Fixed MacBook

As I've mentioned in an earlier post, my MacBook Air has been playing up for the past few days. I couldn't get the Safari browser to open and eventually the whole laptop seemed to freeze up. I had taken it into the Apple store in Midsummer Place in Milton Keynes and it seemed as if it was solved by one of the staff members, but by the evening of Thursday it was playing up again. To say I was annoyed would be an understatement. As I had to phone to get the appointment and then go in, park the car and then walk into the shopping centre, it didn't please me to have to go through the whole process yet again. I rang after 9.30 this morning, having discovered, when I rang at 9 o'clock, that they didn't open up until gone 9.30. When I eventually got through I was speaking to this lovely lady from Apple Care. I had given the serial number of the machine and she talked me through what was likely to be wrong and it appeared that I didn't have the latest up-date of the operating system. Mojave. I had the earlier version. I had attempted to download the latest update, but each time I attempted it I kept getting a message which told me I didn't have enough space on the machine. This lovely lady showed me how to remove unnecessary files and software to make space which would all0w the upgrade to take place. I found I had loads of podcasts which were taking up a lot of space and then I was able to download version 10.14.4 of MacOS Mojave, which took around 30-45 minutes and once the machine was restarted, everything functioned perfectly and Safari worked as it should, although it now appears in the Dock at the right-hand side, where previously it was at the left. So, all present and correct. I has taught me, if anything else, that it's advisable to keep removing unnecessary files from your computer.

Having dealt with my MacBook, I decided to have a bath this evening. I usually listen to Classic FM when I'm in the bath. Nothing beats a good soak in a really hot bath. Why anyone thinks a shower is a substitute for a proper, old fashioned bath I can't think. Anyway, I'm a classical music fan. But Classic FM spoils things with their awful adverts. I know that it's funded by advertising, but do they have to be so dumb? The worst thing is having a sort of bunch of them running up to the hour, something like 5 minutes of mindless pap. The worst of those for P.P.I. 'Doris from London didn't thin she had P.P.I. . .' Well, Doris, where were you when the brain cells were handed out? Why didn't you think to keep the paperwork? Well, just text '1234' and the words 'Idiot' and you could have the dulcet tones of some person working in an overcrowded call centre bothering you. They can do the search for you, and if you get you money returned, they'll take their vast percentage for doing the work for you. Now they're telling me and all Classic FM's other listeners that you can claim back thousands if you were mis-sold an investment. But, please, if you invest in stocks and shares, they have a habit of going down in value as well as up, so it's your silly fault if you don't make a million from your aunty Dotty's money you got left in her will. Silly you. All these adverts get in th way of the music, which I generally love. In the end I just turn the radio off. In the case of listening in the bath, I connect my iPhone to a bluetooth speaker, using the Classic FM app. It works really well. The speaker came from Sainsbury's and is a Boombar.

Wild and Windy

After the warm and sunny weather of a week ago, the last couple of days there's been strong winds and rain. They've named it Storm Hannah. It's been so cold I even had to put the central heating on. This morning (Saturday) I went back to bed and at around 6.15 Alfie came upstairs to find out where I was, because he was expecting to go out for his early-morning walk. When we did eventually get outside and walk around Eagletone Park, there were definite signs of the storm, with bits of twig all over the path at one point, some of it quite large. Just as well we didn't go out during the strong winds because it would have been quite dangerous. Yesterday afternoon I was in the lounge during the storm, the bird-feeding station which is directly outside the window, was being blown all over the place. The wrap-around bamboo screening which we had put around the garden shed had been dislodged from one side and was in danger of being torn off completely. I will have to go out and tack it back on. I don't want Alfie anywhere near it as it's too tempting for him to get behind and then get stuck inside the shed. The shed is a wreck. It has previous tenant's furniture in it, for example, a rotting mattress and the door has been nailed up so that there's no chance of Alfie getting inside and requiring rescue from myself, which has happened in the past.

I've been attempting to get back to my writing. I haven't made an issue of it in these blog posts. I was working on a project, maybe it would turn into a novel, I'm not sure. It was intended as a sort of reaction to television soap, which I always think are so dreary, have miserable characters and repetative plots. My idea was to create something similar, set in a familiar location, so I decided to set my project in a relatable place, in this case, somewhere I know well, that is, Bedford. I began working on this several years ago, created some of the characters and wrote some of the story-lines as well as began the actual writing, creating a central plotline and characters. The idea being that there are several households which have their own characters and stories and they overlap with each other. I built up back stories for some of the characters. I still have all this material in several files. But when Carol was diagnosed with cancer, unfortunately my time was taken up with such things as going with her to appointments and then 12 cycles of chemotherapy and visiting her in Milton Keynes hospital and then Willen Hospice.

The first section of writing was done sitting in my armchair in the lounge, with a notepad on my lap, but I now find I need a desk to sit at and to be more comfortable and with space to spread out my notes so it's easier to work. I had hoped to find some sort of desk which I could set up in front of my armchair but it suddenly occurred to me that there was a perfectly adequate desk in the bedroom which hasn't really been used properly. I had had a television set on it which we used to watch in bed when there was a Sky minibus connected to it, but which has now been disconnected and returned to Sky.

