Tuesday 14th July 2026

Woke around 0800. Email from Rebecca next door giving my draft email to their landlord a thumbs up. Tea. Porridge. Tried sending my email to the contact we had for the landlord, but it bounced back!  Aki went off to tai chi. I printed off some English jigs that I'd been sent ahead of folk band rehearsal on Thursday...unfortunately, only three tunes included the chords, so I don't think I'll last long! 

But had a go at them, playing along to some YouTube links. Put some lunch together when she got back. Sat about doing not very much, feeling very down about the roof shenanigans...the more I think about it, the more I reckon Sush is right and RoofPro are mistaken about his doing repair work at the junction along the party wall line, for which they stated that the warranty had been invalidated. I'm going to have to go next door and proffer an apology, I think. We headed for Hackney Wick for early evening food at Lucia's Taco Bar, ahead of attending the opening night of the newly re-built Yard Theatre. Had tickets to see "Philosophy of The World", a high-octane, mad-cap look at 60's all-girl group, The Shaggs...basically three sisters, taken out of school by their domineering father, having been told in a palm reading when he was a kid that his daughters would be in a famous pop group. They had no musical skills whatever, didn't even know that guitars had to be tuned, and little sense of timing, but dad forced them to write and rehearse for hours on end each day...they produced one album, the gloriously dreadful "Philosophy of The World", got heard by Frank Zappa, and became a cult phenomenon!!! That said...the songs are awful! Quite impressed with the new Yard Theatre venue...it's basically a big and rather charmless shed, but the seating in the auditorium is on a good rake. The show was a bit of a disappointment...got off to a quirky and amusing start, with some very creative audience participation, but the end section descended into feminist agit-prop...understandable, given the subject matter, but delivered in a frustratingly indecipherable manner. Headed back to Holloway...found ourselves wandering past The Upper Place, so headed inside to join a sea of Spain supporters to watch the second half of the Spain v France semi-final...they were in high spirits after coming out 2-0 winners!

Monday 13th July 2026

Woke around 0400. Aki having problems sleeping with her itchy skin. I then got to re-run the worries about the roof for the next hour or so! Must have nodded back off eventually. Woke again around 0900 and sat up in bed with a mug of tea, doom-scrolling for while. Got up and porridged. Aki busied herself re-booking accommodation in Sicily, as we are now sharing much of our journey with her rowing mates, Kim and Shelley. Shelley will be hiring a car and driving us across the mountains from Palermo to Syracuse, with various overnight stops along the way. I continued drafting emails to the landlord next door, and to RoofPro, in connection with the urgent roof repairs required to the party wall parapet. Aki made a cold noodle ramen soup for lunch. I popped up onto the roof to see if Sush and Rebecca had plonked their stuff back on top of the parapet...all clear. Rebecca was sitting at the outdoor table beneath her sunshade...I took the opportunity to tell her I was drafting a letter to their landlord seeking permission to do repair works to the parapet on both sides of the party wall line. She seemed agreeable, but I subsequently forwarded her a draft which she could run past Sush this evening. Put a salmon salad together for dinner, followed by cheese and biscuits. No word from Sush or Rebecca...finally got a message from Rebecca saying they'd look at it in the morning, as she had gotten so little sleep last night due to Saturday's upset! It's all getting me down! Tried to cheer myself up with an episode of Ted Lasso, but am finding the script and storylines rather insipid...don't get why it was so highly acclaimed...new series about to land. 

Sunday 12th July 2026

Woke around 0600...worrying about what to do with the roof meant I was unable to nod back off. Got up and penned a draft letter to the landlord of No.5, seeking permission to apply any repairs necessary to their side of the party line as well as ours, though we've yet to hit on a solution. Drafted a letter to RoofPro attaching a drawing Aki had done detailing a possible solution, and requesting their advice on progressing the much needed work. Watched the highlights of the Argentina v Switzerland game...the Swiss took the game to extra time, despite having a man sent off for diving, but went down 3-1 in the end...so it's England v Argentina in the semi-final!!! Made tea. Porridged. Aki cycled off to Rowing Club. I took a walk to Archway...bit too hot out there to attempt a climb up Highgate Hill. Bought myself a lunch bowl and samosa in M&S and sat on a bench in Whittington Park to eat it, beneath the shade of a tree. Ambled slowly home, trying to find shade where I could. Aki back in time for the start of the Men's Singles Final between Sinner and Zverev. I put a ravioli supper together and then we took a No.91 bus up to The Shaftesbury for Scottish jig band rehearsal. Only us, Ben, and Celia showed up. Sat in the back room and went through a handful of tunes...we were joined for a mazurka by Ewan, a local jazz musician who got his clarinet out. Walked home with Ben. Warm, sticky evening. No football to watch so sat about twiddling our thumbs until bedtime...

Saturday 11th July 2026

Alarm at 0730. Got up and made tea...discovered the RoofPro team sat outside in their van. Got them up on the roof. Sush was already up there clearing away his cooking apparatus...Rebecca hadn't passed on the message that the roofer was coming this morning. The parapet covering was opened up to reveal rotten ply underneath, sat on top of the coping stones. The two Vlads applied some temporary repair to the resultant holes, and retired to consult their team back at Head Office. It looks as though we'll need a fresh, (higher(!) quote. All very dispiriting!!! And the fact that it's party wall greatly complicates the issue. They left around 1100. We await further developments. Lunched on the cheap food I'd picked up through the Too Good To Go app yesterday...tasty enough...a frittata, and a vegetable lasagna. Added lots of salad. Ventured out into the heat of the afternoon...drove to Sainsburys and did a bit of a shop, including some bulk buys. Drove home in time to watch the Ladies Singles Final from Wimbledon...a rather topsy-turvy affair, which ended when young Czech, Noskova, finally converted a match point over her compatriot, Muchova, to take her first Grand Slam Championship...rather moving speeches afterward from both ladies. Daal for dinner, with rice and some vegetables. Phoned Ma and Pa...they had received a visit from Ronan, Emma's helpful son, bearing fish 'n chips. They had gotten confused about Margaret's antibiotics...I had to phone Jim, who was camping in a field near Matfen, to make sure he was in possession of supplies, as we had been informed. He seemed to have enough of a wi-fi signal to pick up the England game later. Phoned Dad back to let him know that Jim had a supply of antibiotics, which he would dispense on the morrow. Watched England beat Norway 2-1...we were lucky to limp through, with some very shaky play at the back, and the game went to extra time, during which I had to fight sleep whilst lying on the sofa...got to bed around 0100.

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...