Sunday 31st May 2026

Woke with back ache...got up and wandered about a bit before going back to bed and sitting up. Eventually managed to nod back off again. Alarm at 0800. Porridged. Decided to cycle in to Stoke Newington, as the buses I'd normally take aren't running due to the planned Arsenal Champions parade. The streets were already blocked off with barriers and wardens. Made my way around the back streets to Finsbury Park, then zig-zagged down to Clissold Park, which was also getting busy, as the route meets Green Lanes at that point. Got to the theatre in good time...bought a coffee at The Yellow Warbler over the road. We did more blocking on Act 2, then broke for lunch. I ate the remains of yesterday's focaccia sandwich on a shaded bench in Abney Park Cemetery...a pretty constant stream of people in Arsenal shirts went by. We finished blocking, and ran the whole thing...came in at about an hour per Act, but slow going as some of the more amateur amateurs in the cast hadn't properly written up their scripts with entrances and exits etc...what a bunch! How they one or two of them managed to get through the general company audition, I don't know! Repaired to The Axe next door for a swift half with a handful of cast members, before cycling home via a rather circuitous route, trying to avoid the crowds where I could...not too bad, until I got to the entrance of Finsbury Park...had to wend my way through the crowds, and the rubbish strewn streets. Got home in one piece, though. Aki had cooked a chicken traybake with peppers and tomatoes. Ice cream and bounty bar for afters. Watched Michael Portillo in Kyoto before looking out for young Barney Lister on Later With Jools...playing the bongos in the band behind Jessie Ware. He co-wrote and produced her new album, Superbloom. Fcukers were the best act on the show, though...the rest of the acts were rather bland. 

Saturday 30th May 2026

Woke around 0630 with back ache. Got up and wandered about for five minutes before returning to bed in a sitting position...failed to nod back off. Got up around 0900 and cooked brunch. Aki made some hummus. Warm, sunny day. Took a walk up Highgate Hill in 26C. Stopped off at Lauderdale House and shared a focaccia sandwich and a can of soda, before taking a bus back to the Nags Head. Arsenal supporters congregating in and outside the pubs. Popped in to Waitrose...bumped into Max and Beth. I mentioned to Max that we had been expecting his sister and her fella to show up...they had planned to stay in Lynne's flat above while Lynne holidays in Madagascar. Max revealed that Charlotte had given birth to a second son, in her in-laws kitchen two days ago! Walked back home, skirting the Gooners massing outside The Eaglet. Listened to the PSG v Arsenal Champions League Final on the radio. Arsenal scored after five minutes, and were 1-0 up at halftime...prompting much halftime celebration from the fans who'd been drinking all day at The Eaglet. A banger was let off...it's all going to kick off if they lose!!! Salad Nicoise for dinner. The game went to penalties after Arsenal conceded a second half penalty...and went down 4-3 on penalties after a couple of misses. All went silent at The Eaglet! 

Friday 29th May 2026

Woke around 0700 with back ache. Dozed on for a bit, then sat up. Aki up early to ready herself for Rowing Club. She was cycling off as I got up. Porridged. Showered. Took a hike up through Tufnell Park to the cafe at Bread By Bike on Brecknock Road...very nice interior, but wasn't a fan of their coffee. Bought some burrata and pasta at the Italian deli across the road, then caught a bus back to Nags Head, and walked down to Waitrose. Back home I prepared some lunch...we ate once Aki had gotten back. Dad had sent Aki a signed copy of his novel, "Dagga & The King of Lollybrod"; I enjoyed the opening chapter; full of silly Hague humour. Not sure what Aki will make of it, though!. Did some singing and guitar practice in the afternoon. Cooked up pasta with cabbage in a black garlic and butter sauce, with burrata on top...it was OK...not as tasty as I'd hoped. Mango sorbet and homemade bounty bars for afters. Watched the last hour and a half of Part 2 of "Get Back"...really delightful watching Lennon and McCartney spark off each other. 

Thursday 28th May 2026

Aki woke in the night, having had a nose bleed. I was half aware of something going on, but slept through until around 0630. Back ache had me sitting up in bed for an hour or so before rising around 0815. Aki watered her tomato plants, as we are expecting 30C today. Porridged. Made my bounty bars and stuck them in the fridge for later. Aki cycled off to the hairdresser's on Essex Road. She returned in time for a late lunch. Popped round to see the GP about my bad hernia repair...yet another fresh face. Young lady this time...she was very good, referring me to a consultant at the Whittington to explore my options. Walked back in the heat of the afternnon. Went through a few songs on my guitar in anticipation of visiting the folk club at Cecil Sharp House. Aki cooked pan-fried sea bass for dinner, with fried sweet potato and lots of vegetables. She then crossed the road for Book Club at No.38. I watched "The Lighthouse"...dark, rich, intense, like 70% cacao! Willem Defoe is excellent in it, though things got very dark toward the finale. Aki back around 2230. Watched Newsnight before bed...

