Sunday 17th December 2023

Aki up early to ready herself for Rowing Club. Cooked breakfast, frying off the last of the nut roast...very tasty with a poached egg on top! I contacted Kevin, who had very kindly promised to lift my amp into the boot of my car for me. I drove over to Stoke Newington early, as the Arsenal had a home game, due to kick off at 1400, which risked traffic gridlock. Parked up near B's pad, then walked into Stoke Newington and had a coffee at Pret, before mooching about the shops on Church Street. Bought a sandwich to have later, assuming rehearsals would eat into any possibility of a dinner break before the show. B texted to say she was unwell, and we decided she should pull out, which meant me doing two songs on my own. We spent the afternoon working through the show repertoire...my amp sounded fine. Aki turned up at around 1800, and I sat with her for a bit in the bar and ate my sandwich, before Katherine and George turned up, closely followed by Celia and Bernard. Carol turned up with her tennis partner, so the New Vic Stoke-on-Trent was duly represented. I did a couple of songs from my contemporary folk repertoire in the first half, and led the community singing at the top of the second half of the show, culminating in a raucous rendition of Fairytale of New York, with full band behind me. Really enjoyed it! Didn't hang around afterward, as needed to load up the car and get everything back home...