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Wednesday 26th
February 2020
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09:13 GMT
The weather forecast for yesterday, issued
at 5.27am, was more like a very vague overview of
what the weather would be like. Two or three hours
later another revision to the forecast was issued,
and most of that was about right. I would have
described yesterday morning as sunny, rather than
having sunny intervals, and it was perfectly dry
at 10am when a shower was predicted. The original
forecast for the afternoon was thundery showers
followed by hail. The later revision downgraded
that lot to just ordinary showers, and that was
about right. There was a short period of time when
the rain seemed a bit heavy, but to be honest I
can't recall when that was. After sunset the
clouds started to disperse, and later clear skies
meant the puny 8° C in the afternoon started to
head towards zero in the small hours of this
morning.
I'm not sure if the temperature did hit
zero in the small hours of this morning, but at
the moment my thermometers agree with the
forecast, and say it is 3° C as I write this. It
could just be heavy dew, but it does look a bit
like there could be some frost on neighbours shed
roofs. If there was any frost it will soon be
burnt off by bright sunshine. Of course sod's law
dictates that just as I was starting to write that
the sun was blazing through my front windows, a
cloud passed in front of the sun, but just a
minute later the sun is back to full power again.
The latest revision to the forecast say that we
should only be having sunny periods at the moment,
and that the last of these will give way to
overcast skies in about half an hour (or 10am).
From 1pm there may be light rain. The forecast
says there will be, but then only gives a 12%
chance of any rainfall - it sounds like there is a
88% of it staying fine ! Once again, the afternoon
temperature will only be 8° C. This is apparently
the seasonal average, but feels bloody cold to me.
By midnight the temperature could be back down to
3° C again. Tomorrow looks interesting. The
original forecast included hail, but that has been
replaced by just light rain for the morning
through to about 1pm. Tomorrow morning will only
be 3° C, and past experience suggests that is cold
enough for snow to fall instead of just rain. The
truth will be revealed tomorrow !
Yesterday seemed like it should have been a
good day for a longer walk in the sunshine, but I
didn't feel in the mood to push myself very far. I
felt like I didn't have much energy. Maybe I used
all my energy on a shopping trip to Aldi. I did
carry some heavy shopping home, and most of that
weight was liquid. As well as two 2.25 litre
bottles of Diet Coke, I also carried a 6 pack of
330ml cans of sugar free lemonade, as well
as four pack of 550ml cans of Guinness. The
rest of what I bought was comparatively light, but
still added to the overall weight.
It was good to get it all home again, and
then have 30+ minute rest before going out for a
walk in the park - and of course stopping off for
refreshment at just over the halfway point. It may
not have helped that I was giving my new boots
another go. They are not uncomfortable in the
sense that they are causing any damage to my feet,
but nevertheless are still uncomfortable in ways I
find it hard to explain. It seems to make walking
harder, and slower. On the other hand they did
feel good for tramping through some bramble
infested vegetation on the river bank when I took
another look at what I still hope will one day be
a new island in the river.
Yesterday I was having doubts about the
formation of the island. I managed to get through
the vegetation to see the other end, actually the
upstream end of the proto-island. I can see where
shingle has been washed into what should be the
new channel, but it seemed like it would need some
really extreme high water to wash through more of
the new channel - although having said that, in
the event of some more severe storms, the water
could get high enough to flow through that channel
while still a fair bit lower than the top of the
river bank - in other words, very high, but not
high enough to cause any flooding.
I passed this sheep dog/collie laying
in the grass looking like it was waiting
instructions to round up sheep. The only trouble
is that I could see no sign of any owner. It could
be a stray, but there is hope that it isn't. This
is the second time I have seen this dog. The last
time was several weeks or more ago, and once again
he (or she) seemed to have no owner, but then I
heard a distant whistle and the dog ran towards
it. I am hoping that the owner was actually
somewhere in the park, and would call to it when
it was time to go home.
Everyone knows about the old amateur
photographers error when someone poses in front of
a tree or shrub, and the picture makes it look as
if it is growing from the subjects head. This is
similar, but taken to extremes. Someone has been
waiting patiently at the bottom of a grave in St
Mary's church for several hundred years for a tree
to literally grow out the top of their head !
It felt good to get into the pub, and not
just to meet up with Angela. The sunshine on the
back of my coat made me feel quite warm - too warm
to do my coat up. Unfortunately the cold wind on
my chest was making my ribs sore. The cold and wet
weather has made them feel quite delicate
recently, and I have been taking Ibuprofen before
bed to reduce the inflammation from the stresses
they get as I lay on my side - usually as I try
and find a comfy position. The discomfort I was
getting from that cold wind could be mistaken for
more heart problems, but I hope my experience in
these matters proved otherwise.
