Breakfast In Asda

We had to go shopping this morning, so Carol suggested we go to Asda and have breakfast in their restaurant there. Most supermarkets have their own restaurant where you can get a reasonable meal, and as we have had breakfast in our local Asda near the Milton Keynes football stadium we decided to go there. There was quite a queue at the counter when we got there. I stood in the queue while Carol went off to find some items in the near-by aisles, as we had left the trolley in the area where you could park it as you went into the restaurant. The queue went at snails-pace so Carol would be able to get the bits she wanted, and still come back and I hadn't got much closer to being served. I pushed the tray I had collected along the metal track you have in most self-service restaurants but after a good fifteen minutes we STILL hadn't got to the service area. I think the staff must have been on a go-slow or they were new and didn't know how to do the job, but it is the last time we go there for breakfast again. Annoying, when it's the beginning of Carol's Easter break and we were actually looking forward to a cooked breakfast, and particularly the fact that we didn't have to cook it. They may have been short of staff, but that would seem unlikely. I don't often have cooked breakfast, and neither does Carol, on a normal, work, day. It was a fairly good offer, £5 for a full English breakfast, together with toast and orange juice. After something like 25 minutes we eventually got to our table and Carol had also ordered two coffees. These turned out to have no milk in them and then we couldn't find any milk or sugar where one would expect it to be. There was insufficient cutlery in the cutlery tray, and by the time we got to actually EAT the food it was almost stone cold! Not a good experience and we certainly won't recommend this restaurant again. On top of all this a really delightful child was dragging a chair around the floor and making the most awful noise, enough to give you a permanent headache, and THEN a member of staff began making the same noise as part of their job when clearing tables.

Good Friday Sunshine

It is cold, but at least the sun came out! Poppy had a bath. The excitement is intense. And a haircut. So now she can see where she's going. Her fringe had got so bad she could barely see out. Then we decided to take the dogs for a walk. Alfie goes mad as soon as you show him the lead and it takes some time to get both dogs on their leads and out of the house, but as soon as we get onto the Redway we let them off. We walk along the Redway towards Woughton village and then along the path next to the Grand Union Canal. There was ice on the canal, which I've never seen before. I don't think it was very thick, but it seemed odd to see it all so still and silent. Alfie stops to wee against every tree and lamp post he can see and what's with this growling and kicking up the dust with his back legs-business? I think it's just the sheer joy of being out in the open air, and not shut up in the house as they have been for most of the winter. Both dogs pick up bits of twig on their coats and drag them along behind them. Alfie has to stop and pick it out with his mouth, while I have to stand on the twig that Poppy has to get it removed from her coat. I remember when Alfie was a puppy and we took him to Stockgrove Country Park. It was autumn, and as he walked along he got bits of twig and leaf in his coat and he kept stopping to remove it. He didn't seem to like it and got quite cross with the additional vegetation he was carrying!

There is still some snow laying on the ground, but most of it has fortunately melted, but there is still a definite chill in the air. Just hope that the weather begins to improve so that we can get out  a bit more while Carol is on holiday from the Academy

Cooker Fixed

Had a phone call from the rental agency earlier this morning regarding the cooker. An electrician came out at around 11.15 and checked the cooker, and having dragged it out of it's space between the kitchen units he found that the cable that connected it to the mains had got bits of wire which were shorting out between the negative an positive poles, hence the 'pop' yesterday morning and the smell. It is now back working properly and the problem is now solved, fortunately.

Cold and Snow

It's a really cold morning. The snow is still hanging around. There's not as much snow and ice on the paths as Carol and I walk to the Academy. Yesterday it was quite slippery, particularly on the footbridge over Saxon Street. You had to be really careful, or you were in danger of falling over, which is something we want to avoid, considering how Carol hurt her hand. There are primroses blooming along the path near the Academy, a sign that spring is attempting to show itself, regardless of the prevailing weather conditions.

