It was a magpie. There are plenty in the neighbourhood, but it's the first I've seen land in my garden. I don't know where the foxes got to last night, but they did appear this morning. Along with the vixen were what seem to be her two remaining cubs.

 Last night I finally had something for dinner that I have been meaning to have for the past week - grilled salmon. I had it on a bed of watercress with tomatoes and a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. It was as good as I had hoped for, and I must have something similar again soon. That part of dinner was all terribly healthy. Part two wasn't ! It may just be the hot weather, but Smudge has been off her food for a couple of days, and I wanted to find something to tempt her.

 The ideal temptation would be freshly cooked chicken, but I didn't have any to cook. What I did have was a can of chicken salami that I had bought from the 99p shop ages ago. I am sure I bought two of them, and was not impressed with the first. Smudge was definitely not impressed with the second, but with the aid of some hot chilli sauce I didn't find it too bad, and I ate almost the whole can except for the bit I had cut off to give to Smudge.

 This morning Smudge did have some food. It wasn't much, but she may not have finished when I left to come to work. It is possible that she was inspired to have something to eat by the vixen who lives in my back garden with her cubs. I put the food that Smudge had not touched overnight outside for the vixen and/or her cubs, and put fresh food down for Smudge. Before eating Smudge went out for a breath of fresh air, and a drink of water (outside water is always tastier than the water inside even though it comes out of the same tap - maybe the dead flies give it extra flavour !). While she was outside the vixen came for her breakfast....

I was trying to photograph a damsel fly and a mayfly that were flitting around, but they just would not stop long enough for me to get a good picture. All I managed to take was this stripy fly sitting on some tiny flowers. At least I think it is a fly. Maybe it is a bee or wasp. It looked like a bluebottle as I took the picture, but the sun made the viewfinder image a bit indistinct as I pressed the shutter. I also tried to take photographs of a few butterflies I saw. Like the mayflies, and damselflies, they would not settle. Had I been very lucky I would have a photo of a pale blue butterfly. A butterfly with brown tipped white wings, and a butterfly that seemed so fast I could hardly make out what colour it was. I am sure it was red and brown, and maybe orange too.

 Sometimes, like when I tried to race up and over the footbridge that crosses the railway line, I felt a bit knackered on my walk, but just a moments stop to take a picture seemed enough recovery time. Evidently I was capable of a lot more, as I feel I should be, because I had only been home again for 15 minutes when I decided to go out again. It was only a short walk to the 99p shop rather than a major trek, but it added another half mile to my total.

 As I've mentioned in the past, the 99p shop has all sorts of odd things in it, but you can never be sure they'll have the same thing twice. The thing I rely on it more and more is for stuff like shampoo and shower gel. Some of that stuff can cost a lot from supermarkets. For instance, Tesco are currently selling Original Source shower gel for £2.20, and the identical product from the 99p shop is.......99p ! Yesterday I found a new flavour shower gel - Lavender and Tea Tree Oil. I tried it this morning, and it's not bad.

 I had hoped to go out one more time, and if I had it would have been to the pub for a beer with Kevin. Unfortunately he was not available. I expect he was doing some family thing as is often the case. It is rare to find people free at the weekend (as others have noted). So instead of a few beers for lunch I made myself a ham salad that I liberally sprinkled with virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. As a dressing it was far, far, nicer than the fat free vinegaraite dressing I tried last week. I did try and limit my consumption yesterday. I did succeed in limiting the type of stuff I ate, but I did do a lot of nibbling during the afternoon, and early evening.

 Some of the stuff I ate was very fibrous, and getting some of those fibres out from between my teeth was a pain - literally. I think I damaged my gums in a few places using a combination of floss and toothpicks. At times it has felt almost like toothache, but I think once the gum heals I'll be OK. Tonight I must stay clear of coleslaw and other cabbage products ! Nevertheless, maybe the pain was worthwhile because I do feel fairly good this morning, and there seems some added slackness in my trousers this morning. I don't think it would be too painful to heave my belt in by one notch compared to last Monday.

