Car Back from Perry's

I got a telephone call from Perry's mid-morning to say that they'd done a diagnostic test on the Peugeot. The car needs a new part. I was told, but to be honest I'm still none the wiser as to how the E.S.P. system works. I was somewhat shocked to learn that this part would cost a little over £500, and that wouldn't include the labour. So I had to email Carol and we've decided that, as it's not going to effect the safety of the car we'd pay the cost of the diagnostic test, which was £114, and save up and get the E.S.P. part replaced in a couple of months when we get the car serviced. We were told that it would be illegal to disconnect the thing from the car and that it was a requirement of the MoT that it works properly. As I've said before, the more complex they make cars, what with computerised this and that, there is so much more that can and does go wrong and you can only take a particular brand of car to a specialised car dealer-ship as they only have the equipment to deal with specific problems. I booked a taxi and went to collect the car at lunchtime and paid the bill. Just annoying that this should happen barely six weeks after we bought the car, but that's the way things seem to pan out, you just have to live with it when you own a car.

Taking Car to Perry's in Bletchley

We had the car booked in at Perry's in Bletchley this morning to have the E.S.P. fixed. As I mentioned in an earlier post on here, we ran over a pot-hole a week ago when we went to Ascott and it set off an alarm and the E.S.P. light came on on the dashboard and every time you switch on the car you get the alarm come on. (E.S.P: Electronic Stability Programme. To help prevent sideways skids. Supposed to lock wheels so they rotate together or something. Not exactly sure myself how it works or what it does precisely.) The trouble is, the more sophisticated they make cars today, the more there is to go wrong. We had gone over to find Perry's on Saturday morning, as they are the main Peugeot dealers for Milton Keynes. The car had to be at Perry's for 8 a.m. We went to Asda early this morning (they are open 24 hours a day so it's really handy to get the odd item and so we bought sandwiches for our individual lunches and lasagne, salad and garlic bread for our dinner this evening.) The we drove to Milton Keynes Academy to deliver Carol to work and then a went home, took my medication and then went over to Perry's to take the car. Fortunately the roads weren't too busy, the sun was shining and arrived on time. The car signed in, and impressed by the service. Young lady checked the car to make sure there were not signs of damage, marks etc and then put label inside the car and covers on seats. I waited in the reception area and had a coffee and biscuits and watched B.B.C. Breakfast on the television and then was driven back home. On the way the driver had to take someone else to Caldecotte Lake Business Park and then myself back home. I am impressed by the customer service of Perry's. Anywhere else we'd taken the car I would have had to get a cab home, but will have to get a cab when the car is ready to be collected later this afternoon.

Weather Wet and Unsettled

After the past week or so of reasonably good weather, today it has changed dramatically. It's wet and over-cast. I just hope it improves before the May Bank Holiday weekend as we hope to go out somewhere. Who wants to be stuck indoors when you can just as easily be out visiting a National Trust property? Trouble is, if we do manage to go out,  everyone else will no doubt be thinking the same as us and wherever it is we end up visiting it's bound to be busy. We have several options as regards National Trust properties, all within an hour and a half's drive. Starting with Stowe Landscape Garden near Buckingham, which we haven't visited for a while. Waddesdon Manor, near Aylesbury, which we went to over the Easter period and found it crowded due to an event there for children. (see a few posts back on here.), Clayton is another which we haven't visited for a few years, not far from Buckingham and Stowe. Wimpole Hall and Farm is near Royston, Hertfordshire, and is actually one of my favourite National Trust properties. It would be worth a visit as the farm is good at this time of year as they're likely to have a lot of newborn animals at the moment. The last time we visited I remember the little piglets running about everywhere. Anglesey Abbey is just off he A14 just beyond Cambridge, although the last time we were out that way we got stuck in really awful traffic jams on the way to my brother Andrew's, who lives in Norfolk. Around four hours stuck in a traffic jam and then we decided to cut our losses and came home as the traffic was so snarled up. A whole day wasted. Ickworth House we visited much more recently and is even further towards Bury St Edmonds and is worth a visit. It is a quite spectacular house and they have a newish part open where you can see the servants quarters. There is something similar at an English Heritage property near Saffron Walden called Audley End House.

I managed to get the grass cut yesterday. Thankfully, because it had been cut only a few weeks ago, the grass wasn't so long and difficult to get the mower to cut and I got it all done in a couple of 'blocks.' The weather was fine and sunny yesterday, but if I'd left it, the wet weather today would have made it virtually impossible.

