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My
Diary/Blog For the Month of October 2023 |
Tuesday 31st October
2023 |
07:34
BST
Yesterday was another dull day, but it was probably drier than forecast. In later revisions to the forecast there was light rain shown from 10am until 2pm, and maybe there was light rain during that 5 hour period, but being light rain it did not draw attention to itself. It just looked cold and damp outside. I seem to recall some weak and watery sunshine at the end of the afternoon. The afternoon temperature was only about 14° C. On a scale of 1 to 10, I think yesterday was about a 5. There were good bits and bad bits, but they probably cancelled each other out to give a day that could be described as, on average, bland. It is hard to describe the day in chronological order because so many bits of it were just like other bits, but I'll see what I can do. My description of yesterday is a bit sparse, but I have included a picture. There was not a lot to say about my night, but I have said more about this morning, and you can read it all in my complete archived page for today. |
Monday 30th October
2023 |
08:54
BST
The weather forecast was not terribly accurate yesterday. There was a sufficiently long gap in the heavy rain forecast for late morning to go shopping without meeting that much rain. The afternoon was dull, as forecast, and the sun did come out for an hour or two at the end of the afternoon. After that, according to the earliest and latest forecasters, by both forecasters, it was supposed to stay dry, but it most certainly wasn't - particularly at 6.30pm when I walked through the rain to get to the pub, and through some much lighter rain when walking home again a few hours later. It was a cool day with the maximum temperature around 11° C. Yesterday was one of those rare (recently) rather good days. My blood glucose readings were not ideal, but better than some. I had lost a bit of weight, and my blood pressure was good. All three were reasons to be cheerful, and possibly contributed to a few less aches and pain. My day, plus night, and this morning, is described, and illustrated with some photos, in my complete archived page for today. |
Sunday
29th October 2023 |
08:23
BST
I was not paying much attention to the outside world yesterday, and so my memory of the weather is very hazy. I do remember some sunny spells, probably a lot more than were forecast, and I can remember some heavy rain in the early evening. I think, but I can't be sure, the rain stopped for a while in the evening, but I do remember the sound of heavy rain on the roof as I laid in bed trying to get to sleep. I think the maximum temperature was around 14° C. I felt quite ill yesterday, but I find it hard to define what I mean by "ill". It was a mix of little things with no overall thing to define it. Whatever it was it did raise my blood glucose level to dangerous levels, although I feel sure that was a symptom, and not a cause of my feeling rather under par. You can read more about my day, but not a lot more, plus about my night, and this morning in my complete archived page for today. |
Saturday
28th October 2023 |
09:36
BST
Yesterday started very grey, but it stayed dry until mid afternoon, although my memory of it is very vague, and possibly wrong. By 4pm, when heavy rain was originally forecast, it was dry again, and stayed that way until very late in the evening (possibly after midnight). The maximum day temperature was 14° C, but it seemed to cool down quite quickly after dark, although possibly only by three or four degrees. Another very late start to my day today - I had a generally good day yesterday, but a terrible night ! I didn't really do much for most of yesterday because I was saving myself up for the evening. I didn't even have a shower until almost 3pm. The highlight of the day was the first day of the three day beer festival event in The Catford Bridge Tavern. There are pictures from my beer festival session, plus a part description of my terrible night, and the even more terrible blood glucose readings this morning in my complete archive page for today. |
Friday
27th October 2023 |
09:06
BST
Yesterday was like the day before yesterday, or dull morning, sunny afternoon. Maybe there wasn't a lot of sunny spells, but enough for the comparison to hold. One difference was that it was a couple of degrees warmer (or less cold !) at 15° C. This is another late start to my scribblings. The reasons will unfold as I continue to write. First of all, as is tradition, yesterday. As I noted yesterday, I didn't feel all that good yesterday morning, and that slowed me down a lot - mainly because I preferred distractions to sitting down writing all this stuff I put on these pages. The complete details of anything worth noting about yesterday, alst night, and this morning can be read in my complete archived page for today. |
Thursday
26th October 2023 |
09:35
BST
