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September 2021 October 2021

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Wednesday 6th October 2021
08:25 BST

  The weather forecast for yesterday got most of the ingredients right, but the timing of various things were usually out by a factor of at least several hours. Of course in the forecasters defence, they did keep updating/revising the forecast through the day, and as midnight approached they probably had it perfect for the last hour of the day. Yesterday morning was quite sunny with some nice large patches of blue sky. The sky eventually clouded over an hour or two after the earlier forecasts predicted. Nothing much happened under the resulting rather grey sky until just before 5pm when it rained for 10 or 15 minutes. It was a rather cool day, and I don't think the temperature went higher than the forecast 14° C.
a sunny day
  I am rather hoping the forecast, shown in the screenshot above, turns out to be right. A very sunny day seems like a nice treat after so many cold, wet, and dull days. Unfortunately the latest revision now says the sunshine will be reduced to sunny intervals between 1pm and 5pm. That will have the effect of shaving off the brief 17° C shown at 4pm to 16° C like the rest of the afternoon. That is not that warm, but not that bad, and better than recent days. Curiously enough, tomorrow may not see any sunshine at all, and a couple of hours may be a rather dull grey, but the temperature could still briefly touch 19° C (but I bet it doesn't).

  Yesterday was a very different day to how I imagined it might be, and to some extent a quite positive day. That is not to say there wasn't one negative thing. I guess things started to change when I phoned the surgery to ask about 'flu vaccinations. They had sent out a message saying they would be doing vaccinations last Saturday, and to phone for an appointment. I thought that there would be a big rush, and that it would be better to let the hysteria die down.

  I realise I am telling this in the wrong order. The first thing I did yesterday was to go to Poundstretcher via the Halifax cash machine (on of the few left in Catford. The others being outside the Nat West bank, or whatever they call themselves these days). I had originally intended to go to Poundland, but opted for Poundstretcher because of their bigger range of more useful stuff. I managed to fill my rucksack and an extra bag-for-life type bag.

 I bought lots of bird feed, 4 bottles of bleach, two cans of sugar free Irn Bru, some disposable aluminium pie dishes, and a three pack of big kitchen towels. I think there were one or two other things, but unlike in Poundland, none of it was cheap tat that I didn't really need. It seemed a pleasant bit of shopping, and not too bad a walk. I suspect it might have been a little more pleasant if I had worn a coat. It didn't seem to be that cold, and at first I was perfectly comfortable, but it was starting to feel a bit cool as I made my way home.

  It was after I had got that shopping that I phoned the surgery about a 'flu vaccination. The entire call lasted 11 minutes. All but three of those minutes, and possibly less, were listening to all sorts of advice to do this, do that, do the other, and that the chances of seeing a doctors were exceedingly low. Eventually the worst of it was over, and I was finally in the queue to talk to "administration".

  I endured the "trunks busy" (as I used to know it when I was a telecoms engineer) beeping, and the the continued bits of advice that would play every 30 seconds. I had started something like third in the queue. That seemed promising, but it was, or felt like an age before I finally spoke to someone. I asked if I could make an appointment for the 'flu jab, and I could hear him muttering under his breath as he scrolled through all the appointment slots. It sounded like they had none, and I think he was just about to say so when he suddenly said "how about 4.20pm today ?".

  I said that would do fine. I got the impression he looked at the days appointment slots last assuming they were all filled. I also asked about the so called Covid booster shot. He had heard of it, but said they weren't doing it yet. I said not to worry, and that I would enquire at the hospital where I had my first two shots of the Astra Zenica vaccine. Angela said they were doing the booster shot using the Pfizer vaccine. She didn't think she wanted it, but I will make enquiries there - possibly today.

  One thing I was doing yesterday afternoon was waiting for an Amazon delivery, and they were not giving any secrets away about when it might be. At 2.30pm I took a couple of screenshots of the latest predictions. Notice the times on these two screenshots.
package
                                      tracking 1
tracking
                                      info 2

 The keen eyed may notice that at the time I took the screenshots the estimated time of earliest delivery was actually before the packet had even left the depot - clever if it were possible. At 2.45pm I went back online and rechecked, and this time it just blandly said "before 9pm".  Incidently, the mention of "age restricted delivery" refers to a bottle of whisky that was part of the order, but came separately a week ago. To almost conclude this section, the package was delivered at almost 7pm.

  I was feeling quite paranoid when I went to the surgery for my 4.20pm appointment for my 'flu jab. I was convinced my package would arrive while I was out. It didn't and so that was all right.  The nurse I saw was the same one I saw towards the end of August for my diabetic checkup. I can't say I like her that much, but she did a very good job of getting that vaccination needle in 99.8% painlessly. It might have even been better than that.

   I knew it was the same nurse in advance, and so I took along a post-it type note of my monthly blood glucose averages for the year so far. I pointed out how high it had been in May when I was originally supposed to give blood samples, and how I sat on the blood sample request form until I was happy I would get a good result. It was a better result than expected, and I was praised for my diabetic control.

  I then pointed out that the average for last month, September, was even lower than when I had submitted those blood samples. She was rather excited about it, and asked how I did it. I told her that it was all done by being very careful what I eat, and taking morning readings every day so I could see what was happening. I had to argue with one doctor that the test strips should be on my repeat prescription. He gave in, but said my condition was not bad enough to really warrant it. That was silly because it is only by constant monitoring that I can myself safe. The nurse asked if I could leave the post-it note so she could add those figures to my medical record - presumably to demonstrate that I take my diabetes very seriously.

