Saturday 6th July 2024

Woken at about 0200 by the sound of rain thundering down upon our bedroom roof. Luckily no signs of water ingress when rising this morning. Aki had marked the third anniversary of our civil partnership with a card and a scented candle. Got up and cooked brunch. Walked up to St Saviours with our failed flapjacks, for a 1300 start...we did a bit of rehearsing before the general public turned up at around 1400...they joined us for a workshop, working up three songs which will end the gig later this afternoon. 

Not a bad turnout, though a lot of faces missing. Aki and I slunk off home in the break to grab summat to eat, and watch Harriet Dart go out in three sets...shame. That said, she is nowhere near the level of Raducanu. Walked back to St Saviours for the 1630 gig...this time we stood swaying on the stage, singing to those who had turned up to support us, and then we were joined by the workshop practitioners. Enjoyed it...though I can't say I'm terribly eager to return for the Autumn term...see what Aki wants to do by then. We hurried home, as the England v Switzerland quarter-final had kicked off. Managed to squeeze ourselves into the North Nineteen to catch the last 10 minutes of the first half...witnessed the extraordinary sight of an England corner that was, eventually, passed all the way back to Jordan Pickford...un-be-lievable!!! Made a bolt for home at half-time...we won the penalty shoot out!!! We made a dash for Osteria Tufo, getting there around 1945. It was busy...luckily we had booked a table. Enjoyed veal in a tuna sauce for starters, followed by meatloaf with tomato sauce and sauteed potatoes. We shared a tiramisu, then walked home to catch the last half-hour of the Netherlands v Turkey...the former won 2-1, and will meet England in a semi-final next Wednesday! 

Friday 5th July 2024

Woke around 0630...still feeling a bit of abdominal discomfort, so got up and made myself some tea and settled on the sofa to watch the last of the election results come in. It was a win-win...JC beat off the local Labour candidate to retain Islington North, and Labour trounced the Tories to take a whopping majority at Westminster. Bizarrely, they did this on a lower vote share than that gained when JC was leader, and Labour lost heavily. The results also saw five Reform fascists elected...they effectively smashed the Conservative vote share, ensuring their worst result in 200 years! Aki got up at around 0900...we porridged. I set off for Wanstead to pick up my mandolin from Paul Hathway. Walked to Holloway Road tube station to take a Piccadilly Line train, changing at Holborn for the Central Line. Walked from Wanstead tube station to Paul's on Langley Drive. The pick up he has installed is set in the bridge, with the jack input in the strap button on the end of the instrument...looks OK, and seems to work alright...I look forward to trying it out at the Open Mic Night. Came home via the Central Line, but caught a bus from outside Holborn station so I could get some reading in, having taken Lampedusa with me on my journey. Came home for lunch. Watched some tennis...Alcaraz was rather unusually sluggish today against Tiafoe, but eventually came through in five sets, then Emma took on Sakkari, who she had beaten in the US Open semi-final back in 2021...she's on fire this year, and defeated the Greek gal in straight sets. Caught the end of the Germany v Spain game...the Spanish nicked it in extra time. Made mango and coconut flapjacks ahead of tomorrow's gathering...but they failed...too crumbly to keep their shape, they disintegrate on being picked up. Aki tried to rescue them, and we stuck them in the fridge in the vague hope of turning things around. Watched the France v Portugal quarter-final...a stalemate, ending in France winning on penalties.

Thursday 4th July 2024

Woke late...it's Election Day! We voted via postal votes last week, so don't need to walk round to the Polling Station. Aki brought me a mug of tea, but I dozed for another half-hour. Got up around 1000. Porridged. Read some Lampedusa. We walked across to Lidl to buy some bits and pieces for tonight's Spanish themed evening...black beans, cheese, olives, and sliced meats, then wandered round Waitrose. Headed home for lunch. Watched tennis from Wimbledon. I cooked some of the black beans up with chilli oil and preserved lemon, and Aki cooked some garlic prawns, and a tortilla. We headed for Helen and Martin's on Fairbridge Road a little before 1900, walking up there with the foodstuffs in a couple of heavy-duty carrier bags. Helen and Martin had set table outside in the back garden, but the sky had rather greyed over, and a wind was beginning to get up. We persevered...the tapas starters went down well, followed by Helen's Basque chicken and rice. We moved inside for dessert...she'd made a burnt Basque cheesecake, and I supplied my homemade liquorice sauce. We chatted about politics...they had voted for JC...and Vox Holloway, among other things, over beer, wine, and tea. We headed for home on foot at around 2230, feeling rather uncomfortably full. Watched a bit of the Election coverage...exit polls predicting a Labour landslide. I gave up around 0130 and went to bed...