We have heard nothing as regards the cooker being fixed. We managed to make our evening meal yesterday without the use of the cooker. Just as well we had a microwave to cook part of the meal. I just hope our beloved landlord doesn't decide to try and fix the cooker himself, if what happened to the new washing machine is anything to go by (see earlier post regarding this.) If I don't hear anything from the agency by midday today I will ring again.

Cooker Crisis

I came downstairs to make the usual mugs of tea early this morning, around 5.30.  I filled the kettle, and standing by waiting for it to boil. Teabags in mugs, sugars, milk out of fridge. Let dogs out. Usual sort of routine. Kettle boils, pour water into mugs, wait a minute to brew. Give a quick stir and add milk. Then I hear a strange popping noise coming from the cooker. Also, odd sort of smell. Not sure what it was. Last used the cooker to cook our meal last evening, so quite a few hours previously. Odd popping noise after a minute or two and then click or pop from cupboard where fuse is. Strange. Report this to Carol in bedroom. No clear idea what's going on or what caused this. Turned off mains power near cooker and reported to rental agency at 9 a.m. Can't speak direct, as number redirected to an answering system but left recorded message. Awaiting response to said recorded message. Trust fixed urgently or we can't cook meal tonight. Have to use microwave or improvise using other method of cooking. Think, one problem after another. Snow, car, Carol's problem with hand etc etc. Just have to see what happens and will post on here.

Another Load Of Snow!

Just when we thought that Spring was on the way, we get another lot of snow. As I write this we are under several inches of snow. We were supposed to have gone to Carol's nephew Chris's wedding up in Leicestershire yesterday, but what with the car playing up, and now the snow, we decided it was best not to go. It would appear that they have had worse snowfalls than  here in Milton Keynes, so perhaps it was well we didn't go.

'Statins Could Increase Kidney Damage'- Daily Express Headline Today

The following is on the front page of today's Daily Express newspaper:

 A wonderdrug taken daily by millions of Britons to control cholestrol could dramatically increase the risk of kidney damage, research finds.

  Statins could dramatically increase kidney damage risk new research finds

High doses of statins, prescribed to ­prevent heart disease and stroke, are linked to higher rates of acute kidney injury, they say.

The risk is highest in the first 120 days of treatment and stays raised for at least two years after patients start taking the pills. Leading doctors are now warning that the drugs should only be prescribed at a low dose where possible.

Author of the Canadian report, Professor Colin Dormuth, said: “In some cases, patients may be exposed to unnecessary risk of kidney damage for small gains in cardiovascular health. Although the absolute risk of kidney damage with these drugs is low, our findings put into question the common approach of using higher doses to push cholesterol levels lower and lower.”

Researchers from Dr Dormuth’s University of British Columbia and the Lady Davis Institute at the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal studied more than two million statin users.

They found that patients taking higher strength pills were more at risk of suffering acute kidney injury.

They were at a 34 per cent greater danger of being hospitalised with kidney problems within 120 days of starting treatment with high-dose statins than low-dose pills.

About one in 500 patients were hospitalised for acute kidney injury within a period of up to two years – the length of the study – after starting a lower strength statin, according to study published on bmj.com.

Acute kidney injury, or acute renal failure, is the term used when the kidneys cannot remove salt, water and waste products from the blood.

Dr Pierre Ernst, professor of medicine at the McGill University Centre for Clinical Epidemiology in Montreal, who was involved in the research, said: “We are not saying don’t take statins.

“If you are giving patients a high dose statin, let’s make sure there is a good reason. A high dose might be beneficial for those who have had a heart attack or have high cholesterol, and then they are life-saving.

“But for the 40-year-old woman who exercises, doesn’t have high blood pressure and only slightly raised cholesterol, there is no need to put her on a high dose.”

Cholesterol-controlling pill linked to kidney damage

Prof Peter Weissberg, British Heart Foundation medical director, said: “Most people in the UK are on low doses of statins. Further research is needed to establish whether it is the statins or the underlying blood vessel disease in people taking high doses that causes kidney problems.”

Statins considered to be high potency were rosuvastatin at doses of 10mg or higher, atorvastatin at doses of 20mg or higher, and simvastatin at doses of 40mg or more.

