Alfie- Trimmed!

Alfie has been in  desperate need of a trim at the grooming parlour. His coat grows quickly and needs trimming at least every six months or so. He gets a rather nasty matted bit on each of his eyes (I think most dogs seem to get this, for whatever reason.) Try doing this yourself and he growls. It must be rather uncomfortable if you do manage to remove it. I expect it stings. I had him booked in at Pets At Home in Bletchley this morning at 9 o'clock. I managed to get him into the cage in the back of the car without too much trouble. (How does he know that something is going on, even when I'm extra-careful to get the cage out of the spare bedroom and into the car, which I did yesterday afternoon, and have his lead in my trousers pocket where he couldn't possibly see it? He's so clever. I think he'd worked something out when I eventually got the lead on him.) I left at 8.40 which gave me more than enough time to get to the retail park at Bletchley. There were other dogs arriving with their owners as I parked the car opposite Pets At Home and then managed to get in at a little bit before 9. It was going to take the groomers an hour to do their work, so I decided to stay a the retail park as it wasn't really worth going home and then driving back, so I had a wander around T.K. Maxx to look at their selection of clothes and then got a coffee and bit of cake in Gregg's and sat in my car to eat and drink. Then, just before 10 I returned to Pets At Home. 

Alfie- after his grooming session today

There was a family with their large boxer dog waiting in the place where customers wait for their pets to be collected. I know it was best not to open the door (I could see this beast through the glass door.) and as the dog wasn't on its lead, I thought it best to wait as I didn't want to be responsible for it running off if I opened the door. Also, I was being careful not to let Alfie see me as he would respond with yapping and barking is he saw me. It could make the staff's job even more difficult if he began responding accordingly. I eventually got inside and saw Alfie and he looked really neat and tidy, with a bandana around his neck (which each customer's dog gets after they've been groomed. The last time he got a bow tie.) I paid and then we left, Alfie leading the way back to the car. We drove home and Alfie was silent. He does make a certain amount of noise when he first goes in the cage, making little yaps. I got him home and took the above photographs.  Not the easiest subject for a photograph. He just won't sit still. As soon as I get the camera out he seems to know he'll get attention. He kept coming towards the camera, which made it difficult to frame a decent shot. As you can see from the above photographs. Without his fringe, he can now see clearly and I have to say he looks a good deal tidier. Not too short because he needs his coat during the cold winter months.

Another Sunday, Another Trip To Whipsnade

The sun was out (well, rather weakly, nevertheless) and Carol was in definite need of some sort of relief from work. It seems unfair that you work all week and then, at the weekend she ends up marking books and planning lessons. She starts work at least 7.15 each morning and doesn't end her day until 4.45 (most days, a good deal later, having to sort out other people's problems etc.) A wander around Whipsnade was most definitely in order. 

As we drove down the A5, Watling Street, towards Dunstable, we encountered heavy traffic. It was nose-to-tail northbound and as we got to the roadworks at the chalk hills entering Dunstable, it was very slow going. The zoo opens at 10 and it was around 10.15 when we got to that point in our journey. 

On entering the zoo (having Carol's Z.S.L. Fellowship means we not only get free entry but also an entry free with our car. At least £75 saved for the two of  us plus the car.) we found the place almost deserted. I suppose on a Sunday, and during term-time, it's not as busy as the holiday time as well as the fact that the weather wasn't particularly brilliant. There were periods of sunshine, but it was definitely clouding over and threatening rain at any moment. 

We drove around the perimeter of the zoo as we usually do. This allows us to see which animals are out and about. There are some animals which we hardly ever see, depending on the weather. The sloth bears are not always to be seen, but they were today. Rather difficult to photograph, unfortunately, because of the chain-link fence which is in the way. They are a particular favourite of ours. Several years ago I gave Carol this lovely cushion which has a bear on it (she loves teddy bears and has quite a collection, which sits on the top of our IKEA bookshelf.) This cushion-bear has a distinctly similar look to the sloth bears.

We continued to drive around and eventually got to the brown bear's enclosure (more or less exactly opposite the sloth bears enclosure.) It was getting very busy as more people began to arrive.) The bears seemed to be causing something of a stir, and Carol said it might be something to do with the bear, Baloo, in the new Disney film of "Jungle Book" (the computer animated re-make which we saw on DVD a few weeks ago and enjoyed enormously. It's very well done.) The character in the film is very similar to the brown bears at Whipsnade. Congratulations to Disney for having him walk on all fours as they do in real life and not as he is portrayed in the original 1967 animated film where he is presented walking on two feet, like a human. It least they've managed to make the character more realistic (although having him talk is certainly not realistic!)

