We should have seen some sunny spells this morning, but apart from a few seconds when it seemed like one might happen, there has been no sign of the sun. The next chance for a sunny spell, according to the latest revision, is midday. The sunny spells for 4pm have been replaced with white cloud, and from 5pm, darker cloud. Rain is now expected for 6pm. Of course all these changes give little hope that any of the forecast will be correct except for the temperature - the one thing they usually get right. The best we can hope for today is just 14° C.  Curiously, a check on the BBC website shows sunny spells for later this morning, and several hours of light rain from late afternoon. Tomorrow could feature a lot of light rain, but maybe some sunny spells might be possible. Once again the temperature should be 14° C.

   Yesterday was one of those days that was both good and bad. Most of the bad can be attributed to the lack of the promised sunny spells, and the wind making it feel much colder than the forecast temperature. As usual, the cold air made bits of me ache - particularly my chest.

  I was looking forward to my lunchtime Guinness, and I washed my hair, and had a good scrub under the shower before getting ready to brave the outside world. As soon as I went out I realised I had been foolish not to put on a warmer coat after believing what I saw on my thermometers was how it would feel when out. Fortunately it was one of my coats I could easily do up (I think nearly all my current coats I can do up, although some are a bit tight).

  I still felt cold with my coat done up, and by the time I had walked to Catford Bridge station I was aching. Walking over the footbridge to the London bound (up) platform left me feeling glad I could rest while waiting for the next train. I still didn't feel any better because the wind was still chilling me. One good thing that came out of it was that while standing still the ache in my chest did not go away, and that was a strong clue that the pain I felt was not Angina.

  Although my walk to get the train, and then the walk from Ladywell station to the pub, was not enjoyable, it did have it's plus points. One very simple one was that the new laces I had put in the trainers I was wearing (burgundy coloured cheap, supermarket copies of Converse trainers) didn't come undone. The old lace in my left shoe would often slip and come undone, but the new laces remained firmly done up.
  The other good thing about my journey to the pub was seeing trains I had never photographed before. In fact I scored a hat trick by getting three trains ! The train above, 465043, was one I did have an earlier photo of, a much, much earlier photo. My previous photo showed it in the old Network South East livery, and one aspect of this strange hobby is to try and get the same trains in different liveries. Sadly I was not a prolific photographer in the Network South East livery days.
  I nearly missed this photo of 707021. I can't quite remember what happened, but it was probably something silly like pressing the power button instead of the shutter. using some zoom, and then tightly cropping the photo left this very slightly gritty looking, but good enough photo of the train. I now have only two of the 30 class 707 trains unphotographed, although there are some I only have in their original red Southwestern trains livery that I need in blue Southeastern livery.
  This photo of class 376, 376028, train leaves me just 2 of these trains with no photo in my collection. I have a suspicion that one was damaged beyond repair in a depot shunting accident, and if that was the case I'll never get a photo of it. Still, I'm not doing bad seeing as much of my collection has come from photos taken on Wednesday lunchtime trips to the pub !

  I didn't enjoy myself as much as usual in the pub. I think it was a combination of small things. One was that I was worried I would miss my Amazon delivery. Another was how I felt after being out in the cold wind. I didn't really feel shivery, particularly when in the pub, but it seemed the cold had seeped into my bones. On top of it all I had what can only be described as a dizzy spell when I stood up to go to the bar for a second pint.

   Fortunately I have had these quite a few times before, albeit not that recently. I think it is a sign of momentary low blood pressure - which would be good at other times. I guess I have somehow formulated the sort of control that astronauts have in weightlessness. I sort of blank the sensation out, and carry on the task at hand. Somehow it works for the 20 or so seconds when the feeling is at it's worst. A minute later and everything is back to normal.

  There were two other disappointments in the pub. One was that the banter was not so good. That should have allowed me more time to think about solving the crossword clues in The Metro. Maybe I had brain fog because I really struggled to finish even the quick crossword. I think I gave up with at least two clues unsolved in the quick crossword, and I only got 2 or 3 cryptic clues.

  I decided to give up, and head for home after two pints of Guinness. If I wasn't worried about the Amazon delivery, and was feeling more relaxed, I could have had an extra pint of Guinness to see if that lubricated my brain enough to at least finish the quick crossword. One thing was apparent when I left the pub, and that was that the wind was dropping, and although I still felt cold, I felt less cold.
  I had only walked 100ft, or thereabouts, when I had a stroke of luck. I spied a squirrel sitting on a stump at about eye level. It was perfectly posed for a photo. While it's rural cousins can be very hungry at this time of year, while waiting for trees, shrubs, and flowers to start fully sprouting, this urban squirrel, living in or near the churchyard of St Mary's church, look very well fed.

  I missed a train at Ladywell by 3 or 4 minutes, and that left me with a 11 or 12 minute wait for the next one. Despite that I consider myself luck because some trains were delayed a lot longer while Police dealt with "an incident" somewhere. I had no luck seeing any trains I had not photographed before on the way home. One positive thing was that I did notice the wind was dropping, and it was starting to feel almost mild.

  I went into the little supermarket on Catford Bridge on my way home. I found two beers I don't think I have seen before. I also bought a loaf of zero sugar Polish sourdough bread, some tomato flavour instant noodles, and some vegetables. I seem to be able to eat boiled potatoes with no negative effects lately, and I bought some loose, and quite muddy small spuds, and some things like giant green chillies, but which have no heat in them at all. Oh, and I also bought some sliced salami.

