Too Darn Hot!

The television weather forecast got it right: they said it was going to get warmer, due to something to do with the Jet Stream. Comes up the Atlantic Ocean from the tropics or something. So today it's really hot and sunny. Neither of the dogs seem to like it. Alfie's has been flat out asleep on the sofa  for most of the morning and Poppy's hiding behind the armchair I usually sit in. Alfie has been wandering around the house not knowing exactly where to lay to keep cool. He has been out in the garden and spent some time laying on the paved area near the patio doors, but then came back in the house, lay back on the sofa and then went to lay on the floor at the foot of the stairs. I suppose that is one of the coolest places as it's a laminated wooden floor. Alfie can sleep anywhere, and usually does. I've never known a dog be so able to fall asleep at the drop of a hat. What a weird expression! Where on earth does it comes from? Who's hat, and why was it dropped? I'll have to do some research. It probably alludes to the signal to start a race. Which I just found out having done a Google search. Anyway, Alfie can fall asleep very quickly, which he can do at night. He sleep on our bed. If you disturb him, he growls. Makes his feelings known. Very territorial. He also snores. It's really funny, I must say. Anyway, as I was saying, it's a really warm day. I have washing out hanging on the line in the garden, so it's likely to be dry very quickly. We went to Asda early this morning (handy having them open 24 hours.) and I saw a copy of the Daily Express (incidentally, not a paper I would  ever read.) I couldn't miss the headline which said that the 'heatwave will last two weeks.' Is it believable? It's difficult to say, but it's likely to make things difficult, particularly sleeping at night. If you have the window open to keep the bedroom aired and cool, it means that the dogs can hear other dogs and also strange sounds and this sets them off barking. Also, next door's cats have a habit, as I've mentioned before on here, of wandering into our garden, sun-bathing on the roof of the shed at the bottom of the garden, and setting off both dogs barking and getting over-excited. You'd think that they would have got used to these cats living next door, which must be well over two years by now.

Watching Channel 4 Drama Series "Humans"

I'm currently watching the new Channel 4  sci-fi drama series "Humans." I'm really enjoying this.  At last something to really get your teeth into. It certainly has the 'can't-wait-to-see-the-next-episode' element to it. If you don't know what it's about, it's set in a sort of parallel 'now' where 'synths' or robots, which are incredibly life-like, are used to do the dirty-work that humans don't like doing. It's got an element of "Blade Runner" about it, with a police force on-hand to deal with rogue 'synths' when they go wrong. It does pose the question, how do we interact with technology and how do we allow it to control our lives? It is actually based on a Swedish television series and hopefully it will be re-commissioned for a second series. It deserves it. It has a real scary feel to it, and at several points in the last episode you are left asking, which are the humans, and which are the 'synths'?' Good to see Colin Morgan, who played Merlin in the BBC1 show "Merlin." It seems to allow him more depth of character than he was allowed in the earlier show, which was cancelled.

Visit to Whipsnade Zoo

Up until a couple of years ago we used to have membership of Z.S.L. (Zoological Society of London) which meant, having paid around £100 a year we could then visit either of their zoos, London and Whipsnade, as many times as we liked during the year. Incredibly good value when you consider that a single entry ticket costs around £25 and you can get in free(I'm not so sure of the individual ticket price around 5 years ago when we first became members.) The cost rose astronomically, to near-enough £200. We didn't continue with the membership as our finances at the time would not allow it. We were also member of the National Trust (and re-joined that recently.) as you can also get into their properties free. Carol found out that she could become a Fellow of Z.S.L. because she is a science teacher. So she applied and we now can visit again, both getting  free entry. It also means she has access to a lot of Z.S.L. material which is in their library at Regent's Park as well as being able to attend lectures, as well as their A.G.M. and get discount in their shops and restaurants at both Whipsnade and London Zoos. 

