Life's Ups and Downs

We're slowly drifting towards autumn. The days are drawing in. It's getting light in the morning later and later. By the time we reach September, we'll be seeing the first signs of Christmas in the shops. 

Tuesday. 6.25 a.m. Really, honestly, not a great deal to report. Except for the 'Mystery of the Blocked Drains.' It sounds like something that Sherlock Holmes or some other private detective would be bought in to solve. In all the time I've been living at Dexter House I've had an awful pong in my bathroom, presumably coming from the sink or bath plug hole. It's a smell similar to over-boiled cabbage (yes, I know, not nice.) Having done a lot of schools touring with puppets over the years, arriving in school halls to set up shows, usually places which are also used for school dinners. You used to get the lingering smell of boiled cabbage, apart from anything else. The pong from the drains is similar and there's no explanation. It would appear that other tenants here have complained of not only the smell but the fact that water doesn't drain away properly after you've had a bath or used the sink. The contractors who maintain this building are supposed to be dealing with it, apparently going to put a camera down the drains to try and find the blockage. Well, all I can say is, good luck to them! Not a job I would have anything to do with.

I've managed to use the steam mop to clean the remainder of the lounge floor. It's a bit of a game of Tetris having to move the furniture around. You move one thing and then another and do such-and-such to get to behind the television. I was shocked by the amount of dust and fluff! It makes me wonder where on earth it comes from. But it's now done, and I'm pleased with the results. 

Wednesday. 7.20 a.m. I woke up around 6.15, which is the latest I've woken in ages. But Alfie was still sleeping and didn't seem to realize we hadn't been out. I have the feeling it had rained in the night as there were signs of a good wetting on the path and grass.

The kitchen is clean and tidy from last night's meal! I want it clear as I'm going to Sainsbury's later this morning and it's easier when I get back and unload my shopping. All wiped down and clear.

Thursday. 6.35 a.m. The week seems to fly by. Not a great deal to report at the moment.

Friday. 6.45 a.m. I woke up later than normal. But what is 'normal'? The last eighteen months or so have been anything but normal. Being stuck in some sort of limbo isn't anything normal.

The work on the infamous scooter sheds has ground to a halt. There is a concrete 'pad' outside in the corner outside where my stairs come down from my flat. The sheds aren't going to be built of brick as I was expecting, but will be wooden structures. (This is sounding a bit like 'The Three Little Pigs' story. First house, straw, second house- Sticks, third house- Bricks. The whole thing is a bit of a fairy story.) Not sure where things stand regarding the 'big stink' from the drains.

Saturday. 5.50 a.m. My MacBook decided it wouldn't open up yesterday morning. Try as I might, I couldn't get the thing to respond. I imagined there was something seriously wrong with it. There was a full charge on it's battery, but the screen remained blank. My thinking was, that's it, it's finished, it's dead. Well, it's served me well, it's almost seven years old, it will probably need replacing. Fortunately I did manage to get the MacBook to function, which was something of a relief. I know it is going to have to be replaced eventually, because technology such as laptops do have a limited life. 

Step On It!

Tuesday. 2.10 p.m. I've managed to exceed my step count this afternoon! Well over 10,000 steps, which equates to a little over five miles. I am somewhat pleased, as you might imagine. I just need to keep this up. The Fitbit doesn't just count your steps, it gives your heart rate, BMI, and far more. You can log your liquid intake as well as your food and weight. It has taken long enough to get the thing set up and running, but now it's set properly I can keep on keeping an eye on my steps and so on. It's a good motivational tool in that respect. That's no less than six circuits of Oldbrook Green!

Wednesday. 6.25 a.m. Slight rain when took Alfie out just before 6 this morning. Very dark clouds looming over Milton Keynes, which suggests heavy rain later today.