 I also have a few shirts and some underwear drying on a clthes horse indoors. I think that's enough for one day, but I might do some sheets and pillowcases tomorrow. For the rest of today I am going to be thoroughly lazy !

 While I was in the park yesterday lunchtime, I noticed that the apple tree on the river bank, the one that produces small hard and sour apples, was just at a stage where the first recognisable apples of the season where starting to grow. Right in the middle of this picture is a furry looking object that is a very, very young apple. It still has the shrivelled remains of the petals of the flower that it started from. It's not so obvious in this photo, but it already has a patch of red under that furry exterior.

 I decided not to try any heroics, and went home from work via Earlsfield - Waterloo - Waterloo East - Catford Bridge as usual. Earlier in the day I had been feeling starving hungry, but by the time I arrived home that had passed. In some ways I didn't feel hungry at all, but force of habit had me having a small nibble as soon as I got home.

 Before I started even preparing my dinner (not that it actually need much preparation) I set about doing a few odd jobs. I had arrived home damp with sweat. After I emptied Smudge's litter tray, and cleaned up, my forehead was dripping everywhere. After I hand washed 5 shirts in hot soapy water all my body was dripping everywhere ! There was almost a cascade running down my chest. That put me off the idea of eating what I thought I might eat - fish and broccoli in gallons a lot of "gravy". Instead I had a corned beef salad. Of course the corned beef was not exactly a healthy option, but I did cut off the denser patches of fat.

 This morning I expected to feel better than I did. I woke early, which was a bit of an annoyance, and I definitely feel like a few more hours sleep would have been nice. I was asleep on time last night, and I thought I slept well, but I didn't wake up feeling refreshed. My other complaint is that my legs feel very stiff this morning, and my right ankle is slightly sore.

 I think I need more oily fish again, and that is what I am aiming to eat tonight. I need to get a little shopping in on the way home from work, and with the money I have saved by not buying breakfast and lunch from the Londis mini mart near Earlsfield station, I guess I can afford some of Tesco's horrendously expensive fish tonight. Ideally I'd like some grilled salmon, but what was once quite cheap now makes my eyes water if I buy it.

 It was sort of lucky that I didn't eat until I got home from work last night. When I arrived at Earlsfield station I found that there were no trains running because someone had tried, or succeeded in committing suicide at, or near, Wimbledon station (the next station down the line from Earlsfield). I had two choices. The first was to get on a crowded and sweaty bus to Clapham Junction, or I could do something I had considered earlier, but rejected because I was not wearing comfy shoes.

 That other choice was to do something I hadn't done since last year, and that was to walk to Wandsworth Common station, and get the train to Forest Hill (and then a bus to home). With less than comfy shoes, and badly out of condition, I was wary about doing the walk, but I did it anyway. It is a long, long hill from Earlsfield station up to Wandsworth Common itself, and I took it at a very sedate pace. At least I thought I did, but it didn't seem to make the almost 2 mile walk take much longer. I still got to the station in plenty of time. My memory is a bit hazy, but sometimes it feels like I actually got to the station earlier than in the past !

 It was certainly sweaty work walking in the bright sunshine, but I always think a bit of a sweat is probably good for you, and maybe it was. It wasn't only South West trains who were having trouble, but Southern trains too. A train had failed at Thornton Heath, and was causing big delays in trains getting to Victoria station, and so there was a lack of trains to form services from Victoria. Happily for me there were 30 minute delays on a 30 minute interval service. So the train I caught was at the normal time for me, but 30 minutes late for the railway.

 Walking to Wandsworth Common station is actually pleasant in a masochistic sort of way. It feel good to rise up and beat the challenge of the long hill, and then walking across the common itself, which is down hill as well, is usually pleasant. Less fun is getting the 185 bus from Forest Hill to home. Last night it wasn't as bad as other times, although the slowdown due to road congestion as the bus nears Catford is always annoying.