So this afternoon I've spent some time clearing this desk. It's not actually a desk. It was bought in IKEA. It is just a length of Formica-topped timber (I don't think it's actually Formica, but a similar plastic substance that's usually used to make kitchen work surfaces because it's so easily cleaned with a cloth.) and four legs which were screwed onto the under-side of the timber. Cheap and easy to put together and worked more than adequately. Only problem was that the whole thing wobbled, so I had to put bits of card under two of the legs. I can't possibly work at a wobbly desk. Plenty of space to work at and have extra room to lay out files and notes. I also have a swivel office chair which I had at my flat in Beauchamp Court when I lived in Bedford. Now to get down to some serious writing. I don't have an excuse not to.

MacBook Madness

My MacBook Air has been sick for the past couple of days. Yesterday morning I attempted to open up the Safari browser so that I could do some work, as I do most mornings. I've had this laptop for over three years. It was a birthday present from my lovely Carol, so it means a lot to me that it's in good working order. It gets a far bit of work, used for surfing the net and writing this blog. (Before you ask, this is being written on Carol's MacBook Air. I had to really think what the password was before I could get into it, but after some serious thought, I soon got it up and running successfully.)

I really had to scratch my head attempting to solve what what was wrong. I hadn't downloaded anything that might have conflicted with the browser. I restarted the MacBook,but still nothing. I didn't have anyone around with whom I could ask, such as my stepson, Daniel, who knows virtually all there is to know about computers and computing. After all, he should know, considering he went to Newcastle University to study the subject. But, as he's not here, I can't ask him. Then I had a brainwave. I know that Macintosh computers are used at Shenley Christian Fellowship, and that Ross Dilnot, Pastor, uses a MacBook, so I texted him and he said that he didn't use Safari and suggested I download and use Chrome. Which is what I did. It took a while to set it up and got it working successfully.

But later in the day I tried to get into the MacBook to do other work and then found the whole thing had frozen. It just would not do what I wanted. I attempted to reboot the thing, but nothing. It wouldn't even close down. So, after some thought, it occured to me that I ought to take it into the Apple store in Midsummer Place in the shopping centre in Miton Keynes. I could always just go in and enquite, but I might not be able to see anyone who could fix it, and maybe not until a few day's time. I thought it perhaps better to ring and get a definite appointment. I had to look for the telephone number using the smaller MacBook which had belonged to Carol. I found the number of the Apple store and then rang. Then I had to listen to what was obviously a computerised voice. Very convincing, but it made me think of either Alexa or Siri, the computerised voice 'helpers' on my Kindle Fire and on my iPhone and MacBook. You have to speak very clearly and deliberately, otherwise 'she/it' can't understand. It took a while to get anywhere, but you also have to know more or less exactly what it is you want and use simplified sentence structures. As it happened, 'it/she' couldn't understand and I was transferred to a human. A young man with a definite American voice. He didn't seem to know where Milton Keynes was and how far I was from the Apple store. I got an appointment for Friday at 1.45, and then I asked where he was. It turned out he was actually in America! I assumed when you rang the telephone number, which was definitely a Milton Keynes number, but would never think I was actually speaking to someone in America. Just shows the crazy technological world we live in. It was such a clear line, another benefit of how the technology improves things.

Friday morning. I packed up the MacBook Air in my newly-aquired computer case, which came from Amazon. I have to say I'm rather pleased with it. It's always a bit of a risk when you buy something on line, that what you see in a photograph on a website, a product doesn't always come up to expectations, which means you end up having to return it. Not so with this case. I bought a holdall from Amazon when I needed to take stuff with me to the John Radcliffe a few months ago when I had to have the stent procedure done, and that has turned out to be a good buy as well as more or less exceeding expectations.

I digress. I parked the car in the carpark near The Point. The appointment at the Apple store was for 1.45, so I had ample time to walk into the shopping centre and waste about half an hour browsing. I headed for Watersone's, not actually such a good idea, because me and books are like a magnet, and I have to be careful I don't buy something which takes my fancy. I already have a considerable stash of reading material, so anything I buy will merely add to that. But, as it happened, I didn't see anything that I would buy. I have ordered an Ian McEwan novel which I want to read called 'Machines Like Us' which sounded to me as if it would be something I would like to read, so I have ordered it through Amazon.

From Watersone's I walked through to Midsummer Place and ended up at the Apple store and signed in. It seemed extremely busy in all of the shopping centre. I couldn't see why, considering it was a Friday and the schools would have returned on Tuesday.

I eventually got one of the staff to have a look at the MacBook and he managed to get it up and running successfully, but when I got home some while later, it went back to not opening correctly, so it looks as if I will have to return to the Apple store to try again to rectify the problem.

A Surprise Present

I got a real surprise the other day. I was in the kitchen, washing up, and then a large van drew up in the road directly outside. I was thinking, is it going to deliver something to me? I wasn't exactly sure, because I wasn't waiting for a delivery, and if I was, it wouldn't be for a day or two. The driver got out and went to the doors at the rear and took out two sizeable parcels. He then came to my door and I immediately moved to open it, making sure that Alfie was safe in the lounge, because if I don't ad he runs outside, he might get run out, which is something I definitely want to avoid. The driver knocked on the door and I opened it. I had to sign on one of those electronic, computer 'pad' gadgets. It's not easy to sign your signature, sometimes with a special stylus or even with your finger. I closed the door and took the parcels inside to have a glance at them in the lounge. I finished my washing up in the kitchen and went back, with some trepidation, to the two parcels. Much to my surprise, they were from, of all companies, Anglian Water! Then it dawned on me. A few days ago I got my newest bill from Anglian, so I thought, considering what's happened in the last few months, being a single person again and all the rest of it, perhaps if I ring Anglian I could manage to get  reduction of my monthly bill to Anglian Water. When I eventually got through, I was put through to a department which deals with people on various benefits and I explained about Carol's passing, cancer and so on. I have now got my monthly payments to a little over £6. So it shows that, if you enquire about these things, you can get a reduction.

