Rainy Day Walk

(Friday)It's been a rather over-cast sort of day today.  The sort of day when it's very low light, almost light early evening, just as the sun is about to set. I can't describe it any other way, but dreadfully dull, to say the least. You just want to go back to bed and pull the duvet over your head. I'm attempting to encourage Alfie to not want to be taken for a walk at 6a.m. For starters, it's dark and you can't see what you're doing, even though there are some street lamps which give some light. And saying that, there were workmen at the junction with Oldbrook Boulevard digging a trench and it looked at if they were replacing a street lamp. I think they're replacing conventional sreetlamps with low-emission LED lamps, if I'm not mistaken. I don't think I am. I went to get fuel for the car from the Shell station on Grafton Street early this morning and then went to Lidl to do a top-up shop. I had my fridge/freezer delivered on Wednesday afternoon, having been told it would come in the morning, but then I had a telephone call to say that they wouldn't be able to come before lunch because they'd had the van's windscreen broken or something. I'm not sure how this happened, I just hope they weren't involved in an accident or worse. I thought perhaps it had been vandalised, but I still don't know what really happened. The fridge/freezer is described as 'under-counter,' which means it's small. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, but so small there is very little space. I can at least keep the milk from going off, which is has been on occasion. Part of the reason being is that the kitchen can get hot and if I don't refrigerate the milk, I can go to make a cup of tea and find the milk has turned to yoghurt, or what appears to be something similar and certainly not suitable to put in tea or breakfast cereal.

(Saturday) It's very windy. As a result I'm experiencing real back pain. I don't normally mention this sort of thing, but I do get this when the weather is severe, cold, wet or when it's windy. I am waking later and later and taking out Alfie a good deal later. The clocks change tonight so things are going to be even more different tomorrow morning. Just try to explain that to a small, very alert Yorkshire terrier.

Having been to Sainsbury's and walked Alfie around Oldbrook Green in the wind and the rain, I got back to the flat and then suddenly realised that I was supposed to go to Ashfield Medical Centre this morning to have my 'flu jab. They are usually open from 8a.m. until 12 noon, so I rushed out and drove there and was surprised by how busy it was. I registered my arrival with the receptionist and sat down to wait and was more than surprised by how quickly my name came up on the digital display and I walked in to the room where I took off my jacket and had the jab in my arm and then had a cup of tea and a couple of biscuits which I don't normally have but this time, due to rushing to the surgery, it seemed a necessity. From Ashfield I drove over to Bletchley and managed to get Alfie booked in for a grooming session at the Groom Room within Pets At Home and the appointment is at 1 p.m. on 11th November. He is in definite need of a trim and hasn't been there for quite a while.

(Sunday) I did remember that clocks went back last night. I did this well before I went to bed. But I have had a reaction to the flu jab and don't feel that good this morning. But I did manage to take out Alfie before 7 o'clock and it was fairly light so we could see what we were doing. I haven't gone to church, but let people know why on Facebook. I think if I hadn't done this they might wonder where I was and why.

(Monday) My turn to use the washing machine and tumble drier. I need to reorder some of my meds and went on line to the Ashfield Medical Centre website and have now found that I can't because I need a review of virtually all my meds. I did attempt to ring the surgery but I spent around an hour to find they weren't going to open up the phone lines and gave up around the time I was scheduled to start my washing. Just annoys me that when you need something such as medication they decide to not open up the lines. I'll have to have another go tomorrow morning. Frustrating!

Alfie Has Fans!

I am absolutely overjoyed by how well Alfie has settled into the flat at Dexter House. I was really concerned that he wouldn't cope with living in a far smaller place, considering we had lived in a much larger, three-bedroom house with a garden, where he could go when 'needs must.' He does get excited when it's time to go out for a walk (he has always done this, barking and generally making a lot of noise when he has his lead put on, for example.) He has met many of the other residents and they seem to love him. Well, he does have a sort of magnetic personality, loving being the centre of attention and all the fuss he gets. We are constantly meeting other dog-walkers, particularly in Oldbrook Green, the rather pleasant open space which is a short walk from the flat. We seem to meet the same people with their dogs, which means we have a sort of ready-made set of regulars. Although most of pleasant, there are one or two who aren't quite so friendly. The other day we came across this young man who had two dogs on leads and which had muzzles on. I think they were Staffordshire terriers, by their size and shape. Is it me, or are a 'certain element' under the impression that such dogs give them a sort of 'hard' edge? I'm thinking mostly, male, sporty types, of a 'certain age,' (probably between 18-35), with a sort of swagger. (I'm building up my character description for an archetype here, but never mind. Probably a character from the BBC1 soap, 'EastEnders. Probably based loosely on one of the Mitchell brothers.) Anyway, we had walked round the park once and had encountered this individual and then, on the second encounter, he saw Alfie, who, by the way was behaving impeccably, and when this individual saw him, he said, 'if he (meaning Alfie) snaps at my dogs, I'll  take their muzzles off!' What was the reason for this? Alfie wouldn't hurt a fly! He's well behaved and would never bite anyone, and certainly not get into a fight with another dog. He always wants to be friends with the dogs he meets, even though he can be a bit 'in your face' with his barking and running around. I suppose it's just that he gets over-excited. This 'individual' was being unnecessarily aggressive (or I suppose he thought he was.) and somewhat threatening (in a rather pathetic manner, so I thought.) He was using his dogs as a sort of protection for his no doubt, fragile masculinity. Somewhat sad and pathetic generally. Why threaten a harmless little Yorkie with aggression and threats in the first place?

