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Tuesday 17th
March 2020
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08:12 GMT
Yesterday was every bit as good as the
forecast said it would be. The forecast was
downgraded a bit compared to the early forecast I
showed yesterday, but it seemed like the original
forecast had been closer to reality. There was
sunshine - lots of it ! Perhaps "sunny intervals",
as shown in the later forecast includes times when
a stray cloud might block the sun for a minute or
two, but 90% of the time the sun is blazing away.
That probably describes much of yesterday
afternoon. The afternoon temperature was probably
about 12° C, but there may have been a brief time
when it hot 13° C. It felt lovely and warm in the
sunshine !
The forecast temperature spread for today
is very similar to yesterday, but plus 1°. This
morning I reckon it was 1° less than the forecast,
and so it will be interesting to see if the
temperature reaches 13° C this afternoon. Another
small departure from reality is that the sunny
periods shown for only 7am, and not shown at all
on the revised forecast, are possibly only
finishing about now - an hour late. However, there
is still quite a few patches of blue sky to be
seen, and maybe the sun will come out again. I
doubt it will still be appearing this afternoon,
but we live in hope. Without any sun that 13° C
may feel much cooler than yesterday's 12° C. Until
recently tomorrow was forecast to be a bright and
quite warm day. Temperatures were predicted to
rise to as much as 16° C, but the current
prediction for tomorrow is that it will be
overcast, and only 14° C. 14° could still be OK,
but with sunshine it might have almost felt like
summer was just around the corner.
My visit to the pharmacy was a success
yesterday morning. They had ordered, and had ready
the prescribed drug I wanted. Going there was the
start of a longer walk than intended. I had
planned to go around the corner from the pharmacy,
and then go into Aldi. That was precisely what I
did, but upon entering the store I turned around
and walked out again. The place was heaving with
customers. On first arrival I judged it to be
almost empty when judged by the amount of trolleys
parked outside. I can only conclude that with most
customers buying stuff in bulk, everyone had come
by car, and had used the trolleys that are stored
in the car park.
There were still things I wanted to buy,
and so I walked all the way down the high street
before cutting into Catford Mews, and then onto
Tesco. Tesco was busy, but it didn't seem manic in
there, and the checkout queues were not that long,
although curiously the queues for the self service
tills were very busy. I can only imagine that
people were trying to avoid the restrictions on
the quantity of some items being bought. I doubt
that worked because the till scanner would
probably refuse excess amounts. On the other hand
I guess it would be easier to put a second load of
stuff through the self service till, and split the
bulk items in two.
I heard that toilet paper sold out 10
minutes after the store opened, but everything I
wanted, which was all fresh food, was all
available. I bought two packs of sausages, and two
pack of bacon plus some green vegetable. I also
bought some booze - there was a big selection to
choose from. I bought two bottles of Cherry beer,
and two bottles of a very strong Belgium beer plus
two bottles of Diet Coke.
I didn't bother to measure that circular
walk, but I feel sure it was over half a mile -
probably nearer 0.75 of a mile. I wasn't carrying
a lot compared to some of my bigger shops from
Aldi, but that extra weight still meant extra
effort on the last leg back to home. I was doing
all this around mid morning, and it was still
warming up then, but the sunshine still felt warm,
and the effort put into the walk warmed me up
enough to want to cool down for a bit before doing
anything else. Fortunately I had well over an hour
(in fact I think it was getting on for two) before
I set out on quite a long walk.
I deliberately chose the long way round for
this walk. I wasn't sure if I felt up to walking a
long distance yesterday. I did have a few twinges,
but by pushing myself to the point where I had no
choice but to carry on, worked well. When the
trace on the map is closely examined there are a
few glitches that could have added a tenth of a
mile, perhaps a little more, to the total, but I
think I shall still claim it was a 3 mile walk by
"borrowing" the missing distance from my morning
shopping trip.
The glitches on the track were caused by
using the phone to send messages while walking. It
seems rather bad that this should interrupt the
GPS signal (or the processing of it), and I may go
back to using a spare phone to track my walking if
I feel I will be sending messages when out.
Alternatively I could pause the tracker while I
use SMS or Whatsapp. I probably should anyway
because I tend to stop when trying to type on my
phone.
