Wet and Cold

 Tuesday. 3.25 p.m. I wasn't going to keep this blog going over the Christmas period, but I now think I will write something. It has been raining continuously since early this morning. It hasn't been heavy rain, but thin and miserable nonetheless. I have taken Alfie out several times, but whenever he discovers it's raining, he turns tail and returns indoors. I can't blame him.

Wednesday. 3.35 p.m. Not a particularly exciting day today. It has been a good deal milder than of late. The sun even shone, which always lifts my mood. The last couple of days have been overcast and gloomy, which is definitely par for the course in late December.  I will be glad when Christmas is over, basically because when Carol was around things were busy, with us going out to visit such places as Waddesdon Manor, where they always put on some sort of extra effort with decorations in the manor and a Christmas market within the grounds. 

I have now watched the final episode of 'The Crown.' I have seen all six seasons of the Netflix series. I have to say, the final season wasn't up to the high standard of the earlier seasons. It seemed to run out of steam and I think they should have ended it with the fifth season. For all that, it had extremely high production values, such as sets, costumes, photography and so on. You could definitely see where the budget was spent. 

Thursday. 8.50 a.m. I am about to go to Sainsbury's to do a bit of shopping. I'm rather concerned that it might be extremely busy, considering we are only days away from Christmas. 

The weather has done another flip. From bright and sunny yesterday morning, to wet and windy this morning.

1.55 p.m. I went to Sainsbury's. I picked up everything I wanted, which was on a list. I would have preferred to have used a manned till to complete my shop, but, as usual, there was one of these tills open, but it had a long queue of customers waiting. I was left with no alternative, and so regrettably went to use a self-service till. All went well to start off, scanning each item and placing them in my shopping bags. But on three occasions the confounded thing stopped working, for the slightest fault, and I had to get assistance. This is why I don't like using self-service tills; they keep on breaking down, and you have to wait for assistance from a member of staff.

3.50 p.m. We've had a tea party here at Dexter House. As we sat and stuffed our faces with mince-pies and drank tea, a raffle was drawn, with the proceeds going to Willen Hospice. I have won a battery-operated fan, which will be useful in the summer when we get warm weather.

Friday. 10.30 a.m. It's my turn with the washing machine. I had my laundry ready and in the machine at around 7.40. I am supposed to start it at 8, but I'm not very good when it comes to waiting. I went back an hour later, to discover the machine stopped and nothing to indicate it was working, whether it had finished the wash cycle, with the clothes rinsed. The door wouldn't open as it should. As you can imagine, I wasn't a happy bunny, because I wanted my clothes out and in the drier. My only answer to the problem was to ring Mears, who are responsible for maintenance at Dexter House. I went back to my flat and rang their number. I'm sorry to say, I wasn't polite to the woman I spoke to, although I did apologize. She was going to email Vashti, the S.H.O., to see if she would be able to get the washing machine opened. I was concerned that, if the clothes were left inside the washing machine, wet. If they were left long enough, they would get mouldy and I would be without anything clean to wear. Well, that isn't exactly correct, I do have SOME clean clothes. It was because everything will close down over the Christmas and New Year period and nothing would be done about the washing machine. The woman I spoke to told me it 'wasn't an emergency.' Well, it wasn't a life-and-death matter I suppose, but to me, it was an emergency.

I returned to the washing machine, and it was working! Apparently, there had been a power cut, but then I discovered that there were workmen in Dexter House, and they'd turned off the power! But nobody told me, hence the situation with the washing machine. I managed to get the clothes spun and when the cycle was over, I put the clothes in the tumble drier and the situation was resolved.

Approaching Christmas

Monday. 10.25 a.m. It's a rather overcast and gloomy day. Certainly not as bad as it was a couple of days ago, but not what you would call inviting, by any stretch of the imagination. I have been to Sainsbury's, basically to top things up which were running low.

Tuesday. 2.55 p.m. I went to the Bridge Builder offices to complete my D.B.S. application. It appeared to go without a hitch, and I will have to wait until the certificate comes through before I can go further with my volunteering with Bridge Builder.

It is a wet and cold day. It has been raining more or less continuously since this morning.

Wednesday. 12.40 p.m. It was quite icy and slippery along the path towards Oldbrook Green when I went out with Alfie at around 7.25 this morning. It was quite deceptive and the leaves need to be more helpful. It really is about time that the Council workmen sweep them up. If they don't, they will begin to decompose and then become a hazard, becoming slippery, and then they will have to answer to those who fall over as a result.

I am learning the monologue I have been given as part of the Bridge Builder 'Christmas Cracked' presentation which we are taking into local Primary Schools. I have to wait until my D.B.S. certificate comes through before I can go to school. It's one of the formalities you now have to go through because of the possibility of someone abusing children. It's a sad world we live in, but without this piece of paper, you aren't allowed in and schools would want to see this.

Sunday. 8.45 a.m. I haven't written anything on here for a while. I did say in an earlier post that I wouldn't be writing much from now on.

Tuesday. 8.40 a.m. Yesterday was the fifth anniversary of Carol's passing. I was invited to a Christmas meal at The Barn by Ross. He had texted me about this, which was for the Monday Club people. It was a really pleasant meal. I'm not used to eating a full meal at midday because I always have my meal in the evening so in that respect it was great to not have to make a meal in the evening.

Apparently today it was four years ago since the General Election. I had forgotten this fact (not that I'm that bothered one way or the other.) But Sir Kier Starmer, the Labour Party leader, was on BBC Breakfast, when I put the television on at around 7.15. He was speaking from Milton Keynes, but I wasn't sure where he was. From what I could see in the background, it looked like a warehouse.

Wednesday. 2.15 p.m. At 9 o'clock, my car was booked to have an oil change. The traffic driving there was a good deal quieter than I was expecting, especially at the roundabout crossing Standing Way. I sat in the waiting area as the work was done, and it was ready to drive away at around 9.50. Paid and went home.

As I write this, it's really windy and wet outside. 

4.30 p.m. We have had a group from M.K.C.C. ( Milton Keynes Christian Centre) come to give the tenants here at Dexter House, me included, a really great Christmas teaparty. My friends Margaret and John, who go to Shenley Christian Centre (and it would appear, M.K.C.C. I knew John from when I was a helper on Alpha, which was run at M.K.C.C.) Part of the proceedings was a quiz and I won quite a haul of prizes!

Saturday. 12.30 p.m. I went with group from Shenley Christian Fellowship to the Nut and Squirrel in Westcroft for a Christmas meal. The group was made of of mostly those who are in some way or other involved with the Acorns playgroup. We were scheduled to meet at 7.30, but some people were ill, I think probably with covid.

Two ladies were already sitting at the table when I arrived, and the rest of the party arrived over the next half-hour or so. But, due to some of the staff at the Nut and Squirrel ringing in sick, only one waiter was available to do the waiting duties. Not just for our party, but, it would appear, for the rest of the restaurant, and, for what I would tell, serving behind the bar. He was literally rushed off his feet for the entire evening.

Anything Goes!

 Wednesday. 8.35 a.m. A bright, but chilly, morning.

Thursday. 8.35 a.m. It's quite frosty and cold this morning. A good deal colder than yesterday morning. The car windows are frozen over, so I have been to scrape some of the ice off, so I can drive to the Oaktree Centre after 9o'clock for our regular Bible study.

I got the printed bank statement with my address on it in the post yesterday morning from Nationwide. I wasn't expecting it, so it means my D.B.S. can be completed at Bridge Builder on Tuesday.

Friday. 10.15 a.m. It's yet another frosty and cold morning, but it's also foggy. You can't see the central shopping centre from my kitchen window, because the fog is so thick. It doesn't look as if it's going to clear at all today.

I am watching David Tennant in the central role in the Royal Shakespeare Company's  production of 'Hamlet.' Patrick Stewart plays Claudius as well as The Ghost. As they are meant to be brothers, it makes sense. It is on the BBC iPlayer, as part of the 400th anniversary celebrations for the publication of the First Shakespeare Folio. There are quite a few programmes on Shakespeare, a three-part drama/documentary on Shakespeare's life, which is very good, and I have discovered a lot of new stuff, one fact being that one of the Gunpowder plotters was a relative of Shakespeare and was executed because of his involvement. Also, a Simon Shama series about the Bard.

I might have mentioned this before, elsewhere in these blog posts, but I am something of a Shakespeare fanatic. I also 'collect' productions of Hamlet. I can't now remember how many I've seen, over the years, besides being an A.S.M. on a production when I was at Liverpool Playhouse in 1971. Carol and I went to see a National Theatre production of the play, which had Rory Kinnear in the central role. I find it intriguing to see how many ways it can be staged. It never seems to lose its power. They have more recently staged what's called 'gender blind' (not sure if that's the right term though.) with Maxine Peake playing Hamlet, although, in that production, I wasn't sure she was a 'he' or 'she'. Thinking about it, having second thoughts, her version might have been transexual. Thinking further, in Shakespeare's time, the female roles would have been played by male youths, because women were forbidden from appearing on stage. Some of the other roles have been gender-swapped, such as Polonius, becoming Polonia. 

Sunday. 12.30 p.m. It is a particularly unpleasant and wet day. I have just returned from the Oaktree Centre. I was scheduled to do tea and coffee, but an entire family were doing just that, so I had time to chat as it was what is called 'Cafe Church', which means there was no workshop, but a time of fellowship. 

My friends Margaret and Mike had invited me to lunch, so I came home to take Alfie out and as I got to my front door, I discovered a parcel, from Evri. It was difficult to read the label because the print was so tiny, so I had to get my reading glasses, but someone had put the wrong address on it. It was for the flat opposite. 