All other statins were considered low potency. Simvastatin is the most frequently prescribed statin in the UK. Statins are extremely effective at reducing the fatty substance which clogs arteries, triggering heart attack or stroke. More than eight million Britons take statins and heart experts say that if five million more took them it would cut heart attacks and stroke by 10,000 a year, saving 2,000 lives.

A Foggy Morning

Today has started out really foggy and dull. This fog is quite dense and visability has been quite poor in places. And it's really quite cold. There are some drivers who think it's acceptable to drive around without any lights on, so you have to be extra careful when you go out in the car, which, incidentally, is still not right, lurching all over the place as you drive along. For the past couple of days the weather has been all over the place, really not making it's mind up. Generally it seems a good deal milder. There was some sun yesterday when we sat in the Accident and Emergency waiting room. It seems that once the fog has lifted it can become quite spring-like.

Going To Accident and Emergency

I think I have already mentioned that Carol had a really nasty fall when she slipped over when we visited Waddesdon Manor on New Year's Day. She has been complaining about pain in her hand, and I had got Voltarol to use on it to try to relieve this pain. She has been using this for over a week, and although it has helped to a certain extent, it has not completely relieved the pain. Infact, she told me it might have got worse. This is in her left hand. This morning she said she was finding it really difficult to do simple things when she was dressing, even pulling up zips. I really thought that there was a good reason to go to the doctor with this problem or go to the Accident and Emergency department at the hospital, so at around 7.30 she rang the Academy and said she wouldn't be in until she'd been to be checked over for the injury. You have to ring in by 7.30 for cover to be set if you are ill.

There was really no point driving to Milton Keynes Hospital, because we live so close (it's just over the Redway to the back of our house.) and you have to pay to park, so it was going to be easier and a good deal less stressful to just walk there. It seems really awful to think you have to pay to park your car in a hospital car park, but that's a matter to discuss elsewhere.

So we set off and walked the half-mile or so, coming into the Accident and Emergency department the wrong way round. It really surprised me that we were never challenged by staff, as you do hear of some quite appalling incidents regarding security in hospitals. We went to the reception desk where they take basic details of your injury, name, address and so on, and we then had to sit and wait in the waiting area.  From experience myself, having gone through Accident and Emergeny regarding heart problems, they prioritize patients so that if you have a more life-threatening condition, you get seen before someone with a lesser condition.need/injury. Coronary conditions, particularly the possibility of heart attack, is obviously going to be further up the list, indeed, more likely at the top of the list, compared with someone who has a cut, bruise  or abrasion or minor problem.

By now it was around 8 a.m. There was a hand-written sign up saying that there was a waiting time of approximately 6 HOURS, but as this was for the previous day it was difficult to judge how quickly we would be seen. I do think the information should have been more up to date. It wouldn't have taken that long for a member of staff to clear this old information and put up the current approximate waiting time. There were quite a few other people waiting in the waiting area.

After about 15-20 minutes Carol's name was called and we were taken into the Triage Department, where a male nurse took far more detailed information regarding the injury to Carol's hand. About an hour later Carol was called again and was seen by a Care Practitioner who did a further examination and it was then decided that Carol's hand would require X-raying. This was done in the Accident and Emergency X Ray department which was a little further into the department. After this was done we returned to the waiting area (having been through this department myself, it is all extremely familiar.) and we were joined by Carol's friend Judy who works in the hospital, but I'm not entirely in what capacity, but she always shows up like a guardian angel at just the right time to give support. A truly lovely lady. 

The we returned to the Care Practioner lady's office to look at the by-then developed X rays of Carol's hand and it was decided that she would need some therapy on the hand from the Hand Therapy Unit. I was never aware that there was such a department in the hospital. She could go there immediately or an appointment could be made for a later date, but it seemed sensible to get something set up as soon as possible, so we walked there around the outside of the hospital. 

