Wednesday 29th October 2025

Aki up early for an 0830 Teams meeting. I got up about 0930, by which time she’d cycled off to rowing club. Porridged. Did some exercises, and a bit of packing ahead of tomorrow’s trip to Newcastle. Aki back for lunch…spinach soup. Read some Dickens and sang some songs. Aki baked trout for dinner before I headed off for Stoke Newington and an 1800 production meeting at the theatre. All seems to be on track. Watched a bit of the dance session with the bugs…looking good. Headed for home…got in just in time to catch the Celebrity Traitors. Alan Carr still hanging in there, but for how much longer. Bath and bed…

Tuesday 28th October 2025

Got up around 1000. Porridged. Did some exercises. Aki cycled off to Tai Chi. Took up and pinned two pairs of trousers to take up to Newcastle…am employing Kath to sew up the hems. Aki back for lunch. She made  cheese and mushroom omelette…very tasty. Pottered about for the afternoon. Worked a bit on my voice. Had a bit of a sing. Cooked three portions of chicken cacciatore for Aki to eat while I’m up in Newcastle. Cooked chicken in some of the green sauce I’d made last Saturday, for dinner. Served with rice. Watched a bit of the Wrexham v Cardiff League Cup game, and an episode of Fawlty Towers, in tribute to the passing of my old Roundhay flatmate, Pru! 

Sunday 26th October 2025

Woke around 0900, only to find it was actually 0800, as the clocks had gone back. Got up. Avocado toast for breakfast. Headed for Brixton…got a Victoria line train from Finsbury Park. Got to the cafe, Parisi, a little early, and had to wait for a table. Tom Wicks and Hayley turned up first…hadn’t been told they were coming, so that was a nice surprise. Jim and Katherine turned up next, then Barney and Jen…enjoyed a catch up over a slow brunch. 

Barney and Jen have moved into a flat around the corner, just off Effra Road, and have the option to purchase it after 12 months. Barney is due to go on a short European tour with MRCY before Xmas. We walked over to The Dairy where Barney has a new recording studio, which he’s renting off Nitin Sawhney. It’s a much bigger room than his previous studio, but looks like it still needs a bit of tidying up, though he’s been working in there with Jesse Ware. Exciting times! We said our goodbyes and headed home, eager to avoid the football crowd coming out of the Emirates after the game with Crystal Palace. Warmed up the last of the lamb stew for dinner. Cherry tart and ice cream for afters. Watched The Ridge, a new BBC thriller set in NZ…dreadful! Bath and bed…

Saturday 25th October 2025

Got up around 1000 after Aki cycled off to the market for bread. I prepared Mexican green eggs for brunch…the tinned tomatillos had a vinegary flavour which wasn’t too pleasing. I headed off for Stoke Newington in the drizzle. They worked on choreography for the tap number, which is looking hilarious! Did some re-blocking of the opening scenes, but rehearsal was cut short when Sorrel developed a migraine…I think she wanted me to take over, but I pointed out that I was departing at 1700, so we called it a day and broke early. I walked to Clapton station. The rain had stopped but temperatures had dropped noticeably. 

Caught the overground to Walthamstow. Walked up to the theatre, which was re-opened in May after a major refurbishment. Had a mint tea in the foyer, then walked round the corner to meet Aki in Sodo for pizza. She’d been joined by about 9 or 10 rowing comrades. Enjoyed my pizza, but we were all sat on high stools at high tables, and the plates were so big we could hardly fit them all on the table top! Very noisy in there…won’t be back. Walked back round to the theatre for a 1930 show…Bog Witch, a one-woman show by Bryony Kimmings. The theatre is enormous…950 seater…and they’ve done a full refurbishment…it looks great. Puzzled as to who funded it, as it’s run by Soho Theatre, which is a small venue in the West End. The show felt a little out of place on such a vast stage, though the set, with a huge white back cloth onto which projections and shadows played, worked well. Bryony spent much of the time changing the set whilst nonchalantly delivering her lines…it was effortless. Got home in time to catch MOTD and Sunderland’s epic win at Stamford Bridge, which took us to second place behind the Gooners overnight!

