Sunny and warm

It's really like spring at the moment. The weather is warm and sunny, although we have had a couple of mornings where it's been so cold there's been ice on the car fist thing and some mornings it's been fairly foggy, but as soon as the sun comes out and warms things up it burns off. The clocks changed last weekend which made things seem more spring-like so it's light until a good deal later. Both dogs, Poppy and Alfie love it and spend a lot of their time in the garden, Alfie in particular likes to sit in the sun.

Walking The Dogs

Another fine and sunny day, and certainly not to be spent cooped up indoors, so we decided to take the dogs for a walk. We walked along the Redway behind the house towards the Grand Union Canal and Woughton village. I say walked, yes, but both dogs ran, Alfie yapping noisily the moment we left the house. It's a real effort to put his lead on, Poppy not quite so difficult. Whenever we meet someone walking along, generally minding their own business, Alfie has to run up to them and ingratiate himself. Poppy is no better. Alfie runs ahead of us (we let them off their leads as soon as we got on the Redway.) and keeps running back towards us. He doesn't run far, just within sight and ear-shot. A t the bridge over the canal we walk along the tow-path. If she gets her way, Poppy will jump in water. She seems to love it, regardless of the cold, although to do it's been unseasonably warm. Alfie is not so keen. He's learnt from bitter experience that the water is not very nice, particularly after the incident which took place a short way along this tow-path, and recalled in an earlier post. He was running along, minding his own business, and decided to jump a low wall, and splash! Into the canal! He had to be fished out, and then ran around for some time looking like a downed rat until he dried out.  Poppy, meanwhile, was eyeing up the canal and it looked as if she was about to jump in for a swim. I think she avoids going in where there is nowhere for her to scramble in and out, and this was the case along the canal-bank. But, as we were walking through a wooded area she decided to go into an extremely muddy, and smelly, ditch! She came out of it with her lower body caked in the smelliest, blackest and thickest mud imaginable! I think she'd saved this up so as to cause as much annoyance as possible. All we could do was keep well away from her, as she was really smelly.Anyway, we walked back towards Woughton-On-The-Green , a site of archeological interest as it was where the medieval village stood, and round through an orchard-area and then, eventually, back towards the canal, the Redway and home. I think we well and truly wore out both dogs as they slept the rest of the afternoon. Poppy was not allowed into the lounge as she was still caked in mud and we were determined that she wasn't going to leave a trail of muddy paw-prints over the carpet or on the sofa, so she was relegated to the kitchen for several hours. But she made her presence known with a lot of howls, barks and really odd baby-like sounds. Sort of 'woe is me, I'm being hard-done-by! Nobody loves me, nobody cares' sort of carry-on. She can be a real prima-donna if she wants to.

Beautiful Sunny Day!

Carol did some tutoring this morning, and when she came home we were due to go shopping, but, because it was so warm and sunny we decided to drive to Woburn. We are fans of many antiques shows on television, such as Bargain Hunt, Antiques Road trip etc and parked the car and went to one antique shop on the market-square which has featured in Antiques Road Trip, Woburn Antiques Centre (I believe Charlie Ross, who appears regularly on this show has an interest in it, or may even own it.) It was interesting looking around, particularly a fine collection of Moorcroft pottery, which we both love, but at the prices they were asking, well out of our  price range, unfortuntely.

From there we walked along the High Street  and found a really nice coffee shop and went in and had coffee and cake. Very nice. We went back to the car and then drove through Woburn Park, as we like to look at the deer.

Washing Machine . . . Sorted!

At last! The washing-machine is working! It has taken very nearly a week to get the thing up-and running, but it at last means things can return to some sort of normal, if that is at all possible. Someone came from Anglia Water to check out where exactly the water turned off in the street. It's where you'd expect it to be, directly in front of the house under a little man-hole cover (crazy, as a man would never get down it!) and so we now know where to turn off the water if we need to. As it turns out, we don't need to turn it off to repair the plumbing, as you'll discover as I continue with this post.

I got a call from our landlord around 11 a.m. yesterday to say he was sending someone to 'look at' the washing-machine and the problem caused. He said this person would arrive at around 12 noon. The time came and went and nobody had arrived, so I was thinking, no we're going to have those two clowns back on Monday sometime, messing around attempting to sort the plumbing out, not having the slightest idea what on earth they were doing.