Television comedy 'Outside Edge'

I'm currently watching one of my favourite television comedies of the 1990's called "Outside Edge." It's being shown on ITV Encore. Actually I'm downloading it from ITV Player. I remember it with a certain affection from when it was originally shown, but I think I must be watching later episodes which I've never seen before. It was based on a stage play, also called "Outside Edge" and written by Richard Harris (I don't think it was the actor of the same name who wrote it, but perhaps it was, but I can't be sure of that.)  It was first staged at the Hampstead Theatre, London on 24th July 1979 and then transferred into the West End, at the Queen's Theatre on 11th September 1979. The cast for that production were: Roger- Richard Kane; Miriam- Julia McKenzie; Kevin- Ian Trigger; Maggie- Maureen Lipman; Bob- John Kane; Ginnie- Susan Carpenter; Dennis- Julian Curry; Alex- Martin Wimpish; Sharon- Natalie Forbes.The original one-off television play was  broadcast on I.T.V. on 19th December 1982 and produced by London Weekend Television. In the cast were cast with Paul Eddington as Roger (best known for his roles in "The Good Life" and then "Yes Minister" and "Yes Prime Minister.") Prunella Scales as Miriam, Jonathan Lynn as Kevin and Maureen Lipman as Maggie.) The television series  version was produced by Central Television. 

The series centres around Roger Dervish (Robert Daws) as the pompous captain of a minor Sunday League cricket team. He likes to think of himself as the 'driving force' behind the team, yet he isn't really much good at organisation.

Most of the real work is actually done by Roger's ever-efficient, long-suffering wife, Miriam (Brenda Blethyn, currently seen in "Vera" on ITV).

Kevin Costello (Timothy Spall) is a bit of a slob. He's also probably the nearest thing Roger has to a friend.

Kevin is married to the lovely Maggie (Josie Lawrence), a very outgoing, affectionate woman. She adores Kevin and has a seemingly insatiable appetite for sex (as long as it's with Kevin). They are desperately trying to have a baby, without much success. The series was made entirely on location, and on film, which adds to the reality of the whole thing. Also, it doesn't have a studio audience cackling on the soundtrack and also it uses a clever mix of different classical music excerpts which also adds to the mix very successfully. I remember seeing an amateur version a few years ago as well as a touring version of the play at the Derngate in Northampton, but I think that the television version is better than the original play as there is room to develop the characters and plots further as well as the ability to show the actual cricket matches they play because in the stage version from what I remember the matches are 'off-stage.' Cricket isn't really what it's about, it's the interaction between the characters that makes it interesting.It's very subtle and some of it verges on the tragic-comic, particularly the scenes between Kevin and Maggie, played to perfection by the brilliant Timothy Spall and Josie Lawrence. In some ways it has a lot in common with a lot of Alan Ayckbourn's plays which seem to centre on a set of similar characters and situations which have a good deal more depth to them than your average comedy, television or stage.

A shame that today's television hasn't got the imagination that it had when this series was first aired. Even with umpteen channels we get a very narrow choice of programming. In the 1970's and 80's there were only four television channels, but you did seem to get quite a good mix of what you could watch. In one evening you'd get children's programmes such as 'Blue Peter' and 'Magpie' and later on a sitcom such as "The Good Life", 'Fawlty Towers" or "Yes, Prime Minister." A good one-off drama at least once a week in strands such as "Play for Today" where such writers as Dennis Potter or Alan Plater would give cutting-edge drama, and you could see things like "Vote, Vote For Nigel Barton", "The Singing Detective", "Kathy, Come Home" and so on. It seems that today every day is the same on television. The schedules are exactly the same for each day of the week. You know that 'Pointless' will be at 5.15 every day, and there's going to be an episode even at the weekend. 'EastEnders' is on several times a week, getting more and more monotonous and depressing as the weeks go on. When "Outside Edge" was made, I.T.V. was still made up of smaller companies such as Anglia, London Weekend Television, Central, Granada, Tyne Tees etc etc. Then it became possible for the larger companies to gradually take over the smaller ones, such as Granada and Carlton, until in the early 2000s the government allowed them to merge to just become one conglomerate, I.T.V. plc and run from one place and making somewhat bland programmes. Beforehand, each company had it's own individuality, some having a particular speciality such as Anglia, which made wildlife documentaries such as "Survival."

