I've been attempting to find a local swimming pool so that I can go swimming (well, whatever else do you do at a swimming pool?) We used to be members of DW near the stadium and then transferred to Nuffield Health at Kent's Hill. I could have returned to Nuffield, but it would be too painful emotionally because of not having my lovely Carol with me to go with. Also, the monthly charge has gone up considerably to around £44 which I don't intend paying, even though it meant visiting as many times as you want a month. But I don't want to pay a monthly membership but would like somewhere with a sauna and possibly a Jacuzzi which were available to members at both former clubs. A decent swimming pool without a lot of noise and no loud music or children screaming. I looked on line and decided that Bletchley Leisure Centre had such facilities, so the other morning I ventured forth. I haven't really explored Bletchley, apart from when we've gone to Swinton Insurance office that used to be in Queensway, but has since closed down and all their business is done on line.
The leisure centre is in a real maze of streets and you can park in a multi-storey carpark nearby, designed on a sort of helper-skelter principle. I'm not over-keen on this style of carpark. I don't really like parking my car on a slope for one thing and just trust the car's brakes don't fail because you're relying on them to keep the car from moving backwards or whatever. I don't really like multi-storey carparks at the best of times. Anyway, I went into the leisure centre. It's in a real dump of an area and has to be down one of the ugliest approaches to any building. I paid my entrance fee and went into the changing area. You have to put your belongings in a locker and use your own padlock, which I had bought for when we went to Nuffield and it took me some time to remember the combination to open the thing. We didn't want to have keys when we went as it would mean there was the possibility of loosing them which would have been disaster. You change in a small cubicle which has a lock and the whole place looks as if it's in need of a revamp, sort of stuck in a 1970's or 1980's time warp. Not generally too bad, but could be better. Never mind.
Once at the pool-side I realised I had timed my visit totally wrong, because, as it was the beginning of the schools summer holiday it was swarming with children. The pool is divided up into three sections, one for serious swimmers (which is where I wrongly decided to enter the pool, until I was told off in no uncertain terms by a lady who shooed me away from the other end of the pool a bit like a slightly bad tempered primary school teacher. I won't go in that area again. Then I transferred to the main area, which was crowded with children, some with adults, but also a group of teenage boys who spent all their time messing around and splashing one another and generally not considering the other pool users, getting in the way and not being considerate at all. All I wanted to do was gently swim up and down the pool, but their behaviour and the fact that they got in my way was really annoying. One lady of a more mature age race them a talking to, but it didn't seem to make any difference and they continued their anti-social behaviour.
Once I'd left the pool because of the behaviour of those youths and the fact that there was so little space with all the children, I decided to get dried and dressed and then went into the café had a cold drink and a snack and then left the leisure centre and walked back to the car in the multi-storey carpark. When I arrived at my car I found I wasn't able to reverse out because there was a car in the way because the young girl driver was having real problems getting the car to start. No worries. It happens to the best of us. A bit of patience required. Her father was attempting to give advice, she was trying to get the car to start, no success and if you do it too often you probably cause more problems, such as flooding the engine. In the end the only resolution to the situation was to push the car back into the parking space it had come out of (hence blocking my car in so I couldn't reverse out.) which I helped to push, along with another male driver who volunteered his services. Once returned to it's parking space, father and daughter walked off towards the leisure centre. I imagine, with time, the car would start. Over attempting to start it was doing no good and a long rest might mean the petrol would drain out of the carburettor and next time they tried to start it, there would be no problem. Or at least, that was my thinking. Once the car was moved, I could reverse out and go home.
Once I'd left the pool because of the behaviour of those youths and the fact that there was so little space with all the children, I decided to get dried and dressed and then went into the café had a cold drink and a snack and then left the leisure centre and walked back to the car in the multi-storey carpark. When I arrived at my car I found I wasn't able to reverse out because there was a car in the way because the young girl driver was having real problems getting the car to start. No worries. It happens to the best of us. A bit of patience required. Her father was attempting to give advice, she was trying to get the car to start, no success and if you do it too often you probably cause more problems, such as flooding the engine. In the end the only resolution to the situation was to push the car back into the parking space it had come out of (hence blocking my car in so I couldn't reverse out.) which I helped to push, along with another male driver who volunteered his services. Once returned to it's parking space, father and daughter walked off towards the leisure centre. I imagine, with time, the car would start. Over attempting to start it was doing no good and a long rest might mean the petrol would drain out of the carburettor and next time they tried to start it, there would be no problem. Or at least, that was my thinking. Once the car was moved, I could reverse out and go home.
I had a letter from Milton Keynes Council this morning when I returned from my swim, informing me that because I hadn't let them know I had been awarded Pension Credit, all of £7 per week, I would have today them back £440. When I last went into the Council Benefits office and spoke to a lady she never once asked to see the letter I had from Pension Credit. I was told that Pension Credit would i form the Council, but it is now quite obvious that this never happened. If I make a mistake (I didn't, but there's no point arguing.) I have to pay. If they make a mistake, the same happens. I just need to know that my rent is going to be paid, full stop. Earlier I had attempted to contact the D.W.P. (Department of Work and Pensions) to try and find out what was happening regarding the matter of Carol's pension from when presumably she worked in Bournemouth. The man I spoke to first told me I would need to ring another number as he hadn't got the information on his computer system, so I rang this new number, to be informed that their computer system was being up-graded which meant they couldn't get into it until later in the day or perhaps the next day. All this, meanwhile, having consequences for my housing Benefit and other financial matters.
I have now written a letter which I intend sending to the Benefits Section at Milton Keynes Council. When I visited them later in the morning, having received the letter about having to payback over-paid benefits, I was told that I might get what is called a Discretionary payment to pay some of my rent, so I have this morning filled in the form and will take it to the Council later today.
No comments:
Post a Comment