The screenshot above was taken before 6am, and predictably enough, it has been revised. The main change is that now only light rain is forecast for 1pm, but 2pm is still shown as very overcast, and 3pm remains as light rain. An additional light shower is now shown for 8pm. I am certain that even these things will change in further revisions. Maybe the Met Office's forecast will morph into the BBC's forecast that shows sunny spells for all but one hour during daylight hours, and that is still shown as dry. The highest temperature today will be around 20° C, and while that is warm, it seems too low for mid July. Tomorrow is currently looking like it could be very similar to today, but the temperature may hit 22° C.

  Yesterday was definitely a good day. The day started in quite a mundane manner - just doing the usual things until the afternoon got near. I read some stuff on the internet, and I had a very short snooze....at least I think it was short, but I have no recollection of when it might have started or finished.

  Soon enough it was time to shave, shampoo and shower before starting to get dressed. I still had a few hours before i needed to go out so I dressed one piece at a time as needed. I then started looking at railway timetables. I was heading to Shortlands station, and the direct route only takes 10 minutes (although it seems longer than that) from Catford station on a Thameslink station.

  However yesterday offered a novelty route. Railway engineering works beyond Clockhouse station meant that trains were diverted after New Beckenham to terminate at Beckenham Junction. Once upon a time there used to be a regular service to Beckenham Junction on weekdays, even if it was just one train in the morning, and 2 trains back in the late afternoon/early evening. The route is still used for diversions, mainly of fast trains to and from the coast, but as a destination for "Mid Kent Line" trains it is a rarity these days.

  It took almost three times as long to get to Shortlands, but I just had to take advantage of the diversion, and get a train to Beckenham Junction. One reason for the very extended journey time was that my train sat at new Beckenham for about 5 minutes to allow the train heading up the line towards Charing Cross to pass over the single line spur to Beckenham Junction. Once I got to Beckenham Junction I had a 7 minute wait for a train for the 3 minute journey to Shortlands.

  The ultimate point of the exercise was to get to The Shortlands Tavern to see Whitestar doing a gig in the new garden area of the pub. They were due to start at 4pm, and I was worried I would miss the start because it was already five past 4 when I arrived - to find the band were standing at the bar. They had set everything up ready to go, but they actually started about 15 minutes late after some other faffing around.
  One such bit of faffing around was Simon and Denise scrambling around to find my new t-shirt. I ordered, and paid for the t-shirt at Chattfest almost a year ago. I'm not sure I've seen Whitestar since then, and it was to get the t-shirt that was one of the reasons I went to, and enjoyed, the Whitestar Open Mic session last Wednesday. I finally got the t-shirt yesterday. The picture shows Denise sort of modelling it/showing it to me, prior to me doing a very public change of t-shirt !
  Unfortunately the new garden stage at The Shortlands Tavern is another with a pillar down the middle of it, and so getting a full band image is not ideal. The picture above was the best I could get. On the left, playing guitar is Roy Dalley. Matt Donovan was on drums, Gus was on bass, and Simon Whitestar was on guitar and most vocals. This picture illustrates something else. It often seems that some musicians communicate by telepathy. Matt and Gus seems to be communicating without opening their mouths while still making making a very loud noise.
  There were potentially many more pictures I could have shown, but these few include enough for the flavour of the gig. I actually took around 200 snaps, and many of them were either semi duplicates, and a fair selection were rubbish ! I stayed up fairly late last night selecting about the first third usable pictures and doing the usual editing stuff. To my great surprise there were a few, maybe as few as just three pictures, that only needed shrinking to a suitable size, and nothing else at all - It is very rare that I get the framing, focus, and exposure perfect in one take !

  It was a most enjoyable gig. The music sounded good, even if they only played a few things I recognized. There were lots of people there who knew me and  said hello when we passed. Even Angela was there, but we barely talked, and there was no hugging because lover boy was there too. Michael was also there. He got there very early, and had drunk two pints before I arrived. He ended up fairly drunk, and it seemed prudent to accompany him for the train home, and the walk from the station back to home. We got the direct train home to Catford station where both of the new lifts were out of service after seeming to only have lasted a couple of weeks in service before they broke again !

  It was almost 7pm when I got home and I had two things in mind. One was to eat, and the other was to make some headway selecting and editing the pictures I had taken. The first pictures I checked were of the various trains I had seen or used. Sadly on this occasion I hadn't managed to take snaps of any train I had not taken snaps of  before.

  I have to admit that I almost gave in to the idea of ordering a couple of shish kebabs last night, but I resisted that, and started on the chicken soups like I had a night or two ago. As I was heating the first can I had a naughty idea become fixed in my brain. I had this fancy for baked beans and melted cheese. Fortunately I had a couple of cans of Branston low sugar beans. They are by no means as low sugar as the Tesco chicken soup, but I hoped I might get away with it. It was a very delicious part two of my dinner.

  After dinner I was feeling a bit tired, and I could easily have watched some TV if only there had been anything on I fancied watching. There wasn't, and so for the next couple of hours I worked on my photos. I think it was around 11pm when I gave up, brushed my teeth, and went to bed. I had one of those typical times when it seemed I would never get to sleep, and then suddenly I was fast asleep. I remember getting up for a pee around 1am, and then the next thing I knew it was gone 5am and light outside.

  I may have got another half of sleep before I ended up getting up just before 6am. I only got up because I needed another pee. While I was up I thought I might as well get an early morning screenshot of today's weather forecast, and then I thought I may as well see what my blood glucose was like. This morning my two blood glucose meters gave quite different readings. The new meter said a rather magnificent 7.3mmol/l, and the old meter said a very average 8.5mmol/l. That difference reinforces my theory that these blood glucose meters are far more temperature sensitive than is ideal. It is like the new meter under reads in cooler room temperature, and the old meter over reads.

  Having got fully up (although not washed and dressed) I have had a double portion of instant noodles. I am now feeling mildly full instead of very empty ! Once I have finished this I think I will lay on my bed, and try for a long snooze to catch up on the small amount of sleep I had last night. I suspect that later I will be too busy to consider going out, and that may not be a bad thing considering the threat of afternoon rain - which in the latest revision is now shown as just a single hour of light rain, or no rain at all according to The BBC.

  There are two small chances that I might still go out. It might be useful to get a bit of shopping from Tesco at some time today. I am also a bit curious about an open mic session apparently taking place in The Catford Bridge Tavern at 7pm this evening. It is the first one since before Covid, and the first under the new management of the pub. I expect the first to be a bit rubbish with hardly anyone there, but being nice and local it would be good if it develops and gets some good guitar players turning up, and less tuba players !