Saturday 6th November 2021

Woke around 0700. Went back to sleep for a bit, then got up and brought Hilary Mantel to bed with me...am entering the final furlong, though still 200 pages to go. Got up around 1000 and cooked breakfast. Aki had sent photos of last night's girls' night out. Looked as though they had all had a good time. Spent the remainder of the morning reading and listening to music. Aki called from the restaurant as they were leaving, so I got to wave at the proprietor, who I met when we dined there a few years ago. Walked up to Archway late afternoon for a bit of exercise, and bought some bits and pieces in Aldi. Walked back home via the dry cleaner to pick up the trousers I'd left him to take up. Warmed up a portion of the mushroom and tofu rendang for dinner, with rice, greens, and a garlic naan. Carlos and Jane came and rang my doorbell at about 9pm. They had friends, Maggie and Phil, stopping over, from Bristol, and we all walked up to the North Nineteen for some blues...Rollo and Lewis were in full flight as we came in through the doors. The pub filled up, and Rollo introduced a couple of guest artistes during the course of the evening...we particularly enjoyed Doreen, who did a great Etta James number. Walked back down Sussex Way with Carlos and Jane, Maggie and Phil having bailed out early. Promised to arrange a dinner booking at Girasole once Aki back in town. FaceTimed Aki in her hotel room in Tokyo...she and Haa-chan had just got up and were having a light breakfast. It was well past midnight before I got to bed!

Friday 5th November 2021

 

Woke around 0700. Got back into bed with a mug of tea and read some Mantel. Aki called from Chiaki's pad...she was about to sit down to dinner with her, and Yoshio. I gave them a wave before they tucked in! Didn't get up to much today...read a little, listened to music, and played guitar. Chicken soup for lunch, and chicken cacciatore for dinner with mustard mash, and greens. Watched a documentary on the making of Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water album...what a song that is! The documentary was followed by a screening of their 1981 concert in Central Park. Made me want to learn some Paul Simon numbers on the guitar. Aki called from Chiaki's, having just woken up. She's headed for Shinjuku today, meeting up with her old school mate Haa-chan, and a trip to a favourite restaurant. 

Thursday 4th November 2021

Woke around 0745 with a bit of a sore throat. Went back to bed with a mug of tea, before getting up and fixing Tony some porridge for breakfast. Did a bit of reading this morning. Tony left about midday in holiday mood...today marks the end of a busy three months, so he was looking forward to picking his dogs up from his mum and dad in Seaford and heading back to Hastings. Ben and Gayu came round to the front door with Indian sweets to mark Divali. Popped out to Tesco Express across the road for some odds and ends...needed a can of coconut milk to turn my dhansak into a dahl, in the hope that it will taste better. Aki called around lunchtime. She's just about finished tidying up the paperwork, and has started to plan her packing for the return flight next week. Spent most of the afternoon listening to music. Made a mushroom and tofu rendang for dinner, with pilau rice...very tasty. Watched a bit of telly before bath and bed.

Wednesday 3rd November 2021

Woke at 0800. Got up to make tea. Tony got up a bit later, and I made him some porridge. Pottered about during the morning, not doing very much. Tony left for Waterloo around noon, and I did a bit of work at the computer. Broke for some lunch. Aki called. She had had a good day sorting out paperwork, and has all but broken the back of it. Just the property to sort out now. Did a bit more work this afternoon, then some reading. Managed to do a bit of work on the bathroom shower step, clearing the way for adhering some new tiling. Warmed up some Thai curry sauce for dinner, which I found in the freezer, served up with cumin rice, aloo gobi and pakora leftover from the weekend. 

