It looks damp outside, as if there was some rain during the night. There is no rain now, and the temperature has risen to 11° C. That is one degree less than forecast. It is going to be a grey day today. No rain at all is forecast to fall, and the temperature should still rise to 13° C for all the afternoon until sunset when it will slowly fall a single degree. Tomorrow will probably see the return of rain, although at the moment it seems like it will be a few random passing showers. Once again the afternoon temperature should be 13° C.

  Yesterday was not a bad day, but I feel reluctant to go as far as to say it was a good day, although I am forced to admit that a few bits may have been good.....or maybe I just did a few things that would later have a good outcome. That was mostly to do with regulating my eating better.

  One bad thing yesterday was waiting until almost 4pm (which could almost be described as early for Amazon) for a delivery from Amazon. It was just a couple of packets of test sticks for two of my blood glucose meters. I must admit it was good that they were delivered yesterday because the original estimate was that they would be delivered today, and that would have been a bit tricky.

  After my horrendous blood glucose readings I only had a single, but large packet of instant noodles for breakfast. Although large, it was less than two small packets. From then on I managed to control my eating rather better than I expected to - particularly when it was cold and I was often almost bored as I passed the time reading, and before midday, also snoozing.

  I made a dangerous assumption that if the day before yesterday, my doubly horrendous blood glucose level had dropped to a safe level by lunchtime, then it would do so yesterday as well. Of course the day before yesterday I had no breakfast to speed up, or just make the drop lower. Yesterday I didn't start with readings over the red line (except for the Exactive meter whose wonky readings I now ignore), and just hoped it was safe to have some lunch.

  I still only allowed myself a fairly safe lunch of rice crackers with cheese, and sliced gherkin, and sliced red pickled jalapeños. The thing is that it was delicious in it's own way, and it didn't feel like I was missing out on anything better - although I have to admit that I had been think that some hot soup may have been better, but in my bedroom, with the sun streaming through the windows, it wasn't cold at all !

  My bedroom was an exception. Down in the kitchen, where I prepared my lunch, it was bloody freezing. At one point, actually 12:38, and not 13:38 as shown on my thermometer that is still on BST, the sun shining through the windows, and falling directly on to the thermometer, raised it to 29.5° C. (The proof is in the terrible quality picture on the left). The rest of my bedroom was a fair bit cooler, and in the shaded bit of my bedroom where my computer is, it almost felt chilly.

  A lot of sunshine was falling on my bed, and while it didn't seem to warm it up to 29.5° C, it still felt nice and warm to lay on my bed, feel the sun dazzling my eyes if I looked up from my book, and warm enough to make me feel sleepy. Once I had confirmed my Amazon parcel was out for delivery (I think it claimed it left the depot at 11:40 or something, but I didn't know that until I got an email saying it was out for delivery) I had to pay more attention to the outside world - even if the best estimate that Amazon could offer was the dreaded "before 9pm".

  I was rather happy when my doorbell sounded, and I rushed down the stairs, but the man from Amazon had no time to wait even 30 seconds, and just dumped the small parcel next to the wheelie bins. Fortunately it would not have been easy to spot from the road, and if it had had to stay there all day, and if it had rained, the contents would not have been spoiled by getting wet - the actual test strips are in a well sealed plastic carton a lot like those that 35mm films used to come in (and probably still do).

  Once I had my new blood glucose test strips in my hands I could relax. I seemed to do a lot of relaxing yesterday ! Nothing really happened until I prepared my dinner. It was to be beef burgers with special (as in complete crap - mostly congealed palm oil) cheese on top, and served with some ready made crispy fried onions, sliced gherkins, and yet more sliced, and pickled, red jalapeño chillies.

  I ate dinner while watching Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and my dinner was rather good - unlike the TV that was only slightly good in parts. I also watched Star Trek: Voyager. Now that was a typical episode, or not terribly exciting. During a commercial break, maybe 20 minutes after it started, I went out to th bathroom where I trimmed my beard, had a wet shave for the rest of my lower face, and than I washed and conditioned my hair.