Friday 24th October 2025

Got up around 1000. Aki had already cycled off for rowing club. Porridged. Walked down to Highbury Corner for a noon appointment at the Egerton pharmacy  to have my ears micro-suctioned. Young Chinese chap had the pleasure, with the rather surprising name of Dustin “as in Hoffman”; he was very good, and cleared both ears. He recommended I return in 9 or 10 months to have dried skin removed from my ear canals as they are exacerbating wax build up. I bought some arancini from the Italian deli next door, and walked home. Aki back for lunch. Did some exercises in the afternoon. Aki cooked hake for dinner. Watched Terence Davies’ 1992 movie “The Long Day Closes”…an affectionate meditation on his childhood in 1950s Liverpool. Not much in the way of wide shots, which gave it more of a televisual rather than a filmic feel…bit disappointing.

Thursday 23rd October 2025

Aki had departed for the hairdresser’s by the time I got up around 0930. Rain in the night. Porridged. Noticed another small damp patch in the back bedroom. There also appeared to be a 10” crack in the skylight glazing. I went up on the roof via next door’s roof garden…Sush was in and came up with me. The cracked glazing turned out to be a length of dried grass. Couldn’t see anything that gave any clue as to the leak in the back bedroom. Don’t know what to do about that! I set off for Southwark to hook up with Aki at Tate Modern. She’s purchased a year’s membership. Met up in the turbine hall. Went to view the Do Ho Suh exhibition…a Korean artist who specialises in reinventions of houses, and rooms, he has lived in in Korea, USA, and London. The most extraordinary piece was the life size rubbing of his childhood home in Korea…he covered the house in mulberry paper and rubbed everything with charcoal…took him months. He then peeled it all off and mounted it on a metal frame…gobsmacking! 

We then hightailed it over to Borough Market where I’d booked a table at Cafe Francoise. We enjoyed a rather overpriced French onion soup lunch. Headed for Oxford Street as Aki was keen to visit the Doc Marten store. I left her to go on to Camper in Regent Street while I headed for Hobgoblin in the hope of procuring a dozen kazoos for Saturday afternoon’s rehearsal. Unfortunately they only had the tin versions, which at £10 a piece would mean blowing a £120 hole in the show budget. I headed for the bus stop. Aki had gotten home ahead of me, having bought a nice pair of black boots at Camper. Warmed up the Irish stew for dinner. Settled down to watch Celebrity Traitors before bath and bed…

Wednesday 22nd October 2025

Aki up early to ready herself for rowing club. She’d cycled off by the time I rose. Porridged. Set off for Oxford Circus. Wanted to try on some grey workwear pants I’d spotted last week in John Lewis’s. Ended up going for brown, but got suckered into buying an unusual pair of patterned cords too. Headed home with my purchases, popping in at Waitrose for some bread. Aki returned for lunch…warmed up the last of my vegetable soup. Pottered about and did my exercises before Aki made a carbonara for dinner. Set off for Stoke Newington and Panto rehearsal. It was a song rehearsal so I wasn’t really needed. Stuck around for an hour or so then went home to watch Celebrity Traitors…got a bit of a soaking on the walk home from the bus stop!

Tuesday 21st October 2025

Got up around 1000. Porridged. Aki cycled off to tai chi. I prepared lunch on her return…finished the last of the vegetable soup. Headed out on a jaunt to the V&A Storehouse, recently opened in the Olympic Park. Aimed for Hackney Wick, and walked across the River Lea. Loads of building work still on-going around Hackney Wick station. A vast city has sprung up here over the last ten years…incredible. The Storehouse has been created in what was the Media Centre for the 2012 Olympics. On several floors, and is a bit like wandering around IKEA but with a vast range of treasures piled high on massive shelves. We got in to the David Bowie archive…interesting up to a point…if you know what you want to look at you can order up a Ziggy costume and take a gander, but the exhibition is rather small. Nice cafe on the ground floor. Took a train and a bus home. Aki pan fried salmon steak, with rice and vegetables, for dinner. Watched some telly…really enjoyed Trying; Rafe Spall is fantastic in it.

