Today is probably going to be very similar to yesterday. The latest revision to the forecast has put back the first sunny spells to 10am, and then full sunshine after 11am for the rest of the day. Today the temperature is predicted to peak as high as 23° C by 3pm. but after an hour or so it will start to drop, but it could be a warmer night than last night. If it really happens (I have my doubts) tomorrow morning could start with full sunshine at daybreak, and it should last until sunset. Once again the temperature may only reach 23° C, but it will be that high for most of the afternoon. The day after could be even warmer.

   I probably would have gone out anyway in yesterday's warm sunshine. With my blood glucose being so high in the morning I just had to do something about it. Fortunately there was the added attraction of a street gig to go and see, although in this case it was actually in the forecourt garden of a hairdresser.

  There were actually two bands playing, Steedtone, and The Coxymorons. The fact that the only difference between the two was the singer/acoustic guitarist is neither here nor there. Once Jodie heard I was going to a gig she asked if she could go. It was a public gig so I couldn't say no, but it did cause me some complications.

  My first problem with Jodie was that she had messed up the trains, and was going to arrive at Hither Green station a lot later than originally agreed. To make matters worse I was there a lot earlier than agreed. I reminded Jodie how to get to the gig. She had been there before, and so it was just a reminder rather than a full explanation of how to get there. It might have worked too if she hadn't phoned up a lot later in a panic saying she couldn't even work out how to get out of the station. I guess Hither Green station is slightly complex with it's 6 platforms, but I am sure the exits are well signed - they usually are.
  I needed to waste a bit of time when I got to the venue because the band weren't due to start for at least 30 minutes. In fact they were still setting up when I got there. Once upon a time that general area was a blank area in my mental map of the world, but a few walks last summer let me gain some familiarity, and yesterday was a good opportunity to pound a bit more pavement around there. It was only once around the block (the little oblong on the right on the map just up the page). I reckon it added half a mile to my walk. Along the way I saw the bright purple tree, or shrub, that is the subject of my photo above. I don't think I have ever seen anything like it before.
  Once the gig started I took a few snaps. This is The Steedtones - named in honour of John Steed of the original Avengers. I think the man in the middle, with an (electro)acoustic guitar is Frank, and he is the singer of The Steedtones. On the left is Steve Cox - bass player for The Steedtones, and for The Coxymorons. On the right is Richard "Dik" Takowski on lead guitar for both The Steedtones and The Coxymorons. Hidden in the background is a drummer whose name I don't know, and who played drums for both bands.
  This is half The Coxymorons with Frank from The Steedtones playing guest guitar. The singer is Abby Harte. I took plenty more photos of the bands, and I think I probably managed to get a few reasonable shots of the drummer who was usually hidden at the back.

  I could have taken even more photos but I was getting uncomfortable standing up all the time. When it felt like my knees were starting to seize up, and when some sciatic down the back of my right thigh muscle got too uncomfortable I called it a day. I gave Jodie the option of staying on, or I could walk her back to the station. I am pretty sure she wasn't really enjoying the gig - it just wasn't her type of music - and she decided to head back to the station with me. That meant going past "Park Fever" a specialist beer shop/bar - and it was open.

  It took ages for Jodie to reach the decision that she was going to stay there and investigate the shop. I have no idea what happened after that. If the owner, or whoever was behind the counter, was friendly I can imagine Jodie staying for several exotic beers, and discussing them with the staff. Meanwhile I headed for home feeling really rather tired. It seemed a horrible slog up the hill from the station.
  Having got over the hill I was surprised to see the "traffic calming"/"motorist enraging" road blocks had been removed at the top of George Lane near the junction with Davenport Road. It was no surprise they were removed because all they did was to move traffic from a nice wide road to the adjacent narrow road.

  Even going downhill towards home felt like hard work, although it was my feet that was making the biggest complaint. They felt really sore by the time I got home. I was wearing the same boots that I did all the really long, 6+ mile, walk last year, and my feet didn't feel as bad as they did yesterday. It does not bode well for future long walks, or maybe I just need to practice more.