The room was set up with quite a few tables, with people sitting at them and OT staff (Occupational Therapy) staff working on exercises on patients' hands that had been injured in whatever fashion, similar to Carl. It was decided that Carol would have to wear a splint on her hand until it heals, and this was produced, and is kept in place with strips of Velcro. She has to come back in about a week to have it checked and to see how her hand is healing. 

It was gone 12 midday when we eventually left the hospital. So, we had been there around 4 hours, which wasn't as long as it might have taken, and at least there was an outcome, with Carol having her hand injury seen and given something to relieve the injury. 

We walked home and Carol went into work back at the Academy.

. . . And More Rain . . . Again

Rain with snow mixed in with it, falling just before we went off to church this morning. I'm not sure what the term for this is, sleet, or whatever. But it's making everything extremely wet. There was ice on the car windscreen when I went to start the car. And it started first time, fortunately. There was a lot of water standing on the road at the entrance onto the roundabout on Saxon Street, where it couldn't drain away. The ground is so damp, due to the amount of rain and snow we've had over the past year or so, means that any fresh water produced by rain or snow, has nowhere else to run off. The roads around Milton Keynes have no camber, and there are no gutters along the edge of the road, so when it rains it is very likely going to pool around entrances/exits to roads coming off the gridroads. Whenever the verges are cut the cut grass is invariably just left to fall onto the edge of the roads and eventually block up the drains, making the likelihood for flooding much more likely.

More Rain!

It's a good deal milder this morning, but we had rain over-night. The garden is muddy enough already, but it's going to be even muddier now. The dogs will have fun with it, no doubt.
The car is still causing problems, even though it has been serviced and got through it's MoT. It has been causing problems starting, or NOT starting. We went shopping in Asda yesterday morning, came out and put all the groceries in the car, and it wouldn't start, well not immediately. This is getting very annoying. It is still juddering when you are driving along, not sure that it won't cut out completely. I can't quite put a finger on what is causing this problem, but it makes driving really difficult. It hasn't ever cut out as we're driving along, but not sure whether it might just do that.

Working on Dennis Potter BBC Series "Blackeyes"

As I have mentioned in earlier posts, I have done a fair amount of 'walk-on' or 'extra' work in television productions, ranging from 'EastEnders' to 'Lovejoy' and 'Keeping Up Appearances.' Generally you are in the background, literally 'walking-on', propping up the bar in the Vic in EastEnders or being a ruffian in the crowd in 'Middlemarch.' (This was described in quite a lot of detail in an earlier post.) Some you have to take quite a lot of direction. Anyone who says that being an extra or 'walk-on' is easy may like to know that you have to be able to take direction and not make mistakes and concentrate when being given instructions, as if you do  so it is going to waste valuable time and no production is going to want to employ people who constantly make mistakes and fool around on set. It is an expensive business making good quality drama for television and eventually you will be blacklisted and won't get used again.

On one occasion in the early 1990's I was called by my London agency as they were looking for someone to double for the actor Nigel Planer. I was told years ago that I had a striking resemblance to this actor (he made his name in the comedy series "The Young Ones.") This was for a new Dennis Potter series being made by the B.B.C.  called "Blackeyes," and the interiors were then being filmed at Ealing Studios. This would involve two day's work so I would need to drive to the studios each day. I was somewhat excited about this, as you can imagine, as I have never been a 'double' for anyone. Not only was I to be Nigel Planer's double, but I was to be his 'stand-in.' I have known that people do  this sort of work, being used on the set for lighting, setting up cameras, so that the star can remain in his/her dressing room or caravan and then just appear when needed for the actual filming. 

On arriving at the studios for the 'call' which was relatively early (as most filming starts at the crack of dawn for make-up, wardrobe etc.) I was met by a production assistant and then told that I would be working on the set with a young lady, ' who was standing in for  Gina Bellman, another star of the show, walking' the movements of the actors and speaking the lines. This was because most of the takes were very long, around 10 minutes, without any sort of 'cut away' and the camera was set up on a sort of track on the floor and as we spoke and moved around the camera would follow us. It was quite intensive and we had to get the moves right.