On the many occasions we've visited Whipsnade, we have never seen the wolverines. They are in an enclosure opposite the brown bears. There was quite a  crowd gathered near the enclosure, and for the first time, we actually managed to see two of them! They seem extremely elusive. They appear to spend a good deal of their time hiding. No doubt they can see us, but we can't see them. So I managed to take one or two photographs of one. Then it climbed a tree and we could hardly see it at all!

The elusive wolverine. The first time we've actually seen one of these creatures.

We really wanted to see the elephants (definitely our all time favourite animals at any zoo but particularly at Whipsnade. They are currently building a brand new elephant house and when you visit at the moment you have to take into account the building work that is going on (this is due to open in early 2017.) A rather incongruous fence has been put up as a safety precaution and it wasn't clear where the elephants were when we arrived. Not in the fenced enclosure to the left, but, on walking around we discovered the herd in the paddock the other side. Some of the zoo staff were in the paddock, some of them drove up in a mini tractor which had a trailer on the back which contained green branches covered in leaves which they began to distribute to two piles on the ground. The elephants began to pick up some of the branches, one, in particular, began flaying the ground with some of the more tender branches before eating. There are two young elephants in the herd, one a good deal older and another, which was born at the time of the Queen's 90th birthday earlier in the year (and called Elizabeth as a result.) It's interesting to see how the older elephants look after the young members of the herd and walk along with the little one in between them. At one point the baby began to roll around on the ground and began playing with a few twigs. It was most amusing to watch. We were so glad we arrived when we did because we've never seen the elephants being fed before.

We went to the restaurant near the tiger enclosure to have chocolate cake and coffee. A good selection to choose from and the coffee was better than average.

We walked over the rhino enclosure and were surprised to see one of the large rhinos at very close quarters. We took some excellent photographs. We then drove around to the opposite side of the zoo to visit the shops. If I have a complaint it's that there aren't enough items for adults. All very nice to have so much for children (and we've spotted something for George, my grandson, who has his first birthday in a month's time.) And when we'd finished browsing (without actually buying anything.) we drove back to Milton Keynes. The traffic was building up as we came out of Dunstable on the A5 and it was backed up towards  Hockliffe. By the time we got through the traffic lights the queueing had petered out. We had the car radio on and discovered that the traffic situation was probably caused because a bridge on the M1 had been demolished.

Autumnal Sunshine and Blackberry Picking

The weather has returned to pleasantly sunny, although it was quite chilly first thing this morning. A definite nip in the air.  There is a real need to put the thicker duvet on our bed.

I have ordered my repeat prescription at Sainsbury's, which I did earlier in the week. It was  a G.T.N. spray. (Glyceryl Trinitrate) For those who've had a heart attack and suffer from angina attacks, you will obviously know that this little bottle, which comes with a neat spray, helps to relieve this angina pain. You spray a few puffs under your tongue and then wait for a minute or two for the effects to take place.  It relaxes and widens blood vessels in the heart and the rest of the body.You tend to get a sort of high (not unpleasant) and the pain goes off gradually. Certainly headaches and dizziness. If you sit down for a minute or two or lie down, it soon goes off.  It is the same as the isosorbide mononitrate which I take twice a day. I wasn't due to collect the prescription from Sainsbury's pharmacy until Monday, and as we're going out tomorrow, weather permitting, hopefully to Whipsnade, and we'll no doubt be walking around, I thought it a good idea to buy an extra G.T.N. spray so I had it in my pocket in case I had a bad angina attack. I went to Boots at Bletchley this morning (near Pets At Home, Brantano, Sports Direct and T.K. Maxx) to enquire at their pharmacy to find out if they had one I could buy. They couldn't, but could order one, to be delivered by Monday or Tuesday.  On the way home I decided to try Cox and Robinson's pharmacy at Beanhill, in the same block as Ashfield Medical Centre. They had one in stock. A good bit larger than what I'm usually given with my repeat prescription. This new one is supposed to give around 200 doses, whilst the one I usually get has around 180 doses. Well, at least I will have it in my pocket for every eventuality tomorrow. Then I went into the surgery as it's getting to the time of year when I get my free flu jab (having fallen into the 'vulnerable' class due to having had a heart attack, I get this free each year.) I got a sort of garbled phone call telling me when the two Saturdays were for this flu jab. It appears that it's being done on the 8th and 22nd October (which is actually my birthday!) The computerised phone message was so difficult to understand that I couldn't remember so it was as well to go into the surgery. Never mind.) You just turn up and get the jab. Not a problem. I certainly don't want to get the flu as it can be nasty if you have a heart problem.

I have been out and picked some blackberries. The crop has been quite extensive on the bramble bushes all along the Redway and on the overhang on our garden fence. I suppose they've had the right amount of sunshine and rain to produce such a large crop. I shall go back out and get some more during the next  few weeks. The berries are so plump and ripe that they virtually fall off the bushes into the box I have  to collect them.