As far as I was aware, the forecast rain for the morning didn't happen, although the wet road showed it had rained in the very early hours of the morning. The morning was a bit dull, but by midday it was much brighter, and there were sunny spells during the afternoon. The temperature was forecast to be no more than 13° C, but it didn't seem to feel that cool. With a definite plan for yesterday it had the potential to be a good day, and it was, although the evening was semi bad. The main plan for yesterday was to go to the pub, and there was also an optional second plan which was to get a bit of shopping on the way home from the pub. All the details of yesterday, last night, and also most of this morning, can be read in my complete archived page for today. |
Wednesday
25th October 2023 |
09:03
BST
It seems the BBC's version of the weather forecast was closer to reality yesterday. From late morning there were sunny spells that seemed to last almost until sunset. The forecast for 15° C was about right. I think more happened in my dreams last night compared to what happened yesterday. It was not a terribly exciting day. I did just two interlinked things in the whole day unless you count eating badly as a thing - which I guess it was. The one productive thing was doing a small backlog of washing up, and while I was in the kitchen I prepared and started to cook my dinner. The full story, such as it is, of my day, night and this morning, can be read in my full archived page for today. |
Tuesday
24th October 2023 |
08:31
BST
There was only sunshine yesterday morning, and most of that was rather dilute, watery sunny spells. The afternoon was generally dull, but sometimes duller ! There was rain in the evening. The afternoon temperature was just 14° C - not that cold if you keep moving, but an invitation to hypothermia if you sleep in it. Yesterday was a partially productive day. I originally said I doubted I would go out, unless it was to a pub with Kevin, because I didn't think there would be enough sunshine to make any outside experience very pleasant. In fact I did go out, not to a pub, but to the shops. All the details worth mentioning from my shopping trip, plus other stuff from my day, my night, including a dream, and this morning, can be read in my complete archived page for today. |
Monday
23rd October 2023 |
09:08
BST
There was more sunshine, generally as sunny spells, than the most pessimistic revision of yesterday's weather forecasts, but less than the most optimistic revisions to the forecasts. In short it was a fairly pleasant day, although a high of more than 15° C would have made it nicer. I guess yesterday should be listed as a semi good day. Apart from the afternoon drink, very little happened, but somehow it didn't seem to be boring. Of course I did spend a little time doing a small amount of housework, and that was a distraction from reality for possibly slightly more than half an hour. As usual, the rest of my day, night, including some dreams, and this morning is described in my complete archived page for today. |
Sunday 22nd October
2023 |
09:44
BST
The forecast heavy rain in the morning never seemed to happen yesterday, but there was some lighter rain later in the day, and maybe moderately heavy rain in the early evening. One surprise was a few short sunny spells in the late morning, or early afternoon. They were too brief to add much warmth, although I could feel the heat of the sun as it shone on my face indoors. The outside temperature only rose to about 15° C. I seem to be off to a very late start today, and I am not really sure why. Too many distractions or something maybe. Back to yesterday, and it was an odd sort of day. I felt generally OK, and I can't recall feeling bored, and yet I did almost nothing of note all day. The little I did do, and some of which would turn out to be a disaster, my night, dreams, and this morning, are more fully described in my complete archived page for today. |
Saturday 21st
October 2023 |
07:58
BST
The yellow warning for rain may have been appropriate to elsewhere in the south east of England, but there was not that much rain here. There was definitely some in the early morning, but I don't recall any after that, and some of the afternoon, right up to sunset, featured a lot of sunny spells. It was not a warm day, but it was modestly mild at 16° C. I wrote very late yesterday, and covered the morning with it's appointment with the nurse for my annual diabetic checkup. What I forgot to mention was that my extra cleaning of my feet, with alcohol based hand cleanser, paid off. The nurse gave my feet her approval ! More about this and the rest of my day, night, and some stuff about this morning and blood glucose checking, in my complete archived page for today. |
Friday 20th October
2023 |
12:26
BST
yesterday definitely featured some rain, but less than expected, and there were definitely no thunderstorms ! It was almost a good day for late October. There were even some sunny spells, and it felt very mild with the temperature peaking around 19° C. Yesterday was quite a good day. In the morning I went shopping in Tesco where I mainly bought safe stuff, but as usual a few things, like some reduced price mini pork pies, were a bit naughty. I saw one litre bottles of Smirnoff for £18 when purchased with a Clubcard, and so I bought one. Some of the rest of my day yesterday, plus my night, and this morning, including my appointment with the nurse for my diabetic checkup, is described in my complete archived page for today. |
Thursday 19th
October 2023 |
08:51
BST
