Mild Weather

Today the sun is out, although there is a fairly strong wind blowing. I've been to get my hair cut. I got to the barber's too early and had to wait, but the upshot was, I didn't have to wait inside and was shown to a chair immediately. From there I went to Tesco's at Kingston and did some shopping. There is an advantage in going mid-week as there were hardly any queues. I did find one set-back during the journey there. Chaffron Way was closed off below Marlborough Street as the Council is repairing the potholes. I should say Council WORKMEN, as 'The Council' wouldn't actually repair the roads, they would send out workmen to do the work for them. Pedantic, I know, but let's get these things straight.

Back To Work

Carol has gone back to work today. She had a second week off, due to the horrible cough. The doctor had given her a sick note for the first week and she went back last Monday and he gave her a second week off. Bronchitis was the cause of the problem. I was booked to have a blood test also on Monday, at 9 a.m. but the nurse could not take any blood as she couldn't find a vein. I'm not going to be prodded and probed in order to have blood taken as it isn't going to happen, so she is looking in to me going to hospital and getting someone there to take blood. Seems somewhat drastic but it seems to be the only way it's going to happen.

The weather has improved dramatically. It's quite mild and pleasant this morning. The clocks have gone forward (during the night of Saturday/Sunday.) which always makes things better as the days seem longer. We'll get more light in the evenings, which means we can go out with the dogs once Carol finishes work. We took them to Stockgrove Park near Leighton Buzzard and walked around the lake the other morning. We kept Poppy on her lead as she has a propensity to head for the lake and have a swim, which disturbs the ducks and generally causes havoc. Alfie has learnt his lesson, as regards jumping in water, so keeps clear of the lake! As soon as we let him off his lead, having released him from the cage in the back of the car, (he has to be put in this cage as he won't sit still inside the car otherwise and it is far safer than driving with him getting entangled in the steering wheel and gear stick and insisting on sitting on the driver's lap as well as making a great deal of noise.) he started barking and yapping, telling all and sundry that he had arrived! Both dogs returned home with bits of twigs and leaves attached to their coats, and we found bits of Stockgrove vegetation on the lounge floor which they bought home with them. 

Comments

Hi folks. Well, I've been writing this blog since late 2009, and I have had 1337 views. I don't know how many of these are the same people returning, but I have only had TWO comments. Come on you out there! Do, please, leave comments, whether good or bad, as I'm really interested to know what brings you to my blog. What interests have we in common? Is it something to do with my interest and work in theatre, television Walk-On, my heart attack and follow-up care? Do PLEASE comment in some way or other!

Spring is in the air!

It was quite frosty first thing this morning, and there was ice on the car when I looked out of the kitchen window early this morning.   This soon disappeared as the sun came out and it's  been sunny and bright all day. There are daffodils and crocuses out all along the verges of the grid roads around Milton Keynes and the leaves are starting to sprout. Spring is definitely here, but it seems incredibly late.

Carol has been off work all week. She has had a really nasty cough and she had a doctor's appointment on Monday and got a prescription for antibiotics. I had a blood test at 9.30, but the nurse couldn't take any  blood as she couldn't find a vein. She attempted from both my arms, but no success. I immediately made another appointment for the following Monday. I just hope it works this time.

As I write this, Carol's cough is really no better. The antibiotics don't seem to be working. She will have to have another doctor's appointment on Monday as she had a sick note and it will need to be up-dated. I just hope this cough clears up soon. 

Last time I went to the doctors for my appointment the doctor insisted that I take a further statin in the morning, but, from past experience, I'm non too keen, as the side-effects are unpleasant.    I have started taking yoghurt drinks with plant sterols. There is a  brand called Benecol which I have used, but that particular product is very expensive. We have managed to buy a similar product from Aldi, which is about half, if not more than half, the price of Benecol.  You can buy 'own-brand' versions of these drinks from supermarkets such as Asda and Sainsburys, but you will need to have a look in the dairy section of your favourite supermarket to find out what they sell. You can also get spreads and cooking oils with sterols in. I'm now not sure of the exact spelling of sterols, so do check that also.  Is it stenols or stanols? Or, indeed, sterols? There is some confusion when I put the word into Google. Anyway, I digress.  As I was saying, these products are proven to reduce cholestrol. I'll try anything that reduces my cholestrol levels without having to take statins. I also eat oats in some form or other for breakfast as that is supposed to help reduce cholestrol. Another brand is Flora Activ, and they have a full range of products including spreads and yoghurts as well as the yoghurt drinks

The dogs are really loving the sunshine. Alfie has been running in and out of the house through the French windows and likes to lie in the sun. Poppy barks at people as they walk past on the Redway.

