09:05 BST

  It is certainly bright and sunny this morning, and at about 22° C now (09:42am) is it certainly warm. If the forecast for today is roughly right, the sunshine should continue until early afternoon, when there may be just a couple of hours of sunny spells. Then it will be back to full sunshine until it comes to a rapid halt as the sky clouds over, and rain falls. It is not shown on the screenshot above, but the weather warning suggests the possibility of thunderstorms tonight, but perhaps only nearby and not here. Those thunderstorms would be energised by the afternoon heat. It could reach 28° C.  Tomorrow will probably be a little bit cooler. Just 22° C is forecast because there will be little full sunshine, but there could be sunny spells almost all day.

   Yesterday seemed like a mostly good, but maybe not great day. Obviously the sunny weather, once it got started, a lot later than predicted, helped a lot. Finally, having not one, but two poos after being constipated was good news. In some ways it was even better news in the late evening...sort of.

  Yesterday morning followed the usual sequence of writing, resting, and then showering, although the latter is only usual when I know I will be going out or having visitors. Yesterday it was both. After showering, and getting dressed, there were big decisions to take. It was around midday, and the weather forecast said it might rain at 1pm, and the thick dirty clouds above my head made it look like they would dump gallons of water on my head. Should I, or should I not wear a coat - possibly even a rain coat.

  I took a chance and went out in just t-shirt and shorts. I noticed my postman dressed in short and shorts, and asked if he had a raincoat in his post barrow (or whatever it is called). He said he did have a coat in it, but hoped not to wear it because it was already feeling warm and humid, and confessed he would sweat badly if he had a coat on - even a very lightweight cagoule. That is something I also suffer from.

  I needn't have worried because it stayed dry as I walked to Tesco, and it was starting to get sunny when I walked home again. I mostly loaded up my shopping basket with salad stuff, but I had other stuff like a big (but not huge - 2 or 3 helping) Great British Pork Pie. I also bought two twin packs of ready roasted chicken breasts. I did not realise Tesco sold them with two chicken breasts in each pack (like Aldi do). They are more expensive than buying the 4 pack, but were on Clubcard offer, and worked out the same like that.

  When I had walked home, and it was a moderately pleasant walk, I put my shopping away - all except the pork pie. I had bought that specifically for several reasons. One was just curiosity to see if this alleged premium product was actually any better than other pork pies. I guess it was very slightly better. Another reason for buying and eating it was that I fancied a pork pie, although I admit I was really only after one a bit better than their general range. There was also the idea that a nice greasy pork pie might line my stomach for the forthcoming onslaught of beer. I think it did actually help.

  I finished the pork pie, had a short rest, and then thought I had better get the dining room prepared for the afternoon beer tasting session with Jodie and Michael. What I had intended to do was to give the PVC tablecloth a good scrub to rid it of old spilled beer, and the mess Jodie usually makes when eating her lunch/dinner. What I actually did was to get a broom out. Ideally the carpet needed hoovering, but I just went over it with the broom.

  The carpet in the dining room is so knackered that the hoover may have done the job a little better, but the broom almost did it as well. I then used the broom, plus dustpan and brush, to sweep most of the kitchen. With hindsight it would have been a more pleasant job if I didn't have to work with a big lump of pork pie in my stomach (plus I still had occasional feelings of constipation despite going twice in the morning.

  Jodie arrived early again, at about 3pm. Maybe she didn't have a hangover again, or maybe it is just the light mornings confusing her. Michael also arrived a bit early, but I think it was still after 4pm. He had brought a bottle of his son's home brewed beer. It was the second one we have tried. The first was like a good enough home brew, but this second one was not as nice. In fact I didn't enjoy it at all.

  Jodie left first to get the 6:15pm train, but Michael stayed for at least another half hour. He was in a very talkative mood, and had things to say, or just wanted to talk to someone who would listen. I have to admit I was looking forward to my dinner, and I would have preferred it is Michael had left a bit sooner after Jodie, but I was patient and let him have his say. I fear he is letting himself go, and taking a cue from his dementia suffering wife. Maybe I'll be like that when I am 77 years old, but for now I am trying to fight old age !

  The dinner I was waiting for had to be made up from first principals. It was a salad made from a heap of salad leaves, a sliced up green pepper, a stick of celery, 3 or 4 radishes, a couple of spring onions, some coriander leaf, a good sprinkle of balsamic dressing, and a small pack of sliced beef that I tore into small pieces. It was not the greatest salad I have ever made. The small bits of beef just got lost in it, and there were two things I seem not to like.

