On Thursday, which would have been Carol's 55th birthday, I went into the MK shopping centre, with the intention of having a coffee, possibly in one of the two Costa coffee stores. I know it sounds odd, but we had always gone to these places to have coffee and something to eat as a result I'm not used to now being single, and visiting somewhere on my own. It seems strange. I know it doesn't probably make sense, but having been a couple for over 11 years and doing so much together, it's peculiar to now return to doing those sorts of things as a single man. I just needed to go out and get on with things and this was one of them. It also seemed appropriate to do this thing on what would have been Carol's birthday.
As I was driving towards the city centre of Milton Keynes (is it a city? I don't think it is officially, but we always say 'city centre.') I was almost there and got to the Childs Way roundabout and made a diversion. I have been thinking of doing some volunteering work and what I could do now I'm retired. Well, I've actually been retired for quite a few years now, but since Carol passed away I have a need to direct my time and energies elsewhere. I used to go past the turning for Camphill, which is on the road I used to go along on the way to see Carol when she was in Willen Hospice. With my skills, working with people with learning disabilities, by experience working in theatre and making and performing puppets, I thought that I might be able to use my skills working there in the theatre they have and the workshops. So I made my way to Camphill and had a look in the shop and then went to the offices to obtain a form to fill in. It is fairly straightforward. I need two references and no doubt they would need to obtain a C.R.B. check or a disclosure before I could work with what are, in effect, a set of vulnerable adults. No problem there.
So, having been to Camphill, I went to the centre of Milton Keynes. I should have gone good deal earlier, but I was waiting for a mail delivery. As soon as I had parked the car near The Point and walked into the shopping centre, past a host of black crows which sit in the trees along the side of the shopping centre and some on the ground, giving a somewhat eerie feel, something like an Alfred Hitchcock thriller such as the famous film 'The Birds.' The Point itself, as mentioned in earlier posts, is beginning to look more than ever derelict. What a waste of a good building. Surely it could be taken over by some organisation and given a decent face-lift. But I digress.
As I was driving towards the city centre of Milton Keynes (is it a city? I don't think it is officially, but we always say 'city centre.') I was almost there and got to the Childs Way roundabout and made a diversion. I have been thinking of doing some volunteering work and what I could do now I'm retired. Well, I've actually been retired for quite a few years now, but since Carol passed away I have a need to direct my time and energies elsewhere. I used to go past the turning for Camphill, which is on the road I used to go along on the way to see Carol when she was in Willen Hospice. With my skills, working with people with learning disabilities, by experience working in theatre and making and performing puppets, I thought that I might be able to use my skills working there in the theatre they have and the workshops. So I made my way to Camphill and had a look in the shop and then went to the offices to obtain a form to fill in. It is fairly straightforward. I need two references and no doubt they would need to obtain a C.R.B. check or a disclosure before I could work with what are, in effect, a set of vulnerable adults. No problem there.
So, having been to Camphill, I went to the centre of Milton Keynes. I should have gone good deal earlier, but I was waiting for a mail delivery. As soon as I had parked the car near The Point and walked into the shopping centre, past a host of black crows which sit in the trees along the side of the shopping centre and some on the ground, giving a somewhat eerie feel, something like an Alfred Hitchcock thriller such as the famous film 'The Birds.' The Point itself, as mentioned in earlier posts, is beginning to look more than ever derelict. What a waste of a good building. Surely it could be taken over by some organisation and given a decent face-lift. But I digress.
I went to the Costa near Marks and Spencer, but there was a queue of people going out the door that meant I would have to wait some while to be served. Annoying, but I wasn't prepared to wait. I next walked along the shopping centre and got to Starbucks, but the same thing as at Costa. I didn't queue. I went into Waterstone's. I had been in a few days earlier and saw a book I have been waiting to come out in paperback. It was the autobiogrphy of Andrew Lloyd Webber, called "Unmasked.". I really want to read it. Having an interest in theatre and musicals, I really would like to discover more about his life and how he creates his shows. I saw this book in the 'Buy One- Get one Half Price' department, on one of those tables where the books are stacked up and you really can't resist picking one or two up and then buying them. Usually too good to miss. But, after spending time looking, I could not find a copy. Which seemed strange. And no sign of a copy anywhere else in the shop. So I walked on. I next went to Pret A Manger near Middleton Hall, but that also had a long queue inside and it also appeared that most of the tables were taken. Considering it was only around 11.30, and mid-week, it seemed amazing to me that these places were so busy. They should organise themselves a good deal better, like taking on more staff for the busiest periods of the day or perhaps just have more tills.
