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...

Sunday 24th May 2026

Woke around 0600 with back ache. Managed to doze, fitfully, until rising at 0815. Made a sandwich to take for lunch, and heated up some lentil soup. Made breakfast bowls. Headed for Stoke Newington in the car...roads very quiet, but noticed queues of Arsenal supporters outside the pubs near Finsbury Park, preparing to find a place to watch the final game of the season at Crystal Palace, where they will be presented with the trophy. Parked up in Alkham Road, and bought a coffee at Abney Park cafe before gravitating toward the theatre...first read through of "The Mirror & The Light"...went OK, though I was surprised that many people had evidently not read the script in preparation. 

The girl playing Lady Rochford is very good, but thought the casting of Ekaterina as both Princess Mary, and Anne of Cleves, very odd...her heavy Slavic accent works a treat for the latter, but not the former...they both sound exactly the same! Broke early as the director decided he'd have to head home and spend time excising the script, as it's too long for our performance slot. I headed up Church Street to buy a sausage roll at Gail's, and found a bench in Abney Park Cemetery and ate my packed lunch. Walked up to Peggy's ice cream stall, and sat in Clissold Park to eat my dessert, before heading back to the car, and home. Aki and I headed into town before full time, anticipating the pubs would be emptying of hordes of pissed Gooners...got to Victoria early, and found a bar in Belgravia where we could sit out and enjoy an Aperol spritz. Met up with Jim in Oliveto for some dinner. He was still beaming after watching Hull City beat Middlesbrough yesterday at Wembley. It seems he's keen to follow up his experience electioneering for The Greens earlier in the month, and is now planning to help co-ordinate another's campaign in his constituency. Barney looks set to appear on Later With Jools... soon, playing percussion for Jessie Ware, and MRCY are being lined up for a future series. Great stuff!

Saturday 23rd May 2026

Woke around 0615 with back ache. Got up and did some stretches before climbing back into bed. Woke again at 1000. Cooked brunch. I spent most of the remainder of the day cooking. Made a green lentil daal, then after a bit of a rest, put together an aubergine and coconut curry which we ate for dinner, with roti and daal. We walked slowly down to Highbury Corner in the evening heat. Caught the train to Dalston, and made our way to The Victoria pub on Queensbridge Road. Hooked up with Sayan and a couple of her mates. Her daughter Kitty was headlining a gig in the back room. It was small, but not too crowded, and the air conditioning made it cooler than outside! Kitty was great...she has a natural magnetism, and gave a fab performance...great singing voice, but her tunes are rather non-descript...she describes them as "gay pop", but they are quite heavy. We snuck out before the encore and headed home...

Friday 22nd May 2026

Woke around 0700 with back ache. Sat up in bed for a bit. Aki rose to ready for Rowing Club, and brought me a mug of tea. I got up after she'd cycled off into the morning sun. Going to be a glorious day. Got up and made myself a breakfast bowl. Did some exercises. Played some guitar. Made myself a ham, cheese and mushroom omelette for lunch. Aki returned after lunching at the Rowing Club and helping clean the boat storage. Brought the step ladder inside to have a go at cleaning the underside of the skylight. Aki cooked cod for dinner, with butter beans and vegetables. Watched a bit of telly before bath and bed...

Thursday 21st May 2026

Woke around 0630 with back ache. Sat up in bed for a bit. Eventually rose for tea and porridge. Spent half-an-hour or so on the roof, cleaning the skylight, and clearing up the moss that falls off next door's church roof, having gained access via Rebecca and Sushi's roof garden. They are away on holiday in Cyprus. Aki cleaned our front window, and did a bit of gardening. I made lunch...poached eggs and ham. We took a bus up to Highgate and visited Kenwood House to see the single Vermeer in the Iveagh Bequest collection...there's also a Rembrandt self-portrait. I was surprised by just how many paintings are in the collection, as we wandered from room-to-room. Very impressive. Back home, I warmed up the last of the chicken and mushroom pie for dinner, followed by cheese and biscuits. Phoned Kath, who was at 12 High View. She and mum had been out in the back garden, working...dad not fit enough to join them. He's been in much pain of late, and has been taking a stronger painkiller, despite it making him nauseous. Watched a bit of telly...stumbled across The Elon Musk Show...an extraordinary, and very chilling, documentary charting the rise of Musk and what his ambitions may mean for the rest of us!!!

Wednesday 20th May 2026

Aki up early to prepare herself for Rowing Club...she brought me a mug of tea. Got up as she cycled off, and had my breakfast bowl. Made some lentil soup for lunch. Walked down to Highbury and had a coffee before heading to Egerton Pharmacy next door for a 1030 ear suction appointment with Samira. She was great, and gave both ears an over-due vacuuming! Walked back home via Waitrose and the Amazon lockers at The Junction to pick up my Italian tutor book. Aki back for lunch...the soup went down well. We headed into town to watch "La Grazia", Paolo Sorrentino's latest movie, at The Garden Cinema. It was majestic...funny, humane, intelligent, and a feast for the eyes. Jumped on a No.91 bus back home. Aki cooked pasta for dinner, with a tomato sauce, fried mushrooms, and vegetables. Watched "Get Back"... got halfway through episode 2 before bath and bed.