Drove down to Farringdon after dinner. Forgot that the Congestion Charge Zone has been extended to 10pm, so the evening's entertainment cost me an extra £15!!! Bumped into Marianne, my choreographer in Lulu's Living Room, and her friend Paul, in the downstairs bar at the Betsy Trotwood. Lovely evening with a mixed bag of fare...some very zany original songs from Diego Brown & the Good Fairy, and some very funny new material from John Hegley. Bob Karper was on the bill...he has had a lean time of it during the pandemic. He said Natasha had been working, though, and was returning this evening after a month's residency in Berlin. Bob did a bit of his last one-man show, which we had seen at Chats Palace a couple of years or so ago. He's hoping to tour it next year. Gave Marianne and Paul a lift to Tufnell Park, then home to clock in briefly with Aki. She'd just got up. She's spending the day doing some preliminary packing prior to flying home next week.

Tuesday 2nd November 2021

 

Woke around 0845. Got up and made tea. Treated Tony to chocolate porridge for breakfast. Aki called. She had presided over the clearance of her mum's care home room this afternoon. I spent an hour or so tracking down bits of paperwork she needed emailing over...took a while, but got there in the end. Took a walk up Highgate Hill for some exercise, as it was another bright sunshiny autumn day. Had a salt beef bagel and a coffee in Waterlow Park, before walking back down the hill. Read a bit more Mantel, which made me come over a bit sleepy, so had a lie down for half-an-hour or so. Tony back for dinner...my aubergine parmigiana lasagna, followed by pear cobbler and custard. Watched Anthony Hopkins' Oscar-winning performance in The Father. Superbly written and conceived...based on a stage play. Aki called for a brief chat before bath and bed.

Monday 1st November 2021

 

Woke around 0845. Got up to make a mug of tea. Aki had sent a photo of herself and her niece partaking in a noodle making workshop on their trip to the Izu Peninsula. Look good enough to eat! They were due to travel back to Tokyo this afternoon. Had some breakfast then did some exercises prior to heading to the Community Health Centre for my physio appointment. He seemed happy with where I said I was, and discharged me on the assumption I would carry on with the exercises for the foreseeable future. Got home before it started raining again. Aki called from the Chiba flat. It sounds as though she and Erika really enjoyed their brief Izu getaway. Did a bit more reading this afternoon. Tony texted to say he wouldn't get here till gone 2100 so I had some of Rebecca's leftover curry and rice for dinner. Tony arrived as I was putting the bins out. We watched a very interesting documentary on Hilary Mantel. Strange childhood...her mother moved her lover in to the family home, and eventually they all left her dad and moved from Hadfield in Derbyshire to Romilley in Cheshire, and the young Hilary never saw her dad again. She went to a rather austere Convent School, patrolled by sadistic nuns!!! 

Sunday 31st October 2021

 

Woke at around 0630...managed to knock the glass of water off the bedside table in the dark, so had to get up and clear up the mess! It had gone 1000 by the time I woke again...fortunately, I was able to put the clock back an hour. Spent the morning cooking the food I'd bought yesterday, and hadn't been able to cook as planned last night. Cooked up an aubergine parmigiana lasagna, a chicken cacciatore, and a pear and coffee cobbler. Ma and pa called as I was mid-hob-hopping. They look a lot more relaxed now that Jim is residing at Kath's. Aki then called from the B&B...Erika waved at me, as did Aki's hostess, and her ginger tomcat. They watched me do the washing up. Walked up to knock on Kevin's door at No.93 and we ended up in the North Nineteen for the Sunday Roast. Kevin paid, which was very generous of him...and we quizzed each other about our pasts. He has a French wife, and they are seriously considering upping sticks and moving to Brittany. They met at life-drawing class. Kevin studied Fine Art at Goldsmith's College. He has family in the New Forest area. They have two sons, one a civil engineer currently doing a research PhD at Imperial, and the other doing a biology degree in Bristol. Discovered we had a mutual regard for mime, and vowed to go see some of the International Mime Festival in the New Year. Spent the remainder of the afternoon reading the newspaper and listening to the football on R5Live. warmed up a beef lasagna for dinner, with pear and coffee cobbler to follow. It was a trifle disappointing...the coffee flavour was very low in the mix...the cardamom won out. I prefer a good old fashioned crumble! FaceTimed Kath and Jim. They seemed comfortable...Jim asked when I was thinking of joining them in Peary Close! We could turn it into a reality TV show!!!