Wednesday 27th May 2026

Woke around 0600 with back ache. Sat up in bed for an hour or so before dozing off again. Aki brought me a mug of tea before cycling off to Rowing Club. I got up and porridged. Cooler day today after yesterday's record-breaking temperatures...forecast is for 25C by mid-afternoon. Popped out to Morrisons and Waitrose to get some ingredients to make home-made bounty bars to stick in the fridge. Came home and mixed the coconut and yoghurt, and stuck it in the freezer to harden. Aki back for lunch. Toasted the remains of the ham salad foccacia we'd bought yesterday lunchtime and didn't have time to eat ahead of going in to the cinema. Headed for Earlsfield for food at Tami and Franco's...took the Victoria Line to Vauxhall, and a westbound train to Earlsfield. Sat out in their pleasant back garden, and caught up over drinks and nibbles, before Franco fired up the BBQ and cooked some chicken drumsticks, which Tami had marinated in yoghurt and spices, and some cod fillet, accompanied by asparagus and capers, and a tasty tabouleh salad. They are due to head out to Bordeaux for a short holiday before retreating to their Swiss chalet in time for the Montreux Jazz Festival. We headed off to the train station around 2030 and made for home...

Tuesday 26th May 2026

Woke around 0630 with back ache. Sat up in bed for an hour before nodding back off. Got up around 1030. Already very warm...temperatures forecast to surpass 35C today. Tea. Porridge. Headed into town to watch new Greek film, "Hen", at the Garden Cinema. Nice and cool in the basement auditorium. The film was remarkable...a tale of human trafficking as seen through the eyes of an adventurous hen! They must have gotten through several star players...the cast list included nine names for the leading hen, and there were three stunt hens credited as well! We ascended back into the mid-afternoon heat. There were major delays on the Piccadilly Line. The train was very crowded, so I returned to street level to take a No.91 bus home...Aki squeezed onto a train, as she wanted to get off at Holloway so she could buy some bread and eggs at Waitrose. Warmed up the aubergine curry for dinner, with rice, daal, vegetables and roti. Watched the BBC Film version of "Mrs Dalloway"...some very famous old faces in it...Vanessa Redgrave, Michael Kitchen, John Standing, Margaret Tyzack. Aki said it was very faithful to Virginia Woolf's novel.

Monday 25th May 2026

Woke around 0500...drifted in and out of sleep until the alarm went off at 0815. Got up, showered, and made tea. Porridged. Made a chicken and avocado sandwich to take into rehearsal. Opted for public transport...took two buses. Dan had significantly cut the play overnight, so we spent the first hour or so noting the cuts, then, having allocated ourselves seats at each side of the stage, we began 'blocking' the piece. It was slow going. The guy playing Kingston can barely get a line out...I presume he's dyslexic, but he can't produce any vocal power or clarity. He also has some lines as the French Ambassador, but can't deliver a French accent to save his life! Much hilarity was afforded by his pronouncing Marie de Vendome as Mary du Condom! Gawd help us all!!! Broke for lunch. I hastened for the shade of Abney Park Cemetery, sharing a bench with a couple of weary ladies. Temperatures due to reach 35C today. Walked up to the Albion to get ice cream from Peggy's...found some shade in Clissold Park to eat it, though I could barely eat it fast enough as it melted before my eyes. Back at the Tower we managed another hour and a half of blocking, but failed to finish the play before we broke and headed for The Axe next door...Johnathan, who's playing Henry, bought me a half of London Black, and several of us sat out in the beer garden talking theatre, as amateur actors do. I slunk off and headed for a bus stop...taking a walk through Abney Park Cemetery, then turning right into Bouvery Road, staying in the shade. Got to a bus stop on Lordship Lane, but walked on when I discovered the 106 wouldn't show up for another 15 minutes. Walked westward, then turned right into Lordship Road and ended up at a bus stop on the busier Seven Sisters Road. Got home about 1830. Aki had left me a boiled egg and some salad in the fridge...I used that as a base for a hefty chicken salad for dinner. Aki was out socialising with some rowing mates in Muswell Hill. I had to have a lie down for a bit. Dozed off fleetingly, then got up to watch "Later With Jools...". Enjoyed Sekou's smooth R 'n B and Michael Jackson moves; and Mandy, Indiana's leftfield noisenicks. Aki got in around 2130. Showered before retiring...a warm night in prospect as temperatures hovered around 20C...