  I felt exhausted when I got home, and I didn't really feel like cooking any dinner. I'm not sure when the idea got planted in my mind, but I decided that what I wanted was a takeaway, and to be exact, a shish kebab. It wasn't all that long after 4pm when I got home, in fact it might have been slightly before, and so I had a long wait until dinner. It would turn into an even longer wait in the end, but I didn't snack, and had a snooze instead, but not before I checked on the contents of a mystery gift bag.
  I wasn't actually handed one of the little carrier bags, but most other people were given them - including Jodie. With her 100 and 1 allergies, real or imagined, Jodie had no use for strange shampoos, and gave me the bag. It wasn't until I was home that I found out it was a free sample of shampoo and conditioner. Funnily enough it smells very similar to the "Sweet Strawberry" shampoo and conditioner I am currently using. I think I can use it with no problem, but I doubt I'll be buying any at £56 a bottle or whatever they charge for it. I am more than happy with £1 a bottle from Savers or Poundland.

  By the time I had finished my snooze it was almost dinner time, and time to order my kebabs. I ended up ordering 4 of them to meet the 10% discount for orders over £30. I ordered 2 lamb shish kebabs, and 2 chicken shish kebab. The estimated deliver time was between 7.15pm and 7.45pm. They only just made it for 7.45pm, and the kebabs were already cool. I am guessing the delivery driver waited until he had at least several to deliver (fairly reasonable) but I seemed to be the last on his run.

  I tried a new place last nice. Ignoring the late delivery, and on the basis of the one I ate, I am inclined to put them on my favourites list. Normally I would eat two shish kebabs, but last night one seemed quite enough. I expected to be able to eat a horse last night after eating nothing except a small, pub sized, bag of Nobby's Nuts in the morning. The kebab itself seemed good. There was a generous amount of grilled chicken in it, and fairly nice salad. Even the chilli sauce seemed good, although the amount seemed less than I would have liked. The odd thing is that it didn't come with pitta bread, and I can't recall seeing it on the menu, but that suited me fine because I don't usually eat the pitta bread.

  Last night I was in bed, and I think I was fast asleep before it was dark. On the whole I seemed to sleep well. If I have one complaint it was that I seemed to be almost wide awake at first light - which was before 5am ! I managed to get to sleep after that, but the last hour or two were not that good. The silly thing is that when I got up again at 6am I felt far more tired/sleepy than I did at 4am ! The good thing is that after that long fast, and just the one kebab, my blood glucose had dropped from a dangerous 10.2mmol/l yesterday morning, to a very reasonable 8.2mmol/l this morning.

  I have already done one the more important things today. I have been shopping in Aldi. I seemed to spend a lot of money again this Monday morning. Some of it was spent on another bottle of whisky (12 year old to add to my collection), and a fair bit of it was spent on salad and accessories. Yet more was spent on bird food, and dog food. The latter for the fox cubs.

  I think the Vixen is having a hard time trying to feed the cubs. I suspect her milk has dried up now, and she is relying on scavenging waste to find food for them, but with wheelie bins being standard around here there is little to be found. I am sure the fix cubs were starving this morning. For the first time ever, the boldest of the four came near enough to the entrance to the earth to grab the spoonful of dog food I threw in the entrance so they would know there was food available. They wasted very little time once I had shut the back door before they emerged to eat every last morsel of food.

  There is one other definite thing I shall be doing today, and one I have actually started - more laundry. The clouds have all evaporated away now, and the sun is shining full blast. It will be great to get the laundry baked dry in the sunshine. The unknown thing at the moment is to whether I'll be going for a walk in the sunshine. My walk to and from Aldi was not without some discomfort, and that make feel I will give my feet a rest today. However, I may soak up some sun while tidying up my front garden. I suspect I may just get the garden shears on all the foliage, and cut it down like trimming a lawn rather than attempting anything more sophisticated.