Monday 20th October 2025

Got up around 1000. Spells of heavy rain hammering on the bedroom roof. Porridged. Sat about reading before putting together an early lunch, then headed for the dentist on Upper Street, where I had a 1400 appointment with Mrs Jhand…she was very excited as she had been looking forward to applying a veneer to my mis-shapen front tooth…I had grown half of a third tooth over my second, and had been rather proud of the anomaly these last 60 years or so…but she had found signs of tooth decay at the joint, and was now charged with making the tooth look normal for the first time. I was in the chair for an hour and a half! She numbed my upper jaw, and set to work on removing the decay, before re-surfacing. I was stunned by the result…she’d done a terrific job. Went home via Waitrose. Cooked a pasta dinner, then rushed out again for panto rehearsal. Sorrel took them through their paces on a couple of dance routines…looking great. We were disturbed by a mouse in the studio! Evidently freaked out by our clod-hopping! 

Sunday 19th October 2025

Got up at 0930. Aki cooked brunch. I left for the bus stop…caught a bus to Camden, then a tube ride to Belsize Park. Got to the Royal Free on time and made my way to urology. Had to wait an hour and a half before being seen by the consultant. He said the ultrasound had found a benign cyst on the left testicle, and some varicose veins. He recommended cutting out tea, coffee and chocolate for the next three months to see if the discomfort in my right testicle subsides. It was raining when I exited the hospital. I walked down Haverstock Hill into Camden Town. Bought a couple of items in Sainsbury’s before getting on a bus home. Aki and I shared a rather flavourless Sainsbury’s pulled pork and cheese wrap for lunch. Sat about reading. Aki warmed up the paella we’d been unable to eat last night, adding prawns. Churros and creme fraiche for afters. FaceTimed Kath, who was at 12 High View. Watched the final episode of Hot Spot. Bath and bed…

Saturday 18th October 2025

 

Aki cooked omelette for breakfast, before heading off up the road to help planting out the communal flower boxes on Sussex Way. I walked to Stoke Newington via Highbury Barn, stopping off at Gail’s to pick up a sandwich for later. Worked with Sean on some physical delineation of his five split personalities for King Gregg…he’s not a natural, so didn’t get very far, but hopefully sowed a seed or two for him to work on…I think his costume changes are going to have to take most of the strain. Got a bus back home. Aki and I then set off for Waterloo…we’d booked a table at a tapas bar on The Cut, but arrived about half an hour early, so took a stroll down Lower Marsh, a lively destination of an evening. We over ordered at the tapas bar…portions are in my experience usually rather parsimonious, but we had to order a doggy bag! Walked across to the Free Association venue in Union Street Arches for an hour of comedy improv…based around a spoof TV hospital drama. Recognised one of the girls in the cast…she’d lead the Beginners Improv classes I attended in Camden about seven years ago! It was a very entertaining evening, though would have been better if my left ear wasn’t blocked!

Friday 17th October 2025

Aki up early…by the time I got up at 0930 she had cycled off to rowing club. Porridged. Caught up with Celebrity Traitors. Walked round to the GP surgery for my flu jab, then up to the dry cleaners. Hiked on down to Highbury Fields to buy focaccia before popping in at Waitrose on the way home. Put a mackerel salad lunch together when Aki got back. Sat about reading. Cooked a buttery mushroom sauce to go with some tortelloni…it was rather flavourless. We watched the Netflix adaptation of Pedro Paramos, which the Book Club had just finished reading. It was all a bit one-note, and a trifle long. Had its moments though. Bath and bed…