  Once upon a time when I presume I had covid, I lost my taste and smell for almost a fortnight. When it came back I discovered I hated the taste of cucumber. Although I have never noticed it happening, I now don't like the taste of radishes - or at least not the radishes I bought from Tesco. They may have been grown hydroponically in some nasty tasting chemicals, and taken up the taste of them. They seemed to have a very sooty taste. The Spring onions weren't so bad, but they still spoiled the salad.

  It was a fairly big meal, or seemed to be. If crushed down, and much of the water removed from all the plant material (such as what would happen during digestion) it would have been a lot smaller. It seemed like it should have been filling without containing many calories and not much sugar. That would have been as intended, but I found myself wanting more, and I scoffed a little tub of bulgar wheat with feta cheese, and herbs. I think that should have been reasonably safe, but later evidence suggests it was less so.

  I almost watched the usual TV last night, but neither Star Trek: Voyager, or Star Trek: Deep Space Nine were really grabbing my attention. It was probably around 8.30pm that I turned off the TV and headed to my bed with the intention of reading for an hour or so. The only problem, and it was one that may have distracted me from the TV, was a growing gut ache. Despite seeming to have got over constipation in the morning, found I was once again feeling like I was constipated.

  At around 9pm I spent some time sitting on the toilet before I passed a small but rather dense poo. Five minutes later I passed another, and it was slightly bigger. I had a feeling I knew what was coming, and my feeling was right. I think 10 or 15 minutes passed, and I was back on the toilet, but this time it seemed like a perfectly normal poo. Another 10 or 15 minutes passed and I was back on the toilet where I exploded !!

  There were several small after shocks that kept me alert until maybe as late as 10:30pm. By then I was able to relax and read another short chapter in the book I am reading. I think I fell asleep fairly quickly after I put the book down, and turned out the light. My sleep was both good and bad.

  My guts were still a bit sore, and I felt the need to visit the toilet once or twice more when I should have been sleeping. It seemed to be no more than gas. One oddity was that I seemed to pee very little, compared to normal, during the night. That was a shame because I was relying on lots of peeing so I was lighter when I got on the scales. One huge oddity was that I had got on the scales before I started pooing at championship level. I am certain that I weight as much as half a kilogram lighter before it felt like I had flushed several kilograms worth down the toilet.

  When I finally got up, a bit later than intended, although I had missed out on an hour or more of sleep last night, I had another small pee, but no poo. This was as expected. I assumed I was pretty empty after last night, but I did seem to pass a lot of gas. The scales final verdict was that I had gained 600gm since yesterday morning. The theory was that the salad should have meant I lost some weight instead of putting it on.

  It is still possible that I did not have a complete clear out last night, and I am still full of pork pie and salad. This morning I keep getting a sort of indication that I would be having a poo, and yet nothing has happened except for yet more gas. This could have repercussions later, but I hope not.

  The almost, but not actual good news concerns my blood glucose level this morning. After yesterday's beers it could have been a lot higher, but I didn't seem to have as much beer, and I didn't even really feel drunk last night (although I may have had a slight hangover while I was making frequent visits to the toilet). This morning my blood glucose readings were let down by the Sinocare meter again/

  The Contour meter read 8.6mmol/l - a bit higher than ideal, but OK. The GlucoRX meter read 8.5mmol/l. For a long time this was my target, and so I can't say it is bad at all. The Sinocare meter read 9.0mmol/l - the same as yesterday. That is just on the edge of minor danger, although unlike some previous days, it is not a lot higher than the other two meters. My plan for today is to only eat salad from now on (I did have big bowl of tomato flavour instant noodles for breakfast).

  The problem now is what am I going to do today ?  The warm sunny weather wants to draw me outdoors for a long walk, and some photography. It would be beneficial to me in reducing both my weight and blood glucose - particularly if being out for long enough stopped me having any lunch. I think in my comfy new Adidas trainers I could enjoy a walk that covers some new ground, and had some good photo opportunities (even if it was just trains and maybe trams).

  The problem at the moment is that I feel tired after losing sleep last night, and I am still feeling like there is one or more poos on their way. Also, my guts feel a little tender after all the effort put into last night's visit to the toilet. I would love to get out in the hot sunshine - I've been waiting all year and more for the opportunity, but I just don't feel comfortable enough to do it....I think. I think I will consider it more over the next hour or two, and reveal what actually happened tomorrow.