Getting Wintery!

Wednesday. 8.10 a.m. Yesterday I took my application form to Bridge Builder. Next week I will return and they will apply for my D.B.S. check (Disclosure and Barring Service.), so I can work with children in the schools they visit.

Thursday. 7.45 a.m. It was an amazing sunset as I took Alfie out at around 7.20. The whole sky was blazing red. I would have taken a few photographs, but it would have finished by the time I'd returned to my flat and picked up my phone or camera.

Friday. 3.00 p.m. I have been taking Mirtazapine for around a month. It is an anti-depressant and it helps me sleep. I will admit here that I have been going through a depressive episode for the past couple of months. I had been taking these tablets for around a week when I went to Worcester, and the Saturday afternoon I was there I felt awful and wasn't particularly sociable. For the first few days, I felt horrible and wasn't sure I wanted to go on taking them, but I persisted with them as they were going to take several weeks before I felt any sort of benefit. I am sleeping far better now, and the depression has lifted to some extent. 

I was told by the doctor who prescribed Mirtazapine that I would have to have a review before a new prescription was given. I rang the surgery several weeks ago to book an appointment with the doctor to review this medication before the current course ended. The telephone review was to be with the surgery's pharmacist, and she would ring me this morning, which she did. I told her how I was getting on with the medication, and she gave me a prescription and the new anti-depressants would be reviewed after three months. I didn't want the prescription to go to Lloyds Direct, because it was likely that I wouldn't get the next course of tablets. It might take a week, or even more, for them to arrive in the post. So, the prescription went to Boots pharmacy, next door to Central Milton Keynes Medical Centre. I drove to the pharmacy and managed to collect the medication, which means that I can keep on with them when the current course ends on Tuesday.

My car needs servicing. I usually get it done at this time of the year and the digital system keeps on reminding me of the fact the car needs servicing. It also needs the oil changing and there is a small light which has come on the dashboard which I've not seen before. I should get my Winter Fuel Payment any day now and that will be used to pay for the servicing. As a result, I won't be driving the car until the service has been done. This cash was usually in my bank account around now, but it seems it was later because I checked my bank account. I will just have to be patient until it is in my account and then book the service with a local garage. 

From Boots pharmacy, I walked the short distance to the surgery to ask at the reception for my blood test result, which was done exactly two weeks ago. It turns out my cholesterol level is normal, which would be 5 or less, with the label on the result, 'no further action,' which is a relief.

Saturday. 8.10 a.m. A cold morning, with a light frost on the grass when I took Alfie out at around 7.15.

Monday. 8.55 a.m. It must have been raining at night because the leaves appeared to be wet when I took Alfie out.

6.05 p.m. I had my first Zoom meeting with the Social History group of U3A. I just found out there were Zoom meetings like this recently. It was about letters, letter-writing and communication in general. It was very interesting and I found out a great deal. I had trouble connecting, basically, because I was given the wrong ID code and password, but, when I went on email, I got the correct information.

Tuesday. 6.30 p.m. I've been to the Bridge Builder office in Bletchley to start my D.B.S. application. Unfortunately, I need a printout of my bank statement. The other documents are suitable and used to prove my identity. I have since printed out my bank statement from the Nationwide website.

The rest of the afternoon was spent doing a safeguarding training. I  have done similar training, having worked in care in various situations. 

Bright and Sunny!

Wednesday. 8.55 a.m. It's a bright and sunny morning, although it's not as warm as expected. I have taken the cage which Alfie sits in when he goes anywhere in the car. I've had it when I took him to the lady who looked after him when I went to Worcester, and it was in the car all the way there and back and because I'm about to go to Sainsbury's, it makes more space to put shopping in.

10.40 a.m. What a performance! I've just got back from Sainsbury's. The traveller is closed, the 'down' one, and when you've finished your shopping trip, you have to go down to the car park in the lift. Then the self-service till I used was playing up. I'm scanning everything correctly, but the confounded thing stops working and keeps on telling me 'item in the wrong place' or something else. Frustrating, to say the least. It means a member of staff has to come and sort out the blasted machine, so I can continue to scan and get finished and then go home with my shopping.

Friday. 1.05 p.m. You may have noticed that I haven't been posting such regular posts on here lately. I just think I want to spend less time writing this. So, please don't expect such regular posts from now on.

I haven't mentioned that I went for the interview at Bridge Builder last Tuesday afternoon. It seemed to go well. A lovely team. I am in the process of filling in an application form and asking people at church to give me references. The business relating to the 'incident' at Camphill regarding Halloween is still to be resolved. I have a meeting on 27th November. I will not be returning to work in the theatre workshop.

I have completed reading the sixth and final book in the Peter Ackroyd series 'History of England.' The first one in the series is called 'Foundation', the second is called Tudors', the third is called Civil War', the fourth is called 'Revolution', the fifth is called 'Dominion' and the sixth, and final volume is called 'Innovation.' 

Saturday. 12.30 p.m. Anything but 'bright and sunny', which is what I used as this post's title. It is windy and there is intermittent rain. Taking Alfie out, we have to negotiate the leaves which cover the grass alongside Strudwick Drive and I had to step aside as an electric scooter shoots by and barely gives me space on the path. Two people are riding it, which I'm sure isn't such a good idea as they're probably intended to have only one rider on board.

Monday. 1.25 p.m. A reasonably mild and sunny day.

I attempted to ring Central Milton Keynes Medical Centre to get the result for the blood test I did over a week ago, but I spent over 45 minutes hanging on, with that horrible music repeating over and over that I gave up and didn't get through. Maddening.

Then we had the fire alarm going off at around 12.15. It was eventually turned off when the fire engine arrived. Why can't they merely throw a switch somewhere to turn it off? Crazy. The thing is so loud that it gives me a headache.

I have cleaned my fridge out. The shelves were getting dirty, bits of bread, crumbs and so on. Each shelf was taken out and rinsed in the sink and then replaced. Great to have it clean again and somewhat therapeutic to have that done.

All Change!

Saturday. 9.55 a.m. I have returned from Sainsbury's, where I have done a pop-up shop. 

The travelater, that is, the moving 'slope' (for want of a better description) which takes you from the underground car park up to the shop floor, isn't currently operating. The DOWN one works, but not the UP. There have been repairs going on with these machines over quite a considerable period, but it doesn't seem to have made much difference to the travelator

I had a list of items, which made it easier and quicker to shop. But some items have been moved to different locations, particularly bath sponges. They have been located in the same place all the time I've been shopping in this branch of Sainsbury's, so I had to ask a member of staff and he was helpful and I managed to locate two bath sponges!

On the way into the store, having came up on the travelater, (which wasn't moving. A rather strange experience, because your eyes try to make it seem as if the thing is moving when it isn't. I can't explain it any other way.) I noticed some small Christmas trees on a display unit. I went to have a closer look. They were complete with battery-operated lights and at £10 seemed good value. I went through the barrier (which is the latest addition to the store.) I found I couldn't get to the Christmas trees without setting off an alarm. So, I had to ask another member of staff to allow me near enough to the Christmas tree display to select one so that I could buy it. Another mission accomplished.

I learnt, on the BBC Breakfast programme this morning, that Booths, a north of England supermarket chain, is removing self-service tills from almost all their stores, because of the feedback they have had from customers. They will put back staff on tills to replace them. Let's hope that this is the start of a return to common sense and that other stores, such as Sainsbury's, return to manned tills. It doesn't make sense when they have to have staff close by the self-service tills for when they go wrong, as they always seem to do when I use one in Sainsbury's. 

Sunday. 2.15 p.m. It's been raining this morning, and it's really colder. Definitely autumnal, murky and very low light when driving to church along Chaffron Way this morning.

Monday. 12.30 p.m. It was quite a shock early this morning, when I took Alfie out, to discover that it was raining. Not too hard, but enough to get a drenching. But as I write this, considerably later, it's sunny and bright, but there's a strong wind blowing.

Tuesday. 9.30 a.m. Here I am in my flat, not going to Camphill. Never mind, I have the possibility of voluntary work with Bridge Builder. I have an interview there at 2 o'clock this afternoon.

There is a large amount of fallen leaves outside on the grass where I take Alfie, alongside Strtudwick Drive. He doesn't like being taken through it, so I carried him to the leaf-free section of the grass.

An electric scooter lies in the grass, where it has been since yesterday morning. I moved it onto the grass, as it was likely to be in the way of anyone walking along the patch, most particularly someone pushing a child in a buggy or someone in a wheelchair. These things are left, presumably, when their batteries run out. I was surprised by how heavy it was. No doubt someone will come along and collect it at some point during the day.

Back Home

Tuesday. 1.35 p.m. I mentioned the fact that my washing got stuck inside the tumble drier on Friday before I was due to drive to Worcester. Well, the good news is that it has all been removed from the machine, although the drier isn't repaired. 

It's bright and sunny out. Thankfully, no wind or pouring rain. Let's just hope it stays that way, at least for a couple of weeks or so.

Thursday. 8.15 a.m. A wind and rain-free morning. I just hope it remains that way for at least the weekend.

I wasn't going to mention this, but I think I ought to. Two Tuesdays ago, which was Hallowe'en, I wasn't going to go to Camphill. But then I decided that I would go and drive there after 9 o'clock. As I walked into the Chrysalis Theatre, people were unloading pumpkins from a car parked outside. It was obvious that Halloween was going to be the centre of things and no work on drama was going to take place. So, I said to Terrie, the lady who leads the performing arts workshop, that, as a Christian, I 'didn't do Halloween.' She replied that it would be all Halloween stuff and that, if that was the case, I had better go home, which is what I did.

