There is some hope that today could be as good as yesterday. The forecast from both the BBC and Met Office keeps changing. I can't say what the latest changes are because my internet has just failed, but it seemed that more sunshine, and less rain had been shown....or was that wishful thinking. The early version of the forecast, as shown above, says this afternoon the temperature should briefly reach 15° C, That should feel very nice in any sunshine. Tomorrow could see the return to cloudy and damp, but the temperature may only be a degree or two less.
 
  Yesterday started bad, but became good, got bad, became tense, got very good, and ultimately ended on a sort of disappointment. The bad start was just the grey and wet weather. Other than that, everything was fine. The first, unexpected, sunny spells was obviously good, but it didn't last long, and it was lightly spitting with rain when I went out to get some shopping.

  I went to Tesco where I bought more than expected thanks to some useful Clubcard discounts, and some diced beef found on the reduced price shelf because it was on it's sell by date (not use by date). One of the best Clubcard discounts was £5 off the price of a 70cl bottle of Bushmills Irish whiskey. There were also discounts on some cheese, and even on ice cream. The latter was a naughty purchase because of it's sugar content, although it was a type that has a lower sugar content than most ice creams, and on some sunny day, maybe after a long and healthy walk, I will be able to enjoy it.

  It was dry when I walked back from Tesco, and somehow it felt warmer than it did while walking to Tesco in the light rain. Yesterday I had started off with a nice low blood glucose reading, and I felt a bit relaxed after that to the extent that I bought a smoked bacon and cheddar cheese quiche. It didn't have a lot of sugar in it, but maybe more than I would be happy with at other times. I hoped it would be very nice, but of course I was letting my imagination get away with me. It was merely ordinary nice !

  After that  early, large, and probably naughty lunch, I tried to relax, but the inner excitement was making me feel tense. I was waiting for my beer delivery. Just because I knew exactly what was in it on paper, but that is not the same as fondling the bottles, and seeing their labels. I guess I half relaxed as I lay on my bed reading while glorious sunshine poured through my bedroom windows.
  This was the view to the south at 9.20 in the morning. The afternoon sunshine saw small fluffy clouds, and not this huge expanse of blue sky - however, this is the view to the north. To the south the sun was just high enough in the sky to shine over dense grey clouds. Incidently, the sun is now getting high enough to shine down on the end of my garden, and every day now, until the summer solstice, the sun will move further down my garden, and eventually all but the end nearest the house will see sunshine. It is high time I tried to do some gardening !

 
 The advice I got from DHL was that my beers would be delivered between 14:27 and 15:27, or approx 3pm. I was quite surprised when there was a ring at my doorbell, and I opened the door to find my beers had arrived at 1.20pm, or over an hour early. That was fine by me. Once I had that big box inside I opened it up to finally touch what I had bought. It was all very exciting until.....

  I had bought quite a mix of beers, and while there were a few I knew, many were unknown to me. I suspect many are unknown to Jodie as well. Some I had bought specifically with Michael in mind. One was the fabled red label Peroni that Michael thinks is what he has been looking for for many years since he thought he had drunk and enjoyed it while in Italy many years ago.

  The problem with all this is that, with maybe one exception, I can't drink any of my new beers before Michael and Jodie have inspected them to see what the need to taste (and in Jodie's case, the additional need to collect the labels from the bottles). Last night I didn't have any beer, but I did have a few large whiskies from the bottle of Bushmills I had bought in Tesco earlier.


  The rest of yesterday could have been boring, but I did have all the episodes of Danger Man that I downloaded as fall back entertainment. Now I have watched 6 episodes I am starting to like it more, although it is still a bit contrived. One curious thing is that I never knew that Patrick MaGoohan had such a range as an actor. He plays drunks very convincingly! It is just a shame that he had a contrived American accent in the firsts series. I think that was because Lew Grade, the English TV magnate thought it would make the series more appealing to American audiences.

  After my reckless early lunch, and a few other bits of reckless eating in the early afternoon, I had a very safe dinner last night. It was a simple beef and white cabbage stew. One possibly less safe ingredient was a lot of dried chilli flakes. They improved the taste of the meal, but didn't seem to add any heat to it. However, for the second time after using a lot of those chilli flakes, I had sort of tingling stomach pains popping up in different parts of my abdomen. It would be sad to have to do it, but I think I might be better off giving those dried chilli flakes a rest in case they are giving me something like stomach ulcers.

  Those pains, which were never strong, seemed to have faded away by the time I was ready for bed. I think it was probably about 10pm when I fell asleep, and I seemed to sleep well last night, and without taking any pain killers I might add. Generally speaking I slept well, and I don't have any memories of waking up more than a few times in the night. It all ended a bit prematurely by waking up with the start of potentially agonizing cramp in my lower right leg. I leapt out of bed, and took a few paces to loosen up the muscles, and got back into bed. I didn't think I would fall asleep again, but about 45 minutes mysteriously vanished.....

  During the night, and I think it was in the last hours of sleep, I had another interesting dream. I am having trouble remembering exactly what it was about, but it was another semi lucid dream where I seemed to have some control of where the dream was going. I can definitely remember feeling that I was awake thinking about what I had been dreaming about, and then falling asleep and seemingly continuing the dream. I have a feeling that I didn't wake up in the dream to think about it, but it was all part of the dream.

  Dreams are all good fun... sort of, on a good day, but back to reality. This morning I was once again almost astonished when I checked my blood glucose. All my "naughty eating" had no effect, or maybe even a good effect. This morning my blood glucose was actually down from 7.7mmol/l yesterday morning to 7.6mmol/l this morning. That is just 0.1 away from my imaginary target of 7.5mmol/l.

  It is interesting that now my blood glucose readings have stopped being so high, I do seem to feel better. I don't think I feel better because the reduction in blood glucose, but the other way round. It feels like I have got over something like a mild cold or 'flu, and it is that that is the reason why my blood glucose has come down. I wonder if it is going to make walking easier and/or more enjoyable again ?

  Maybe I'll get a clue as to how walking feels today when I go for my Wednesday lunchtime drink in The Jolly Farmers. I will be on my own again today, and probably for a couple of months until Angela is healed enough to go back to work, indeed, if she goes back to work. Being on my own means I will be going via the station so I can pick up a copy of The Metro, and while I am at the station I might as well do a very brief bit of train spotting, and get the train to Ladywell. I will probably get the train back as well, but if it is sunny I may opt to walk in the sunshine.

  I am happy to say that after an hour of being off the air, my internet connection came back up at about 10am. It meant I have been able to check my Amazon order for the case of St Bernardus Prior 8 abbey beers. It doesn't look like it will be delivered today, and I won't have to rush back from the pub with any fears of missing the delivery. On the other hand, with 12 identical beers I could have had a few tonight without fear of getting told off by Jodie for drinking she wanted to try !