Friday 9th July 2026

Woke around 0630. Dozed until 0730. Got up and popped round to No.7 to borrow their garden hose, but no reply. Sent a voicemail. Porridged. Aki cycled off to Rowing Club. I popped out to Waitrose to get some odds and ends for dinner...30C out there! Aki back for lunch...put a salad together.  Watched Arthur Fery take on Zverev in the Men's semi-final from Wimbledon. Arthur fought hard for the first set but went down to love in the tie break, and never really recovered. Nipped out afterward to pick up a Too Good To Go offering from Broccoli...fritatta for lunch tomorrow! Took delivery of a garden hose from No.7 and began flooding the flat roof to test the lower section. Watched Djokovic go out in straight sets to a merciless Jannick Sinner. Aki cooked pasta for dinner, with pesto and burrata. Watched Spain defeat Belgium...they will meet France in the semi-finals. It was dark by the time I ventured back up onto the roof to unplug the hopper and drain the pool on the roof...I'd intended to slowly let the water out, but half of my plug got instantly washed through the opening and flew to the ground below...I had to lean over the parapet on my stomach and stem the flow as much as I could with a small towel, but not before several gallons of water had flooded the back yard and hit next door's garden shed roof! 

Thursday 9th July 2026

Woke around 0730. Got up at 0745 and made tea. Porridged. Got the ladder out and put it up against the rear elevation, planning to create a pool on the roof to see if anything shows up in the way of damp on the back bedroom walls and ceiling...but got up there to find that Sush and Rebecca's hose was not there...Sush was using it on a job and had left it on site. I swept the roof and had a chat with Sush before he headed off to site. Sat about not doing very much...too hot! Encouraged to see that the Count Binface election campaign is in full swing ahead of the Clacton by-election! He even appeared on Newsnight last night. Prepared a salad to go along with Aki's omelette for lunch. Watched the Ladies semi-finals from Wimbledon. Coco got off to a slow start, and paid the price, beaten in a final set tie break by Muchova. Aki cooked sea bass for dinner, with bulghur wheat and beans. Settled down on the sofa to watch France v Morocco in the first of the World Cup quarter-finals...a rather dull game until France scored midway through the second half...showered, then bed.

Wednesday 8th July 2026

Woke around 0645...dozed until rising around 0800. Aki cycled off to Rowing Club. Popped out for some milk and bumped into Kevin from No.93...he's off to his family house in the south of France. Did some wisteria pruning with our new extendable loppers, before the sun climbed around to the front of the house. Aki back for lunch...finished off the last of the tomato tart. Watched Arthur Fery beat a stunned Cobolli in three sets to reach the semi-finals at Wimbledon...remarkable scenes! Showered. Took a bus to Camden and hooked up with Katrina for dinner at Dolsot, a Korean BBQ restaurant on Parkway...the bus ride was very uncomfortable, with temperatures outside nudging 35C. Enjoyed our food, then crossed the road and made our way to Cecil Sharpe House to hear Rooted & Rising, a mesmeric fusion of English and Scottish folk, Brazilian, African, Indian and Pan-African vibes, led by  Adriano Adewale, and featuring the stunning young squeeze box virtuoso, Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne. Really enjoyed it...retired to the bar downstairs for a badly needed beer...it was extremely hot in the hall...sat and listened to the Cecil Sharpe Choir in the next room...Aki expressed an interest in signing up for the autumn term! Caught a No.29 bus back to Holloway. Too hot to go to bed...

Tuesday 7th July 2026

Woke around 0500...took ages to get back to sleep. Woke again at 0845. Got up and made tea. Porridged whilst watching highlights of Belgium's decisive 4-1 win over the disgraced USA team...justice duly served following Trump's intervention in overturning Balogan's red card suspension! The Belgian fans sang "Overturn this!" at the final whistle. Aki went to tai chi...bit hot out there already! I put some lunch together when she got back. Watched tennis in the afternoon...Osaka limped out, but Djokavic survived a gruelling five-and-a-half hour match with Auger-Aliassime to make yet another Wimbledon semi-final. Meanwhile, Argentina survived being 2-0 down to Egypt, but scored three in the last 15 minutes to make it through to the quarter-finals! Cobbled a pasta sauce together using the remains of my homemade tomato sauce and some frozen spinach. Sat on the sofa and ate whilst watching the tennis. Tuned in for the penalty shoot out between Switzerland and Columbia...the Swiss scraped through...now all eyes turn to the quarter-finals...

