From Bad To Worse

We went to Asda early this morning to do a bit of shopping and then Carol went to work. I had an appointment booked at the doctors' surgery in Beanhill at 8 and got there with plenty of time to spare; a good 15 minutes in fact. One lady ahead of me had even bought a shooting stick thing to sit on. Seemed a good idea to me. Then the doors opened and we went inside the surgery. The computerised check-in system is still not working. It's been inoperative for a good week or two now. Rather defeats the point of having this elaborate system if it doesn't work, but I managed to check in with one of the two receptionists. I sat down to wait as my appointment was at 8 and by now it was around 10 minutes past so I had expected to go in (having my ears syringed as I have been having real problems hearing. See earlier posts as this has developed into something of a long-running soap opera or saga.) Then I got called over to the desk by the receptionist to be told that she had made a mistake when she made the appointment. The nurse I was supposed to have seen couldn't do the precedure so another appointment was made for 11.15. A bit of an inconvenience, but no problem. Just as well I wasn't planning to do anything else of any consequence this morning. So I went home. By now the traffic was backed up from the Standing Way roundabout well past the entrance into the road in which the surgery is, but some kind van driver let me in. I drove to Eaglestone shops as I needed to top up our gas and electricity cards. Went into the shop and did exactly that, but when I got back to the car it wouldn't start. A repetition of the old problem. On a further attempt it still would not spark into life so I decided to walk home through the estate. There was some shopping in the car from the Asda shopping trip so I took a couple of bags with me except for a large pack of toilet rolls and tins of dog food. I decided to come back a later after my doctor's surgery appointment and take the trolley I used to deliver the IKEA catalogues last summer.
I got to the surgery for the second time this morning at around 11.00, having walked. It's not such a bad walk as the weather has been pleasant for the past couple of days and it generally takes no more than 20 minutes. I checked in and waited. And waited. And waited. You know the sort of thing. You get to your appointment well on time and then you see people being called in before you. It got to around 11.40 and I was still not seen. I suppose I went into the nurses room about 11.45, a good 30  minutes after the time I was booked for. I now have my hearing back but I just hope it doesn't get all woolly again. Walked home and watched Bargain Hunt (one of my favourite shows and the only daytime television show I watch, by  the way.) I decided to walk to the Eaglestone shops to see whether the car would start and took the trolley with me just in case, to bring the remaining shopping. The car wouldn't start the first time I tried. I loaded some of the things into the trolley from the boot, but fortunately I tried it again and on the third attempt it started so I loaded the trolley back into the car and went home. The car is becoming something of a nuisance as it works when it wants to and then doesn't start. So unreliable.

Landlord Refuses To Replace Worn-Out Oven

The seemingly endless saga of the worn out oven has had some sort of resolution. It would appear that our cheese-pairing, cheapskate landlord won't replace our/his oven which I have reported on here had given up and caused me some little concern when it exploded (I do exaggerated, but if I say 'popped' it sounds a bit pathetic!) Apparently he won't cough up for a new one because he says it was new around 15 months ago, when the last one died the death. The truth of the matter is, this one was CHEAP, a Bush AE56SW and came from Argos, so don't bother wasting your money on a Bush electric oven from Argos.  Perhaps if he'd spent out a good deal more then the confounded thing MIGHT conceivably have lasted a bit longer. It has worn very poorly, it takes an eternity to warm up, the front panel has paint  that is chipping off (or whatever covering the front is covered in) and the plates are rusting really badly. I think for a relatively new oven it hasn't done very well at all. Please don't bother buying this model as it is not worth the money. I know it's the cheapest oven (or was, I don't think it is in the Argos catalogue any longer, and I can see why if this is the quality.) As we won't expect a replacement from our beloved landlord any day soon, we have decided to wait until the end of the month and buy our own. Considering what happened with the washing machine and the mess that was caused when the landlord got someone who had no idea about plumbing to install it and didn't remove the restraining bolts on the back of the machine (see earlier post.) and the ensuing problems with the plumbing near the sink (we have had a constant drip from the point where the washing machine is plumbed into the water pipe and have had a bucket there to collect the water that drips since then.) I'm not in the least bit surprised by our lack of help with the cooker. The simple fact of the matter is he DOESN'T WANT TO SPEND ANY MONEY on this house! Perhaps the landlord has forgotten the address of this house and don't know the way here. It is, of course, absolutely likely as he hasn't set foot in it for a good while now.