General Election 2015

The 2015 General Election campaign seems to have dragged on for ever, or so it seems. Having fixed term governments means that you know exactly when the next General Election will be, unlike when an Election is called because of something like a Vote of No Confidence and the current Government loosing and 'going to the polls.' It's also not a 'Two Horse Race' this time with just Labour and Conservative, so we have to contend with all the other minor parties such as U.K.I.P. and even the S.N.P. weighing in as well as Liberal Democrats. I have heard that around 6 million people have not even registered to vote, which seems idiotic. So, when we get another 'hung parliament' as we're very likely to have, those who don't turn out to vote have no right to say 'we don't like the government' or 'we don't like 'The Cuts' ' or whatever as they didn't make an effort to vote and make a decision on the next government. I think that it took long enough for people to get the vote, you only have to think of the Suffragettes, those who even died for the cause of not just women's votes, but men's as well (you have to remember that not all men could vote up until fairly early in the 20th Century, and the over 21. It wasn't until around 1969 when the voting age in this country was lowered to 18.) This is why I think it so important that everyone should at least make an effort to vote in all elections, regardless of which party it is or what your political views are.

I have had exactly one lot of door-to-door canvassing from Labour. Well, at least I can say they have made an effort.  The other parties have stuffed their leaflets through the door and Labour and Conservative have gone to a lot of bother to actually post their leaflets, but still only Labour have made an effort to come and speak to me but then it wasn't the actual candidate. They really should make the effort to come and speak to me personally if they want my voteWhen I lived in Bedford I threw down the challenge to all prospective candidates from all the local political parties to come and speak to me on my doorstep. I ended up in quite a long conversation via email with the Conservative candidate, Richard Fuller and he did make quite a good representation of his policies for Bedford (I think it was a local election, not a General Election, but I forget now.) I didn't hear anything from any of the other major parties so they didn't get the vote. I did the same with the last General Election and only the Liberal Democrats made any sort of effort so they got my vote. I'm afraid if the parties want to make some sort of effort then they have to make the effort to come and speak to me face-to-face. I'm not sure who to vote for this time, unfortunately and may not know up to the very last minute on Polling Day 7th May.

Lack of Manners

When I was growing up we were expected to have manners in regards behaviour. One was that whenever an adult came into the room you stood up. You certainly didn't talk until spoken to, you never argued with your parents or other adults and if you were travelling on public transport, such as a bus or train, you'd give up your seat for an adult and in particular a lady. Where have manners gone? Out of the window it seems in most cases. I'm  not suggesting for one moment that everyone has bad manners, but it seems that quite a few people  I meet and very much in particular, young people, manners seem to have gone out of the window. I have mentioned the 'tail-gating' incidents that I've encountered whilst driving around Milton Keynes, whereby some drivers insist on driving right up behind you and attempting to get you to go faster or just get out of the way for you. On the odd occasion I've been cut up on roundabouts, where driver cut in front of you to get through faster. I have been run into because it seems I haven't moved onto a roundabout fast enough, which can be quite scary, particularly when you are waiting at a very busy roundabout and at times of heavy traffic. This can be worst when you can't see the traffic coming round and would be helped if there was a clearer view with the removal of trees and bushes on the centre of the roundabout. Some people can get very aerated if you don't do what they want you to and you often get someone waving their fists at you or hooting their horns. All it does is increase your blood pressure and your own. Stupid really. Sometimes I'm walking along the Redway around  Milton Keynes and you encounter someone on a bicycle. They should slow down or even stop if they meet pedestrians. They seem to think you'll immediately get out of the way for them. Or at least slow down, because I don't fancy being run into by a bicycle travelling at speed. Also, cyclists riding on pavements. I was always lead to believe that pavements were meant for pedestrians and roads and cycleways were for cyclists, or perhaps I got it wrong.

Carol tells me about the children she teaches. Some talk over her when she's attempting to teach, others can be just downright obnoxious. They drop litter. When challenged, they answer 'I didn't do it.' or 'someone else can pick it up.' Surprises me, because I was under the impression that today's children were conscious of the environment and the damage litter can do.

One of the worst offences I come across is when you are in conversation with someone and they get their mobile out, perhaps to answer it, either a text or a call, and then continue a conversation on the mobile as if you weren't there. Worse still, texting and completely ignoring you. Please, just say, 'excuse me' before answering a call or text message. Can't a call or text wait until the conversation with you is over? Another one is people with earphones stuck in, sometimes on a train or bus, and the thing making noises, music that comes out of the earphones in a sort of buzz or insect-like noise, or people ignoring other's eye-contact because their so busy with an iPod or mobile phone. What has happened to the art of conversation? Modern technology seems to have caused a generation to become incapable of proper speech.

