Monday 30th March 2026

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. 

Sunday 29th March 2026

Woke at 0430...my usual 0330, but the clocks had gone forward an hour! Managed to nod back off after half-an-hour, waking again at 0945. FaceTimed Aki from her hotel room in Nagano. The Buddhist ceremony had gone well, though she hadn't expected to have to pick up one of her deceased brother-in-law's bones, and drop it into the family vault! I descended to the kitchen to make tea...ate my porridge in my room. Lindsey doing a big wash, so I took up her offer to wash me smalls. Drove into Newcastle. Parked up at Morrisons and walked into town in the drizzle for a coffee, only to discover Piccoloco was closed on Sundays...had a cappuccino at Bread & Bake next door, then drove to The Secret Garden in Clayton for Sunday lunch with Sam, David, and Georgie. Very odd venue...a small 60s era unit in a little parade of shops, that has been done out in garish neon...a floor singer serenaded us through our two courses. There was half a flamingo in a feather boa in the Gents! Food was OK...the prawn cocktail didn't have any prawns in it, though...shrimp! The pork belly was OK, with roast potatoes, cauliflower cheese, and a Yorkshire pudding! Dropped David off at Morrisons on my way back to Penkhull. My washing had been done, so I re-made my bed. Had a lie down for half-an-hour then got up and dined on a chocolate pudding, before driving to Hartshill to meet up with James and Anne for Vinyl Destination at The Sanctuary. Had a Guinness and listened to some Cat Power, Comsat Angels, and The Count Five. Got back to the digs around 2045. Made tomorrow's prawn salad. Listened to some music and watched some TV in my room before collapsing into bed...

Saturday 28th March 2026

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! 

Friday 27th March 2026

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!

Thursday 26th March 2026

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.

Wednesday 25th March 2026

Woken by my phone at 0720...it was Aki phoning from Izumi's flat in Tokyo. She'd gotten her time calculation an hour wrong. She said she'd phone back, so I went downstairs to make tea and brought my porridge back to my room. Aki rang back...she's off to meet her Ilya colleagues this evening. My left eye more swollen than it's been, but not as painful, so hopefully things are on the mend! Drove in to Basford for a 0915 start. Gentle warm up in the SJR. Then into costume, donning our battery packs and head mics, for an elongated sound check. Tea break saw a theatre community get-together in the atrium to wish Debbie Hall a long and happy retirement...she has worked in the Vic wardrobe department for 35 years! Back into the theatre for more of the same, then broke for lunch. Ate my chicken salad in the atrium, chatting with Polly and Bob about past shows. Finished sound checking after lunch, which meant starting the technical rehearsal, taking it from the top of the show. All went smoothly, if rather slowly. Call ended at 2000. Ate my microwaved ham and mushroom pasta dish in the atrium before driving back to Bakewell Street.

Lyndsey was hanging about...she's about to put a bid in on a bungalow in Embleton, within walking of Dunstanburgh Castle. It's a two-bed 1970s unit with faux stone clad external walls...needs work. Guide price of £250,000 doesn't seem unreasonable...she's thinking of offering £257,500. See what happens! Made my packed lunch for tomorrow...managed to drop half a tub of garlic aioli on the floor! Got it cleaned up before Lyndsey got back from walking Wilson. Made myself some tea and headed for my room.

 

Tuesday 24th March 2026

Fitful night's sleep. Woke around 0800 and sat up listening to Today on R4 for an hour before descending to make tea. Porridged in my room. Showered. Spent an hour on the laptop looking for alternative quotes for my car insurance, which comes up for renewal at the end of the month. Comparethemarket.com suggested £550 with Direct Line, but when I put my details in to their website, they quoted me £950! So decided to stick with Churchill at £750. Daylight robbery!!! 

Drove in to the theatre. Pottered about for a bit before walking down King Street into town. Sought advice about tackling my sty at Boots...they suggested warm compresses, so I bought some cotton pads for the purpose, and some razors. Enjoyed a coffee in Piccoloco. Walked back up to the theatre via the Greek Bakery. Lunched on chicken tikka masala and rice from the atrium microwave. Company called at 1600 for a Health & Safety briefing, and a look backstage. Set looks great...a recreation of a working men's club, complete with dance floor and sticky carpet. Broke at 1830. The lads walked off into town for a beer, and I promised to meet them at the Heart of Siam for dinner. Drove down...parked up near the restaurant...had to sit in the car for about 15 minutes waiting for the pouring rain to stop. Made a dash for the restaurant...eight of us in all. Great food. A very pleasant evening. Drove back to Bakewell Street around 2130...put tomorrow's packed lunch together before ascending to my room...