Woke at 0330, and again at 0600...as per usual! Back giving me some gip, so sat up in bed for a while. Alarm at 0730. Rose slowly and descended to make tea. Lindsey was in the kitchen in her cycling lycra...she and Aidan had sold on their business yesterday, and she was now looking forward to some me time. Porridged in my room. Drove in to Basford for a 0915 start...yet another 11 hour day in prospect! Ran Act II in the pre-lunch session. Lunched on Staffordshire oatcakes in the restaurant. FaceTimed Aki as she was about to bed down for the night at Izumi's in Tokyo...they had experienced a 10 second, minor earthquake today! Ran Act I in the afternoon/evening session. All went reasonably well...broke around 2000. Repaired to the Hop Inn with some of the cast, for a half of Guinness before driving back to Bakewell Street. Got in around 2115. Took a mug of tea up to my room.
Woke at 0330, and again around 0600. Alarm at 0730. Got up and showered before descending to make tea. Porridged in my room. Drove to Basford for a 0915 start. Continued working through Act II. Broke for lunch at 1400. Aki sent some photos of cherry blossom in full bloom...I sent her a photo of me in my college lecturer wig beneath the magnolia tree in the theatre garden. Another long afternoon/evening session. Did Hit The Road Jack three or four times...my bad hernia repair giving me gip by the end of rehearsals. Broke at 2000 and ate my prawn salad, before driving back to Bakewell Street. No sign of mein hosts. Repaired to my room, exhausted!
Woke at 0300, and at 0600. Alarm at 0800. Got up and descended to make tea. Porridged in my room. Grey, damp day. Drove to Tesco and did a little shopping...filled up with petrol...and picked up a coffee. Got to the theatre around 1000. Morning sound checking the songs in Act II, then we started Act II technical rehearsals. Tea break was marked by cake to celebrate Georgie's birthday. Broke for lunch at 1400. FaceTimed Aki, who was at Izumi's. Long afternoon session, but made good progress toward the end of the show. Broke at 2000. Feet ache. Feel very weary indeed. Ate my pre-prepared prawn salad then drove back to Bakewell Street. Lindsey was sat at the kitchen table on a zoom meeting. She said she had had a tough day...the deal to sell the business almost fell through! Retired upstairs to my room.
Alarm at 0730. Fitful night's sleep, but not too bad. Woke at 0330, but got back to sleep after half-an-hour. Calf muscle in my left leg went into spasm on waking! Desperately need a rest! Got up and made tea. Porridged in my room. Aki FaceTimed from a hotel room in Nagano...she and Naoya had driven up with his father's ashes...Buddhist ceremony tomorrow at the graveyard family plot. Drove in to Basford for a 0930 start. Ran Act I at 1100...ran into immediate problems with the head mics, which demanded a computer reset. Run went pretty well thereafter, I thought, though there were some hiccups along the way. Broke at 1330. I cooked my chicken and mushroom pie in the oven and ate in the atrium. Drove back to Bakewell Street. My shirt had been delivered by Toast...but it's way too big, so will have to be sent back...what a palaver! Drove into Hanley and dropped the shirt off at the Post Office in the Potteries Centre, then had a wander around the city centre...very depressing! What a hole!!! Bought a microwaveable heat mask for my eye in Boots, and one for my neck in Superdrug, then wandered down to take a look at Little Dumpling King, a highly recommended eatery...looks worth a visit. Paid homage at the feet of Sir Stanley Matthews in the city centre, then drove back to Bakewell Street. Feel so tired...as if I've been run over by a steamroller! Pottered about for a bit, then drove to Hartshill for dinner at Kismet...but they were busy, and couldn't fit me in...so I ordered a takeaway, and had a swift half in the Old House At Home. Ate my dinner in the morning room at Bakewell Street, watching the last two episodes of series 2 of Trying...got a bit soppy, but lots of quirky comedy still to be had...delicious!
Alarm at 0730. Lay in for 15 minutes before rising and descending to the kitchen to make tea. Ate my porridge in my room. Feel pretty achey this morning...headache still hovering in the wings, and my bad inguinal hernia repair giving me a lot of gip! Left the strapping on my left ankle in place overnight. Drove into Basford for a 0915 start. Continued working through Act I, focussing on lights and sound. Long, drawn out process. Lunched on burrata and sun dried tomatoes, and a mushroom and chicken pasta microwaved meal. Long afternoon/evening session. Finished around 1930. Sat in the atrium and ate my pre-prepared chicken and avocado salad. Too whacked to join the gang for a beer at the Hop Inn...drove to Tesco to do a bit of shopping. Filled the fridge back at Bakewell Street. Retired to my room with a mug of mint tea and a bag of nuts!
Alarm at 0730. Left eye completely closed. Descended to make tea...brought my porridge back upstairs to eat in my room. FaceTimed Aki, but she was in a restaurant with her niece, and her fella...I gave them a wave before terminating the call. Drove in to the theatre for a 0915 start. Tweaked something in my left foot during the warm up. attempting a couple of Nureyev leaps! Got more painful as the technical rehearsal wore on. Had it strapped up before attempting the Kiss of Life choreography.
Seemed to do the trick. Cooked a small pizza for lunch. Ate in the atrium. Plodded on with the tech for the long late afternoon session. My headache started to make an unwelcome return! Took a couple of ibuprofen. Broke at 1945. Ate my packed lunch at my dressing table before driving back to Bakewell Street. Watched the second half of the World Cup qualifier between Wales and Bosnia...corking goal from Dan James! Game went to extra time...Wales losing out i the penalty shoot out.
