Pinch me

I'm back in Hove, slowly wending my way to Fiona's house. I'm in a bit of a dream world. Dusk is approaching. The clouds hanging over the sea are lead grey, yet just above the horizon, a peach and orange sliver of sky reminds me that, somewhere else in the world, the summer sun is warming someone's toes. A boat out to sea casts a spotlight on the water...

I've already left my suitcase in Sainsbury's; a sure indication that my mind is elsewhere.

I realised that I was operating on empty when I couldn't make the train doors open at Worthing station at shit o'clock this morning. I ended up running through the carriage with my suitcase looking for a guard, before finally finding a door that would open, and tumbling out of the train into a heap on the platform. My leg still hurts.

We arrived home from York in the wee smalls and the alarm going off five hours later was like being ferociously licked by a dog with halitosis.

Still, it was more than worth being in Worthing today to hear The London Requiem recording very slowly taking shape.

One of our tasks was editing Barbara Windsor's solo in the Kyrie. I kept having to pinch myself to check I wasn't in a dream, but every time I listened again, she was still singing... Word for word how I imagined it would sound. No. Better.

Five minutes later I found myself talking on the phone to Maddy Prior, who we're still hoping is also going to sing on the recording. Maddy, for those reading who don't know their folk royalty, was the lead singer of Steeleye Span, who basically provided the soundtrack (alongside Abba) to both my early childhood and my sixth form years. Maddy Prior and Barbara Windsor singing on the Kyrie would send me into a state of near apoplexy!

So, it's back to Fiona's flat at a snail's pace, blocking everyone's way as I walk along the street, pulling my suitcase in one hand, holding a stir fry for one in the other. Meanwhile, Nathan is somewhere in London, attempting to find the Highgate knitting circle. I'm told they meet in a pub. I hope he makes lots of new friends and gets very drunk.

This photograph seems to have made its way into the Yorkshire press today. The other chap in the picture is Stephen, who organised the entire event. He sent me a note today, with an alternate caption for the photo: "the people of York turn out to celebrate D-list celebrity couple's civil partnership." It's an awful picture - but incredible to think every single person behind us in the shot sang my composition. #evenmoreproud

350 years ago, and Pepys, yet again, was up at 4am practising his arithmetic. When his wife woke up, he called her, and their servant, Sarah to the same room, and forced them to resolve their growing differences. Pepys knew the value of a good servant - and a good wife - and didn't want to lose either!