We have managed to do quite well without the oven, surprisingly. We have managed to cook some meals using the microwave as well as the George Foreman grill, and have cooked a couple of meals in the slow cooker, even making Bolognaise sauce in this really useful kitchen gadget. It's really surprising how you can manage when 'push comes to shove.' We've also had several salads so we've eaten relatively healthily, but even so it has caused a certain amount of inconvenience.

Tickets to see gameshow 'Pointless'

We've got tickets to see a recording of the hit B.B.C. 1 gameshow 'Pointless'. Yes, I know, I did mention in an earlier post that we got tickets to see this, but unfortunately it clashed with something else, so we didn't go. This time we're determined to go. It records at the studios in Elstree, just over the road from the B.B.C. studios where 'EastEnders' is made. I worked on the B.B.C. drama series 'House Of Cards' when I was a supporting artiste and we were supposed to be journalists outside Number 10 Downing Street. I did manage to get to look round the 'EastEnders' 'lot'  as the set I was on was right next to the outdoor set.

The recording is on 21st May, so I'll have to post on here how we got on, but I can't wait to see this show as we're both fans.

Mowing The Lawn And Other Gardening Events Of Importance

We spent this morning mowing the lawns, back and front, with our new Flymo lawn mower. Carol did some and so did I. It's surprisingly easy, considering that the lawn (for want of a better description) is so awful. It's such a rough bit of ground with more ups and downs than the Scottish Highlands, and a really tusky kit of old grass that would need a sythe to cut it if it were left much longer.) The bit of grass is easier to cut as the ground is flatter. We have tried our best to block some holes in the fence as it is in desperate need of repair. Alfie nearly got out through a hole in the gate and I managed to haul him back the other day, and have now managed to bring in the pallet from the front garden which had the IKEA catalogues delivered on it and had been parked there from when I distributed them around the estate. We broke up the old table which was in the house and used bits of that to patch up another area of the fence, and, in general, the garden is looking a good deal better. The landlord is really responsible for all this, but we're having enough problems regarding the cooker without mentioning the fence.

The landlord is now arguing about the oven. The agency rang on Friday and they have apparently got hold of the man. By the neck, would be the best thing, as far as we're concerned. Now arguing about whether the oven should be replaced or repaired, and saying it shouldn't need replacing as it was new 18 months ago. It's just not up to the job, if the truth be known. It was cheap, which is half of the problem. It has rusted badly, and then, to cap it all, it has exploded on two occasions, as I have mentioned elsewhere, without it even being switched on. The last time was a few days ago, when I was cleaning it. Not nice. Frankly, very dangerous. I will post more on this as things develop.

