Monday 30th October 2023

Slightly fitful night's sleep...my hernia giving me gip. Slow to rise...porridged. Worked at the computer until lunch time. Cooked lunch...fried potato cakes with poached eggs and salad. very tasty. A bit shocked to see my weight is down to 72.1kg, despite eating out at the back end of last week. Still, it means my BMI is now just below the maximum recommended for my height and age. Would be good to get it down to 71kg, then stabilise things. I needed to get out for a walk after lunch, so headed for Finsbury Park, intending to pick up the new season brochure from the Park Theatre, but the building was closed. Walked back home via cafe Girasole. Spotted Jeremy Corbyn in there talking intently with a young couple over coffee and cake. I sidled past them, and said hello to Eglal, the proprietor, who was washing up in the back kitchen. Apologised for not frequenting her establishment, explaining I'd been on a three month weight loss course....she said she'd been doing the same, and had lost 15kg! Put an order in for a pistachio panettone. JC then came over to say his farewells, and introduced himself to me by shaking my hand. We then had a wee three-way chat about the Gazan crisis! He reckons the Israelis plan to drive the Palestinians out of Gaza, and into the Sinai Desert...Eglal, being half Egyptian, reckoned the Egyptian government would not stand for that, and that fighting would escalate. Came home and did another two hours or so at the computer. Aki cooked mackerel for dinner, which we ate with sticky rice, miso soup, kimchi, and vegetables. Jim Lister rang to invite us to their Festive bash in Holmfirth on 22nd December, which fits perfectly with our plans to set off on our annual Christmas jaunt up north...he also had an invite for us to Barney's surprise 30th birthday party on December 2nd, in Deptford. Look forward to that. He said his mum, Barb, had had a fall, and the necessity to then engage with the NHS opened the door to emergency social care; his mum and dad are now getting social service visits at their home three times a day.