Yesterday was a good day, and mostly because of the warm sunshine, but I also had a good lunch hour in the pub, and some nice food.

  There were too many reasons for not staying in and being lazy yesterday. The first reason was it was a Wednesday, and it is usually my habit to go to The Jolly Farmers for a couple of pints of Guinness on a Wednesday (a habit that started when I used to meet Angela in the pub during her lunch break from work). The other big reason was it was warm and sunny, and would be even warmer on my way home from the pub.

  I had a nice shower, and washed my hair. As mentioned yesterday, or maybe the day before that, the water from my hot bath tub tap is getting hot now, and while I will have to turn it down soon, it feels delicious at the moment. It was while blow drying my hair that I made a definite decision to see how it felt wearing shorts again - the first time since the start of autumn last year (or maybe it was a bit later than that ?)

  I left in plenty of time to walk in the wrong direction to the pub. I was headed for what I think is best called the Cosmopolitan Little Supermarket on Catford Bridge. (It was known as the Turkish supermarket, but I am sure what appears to be the boss lady is Polish, and the food the sell in there comes from all over Europe and surrounding area). I was after a few things specifically as treats for Ayse (my favourite barmaid). Sometimes it is the little things, like pumpkin seeds, that can make a big impression when you know they are one of her favourites.

  I did have a mad idea that I might walk all the way to the pub from there, but even that 6 minute walk from home was enough to get my feet and ankles (mostly ankles) starting to get uncomfortable. It was the perfect excuse to get the train to Ladywell, and indulge in a little bit of light train spotting on the way. Before that I had to cross the newly resurfaced Doggett Road.
  I must say that the new dark road surface looks very good. It will soon look grey (like the surface on the left), but it should remain pot hole free for a few months - possibly until the first frosts of winter.

  Taking pictures of trains at Catford Bridge station was not a great success. The sun was low in the sky, even at midday, and behind any trains coming up the line from Hayes, and producing a blinding glare when reflected of the windscreen of any train coming from Charing Cross.

   It was odd that in February, it was the first time I have been on a train this year, and the previous time may have been before last November - maybe even earlier because I did not get out a lot while I was getting so many chest pains prior to my new heart valve being fitted. Having now broken the ice I must try and get some more miles on my Freedom Pass.

  Even at Ladywell station I never managed to get any decent train pictures because of the low down sun. It is a fairly pleasant walk from Ladywell station to The Jolly Farmers, and I expected to take a few snaps on that short walk, but it was on the way home when I got a few usable pictures.

  When I got to the pub I was asked how I felt, and if I had done a long walk. That was mostly because I presented Ayse with her couple of treats I had bought on the way. I had to admit that the train took the strain for the middle of the journey. I think I once worked out that getting the train only saves something like a third of the distance walked, although it does provide a nice rest in the middle.

  It was another enjoyable session in the pub. I think I only had two pints of Guinness, and the second pint (unless it was the third) was bought for me by Ayse. It is great being a regular in a pub !

  I had originally thought that maybe I would walk home through the park, but the ache in my ankles earlier convinced me I might as well get the train back to Catford Bridge. It is a lazy habit I must fight, but maybe not until I have strengthened my leg and foot muscles again. Even on the short walk back to Ladywell Station there were a few photo opportunities.
  I think it was last week I showed this lovely purple crocus before the flower opened. I had originally thought it was the purple wrapper off a bar of Cadbury's chocolate laying on the grass, but something didn't look right for that, and when I walked carefully through all the snow drops, and some yellow crocuses, I saw it was this flower that was still closed.
  Nearby I found these pale blue crocuses - at least I think they are crocuses, but there are some very subtle differences that make me wonder if it might be a flower that is related to a crocus, but has a different name. My knowledge of plants and flowers is a bit slim.
  A little bit further along, and when crossing the river, I spotted a Mandarin duck. I don't know much about them, but I am guessing they migrate south in the winter months.....or maybe not. I can't recall seeing one any time last year. Maybe I was just not looking closely enough or something, but I can definitely remember wondering where they had all gone. Well, one is back, and I expect there will be more.
  I thought I would take this snap because it shows some useful information. The first bit of information was that it was almost 3pm when I arrived at Ladywell Station, and so my "one hour lunch break" obviously went on a bit longer. The other bit of info is that it says my train will be a class 376 train (with no onboard toilets). It seems that a few railway companies have taken to saying what type of train is coming. I have noticed South Western Trains doing it if one of their new class 701 trains is coming.
  ....and here is my class 376 train arriving. It is 376001, and is in the new, smarter looking, blue SouthEastern livery with white roofs. It makes a cheap train look much better than when in boring, plain old white livery. Even in the afternoon the low sun is almost bleaching out the number on the front of the train.
  Five or ten minutes before my train arrived I decided to take a silly picture to prove I really was wearing shorts for this outing. They did feel very comfortable, and while I didn't really feel any sun on my legs, it was there, and more exposure like this to sunshine will get them to change from pasty white to mildly tanned.
  Taking a selfie with the sun behind me needed a lot of luck....or maybe photographic skill. The truth is that it was partly my mobile phones camera and my deliberate angle with the sun slightly eclipsed by my head, that allowed this picture to look like it does instead of something far worse. The worst aspect for me is how much it shows my hair now fast receding at the top.