Temping and other things, including tv walk-on and puppets

During the late '70's and into the early '80's I ran my own puppet company called Carousel Puppet Theatre. Intitially it was a schools touring company that visited primary schools run by the Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Hertfordshire education authorities. The shows were performed with rod and glove puppets and had a pre-recorded soundtrack. Generally these shows were greeted with real excitement by both the children who saw them and by the school staff. But, unfortunately, it never became financially viable, so it only lasted a few years. It is extremely difficult to get this sort of venture off the ground, as you need to get the education authority in each area on-side and I could never convince them that my shows had any 'value' as regards being 'educational.' I think this would be even harder now, what with such things as child protection, C.R.B. checks, health and safety and more than anything else the current economic situation. Unfortunately, puppetry and anything that smacks of 'theatre' or 'culture' is going to suffer from lack of funds or any  kind of support when headteachers have other things such as Ofstead inspections to consider as far higher priorities. Later on I developed a marionette cabaret which I performed at private parties, garden centres, department stores and playgroups. There again, it didn't catch on quite as I would have hoped and I eventually abandoned it as it became too costly. When Carousel was running I had also kept myself going financially by doing temp work, working for such agencies as Manpower and Blue Arrow. I did a lot of jobs working in kitchens in and around the Bedford area, mostly working as a kitchen porter for such companies as Granada, 3M, National Freight, DoB, and many more. I even worked for a company called Unipath, packing pregnancy testing kits on a production line. Later on I worked for a company called Geest making quick-chill meals such as lasagnes, in their factories in Biggleswade and Milton Keynes. This was something of an eye-opener as I never realised that making these ready meals involved such a labour-intensive manufacturing process.

Odd Jobs

I even worked in a shop at one time. Really odd when I come to think about it looking back nearly 40 years or so. Who really, honestly would employ me in a shop, with my total lack of maths skills?  I was hopeless at maths at school, so the very thought of me on a till doesn't bear thinking about.  How on earth I got the job I will never know. Well, the truth is I did get a job in a shop, and it was called University Audio and Photography. With a name like that it had to have a base in Cambridge.  I know they had a branch in Cambridge, but whether it's still there I don't know. I doubt it somehow. The Bedford Branch was in Silver Street, opposite Debenham's and in a unit which is now (or was, when I used to live there) occupied by a branch of Dolland and Aitcheston opticians. They sold cameras upstairs and audio equipment downstairs (University Audio, not the opticians. Well, of course. That's being just plain stupid to think an optician's would stock such things.) I was supposed to work in the audio department, but for some reason I cannot ever fathom, this was closed when I went to work there and was put in the photography department upstairs.  I imagine I got the job because I did actually have some interest in audio equipment and stereo in particular, but I don't think I made a very good salesman. I think it was closed because it was only open in the winter. And It was during the summer that my brief employment seemed to occur. Strange, but that was how it was and I can't think of any logical explanation as to why. Was it that the company thought that people they wanted as customers didn't buy audio equipment at any time other than during the winter?  Re-arrange the stock. Dust the shelves, make idle banter. Try and look busy and then pounce on the first person through the door who looks as if they might actually part with their cash. Not very likely. So I was stuck in that department. We weren't allowed to sit down during opening hours. Which can be a bit of a strain, standing for a good 7-8 hours without sitting down. It sounds like something out of the sitcom 'Are You Being Served' but certainly not as funny. The manager, one Mr DeWitt (I cannot remember his first name, more like Mr Witless when you read further.) was a real snob in regard to photographic equipment. He really turned up his nose when selling Kodak Instamatics or any of the more popular variety of cameras, mostly those that used the cassette-loading systems that cameras were utilising then (you have to remember that this was a good three decades before the introduction of digital cameras.) For some reason or other the shop never opened on a Saturday, another strange mystical decision that wouldn't happen today. But, on one particular Mr DeWitt DID open the store on a Saturday, when he had a customer for a very expensive camera, which was going to cost well over £600. I'm not sure what sort of camera, but presumably not one using Instamatic technology. Most likely a Nikon or other very top-of-the-range camera. I don't actually recall whether he made a sale. Probably he expected to get commission on the sale, but I'm not sure. The reason being I never found out because I didn't last the week. Boredom and not being able to sit down all day was too much and I left after a week. The store closed down and I put this down very much to the company's strange opening arrangements and not having half the shop available for customers. As regards money and tills, with today's technology you don't even have to work out the change as they can do this for you, and just scan the bar-code on the item for the price to go through the till, so I don't expect it's that difficult. But I'm never likely to have to work in a shop again. I'm not really suited to that sort of work and can get easily bored and it was boring, waiting for customers to come in. I sympathise with anyone who works in a shop, basically for that reason.

