Yesterday was almost a day of rest. I was thinking that what I ought to do was to grit my teeth and do some more walking. Maybe not 5 miles, but perhaps 3 miles might be good. I probably should have done that, following the mantra "there is no gain without pain", but I knew there would be some sort of entertainment in the afternoon, and so I didn't have to force myself to do anything extra to make the day worthwhile.

  I wasn't entirely lazy in the morning...well not all the time. I did polish up the bathroom a bit, and I did do some, but not all the washing up. I also hand washed a t-shirt and some underwear, and I did lay on my bed reading a lot ! During the course of the morning, and perhaps into the start of the afternoon, I realised that walking 11 miles in two days was not without it's consequences. I did find a few aches in my legs, but oddly enough the worst thing was my right knee, and only when laying down. I am not sure it was specifically my knee, but it was around that area. Some of the pain may have been the calf muscle.

  I had a few nonsensical pains during the afternoon. It is a peculiar thing that isn't that rare - getting chest pains when doing washing up. If I had been getting chest pains while walking up hose steep hills to Blackheath the day before, I might have been concerned about it, but washing up is unlikely to put much strain on my heart. I am very sure it was just another quirk of the state of my chest/rib muscles, ligaments and ribs. All were cut or mutilated when I had my bypass operation when my chest was opened up like some dissection specimen.

  A skilled anatomist might be able to identify the exact weak point by studying what actions cause the most pains, but I don't even seem to be able to learn what moves not to make. One reason might be that they are unavoidable moves, and therefore have to be made. It is another of those mysteries like why I can feel slightly short of breath when going upstairs, but not when walking uphill for a mile or so. Maybe it is because I have more time to think about it when at home, or maybe it is because "being short of breath" is not 100% true. It is probably no more than having to take a few bigger but still fairly shallow, breaths than usual.

  Yesterday afternoon's "entertainment" was a visit from Jodie so she could drink some of my German beers. As usual she said she would be around at 3pm, but arrived 30 minutes later. As I think I mentioned yesterday, we probably could have taken some beers round to Michael's place, and drunk them in his garden, but I knew Jodie was itching to get her hands on my beers. Drinking imported beers with Jodie can be a trying hobby. She has to rinse her glass out after every beer, and then there is the palaver of trying to peel or soak off the labels to add to her collection. I didn't want to inflict all that on Michael, or on his wife's kitchen !

  Most of the bottles we drank were small, perhaps little more than half a pint, and each bottle was split into two glasses. I think we got through 6 or 7 bottles. That was not a great deal to drink, although some of those beers were 6%. I may have stayed sober, but before long I was feeling dreadfully tired, and wanting my siesta. An afternoon snooze has become part of my everyday routine most days now. I was also feeling rather hungry by the time Jodie finally left - after my dinner time.

  I was so hungry that my cold chicken shish kebab, save from my takeaway the previous evening, just didn't satisfy. I considered what else I might have, but my choices are becoming limited after doing no shopping for a fortnight. Jodie tells me that Aldi is one of several big stores who recognise some people can't wear face masks, and it is their policy not to challenge anyone not wearing one. Under such circumstances I could shop in Aldi, but I think I will stick to my no shopping, no bus or train travel, for some time yet.

  Upon looking in my kitchen my eyes came to rest on a can of chilli con carne. It was an Aldi own brand, Bramwell, can, and it seemed surprisingly tasty - particularly with a bit of chilli sauce to liven it up. That finally satisfied me, and I could relax until it was bed time. Bed time was only a few hours away by then, and I was looking forward to it. It was a hot night for sleeping, and I left the bedroom window open all night.

  I fell asleep easily, and slept for maybe 4 hours before I woke up. The extra chilli in the chilli con carne, plus on the kebab, had it's usual effect. I woke up in the night feeling very sweaty. This morning there is a dried ring of salt around where the top of my chest (or the side of it) was pressing against the bottom sheet. I think it was probably a bit cooler by then, but I slept the next few hours with the fan on low.

  I can awake very fast this morning. I seem to recall I had been having a very long, and rather weird dream, and I have a theory that I had stretched my imagination as far as it would go to continue the dream for so long, and with no imagination left I woke up. This morning I feel very average - no better, or worse, than most days in the last x number of years. It probably means I could do anything I want to.

  One good thing is that I seem to have continued to lose a tiny bit of weight. It is not much, but it's getting there slowly. I wonder how long I can keep this up this time ? I took my own advice and waited until I had drunk almost a pint to make sure I was not dehydrated when I checked my blood sugar level. It was 8.2mmol/l, and that is still too high for my liking. I can probably blame it on the beer I drank yesterday. The only trouble there is that it will be so hot today that I am liable to consume a lot more ice cold beer today.

  On such a day as this I might have enjoyed a walk at the seaside, but I can't travel, and I would expect trains to the coast to be very busy. Last year, when things were normal, it probably would have been fine to travel being as it is a weekday. Today I will continue to stay in my role as a medieval peasant whose horizons are limited to how far I can walk. I think I am determined to go for a walk on the beautiful day, but I don't think I will attempt to walk too far in the blazing sunshine...although I could take a bottle of chilled water with me so I don't get too parched. I have no idea where I will walk, but before I do I have two tasks to do - have a shower and water the garden.