Saturday 6th July 2024

Woken at about 0200 by the sound of rain thundering down upon our bedroom roof. Luckily no signs of water ingress when rising this morning. Aki had marked the third anniversary of our civil partnership with a card and a scented candle. Got up and cooked brunch. Walked up to St Saviours with our failed flapjacks, for a 1300 start...we did a bit of rehearsing before the general public turned up at around 1400...they joined us for a workshop, working up three songs which will end the gig later this afternoon. 

Not a bad turnout, though a lot of faces missing. Aki and I slunk off home in the break to grab summat to eat, and watch Harriet Dart go out in three sets...shame. That said, she is nowhere near the level of Raducanu. Walked back to St Saviours for the 1630 gig...this time we stood swaying on the stage, singing to those who had turned up to support us, and then we were joined by the workshop practitioners. Enjoyed it...though I can't say I'm terribly eager to return for the Autumn term...see what Aki wants to do by then. We hurried home, as the England v Switzerland quarter-final had kicked off. Managed to squeeze ourselves into the North Nineteen to catch the last 10 minutes of the first half...witnessed the extraordinary sight of an England corner that was, eventually, passed all the way back to Jordan Pickford...un-be-lievable!!! Made a bolt for home at half-time...we won the penalty shoot out!!! We made a dash for Osteria Tufo, getting there around 1945. It was busy...luckily we had booked a table. Enjoyed veal in a tuna sauce for starters, followed by meatloaf with tomato sauce and sauteed potatoes. We shared a tiramisu, then walked home to catch the last half-hour of the Netherlands v Turkey...the former won 2-1, and will meet England in a semi-final next Wednesday!