We went today for the first time in quite a few years. We left Milton Keynes at around 9 a.m. and had to get petrol on the way at our usual Shell petrol station and then on to Boots outside Bletchley as we thought it might be a good idea to get sun screen as it has been really warm and hot, with particularly sunny weather. We drove out of Milton Keynes along the A5 towards Dunstable and then on to Whipsnade along the Dunstable Downs, where we saw a few gliders as well as kites near the visiter centre. We got to the carpark at the zoo to find it filling up rapidly. We haven't seen so many people at Whipsnade, but considering the warm weather it's not surprising. We then found that there is now a completely new building at the main entrance which houses a state-of-the-art shop, booking hall as well as toilets (which, incidentally, were never the best feature of Whipsnade.) We had to get Carol's Fellowship car sorted out. Which meant she needed a photograph to put on the card. When we both had membership we had to have photographs taken and these were printed on the cards. This time it was just Carol who needed a photograph (I have to be 'signed in' as I'm not officially a Fellow). Fortunately they were able to find the old photo on their computer system, which was not too out-of-date to be used on the new card.) It means we can not only enter free each time, but can take the car in without further payment. As Whipsnade is quite a large zoo, it can take quite a while to walk from one enclosure to the next, although there is a bus which ferries you around if needed.

We have seen the Birds of The World presentation several times before, but we saw it again today and as usual it's really great to see some of the birds that you never get a chance to see in flight, such as some really colourful parrots and a little owl as well as some kestrels. Amazed at the speed these fly at.

A walk-through exhibit called 'In With The Lemurs' always delights as lemurs are such lively little creatures and we were surprised to find that there were baby lemurs on view, clinging on to their mothers (as you can see from the photo I took, above. We took more photographs that was absolutely necessary, but they are so photogenic it was worth taking every one of them.

 A new butterfly house  has recently been opened, much like the butterfly house we saw at Twycross Zoo a few weeks ago. In the middle of it is another display which housed a miniature crocodile in a glassed space which allowed you to see beneath the surface of the water. You walk into this heated  structure, rather like a vast plastic greenhouse. The butterflies fly around inside and some settle on you. It's an amazing experience. It is heated by some sort of steam system which keeps on billowing out over the centre of the building.

We walked around the zoo and within 4 hours we managed to see tigers, elephants, penguins, bears (several varieties) as well as camels, bison, hippopotami, rhinoseros and giraffe. There is now a new feature, a sort of walk-way which allows you to see the giraffes at near enough eye-level as well as going inside their house and I took the photograph you see below.  Made a change to be able to see these animals like this.

Not like you would if you stood at ground-level. You can virtually see them at eye-level.

Quite a few improvements generally at Whipsnade since we were last there. It was generally looking rather shabby and some of the animal enclosures were looking somewhat tired. They have built a wooden fence around the penguin pools, which seemed rather odd and you have to go in through a gate. There are a couple more shops and some lodges where you can book and stay in overnight as well as some toilets which are far more clean than they have been in the past.

We walked back towards the entrance and had a look in the new shop and then had tea in the cafe. By which time we had completed our visit and then went home via Dunstable. We didn't manage to see everything, particularly the elephants, but it does mean, with the membership, we can return anything we want to which may be over the summer holiday period. It is merely a 45 minute drive from Milton Keynes.

Car Wheel Comes off

Carol came home and told me something that had happened to one of our former house guests. Brian had had new tyres put on his car and then, when he'd been driving along the A5 one of the wheels came off his car. It's a wonder he didn't have a serious accident as a result, or his car was damaged really badly. I just hope he goes back to wherever it was that the wheel was replaced and the company is sued for the damage caused. It seems someone, a mechanic who should have known the correct way to replace a car-wheel is trained in the correct way to do the job. We saw Brian when we arrived in the carpark at the Academy this morning and he seemed fine, but nevertheless it must have been quite a scary incident as he must have been driving at considerable speed when this happened.

It's been very hot today. But when I came out of the house to go over to collect Carol as I usually do at 3.30 this afternoon it was raining, so instead of walking, I went in the car. By the time I got across and into the carpark it had stopped raining. As I write this it is 11.50 and I'm downstairs in the lounge as it's very warm and it's difficult to sleep. Hence I'm writing this blog post, which is the 660th. 

Our House-Guests Move Out

Brian and Talia (not sure her name is spelt right.) have now moved out. They managed to find new accommodation in Wolverton and last night they were packing up their belongings into their cars and drove away. We hardly saw them, they made virtually no noise. Both dogs took a while to get used to having them around, particularly Alfie who gets himself really worked up when anything that isn't part of his routine is changed. He goes bonkers when we go for a walk and runs up to everyone he meets, human or dog and seems to have no fear, but whenever it's someone new who comes into the house he gets really silly. He yaps and barks and sometimes hides. Brian bought Carol a lovely bunch of flowers as a 'thank you' which was nice. Talia has a job in a school on Beaconsfield. I'm not exactly sure what her job was, whether she was a teacher or a teaching assistant there, but it seemed to be quite a long way to drive, there and back each day. She used to leave around 6.00-6.30 each morning and get back by around 4.30, at about the time I was going out to fetch Carol home from Milton Keynes Academy. Supposedly takes around an hour, but I imagine it might take considerably longer with traffic conditions not exactly free-flowing. I used to drive regularly between Bedford and Thorpe Park and that could take around 1 to 2 hours, but considering that was a little over 30 years ago and before the M25 and really good roads were opened. It could get really blocked up on some stretches of of the journey with bottlenecks holding you up for 20 minutes or so. 

