Friday – Perform at Mr Xavior’s now weekly Hanky Panky Cabaret. I decide to read selections from the eavesdroppings website Overheard In New York, my flimsy excuse being the editor is a Fosca fan.

Three selections I read out:

St Mark’s between 1st & A:
Girl: I’d sleep with a big midget.
Guy: A big midget is a normal person.

Toys R U, Times Square:
Girl 1: So when I was in Italy, I went to France.
Girl 2: What did you do there?
Girl 1: I went to the Leaning Tower Of Pisa.
Girl 2: Still Italy.
Girl 1: Really?
Girl 2: Yeah. So what did you do in France?
Girl 1: I guess I didn’t go to France, then.

91st & Amsterdam:
Girl 1: You know, if you think all songs are sung by a penis, they suddenly become funny.
Girl 2: You are high, you know that?

Then I sing a new number written for the band Scarlet’s Well (though I don’t yet know if they’ll like it), “Narcissus In The Maze”. Vamping music by Martin White, lyrics by self. Parts of it are like a Gilbert & Sullivan patter song. Rather proud of the line:

If a fop falls in the forest / does he make a sound impression on the trees?

Finish with a rendition of the Fosca song “Rude Esperanto”, self on vocals, Xavior on piano and backing vocals at end. Am also involved in a debate panel, which is a lot of fun. Questions put by the audience include “Is Cheddar overrated?” and “Who will kill you?”.

On the whole, rather enjoy myself and look forward to the next week; I can only get better at this sort of thing. I also use the spot as a writer’s discipline tool, ordering myself to have a new song ready for the next cabaret.

Have been teetotal this past week due to the dentist’s antibiotics. Is it a coincidence that I’ve also been more creative in that week than in the past 18 months? Or recent events emphasising the “live today, for tomorrow you may die” sensation? Am considering giving the teetotal thing a try for much longer. Only danger is, as a substitute I’ve been consuming more caffeine and sugar than usual. This can sometimes be good for a frantic writing pace, but renders onstage performance a little jittery to say the least.

Board a tube for the first time since the bombs last week. As it goes through Kings Cross without stopping, my stomach turns.