Road Re-Surfacing Chaos

We wanted to go for a swim at D.W. Fitness on Tuesday. Having picked up Carol from the Academy at 4.45 we drove towards M.K. Stadium (the gym is within the precincts of the stadium.) but we first got caught up in heavy traffic, caused by re-surfacing work on some of the Milton Keynes grid roads. There was a long tailback from the roundabout just beyond Oldbrook and then we had to put petrol in the car at the Shell station in Grafton Street. There was further traffic chaos as we neared the stadium and by the time we drove into the precincts of the stadium near the McDonalds and K.F.C. restaurants it was clear that there was going to be something going on within the stadium, no doubt a football or similar event so we decided it wasn't such a good idea to go to the gym after all, as it was likely to be difficult to get out when we wanted to leave so we thought it best to just go home and forget it altogether. Mind you, it's probably be a good idea to just grin and bear all the inconvenience of the re-surfacing of the roads around here, because there are paces where the condition of the road surface leave a great deal to be desired. They have patched up some of the road around Eaglestone, and in particular the gaping chasm that you encounter when you drive in from Saxon Street. It's a wonder that more people don't try and claim some sort of compensation from the local council because all the pot-holes must cause a great deal of wear and tear on cars as they drive over them.

We had another go at a visit to D.W. Fitness, but this time it was very crowded. The changing room was over-flowing and by the time we got into the pool there was a children's swimming lesson going on. A lot of noise from that. Then the jacuzzi was full up. The thought occurred that at such times as this they should have opened the second spa pool, which was closed and with the cover on. It may have been out of order or they hadn't done a water test before allowing people to use it. Also there were a lot of people taking over the pool. I sat in the hot room for a while but even that was over-crowded. We didn't stay too long and left after barely 45 minutes. Unfortunate timing for our visit.

Foggy Start To Monday

Monday morning starts with a foggy outlook. It seems the weather is doing it's usual thing and being different every day. From being sunny and pleasantly warm, yesterday was fairly chilly and overcast. So much colder that we actually put the central heating on for a few hours during the evening but then it was too hot, so I turned it off. You just can't win with the weather at this time of year. As the saying goes 'don't cast a clout 'til May be out.' How true. Thankfully I have now completed cutting the grass (I refuse to call it a lawn, as it's uneven and tatty.) but by the time I'd done it, over the past week in sections.) it will need re-doing as it's growing so fast. Is there no way you can slow down the speed of grass growing?

The other day, when we were out in the car, I think probably when we drove to Ascott on Saturday afternoon, we went over a bump or something in the road which set off an alarm. You get a little sound, an alarm or warning if you do the slightest thing wrong, particularly if the handbrake isn't off fully for example, and this 'peep' came on. We now find we have a small light which has come on in the driver's side panel on the dashboard. We've since found out it's something to do with E.S.P. and that it's nothing to concern us, but even so it is annoying that you can't always be sure what these sounds are warning you for. Just comes as a surprise when you now drive a vehicle which has so much computerised controls on board.

Walking Our Dogs and Visit to Ascott

It has been a pleasant week on the weather-front for the past week or so. As a result we took the two dogs for a walk towards Woughton-On-The-Green along the Redway. Well, I say 'walk' because once we have got them on their leads and we walk out of the house and round onto the Redway we let them off, more like a mad, frantic run or dash. Alfie wasn't as bad as he can be to get kitted out in this harness and lead, but as soon as there's any mention of walk, leads or anything connected with us going out with them, he becomes very excited and barks loudly and can get very boisterous. Poppy, on the other hand, gets excited but doesn't make any sort of noise but wags her tail. We get to the bridge over the Grand Union Canal and they trot over and we walk around the green once in the village, a haven or quiet and peace and it seems incredible that we are only a mile or two from the centre of busy, bustling Milton Keynes. We see no cars and walk around the green and through the orchard and back towards the canal, going along the tow-path and back to the Redway and home. Alfie runs back and forth as we walk along, running ahead, sniffing every blade of grass, tree, etc etc. He must run around three, or four or more, times the distance we walk. He's not very good on the lead, more intererested in being off the lead, hareing around, but Poppy is content to just potter long in her own sweet way.

 Early this morning we were deciding on visiting a National Trust property but couldn't decide which one. Wimple Hall and Home Farm,  Anglesey Abbey, Waddesdon Manor, Claydon and Stowe Landscape Garden are all with a reasonable distance from Milton Keynes, and all visited by us at some time over the last few years. But there is one place that we haven't yet visited and within only a 20-minute drive and that is Ascott. It's on the road between Leighton Buzzard and Aylesbury and which we've passed on various journeys towards Aylesbury and High Wycombe but which we've not visited basically because it's not opened mid-week and then only for about five hours, so it's quite difficult to visit because of these opening hours. So we decide on going yesterday and seemed ideal as it is so close and would make a good outing to make the most of the sunny weather. We leave around 3.45 so we have left it quite late to make our visit, but once we get to Ascott and get parked, it is indeed a short journey, made considerably shorter due to the new, or newish stretch of by-pass between Milton Keynes and Leighton Buzzrard. The new car is a dream as it is quite sporty and once you put your foot down on the accelerator you can just coast along any decent piece of open road.

