It seems we are now in a run of sunny days. The latest revision to the the forecast for today only changes one thing compared to the screenshot above. It is now thought that by midnight the temperature may fall to 11° C. The afternoon temperature may only be 15° C - which seems a bit disappointing after non stop sunshine, but it is probably something like the seasonal average. Tomorrow should be basically the same as today, but hopefully a couple of degrees warmer. If the forecast holds, which is probably optimistic, it could actually be hot on Thursday !

  I wrote about my early morning visit to the what I still call The Turkish Supermarket yesterday morning. I probably ought to either call it by it's current name "PFC", or just the Continental Supermarket because they do sell stuff from many parts of "the Continent". The tomato sauce I bought originated in Romania, and the beer was from Poland. I suspect some of the vegetables probably originate Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, or who knows where. Unless you stop to read what might be on the boxes, it is all sold loose, and no country of origin is shown on the price tag.


  When I went out at 9am it was almost chilly, but by midday it was definitely feeling a lot warmer. I just had to go out in that sunshine again despite not really feeling that I felt good enough for a long walk. Once I got going I felt generally OK, but I didn't seem to be walking as freely as I hoped, and my feet didn't feel comfortable despite wearing my most comfortable walking boots. My bunion, if indeed that is what it is, the one I managed to grind the top off by walking in an old pair of boots that seemed tight fitting despite being made by the same company, and allegedly having the same measurements, still felt sore. I had hoped that the padding provided by a sticking plaster would protect it more. Other parts of my feet were also mildly complaining.

  I set out carrying two phones with me - my current phone, and an old Motorola phone. The latter had no SIM card in it, and I knew it could not update the trace on the map while outside the range of my WiFi connection, but I expected it to be able to show the track on the map when I got home, and it reconnected to my WiFi. It didn't and that was really annoying. It still measure the length of my walk, or tried to, but it got it wrong. I was able to export the details as a gpx file that a few websites can read. It showed that it seemed to stop recording my walk for about a quarter of a mile, and just joined the two ends as if there was nothing between. Fortunately my current phone produced a perfect, glitch free, trace, as pictured on the left, and I think I have faith that it was an accurate 3.09 miles I walked yesterday.

 
   On my way back home I did a bit more shopping in the Sainsbury's Local shop. Once again there was only a very short queue outside, and within a few minutes of joining the queue I was inside. I had one specific thing on my shopping list, and that was some "no added sugar" orange squash. The only squash they had was Robinsons, and it claimed that the amount of sugar in a correctly diluted drink was zero. That seemed perfect for me. It tasted pretty good too. I also bought a couple of Greek Salads. The other two things were a definite bonus - a copy of New Scientist (which I have missed since the corner shop shut), and the last 4 cans of Guinness on the shelf.

  It was a bit strange in that despite my walk not being as comfortable as expected, I didn't feel like I was desperate to get home, but I will admit it was nice to get home, and get my boots off. It wasn't long before I was tucking into one of the Greek Salads. I had it just as it came this time - no added anything. It didn't quite satisfy, and so I then ate another thing I bought, but forgot to list above - a pot of four bean salad. The latter is not that healthy, but is mostly harmless.

  The next thing I did of any note was to prepare my dinner. The preceding hours had been taken up by reading New Scientist, and I think I probably had a snooze. My dinner featured just two of the chicken fillets I had bought in the morning. I was going to duplicate the kebab-like mix of vegetables that I had tried before, but I had a packet of runner beans in the fridge that were just starting to show signs of deterioration. I used those up, although I also included some sliced plum tomatoes and sliced red chillies.

  It was a pleasant dinner, but maybe not as good as the version that used onion and bell peppers. Maybe I might cook that again tonight. After dinner I tested the 9% Polish beer that I had bought in the morning (and pictured yesterday). I can't say my first impression was very good. It had a sort of metallic taste like it had been brewed in a rusty barrel, and sometimes typical of East European beers. After about half a can I was warming to it - well it was 9% !!! After trying the two cans I bought I don't think I learned enough appreciation for it to want to repeat the experiment.

  While drinking the beer I started watching an old British SciFi film called "Night Of The Big Heat". It starred Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. I had hoped it was the film I later learned was called "Invasion". That film also featured sweltering temperatures, but was set in the grounds of a hospital instead of on an island like last night's film was. Another difference was that in last night's film the aliens were just sort of like glowing rocks. In the film invasion the aliens had humanoid form, and rather resembled orientals dressed in black latex. Together with the nurses in the hospital often shown in their underwear because of the heat, it made it a sort of sexy film, although there was no sex in it al all.

  While watching the film I drank more beer. I cracked open a couple of cans of Stella Artois I had hoarded away for a rainy day. They went down well after the Polish beer, and after a total of 4 cans of beer, two of them very strong, and two merely a bit strong, I felt very mellow. Not really drunk as such, but just mellow, and in the right state for a good sleep. I think it may have been almost 10pm before I was in bed, and fast asleep. The only trouble with last night's sleep was that it was one of those nights where I woke up after about 4 hours of sleep, and then it took a long time to get back to sleep again.

  This morning I feel moderately OK. Maybe my legs feel a bit stiff after sitting here typing for a long time, but nothing particularly unusual these days. All my health indicators are looking good this morning except my weight. I had hoped to see a small drop after yesterday's walk, but if anything it has gone up 100gm. Fortunately my blood glucose was only 7.5mmol/l, and while 6.5 would be better, 7.5 is good enough. It is any figure over 8 that bothers me.

  I think I have ideas rather than plans for today. I have a couple of t-shirts, and some underwear to wash, and although it is only a small amount, and I could wait until the pile grows a bit, I think I will do it today because I also have a couple of hand towels that need washing. One of them is in the kitchen, and frequently gets over looked. The other is currently in use in the bathroom, and it is mostly clean, but I used some smelly fabric conditioner the last time I washed it, and I don't like the smell of that fabric conditioner - particularly when the towel is used close to me nose - like drying around my mouth after brushing my teeth.

  I would like to go for another walk today, but probably a shorter walk than yesterday. For the last week it feels like Angela has ignored me. She certainly didn't reply to the last message I sent her - and that was just a few days after she phoned me, and said we must talk again soon. The trouble is that at the moment I have no idea what her circumstances are. Prior to lockdown I rarely phoned her in case she was with lover boy. I guess it is a habit that has stuck, but I do still send messages to her.

  I think my walk today will have three objectives. To see if Angela is in the park during her lunch break. To possibly buy a couple more bottles of Diet Coke from the "Catford Food Market" (the Caribbean or Asian food shop). Finally to see if I can get some plant food from Poundland. If I can achieve just one of those objectives I will not feel guilty if I do nothing more (apart from cooking dinner) for the rest of today !