Wednesday 4th March 2026

Alarm at 0730. Got up and showered before descending for porridge. Drove into Basford for a 0930 start at the theatre. Continued where we left off last night...more movement and choreography. Worked on the dance sequence for "It's in His Kiss"...the dummy was a bit heavy, and her head fell off at one point...she underwent repair during the lunch break. Finished early at 1800. I walked into Newcastle in the company of Sam and Connor, who were headed to meet David at the Vue Cinema to see the NT production of "Othello", which David had been in. I wandered round town looking for something to eat...the Italian I was aiming for turned out to be closed on Wednesdays. Made do with another Italian near the bus station...treated myself to fillet steak and mushroom sauce. Particularly enjoyed the sauteed potatoes. Walked back up the hill and rang Aki from the car in the theatre car park. She and Kath had met up with Roz last night...she had reported that Cath is undergoing chemotherapy; that Uncle Pete had been in hospital...the children were now taking turns looking after him; Lawrence and Annie have had their home condemned and have been forced to move out, but Roz has no idea where they've gone. Drove back to Bakewell Street and listened to some football on R5Live...sounded like a great game at St James's Park.

Tuesday 3rd March 2026

Woke at 0415....took ages to get back to sleep, despite taking sleep aid tablets before bedtime. Got up and descended for porridge. Drove into Basford for a 0930 start...knackered already, and it's only Tuesday! Bev the choreographer was in today...haven't seen her for over 25 years. She looks a little worn down, but still bubbly and energetic. She filled me in on the state of play regarding Howard Gray and his brain tumour diagnosis...it sounds as though they have had some success in shrinking the tumour, but the biopsy left him paralysed down his left side. She confirmed that he's working, though...remarkable! Took a short walk down King Street during the lunch break...it was relatively warm on the sunny side of the street. More choreography in the afternoon session...hard work. Andy Billington, who had been the stage manager on the 1991 and 1993 productions of Good Golly, had come in to take rehearsal photos...he's now a renowned theatre, and wedding photographer. Microwaved a butter chicken dinner with basmati rice in the dinner break before a further hour's rehearsal. Aki phoned from the Hammersmith Apollo, sounding very excited about the imminent David Byrne gig...Noel Gallagher was sat in the seat in front of her! Drove down the London Road to do a bit of shopping at Tesco, then drove back to Bakewell Street. Sat in the car for a bit listening to the Leeds v Sunderland game...the Mackems scraped a narrow 1-0 away win!

Monday 2nd March 2026

Woke around 0400...took ages to get back to sleep. Got up around 0845. Descended for porridge in the kitchen, and prepared a packed lunch. Drove in to the theatre for a 1030 warm-up. Mostly music rehearsal today. Had a zoom session with our accent coach. I was surprised to learn that I was to sing Shakin' Stevens' "This Old House". Had a go at it after lunch, and did a little scene work with Polly in the breakout room. Broke for dinner...microwaved some lasagne and greens. More singing in the evening session..."This Old House", and "Hit the Road Jack". Voice felt very weary once we knocked things on the head a little after 2000. Drove back to Bakewell Street. Disappointed to learn that Thursday's call won't end until 2000...had been lead to believe it would be 1800, allowing us to get to the open mic night. Messaged James suggesting I might abandon plans to sing "Lady Eleanor"...see how I feel on Thursday evening. FaceTimed Aki from the car...she and Kath were watching telly, having enjoyed a fish supper. They are due to meet Roz for dinner tomorrow evening prior to attending the David Byrne concert at the Hammersmith Apollo. Settled in my room to listen to The World Tonight...updates on Trump's on-going attacks on Iran...all very depressing. Twat!

Sunday 1st March 2026

Woke around 0800. Descended for porridge. Started packing. Drove Aki to the Metro station at Callerton Parkway to begin her journey back to London. Said our farewells at the station...I then drove to Kingston Park to do a shop at M&S, and fill the car up with petrol. Grabbed a Costa coffee. Drove back to High View to start cooking the Sunday lunch...roast chicken, roast potatoes, and a cauliflower cheese, followed by tiramisu. Dad didn't eat much, though he managed to demolish the tiramisu without a problem. Packed my stuff into the car boot and said my goodbyes. Decided to follow the satnav, which recommended heading west...I assumed to Carlisle, but it insisted on taking me over the Pennines via the A686, through Alston. Stopped briefly to take in the view from Hartside, 1,903 feet above sea level, though the view was somewhat dominated by a blanket of grey cloud. The weather got increasingly grim the further west I ventured...and there was a lot of spray on the M6 southbound. Traffic got very busy after the Manchester junction, presumably with Man United fans coming away from the game at Old Trafford. Got to Bakewell Street around 1845. Unpacked the car, and said hello to Lyndsey, who was busy baking Parkin. I heated up my M&S spaghetti meatballs, and retreated to my cold and damp room. FaceTimed Aki who had gotten home in one piece. She's hosting Kath tomorrow, ahead of their trip to Hammersmith to see David Byrne.
 

