Woke around 0900. Belly painful after yesterday’s walking. Numbness in my heels for some bizarre reason. Got up…Aki had made tea. Porridged at the dining table. Aki departed for town…meeting up with Tammy for lunch and art at the National Gallery. Listened to music and did a bit of doom scrolling. Made a tuna salad for lunch. Aki returned around 1500, dodging the showers. Abdominal pain showing no signs of retreating. Kath phoned from High View to pass on the news that dad had signed a contract to have his novel published...on further examination, this turned out to be via vanity publishing house, Austin MacCauley, who were stinging him for £4,000 for the privilege! Dad seems happy with the prospect...I just hope he's not counting on getting any of his money back. Aki had bought some Greek style pork shoulder for dinner, which we ate with black beans, rice and vegetables. Watched "Sing Street"...a third rate coming of age movie surrounding a young Dublin schoolboy who finds escape from a traumatic school and home life through forming a band with some random school mates...not a patch on either "Once", nor "The Commitments"...
Friday, 12 September 2025
Thursday 11th September 2025
Slept through until 0800…a sign of progress at long last! Got up and made tea. Porridged at the computer. Finished filing my phone photo collection. Aki made soup for lunch. Took a semi-shower in the bath tub. Aki went out to fulfil a dental appointment…I followed shortly thereafter to attend the GP surgery. The nurse removed my wound dressing. She seemed to think it was healing well, but applied a new dressing, suggesting I come back on Monday. Walked up to Tesco and bought some odds and ends. By the time I got home my belly felt painful. Aki was back when I got in…her dental application had gone to plan. She cooked dinner…ravioli with a tomato sauce, before heading off to No.120 for Book Club.
Wednesday, 10 September 2025
Wednesday 10th September 2025
Managed to sleep through until 0545. Had to get up to use the facilities…it remains an agonising manoeuvre, which sets my day up very negatively. Made tea and sat at the computer for a bit. Aki got up at 0800. Porridged at the dining table. Feel very tired this morning…could happily sleep standing up, but for the risk of falling over! Aki cycled off to Rowing Club, hoping to dodge the showers. Watched a panto on YouTube which had been produced at the Old Vic about 20 years ago, and screened on ITV…pinching ideas for audience participation. Aki back for lunch. She put an egg and halloumi salad together. Sat about working on moving photos about on my iCloud apps. Aki warmed up the remains of the salmon and couscous meal we'd had the other night, for dinner. Watched the new Mitchell and Webb sketch show on C4...the production values are very high...beautifully lit and shot, but the material is patchy...though we very much enjoyed the airport security gate staff!!! Felt generally a bit more comfortable for most of the day, though getting pain in the abdomen again come the evening. Hope tomorrow's appointment with the nurse moves things on in a positive direction...
Tuesday, 9 September 2025
Tuesday 9th September 2025
Woke around 0515…dozed until 0600…my back too uncomfortable to sustain a much needed lie-in. Got up and made tea. Sat at the computer for a bit before porridging. Aki got up around 0830. Listened to music and tried to nod off at the dining table. Put a chicken salad lunch together. Aki cycled off to Clerkenwell to look at tiles…we’ve decided to abandon the shower tray commission, and instead go for wedi board and a large, quartered, non-slip tile. It hailed while she was out and about! She returned home via Waitrose. Pasta and a tomato sauce with meatballs for dinner. Cheese and biscuits for afters. Watched England thrash Serbia. In much discomfort this evening…not looking forward to trying to lie down in bed…
Monday 8th September 2025
Managed to sleep through until 0500. Too uncomfortable to stay in bed so got up and made tea, and sat at the computer. Nodded off a bit in the chair. Belly remains very sore. Can’t help feeling that I’ve popped my stitches every time I’m forced to engage my stomach muscles! Porridged and downed my opioids for breakfast. Sat about trying to make the hours go faster, with little success. Aki made lunch. I phoned the GP…made an appointment with the nurse to have my dressing removed on Thursday. Aki made a dal to have with a defrosted chicken korma for dinner. Filled an hour or so by downloading Amazon’s photo storage app…unlimited storage means I can start deleting photos currently stored on my iPhone…
Sunday, 7 September 2025
Sunday 7th September 2025