I didn't think any more about this situation until I got to Worcester on Friday evening and was looking at emails on my phone when I came across an email from the lady in charge of volunteers. It said that being a 'diverse' community, all 'religions' were included, and that my reaction was 'inappropriate.' The email was something of a shock and made me really upset. I don't remember that Halloween was a religion, but that doesn't seem to make a difference. I have given five years of my time (excluding lockdowns) for nothing, as a volunteer. I have no end of experience which the theatre group has benefitted from, and many relationships made and built on since I started there. The email said that maybe 'Camphill isn't the place for you.' Not true. I have set up an interview with Julia, the lady in charge of volunteers on 27th November, and I will apologize, even though I can't see that I've done anything wrong by stating my feelings towards Halloween. I can't be a true Christian and be dabbling in Halloween and all it stands for.

I have since contacted Bridge Builders, which is based in Milton Keynes and have an interview this Tuesday, to discuss being a volunteer for them. I will wait and see what this interview produces, which will mean I won't be going back to Camphill.

1.45 p.m. We prayed about the above situation at Camphill. The prayer group knows the situation. I have to walk away from Camphill without any sort of ill feeling, which is necessary if I am to expect a reference from them.

I have been to find Bridge Builder's office in Bletchley, just opposite IKEA. Very easy to find, and it makes it easier to know exactly where it is when I go for my interview there on Tuesday afternoon.

Friday. 1.00 p.m. I have been to Central Milton Keynes Medical Centre to have blood taken, so it can be tested for cholesterol. As I may have mentioned in an earlier post here, I have a problem with this procedure, because the nurse usually has a problem finding a vein. It went well, and I should get the result in about a week.

Wild and Windy

Wednesday. 7.20 a.m. It's a wild and windy morning. Just been out with Alfie, but we didn't hang around, because we were both getting wet. 

1.20 p.m. I have been to have my covid vaccine. I had a text message telling me the vaccine was available and that I could book an appointment through the text, which is what I did and the appointment was at Jardine's chemist in Shenley Church End. The vaccine used was the Astra-Zenica vaccine and went into my right arm, because the flu vaccine, which I had on Saturday, went into my left arm.

Thursday. 7.40 a.m. I will, hopefully, drive to Worcester tomorrow morning,  and come back on Monday morning, so I won't be writing any posts during that time. I say, hopefully, because of Storm Ciårn, which, as I write, is raging across the south of England, mostly along the coast. I am keeping an eye on the situation and it would appear Milton Keynes and Worcester are not affected, although we are likely to get rain and wind, but not the strength they have been having in the Channel Islands., up to 92 miles per hour.

A little discomfort in the area where the vaccine injection was in my right arm, after the covid vaccine, but nothing too bad, thankfully.

Friday. 10.35 a.m. I'm all packed and ready to drive off to Worcester. I've been to put diesel in the car and now have a tank full, so I should be able to get to Worcester and come home without having to refill. 

The weather is calm! Yesterday there was quite a strong wind, but not as strong as the wind on the south coast of England or the Channel Islands. If I couldn't go today, I would have gone tomorrow, Saturday, morning.

Only one problem. As usual on a Friday, I did my washing. All were put in the washing machine at around 7.40, left to get on with the job and then came back an hour later to put it all in the tumble drier. I went back to take the dried clothes out and found that the door of the drier wouldn't open, so I now have a load of clothes locked inside and there's no way to open the door until someone from Mears comes to deal with the matter.

Monday. 1.00 p.m. I'm back from Worcester. I had a lovely time with Chloe and Steve and the grandchildren, George, Eddie, Arthur and Rosie. It got quite noisy at the time, but that's young children. 

I left Milton Keynes around 2.15, having dropped Alfie off with Irene, who was looking after him for the weekend. The journey was trouble free and I got to the M40 in well under an hour. Having the SatNav made things easier because I don't like having to change between the three motorways, M40, M42 and M5, but it all went smoothly.

I arrived outside Steve and Chloe's house at about 4.10. I rang the doorbell and Steve came to the door, He works at home and Chloe came back around 40 minutes later, having left work and having collected the children from their various activities and school.

The next day, Saturday, it was raining, and, rather than spend the morning stuck in the house, we went with the children to the centre of Worcester, to visit the cathedral. A truly awesome place, the cathedral, No end of history, which interests me, which included an archaeological find made some years ago, of a shoe (or, maybe a boot) which was discovered when some work was done in and around the cathedral precincts, said to be worn by a 15th-century pilgrim, whose headless skeleton was unearthed in 1986. This is on display in the cathedral crypt.

In the afternoon Steve's parents and two lady relatives visited and later we went for a walk across the park, by which time it was beginning to get dark, and a mist began to rise. We had a meal together, the first course being lasagne, which Chloe had made and as a pudding, Steve had made sticky toffee pudding, really delicious and I want the recipe. As good as you would expect from a restaurant.

Sunday was bright and sunny, although it clouded over later in the afternoon. I sat outside in the garden as Steve, Chloe and the children swept up some leaves which covered the lawn.

The following morning, Monday, I woke early and got ready to drive back to Milton Keynes. I waited for everyone to leave the house and had already said my 'goodbyes' and left around 8.25. The journey home was relatively straightforward, except for a hold-up around mid-way. I don't know what caused it, but the traffic slowed to around walking pace, but at least it didn't stand still. I got back to Milton Keynes around 10 a.m. and went straight to the house of the lady who had been looking after Alfie. It was a possibility that she would be home, although I had said I'd be there at 11, so I went to Dexter House to unload my stuff and went back at 11 and she was at home so I collected Alfie and went back to Dexter House.

Happy Bunny Time (Or maybe not . . .)

Saturday. 6.30 p.m. I went to the Central Milton Keynes Medical Centre for my flu jab, although 'jab' is not the best way to describe how the vaccine is delivered to patients. I was due to be there at 12.20 p.m., but I got there at 11.55. I had only just signed in on the computer system and sat down to wait when my name came up on the digital display. I was the only person waiting, but in previous years, when I had my vaccine, there was a queue outside and many people inside. Very soon I was in the room, sitting down on a chair and having the vaccine.

I managed to say to the nurse who did the vaccine shot that I had attempted to get a doctor's appointment so that I could discuss my medication, in particular the sleeping tablets which will finish on Wednesday, as I only get a five-day course. She said perhaps I could get an appointment today, so we went to the reception desk and I have an appointment booked for Monday at 11.10.

Sunday. 7.15 a.m. The clocks have changed, so it's daylight when, a day ago, it was pitch-black outside. 

I took the sleeping tablets at around 10.30 last night, and I slept through until around 4.30-5.00 and I have to say, I feel a better deal than I have done. Difficult to say, but my mental health has deteriorated over the past couple of months. The doctor has helped, with the sleeping tablets. I would wake up in the night and find it difficult to get back to sleep. 

1.00 p.m. I have had problems with the built-in SatNav in my car. I can never get the voice to work, for whatever reason. When you attempt to put the Postcode of a particular place you want to get to, it will not allow you to put in the whole Postcode. I don't know why, but there it is. But today, I got it working and even got a male voice to work, and it can be heard with the radio on. But, when I went to church this morning. the SatNav insisted on taking me to Worcester! So, it got annoyed with me when I    went in a different direction, insisting that I 'turn right in 20 feet. . . . Take the second exit on the roundabout . . .' etc, in an attempt to get me on track. So, at least it means, that when I drive off to Worcester next Friday afternoon, I will have the SatNav directing me. I don't have a problem getting to the Motorway, it's once I have to take the exits off the M40 and get onto two other Motorways which is the problem, But it's barely two hours in the car, an hour to the junction where I get onto the M40 and then a further hour to Worcester.

As I write this post, there is a steady, but light rain falling. Not something Alfie will be keen about, so I will be overkeen about it, as he doesn't like getting wet. Well, as it so happens, either do I, so we will have to wait for it to either stop or at least, be sort of, less, if that makes any sort of sense.

3.00 p.m. In the past, when I have had the flu vaccine, I would have some sort of reaction around 24 hours later. It would be mildly flu-like and the site of the needle going into my arm would be uncomfortable, so much so that, going to be, if I lay on that side it would be uncomfortable. I have to say that, more than 24 hours on I haven't had any such reaction, thankfully.

Tuesday. 3.35 p.m. I went to Camphill, but I had intended to go later than normal because the sleeping tablets I'm on can have the side effect of leaving you dizzy. They do warn you in the leaflet which is in the package, along with the meds, that you shouldn't drive or operate machinery. I woke without that side effect and left at around 9a.m.m but then I found that the theatre was being taken over by Halloween. As a Christian, I said to Terrie, that I \didn't 'do' Halloween, and she said that the day was all Halloween. So, I went home. I'm glad I did, and when I got back to Dexter House, I went into the community lounge and had a long conversation with some of the residents and mentioned my work at Camphill and why I had come home. 

(Note:I know, the title is stupid, but I couldn't think of a better title for this blog post.)

Autumn Stuff

Wednesday. 8.15 a.m. Another really great day yesterday at Camphill, in the P.A.W., in the Chrysalis Theatre. Games played on the stage, one called 'Splat' (which I won't explain on here at the moment.) and other game called 'Who Stole The Cookie?" and then some voice warm-ups, then discussing characters and storylines for the World War two play project.