Saturday 28th February 2026

Woke around 0900 and descended for porridge. Kath popped out to see a client and do a bit of a shop. Aki and I walked down to Darras Hall Broadway for a coffee at No.9, and picked up some paracetamol supplies from Boots for dad. Back in time for a light lunch. Drove mum and Aki down to Ponteland for a walk in Pont Park...a lot of snowdrops were on show. Got back to the car just as it started to rain, so drove back to High View for a cuppa tea and a biscuit. I cooked a beef in Guinness stew for dinner, with mashed potato and vegetables, followed by semolina pudding and strawberry jam. Watched a bit of telly before bed...
 

Friday 27th February 2026

Woke around 0700...dozed for half-an-hour. Showered. Got some gear together and packed it in the car boot. Set off for Newcastle (-on-Tyne). Took the M6 up to Manchester, then across the Pennines via the M62, and from thence to Newcastle on the A1(M), stopping briefly at Wetherby service station on the way. Jim and Emma had tied the knot at Newcastle Civic Centre earlier in the morning, in the company of Kathryn, and Emma's sister Penny, who acted as witnesses. I got to High View in time to join mum, dad, Aki and Kath for lunch. Dad looked OK, but in too much pain to contemplate attending the reception in Byker, so I drove myself, Aki, Kath and mum in. The reception was being held in a small local brewery out toward Walker. 

We entered the downstairs bar area, which was pretty well packed...met Penny, and Emma's son Ronan. Mum's young piano pupil, Sienna, was there with her dad...he's an ex-professional rugby player...and is built like a brick outhouse! We were ushered upstairs to attend a wee ceremony presided over by Jim's mate, Martin, who was acting as celebrant. He gave a rather long, and rather dull speech, and Jim and Emma exchanged vows before the assembled guests, to the accompaniment of Finn on beer barrel!

We were then ushered by the staff back downstairs while they readied the space for the pizza party. It was very noisy, and no-one seemed up for directing mum to a seat, so she decided she wanted to go home. I drove her back to High View...got there just as dad was serving up a cauliflower cheese for dinner. I drove back to Byker and got there just in time for the pizzas. A small dancefloor had been cleared at one end of the rather narrow room, and the House Devils, a Celtic trio who delivered a rousing mix of Irish trad, Johnny Cash, and Celtic ceilidh tunes, played and called a couple of country dance routines. It looked like a rugby scrum...presumably Sienna's dad was in the middle of it somewhere! We left about 2100 and I drove Aki and Kath back to High View...the end of a long and exhausting day!

Thursday 26th February 2026

Alarm at 0730. Took a while to haul myself out of bed...knackered! Descended to the kitchen for porridge. Drove in to the theatre for a 0930 start...the Company Stage Manager bored us all to death for the first half hour with a load of admin guff, then we started work where we had left off last night. I'd explained to Kate the DSM that I had decided not to leave at 1600 as planned, as I'd hit traffic around Manchester, and have to drive a certain distance in the dark...so it meant Bob and Sayan could carry on marking out the shape of Act 1. Broke for lunch...I heated up a jar of baked beans, which I then lathered on top of two pieces of toast and some Emental...worked a treat. Chatted to Shirley about Dickens...she had told me that they lived in a village west of Rochester. 

She said she'd inherited a full set of leather-bound Dickens novels, but had yet to read any of them. Carried on working bits of Act 1, and the songs as they came up. We actually did a stagger through, which held together remarkably well...Bob seemed very chuffed with our progress. Broke for dinner...microwaved the last of the chicken and mushroom lasagne I'd cooked on Tuesday evening. Worked through "Good Golly Miss Molly" and "Dirty Old Heart of the City", then broke early. I drove back to Bakewell Street, aiming for a No.2 in my private bathroom. As I sat there with my trousers around my ankles, a large spider came hurtling across the bathroom floor, making a bee-line for my trouser leg. I used a mug to catch him, leaving it in situ for mein hosts to deal with tomorrow! FaceTimed Aki, who had arrived at High View this evening...she was stuck in the house with John and Margaret, Kath having gone home, and Jim and Emma shacked up in an AirBnB ahead of tomorrow's 0930 wedding at the Civic Centre. Drove down to the London Road Alehouse in the drizzle, to catch a bit of James's band's set...they are called the British Premonition Collective. As I rocked up outside the venue, with it's floor to ceiling plate glass windows, I could see eight blokes cavorting about in black, their faces obscured by black balaclavas with eyes sewn onto them...James sat at an ironing board and played lap-steel guitar with an e-bow, putting it through several effects pedals. It was loud and tuneless, but intriguingly compelling...the singer declaimed improvised lyrics, a sort of demented cross between Mark E Smith, John Cooper Clarke, and Gerry Adams! I really enjoyed it...they'd go down a storm in Berlin!