At around 4.30-5.00 p.m. I get a call from a man who says he's a plumber, and something to do with the rental agency, and can he come and have a look at the situation regarding the washing-machine? I say, yes he can, and he say's he'll be there in around half-an-hour. He turns up, carrying a proper tool-kit and far more clued up as regards what to do than the landlord and his 'assistant'. He manages to turn off the water WITHOUT going into the street, and has the job done within 30 minutes and we had the washing-machine in it's correct place under the work-surface and working properly! Job done and thank's for your effort! I reckon the landlord's wife must have said something to him, as regards doing a botched job, and to get someone on the job who had some idea of what they were doing so as not to cause any further damage. As it is, the washing-machine, when it was on spin last Saturday afternoon and more or less 'bounced' all over the place, damaged the flooring. All due to incompetence and, basically because certain people didn't want to spend out on doing the job properly in the first place.

Washing Machine Fun!

 I think you may have realised that the title of this post has a sort of ironic ring about it.

 Yesterday, mid-morning, I eventually got a phone call from the rental agency, after I'd phoned earlier in the morning and said that if something drastic wasn't done regarding the flooded kitchen and the non-installation of the washing machine, to be told that 'someone would be coming at 6 p.m.' I wasn't going to hold my breath as regards things being repaired, and, as it turned out, I was right, because as 6 p.m. rolled round and by five-past nobody had arrived, I was still believing that nobody would, when I looked out of the window to see Carol chatting to our beloved landlord. I was expecting the plumber who had come out earlier in the week, and when he told me he was expecting the young man who'd caused the problems in the first place, my heart sank (as I think it did with Carol, also.) He eventually arrived, so I decided to remain in the lounge watching television as I was quite prepared to say something about the mess that had been caused.

They went off to the D.I.Y. store, most likely B and Q or Homebase, who both have warehouse stores within a short distance of here, with Carol and I in total disbelief. They had really got no idea what they were doing, or were about to do. Neither had any genuine experience of plumbing, so goodness knows what mess they are going to make. We were somehow  imagined that we were going to have the plumber who came during the week to look at the situation, or at least another plumber who knew what he was doing. But, no. Just our beloved landlord too mean to spend out on a plumber and get the job done properly.

I expected them to come back with a load of bits and pieces of pipe, to replace what had been damaged. They told us that we couldn't touch the water supply to the house outside in the street, that Anglia Water would need to come and check out the supply and then turn it off (and charge some excessive amount to do so, apparently, but I can't see why. Just another ploy to make money.) The landlord and his 'assistant' had no idea about any of this and were, I assume, given this advice by staff at the D.I.Y. store. The Landlord then said he'd phone Anglia Water, which he did, and rang later to tell me that Anglia Water would send someone out today (Friday) to give their advice as to turning off the water so that work could be done on the repair in the kitchen. And none of this can be done until Monday, so we'll be without the washing-machine for another couple of days, with the water dripping and the task of us having to empty buckets, bowls etc every couple of hours. This is gradually turning into one of those comedys, starring such people as Michael Crawford or Norman Wisdom. Yes, certainly my thoughts tht 'Some Mother's Do 'Ave 'Em'!

Problem Not Solved . . . For the Time Being

Our landlord sent a plumber to look at the complete mess caused by the washing-machine. It turns out that, as he can't turn off the water at either the point where the washing machine is connected or at the stop-cock, the whole water supply will need turning off in the road outside, and you have to have permission from the Anglia Water, the supply company, before work can commence on replacing bits and pieces of pipe within the house.  If too much pressure is applied to any of the taps, stop-cocks etc there is the possibility of the pipes breaking. The stop-cock pipe (which brings in water to the house.) is made of lead, and he won't be able to solder a new stop-cock into the pipe, and the water-connection for the washing-machine is made of plastic which will break as it is quite fragile, which will ALSO need to be replaced/repaired! So he has had to contact the landlord and so go through the process of getting the work done. It is likely to be another couple of days before anything can be done and in the meantime we're still having to deal with dripping water, putting buckets, bowls etc under the drip to collect the water etc etc. Not very pleasant and we still can't wash clothes and do washing up properly.