Watching "Downton Abbey"

We are currently watching "Downton Abbey." We are watching the 'box set' of this highly popular and successful I.T.V. series through Sky +. We had watched an early episode when it was first broadcast but gave up because it had so many commericials in it. I realise that I.T.V. is funded by the sale of advertising, but they really have too many breaks within an hour's programme. It actually runs for around 45 minutes so there's a least 15 minutes-worth of commercials. You can record programmes and then fast-forward through the commercials, but there are so many adverts for sofas and car insurance you can take, believe me.

It's an enjoyable show, if a little slow. Nothing much really happens. It is actually little more than a soap. The sinking of the Titanic as well as the First World War comes into the story, along with some other historical points in early Twentieth-Century history, along with such things as the Spanish Flu epidemic which kills off some of the central characters along the way. The 'downstairs' characters are far more interesting than the 'upstairs' characters. They seem to have far more interesting storylines. The Hugh Bonneville character, the Earl of Grantham, is somewhat one-dimensional. He is rather passive and as such a bit boring. He never seems to have much to do. He's dominated by the women around him. He has all daughters (hence the longwinded storyline regarding the succession to the title.) His mother-in-law, his wife as well as his mother, as well as his daughters, all know exactly how to wrap him around their little fingers in order to get what they want. He doesn't seem to have a great deal of control of his family, his household or the estate. He can't be much good at financial matters, hence the storyline about how his investments have gone pear-shaped and the threat to the future of Downton Abbey. How on earth would anyone be advised to invest all their fortune in just one company, and an American one at that? Just doesn't ring true somehow. And a member of the aristocracy? Please. I know it's only fiction, but it's a bit far-fetched. Also, why is it none of his household staff are unable to iron his nightshirts? Whenever we see him in bed, or preparing to go to bed, and he's dressed in a nightshirt, it looks so creased and obviously un-ironed, or even poorly ironed. I realise that in the early 20th Century there weren't the kitchen gadgets we take for granted today in our homes, for example, electric steam irons. But are we to honestly believe that the male head of the household will put up with so poorly ironed clothing? How many staff are there in the kitchen? Why is it that the Head Butler, Carson, makes such a fuss of the slightest thing, even insisting that His Lordship's newspapers are ironed, but not his nightshirt? This is a real slip-up. Having worked as a supporting artiste on various television shows over the years I know that the wardrobe department is generally very particular about the standard of their costume-care, so to have the central character's nightshirt looking so shabby is really poor. Also, the storyline concerning the mis-laying of His Lordship's shirts. Not realistic in the slightest.

We love the Dame Maggie Smith character, the Dowager Countess of Grantham. She seems to get all the best lines. She manages to out-act virtually everyone else on-screen when she has a scene, along with up-staging everyone. A sheer joy. Love her to bits. I remember seeing her on stage with her late husband, Robert Stevens, when they were acting together on stage in Noel Coward's delightful play "Private Lives." It must have been in the 1970's. She was also in the film version of "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie." Also, another film I enjoyed called "Hot Millions" with another favourite actor of mine, Peter Ustinov.

What also makes watching "Downton Abbey" so enjoyable is the fact that we know so many of the locations they used to film it. Some scenes were shot at places we've been as members of the National Trust, such as Waddesdon Manor, West Wycombe Park and Basildon Park, which we visited only a a couple of months ago

Grass Cutting and Re-drafting Story

I spent some time early yesterday morning mowing the grass. I'm sorry, but calling it a lawn is an insult to the beautifully-turfed spaces most people have in their gardens.  After a minute or two of cutting, there was an ominous sound. I stopped the machine and unplugged it rom the power supply. I up-ended the machine and found that it was clogged up with grass and one of the plastic cutters was sheared off. I managed to find our supply of new blades and fitted it easily and managed to continue with the grass cutting. The grass remains really rough, and tusky and the piece of ground is really uneven.  All this doesn't make the job any easier. I did the job in two 20-minute bouts as it takes it out of me and there's a piece nearest the house that remains which I shall endeavour to complete sometime today. Not a difficult job with our newer mower, but still quite an effort to do it. I thought as it was bright and sunny it was a good idea to get the job over with before the weekend and it's a good idea not to let the grass grow too long as it makes it more of an effort. You have to uncoil the electric cord and plug it in where the fridge/freezer plugs in and pull the cord out into the garden before connecting the cord from the mower which is stored in the shed to the side of the garden.