We sat on the stage. The front curtain was closed and the lights turned off. Then, a recording of Neville Chamberlain was heard, a recording of the 1939 speech in which war is declared on Germany after they invade Poland. It was really moving, listening in silence and hearing this speech, broadcast on BBC radio.

After tea break, Terrie came up with the idea for a game show, which was actually a furtive exercise to show call-up of troops and others for the wall. Everyone was give a slip of paper with a character on it, age, job and some other detail, and then you were called forward by the recruiting officer and had answer relevant questions to find out if you were suitable to be called up, if not for one of the services, but whether you had skills that might benefit the war effort, or whether you worked in a reserved occupation. It seemed a good idea to create possible characters for the play.

After lunch, a bit more work on story and character and at the end of the day, company work, which means drilling and marching.

Friday. 8.15 a.m. Autumn is definitely here, even though clocks change on Saturday night and Summer officially ends. I took Alfie out at around 7.20 and there was fog, although not particularly thick, and shrouding the city centre, seen from across Oldbrook Green. It's also noticeably chilly.

I bought myself a new waterproof jacket from the Regatta website.It's a men's Bosfield waterproof jacket, full price £130, and I paid £33, which has to be a bargain. I wanted a jacket that had zipped pockets and a hood, which this has. I need a jacket or coat with zipped pockets, so I can put my keys in the pockets as well as my wallet. This has all that I need, as well as being lightweight. If it's exceptionally cold, I can always layer up with a fleece underneath, which this will allow.

2.10 p.m. It's sunny but chilly. I have been out with Alfie. He was reluctant to walk far, although I can't blame him.

I haven't mentioned the fact that one of the two metal benches that are on the walk around Oldbrook Green is missing. It had a plate on it, in memory of some local councillor who was connected to the area. It had a rather nice design on the back of the seat. The one further round has been designed with soldiers, presumably of the First World War, on it in silhouette along with several poppies. I think it was probably put there for the centenary of the start of that war in 2014, although I may be wrong. 

Water, Water

 Saturday. 12.30 a.m. It rained really heavily yesterday evening. So much so that I couldn't take Alfie out, as he really does not like getting wet. Come to think of it, neither do I.

We reached the fifth session of the Alpha Course this week, and I was due to go to the Oaktree Centre at around 6:40. I was in my lounge, watching television, and then I heard a tapping sound. At first, I couldn't work out where it was, or, indeed, what it was. Going into the flat's entrance hall, I noticed a dripping coming from the ceiling. 

Vashti, the S.H.0. (Sheltered Housing Officer) of Dexter House, had gone home. It was around 5.30. I decided to ring the Mears helpline and was told that someone would come and inspect the leak, but it might be 4 hours before they arrived. It was around an hour later that a man knocked on my door, looked at the place where the drip had come through the ceiling near the smoke alarm, and told me that it wasn't his responsibility and rang the contractor who was responsible. He did a check of the light fitting, which isn't far from the smoke detector, and did a safety check and found no sign of water or anything dangerous and then left.

I mopped up the water from the floor and that was the end of it, although I think there must be a blockage and possibly an overflow somewhere in the roof space due to the heavy rain.

Sunday. 9.25 a.m. It's bright and sunny, but chilly. At least it's cool enough to sleep. The digital thermometer currently reads 19ºC. 

Tuesday. 7.40 a.m. I went to Camphill yesterday evening. The silent movies we have been creating since February were premiered. Actually, not just the three the Tuesday group made, but several others which were produced by the Monday group. There was a red carpet in the foyer of the Chrysalis Theatre, and as people arrived, they were photographed by Craig, so it was a version of the traditional Hollywood 'Red Carpet' treatment as celebrities arrive at a premier.

Thursday. 7.40 a.m. The Zolpidem tablets which I have been waiting for arrived in the post yesterday morning. I took two at around 10.30 last night and slept well, waking around 5 a.m. I have to say, as a result, I feel a good deal better.

Friday. 7.25 a.m. A wild and wet night. It probably was nowhere near as bad in other parts of Britain, especially in Scotland.

I have mentioned the problems I've had receiving the Zolpidem which II have done a repeat prescription for. I got one delivery, then yesterday morning the larger order I made a few days ago arrived, including the sleeping tablets, (ie, Zolpidem.)

Arrival of Autumn

 Sunday. 8.25 a.m. I've been out twice this morning, first, as I usually do, with Alfie, at around 7.00. Then, I went out again and we did a circuit of Oldbrook Green. Basically, I have my FitBit working properly again and it does motivate me to walk and build up my step count. Unfortunately, some selfish person has seen fit to break bottles near the bin when I cross over from Strudwick Drive and onto Oldbrook Green and then, further along the path, near the skatepark there is more broken glass on the path. I saw a lady with several dogs further on, so I had to tell her about the glass, as like me with Alfie, I wouldn't want her dogs getting their feet cut on this broken glass. 

Besides the glass, there is a great deal of litter all around that area, near the seating 'hub' (for want of any other term for it.) which is where a lot of youths gather and sit, not that I'm blaming them entirely for the litter, but there is a great deal of this mess.

Monday. 7.55 a.m. Another very close, stuffy, humid night, making sleeping difficult. The digital thermometer reads 24ºC as I write this.

Tuesday. 6.05 a.m. It's too dark to take Alfie out. I should be light enough to go out in around an hour.

Yesterday I thought it a good idea to check the tyre pressures on my car. This is a bit of an issue with me, because once, when I went to a petrol station when I lived in Bedford, I let out more air in the tyres than I put in, probably because the air-line at the petrol station was faulty. I did manage eventually get air into the tyre and the right pressure. Not something I want to repeat! 

To use these air machines (free air? It's not.) you have to have a £1 coin. I wasn't sure whether it used a £1 coin, several 20p pieces or even a 50p piece, but, fortunately, the thing used £1 coin, and I fortunately had one with me. You have to drive into the space provided and then take off the caps on the tyres, put the coin in the machine and then you have all of FIVE MINUTES to use the hose, after you have set the tyre pressure on the machine's control panel. It's when you pull out the hose that you realise it won't be easy to put air in the tyres and prevent the thing winding itself back into the machine. It actually needs two people to do the actual job, one to prevent the hose rewinding itself back into the machine and checking the pressure as the other person connects the end of the hose to each tyre. Regardless of all this, I did manage to not only check the tyre pressures, but to put some more air into each tyre, although they still had a good pressure in each one.

Wednesday. 7.45 a.m. I went to Camphill as usual for a Wednesday. Terrie, the leader, was on leave, so things were somewhat different. We started off with check-in, which seemed to go a good deal faster than usual and then a few games, some of which I have not come across before, but never mind. Then we had a brainstorming session on 'letters from home' for the World War two project. I discovered a lot from this. Then, after lunch we watch the remainder of the 'Dads Army' film which we started watching last week. It's not as good as the original television series and a good deal better than the more recent film, which didn't have any of the original cast in it.

Thursday. 6.15 a.m. I woke up in the night and could hear torrential rain. Thankfully it has relieved the heat, and it's now a much lower temperature, making sleeping better. 

The digital thermometer is currently reading 22ºC.

October Fun?!

 Saturday. 8.30 a.m. I awoke at around 6:45, which must be the latest I've woken in goodness knows how long. We had the third Alpha Course session last evening at the Oaktree Centre, good conversations as we sat and ate our meal, which was chilli con carne. I went home and had a drink of hot Ovaltine and then took two of the Zolpidem tablets just before I settled down in bed. The next thing I knew, I was awake with light coming through the window and I realized it was morning. At least I didn't wake in the night and then lie awake with 'stuff' going around in my head. I only have a week's worth of these tablets, so I will have to wait and see what happens when the course has finished. I will contact the doctor to see what she recommends.

Friday. 7.15 a.m. If you are a regular who reads my blog on here, you will realize that I haven't posted anything for some time. I don't intend to close this blog down, but I won't post quite as regularly as I have done in the past, so please don't expect anything to be reported quite so often.

The weather is doing its 'thing', which is what you come to expect at this time of year. Having just returned from taking Alfie out, there is a chilly wind, which means I put on my red fleece.

5.00 p.m. I have two bank accounts, one with Nationwide, which is my main account, and the other is an online-only account with Starling Bank. I had saved some cash 'for a rainy day' with the Starling Bank but hadn't taken any cash out of it since setting it up earlier this year, but I decided that my Nationwide could do with topping up, particularly as we're approaching the end of the month and I need to make sure that there's enough cash to pay some direct debits which are due to come out soon.

I duly drove into the shopping centre, to use the Starling card in the A.T.M. outside the Nationwide branch. I had a P.I.N. which I used to get into the Starling app, but when I tried it in the A.T.M. it would not allow me to access my account. I attempted it again, and, as I eventually walked back to the car, I found another A.T.M., but still the card wouldn't work.

When I got home, I had a look at the card I had for Starling in my file box which has details of such things as passwords and I found that the A.T.M. P.I.N. was there, a different one to the app password. I went online on the Starling app and got the agent (via 'chat') to unlock the card. This meant I could then go back to the A.T.M. outside Nationwide and withdraw the cash which I had intended to do originally and transfer this cash to my Nationwide account. All this was done and the mission was accomplished.

Wednesday. 

Another Week

 Friday. 9.45 a.m. It seems bright and sunny outside, but I have a sneaking feeling that it's cold. I will find out when I take Alfie out again later. Currently, the digital thermometer, which incidentally is indoors and sitting on the television unit, is displaying the temperature at 23ºC.

