09:19 BST
  The forecast said full sunshine, apart from the misty, almost foggy start to the day.  Once the mist lifted there were only some sunny spells. At times a nasty looking dark grey/almost black cloud would drift across the sky, and it would seem like it might rain. I think that despite sub optimal conditions, the temperature probably did peak at the forecast 18° C.
  On this last day of September the day has started nice and sunny. If the forecast is correct this full sunshine may last until 3pm, and then it will be just sunny spells until sunset. No rain is forecast, and the temperature may reach 19° C at, and only at, 4pm. Tomorrow should also be dry, but we can only expect a day of sunny spells. The temperature may peak at 18° C tomorrow. So not a bad start to October.

   Yesterday could be called a rather special day - a day that was rather satisfying ! It all started with a walk that was longer than expected. I mean the special bit started with the walk, but the actual day started off a bit mundane - just the usual stuff.

  When I think back it was almost like I was on automatic control. I got up, did my health measurements, had a single (small) handful of peanuts for breakfast (mostly to hold down the cod live oil capsule I had taken along with other pills and vitamins), and then I started writing yesterday's piece. One small difference to usual is that I think I rested for less time than usual, although having said that, I did seem to start a shower later than I think I realised.

  After my shower I put a couple of t-shirts and some underpants in to soak in detergent. Yesterday may have been good, but it was also tiring, and so that laundry is still soaking in it's big builders bucket this morning, and I need to finish the job as the first thing I do today. Meanwhile, I got dressed to go out walking. The weather was not as good as the forecast predicted, but it did seem fine to go out in just shorts and a t-shirt.

  I decided it was a long time since I had visited the River Pool Linear Park (a long thin strip of land between the river and the railway). If I walked what used to be my most common route, going as far as the bow string bridge over the river (at the back of the big Sainsbury's store in Lower Sydenham) it would be just over a 3 mile walk. I did not feel comfortable with the idea of trying to walk that far.

  On the other hand I could press on to Lower Sydenham station, and then get a train back to Catford Bridge. It wouldn't be a much shorter walk, but I could have a sit down on the train for the 3 to 5 minute ride back to Catford Bridge. I'm not sure how far I got, maybe over a mile, perhaps a mile and a half, before I started getting some chest aches, and other hints of angina. I stopped for half a minute to have a shot of spray of GTN (Glycerol Tri Nitrate). I think it suggest sitting down after using the spray, but I had nowhere to sit, and past experience said it would be no trouble to keep on walking.

  The spray worked really well, and continuing to walk to Lower Sydenham station was no trouble (although my feet seemed to start feeling uncomfortable despite wearing what I thought were my most comfortable Adidas trainers. Maybe some new socks would help. I took some train pictures at the station, and because I seemed to feel mostly OK, I decided I would like to continue on, and maybe get the train home from New Beckenham station.

  I didn't get as far as New Beckenham station, but entered Cator Park instead. I remembered the joy of the first time I pushed myself to walk through Cator Park, through a few footpaths, and end up at Clock House station. It seemed that having come so far, it should be OK to try for Clock House station. I was halfway through the park when I needed an extra squirt of GTN spray.

  The leaflet that came with the spray makes no mention of the maximum dose, how long a dose should last, or how many doses you can take. It more or less just says "as needed". Yesterday was the first time I had tried taking a second dose. It worked OK, and seemed to have no negative effects. Apart from the flight of stairs leading up to the road, opposite Clock House station, I had no trouble at all. I waited just long enough to take two deep breaths before going up those stairs, and had almost no problem going up them.

  "Almost no problem" really refers to heart/blood circulation problems, but I did have some problem with my legs. They were feeling rather stiff, and a few bits, notably my ankles, and to a much lesser extent, my knees, were complaining. It didn't come as much of a surprise. I know my walks to the Jolly Farmers have got my legs back into shape for a sub one mile walk, but I am rather out of practice for longer walks.