I forgot all about Anglian Water. Well, you would. I have had to do a lot since Carol passed away, with a view to reducing my outgoings. I did the same with my Sky account, cutting back on parts of the account which I don't use or need, such as having the mini box we had in the bedroom so we could watch television in bed, as well as cancelling Sky Cinema. I managed to reduce the montly cost to £68, which includes broadband and landline.

I know, it's taking me an age to get to the point of this blog post. The large van that drew up outside my house. What about it? What was in the parcel that was unloaded? Or rather, parcels, as it was more than one which the driver unloaded and brought to my door. I took the two parcels into the lounge with Alfie in attendance. I think he was as interested to know what they contained as much as I did. Once open, I found the Anglian Water logo and then guessed it has something to do with the telephone call I had made the previous week. The parcel contained a jute bag with a lot of food items, cakes, biscuits, jams and goodness knows what else and even a bag of dog tioys for Alfie, two of which he immediately took to and had a great time chewing! So, two happy people and most of all, me, for receiving this unexpected present!

Alfie Has A Haircut

I've had Alfie booked in to have a grooming session at Pets At Home in Bletchley today for about two weeks. I don't know how he knew we were going out, because I had put the cage in the back of the car earlier in the day. I had to do this without him seeing me lifting this thing out of the house, otherwise he would have started making a lot of noise, as he does before we go out in the morning.

We arrived in good time at the retail park where Pets At Home has a branch. As soon as I parked the car, Alfie was off, barking madly. When the car is moving, he's quiet, except for a couple of yaps. With the parcel shelf in place, it must be safe and cozy. Not pitch black, but safe. He was like that when I took him to Worcester at Christmas. Wed didn't stop on the way, although we should have done. I managed to park right outside Pets At Home, and in such a position that the car faced forward so driving out wouldn't be a problem. Then I got out of the car and opened the hatch at the back. Alfie rattled the cage to be let out. Now I know where the expression 'who rattled your cage?' comes from. I think, if he could, he would have opened the gate on the cage and would have been out. I had to make sure I was holding tightly to the lead, which I always manage to have outside so I can grab hold of it before I open the gate and he bounds out.

Alfie barked all the way through the store and into the Groom Room, which is at the rear of the store. He got quite a reception from other customers and store staff. Well, a small, barking and very lively little Yorkshire terrier, who was very eager was likely to get such a reaction.

I left Alfie in the capable hands of the staff in the Groom Room and drove home. I was told that he would be ready for collection by 3.45. There was no point in me waiting around the retail park where Pets At Home is situated. It's no more than a 10-minute drive home, although it was really busy on the traffic front. Probably because it's the Easter holiday. The roundabout on Standing Way can be really difficult to cross because of the volume of traffic. Certainly not my favourite place to cross.

About 15 minutes after I arrived home I got a telephone call from The Groom Room. I was told that, unfortunately, Alfie had an infestation of the little persons, in other words, fleas. I was horrified. I was totally unaware of them. He has been scratching a lot recently, but it never occurred to me that it might be cause by fleas! I was told that they would have to use a anti-flea shampoo and that Alfie would need a flea treatment. I had already used a treatment but it obviously not effective enough. I would need to buy an over-the-counter treatment which I could buy at Pets At Home and also use a strong, spray, treatment in the house, because there was a likelihood that the house was infected with fleas, although I have seen none. It would take some while to spray around each room, from top to bottom, and have to use a facemark, as the treatment is quite toxic. Alfie wouldn't be able to stay in the house. So, on going back later I was given the two treatments and I went home to wash Alfie's two blankets which he often sleeps on which are on the sofa. I began the first course of the anti-flea treatment which I put on Alfie's back. There are two more to give him which I should use every month.

 This morning I put Alfie in the cage in the back of the car and ,putting on the face mask I was given at The Groom Room, I began spraying round all the rooms in the house. Then, we went out of the house in the car. We went to Campbell Park and walked along the tow path along the side of the Grand Union Canal. So, in the midst of all this, Alfie had a treat, a second long walk which he wasn't expecting. We had to stay out of the house for at least an hour, which, hopefully, went to work killing off any fleas that might be lurking in the house.

Volunteering at Camphill

I've been volunteering at Camphill, as I think I've mentioned in an earlier blog post. I'm working with the drama workshop group, and at the moment I'm doing a few hours on a Tuesday morning. I'm aware that, due to my heart-health issues, I get very tired and by 2 o'clock I am beginning to feel wiped out. I hope to discuss this with my cardiologist when I go for my follow-up appointment on 2nd May, which will be four months after the stent procedure which was done at the John Radcliffe in Oxford. I have got someone from church who will take me. I had considered driving there myself, but  I think it's going to be quite stressful having to drive all the way to Oxford and find a parking space at the hospital. As the appointment is at 11 o'clock there are likely to be no spaces in the carpark, and I had thought perhaps I could park in one of the park-and-ride carparks which ring Oxford and then take the bus to the hospital, but even then it's going to be quite stressful getting to the JR on time for the appointment. So, after this appointment I hope they might either reduce the dosage of some of my medication, such as the atarvostatin which I take at night. I have a feeling it's this particular medication which makes me feel so tired and it causes some side effects, such a stomach and muscle cramps. There again, they might change some of my other medications. Just have to wait and see. It's somewhat annoying that I have to go all the way to Oxford, because the Milton Keynes Hospital Cardiology department is a mere 10-minute walk from this house.

