Thursday 24th September 2026

Woke around 0900. Got up and brought tea back to bed with me, but was interrupted by a call from Matthew at work...inspections needed out Chelmsford way in the coming week. Well, I badly need the cash! Finished Clare Tomalin's biography of Dickens...some interesting stuff in her postscript, detailing his daughter Katey's efforts to right the record in respect of how badly Dickens treated his wife, her mother. She describes him as "a wicked", but wonderful, man! Did a little prep work at the laptop before lunch. Put a ham and egg salad lunch together. Did some mandatory Savills compliance training online. Wandered over to Waitrose to buy some pork fillet for tonight's dinner, taking a long circular walk down to Highbury Fields and back along the way. Aki cooked a pork stir fry with rice noodles for dinner. Watched three episodes of "Widow's Bay" before bath and bed...

Wednesday 23rd September 2026

Woke around 0900. Got up and brought tea back to bed...read my Dickens biography for a bit before rising to porridge. Carried on reading until lunchtime. Message from RoofPro saying they were cancelling tomorrow's work, as they were struggling to put a team together. Not amused! Chicken salad for lunch. Ventured out for an afternoon walk...made our way across to Parliament Hill Fields. Sat on a bench for a bit watching the world go by, then walked down to Gospel Oak station to catch a train back to Upper Holloway. Walked back down the Holloway Road, popping in to Sainsburys on the way. Bumped into Jane outside No.36...she was carrying a bunch of flowers ahead of Carlos's birthday celebrations tomorrow. Aki warmed up the last of the tandoori chicken, which we ate with rice and lentils. Watched "Widow's Bay"...it went back in time to 1702 so no Matthew Rhys in this episode...it's not so funny without him! Bath and bed...

Tuesday 22nd September 2026

Woke around 0400. Managed to nod back off fairly readily. It was gone 0900 when I next came to. Aki still dozing. I got up and made myself tea, and climbed back into bed with Clare Tomalin, or rather, her Dickens biography. Got up and porridged. Sat about reading until lunchtime ...warmed up some lentil soup I'd rescued from the freezer. Tastier than I recalled. Walked over to Tesco at Stroud Green to get some supplies. Cooked a pasta alle Norma for dinner, with one of Aki's homegrown aubergines. Went down well. Watched "Till The Stars Come Down" on the National Theatre At Home streaming device. The Tower are mounting a production of it next spring, and Kathleen from No.49 had seen the National production, and claimed it was hilarious, so it piqued my interest. But the two older men haven't got much to say, though one of them amusingly recreates a Tarzan competition he entered as a youth, but nothing in it for me...a lot of women shouting at each other most of the time. 

Monday 21st September 2026

Woke around 0600. Got up and re-arranged my pillows, and got back into bed...managed to doze until around 0900. Got up and made tea. Aki still feeling a bit rough. I spent all morning in bed reading "Hard-Boiled", determined to get the Murakami finished so that I could drop it off at the Library this afternoon. Finished just in time for lunch. It was a great read...very imaginative...looking forward to seeing the stage adaptation next month. Warmed up Aki's chicken broth for lunch. Walked down to Islington Council Offices on Upper Street, popping the book in at the Central Library on the way. Stopped for a decaf at Coffee Republic...nothing to write home about. I went to LBI enquire as to the whereabouts of half-a-dozen All-Day parking permits I'd ordered three weeks ago...I was given a number, 68, and waited my turn. I raised an eyebrow when, after nearly an hour waiting, number 69 was called! I made a polite protestation and got seen...it seems they can't even get the queue organised with any degree of competence! Suffice to say, my wait was a complete waste of time...nobody around to help in the Parking Department...the guy dealing with me managed to get hold of someone working from home, who was eventually able to track my payment down...but I was sent away empty handed, and told to fill in an Indemnity Form stating it was true that the effing things hadn't turned up in my letterbox. Caught a bus back to Holloway. Popped in to Waitrose to get some odds and ends, then walked home. Aki cooked up the M&S tandoori chicken for dinner, with rice and vegetables. I ventured out...headed for Stoke Newington via two buses, to attend the Tower Theatre AGM. Got there about half-an-hour early...rather than stand about talking nonsense to all and sundry, I popped round to the gelato shop on Church Street for my pudding! Not quite up to Sicilian standards, but went down well...it was rather warmer out than I'd anticipated. The theatre was about half full...which meant only about 50 people had turned up, which I thought was a rather poor turnout. Amanda announced that she would be standing down as AD in December, and Dom, who had played the Dame in last year's panto, would be stepping into the breach! All seemed to be on track financially, and audiences had been well up across the year, most notably for the panto, which Sorrel and Dom are leading again this year. 

