Tuesday 29th September 2026

Woke around 0700 with back pain, so got up and re-arranged the pillows so I could sit up for a bit. Managed to nod back off again for awhile. Got up and made tea, which I brought back to bed, with a bowl of porridge. Read for a while. Aki popped out to tai chi. I got up and took my constitutional...walked to Highbury Fields. Enjoyed a coffee at Maison Bleu, then headed for Waitrose. Aki home by the time I got back...I put a light lunch together. Accessed Lynne's flat...she's on her way back from Penzance. Cut away some wisteria and passion flower which has all gone a bit AWOL at the front of the building. Did a little work at the laptop ahead of inspections later in the week. Tidied up the cuttings in the front garden. Ambled round to No.7 for dinner chez Brett. Jane and Carlos from No.36, Lynne from upstairs, Margaret from No.5, and Kathleen and Andrew from No.49, also in attendance. Pleasant evening sat out in Brett's arbour. She'd cooked up a feast of Ottolenghi inspired dishes...I particularly enjoyed the baked rice with confit tomatoes and garlic, which paired beautifully with the Moroccan chicken stew. The almond orange cake for afters was great, too. Brett is preparing to return to Australia in a couple of weeks, so won't be around for Xmas. It was gone midnight by the time I got to bed...

Monday 28th September 2026

Took a couple of hours to nod off, for some reason. So didn't feel very refreshed by the time I woke around 0900. Aki brought me tea in bed. Read for a bit. Got up and porridged. Phoned High View and alerted Jim to the fact that the NBS passbook would be delivered today...hopefully someone hears the doorbell! Read Act II of the panto script...underwhelming, I'm afraid. Aki put an early lunch together before we headed into town to see a film at the Garden Cinema...Czech classic, "Marketa Lazarova". Had a little trouble seeing the subtitles due to the size of the head of the bloke on the row in front of me, but got the gist. What I hadn't realised was that, as well as being voted the greatest Czech film of all time, it was also one of the longest... we both struggled a bit to keep awake over the course of two-and-three-quarter hours! Lots to admire...the strange, surreal sections, the black and white photography...it felt like a 60s era Czech version of "The Seven Samurai", or "The Good, The Bad & The Ugly". Poor old Marketa didn't feature all that much in the narrative. Staggered out of the cinema at 1700 and headed home on the No.91 bus. Got a photo from Royal Mail that showed the NBS passbook being delivered to mum at 12 High View...got a bit worried that she might have then put it somewhere, and forgotten where she put it! Got an email from dad, though, saying it had been received. Aki cooked a stir fry, and used up the last of the pork fillet. Watched "28Up" followed by The Ten. Bath and bed.

Sunday 27th September 2026

Fitful night's sleep, for some reason...back giving me a bit of gip, so got up around 0730. Got back into bed with a mug of tea, and read for half-an-hour. Got up and readied myself for guitar class. Aki up by the time I left for Camden Town. Picked up a coffee at Pret on Camden High Road, and read a little Dickens before ambling round the corner to Cecil Sharp House. One or two extra people this week...bloke who sat next to me was good. He let me share his music stand. It was all a bit slow going again today, given the fact that some people are absolute beginners, but I'm enjoying learning a new tune. Half-a-dozen of us sat about in the cafe afterward, and I joined the WhatsApp Group. Headed home to put the chicken in the oven. Aki back from rowing club in time for Sunday roast. I then took a couple of buses to Stoke Newington. George Savona, curating the Poetry Evening, wanted to hear everyone deliver their material. Had to wait my turn, as he was seeing people one-by-one. Had a couple of hours to kill before the show, so wandered up Church Street...bought a chicken salad pot from Whole Foods and went back to the theatre to eat it. Bumped into Sorrel and some of the panto gang, who were having their first read-through this afternoon...they haven't cast a Daddy Bear, so said I'd consider it, and took a copy of the script to read. It's not great...the first half feels very patchy. Daddy Bear doesn't look too exacting, though. See what Aki thinks! Aki turned up around 1840, and took her seat in the studio with Kathleen from No.49. I opened the evening with a delivery of Poem For Live8. Some very enjoyable contributors over the course of the evening...I especially enjoyed renditions of Philip Larkin, John Betjemen, and a piece from Webster's "Duchess of Malfi". I ended the second half with "Now Westlin' Winds"...I dried on the opening line! But got through it, eventually!!! We gave Kathleen a lift home to Sussex Way. Showered and bed...

Saturday 26th September 2026

Slow start this morning. Got up and made tea before porridging. Kath had left a text message last night saying that the boiler at 12 High View had packed up, and they needed the NBS passbook ASAP. I popped over to the Post Office and sent it by Special Delivery...hopefully it'll get there in one piece by Monday lunch time. Also decided to send Kath the NBS Power of Attorney forms so that she could get herself sorted once and for all. Will post them out on Monday. I wandered over to Waitrose after lunch to buy a chicken for tomorrow's roast. Headed for the Harringay Ladder late afternoon...couldn't get on a No.29 bus, as it was packed, so hopped on a bus to Finsbury Park and caught the overground to Hornsey. The train was rammed...must be a gig on at Ally Pally or something! Walked Aki down the New River, which brought us out at the top of Beresford Road. Kearsey and Kieron hosted another dinner party. Shelly, our chauffeur from Sicily, turned up, amongst others. We repaired to the back garden after gnocchi, and ice cream doused in Bourbon! Sat about chatting, though I found myself next to Dee, who is very bright, but is ADHD and then some!!! It gets a bit wearing after a while. Made our escape around 2100, and walked down to the bus stop on Green Lanes to catch a No.29 bus home. 

Friday 25th September 2026

Aki up early to ready herself for rowing club. By the time I got up to make tea, she had cycled off. Brought porridge back to bed with me and read some "Dagga". Katrina texted to say her copy had turned up in the post! I did a little gardening...Margaret turned out to be in her back garden, and joined in with a bit of pruning of the jasmine, so I could get through the gate between our two properties. Did a little out front, too. Aki back for lunch...put together a sardine salad with poached eggs. Headed into town...visited the Photographer's Gallery, and their Japanese Women Photographers 1950-Now exhibition. Some of the more abstract stuff was worth a look, but otherwise nothing much to get excited about. Particularly liked the photo of a hat made out of fish. Then headed for Earlsfield, via Vauxhall...Tami and Franco threw a welcome dinner for Midori and Dan, old chums who have moved into the flat they rent out attached to their house. Sat about in the garden chatting and enjoying some nibbles, then moved inside for a sumptuous Japanese feast that Tami, Midori, and Aki cooked up in the kitchen...it was very impressive...and very tasty! Got home around 2300. Bumped into Sush outside, unloading his van...he and Rebecca are due to fly out to Cyprus for ten days tomorrow, so he didn't want to leave any valuable tools in the van. Managed to get him to tell me where the fusebox for the external consent is, so the roofer can detail around it properly. Had to listen to him burbling on for half-an-hour though before I was able to extricate the information! Aki was in bed by the time I got in...

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...