Carol's New Bike

We were up good and early this morning. The car needed petrol and was virtually empty when we went to the Shell petrol station along Grafton Street. Put in around £30-worth of petrol and we decided to go shopping at Morrison's so we went via Standing Way. We got to their supermarket at Westcroft but they weren't open as it was 7.15 and didn't actually open until 8 a.m. so we went to Sainsbury's in Witan Gate. They're open 24 hours so we did our shop there. Good to get there so early as it was virtually empty of other shoppers but it got busier as we went round the store. We also had breakfast in their cafe. We got home and unloaded the shopping. Carol had emptied the freezer so we had an empty freezer with no ice in it so what went in there was easier than normal. 

I told you I'd bought a bicycle from Argos recently. Carol has been looking for one for herself and we've been to a few places to have a look, including Bike King in Stoney Stratford and another shop at Shenley near the new branch of Sainsbury's. Bug nothing she liked or was suitable. We went to Toys R Us and bought one there, having tried out several different models until she selected one she really liked. We got it home and put it together. Having assembled mine a few weeks ago it wasn't that difficult including the front brake assembly. We then decided to cycle down the Redway towards Woughton-On-The-Green and across the Grand Union Canal at Peartree Bridge and round the green and through the orchard, having a rest on some benches and then back towards the canal and going to the Peartree Bridge pub for ice cold Cokes and then back home along the Redway. 

Dishonest Rental Agency

As I have mentioned in an earlier post, we are moving over from renting our home from the rental agency in Wolverton to directly from the owner and landlord. When we  moved in around four years ago, having been to the charity Shelter and being told that, because we couldn't afford to pay an up-front deposit (around one month's rent) we could use the bond scheme run by Milton Keynes council. Which, in effect, meant that, should we move and not left the property in a fit state then the Council would pay the landlord. We have now found that this 'bond' only lasted for one year and it couldn't be transferred to the landlord. We have spoken to the agency and they are being very stubborn, presumably because they are now aware that we will be renting direct from the landlord. They no doubt will be loosing quite a fair amount tot commission for managing the property. Not exactly accurate as they really have done very little in terms of 'managing' the house. They have made up a certain amount of things such as the fact that the landlord would allow us to have dogs here. They were never told, neither were they told about the 'bond' with the Council. We had been told by the agency that the landlord was unhappy with the dog 'smell.' Again, untrue. Also, the state of the house's cleanliness. Untrue. When they came out the guy from the agency was keen that we get someone in to have the house cleaned. Would we like him to find someone through his cleaning company? No thank you very much, as no doubt it would cost us around £10-£15 per hour. A bit of a cheek. Never mind, we no longer need to deal with them, fortunately. As for the deposit, we hope to be able to pay something each month until it is paid.

Swimming at D.W. Fitness

We went to D.W. for a swim early this morning. I say 'early' but it was around 8.30 when we got there. It was great to not find it busy although we did our usual number of lengths and were sitting in the spa when a load of women arrived and started gathering in a huddle at the stepped end and were soon doing some sort of exercises to very loud music. Aqua aerobics or something. There is nearly always SOMEONE who has to swim up and down making a great deal of noise and splashing about and generally not caring much for anyone else in the pool. We are quite happy to swim quietly, rather in the manner of swans, gliding along quietly whilst paddling like mad under the water. Some people just like to be seen, or so it would seem,  and taking themselves extremely seriously. It's sometimes very difficult to keep a straight face and not burst out laughing. Never mind. I think the exercise is doing us good. There are two spa pools (jacuzzis or bubble pools) and they are not always in operation. Sometimes one or other is out of order (as one was today.) without water in, or else the staff haven't tested the water and so allow customers to use either. Also, the hot cupboard (as I like to call it.) or steam room, which is nice to sit in in silence. You go in there and it's so steamy you can never make out the other people sitting in there. There is tinkly music on but not always.This was out of order a couple of weeks ago, but today it was working.