Saturday 19th September 2026

Woke around 0700. Got up and made tea...sat up in bed and drank it, then managed to doze off for a bit. Aki reckons she's coming down with my cold...sore throat, runny nose. Aki got up to see if the wi-fi had been connected by Vodafone...router still flashing red, though. She got on the phone to Vodafone while I ventured out to buy bread...a lot of rubbish in the street this morning...it's like living in a landfill site! Bumped into Dave from No.17...he said they are thinking of moving, maybe in a couple of years time, as they are fed up with the drug addicts and the rest of it. Posted a card to Alicia and James apologising for not making their wedding today...still too ill to make a trip to Buckingham. Wandered up to Big Jo to buy a loaf, and walked slowly home. Aki still on the phone when I got in...speaking to a Vodafone agent...in Egypt! Anyroad, she eventually got us back on line after 18 hours delay. Lunched on the remains of the sausage ragu...mixed with peas, and a hunk of fresh sourdough. Aki had a boiled egg and some salad. I popped out to Waitrose and bought some odds and ends. Spotted the druggies at the top end of Annette Road...took evasive action. Wandered slowly home. Aki made some chicken and vegetable soup for dinner...a bit of soul food to make her feel better. Very tasty. Watched a bit of telly...disappointed to experience the loss of our new internet connection every 30 minutes or so! Bath and bed...

Friday 18th September 2026

Hacking cough subsided during the night, but flared up again around 0400! My head and my diaphragm ache!!! Got up around 0800. Called Rebecca next door to thank her for moving the homeless man on who'd parked himself on our doorstep last week. Alerted her to the fact that RoofPro had pencilled in works for next Thursday. Could hear banging outside and discovered a team of two installing a junction box in the pavement ahead of the fibreoptic installation this afternoon. The OpenReach technician turned up at 1300...he had to run the cable from the new junction box, through the garden wall, and then along the bottom rung of the old wrought iron fence with No.5...not terribly convincing! He had to fight his way through the rose bush, and then make a hole in the external wall near the front door to align the fibreoptic with the existing router. We gave him a hand, and took measurements to ensure he didn't drill through the gas main! He left about 1630 with the router in 'connecting' mode. He reckoned it might take a couple of hours to kick in. Aki baked trout for dinner. Watched a bit of telly. Restricted by the fact that the wi-fi still wasn't up and running. A message from Vodafone suggested it wouldn't be activated until midnight! Early bath and bed...

Thursday 17th September 2026

Disturbed night's sleep for both of us due to my hacking cough! Got up at 0700, then sat up in bed and dozed for a couple of hours. Grey, damp looking day! We are obviously back in Holloway!!! Porridged. Tried to make a dent in my Blog...need to write up the entire 10 days, and sort out some photos...going to keep me busy for a couple of weeks. Aki put some washing in, then cycled off to the shops to buy some odds and ends for lunch. Bumped into Lynne in the front garden...she had returned, in agony, from Brazil about 10 days early, as she had had an accident and fallen down some steps...she had left her mate to carry on the trip without her. Then she got $100 stolen, and to top things off, left her phone in a Brazilian taxi!!! I offered to do some shopping for her if needed. Kath phoned. She and dad had just returned from a swim...he looked in reasonably good shape. Says his pain has subsided, and he doesn't require the painkilling injections for now. They will review in 12 months. Put some lunch together. Watched a C4 documentary about Tommy Robinson, made by a chap called Matt Shea, who according to Tony McB, lives in Paradise Park. Tony sent a still of Tommy Robinson brandishing a GB News microphone, knocking at Matt's door. The documentary reveals a deeply repulsive character who stands accused of taking his working class supporters for fools...you can say that again!!! Warmed up some defrosted sausage ragu retrieved from the freezer last night. Aki not feeling well, so just cooked herself some rice porridge. We watched 7Up, and 14Up, documentaries following the progress of 20 youngsters from differing backgrounds...they have just screened 70Up, so we've a bit of catching up to do! Bath and early to bed...