Temp Jobs . . . and other work

I worked for another company as a van driver. It was called Sangers and was based on the Elms Farm Industrial Estate in Bedford. This company distributed stuff to doctors surgeries and pharmacies. I delivered to an area from around St Albans to just north of London, Welwyn Garden City, Burkhamstead and surrounding area. Some of the drivers delivered prescription medication to pharmacies and took orders for products and as a result earned commission, but I didn't, but I think I may have gone on to that side of the deliveries but I think I must have left before actually earning commission. I think Sangers is now defunct, as is A.M.S. Infact, a lot of the companies that I worked for have since folded, which doesn't bode well for any company I have worked for since! I think one of the places I delivered to was Cheshunt. The man who helped show me the route was convinced that it was actually called 'Chestnut' and it took me a while to convince him that it was actually 'Cheshunt'! How ignorant can some people be? 

I would be loaded up early in the morning to begin the round, and you had to be careful as you loaded so that each particular delivery could be differentiated from other deliveries on the round so as not to be confused once I got to a particular customer as it was easy to muddle orders and as a result get things delivered to the wrong customer. This happened on several occasions, so I had to either go back that day and retrieve the item or take collect it the next day. As a result this could put my timing out and I could be later and later with my deliveries. Some of the pharmacies where I delivered could get quite annoyed if I didn't deliver when they wanted to, and one in particular, if I remember rightly in St Albans got quite angry with me when I got to his shop during his lunch break. A bit difficult to arrive exactly at the same time due to such things as traffic and weather conditions. The orders were rung through via telephone, to a bank of telephone operators and these orders were then made up in the warehouse and then placed in the relevant shelving for each particular round and then these orders taken out to each van for delivery.

On several occasions the van would be so over-loaded that it took all my best efforts to keep the van doors at the rear of the van closed securely. So much so that, on occasion I was driving along Dunstable High Street and the doors burst open, and several packets of Andrex toilet tissue fell out and I had to stop and pick them up! Goodness knows that other drivers who were nearby must have thought, but looking back it seems like something out of a comedy movie, but at the time it was just plain embarrasing.

Temp Jobs

I have done lots of other jobs besides working in theatre. I have mentioned in earlier posts my time working in stage management with a variety of different regional theatres. But I have also spent quite a lot of time working for temp agencies. Not all of it what you would call 'intelligent' in that it wasn't exactly using much intelligence, just a means to an end you might say, a way to pay bills and keep the proverbial 'wolf from the door.' I don't know what the situation is now as regards temp work, but some 20-30 years ago you could sign up with several temp agencies and almost always rely on one of them to provide some sort of work. I used to be with Blue Arrow and Manpower in Bedford. If my memory serves me well, I worked for a now-defunct agency called Find-A-Job. More on these later, but at one time I had a more permanent job for a company called A.M.S. (I'm not sure what the initials stood for, but I believe it was a subsiduary of Blackstone or some such named company.) Anyway, A.M.S. was based in a building in Costin Street,  off Bedford's Midland Road, and sold and distributed motor spares to garages and motor mechanics in and around Bedfordshire and surrounding counties. You must remember that this was around 1977-78. They employed van drivers who went out delivering these car spares and I was one of them. We would do two deliveries, morning and afternoon. Sometimes we worked Saturdays, but I'm not sure whether this was every week. Anyway, the job was advertised in the Bedford Job Centre. I was actually quite surprised when I got offered the job, as my only real qualification was that I had a clean driving licence and that I could drive, and I suppose had a relatively good knowledge of the local area. I think that was part of the attraction of the job, driving around the Bedfordshire countryside. As long as the items were delivered to the correct place, it didn't really matter how fast or slow you did it. It was also great that you weren't constantly being supervised, there was nobody looking over your shoulder all the time. When I started the job I was shown the 'route' by another member of staff who had done the job for quite a while, a lady who lived, I believe, in Marston Mortaine. It wasn't exactly difficult, it meant remembering where most of the garages were, and in particular, the motor repair shops that are/were hidden away in back streets and on out-of-the way industrial estates and villages dotted about throughout Bedfordshire. I have to say, as a creative person, and as someone who enjoys writing and at present is in the process of writing a novel (and other pieces) all this sort of work is really useful, as I have a good filing system (my memory!) and meeting so many various people over the years means I can recall characters for inclusion in my writing. So, however boring and mundane a job might be, whether it's delivering car parts or working on a production line, it means I have got plenty of characters to draw on!

