Thursday 18th May 2023

Alarm at 0730. Aki got up and made tea, which I drank in bed. Got up around 0830 and porridged. Set off for town. Walked to Finsbury Park tube station, and got the Piccadilly Line to Covent Garden. Aki had a 1000 appointment at the Apple Store. I left her to it and walked over to the Dr Marten's shoe shop in Neal Street and bought a pair of shoes. They didn't have the black leather version in store, so I ordered a pair via the shop online system, and the assistant gave me a 10% discount for my trouble. Picked Aki up from the Apple Store and we walked toward Charing Cross Road, stopping at a little cafe for a coffee and a nata doughnut...watched the chef preparing the rolled dough to make more doughnuts ...fascinating. Walked on to the Royal Academy on Piccadilly and visited the "Souls Grow Deep like the Rivers" exhibition of southern US Black artists, mostly working in the 20th century.

Some powerful pieces in there, and a remarkable facility to create art using the few materials they had to hand. There was a painting made of mud, berry juice, and grass stains which looked like an out-of-focus old photograph. Visited a neighbouring gallery afterward and came across the Belvedere Torso, a plaster cast of a Greek antiquity which inspired many RA artists over the past three centuries. Walked north and visited John Lewis's on Oxford Street, where we had lunch at the rooftop eatery and bar. Walked through Noho and caught the No.29 bus from Tottenham Court Road. Got home and did a couple of hours work at the computer before warming up the fish curry and daal, which we ate with rice and chapatis. Watched "Masterchef"...some excellent amateur cooks on show! They had a trial in the kitchen's of the Piazza, the restaurant at the Royal Opera House...looked fab, so resolved to go there to celebrate my 65th in July.