Car Accident

Yesterday afternoon I went to collect Carol in the car. She's been having problems with her leg, due I'm certain, as a result of the incident at the Academy when a lot of the students were fighting and they had to be separated. It seems to have been quite nasty from what she was telling me. I got a tube bandage for her leg and ankle and it has been strapped up, and walking has been quite painful. So, instead of walking to the Academy I have driven her there and collected her in the evening. 

I left the house slightly earlier than usual to drive the short distance to the Academy but we never come out  of this estate opposite the Academy and onto the grid road (Saxon Street)  as it can be really difficult to get out, due to traffic (this will be relevant as this post continues, as you will discover.) although early morning you can manage to cross over as there is generally very little traffic about. A reason for this may be that there is a 40 m.p.h. speed limit along that stretch of road from the roundabout on Chaffron Way to the next one on Standing Way, due to the hospital and the Academy are along that road. Anyway, because I'd left early I decided to go to the local shop in Eaglestone to get some milk and a tin of pineapple for use in our evening meal. From there I drove out of the estate onto Chaffron Way and then round into Saxon Street with the intention of driving into the Academy and parking as I usually do before going into the Academy reception to wait for Carol to come out. As I drove towards the turning into the Academy there was quite a queue of traffic ahead of me. A car was attempting to turn out of Eaglestone onto Saxon Street and another car was come in the opposite direction. The car turning out of the estate collided with the other car, forcing the other car to spin round in the road and hit the opposite curb. There were bits of plastic bumper flying everywhere from both cars, and a large section of the car which turned out of Eaglestone lying in the centre of the carriageway. As I am a trained First Aider and has seen all that had happened, I thought that I must go to see if the lady in the car which had ended up on the kerb directly outside the Academy was alright and might need some First Aid or at least I could say that I would be a witness if the need arose. 

I drove into the road leading up to the Academy entrance and parked up, making sure that I wasn't obstructing any traffic going in or out of the Academy, and walked down to the road where the car was, having ended up on the kerbside. I approached the driver and she looked really shaken up, tears running down her face and in a really bad state. There was no blood and she didn't appear to be seriously injured. I just said that if she needed assistance I was there to help her. There was a long tail-back of traffic on either side of the road, but no other driver made the slightest attempt to stop and assist. The lady who had driven out of Eaglestone and who had collided with the other car was on the opposite side of the road. She eventually crossed over to contact the other driver. I wondered if the lady who had been in the car which had been hit would need to go to Accident and Emergency at the hospital, but she didn't appear to have suffered any serious injury which needed any sort of hospital treatment, except for some pain in her shoulder, which, I presume, had been caused by the seat belt tightening when the car had braked suddenly during the collision. 

I rang Carol on my mobile to let her know what had happened and she eventually came out of the Academy and walked down to the scene of the accident. The lady who's car was outside the Academy and on the curb phoned her father, as she was on the way to collect her two children from school, and the Police who turned up extremely quickly to take down details of what happened. As the lady got out of her car there was a slow hissing sound and I at first thought it might have been the radiator which had burst in the accident, but it turned out to be one of the front tyres which had been damaged in the accident and had a slow puncture. The Policeman who appeared drove the car up and onto the verge and left it there. Then the lady's father arrived and she went off with him. I gave my details so that I could give a witness statement at a later date. 

Even throughout all this there were people driving past, and some getting really annoyed that they had to slow down, some driving on the slip road that went into the drive up to the Academy entrance, and, again, nobody made any attempt to stop to help.

Signs Of Spring

Goodness gracious! What's this? The sun is out and there are definite signs of spring. There are daffodills blooming outside the Academy and crocuses are popping up all along the Milton Keynes grid roads.  Having said all this, the roads around here are in a really bad state of repair, most likely as a result of three really bad winters. There are potholes on many of the grid roads and roundabouts which are really hard to avoid. Some of the drains along the kerbs are in such a bad state of disrepair, particularly where you come off the roundabouts, that you have a really difficulty avoiding. I wonder how many people have their cars damaged by these pothole and put in claims for compensation from Milton Keynes Council.  This may account for one of our front tyres always loosing pressure as it always needs air putting into it as it is always virtually flat whenever we go out in the car.

There has been something of a cold wind blowing, not metaphorically, but genuinely and when I dropped off Carol at the Academy this morning we almost got blown away! Hopefully if the weather holds up we can go out this weekend. Let's hope so.