Camphill are going going to do a disclosure because I am working with a vulnerable group of adults with learning disabilities. I have taken all the identification material with me so that the disclosure paperwork can be sent in.

We were discussing various things before we did several hour's of rehearsal for the 'Stranger Danger' play and planning for the next production which is going to be loosely based on Robert Louis Stephenson's 'Treasure Island,' which is one of my all-time favourite books and has to probably be one of the best children's adventure stories ever written. I can't wait to see how this develops, as we were discussing having songs in it, so it's likely to be more like a mini musical than a straight play.

Later. Goodness! The weather has changed. For the worse it would appear. As I write this,  at 5.20 p.m.it's raining. I couldn't believe how hard it's raining.  It's running down the road outside in a torrent, almost like a mountain stream. It has been clear and bright most of the day, although it was quite mild earlier. No frost on the car windscreen first thing when I went out with Alfie at around 6.20. But it clouded over during the afternoon and I thought it was going to rain and it got colder so I put the central heating back on. I have 'Pointless' on television as I write this. It has to be one of the more intelligent of the current crop of television gameshows. Gets you thinking.

I'm amazed. Twice in one blog post. Is this a record? Probably not. But the Christmas tree, which we bought a good three years ago from Dobbies and was potted in a rather splendid pot we got in Homebase (I think it was called something else at the time, but has since returned to being Homebase. How odd is that?) Anyway, it's started showing signs of growth, lots of little green shoots. It appeared as if it had died, probably due to the heatwave we had last summer. It has what look like scorch marks on some of the branches, but it has obviously decided to perk up and continue to grow. It was intended that it could be moved indoors for the Christmas period, but didn't last year due to the passing of my lovely Carol. I wasn't here for the festive period. I spent nearly two weeks with my daughter, Chloe, and her ever-growing family, in Worcester. But to have this Christmas tree growing again is somewhat good news. I kept it fed with plant food and it obviously paid off.

Moving Forward

At last! I had my appointment at the AgeUK office in the Food Centre yesterday morning (Thursday). I'm grateful to my lovely Mother-In-Law for suggesting this to me. I rang the Age UK branch in Milton Keynes, which is actually only a short distance from home and was given the telephone number of their central Milton Keynes office. I got an appointment yesterday at 11 o'clock. It seems I can claim further benefits and he will help me with the various bits of paperwork and references so that I can at last move out of this house and pay far lower rent which housing benefit will cover. It has been a long journey to get a positive response to all this and once I am moved I can get on with my life. What I need to do is go on line to websites such as Rightmove and begin to search for suitable accommodation, one bedroom, bit of garden for Alfie and with a rent level which will be covered by housing benefit.

(Friday) I've been looking on Rightmove for suitable, affordable accommodation, fitting in with the budget I've been set by housing benefit. It's not easy. I thought I'd found somewhere absolutely suitable in Bradwell, reasonable monthly rent, nice looking (having seen photographs on the website,) with a bit of garden and what looks like a great kitchen, but looking again this morning it's a shared house. I really don't fancy sharing, but if I can't find anywhere that fits what I can afford then I may have to rent out the spare room here, with our landlord's permission as well as the housing benefit people. I know I've just said I don't want to share, but in the end if that is the only way to be able to afford the rent here, then I may have to go down that avenue.

(Saturday) It was frosty when I went out with Alfie earlier this morning. Because of the clocks changing, it's light so much earlier, so we manage to get out by 6.30. Alfie's always eager to get out for his run around the park, so he doesn't mind. There's been a really beautiful sunrise these past couple of days. I did manage to take a photo with my iPhone but unfortunately it doesn't do justice to the actual sunrise. It doesn't show the diffuse nature of the view. I can't describe it any other way.

On Saturday morning I went to the men's breakfast at 8 o'clock. I was informed that I was on what is called the Genesis rota for Sunday morning, but I didn't realise this. I am supposed to get either a text message or email a few days in advance, but I didn't get either. It was as well I went to the Saturday morning breakfast. Great to get a full English breakfast, the works, a bit like what you'd get if you were on location, filming for the good old BBC. It was one of the perks of doing 'walk-on' work, getting to a location, deep in the heart of the countryside, signing in with one of the A.D's  (Assistant Directors)or unit manager (or whoever it is who is usually in charge of the S.A.'s (Supporting Artistes) and then going to the catering van and getting a good plate of food.

It's been quite frosty the last couple of mornings, usually when I take Alfie out for his run (I can't really call it a walk. I might walk, but he runs!). This morning (Sunday) it is sunny but there was ice of the windscreen of the car, so I went out early and ran the engine, which allowed me to put on the heating so as to melt of the ice. It was thawed within a few minutes, enough to have a clear view so I could drive to Shenley for the first service and help set up things up.

I got to the Oaktree Centre,  at around 8.15, home of Shenley Christian Fellowship and helped put out the chairs in the main hall. Not a difficult job. We had a sermon given by Ross, the Pastor, on the subject of 'Excellence.' During the break between services, when tea and coffee are served and a chance is given for conversations with various people, I had a chat with someone who has been through a lot of what I've been through, having a wife who had cancer similar to Carol and was in Willen. I was mentioning to him about my difficulties attempting to find new or possible accommodation and having to make sure the rent fits in with what I'm getting from Housing Benefit. He says he'll come with me to any appointments I have and will help me with my accommodation. I now feel a good deal more positive with the situation knowing I can have this sort of support.