Woke around 0215 in great discomfort…very painful having to utilise my stomach muscles to get out of bed. Sat at the computer for a bit, killing time, before nodding off fitfully in the office chair. Couldn’t face going back to bed so killed time reading the BBC website on the iPad. Porridged at 0830 so as to take an opioid. Aki got up around 0900. I sat at the dining table for the rest of the morning trying not to move. Aki cycled off to Rowing Club. I prepared lunch before she returned…had mine on my own as I needed to take my opioid with food. Now in constant pain…feel as if I’ve been run through with a Samurai sword! Somehow got through a long afternoon. Aki cooked salmon for dinner. Kath FaceTimed from High View where they were marking mum and dad’s 68th wedding anniversary with chicken tikka masala. Listened to the US Open tennis final between Alcaraz and Sinner…start delayed by security checks as Trump decided to show up…
Saturday, 6 September 2025
Saturday 6th September 2025
Woke around 0245 needing the loo…absolute agony rolling out of bed. Walked around the living room for a bit, too terrified to try and lie down again! Sat at the computer and did a bit of work reconciling the Rapunzel script…managed to nod off for a bit a couple of times, in the chair. Aki appeared around 0945. Feeling in constant discomfort now. Aki prepared a late brunch. Sat about waiting in vain for the dreaded bowel movement!!! Aki persuaded me into bed before she cycled off into town to run a couple of errands. Managed to get a couple of hours sleep. She brought me tea and a fruit salad once she’d returned, all of which I managed to consume whilst lying in a prone position! Dozed until dinner time…Aki cooked a tasty pork stir fry. Managed a bowel movement at last. Got back into bed and got some shut-eye…
Friday, 5 September 2025
Friday 5th September 2025
Woke at 0215 needing the loo...very painful rolling out of bed. Managed to get back to sleep, though...slept through to 0815. Aki already up readying herself for Rowing Club. I got up and porridged as she cycled off. Listened to the radio and exercised by walking around the living-room a few times, as if in the prison yard. The painkillers don't seem to be doing much, though I guess there's an argument that things would be worse if I didn't take them...one of them is an opioid...if I run out I can probably get some off the drug dealer on the street outside the front door! Sat at the computer for a bit to work on LPAs for dad...emailed him some queries. Also emailed Will, saying he could stand down as my executor, having recently drawn up a fresh will. Aki back for lunch. She cycled off afterward to her hairdresser on Essex Road. I had a doze in bed and listened to 6Music. Very painful getting out of bed to sit at the dinner table. Still no sign of a bowel movement…constipation on top of this would probably finish me off! Aki warmed up Spanish chicken pie from freezer, served up with plenty of vegetables. Started reading the panto script…it’s not very good…if Sorrel wanted to direct a traditional panto she really could have chosen a trad panto storyline…Dick Whittington, Cinderella, Mother Goose. Very tired by 2300…rolled into bed, an act that is becoming increasingly painful!!!
Thursday 4th September 2025
Wednesday, 3 September 2025
Wednesday 3rd September 2025
Got up around 0800 and made tea. Porridged. The Ebay auction on the sofa ended without a sale, so I crossed the road to the British Heart Foundation second hand furniture store, and they agreed to come by to collect it tomorrow. They wouldn't take the armchair, as they reckoned the re-upholstery job invalidated any fire safety certification. I put it on Gumtree for £0 in the hope that someone would turn up to take it away. Spoke to the Bolton-based bespoke shower tray people...looks like we are going to go with them...slightly less sophisticated than the Woking bunch, but considerably cheaper. Did some gardening out front ahead of my incapacitation, and Aki moved her plant pots to one side to facilitate the exit/entry of various bits of furniture over the next day or two. Moved the sofa over to the other side of the room just in case the new one turns up tomorrow before the old one has been shipped out! Made a chicken salad lunch. Did some exercising. Signed up to Freecycle and stuck the armchair on there in the hope that someone would get back to me today. Cooked Jamie Oliver's meatball traybake for dinner, with tagliatelle. Spent most of the evening trying to get someone interested in taking the armchair off our hands for free...got some interest from the Denizens...see what happens. Back causing me some gip…I overdid it today on the chores! Early bath and bed...set the alarm for 0530…
Tuesday 2nd September 2025
Woke at 0745. Got up and made myself tea. Ebay auction of the armchair ended last night with no bids…messaged a bloke on Gumtree who had offered £100 a couple of weeks ago saying he could have it for £75…getting desperate now! Aki cycled off to the fishmongers before returning to cook omelette for lunch. I did the vacuuming. I walked across to Morrison’s and then Waitrose to do a small shop for ingredients for tomorrow night’s dinner. Did my exercises. Aki made poke bowls for dinner with sashimi and rice. Kath phoned just as we were about to sit down to eat...she'd taken dad to the eye hospital for pre-cataract procedures, and he'd had to put eye drops in, which had made everything blurry. Hopefully he'll get procedured within the month! Nowt on telly. Early bath and bed...