  My legs felt tired as I walked towards home. I couldn't walk as fast as I wanted to, but I guess I didn't exactly walk slowly either. When I got home I found my Amazon order behind the garden waste recycling bin where it was not visible from the road. I am glad it wasn't raining, although nothing in the package would be harmed by a little damp. I was glad to get in. I didn't mention it earlier, but my shopping bag was moderately heavy with the potatoes, a bottle and can of beer, plus all the other stuff. It was good to put the bag down and start to unpack it.

  I made myself a salami and green pepper sandwich, and munched that while copying the photos I took to my PC. That sandwich was so nice that I went down and made a second one. By the time I had dealt with the photos, checked a few things on the internet, and on my computer, it seemed to be getting on for 5pm. I laid on my bed, and relaxed for a bit. I nearly had a snooze but I had other stuff to do.

  One task was to order even more beers. For this order I only ordered beers I was fairly sure I would like. I tried to get more of the Caribbean chocolate beers I pictured yesterday, but they didn't have any more of them in stock. I did order some similar sounding beers. I also ordered some basic lager style beers, and a few ales. Amazingly enough, I have already had an email to say DPD are expecting it "soon" for probable delivery on Friday.

  One such task was to finish washing a small hand towel I had left soaking in detergent after my morning shower. It may have only been a small towel, but after 7 rinses I was getting very tired of it. Once that was done I prepared my dinner. It was to be boiled potatoes with ham and raw green peppers. Maybe it is the novelty of eating boiled potatoes after avoiding them for ages, that I found it to be a most enjoyable meal.

  The only thing I watched on TV last night was a single episode of The Simpsons at 6pm. I lost track of time after that, and I have no idea what time I went to bed except for a vague notion it was quite early. It may have been soon after 8pm, and I read for at least half an hour before turning the light out. I must admit it seemed to take ages before I felt comfortable enough for sleep, and then, suddenly it was 1.30am !

  I woke again at about 3.30am and turned the heater up because I was beginning to feel a bit too cool unless I had all arms and legs under the duvet - which somehow felt uncomfortable. I finally got up at 6.10am, and it felt very natural, and as if I had definitely had had a decent nights sleep - the full 8 hours ! It was the sort of waking up where you instantly forget all dreams, but one dream did leave a rather vague memory.

  The dream was probably based on a sort of exaggerated view of part of Catford and it's history. Where I lived as a kid in Catford was pulled down to make way for the Catford Centre incorporating Tesco and the multi storey car park. Several roads were altered and some built on. In the dream I can't remember where I was going,  although it may have been towards home.

  I went down a short road (that in real life would be the stub of a road that has The Black Cat pub at the end). I was going to then turn right, but a big house had been built across the road. To my left was what looked like a launderette. Straight on took me through a door into a dimly lit, shopping centre. None of the shops were open, and the only sign of life was a load of adult, and even old cyclists came pedalling through it. I remember almost nothing after that, but I have a faint lingering idea I went into a supermarket.

  My lack of waking frequently in the night suggested my blood glucose might be OK this morning, and this time it was right. The Contour meter read 7.7mmol/l, and the GlucoRX meter read 7.6mmol/l. Both nice and low, although after nearly a week of similar readings I want to go even lower - some sixes would be most excellent. The Sinocare meter did it's own thing again with another reading of 8.3mmol/l. Still good, but not good enough to match the other two meters.

  I think tomorrow I will be using the last test strip in the current canister of test strips in the Sinocare meter. It is possible that the freshly opened test strips may give matching results to the other two meters. That could possibly happen tomorrow morning. Last night I accidently cut myself, and while the blood was flowing freely I checked it with the Sinocare meter. This was about an hour after I had eaten dinner, and when I might expect a huge peak in my blood glucose reading. The Sinocare meter gave a lovely low figure of 7.4mmol/l - lower than the other two meters this morning. I can't explain that !

  On the strength of my low readings this morning I had a very naughty breakfast. The double (small) portions of tomato flavoured instant noodles were nothing of note. What was of note was something every so naughty. It was a cherry cheesecake dessert in a small container that I was given as a freebie with my last kebab delivery ove a week ago. I kept it well chilled in the fridge, and I am hoping it was wells sealed enough to stop it growing any bacteria.

  At worst I will start vomiting all over the place. That would be very unpleasant, but on the plus side it might help not to completely overload my pancreas with all the sugar in that cheesecake. After not having any very sweet stuff for ages, I did find the cheesecake almost unpleasantly sweet. I probably should have just thrown it away, but curiosity, and a desire not to waste food made me eat it this morning.

  If I am lucky the sugar will get processed, and eliminated by tomorrow morning, and if I am careful about what other stuff I eat today, I may get low blood glucose readings tomorrow morning. It is possible that the Chromium supplement tablets I have now started taking, might help too. Maybe they already have because my readings this morning showed a tiny drop compared to yesterday morning.

  Two things should happen today. The first will be a quick shopping trip to Tesco, although it is not essential - just probably useful. The second thing is the great showdown where Jodie poo-poohs all the beers in the beer delivery I got on Tuesday. I wouldn't mind so much if I liked a lot of what I bought, but many are horrible fruit sour beers that Jodie should like - if only she had not already had then "last week" !
      







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