This 'n' That

Well, for a start-off I can't think of a title for this post. I usually attempt to find something alliterative. Well, if you don't know what it means (and shame on you.) it's words with the same initial letter that sound similar. 

The Police have packed up and left the 'crime scene' in Osprey Close. Although they left the peculiar blue box, shades of Doctor Who's 'Tardis' time machine. It's obvious what it is. A portable toilet. They had to make sure the Boys In Blue had somewhere to go, didn't they? Every possible 'convenience' at hand. We'll know sooner or later the outcome of this incident, although someone has been charged and was before the Magistrate's Court last week. I forget the person's name but it's bound to be in the local media.

The grass at the rear of the house has been growing steadily over the past couple of weeks. It's had plenty of sun and more recently rain, which might explain why it's got so long. I have been putting off mowing it, and this morning I got the mower out and attempted around half. The rest can be done tomorrow. It's mild weather-wise and I was hot when I finished. 

We have a good crop of blackberries on the brambles that overhang the fence at the end of the garden and there are quite a few along the Redway. I will get out tomorrow and pick some. 

I have been watching the film of "The Lady In The Van." This is a film based on Alan Bennet's stage play of the same name and starring the brilliant actress Maggie Smith. She who was the Dowager Duchess in "Downton Abbey." A very different character to the character she portrays in "The Lady In The Van." I have been an admirer of hers since I was around 16. I think I must have first seen her in the film "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie." I studied "Othello" by William Shakespeare as part of my 'A' Level English course and saw her opposite Laurence Olivier in the film of "Othello" when she played Desdemona. And then in a very amusing film with another actor, I always liked, Peter Ustinov, called "Hot Millions." He plays her boss in an office and she is the cleaning lady who comes in to clean his office and they set up a scam to trick money out of the company when she bangs down her mop bucket near the company computer. She couldn't have been much more than in her late twenties or early thirties when she made that. As for Peter Ustinov. What a talented man he was. Not only a great actor but also a playwright of some renown. He wrote "Romanov and Juliet" and I saw him in  a wonderful play called "Beethoven's Tenth" where he plays Ludwig Van Beethoven, who is made to appear as (possibly) a ghost by a music critic played by Robin  Bailey. (best known probably for playing Uncle Mort in the Peter Tinniswood sit-com called "I Didn't Know You Cared.") I might be right in thinking that Beethoven is given a hearing aid and is able to hear recordings of his symphonies for the first time. Ustinov stole the show, and it was extremely clever and funny.

I saw Maggie Smith in the Noel Coward play "Private Lives" when she played Amanda to her then-husband Robert Stephens, who played Eliot (originally played by Noel Coward himself and Gertrude Lawrence in the 1930's original production.)  This production was at the Phoenix Theatre in London, and, I believe, was directed by Sir John Gielgud. When I was an A.S.M. in Colchester in the early 1970's we did our own production of this play and I have been a Coward fan ever since. His plays never seem to be out of fashion, unlike a lot of other playwrights of that period. Just as amusing as when they were written and in some cases more relevant today than when  they were first produced. Such plays of his, as "Hay Fever" and "Blithe Spirit" are constantly being revived.

As for Alan Bennet, I have also enjoyed his work. He did a lot of plays for the BBC and a number with Dame Thora Hurd. He wrote a series of monologues for the likes of Thora Hird, Maggie Smith, and Patricia Routledge and called "Talking Heads." The first play of his I remember was a black-and-white television film about a gang of Edwardian cyclists. Very little plot and, being set in that idyllic realm immediately before the First World War, had a very poignant ending. A definite 'must see' if you get a chance. He's since done most of his writing work for the National Theatre, such as 'The History Boys' which was made into a film in the early 2000's.

A Day Out At Avebury

A few weeks ago, when we were on our way to meet the In-Laws in Salisbury, we broke our journey at Avebury. We were there no more than 30 minutes. It was an excuse to have a coffee and snack before continuing to our destination. Up until then, we hadn't really realised that Avebury was such an extensive place. We visited the Rollright Stones in Oxfordshire a few years ago and had imagined that Avebury would have been similar. How wrong could we be? The stone circles and earthworks which make up the landscape is huge. On Saturday we decided to make a proper day of it and left home around 8.15. It wasn't too sunny either. The last few weeks we've had exceptionally warm and unseasonal weather, which is all very nice when you can get into some shade, but if you are working (which Carol has been.) it can be quite difficult. But on Saturday it was bright but not sunny. We had around a 2-hour journey there and this time, I had my new Canon digital camera fully charged, because last time we visited, part-way through my photography was interrupted when the battery gave up, unfortunately.