Why Aren't Things So Simple?- Adventures With A Washing Machine

Nothing goes according to plan, and nothing on earth is ever as simple as one might expect, and certainly not in the case of the new washing machine. I explained in the last blog that our landlord arrived yesterday with the new machine. He came with two young lads, presumably with the intention of using them to lift in the new washing machine and then take out the old one. Which they did. Nobody seemed to have the first idea how to actually disconnect the old machine from the water supply. As you may or may not know there is generally always a pipe which you connect to the water supply so that the machine will fill automatically from the house mains and another tube which takes the water OUT of the machine during it's operation. The landlord had absolutely no idea where the stop-cock was in the house so as to turn off the supply. Carol had to go next door and ask a neighbour, as all the houses along this road are identical. It turned out to be behind a panel in the downstairs toilet. Which was a surprise as we didn't know this. I really would have expected our landlord, of all people, to have known this sort of detail.

It was only the start of our problems. Unfortunately.

The young man who set up the washing machine didn't really have the first idea what he was doing. We left them to get on with it. After all, it was the landlord's machine and we were quite happy to watch them work. But the young man had absolutely no concept of which tube went where. Anyway, it was eventually done and they left, taking the old machine outside for the Council to collect (which reminds me that I must contact them on Monday morning so that the refuse collection department can take the  old machine away. It is now defunct so it's better for it to go for recycling.)

So, with the washing machine plumbed in and operating (or so I thought) I put in a load of washing.

Then the problems really began.

The cycle seemed to take a very long time to complete. Surely a wash cycle in an automatic washing machine should take no more than an hour? Or so I would imagine. It was still going around 2 hours later. It then went into the final spin, and I was upstairs when it began, and thought to myself, 'good, at least we'll have some clean clothes at long last.' I came downstairs in the middle of the spin and the machine had moved out at a 45-degree angle from the work surface. Not what you expect to happen. I thought at first that Carol had pulled out the machine, but it seemed unlikely. The machine then went into full spin mode and it was getting faster and faster. It was really getting dangerous.

We had to stop the thing somehow or other and so we pressed the 'off'' button which got the spin cycle to slow down and eventually stop. We then discovered that the tube that brought the water into the machine from the mains supply was leaking badly, so we had to attempt to shut off the water. But no amount of effort would shut it off completely and there was a really bad drip coming from the connection, which meant we had to put the washing-up bowl under the connection to collect the water. We had to empty this several times as it filled up really fast. Also, we attempted to turn off the water supply at the stop-cock, but this would not shut off completely. Of course, all this meant that we couldn't do any washing up, or have the central heating on, flush the toilets, have shaves and so it went on. All this because that incompetent person thought they knew how to fit the washing-machine.

As a further result of all this, the machine has torn the floor-covering when in it's fastest spin-mode.

We learned, having attempted to stop the drips, that when they came to plumb in the machine they didn't remove the restraining bolts in the back of the machine, which are there to prevent the drum from revolving and causing damage during transit and hadn't set up the feet so that the machine was level. It's a wonder we didn't have serious damage to the machine as a result of all this, even a fire or the machine exploding.

Anyway, we have been without running water since Saturday late afternoon, the kitchen is in a mess because we can't use any water and I've been told by the rental agency that they must contact the landlord before they can rectify all these problems. So it's likely to be a couple more days before a competent plumber is called out to do the work required.

New Washing Machine Arrives

We had a call from the rental agency to say that the landlord was coming to bring the new washing machine. He came around 1.15 and then there was the delightful business of searching for the stop-cock as they had to turn off the water and nobody knew where it was. It turned out to be in the downstairs toilet room, so it didn't take long to get the machine plumbed in and eventually operating.

Watching EastEnders

I don't as a rule, watch EastEnders. I find this 'soap' so insufferably dreary that I don't want to watch the trials and tribulations of such unpleasant characters. I think, also, it's the fact that the plots get re-cycled with such monotonous regularity and none of the characters have any redeeming features. Why would people choose to remain in such a depressing and dead-end place as Albert Square?

