09:14 BST

  Even the barometers in my weather stations say today will be sunny. It is sunny as I write this, but the sky is not clear blue. Many views of it look white from thin clouds. No rain is forecast for today, and the sunshine should push the temperature up to 24° C. Tomorrow will see a fair few hours with only sunny spells, but the rest of the day should see full sunshine. The temperature should reach 24° C again. The day after tomorrow could see 25° C.

  Yesterday was rather better than expected. There was really only one negative aspect, and it was I was unable to get to the shops as I intended. The reason is not exactly pleasant, and there were after shocks even this morning ! The really good thing was completing a task I never even expected to get started.

  Whereas all my health readings were quite good yesterday, I had one health problem that was not good. I had been unable to poo when I got up. I expected that maybe it would happen before the morning was over, as sometimes happens. One difference was that I was in some discomfort for a lot of the morning. A few things would happen before the problem was resolved.

  I finished writing, and had my usual lie down for something like half an hour. That often triggers a late poo, but not this time. I was intending to go shopping, and I expected to have Jodie and Michael here from mid afternoon for some beer tasting. That meant I needed a shower - which I duly had (although I didn't feel I needed to wash my hair or have a wet shave - although I did run my electric travel shaver over my face).

  I got dressed so I could go out shopping. My constipation pains would come and go through all this, but still nothing happened. I thought it would be a fairly safe bet that I could go shopping and get back before there was any movement in my bowels. I walked down the road, and at somewhere a bit less than half way I felt sudden movement. It was such that I had doubts I could get home fast enough.

  Fortunately I did get back home fast enough, but it was a close call. In one explosive bowel movement I went from constipated to diarrhoea, and every stage between in about 5 seconds ! I felt a bit sore, but it was still a great relief. I expected after shocks, and so declined to try going out again. I probably would have been OK, but early in the evening, after Jodie and Michael had left I did get an "after shock".

  I did have other stuff to do, and I got on with that instead of daring to go out. It was mostly to have some lunch before the boozing started. I mostly had rice crackers and cheese with some sweet pickle on it, but I also had a small serving of Lemon flavour ice cream. I don't know why that ice cream should be the best ice cream I have tasted - ever (maybe). I'm pretty sure I had a lie down before I went down to the dining room and waited for Jodie to arrive.

  I didn't wait for Jodie before I opened up a can of strong Skol lager. It seemed like a stupid idea starting with a strong lager, but it just felt like a good idea at the time. It was a good idea for another reason. When Jodie arrived she fussed around with her packed lunch, which included some potato croquettes which needed cooking. Then she opened her first beer selection. It was an incredibly tart fruit flavoured beer. To my tasted buds it was awful. The Skol lager helped numb my poor assaulted taste buds.

  As usual I sent Michael a message to say we had started, and also as usual he soon replied to say it was unlikely he would make it because his wife was in a bad way at the care home. To our great surprise he was ringing my doorbell half an hour later. He told us he couldn't stand any more of his wife's demented, and semi incoherent shouting, and decided he was not going to listen to any more of it. I think he was quite pleased he had tried to look after himself.

  It was only a week ago that I had been telling him (with Jodie's total agreement) that it was time he started thinking about his own welfare. The way he seemed to be falling apart suggested he would overtake his wife both in mental health, and towards an early grave. I have doubts that he will be so decisive for a while yet, but at least it's a start. He did seem a lot less gloomy and moaning yesterday.

  The odd thing about yesterday's drinking session is that despite starting off with a super strength lager, I did not drink all that much. It was mostly because Jodie herself was not drinking very fast because she was off to a special session at a bar in Brixton where they had the first of the latest batch of beers from one of her favourite brewers. She left soon after 6pm, and Michael left about 20 minutes later.

  Before Michael left I put my dinner in the microwave. It was Paella, and it was almost very nice. I know paella is a rice based dish, but it seemed to not have enough protein in it - in the form of chicken and prawns. It was probably only worth the reduced price I had paid for it. I think if I saw another on the reduced price shelf I would definitely buy it, but not at full price. Although it was a dangerous idea so late in the day, I had a dessert of more lemon ice cream.

  As I ate I watched what was left of the BBC news, and I started watching Star Trek: The Next Generation. I can't remember what it was like, and I think that was because I didn't think it was a good episode. It was superficially a brave thing to do because I didn't have much else for entertainment.... On the other hand I was feeling rather sober with no obvious ill effects from the earlier beers. I thought I might take a look at more photos taken last Saturday.
  I quickly found that many of my photos were rather better than I thought. The band was Galactix, and I am not sure if they are an established band, or one put together for Petts Wood Calling. The only member I know is Tom Monks. I have bumped into him several times in the past. He plays many instruments, and I thought he was mainly a keyboard player, but he also plays guitar. He is seen on the left in the picture above, and I caught him, and the bass guitarist in mid jump !
  Looking like a throwback to the 1960s, this is the bass player. One unintentional effect of the low angle shot, and fisheye lens is that it distorts the image to make his legs seem longer. It reminds me of way many characters were drawn in the Beatles (mostly) cartoon film Yellow Submarine.
  I have no idea what her name is, but the singer managed a look that comes straight from the pages of a late 1960s fashion magazine (at least in my own imagination).