The Arsenal

Another day along the timeline of our mystery project, and it feels like we're just about on schedule, whatever "on schedule" means with a project where, for reasons which will become painfully clear when the cat is let out of the bag, no-one has any real sense of what's actually going on! Each new day, just as we start to feel we're getting a handle on things, in comes the curve ball and we're back to feeling a little non-plussed again!

So, anyway, today found me doing another round of research whilst Nathan went through a 200,000-word document with a highlighter pen. I did my obligatory hour on Brass at about 5pm, and, that was about that...

We met my new friend, Sharyn at Kentish Town tube at 7pm and took her for a lovely walk on Hampstead Heath in the soft, milky, early evening light. Sharyn is from Canada, more specifically Calgary in the province of Alberta. I met her about three years ago in a cafe on Old Compton Street. I was writing music under a pair of headphones, she was on her way to see Jersey Boys, and we simply got talking. It turned out that she was something of a culture vulture, so we had a great chat. We also discovered that I'm just two days older than her youngest son, which felt like a strange coincidence.

We kept in touch and she saw the wedding and sent us lovely gifts through the post including a key ring which I dutifully carried around with me until the chain broke. This is the first time she's been back in the UK since then, so it was fabulous to see her, and, of course, show her the magic of the Heath, which was looking spectacular this evening.

She treated us to a delicious meal up in Zizzi in Highgate and showed us photographs of her lovely summer house which is by a giant lake. Everything's by a giant lake in Canada. There's so much flippin' space (and water) in that country! She also showed us photographs of a forest camp site which was so large you couldn't see the people in the next door pitch!

Her grandson is a big fan of The Arsenal, so we drove her to the Emirates Stadium and photographed her standing by the enormous, already iconic statue, which spells out the team's name in twelve-foot high letters. We dropped her off at Arsenal tube, and all of us went on our separate ways.

I'm pleased to say that Nathan seems a little perkier than he has been of late - and a big thanks to everyone who has enquired after him. I think the root canal has done him a lot of favours. Thank God.

Right. Time for bed. We've a busy day tomorrow.