Sunday 27th September 2026

Fitful night's sleep, for some reason...back giving me a bit of gip, so got up around 0730. Got back into bed with a mug of tea, and read for half-an-hour. Got up and readied myself for guitar class. Aki up by the time I left for Camden Town. Picked up a coffee at Pret on Camden High Road, and read a little Dickens before ambling round the corner to Cecil Sharp House. One or two extra people this week...bloke who sat next to me was good. He let me share his music stand. It was all a bit slow going again today, given the fact that some people are absolute beginners, but I'm enjoying learning a new tune. Half-a-dozen of us sat about in the cafe afterward, and I joined the WhatsApp Group. Headed home to put the chicken in the oven. Aki back from rowing club in time for Sunday roast. I then took a couple of buses to Stoke Newington. George Savona, curating the Poetry Evening, wanted to hear everyone deliver their material. Had to wait my turn, as he was seeing people one-by-one. Had a couple of hours to kill before the show, so wandered up Church Street...bought a chicken salad pot from Whole Foods and went back to the theatre to eat it. Bumped into Sorrel and some of the panto gang, who were having their first read-through this afternoon...they haven't cast a Daddy Bear, so said I'd consider it, and took a copy of the script to read. It's not great...the first half feels very patchy. Daddy Bear doesn't look too exacting, though. See what Aki thinks! Aki turned up around 1840, and took her seat in the studio with Kathleen from No.49. I opened the evening with a delivery of Poem For Live8. Some very enjoyable contributors over the course of the evening...I especially enjoyed renditions of Philip Larkin, John Betjemen, and a piece from Webster's "Duchess of Malfi". I ended the second half with "Now Westlin' Winds"...I dried on the opening line! But got through it, eventually!!! We gave Kathleen a lift home to Sussex Way. Showered and bed...