  It was while walking back from the surgery that I got caught in a moderately heavy shower. Fortunately I had put a coat on. I had considered going without because it had been almost sunny when I left home. I think it was possibly the first time I had done up that coat since sometime last winter or spring. I had been thinking I had been putting on weight, or at least that my gut size had increased, but that coat did up easily, and was comfortable to wear (apart from feeling a bit too warm when I got home).

  There was no particular reason for it, but since having some fish fingers for breakfast I had eaten nothing more. Of course that is why I now tend to have a breakfast if I am not going out anywhere (beyond the local shops or the surgery). That breakfast does tend to reduce any hunger during the day, but after the 'flu jab, and getting caught in the rain, I had a strong desire for something to eat. I had 4 Marmite flavoured rice cakes with cheese and chopped chillies.

  It wasn't much more than an hour before dinner time at that point, and I managed to wait until 6.30pm for my dinner, half an hour later than usual. I had a fairly nice, but not all that filling, dinner of cod in breadcrumbs on a bed of wild rocket dressed with balsamic vinaigrette. I had one and a half mouthfuls left when there was a ring at my doorbell. It was my package from Amazon.

  I finished my breakfast and opened the packet in a state of great excitement (or something like that). It was all a bit of an anticlimax. I thought I had ordered two packets of 2 eye cups for my Nikon cameras viewfinders, but there was only one, and on checking the original order that was all I had ordered. No matter, two spares should be enough for a long while unless I am very careless. The other item was a sunshield for a Sigma lens. It was a bit tricky ordering the right one. What I got was a lovely lens shield, but sadly it doesn't fit any lens I have. Oh well, we live and learn.
wind
                                          damage
  I think I mentioned that the very strong winds we had some days ago had really rattled the scaffolding on this house out the back of me. The scaffolding survived perfectly OK, but the tarpaulin on the side facing me got badly ripped.
sunflower
  The strong winds tried to topple my tallest sunflower, but I had given it a bit of help with a bit of string tied to the fence, and it remains upright. It has reached as high as the top of the fence, but I think it has stopped growing up now. One significant change is that the flower bud has now bent over to face horizontally instead of up. That is what the sunflower that is currently flowering did. It is now seeming to be possible that I will have another flower soon. There are also a couple of shorter plants that may flower if it doesn't get too cold, and we get more sunshine.
sunset last night
  I feel sure I didn't manage to capture last night's sunset at it's best, but this picture give a fair idea of how nice it was at the time I took the picture (6:15pm). I think it got a bit redder later, but it still seemed to herald a good day today, and that is certainly how this morning is.

  The back pain I complained about yesterday gradually faded during the day. The last discomfort was some lower back pain. That was probably caused by sleeping awkwardly. I still felt "delicate" when I was going to bed last night. I can't quite remember what time it was, but I think it may have been after the last wee I had before going to bed. I don't know how I did it, but I experienced a lightning bolt of pain when I tried to flush the toilet. My toilet is very weird in that to flush it you have to pull a handle upwards (don't ask !). It was as I pulled upwards that the pain occurred, and I momentarily lost all power in the muscles I was using.

  The pain was in the upper arm muscle, and centred around an area where I had my second covid jab. For a month or two there was a sort of lump there. I have no idea what happened last night, but I attempted to flush the toilet again, and this time there was no problem. Since then I have tried to avoid the stance I used when I did get that pain. The trouble is that I have no real idea of how I was trying to do it differently from normal. This morning there is still some tenderness, and I cringe every time I flush the toilet. I am sure it was will soon fade from memory.

  I was actually quite comfortable in bed last night, and I am sure I might have slept better than I did if only I had been able to remember a dream I was having when I woke up at 1am. The dream was something to do with Covid, and probably vaccinations. All I can remember is something couldn't happen unless something was 10 miles away. I think I puzzled over this for well over an hour before I managed to fall asleep again. At 3am I turned the heater on low because I was feeling too warm and too cold.

  I had better explain that. I felt too warm when under the duvet, but it was far too cold to stick an arm or leg out. A bit of mild heat made that possible. I guess my sleep felt a bit patchy after that, but it was partly an illusion because time was passing far faster than it seemed to be. Suddenly it was just gone 7am, and time to get up.  Initially I felt very creaky, with some assorted discomfort, but nothing out of the ordinary. I did wonder if the aching joints were a reaction to the 'flu vaccine, but I think it was just the effect of sleeping that made joints sieze up. I feel mostly OK now, several hours later.

  The best thing about this morning was that my blood glucose was down to 7.8mmol/l. I still haven't hit my target of 7.5mmol/l, but at least it has lowered my running average, and gives some hope that I might be able to end the month with a record low (although saying it is probably the kiss of death to that idea). I have to admit there is a temptation to celebrate by having a few forbidden fruits, but at this end of the day I am resisting the idea.

  I've heard from Angela this morning. She sent a message saying she didn't think she would be able to get to the pub for "a little while now". There was no explanation, but she did say she would let me know when she can get there again, and she ended it with 4 kisses. I can think of some possible explanations, but none of them are that her work has got too busy. I guess I will probably learn why in the future.

  Fortunately this doesn't really affect my plans because I was thinking of not seeing Angela unless she called me to say she was going to the pub at lunchtime - which I doubted she would do. I have two things I want to do today. One is to pop along to the hospital vaccination centre and enquire about the so called Covid booster shot. The other is to collect my latest repeat prescription from the pharmacy. The pharmacy is on the way back from the hospital so I shall do both as one walk. There is just one other thing that I nearly forgot. It is to take advantage of the sunshine, and wash just one t-shirt, and three pairs of underpants so they can dry on the washing line. They are soaking right now !
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