Tuesday 13th October 2026

Aki up with alarm at 0700 to ready herself for a works meeting in Camden. She'd departed by the time I got up and porridged. Mucked about on my guitar for most of the morning. Roofer rang to say the scaffolding is due to go up on Friday, and they'll start work on Monday morning. Aki back for lunch. I put a tasty ham and egg salad together, with stracciatella and pesto. Pottered about not doing very much this afternoon...feeling a bit under powered at the moment. The disturbed sleep patterns are taking a bit of a toll. Warmed up the last of the chicken and coucous for dinner, with vegetables. Very tasty. Watched more 56Up, and a second helping of "The Reluctant Vampire". The original storylines were written by Eric Morecambe, and as young Val struggled to make himself a ham sandwich, his host points out that he's making a mess of it to which Val replies that he's "got all the right ingredients, but not necessarily in the right order!" 

Monday 12th October 2026

Terrible night's sleep. I reckon it was gone 0400 by the time I nodded off! Perplexing, as I am still feeling tired after Friday night/Saturday morning. Tea in bed before rising around 1030. Porridged. Practised some guitar and looked at the harmonica part on "Mr Tambourine Man". Pea and mint soup for lunch. Grey day. Did an hour and half at the coal face ahead of my trip to the south coast on Wednesday. Warmed up the last of the fish stew I'd retrieved from the freezer, which we ate with plenty of vegetables. Kath FaceTimed to say High View had been plunged into darkness due to a power cut. Online information suggested repairs were underway, but no time scale evident. Watched 56Up before bath and bed...

Sunday 11th October 2026

Fitful night's sleep...surprising, as I was tired after the previous night's disruption. Dozed in and out of sleep until the alarm at 0800. Got up and made tea. Porridged. Took up my guitar and headed for Camden Town. Got there early...was surprised to see that others had beaten me to it and were setting up in the classroom. Dave turned up 10 minutes later...we worked on an arrangement that involved some of us playing chords, and some the melody line. It was all a bit slow, but I guess things starting to come together. Adjourned for a coffee in the cafe afterward...got chatting to a girl with a banjo on her back. She came and joined our table of guitar players. She recommended I check out Deering's banjos if I'm looking to take it up. Sloped off afterward to find some lunch. Ended up buying a club sandwich from Gail's to take home. Popped into Sainsburys to buy some pancetta for Aki's carbonara. Caught a No.253 bus home. Lunched on my sandwich and a side salad. Practised some mandolin. Aki got home around 1500. Carbonara for dinner. Watched "The Reluctant Vampire"...Lenny Rush is so good in it; followed by a hardcore episode of "Time"...David Tennant superb. Watched Manchester City win 3-0 at Anfield on MOTD before bath and bed...

Saturday 10th October 2026

Woke around 0900. Dozed for a bit. Exhausted after last night's episode! Eventually rose to make tea. Cooked eggs for breakfast, with the teriyaki salmon Aki had leftover from her dinner last night...my portion, basically. Aki made hummus, and amaretti biscuits. I printed off some music I'd been sent by the Guitar class WhatsApp group ahead of a possible meet during half-term. Made some pea and mint soup, then warmed up the chicken and couscous for dinner, with lots of vegetables. Headed for the Barbican...took the train from Finsbury Park to Moorgate. Saw a theatrical adaptation of Murakami's "End of The World, & Hardboiled Wonderland", which I'd read last month in anticipation. It was a long evening...2 hours 50 minutes, including interval, and I struggled to keep my eyes open halfway through the second half. The show satisfyingly brought the strange novel to life, in a charmingly old fashioned way, despite the various technological additions...the staging was reminiscent of a good 1980s era fringe show. A live soundtrack was provided by a pianist stage left...an enjoyable night's entertainment, all in all. Caught a No.153 bus back to Holloway. Caught MOTD...Sunderland were a bit unlucky to go down 0-2 to Brighton...we gave as good as we got, but couldn't put the ball in the net.

