional wreck! Took a long walk in search of luncheon...set off across the Millennium Bridge, then took the Thames Path before cutting up to Cannon Street station, and on to Bishopsgate. Ended up lunching on a burger in Spitalfields Market...Bleekers are apparently the best burgers in the world, and mine was certainly very tasty...well done, so crisp and caramelised around the edges. Wandered across to Eataly and bought some lasagne, then headed for home. Aki back before me. I cooked a dhal, then set about an aubergine coconut curry, for dinner. Nowt on telly...

Tuesday 4th August 2026

Radio alarm at 0730. Hauled myself out of bed and made tea. Porridged. Shaved. Set off in the car for Chelmsford at 0845...stopping off at Manor House for petrol. By the time I got to Chelmsford, it was nearing 30C outside. It was hot work...rang a lot of doorbells...people either flaked out in the their back gardens, or on their holidays! Had only gotten into two by the time I broke for lunch. Drove over to Hylands House and had my lunch in The Deli there...sat outside in the courtyard. Then drove to Writtle to continue door knocking. It was hard going...but finally notched up six internals...finished off the external inspections, then turned for home. Got in at 1700. Aki pan fried some sea bass for dinner, with pearl barley and vegetables, followed by a fruit salad and yoghurt. Nowt on telly. Did some Italian...not getting very far! It's almost as bad as my schoolboy Latin!!! 

Monday 3rd August 2026

Alarm at 0800. Got up and made tea. Drank it in bed. Got up to await the arrival of another roofer to scope out a quote for the repair/replacement of the butterfly roof above Lynne's maisonette. He hadn't arrived by 0930, and when I texted him to see if he was nearby, he texted back that he'd forgotten! Sorted out some hazardous waste from the garden shed...had to detail it all can by can on the waste collection form. Gazpacho for lunch. Accompanied Aki to UCLH...she had an appointment with a dermatologist; I sat in A&E to have my grumbling inguinal hernia looked at. Sat there for three-and-a-half hours before eventually being seen by a very nice young black doctor. She assured me there were no signs of strangulation, and advised that I flag up the change in symptoms to my GP, which may get my referral brought forward. Couldn't get on a No.29 bus home, as it was packed, so headed for the Victoria Line at Warren Street, and walked home from Finsbury Park. Aki had cooked a chicken and tomato pasta dish for dinner. Nowt much on telly. Showered and had an early night...