They said it would be wet yesterday, and indeed it was ! Fortunately it was just light rain until the evening, and maybe even then it didn't get really heavy until after dark. The late afternoon temperature reached 15° C for a short while before it dipped for a couple of hours, and then rose again. It was forecast to go up to 16° C, but I didn't notice it any higher than 15° C again. Yesterday was one of those days that was both good and bad. It was good having a purpose for the day, going for my Wednesday visit to the pub, and some of the walking was rather better than expected, but once home again, things went downhill. All this, and more, is described in better detail in my complete archived page for today. It also includes some stuff about my night, and this morning. |
Wednesday 18th
October 2023 |
09:01
BST
The promised sunny spells didn't happen until gone midday yesterday, unless you count a sunny spell lasting 1.5 seconds ! Once the first proper sunny spell happened they continued until almost sunset - one of them, maybe two, lasted an entire hour ! It probably warmed outside up to 15° C, but it definitely warmed my front rooms up to around 20° C. It was definitely not an exciting day yesterday, but I think I could almost describe as just a tiny bit less than a good day. Definitely not a bad day though. I can only lay claim to doing one thing of note, and that was to hand wash three t-shirts and two pairs of underpants. My day is described in slightly more detail, along with my night, and this morning in my complete archived page for today. |
Tuesday 17th October
2023 |
08:22
BST
There were some sunny spells yesterday, but not enough to raise my south facing front rooms by more than a single degree, and the outside temperature only rose to 12° C - which felt chilly. My aching chest, caused by getting my chest cold and wet a few days earlier, continued to be quite nasty until nearly 5pm yesterday. I wondered how I would fare during a walk to Aldi, and even more, a walk home from Aldi carrying heavy shopping. It was definitely quite uncomfortable, but maybe not as bad as I feared. There is more detail on this, plus the rest of my day, night, and this morning, in my complete archived page for today. |
Monday 16th October
2023 |
09:00
BST
All day sunshine warmed my bedroom up nicely yesterday, but outside it was still very cool with the temperature struggling to reach 11° C. All the sunshine made yesterday seem a good day, but as noted above, it was a very cold day outside. Fortunately I didn't have to go out, and I didn't. The sunshine warmed my front rooms from a chilly 18° C to nearly 23° C by mid afternoon. That felt very nice, but I had to grit my teeth while it was warming up. The rest of my day, night, and a very chilly morning, is described in my complete archived page for today. |
Sunday 15th October
2023 |
07:42
BST
The low temperature yesterday, just 13° C at best, made the day feel very autumnal. On the plus side there was some sunshine in the morning, the forecast rain for 1pm may not have fallen (I can't seem to remember seeing any rain, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen), and the afternoon did feature some sunny spells. Sometimes something just goes "click" inside the brain, and you (or I) decided to have a different day to that which I expected. I expected to do nothing, but I actually did some useful things. Of course half the morning was over before I embarked on these useful things. It is all explained in my complete archived page for today (which also includes my night, plus dreams, and this morning). |
Saturday 14th
October 2023 |
07:47
BST
Both ends of yesterday were rather wet, but in the middle there were enough sunny spells to warm my south facing bedroom up a bit. The temperature outside rose to about 20° C. Yesterday was not a good day at all. I have a feeling that I felt really bad for more reasons than a hangover and a lack of sleep, although of course both must take some of the blame. During my long period of insomnia in the early hours of yesterday, I was thrashing about in bed a lot trying to find that one magical position where I might fall asleep. That was an added reason to feel quite poorly. All this is sort of explained, along with other stuff that happened yesterday, last night, and this morning in my complete archived page for today. |
Friday 13th October
2023 |
08:34
BST
Yesterday was not as wet as expected. There were long gaps in the rainfall during the morning, and the afternoon was almost dry except for a few brief passing showers. However, that was a lot of rain late in the night, and through the night to continue today. The afternoon reached 15° C, and maybe a little higher. Yesterday was another quite good day. The late morning featured a shopping trip to Tesco where, as usual, I tried to be careful about what I bought (i.e. low sugar content), and as usual, I ended up buying a couple of things that were a bit dubious, and also as usual, they came from the reduced price shelf ! My day is described in better detail, along with my night, and this morning, in my complete archive page for today. |
Thursday 12th
October 2023 |
08:19
BST