Later . . . I have now managed to complete the cutting of the grass. Just as well to do it when it's dry as it's not really safe with the electric cable and so on. Also, if the grass is wet it clogs up the machine. Hopefully it should last a a few more weeks until it needs cutting again.

We still live in hope regarding the repairing of the fence. I can't believe it's nearly a year since we had the visit from the landlord and the promise of a replacement fence. Pigs might fly is the term that comes to mind . . .

I am in the middle of re-writing the story I have been developing. I have several sections written and I am sort of assembling it all in the correct order as well as re-drafting what I have written as I go along. It's quite a difficult job as I have it all on various bits of paper. Now I have some of the characters more or less fully developed it really helps the writing. I am really pleased with how it's going.

Writing and Sunshine

It's turning out to be a particularly fine and sunny morning. Trying in vain to prevent our dogs seeing either of the two cats who live next door who seem to take real pleasure in teasing Alfie and Poppy, by appearing on the shed roof which can be seen clearly through the lounge window. They slink in and stare into the room and this makes both dogs mad and they rush to the window and stand on their hind legs to peer out, barking like crazy. If the sliding door is open from the kitchen into the garden they bound out, making so much noise it must be heard by all our neighbours on both sides. Alfie rushed out yesterday evening when we were attempting to watch 'Pointless,' which we watch every evening and stood looking up at the cat which was perched on top of the shed. I think it was enjoying the sun and sleeping peacefully until the dogs came out noisily. The cats know full well that they can't be reached by either dog, which is why they have this somewhat arrogant air about them as they sit on either the shed or the fence, such as it is. 'Fence' is a rather inappropriate word as the state of the pile of wood which once formed our boundary fence is really quite poor. Still no sign or it being repaired by our landlord, by the way.

I've done a bit more work on the new piece of writing I mentioned in the previous post. I think I've managed to write about one side of an A4 sheet, which I suppose is around 2-300 words or there about. I know that when word-processed, you can, on average, get around 500 words on an A4 sheet of paper, obviously depending on the size of the font you use.

I've started watching a new Channel Four drama series which began on Sunday called "Humans" which is about 'synths' or robotic 'helpers.' Good to have some science fiction drama that is intelligent and well developed for once. It leaves you  really pondering all sorts of things such as how robots could, and probably already do, get used in our lives, and most likely when we don't even realise, but obviously not as realistically 'human' as those portrayed here. Well worth a try if you haven't already seen it,  and is available to watch through Channel Four's catch-up service. Just to warn you: Contains  adult issues and themes, although fairly mild. Not suitable for children.

Youth and Modern Technology

I had to drive to the shop in Garraways, which is in  Coffee Hall, the next grid square to Eaglestone, to buy a stamp at the Post Office which is within the 'One-Stop' shop. I followed this youth in who wore these enormous headphones over his ears. Do youths realise how ridiculous they look walking around with such things on their ears? I thought you could get really neat 'ear-buds,' which you use with your iPod or other M.P.3 player which don't look so obtrusive. I should know, as I have my own iPod, although not the latest model.  I don't use it much. But I don't walk around with it on. What worries me most about walking around with those things over your ears, how do they hear what's going on around them? There's the possibility of not hearing a vehicle coming when you cross the road and getting run over. Even worse, is seeing a youth riding around on a bicycle with those things on his ears. Not just the danger of not hearing traffic, but the possibility of getting the cable caught in the workings of the bicycle they are riding, the chain mechanism, the handlebars or whatever. Then I was shocked to discover that the price of a first-class stamp is 63p. We very rarely have a need for postage stamps. We use email a lot, but this was to stick on the envelope of a Father's Day card for Carol's dad. It has to get to Bournemouth before next Sunday which is Father's Day.