It was quite exciting filming at the famous Ealing Studios. At the time this was being filmed it was owned and operated by the B.B.C., but in it's past it was where a lot of really well-known films were made, mostly the famous Ealing Comedies such as 'Kind Hearts and Coronets', 'The Lady Killers;' 'Passport To Pimlico' and many more. In another studio next door to where the 'Blackeyes' set was built they were making one of the B.B.C. 'Narnia' series, based on the C.S. Lewis books. I'm not entirely sure which one, but during breaks outside the soundstages I saw actors in costume who were playing the little creatures which appeared in it, as they had taken off the costume heads and were standing around talking and having a cigarette break, so I assumed that was was what they were filming. 

During a lunch break one one of the days there I went to the canteen for lunch. I always talking to people I meet. It makes for really interesting day. The whole filming experience is really interesting and I have always had a keen interest in how television programmes and films are made. As I was sitting and eating my meal one of the crew sat with me. He was the lighting cameraman and we started chatting and he was telling me that for his next assignment (bearing in mind that this was around 1989-90 I'm talking about.) he was going to be filming a documentary series with Michael Palin, following in the footsteps of the character Phineas Fogg and going "Round The World in 80 Days." I now now how successful and popular that series became and how many more similar voyages Michael Palin made in future series, so it was quite a privilege to meet the man who actually went with him and filmed it!

Dennis Potter actually directed 'Blackeyes.' I can't say that it was one of my favourite Potter series, as I quite enjoyed his earlier series such as 'The Singing Detective', 'Pennies From Heaven' etc. This was somewhat controversial. A lot of his work has caused controversy in some way, but when you consider the rather dull drama we get served up by television these days, it certainly makes a difference to not have yet another police series or one set in a hospital. I suppose the nearest we get to what he was attempting would be Stephen Poliakov.

There were some scenes in the series where I was supposed to be watching someone through a window and I had to wear a costume that exactly replicated what Nigel Planer was wearing. There was also a scene where a man on stilts walked past the window of the flat and peers in. All this took a great deal of time and effort to film, but having since watched the finished, broadcast production I don't remember it being used, nor seeing myself in the background, watching through a window from across the street!  A pity, but you don't really do walk-on or even stand-in work to be seen necessarily. It was quite odd to stand and have a break with Nigel Planer as we are very similar facially. I just wish now that I had got someone to take a photograph with him. I was rather like looking at yourself in a mirror. I suppose today it would be a good deal easier, what with digital cameras and having cameras in mobile phones, but you aren't supposed to take cameras onto the set when you go filming, but I think people do regardless. All in all quite an interesting experience.

Milton Keynes Half Marathon

We knew that today the Milton Keynes Half Marathon was on, and that some of the roads round this area were to be closed off for several hours. The organisers had even gone to the trouble of leafletting houses along the course, but we didn't realize it was going directly past our house. We were on duty at the 10 a.m. service at Milton Keynes Christian Centre and had to be there for 9.20, so it's as well we did leave early, and found we couldn't get out of Eaglestone by the exit which is directly opposite the Academy, having to go out on to Chaffron Way near the shops. The weather had turned decidedly wintery, and by the time we got to the church carpark in Oldbrook it was beginning to snow. As I write this mid-afternoon, there is absolutely no sign of any snow having settled, so we may have to wait and see if we get more and have a white-out like we had earlier in the winter.

Gloomy and Grey!

The weather is misbehaving again. After a couple of very warm and spring-like days, we're now experiencing miserable over-cast, foggy weather. People are driving around with light on their cars (well, there are a few exceptions. I can't believe anyone would drive without lights in this fog.) It's not the thickest fog, but visability is still reduced considerably. And the weather forecast for the next week or two says it's going to get colder with perhaps snow snow. Meanwhile, there are bulbs popping up everywhere, crocuses and daffodills all along the grid roads of Milton Keynes and the trees are beginning to come out in leaf.