I used to get a lift from my home in Cople, Bedfordhire, on a Saturday morning, from the manager of the A.M.S. branch. I really cannot now remember his name. He drove to the branch with his wife who I presume went shopping in Bedford, while he was working in the office in Costin Street. They also had a son, who wasn't exactly the  brightest candle in the packet (or whatever metaphor you can come up with!) Let's just say he wasn't exactly top-draw intellectual material. He wouldn't make it to Mastermind or University Challenge, let's say. When I first began at A.M.S. he was off on sick pay, as apparently he'd had an accident on his motorbike or something.  I think he only got the job because his father was the manager. I think they lived in Sandy, which is some 12 miles from Bedford, and meant they drove past Cople on their way to Bedford, so giving me a lift on a Saturday meant they weren't going out of their way. The whole family remind me strongly of the Thenardiers in Les Miserables (although not for any kind of criminal wrong-doing that those villains get up to in that book and musical, you understand!) Why? I don't know, but they certainly had that sort of air about them.  I'll write a bit more on this subject in my next post.

Cooker Dies . . . Again!

We had the cooker fixed after it 'died' only a few weeks ago, as you will recall in an earlier post if you are a regular follower of this blog. It has died again, while I was cleaning it this morning. There were two distinct 'pops' and a small cloud of smoke from behind the cooker. I immediately switched it off at the power switch and went to ring the agency in Wolverton. I have to say they acted extremely swiftly and let me know that the electrician was coming to look at the cooker to hopefully fix the problem. He was out within an hour and has had a look and tells me that we will need a replacement. So he has let the agency office know and they will have to contact the landlord as he will have to purchase a new one. It looks like we will have to find alternative arrangements for this evening's meal as we have no way to cook until the new cooker arrives and is installed.

Has Spring Really Sprung?

The birdies are singing their little hearts out. The sun is shining. Infact, it's quite warm today. The dogs are running in and out of the house through the patio doors and into the garden. There are primroses blooming all along the Redway leading to the Academy. So, can we now say that Spring has AT LAST arrived? I truly hope so. We took the dogs for a walk towards the canal along the Redway when Carol had finished work yesterday evening. We wore Alfie out, as he runs backwards and forwards and barked frantically as we attempted to walk along. He visits every single tree as we walk along, and cocks his leg, as all dogs do, but not only that, he does this comical thing, scratching in the dust, leaves, or whatever,and throwing it all up behind him, and barking excitedly. We almost get run into by a man on a bicycle. If we hadn't been so on-the-ball, there might have been a really quite nasty accident. People who ride bicycles along the Redway should be a little more careful, particularly when there are people walking. We got as far as the underpass which goes under the road and began to walk home. When we got in, and, having taken the dogs off their leads, Alfie lay on the floor, panting. It seems we had worn him out.

Doctor's Appointment and Police, Camera, Action!