 I arrived home with aching feet, dripping with sweat, but not desperately hungry despite not eating since the previous night. I was mildly hungry though, and my hunger increased markedly as my dinner was almost cooked. I managed to moderate my eating last night to a reasonable degree, and I definitely reduced my sugar intake a lot. The only unknown in that respect was the tinned peaches I ate. They were supposed to be in unsweetened fruit jiuce, but who knows (or bothers to read the label) how much natural sugar is in "natural" fruit juice. Just to be sure, I drained off the juice before eating those peaches.

 I didn't get to bed, nor to sleep, as early as I intended last night, but probably still a fraction earlier than usual. I think I slept well, but maybe I was thrashing around a lot because I found Smudge sleeping on the floor, instead of my bed, when I woke up this morning. I have a slight headache this morning, but other than that I feel pretty good for a change. Once again I made a point of not buying anything to eat while I am work today, so I should be keen and hungry when I get home tonight. I have different, but maybe still not comfortable shoes on today, and I don't think I'll be walking to Wandsworth Common after work, but if the sun is shining fiercely again it might be tempting.

 I had been given some "poultry in jelly" cat food for Smudge, but she really doesn't know how to eat it. She just licks the jelly off, and leaves the rest. So I put out her leftovers in my back yard, and waited for the fox family to turn up. It was not very bright outside, and the pictures lack sparkle, but it shows the vixen and two of her cubs nicely. One seems to have a problem with a rear leg. Hopefully it is just a small cut or thorn that will heal. Last week I saw 4 or 5 cubs, The whereabouts, or fate, of the others who did not show up for free food is unknown, but I hope they are alright somewhere.

 I am convinced there is something wrong with me, possibly something serious, or possibly something that only hot sunshine, fresh air, and exercise can cure. I felt very odd yesterday, but less so this morning if I take into account that I had another very bad night. Last night I felt tired but not sleepy. To make matters worse, I had Smudge sleeping on my bed again last night. I didn't have the energy or will to try and keep her out of my bedroom after the "fight" I had with her the previous night. So once again I had a lot of difficulty trying to find the most comfortable position for sleep, and a lot of difficulty relaxing.

 I don't like to think how little sleep I got last night. I'm sure I was still awake as midnight approached. I awoke at around 3pm to go to the toilet, and it seemed an age before I fell asleep again. I didn't even manage to sleep until my alarm sounded, and woke up 20 minutes early. So I haven't started the day in the best way, and if I could I would be back in bed now. It's left me with a bit of a headache.

 I have several aims for tonight. The first is obviously to try and get to sleep as early as possible. The second is to empty Smudge's smelly litter tray. The third is to remember that somewhere in the back of my fridge I have some seldom used butter that I can put on some new potatoes that will be part of my dinner. The final thing is not important right now, but could be in the coming days. I was looking at my short sleeve shirts, and some light coloured ones that I haven't worn since last summer are looking grubby. If I find the time, patience and energy I might lightly launder them tonight. With most of this weeks weather forecast to be a close approximation to summer like weather, some light coloured shirts could be handy.

This is Chris Clark who plays keyboard, trumpet, and also sings.

Polly Raymond who sings.

Ian Salmon on guitar.

Chris Clark blowing his own trumpet.

.....and the whole band on stage.

 The picture above was taken outside The Chatterton Arms in Bromley. All those reds and oranges in the sky usually mean fine weather, and indeed, this morning is bright and sunny. Right now my thermometer says it's nearly 17° C, and that is an improvement over yesterday, and a big improvement to the 8° C that the temperature dropped to in the middle of the night. With luck, today will stay a fine day, and with even more luck it will be fine tomorrow - although the BBC website s forecasting a fair amount of rain tomorrow.