It's not just headphones that are a danger. How many people have I seen who walk around whilst they are fiddling with their mobile phone? Texting or doing something or other as they walk along, and most certainly not aware of the world around them. The distinct possibility of not concentrating on the world around them, stepping off the kerb and into the path of a vehicle and getting knocked over. How ridiculous is that? Worse still, people having conversations on their mobile phone while at the same time DRIVING THEIR CAR! it's illegal, but people still do it. When we were driving up the M1 the other week we came across this lorry which we tried to pass. It was weaving all over the place, in the middle lane, but it didn't seem safe to overtake. When we eventually drove past it was clear that the driver was texting on his mobile. How on earth can you possibly think it's safe to do such a thing? One small slip and you'd cause a very nasty pile-up. Can't people wait until they are stationary before using their mobiles? It's a pity that the Police don't catch these people before they cause mayhem.

Working on Story Ideas

I've been working on a brand new story idea I've had for some time. I have written the central section for this and had written an earlier section, but it hadn't worked quite how I had hoped and left it alone for a while. I have been reading some of Roald Dahl short stories, some that had been adapted for television and called "Tales of The Unexpected" which were produced by Anglia Television in the late 1970's- early 1980's. (Currently being shown on Sky Arts and available to download from Sky +) Also, I've started reading one of Patricia Highsmith's novels, "Strangers On A Train" and both these authors work have influenced to some extent my style of writing on this new writing piece. I rather like the way Highsmith has developed her central characters and also Dahl's humorous style. Both have a sharp wit and a black sense of humour which gives their work a sort of slewed sense of style, which I think will fit in with what I'm trying to achieve, hopefully lifting what could start out as just plain ordinary into something quite unique. Well, I do hope so. I have up-loaded some of my material to a website called Shortbread stories. I seem to have had quite a few people look at what I put on there, with only a handful of people actually leaving comments. Then it's difficult to tell whether people read all the way through the material, or whether they read a page or two then abandon reading. But at least it's being seen and read. Do go on-line there and have a look and read what I have on there as well as other peoples' writing. There is a lot of good stuff there.

Changeable Weather

The weather is playing fast and loose at the moment. It was really warm for most of today and then, just as I was about to walk over to the Academy to collect Carol at 3.30 this afternoon, the heavens opened and there was a really torrential rainstorm. I managed to do a load of washing this morning and had it dried, it having been out on the line in the garden and hanging out when the washing machine had done it's work, so the clothes were dried within barely two hours. So I decided to drive over in the car and took Carol's coat which was hanging up on the hooks in the hall. By the time I drive in through the gate into the Academy carpark the rain had virtually stopped so it seemed a waste of time getting the car out. It has been too warm to sleep tonight, which is why I am writing this. It has been too hot to sleep for the past couple of nights. Poppy doesn't like thunder but there was none which was something of a disappointment because I quite enjoy heavy thunder storms. I remember when we were planning our wedding in 2007 we decided we wanted some sort of decoration in the church and had seen some really nice decorations done by a lady who has a workshop within the grounds of Claydon. When we had ordered the decoration, we had to drive over to collect it a few days before the wedding day. On the way back we were caught in a torrential rainstorm which was so heavy we could barely see to drive the car, the rain was so heavy the windscreen wipers couldn't clear the running water fast enough. We decided to stop in a lay-by and had to sit and wait until the rain subsided before driving on. It was a sort of flash-flood which ran down the roadside and made a river out of the road. 

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell and other great British Television Drama