Having left Shenley, I drove to Morrison's. I had originally intended buying something for lunch, but when I arrived in the underground carpark, I changed my mind and decided to go into their cafe and have something to eat, possibly a sandwich or roll and a coffee. I might as well have given up, because on arriving in the cafe there were absolutely no sandwiches in the chiller unit near the till, so I went for a fry-up, or, as it's called on the menu, a 'Big Breakfast.' Nothing wrong with it, intact, when it eventually arrived at my table, a good sized portion of bacon, sausage, baked beans, mushroom and so on, what they usually call a 'Full English' breakfast, and the sort of thing you would get when you arrive on location (as I have done.) whenever I've done any 'Walk-On' television work for the BBC or any television company. It's the first thing you get whenever you get to the location in the early hours of the morning, usually before 6 a.m. But, having heard Ross speaking about 'Excellence,' this wasn't the word I'd use to describe Morrison's cafe this particular lunchtime. Dirty tables which hadn't been wiped clean. Slow service and general lack of anything resembling quality and professionalism.

Sunny But Windy

I had a really great morning at Camphill yesterday morning. I am definitely going to be a more permanent volunteer there. I have do provide identity material so they can do a disclosure and it takes a while to do this. It's because of working with a vulnerable client group. Next week I will be doing a short induction, which gives information regarding the principles that underpin what Camphill does, how it was set up and other matters. They now tell me that they would like me to do a whole day there, not just up until midday which I do at present. I was really just testing to see whether I would get on there, and the only real reason I don't do a longer day is because I get so tired, due, I'm certain, because of the medication I am on and more likely due to my heart condition. I think I might mention this when I see the cardiologist at John Radcliffe in a couple of weeks time. Perhaps he will recommend me having a change of medication or even a reduction of the dosage of some of them or even withdrawing one completely.

I'm continuing with the house search. I had a look on-line earlier to see if I could find any agencies within Milton Keynes who did private rental properties. I discovered half a dozen, one being within Oldbrook so I drove there and attempted to use my iPhone to track the place down. If it was there, I couldn't find it, so I went to park in Sainsbury's carpark because another agency was further down the street, actually on the corner of Witan Gate and Childs Way, called Luminous House. I don't think it glowed in the dark (ha!ha! But why call it that?) I asked at the reception desk and was told that one, called Prestige, wasn't actually at that address? Why? I did find that there was another agency on the corner, so I went in and asked about rental properties, explaining my situation. Not really a lot of help, but said I should try Gumtree. So, on returning home, having been into Sainsbury's to buy something for lunch, I went on the Gumtree site and set up and account and also downloaded their app onto my iPhone. As I write this, nothing of any use has come up when I search, but I will have another go at seeing if there's anything suitable on this site.

It has been suggested I contact AgeUK as they might be helpful in pointing me in the right direction regarding this matter. Their office is very close to home so it would have been an easy matter to drive or even walk to them. I went on line to find their website and on searching I found the telephone number of their Milton Keynes branch. On ringing I was told that they have an advise person with whom I could explain my situation. I was given this number, of another office in the Food Centre in the middle of Milton Keynes and got an appointment tomorrow morning (Thursday) at 11 o'clock. I just trust I'm given some helpful advice so that this situation can be resolved.

I've at last managed to track down distilled water!  (As discussed in an earlier blog post.)What excitement, you say, in ironic tones. Well, having spent around a week attempting to track this down, it was with some relief when I went on Asda's website and managed to see that they had it. I just had to visit their store in Bletchley to make sure it was actually on the shelves. And it was, within the motoring section, but in far smaller bottles than I usually buy. I bought two, just for good measure. 

Foggy Morning

Quite a foggy and overcast morning here in Milton Keynes when I took Alfie out for his routine walk around Eaglestone Park. We veered off the usual circuit and went off through the estate and ended up on the Redway. Alfie decided to do a whoopsie on the Redway. I always do my duty and picked it up. I always make sure I carry black biodegradable bags for this very purpose. There are no red bins to dispose of dog waste so I had to walk back into the park and put the bag in the nearest bin. So I decided, as we were there, to walk back around the park and came back home the way we come out, along Griffon Close. I'm afraid there are those dog-owners who still refuse to take responsibility for their dogs and do not clear up when they mess. It spoils the park and the surrounding environment that this is the case. It doesn't take much effort to clear up after their dogs, but then there are some people who will still ignore any sort of regulation, regardless, whether  it's conforming to traffic speed limits or clearing up after their dogs. As it is, it makes an unpleasant environment and I have seen notices to this effect, because it means that events planned and run around the park for children have had to be cancelled because of the health risk. It's a shame that those who don't comply don't get caught and fined.

I've been doing some ironing. Don't laugh. Men doing ironing? What's wrong with that? I'm pretty good at it. I think I must have been shown the best way to iron a shirt, for example, when I was working in stage management somewhere or other, probably by one of the wardrobe staff, or I watched whilst they did this and asked how to do it fast. They could wash and iron for goodness knows how many people, because if a show was running for a certain length of time, it was necessary to keep shirts and items washed, ironed and back in the actor's dressing rooms ready for the next performance.

