Monday 4th October

My first working day alone. It sounds melodramatic – but the slight hangover makes it all the more unbearable, as I drag myself out of bed (so used to being dragged) and make my own lunch and breakfast before heading, harrassed, out of the door. A great deal of my morning routine is dictated by K's morning routine, so to not have her around leaves the experience formless and chaotic. K has emailed overnight and seems to be having a great time in San Francisco, and is about to leave to drive down the coast towards Los Angeles. Good for her. I'm still in Wood Green and slogging through the various bits and pieces of work that need to be done for next month's approaching sales kit. My head is firmly in March 2011 – six month lead-in times make it difficult to engage with the date it actually is.

This evening I've arranged to meet Mike in Wood Green to go and see Back to the Future at the Cineworld cinema – back on the big screen for its 25th anniversary. 2010 is shaping up to be a very good year for 25th anniversaries, what with me, Super Mario Bros and now one of the greatest films of all time all getting our quarter-centuries. I have always, always loved this series (though, I must admit, Back to the Future Part 2 is by far my favourite – inspiring my love of all things technological and futuristic from a very young age, I think, as well as my sincere desire to one day own a flying Delorean) and the chance to see it at the cinema can not be missed.

I head to Spouter's Corner, Wood Green's very own dubious Wetherspoon's, to meet Mike at 8pm, but today's tube strike has left him running late, so instead we decide to meet in the cinema screen itself. I finish a quick pint and head down to buy my ticket. Being Monday evening and, I concede, a 25-year-old movie, the cinema only has around six other people in – meaning that saving Mike a seat is far from being a problem. The film starts and, happily, it looks brilliant in this large cinematic format. It's also held up incredibly well and while the fact that it's set in 1985 makes it dated to some extent, it is also very clearly a product of its time and proudly so.

After the film we endeavour to make last orders at Spouter's Corner – but when we walk up there the place is surrounded in police tape, with an officer blocking the doorway. Oh dear. I wonder how closely I missed being part of the doubtless fairly serious crime that just took place here? We shudder slightly and attempt going across the road to The Goose, but alas they have already rung their bell.