The landscape is quite breathtaking. It seems to creep up on you totally unexpectedly. And then these enormous stones appear within this landscape. The actual village of Avebury is strange when you think it's been built within the stone circles. We've visited Stonehenge (which is a short distance from Avebury.) and that is spectacular, but I think Avebury, together with the stones and the earthworks which comprise the total landscape, is far more spectacular.

We started off in the café, as we had done around a month ago, and then walked up onto the surrounding hills where we took some photographs. We came back and then visited the Manor, which is part of the complex and managed by the National Trust. As members, we had free entry. I have to say it was interesting, but not as interesting as many other National Trust properties we've visited. What was different was that none of the furnishings within the rooms on display were genuine. It had been transformed by the BBC for a television series called  "The Manor Reborn" when each of the rooms in the manor was decorated and furnished to represent various periods through British history, for example, a bedroom to represent the Tudor era and a lounge to represent the 1930's Art Deco period. Whether it worked I'm not sure, but the idea was to attempt to make each room not only accessible to visitors, but to allow people to interact with the furniture and other items, unlike in other properties you might visit, particularly those owned and run by the National Trust, where you are not allowed to touch anything, sit on the furniture or touch the various items on display. A good idea up to a point, but it didn't seem in any way genuine and had the definite feeling of being a set for a play or television drama. I think the National Trust should be careful to not make their properties seem more like attractions in a theme park and make sure that the properties are, wherever possible, as genuinely historical as possible and not attempt to be persuaded to make them 'popular' just for the sake of it. The people we were with when we visited the manor seemed to be having a good time, being able to dress up in period costume and sit on the furniture etc, which was  a good enough reason to have the manor as it was.

We then went out into the garden in which the manor sits. There was a great collection of sculpture scattered amongst the flowerbeds which we spent time looking at and we photographed several of them.

This is only a small selection of the sculptures we saw in the garden at Avebury Manor

We went into the village shop to buy drinks. As Carol is diabetic, it was incredibly difficult to find sugar-free drinks. It seems that manufacturers of any sort of drink seem incapable of making any drink which has no sugar in it. Why do some drinks, which are marketed as being 'light' have so much sugar in them? What does 'light' refer to? Is it the fat content or the sugar? We also bought a rather magnificent map of Avebury which we hope to get framed and then hang it in our lounge. Good value at only £5.

From the shop, we decided we'd seen all we wanted to. There is far more to see, such as Silbury Hill as well as The White Horse chalk figure at Uffington and Wayland's Smithy, which is around half way home on the journey back to Milton Keynes, which we intend visiting in the near future.

Murder Investigation Continues

The police are still very much in evidence around Eaglestone at the moment, following the shooting of someone in Osprey Close a few days ago. According to the Milton Keynes Citizen newspaper, a man of 33 has been charged with murder and is to appear today at the Magistrates Court. There are police in dark clothes and wearing blue rubber gloves working along the grass verges searching for evidence, although I can't see why if they have someone in custody and charged with murder.  Yesterday was refuse collection day, as it is usually, but none of the rubbish that was put out, by myself and every other household in Golden Drive, has been collected. I presume it must be something to do with the  on-going investigation, with the possibility that there might be evidence in any of the rubbish. Unfortunately, the Council is going to have to remove it soon as it is going to cause all sorts of health and hygiene problems, what with cats, rats, and birds splitting the bags of rubbish open. I just hope it's going to be cleared in the next couple of days.We have a lot of crows and magpies in this area which have a tendency to pick at any sort of rubbish and as a result tear open rubbish bags.

Murder Investigation

It's not often I get mention some 'big' news story in my blog posts. If I do, and there's some sort of local connection, it's usually miles from our home, but this current incident happened merely 200 yards from our front door. Osprey  Close is one of the roads leading off Golden Drive and one of the routes we might take if we go for a walk with our dogs on our way into Eaglestone Park. The police are currently going from house to house interviewing residents in the area of the incident. It turns out that someone was shot in the early hours of yesterday morning. Someone living in Osprey Close reported a disturbance at number 12 and later the 'suspect' ran off. As I write this, and as reported on the B.B.C. Breakfast local news, someone was in custody as a 'suspect.'  The 'incident' is being covered quite comprehensively by the local media. As we went out early this morning, we could see the Police vehicles were still parked along Golden Drive and the blue tent was still in place on the grass near Osprey Close.

With all this excitement going on so close to home, it's difficult to concentrate on other matters. The weather has been exceptionally warm for the time of year over the past couple of days, making sleep difficult at night. As we walked over to the Academy this morning, there was a mist laying over much of the Milton Keynes landscape. But as I write this (at 8.30 a.m.) much of this mist has burnt off and the sun is shining. It's likely to be yet another scorchingly hot day.

