Tuesday 19th May 2026

Woke around 0815. Back giving me a bit of gip, but relatively minor this morning. Got up and made breakfast bowls, and brought tea back to bed. Read some more Mirror & The Light before rising. Aki went off to tai chi. Pea soup for lunch when she returned. She got a phone call from Ha-chan in Osaka...she had been discharged from hospital, and is now recovering at home. Good news! I popped across the road to pick up my statins from Dev's. Finished reading The Mirror & The Light...it's very succinctly put together, telling a complex tale with great clarity. Warmed up chicken and mushroom pie for dinner, with lots of vegetables. Watched Later With Jools...on the iPlayer. Arsenal win the title after Man City are held to a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth...lots of celebratory car horns going off until the early hours in the surrounding streets...a neighbour posted a photo of her husband celebrating with the one-and-only Ian Wright, who had turned up to join in the fun!

Monday 18th May 2026

 

Woke around 0645. Back ached a bit, so sat up in bed for a while before nodding back off. Got up and made a breakfast pot, and tea. Sat down with Aki to book some more Sicilian accommodation...just left Palermo to sort out. Headed in to town. Took the tube to Leicester Square, and walked up to Foyles. Aki got in the queue at the cafe, whilst I sought out and paid for a copy of the RSC adaptation of Hilary Mantel's "The Mirror & the Light". I've been handed the role of the Duke of Norfolk for the rehearsed reading...rehearsals start on Sunday. We enjoyed soup and a chicken sandwich, then walked across to Covent Garden to watch "Kohuko" at The Garden Cinema. Fabulous film...set in the world of Kabuki theatre...the dance sequences were sublime. Caught a No.91 bus back to Holloway. Very busy...Arsenal are hosting Burnley in their final home game of the season tonight. Aki cooked mackerel, Japanese style, for dinner...very tasty! Watched a bit of telly. Oh, and Arsenal won 1-0, so are now 5 points clear of Man City...if Man City fail to win tomorrow evening, then Arsenal will claim the title.

Sunday 17th May 2026

Woke around 0815...back not too bad, for a change. I'm guessing that I didn't roll over onto my side during the night. Got up and brought tea back to bed. Aki cooked omelette for brunch before cycling off to Rowing Club. I did some research on hotels in Taormina...found one within walking of the ancient Greek Amphitheatre. Did my exercises. Aki lunched at the Clubhouse, so I just made do with avocado on toast. I popped out to Waitrose to get some ingredients to make a chicken and vegetable pie, and prepped it all before Aki got back. Spoke to Paul Jones on the phone and arranged to go see Sean O'Callaghan in Richard III at Stafford Gatehouse at the end of June. Aki booked train tickets. Cooked my pie...served up with peas and broccoli. Watched some telly before bath and bed...

Saturday 16th May 2026

Woke around 0730 with back ache...got up and did some back exercises before returning to bed for a bit. Eventually rose to cook brunch. We did some research on travel plans for Sicily. Walked over to Waitrose to buy some provisions. Bumped into Tom at the Greek church next door...mentioned we were planning to visit Syracuse, in Sicily, but once part of the Greater Greek Empire...he told us that there are still pockets of Greek speaking locals in south-east Sicily. Aki cooked salmon teriyaki for dinner, with rice and vegetables. Watched Phillip Ridley's "The Reflecting Skin"...a 1990 venture into the movies for the great playwright...beautifully shot and lit, but his magical writing was forced into the background, and as a result, the narrative didn't quite take off. 

Friday 15th May 2026

Woke around 0430. Got back to sleep. Aki had headed off to Rowing Club by the time I woke again. Got up at 0945 and porridged. Coffee. Did some exercises. Aki back for lunch. Pottered about not getting much done. Popped out to the Post Office. Bumped into Lynne in the hall who said she was off to Madagascar in a couple of weeks time! She's got another quote for roof work...£23,000. Said I'd try and identify a couple more possible roofers for quotations. Read some before warming up the chicken and apple for dinner, with orzo and vegetables. Drove over to Stoke Newington to see Bee's production of "Clyde's". Very impressed by the seedy kitchen set. The five actors were good...hadn't seen any of them before. The two younger guys were awesome. Bee can be proud of her first Tower production, though some of the scene transitions felt a bit clunky, and lighting and sound required a slightly more subtle approach. 

Thursday 14th May 2026

Woke around 0815 with back ache. Sat up in bed for a bit...Aki brought me a mug of tea. Got up and breakfasted on fruit and yoghurt. Did some exercises before vacuuming. Aki made hummus. Grey day...threatening rain. Tinned mackerel for lunch. Sun came out in between the showers over the course of the afternoon. Aki cooked a carbonara for dinner. Watched some telly...the fast paced "The Bear", and a recent small screen adaptation of "Shogun"...the former was very impressive, the latter a bit silly and OTT. The News followed by bath and bed...

Wednesday 13th May 2026

Woke around 0815. Aki already up, readying herself for Rowing Club. I took a mug of tea back to bed for a bit. Eventually rose and made a fruit bowl with yoghurt and granola, inspired by some of the breakfasts we'd enjoyed in Rotterdam. Did some exercises. Sat about listening to music until Aki got home for her lunch. Cullen skink from a tin. Popped out between hail storms to buy some odds and ends ahead of making this evening's dinner. Cooked a chicken tray bake with apple, mustard and cider, with roast sweet potato and vegetables, washed down with a glass of cider. Left Aki to tidy up, and set off for Stoke Newington in the car...journey was delayed due to the fact that the Arsenal Ladies had a game on at the Emirates. Got to the theatre late and joined the auditionees in the Tuerk Studio...about 12 of us, taking it in turns to read for Henry VIII, Cromwell, Dr Butts, and young Wyatt, in an adaptation of Hilary Mantel's "The Mirror & The Light". Enjoyed myself. Found Kathleen from No.49 sat in the bar...had a brief chat before Amanda, the AD, sat down with us, and they complained about having to negotiate the changing moods of Bianca, who has been directing "Clydes", which opened this evening. I thought it politic to excuse myself before the interval, and the risk of being collared in the bar by Bianca...awkward! Drove home. We watched the final 20 minutes of "Get Back"...the episode ended with George walking out on The Beatles. Enjoyed Michael Portillo as he investigated Japan by rail. Bath and bed...