Working on Hadrian VII

For some strange unfathomable reason, Pope Benedict's resignation  recently reminded me of the time I worked on a play called "Hadrian VII" when I was  D.S.M. at Ipswich Theatre in the '70's. There is a link. I'm not completely nuts. It's about a man who fantasises about becoming Pope. It was written by Peter Luke, based on a novel by Baron Corvo, writing under the pen name of Frederick Rolfe. It has a somewhat long and convoluted plot which I will not try and unravel here, basically as it really has no bearing on what I am about to relate here, and why. Just to say that as a member of Stage Management at the various theatres where I worked during the 1970's we were expected to assume a variety of roles, from managing 'The Book' (ie, prompting and running the prompt corner and taking rehearsals etc.) to 'propping' (ie. 'plotting' them during rehearsals, setting and strinking during performances as well as sourcing them from various places. That, in itself, is an entirely different story which can take up several more posts when I can stretch my memory back over 40-odd years!) Also, one was expected to move scenery, operate sound and lighting equipment as well as creating off stage 'spot' sound effects, such as gunshots, door-slams etc. On this particular production I was mainly responsible for sound. 

The play opens in the central character, Frederick Rolfe's,  London flat. The middle section of the play then focuses on his fantasy about becoming Pope, and is set in and around the Vatican. The closing scene then returns to the flat from the opening scene. This scene was built on trucks, in two halves, which could be pushed up-stage during the scene-change and an elaborate, fretted wood screen was lowered from the flies to form the backdrop for the Vatican scenes. This piece of flown scenery was extremely heavy. I know. I was one of the Stage Management members who had to haul it in and out during each performance.

Now we had no problems at all with anything during most of the run of the play (I think it ran for two or three weeks, as part of a repertory season of several plays during my time at Ipswich. ) As I have already mentioned I was mainly responsible for sound operating  on this production. This was done from the sound and lighting cubicle at the back of the circle which enabled myself, on sound, to have a really clear view of the stage, although many of my cues were given by the A.S.M. on The Book in the prompt corner.

As part of my job on this show as I mentioned earlier I had to help on the fly floor hauling in this heavy piece of scenery. This was done at the beginning of the play, from the first scene into the mid-section, and then from that section finally into the flat scene at the end. I had done all my sound cues, and on this particular matinee performance I had to as usual set the tape of bells tolling on the tape machine and then run down to the stage and up to the fly floor to haul out the heavy piece of scenery. Rolfe, the central character of the play, is assasinated as part of the plot and the actor playing that character has to do a rapid costume change so he can re-appear in the final scene. To achieve this the actor playing him disappears through a stage trap and off to do his costume change. The cardinals crowd round him after he 'dies' so as to hide from the audience that the actor has gone down through the trap. Then the sound of bells tolling is heard, which is where my sound-operating comes into effect. I have just about enough sound on tape of bells tolling for me to rush down and take out the heavy piece of scenery, but until THAT has been flown out, the two trucked sections with the flat scenery on it cannot be pushed downstage. But on this particular occasion, try as we might, we could not get it to move. One of the rollers over which the ropes which took this piece of scenery in the fly-grid got stuck, so when we hauled on the fly-ropes the piece of scenery went up at a sharp angle, near enough 45 degrees. It simply would not budge, which created real panic on stage as the play could not possibly continue without the correct scenery in place and certainly not with the flown piece at such a precarious angle and then there was the possibility of the tape on the machine which I had started running would run out and then run onto the next sound cue!  Or there was the chance that the flown piece would crash to the stage and put actors and stage managemnt at risk. From what I can remember I think we had to tie off the piece of scenery and then set up the furniture for the final scene in front of the angled screen background. But it was vary hairy, we dashing back to the sound deck to stop the tape! Such are my memories!
I am attempting to rack my brains further. The play was directed by John Southworth and Lionel Thompson played Frederick Rolfe. Pam Ferris, who has since found fame in a  wide range of television productions, most notably Ma in The Darling Buds of May and as Miss Trunchbull in the film version of Matilda, and much more recently in the B.B.C. series Call The Midwife playing the part of Sister Evangelina, had a part in this production and was in many other productions during my time at Ipswich Theatre.