I was, though, reminded of my experience of working on it as a Supporting Artiste. There was a scene in last night's episode, with Phil Mitchell (I can never distinguish between either of the Mitchell brothers, Grant or Phil.) He was in prison, and someone was visiting him. I did similar scenes when 'Dirty' Den Watts was in prison (for whatever crime I can't actually remember) and I was cast as a prison warder.  I think it must have been around 1988, so the soap can't have been running more than four or five years. I got a call from an agent and was asked 'have you ever worked on EastEnders?' To which I immediately replied, 'no.' He told me that the B.B.C. were filming a new drama called 'Behind Bars' or something, in a school somewhere in Elstree. I went to Elstree at the time I was given, to be greeted by production staff and immediately told that the show being recorded was actually EastEnders, the name 'Behind Bars' was a bluff so as to keep newspaper reporters at bay. I was taken to costume and make-up and changed into a prison warders uniform and had to wear a long overcoat over this uniform so as not to be seen by any tabloid photographers who were supposedly hanging around outside the school where the location was.

The scene was supposed to be the visitors' room in a prison. As a warder, myself and several others, were placed around the room, where there were tables with chairs by them. Den was sitting at one and was being spoken to by one other of the major characters (don't ask me who. I have an idea it might have been Pat Butcher. I think it was before she married Frank, so no doubt at that time she was Pat Wicks.) We just stood around looking 'ard, glaring menacingly at any of the 'prisoners' if they did something they shouldn't have done. Things on 'EastEnders' are shot really rapidly; a brief rehearsal, then a 'take.' Very rarely is there a second 'take.'  There isn't much room for error. If you make a mistake it's very likely going to be left in. They move on to the next camera 'set-up.' And so it goes. These scenes were directed by Julia Smith, who created and set up EastEnders. We got some direction. My 'note' was to walk 'with shorter steps.' So as to move past the camera and to be actually seen. In the scenes that I was in, for what I remember, you could only see the lower part of my body, and not my face.

I was re-called to do a further day's shooting, this time with Den Watts being interviewed in an office and I was the warder who let him in and out with a solicitor, or so I imagine. I also recall that it was the final day of Leslie Grantham's time on the show, and there was a large cake for the tea-break, decorated with a prison gate and padlocks etc. I do recall also having along chat with Leslie Grantham between 'takes.' A really nice man. You don't often get the chance to talk with the 'principles' on these shows. 'Extras' and/or 'Walk-On's' or 'Supporting-Artistes' aren't supposed to talk to the main actors. It's just the way things are.

A couple of years later I went to the B.B.C. Elstree studios to work on another B.B.C. drama, 'House of Cards.' They had built a Downing Street set behind the open-air 'EastEnders' lot. It was extremely hot and we were in very thick coats and suits. We were supposed to be journalists and photographers, and when the main character, played by Ian Richardson, came out of Number 10 we had to rush forward, with flash-guns going off. I had a chance to go onto the EastEnders set and have a look-round, and at one point we were almost run over by some of the actors, Adam Woodyatt, John Altman and I think Nick Berry, riding a motor bike around the lot. It was a really interesting experience, not only working on 'House of Cards' (I did several more days shooting on this at other locations around London.) but also looking round the 'EastEnders' lot.

New Washing Machine!

All the waiting might appear to be over. I was expecting to hear from the rental agency regarding the washing machine, and was told, at around 5 p.m. yesterday, that the landlord was coming here between 3-5 tomorrow afternoon with a brand new washing machine. Just as well, as we haven't been able to do any washing for around two-three weeks.

Cold and Foggy Morning

It's a relatively cold and foggy morning as I write this (at 7.50 a.m.) We went over to the Academy in the car, but found that it's virtually out of petrol, so I dropped off Carol and walked back along the Redway. There is quite a display of primroses out in the glade of trees as I walked past and the daffodills are out on the road-side as you come into the entrance of the Academy. No doubt once the fog has cleared it will be bright and sunny, which is normal for this time of the year.

The washing machine has been out of action for the past three weeks or so. As we live in a rented house the washing machine belongs to the landlord. He replaced the cooker some while ago, and we're optimistic that the same will happen with the washing machine. We have been without it for around three weeks now. It has fused out on several occasions and we kept replacing the fuses in the plugs but then it refused to work completely and flooded the kitchen floor. We had to get an engineer out, without a call-out charge being incurred, and was told that the problem was caused by the leak dripping onto a circuit inside the machine, this causing the machine to fuse. Apart from anything this is somewhat dangerous, as you might imagine. The cost of the repair would be £140. When you can buy a new, basic automatic washing machine for around the same price it seems more economical to simply replace it rather than repair it. Phone calls have been going back and forth between ourselves and the agency and then they've been trying to get hold of the landlord, but still no sign of a new washing machine, but we are hopeful that this will be resolved within the next couple of days. The the agency decided that they ought to do an annual inspection of the house, so we've spent the past week cleaning the house and it is totally spotless.