We've been avidly watching the B.B.C. Television adaptation of the Susanna Clarke novel "Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell." I have to say that when I had first heard that this was to be adapted for television I had reservations, but now we are into the fourth episode of a seven-part adaptation, I am more than pleased with the result. I enjoyed the novel, and read it when it first came out in 2004. It is a weighty novel, the original hardback edition is some 780 pages long. When it eventually appeared in paperback I noted at the time that it was published in two volumes in a slip-case. I was concerned that if it was made into a film it would be condensed considerably to fit into a reasonable running time. Which is why it works best as a seven-part television adaptation as it allows for the story and the characters adequate space to develop. The special effects don't detract from the rest of the drama and are used sparingly and don't look, like a lot of computer generated effects in television and film, as if they've been stuck onto the film rather like using Photoshop and seems to fit in very well. In 'Doctor Who' (the revised version which began in 2005.) many of the C.G.I. effects, particularly many of the alien creatures, look 'stuck on' and very fake and not very scary. (I have to admit to being a 'Doctor Who' fan and saw the very first episode when it was first transmitted back in 1963. I have enjoyed the reincarnation of the show, but for some reason it just doesn't have the magic of the original. Those stories may have been somewhat 'low-tech', having very unconvincing sets, wobbly or otherwise, but the stories were always 'edge-of-the seat.' You always wondered where the Tardis would end up in the next stories when the good Doctor and his companions left at the end of each story and it was a surprise when they ended up on some weird and wonderful planet or different historic time and then meet the alien or lifeform that lived there. Spending more on the new Doctor Who episodes don't always mean that the stories or monsters will be better. In some cases the new stories are just not up to standard.) Back to "Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell." The setting is totally convincing. For once someone has spent time and effort with the dialogue and it sounds genuine. It seems that when they adapt a classic novel the dialogue which is used doesn't always sound convincing. In fact, in some other types of drams, particularly science fiction and fantasy, the dialogue is really awful. It's a wonder the actors can bear to speak such utter drivel. A good example is "Atlantis." Some of the dialogue in that was really poor. It's no wonder this series was cancelled.

I love British television drama. So we've seen a bumper crop of really excellent home-grown productions recently and the sort of shows that you want to tune into week after week and keep you guessing what is going to happen next with the characters and storylines. One of these series was called "In The Club" which is yet another excellent show written and created by Kay Mellor who always seems to come up with brilliant ideas. It's set around a group of women and their partners who are pregnant and each week we see the trials and tribulations of their lives leading up to the birth of their babies in the same hospital's maternity ward. Another Kay Mellor-scripted series is "The Syndicate." I haven't seen any of the earlier series of this series, which tells of the different groups of characters who's lives are changed with lottery wins. This one features Lenny Henry who seems to be making a career change from comedy to more serious acting roles. Yorkshire seems to be the location of a whole range of dramas (including the previously-mentioned "Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell.") Over the years we've had "Heartbeat", "Last of The Summer Wine" and of course the Granada Television series of "Brideshead Revisited"  which was filmed there, particularly the central location at Castle Howard. I suppose it does provide a very wide range of locations. Scarborough in particular is used a great deal and features in the new series of "The Syndicate." "Downton Abbey" is supposed to be set there, but is actually filmed at Highclere Castle in the south of England. The locations for the fictional Downton village is filmed in the Oxfordshire village of Bamford. We began watching "Downton Abbey" when it was originally shown but gave up because it had so many commercials in it that it was ruining our enjoyment of the show. I realise it's the advertising which pays for commercial television, but having ads every ten minutes or so for sofas and stupid car insurance really drove us mad at one point. So it was fortunate that we can currently watch this series from the first episode through download from Sky and watch without the interruption of the confounded adverts. I suppose as regards earning money from advertising this isn't such a good idea for I.T.V., but from the perspective of the viewer who has to endure the adverts which breaks up the shows it's a godsend.

We are enjoying 'Downton Abbey.' I have to say, though, that the stories revolving around the 'downstairs' characters are far more interesting than those of the 'upstairs' characters. The Hugh Bonneville character is somewhat wooden. Although it's supposed to be set in Yorkshire, there is absolutely no feeling at all that it's set anywhere in particular. Some of the characters mention places in Yorkshire, but you don't see anything at all that might suggest 'Yorkshire,' nothing of the scenery of landscape. They have used that village in Oxfordshire which I have mentioned earlier supposedly because it has houses that are made of a similar stone to that you find used in buildings in Yorkshire, but I don't get any feeling of 'Yorkshire.' The best character is that played by Dame Maggie Smith who seems to get all the best lines and a lot of the humour revolves around her character. We visited a National Trust property recently, Basildon Park, which is used for a lot of the interiors in 'Downton Abbey' and it seems that another National Property, Waddesdon Manor, near Aylesbury, is used for the interiors of another of the fictional houses in the series.

Another drama series which we have enjoyed considerably has been "Last Tango In Halifax.' Again, it's set in Yorkshire. In fact we have had holidays in this part of Yorkshire and stayed on one occasion in a rented house not far from where this series is filmed, in a small town called Cowling. The plot, if you didn't watch it, revolves around Celia and Alan, who are re-united after 50-plus years. At age 16, Alan's late wife failed to pass on his letter with apology for missing their first date and forwarding address. Both now have daughters with their own relationship problems. Derek Jacobi plays Alan and Anne Reid plays Celia. It also stars Sarah Lancashire and Nicola Walker. The series is written by Sally Wainwright and apparently it is based loosely on real events and situations. The series started in November 2012 and has now reached it's third series.