Police in Eaglestone

There's been something or other going on in Eaglestone, but we're not absolutely sure what. Apparently, Carol could hear something going on further down our road. When we drove out this morning on our way to the Academy (which is crazy, I know, as it's so close and most mornings we walk. It's barely a ten-minute walk there along the Redway.) So as we drew out of our parking space (heaven forbid I call it a driveway, which sounds so pretentious.) we could see, as we looked along the road, a police vehicle parked near one of the side roads or closes which run off Golden Drive. Being ever so inquisitive, Carol insisted on driving round to see if we could spot what was going on. The side road was cordoned off with tape, as they always seem to use in any police investigation, and lots of police, some in those overalls they use when they're doing forensic searches. It looked like the set of some sort of television cop dramas, such as 'Morse' or 'Dalziel and Pascoe.' A bit of a cliche, I suppose. But it made us wonder what it was all about. Considering we live within barely 100 yards of the scene, it would be as well to know what criminal activity has been going on so close to home. No doubt we will learn when we see the local news on television in the next couple of days.

A bit later. Just around lunchtime, I saw a couple of policemen in what looked like padded body armour walking past our house in the direction of the cordoned-off area. I did have a furtive glance to see if things were moving forward and it appeared that the cordon is still there as well as the police vehicles.

Today has been exceptionally warm. I have had the windows open all day. Both dogs have been attempting to keep themselves warm. Alfie has been stretched out on the sofa for most of the morning. They are saying that it's been the hottest September day for 50 years. I can well believe it.


Later still.
I have seen a mention of the police activity in our neighbourhood. Apparently, there was a shooting in Osprey Close, just along Golden Drive from our house. As soon as I saw the piece there was a knock at the front door and a man stood there with a clipboard in his hand and a sheaf of forms and asking me if I'd heard anything. Just a complete coincidence that I had only that minute seen about this incident on the internet. He asked me a few questions because they are interviewing everyone in the immediate area, just to find out if anyone saw anything suspicious or heard anything. Carol did say she'd heard something which was why she wanted to drive past Osprey Close early this morning. The detective (or whatever he was.) said he'd come back later to speak to Carol at around 6 o'clock this evening.

So, this blog is becoming quite interesting, keeping my readers fully informed of what is going on and this is quite useful as part of my on-going creative writing.

Even later still. There has been quite a bit more activity regarding the police, in regards to what now turns out to be a murder, and right on our doorstep, it would seem. During the afternoon there was a large vehicle parked directly outside our house, which had a satellite dish, folded down on its room. I recognized it has the up-loader for television broadcasting. As I walked over to meet Carol, as I usually do at 4. 45, I glanced back towards Osprey Close and saw a television camera set up and facing the scene of the incident.

Carol came in from the Academy and I told her that the police were interviewing residents regarding the 'incident' and that I had done this earlier in the afternoon. Just to find out if anyone had seen or heard anything 'suspicious.' We sat down to have our evening meal just as 'Pointless' was coming to an end on BBC1 at 6 o'clock. The police interviewer came to the door and came in to speak to Carol.  He was here for around 15 minutes. We had the BBC local news on, 'Look East' and during this programme, there was an extremely brief piece about the murder in Osprey Close. All of around 25 seconds.

Eye-Test and Sky Upgrade

Last Friday I had my eyes tested. I haven't had an eye test for quite a while. You're recommended to have this done every two years at the most. It is well over two years. When Carol and I went into the Milton Keynes Central Shopping Centre a few weeks ago we managed to go into the Boot's opticians and booked both of us for eye tests. Carol's is this Friday, after work. I don't mind having my eyes tested, but the only bit I don't like is when they more or less clamp your head into this machine and you have to look at a small green dot of light and then they shoot a jet of air onto your eyeball. It has something to do with detecting pressure of your eyeball which will show up any deficiencies or other. I'm not sure what. But just as the jet of air strikes it's a natural thing to blink and it took several attempts to get the test done. Really don't like it. Probably not as bad as giving blood, but it has to be done. Then, when you go into the main testing room you do a test which shows how good your peripheral  sight is. You have to look directly at a red dot and then they turn on and off white blobs of light and you have to press a button when the lights come on. I passed this with no problems. Anyway, it turns out that my distance vision has improved and officially I shouldn't need to wear glasses to drive. I'm somewhat amazed as I would have expected my sight to have deteriorated as I get older, but apparently not. My left eyes require lenses to adjust my sight for close reading. So, not as bad as expected. I will have to wait until next month to have new glasses made up and I'm having varifocal lenses made so I can see distance and close-up with one pair of glasses. They will cost in the region of £250.

