Wednesday 11th March 2026

Alarm at 0730. Got up and descended to the kitchen to porridge. Lyndsey was up and working at her laptop...managed to get some recommendations for a possible Sunday pub lunch. Tried making bookings online, but nothing doing...it's Mother's Day on Sunday! Booked somewhere for the evening meal instead. Drove in to Basford for a 0930 start. Pulled something in my groin during the warm up...gave me gip for the rest of the day. Feels like something's moved in the area of my bad inguinal hernia repair! Still got the neck-induced headache too...the paracetamol wasn't doing much...need to buy some ibuprofen. We celebrated Sayan's birthday at tea break, Kate the SM having baked a cake. Struggled through the afternoon session. Steve, the company stage manager, came to have a chat about my hernias...not sure what to do about it all, to be honest. An osteopath might be useful, I guess. Broke at 1800. Had some soup, then drove down to Hartshill to join the Auld Vic team at the Sanctuary Ale House for the pub quiz. Sean and his brother were there, Sayan, and Paul Jones made up my team. We came a creditable fourth, but I won the raffle...£32! I shared my winnings with my team. James and Anne showed up, and Bob, who had been working on a show in Liverpool today. We shared a few reminiscences of productions past. I pushed off around 2145...needed to lie down in a darkened room for a bit!

Tuesday 10th March 2026

Woke to alarm at 0730. Room was cold, but I was glad to sense that my terrible headache of the last few days had lifted. Descended for porridge, and packed a ham salad lunch to take into rehearsals. 0930 start...David Ahmad and myself were interviewed by Moorlands Radio...the interviewer, Dave Stringer, had been at the first night of Good Golly Miss Molly in 1989! The interview went well...good fun. Morning spent working scenes from Act II before Bob had leave...we then concentrated on movement, and song, directed by Bev and Polly. My terrible headache re-appeared after lunch, and I struggled through to dinner time...microwaved lasagne and green vegetables. The evening session was devoted to learning harmonies for Stand By Me. We finished at 2030, and I drove back to Bakewell Street, exhausted...headache very intense. Made my packed lunch for tomorrow in the kitchen. Mein hosts appeared, and I managed to get them to reset the heating to come on at around 0630. FaceTimed Aki, who had had fun as sound operator on the annual JCUK short play, written by one of their number. Got to bed around 2300...

Monday 9th March 2026

Alarm at 0730 after a reasonable nights sleep. Still have a headache…had it since Friday…it feels related to my neck problem, which is beginning to worry me. Got up and showered before heading to Tesco in the car to do some food shopping. Deposited my goods in the fridge back in Bakewell Street. Realised I’d forgotten to buy leaf salad, so drove back and got some more odds and ends. Too late to return to Bakewell Street for porridge, I drove in to Newcastle hoping to buy breakfast from the Greek Bakery, only to find it shut. Headed in to the theatre with no breakfast. 1030 start. Worked through bits of Act II. Broke for lunch...ate my ham salad in the Green Room. Took a walk down to Sainsburys, only to discover it had been demolished and is now a building site. Worked on until dinner break, then on again until 2000, choreographing the beginnings of the boarding up dance, complete with hard hats and ladder. I wandered over to the theatre afterward to catch a bit of The Watch...a Belgian band who specialise in re-creating the early prog rock of Peter Gabriel era Genesis...they were superb, especially the young guitarist. Bailed before they got into their 20 minute encore, and drove back to Bakewell Street. 

Sunday 8th March 2026

 