Monday. 10.25 a.m. There's not a great deal to report on here over the last day or so, hence, nothing on here!

It's bright and sunny as I write this. It can be chilly first thing. So I put on a fleece and then, by the time I get back indoors, I'm really hot. I suppose it's just that time of year, moving into autumn, when the weather is undecided.

I have been doing homework for the Camphill World War Two project. Doing a bit of research on the internet on various aspects of the war, such as ARP Wardens, the so-called 'Phoney War' etc. I have got it on a Word-processed document and have printed it out and will take it with me when I go to Camphill tomorrow.

Tuesday. 4.25 p.m. I have just got in from Camphill. I have to say it has been really successful. We are putting together ideas for the World War 2 theatre piece and the group is suggesting what they want to put in it and how the story will be told. A lot of material about Bletchley Park and the Codebreakers.

Wednesday. 1.00 p.m. I have been having problems receiving some of my medication on order. I went to the doctor around two weeks ago and was prescribed tablets to help me sleep. I also had to order Atorvastatin, which I have been on for years, I think, since the time of my first heart attack in 2006. In fact, I was put on a different type of statin at that time, but that particular version had a bad effect on my stomach and I had to try several different statins before settling on Atorvastatin which doesn't have any side effects. 

I was also given a prescription for sleeping tablets. This prescription was supposed to be sent to me via Royal Mail, through Lloyds Direct, but I found out that there was a manufacturing problem somewhere in the system. I found this out because I was sent an email which had a barcode in it, which I took to the branch of Boots next to Central Milton Keynes Medical Centre. I was told by the pharmacist that I would need to contact the surgeon, which was closed because it was a Saturday. , 

Thursday. On Monday, I rang the surgeon and they sent me a code via text, which I took back to Boots on Wednesday and managed to collect the Atorvastatin. A long and complex situation. THEN I got an email from Royal Mail, informing me that the remaining medication, the sleeping tablets (called Zolpidem). Two of these are to be taken before retiring for the night, which I took at around 10.30 last night. I did sleep, but still woke at around 4 a.m. 

Autumnal Weather

Friday. 7.00 a.m. A good deal cooler this morning. There was a mist hanging over Oldbrook Green, when I took Alfie out at around 6.30. 

Saturday. 7.45 a.m. I didn't wake up until 6.30, which has to be the latest I've woken in goodness knows how long.

We are running an Alpha Course at Shenley Christian Fellowship. It's an introduction to the Christian faith and has been running since the 1970s, based at HTB (Holy Trinity, Brompton) in London. The team had been meeting, mostly on Zoom, for the past few months. It runs for around 10 weeks and is delivered by video, each video focusing on different aspects of Christianity. It was decided to begin the course on Friday 15th September, so that by the time it ends, it won't interfere too much with the build-up to Christmas. 

To make it viable, there would need to be around 6 people to sign up. At the beginning of the week, there were only two people signed up. We had a team of around eight people, including myself, so to have no more than two participants would not make it a viable and entirely successful project. 

By Wednesday, I hadn't heard from Julie, the leader of the Alpha Course, but then I got an email telling me that the course would go ahead. Around eight people were signed up. 

The course starts at around 7 p.m. when guests are welcomed, get tea or coffee and then, at around 7.30 they get a meal, so we can sit around a table and eat whilst we chat, get to know them and generally be hospitable. Then, a video is shown, focussing on various aspects of Christianity. This lasts around 20-25 minutes, and then the guests have a discussion, based on what they've heard and seen in the video. This will last around 30–40 minutes and then the evening concludes at around 9-9.15, so the helpers will tidy up and then go home.

Wednesday. 1.50 p.m. The weather has changed, not necessarily for the better. We had a scorching heatwave a few weeks ago, but now it's pouring with rain and there's a high wind blowing. Not something that Alfie appreciates, and neither do I. Oh well. I suppose it is typical autumn weather.

Yesterday I was at Camphill, working in the Performing Arts Workshop within the Chrysalis Theatre. We have lost a couple of the regular group, but it's still going strong. We were developing the World War Two project, with marching and other military training going on and then, after lunch. watching a television film of 'Goodnight Mr Tom', which starred the late,great John Thaw. It is set during the war, with the central little boy being an evacuee and the idea was to not merely watch it as a film, but to study what was going on, with reference to the war and how it might be inspiration for our project. I wrote quote a few notes as we watched and then, after the film was shown, we threw out our notes which can go into the 'melting pot' next week to begin the process of creating a working script.

Thursday. 7.25 a.m. It's a good deal cooler this morning. I noticed a certain chill in the air when I went out with Alfie about an hour ago.

I have a haircut booked at Central Barbers tomorrow at 1.50. My hair hasn't been cut for two months or possibly more, this due to me having had covid and then several days with a really unpleasant flu-like bug. I can park the car where I usually do, near The Point and pay using the RingGo app, but it doesn't always work, so I need to have a handful of £1 coins to use in one of the ticket machines. So, I have been to take out some cash from the A.T.M. machine outside the Tesco Express in Oldbrook Boulevard. I bought two packets of biscuits to take to the Bible study this morning and got a handful of £1 coins in the change, so that is one less thing to think about tomorrow.

Friday. 7.15 a.m. It's a good deal cooler this morning, as you would expect for September. Perhaps it's time to dig out my fleece or jacket.

Hot And Humid

 Friday. 10.25 a.m. The summer is back in full force. It's almost as if it never went away, even though, officially, we are now into autumn. I have both fans running at full force, one in the bedroom and the other in the lounge. The digital thermometer currently reads 27ºC, although, on BBC Breakfast earlier, there was mentioned the possibility that the temperature would reach at least 30ºC. 

Alfie went to have a haircut yesterday. He was booked in at the Groom Room in Bletchley several weeks ago, in fact, I went directly there to enquire about a booking after I had taken my car to Anglo Motors. The appointment was at 4.30. So I left in good time, hoping to arrive at around 4.15. The problem was, when I got to the roundabout which intersects with Saxon Street and Standing Way, I discovered that the road ahead was closed, and without any warning further back I could find an alternative route to Bletchley. I turned right onto Standing Way and discovered a more or less solid traffic jam towards Watling Street. I got to the car park outside Pets At Home, where the Groom Room is based and managed to calm down, because of the stress caused by the detour to get there.

Having dropped off Alfie for his haircut, I then went along the parade of shops to Costa to have a cool drink. I had at least an hour to fill until I had to go back to collect Alfie. When I eventually left Costa and walked out through the door I was hit by the heat, a bit like opening an oven door. I don't get on well in heat, and it's particularly dangerous for me, having a heart condition and having had two heart attacks.

5.15 p.m. As I write this, the digital thermometer currently reads 32ºC, which must be some sort of record. I know that is indoors, but I have an electric fan on and all the windows in the flat are wide open.

Sunday. 7.55 a.m. It wasn't quite as hot and humid as it has been overnight for the past couple of nights, but still, the digital thermometer reads 27ºC. Hopefully, we will get a rainstorm which will relieve the heat, but with storms will come flash floods.

Monday. 4.05 p.m. The temperature had dropped considerably, thank goodness. The temperature outside is a good deal lower than indoors. Even with the windows open and an electric fan running, the digital thermometer reads 28ºC. I imagine this is because the heat we have had over the past week or so has kept buildings hot and will take a few days to cool down to a reasonable temperature.

Tuesday. 7.00 a.m. Thankfully, it's a good deal cooler this morning. The digital thermometer currently reads 25ºC. I slept somewhat better than for the past week or so of this heatwave.

Wednesday. 8.40 a.m. A bright and sunny morning as I write this. The digital thermometer currently reads 22ºC, so a far cooler temperature compared to the last week or so. I can sleep better in this sort of temperature.

A really good day at Camphill in the P.A.W department (Performing Arts Workshop.) yesterday (Tuesday.) We are developing material for the World War 2 project, which will be a play, running around 30-45 minutes. Many of the group went to Milton Keynes Museum to see the WW2 event. I went, but I wasn't feeling too well. As it turned out, I eventually had several days of a flu bug (which I mentioned in an earlier blog post) and I didn't stay at the museum long, unfortunately. I did manage to take some photographs with my Canon digital camera, but I have still got to transfer them onto a memory stick.

We had a long check-in. It went on almost to tea break at 10.30. Once back in the theatre after the tea break, Terrie set up a flipchart and the group was asked to give any information they had gleaned from the Museum visit regarding the Second World War. All these ideas and bits of information, however gleaned, would be put together to create some sort of script for the play.

After lunch, we got to the bit I have been waiting for for months, the first preview of the silent movies. Other Camphilll residents and staff came to see the films, projected onto the cinema screen. The first two films were created by a different group who meet on a Monday. The first was 'How To Rob A Bank', very much in the style of an early silent comedy. The second one, I don't remember the name of, and then we got to see the first of the three silent movies which we've been working on since around February, the first was a Western. Very amusing and I was intrigued by how the green screen process was utilized to create backgrounds, mostly sourced from what you would call 'stock footage', such as Western town backgrounds and steam trains. The second film was The Pirate Saga, in which I had a very small cameo appearance, although, at first, I did not recognize myself! Then we saw the third film, the science fiction 'time travel' epic, which I had been involved in from it's development and some of my ideas actually appeared on-screen. It was a somewhat complicated storyline involving, would you believe, Goldilocks, of traditional pantomime and fairy-story fame, time-travelling porridge (yes, you read that correctly!) space pirates (for want of a better word!) and in the past, zombies dancing to a rather weird version of The Macarena! But it all ended with the villains being defeated and everyone living 'happily ever after!'

