Some of today is going to be brighter than yesterday. In fact the sun is shining as I write this, but the latest revision to the forecast says the sun will go behind light clouds by 11am, and from midday it will be back to mid grey clouds. There could be some more sunny spells at 5pm. At least it should stay dry today. The afternoon temperature may only be 6° C again (according to the latest revision), but the temperature may only drop to 5° C by midnight. That is still unpleasantly cold, but not as bad as last night. Tomorrow may feature a lot of sunshine, but the temperature will still only reach 6° C, and by midnight it could be 3° C or less.

  I passed a fair amount of time yesterday doing more work on my train photos catalogue spreadsheet. As I mentioned yesterday, I was having to use some pretty poor quality photos in my listings. The worst were those taken from negatives taken on my old film camera. I came to the conclusion that my negative scanner wasn't always doing a good job, and that I actually had better quality versions of some photos that were scans of the printed pictures.

  One other observation was the change in quality between the photos taken on my old SLR (Single Lens Reflex) camera, and a sort of upmarket "instamatic" type camera. If conditions were good, which mostly meant good light, and a non-moving subject, the simple camera did a better job that I did with the SLR camera. In less than good conditions the SLR always won. At least I think that is how it was. I have actually no idea what camera I was using for any particular picture.

  I know the the SLR camera was a Praktica Super TL, but I have no idea of the make or model of the more basic camera(s) I used. I suddenly remember I had two. One used to jam from time to time, and I bought an Agfa (I think) from Dixons in Croydon as a sort of emergency. I had a bit more luck doing photography yesterday. For much of yesterday I was just passing time until it was time to go out to another two gigs.
  My first port of call was The Chatterton Arms where M.T. Pockets were playing their first even gig at the pub. I really like M.T. Pockets because Dan Murphy, the singer and guitarist is a brilliant guitar player. He is one of those players where the guitar become an extension of himself.
  The band tend towards playing funk classics, but not entirely, and even those Dan plays in a rock guitar way. If the band have one fault it is one shared by many others - starting later than the advertised time. At 8.30pm, when it was billed to start, they were still setting up. Fortunately they are so well practiced that they didn't bother with a sound check, and launched into the first song 15 to 20 minutes late.

  For most this wouldn't matter, but I was in the same situation as last Saturday. I wanted to see two bands, and I wanted to see the second band not too long after they started. For this Saturday there was the added problem that it was a bus ride between the two gigs rather than a walk. The other problem was that the second gig was The Partridge, and like last Saturday, it was packed solid in there.
  The band on at The Partridge were Hell On Tap, and it was the first time they had played in public, although they were all well seasoned performers. The front (Wo)man is the very charismatic Carrie Mae. She has a very big stage presence. I've seen her at open mics, and as a guest singer many times over quite a few years. I've also seen her as just part of a duo with her boyfriend Steven Blessing. In this picture she displays her trade mark style - mic in one hand, and drink in the other - and she never spills a drop !
  It was so packed in the pub that it was very hard to try and get a position where I could get snaps of all the band. There was zero chance of getting all the band in one shot, except for a very oblique shot. To get this picture I had to hold the camera as high as I could over my head (and over the heads of others), and hope I managed to point the camera in the right direction (aided by some fierce cropping of the original picture).

  Last night was a lot like when I was taking Pictures of Chain in the same pub. I snapped maybe two dozen pictures in the space of 15 to 20 minutes, hoping some might be usable, and then headed for home. There was one big difference from then on. Road resurfacing work on Bromley Hill meant that traffic could not go down the hill, and there was a diversion in place. My 320 bus went via Grove Park, and that probably added something like 15 minutes to a 20 minute (on a good day) journey.

  To make matters worse, the bus was freezing. It was obvious there was no heating on, and I was almost shivering. It made for a rather uncomfortable end to the evening after an uncomfortable start. I had actually started the whole evening with the discomfort of trapped wind. Every so often I would let out a vile fart, but fortunately I managed to hold them in while on the buses or in the pubs. At first I was worried that I was building up to a relapse of my many visits to the toilet on Friday.

  For much of the bus ride home it was raining, and when the bus got to it's final stop, by Catford Bridge station, I asked the bus driver if I could stay on until he did the right turn to loop around to the bus stand behind Tesco. He was a bit reluctant, but said as it was raining he would do it, "just this once". That halved the distance I had to walk in the rain - except by then the rain has reduced to just the odd drip.

  I was basically dry when I got home, but I felt freezing cold. Ideally I would have had some nice hot dinner, but I was eating the two shish kebabs I had ordered the night before. I could do little more than just take the chill off them without cooking the salad. They were still very nice, very nice indeed, but provided no warmth at all. That was a shame because I felt cold for most of the night, and that was with the heater turned on full blast as soon as I went up to my bedroom.

  I had a really rotten night. The cold and damp had got lots of bits of me aching, including, as always, my chest. Other bits decided to ache too, and the most comfortable way to sleep was actually in a position that would normally be slightly uncomfortable. I didn't sleep like that for long, and I didn't seem to sleep that much at all, although I probably did get quite a few hours sleep even if it didn't feel like it.

  On top of everything else it was like I had a chill - or even the start of mild covid. My nose was very itchy. My throat felt a bit odd, like it was swollen or inflamed or something. I was having to blow my nose a lot, although my nose wasn't actually pouring, and it took little to start a dry cough. On the whole I did not feel good !

  Despite a late night, and not enough sleep, I still got up just after 7am. The first thing I checked was my temperature to see if I had any fever. My temperature was a little higher than usual, 35.8° C against a more typical 35.0° C, but that is a long way away from a fever (37.8° C was always quoted on Covid posters). My blood glucose had gone up to 8.3mmol/l, and while that is not particularly high, it was a bit disappointing. The rise could be because I am fighting an infection, or it could just be because I had my dinner at almost 11pm last night.

  I ignored that slightly raised blood glucose an indulged in two bowls of instant noodles instead of one. That hot food seemed to do the trick, and while I didn't feel wonderful afterwards, I did feel considerably better. A few hours later and I don't feel good, but I don't feel bad. If I look for aches and stuff I can find them, but I think the main thing is that I am starting to feel very tired. If I can overcome the tiredness, and other disabilities, it is my intention to go out to another gig tonight.

  I do wonder if it is wise after last night, but I want to See Lord Algea playing a support slot in The Camden Underworld. It is a free gig, but I don't think I'll try and take a big DSLR camera with me this time, but if I get there, I will see if I can ask someone if it would be OK on another occasion - maybe Max Edwards, who effectively is Lord Algea, could arrange a photographers pass if they play there again. Of course, on top of overcoming possible health problems, there is also the problem of using the tube to get there, and in particular will I be challenged for not wearing a facemask. I should be exempt, but there is no way of proving I am.