Now that summer is officially over today's weather is practising for some summer-like days. As I write this the sun is out - in defiance of the forecast, although I will admit it is rather hazy sunshine. The latest revision of the forecast has brought forward the sunny spells to midday, and they may continue, without the showers shown in the early version of the forecast above, until sunset. The temperature has been revised down a degree, but even 23° C ain't bad. Tomorrow may see sunny spells starting at 11am, and lasting all day. The temperature could hit a nice warm 26° C, although at this time of year it could be a rather humid feeling 26° C.

   Yesterday I continued to recover from my bender on Thursday night/Friday morning. By late afternoon I wasn't feeling too bad. In fact maybe I was feeling close to good. After doing just about nothing after my visit to Tesco in the morning, I went into the garden to harvest a few seed pods from the poppies that sprung up all by themselves. I was harvesting from someone I know on the Bromley music scene. I have no idea if she wanted them to plant, for something like flower arranging, or for "herbal tea". The latter is a possibility. She is (hopefully) recovering from cancer, and while they may not have anywhere near the potency of the Afghan variety, rumour has it that a tea made from the crushed seed heads can be soothing.

  While I was in the garden I noticed that the heads of my potato plants were now very yellow. It was time to harvest what ever potatoes they had produced.  My timing was stupid in one sense. There may have only been three big potato plants, but that still involved enough digging to cause a bit of a sweat. That was the last thing I wanted when I didn't have enough time to wash my hair before going out, and wanting to look all cool and sofisticated*. Anyway, I grabbed my spade and dug up almost a full 2 gallon (?) bucket full of spuds - and some were big enough to be baking potatoes !

* This is the correct spelling in this context. See Alexi Scale, etc for this typical pronunciation when referring to appearance in a pub....... probably...

  I cooled down after a half an hour or so, and I still had plenty of time to give my face a good wash even if I didn't have time to have a full shower. At the same time as washing my face I had a wet shave while it was all wet and soapy. All too soon it was time to grab my camera and set out to go to a Chain gig in Blackheath. Engineering work meant there were no trains, and I had to get a bus. Many people said I had no worries about mask wearing on buses now, and in deed I was in good company on the bus there and back - less than half the passengers had masks on, and no one said a word.

  Unfortunately the legacy of Covid live on. The Railway pub in Blackheath does not take cash. Payment can only be made my card, and with pubs and restaurants once being noted as the main premises where card fraud takes place I think it is a stupid idea. That was not my prime reason for getting the hump and walking out without buying a drink. Like the business with self service checkouts at supermarkets, I wanted to stand up to my imaginary rights which includes paying for good with legal tender. Instead of drinking in the pub waiting for Chain to start I went for a wander on the heath.
  Night time photography is an interesting challenge, and it gets more interesting when some of the scene is very bright. The lights of the funfair were surprisingly bright - even when seen from across the other side of the heath, and it was terribly easy to over expose the photo.
  Without the bright lights I could open up the camera a bit more to take this picture of the church (whose name I forget) that stands alone on the heath (apart from the parked cars). It is surprising how much light the camera can find in the sky. To my eyes it was almost black, but the sky in London is never truly black. It is interesting that since the advent of much whiter LED streetlighting the sky glow over London is no longer orange.
  I am not a good photographer in the sense that I can't always picture what I am trying to achieve. The best are probably those who could paint what they see, and can arrange the view for best effect. Sometimes I do manage a little artistic view, and this picture of the pond, with the reflections of the street lamps has come out pretty much as I hoped.
  I did up back at the pub, and I was bought a couple of pints. One of them was on the bands bar tab. It was a curious thing because I was both very grateful, but somehow annoyed. I guess it was because I couldn't make a big thing out of being a martyr !  Oddly enough, I think I was happier with the outdoor pictures than those I took of the band. I was trying to find a balance between leaving the stage lights to cast their colours across the band, and using enough flash to get a well lit scene. This one was one of several that came closest to the ideal balance.
  This picture used a lot more flash, and Jo is nicely lit with natural skin tones, while the background has a nice purple wash. If it were possible in most of the venues I see bands, i.e. pubs, I would like all the coloured lights to light up the back, but with some white lights for the musicians faces at the front. That is generally how it is done in theatres, but then again in a theatre there is usually a lighting technician who can control the lights.

  I only stayed for Chain's first set, but that didn't end until gone 10pm. I think they would have played until 1am at this pub. Once again I waited for, and got on the bus with no mask, and no one said a word. I got a different bus, the 202, home. Unfortunately that pulls up opposite the fried chicken shop I used to frequent far too often in the past, and I had to cross the road, and go past it to get home...

  Yes, I went in there, and it was the same man who served me as who would often serve me when I would go in there after many gigs when I was out and about much more frequently 3, 4, or was it 5 years ago ? Being served my the same man was good in one respect. It seems it pays off being polite, and smiling. Some of his customers can be real arses - usual things, trying to order in the middle of a phone conversation, not having enough money, demanding particular parts of the chicken, and just being generally rude. My politeness bought me 5 pieces of chicken, albeit slightly small bits, when I asked for 3 pieces.

  I have to admit it felt good to get home, and tuck into a late summer. It was just like happier days. Of course it wasn't good for me, far from it, but I don't intend to make it a habit. I ate my supper, and with de-greased hands I checked through some of the pictures, and even did a simple edit on a bit of video I shot...