Happy Talk!

 Tuesday. 7.50 a.m. I haven't been well for the past few days. I'd recovered from the covid I had around six weeks ago and as a result of that I had fairly severe back pain, although there's no genuine proof that it was linked, but it seems something of a coincidence that the back pain started up at the same time.

On Thursday, the Bible Study group, which has been meeting in different places in and around Milton Keynes during August, met up at Mursley Farm Shop. I wasn't exactly sure where it was, although I had a rough idea, but looking on Google Maps. I drove to the Oaktree Centre and was taken there by Jennie, who is the leader of the Bible Study group.

I've never been to Mursley Farm Shop. Like many of these places, it's not merely a farm shop, selling eggs, meat and other items, but there's a good cafe, which was where we met up with the rest of the gang and I had a very nice latte, although, having ordered it, it seemed to take an eternity to arrive at our table. The weather was miserable. A sort of thin rain fell as we arrived. In the field beyond the car park I could see a field with various animals in, including alpacas, which I love.

On Friday, we had a meeting at the Oaktree Centre about the proposed Alpha Course. As part of this, we did a fast (which is something I have never done before, but it was worth it, and it went well.) We watched a training video, which came on a memory stick which plugged into the television screen on the wall in the café area. It turned out I had seen it already on YouTube. We need at least 6–8 people to sign up to the course, otherwise it isn't really viable. It runs over 10–11 weeks and there is food which has to be provided for each weekly session, so it's quite a logistical issue to provide that, along with merely having support people to run the course, so, if we don't get sufficient people attending, it isn't going ahead. We will have to wait and see if the numbers increase in the next week or so, because it is scheduled to begin on 15th September.

Having finished the meeting, I drove to Domino's Pizza in Duckworth Court, which is over the road from Lidl and Tesco Express in Oldbrook Boulevard and ordered a take-away pizza, which I took home and enjoyed, actually breaking my fast!

On Saturday morning, I went to the 1940s weekend at Milton Keynes Museum. If you read my blog posts on a regular basis, you will be aware that I have been to quite a few of these events. This seemed to not be quite as good as the others. I went because of the proposed World War 2 project which is being developed in the theatre workshop at Camphill, so I took my camera and managed to take a handful of photographs, which I intend putting onto a memory stick and taking the next time I go to Camphill.

It was around this time that the flu-like symptoms began. I won't go into much detail (in fact, none at all.) I didn't eat anything until at least Tuesday and didn't go to Camphill. Well, it didn't seem such a good idea, as I didn't want to be responsible for spreading whatever it was around.

September Song

 Wednesday. 7.25 a.m. So, this will be the first blog post I write in the new month of September, although this is being written in August. That doesn't make much sense, but I know what I mean. I have two posts that I wrote as the month of August progressed, as quite a lot happened, and it's not easy to just ignore those incidents.

The title is a song from the Brecht/Weill musical show 'The Threepenny Opera.' Originally sung by Lotte Lenya the recording I found on Spotify has her singing in the original German. This show must have inspired such shows as 'Cabaret' and 'Chicago', which were both written by Kander and Ebb.

I went to Camphill yesterday, as usual. Several of the regular members of the theatre workshop were on holiday, and it wasn't exactly clear when they would be coming home to Camphill.

A new, permanent, member of staff, Craig, came for the first time, although he was involved with the 'Play In A Week' which took place a few weeks ago. Terrie, the workshop leader, took Craig off to do his induction, which appeared to be mostly showing him where the various departments within Camphill were how to open various doors and fill out forms for this and that, most likely, how to fill out reports and first aid forms, which is what I remember spending time doing when I was a shift leader within various NHS units I was a support worker in. 

The rest of the team spent the morning playing drama games. Terrie had compiled a list and Paul, another of the permanent staff, led the sessions. Some I didn't get involved in, as it is quite tiring. I will endeavour to describe when I can remember some of them!

The 'silent movies' are as yet incomplete, although the actual filming is complete. A wrap, as the correct term, is at the end of a day's filming or the entire production is finished. The editing is the most complex and time-consuming part of any production and then music has to be put on to the completed film and hopefully, we will be able to see the completed films in the next few weeks. It has been a long and complicated process, from coming up with the idea for the project, creating the stories and characters and then actually filming, so it will be quite exciting to see the results. Terrie wants to premiere the films in a sort of film festival and have all the Camphill residents come to the Chrysalis Theatre to watch, which should be amazing and to see the sort of reaction the films have, especially as most of the residents won't have any idea what the films are about. 

After lunch, we were split into two groups and I led one group on the stage. We were going to create a piece of improvised theatre, meaning, no script and made up as we went along. My suggestion was a hospital and someone suggested that it was haunted (not exactly my idea, but never mind, I could facilitate so much, and they had to fill in the details.

So, it went ahead. I was to be patient and arriving on the ward. The rest of the guys were supposed to be vampires and ghosts. The doctor wasn't a doctor at all. I was taken away by this doctor who attempted to make me into a vampire, but I resisted, in time-honoured Hammer horror film style!

The other group, meanwhile, were working on their improvised 'piece.' It was set in a nightclub. After the tea break we each had to show the other group our 'piece' and at the end of the afternoon, we had to say which part of the day was our favourite. Mine was working on the improvised piece of theatre.

Thursday. 1.05 p.m. The last day of August. Hardly seems credible that tomorrow will be September.

The Thursday Bible Study group went to Mursley Farm Shop, which isn't far out of Milton Keynes, going out of the road towards Buckingham, but I went with Jennie, who leads the Bible study group and she went a different way which I would never have managed if I'd driven on my own. It's great to drive out of Milton Keynes and into the countryside and see green fields and horses, cows and other animals grazing in the fields. Mursley Farm Shop has a nice cafe which serves delicious bacon rolls and lattes, which I had, and as we drove in we could see fields of chickens roaming around in the fields beyond as well as alpacas, sheep, goats and other animals. It did make me wonder, seeing all those chickens, how did they manage to get them to go in their chicken houses at night, before they started nesting in the trees so that they were safe from predators, such as foxes?

We left and drove back to the Oaktree Centre, where my car was parked, and then I drove off to Lidl in Oldbrook Boulevard to do some shopping and then back to Dexter House.

August Excitement! (?)

 Monday 14th August. 3.45 p.m. I'm not going to post this until the beginning of September. I will write as and when I feel I have something to write about. 

I have mentioned having to have a physiotherapy appointment, after the lower back pain I have been experiencing for the past month or so since I had covid. My appointment was booked around two weeks ago and today was the earliest I could be seen. It was booked for 10.20 a.m., but I am always keen to arrive in plenty of time, but, in general, it doesn't take much more than ten minutes to drive there, taking into account the several sets of traffic lights you encounter on the way, which seem set to take far too long to change, regardless of the amount of traffic, which is usually light at that time of day.

I got to Central Milton Keynes Medical Centre and had to check in with a receptionist because the computerised system wasn't working. Around ten minutes later, I was being called into room 7 to see a physiotherapist. She did a sort of triage, attempting to find where the pain was centred, bending down to the ground and side to side, and then I had to lay on the couch. It wasn't actually long enough, as I'm over six feet tall. I was expecting her to get some treatment, but no. I have to have a telephone referral with a private company and do some exercises myself. So, it seems as if the N.H.S. seems determined to spend cash which they don't really have, for this sort of treatment from an outside business. So, it seems I will just have to wait at least a week before this treatment can begin.

I left the surgery in my car and intended to go into the city centre as I had to collect a polo shirt I had bought via the Marks and Spencer website and needed collecting from the store. I had to drive around the centre to get to the car park near The Point and fortunately, the RingGo app worked, so I could pay to park. I had done a survey online and earned a £10 voucher which I converted into a Marks and Spencer voucher and decided to buy a polo in their sale. I ordered with 'click and collect, which I have used before. The polo shirt was valued at £18, so I had to pay the difference. I went into Marks and Spencer and remembered that the click-and-collect desk was on an upper floor, but then I couldn't find it and then discovered it had moved to the ground floor. There are a couple of digital screens, onto which you key in your name, and your parcel is then bought out to you. All wrapped up and ready to take away with you. I was a bit surprised I didn't have to prove my identity, as I could have been anyone. 

Thence to the nearby Costa for a large caramel latte, cheese and ham toastie and slice of rocky road. Very nice! Then I walked back through the shopping centre towards Midsummer Place and then ended up browsing in Waterstone's and then back to the car park and drive home.

Wednesday. 6.10 a.m. Due to the lower back pain, I didn't go to Camphill yesterday. It started off very mild, at the time I got up (as it is, as I write this.) but it gradually got worse as the day progressed. I am learning to live with it, but I am hoping it is going to fade away so I can get back to somewhere near normal by, hopefully, next week.

I've only just got back from taking Alfie out. As we were walking back along the path towards Dexter House, I saw what, at first, I thought was a cat, staring at me, as it was standing under the overhanging branches of the tree which is on the grass, about halfway along. It didn't move for at least fifteen seconds, and then it occurred to me, it wasn't a cat. It was definitely a fox, because of the shape of its head, very similar to Alfie's and very prominent ears. It turned and then disappeared into the wooded area between the Dexter House garden and the SIA offices.

12.05 p.m. I've been to Sainsbury's this morning. I had a Nectar voucher which meant, if I bought a certain brand of dog food, I would get 200 extra points.  If I hadn't used it today, it would expire today, so it seemed a pity to lose it and I did need some dog food as there were only a couple of pouches left. I bought a few other items. 

