By my reckoning, the temperature at 7am was just a few tenths of a degree short of -5° C. My most exposed outside thermometer says it is still -3° C as I write this. So the temperature may be lower than the forecast predicted, but it got the sunshine right. It is gloriously bright at the moment, but the suns rays seem to carry very little heat. Like yesterday, the temperature may rise to 1° C this afternoon, but will soon plunge down to a possible -3° C by 11pm. Some slightly warmer air will be blowing in over night. 6am tomorrow could see the temperature back up to 0° C, and maybe with the help of more sunshine, the afternoon should reach 5° C.

   Two things of note happened yesterday. The first had the more lasting significance. I had a nice warm shower, but the water didn't drain away from the bathtub. My bodged repair of the pipe that takes the waste water from the bath to the soil stack is not straight. It is bowed, and water collecting at the bottom of the bow has frozen solid, and blocked the drain. With the forecast saying there should be quite a thaw tomorrow (5° C expected) I feel patient enough not to resort to tricky manoeuvres like balancing on a ladder with a kettle of boiling water to pour on the pipe.

 It does mean that I will have to have a flannel wash today if I expect to socialise, or even go shopping. Both are possible, but the probability of socialising is rather slim. The good thing was that I had a good scrub under the shower yesterday, and "Soft & Gentle" deodorant spray promises to last for 48 hours. I'm not sure I fully believe that, but at least it is a start.

  The other thing of note was a nice beer tasting session with both Michael and Jodie yesterday afternoon, although Jodie barely got a word in edgewise with Michael talking ten to the dozen. Once again the worst beers were the cloudy and sour beers that Jodie likes. Once upon a time if a barman offered a pint like that it would be instantly given back saying the beer had gone off, but now there is this hipster minority who actually like the stuff.

  One of the oddest beers was a Xmas ale that I bought two of from Tesco. It comes in a cardboard tube to make it look more important. For a Xmas ale it is very thin, and only about 4%, but it is flavoured with what I think is artificial chestnut flavour. If it was thick and strong, as Xmas beers should be, it could have been very nice. It was still nice in a peculiar sort of way. I may be tempted to buy more if I have room in my shopping bag.

  Michael left at about 5.45pm, 45 minutes later than he had intended, and Jodie left about half an hour later to get a train to London Bridge where she would be meeting Alan before going off to a gig in Islington together. I soon got stuck into my dinner. It was a beef stew with leek and potatoes in it. I ate quite a few miniature potatoes yesterday. I decided to use up the small bag of miniature potatoes I had bought when last in Tesco.

  I cooked what must have been about 3/4 of the bag just before lunchtime. I cooked them with a sprinkle of salt, and a decent helping of dried mint. I had about half of them for my lunch. I gave them a good squirt of mayonnaise, and I guess you could say my dinner was potato salad. The rest of the potatoes I added to the beef stew before I did the final 10 minutes of cooking in the microwave. I have to say that those very small potatoes do add an nice bit of bulk to the stew.

  Last night is a bit vague. I'm not sure I can blame the booze for it, although I was probably very mildly drunk. I think I watched the usual TV stuff, Star Treks and The Simpsons, and then I waited for the early showing of QI on Dave at 7.40pm. I watched some of it, but it seemed so familiar that I turned off, and went to bed. I didn't read much before feeling very sleepy.

  Of course once I had put the book down, and turned out the light the very sleepy feeling evaporated. However, I think I probably fell asleep quite quickly.  I am sure I got up for a pee twice in the first 5 hours of sleep. After that I seemed to wake more frequently, and have more vivid dreams. Is "vivid" the word I am looking for. It probably suggests I should still have a clear recollection of events. Perhaps "complex" dreams would be closer to what I am trying to say.

  The longest, most complex, and in some ways vivid dream probably happened in my last few hours of sleep. It was set in a very enlarged Catford Ram pub, but complete with Alan, the governor who ruled the place for about 25 years. In the dream the pub was much larger, and there was a stage in it. Behind the curtain at the back of the stage was a very large back stage area, and that is where a lot of the dream was set.

  There were no gigs on the stage, but there was an incredibly popular open mic/jam session featuring maybe 50 musicians. I want to do an audio recording of some of the better stuff, and I had a huge reel-to-reel tape recorder to record it on. For some reason I was searching for some microphone to USB adapter cables that I knew to be there. I have no idea how I thought a tape recorder would have USB inputs. It seemed to be later in the dream that I realised some microphones would be useful.

  It is possible I woke up during the dream, and then resumed it when I fell asleep again. What is for certain is that I had a very lucid moment when I was thinking that a microphone to USB adaptor, with analogue volume control on the box with the microphone socket, could actually be a useful thing, and that it would allow recording onto my laptop instead of the reel-to-reel recorder.

  When the dream resumed I still hadn't made any recordings, and I decided to get a beer. I went to the bar where I found friend Kevin there. He was chatting to Alan the governor of the pub. I butted in to ask if the Special bitter was good, and then before I was told off for doubting it, I said "yeah, I know, it's always good". Oddly enough I don't remember getting a pint, or drinking anything, but I did need a pee. There was a nice toilet in the back stage area, and I went there, and started to pee. I instantly woke up, and checked I hadn't had an accident. Fortunately I hadn't, but I did need to go for a pee.

  My last hour in bed was increasingly uncomfortable. Prior to that I did have several individual aches and pains. Sometime earlier in the night my right arm, particularly the elbow and wrist were really sore. The next time I woke up they were fine. Did I dream it ? In that last hour, or maybe two, of sleep I had pains in my legs - particularly my right ankle, and to a lesser extent my right knee. My neck was constantly aching whenever I woke up. I think I ought to try some different combinations of pillows to either raise or lower my head.

  All through much of yesterday and the night I was getting small echoes of my recent illness. Odd feelings in my throat, and now and then a small bit of coughing. When I got up I had to clear my throat of a bit of mucus. As I was complaining several or more days ago, it feels like that cold is going to hang on, in a minor way, all through winter. One positive sign about it is another morning with a reasonable blood glucose reading. This morning it was slightly up at 8.8mmol/l, and I think I just blame the potatoes for that, although one beer we had did seem to be a bit sweet. One negative sign is that this morning all my temperature readings have been slightly high - still a long way away from fever, but still elevated as if I am fighting something.

  I am unsure what I am doing today. It is far too cold to spend a long time outside, and the trains are back on strike today. I may still go to Tesco and buy bird food, me food, and booze, but I feel very undecided about when the store may be fairly quiet. As Xmas approaches it can get very unpleasant in Supermarkets. I am also very undecided about going out tonight. The only reason I would like to go and see Chain playing in Blackheath is to hand deliver a Xmas card. If it wasn't very cold and very dark, and if I actually like the pub they are playing in, my decision would be a lot easier. I think I'll decide nearer the time, but for now I do feel negative about it. It is possible I will just have a very lazy day today.