Friday 9th October 2026

 

Aki up with alarm at 0700 to ready herself for Rowing Club. I got up as she was preparing to cycle off. Porridged. Walked down to Highbury Fields to buy bread from the Dusty Knuckle van, then enjoyed a latte at Le Maison. Sat outside...it was a bit windy! Walked home via Waitrose. Aki back for lunch. Shared a fresh quiche I'd bought at Le Maison, with a bit of salad and a slice of fresh bread. Did an hour or so's work at the laptop. At around 1700 I was overtaken by one of my bouts of agonising constipation...spent the next 10 hours sitting on the loo, though my bad hernia repair made sitting so uncomfortable, I had to stand half the time. Tried lying down for a bit, but the pain was so discomfiting, I gave up and stood propped up against a wall until finally relief came at about 0300, when I finally got to bed!!!

Thursday 8th October 2026

Aki up at 0700 to ready herself for a work meeting in Camden. In the event, it was changed to an online Teams meeting, so she didn't have to leave the comfort of home. She brought me a mug of tea at about 0830. I read in bed for a bit. Got up and porridged. Did a little work at the laptop. I put together a ham and egg salad lunch. The sun came out in the afternoon, so we took our constitutional up Highgate Hill. Got a bus back toward Waitrose from outside Lauderdale House, and did a shop. Didn't think we'd bought much, but the bill was over £40! I cooked a chicken one-pot dinner with giant couscous and cabbage. Watched Richard E.Grant get himself banished from the castle in "The Traitors". What a plonker! Made for a very entertaining "Traitors Uncloaked" afterward. Bath and bed...

Wednesday 7th October 2026

Woke around 0730. Aki got up to ready herself for Rowing Club, but it started raining, so she stayed home. She brought me a mug of tea in bed. Got up and porridged. Did a bit of work at the laptop finishing off the Moat inspections job. Warmed up the chicken and vegetable soup for lunch. Started work on another valuation exercise, this time for Worthing Homes. Will have to drive down there early next week. Managed another couple of hours at the laptop. Read some "Dagga". Cooked dinner...pork meatballs with n'duja and mozzarella. Headed for Stoke Newington in the car. Had tickets to see "A Mirror"...my interest piqued only due to the fact that I've volunteered to act in a couple of short pieces the Writer's Group are preparing in response to the piece. However, the writing was sharp and darkly funny, and the performances from all concerned were excellent...really enjoyed it. Sat next to Simona...she's thinking of auditioning for one of next season's plays, as her Moving Parts theatre company are not working on anything new in 2027. Gave Kathleen from No.49 a lift home, as she'd been working FOH this evening. 

Tuesday 6th October 2026

Woke around 0730 after a relatively good night's sleep, for a change. Porridged in bed. Got up and readied myself for work...inspections out Chelmsford way again. Picked up a coffee at Manor House, then headed up the M11, then across country on the A120. Ended up in Great Leighs, a few miles north of Chelmsford. Some of the tenants here had been written to, but no-one was in, so I didn't get an internal. Drove over the Great Dunmow for inspections on an extensive new build development, then headed for Ongar, stopping off in High Roding for lunch at a farm that was clearly diversifying. The cafe there was good...enjoyed ham, egg and chips, and a mug of tea before driving on to Ongar. Kath phoned to say that she had had to pull mother out of the bath again yesterday. She's going to try to get some extra help from Occupational Health. Got home around 1515. Aki not in...she'd gone to Crouch End for an eye test at SpecSavers. She came home to report that, although not urgent, she had decided to book a cataract op. Aki put together a little Japanese feast for dinner, to mark the anniversary of the death of her mother. She lit a candle and struck the gong in the makeshift shrine above the bookcase. Watched 49Up. Bath and bed...