  It did help in a few ways that I decided from the outset to take it slow and easy. As can be seen on the map on the left, it is almost a straight line from home to Clock House station. This is not surprising because railway builders follow the contours of the land, and following the path of the river keeps the railway almost level apart from a gentle slope upwards (because rivers need to run downhill).

  As can be seen, I only managed an average speed of 1.548 mph, although I did stop now and then, usually to take a photo, but also to use the GTN spray, and I usually forgot to pause the tracker. Even if I had remembered I am sure it was still have been under 2 mph - I had no records to break, and little limit on my time. More important was that I wanted to enjoy myself soaking in the sights I had seen the last time I did this walk.

  Checking my records I see the first time I did a similar walk, but in reverse (I took a train to Clock House station, and then walked back home) was on 17th November 2021, and on that occasion I measure the walk as 3.37 miles. Yesterday I measure it at 3.4 miles, and that is very similar.  I must admit it was nice to get on the first train that arrived to take me back to Catford Bridge station. It was also a lot faster than walking !






  I took my Nikon 3200D DSLR camera with the Nikkor 18 to 200mm zoom lens (which give quite a handy range of zoom), and of course I took lots of pictures on this walk. I was only just past the Catford entrance to the Linear Park when I saw this crow, and caught it mid kwark (how do you spell what a crow is saying ?).
  Lime hire bikes are easy to see almost anywhere in London, often untidily dumped on the road or footpath at the end of their hire. Until yesterday I had never seen, and didn't even know that Lime electric scooters existed. This one was at least on it's stand after being discarded in the middle of the park. I wonder if the battery had run out of charge ?
  This spider had built a web between two trees, and it was at about head height. Fortunately it was not on a path, but next to the path, but still possibly could have been an unpleasant surprise for anyone walking off the path (maybe to go the 4 or 5 foot to the fence by the railway for a bit of train spotting.
  It was as I started along the path to Lower Sydenham station that I saw this fox at about eye height on the low embankment that has the railway on it. It is only a few feet from the high voltage on the conductor rail, but I think dry fur is probably a good insulator. I don't think I have ever seen a fox that appears to have been electrocuted near a railway before.
  As a general rule I don't like graffiti. Much of it is just mindless tagging and scrawl, but it is obvious some work has gone into this. The grey cabinet has no owners name on it, but I think it is probably something to do with telecommunications, maybe a fibre optic repeater or something. It is just around the corner from Lower Sydenham station on Kangley Bridge road.
  There are two bus depots along Kangley Bridge Road. This purple training bus was coming out the depot owned/leased by Stagecoach. They have 3 or 4 of these coaches at this depot, as well as some normal red buses - both single and double decker buses.
  A few hundred yards down Kangley Bridge Road is a second bus garage. It is owned/leased by Go Ahead bus company. It was previously where coaches were stored and probably maintained. The low entrance means that only single decker buses can enter or leave here (unless there is another, non obvious way in). I didn't actually see any buses in it, but the cars parked in there suggest it is in definite use.
  There is a footpath alongside the river at the end of Kangley Bridge Road. It is part of the Waterlink Way, and it is quite a pleasant walk. It comes out opposite an entrance to Cator Park. I think I may have seen the early preparations for what is now the Cator Park Tiny Forest. There is a similar Tiny Forest in Ladywell Fields. These are a fair new idea, or so it seems. The one in Cator Park was only planted in February 2024, and so most trees are no more than saplings at the moment. Once mature it should be a nice little island of trees in a park that is mostly green fields (except around the edges).

  It was while in the middle of the fields in Cator Park that I decided to give in and have a second squirt of TGN spray. I think I made the right decision because it killed a pain that had started off to one side of my chest - I don't think it was from my heart, and I have no idea what might be in the area the pain was coming from. After than I was fine for the rest of the day - except for one thing. I thought there were toilets in the park, but I didn't see them. It would have been nice to have a pee. Fortunately it was not essential, and I held out until I got home.
  The walk from Cator Park to Clock House station goes down several footpaths, and a lot of it is between allotments. It was there that I spied a Tromboncino - a strange type of squash, and the first I have ever seen (although I had heard of them). It looks like the sort of vegetable that might crop up in a risqué comedy film.