Tuesday, 2 September 2025
Monday 1st September 2025
Slept through until 0900. Got up and porridged. Invoiced Savills for the work I’d done in August. Aki popped out to the dentist…they ordered her a new bespoke retainer. Kath FaceTimed from High View. Dad at eye hospital tomorrow. Lunched on tinned fish and salad. We took a walk up Camden Road to Bread by Bike, to buy bread, and bought some pasta in the Italian deli. Managed to miss the rain. Walked home via Tufnell Park Road. Aki cooked a mushroom risotto for dinner. Watched a bit of telly…not much of interest on though. Bath and bed…
Monday, 1 September 2025
Sunday 31st August 2025
Woke around 0800 after a good night's sleep. Got up and made tea. Did some exercises...my back hurting a bit after yesterday's car journey. Aki got up and picked tomatoes out front before doing a little work at the computer. I cooked breakfast. Drove over to Stamford Hill and parked up…walked down to the river and along the towpath to the Rowing Club. They were holding a regatta. Caught up with a few club members, and walked the length of the course. I’ve never found it a particularly invigorating spectacle, but I enjoyed an ice cream. We headed for Waitrose in Holloway to do a shop before they closed. Cooked a roast chicken dinner. Nowt on telly. Early bath and bed…
Sunday, 31 August 2025
Saturday 30th August 2025
Friday 29th August 2025
Woke around 0745. Got up and made tea. Finished the packing that Aki had started yesterday…need to be out by 1000. Porridged. Lis came up to say farewell. Put our stuff in the car then walked down into Mousehole for a last look. Aki wanted to show me some paintings in a gallery in the village…nice, but I felt Aki could do similar just as well, and save us £2,300!!! Had coffee in the garden of the Old Coastguard Hotel and took in the sea view before heading back up the hill to the car. Drove to the Potager Garden near Falmouth to meet Helen and Martin for brunch in the cafe there. A bit pricey but it was very good…the best mushrooms on toast I’ve ever tasted! Had a little wander round the glasshouse and the artist studios before heading back to the car for the drive to Moorhaven. Slow going on the approach to the toll on the Tamar Bridge. Got to Centre Court around 1645 to be greeted by Phil and Roxy, their five year old border collie. Cath still at work. Chatted at the kitchen table over a cuppa tea. Got stuff out of the car...Cath rocked up, having been given a lift from work in a huge Range Rover...she got out on her crutches. She's still awaiting an operation to replace a part of her ankle, after two failed operations. Phil served up spaghetti bolognese for dinner, and we repaired to the living-room to chat before News At Ten. They are still working on the house, and have bought a used kitchen, the units for which they have stored in the hall...the place still looks half-finished twenty years since they moved in. The dog is sweet, but very needy, and constantly begging for attention, resulting in my black trousers being covered in white dog hairs...I was relieved to get to bed at last!
