Monday 21st September 2026

Woke around 0600. Got up and re-arranged my pillows, and got back into bed...managed to doze until around 0900. Got up and made tea. Aki still feeling a bit rough. I spent all morning in bed reading "Hard-Boiled", determined to get the Murakami finished so that I could drop it off at the Library this afternoon. Finished just in time for lunch. It was a great read...very imaginative...looking forward to seeing the stage adaptation next month. Warmed up Aki's chicken broth for lunch. Walked down to Islington Council Offices on Upper Street, popping the book in at the Central Library on the way. Stopped for a decaf at Coffee Republic...nothing to write home about. I went to LBI enquire as to the whereabouts of half-a-dozen All-Day parking permits I'd ordered three weeks ago...I was given a number, 68, and waited my turn. I raised an eyebrow when, after nearly an hour waiting, number 69 was called! I made a polite protestation and got seen...it seems they can't even get the queue organised with any degree of competence! Suffice to say, my wait was a complete waste of time...nobody around to help in the Parking Department...the guy dealing with me managed to get hold of someone working from home, who was eventually able to track my payment down...but I was sent away empty handed, and told to fill in an Indemnity Form stating it was true that the effing things hadn't turned up in my letterbox. Caught a bus back to Holloway. Popped in to Waitrose to get some odds and ends, then walked home. Aki cooked up the M&S tandoori chicken for dinner, with rice and vegetables. I ventured out...headed for Stoke Newington via two buses, to attend the Tower Theatre AGM. Got there about half-an-hour early...rather than stand about talking nonsense to all and sundry, I popped round to the gelato shop on Church Street for my pudding! Not quite up to Sicilian standards, but went down well...it was rather warmer out than I'd anticipated. The theatre was about half full...which meant only about 50 people had turned up, which I thought was a rather poor turnout. Amanda announced that she would be standing down as AD in December, and Dom, who had played the Dame in last year's panto, would be stepping into the breach! All seemed to be on track financially, and audiences had been well up across the year, most notably for the panto, which Sorrel and Dom are leading again this year.