I'm Moved and Back On-Line!

I am now back online, having had my internet and telephone line reinstated at Dexter House. It has been an extremely busy and somewhat stressful couple of weeks, not only moving out of Golden
Drive but having to clear a couple of the rooms which were full of stuff which was difficult to dispose of. The smaller of the three bedrooms was the worst to deal with because of the amount of stuff in there. I had to pay £160 to get someone to come in and clear it and he had a licence to dispose of household waste. A couple of Mondays ago three church friends came and helped deal with the middle bedroom. I took a lot of stuff to the Barnado's charity shop in Oldbrook Boulevard. They have had several loads of stuff. Just hope it gets sold and makes some money for them.

The actual move was on Wednesday 9th October, done by a company I found on-line and called Cos Freight. I had gone on a website which allowed you to set up an account and then put in your details, where you lived and where you were moving to etc etc and then companies could send you quotes. One company sent a representative to visit and gave me a quote of over £700 and the lowest, the one I went with, was £450. I then had to give them dates which I wanted to move on, so I said I wanted either a Monday or Wednesday (in an attempt to avoid a Tuesday, when I go to Camphill. As it turned out, I didn't go on the Tuesday of the week I moved as there was so much that had to be done that I wouldn't have had time to do all that was necessary if I had gone to Camphill.) I had to pay a deposit of £50, paid via a telephone conversation, and using my Debit card.

On the Tuesday before the move, Shelley and Garry, neighbours at Golden Drive, helped me sort and dispose of a great deal of what was left in the house. The previous Monday I had three friends from SCF come in and sort and dispose of a lot of stuff in the middle bedroom. Still left with a great deal which was then removed by taking to Barndardo's  centre in Oldbrook Boulevard. About two loads and I'm totally finished because of my heart condition.

On October 9th, the removals men arrived outside 30 Golden Drive in a mid-sized van at around 7.45. They were incredibly efficient and had the stuff in the IKEA unit in the lounge packed in boxes and shifted quickly and as the morning progressed they had that unit as well as the bed (another IKEA piece) dismantled and taken and packed in the van. Later taken to Dexter House and reassembled successfully. These two pieces of furniture were the main things causing me stress as I wasn't sure they would be able to reassemble them successfully. But I needn't have worried because they managed to reassemble these items without any problems, meaning I could unpack the contents of the shelf unit (I think you'd call it a pigeon-hole unit rather than an actual bookshelf, but it's being somewhat pedantic to describe it any other way.) Also, the men were able to disconnect the electric oven and remove it to the flat, but weren't able tor reconnect it, probably because of  not actually being qualified to do so, but Garry did this for me, so at least I have been able to cook meals on it. Also, the sofa went and everything else, but there were boxes of DVDs, CDs and books which took up space (10 boxes in all.) which took up a vast amount of space. I had the problem of where to store all this stuff. I then had a lightbulb moment and decided that a charity should have it, that is, if they could come in a van a take it for me (as Willen Hospice store had done a few weeks ago by taking the two bicycle, dining table and chairs and several other items.) So, I rang Willen Hospice store and a van came last Monday and removed those 10 boxes, as well as a small bookshelf and folding-leaf table which I had bought to the flat, but were taking up very valuable space. I'll be honest and say that this was a great relief to have this stuff removed because those books won't be read again, nor will the DVDs and CDs be played again and haven't been played in a long time, so won't be missed. I have kept the larger, reference books, but I now have what I want and need and even the empty packing boxes have now gone, to someone in SCF who was also moving, so that is another problem solved. Breaking up boxes and taking to the tidy-tip takes up time and energy which, by the end of last week, was more or less used up.

Getting Colder

I had an email from the removal company when I got home from Camphill, telling me that they had reserved Wednesday 9th of October as removal day. The men will be here at 7.30a.m., and they will be able to disassemble my bed and the large pigeon-hole unit in the lounge and reassemble at the flat in Dexter House. Also, they will be able to disconnect the electric oven and reconnect it in the flat, one less thing for me to have to think about. My only concern is not having a fridge/freezer, but that is being sorted out. I may get  grant from the Council to purchase one, and in any case, the old one which is being left behind is really too big for a single person.

I have now heard from Daniel, and he's coming here from Thursday to the weekend and will collect his belongings from what was his bedroom when he lived here. It seems that everything is falling into place and I must say I'll be glad when I am settled in the flat and the long journey to find alternative accommodation is over. I took several boxes of books in the car, a couple of which went to Dexter House, and another couple to the charity shop near Tesco's in Oldbrook Boulevard. Also, some clothes from the wardrobe which I hung in the fitted wardrobe at the flat.

