Day off

We had a lie-in this morning. The first for I don't know how long. I also had a bath: a long, fabulous bath. I feel like a new man. All bit it a rather old new man!

We had lunch in Muswell Hill at the greasy spoon before dropping off a load of photos at Snappy Snaps. The pictures I was developing cover a relatively short period from Easter to the rehearsals last week. I stood in the photo shop watching the pictures flashing up on a screen, and got a little teary as I remembered all the fabulous days I've had this year. Trips to Avebury, Albert, Cambridge and Derbyshire. It has, without doubt, been the best year of my life - and it seems to have lasted an absolute age... So anyone worrying about turning 40 should maybe bear this in mind!

From Muswell Hill we went to Brent Cross, that ghastly shopping paradise off the North Circular, which seems to be particularly popular with homosexuals, Asians and Jewish people. I bought ten T-shirts as a result of Nathan threatening to put me in a sheep dip at the end of yesterday because everything I was wearing smelt so horrible!

From Brent Cross, we drove to John Lewis in central London where I bought a Poole Pottery vase. I actually collect Poole pottery from the Planets series they brought out ten or so years ago. This year they brought out a set which are decorated with poppies, obviously in response to the anniversary of World War One. Because I'd spent the afternoon thinking what a wonderful and magical year it had been, I felt it was a special way of remembering this fact.

We came home for food and telly, and I made good luck cards for cast members; a process which seemed to take forever, but for a bunch of people who have worked so hard on my behalf, I'd pretty much do anything.

I'm so excited about going up to Leeds tomorrow. It's one of my favourite cities in the world, and I can't wait to see how it welcomes us and how the cast takes to it. Our production manager very kindly sent me a picture of the set in situ at the theatre and it is beyond beautiful.

Brass is now much bigger than me, with scores of people, all over the country, working hard to breathe life into it. It seems so odd to think that, just a year ago, it was a few scribbled notes of research on my computer.