Yesterday we had our Sky television package upgraded to what is called Sky Q. It comes with the latest Sky box, recorder and broadband router, and we also have a television in our bedroom. I bought a small HD television in Sainsbury's the other week and the whole system includes a mini Sky box so you can have all the Sky channels on two sets. A vast improvement on the old Sky+ box and superior picture quality. We had considered putting the set which is in the lounge upstairs and getting a slightly wider screen set to go in the lounge, but on going to look at sets we decided that a bigger set wasn't really required. If it's too big it would just dominate what is a fairly small lounge. Which is why we went for the 20 inch set for the bedroom and left the original 32-inch set where it has always been in the lounge.

A few years ago we decided we wanted to improve our television system. When we moved to this house, which must be around 5-6 years ago, we had Freeview, which comes through a conventional television ariel. We didn't have access to a decent outdoor ariel, so we had to make do with a rather inefficient indoor ariel which sat on top of the television.  The quality of the television picture was not very good as a result.  So, around three years ago, we decided to look at having a new television provider. We imagined we could choose between perhaps two, for example, Virgin and Sky. It turned out that we couldn't have Virgin because that comes through cable and apparently Milton Keynes doesn't have the cable infrastructure. Quite a surprise when you consider that Milton Keynes is such a modern city, no more than 50 years old. I would have imagined that there would have been a cable system in place when the city was built originally, but apparently not. So we had no choice but to get a Sky multichannel package. We also wanted to change our broadband internet  provider, having been TalkTalk customers and not finding them a very good company. Which is why we had Sky providing television, broadband as well as our landline telephone service.

Baptisms and Sunshine

It's a perfectly beautiful sunny September day. It's just amazing that it's so warm and sunny. We went to church at Milton Keynes Christian Centre, going to the first of the three Sunday services, at 9 a.m. Thee were to be around 40 people being baptised during the service. It's always busy so it is advisable to arrive early in order to get a seat and we always like to get as close to the front as possible to be able to watch.

During the sermon, George Ridley said that £600 was needed to replace the roof of a church somewhere in India. As a result we went to the cashpoint at Tesco's in Oldbrook Boulevarde and returned to give it to George. When we returned, having had to park in the road opposite the entrance to M.K.C.C. which was actually coned off with yellow 'no parking cones' (because people aren't supposed to park in the neighbouring roads as part of the agreement which was made with the local council when planning permission was given to build the church.) we walked back towards the church building and as we got to the front door Carol saw one of her former pupils who was going to be baptised during the second service. We handed over the £10 to George Ridley who was with his wife Pam sitting in the coffee shop at the entrance of M.K.C.C. Carol said she wanted to stay and watch the baptisms during the next service (which was due to start in a little under 15 minutes.) I had to go back to the car and drive to the carpark at Milton Keynes College (where we had parked originally earlier in the morning before the first service at 9 o'clock.) I then drove over to the college car park through the busy traffic which was heading into the church carpark as well as out onto Chaffron Way. When I got to the carpark I had to walk back along the Redway and back to M.K.C.C. By the time I got there the service had started but I managed to walk in and found Carol. She had found us two seats near to the baptistry so we could watch the baptisms and I took some photographs with my mobile phone. It actually turned out that two of Carol's students from Milton Keynes Academy were baptised during the service.

We returned home, having left immediately after the baptisms. We then drove to Woburn Sands to visit the Wyevale Garden Centre there to have a break and something to eat in their restaurant for a lunch break. We were somewhat surprised to see Christmas stock being set up in the garden centre.It seemed far, far too early to be thinking about Christmas this early in September. Especially as it was so sunny this afternoon. It seems some people will buy the general tat that is considered acceptable Christmas fare, and usually very over-priced. It gives us a good laugh, looking at this sort of stuff. Now that B.H.S. has gone, affording us some considerable pleasure in the run-up to Christmas, when we had to visit the B.H.S. Christmas department to look at the offerings they sold, but, alas, this year, now they have closed down, our entertainment of this sort will have to be elsewhere. Singing Christmas trees and tacky tinsel, over-coloured tree ornaments and One Direction knick-necks will have to now be diverted elsewhere.

Stupendous September

It's turning out to be an exceptionally warm September- so far. As I write this, the sun is out. The last few days it's been unseasonably warm, particularly at night. Clammy, rather than merely warm. I think this is what's termed an 'Indian Summer.' But I don't understand where the term comes from. Having now 'Googled' the term, it appears that a so-called Indian Summer should be in October or November. Usually, after we've had a frost. We certainly haven't had any frost.  It's thought to have come from American Indians rather than from the continent of India. But there appears to be no actual known history of the term. 

As a result of the exceptional weather we've had, it would look as if we're in for a bumper harvest of blackberries all along the Redway behind Eaglestone, where I always manage to harvest these berries (see later blog posts.) In a couple of days no doubt I've been out there collecting them.