  All that grooming meant I missed some 20 minutes of Voyager, but it did save me time for this morning. When Voyager finished at 8pm I turned the TV off and did some reading, but turned it on again to watch an episode of QI. That finished at 10pm, and I went straight to bed. It was a bit unusual, but I didn't read in bed. I turned the light out, and was asleep maybe 15 minutes after getting into bed.

  I had been worried that my dinner was the sort of thing that could easily give me acid indigestion. I did burp a few times, even when trying to get to sleep, and I could taste fried onions, but I didn't seem to have any indigestion or acid reflux. I was all set for a good sleep, and I came close to getting it. The only significant interruption was at about 2.30am. I woke for a pee, and also because I seemed to be having a hot flush (or very brief fever). I felt hot, and was just about to break into a sweat when I went out to the cold toilet. I seemed to have cooled off when I went back to bed, but I was sure that it could start again once I pulled the duvet over me. I turned the heater up, and then slept partly, or more, uncovered through the night.

  There were several things I thought I would remember from my dreams. One was a dream that included the idea that it was illegal to import a complete bell. The solution was to despatch the clapper by itself. Another dream included the word "homophagy". I really have no idea what the dream was about. It could have been about watching something on TV that used the word, or maybe something I was reading in a book, magazine or newspaper. It was obviously a word I had heard before, and I even seemed to know what it meant. Until I looked it up - https://www.dictionary.net/homophagy - I thought it was another name for cannabilism, but apparently it is about eating raw flesh, and it is also a misspelling of the word "omophagy".

  One thing that didn't happen this morning, was getting a text message from Angela at 6:24am. That happened yesterday, and I forgot to mention it. It was a simple message that saying that Angela felt very scared about her final day of treatment to when I have later learned was head and throat cancer (although the tumour seemed to be in her throat). It took a bit of time for me to wake up enough to compose what I hoped was a good enough reply. I rather spoiled my morning in a way, but I did manage to get back to sleep again for an hour or more.

  This morning there was no interruption except for stopping to weigh myself after having a pee around 6am. I think what I saw sort of relaxed me. When I finally got up I had another pee, and this morning it included having a poo too. When I weighed myself I found I seemed to have lost 500gm, and that meant I finished this month 400gm less than I started the month. I think that counts as good....but only mildly good and really nothing to celebrate.

  My blood glucose readings were good this morning, and even the weird Exactive meter managed to almost agree with the other two reliable (I hope) meters. The Contour meter read 8.1mmol/l, andthat is very good compared to recently. The GlucoRX meter was even better, and only just missed my light green colour code on the spreadsheet with a reading of 8.0mmol/l. I was stunned to see that even the Exactive meter gave a reading no much higher than the other two. It read 8.6mmol/l.

  I don't know why, but I had a feeling my blood pressure may have been higher than usual this morning. In fact it was just about average. My first and reading seemed good enough that I didn't bother trying again to see if I could get it lower. I think 105/48 is good enough to satisfy any of my doctors and nurses.

  The most significant thing today is to get to Petts Wood to get some snaps of those performing on the live stage. It seems there are just 4 performances this year.  I have no idea what to expect from Lilise who is on a 2pm. I found something about her in an internet search. If it was teh same Lilise, it would seem that she is a bit country orientated in her choice of music. I have no idea if she will have a backing band,or if she will sing along to an iPad.

  I know Vince Lightning, apparently without the Thunderboltz. He has a tendency towards old time rock and roll, but is, or was, doing some newer, more rock stuff. He is a great showman, and it could make for some good pictures.

  I think Granite are supposed to be a bit more like heavy rock orientated, but they really be more into more melodic stuff. I think they may be a 4 or 5 piece, and may provide some good photo opportunities.

  I have never seen The Four Hoarsemen before, but I am sure I have heard many positive mentions from the regular Bromley musicians and audience.

  For the second year running there will be no fireworks. Apparently they are too expensive, and the land they used to use to set them off is now built on. That means I have no reason to hang around, and maybe I'll just spent 15 minutes getting a few snaps of The Four Hoarsemen before slipping away to the station to get a train home. Today the train are on diversion, presumably because of engineering works. This time it is in my favour. All the services that would normally go from Catford station to Sevenoaks are diverted to Orpington, and all call at Petts Wood !