Yet another series we've seen is called "Ordinary Lies" which is set in and around  .J.S. Motors. Each episode tells a story from the angle of each of the central characters and how they tell lies to get out of a situation and how such lies causes problems for themselves and those around them. For example, the first episode revolves around Marty, one of the company's salesman, who is late for work consistently and then makes up the story that his wife has died. He is played by Jason Manford, not known for playing parts in television drama. It also stars Sally Lindsay, Mackenzie Crook (best known for his appearances in 'The Office' and the film 'Pirates of The Caribbean.'), Jo Joyner (EastEnders), Rebecca Callard, Max Beesley and Michelle Keegan (another former 'Coronation Street' actor.) It is written by Danny Brocklehurst.

Later episodes centre around the other characters. One is about receptionist Tracy who gets involved with fellow receptionist Viv when they get immured in a drug-trafficking charge into the Dominican  Republic when they go on holiday abroad.

Swimming and Shopping

It's been a bright and sunny day. We didn't hesitate to go for an early-morning swim at D.W. Fitness and were there at 8 and found the place virtually empty. Nice to swim without a lot of noise. Unfortunately the spas weren't in operation, one being empty. I did spend around 10 minutes in the steam room (or 'hot cupboards' as I call it. We returned home and had breakfast and then drove over to Aldi at Buckingham to do our weekly shopping. Great that you can do your shopping in record time compared to, say, Morrison's, Sainsbury's, Tesco or Asda. Also around half the price, too. There may not be the range of items, but you aren't wasting deciding on which particular brand of, say, crisps or baked beans, which makes it easier. They have a checkout system whereby they scan all you groceries into your trolley and once you've paid you load it into your bags and then leave which seems to cut the queuing time considerably.

New Fridge-Freezer Arrives

We had mobile phone messages this morning, bright and early, to inform us that our new Candy fridge-freezer would be delivered within the hour. It took us a while to get to the voicemail on my mobile, as we had to set up a P.I.N. number before we could get to the message. And by 7.40 the lorry arrived, just a few minutes after Carol left for work. The two deliverymen took all the packing and cardboard it was encased in away, which has saved me the time and effort of doing it myself. They lifted it in and put it in the space vacated by the old fridge-freezer and it's now plugged in and running. It will be a few hours before we can begin stocking it up with food. No doubt we will have to go shopping this evening. Unfortunately we couldn't have our early-morning cups of teas as the milk was off. We had stored milk in the old fridge, but it's obvious that it wasn't cold enough to prevent the milk going off. The new Candy fridge-freezer is considerably bigger than then old one, which is really great, meaning we can store more in it. I'm glad that they came so early as it means I don't have to sit around all day waiting for the delivery.

Wet, Wild and Windy

The weather seems to have made a backwards step. So much for 'flaming June.' It's more like Autumn. Wind and rain. Just as well we went out when we did on Saturday, because we certainly wouldn't have bothered with the weather the way it is today. 

I went to get my hair cut early at Essential Barbers in Monkston Park. They opened at 9.30 and I was done by 9.50. Really cheered up when the lady who cut my hair asked me if I was 65 as I would get my hair cut for £6. I don't know whether I'm pleased or not, but I suppose I should be pleased. When we went to Twycross Zoo on Saturday I got my entry at reduced concession as I'm over 60.  I then drove to Sainsbury's as we had to have tonight's meal organised. I have made a mistake in thinking the new fridge/freezer was coming yesterday. I mis-read the email, which actually said 8th June. Then I got a call from Candy yesterday morning, the company who make the fridge/freezer we've ordered from Very and they say it will be delivered after Thursday and they will ring again on that day to give me more idea what time but within a 'four-hour window' which can mean anything. Just be glad when the thing is delivered and set up and running so that we can go shopping properly and put whatever needs to go into the freezer will be safe from thawing out. It's just annoying only being able to shop for food on the day, but there is no other way of managing things at the moment. 

I selected what I wanted in Sainsbury's and then went to the checkout to pay. I was intrigued by what the man in front had bought; a watermelon and a packet of balloons. What on earth was he going to do with these items? Your guess is as good as mine.