Thursday 19th February 2026

Woke around 0715. Dozed until 0900. Got up and porridged. We met up with Ben from No.38 and accompanied him to Seven Sisters to view a flat that his daughter Mira has put an offer in on, with her boyfriend, Alex. It's in a pretty rough area of south Tottenham, and within walking of Seven Sisters tube station. We hooked up with Mira, Alex, and Alex's Ukrainian mum, Nica, outside the property, a Victorian era double-fronted house converted some time ago into two flats. It's an odd shape, but there are possibilities for opening it up a bit...the flat is on the first floor. It's been fairly well looked after by the current owner. The problem for Mira and Alex is that, although they don't need a mortgage in order to make the purchase, they have applied for a £70,000 mortgage to have cash to re-configure the accommodation...this has been refused by a lender due to the fact that the property abuts a commercial unit, a roofing and scaffolding concern. All a bit odd, really, as the current owner got a full mortgage 15 years ago without hassle. They are looking to find a second opinion. I rather suspect Mira's credit score is "challenging". We repaired to a nice cafe around the corner afterward, and Nica showed us some alternative plans she'd drawn up (she's architect trained). Ben bought us some lunch and coffee. I left them at Seven Sisters tube station and took a bus down the A10 to Stoke Newington. Wanted to pop in at the chiropodist's there to see if they stocked the insoles I've been using, but the woman was pretty unhelpful. Left empty handed and caught a No.106 bus back home. Signed up to a Dementia Research programme...had to take some cognitive tests...I scored in the top 10% for my word, and picture, memory. Watched some Winter Olympics before putting an early dinner together...a cheesey mushroom pasta sauce. Spoke to Linsey on the phone...she's going to be my landlady as of Sunday! She confirmed that there are no parking restrictions outside her home. Aki sloped off to Book Club at No.127. I watched the culmination of the Women's Figure skating...great little Japanese skater who won bronze. She was overwhelmed by her achievement...very charming!