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…