A consequence of the clear sky was that the temperature fell a lot during the night. It didn't start very high, and so it was only a mild surprise that at about 5am it was just 11° C according to the radio linked thermometer by my bed. It should eventually warm up to 22° C by 4pm - according to the latest update to the forecast. That update shows a bit less sunshine than the early version in the screenshot above. After 9am there may only be sunny spells on alternate hours, but it should stay dry the whole day, and it will end up feeling warm. Tomorrow sees the rain return. If it ends up like the forecast (which I doubt it will) there will be just light rain almost all day. It will still be around 20° C.

  I must admit that yesterday's grey skies made me very slow getting ready to go out. I did have thoughts of trying to walk a few miles before ending up in the park with Angela. One thing I did attempt to do was to phone the phlebotomy appointments "hotline" to try and book an appointment to give the blood samples for testing that the nurse was hoping I would give in March ! I got through first time, listened to the various announcements, and then hung up when told I was 56th in the queue !

  Instead of going out at midday, or perhaps even earlier, I didn't seem to get my act together until 20 minutes to one pm. That left me no time to do much more than walk direct to the pub. One delay was putting new laces in my new boots so I could take them for a test walk. They seemed to feel odd, but not what I would call uncomfortable. What was a lot more uncomfortable was the hooded raincoat I decided to wear because of the dire threat of heavy rain and thunderstorms shown in the forecast.
  This was my view soon after I entered the park. To the east there was a lot of blue sky, but to the north (right hand edge of the picture) there were many dark threatening clouds. I did feel a few drops of rain hit my face, but the greatest cause of discomfort was hot sunshine on my back I was cooking under that raincoat !
  A bit further into the park, and a clear view to the north shows loads of threatening clouds building up. It looked as if the heavens would open any time soon, just as the forecast said, but what I didn't realise was that the weather was, or later appeared to be moving from the west. (It could have been from the west, but the important thing is that it wasn't from the north).

  When I got to the back of the hospital, with my raincoat still undone, I sent a text message to Angela to say I would soon be in the pub, and that there was hardly any rain at that time, but I wasn't so sure there might be torrents of rain when we left the pub - if Angela wanted to join me. She did, and soon after I got to the pub I was joined by a very happy Angela.


  One of the topics of conversation was the open mic night she was taken to by lover boy last Monday. She wasn't keen on going, and only went to support lover boy. She expected to have an awful time, and said it would have been nice if circumstances would have been that I could go too so I could keep her company. Part of that message included one of Angela's famous "ready to rock" selfies that she used to put on social media prior to going to gig. She can't do that now because it would not be approved by lover boy, but she did take, and send the picture on the left specially for me !

  It seems the night was not as awful as Angela expected, but she said she would prefer not to have to go to too many of them. Despite that little bit of negativity, Angela was once again seemingly very happy. I could delude myself that she was very happy to see me again. She was also happy, but maybe a bit shocked, or worried, when the barmaid got distracted when pouring Angela's second drink. It looked like her second was a treble vodka !

  While we were in the pub the sun was shining through the front windows, and all looked, and almost felt well with the world. At least in our little corner of the pub the world was a fabulous place. All too soon it was time for Angela to get back to work. After her extra drink she may have been very slightly drunk, but I think she was more high on a sense of freedom to act like herself. She was much more like the old Angela I used to know as a lover. It was a shame to say goodbye when we got to her office, but it was a nice goodbye - more of an embrace than a hug. I'm not really sure what the difference is except an extra warmth to it.

  It was still dry, but there were plenty of black clouds to be seen. It seemed prudent to get back home as fast as possible, but the two pints of Guinness I drank seemed to weigh me down. The worse thing was that I was halfway home when I felt a nasty pain in my left ankle. It was like a sprain, but I had done nothing to sprain it. It was probably something to do with my new boots, and it might be that I had tied the laces a bit too tight. All I could do was to hobble along as best I could. By the time I was home the pain had faded to nothing.

  It wasn't long after I got home that the first rain fell. For a few seconds it was moderately heavy, but mostly it was light, and I don't think it lasted for more than 10 or 15 minutes. The dark skies made me feel hungry...or rather they made me want to eat something. I shouldn't have been hungry at that point. It was almost like a conditioned reflex. Out of all the things I could eat I opted for some soup. I had two cans of it - one of lentil soup, and the other pea and ham soup. I know from previous experience they are both very gentle on my blood glucose levels.

  After the soup, and with nothing else to do, I laid on my bed and read for a while. I don't know how long it took before my eyes started to droop, but once they did, I put the book down, and closed my eyes. I would be surprised if I slept for less than an hour, and I would only be mildly surprised if was as much as 2 hours. I have no idea how long it was, but it seemed to dispose of a lot of the afternoon.

  It didn't seem long until it would be dinner time, and I had to decide what to have for dinner. I had suggested to Angela that I would probably have a couple of Aldi chicken Kievs, and I put them in the mini oven to cook. I had thought I was going to have them with some salad leaves and tomatoes, but while putting them in to cook I had second thoughts about that. In the end I had a two course dinner. The first course was salad leaves, a few sliced tomatoes (I didn't want to go mad with them like I did a day or three ago), and some ham.

  The salad should have been nice, and in a way it was, but I was actually drooling for the chicken Kievs.  That was a silly mistake because those chicken kievs were a disappointment. They didn't seem to have much garlic in them, and even the herbs tasted a bit lacklustre. I doubt they were made with butter, as they should have been, and whatever grease they did use seemed to drain away leaving the filling dry. The chicken was a bit dry too. I shan't be buying that version again. I might try some other make one day if I get the urge, but maybe the urge has been satisfied for some time to come.

  I ended up watching a bit more TV than usual last night, although I did turn off for 20 minutes rather than watch some old rubbish as I waited for QI to start at 8.20pm (on Dave).  After QI finished I went to bed to read for a while. What became quickly obvious was that it was cooling down rapidly outside, and my bedroom was slowly following. When I decided to try for some sleep I covered myself with the sill empty duvet cover. I slept covered all night for the first time in months. That is not to say I slept like it non stop through the night. As usual (or now usual) I woke up several times in the night, but somehow it feels like I might have slept well last night (where "well" might just mean "better").

  This morning I am happy to say that my blood glucose was down to a very satisfactory 7.8mmol/l. I don't think I expected it to be that low, although I hadn't eaten of drank anything that should have caused much concern. I don't feel that goof for it though, and if anything, in a specific way I feel worse. This morning my left knee feels as stiff and sore as my right knee often does. I don't know if this shares a common cause with that ankle pain I had on my way home from the pub, or if one is the result of the other. What I do know is that I must remember to take some paracetamol before I go out today.

  I have several things planned for today if there is time. I want to wash a few things and get them on the line to dry. I want to go to Poundstretcher and buy more bird food (this is getting expensive !) and I want to buy a few more solar powered garden lights. I have noticed that my current lights are almost enough to occasionally switch my garden CCTV camera from infra red to normal colour. The colour picture is dull and very grainy, but is in colour. I suspect a few more lights and I can keep colour pictures all night. The infra red is good, but shadowy. Real pictures are much better.

  The main feature today is the return of the Thursday club drinking sessions in The Shortlands Taverm. Today's session starts at 3pm. This will all annoy Jodie. The early start may not suit her, and she doesn't like the beers they sell there. It is a real ale pub, and not an outlet for weird Scandiwegian breweries few have ever heard of !