Thursday 28th August 2025
Thursday, 28 August 2025
Wednesday 27th August 2025
Wednesday, 27 August 2025
Tuesday 26th August 2025
Tuesday, 26 August 2025
Monday 25th August 2025
Monday, 25 August 2025
Sunday 24th August 2025
Saturday, 23 August 2025
Saturday 23rd August 2025
Friday, 22 August 2025
Friday 22nd August 2025
Thursday 21st August 2025
Wednesday 20th August 2025
Wednesday, 20 August 2025
Tuesday 19th August 2025
Woke around 0800. Brought tea back to bed and scrolled my phone for a bit…watched highlights of last nights Leeds v Everton game. Got up and porridged. Read some Claire Tomalin then did my exercises. Lunch. Warmed my vocal cords up and tried vainly to sing in the upped keys. Cooked dinner…Spanish chicken pie. Had to wolf it down before jumping in the car and heading to Stokey for rehearsals. Met up with Colin and Angharad to work through the two new keys…should just about make it if my cold dries up before the weekend. We ventured out onto the Common to re-block Act II. Darkness fell around 2030 and we packed in around 2145. Drove home for bath and bed…
Tuesday, 19 August 2025
Monday 18th August 2025
Slow start this morning. Took tea back to bed. Got up around 1000 and porridged. Aki did a bit of gardening…we now have a ton of home grown tomatoes to get through! Did my exercises. Walked across to Waitrose and did a bit of a shop. Lunched back home. Tried to warm my voice up and rehearse my Moby Dick repertoire, but it’s evidently still in recovery! Aki cooked teriyaki salmon and homegrown aubergine with sweet miso…yum! Watched a bit of telly before bath and bed…
Monday, 18 August 2025
Sunday 17th August 2025
Got up around 0800 and made tea. Watched some football highlights on the iPlayer before descending for breakfast en famille. Sat out in the back garden reading the Sunday paper. Packed our bags. Kath drove us to Parkway to catch a train into Central Station. Had a sandwich lunch at the Centurion on the station concourse. The 1416 was waiting for us on platform 4. Journey delayed by signalling problems coming in to Newark. Got in to KX about half an hour late. Jumped on a No.259 bus back to Holloway. Unpacked our bags. Aki cooked a pasta carbonara for dinner, with ice cream and chocolate brownie for afters. No interest on Gumtree, so listed the armchair on eBay at £95.00...see what happens! Will add the sofa tomorrow. Watched highlights of the Arsenal win over Man Utd. Early bath and bed…
Sunday, 17 August 2025
Saturday 16th August 2025
Saturday, 16 August 2025
Friday 15th August 2025
Friday, 15 August 2025
Thursday 14th August 2025
Thursday, 14 August 2025
Wednesday 13th August 2025
Tuesday 12th August 2025
Woke around 0530...bit muggy, but managed to doze off for a bit. Got up at 0700 and made tea. Aki cycled off to Tesco before the temperatures rose. I wrote up notes following yesterday's inspections. Porridged at the computer. Did my exercises. Wandered over to Waitrose in the heat of midday to buy eggs to make tortillas for lunch. Accompanied by a water melon and tomato salad. Colin Guthrie rang…he wants to raise the key to two of my songs…said I’d give it a go, but heavy summer cold means I won’t be singing much at tomorrow night’s rehearsal. Spoke to Jim over the phone…he hadn’t had to take dad in to the eye hospital after all…his appointment was cancelled. Aki ventured into town for dinner with former work colleagues in Marylebone. I fried meatballs for dinner, which I then smothered in arrabiata sauce and ate with linguine and vegetables. Orange and almond cake for afters with ice cream. Watched a bit of telly. Aki got in around 2230. Bath and bed…
Monday, 11 August 2025
Monday 11th August 2025
Woke around 0800 and got up to make tea. Porridged. Put a packed lunch together and headed out on inspections. Stopped off for petrol and provisions at Sainsburys in Harringay, then headed up the A10 for Broxbourne. Picked up a coffee there, then on to Potters Bar, and South Mimms. Parked up at South Mimms service station and had my lunch in the car...30C outside! The place was rammed with travelling holidaymakers and their countless children! Then headed for Wheathampstead, and ended the working day in south Luton, before turning for home, stopping off at London Gateway services on the M1 for refreshment. Got home around 1600. Uploaded my day's photos. Aki baked trout for dinner, with preserved lemon and freekah. Finished off the last of the apple crumble and custard. Called Kath to check the LPA form had been properly signed. Looks OK. Mum and dad were out on the patio supping sherry! Watched The Narrow Road to the Deep North…pretty visceral scenes in the Burmese jungle! Muggy night…
Sunday 10th August 2025
Woke around 0800. Got up and made tea. Did my exercises. Doorbell rang a little after 0900…Mick da Roofer showed up with a rather rotund assistant with most of his teeth missing! Lynne showed them upstairs. I finished my tea then nipped up to see what they were up to…basically adding a liquid membrane to the valley gutter. I got them to uproot a small shrub that was growing on the parapet, and cut away a now defunct TV aerial cable that the passion flower had used as a climbing frame. They had a quick look at our back addition and smeared some liquid membrane on a split they identified…won’t find out whether they’ve properly diagnosed the problem until it rains again! They handed me their invoice and departed. I chopped away at the wisteria from Lynne’s front windows, and had a go at the passion flower from a step ladder out front. Bought a small marrow from the church next door. Aki cooked brunch. Took a short walk in the afternoon heat, shopping at Kilo, and Waitrose. Read a little Clare Tomalin on Dickens before preparing and cooking a roast chicken dinner; apple crumble and custard for afters. Watched "The Blue Road", a documentary on the remarkable life and literary career of the great Edna O'Brien before bath and bed...