Blood Test

I had my blood test this morning. I had to be at the surgery at 10.50. The automated check-in system wasn't working. If you know what I'm talking about, you may have one in your doctor's surgery. It is a computer screen with a touch-screen and you have to input your age, sex, date of birth etc and it will then end by telling you the doctor's name you are booked in with. As it wasn't functioning it meant queuing to sign in with the receptionist. If you don't do any of this then you don't exist on the computer system and then you won't be seen and will be wasting your time. I also had to collect a repeat prescription. I now do this 'on-line' and this time I managed to do it using the Samsung Galaxy tablet. It does save having to fill in a form and then physically go to the surgery. Mind you, it isn't always fool-proof, because last time I put in my repeat prescription and I went to the surgery two days to collect the prescription, it was obvious that the system had failed and the doctor had to do the prescription the next day, but it wasn't too much trouble.

As for the taking-of-the blood. There was no problem and it went very well. I think it helps if I have had plenty to drink as I was told that being dehydrated doesn't help the taking of blood. The result should be ready on Friday. Also, the nurse did my blood pressure and that was found to be normal, thankfully.

I wanted to get Carol a present, as tomorrow is her birthday, and I had intended going to Sainsbury's so that I could get the prescription made up at the in-store pharmacy whilst I looked for a present. I got to the store and took the prescription form to the pharmacy and handed it over and was told by the pharmacist that they didn't have one of the meds on the list, isoborbide mononitrate. I was told that there was apparently a problem with supplies, due to the manufacture or something, and they rang to try and get this med from another supplier, but without success. I was then told that I would need to go back to the doctor's surgery and get them to substitute a similar medication on the prescription. So I drove back to Beanhill, where the surgery is, to then be told that the next-door pharmacy, Cox and Robinson, had a supply. Which is what I did and got the whole prescription made up. Problem solved. I THEN drove to Asda in Bletchley to get the present for Carol. Entire mission completed!

Signs Of Spring?

The weather is somewhat deceptive at present. The sun is out, and it appears to be bright and warm, but when you get outside it is quite cold. There was ice on the windscreen and windows of the car early this morning, but some hot water soon melted it so we could drive out. There are crocuses coming out, along with daffodils and snowdrops along the verges on some of the gridroads around Milton Keynes. Yesterday evening we drove out of Milton Keynes to give the car a run after it's service and MoT. It hasn't had a long run for some while and it did it good to be able to run out along the A5 and come off near Woburn and then drive through the deer park. We didn't get a very good view of the deer as they were hiding away from the main road which runs through the park. It was really great to have some sunshine after all the snow and ice of the past few months. Let's hope the summer is better than the sodden 'summer' we had to endure last year. If that's the case we will be able to get out and visit some National Trust properties and not be cooped up indoors.

Car Passes MoT

The car had been booked in to be serviced and MoT's last Thursday, but at the last minute it was moved to today, Monday. I took the car early, to MK Diagnostics in Bleak Hall, arriving there at around 8 a.m. I had to walk all the way home through Coffee Hall and back to Eaglestone. At around 10 the garage rang to tell me it would need two rear wheel bearings. So, the total bill for service and Mot together with parts and labour came to £238.50. The usual garage we go to was going to charge £146 for just the MoT and service, so I'm more than pleased that we rang round for a quote. So the car is done for another year, and hopefully the peculiar juddering which we've had to endure for the last month or two has been cured, no doubt due to having an oil-change. The car is a Hynundai Atos, and it might be small but it's really cheap to run, insure and tax. A couple of years ago we went on holiday to Flamborough Head in Yorkshire and we managed to get all the way there on £35-worth of petrol! I have to say that living in Milton Keynes makes driving more expensive, probably due to the number of roundabouts and 'sleeping policemen' or speed bumps, and also the really poor quality of some of the road surfaces around here. Going over pot-holes and speed-bumps seems to put extra strain on the suspension of most vehicles as well as wearing the tyres quicker.