 The music continued last night with a second gig from Chain at The Chatterton Arms. It was not as exciting as Friday night - no women chatting me up - but still very enjoyable. The only bad thing was that I was feeling tired towards the end, and I had a stomach ache developing. So I left soon after the gig finished rather than hanging around, and reprising my rôle as a roadie. I did plenty of roadie-ing* at the start of the gig. I was the first to arrive, which bemused me a bit, but once the band arrived I did plenty of humping gear around.

* There seems to be no real word for the act of being a roadie. There's a brief discussion about it here - http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/37252/the-activity-of-being-a-roadie

 Last nights line up was Jo on rhythm guitar, Chris on lead guitar, Guy on drums, and Matt on bass guitar. Once again Matt's powerful (500W) bass amp really thumped away, and yet while it wasn't loud, it was powerful enough to rattle the windows of the pub ! On Friday night I had mentioned to Matt just how good the song Crossroads sounded with his powerful agreesive bass sound. He thanked me, and also mentioned just how complicated the bass line is for the song. Last night Crossroads was played again, and presumably following Guy the drummers lead, it was played even faster. As it was played I watched Matt's fingers on the guitar fretboard, and as he suggested, they were moving around all over the place.  I was very impressed.

 Last night was double Matt night. On drums was Matt Sharp, and on bass guitar was Matt. There were some songs that they had never rehearsed together, or possibly not rehearsed at all, and yet it all sounded rather wonderful. Highlights for me were the Cream song "Crossroads" which Matt really drove along with a wonderful crunchy bass sound, and the J.J. Cale song "Cocaine" which Matt's bass sound complemented wonderfully.

 There were other highlights as well. I was "molested" twice by women I didn't know. The first was rather drunk, and not exactly attractive. She decided to pinch my bottom as she staggered past me, and pat it on a couple of other occasions. That was certainly a novel experience. Woman number two was far more attractive.

 It's a banknote from Malta worth 2 Lira. At least it used to be worth that until Malta adopted the Euro. However, if at any time before 2018 I happen to pass The Central Bank Of Malta I can exchange it for Euros equivalent to £3.75 at the current rate of exchange.If I wait another few hundred years it will probably be worth a lot more on the collectors circuit.

 With the warmth and bright sunshine yesterday afternoon/evening it took a lot of will power to get to bed at the proper time.Even then I did not get to sleep as early as I should have. Some claim that dreams can foretell the future. I slept badly enough to have a lot of dreams last night. One dream definitely foretold the future, and I hope another didn't.

 In one dream I was feeling cold, but had difficulty bending over to turn the heater on because I also needed a pee. Sure enough, when I woke up a few seconds later I was freezing cold because I had kicked most of the duvet off the side of the bed, and I was busting for a pee.

 The dream that I hope was not a premonition concerns probably the first young lady I had a crush on. Sadly she married a mate of mine before I could even get an innocent peck on the cheek, and to this day I have never realised the fantasies that my hormone ravaged teenage brain conjoured up. Many years later I almost had another chance, but that's another story. To go back to the original plot, I had a dream last night that featured this particular lady, and it was not a sexy dream. I have no idea what the circumstances leading up to it were, but I was looking at a web page on a PC and there was a large black and white picture of this lady, looking as she does now, and across the picture it said R.I.P. and gave her name and some dates. It is all a bit spooky because I can't think of a single reason why I should have been thinking about her.

 Having gone to bed so late it might have been sensible to turn off my alarm set for 5am. I did think about it, but I knew I would be waking up sometime near then anyway. It is a bank holiday today so I didn't actually need to get up so early, but it's good practice, and I did indeed get up at 5am. By get up I really mean I went to the toilet, fed Smudge, and checked my email. Then I went back to bed again. Initially I didn't feel that sleepy. I was getting close to giving up when I noticed it was 9am !

 The one can of cat food I had bought from Lidl on Saturday was, as I expected, mostly rejected by Smudge. The gravy wasn't bad, but she just could not bring herself to eat the lumps. So this morning I went out to Aldi to buy some "proper" cat food. Smudge was lucky that they had a good selection back in, including the fish flavoured one that she likes now and then. I didn't buy that much for me, but one thing I did buy was mostly foolish, but it seemed so right. So despite my blood sugar level running a bit on the high side last week, I bought some ice cream. It's not exactly ice cream weather, but I can always turn the heating up high and pretend it is.

