The hell of Hallowe'en

It's the night before hallowe'en and there are wannabe ghosts and rather tragic-looking spectres everywhere. The tubes are rammed. The man next to me smells of fish, but he's not in fancy dress. Bank Station is closed. I've no idea how to get home... I am being diverted to Tower Gateway..,

Tower Hill tube is closed. Planned engineering works are happening on so many lines this weekend that the stations where there are interchanges have been closed due to overcrowding. Happy Hallowe'en! In the 21st Century, the population of a 'civilised' country should not have to put up with this sort of nonsense! London Underground has stationed a pair of prize w*****s at the door of the closed station. They're supposed to be helping people but one of them is a surly Eastern European who wouldn't know decent customer service if it smacked him in the buttocks and the other one is an arrogant turd who genuinely doesn't give a s**t about anyone he's talking at. 

Today couldn't have gone much worse. We timed out with one choir and I spent much of my time in the studio close to tears for all the wrong reasons. It seemed that we were constantly behind. Only about half of the singers had bothered to prepare the music to what I would describe as a performance standard and I am sick to the back teeth with people on this project who seem to want me to feel grateful that they've deigned to get involved. I don't write music to feel like this. Right now I'm questioning why I write music at all. I cannot continue feeling this stressed every time I  embark on a project and Nathan shouldn't have to put up with so many random and unpleasant mood swings. 

Much of today was spent doing the only thing you can do when someone's in trouble; recording people individually. This means there are little stems of music all over the place; passages where other singers have stepped in and hundreds of takes where people have sight-read their way through the music so badly that we're left needing to stitch three of for takes together. And the upshot of this? Hours and hours of studio time to mix the sodding work, which I simply can't afford. Add to this an extra session in Cambridge, an extra session with poor Nic who was so I'll yesterday and I'm already £675 in debt and counting!

I have never felt so close to throwing in the towel and to make matters considerably worse, I'm not sure anyone will care if I do! 

It's an hour after I left the session in Limehouse and I'm still at Tower Gateway. Hordes of people are trying to get on buses. The bus drivers are being horribly unhelpful. Our driver is refusing to tell anyone where he's  going! No doubt when we get it will be closed!

...Got to London Bridge and am now on a tube surrounded by ghouls and freaks in tutus singing "this is Hallowe'en".

Pepys was angry as well on this date all those years ago. The whole business with the door to his roof terrace being locked was playing heavy on his mind. He tried to contact the land lord to no avail, and ended up so stressed that all he could do was take himself to the theatre to watch a play. Some ridiculous "sequel" to The Taming of the Shrew, which he seemed to like rather a lot! I wish my my troubles could be sorted by a visit to the theatre!!