Sunday, 10 August 2025
Saturday 9th August 2025
Got up around 0800. More dog wee in the hallway…I alerted Lynne. Tea. Aki still feeling under the weather. Did my exercises. Made mushrooms on toast for breakfast. Drove Aki down to the fishmonger on Essex Road…couldn’t find anywhere to park up so drove slowly around the vicinity while Aki shopped for fish, and bought a chicken from the nearby butcher. Dropped her back home then drove round to Waitrose to do a bit of shopping. Almond butter on toast for lunch. Phoned mum…they seemed OK but haven’t yet been round to David Tanner to get the forms signed. I rang Kath…she hopes to get it done tomorrow or Monday…not holding my breath! Aki cooked mackerel for dinner with rice and miso…sashimi to start, and apple crumble and custard to follow. Watched Angelina Jolie’s impersonation of Maria Callas…rather dull movie with artistic pretensions that never quite ignited. Bath and bed…
Saturday, 9 August 2025
Friday 8th August 2025
Woke around 0900. Hauled myself out of bed to make tea, and did some exercises before porridging. Worked at the laptop, writing up yesterday's inspection notes. Broke for lunch. Ventured into town on the No.91 bus to Trafalgar Square and popped into the National Gallery to get mum a birthday present. Then headed back east to Aldwych…Aki had designs on a Cezanne scarf she’d spotted at the Courtauld Gallery…for Helen, to mark her 70th birthday next week. Walked across Waterloo Bridge and then struck east for Union Street for dinner at Bala Baya…been there before. Delicious Levantine tapas plates, though we thought a little overpriced. Walked back along The Cut to the Old Vic. Stalls seats for Girl from the North Country. Having seen it on Wednesday, I felt heavily emotionally invested…Aki kept me supplied with tissues. Katie Brayben’s rendition of Forever Young had us in bits! Standing ovation at the end. Walked through the back streets to Blackfriars to get a train back to Finsbury Park.
Friday, 8 August 2025
Thursday 7th August 2025
Got up at 0800 in anticipation of the roofer coming…though hadn’t heard from him! Had tea at the computer as I continued to make a playlist of Dylan songs from last night’s show. Porridged. Aki up and about looking a little better. I unrolled the new Case rug, and positioned it beneath the dining table...looks great. No word from the roofer, so I drove over to Hackney to wander around the Pembury Estate, taking photos for inspections purposes. It used to have a reputation for drugs gangs and crack houses. I got round without interference. Happened upon a little Japanese eatery around the back of the estate on Clarence Road called Uchi Bake...looks very authentic. Bought a shokupan loaf, and a tuna and prawn sandwich for my lunch, which I ate in the car before driving home. Aki ordered the Robin Day furniture...due for delivery on 4th September. Warmed up fish curry and dal for dinner. I then headed for town to meet Louise, who had organised a wee get together in the bar at Underbelly Soho...I got off the tube at Leicester Square and walked up into Soho...the streets were rammed with tourists! Could hardly move! Found them in the upstairs bar...Louise, Lynda Wigfall (who's sister Tina was Kerry's best friend at school), four guests I didn't know, and Ryan, who works at the venue as Business Manager, and his Polish fiancee. Louise is on a flying visit from Oz, but is due to end her contract there in March next year, and move back into her flat in Worthing. She heads for the Edinburgh Festival tomorrow. Ryan took some of us up to see the performance space from the balcony, at the interval...the Scouse comic John Bishop was doing a gig...stayed upstairs to watch the second half...he was good. Had a good chinwag with Lynda...she lives in Wood Green, and took early retirement, only to volunteer for a Food Bank, which over the last five years has taken up more and more of her spare time...all sounds quite stressful! Left for the tube station at around 2200 and accompanied Lynda back as far as Cally Road, where I got off and caught a bus home. Aki ran a bath...then bed.