 I've done a little bit, a tiny bit (!) of clearing up my living room, and I am wondering if I can find the enthusiasm to do some more. The main thing I did yesterday was to throw out a very old, incredibly dusty, and matted with cat fur (it was one of Smudge's temporary sleeping places) camera bag of immense proportions. It was originally for a full sized professional camcorder and accessories. Once upon a time it seemed like a good idea for lugging my big semi-pro camcorder, tripod and accessories around in, but now I much prefer to use a back pack and leave my hands free. So I gritted my teeth and threw it away. If nothing else I should hoover around where it was, and the area it blocked off. It also gives me room to move a few bits around to make the place a tiny bit neater. As I write this I can't really be bothered, but it's the sort of thing I might start while watching something boring on TV.

 The one thing I do have to do today is prepare for work tomorrow. That means getting to bed at the proper time, and maybe trying not to eat anything too contentious that might give me the runs in the morning. One thing I won't be eating is any of the flavoured pork ribs things that I ate too much of yesterday. Not only did they not taste that spectacular, but the meat was so stringy that I spent a lot of time yesterday making my teeth and gums hurt as I picked out bits of meat from between my teeth. It was all rather ridiculous, and my gums are still slightly tender today.

 With a few holes in the cloud the temperature dropped overnight to very chilly this morning, and even now the temperature is only 9° C. Those holes had closed up by sunrise, and so far today, and probably the rest of the day, it has been very dull outside. Like yesterday, there has been no more than occasional falls of very light rain, but the potential is there for heavier rain to fall anytime today, tomorrow, or the bank holiday Monday.

 The bad guts I suffered from on Thursday, and first thing yesterday morning, gave no more trouble yesterday. So in the evening I decided to throw caution to the wind and order a nice takeaway to celebrate. I fancied some Japanese food, but there is nowhere very near here that does deliveries so I had to cast the net a bit wider.  The place I settled on adds a £1.50 surcharge for deliveries to Catford, and also a £1 surcharge for ordering by credit card. With those extras, plus their semi high prices you might expect the food to be something extra special.

 The chicken in yellow bean sauce (from the Chinese food part of their menu) was actually a tiny bit better than the average from most of the Chinese takeaways round here. The Singapore noodles were nice, but slightly below average. The biggest disappointment was the teriyaki chicken bento box. There was nothing wrong with it per se, but it was very unexciting. My overall conclusion was that I totally wasted my money, and should have just gone for a Chinese takeaway from somewhere local.

 Another part of my celebration was to stay up very late (for me). I came home from work feeling totally exhausted, and if I had cooked my own dinner early in the evening I would have been tempted to be in bed before 8pm. My food wasn't actually delivered until 7.45pm, and by then I was getting my second wind. So I stayed up to watch Have I Got News For You, and then even later, QI. Even when I got into bed I did not feel specially tired, and opted to do some reading until gone midnight.

 I almost managed a full 8 hours sleep last night, but trying to stay asleep for the last couple of hours was hard work. Of course once I got up I felt like going back to bed again, but got up anyway. So far I haven't done anything of note except wash my hair and have a shower. Sooner or later I really have to get on with doing some laundry. With my sore stomach during the week I didn't fancy leaning over the bath washing stuff, so I've let it build up, and now I'll have to do two sessions of laundry.

 Apart from laundry I have no special plans for today. I don't think I need to do any shopping apart from going to the corner shop, a few minutes walk up the road, for some diet cola. I am tempted to rehabilitate my old iMac computer. It's now almost a museum piece, but with a good hard disk installed it is almost useable should I choose to use it (which is incredibly rarely). Other than that I have a load of reading material that should keep me amused for more than today.