Tuesday 15th August 2023

Woke around 0800. Aki got up and brought me tea in bed. Came down for porridge. Drove Aki to Kath's in Westerhope after breakfast, so that she could start decorating the cake. I drove back to High View in order to drive father to the Freeman Hospital in Jesmond...took the Up! Got there in good time, and parked up in a disabled bay. Walked dad up to the Urology department on Level 3, and made sure he got booked in, then I went for a wander...found my way down to the "restaurant" in the basement...more of a canteen, in reality. People already queueing for the cheap lunches. I bought some water and sat on a bench outside for a bit. Headed back up to Urology and found dad discharging himself after tests...they have identified a 'restriction' and he'll need to come back in for further tests to see if an op is suitable. Drove him back to High View, then drove to Westerhope to see how Aki was getting on with the cake...she had applied a smooth layer of ganache...it looked promising. I drove round the corner to get a sarnie from Greggs, and we ate in Kath's kitchen, before I headed for Kingston Park and did a shop in M&S. They didn't have all I wanted, so I drove to Waitrose in Ponteland, and got some more bits and pieces, and delivered them to High View. By the time I got back to Westerhope, Aki was struggling to complete the icing. I finished off the black piano keys, and she cut out some letters to place on the base...the completed edifice looked mighty fine! We drove back to High View and secreted the cake in the garage under a kitchen towel.