We are really surprised by the number of people in the carpark at Ascott and the number of cars. No doubt the fine weather has brought people out. Also, we never thought this place was going to be so large. There is quite a walk along a really wooded stretch of drive towards the main house and the gardens and see that had we come a week or so earlier we would have seen a mass of daffodils in the wooded area, but unfortunately they are gone over and looking decidedly dead, which is a real shame because they would have been quite spectacular.

We began our visit by exploring the gardens. We weren't expecting it to be quite so large, nor to have such a variety of schemes of design. A great deal of clipped hedges, topiary in particular. One quite amazing feature spelled out words and in the centre a kind of globe, the significance of which wasn't quite clear, but I will have to do some research on-line to discover more. We walked around for a while and then went into the house. Only around five rooms were open to the public, but each is full of antique furniture and pottery as well as paintings on the walls, some by well known artists such as George Stubbs and J.M.W. Turner as well as bronze sculptures, many of horses and one which I was sure was by Rodin. We didn't have time to see all of this amazing property and there are areas of the garden which we couldn't possibly get to see in the couple of hours we were there and we decided as we drove out of the carpark to return home that we must come back for another visit. As it's only a 15-20 minute drive it's not going to take long to get there and as National Trust members we don't have to pay to get in.

Doctor's Appointment

I went to Ashfield Medical Centre yesterday morning, arriving outside at around 7.45, having taken Carol to Tesco's in Oldbrook to buy sandwiches and other items for lunch as she can't seem to be able to get a decent snack for her lunch at The Academy. Another story for another day. It's been really pleasant and sunny for the past few days. There are a few other people ahead of me in the queue and soon quite a few draw up in their cars and join behind me. People seem to make a point of not giving any sort of eye-contact with anyone else and seem content to be plugged in with ear-phones to either their mobile phones or iPods or peering at their micro-screens rather than make any sort of conversation. It seems sad that that is the way society is going, no sort of human contact with a real person rather than with a gadget of some sort. The queue shuffles forward and eventually the doors to the surgery opens and we move inside. I manage to reach the reception desk and make an appointment to see Doctor Haye at 5 this afternoon. I return home and spent some time cutting the grass with the Flymo. It takes a good deal longer than it needs to complete the job. The length of the grass doesn't help, neither does the fact that the grass is slightly wet. Last year we didn't cut the grass for quite a while and it got so long it began to seed and it was a real jungle. When we let the dogs out they were barely visible. It is no good allowing the grass to get to that length so it's best to keep it short. Also, the uneven nature of the ground doesn't exactly make life easy, but doing the job in stages means I can complete the entire job over the course of the week. It's a very strenuous work and after a while I get some pain in my chest and arrms so I leave off and wind up the cable and put the machine back in the shed for next time.

I eventually make my way to the surgery for my appointment for 5, arriving at around 4.45. I find it's best to get there a good ten minutes before the allotted appointment as you can sometimes be seen before your set time if the surgery is running to schedule or another patient doesn't turn up on time. There aren't too many people waiting when I arrive so it seemed a good idea as well as being able to get through the traffic. You have to drive through the roundabout on Standing way which can become quite difficult if there is a really heavy amount of traffic. Fortunately this evening it wasn't too bad as it was before the usual going-home sort of time. Also, the weather was sunny and bright, no rain or other weather conditions bad enough to make driving hazardous.