 Anyway, I use a steam iron. I try to use distilled water in the thing because if you put ordinary tap water in a steam iron, around this area at any rate, where the water is hard, it can build up limescale which can block up the inside of the iron and the holes where the water comes out as steam soon clog up and you can get horrible deposits of limescale on the clothes you are ironing. Anyway, I needed to get a fresh supply and went to The Range yesterday afternoon, which is where I got the last supply, but none to be found. I then went to Homebase, across the road from The Range, and, again, none in stock. Today I went to Morrisons, where I'm almost certain I saw some the last time I was in there, but none to be found. Why is this? Is it because people who own steam irons don't bother with distilled water in their irons? Or is it that distilled water isn't considered to be an important enough item to stock, taking up valuable shelf space and not making enough profit to warrant selling it? Seems odd. It was always used in car batteries, but presumably modern car batteries don't require the occasional topping up with distilled water. I don't think modern car batteries have the little plastic caps which you had to undo in order to put in the distilled water. The cells inside had to be covered in order to make the battery work efficiently. I don't know what my dad would make of this. He would always tell me, whenever I was going anywhere in my car, 'make sure you check the oil, have you topped it up? Are the tyres correctly inflated? Have you checked the battery?' and so on. Even to this day I have to go through this routine whenever I go for a long journey in my car. It sounds crazy, but I suppose he was right. I can't think what he would make of modern cars, with things like SatNavs, computerised systems which tell you to do this and that, how to drive the car, when to have it serviced and goodness knows what else. Alarms for all manner of things, if you haven't put on your seatbelt, or closed the doors properly. Mine even tells you when to change gear!

Sorry, I digress.

I've been making scones. I have made them before. I used Delia Smith's recipe. They taste great but don't look particularly brilliant. Not going to win any prizes but I made the batch just as a sort of test and then make another lot and hopefully they will be better. Is it scone or scone? How do you pronounce the word. With a short end or long? To rhyme with gone or cone? I suppose it depends where you come from, north or south. Does it really matter? What ever the pronunciation, they taste great with cream and jam! Best with clotted cream.

Somewhere To Live?

I've come to the conclusion that the only answer to my housing situation (such as it is) would be for me to have a lodger.  There is a perfectly adequate spare room for this purpose. And it has a bed and other furniture in it. This is because Milton Keynes Council will not pay for the entirety of my rent. I have been attempting to find alternative accommodation, a smaller, one-bedroom flat or house within Milton Keynes, which would hopefully mean lower rent and mean that Housing Benefit would pay the full cost. I'm still not sure why they won't pay my full rent costs. I will need to consult our landlord to get his agreement as regarding having a male lodger. If he is, he would need to interview prospective candidates and it would need to be someone I could trust implicitly, probably someone nearer my age, who likes dogs and wouldn't let Alfie out as he would likely get out and run off if the front door was left open. I think a lot of the problems regarding my situation is that there aren't enough affordable properties within Milton Keynes and it's extremely difficult to find what you are looking for. It doesn't help that, even going through what I imagined was the right route and approaching Milton Keynes Council to get help and support, I was told I couldn't be helped, basically because as I already have a home I'm not classed as 'homeless.' I have attempted to use something on-line which is called 'Homehunt,' which is a tool which you use to apply for accommodation, a house or flat. But I have tried to use it but it will not function properly. So many on-line tools such as this are not functional and, to be honest, totally useless.

I had intended getting up a good deal later because it was a Saturday. But Alfie wouldn't have it. He kept shuffling about in the bed and came to stare at me. So, I got up, somewhat reluctantly, and got dressed, took my medication and we went out for our usual walk around Eaglestone Park, and before I had breakfast. I think he was well and truly pleased. When we got back home, I managed to have breakfast. It's not quite as cold and icy as it has been for the past few days.

Later. I wrote out a shopping list and then went to Sainsbury's. It was a little after 9 when I got there and I'm glad I did, because it was virtually empty of other shoppers. Carol and I generally went shopping early, because we could then go out somewhere afterwards, usually Whipsnade or a National Trust property. How I miss her! We did so much together as a couple. I just have to keep going on my own. I never for a moment imagined I'd be back as a single man again.

I got some spray limescale remover for the bathroom, to clean the toilet, sink and bath. It comes in one of those plastic bottles with a trigger. But they've put a child-proof lock on it, which I cannot remove. If I can't remove it to use it, then it will definitely not allow a child to get into it and do damage, to itself or others. I just want to use it for the purpose for which it was made to CLEAN the bathroom! Crazy situation. Perhaps if it's child proof I should find a child to open it! It would be a challenge for said child. The question being, how long would it take a child to open a child-proof item? 

Hair Cut

It's been quite cold today. I was surprised by how cold it actually was when I stepped out of the front door with Alfie on his lead at about 6.35 this morning. Quite a layer of ice of the car's windscreen. I made sure I was well and truly wrapped up with my gloves on my hands. Alfie couldn't care less, so long as he got a good run and a sniff around all the trees and lamp posts .

I'm currently cleaning the house. Not the most exciting or stimulating of tasks, but it has to be done. It had been allowed to let slip when Carol was diagnosed and I really wasn't in any mood to don rubber gloves and scour the bath or scrub floors. As a result the kitchen floor had become quite dirty so I decided to give it a mop. It's easy enough the end near the sink, but the rest of what is actually a kitchen/diner, needed things such as a table, drying frame, chairs, stools and so on, moving out so that the floor underneath could be mopped. I did the sink end yesterday and then, around 8.30 this morning, began to move the items from the patio-door end into the other end so that I could give the floor a good mop. I left the sliding patio doors open to allow the air to dry the floor and had to keep Alfie corralled in the lounge as I didn't want little paw marks all over my nice clean floor. A squirt of Sainsbury's best floor cleaning product, with a hint of lemon in it (actually about half the price of Flash, virtually the same product and a little bit further along the shelf when I went to buy more a little later.) and the job's done. Amazingly hard work slinging a mop about, but worth the effort when I see how clean the floor is now.

