Monday 30th October 2023

Slightly fitful night's sleep...my hernia giving me gip. Slow to rise...porridged. Worked at the computer until lunch time. Cooked lunch...fried potato cakes with poached eggs and salad. very tasty. A bit shocked to see my weight is down to 72.1kg, despite eating out at the back end of last week. Still, it means my BMI is now just below the maximum recommended for my height and age. Would be good to get it down to 71kg, then stabilise things. I needed to get out for a walk after lunch, so headed for Finsbury Park, intending to pick up the new season brochure from the Park Theatre, but the building was closed. Walked back home via cafe Girasole. Spotted Jeremy Corbyn in there talking intently with a young couple over coffee and cake. I sidled past them, and said hello to Eglal, the proprietor, who was washing up in the back kitchen. Apologised for not frequenting her establishment, explaining I'd been on a three month weight loss course....she said she'd been doing the same, and had lost 15kg! Put an order in for a pistachio panettone. JC then came over to say his farewells, and introduced himself to me by shaking my hand. We then had a wee three-way chat about the Gazan crisis! He reckons the Israelis plan to drive the Palestinians out of Gaza, and into the Sinai Desert...Eglal, being half Egyptian, reckoned the Egyptian government would not stand for that, and that fighting would escalate. Came home and did another two hours or so at the computer. Aki cooked mackerel for dinner, which we ate with sticky rice, miso soup, kimchi, and vegetables. Jim Lister rang to invite us to their Festive bash in Holmfirth on 22nd December, which fits perfectly with our plans to set off on our annual Christmas jaunt up north...he also had an invite for us to Barney's surprise 30th birthday party on December 2nd, in Deptford. Look forward to that. He said his mum, Barb, had had a fall, and the necessity to then engage with the NHS opened the door to emergency social care; his mum and dad are now getting social service visits at their home three times a day. 

Sunday 29th October 2023

Another slow start...but the clocks had gone back, so we were even slower rising than usual! Made a late brunch. Started reading the Book Club choice...Graham Greene's "Brighton Rock". I was going to give it a miss, having read it three times, and seen two movie adaptations, but I picked it up and was instantly hooked by the evocative prose. It's got to be his masterpiece! Soup for lunch. Wandered up to the North Nineteen in the grey of the afternoon for band rehearsal with the Scottish fiddle troupe. Spent an enjoyable half hour in the pub afterwards chatting with Ben, Katherine, George, and Lorraine. Plans were laid for a joint trip to Snape Maltings in the New Year to hear a concert in the amazing hall there...hope that comes about! Wandered back home, popping in to see Gayu at No.38 for a quick catch-up, then repaired home for dinner....finished off the moussaka. Watched "Time", set in a women's prison...it was a tough watch! Bath and bed...

Saturday 28th October 2023

Enjoyed a bit of a lie in this morning.... exhausted! Read a bit of "Oliver Twist" before rising for a late brunch. Ventured into town. Aki wanted to carry out some reconnaissance on three or four potential venues in the Marylebone area, where she used to work...in preparation for a re-union get-together next month. Ended up on Marylebone High Street, and paid our respects at the Dickens Memorial there, where his house at No.1 Devonshire Terrace once stood...now a 60s era NHS clinic. Wandered over to regents Park for a coffee and a slice of carrot cake, then wended our way homeward via a couple of buses. Got home just before the Emirates cleared out following the Arsenal v Sheffield Utd game. I made a chicken rendang for dinner, which we ate with basmati rice and flat bread. Watched a bit of telly before shower and bed...

Friday 27th October 2023

Relatively undisturbed night's sleep. Got up and abluted before descending for breakfast. Had given up calorie counting by this point, so went for the full English! Packed my few things and checked out. Ventured into Rochester for inspections around the city centre. Had a little wander up the High Street and bought a coffee. A couple of buildings there with plaques attesting to the fact that they appear in various Dickens novels. Drove out to the suburbs, popping in on Joy on the Maidstone Road, who had donated my copy of "Pickwick Papers"...she thanked me for coming by, but said she'd prefer I pass it on to someone else rather than take it back. I offered her the Ackroyd biography, but she said she'd read it. Found myself in Strood once more at lunchtime. Traffic was dreadful. Ended the working day in Hempstead, popping in to the shopping centre there to use the facilities and have a wander round. Turned the car for home...the M2 westbound was dreadful...took three-quarters of an hour to get across the Medway Bridge section. Four lanes down to one for roadworks...hence the heavy traffic in Rochester this morning, trying vainly to avoid the traffic jams! Very slow to the Blackwall Tunnel too, due to the Silvertown Tunnel works. It was gone 1900 by the time I got home. Aki had cooked a tasty lamb moussaka for dinner. Watched a bit of telly before bath and bed...

Thursday 26th October 2023

Rather a disturbed night's sleep...awoken by the sounds of a delivery truck being unloaded at the Co-op directly below my room...at 0430!!! Managed to nod back off eventually. Got up and tried the shower...it wasn't very effectual. Descended below for breakfast. Pleasant enough morning...the marina next door looked relatively picturesque (compared with the rest of Chatham, that is!). Headed into the Chatham suburbs in the morning. In the absence of any choice in the matter, I drove over the Rochester Bridge to buy some luncheon items at M&S in Strood, and ate my roll in the car in the car park at Morrisons. Inspections then took me south to the villages of Cuxton, and Halling, before I wound my way back to Strood. Had dinner the my hotel...pan fried Stone Bass...a meaty fish, tasty enough. Don't think I've had it before. Read the final chapter of my Dickens biography at my table, but realised I was going to get a bit emotional, so repaired to my room to finish the last three pages. 

Wednesday 25th October 2023

Hauled myself out of bed and porridged. Put a packed lunch together. Aki cycled off to Camden Town for a meeting. I packed a bag, and drove south-eastward for inspections in the Medway towns. Stopped at M&S in Strood for some supplies, then headed onto the Hoo peninsula. Found myself driving through Cooling, so stopped for a turn around the graveyard of St James' church, the setting for the opening scene of "Great Expectations". Jools Holland was apparently married here in 2005! Drove on to Grain, where I parked up overlooking the Thames Estuary and ate my lunch in the car. The tide was out. Views of Southend and Shoeburyness across the water. Got to the Ship & Trades around 1800 and checked in. Had dinner in their pub restaurant downstairs...went for the mushroom and leek risotto, with added grilled chicken breast...very tasty! Read the penultimate chapter of "Dickens" at my table, before retiring to my room. FaceTimed Aki, then watched the final of "Race Across the World"...the finish line was in the Arctic city of Tromso, which looked spectacular, I have to say! Maybe line up a visit some time to see the Northern Lights, one of Aki's 'Bucket List' that needs ticking off...
 

Tuesday 24th October 2023

Another slow start...read in bed for awhile before rising for porridge. Aki was at the computer, so I read some "Dickens", then worked until lunch time. Aki threw a ham salad together. More of the same for the afternoon. Broke around 1800 and warmed up the last of the chicken and mushroom pie. Had my final group zoom meeting with the dietician, and was waved off at the end...thank god that's over! Watched a film adaptation of "Eight Mountains", which we had read as a Book Club choice last year. The film was very well done, the narrative arc very clear, and excellent performances all round....oh, and some stunning scenery in the Italian Alps. Shower and bed...