My appointment eventually comes up on the digital display at around 5.10. Never mind the wait and my sitting and observing other people coming and going is useful for character-development for my creative writing. I go into the surgery. I have managed to make a list of things I need to discuss with the doctor. I have also managed to make a longer appointment as you are kindly told to make longer appointment with the doctors if you have more than one thing you need to discuss. Fair point when you consider that the appointments are supposed to be only ten minutes or so. One thing I needed to bring up was last week, when I was coughing on a regular basis, was when I was getting a pain in my chest, something like an angina attack. I can become difficult as you can imagine, having experienced a heart attack. Sometimes it can be very difficult to differentiate between 1- the symptoms of a heart attack 2- an angina attack and 3- a indigestion attack or 'heart-burn.' These there are very similar. having spent a few days coughing, and it has been a v very dry cough with nothing to actually cough our, there was no phlem to cough out, this coughing seemed to be responsible for the chest-pain. I cannot take certain cough remedies and have to be careful as some can interact with my medication. I have been taking one linctus which we bough over the counter in Sainsbury's pharmacy a few days previously. Also, merely sucking some sort of sweet or medicated confection which helps relieve the annoying tickling cough which usually develops when I lie down at night. Anyway, this chest-pain got really bad last weekend and into Monday when we went out for the day to visit Basildon Park. It concerns me to some extent that this is going to be a heart attack, and at one point I had to lie down until the discomfort in my chest subsides. I mention this to Carol, who had been coughing herself and had to spent time in bed because she wasn't feeling well herself. The discomfort I was experiencing gradually went off but as I had to visit the doctor anyway I decided to mention it to him. He listened to my chest and did a blood-pressure test and assured me that there was no problem with my heart. Certainly no chance of a heart attack coming on but I was glad that it wasn't serious. Not a good idea to ignore anything like I'd experienced. I had taken one or two of my isoborbide mononitrate tablets when the pain hadn't gone off last week. I had been prescribed this medication some while ago when I'd had fairly severe angina attacks and had to go into hospital. Up until then I had always used  a glycerol trinittrate spray which I had been given on prescription from the time of my original heart attack back in 2006, but I'd stopped having one for such times as I had an angina attack a couple of years ago.  When ever a bad angina attack happens you merely spray a short amount from the little bottle under your tongue and the pain is reduced. It does work, but I will keep this new bottle or spray in my medications box in case of emergencies. But now I was given a prescription to have a new one which I can use when and if another such angina attack comes on again. The doctor prints out my prescriptions and I leave the surgery and then go into Cox and Robinson's pharmacy which is conveniently located a short walk from the surgery. Within around 10 minutes they have made up my prescription and I leave and drive home.

I have been watching a really brilliant series on BBC2. Well, I have been downloading the episodes on iPlayer, so not actually 'on-air' as it's transmitted or recorded on our Sky+ box. The series is called 'Nurse' and stars Paul Whitehouse and Esther Coles who plays a community psychiatric nurse called Liz and we see her visiting her N.H.S, patients or to be politically correct 'service users.' Puts me very much in mind of my own work as a home carer as well as doing work with those with learning disabilities. We had to refer to our people we worked with as either 'clients' or 'service users,' both of which, to me are really clunky and sound peculiar. 'End-user' is another term I have come across which is even worse. I suppose it come from the Thatcher era when everyone and everything had a cost, had a monetary value when things were being privatised. Anyway, she visits a wide selection of different people in their homes who have mental health problems and is not what you'd describe as a 'bundle of laughs.' I don't think it's supposed to be a comedy in the loose meaning of the term 'comedy' but it has a much deeper meaning and purpose than a lot of what is put out on television but it's all the better that it gives a glimpse of this sort of work and makes the viewer think about mental health in a new way. What I am coming to is that when I arrived in the pharmacy having got my prescription from the doctor a few minutes previously, there was a young man in there at the counter who could have stepped out of one of those 'Nurse' episodes. He seemed to be dressed exactly like one of Nurse Liz's service users and even spoke like one of them. I think it made it seem more relevant this television series has been and how very well developed the characters have been. If you haven't seen this I can recommend it but don't expect a whole load of laughs although it does have a certain amount of humour in it, but in my opinion it isn't always the 'laugh-out-loud' comedy which works best but the work that makes you think that is often the best.

Lawn-mowing

The sun is out. Infact it is positively a heatwave. Just don't hold your breath. It may last. The trees are busily leafing like crazy, and blossom is opening rapidly. There are primroses all along the grid roads around Milton Keynes. A veritable hive of activity. The grass in our back garden is growing to such an extent that both dogs are getting lost in the lushness. So it's about time I got out the mower. Which I did early this morning. Hunt for the power cable, plug it in and unwind said cable into garden. Open garden shed and dig out mower. Attach cable to cable and begin to mow. The grass is slightly wet, which might have been a good reason to not mow. Unfortunately the machine grinds to a halt after barely five minutes. Strange noise emanating from beneath machine. Unplug mower and turn over on grass, to discover that one of the little plastic blades has broken off. Not surprising owing to length of grass and the fact that the mower isn't really designed to cut such long grass. More capable of cutting neatly-turfed lawns and not this horrible uneven, tusky grass. Methinks perhaps a herd of sheep or goats might be the answer. I spend a half-hour or so hunting around in the kitchen and other places to see if we have any spare blades. We had a packet with the machine when we bought it but where they are now is a complete mystery. I write down the machine number, a Flymo and decide to head off to the local branch of Homebase to purchase the requisite packet of blades so that I can resume grass-cutting. On arrival at Homebase in Winterhill I find plenty of Flymo mowers but no spare blades. After asking a member of staff where I might find the blades, we still are no closer to locating the required items. It seems you can buy a Flymo mower but when you need the blades they don't appear to have them. I leave, somewhat frustrated by lack of purchase and then go over the road to The Range. The same story there: they have the machines for sale but no blades. This seems quite incredible. I then go further along the road to Wickes but it appears that they don't sell mowers so I return home empty-handed but none the wiser as to where I might be able to obtain the mower blades.