I next decided to walk along the shopping centre and try Marks and Spencer's café. I have been there before and I have written reviews for the review website, TripAdvisor. It is quite a long way to walk, the length of the shopping centre is around half a mile. I arrived in Marks and Spencer and went up the escalator to the first floor, first going to use the toilet. I had to laugh, though. Who came up with the amazing name for a brand, connected to the urinals in there 'Wiffaway"? I'm sorry, but when you go to use these conveniences, you can't avoid such things as you stand there, minding your own business. Also, when we've stopped at motorway service stations and go into the toilets, I'm somewhat amused and amazed at the audacity of someone's marketing campaigns. They put advertising just over the urinals, and one in particular for erectile disfunction or, ED. I just wonder if they get many men ring the number in response? I suppose if you're going to advertise, it's best to put adverts in places where your target audience is likely to be.
I then went into the cafe. (OK, if you must ask, yes I did wash my hands before going to eat!) I stood and queued, but it wasn't the length of queue that I'd seen in other places. I got a toasty, ham and cheese from the display, then stood right next to the display of cakes. Just too enticing. As someone or other said, possibly Oscar Wilde 'I never could resist temptation.' If it wasn't Oscar Wilde, it should have been. Anyway, I couldn't resist a slice of sponge cake. I think it was coffee, but thinking back, it might have been chocolate, but there again, it might have been sponge with jam as a filling. Yummy! I then ordered a latte to go with my piece of cake and handed over the toasty to be grilled and then went to a vacant table. There were plenty. So, after trudging along through the shopping centre, at last I could sit down and have a rest and some refreshment. The toasty soon turned up and I sat and enjoyed my food. Probably better than Costa or Starbucks. Then, once I'd completed my food, I wandered up to the menswear department to have a browse and then went down on the escalator to leave the store. It still intrigues me as to why the menswear department in virtually every store is buried at the furthest point in the building, on the top floor, and there's generally a smaller choice than ladies get in their clothing departments? What is the psychology behind this? It's probably because men don't like shopping, don't spend time browsing because they don't like choice. They generally pick up whatever it is they want and don't consider much, apart from the size of a piece of clothing, don't consider much else, such as quality, texture of the fabric or anything else. They probably shop for clothes on their own and possibly only a couple of times a year. Just my thinking behind all this, but it certainly doesn't explain why I have to go to the top floor if I want to buy clothes in Marks and Spencer. I think this is the case in John Lewis, although in there the menswear department is next to the electrical department, where they sell computers and other gadgets which men are supposed to like. Just another idea, but it still doesn't explain the reasoning behind burying the men's department. It's the same again in Sainsbury's. There's a vast women's department, but the men's clothing is hidden at the furthest point in the store and then there's a minute range in comparison to the women's clothing.
I was even more determined to buy the Andrew Lloyd-Webber autobiography. I went in to W.H.Smith but soon walked out again. What a mess! Why is it laid out in such a confusing way? It's gone down hill recently. Just not that good anymore. They have reorganised the magazine section, although buried at the back of the store, but even then you have to walk through the store to find it, but no sign of Lloyd-Webber's book. You would think that, as probably one of Britain's most successful writer of musicals in the last 50 years, they would have made more of the release of his book in paperback. Probably do better in America where they treat such talents with a little more respect and they'd lap it up without any problems. Or it it we in Britain just don't care about such people, considering how much his musicals have done for theatre, the audiences his shows attract and what they must have done for the economy (and Lloyd-Webber's private bank balance.) So. . . I went on Amazon's website to see if they had it. Yes, but I'd have to wait a few days until the book arrived. Then, onto Waterstone's website. I decided not to buy it to have delivered at home. I did something I've never done before, I did 'Click and Collect,' and as a result expected it to be ready to pick up within a week or so, but a couple of hours later I was looking at my emails and, surprisingly, I had an email from Waterstone's in Milton Keynes shopping centre, to say they had a copy of the book and it was ready for collection! So, this afternoon, Saturday, I went in to collect it and in the process changed the Waterstone's loyalty card which had now transformed into Waterstone's Plus.