Television seems keen on copying successful formats, the basic premise/idea for programmes. It was cookery shows at one time (and probably still is.) They get one successful show and it has to spawn a slew of similar shows. Antiques have been the staple of daytime television, with shows such as Bargain Hunt, Flog it, Antiques Roadshow, which is probably the great-granddaddy of them all. Cookery shows include Masterchef and Can't Cook, Won't Cook; Ready, Steady Cook. Now they're going mad on recycling and make-over shows. It began with Money For Nothing, The Repair Shop and continued with the likes of Saved and Remade on BBC1 and Find It, Fix It, Flog It! on Channel 4. Each of them seems to play on the emotional element, particularly The Repair Shop, when people take items which have a connection with someone in their lives, usually deceased, a friend or family member, and want the item repaired and restored as usually, that item is in a poor condition. At the end of the show, when the owner of the item returns to collect it, the producers seem to delight in seeing the emotions revealed by the owner when they see the restored and repaired item. In some ways, it is rather overdone, somewhat contrived. I think it is  More than a bit nauseating. It seems that television companies are more than happy to churn out the same thing relentlessly. Too many crime series, with grumpy detectives at the centre of things, staring endlessly at the sea, having relationship problems, and loving to drive around in Jaguars or other up-market vehicles, with classical music or opera blaring out of the radio or in-car CD player. Just another cliche. Anyway, all it's about is easy television. A great deal of it is just lazy because it's not going to demand much attention on behalf of the producers or the audience.

Thursday. 6.30 a.m. Alfie seems very reluctant to do a walk around Oldbrook Green this morning. I can't think why. Usually, he's more than happy to go for his regular walk, but for the past couple of days, he just insists on taking me back to the flat. As I write this, he's curled up on the sofa. Not his usual mode, insisting on being taken out and walking endlessly. I am attempting to maintain my step count, but with a small Yorkshire terrier who is very strong, just pulling in the direction of home, not chance is doing anywhere near ten-thousand steps!

Friday. 6.45 a.m. I woke up a good deal later than normal. The mornings are getting darker and darker as we move towards autumn. Alfie was more enthusiastic about doing the circuit of Oldbrook Green, which suits me as I am intent on doing the 10,000 steps.

Saturday. 10.35 a.m. I woke a lot later than normal. I think it's because the days are beginning to draw in. It was darker for longer, so I didn't take out Munchkin until around 6.45. I just didn't see the point of going out if we couldn't see properly. As we walked along the path towards Oldbrook Green, I saw a large cat cross the road. I think it came out of the entrance to The Cricketers carpark. Perhaps it had been in for a swift 'alf. Who knows? I saw it gradually approaching our side of the road and then cross the path towards Fishermead. Alfie, fortunately, didn't see it. Just as well, otherwise, he would have been very noisy!

We went out again at around 9.15. I am afraid I have to report seeing two girls walking several dogs across the Green and one dog did its business, but they never picked it up. This brazen behaviour is really not acceptable. I always have several doggy bags in my pocket, so I could have given them one if I had been nearer. I blame the Council for not having doggy bags in the space provided by the doggy bins. It seems a false economy to not have them, expecting people who have dogs to have them (most do, but it would appear that a lot don't.) There is supposed to be a £100 spot fine if you don't clear up after your dog, but what is the point of the fine if nobody polices the policy? People are getting away with this sort of thing without being fined.

Sunday. 8.00 a.m. There was torrential rain yesterday evening as I ate my meal. I had to go and look out of the kitchen window to see as it was quite noisy. It didn't last long, but Alfie and I went out for a final walk around Oldbrook Green because I was short of the number of steps and was determined to reach my target of ten thousand. It has rained in the night, but as I write this, it's reasonably bright and sunny.

Good and Bad Characters

 How is it that so many good characters, in literature and films, and probably in other works such as stage plays, are so dull? Just think of the princesses in Disney animation, such as Snowhite, just so flat and two- dimensional. On the other hand, the villains are generally far more interesting and complex and make more interesting characters, which, although we know they are evil in most cases, we tend to root for them and cheer for them usually. Think of Abanazer, the wicked character in the 'Aladdin' pantomime, or the Ugly Sisters in 'Cinderella,' they are more fleshed out than the flat and rather dull central characters of Aladdin and Cinderella. In Dickens, so many of his central characters seem rather uninteresting. Think of Oliver in Oliver Twist. He's at the centre of the story, things happen to him, but he never initiates anything. Similarly, with David Copperfield and Nicholas Nickleby. These characters don't appear to have any effect on what happens to them, it's the characters who revolve around them who do all the work of moving things forward. In that respect, they are somewhat helpless. It appears that they can't change the course of their lives or their story journey. At the heart of a good story, there should be a journey in the sense that the lead character changes during the course of the story, so by the conclusion they have learned something and in that respect, changed.

In any form of storytelling, you have to have some sort of conflict, otherwise, your story can become flat and routine. The main protagonist needs a character to work against, so a good villain should be the character who creates this conflict. It's rather like sandpaper. It takes off the rough edges, shapes the protagonist. If he/she can overcome their problems, then they will grow and by the end of their journey through their story, they will have learned something.

Some cliches are used whenever the author wants to make sure the reader 'gets' whether a character is either good or bad. Used a great deal in television drama. Think EastEnders or Coronation street or one hundred and one Hollywood blockbusters. Colour is often used, as regards clothing. Dark is usually associated with 'bad.' (For years in television westerns from what I remember from being a child.) The villain almost always wore a dark shirt or jacket. The goodies usually wore light-colored clothing.  Think Dark Vader in the Star Wars films. He's black. You can't see his face (generally, if you can't see a character's face, either because he wears a mask (as Vader does.) or dark glasses, usually highly reflective, he's the bad guy. 

Disney has recently been raiding their back catalogue to reinvent some of their villains, such as Maleficent, who is the bad fairy who didn't get invited to the princesses Christening in the 1950's animation, 'Sleeping Beauty' and given her own film, starring Angelina Jolie. More recently they have given Cruella De Vil, the villain who wants to make dalmation puppies' coats into her own fashion accessory, namely, her own coat, in the 1961 animation classic '101 Dalmations' and the 1996 live-action remake. It's as if they are trying to give these characters a reason to be the way they are. Backstories or 'origins' stories. Disney is busily remaking all their classic animation movies, 'Beauty and The Beast,' 'Cinderella', 'Jungle Book', 'The Lion King' etc etc. Really for no better reason than they have the technology to make them using such things as three-dimensional computer animation. Not actually an improvement on the original and, frankly, a lazy way to create films.

Some, what I would call 'classic' villains in some of the classic fiction have been weakened by being portrayed as comic in such shows as 'Oliver!' and 'Les Miserables.' Fagin, the pickpocket gang leader, is made out to be a comic character in the musical when he's anything but comic in the novel on which it is based. He's far more evil and contemptible than the portrayal in the stage and film adaptation. The same can be said of Thenardier and his wife in 'Les Miserables' where they are sort of knock-about characters, but with a villainous streak. Perhaps this watering down of these characters is to make these shows more palatable for family audiences.

Why do so many villains in fiction have sidekicks who are often portrayed as bumbling idiots? The two henchmen of Cruella De Vil in the original novel by Dodie Smith and then the Disney versions of 'The 101 Dalmations' are shown to be totally inept. In some ways this is just for comic effect, but why on earth would someone employ such totally incompetent?

So, to wind up. I think I have managed to give fairly good summation of why and how so many dull characters, usually the central protagonists in some stories are so dull, compared to the more rounded and complete characters of the villains. We, as the audience, tend to want to root for those characters rather than the limp central characters.

Back To Normal?

So, what is 'normal' after something like eighteen months of various forms of lockdown? We're obviously not going to return to life as it was before the pandemic, that is for certain. It would be great to think we will, but I'm certain our beloved politicians will want to keep us under some form of regulations for as long as possible. Never in peacetime has Britain had so many regulations in place to restrict citizens' rights. And with nobody making any sort of effort to question any of these laws and regulations. We seem to have rolled over and just comply. It makes you wonder what would happen if we were invaded, as we were very nearly during the second World War.

Saturday. 3.40 p.m. I was sitting reading, minding my own business, just after I'd had a bite to eat for lunch. Then, for no reason, the fire alarm went off throughout Dexter House. Alfie doesn't like it. He hates loud noises. Our other dog, Poppy, was similar. She was scared witless by fireworks and around the time of Bonfire Night, November 5th, she would hide in any place she thought she was safe, like under our bed. But this fire alarm is so loud and ear-piercing (well, I suppose it has to be, particularly if it went off at night and you were fast asleep. Enough to wake you up.) But it gives me a splitting headache, so I decided it would be a good idea if we went out, hopefully, until it stopped. Which we did. Ending up doing three circuits of Oldbrook Green. No doubt someone in another flat had burnt their toast or forgot to take something out of the oven. But as I sit here, several hours later, I have a sneaking suspicion someone in one of the flats below me IS SMOKING! Well, what people do in their private space is up to them, but when it comes through into MY private space, that's another matter. I'm beginning to wonder if it's that which set the fire alarm off. I don't know who managed to stop the fire alarm. Last time we had a similar experience the fire service turned up. I went out and stood with Alfie on the pavement outside until we got the all-clear to return to our flat. Perhaps some people just should never be left alone with matches.

Monday. 7.35 a.m. What's this? Nothing for Sunday? Probably because there wasn't anything to report. Now, there's a thing.

12.40 a.m. I've been cleaning the kitchen. Well, the excitement is too much. But it had to be done. I've cleared away a great deal of clutter. Some have gone in the cupboard in the area where the kettle is, along with the tea-making equipment plus mugs. The sugar canister which I purchased in T.K.Maax several years ago had begun to get rusty. That's the problem with anything metal. So I decided it had to be retired and replaced and I drove to Waitrose as I have been in their homewares department and thought I could get just the thing to replace the old canister. It's perfect and made of pottery, so it's not going to rust. Just right and looks quite stylish. No rubbish in my home! I also needed to get some easy-peelers, those small easy-to-peel oranges (or are they satsumas or tangerines? I'm not sure.) Around a year ago, probably more, but around the time we had the first lockdown (probably March 2020.) I thought it would be a good idea to eat more fruit, possibly the 5-A-Day the government recommends. I hit on at least three of these small, juicy citrus fruit, together with an apple and probably fruit juice. Sainsbury's have them, but also most other supermarkets. Some are better than others. Some can be very pithy and almost inedible. You occasionally get a not-so-good batch, but most are very tasty. Good as they have vitamin C in them. I also take a vitamin D tablet with my morning medications, as directed by my doctor and I've taken them for well over a year.

Tuesday. 6.45 a.m. I'm determined to reach my daily target of 10,000 steps, recorded by my FitBit. I think around six circuits of Oldbrook Green must be at least that many steps. It's supposed to equate to around five miles, so it makes you realize how far I must have walked since I've moved to Oldbrook. Alfie has become somewhat reluctant to walk that far, insisting some morning that we return home directly once he's done what he needs to do (I don't need to describe what I'm referring to.) He is a very determined little person, amazingly strong when he wants to be.

An Ordinary Week

Wednesday. 6.45 a.m. It's relatively still and quiet on the weather front at the moment. Not a great deal to report, so I'll leave it there until I have more to discuss.

As I reported in yesterday's blog post, I went to Sainsbury's to collect a repeat prescription from Lloyd's pharmacy within the store. I was handed two bags containing the medication and did my shopping around the store and then went to pay using a self-service till. I paid and then went to load everything into my car in the car park below the store. Not only that, but I unloaded it all on return to my flat and then discovered that part of the repeat prescription order was missing. I had only one of the two bags with me. I hunted all over the place for it, including in the back of the car. Likewise, I distinctly remembered putting it in one of my 'bags for life' when I was at the self-service till. But no sign of it anywhere. I looked at the app which I use to order my repeat prescriptions, and it was clear on there that I had ordered all the medications I needed, always done on time before they run out. There was nothing for it but to ring the pharmacy, which I did after 9 o'clock this morning, to be told they had it. I had unfortunately left it by the self-service till. But at least it had been retrieved by Sainsbury's staff and taken to Lloyd's pharmacy. Now been to collect it with some further items for lunch and now panic over. Just shows that a slip of concentration can lead to such problems, but, thinking about it now, it wasn't really a problem at all.

There was a ginormous great big grey concrete mixing lorry parked in Strudwick Drive, opposite The Cricketers pub when I took Alfie out at around 1.15 this afternoon. One of the workmen involved in the construction of the scooter sheds was ferrying wet concrete from the lorry and into the community garden and pouring it into what will be the foundations for these sheds. More time and effort it seems to be spent in the construction of these than the ancient Egyptians spent on building the pyramids!

Thursday. 6.20 a.m. There is a pad of drying cement where these exciting scooter sheds are to be constructed (do you sense a slightly ironic tone to my words? I can't in all honesty think of them as EXCITING!) I am tempted to put my foot on it and so be immortalized in concrete. Note: Is it concrete when it's set and cement when it's in its liquid state or is it the other way round? All answers on a postcard please . . .) 

I had another strange dream last night. Well, most dreams are strange in some way or another. I have mentioned that I've been doing family history research and got back around 12 generations. The dream was about me going to New Zealand to meet some of my relations (I don't know how many times removed as I'm not good at that sort of thing.) But so realistic and almost like I had gone there. Talking about fish and chips amongst other things. But, in reality, I wouldn't have been able to go there at the moment, because, watching BBC Breakfast this morning, they've closed their borders to incoming flights due to the pandemic.

Friday. 6.25 a.m. The week is virtually over. Things are very much the same as they were at the beginning of the week. I'm attempting to increase how far I walk and get my number of steps to increase. I went out with Alfie as usual and we did a complete circuit of Oldbrook Green. I may have to do two circuits instead of one to get to the target. All this is recorded by my FitBit, which I have set up correctly.

Pandemic . . . Over and Out?

So, is that the end of the covid-19 pandemic? Is it now an epidemic rather than a pandemic? Boris has always said that he would 'follow the science.' The data shows that infections have fallen.

Sunday 6.30 a.m. I woke a good deal later than usual. I waited to take Alfie out and when we did, we found it quite windy. Alfie obviously doesn't like the wind, so he took us back home. When he doesn't want to do something, he makes sure he gets what he wants and that includes not getting wet or enduring wind. Funny little person!

I arrived at church at around 9.50 this morning and I was somewhat surprised that there were no chairs put out. So myself and several other people were drafted in to bring them in on the trolleys. It's surprising how quickly this was completed when everyone works together. No restrictions! No horrible masks! Ability to sing properly! Just great to have things almost back to some sort of normal. Then, after the service had finished, we had to remain to clear up the chairs and put them away on the trolleys. Twenty-two on each.

Monday. 6.20 a.m. Alfie was just not bothered about walking this morning. He's just becoming rather lazy. Not like him at all. I found him on the bed, in my usual place. Curled up and fast asleep. I attempted to move him but he growled at me. Not his usual behaviour.

I've spent most of the morning moving half of the furniture in the lounge so that I could sweep up the dust and other bits off the floor and then steam mop the floor with the Vax steam mop. It's quite a military exercise as the armchair was quite difficult to get through the door and put it into the hallway. No end of cables for such things as the floor light, the wifi router, and the chargers for the iPhone and iPad. I've already cleared out a lot of paperwork and generally cleared away clutter. It now means I have the second half of the room to clean, which will mean moving the television unit, the desk, and the sofa. 

Tuesday. 6.36 a.m. Another relatively mild and pleasant morning. But, saying that, just as I settled down to go to sleep at around 10.30 yesterday evening, there was an almighty rainstorm. It seemed to go on for quite a while, but there wasn't much to suggest rain when Alfie and I went out before 6 o'clock this morning. He really is getting reluctant to walk the entire circuit of Oldbrook Gree, but I am really determined to do the steps which are being recorded on my FitBit.

11.10 a.m. I've been to Sainsbury's this morning. I had to collect a  repeat prescription which was ready and pick up some bits and pieces, particularly milk and dog food. I can't have Alfie going without, now can I? I was surprised by how many gaps there were in the aisles, breakfast cereal being one. No doubt this is because of people being 'pinged' by the ridiculous app which tells you to self-isolate if you've been near someone who has been found to be infectious with covid or whatever. No end of the staff in various industries have had this happen, in what is called the 'pingdemic.' Crazy. 

The World's Your Oyster

Saturday. 6.40 a.m.Why, you may well ask, did I choose THAT as the title for this blog post? The simple fact is, I don't know. It just came to me, so I decided to use it. Crazy, but true.

It's a sunny and bright morning, and Alfie and I went out as usual. As we got to the crossing onto Oldbrook Green, I saw a group of men playing what I thought was football on the grass. Well, not much of a game, but more of an old-fashioned kick-about. I think from their voices, which were quite loud, that they were probably Russian or at least what you'd call East European. Well, they appeared to be enjoying themselves, but from the raised voices, I don't think the neighbors would have been too pleased, especially not on a Saturday morning, to be woken by a noise like that. But at least it was good-natured.

I have now got my FitBit working properly at long last, as I think I mentioned in my last post. As a result, I can use it to count steps when I am out walking with Alfie. So I was determined to do a circuit of Oldbrook Green. But unfortunately, Alfie has other ideas. He kept attempting to pull me back home to the flat. He can be very strong-willed when he wants to. An extremely determined little person at the best of times and considering his size, quite strong in the sense that it takes quite a lot of effort to prevent him from taking us both home. I had to really struggle to get him to walk all around the circuit, but we did eventually. I'm really determined to do my 10,000 steps (or, hopefully, far more.) each day.

We got back to the crossing point over Oldbrook Boulevard and it was as we were walking along the path I saw this large, very fluffy cat slinking along and making for the main path into Fishermead. When it saw Alfie, it decided to turn round and make for the other side of Strudwick Drive, near The Cricketers pub. Fortunately, Alfie didn't see it, otherwise, things might have been very different.

I've been watching a documentary which was on the television channel 'Talking Pictures', but which I had recorded on my Freeview box. I had forgotten all about it until I was short of something to watch and I had a look and it came up. It was about the film and theatre director, Lindsay Anderson. I am always interested in discovering more about the creative process someone goes through to produce a film a novel or any sort of artistic creation. There are a great many similar documentaries on YouTube which I have seen and as a result learned things I wouldn't have done otherwise. Anderson directed a film in the late 1960s called 'If . . . .' which was about a revolution in a public school. I remember seeing it when I was a student A.S.M. in Cheltenham. It was filmed in large part at Cheltenham College. It's strange how some things become a sort of intersection of several areas of my life. That one, obviously, Cheltenham. One of the actors was David Wood, who went on to play the part of The Son in the play 'A Voyage Round My Father' by John Mortimer when I went on to be an A.S.M. at Greenwich Theatre in 1970. David Wood mentioned that he had been an actor in rep at the Swan Theatre in Worcester at the time he was cast in 'If . . . .' which is where my daughter Chloe went to university there and now lives. The film had a very powerful effect on me. It was not only interesting at the time I first saw it to see Cheltenham portrayed when I was living there, but the fact that it was about rebellion and radical. My other favourite film is by Terry Gilliam, one of the 'Monty Python' team who created the brilliant animations which were used in the television series and then went on to direct several groundbreaking films. The film that really interested me was 'Brazil' which stars Jonathan Pryce. Set in a dystopian Britain and very similar to Orwell's '1984.' A comedy with a very black sense of humour and draws very heavily on Gilliam's illustration and design style. Not a comedy that's for the faint-hearted but with a clear message, similar to the Lindsay Anderson film. A great many Hollywood films are just like chewing gum for the eyes. Just fodder for the masses.  Chew on it and the flavour is gone, so you either spit it out or put it in a bin (or you should do.) Mindless pap. Just made to make money and that's about all. You come out and it's forgotten ten minutes later. But these two films make you think. I think it's that which makes them so brilliant. Blockbusters are not really my sort of thing. 

Bouncing Mail and other inconsequential Matters

Wednesday. 12.15 p.m. I keep getting the wrong post delivered to my flat. I have a feeling that the Post Office, or at least the so-called organization who are responsible for the delivery of our post, is not up to much. At one time we used to get a post at least twice a day, the first delivery at around 7 a.m and a second delivery at around 11 a.m.  They were so precise with their deliveries you could almost set your watch by them. Now it seems to arrive whenever the postman feels like delivering, sometimes before midday, sometimes around 2-3 o'clock. What is going on? And then I get misdirected mail. I have a letter here for the gentleman who possibly lives along Dexter Avenue or who MIGHT possibly have been a former tenant of this flat (I won't give the address for security reasons.) I gave it to the postman who happened to be passing along the corridor, but it has come back rather like some sort of boomerang. I should have written 'not known at this address.' If I had it in at the S.H.O's office within Dexter House, do you suppose it will then bounce back like something on a piece of elastic?

The workmen are back, building the scooter sheds. I suppose they are going to be called scooter sheds, but I can't think of a better way to describe them. We've had a couple of days without any work going on in the community garden, but it seems all is activity. There are several vehicles parked either on the road or the grassed area along the side of Strudwick Drive, one being a very large concrete mixer. I presume this is for the foundations of the aforementioned sheds. As I walked past they seemed to be releasing water from this enormous vehicle and using one to the two tipper trucks to ferry the concrete into the garden and then transferred to what will, I assume, be the floor for both sheds. 

Thursday. 6.30 a.m. I woke up, then went back to sleep. But did it really matter? Alfie got his usual outing and it was slightly chilly, but the sun is out as I write this. Alfie booked in at The Groom Room at 1 p.m. for a haircut. 

Later. I took Alfie to The Groom Room, getting there well before the appointment time of 1 p.m. Alfie was yapping when I released him from the cage in the back of the car and excited to be out and going in to be pampered by the young lady who took him from me to begin his haircut. I had just over an hour to fill before going back to collect him, so I went into T.K. Maax, which is along the parade of units from Pets At Home. A good place to pick up a bargain. I got a really nice Moleskine notebook, which I had wanted for some time. Ideal hardback notebook and just the right size to slip in a pocket when I'm out and about and I want to make a note of things. 

Alfie was really pleased to see me when I went back to collect him from The Groom Room! He's now looking trimmed and tidy. He even had his teeth cleaned! His breath was getting somewhat smelly and I would never be able to do this as he would bite me. I know he's little, but he has exceptionally sharp teeth and I wouldn't want to upset him or hurt him. He went back into the cage in the back of the car and I heard not a single peep from him on the way home. How does he know when we get home because as soon as I turn off the car's engine he starts up barking.

Friday. 6.15 a.m. A bit of a shock for both of us when we went out at around 5.45. A thin and weak rain, but nevertheless, still got a slight wetting. Alfie was not impressed, and soon made straight for the door after having a wee on the grass.

I've been told that the woman who comes in to clean the communal areas in Dexter House has been told by her supervision that she hasn't been doing her job properly. She had an audit and didn't come off very well. She is leaving some areas uncleaned. I can clearly see the dust on the banisters and rails of the stairs leading up to my flat and underneath has never been dusted, nor any of the top of the bricked areas around the place. Will it now improve? Will she need to do a better job? Who knows. I could use my new Vax steam mop to clean around the area of my flat but may wait until I know whether there will be an improvement. Let's wait and see.

As I write this, at 4.05 p.m., it is quite sunny, although a little windy.

Cakes and Bakes

Tuesday. 8.20 a.m. I took Alfie out for his usual outing along Strudwick Drive at around 5.25. It was relatively mild thank goodness. No rain or excessive sunshine. On the way towards Oldbrook Green, there is an oak tree on the grassed area with bushes around in, just behind the bus stop. Alfie always stops there to have a sniff and a wee, but fortunately, he didn't see the black and white cat hiding behind some of the foliage. If he had there would most definitely have been a great deal of barking. The cat was very still and quiet. I think it must have realized that moving with a very vociferous dog was not in its own interests.

I'm back in the kitchen, baking cakes. I have just this minute put two tins of Victoria Sponge into the oven. They should be ready to remove in around 20 minutes. Closely following Delia Smith's recipe. I have actually doubled up the quantities as the first time I made a sponge it came out really think. Probably because I didn't include baking powder in the mixture. I presume it produces more air and that would make it rise far more. Just have to wait and see how this turns out.

Currently working on the plot for a new storyline. This will, hopefully, run concurrently with what I've already written. 

Later. 4.40 p.m. The Victoria sponge didn't come out quite as it should have done. Unfortunately, it hadn't been in the oven long enough. Either the oven wasn't set to quite the right temperature or the bake wasn't long enough. Just a couple more minutes I would have said. It tasted fine, but not up to my usual standards.

Wednesday. 6.00 a.m. Alfie and I did our usual thing and were out around 5.35 but he didn't intend to walk any further than he needed to, determinedly took me home to the flat when he'd done what he needed to. So that was that.

Milk went off again! I wanted to make a cup of tea yesterday evening and when I poured it out into my mug, it came out as yogurt, not that I would want to eat it. The 'best before' date was 4th August, so it should have lasted a good deal longer than it did, so that means no tea or breakfast cereal this morning- yet again! Why is this? I reckon it's a good deal older when it's dated at the dairy, so by the time you buy it, it's virtually out of date. Mystery, nevertheless.

I've been grappling with setting up my FitBit, which has been laying on the unit in my bedroom for months. I've managed to charge it (it is a Charge 3, for those who are interested.) which is something of an annoyance as I'm never sure it is charging when I put it in the charging device. You have to get the gold contacts to connect with those in the charging device and it should vibrate to show it's working. I have also managed to reset the time on it by using the app on my iPhone and it now seems fine. You can change the clock face and I have managed to set a new one, so it's up and running and I can keep a track of the number of steps walked during the day. So, another box ticked.

Another Week

Sunday. 9.20 a.m. Yesterday I intended to go into the Central Shopping Centre. I have wanted to buy a styptic pencil. I don't think most people, particularly younger men, will know what these things are. If you shave using a more traditional, wet, system, to shave, as I do, you will know how easy it is to cut yourself, or produce little nicks, which cause bleeding. With me, it's not very often, but when it happens, it's often difficult to staunch the flow of blood. You can use bits of tissue or cotton wool, but who wants to go around for the rest of the day with bits of paper stuck to your face? I don't. A styptic pencil means you can stop these little bloody flows more or less instantly. It stings at first, but only mildly. Just a vital item to keep in your shaving kit. But it's very difficult to find such an item anywhere in a supermarket or pharmacy. I have managed to find them in branches of Boots, but nowhere else. You have to keep them dry otherwise they crumble to pieces and then keep them in their little plastic containers. The one I had has since ended up in pieces which is why I wanted to replace it. All this was an excuse to drive into the centre. I haven't been in for a while. I parked in the carpark next to The Point and paid using the RingGo app. It certainly saves having to have the right change for the machine and it's actually considerably cheaper. I went into the centre and had a look for the styptic pencil, first in Superdrug, but no sign of what I wanted. Then into Boots. A short walk further along inside the Centre, but after a good look in the men's shaving area, which has about every shaving item imaginable, every type of razor blade, no styptic pencil! Just a waste of my time. Why is it SO difficult to buy these things? They're really useful for when you have a slight cut when shaving, so you would imagine they would be vital and on sale in the razor blade aisle. But no.

I then went into T.K. Maax. Just for a browse. But the escalator was out of service which meant I couldn't get to the upper floor, so I didn't bother to find the stairs so I left. I then went into W.H. Smith with the intention of buying the latest edition of Current Archaeology which I find thoroughly interesting and worth a read, but, after a good look along the magazine racks I couldn't find it, so I left. Just a waste of a morning in the shopping centre. So I drove to Sainsbury's to buy one or two items and that was my outing over and out.

Monday. 6.05 a.m. Awake early so it was out with Alfie. There was a mist over part of Oldbrook Green and I noticed the obligatory supermarket trolley upturned near the tarmacked games area. Every urban scene must have an abandoned supermarket trolley to give the correct atmosphere. It makes me wonder why people can't return them when they take them away from whichever supermarket they come from.

I've had another great idea for my writing. I'm not going to reveal it on here, obviously, but it will take things to a new level. I'm now doing some research to see how it's going to work and fit into what I have already produced.