Thursday 16th October 2025

Woke at 0845. Aki brought me tea. Got up around 1000 and porridged. Worked on finalising LPAs for father, with a view to posting them off to Leigh (Certificate Provider)...she can then take them round to dad at her leisure. Quiche salad lunch. We walked round to Nags Head Market…Aki wanted to suss out the taco store ahead of this evening’s Mexican themed Book Club meet. We wandered on into Morrison’s to look at fajita kits, but didn’t find anything suitable. Ended up buying dragon fruit, and custard apples at the stall on Holloway Road. Tried a jesters hat at the Fancy Dress shop…may suit Noggins in the panto, though it was rather too roomy for me…perhaps Sean has a bigger head…will have to check! Walked on down to Highbury and back home via Highbury Fields. Enjoyed the Irish stew for dinner. Aki left for Book Club…I watched Traitors, and then the Mercury Prize coverage from Newcastle. Aki back by 2215. Late bath and bed…

Wednesday 15th October 2025

Fitful night’s sleep. Aki up at 0730…she’d cycled off to rowing club by the time I surfaced. Fancied a greasy spoon breakfast…aimed for the Hope Dining  Rooms on foot. Walked up to the counter only to spot a Cash Only sign so turned on my heel…ended up at the third rate Amici opposite Highbury tube station. Took a Victoria line train to Oxford Circus. Wanted to try on a pair of brown Paul Smith jeans, but only one pair left…headed to KX and the Paul Smith store at Coal Drops Yard…couldn’t find a comfortable fit so gave up and headed home. Aki was already back when I got in. Warmed up some soup for lunch. Spent most of the afternoon cooking up a lamb stew, for eating later in the week, then cooked a crab linguine dinner. Aki had been invited to accompany a couple of rowers to see a play at the Park Theatre…walked her up to Finsbury Park, where I jumped on a bus to Stoke Newington for this evening’s panto rehearsals. The audience participation song, I Am The Music Man, is going to be a hoot. Got home around 2210…we watched Celebrity traitors before bath and bed…

Tuesday 14th October 2025

Woke around 0815. Got up and took tea back to bed. Read for a while before porridging. Aki cycled off to the fishmongers, then headed for tai chi at the Chinese Community Centre up the road. I took a walk to Highbury and had coffee at La Maison, then walked home via Waitrose. Aki made ramen for lunch. Sat about reading. Did my exercises. A bloke turned up to look at the Takamine guitar I’d put up for sale on Gumtree a month or so ago. He’s been teaching a teenage pupil, who turned up 15 minutes later with his mum, and little sister. He liked the guitar…but I can’t say he seemed to have anything resembling musical talent…but his mum forked out £150 in cash and they left with the guitar. I’d bought it 27 years ago  on Dean Street in Newcastle! End of an era. Aki cooked hake for dinner, with black beans and bulgar wheat. Watched The Hotspot…getting very silly, but refreshingly good fun. Caught the second half of the Latvia v England game…a 0-5 win ensures we’ll be at the World Cup in 2026.

Monday 13th October 2025

Got up around 0915 and took tea back to bed. Rose around 1000 and porridged while listening to Cerys Hafana. Sat about reading. Walked over to Waitrose to meet Aki, who had cycled over to do a shop...I walked back home carrying 24 loo rolls! Put together a sardine salad lunch. Did some exercises. Read some CD. Aki prepared dinner...bibimbap, and gyoza. I ate early, before heading off for the Tower Theatre...but Aki was also cooking for Jane from No.36, and Gayu from No.38...a girl's night in! They showed up just as I was leaving. I caught a couple of buses to lordship Road, and walked from there down to Church Street. There was no rehearsal space available at the theatre, but they had managed to get us a large function room on the top floor of the new boutique hotel next door. Great rehearsal space, but the hotel looks decidedly grim!!! Worked through the opening scenes of Act I...I had to read in for Louise, who was missing. Enjoyable evening. Wrapped up around 2145 and caught a No.106 back to Finsbury Park. Jane and Gayu were preparing to leave when I got in...Aki tidied up, and I put out the bins before a late bath and bed...