Yesterday was a lot duller than previous days. There was a few sunny spells, but no long periods of full sunshine. Some earlier versions of the forecast warned of rain, but it stayed dry until very late in the evening - possibly after midnight. It was still comfortably warm with the temperature reaching 21° C. Yesterday was almost a good day. Some parts of it were very good, but most goodness fizzled out during the afternoon. The best bits of the morning was a letter giving the results of my diabetic eye check from the 25th of last month. It was the same form letter I have been sent for the last 15 or more years saying they can see "something", but it is not serious - see you next year ! The rest of yesterdays "news", with some pictures, plus the usual report on my sleep, and my thoughts and plans this morning, can be read in my complete archive page for today. |
Wednesday 11th
October 2023 |
07:25
BST
Yesterday was yet another sunny day that seemed possibly unseasonal, but was very welcome. The temperature may have briefly hit 21° C. Slightly edited version of what I have used for the previous two days ! Tomorrow sees a bigger change. It will be very dull with some rain, and the maximum temperature of 16° C, but it won't get that high until early evening. The BBC forecast is not that different, although say the temperature may peak at 17° C around mid afternoon. I seemed to feel moderately good yesterday. Maybe it was proof that many ills are all in the mind, and having a good excuse not to even consider going out was enough to let me relax, but not relax too much - I was expecting a delivery of beer, and had to be alert for that. All the significant bits of my day, night, and my thoughts and observations this morning are described in my complete archived page for today. |
Tuesday 10th October
2023 |
07:52
BST
Yesterday was yet another sunny day that seemed possibly unseasonal, but was very welcome. The temperature may have briefly hit 24° C, but 23° C was more representative of the day. Originally written for the day before yesterday, but still about accurate for yesterday. I almost said that yesterday was another depressing day, but maybe it had some positive moments. Maybe a lot of it was positive, but only very mildly so. It was maybe mid morning when I began to feel ill. I felt sweaty without having a temperature, and I had a mild headache. Later on these symptoms faded away, but there was another reason not to go out. The salient bits of my day, my night, including quite a long description of a dream, plus thoughts and predictions about today can be read in my complete archived page for today. |
Monday 9th October
2023 |
07:05
BST
Yesterday was yet another sunny day that seemed possibly unseasonal, but was very welcome. The temperature may have briefly hit 24° C, but 23° C was more representative of the day. Yesterday was a Sunday, and by tradition Sunday's are usually boring and miserable. I used a couple of tactics to make it less depressing, although most thing were only a brief diversion from depression. One thing I did was to wash my hair and have a shower so if I wanted to go out, I could, but didn't. What I did next, last night, and my thoughts and stuff this morning are all described in my complete archived page for today. |
Sunday 8th October
2023 |
08:03
BST
Yesterday was another day when the BBC's cheery "loads of sunshine" trounced the Met Office's some sunny spells at moveable times. All the sunshine easily took the temperature up to a summer-like 23° C, and possibly 24° C. It certainly warmed my bedroom up to almost toasty. Yesterday was a day that I expected to be awful. The morning was little more than halfway through when I concluded that while I could technically go out, I just didn't feel like it. There were a few things I thought I would do, but I predicted a very boring day. It wasn't fully boring, and there were some more interesting bits. I describe a few of these, plus some stuff about a dream in the night, and also thoughts form this morning in my complete archived paged for today. |
Saturday 7th October
2023 |
08:32
BST
The first few hours of yesterday were dull, but the sun broke through the clouds earlier than forecast (at least on the Met Office forecast). Full sunny spells started towards late morning, but from then on there were few times without at least sunny spells. Later on there was full sunshine for at least a few hours. The overall impression was of a sunny day. It was also warmer than of later with the afternoon temperature reaching 20° C, and possibly a degree or two higher. To call yesterday good I would either had have to gone out, or did a lot more useful stuff than I did. I think yesterday is best described as "satisfactory". Maybe the best bit was that I had a shower, and then went to Tesco to buy stuff for a few dinners, and some food for other times, and even a little bit of almost, but not quite, junk food. The complete description of yesterday, last night and this morning can be read in my full archived page for today. |
Friday 6th October
2023 |
09:00
BST
Yesterday was usually bright, and there were even some sunny spells, but it was the first day to actually start to feel a bit chilly. I think the maximum temperature was the forecast 18° C, but maybe there was enough breeze to take the edge off that, and I think the temperature started to slowly drop soon after 4pm. Yesterday was a good day. I was evidently feeling better than previous days, and I had a reasonable productive morning. After I had a shower I did some much needed laundry. I made sure I finished it rather than leaving it soaking until some time today. It was about 8 pairs of underpants, and they 98% dried in the front room overnight. The rest of yesterday, last night, and this morning is described in my complete archived page for today. |