Following last week's appointment at the Audiology Department at the hospital and the completion of the course of antibiotics which ended last week to clear up my ear infection, I had to make a fresh doctor's appointment this morning. As I've said in earlier posts that it can be difficult enough to get an appointment by telephoning the surgery, I decided to go direct to the surgery in Beanhill before 8 a.m. after I'd taken Carol to work. It was around 7.40 when I got there and parked the car and had even taken a book to read with me so that I had something to keep me occupied if it chanced that I got an appointment and I had to wait for some time. There were around six people ahead of me waiting outside the surgery door, and, as it was quite warm weather-wise, it was actually pleasant standing outside. Considering the cold weather we have had recently, any sign of sun or the temperature rising is a good thing. Once inside the surgery I managed to get an immediate appointment and saw the doctor within around 15-20 minutes of the doors opening. I have been given a prescription for antibiotic drops for the ear infection and just need to get the prescription made up. The doctor did say that I should make an appointment for a week's time, but when I got to the reception desk to make this appointment I was then told I couldn't make an advance appointment and would have to come in ON THE DAY to do so. So why did the doctor say I could? More annoyance. I really don't see why you can't make advance appointments at Ashfield Medical Centre.

Then things got quite exciting. I left the surgery and walked back to the car which was in the carpark immediately outside the surgery. As I turned into the road a large police van drove past, followed by two police cars, all with sirens sounding and lights flashing and driven at considerable speed, considering they were coming out of a Milton Keynes housing estate this did seem quite surprising. The van then stopped abruptly in the middle of the road, and the police car behind stopped. I was fortunate (or not, as the case may be) to have at that precise moment drawn out of the carpark so was directly behind the police van when two policemen opened up the van (I think it was a riot van, as it had wire cages over the windows and looked the type of vehicle used to transport police around when there is the possibility of a riot.) Inside the back of the van, when the back door was opened, there was another inner cage door and two police got inside and there was a scuffle with a youth within the van. Had they been to raid a property in Beanhill, and this 'youth' arrested? I'm not actually sure whether it was male of female from where I was sitting, some 10-20 yards behind the van. I assume the person within the vehicle was causing quite a stir, banging around inside, making the van shake no doubt, to make it necessary for him/her to be calmed down. One assumes they were taking him/her to the police station for questioning over whatever charges had been made by the police. They drove off towards the centre of Milton Keynes with quite a large tail-back of traffic at the roundabout at Standing Way. But it was quite an exciting incident and made what had started out as a rather mundane day into quite an eventful one! Just imagine if the person (arrestee/prisoner, call them whatever you like.) had escaped and run off, what would have happened then? Would have had quite a high excitement quotient no doubt!

Outing To Bicester Avenue

Yesterday had been a relatively mild day, and we haven't been out all that much for a while. We took both dogs to Rushmere Park, a few days ago which is very near somewhere else we take them for walks, Stockgrove Country Park, a 20-minute drive down the A5 near Woburn. We discovered this relatively 'new' place almost by accident, as we knew that there was a car park nearby where we usually go at Stockgrove as the last time we discovered that they'd installed a barrier across the entrance and you could only get in by paying at the machine.I realise these places have to be paid for, to maintain the buildings, car parks and other facilities and that cash is tight due to the current financial situation, particularly anything which is Council run and probably has had it's funding cut. But it seems a pity that so much of this sort of thing is putting off people who would otherwise use these facilities and might not do so due to these additional costs.

Anyway, this time we didn't take the dogs. It can be a real effort to load the cage in the back of the car for Alfie and then go through the process of getting their leads on, particularly as Alfie gets so wound up and the noise he makes, so we decided to leave them at home this time. Also, it would have meant, had they come with us, they would most likely have spent the whole time in the car, as where we went wasn't exactly dog-friendly.

We drove west. On the way we went through Buckingham, where we often go on our way to Stowe Landscape Gardens which is one of our  favourite National Trust properties. There are definite signs of spring which we can see as we drive along, not least how green everything is looking, as well as newly-born lambs in the fields and no end of daffodills and crocuses at last daring to make an appearance after what seemed like endless weeks of snow and ice. It must be one of the latest springs on record.

