As usual the forecast has been revised a few times since I took the screenshot above. 11am is now shown as full sunshine. The sun actually broke through as early as 9am. The sun is supposed to go in after 11am, but should be out again at 1pm. After that it will be mostly lightly overcast, but with almost no chance of rain. Late this evening the clouds will thicken, and the chance of rain rises to about 10%. The best we can hope for today is 7° C. It will probably start to rain in the early hours of tomorrow morning, but the rain is supposed to stop by around 11am. The temperature will only rise to 6° C.

  I think the worst effect of two nights of poor sleep was mostly in my head yesterday. I didn't seem to physically feel sleepy, but I think I thought I ought to. Having said that, I am not sure if it was physical fatigue, or once again all in my head, but when I did the one thing of note yesterday, some laundry by hand, I didn't feel inclined to do it all in one go. The two main items of that laundry were a small bath towel and a hand towel. Both needed some energy to wring them out.

  I put the towels and a few small items, including a couple of bar towels, in to soak after I had a morning shower. It was early afternoon when I got back to them, and started going through the three rinses, and finally the fabric conditioner. I was just ending the first rinse, and wringing all the water out, when I thought I would take a break before finishing the whole thing. It was maybe an hour later before I did the next two rinses. While wringing it all out to put it in the fabric conditioner my rubber glove split.

  I stopped at that point, and washed my hands, and let them dry thoroughly before putting on a fresh pair of rubber gloves. I could then do the fabric conditioner, and then wring all the stuff out before hanging it on the clothes horse to dry it. I always give each item another wringing out as I hang it to dry. With all the stuff hanging up read to dry I could resume relaxing. I spent nearly all day relaxing because I couldn't find the enthusiasm to do any more.

  One thing I did do took surprisingly little effort, and it was to be careful about what I ate yesterday. I had started the day with a very high blood glucose reading, and I was hoping that if I was careful I could get it down for this morning. My breakfast of bacon was mostly safe. Lunch involved a gamble. I had 4 satsumas and a lump of cheese. It was quite a small lunch, but those little satsumas would have had some sugar in them, although they were not very sweet to the taste.

  I considered several possibilities for dinner, but I ended up having soup - 3 cans of it ! That had two advantages. All had very little sugar content, and being mostly liquid would soon empty from my stomach, and leave no bloat (but also very little sense of fullness either). I think it should have made sleeping easier, or at least easier than if I had stuffed myself with something far more substantial.

  Like the last few nights, prior to sleeping really badly, I didn't feel sleepy for most of the evening. I ended up watching several hours of TV before heading to bed. There were two music documentaries on Sky Arts that were of interest. One was about Iron Maiden, and the other about Black Sabbath. Both were sort of good, but I feel that just half an hour for each meant skimming over so many details.

  Before I went to bed I took a couple of Paracetamols. The reason I had slept so badly for the previous two nights, or maybe the more important reason, was that I felt uncomfortable. Various bits of me ached, and the bits would be different depending on how I was laying down, and the position of my limbs, and stuff like that. I then read in bed for at least an hour to let those painkillers start working.

  Either the painkillers worked, or I was over what ever plague or whatever, that was causing the discomfort, and overall I slept well last night. I even managed to sleep late. That is not to say I didn't wake up several times in the night. The water in those three cans of soup I had for dinner was equivalent to drinking three 330ml cans of beer (or soft drink), and so there was an occasional need for a wee.

  I seem to recall having one period of insomnia sometime in the night, but it only lasted for maybe 10 minutes. It might have even been a dream. I remember very little of the dreams I had, but I have a feeling they were what could be described as happy dreams. The quaintest one was set a long time ago, an concerned being shown the best place to hop over the fence (or wall) by either an engine driver, or signalman, to get to some tomato plants that were growing next to a small railway line. They weren't actually growing between the rails - those tomato plants are the result of the toilets on older train (and I believe a very few existing trains) flushing directly onto the track !

  One dream was sort of exhilarating. I was coming home from the middle of Catford, and as I got near to the road that lead directly to my house I noted that many people were running - not from anything, but just for exercise. I wondered if I could race someone to the end of the road. I couldn't quite do it in time, but it felt like with a bit of practice I could do it easily. I can't recall any feeling of breathlessness, or anything aching, it was just that I couldn't seem to move my legs fast enough, but they were moving freely. I think I woke up as I reached home. I don't recall feeling short of breath then, and if I felt anything it was just amazement that I did as well as I did - even if it was just a dream.

  I think this morning was the latest I have got up in ages. Initially I was yawning fit to bust, but I knew I would not be able to get to sleep again. I was very happy when I checked my blood glucose. It was down to 8.0mmol/l. That was quite a drop from a near danger level 9.9mmol/l. It was below my typical monthly average, and would only have been better if it had been close to 7.5mmol/l, my self set target. I doubt I will really hit that target, and even get lower readings until I lose some belly fat (the main cause of Diabetes II). Maybe once we get through the trials of Xmas and the new year, and maybe not until the first whiff of spring is in the air, I can try and lose some weight.

  I have one single plan for today. It is to go to a gig tonight. I can't seem to raise any enthusiasm for gigs these day, and doubly so any that mean getting a bus to them. I know that masks are supposed to be worn on buses, but I am not sure the attitude of drivers on the buses. Do they assume anyone without a mask is exempt on account of some non obvious medical condition, or do they challenge everyone ? I have no problem wearing a mask when quietly waiting in, for instance, a doctors waiting room, but when I am walking I am breathing so heavily that a mask just feels terribly unpleasant. Even going up the stairs to the top deck of a bus means some heavy breathing for a while.

  The gig is in The Chatterton Arms, the other side of Bromley, and the band is Strange Fashion. Having seen them once before I know they are good, but by itself that is not enough. The main lure tonight is that both Angela, and daughter Miranda should be there. All being well it is possible that Miranda could do a duet, or even sing a song by herself. I haven't seen Miranda sing for 3 or 4 years now, and she is so good. I have a hope that Angela will not have lover boy in tow, but the more I think about it, the more it feels like he will be there. Oh well.