Visit to Waddesdon Manor

Yesterday the weather was exceptionally warm and spring-like, so after church we decided to go out in the car. Anything to get out of the house, and particularly away from Milton Keynes, and the weather is usually an excuse to visit somewhere or other. Having our National Trust  membership is generally a good thing as you can get into their properties for nothing. We filled up the car at the Shell petrol station and then went out of Milton Keynes along Standing Way. We went to Stowe Landscape Gardens a couple of weeks ago (see earlier post) when we took Poppy and Alfie, but this time we left them at home. We drove out towards Buckingham, but once there decided to head for Waddesdon Manor, which is near Aylesbury. We've been several times before, but not for a while. The house itself is well worth a look-round, but it wasn't open but the grounds were. The house will re-open in a couple more weeks, around Easter. We were quite surprised how close we were able to park to the Manor, along the avenue which leads up to the main entrance.

 Waddesdon Manor, from front, in summer

 Rear view of Waddesdon Manor

 Fountain statues, shrouded, to protect them from winter frosts.

 Fountains, working in summer

 Waddesdon Manor, from lawns, below parterre

 Flower bird, in full bloom

 Avery, in summer

Strange, mysterious, shrouded statue.

The place was really busy, the early spring sunshine bringing families out and there were lots of pushchairs with young children in being pushed around the place by parents. We walked down to the stable block where there is a shop and restaurant but were really surprised to find that both were shut. We eventually got coffee and sausage rolls from a kiosk near the house. The price for two coffees and sausage rolls was £9 which was somewhat expensive, although the coffee was good and the rolls were tasty and hot. We went round the gardens and tooks photographs, including the aviary which is full of exotic birds. The many and various statues in the gardens were shrouded in sheets, to protect them from winter frosts. Also, the fountain on the parterre had been drained and the statues also shrouded in sheeting. We had a further wander and then headed back to the car and home.

New Heart Drug Procoralan Given European Approval

A drug that could benefit people with heart failure has been approved by European regulators. New data on Procoralan (ivabradine) suggests it cuts death rates and the need for a patient to be hospitalised for heart failure, which affects about 900,000 people in the UK.
The drug has been approved by European regulators but has yet to be assessed for widespread use on the NHS.

It costs less than £10 a week and is already prescribed for patients in the UK with angina.

Data published today suggests Procoralan can reduce the risk of death from heart failure by 39%, the risk of death from all types of cardiovascular disease by 17% and the risk of death from all causes by 17%.

In addition, the drug, which slows down the heart rate, was found to cut the risk of heart failure patients requiring hospitalisation by 30%.

The study involved 6,505 people in 37 countries, including the UK.

Heart failure occurs when the organ becomes too weak to pump blood efficiently round the body, leading to fatigue, breathlessness, a higher heart rate and other problems.

Professor Martin Cowie, consultant cardiologist and specialist in heart failure at the Royal Brompton Hospital, and UK lead investigator for the study, said: "Heart failure is a very common problem, affecting approximately 1% of the population.

"The decision to approve this new indication for ivabradine is great news for both doctors and patients, and is a significant step forward in the management of heart failure.

"While Ace inhibitors and beta-blockers remain very important in the treatment of this condition, the results of the trial demonstrate the value that a reduction in heart rate with ivabradine can bring both in terms of improving symptoms and preventing disease progression, but also in helping patients return to normal daily activities and increasing their enjoyment of life."

Maureen Talbot, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: "There are already several medicines available in the UK for treating heart failure, but some people's condition and symptoms remain uncontrolled.

"Knowing doctors have another option to offer those patients whose condition is particularly difficult to treat is really positive news.

"Patients whose heart failure symptoms are already well controlled with their current treatment are unlikely to have their medication changed because of this new drug, but for many it could improve their quality of life." 

Press Association, quoted from Guardian website