We were due to have smart meters installed yesterday. We had a letter from our gas and electricity suppliers, Utility Warehouse. I rang as soon as I received the letter. It was going to be free, but when the workmen came yesterday morning it turned out that they wouldn't be able to install the meters because whoever put in the old meters didn't allow enough space in the hole which was drilled between the outside cupboard where the gas meter is and the electric meter which is on the wall just inside and opposite the meter cupboard, so this can't be done safely. We could let our landlord know about this and get him to sort it out (no way am I ringing him. I'd rather not let him get involved as he will use 'a friend' to do the work and no doubt cause more problems in an attempt to cut costs. I think it's best left alone, thinking about it now.)

Being so warm, particularly at night, we have to have to have the windows open. As a result, you can hear all sorts of noises. If a dog barks outside, this often sets our two dogs off barking. Late last night we kept hearing a really odd sound, not unlike a sort of siren. But was it? And where was it? Was it at the prison? Had a prisoner escaped? Or had someone absconded from the Campbell Centre, which is within the hospital grounds, which is just behind us in Eaglestone? It's a so-called 'secure unit' for mental patients. If you walk past, as we often do if we go to the hospital (it's easier to walk through along the Redway, rather than drive there and pay to use the carpark.) you walk quickly past. There's a high fence, chain-link, or what you call it, with lots of closed-circuit television cameras. Anyway, this odd sound was somewhat eerie. Or was it some factory somewhere? Who knows. We certainly couldn't think of anything else during the night. Also, people riding motorbikes along the Redway. They should be doing that as it's for bicycles without engines. I have rung the police about this on several occasions, but by the time they got here the cyclists would be gone. I have seen these people, riding those mini motorbikes. Could be nasty if they ran into a person walking along minding their own business. Probably got no insurance either

A Few More Little Niggles

I've written elsewhere on this blog about those little minuscule things that make life miserable. Those things that are rather like the bit of grit in your shoe which makes walking uncomfortable. Those little niggles that cause upset. You might refer to them as niggles.

One such would be, when you order a cup of tea and instead of it being made in a pot you get a mug or cup of boiled water with a teabag on a bit of string either already in it or you have to dip it into the water yourself. An American idea, I believe. Just not really very good service in my opinion. We had this when we went into a Wetherspoon's pub when we were in Salisbury recently (Wetherspoon's pubs are generally very good, but on this occasion, this was a real let-down.) this is how we had our tea presented to us. Is it much of an effort to have a decent pot of tea made with probably two teabags? Rather than several mugs of hot water? Then to add insult to injury, the milk was in those really awful little plastic containers with foil caps that are incredibly difficult to peel off. The white liquid inside is supposed to represent 'milk' but is more like thin white emulsion paint. Or that is the consistency of the liquid. Not that I've tasted emulsion paint, but you get my meaning. The jug of milk provided for the customer to put into my mug of tea was empty on this occasion and it took some considerable time for me to get a staff member to replenish the jug. The final mug of tea was so disgusting I couldn't drink it. It tasted awful. The milk is definitely not from a cow, or else the tea is made in a metal pot. You get a really nasty metallic taste, which is unpleasant, to say the least.

Other niggles? Having DVDs and CDs wrapped in cellophane, which is virtually impossible to remove because there is no tab or that strip of coloured paper which is supposed to aid release of the product inside. Why do these things have to be so over-wrapped? Some manufacturers would say, to make sure you receive the item in pristine condition. Fair enough, but do make it easier to remove. Then the products which arrive with a sticker on them, usually with a bar code on, which, when you come to wash it, is virtually impossible to remove without leaving a nasty residue on the item, which, even after several efforts at washing, still remains. This is most annoying on books or other paper items when you can't obviously wash it to remove the sticky residue. And after a while, anything else which comes near the item sticks to this nasty gooey mess.

It seems packaging of quite a few products causes all manner of problems. Toothpaste tubes which always have a tiny bit of toothpaste in them when they are almost empty and you can't quite manage to squeeze out. This has probably been solved with those stand-up pumps which are far better and there is never any toothpaste left when they are empty. Also, tubes which are made of plastic and not metal, which I presume the old style tubes, which don't have any left at the end of their useful life.
Then there's the annoyance caused by parking machines, plenty of which are to be found round and about Milton Keynes Central Shopping Centre. You put your coinage into the machine and to the correct value and there is always one which refuses to work and falls through and comes out of another slot. You continue to load the coins in, but still, the machine refuses to work. Usually, it's a £1 coin and these confounded machines DON'T GIVE CHANGE! Which is more than annoying. Why not? Is it too difficult to create a coin-operated machine which prints out tickets to give change? Just an excuse for the local Council to make even further cash out of parking your car.

