afternoon tea at lanes of london. reflection: i couldn't live a life of luxury. it felt expensive for the sake of being expensive, but without actually adding value. i feel like luxury would weaken me if i were to afford it permanently. i would much rather have walked to a local greasy spoon for a brew as opposed to taking crowded public transport to poshville in central london. too many people. it's peace i want.

spent the day in st george's. saw a nurse have it out w. another nurse. workplace drama similar to my own. public sector work allows for it.

the importance of being earnest at the noel coward theatre. i went because stephen fry was performing. was briefly star-struck before realising i would much rather see my mum in scotland than an actor in london. that said, i enjoyed the performance in spite of its foppishness.

saturday morning at the park w. the black swans. i always thought they were the stuff of fiction, yet here they are. i was enamoured: they were curious & friendly compared to their white counterparts. no hissing.

peaceful breakfast at arthur's cafe in wimbledon. sitting across from me, john hartson was eating w. some friends. my old man used to love him.

cassie & i at the wandle. i can tell i'm drunk because the metal claw's come out. drunk me switches to autopilot, which, as it happens, was programmed when i was 14...

glad to get a snap w. angie. loved working with her last year. it's the last clear memory i have of the evening. grateful for the carousing since the morning after was so horrendous that it primed me to get solitudinous & figure things out.

day one's solitude: a 13-hour solo drive to scotland to surprise my mum. here's breakfast at a rando service station near sheffield approx. 8:30 am. had been on the road for three & a half hours already. got excited after driving past tibshelf, site of tam & i's first stopover on our 2024 road trip. raw-dogged the drive w. talksport.

arrived in berwick circa 2:00 pm. ate in m&s café before driving to norham. considered staying at the mason's arms while looking at my favourite river. decided against it & took the back roads to scotland. didn't take them intentionally, but found out country roads keep me more awake than motorways. must've been god's work. praise the lord.

still from a video i took on arrival at mum's circa 6:20 pm. after experiencing the splendour of driving on scottish back roads, i took a wrong turn on the edinburgh bypass & ended up driving through the city at rush hour, adding an hour to my journey. g was waiting for a delivery & had a good laugh seeing me instead; mum, as expected, was shocked; & the dogs were loving it. i slept well.