Friday 5th July 2024

Woke around 0630...still feeling a bit of abdominal discomfort, so got up and made myself some tea and settled on the sofa to watch the last of the election results come in. It was a win-win...JC beat off the local Labour candidate to retain Islington North, and Labour trounced the Tories to take a whopping majority at Westminster. Bizarrely, they did this on a lower vote share than that gained when JC was leader, and Labour lost heavily. The results also saw five Reform fascists elected...they effectively smashed the Conservative vote share, ensuring their worst result in 200 years! Aki got up at around 0900...we porridged. I set off for Wanstead to pick up my mandolin from Paul Hathway. Walked to Holloway Road tube station to take a Piccadilly Line train, changing at Holborn for the Central Line. Walked from Wanstead tube station to Paul's on Langley Drive. The pick up he has installed is set in the bridge, with the jack input in the strap button on the end of the instrument...looks OK, and seems to work alright...I look forward to trying it out at the Open Mic Night. Came home via the Central Line, but caught a bus from outside Holborn station so I could get some reading in, having taken Lampedusa with me on my journey. Came home for lunch. Watched some tennis...Alcaraz was rather unusually sluggish today against Tiafoe, but eventually came through in five sets, then Emma took on Sakkari, who she had beaten in the US Open semi-final back in 2021...she's on fire this year, and defeated the Greek gal in straight sets. Caught the end of the Germany v Spain game...the Spanish nicked it in extra time. Made mango and coconut flapjacks ahead of tomorrow's gathering...but they failed...too crumbly to keep their shape, they disintegrate on being picked up. Aki tried to rescue them, and we stuck them in the fridge in the vague hope of turning things around. Watched the France v Portugal quarter-final...a stalemate, ending in France winning on penalties.