Items now replaced in their original places and I'm about to leave the house for the centre of Milton Keynes to go and get my hair cut at Central Barbers, which has recently moved from the food centre to the main shopping centre next to John Lewis.

Really quite cold as I park the car near The Point. I now have an app on my iPhone, RingGo, which allows me to pay for parking. It means I don't have to bother with coins and it reminds me when my parking time is about to run out and I can pay if I want to increase my parking time. Quite handy if you don't carry loads of coins with you or you forget.

I walk through the shopping centre and arrive outside Central Barbers, near John Lewis. It's around 9.20 and this means I will have to wait 10 minutes as they don't open until 9.30. I'm sitting looking at my iPhone and then an alar goes off. I think it was the test of a fire alarm, but I'm not sure where it's going off. I think it's within Central Barbers shop. I can see the staff inside, and a couple of them have their hands tightly clasped over their ears. I'm sure the alarm-test is going on too long. It makes me laugh when these things go off, not just fire alarms, when people take totally no notice of them, they don't attempt to stop the alarm or go to whoever is in need of an alarm. Just a waste of time.

Colourful and eye-catching signpost near Milton Keynes Theatre. No excuses to loosing your way around Milton Keynes.

Having finished at Central Barbers, I decided I wanted to see what had been happening at the art gallery near Milton Keynes Theatre (they could have come up with a better name for the theatre, surely. Not very original. Are they ever likely to come up with something more memorable?) It's not a long walk, but when I got there, I discovered that it didn't open until 11a.m., so it was a bit of a waste of my time so I decided that I'd go back into the shopping centre and plan to visit the art gallery on a day and at a time when it's open.

House-Hunting

The title of this blog post is correct, up to a point. But it should be 'home-hunting' but that doesn't really work.  Nit-picking, I know, or being pedantic (which is the same thing, or tortological), but does it matter, and do you, or I, really care? Probably not. A flat, bungalow or any sort of one-bedded home would be preferable. I just can't continue to live in this house because the rent is too high and Milton Keynes Council will not pay the full amount, for whatever reason I can't fathom. I rang several agencies this morning, having been given a list when I went to the Council offices yesterday morning. I was told that they couldn't help because I wasn't homeless, which is true up to a point, but I am trying to sort things out before I have problem, which is one reason i went to Citizens' Advice this morning, rather than going to Camphill to work with the drama group as I have done each Tuesday for the past two weeks. I hope to go back next week. I did ring to say I wouldn't be there at 8.30.

I had been given a list of agencies which I began to ring early this morning. Not a great deal of use. The minute you say 'Housing Benefit' they don't always want to help. A couple said that someone would return my call, a person who deals with rental properties, so I waited, and waited, but no call came back. Just annoying and a waste of my time. So it occurred to me that perhaps Citizens' Advice might be more helpful. I just need someone to be a bit more supportive of my situation. I wasn't entirely sure where the CAB office was in Milton Keynes, so I had to go on Google Maps and then, when I drove into the city centre and parked the car, I used my iPhone and the maps app to guide me to the office in Midsummer Boulevard.

I was handed a form to fill in as soon as I arrived, by the lady on the reception desk. So I sat down and began to fill in the form. The usual stuff you have to put on such a form. Why was I there? My age, address, age and goodness knows what else. Did I mind them sharing my details 'with other agencies,' or something. A declaration for G.D.P.R. (General Data Protection Regulations). There weren't many people waiting with me. I also had a card with a number on it, right this moment I can't remember the number, and then I heard someone call out the number. It was behind me. This seems the general procedure in most places, you get given a ticket or card with a number on it and then you have to wait for the number to be called out or appear on a digital screen, as in the case of the doctor's surgery, a clinic at the hospital, the Jobcentre or Council offices.

I was eventually called into an office by one of the advisors. I was surprised how quickly I was seen. Having used C.A.B. when I lived in Bedford, I can remember vividly having to wait around 2-3 hours to be seen. I know there weren't as many other people waiting when I was in the Milton Keynes office, it seemed a good deal more efficiently run than the Bedford branch. Or they have more staff and a better procedure before you get seen by anyone. It doesn't look as if there are many options for alternative accommodation. House prices are sky high in Milton Keynes, probably higher than most parts of Britain, probably because Milton Keynes is such a successful town. It is expanding rapidly and there are plenty of jobs. As a consequence, people will pay higher prices for houses and also rent is higher than the average. Many people rent, particularly when there is a floating population, those who come to work here briefly and don't intend buying a property. So as a result of all this I'm finding it difficult to find somewhere else to live. I was given a list of housing association telephone numbers to try. Probably they would have somewhere for me to move to and, because they aren't run to make a profit, they would look after their tenants better than an organisation which is profit-based and have shareholders.