So, dear reader, where is all this leading, you may very well ask? We really just wanted to get away from Milton Keynes, because the weather had warmed up, and we have had such a cold winter, and Carol is on holiday, so it seemed a good idea to get out for a short while. We were heading towards Bicester, and had an idea that there was a garden centre we knew was opening somewhere nearby, so, when there was a choice of which road to follow, the left to Bicester, or the right, to Oxford, we chose Bicester. There is an outlet shopping centre in Bicester, or rather, just outside, imaginatively called Bicester Village, which we have visited on several occasions, and we decided that, if we didn't find the elusive garden centre, we'd go to Bicester Village.We always seem to end up somewhere that has either a restauraunt or tea or coffee shop, which was what we wanted to find right now, as we had been driving just over an hour. It's amazing how so many of the places we visit have a very convenient restaurant or other outlet that has food or drink! The National Trust properties we go to, art galleries or museums, all have excellent facilities serving good food. Generally speaking, of course, there are very few that have poor food outlets, but most are good. Also, it's amazing how, once you've completed you visit, and are about to leave, you end up in either a restaurant or in the gift shop. It seems that the lay-out of these places is such that you are magnetically drawn into these places so as to spend as much of your cash as possible! Well, on visiting National Trust properties we end up buying something from the gift shop, usually the guidebook, unless we've been there before. As a result we've amassed quite a collection over the years.

We saw signs for 'Bicester Outlet Village' and followed the route, but went past. It was a mile or two later on that we saw 'Bicester Avenue' advertised and Wyvale Garden centre so we drove in and found the carpark. This place is similar to Bicester Village in that it has a shopping mall with outlet or factory shops for some well known highstreet brands, such as Cotswold, Cotton Traders etc. The main shopping area is a very big Wyvale Garden Centre, which not only sells garden-orientated items such as plants, spades, pots, planters etc, but furniture, books, barbeques as well as housing a really large restaurant where we eventually landed up and having tea and toasted sandwiches. We did spend some time wandering around looking in the shops, but we decided that we'd come back, probably in the summer, as some of the shops were still not open, were as-yet unlet or were being fitted out. It would appear that the whole complex can't have been open very long.

We left soon after our tea and toasted sandwiches and drove back towards Milton Keynes and stopped at Tesco's in Buckingham and bought some salad and bits and pieces for our evening meal.
 

Spring Has Sprung . . .But Reluctantly

Well, the weather is a good deal milder, but only just. We have seen SOME sun over the past few days, but even now it seems very reluctant to make a decent appearance.

I had to go the the audiology department at Milton Keynes Hospital this morning, and there is a definite tinge of green all along the Redway as I walked there. I have a problem with my hearing and my doctor has put me on antibiotics (a five-day course which has now finished.) and he suggested I go to the audiology department to get them to do a hearing test. It's another of those 'walk-in' systems of appointments, such as is utilised at the hand clinic which Carol went to the other week. You have to turn up between 9-12 on a Wednesday (this is the only day they are open.) and then fill in a form on a clipboard and you are given a number, and then sit and wait in the most depressing corridor until you and several other poor souls are ushered into the next area to wait. I was number 6, and, to be honest, the wait wasn't too long. Why are N.H.S. waiting areas so depressing? Stuck in a sort of 1950's timewarp.  They could make some sort of attempt to liven things up a bit, a lick of paint or something. I don't know, it surely wouldn't be too difficult. Even a coffee machine might be  an improvement. Oh no, on second thoughts, the thought of coffee out of a coffee machine doesn't sound too enticing. A pile of out-of-date magazines to read and a few official looking posters. A sign up reads 'please be quiet. Hearing test in progress.' A door opposite with a label on it which reads 'Community Psychiatric Nurse.' Someone comes out, followed by a youth looking sheepish. I just wonder what he's done to need  a psychiatric nurse. Nobody speaks. People come and go. A lady comes out and another person in the queue disappears. Then it's my turn. This lady peers into my ear with a gadget with a light on it. I wonder, can she see the light of day right through my head?  Nothing particularly serious, but she writes something for me to take to my doctor's, so I'll have to make yet another appointment. Then I leave. That's it. I walk home and take the letter which isn't even given an envelope to put it in, which might make it seem more official than perhaps it deserves to be.