Thursday, 7 August 2025
Wednesday 6th August 2025
Tuesday 5th August 2025
Woke around 0730...got up and porridged. Did some work at the laptop, uploading yesterday's photos. Put a packed lunch together before setting off in the car for North Acton. Then it was across the river to Bermondsey, and Surrey Quays, before heading through the Rotherhithe Tunnel to Bethnal Green. Grabbed lunch in the Tesco car park at Leytonstone, before heading east to Goodmayes, then up to Collier Row for my final call of the day. Drove up the hill to Havering-atte-Bower and took a breather in Havering Country Park...never been there before...site of the former Havering Palace. Drove home via Chigwell, getting in around 1645. Aki still in bed...she's come down with a throat infection. I'd bought a ready-made fish pie for dinner, so left her with instructions to cook it later. I jumped back in the car and drove to Stoke Newington for a panto production meeting. Met up with the team…Sarah Ley is SM, her husband Stephen is sound design, Phil Ley is designing the set, and Roxanne is doing costume. Sorrel, our director, turned up over 30 minutes late! I gave her an update on the auditionees I’d seen at the weekend…and informed the team I’d be out of commission over September…it’ll mean my missing the casting process, but rehearsals won’t start until October. Got home around 2000 and we ate the fish pie. Bit of telly, followed by bath and bed…
Monday, 4 August 2025
Monday 4th August 2025
Woke around 0730. Got up and made porridge before heading out on inspections. Found more dog wee in the hallway...had to phone Lynne up to get her to come down and clean it up...don't know why she looks after this woman's hound, I'm sure, especially in view of the fact that the thing doesn't appear to be house-trained! Drove north-westward to Bushey, and from thence to Hemel Hempstead, Luton, and on to Leighton Buzzard, where I ate my packed lunch in the Tesco car park. Then on to Sandy, before turning south to Hertford, and then down the A1 homeward, stopping off at South Mimms service station, and getting in around 1800. Aki cooked pasta with prawn and tomatoes. Watched some telly. Bath and bed...
Sunday 3rd August 2025
Woke around 0900 feeling very weary. Got up and made tea. Porridged on overnight oats and mango. Aki cycled off to Rowing Club...I headed for Stoke Newington, as I'd signed up to be on the general auditions panel to look out for potential panto talent. Took the No.253 bus to Stamford Hill, then a No.67 down to Stoke Newington...had a coffee at the Abney Park Cemetery cafe. Peter and Chris on the panel with me...hadn't met them before, though I'd seen Chris in a couple of things at the Tower...he's pretty poor. Saw five auditionees this morning...one very good German girl who brought an impressive degree of heft to her pieces; and a very poor Japanese girl...she showed promise, but her English was too bad to be understood by a theatre-going audience, so it was a "no". Walked up to the cafe at Springfield Park to meet Aki and the rowing team for lunch outside. Shelley and Kim looked none-the-worse for wear after last night's shenanigans...though Shelley confessed to not getting to bed much before 0130! Had two poached eggs on toast for my lunch...though they were more hard-boiled than I'd hoped! Walked back across Springfield Park to the theatre for the afternoon session with Peter and Eloise on the panel with me...I'd seen Eloise in a couple of things at the Tower...she's very good. Saw seven auditionees this afternoon...another mixed bag; very interesting older fellow who had been caring for his very ill wife until her death a couple of years ago, and was keen to re-connect with the theatre as a means of therapy...he gave a stirring Henry V, and an intriguing piece by Bill Morrison, who I hadn't come across before. Ended the session around 1630 and caught a couple of buses back to Finsbury Park...managed to dodge a downpour. Aki cooked a chicken curry for dinner. Watched a bit of telly before bath and bed...