I had to use one of the self-service tills to pay. The manned tills had queues, so it was either that or a queue for so few items. All went well checking my items through until I had to scan the voucher, so I had to get a staff member to help. George, who is one of the drama group at Camphill, works in Sainsbury's, and it was him who helped with the voucher, so I was able to complete the transaction, although I almost left without paying! I almost forgot to put in my debit card and then put in my PIN, but I could then leave to go home.

Thursday. 2.00 p.m. I've been out this morning with my Thursday morning Bible study group. We went to Milton Keynes Museum. I drove to the Oaktree Centre and Jenny, who is the leader of the Bible study group, drove me and one other person across Milton Keynes, arriving at the museum at around 10.30, which was when it opened. There was quite a queue of people wanting to get in. I had a ticket which allowed me free entry, having bought it almost a year ago and, once bought, allows free entry throughout the year.

Friday. 10.20 a.m. I have just got back from a trip to Sainsbury's, to get a few items. I was reluctant to use one of the self-service tills to check out, so I went to a manned till and as I was queuing, I noticed that around six of these tills had been removed. I am beginning to wonder if this is a crafty manoeuvre on behalf of Sainsbury to get rid of staff and encourage their customers to use self-service tills. As I was waiting in the queue, a lady ahead of me was completing the payment of her shopping and seemed to be having problems with using her card, that is, putting in her PIN in the machine. I would say she was around 75-80, so probably not very confident with using technology. They should take into account this sort of customer when they are considering removing what I would call 'traditional' technology.

I cleaned out the fridge earlier. I know, rather a mundane and somewhat dull job, but it really did need doing. It's the sort of job that gets avoided, but then it gets to the point that it needs doing. Lots of food which is well past its 'best before' date, so it went in the bin. The shelves were removed, given a good wash in the sink, and then replaced. Job done.

Tuesday 22nd August.  6.55 a.m. The digital thermometer reads 26ºC. A really hot and clammy night. I have been up early, as usual. I took Alfie out at around 5.45. Done washing up from last night, put out a bag of rubbish and now made up my pack-up for Camphill. I am feeling a good deal better as regards the lower back pain. I would say it has actually disappeared. 

I got a text from the physio company, which came as a referral from my doctor's surgery. I attempted to complete this online, but it wouldn't work, so I rang and have a telephone consultation on the morning of 4th September. 

Adventures In Happyville

 Thursday August 24th. 12.05 p.m. Well, I had intended to not write any blog posts until September, but I have got into the habit of writing something virtually each day, so here I am, writing this.

On Saturday, I went to Stoke Mandeville Hospital to visit a lady I know who is in there. I had been considering whether to go for quite a while, but first I had to make sure the car was alright, since I had the MoT done, and it needed work done on one of the rear brakes, and then I had covid and the lower back pain (which, incidentally, still returns. But I am not letting it interfere with my life. It took less time to get to Stoke Mandeville than I imagined, as the visiting hours began at 2 p.m., and I was imagining that the centre of Aylesbury was going to be busy with shoppers, which it didn't appear to be. On arriving at the hospital site I had to find a car park and eventually found a space in car park C. I wasn't entirely sure where the ward was I wanted to visit, Ward 17. I thought it was in the main building, but it turned out to be within the National Spinal Injuries Centre block. The signage isn't very clear, and once inside it was quite a walk, and then upstairs.

Terri, the lady I was visiting, said to me, would I go and get something to eat, such as a take-away? She told me there was a fish and chip shop about fifteen minutes walk away from the hospital, basically because all she would have to eat that evening would be salad. So I walked to the chippy but wasn't entirely sure I was walking in the right direction, so I asked someone on the way. I was walking in the right direction and soon found it and bought two portions of fish and one of chips and walked back. She was asleep when I got back to the ward, and she was asleep, and it took a while before she woke up, and we ate the fish and chips. 

When I eventually left to go home, first I had to find my way out of the building! When I eventually did, I then had to look for a toilet and walked towards the main entrance and then decided to take a shortcut, which wasn't such a good idea, because it took me down quite a steep slope, and unfortunately I took a misstep and found myself falling over and landing partially in a rather prickly hedge and grazed my right elbow. I was unpleasant, and I think it was more embarrassing than anything. I managed to pick myself up and go into the main entrance and found a toilet, and then I had to get back to my car in Car Park C. Once there, I had to discover how I was to get out, with no indication of how or where to buy a ticket. I presumed that I would need to buy one from a machine, but there were none in or around the car park. I asked someone, and he told me I would need to go to the A and E department and find a machine in the entrance, which was what I did. The machine would only take card payments. By now, I wasn't in a particularly good mood, and a staff member showed me how to use my debit card to pay. It cost £6.50, which I thought was somewhat steep. Never mind. I returned to my car, quite a considerable distance, and used the ticket which the machine had issued to open the barrier and so drive out and then home.

On Tuesday I went to Camphill. I hadn't been the previous week, due to the lower back pain. The previous week the theatre group had been involved with the play in a week project and quite a few children had come in to take part. It would appear to have been extremely successful. We weren't starting work on the next project, but some filming for the silent movies was taking place, and we watched a video of the play which was created during the play-in-a-week project. It was quite amazing and all the participants did a really exceptional job, but it was a great pity that the sound was poor, which made hearing the dialogue more or less impossible.

I went home, and then I discovered that the door of my fridge/freezer hadn't been closed properly, which meant that much of the food it contained was thawing. I had an idea that some of it could be saved, and then I thought that it could go in the fridge, which is in the communal kitchen within Dexter House. I could take it down in the blue plastic box I had for recycling bottles and other glass, but when I went down to the communal kitchen, I found the door locked, so that idea was out. Then, I thought that I could ask Vashti the following morning if she would allow me to put my food in the fridge so that I could leave the fridge/freezer on for several hours to let it thaw out, but then I discovered that she wouldn't be in until mid-morning, so that idea was also a non-starter. My options were narrowing. Then, to make things worse, the strap on my FitBit came apart! The buckle came away from the rest of the strap, rendering it completely useless. So, as someone or other said, problems go in threes- 1-I fell over and grazed my elbow at Stoke Mandeville; 2- The fridge/freezer began to defrost; and 3- The FitBit strap fell apart.

So, I decided, fairly late into the evening, that the only alternative was to clear out the partly-defrosted food. My thinking was, if I was to eat it, there was every likelihood that I was going to get food poisoning, which I didn't want, as I know it can be quite unpleasant and, possibly, dangerous, especially since I have had two heart attacks. So, I loaded the contents of the freezer into two black bin bags and took it to the bin cupboard outside. I then switched off the fridge/freezer and left it to defrost. After several hours, it was beginning to drip and the ice to melt. I was left with a lot of water on the kitchen floor, but it was easily mopped up.

By around 6 a.m., virtually all the ice had melted, and I was then able to switch on the fridge/freezer. I was planning to go to Sainsbury's to buy food, some of which would go into the fridge/freezer. By around 9 a.m. the machine was working fully, with the temperature at at the correct level for restocking. Job completed!

On Thursday afternoon, we had a tenants' meeting at Dexter House. Exciting stuff about, wait for it, rubbish bins! I won't go into the gory details on here. Then, the question of Christmas came up, something I don't want to even consider, because, in all honesty, I don't really want to be here. We were asked for ideas and I came up with the idea of putting on a Pantomime. No, not seriously, but one of the women sitting around the table gave me such a look that it could have melted plate steel. She asked me what I would dress up as, and I said, the Dame. I don't think the idea will come to much, but it was worth a try!

Well, Did You Ever?

Thursday. 5.45 a.m. Well, I'm awake (let's say, almost!) dressed and already taken Alfie out. The pain in my lower back (I think, to be far more precise, my hip.) is still causing problems. I imagined it would be fading away by now, but it doesn't appear to be doing anything of the sort.

9.00 a.m. Goodness, gracious! The sun is out. It's almost (I do stress the word almost here!) the right sort of weather for August. Just don't hold your breath. I haven't recorded the room temperature from my digital thermometer for quite a while, but as I write this, it's currently 26ºC.

I have decided (now, there's a thing) that I will give this blog a break once I get to the end of this particular post. I will start it up again at the beginning of September.

Friday. 6.05 a.m. Spits and spots of 'sort of' rain when I took Alfie out. Apart from that, nothing very much to report.

Saturday. 11.05 a.m. Another bright and sunny morning. It is hot in the flat. My digital thermometer currently reads 27ºC.

I have reactivated my Netflix account. I'm glad I did because there are a couple of films I want to see, particularly the film version of Matilda, The Musical, and a stop-motion animation version of Pinocchio created by Guillermo Del Toro, and coming in December, a sequel to Chicken Run. I'm a bit of a fan of Aardman animation, who made those brilliant Wallace and Gromit films, which I really love and have watched countless times. Also, the spin-off series, Shaun The Sheep, which are so brilliant and funny. I have to say, their work outshines any of the modern Disney animations, doesn't have to resort to sentimentality and is so beautifully crafted and executed, the detail in the sets, props and puppets is remarkable.

I am currently watching the 5th season of 'The Crown.' I have seen all the earlier episodes. This season seems a good deal more intimate and doesn't seem to concentrate so much on the politics of the time covered. As usual, the detail is exceptional, and the costumes, production design and acting is really excellent. My only reservation would be that it's a bit boring. Some of it doesn't exactly grab your attention.