Sunday 12th October 2025

Slow start…Aki feeling a little under the weather, so didn’t fancy rowing club this morning. Brought me tea in bed. Got up around 1030 and made brunch. Pottered about. Did some exercises. Walked to Newington Green via Highbury Barn. Only took about 30 minutes…so had a bit of time to kill before heading to No.60 for an early dinner. We shared chicken skewers and rice, and a warm halloumi salad. Walked on down to Dalston for the Cerys Hafana gig at St Matthias church. Large Victorian era church…great acoustic but very uncomfortable timber pews! Managed to sit through the support act, Astra Forward…a silken voiced experimental songwriter…a sort of half-speed Enya. Beautiful sings if a bit samey, but they had a liturgical vibe that was a perfect fit for the venue. Retreated toward the rear to watch Cerys from a standing position against a stone pillar. She plays the Welsh triple harp…gorgeous sound, and has a delicate voice…played with a sax player and a percussionist…standing ovation at the end…£19 well spent!  

Saturday 11th October 2025

Woke to alarm at 0815. Got up to make tea. Aki cycled off to buy bread at the Farmer’s Market while I prepared brunch. Aki dropped me off outside the Royal Free for my 1100 appointment with the ultrasound team…having my right testicle inspected. Results will be passed to the Urology team in due course. I walked down to get a Northern Line train from Belsize Park, getting out at Tottenham Court Road. Walked down Oxford Street to buy replacement Doc Marten shoes, then hopped on a No.22 bus to Sloane Square. Passed the old Savills HQ in Berkeley Square…the building has been demolished and a new modern block is rising from the ground. 

Got off the bus at Sloane Square and popped in to Peter Jones….haven’t been in there for many years! Met Aki in the 6th floor cafe for a swift lunch…the leek and potato soup was very disappointing. Walked across to the Royal Court…had tickets to see, or rather, hear, Katie Mitchell’s Cow/Deer…a 55 minute piece for four foley artists, including Tower Theatre regular Ruth Sullivan, who dropped out of Moby Dick to take up the job. 

It was a fascinating hour, an hour in the life (and death) of a pregnant cow, and a deer, portrayed with a dignified delicacy. Walked back to Victoria station via the eastern fringes of Belgravia. Bumped into Jen as we emerged from Finsbury Park tube station…she was heading for Hackney Wick to deliver an early evening DJ set. Pork shoulder for dinner, with black beans, mashed potato and plenty of vegetables. Watched “Rye Lane”…a quirky movie set in south London, shot in vivid saturated colours, with a rye and witty script to match.

Friday 10th October 2025

Aki up early to ready for Rowing Club. Tea and porridge in bed. Got up around 1000 and did some exercises while awaiting Aki's Amazon delivery. Vacuumed. Aki back in time for lunch. Sat and read some CD. Rehearsed a couple of tunes. Warmed up the last of the chicken chasseur for dinner, with orzo and vegetables. Watched Hot Spot, and Alan Partridge before bath and bed…

Thursday 9th October 2025

Woke around 0800. Got up eventually to bring tea back to bed. Rose and porridged. Grey day. Read some CD. Sardine salad for lunch. Ventured into town as Aki had been given a National Gallery membership card by a chum who has gone to Japan for a month…went to see the Neo-impressionist exhibition…Seurat, Pissaro, Signac et al. It was interesting but failed to blow me away. Seurat’s drawings with black crayon were very impressive though. Walked up to Piccadilly Circus and from thence to the Japanese convenience store on Brewer Street before heading home. Tortelloni with puttanesca sauce for dinner. Watched some of the Scotland v Greece game before switching channels to catch this evening’s episode of Traitors…Alan Carr is proving to be priceless entertainment…

Wednesday 8th October 2025

Woke at 0630…back giving me gip. Managed to get back to sleep, though. Aki up early to ready for rowing club. I got up at 0900…porridged. Read some CD before doing my exercises. Aki back in time for lunch. Took a late afternoon walk up to Highbury Barn and popped in to Mario’s deli…bought handmade tortellini and gnocchi for dinner tomorrow. Warmed up the last of the fish curry for dinner, with dal and rice. Watched the opening episode of Celebrity Traitors…Alan Carr his usual very funny self! Stayed up to watch the TV podcast…got to bed at 0030!