Giving Blood

I had a letter in the post  this morning from my doctor's surgery, Ashfield  Medical Centre , telling me that they had made an appointment for me to have a blood test and my blood pressure done at the surgery. I'm not used to having an appointment pre-booked like this. You usually have to make such appointments yourself, which can generally be quite difficult as you have to ring the surgery the same day and it can take some time to get through on the phone during busy periods. I presume you get an automatic blood test and blood pressure check after so many months if you have a long-term health issue such as a heart condition as as I have. We changed our doctor's surgery because at the previous one we had a couple of issues, one being  the receptionist not dealing with personal details particularly confidentially when you went in to make an appointment.  I really object to having everyone waiting hearing my conversation when speaking at the reception-desk. I do recall when I worked for the N.H.S. (for the Learning Disability Service in Bedfordshire.) client confidentiality being a priority. So we transferred to Ashfield Medical Centre and have been with them around a year or so now and have had no problems.

I'll be honest and admit that I'm not good at giving blood. I can't think of many people who actually do, or admit that they do. I don't particularly like needles, and certainly when they're stuck into my arm, or, indeed, any part of my anatomy if it comes to that. Generally, if I have to have a jab, say, for 'flu, then I don't have a problem. It might be like a slight bee sting, a sort of tingle in the arm, but when it comes to having to give blood, then that is an altogether different ball-game, kettle of fish, call it what you will. I think this started when I lived in Bedford and had to go to Bedford Hospital to give blood for a test and it was a fasting blood test, meaning I wasn't supposed to eat for a good 12 hours beforehand. And it was early morning, which didn't help, so I was feeling hungry when I arrived at the hospital. I gave the sample and that bit was easy. I felt slightly queasy and left the clinic too quickly. I should have waited before leaving, but was really in too much of a hurry to go home. When I got outside I think the fresh air hit me suddenly. I found I had to sit down on a low wall in the carpark, but I didn't remain seated for long because I found myself keeling over and collapsing on the ground, with a mouthful of gravel in my mouth. At that precise moment an ambulance arrived in the hospital grounds and I could hear footsteps approaching as a group of paramedics came over to me to find out what was the matter. I think I had blacked out. I was taken into a room in the hospital and tended to and eventually was taken to the Accident and Emergency department at South Wing Hospital at Bedford and checked over and after a while went home. It was somewhat embarrasing, to say the least as I'm, not used to being fussed over like I was and being the centre of things.

On one occasion at the doctor's surgery in Bedford I was made to feel as if I had a major problem and was almost a trouble-maker when the nurse had problems finding a vein in my arm and the fact that I was liable to pass out because she was taking so long to take the blood from my arm, and that she had to get a second nurse in to help. I do find it easier if I'm laying down when they do this, so that if I do start to pass out I am at least laying down.

At our old doctor's surgery they realised that there was a problem with me giving blood because I apparently have narrow veins, making it difficult to extract blood, even after tapping a vein, getting me to drink plenty (as dehydration will make veins difficult to find.) and eventually using a needle designed for taking blood from babies! They had one of the doctors in their practice who was particularly good at taking blood, which is unusual as this job is usually done by the nurses in the surgery.

When I first had my heart attack and was in the C.C.U. (Coronary Care Unit) at Bedford Hospital I had to give blood several times a day. They had real difficulties getting a vein up, trying to take it from my arm, in the crook of my elbow and even said they could try in my hand or my foot, which I refused. I think it would be really unpleasant if it was from my hand. By the end of the week I spent in hospital my arm was black and blue due to the blood being taken, and looked more as if I had been bruised! The strange thing is I never seem to have any problems when they put a canula in the back of my hand or wrist when I've been in hospital, as you would imagine that that would be more uncomfortable than merely taking blood. I think the problem with giving blood is when the nurse takes ages and fiddles around, sticks the needle in, leaves the thing in a vein for what seems like ages then takes it out, then says she can't get any blood, then tries in another part of my arm, which is when I start to feel really queasy and start to feel faint.