Wednesday 3rd July 2024

Woken by Aki's alarm at 0730...she got up to ready herself for Rowing Club...I dozed on for an hour or so. Got up and porridged. Read some Lampedusa...really enjoying it. It's like a laid-back version of "The Godfather". Did some work on the Kinks songs. Aki came back in time for lunch. Watched tennis…good day for English ladies, Kartal and Raducanu. Prepared Lahore chicken dinner…involves a yogurt based marinade, and a whey and nut sauce. Ate with rice, chapati, and greens. Walked to a bus stop on Holloway Road in fine drizzle, and hopped on a No.393, getting off at Holloway Road tube station. Took the Piccadilly line to Holborn, and as we were a little bit early for the Comedy showcase, we wandered around Bloomsbury Square. The showcase was in the crypt of St George’s church on Bloomsbury Way, the home of the Museum of Comedy. There’s a bar and toilets, and a small room which has been turned into an auditorium with maybe seven rows of chairs, and a small raised stage. The showcase comes at the end of the summer term of a stand-up comedy course run by Logan Murray, which I've been contemplating taking in the autumn. Logan used to run the comedy club at the Rosemary Branch pub in De Beauvoir back in the mid-80's...I played there once or twice when on a mission to gain an Equity card. It was great to see him after all this time...he MC'd the evening, hosting the eleven try-out stand-up 'students' as they took to the stage in front of friends and family. I can't say I felt I was in the presence of the next big thing, but Logan made an entertaining, and consummate host. I managed to speak to him briefly in the interval, and he reckoned I'd be better off joining an impro troupe...I got the impression the course is simply his way of making a living out of the delusional, and that I'd be better off pursuing alternative routes. We came out at about 2130, and caught the No.91 bus home from Southampton Row.

Tuesday 2nd July 2024

Woke around 0930. Read in bed for a bit before getting up to porridge...by which time Aki had cycled off to Mayfair for a site meeting with Helen and Martin. I pottered about...read some Lampedusa, watched some tennis from Wimbledon, and listened to some Kinks chorale. Fried some sardines for lunch, with a bit of salad and toast...Aki had hers when she got in around 1400. She'd been caught in the rain. Watched more tennis, then tuned in to the Romania v Netherlands game, switching back to watch Katie Boulter fight her way through to a second round meeting with compatriot, Harriet Dart. Cooked a tomato and anchovy risotto for dinner...it was good. Walked round to Penn Road for Vox Holloway rehearsal at St Luke's. I got there slightly late, only to discover the basses and altos had been sent off for separate rehearsal in an anteroom...the seats where we usually sit were empty, with just the sopranos sat either side of Harvey's piano...I got a good laugh when I asked if the basses had been sacked! Found them in a room off the lobby, and we worked through some specifically tricky bits with one of Harvey's young proteges, then we joined the sopranos for a run through of a couple of numbers. Walked home afterward...caught the final minute of the Austria v Turkey game...the Turkish keeper pulled off the save of the tournament so far to ensure the Turks get through to the quarter-finals. Exuberant scenes in the stadium. 

Monday 1st July 2024

Woke around 0900. Aki got up and brought me tea, then sat at the computer to do some work. I languished in bed for a bit. Got up and porridged. Read some Lampedusa. Slung a ham and mango salad together for lunch, then took a constitutional, taking a circuitous route to Waitrose to get some odds and ends; picked up some beers in Lidl. Watched some tennis from Wimbledon...enjoyed the Alcaraz v Lajal game...hadn't seen the latter before...he was making his Grand Slam event debut, on Centre Court! He went down to the champion in three sets, but gave a good account of himself. Watched Raducanu get through her opening round...she's hitting the ball with great power. Caught some of the France v Belgium game, but it wasn't as exciting as hoped...France scraped through with a late goal. I made a salmon and dill pasta sauce for dinner, using tinned pink salmon...it was OK, but the dill overpowered any salmon flavour. Walked up to Hanley Road for Gospel Choir rehearsal...the last one before the gig in St Saviours next weekend. Got back home in time to catch the second half of the Portugal v Slovenia game...the Slovenians put up a great fight, and should have won it in the dying minutes, but it went to penalties, and remarkably the Portuguese keeper saved the first three Slovenian spot kicks...Portugal won 3-0 on penalties. 

Sunday 30th June 2024

Woke around 0830. Aki brought me a mug of tea, and I read in bed for a while, before rising for porridge. Aki cycled off to Rowing Club. I worked on the Kinks repertoire...there's an awful lot of it! Prepared lunch ahead of Aki coming home from the River Lea. We enjoyed a sizeable brunch before heading for Earlsfield...took a Victoria Line train to Vauxhall, and picked up the Earlsfield overground train from there. We were among the first to arrive…Tami and Franco had laid on a magnificent spread of meats, cheeses, crackers, olives etc. Unfortunately the bash coincided with the England v Slovakia game. I retreated to the front room with a couple of others to watch on telly. We were pretty ordinary, and conceded within 20 minutes. Aki and a handful of others crept in to watch the second half…and as injury time drew to a close Bellingham came up with a miraculous equaliser…the room went mad, Seymour slapped a big celebratory kiss on Aki sat next to him, and we headed into extra time…unbelievably, two minutes later Kane put us ahead! Extraordinary stuff. We repaired to the dining room afterwards to sing happy birthday to Tami and partake of some cake, then the guests began to drift away. We said our goodbyes and headed for Earlsfield train station…