Monday 5th October 2026

Woke around 0400...took a couple of hours to nod back off again!!! Woke again at 0845. Read in bed for a bit...Aki brought me a mug of tea. Got up and porridged. Did an hour or so's work at the laptop. Made pesto with basil from the back garden. Slung a ham salad together for lunch, then we walked down to Angel for the exercise, and because Aki wanted to buy nuts from Sainsburys. Caught a No.153 bus back to Holloway with our prize. Early dinner...ravioli with the homemade pesto sauce. I headed off into town to see Graham Fellow's 2006 road movie, "It's Nice Up North". Aki stayed home for a JCUK zoom meeting. Spotted Graham in the darkened auditorium and went to give him a hug before finding a seat. The movie had been shot by Graham's friend, the photographer Martin Parr, who had died suddenly last December, and the movie was preceded by a short film Graham had made to pay tribute to him. The film itself was infused with the usual ramshackle charm of everything Graham does in his comic character role of John Shuttleworth, and basically saw him and Martin on the Isles of Shetland seeking out whether people were friendlier the further north you travelled. There was a brief Q&A with Graham at the end. Graham introduced me to the comic, Alan Francis, and we had a brief chat about the state of the acting profession, before I left for home. Ambled up through Soho, which was very busy for a Monday night, and caught a bus from Tottenham Court Road...

Sunday 4th October 2026

Woke around 0600. Managed to eventually nod off again...woke to alarm at 0800. Got up and porridged before strapping my guitar to my back and heading off for Camden Town on the bus. Picked up a coffee from Pret, then walked up Parkway. Ten pupils turned up today. Worked on chord progressions and substitutions in the key of Em. Retired to the cafe afterward. Liz mentioned that she plays ukulele at The Lamb on Holloway Road every Monday night...we'll have to go down to take a look. Picked up a tray of sushi from World Foods, then caught a bus home. Ate my lunch at the dining table...Aki lunching at the cafe next door to the Rowing Club. Aki back mid afternoon. Early dinner...ate the last of the cooked chicken with the kedgeree and some vegetables, then hopped on a No.91 bus with our instruments and headed for The Shaftesbury for our monthly session. Had a bit of an audience in the back room on this ocassion...a couple of Italian friends of George and Katherine, a couple with a young family, and three people who were trying to have a chat whilst eating their Sunday roast! By the time we finished, it had gone 2000. Walked back home in the company of Ben from No.38...he and his family are in the throes of consulting Islington Council's Planners about converting their house into two flat units. Hope they are more competent than the Parking Department! Watched some of 49Up before early bath and bed...

Saturday 3rd October 2026

Woke at 0730...got up and made the porridge, as I'd forgotten to make it last night. Went back to bed. Aki woke me at 0930 with a mug of tea. Margaret brought round a sachet of mouse poison bait and a chocolate mini egg! She has spotted him in her kitchen too! We walked to Highbury Fields for a coffee and a light lunch at Le Maison...it was rammed. Walked back up to Waitrose to do a shop, then back home. Watched 42Up. Warmed up some defrosted fish stew for dinner, which I served up with lentils and green beans. Nowt on telly...tried watching "Legally Blonde", which someone had recommended as being very funny...it barely raised a titter...gave up after half-an-hour. Early bath and bed...

Friday 2nd October 2026

Woke around 0730. Bad hernia repair giving me gip after yesterday's drive. Aki up to ready herself for Rowing Club. She brought me a mug of tea. I stayed in bed as long as I could. Porridged. Brought my laptop to bed with me and uploaded yesterday's photos, and wrote up my inspection sheets. Got up and started learning "Bring Me Sunshine" on ukulele, in anticipation of auditioning for the Tower Theatre's 2027 production of "The Good Companions". Aki back for soup for lunch. Sat about for most of the afternoon, though I managed to get an hour's work done before cooking dinner. Made a rice and lentil kedgeree, which I served with meatballs in a tahini sauce. Watched Celebrity Traitors. Amol Rajan was first for the chop! Aki spotted a mouse, which popped out from beneath the dishwasher, and ran back underneath when it heard Aki scream! I joined in, thinking Aki had spotted a large arachnid on my t-shirt! SPrayed the area beneath the dishwasher with peppermint rodent reppellant and went to bed...