Monday 6th July 2026

Alarm at 0800. Got up and made tea. Porridged. Watched the extended highlights of the England v Mexico game...it looked like we missed an amazing game in the early hours! Great goals from Bellingham, and a penalty from H...though we had to face the home side with only ten men for the second half. Astonished to see England come out 3-2 winners in the Azteca Stadium...great stuff!!! Took the car up to Yiannis for it's MOT, then walked over to Stroud Green Road and bought some tomatoes in Green & Glory, and bits 'n pieces in Tesco. Walked back home in the mounting heat. Found a card from Aki when I got in...I'd forgotten today's the fifth anniversary of our civil partnership! She cycled off to buy some champagne in Waitrose. I cooked a tomato tart for lunch...used Marcus Wareing's recipe...very tasty! Wandered up to Marlborough Road to collect my car, and an MOT certificate. Watched some Wimbledon. Very impressed by Arthur Fery's victory over Dimitrov in five sets...the guy doesn't know when he's beaten. Aki cooked trout for dinner. Watched Spain edge Portugal out of the World Cup.

Sunday 5th July 2026

Woke around 0800 with back ache. Sat up in bed for a bit. Aki got up and contemplated heading for Rowing Club, but decided to stay put...she brought me a mug of tea. Got up around 1000. Porridged. Kath called from the Auld People's Home at 12 High View...dad's hearing aid batteries were evidently on the blink, which meant we were treated to a couple of stream-of-consciousness monologues about distorted gardens, and Bernie, the Head of the Planning Committee. Mum's foot and ankle still looking very swollen and red. The antibiotics are apparently running low...Kath plans to take her back to the GP tomorrow if things don't appear to be improving. Light lunch. Watched some tennis from Wimbledon, then took the car up to Muswell Hill to attend Kim's birthday garden party. A mix of rowing club colleagues and friends. Shelley turned up, and we got to chat about plans for travelling around Sicily in September with a couple of her acquaintances who are due to be out there at the same time. Enjoyed a couple of egg sandwiches, and plenty of birthday cake before I drove Aki home. Light dinner...pici and cheese sauce with chicken, mushrooms, and walnuts. Caught the end of Osaka's victory over Sabalenka, and enjoyed Mochizuki's spirited attempt to take a set off Sinner, all to no avail. Watched the second half of the Brazil v Norway game...Norway got through courtesy of the magnificent Erling Haaland...

Saturday 4th July 2026

Woke around 0830. Got up and made tea...repaired back to bed to watch highlights of the Argentina v Cape Verde game on my phone...astonishingly, Cape Verde came back to equalise to force extra time, went down 2-1, then scored a dazzling equaliser, only to concede an own goal late on...what a journey they've been on! Got up and porridged.  Walked up to Tesco on Stroud Green Road then wandered over to M&S in Finsbury Park to pick up Aki's click and collect dress. Aki made ramen for lunch. Watched some tennis from Wimbledon. The last Brit standing, young Arthur Fery, came through a five set epic to reach the last sixteen, where he'll take on the remarkable Grigor Dimitrov, who looks like a man possessed...he's desperate to exorcise the catastrophe that befell him at Wimbledon last year when he was two sets up on Sinner. Made a tagine with meatballs, couscous and vegetables for dinner. Watched Morocco hammer the Canadians 3-0 to reach the last sixteen, and then France v Paraguay...the Paraguayans never looked like scoring, and came out of it all looking distinctly unprofessional. Good riddance to them...showered and got to bed around 0030.