  I must admit it was a relief to reach Clock House station, although, having said that, I didn't feel like I was on my last legs. I did feel a bit creaky after waiting for the train. It seems standing still allowed my legs to part seize up, and raising my foot and leg to get on the train made me feel like I was 100 years old !


  It was nice to sit down on the train to Catford Bridge, but it was only an 8 minute sit down before the train arrived at Catford Bridge. Including crossing over the footbridge, and walking down the platform, is was a 0.356 mile walk from the train to my front door. According to my calculator, adding the walk to Clock House to the walk from the train to home, was a total of 3.759 miles. That was a fair walk for someone out of practice, and with a faulty heart valve !

  As mentioned a few paragraphs back, I was quite keen to go for a pee, and that was my first priority once I got home. What surprised my was how late it was. I think it was just gone 4pm. That mean I had been out for 3 hours. I admit that is not a huge time, but most of it was on my feet and walking.

  It was a bit late for lunch, but I had what I had been thinking about since the morning. It was two slices of cheese on sliced red pickled chillies, on corned beef, on toast. It was as nice as I hoped, but by the time I was eating it I could have called it an early dinner. I guess it was only about an hour later that I had my dinner. I did try and keep it a small dinner. It was two German Frikkadelen (essentially a pork and onion, plus spices, burger).

  I also scoffed a while big packet of vegetable crisps so I could say I had some vegetables with the meat ! Once again the beetroot crisps changed my pee from golden yellow to a reddish orange ! I did feel I had probably eaten too much, and I feared I might suffer from heartburn (like the last time I had some Frikkadelen in the evening). I did get some mild, and easily cured heartburn, but my health measurements this morning suggested I hadn't eaten too much (although maybe less would have been better).

  I used some time yesterday evening selecting and editing the pictures I've used today, and I also watched some TV. I think it was around 10pm before I went to bed. By then I had already had hints of heartburn, and had taken a few Rennies tablets. I was quite comfortable in that respect when I went to bed, and with my bedroom feeling warm, but not too hot, I seemed to fall asleep quite easily.

  I think it was around 2 or 3 am when I got up for a big pee, and I also changed the setting on the heaters thermostat a bit. I also woke for a pee around 5am, but I was able to get back to sleep after it, although I did not sleep for long. I think it was around 7am when I got up again. The first thing was to do my health checks. I was not happy with my weight measurement, but as often happens, I went for another pee after counting out my days pills and vitamins. When I weighed myself again I saw that I had lost 500gm.

  My blood glucose measurements were fairly good. The Contour meter read 7.8mmol/l. That is not great, but it is in the light green on my spreadsheet, and that makes it easily good enough. The GlucoRX meter read 8.3mmol/l. That was a little bit disappointing, but other wise is still just about good. The new GlucoFix meter read the same as the Contour meter, 7.8mmol/l.

  It seemed like my readings, which also included a good blood pressure reading of 114/51, were back to normal after the odd readings after I had taken what was almost a homoeopathic dose of Mounjaro. I was going to wait for a full week to pass before trying again, but I decided to go for the full dose today. With the knob twiddled to show 1 dose this time, I jabbed the tiny needle in my belly, and squirted in the full dose with no problems.

  I only had a very small breakfast of a small handful of peanuts again, and they were only to hold down the cod liver oil capsule again. So far I don't think I have felt any negative reactions to the Mounjaro, although, having said that, I maybe feeling a sort of light headeness again, but so far it is not nearly as bad as last time, and that was mostly minor. The real test now is whether it will augment my carefully practised art of trying not to feel hungry when I believe I should have to eat.

  I had thought about going for another walk today, but finishing my laundry has to take priority, and I may not start that until after I have had a rest, and it feels like that may include a snooze too. There is no special reason beyond tradition, why I couldn't go for an afternoon walk, but I have doubts it will happen now. However, after I have finished the laundry I will have a better idea how tolerant my body is to Mounjaro. If it makes my head feel odd I will definitely not want to go out walking when I could be snoozing !