The week started with a bang when we were both jolted awake in the middle of the night by the sound of something crashing to the floor. To mitigate the heat, we’d had the windows open on both sides of the house. An unusually strong gust of wind blew open the shutters, overcoming the magnetic catch, and knocked the little USB fan off the windowsill. No damage was caused, but it did give both of us a shock, and it took me a while to get back to sleep with all the adrenaline.

This is the first summer since we had the shutters installed. They really do help. We can have airflow without direct sunlight. They’re not quite as effective as the kind of exterior shutters that you see in France, but good nonetheless, and much better than curtains or blinds.

Here’s a tip for sleeping in hot weather that I was taught when I lived in Japan: wear as little as possible, lie on top of the bed, but put something across your midriff. One of those little onsen towels works, as does a keffiyeh.

I took a trip to Tate Modern on Friday to catch the last few days of the Anthony McCall Solid Light installation. Pictures don’t really do it justice; in person, it really does look like solid forms in space. There were some small children who were captivated by the projections, burbling with glee at the intangible structures, and it was delightful to see them engaging with art in that way.

Beams of light diverge across a dark space

Ceci n’est pas la lumière solide

After that, I visited the Leigh Bowery exhibition. It’s full of all kinds of paintings, collages, clothes, videos, photos, and other ephemera. It’s outré and provocative and if you take any children along to that be prepared to answer a lot of tricky questions!

Okinawa Day on Saturday went off very well. I was juggling guitar and sanshin, and ended up swapping instrument and place four times (sanshin-guitar-sanshin-guitar-sanshin). I couldn’t really hear my guitar on stage but I’m told it sounded good in the audience.

Dancers with and without drums, in a circle, dressed in Okinawan costume

Eisā dancers

My contribution to the performances was over before lunchtime, so I got to relax for the rest of the day.

Sunday was baking hot and where could be better to spend a few hours than an air-conditioned cinema? We took a walk along the river to Greenwich, with a pit stop for a half at the Dog and Bell, and watched 28 Years Later (2025). I loved it, but I did have to squeeze L—’s hand at a few nervous points.

Links from the week that was: