Bank Holiday Monday

Sunday. 7.00 a.m. It's a cool and misty morning. 

I've now taken Alfie out twice, the first at around 6.15 a.m. and then 9.30 a.m. He did his usual staring at me and what I call 'clucking' sort of chicken noises, which generally alerts me to to the fact that he needs to go out. So, we trotted down Strudwick Drive (I say trotted, but more of an amble and excuse to sniff virtually every leaf and blade of grass and we went along (I mean Alfie and not me, you understand.) He did need to 'go' as I politely refer to 'it' and 'it' was disposed of in its biodegradable bag and put in the bin at the entrance to Oldbrook Green. We walked home and I decided to sit down and read my book. It was then that Alfie began to clank around in his feeding bowl, which is hidden behind the sofa under my desk, along with his drinking water bowl. I attempted to ignore him, but it was virtually impossible, so I put my book down and thought I'd put some food in his bowl. He usually only gets fed in the evening, but on this occasion I thought he must be hungry, attempting to glean a morsel of food from the bowl, which is why he was pushing it about on the floor and making the clanking sound. I put a dry mixer in as I usually do and then food from one of the pouches I keep stored in the kitchen. When I put it back down for him on the floor, he soon scoffed the lot and returned to his place to lay down on the sofa, and as I write this he appears to be asleep. Problem solved and perhaps I should give him food in the morning as well as the evening.

3.40 p.m. I didn't go to church this morning. I would have like to have gone, but wearing a mask isn't exactly helping with the confounded cough I have at the moment. I mentioned this in a few posts back, caused by taking oxybutynin, but now stopped since I mentioned this to my doctor a few weeks ago. I was told that it would take a while for it to disappear completely, as soon as the medication is out of my body. No sign of that at the moment. Wearing a mask means you are breathing in your hot breath and that sets of the cough. Apart from that, it steams up my glasses. Just not pleasant having to wear the things for any length of time. Regardless of all this, I managed to see the service via Facebook. I have discovered that if I set things up correctly if I open Facebook on my iPad and set my television with the Fire Stick set up, then I can 'cast' the live video to the television. Surprising what you discover when you least expect it.

Monday. 5.20 a.m. Well, I'm wide awake and already done all my usual morning routine things, shaved, dressed, done my Bible reading, dressed, and even done washing-up, so the kitchen is tidy. I always feel that if all this is done, I can start my day better. Particularly shaving. I don't feel right if I miss a shave in the morning. When I was in the hospital the last time, after my second heart attack, I had none of my own things with me, not even clothes. I didn't have shaving items, so I had to endure several mornings without having a proper shave. I ended up being given a disposable shaver by one of the nurses on the ward, but it was like shaving with a blunt tin lid! (not that I have actually done that!). It wasn't pleasant. 

6.20 a.m. I took out Alfie at 5.50. It must be the earliest we've ever been out. It's still misty and quite chilly, but I have a feeling it will be warm today, and as it's a Bank Holiday, quite a rarity, as most Bank Holidays are wet and miserable. Add to all that the fact that lockdowns are being lifted gradually, it would appear that tourist areas will be crowded. But then the question is, will that mean that there will be an increase in coronavirus infections as a result? Only time will tell. PLEASE, can we avoid further lockdowns? I don't think the British people can take anymore. Patience is at a low point, but surely with so many people vaccinated we can climb out of this hole and ESCAPE!

4.50 p.m. I'm sitting here writing this with my Macbook Air on my knee. Alfie has had his dinner and has been whittling to get a couple of treats. I asked him what he wanted so he glanced at the tin which is on the top of the bookcase. I took three out of the tin and put two on the edge of the coffee table and another on the back of the sofa. He finds the two on the coffee table. He sticks his nose up over the edge of the coffee table and manages to grab one of the treats but doesn't find the second one. He then jumps up onto the sofa (which can cause him problems, probably showing his age.) and soon discovers where the third treat is. He eventually sniffs it out and has to reach up by standing up on his back legs and snaffles it without any problems.

It's been extremely warm and sunny today. What a real Bank Holiday Monday should be like. Walking around Oldbrook Green earlier this afternoon and there are people all over the place, even laying sunning themselves on the grass. The same old same old, men not having any idea they look ridiculous in shorts (not all by the way.) but that's just my opinion. Shorts only getting worn when the sun shines and they (and myself!) not always brave enough to wear for the first time this summer (I believe we are now in summer, officially.) But those infamous shorts not always in perfect order, often worst for wear and not up to standard in the fashion or sartorial stakes.

6.45 p.m. Just been watching Wallace and Gromit in 'A Close Shave.' I've seen all these brilliant animation films I don't know how many times, but it's so clever and imaginative. All of the Ardman Animation films are so well made and creative. It's all the little details that make them special, some things that you don't notice the first time around and add to the fun, for example, the headlines you see fleetingly in the newspapers that Wallace reads or the books they read.

Watching BBC news, which came on after Wallace and Gromit. There are some scientists who say that the 21st June deadline to end lockdowns may need to be postponed until data suggests that the Indian variant of the coronavirus is under control. Oh please, no! I think that if that happens and for a length of time there will be civil unrest. I think we've had our patience pushed to the limit. Surely, with the vaccines being delivered so successfully and the possibility of people not being infected, then there is no need to have further lockdowns.

I watched an episode of 'Miranda', the sitcom performed and written by Miranda Hart. I have seen it before, but it's so funny. She talks directly to the camera, 'breaking the fourth wall' in much the same way as Lovejoy did in that great series (I worked on quite a few episodes, filmed in and around Norfolk and Suffolk.) She is very self-deprecating, making comedy about her height and tripping over things. A great deal of visual comedy, which we don't get nowadays. They also showed an episode of 'Fawlty Towers.' One of the classic comedies of the 1970s. It must be because the BBC doesn't have enough new material to put out due to the pandemic.