For now, that's all the niggles I can find, but I'm sure I'll find some more and when I do come across any I'll mention on this blog.

Oxford Outing

We haven't been to Oxford for quite a while. There is more than enough there to keep us busy. A good shopping centre, several good theatres (The New Theatre and Oxford Playhouse, along with Creation Theatre which doesn't have a theatre building of its own.) The Ashmolean Museum is the oldest public museum in the world as well as the Pitt Rivers and the Natural History, all enough to give anybody who visits them hours of amusement. We left home early on a bright and not particularly sunny morning in order to make the most of our day. Carol has only two more days left of her summer break (going back to Milton Keynes Academy on Friday for a training day.) so we wanted to make the most of the day. We stopped off at Morrisons petrol station at Westcroft as they seem to have the cheapest petrol price at the moment and then drove out on Standing Way towards Buckingham. We eventually arrived at the Water Eaton park-and-ride and parked the car and then boarded the bus and rode into the centre of Oxford. This is all so much easier and stress-free when you know exactly where to park the car and arrive at the centre of a town or city knowing you don't have to hunt for a parking space or pay out something astronomical to park. Well, at least it's better for the environment to have people use a bus rather than have so many cars travelling into the centre of towns and cities. It was a very clean bus and the journey was no more than ten minutes at the most.  We got off opposite the New Theatre. Interesting to see what's on there at the moment. 'The Rocky Horror Show.' Not actually something I'd want to see. We had coffee in a Costas and then walked the short distance to the Ashmolean Museum. It opened at 10 o'clock and as we were early we had to wait outside. Pleasant enough, sitting on convenient benches. We then spent just over an hour browsing the museum. Saw an amazing Chinese screen, with lacquer-work all over it. Also went to the Victorian galleries and saw many well-known paintings by Pre-Raphaelite painters such as Burne-Jones and others. It's interesting to be able to see these works of art at such close quarters rather than in a book. A couple of quite spectacular painted pieces of furniture, one a bookcase and another a sort of wardrobe. I think you'd need a very large room to house both items. We also saw the lantern that Guy Fawkes was holding at the time he was arrested in the cellars of the Houses of Parliament as part of the Gunpowder Plot. Amazing to see such a simple item from a major  incident  from history. It just surprised me to see how basic it was and to think it was thought important enough to preserve in a museum collection.

We spent time looking in shops and at lunch time we went to Prezzo, an Italian restaurant near the Castle. We had been given a gift voucher by Kendra as a 'thank you' for when she had stayed with us earlier in the year. This was in a very pleasant spot and we sat outside under a beautiful wisteria and ordered spaghetti carbonara. It was virtually empty of customers when we arrived but as we left it was really filling up with people.

We walked back towards the main shopping streets. Carol had compiled a quite extensive list of things she needed before she returned to work on Friday. This required visiting Blackwell's book shop in Broad Street. We visited Waterstones as soon as we had arrived in Oxford. She wanted a copy of E.M. Forster's novel "A Room With A View" but the only edition they had was paperback. She wanted to get a hardback copy and Waterstones didn't have one. We walked towards Blackwells and saw hoards of people being taken on walking tours of the city. Similar sights in Cambridge the other week when we were there. Fortunately, none of those people attempting to sell punting on the river which we found somewhat aggressive in their tactics.

We spent quite some time in Blackwell's. We discovered that the shop contains what is supposed to be the largest room in a shop in the world, with several miles of shelving. Well, this is according to their website. I was also unaware that Heffer's bookshop in Cambridge is part of the same company. We visited a branch of Blackwell's when we went to Newcastle last year to help Daniel, my stepson, to move flats. A considerable amount of time was spent in this shop. We love books, so it's hardly surprising. There was a great offer on Oxford Classic paperbacks: buy one and get one free. We Bought "Emma" by Jane Austen and we got "The Secret Agent" by Joseph Conrad free. This novel has recently been adapted by BBC Television and so I was keen to read it. It was somewhat amusing when Carol asked an assistant 'Do you have "A Room With A View"?' Well, we thought it was quite amusing and I think the assistant got the joke. It turned out that they had the same paperback edition that Waterstone's had.

We walked back towards the centre of Oxford and decided that we were in need of a cup of tea and went into Debenham's, principally to use their toilets. A long queue for the 'ladies' but that's what you get when you don't provide adequate facilities. Sat and drank our tea in a rather cramped area near the escalators. It was a branch of 'Patisserie Valerie.' There is a branch in the Milton Keynes Central Shopping Centre. It's quite expensive but they have a great range of food on offer.

By the time we'd finished in Debenham's, after Carol bought some ear rings, we decided that, because we had walked so far and it was exceptionally warm, we would catch the bus back to the park-and-ride carpark and return home.