Thursday 1st October 2026

Woke around 0700. Got up around 0800. Porridged. Cooked a chicken and vegetable broth. Set off on inspections at 0900...headed for Dagenham, then on to Purfleet. Stopped for lunch in Maldon...sat outside the Queens Head on the Hythe Quay and enjoyed a battered haddock burger and chips! A lot of large sailing boats moored up on the quay...with rigging and everything! Drove on to Great Baddow, and Chelmsford, then turned for home. Got in around 1800. Aki cooked a prawn risotto for dinner. Watched the first episode of Celebrity Traitors...very entertaining. Richard E. Grant was his usual livewire self! Bath and bed...

Wednesday 30th September 2026

Woke around 0330...didn't really manage to get back to sleep properly after that!!! Aki up early to ready herself for Rowing Club, but then decided she didn't feel too good, so stayed home. I lay in bed until about 1030 when I got up for porridge. Cooked Ottolenghi's roast tomato and lemon yoghurt for lunch, which we had with a poached egg, and toast. Did a little work at the laptop after lunch...Aki went back to bed. I cooked up a chicken and mushroom pasta sauce for dinner. Watched the last hour of 28Up...can't get over Neil...a bright and bubbly seven year old, but now a stuttering homeless man, tramping the hills and valleys of the west of Scotland, and living in a battered old caravan. Can't believe it's the same human being! 

Tuesday 29th September 2026

Woke around 0700 with back pain, so got up and re-arranged the pillows so I could sit up for a bit. Managed to nod back off again for awhile. Got up and made tea, which I brought back to bed, with a bowl of porridge. Read for a while. Aki popped out to tai chi. I got up and took my constitutional...walked to Highbury Fields. Enjoyed a coffee at Maison Bleu, then headed for Waitrose. Aki home by the time I got back...I put a light lunch together. Accessed Lynne's flat...she's on her way back from Penzance. Cut away some wisteria and passion flower which has all gone a bit AWOL at the front of the building. Did a little work at the laptop ahead of inspections later in the week. Tidied up the cuttings in the front garden. Ambled round to No.7 for dinner chez Brett. Jane and Carlos from No.36, Lynne from upstairs, Margaret from No.5, and Kathleen and Andrew from No.49, also in attendance. Pleasant evening sat out in Brett's arbour. She'd cooked up a feast of Ottolenghi inspired dishes...I particularly enjoyed the baked rice with confit tomatoes and garlic, which paired beautifully with the Moroccan chicken stew. The almond orange cake for afters was great, too. Brett is preparing to return to Australia in a couple of weeks, so won't be around for Xmas. It was gone midnight by the time I got to bed...

Monday 28th September 2026

Took a couple of hours to nod off, for some reason. So didn't feel very refreshed by the time I woke around 0900. Aki brought me tea in bed. Read for a bit. Got up and porridged. Phoned High View and alerted Jim to the fact that the NBS passbook would be delivered today...hopefully someone hears the doorbell! Read Act II of the panto script...underwhelming, I'm afraid. Aki put an early lunch together before we headed into town to see a film at the Garden Cinema...Czech classic, "Marketa Lazarova". Had a little trouble seeing the subtitles due to the size of the head of the bloke on the row in front of me, but got the gist. What I hadn't realised was that, as well as being voted the greatest Czech film of all time, it was also one of the longest... we both struggled a bit to keep awake over the course of two-and-three-quarter hours! Lots to admire...the strange, surreal sections, the black and white photography...it felt like a 60s era Czech version of "The Seven Samurai", or "The Good, The Bad & The Ugly". Poor old Marketa didn't feature all that much in the narrative. Staggered out of the cinema at 1700 and headed home on the No.91 bus. Got a photo from Royal Mail that showed the NBS passbook being delivered to mum at 12 High View...got a bit worried that she might have then put it somewhere, and forgotten where she put it! Got an email from dad, though, saying it had been received. Aki cooked a stir fry, and used up the last of the pork fillet. Watched "28Up" followed by The Ten. Bath and bed.

