07:49 BST

  Yesterday was hot and sunny. The temperature rose to a very pleasant 24 or 25° C - enough to feel very comfortable without being too hot.

  When I woke for a pee at 5am the sky to the north was a clear golden colour, but since then the cloud has thickened, and it is now getting almost gloomy.  The current temperature seems to be closer to 18° C rather than the forecast 15° C. That extra heat could well boil up some thunderstorms later in the day. The weather warning says there is a chance of a thunderstorm between 10am and midnight. Curiously enough, the latest revision to the forecast doesn't show any rain at all today.  The afternoon temperature is predicted to be 24° (according to the latest revision). Even without thunderstorms, or even plain rain, I think it could feel very muggy under the grey clouds predicted for much of the day. Tomorrow may feature a lot more sunny spells, but the temperature may only reach 21° C. Update at 8.15am: There is some light rain falling now.

   Yesterday turned out to be a busier day than expected. After my full ablutions - shave, shampoo and shower, I went to Tesco for a bit of shopping. I bought yet more 2 litre bottles of Diet Coke, more mealworms for the birds, and more rainbow coleslaw in Greek yoghurt. One little luxury was a pack of ready cooked king prawns. I was running a bit late by the time I went to Tesco, and I didn't have much time to relax before going for a walk in the park.

  The walk in the park was to go and meet Angela in the pub. I didn't leave quite enough time to do my usual walk right through the park to the back of St Mary's church. I cut through the hospital grounds to save 5 minutes. I think I actually got to the pub 10 minutes early. Angela was only 5 minutes behind me, and so had probably left work a bit early. It was very nice to see Angela. She gave me a birthday card (yesterday was my birthday - 67 years old - no wonder I am feeling the strain these days).

  I had only been chatting with Angela for 10 minutes when my phone rang. It was Jodie, and she was wondering what I was doing in the afternoon. I said "nothing" and she suggested we moved our Thursday beer tasting session to yesterday. That seemed reasonable for me, and suited her well because she is flying off to Sweden today (or getting ready for it). Yesterday was one of those quiet drinks with Angela where nothing much happened, but she did offer a very warm hug after I walked he back to her office.

  I walked home feeling happy, but maybe not good in other ways. I felt quite bloated in a way that I thought was a bit extreme for just two two pints of Guinness. With hindsight it was because I had not gone to the toilet in sufficient quantities for a day or two. I had "gone", but it never felt like it was enough to account for all I had eaten. Once I got home, and could semi relax, I felt perfectly comfortable again.

  I couldn't relax as much as I wanted because of Jodie's impending visit. I had to wash the beer glasses, clear the dining room table, and move the hoover, that had been sitting in the dining room ready for action, into the front room. Then I could partially relax, but not in the way originally intended. My original plan was to come home, have some lunch, and probably read and snooze through the whole afternoon. Instead I spend most of the time at my PC catching up with some websites.

  I could have had a short snooze because Jodie missed her train, and didn't get here until almost 4pm. By that time i was feeling the first signs of an extremely light hangover from the 2 pints of Guinness I had earlier, and I was quite keen to top up my alcohol. I think we drank half each of about 5 cans/bottles of beer - most of which was pretty horrid. It seems Jodie's taste continues to diverge from mine. She likes all the really sour beers - often made with wild yeasts with their own peculiar flavours. The strange thing was that there was one beer that I thought was only a bit too sour for my enjoyment, but was drinkable, and that Jodie described as totally minging. I think she finished the glass, but had to force it down.

  Jodie left to get the 6.18pm train, and I started to get my dinner together. I had grilled bacons as a birthday treat for breakfast, and no more than a few snacks for lunch. I was quite looking forward to a nice dinner, and It was nice. I had a starter of something that could be described as prawn cocktail, but was actually a pack of jumbo/king prawns heaped on a pot of "rainbow" coleslaw made with Greek yoghurt. The main dish was a really yummy corned beef hash ready meal. I only had the latter in the fridge because I had noticed it for near half price because it was on it's sell by date when I bought it last Sunday.

  Last night was another poor night on TV. I think I just watched a single episode of The Simpsons on Channel 4+1. That finished at 7.30pm, and it felt like I was almost ready for bed at that time. I wasted a bit more time, but there was still a lot of daylight left when I went to bed. I read for at least half an hour before I turned the light out, and went to sleep. Of course it wasn't as quick as that sounds, but it didn't take that long.

  I didn't take any painkillers before going to bed last night, and from time to time it was noticeable with my right elbow being the most prone part of me to ache. Nevertheless I did seem to sleep quite well. There were odd moments when I was awake long enough to just about complete the thought that I was not sleeping, and then a few hours would flash by unnoticed. I did seem to wake for a pee more often than usual, but maybe I didn't. It is possible I dreamed one or more of those times, but I can't really remember. In fact I can't remember a thing about the dreams I think I remember having.

  Getting up for a pee more often could have been a sign that my blood glucose had gone high again, and some of the beers I drank, plus the ready meal that formed part of my dinner, could easily have been to blame for it. I was most surprised that though it had gone up, it had only gone up from 7.3mmol/l yesterday morning to just 7.4mmol/l this morning. That is still under my self set target of 7.5mmol/l, and rather excellent.

  While that is good, I feel lousy this morning. As usual, after a busy day yesterday, I feel a bit tired. As usual, after drinking yesterday, a (very) light touch of hangover leaves me feeling tired. As usual, a dull grey start to the day saps my energy, and I feel a bit tired. As usual, a series of visits to the toilet in quick succession has left me feeling tired. That is four reasons to feel tired, and I think that justifies me feeling tired, or maybe it is listless, or maybe something else.

  Fortunately one reason for negative feelings is wearing off, and it really should be considered a positive thing. For a couple of days there seemed to be a mismatch between the food I shovelled in the top, and the waste output at the other end. This wasn't exactly constipation because I was "going", but it never felt like it was enough. This morning I went to the toilet quite normally, and this time it seemed a fair amount. Then I had breakfast of two bowls of instant noodles, and the heat from them must have increased the fermentation rate....or something. Four paragraphs ago I took a long break from writing while visiting the toilet three times at 3 minute intervals. I think I am fairly empty now, and with all the gas as well, fairly well deflated for the moment.

  With one problem out of the way, and recovering from all the effort of it, I still have three reasons for feeling tired and/or listless. Now this is a pity, and I hope I will eventually feel like doing a lot more than laying on my bed reading today. The hoover is out and ready for action. It will be good if I can raise the enthusiasm to do at least the spare room, and ideally the hall, stairs and dining room too. I need to wash/wipe down the dining room tablecloth. Fortunately it is made of PVC so only needs wiping. If I could do all that I would be halfway ready for Patricia to stay for a couple of nights.

  I think I'll leave cleaning and polishing the bathroom for another day. With Patricia only likely to stay for two nights, I don't think it worthwhile putting new shower curtains up. The existing one looks a little bit scummy, but not too terrible - I hope. I ought to try and clean the kitchen up, but there is no way I am going to do the ultra deep clean it really needs. I'll try and sweep the floor, and I'll wipe down all the main surfaces, and that will have to do. I doubt I will do that today either. One thing I definitely won't be doing today is going for a walk in the park. I don't fancy a walk in the rain with lightning flashing overhead !