Woke around 0900. Aki cooked brunch, then cycled off to Rowing Club. I did some packing, and then wandered over to Waitrose to buy something for Sunday lunch. Aki back for lunch...confit of duck, with roast sweet potato and carrots, followed by bougasta which I'd bought from the Athenian Bakery on Seven Sisters Road, pimped up with creme fraiche, ice cream, and strawberries. Exchanged farewells on the doorstep, and I took a bus to Finsbury Park station, then a Victoria line train to Euston to catch the 1552 to Stoke. Euston was very busy. Got into Stoke on schedule, and jumped in a taxi to Bakewell Street. Mein hosts were not home...sat in my room for an hour or so, but it was cold, and failed to warm up, so I decided to venture into Newcastle to watch a film...Elvis Presley In Concert. FaceTimed Aki before heading off in the car. Parked up in Goose Street car park. Hoped to buy a bag of chips in The Dancing Octopus, but there was a queue, and service was slow. Gave up and walked to the cinema. Had a hot dog there before I went in. The movie was OK...a bit too frantic, Baz Lurhman likes a jump cut! It was a bit dizzying at times! But it was instructive nonetheless...what a voice...he was doing 2 or 3 shows a day during his Vegas residency...but his voice sounded warm and he pumped out hit after hit with seeming effortlessness! He was superhuman! 

Saturday 7th March 2026

Woke around 0500, but managed to nod back off fairly readily. It was 0730 when I next awoke...dozed for half-an-hour or so. Aki got up to pop round to Big Jo's to buy bread...I got up and prepared a ham and egg brunch. Grey day. Had a chat with Lynne and Fraser about the on-going roof problem...trying to get Lynne to set up two or three meetings with potential roofers to get proper quotes. Fraser reckons he's spotted some rot to the rafters where they meet the wall plate immediately below the external brick upstands where the render has sheared away from the brick facings. Walked to Angel via Highbury Fields. Aki bought a sweatshirt on Upper Street, then we headed for Hotel Chocolat to get gifts for Aki's Japanese relatives. Enjoyed a roti for lunch in Camden Passage before returning home on the No.43 bus. Watched Wrexham v Chelsea in the FA Cup...the Red Dragons put up a great fight, but went down 4-2 after having a man sent off. Aki cooked dinner...pan fried salmon teriyaki and rice, with a tasty miso soup. Ice cream and strawberries for afters.

Friday 6th March 2026

Terrible night's sleep....I reckon it was past 0100 by the time I nodded off, only to wake at 0430, as per usual. Didn't really feel that I'd managed to nod back off before the alarm went off at 0730. Descended for porridge...Lyndsey and Aidan were preparing to go to work, before driving on to Ross-on-Wye for a weekend with some chums. I drove into Basford for a 0930 start. Bob not in today...he's working on a piece about Lennon and MacCartney at the Royal Court. Spent the day working though the choreography with Bev, breaking for an early lunch. Afternoon session broke up at 1600, and I drove back to Bakewell Street to eat, and pack an overnight bag before walking the half-hour down to Stoke rail station to catch the 1853 train to Euston. Went over my lines for Act I on the one-and-a-half hour journey. Took a No.91 bus to Holloway in the pouring rain. Got home around 2115. Aki sat watching the telly. Had a catch up before bath and bed, as I could barely keep my eyes open!

Thursday 5th March 2026

Fitful night's sleep. Alarm at 0730. Descended to the kitchen to porridge. Lyndsey sat at kitchen table...she and Aidan have sold their pharmacy business...due to complete at the end of the month. She's looking to go into farming and sustainability! Drove into Basford for a 0930 start. A day working on scenes with Bob and choreography with Bev. Took a walk down King Street at lunchtime and sat in the ornamental gardens with a coffee...very pleasant in the sunshine. Walked back up the hill for the afternoon session. Pasta bake for dinner, with green vegetables...all courtesy of the microwave. Broke at 2000 and drove down to Hartshill in the car...parked up and presented myself at the Sanctuary Ale House...James's Open Mic night was already underway. A very loud singer was accompanying himself on guitar. Sat with Paul Jones and Sylvie, then said hi to Sean and Jenn, and Sean's brother Paul. I was surprised to see most of the GGMM cast walk in behind Bob and Sayan, but none of them got up to contribute a song or two. I did "She Moved Through the Fair" with guitar and shruti box, followed by "Meet Me on the Corner", and "Country Honk", with harmonica accompaniment...all went down very well. Had a slight out-of-body experience halfway through when I realised that I knew everyone in the room, save for four bald blokes huddled in a corner, and the bar staff...back to the future moment. A grand evening was had by all, and we vowed to return in a couple of weeks to try out some of our Good Golly tunes...