  I stood up on the train for the 3 minute journey, and so my ankles did not get any proper rest beyond not having to keep bending like when I am walking. It meant my walk from Catford Bridge to home was not as comfortable as I would have hoped. Short walks, like to Tesco have shown that my ankles are improving, but it seems it is going to take longer before I can manage longer walks with no discomfort. On the plus side I didn't seem to get any knee pain, and better still, nit chest pains.

  Once I got home I was looking forward to scoffing the two packs of sandwiches I had bought from Tesco the day before. They were extra nice after the fresh air. I also had a slice of ginger cake I had bought from the Cosmopolitan supermarket. It was not as gingery as I hoped for, but still very pleasant.

  After eating I made a start on copying my photos from camera and phone to my PC for selecting and editing. On a nice bright and sunny day, the "editing" was mainly just cropping and shrinking the photos to fit on this page, rather than any clever stuff to try and correct any exposure errors. I did the copying while eating, and the editing after I had had a nice snooze. It seemed to be quite a long snooze because it was close to 6pm, and news time on TV when I woke up.

  Fortunately I had time to prepare and get my dinner cooking so it was ready to eat while I watched TV. It was "Mediterranean style roasting vegetables" with the last three precooked chicken thighs from a pack I had bought the day before. I have to admit that the chicken did not taste nice. Maybe it was the effect of eating it with the roasted vegetables, but I did wonder/worry that it might have been going off. It didn't seem horrible enough to seriously think it was going off, but it still seemed to spoil the taste of my dinner.

  I did have a dessert after that main course, and it was some alleged low(ish) calorie honeycomb flavour ice cream. Later on I would also have a thick slice of iced Madeira cake. Once again I was relying on my latest injection of Mounjaro to do battle with all the sugar in such things, and once again it did it admirably !

  I watched some extra TV last night, and I am not sure why I stayed up later than recently. Maybe it was actually intended to do what it did do - I had far less trouble getting to sleep last night, and I feel like I go a better sleep. On the other hand, I did get up a few more times to pee, and a couple of them seemed to be quite big pees. I had a few enjoyable dreams last night, but I wonder why I say they were enjoyable because I don't seem to remember enough of then to make any useful description of them.

  I probably ate a bit more than I might have yesterday, and that is despite feeling that I was fairly restrained. On the other hand, the fresh air and what walking I did do, seemed to help to keep any weight down, and I did lose 300gm compared to yesterday morning. Maybe my eating actually was a tiny bit restrained after all.

  The Mounjaro did work it's wonders on my blood glucose, but it was not as low as yesterday (which was unusually good). I got readings of 6.7, 7.3, and 7.8mmol/l. The 6.7mmol/l was very good, and the other two readings were merely "good".  Maybe the big slice of Iced Madeira Cake I had as a mid evening snack was why the readings weren't as good as yesterday.

  I would say I feel fairly good this morning, but my old foe has returned. At the moment I feel constipated again - just like I did yesterday before I finished writing. I suspect that I will go to the toilet before much more time has passed, and I won't be constipated any more (today).....and that is the case now !

  One thing makes my planning for today a little difficult. I am expecting the delivery of a box of beers today. It was originally going to be delivered some time yesterday, but I used the option on the couriers web site to get it delayed by a day so I would be free to go to the pub yesterday. I am now waiting for a message to give an approximate delivery time today. The last delivery by APC was notified as being between 3 and 4pm, and if that is going to be true today it will be ideal - possibly at the start of the the Thursday afternoon beer tasting session. Of course the new beers will need cooling, and maybe time to settle if they have any sediment, but we may be able to taste one or two before the end of the session.

  What I don't want is the courier to turn up while I am in the middle of having a shower - something I need to do this morning if I am having visitors this afternoon. I think that Jodie and Michael will be definites, and Fluffy Cat a strong possibility. I think that Jodie said that we may be joined by Mark as well.