Tuesday 7th October 2025

Woke around 0900…got up to find that Aki had departed for the dentist. Made tea and porridged. Spent some time penning letters and emails to the Office of the Public Guardian…still trying to get the LPA’s sorted for mum! What a palaver!!! Did some exercises before Aki cooked omelette for lunch. Pottered about before heading up to Archway for a walk. Returned to warm up the last of the mushroom lasagna for dinner. Watched ‘Hot Spot’ before bath and bed…

Monday 6th October 2025

 

Woke around 0800…Aki brought me a tea. Got up and porridged. Pottered about then did some exercises. Warmed up the soup for lunch. Set off mid-afternoon for the dentist on Upper Street. Bumped into Gayu from No.38 and Jane from No.36 outside our pad…they were going in our direction. Almost got run over by a speeding electric cyclist at the lights on Seven Sisters Road…he was trying to run the red light, but bailed out, slamming on his brakes, skidding, and crashing to the tarmac in the middle of the junction…I stared at him in contempt whilst Aki, Gayu, and Jane rushed to his assistance. He’d damaged his bike and grazed an elbow…I left Gayu and Jane ministering to their charge, and pulled Aki away, as I had to get to the dentist by 1530. 

Walked down Upper Street…had time to pop into a new gallery…selling some Tracey Emin, Banksy, etc at eye watering prices. Aki parted company outside the dental practice and headed for Angel. I had a 30 minute session with the hygienist…my second in a week…she’s very good…a young lady of Slavic origin, I’d hazard. Caught a bus home. Warmed up chicken chasseur for dinner, with mashed potatoes…delicious! Took a couple of buses to Stoke Newington for panto rehearsal. Wasn’t needed as the musical team were concentrating on the songs. Had a rummage in the wardrobe department for hats and things for Sean to help him develop the split personalities of King Gregg…didn’t find much. Departed for the bus stop early and got home around 2130. 

Sunday 5th October 2025

 

Aki up early to ready for Rowing Club. She brought me tea in bed before she cycled off. I delayed breakfast…cooked up some lentil soup for later, then headed into town. Decided to stick my head in at Maison Assouline on Piccadilly…I read that it was worth a visit…a book cafe opposite the Royal Academy. It’s housed in an interesting Georgian edifice next door to St James’s Piccadilly…and the coffee and food are well over-priced. But I enjoyed it nonetheless…an interesting one-off. Bought Bleak House in Hatchard’s next door, and took a Piccadilly line train home. No sign of Aki, so I ventured back out to buy pork belly from Waitrose…and sticky toffee pudding! Aki still not back when I got back in…can’t recall if today was boathouse cleaning day or something. Phoned ma and pa. Dad had taken mum out for a spin this morning…his eye having recovered. Kath reportedly hooking up with Dex for lunch in the Borders. Aki turned up around 1600. Pork belly for dinner with roasted leeks and celery. Watched ‘The Ballad of Wallis Island’ with the excellent Tim Key, who’d co-written the script. Very enjoyable. 

Saturday 4th October 2025

Slept relatively well, though had to get up at 0830 as my back was starting to give me gip. Made tea and got back into bed. Read some Chuzzlewit. Aki cycled off to the Farmer’s Market to buy bread. I got up to prepare brunch for when she returned. Left for the theatre at noon, taking two buses to Stoke Newington…too windy to cycle! First read-through of Rapunzel…nice to see two or three ex Moby Dickers in the room. The guy playing King Gregg was absent so I read his part. After the break, the MD started working on the opening number…the harmonies sound great already! Repaired to the Jolly Butchers afterward for a quick drink with some of the team…then caught two buses home. Aki cooked a tasty fish curry for dinner with rice and dal. Watched some telly before bath and bed…