Rejoining Z.S.L. and English Heritage

We've rejoined two organisations we've been members of in the past, English Heritage and Z.S.L. (Zoological Society of London) We can now visit London Zoo and Whipsnade without having to pay. Having a year's membership of both means we now have somewhere to visit within a reasonable driving distance. It's around a 40-minute drive through Dunstable, down the A5 to Whipsnade and as members you can get in without queuing as you go through a special gate. We will no doubt have to have our photographs when we visit as they put these on your membership cards. Also, with English Heritage we've quite a few properties which are within a fairly short drive of Milton Keynes, such as Wrest Park, which is between Bedford and Luton on the A6.

Early Morning Swimming

We got to D.W. Fitness at 8.00 a.m. just as it opened. There were very few people there which made things better as there wasn't a lot of noise which can make it not as enjoyable as it could be. One of the jacuzzis has been out of order for quite some time and the remaining one was occupied but then a member of staff put a sign up saying 'cleaning in operation' but then it was removed. From swimming we went into the NatWest in the city centre and Carol drove round to avoid having to park. We are paying our rent direct to our landlord so closed the direct debit for the rental agency and changed the bank details so that is one door closed. They haven't exactly been helpful so we should be able to deal direct with the landlord.

Testing the Bicycle

Having got the new bicycle assembled fully and the front brake connected properly I was keen to try it out. So we decided later in the day to take the dogs and walk along the Redway behind the house. As usual Alfie became quite difficult as we tried to get him on his lead. No end of yapping and noise but eventually we managed to get him harnessed and lead on and we got out of the house. I pushed the bicycle out and then rode towards the canal. I then rode through the estate on the Redway with Carol following with the dogs. I must say it took a while to get used to the gears on the Muddyfox but it rides well. I haven't risen a bicycle for years but it's great to have the freedom to ride the machine. We came across several other people with dogs, and some without, and as usual Poppy and Alfie did their usual being friendly act. Alfie, dashing up to everyone and getting in their faces, which must be very scary for some more timid dogs. I now need to get a bike lock for when I got to the city centre or other places to shop and need to lock up the bicycle. Also some sort of pannier-arrangement which would allow the carrying o items of shopping.

Wheels and Water

We went to Asda early yesterday morning as Carol wanted to buy food for a 'bring and share' lunch at the Academy as it was the final day of the term and some members of staff were leaving. We managed to buy food for the evening's meal.

I do on-line surveys and as a result earn points which can then me redeemed for vouchers. I had three lots of vouchers due from separate survey companies and one more was due in the post. They arrived yesterday. I have noticed that our post seems to be arriving later and later. At one point the post came around 10-10.45 a.m., but latterly it has been arriving well past midday. A few weeks ago it came as late as 4.45 p.m. I cannot think why this is.  I have now received around £140 Argos vouchers in the post and have been to purchase a bicycle with them. It is a Muddyfox. When I went to the store I wasn't sure that the package with the bicycle in it would actually fit in the back of the car so I had to view it before handing over the vouchers. The vouchers had to then ben scanned individually through the till and 4 wouldn't work so the assistant had to ring a number to get them verified. Fortunately Argos has it's headquarters in Milton Keynes (we drive past frequently.) and this was soon rectified. On returning home I had to open the package and assemble the bicycle. The final part to be assembled was the front wheel.

Yesterday was the final day of term for Carol at Milton Keynes Academy. I drove over at 3.30 as she had a load of books in a pair of trolleys to bring home. It was then that we decided to go swimming at D.W. Fitness as it has been extremely hot all day and a swim would cool us down. It was certainly pleasant cooling down in the swimming pool and then sitting in the jacuzzi. 

On arriving home we got our meal ready after we'd attempted to finish off assembling the new bicycle but we need to find out how to set up the front brakes. Need someone who knows how to set it up correctly because I don't fancy riding it without brakes which work properly.

More Thunder and Lightening

The earlier storm came to an end after around half an hour, but by 4 o'clock there was another almighty storm with heavy rain. I had gone downstairs and Alfie had followed me the time the first storm hit and when I returned to the bedroom I thought he had followed me but it turned out he got caught in the lounge with the door shut. He couldn't get out and I could hear his scratching on the door so I went back downstairs to let him out. If it had been Poppy she would have made a real fuss, barking and whining, but Alfie doesn't do this. He then shot upstairs and into the bedroom. There was quite a stream of water running down Golden Drive when I went to the loo later as the window was wide open to let in fresh air. It has certainly refreshed the air as it was getting very stuffy. Carol doesn't like thunder but actually I quite enjoy a good old electric storm with the whole works, lightening, rolling thunder and so on.