On arriving home I began to ring some of the numbers on the list I had been given. One of the housing associations is Bedford Pilgrim's. I didn't realise they had properties in Milton Keynes. I used to live in one of their flats when I lived at Beauchamp Court in Bedford. I discover that I can't approach them directly to be put on a waiting list for a property. I have to go through the Council. I have to send an email to them and I soon get a reply. I have to be homeless to apply. What is going on here? I'm going out of my way to avoid being homeless. They won't help me, as I was told when I visited the Council offices on Monday. I feel really annoyed. It seems that nobody wants to help me. One suggestion made when I was at the C.A.B. office yesterday was, would I consider having a lodger, who would pay rent which would make up the difference that I'm not getting in Housing Benefit? This has crossed my mind. There is a largish spare room, which was Daniel's when he lived with us. I'm not so sure it's such a good idea. It would have to be a male lodger, someone I trusted and anyway, I'd have to have my landlord's approval and I'm not sure he would agree to having a lodger. This person would pay his rent directly to the landlord and he'd have to interview any prospective candidates. It would seem to be one solution to this problem, but I still can't think why the Council can't pay all of my rent.

A knock on the door at around lunchtime yesterday. I rush to answer and two people standing on the doorstep, a young man and a girl, with clipboards in their hands. From some power provider. I say, 'oh no, not more!' They turn tale and walk away. It's getting annoying, this. It was P.P.I. I'd get telephone about, but now it seems every power company under the sun is out touting for custom. That's three i've had in the past couple of weeks, several offering to install a smart meter. I know they are only doing their job, but I'm getting heartily sick of them coming to the door or telephoning me.

Saturday Musical Evening (and other things)

(Saturday)I was going to get ready to go to the musical evening at around 6.30 on Saturday evening. I went into my bedroom and for some unaccountable reason, I thought the wardrobe was going to collapse. There has been a problem with one of the doors on the front of this IKEA unit. One of the hinges has broken and it hangs on just one. It wouldn't take much to repair this, but, on going to our local IKEA to get a replacement hinge, I was informed that they don't use that type of hinge any more. Just typical that they don't stock such things as hinges or other items that don't get used on more modern pieces of furniture they sell. Anyway, it doesn't make a lot of sense probably now, but it occurred to me that the wardrobe was leaning forward. I don't know why I got that impression, but it looked like that and there was no way I was going to allow it to collapse. I think it gave this impression because of the door which doesn't close properly. Well, it didn't collapse, fortunately, and I was able to get dressed and then drive to Shenley to go to the Oaktree Centre for the musical evening, remembering to take the two Victoria sponges with me. I put them on the floor, in the footwell on the passenger-side in the front because I wasn't going to have the cakes ruined if I put them on the back seat and then shooting forward if I had to brake suddenly.

My two Victoria sponges were given pride of place on the counter at church and had clear plastic covers put over them. I did actually manage to eat a slice, and, although I say it myself, they turned out really well, light and fluffy. What would Paul Hollywood, Mary Berry or Prue Leith, judges on 'Great Britsh Bake-Off' have to say? I'll have to try other cake recipes. The very last slice was eaten on Sunday morning during the break between the two services. Made me very pleased to think that both cakes were consumed and not a piece left, so it must have been enjoyed, which is the best reason of all to make cakes!

As regards the musical evening. I'm just amazed at the talent on show, playing a wide range of different styles of music. Very enjoyable. There is going to be another of these evenings in a few month's time.

(Monday)I've been into the Milton Keynes Council offices this morning, because I had an appointment with the Homeless Prevention officer. It turns out I'm not actually homeless because I have a house to live in, but I'm not going to be able to remain in this house because of the cost of rent. They won't pay me the full amount of rent as housing benefit and I've now learnt that I'm not going to have the Death In Service payment because Carol came out of the system, no doubt at the time we lost the house in Crownhill and had to pay the debt off because of what Sam did to our bank account (I'm not going into any more detail than that, but I have described it all in an earlier blog post.) I rang Teachers' Pensions this morning to be told this. So I now know what my financial situation is and as a result will have to look for accommodation myself, having been given a list of agencies who might be able to help. I need a one-bedroom house or bungalow, with a bit of enclosed garden for Alfie. I really no longer need a three-bedroom property, so it makes a lot of sense.

I got back from the city centre and had something to eat. I had been into Greggs and bought a ploughman's lunch roll, some egg custard tarts and a small bottle of fresh orange juice. Very crafty, Greggs, because you queue up right next to all the enticing food items, so you can't avoid jam doughnuts or sausage rolls. Or other very fattening food which you shouldn't really eat if you're diabetic or have a health problem. They never put how much fat or sugar they contain or the number of calories, but generally Greggs are good, fairly cheap and good value and they've managed to put their stores in places where they know the public will go to buy their lunch or whatever.

Having eaten my lunch, sitting down in front of the television and watching the BBC lunchtime news, but wishing I hadn't bothered, because it was more about Brexit, which is about as enticing as having your eyes piked with a sharp stick. Boring and negative. I think I'll attempt to avoid any more television news until this thing has been resolved or MP's can get their act together and vote so the ting can move on and we can at least leave the EU, for good or ill.

It was such a warm and sunny afternoon I couldn't possibly spend the rest of the day indoors, so I decided to take Alfie out for a second walk. I think it was something of a surprise, as I very rarely take him out a second time. It causes such a stir and I see the other side of Alfie as soon as I make moves to take him out. Trying to clip his lead to the harness he wears causes him to turn into a sort of Tasmanian Devil, barking and jumping around. Anyhow, we did get outside and walked down the medway towards the Grand Union Canal, going under  the bridge at Marlborough Street, then walking along the tow path that runs besides the canal and back over the canal at the next bridge.