There were no special reasons that made
seeing Angela so good. Sometimes some our
conversation is quite intense, but thankfully not
too often. Yesterday was just light talk. Seeing
Angela could be compared to sitting in a well
worn, very comfortable armchair - you don't stop
to question it, or even really think about it, you
just feel very comfortable. One small irritation
was that towards the end lover boy tried to phone
Angela several times, and each time she declined
to answer.
She said she would call him back when she
was back at work. On such occasions it is probably
self delusion, but I think I am more important
than lover boy. That thought was bolstered when we
were saying goodbye. Angela said "see you
soon....maybe even tomorrow". The sad truth is
that I am only special during lunchtime. The first
break in that may come when we eventually go to
the Wednesday night night quiz they have in the
pub. It could be tonight, but I think we are both
holding back from making a firm date because we
are both waiting for lighter, and less cold
evenings.
If I had set one of my DSLR cameras on a
tripod, and screwed on filters while playing with
exposure values, I might have been able to capture
a picture that more closely matched what my eyes
could see when I took this snap on my way home
from the pub. At the top left of the picture the
sun was shining brightly. You can see the dark
shadows it is producing on the pavement. In the
distance, and to the top right of the picture, the
clouds were almost black - that is the bit that
doesn't really show well on this picture.
It was pretty obvious that the forecast
rain really was about to happen, and the density
of the clouds made the idea of thunderstorms
and/or hail seem very feasible. At this point I
was probably about 10 minutes walk from home. In
the last couple of those minutes, it did start to
rain, but it was very light rain. There was a
short heavier shower some time after I was safely
home, but there was no thunder and lightning, and
as far as I am aware, no hail either.
It was late yesterday afternoon when I
discovered the source of some mysterious big spike
in my blood glucose level. It was the result of
eating the beef jerky pictured on the left. It was
only by chance that I bothered to check the
nutritional on the back of the packet. I was
shocked to see it contained something like 21gm of
sugar per 100gm of the product. That is far worse
than some ice creams, although admittedly the
normal eaten quantities are rather different.
I assumed that this jerky was just air
dried beef, and as such it would be high in
protein, but little else. I now suspect that
despite it proudly displaying it's British
origins, it is made to an American recipe. They
probably use sugar to help dry the meat out, but
what it seems you end up with is "crystallised
beef".
I really must check the beef biltong made
by the same people. Biltong was originally comes
from South Africa (I think), and I believe
(although I may well be wrong) is just pure air
dried beef with a hint of smoke - a fire is used
to warm the air, and keep flies at bay while the
beef is drying. I probably should do some research
before making these claims, but I definitely know
that the shop I used to pass on my way to work in
Earlsfield, had quite a range of biltong, and it
was all made in South Africa. I tried all sorts of
exotic meats including ostrich and alligator given
the biltong treatment, and I never notice it
seeming to taste sweet. Now I know what it is, it
is obvious that the reason that jerky is so nice
is because it is so sweet !
Last night I had another early night that
wasn't an early night. I spent several hours in
bed reading before turning out the light. I did
that at 11pm, rather later than intended, and
although it once again seemed like a long time, I
think I was fast asleep within 15 minutes. I took
the precaution again of taking a couple of
Ibuprofen before going to bed, and I had a
comfortable night as a result. It was evidently
comfortable enough to forget all the dreams I had
- and I know i had quite a few, but any details
have slipped over the horizon.
This morning I can't work out how I feel.
Apart from some initial stiffness/creakiness,
which seems to be a permanent fixure these days, I
feel otherwise comfortable. I don't seem to feel
the need for any more sleep, but the one big
unknown at this time is if I have any stamina
today. Yesterday I didn't seem to have any energy,
and today might be worse. Thanks to that jerky
(probably) my blood glucose is annoyingly high
this morning, and I have probably gained a few
hundred grams. I don't think I can blame the jerky
for the latter, but maybe I can blame it on not
doing a big poo this morning - yet (maybe another
is on it's way as I sit here typing - or maybe it
was just wind).
I the time it has taken to write all this,
the weather has taken on a new complexion. The sky
is now filled with dark clouds, and it looks like
it could easily rain. The very latest revision to
the forecast says rain at 1pm, and that it will
still only be 7° C then, although at 2pm, for one
hour only, it will be 8° C. I still intend to go
for a lunchtime walk today - mostly because I want
to spend another lunchtime with Angela. I am
thinking I will not walk that far today, and
bearing in mind that 7° C, I think I'll put on my
winter coat with hood. I'll probably cook before I
get to the pub, but that's better than my chest
aching. I have no idea what I will do once I am
home again - probably nothing apart from some
reading and a snooze.
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