A little while later . . . I have had a good look for the spare mower blades and sure enough I found some in the kitchen drawer. So I managed to attach to the mower and got the machine working again so I have managed to cut around a quarter of the grass. I will be doing a bit each day as it's really hard work as the grass is so long and still a little damp, which isn't surprising due to it's length, even though the sun is out and shining brightly and there's a gentle breeze.

Early morning Swimming and National Trust Visiting

We went to D.W. Fitness for a swim early yesterday morning. The first time in quite a while due to Carol being unwell due to the confounded cough. We went into Asda and had some breakfast, although having fried breakfast did somehow undo any good the swim was likely to do us, but never mind. I was by then quite hungry so it was deserved. What is it about Asda that I dislike? The Tannoy system is very loud, almost deafening, and it seems totally pointless them calling their staff when you can barely understand what is being said. The vast, echoing cave of a building hardly helps but it does put you off shopping in there. We decided to drive to Waddesdon Manor for a visit. Another National Trust property, and it's not too far. We haven't been there for quite a while. So we drove home having purchased some rolls and bits to eat as a picnic when we got to Waddesdon and collect our cameras, we left Milton Keynes and headed off along the A5 and out towards Aylesbury.

On arrival in the grounds of Waddesdon Manor we were somewhat surprised to find that we didn't drive up through the park to the mansion as we expected and were directed by the staff along what seemed a new road and into a brand new carpark. We then had to get on a bus and be ferried up to the mansion.  A very similar system to 'park-and-ride' which have been introduced at many towns and cities in the United Kingdom, such as Oxford and Cambridge. I imagine it prevents any more erosion of the environment by the over-use of cars. The parking arrangements had always been somewhat poor at Waddesdon so this new arrangement was a good idea, although there seemed to be a very large queue at the bus stop. They are also currently building a new pavilion which presumably is where you will eventually pay or show your National Trust card when you visit. Several of the National Trust properties we have visited over the last couple of years have had new visitor centres and restaurant blocks constructed and opened, which include Castle Drogo in Devon and Stowe Landscape Gardens near Buckingham.

On arrival at the fountains near the mansion we discovered why there was such a crush of visitors. Something called Colourscape, a vast tented structure on the lawn in front of the mansion, rather like a sort of multi-coloured set of balloons is the best way to describe it. On the website for Waddesdon this is described as 'a magical labyrinth of colour, light and sound.' But we had no intention of discovering more as there was an extremely long queue of parents of children waiting to get into this tent-thing. We walked along the gravel drive and spent our time photographing various details of the mansion and the garden, statues and other bits and pieces and went round to the aviary which we have seen before as well as the magnificent fountain behind the mansion.

We found a vacant bench to sit on to eat our little picnic and then continued our wander around the gardens and enjoyed the sunshine, this being Carol's final day of her Easter holiday so it was good to be able to enjoy our time together. 

Bournmouth Visit

We have been down to Bournemouth today to visit Carol's mum and dad. The last time we went was in August 2013 when we came back from our holiday in Ilfracome and tied in with Chloe and Steve's wedding in Ipplepen. We were due to go last Wednesday but Carol had developed a really bad sore throat and we didn't think it was a good idea to visit due to the possibility of infecting them with the bug. I was also threatening a similar thing but thankfully it didn't develop into anything.