Violent Thunderstorm In The Night

We were woken during the night by flashes of lightening and thunder. It poured heavily with rain and so I had to close the windows. Poppy doesn't like thunder and as I've mentioned in earlier posts she's scared of fireworks over the November 5th Guy Fawkes Night period. It continued to rattle and rage for a good half and hour but as a result it seems to have cooled the temperature considerably thank goodness.

Old Wives' Tales and More

Let's start off by asking, who were the old wives who made up so many tales? What I'm referring to here will be sayings of my mother and possibly grandmother which as a child I took for granted. When you're a certain age, say 10 or less, you tended to take what adults told you as being totally accurate and 100% true. My mother had one saying which always made me think, usually when she didn't want to do something, usually at the point where she was probably resting. It was 'I've got a bone in my leg.' Now, what a totally stupid response. If she didn't have a 'bone in her leg' surely she wouldn't have been able to stand up. Her leg would no doubt have been no more than jelly, flesh and muscle and without said bone, no use at all as a limb on which to walk, let alone stand. Where did this saying come from? No doubt passed down from her mother and her grandmother, back through the generations.

Another thing which intrigued me was when you asked her for her age. I had a great aunt, very elderly, Aunt Liz, who must have been somewhere in the region of 95 when she eventually died in 1965. She had an imperious nature, never married, with a huge beak of a nose (fortunately I never inherited this nose.) She used to come for tea most Saturday afternoons. We had to go and collect her from her house in Phillpot's Avenue in Bedford as she couldn't drive. Anyway, as I have already mentioned, it intrigued me when I asked my mother and she would respond '99' years old and my great aunt was 21. It never made sense to me but I believed every word. 

My grandfather Ferriman had another expression he used when asked whether it was going to rain. A constant question which is asked by farmers; what is the weather going to do for the day ahead, week, month etc etc. He would stare at the sky and look into the distance and say 'it's dark over Will's mothers.' I never could understand who Will's mother was, let alone whether it was going to rain 'over there'  wherever that was. I didn't know a Will, William or whoever or even if he had a mother. It is only fairly recently that I discovered this was a Warwickshire expression and more than likely referred to William Shakespeare's mother, but I don't know whether this is true or not.

One of the ladies who came in to clean the house, Mrs Freemantle, had a superstition about not changing a mattress on a Friday. I think it was not turning a mattress on a Friday or something. I can't think why. Has it got something to do with Good Friday? Why is it supposed to be unlucky to open an umbrella indoors? Can't possibly think why. Why, on second thoughts, would you want to open an umbrella indoors? Makes no sort of sense.

Hot Weather Threatened

We are being told that today may be the hottest day of the summer so far. Infact we are being warned to stay indoors. Carol suffers from asthma and I have to be careful with my heart condition not to get too over-heated. The pollen count is high and it's been very hot and stuffy over-night making sleeping difficult. We have got an electric fan on in our bedroom which makes quite a noise and also having the windows open means that there are extraneous sounds coming in which sets the dogs off barking. It seems you simply can't win with the weather in this country. It's either far too cold, with snow and ice, fog, rain etc. or at the other extreme it's so hot you can barely breathe. There is never a mid-way, happy medium. Carol has two more days at the Academy and then she's off for around six weeks for the summer holidays. We've just re-joined English Heritage so hopefully we can go on some interesting visits to castles, country houses and other intriguing places throughout England. We were members a few years ago and joined when we visited Stonehenge and also went to the History Festival run by English Heritage which is staged every year at Kelmarsh Hall in Northamptonshire. We also went to Kenilworth Castle which is one of our favourite places and hope to go to Wrest Park which is currently being restored to it's former glory. All are free to enter if you are a member of English Heritage. I have a subscription to BBC History Magazine and we got a discount for being a subscriber so we thought we'd make use of the discount and join. We are going to London sometime over the holiday and plan to go to London Zoo. We have got a 'buy one get one free' offer of entry for the zoo when we buy our rail ticket and have already printed off the voucher from the National Rail website.

