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.

Friday 3rd July 2026

Got up and watched highlights of last night's games whilst porridging on the sofa. Aki cycled off to Rowing Club. Watched some action from Wimbledon. Aki back in time for lunch. Headed into town...took the overground from Finsbury Park to Blackfriars, and ambled through the crowds to the Tate Modern. 

Got through the first three rooms of the Frida Kahlo exhibition before seeking out Midori and Dan, who texted us to say they were in the Member's Bar. Sat out on the north balcony and had ice cream, a drink, and a catch-up. Descended to the Switch House to take a look at Julio Le Parc's playful light installations. Browsed the Gift Shop before walking slowly to Meson de Philipe in The Cut for a slap up tapas dinner. We were a bit concerned to find three fire engines parked up outside with lights flashing...I asked the Maitre D if they had overdone the caramelised onions...turned out it was the flat above, but all had been successfully sorted, and the engines departed one-by-one. Dan and Midori have arranged to move in to Tami and Franco's granny flat in Earlsfield for a generously low rent. We vowed to come visit once they've settled in. 

Thursday 2nd July 2026

Woke around 0800 with the usual back pain. Got up and made tea. Watched the highlights of the US win over Bosnia...they face Belgium in the last 16, so could well get through to the semi-finals! Porridged. No word from RoofPro about doing the roof repairs next week. Not very encouraging, as it's looking a bit grey out there today. Did some wisteria pruning out front...the sun came out and made it very hot work. Put some lunch together. We ventured in to town. Popped in to John Lewis's on a very busy Oxford Street to look at wall clocks, as Aki's pride and joy has started to falter. Took a look in IKEA too, but couldn't find anything we fancied. Repaired to M&S...Aki wanted to try on a couple of denim dresses, but came away with nothing. Zigzagged our way down toward Piccadilly to buy some items from the Japanese grocery shop, then headed for home. Aki cooked salmon for dinner. Watched Spain defeat Austria to progress to the last 16...