I next decided to walk along the shopping centre and try Marks and Spencer's café. I have been there before and I have written reviews for the review website, TripAdvisor. It is quite a long way to walk, the length of the shopping centre is around half a mile. I arrived in Marks and Spencer and went up the escalator to the first floor, first going to use the toilet. I had to laugh, though. Who came up with the amazing name for a brand, connected to the urinals in there 'Wiffaway"? I'm sorry, but when you go to use these conveniences, you can't avoid such things as you stand there, minding your own business. Also, when we've stopped at motorway service stations and go into the toilets, I'm somewhat amused and amazed at the audacity of someone's marketing campaigns. They put advertising just over the urinals, and one in particular for erectile disfunction or, ED. I just wonder if they get many men ring the number in response? I suppose if you're going to advertise, it's best to put adverts in places where your target audience is likely to be.
I then went into the cafe. (OK, if you must ask, yes I did wash my hands before going to eat!) I stood and queued, but it wasn't the length of queue that I'd seen in other places. I got a toasty, ham and cheese from the display, then stood right next to the display of cakes. Just too enticing. As someone or other said, possibly Oscar Wilde 'I never could resist temptation.' If it wasn't Oscar Wilde, it should have been. Anyway, I couldn't resist a slice of sponge cake. I think it was coffee, but thinking back, it might have been chocolate, but there again, it might have been sponge with jam as a filling. Yummy! I then ordered a latte to go with my piece of cake and handed over the toasty to be grilled and then went to a vacant table. There were plenty. So, after trudging along through the shopping centre, at last I could sit down and have a rest and some refreshment. The toasty soon turned up and I sat and enjoyed my food. Probably better than Costa or Starbucks. Then, once I'd completed my food, I wandered up to the menswear department to have a browse and then went down on the escalator to leave the store. It still intrigues me as to why the menswear department in virtually every store is buried at the furthest point in the building, on the top floor, and there's generally a smaller choice than ladies get in their clothing departments? What is the psychology behind this? It's probably because men don't like shopping, don't spend time browsing because they don't like choice. They generally pick up whatever it is they want and don't consider much, apart from the size of a piece of clothing, don't consider much else, such as quality, texture of the fabric or anything else. They probably shop for clothes on their own and possibly only a couple of times a year. Just my thinking behind all this, but it certainly doesn't explain why I have to go to the top floor if I want to buy clothes in Marks and Spencer. I think this is the case in John Lewis, although in there the menswear department is next to the electrical department, where they sell computers and other gadgets which men are supposed to like. Just another idea, but it still doesn't explain the reasoning behind burying the men's department. It's the same again in Sainsbury's. There's a vast women's department, but the men's clothing is hidden at the furthest point in the store and then there's a minute range in comparison to the women's clothing.
I was even more determined to buy the Andrew Lloyd-Webber autobiography. I went in to W.H.Smith but soon walked out again. What a mess! Why is it laid out in such a confusing way? It's gone down hill recently. Just not that good anymore. They have reorganised the magazine section, although buried at the back of the store, but even then you have to walk through the store to find it, but no sign of Lloyd-Webber's book. You would think that, as probably one of Britain's most successful writer of musicals in the last 50 years, they would have made more of the release of his book in paperback. Probably do better in America where they treat such talents with a little more respect and they'd lap it up without any problems. Or it it we in Britain just don't care about such people, considering how much his musicals have done for theatre, the audiences his shows attract and what they must have done for the economy (and Lloyd-Webber's private bank balance.) So. . . I went on Amazon's website to see if they had it. Yes, but I'd have to wait a few days until the book arrived. Then, onto Waterstone's website. I decided not to buy it to have delivered at home. I did something I've never done before, I did 'Click and Collect,' and as a result expected it to be ready to pick up within a week or so, but a couple of hours later I was looking at my emails and, surprisingly, I had an email from Waterstone's in Milton Keynes shopping centre, to say they had a copy of the book and it was ready for collection! So, this afternoon, Saturday, I went in to collect it and in the process changed the Waterstone's loyalty card which had now transformed into Waterstone's Plus.
No comments:
Post a Comment