We left Milton Keynes at around 7.a.m. and drove steadily towards the M40 and then onto the A34 just beyond Buckingham, the same route we took the other day when we drove for our day out at the National Trust property at Basildon Park. We hit roadworks on the way at the turn-off for Reading and were held up for a while but then the traffic began to flow steadily and we were able to maintain quite a good speed all the way down south. We stopped at a service area near the roundabout which lead westward towards Highclere Castle, another location for the television series Downton Abbey and also further on to the village of Burghclere which we visited several years ago when we went to the Sandham Memorial Chapel which houses painting of Stanley Spencer and also managed by the National Trust. We bought ourselves coffee to share in Costa Coffee and the drove on and eventually arrived at Carol's parents flat in Moordown, just outside Bournemouth. From there we all drove to Hengisbury Head for a walk along the seafront. This is a famous visitor spot in the area between Poole Harbour and Bournemouth and forms part of the main division between Poole and Christchurch Bays. We walked along the patch and stopped briefly at the newly-opened visitor centre. It was quite a walk and we went through some really attractive wooded areas and saw a lot of families with children and dogs enjoying the sunshine. We eventually arrived on the sandspit opposite Muddiford and the Beach House Cafe where we stopped for lunch, by which time we were well and truly ready for a rest and sit-down as it had been a good half-hour walk or more to our destination. I can, for one recommend this as somewhere for families to eat. The service was good and the food excellent, considering how busy it was. On the return to the car-park Carol's mum and dad decided to walk but myself and Carol returned using the land-train which was a pleasant way to travel. I don't, in all honesty, think we would have been able to walk back ourselves as by now we had been driving and walking more or less non-stop since very early this morning so a sit down on this mode of transport was well in order. We left the carpark once Carol's mum and dad appeared and got back to their flat a little while later. We left Bournemouth at around 6 p.m and I drove some of the way back on the A34 and got home to Milton Keynes a little after 9 p.m.

Visit To Basildon Park

Easter Monday. A day out is in order. The weather is fine and sunny. New car in good order. Full tank of petrol. National Trust membership up-to-date. We decide from considering the options to go to Basildon Park for a visit. Having viewed several maps on-line, one being Google Maps, we decide it's not much more than 60 miles so we leave at around 9.15. It's no point getting there too early as it's not all open until 11.00. We drive towards Buckingham and then on towards the A34, a route we know well as we drive south regularly to visit the in-laws who live in Bournemouth. On Saturday we had hoped to drive up the M1 and visit a National Property, Caulke Abbey or another the other side of Derby, but when we get onto the Motorway we soon discovered a high volume of traffic and on actually getting on to the carriageway that there are roadworks all the way north past Newport Pagnall services and that you can't drive more than 50 miles per hour (or aren't supposed to.) It takes us around and hour and a half to get as far as the turning off for Weedon and Leamington Spa so we decide that we're not going to get much further and won't get to our destination this side of midday so we come off the Motorway near Coventry and come back across country and back through Buckingham where we drop in to the newly opened Aldi branch and do a shop for the evening's meal and then return to Milton Keynes and home.

Yesterday's trip was considerably better, but we were supposed to get on the M40 and then onto the A34, but due to roadworks we couldn't get onto the Motorway and instead had to make a diversion towards Oxford and find the A34. It seems that the road network is currently plagued by a good deal of roadworks at the moment. I think if we had been altered earlier it might have saved us a good deal of time and effort and not a fair amount of frustration. Unfortunately you don't learn these sort of deal until after the event.

Yet another great mass of roadwork activity on a vast roundabout when we come off the A34 towards Reading, which means we have to circle the confounded roundabout again so that we are facing in the right direction for Basildon Park, but as a result it is a worthwhile journey as the scenery is very pleasant. We eventually arrive at our destination to find that the sunshine has brought out a large crowd of visitors. I think this may be due in large part to the fact that Basildon Park is one of the locations for filming of the I.T.V. drama series Downton Abbey. I have to admit to having only watched one episode and then I wasn't immediately drawn to watching further episodes as it's not really the sort of programme I enjoy.  Probably actually better to watch via catch-up as there are adverts around every 20 minutes or so and who wants to sit through endless ads for sofas, double-glazing and shampoo? The fact that it's so full of advertising is enough to put any one off watching. The acting is very wooden and the storylines are cliched and full of anachronisms. It is a pleasant place to wander around and take in the scenery. On arrival we make for the cafeteria but then discover an extremely long queue of similarly hungry and by now quite frustrated visitors. It takes us a good 20 minutes to reach the counter, make our selection of sandwiches and lattes and pay and then find a vacant table to sit and eat. We wander into the garden to find a lot of families enjoying the sunshine and the views across the valley from the garden a truly spectacular and you can clearly see why someone would choose to build a property in such a location. We then enter the house and wander around the various rooms and in particular those which are used as interiors for not only Downton Abbey but the recent film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice as well as several other film such as The Duchess. The National Trust staff in each room are extremely knowledgeable and it's interesting to hear from them about the history of the house and the families who used to live in the house. Having finished our tour of the house we leave and go back to the stable block near the carpark which is where we came in and find the shop to buy the handbook about the house as well a to buy ice creams which we take to eat sitting at some picnic tables conveniently placed near the carpark. We get back to the car and drive home which seems to take less time than the journey out.