The object of my walk was obviously health,
but wanting to see Angela was a bigger potential
reward. In yesterday's case it was only potential,
and not reality. My messages were to and from
Angela. I found out she was at home caring for her
daughter who would appear to have contracted
Coronavirus. In practice this means the two of
them have to go into self isolation for a
fortnight, and possibly longer if Miranda has a
confirmed case of Coronavirus. Sad to say that
Miranda is one who has underlying health problems,
and might end up hospitalised. Quite how that will
affect Angela (with reference to isolation) is
unknown, but it is going to be a very stressful
time for Angela. I'll do all I can to help cheer
her up, but it can only be from the other end of a
telephone.
I decided I would continue with my walk,
and even go into the pub to "re-hydrate" myself -
because this is apparently very important when
doing exercise !! At a guess I would say
that three quarters of my walk was done before I
went into the pub, and up to that point it seemed
very easy going. Even things like going up and
over the curly-wurly bridge over the railway
seemed easy going - I was easily pacing a jogger
until I got to within a few steps from the top,
and got distracted by the sight of an approaching
train coming from Ladywell station.
I stopped to take a photo. If there is one
thing wrong with this photo it is that it seems to
be quite overcast. Maybe at that instant it was,
but generally a lot of the sky was a brilliant
blue.
This picture shows a bit more blue sky. It
looks very tranquil even with the train going over
the bridge. The river looks very lazy and placid
with hardly a ripple on top (but only at this
scale). With some leaves on the trees it could
almost look like summer.
This picture is more representative of how
blue the sky was most of the time.
Everywhere I looked there were signs of
spring, but none shouted it so brightly than the
flowers on this bush/shrub. I have no idea what it
is, but to the naked eye, but sadly not to the
camera, the bush stood out like someone wearing
high visibility clothing at dusk. I'm sure the
bees couldn't miss it, and yet I can't recall
seeing any buzzing around it. By the way, that
spiky bramble shoot has nothing to do with the
bush.
I'm not sure what has changed, but I don't
recall being able to get such a clear shot of this
tree that has fallen over the river. It fell
during a storm last Autumn. I am surprised it has
been left there. The top of it has been trimmed
off to clear a footpath, but it is laying there
untouched, and it must be acting as a magnet for
adventurous kids. I would have thought that "'elth
& safety" would have been terrified of kids
falling in the river. Yesterday the flow was
gentle, and the water is probably less than a foot
deep, but after a storm it can be almost a raging
torrent.
My last bit of major effort on my walk was
the incline up the slope towards the Ladywell Road
entrance. I could have cut that out, but I decided
to go for it anyway because it does feel good to
be able to go up it without slowing, and without
having to breathe too heavily when I got to the
top. Yesterday I pushed myself a bit harder by
overtaking a couple of people by going on the
grass. The soft, and in places slippery grass,
increases the effort needed, and I think if I did
it anywhere, I proved to myself that I was free of
any respiratory infection at this point.
After that incline I opted to go almost
straight to the pub rather than looping around via
the hospital, and Angela's office. I did take a
slightly less direct route by popping into the St
Mary's Church Therapeutic garden where I snapped a
picture of a load of bright daffodils to send to
Patricia. and then I walked through the old
graveyard next to the church itself. Once inside
the pub I ordered a pint of Guinness, and sent a
picture of it to Angela (and via Angela, to
Miranda) to say "cheers" and more importantly
"good health". I've shown it so small here because
once seen on a bigger screen it was obvious it was
very blurred as a result of it being so dim in the
pub, and the exposer time very long - which would
have been fine if I had held my phone steady while
it was taking the picture. I just had the one pint
before continuing my walk towards home again.
Maybe it was the Guinness, but I was
starting to feel tired as I approached home, but
not enough not to deliberately walk past my house
until until the tracker said I had walked exactly
3 miles. The 0.01 miles was the distance back to
home after the tracker hit exactly 3 miles. I was
home about an hour earlier than usual, and
although tired, it was more fatigue than sleepy.
Before I did much else I put some sausages in the
oven for a late lunch. I then started to sort out
what pictures I had taken.
It was much later before I got the rest I
usually get after one of these long walks. Eating
sausages was obviously a distraction, but dotted
through the afternoon were a few message exchanges
with Angela. The first started after a message
from Angela that I suspect was meant for someone
else. It mostly said the situation was serious.
