PY was volunteering today. I thought I might feel jealous when he returned, as I didn't get on the programme this year. Luckily, I didn't—although I would have liked to have done some shifts.

While he was out, I did a bunch of chores, including washing some bedding and getting it outside. It's so much nicer when it dries quickly. I also did a lot of shopping for the week ahead. After we got the veg box last night, I used my app to try to plan healthy meals and generate a shopping list. It more or less worked, although I find it very frustrating to walk around the supermarket with a list that is not in aisle order.

When I was back, I cooked lentil pancakes for my brunch. They were a bit dry and broke apart when I attempted to flip them as they stuck to the middle of the pan. I wonder if it was my batter or the pan? There's some mix left for a mid-week lunch.

Earlier this week, I had to split my blending into batches to fit in our smaller blender. I went onto Amazon and bought a bigger blender cup, but I forgot to use it today. I needed it for the pancakes and the brownie mix I made using beetroot. They smelt lovely but have yet to be eaten (although the mixture I tasted from the knife was very earthy).

After PY returned home for about an hour, we went out again to meet M&R at Mildreds in Covent Garden. It's a vegan restaurant, so I was intrigued to see what I might eat. I was determined not to have anything faking something traditionally meat-based. That ruled out the burgers and anything with their "chick+n" in it.

I selected charred aubergine bharta as a starter, which was smoky and delicious, but I was annoyed that the paratha that was suggested to go with it turned out to be £3.80 extra. All was forgiven, however, as my grilled Roman artichoke & hemp Caesar salad was wonderful. I ordered a cup of tea at the end of the meal and, momentarily forgetting where I was, was surprised when only oat and soya milk were offered. Rob generously used his voucher to cover a significant portion of the meal, so my eventual share of £34.98 seemed a bargain.

After dinner, we saw Next to Normal, the musical that started life as a sell-out Donmar Warehouse production and is now at Wyndham's Theatre. The story is based around a mother struggling with her mental health and trying to manage the illness while bringing up a family. The subject matter is very adult (grief, depression, suicide) but is handled sensitively. The US version won 3 Tony Awards; this version was nominated for Olivier Awards. Despite the bleak-sounding subject matter, it's very well done, and I am glad I got to see it.

As it was a bit of a rush from the restaurant, PY ordered interval drinks before we sat down, so we had a lovely bottle of wine in the theatre bar at the interval. It was a needed interlude during the performance.