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...

Saturday 26th September 2026

Slow start this morning. Got up and made tea before porridging. Kath had left a text message last night saying that the boiler at 12 High View had packed up, and they needed the NBS passbook ASAP. I popped over to the Post Office and sent it by Special Delivery...hopefully it'll get there in one piece by Monday lunch time. Also decided to send Kath the NBS Power of Attorney forms so that she could get herself sorted once and for all. Will post them out on Monday. I wandered over to Waitrose after lunch to buy a chicken for tomorrow's roast. Headed for the Harringay Ladder late afternoon...couldn't get on a No.29 bus, as it was packed, so hopped on a bus to Finsbury Park and caught the overground to Hornsey. The train was rammed...must be a gig on at Ally Pally or something! Walked Aki down the New River, which brought us out at the top of Beresford Road. Kearsey and Kieron hosted another dinner party. Shelly, our chauffeur from Sicily, turned up, amongst others. We repaired to the back garden after gnocchi, and ice cream doused in Bourbon! Sat about chatting, though I found myself next to Dee, who is very bright, but is ADHD and then some!!! It gets a bit wearing after a while. Made our escape around 2100, and walked down to the bus stop on Green Lanes to catch a No.29 bus home. 

Friday 25th September 2026

Aki up early to ready herself for rowing club. By the time I got up to make tea, she had cycled off. Brought porridge back to bed with me and read some "Dagga". Katrina texted to say her copy had turned up in the post! I did a little gardening...Margaret turned out to be in her back garden, and joined in with a bit of pruning of the jasmine, so I could get through the gate between our two properties. Did a little out front, too. Aki back for lunch...put together a sardine salad with poached eggs. Headed into town...visited the Photographer's Gallery, and their Japanese Women Photographers 1950-Now exhibition. Some of the more abstract stuff was worth a look, but otherwise nothing much to get excited about. Particularly liked the photo of a hat made out of fish. Then headed for Earlsfield, via Vauxhall...Tami and Franco threw a welcome dinner for Midori and Dan, old chums who have moved into the flat they rent out attached to their house. Sat about in the garden chatting and enjoying some nibbles, then moved inside for a sumptuous Japanese feast that Tami, Midori, and Aki cooked up in the kitchen...it was very impressive...and very tasty! Got home around 2300. Bumped into Sush outside, unloading his van...he and Rebecca are due to fly out to Cyprus for ten days tomorrow, so he didn't want to leave any valuable tools in the van. Managed to get him to tell me where the fusebox for the external consent is, so the roofer can detail around it properly. Had to listen to him burbling on for half-an-hour though before I was able to extricate the information! Aki was in bed by the time I got in...

Thursday 24th September 2026

Woke around 0900. Got up and brought tea back to bed with me, but was interrupted by a call from Matthew at work...inspections needed out Chelmsford way in the coming week. Well, I badly need the cash! Finished Clare Tomalin's biography of Dickens...some interesting stuff in her postscript, detailing his daughter Katey's efforts to right the record in respect of how badly Dickens treated his wife, her mother. She describes him as "a wicked", but wonderful, man! Did a little prep work at the laptop before lunch. Put a ham and egg salad lunch together. Did some mandatory Savills compliance training online. Wandered over to Waitrose to buy some pork fillet for tonight's dinner, taking a long circular walk down to Highbury Fields and back along the way. Aki cooked a pork stir fry with rice noodles for dinner. Watched three episodes of "Widow's Bay" before bath and bed...