Later on Angela confirmed that both she and
Miranda were in Catford. I made a naughty offer
when I heard that. Maybe next week, if Angela is
getting fed up with staying in, in self isolation
mode, I would be happy for a secret meeting in the
park near where she lives - assuming we are both
well next week. I would bring some drink, and we
could have a drink in a secluded spot without
spreading or catching the disease to/from others.
It was interesting to hear one particular
part of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's speech on
TV last night. Among the few reasons to break what
is really a loose curfew dressed up as "self
isolation" is for buying esssential food, going to
work in essential services, and for exercise. It
seems my walks in the park are protected, but it
is all getting a bit scarily close to martial
law....elections cancelled until after the crisis
- which never seems to end - one party government,
and a dictator instead of prime minister. I seem
to recall George Orwell writing a book about
something similar, and that book sometimes seems
to be used by many in the current government as a
text book rather than a warning.
I was also in contact with Patricia
yesterday evening. She had planned, and I think
had even booked tickets to come to London in
April, but her plans have now come to naught. Her
flight would have been via the USA, and they have
closed their borders (apparently to all countries
except those that have a Trump gold course - or so
some say, and they are probably right). Even
getting into the UK could be difficult, and maybe
undesirable for her while the world is in turmoil
with Covid-19, the coronavirus. She is much better
off staying where she is in a lightly populated
area of Argentina, and a long way from Buenos
Aires where most of their confirmed cases of
Coronavirus are. It will be sad not to see her
this year (unless things change back to normal
very quickly - unlikely !), but it will be best
for her.
I felt uncomfortable in not easy to explain
ways when I went to bed last night. At least one
ache made me wonder if I was in for a relapse to
the strong 'flu like muscle, bone and joint pains
I had a fortnight ago - all symptoms of
Coronavirus except for any respiratory infection.
I even wonder if I was starting that when I woke
in the night with a dry mouth, and throat, and a
very tickly cough. The actual discomfort turned
out to be no more than a stomach upset, but that
was only obvious, and actually more uncomfortable,
when I went to the toilet. I was not expecting it,
but it was quite a violent vist that required two
follow ups (although the third was very minor). I
have no idea what upset my stomach, but once again
I do have some suspicions about the raw white
cabbage and raw onion I had as a sort of
side salad.
After my third and final visit to the
toilet I got back into bed, but could not sleep.
There seemed to be a lot on my mind. One such
recurring thought was whether I really had
finished with running to the toilet. Another
thought was actually a hangover. Earlier on I had
drunk the two 5.8% Cherry beers, and the two 8.5%
Belgium ales. At 2am I had just reached the
hangover stage that is best slept through. Last
night I had to endure it while laying bed awake. I
think it was about 4am when I started getting some
decent periods of sleep, but they were punctuated
with dreams.
One such dream concerned being at a seaside
resort with a couple of friends. We were there to
almost discretely spy on another friend who had
arranged a date via a dating app. As we observed
him from across the other side of a big room
that was more like a dining room than a bar, more
and more people came in, and many were getting
drunk. I then realised that there were familiar
faces among them, and they were all actors. The
only one I can still identify is the late Charles
Hawtry - famous from the Carry On films amongst
others. We ended up talking to him and a few
others, and found out they had all just finished
being on stage for a pantomime. For some reason we
were all sworn to secrecy, and forbidden to
mention they were there - a bit strange
considering their names were probably on posters
throughout the town.
This morning I can't say I feel very
wonderful. For one thing I feel a bit sleep
deprived. I have had another brief session of my
mouth and throat going dry, and coughing, but I
don't think it is anything to worry about because
one swig of drink cures it. I do feel a bit unsure
about how well my legs will work today, but I am
going to work on the idea that they will be fine
once I start moving around. I am slightly put off
a long walk with no Angela in the middle, and
under a grey sky, but at the moment it is still
bright, and the sun is still managing to peep
through the clouds - although the time it stays
out seems to be getting briefer and briefer.
I have yet to decide whether to go on one
of the variants of my normal walk, and stop by the
pub, or to go for a practice walk in the park near
Angela. I am pretty certain I won't hear anything
from Angela this morning, and I won't be telling
her I am there if I do choose that, but I will try
and contact her later for any news. I think I
probably ought to go via the pub. They need all
the custom they can get - particularly as a future
stage of the governments pans for this pandemic
could be to force the pubs to stay shut. I expect
I'll make a decision when I first step out my
front door, but I do have to take this in
mind.......
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