Turkie for lunch

I rehearsed the Fleet Singers last night. It was a good rehearsal, I think. In true Tillian style, I went at the speed of light, but the work we did means we're now in a position where everything in the composition has been touched at least once, so, theoretically, from now on in, we're tidying stuff up rather than note-bashing. I wish I could say the same about myself. I was playing piano in a sectional with the altos at the start of the evening, and was reminded quite what an awful pianist I am, particularly when it comes to sight reading. Give me a set of chord symbols, and I'll busk a thoroughly decent accompaniment by ear, but put the actual dots on the piano stand and I clam up and start playing absolute nonsense! I forgot to play all the accidentals at one point!

I got home and Nathan had cooked beans on toast which was like nectar at the end of a tiring rehearsal.

I did a morning's work on the kitchen table today and then took myself to Somerset House to meet the Turkie for lunch. I wore my birthday scarf; a great, scraggly, colourful, long thing which was created over the course of a few years by the knitters in my life. Each friend (and my Mum) knitted another section, in a different colour, pattern and yarn. It was passed covertly in a plastic bag from one person to another. I think it was even sent through the post at one stage. It's about ten feet long and makes quite a statement. I could see people staring at it with a mixture of amusement and appreciation as I wandered around.

Our usual cafe was rammed to the rafters, so we trekked to Covent Garden to a cheap whole food cafe  and sat at the statue of the ballerina opposite the opera house. It's been a beautiful spring-like day in London today. The walk from Covent Garden to Waterloo felt almost like summer. There was some real heat kicking off the sun. It was a pleasure to be out and about...

A pair of chinook helicopters soared above me at one point, looking like giant bluebottles against the blue sky. You definitely hear and feel those giant things before they ever appear in sight.

As I walked past the IMAX, I was excited to discover a pair of lumberjacks abseiling through the branches of an enormous tree. What a glorious job to have on such a pleasant day. I'm told another Arctic blast is due any time soon, so I guess we all need to make the most of the sunshine.

The underground travelator at Waterloo tube was a mass of people subtly dancing and nodding their heads to a saxophonist playing boogaloo to a hugely exciting backing track. There are definitely certain types of music which it's almost impossible not to dance to. In this instance, I guess the urge came to us all because the beat of the music was the same speed as most of us were walking at.

Osteopathy was much needed this afternoon. I've been in quite a lot of pain recently, largely due to coughing as the cold works its way around my body. As the day wore on I felt lousier and lousier, shuffling onto Old Compton Street like a tramp to meet Nathan in his tea break. I took the bus home. I need to take more buses. They're cheaper, basically, and I'm officially poor! Plus it gives me longer to work. I like writing on public transport!

We came home and made pancakes, which we stuffed with raspberries, lemon juice, maple syrup and currents. Pancakes are good aren't they? I need more pancakes in my life. Pancakes and buses.