Thursday 5th October
2023 |
08:41
BST
Yesterday featured a scattering of sunny spells through the day, enough to make the day feel more cheery, but not enough to warm my south facing bedroom, and only just enough to make it feel "mild" outside. The forecast said a maximum of 18° C, and I think that was about right. Yesterday was one of those days that was both very good, and also rather bad. The bad was mostly a reflection of my current health, and the good was that I had a great time in the pub at lunchtime. It was so good that it deserved three pints of Guinness, and a double Jamesons. It is all described together with my night, and this morning in my complete archived page for today. |
Wednesday 4th
October 2023 |
07:49
BST
As forecast there were sunny spells from late morning and for most of the afternoon. There was even some hazy sunshine earlier in the morning when the forecast said the cloud would be thickest ! Even with so many sunny spells, and just possibly the off hour with full sunshine (I think there was one or two) the temperature didn't really rise above 18° C. Yesterday I finished by saying that I wanted to go out, but also that I didn't really feel like doing so. What finally happened was a sort of compromise between the two. It ended up as an almost split second decision on what I would do next. Instead of going out for maybe 3 or 4 hours, I went out for little more than 20 minutes. Why it was such a short outing, and the rest of my day, night, and this morning, is all described in my complete archived page for today. |
Tuesday 3rd October
2023 |
08:00
BST
Yesterday was yet another dull day, although there were a few short and hazy sunny spells before the 11am sunny spells that didn't happen. Rain was forecast for 5 and 6pm, and some rain did fall, but you had to stay alert to catch it happening. The BBC weather forecast said there could be thundery showers, and indeed I did hear so thunder, but it seemed to be coming from possibly the other side of London. There was nothing local. For all the doom and gloom, it was still warm-ish yesterday. The afternoon temperature reached 21° C, and possibly another degree higher. Since the day of Angela's wedding (23rd September) I have felt ill in one way or another, and generally in many ways. I can't work out if it is physical, psychological, or just the weather ramping down for winter. What I do know is that I just didn't feel good enough to go out yesterday. The little that I did do, plus the usual notes about my sleep, and thoughts this morning, can all be read in my complete archived page for today. |
Monday 2nd October
2023 |
07:54
BST
Yesterday was mildly dull. In the morning a few hazy rays of sunshine seeped past the clouds for brief moments, but mostly the day was sunless, although almost bright for much of the time. It was a very warm day, and maybe high humidity made it feel a bit sticky. The forecast said a high of 23° C, but I am not sure if I saw any of my thermometers higher than 22° C. Yesterday was a day of two distinct halves. The morning involved one huge disappointment/annoyance. After I had a shower I picked up my newly washed bath towel, and noticed on end of it was stinky. Some smelly bacteria must have started growing on it, and so back into the wash it went, and this time with a generous amount of disinfectant added to the wash. The rest of my day is described in my complete archived page for today. It also included some stuff about a terrible dream, and possible plans for today. |
Sunday 1st October
2023 |
08:04
BST
It was another nice and sunny day yesterday. It was the BBC's forecast for sunny spells all day that was almost correct, although like the Met Office forecast, there were a couple of hours when the sunny spells were thin on the ground. It was a warm day with the temperature reach about 21° C, maybe 22° C, but I don't think it reached the 23° C that one forecast predicted at one time or another.
Once again it is the BBC weather forecast
is a bit more generous with it's sunny spells for
today. They say there may be sunny spells for a
few hours around mid to late afternoon. The Met
Office, as shown above, predict not a single ray
of sunshine, but fortunately they agree with the
BBC that it will be a dry day. Today might
possible reach 23° C despite the lack of sunshine,
although maybe 22° C is more realistic. Tomorrow
will be dull and in the afternoon it is likely to
be wet. The Met Office say just light rain. The
BBC throws in the chance of thunderstorms - as
they often do, but they rarely happen. Tomorrow
could be 20° C or 23° C depending on who you
believe.
Judging by how much I spent, yesterday must have been a successful day. I have to admit they yesterdays sunshine or sunny spells delayed me going out instead of hastening it. It just seemed nice to lay on my bed reading and dozing while warm sunshine warmed the room. Of course I eventually had to do some stuff. All my day, night, and the start of this morning is described in my complete archived page for today. |