Friday 3rd October 2025

Woke around 0400… took ages to get back to sleep. Lay in until 1100. Got up and porridged. We drove over to Sainsbury’s at Manor House to do a shop and put the car through the car wash. Came home for a light lunch, as eating out this evening. Cooked up a chicken chasseur for Aki to have tonight, putting the remainder in the freezer. I headed in to town via the Victoria Line, alighting at a busy Victoria station. Walked in the drizzle toward Eaton Square to hook up with former Trent Poly mates, Colin Yates, Andy Widdup, and Pete Chilton. They’d been drinking since 1530 though looked none the worse for wear…Colin celebrated his 68th birthday yesterday…he looked a little weary. 

Andy still working, much to my surprise, though Colin is still doing a couple of days a week. Andy and Kim had recently been on holiday to Canada…while crossing to Vancouver Island, they bumped into Pete on the ferry!!! They all had to catch trains back south…Andy to Haywards Heath, Colin to Brighton, and Pete to Portsmouth, so we headed back to Victoria station for 2030 where we parted ways…nice to see them, even though it was all rather brief. Got home by 2130…getting a bit wet and windy out, but not too bad…Storm Amy wreaking much more havoc up north!

Thursday 2nd October 2025

Got up at 0945. Tea. Porridge. Watched highlights of the Champions League games. Read some CD before doing my exercises. Aki made ramen noodle soup for lunch. More sitting about, reading mostly. Warmed up the mushroom lasagna for dinner. Walked up to the Shaftesbury on Hornsey Road…Ben at No.38 had spotted they do a folk night…he turned up later, as did fellow band members Katherine, and Celia. But it turned out not to be an open mic…just a duo playing bluegrass tunes in one corner of the pub. Had a couple of beers before walking home. 

Wednesday 1st October 2025

Woke around 0500…managed to nod back off after a while. Aki up at 0730 to ready herself for Rowing Club. Got up and made myself a tea once she’d cycled off. Porridged. Sat and read for most of the morning. Aki back for lunch. Warmed up the last of the carrot and chickpea soup. More sitting about…felt very weary, perhaps a reaction to the cycling yesterday. Aki baked trout for dinner…with polenta and vegetables. She then departed for a site visit on the Haringey Ladder. I participated in a virtual meet ahead of Saturday’s panto read through. Watched some telly once Aki had returned…before bath and bed.

Tuesday 30th September 2025

Woke around 0800…got up and made tea. Read in bed for a bit. Porridged. Did my exercises. Aki cooked omelette for lunch. Went into town to take one of the cushions we’d bought at John Lewis’s last week, back. Took the Victoria Line to Oxford Circus. Swapped the cushion for a smaller one, getting a bit of a refund in return. Tried on a blue jacket in the Menswear department…it had a £210 price tag, but I loved it…took it to the checkout only to discover it was in the end of season sale…I got it for £84!…don’t think that’s ever happened to me before! We took a look at the revamped M&S Food Hall…basically they’ve added a cafe, but it was about as attractive as a Costa store…disappointing. Walked up through Noho. Popped into a little art gallery on Newman Street…stunning modern art from Bulgarian Theodora Axente, mixing Dali with the Dutch Masters. Caught a bus home from outside Goodge Street station. Quick tortelloni supper with puttanesca sauce. We cycled off to Stoke Newington in the gloaming. First night of Girls, which opens the Autumn season. Good performances, though the rather wordy piece was ill-served by one of the three actresses being inaudible…a shame, as I could see she was inhabiting her role in a way rarely seen at The Tower. Sat behind Brett from No.7, and Andrew from No.49…he kept having to elbow her as she kept nodding off. Surprised to see Nick Hall in the audience! I was told that he’d turned up at the Poetry Night insisting he read a poem he had written! Exchanged a couple of words with him as I left the building…but I can see he’s going to become a thorn in the side…they should have taken decisive action and banned him!