Surgery Telephoned Me

Continuing from my last post . . .  about having to answer the letter that was sent as they couldn't contact me or else they'll take me off the surgery register . . . Well, I got a call via my mobile phone. Which makes all this a load of nonsense because if they had my MOBILE number they could still contact me. I have to go in next week with some form of proof of identity, such as a utility bill with my my address on it and that will mean I won't be taken off the register. Crazy sort of ancient bit of legislation or something which dates back to the foundation of the N.H.S. in round about 1948 or something crazy. Makes you wonder why such things aren't bought into the 21st century, what with computers, databases, the internet, mobile telephones and so on. What on earth have I done wrong to deserve this? How many times have I used the surgery recently? Surly it would show up on their system. Apparently not. A joke really. Why don't they ask for Carol's details such as change of address, mobile, landline telephone, as she lives at the same address as me? I don't think there is any sort of answer they could give. No wonder the N.H.S. is in such a mess. If they cut out most or even all the unnecessary red tape, bureaucracy, waffle, call it what you will, I reckon most of their problems would be solved. I remember being sent a letter from some N.H.S. department or other soon after I'd had my heart attack. I duly went off to wherever it was, in Bedford or Milton Keynes, one or other of the hospitals (perhaps the coronary what sit department. Anyway, to do with my heart.) On arrival I checked in at reception, to then be told it wasn't necessary and there wasn't actually an appointment. So it makes you wonder who sent that letter, the cost of sending it, printing postage etc. and the fact that I'd made the effort to turn up for an appointment, cost of petrol etc etc. How was that letter produced? Was it a computer churning out letters which no human has written and why? How many other people have had similar letters sent out? Makes you wonder.

Surgery Appointment

I had a letter from Ashfield Medical Centre a few weeks ago. Apparently they'd been trying to contact me by telephone but could get no answer. No doubt because they had been ringing the old number and we haven't got round to giving them the new one. I am supposed to have an annual check-up so I rang and got an appointment with the nurse for today at 12.10 p.m. I arrived in good time and was actually called into the nurses room well before the time booked. I sat down by the desk and my eye was immediately drawn to a dish containing a rather nasty sharp needle. I have mentioned in previous blog posts my almost total antipathy towards needles, syringes and anything sharp, particularly when they are intended for the purpose of sticking in my anatomy for the purposes of taking blood. The nurse told me it was just to prick one of my fingers for a cholesterol test. It was relatively painless and I she took the sample of blood, tiny as it was, into another room further along the corridor and around five minutes there was a result. My cholesterol level is 4.7 mmol/L which is excellent.  It's certainly a good deal easier than having a needle stuck in your arm, your behind, your leg or any other fleshy part of your anatomy and the results come back a good deal faster than the old method when the blood was sent off to be tested in a laboratory somewhere or other. It is therefore well below the 5  mmol/L which is supposed to be the best level for cholesterol. She took  my blood pressure which is 154/80. Not brilliant, as it's supposed to be 140/90. But it's getting there. 

My B.M.I. (Body Mass Index) is 29. This as far as I can see is measured by taking your height (mine is 6ft 2ins. Don't ask me what that is in metric.) and my waist is 107 c.m. (don't know what that is in inches.) I know it needs to be lower but as we do swimming and I'm about to buy a bicycle then I can safely say I do some form of physical exercise. 

A New Fence? Is it possible?

Our landlord, his wife and their son visited yesterday evening. I think they wanted to settle our minds that it was going to be far better to rent the house direct from them and not through the agency. It has been the amount of problems which the agency has caused us, particularly them not passing on issues to be addressed, such as the tile which needed replacing and the fact that it took around three weeks for the agency to pass on the message. Our landlord's son is going to be the one responsible for the maintenance of the house and it now looks as if they are going to repair the fence at long last. They have been into the garden and seen the damage which was done by the high wind which blew down an entire panel and which is totally rotten and needs urgent replacing. We have already been searching for fence panels and have been to quite a few garden centres and do-it-yourself stores such as Homebase, B and Q, Dobbies, Wyevale, Frosts and so on without success. No doubt the companies who make the panels have been inundated with orders since the high winds destroyed so many fences and haven't been able to supply because of such a high demand. It is at least six months since that storm caused so much devastation so it seems amazing that we can't get replacement panels.