It is getting a lot colder. Autumn is definitely here. There are leaves on the ground when I go to take Alfie for his early morning walk around Eaglestone Park this morning. My FitBit wouldn't charge properly, so I didn't get a step count as I should. I say it wouldn't charge, but it's difficult to know exactly whether it is charging when it's on the charging gadget. You would expect that once it's fitted in the thing there would be some sign that it is charging, such as a sound or a small light, which lit up, indicating power is going into the thing. So I left it off when we went out.

I said it was getting colder. Yesterday evening (Wednesday) I put the central heating on for the first time, but I put it off as soon as I went to bed. Oh well, I suppose it's bound to turn colder now we're into October.

I noticed that there are no curtain tracks in either the bedroom or lounge at the flat. Annoying, because I have to now go and buy some before I can hang the curtains I purchased in The Range this morning. First thing this morning I went to Homebase to buy a measuring tape and then went to the flat to measure both windows.

I have now rung Sky to have my phone and broadband transferred to the flat in Dexter House. Because there is no telephone line there an engineer will come on 17th October to install a line. I don't want to loose my internet connection, otherwise I won't be able to keep this blog going and I rely on it for such things as email and the occasional glance at Facebook, basically to keep in touch with the outside world. 

Moving Out!

I will be ringing the removal company tomorrow to arrange the date for moving. I frankly won't be sorry to leave this house. In the last few months I've be struggling to pay the rent, basically because Housing Benefit won't pay the whole amount and I've had to top it up with savings, most of which was paid from a death grant after Carol's passing. I am somewhat annoyed that I had to raid my savings account this month to pay the rent, but hope that once I've moved out this concern will be gone. It has caused no end of stress. I now learn, from my landlord's son, that he's expecting me to pay a proportion of rent until I go, which is another stress-point. Oh well, let them eat cake, as someone said. I should get one more Housing Benefit payment and that can go part-way towards rent.

I've taken a further couple of boxes of things to the flat. I will have to get some curtain track because I notice the windows in the flat have none. Then I must look for some curtains for the lounge and bedroom.

The broadband fibre installation continues. Just when I thought they had completed the work, I come across another group of workmen making holes in the road or a path. Alfie didn't get his second walk this afternoon because it was raining heavily, not that Alfie is in the least bit bothered by a drop of rain.

The landlord's son is expecting me to pay something like £400 for rent up until the 17th October, when my notice expires. But today (1st October) my rent payment will have gone out by Direct Debit, so if that's a whole month's rent in advance, HE will owe me for the weeks I'm not in the flat up until the end of October. Please don't tell me you pay rent in arrears. I bet he'll attempt to wriggle out of this and not pay me back the deposit. Which, wait a minute! He does or should owe me because of the deposit. Just tying myself in ever decreasing circles over this matter.

Later. I've been to Camphill as usual. During the morning I rang the removal firm and I have said I would like the move to be on either a Monday or Wednesday, because the other days I am engaged elsewhere and I don't want these days interrupted. The coordinator will arrange a day and I will have to pay a £50 deposit and the pay the balance on the day.

We had another run-through of 'Stranger Danger,' Teo is still on holiday, but I think he comes home sometimes this week. A couple of the guys are looking forward to having a holiday in Blackpool. I expect when they come back the following week they will be full of what they did, together with photographs on their mobiles.

We then worked on a proposed script for a video which will be put on the Chrysalis Theatre website. It will show people who come to see a show, or any other event which is put on in the Chrysalis, to explain that they can't park at Camphill, unless they are staff or disabled. We were put into two groups and went through ideas which the drama team came up with. The other group went out to the Peace Pagoda carpark, which is across the road from Camphill, to work out how people would find the theatre as that is the nearest carpark. Also, having to show them the route without crossing the road, Brickhill Street. I'm not sure whether we actually managed to come up with a script or storyboard for this video, which will eventually be made by Jeremy, who made the 'Stranger Danger' video, but at least some ideas were committed to paper.

After lunch we did more improvisations, sitting in a circle and doing 'Fortunately/unfortunately.' The idea being that you start off with someone coming up with a phrase, or a longer sentence, ending or beginning, 'So and so did whatever, and fortunately . . .' and then passing it on when the next person said, 'but unfortunately . . .' and so on around the circle. Some crazy things came out of this and it's quite a good way to start a story.

After lunch we did more improvisation. One exercise was with the drama guys standing on opposite sides of the hall (actually the auditorium of the Chrysalis Theatre.) and speaking their lines to the other person they speak to in the play. It turned out to be an excellent exercise to get them all to project their voices rather than shout and so it turned out.

Next, it was back to the improvisation method we started the previous week. Two groups were formed, each given a subject to work on, which meant devising a situation and then creating characters and the other team had to guess what the subject without it being mentioned. Ours was the seaside and some mimed swimming, playing tennis, and I mimed a 'Punch and Judy' show with the rest of the team sitting on the floor and watching.

The other team did their mime about going to the theatre. We got their subject but they didn't manage to get ours.

The day ended with a line rehearsal, just sitting in the auditorium and for some reason it had a great deal more energy than when it is acted with all the props and furniture. Probably because they can concentrate on their lines and don't have to think about where to enter and exit and move around on the stage.