3.25 p.m. I have just been watching Guillermo Del Toro's film Pinocchio and I have to say, it's quite brilliant. It doesn't shy away from some difficult subjects, such as death, and is certainly not a sentimentalised version. The stop-motion animation is faultless, along with the voice acting of such actors as Ewan McGregor and David Bradley, while the set and production design give the whole thing a real depth. I think Disney might learn a thing or two from this film, If only they would just stop remaking their classic animation films, but messing them up by tampering with them and altering parts of the stories and characters which don't fit the modern politically correct agenda. It certainly deserved its Oscar win as Best Animated Film.

Another Fun-Packed Week?

Sunday. 3.10 p.m. I have done a Google search, because I wanted to know if there was any connection between Covid and the lower back pain I have been experiencing for the past couple of weeks, especially considering I tested positive for covid. It turns out, but I know that it's inconclusive, that there might be a link, because it came up on several websites. This might explain why this pain started at about the same time as the covid.

Monday. 6.00 a.m. I've had another session with the heat pad on my lower back. It certainly relieved the pain, but I will have to continue with it to hopefully end the pain.

10.15 a.m. I cleared all the rubbish out of the car, removed Alfie's cage from the back and went to get cash out of the A.T.M.at Tesco's at Oldbrook Boulevard and then drove into the centre near The Xcape to have the car valeted. I've been planning to do this for a week or two, but because of the weather and then the covid infection and finally the back pain, I was reluctant to go ahead with it, but because it was bright and sunny I thought I'd do it. I am more than pleased with the result, and it looks and smells so much better.

Tuesday. 7.10 a.m. The pain in my back is still causing me problems, but it's not as severe as it was earlier. I have been using the heat pad, and it certainly relieves the pain, but it still wears off. I am determined to let it keep me trapped within this flat, and I am going to Camphill in around an hour's time. My pack-up is done and ready to take with me.

4.50 p.m. I've only been back in the flat forty minutes, having been at Camphill all day. I very nearly didn't go, because of the pain in my lower back, but I was determined I would go.

I didn't join in with some of the more energetic activities, such as the drama warm-ups. There was filming of some of the few remaining bits of the silent movies and then time was spent developing ideas for next week's 'Play In A Week' sessions (I think the title tells you exactly what it it. It runs from Monday, through until Friday, when a piece of theatre will be performed, without an initial script. In fact, it won't have a script. There will be children between the ages of about 8-18 working with the performing arts workshop regulars. There's not a lot more I call to say on this.

Ideas were written up on a whiteboard and will be used as the basis for next week's sessions. Then some fascinating improvisation, which I did get involved in. Someone comes up with a character, just a 'job title, in this case it was a hotel owner. Terrie was a bank teller. The hotel owner queued up, as if waiting in a bank, at one of the teller windows. Another of the regular drama group then came up behind the hotel owner and played a bank robber, although at this point she wasn't obviously such a character. The hotel owner asked the teller for £150 out of his bank account, so the teller asked him to put his bank card into the reader and key in his key number. The teller looked at her computer and said there was only£5 in the account, but the hotel owner got irate. Meanwhile, the bank robber was behind the teller, attempting to steal cash. The idea was, that anyone could take over the 'plot' by taking over from any of the characters and in the attempt, change the storyline. It seems a good way to develop storyline for improvised plays.

Wednesday. 7.15 a.m. I am still in quite a bit of pain. It seems to be getting worse than ever, but I am determined to not let it interfere with my life.

I have to re-apply for my driving licence now that I am over the age of 70. You have to do it every three years. I got a letter informing me of this in the post the other morning. I knew I'd have to do it if I want to keep on driving, which I absolutely do. The thought of being tied to Dexter House and losing my independence would be devastating. I could do this reapplication online, so I started it off. It is generally so much easier to do these things online. It saves having to post everything off, and it's quicker and easier. I had my National Insurance number handy, because you have to put it into the system. The trouble is, I don't have a passport. I don't need or want one, as I'm unlikely to go anywhere outside the United Kingdom. The problem is, you need one in order to prove your identity, so the online system wouldn't allow me to complete the application. So, I will now need to go out and get a photograph done in one of those photo booths you see around the town. I believe there is one in Sainsbury's, so I will have to go in there this morning and use the one in there.

12.25 a.m. I have been to Sainsbury's and got the photo done for the driving licence reapplication. I have now filled out the application form and attached the photo to the form and put it in the envelope, together with my expiring driving licence. I was hoping to take the completed form, within its envelope, out to post, but then discovered it wasn't 'Freepost' or at least, ready to post, so I had to take it to the Post Office within the One Stop shop in Coffee Hall and was shocked that a First Class stamp now costs £1.10!

Wet And Miserable August!

 Thursday. 12.35 p.m. It might be bright and sunny as I write this, but the weather generally, according to the weather forecast on BBC Breakfast this morning, is that we can expect rain for the next month, which might not be what those who have holidays booked want to hear.

2.35 p.m. I had the car booked in at Anglo Motors to have some work done on one of the rear brakes. It was scheduled to be done at 9 o'clock. I was there in plenty of time. Thankfully, the traffic was relatively light at that time. There was a problem locating the wheel nuts. Up until only a few years ago, I had no idea what 'wheel nuts' were, but then I found a small plastic box in the car containing these items. They are required if you have to take off the wheels of your car. I had to go into the workshop to look, and they eventually were located under the front passenger seat, when meant the work could continue. The work went ahead, and it was completed within an hour and cost a good deal less than I was imagining. I then drove over to the retail park at Bletchley to visit Pets At Home and the Groom Room which is within the store in order to get a groom appointment for Alfie. They are booked sold for weeks ahead, and I couldn't get one until early September. 

Saturday. 5.45 a.m. Where did Friday go? There wasn't anything worth writing about, which is unusual for me, as you would know if you read this blog on a regular basis.

I still have a certain amount of  discomfort in my lower back. It is worse when I bed, especially when I am getting dressed. I have ordered a heat pad from Amazon, because I was told, when using Voltarol, that it would help the healing process if I used a hot water bottle. But I don't have one, so I looked on various websites, including Boots and Superdrug, but they don't appear to have anything even close to a hot water bottle, except heated pads. I then went on Amazon and have found an electric heated pad, which I have ordered. I think it should be better than a hot water bottle because it won't lose its heat and has Velcro fastening to keep it in place.

10.00 a.m. Well, the weather is certainly doing it's 'thing'! The title of this post is totally correct. I went out to my car at around 7.45, removing the cage which Alfie rides in when he goes out with me in the car, with the idea of getting the car valeted, but I didn't realize until I got outside that it was raining quite hard, so that idea has to be shelved for now! I just thought that the car could do with a clean, inside and out, and as it hasn't been done in ages, I would get it done. Never mind, for now at any rate.

I've been to do a fairly small shop in Sainsbury. A good time to go, as the place is more or less deserted. The moving walk-way, which links the car park on the lower floors to the upper store is currently being repaired, so you have to use the lifts, which are busy. You would think there would be alternative stairs, but there aren't.

5.10 p.m. The intercom for the front door of Dexter House sounded at about 4.30. I answered it and nobody appeared with my Amazon parcel, so I went down to see if the delivery driver had come into the unit. I saw two parcels left on the kitchen window, one for myself. I took it back to my flat and set it up and after about fifteen minutes I had to leave it as I had to put my meal in the oven. I think it may be working as the pain in my lower back appears to be reduced. I will have to have some more time with it before I decide that it is doing it's job, which as I really hope it will.

You Couldn't Make It Up!

 Tuesday. 5.45 a.m. Up early, as usual, walking around Oldbrook Green with Alfie. A really dramatic cloud formation over Milton Keynes.

Yesterday, I think I got closer to upgrading my bathroom. Vashti (S.H.O. at Dexter House.) gave me a telephone number to ring, the Community Occupational Health department at Milton Keynes Council. I gave my details and that was the end of the conversation. I was surprised at how quickly I got through. Later that afternoon I got a call from a lady from Millbrook regarding having the bathroom refitted, although I couldn't understand why occupational health would be involved. Anyway, this lady made me an appointment in August to go for a bath test. No, I don't understand either, but if it meant I got the bathroom upgraded, with at least a decent shower, I can use it without stooping because the current arrangement isn't high enough for me. Crazy, but true. Continuing . . . She needed a photo of the bathroom and later, she texted me, so I sent a photo via text, which moved the thing further forward, with details of my height and weight, and she then told me I wouldn't need to visit, and that I could have a wet room rather than a bathroom, meaning I could have a shower unit, which I wanted in the first place, and it would need her manager's approval for the work to do ahead. Al this, running around in circles, when it needn't have to be so complicated. Considering what I have gone through to get this far with my bathroom, you certainly couldn't make it up!

1.30 p.m. I think the Voltarol is beginning to have a definite effect on my lower back pain. I haven't been to Camphill, because of this, but I do miss going, and I'm hoping things will have returned to near enough normal by next Tuesday, so I can go there again. Being stuck in this flat with covid was bad enough, but this new thing makes it even more difficult to put up with.

3.45 p.m. I have upgraded my details to be eligible to vote. I got a letter from the Democratic Service department of Milton Keynes Council and you can go online to a special website 'household response,' and enter two unique security codes and your postcode to make sure your name is on the database. I have done all this, and it's now amended.

Wednesday. 7.50 a.m. There was 'sort-of'' rain when I took Alfie out at around 5.15 this morning. What do I mean? Well, thin and wet dribbles, not a proper fall of rain. But as I write this, the sun is out, and it appears bright and rather pleasant.

The Voltarol is doing its work and I feel a good deal better. Considering what the pain was like only a few days ago, it is a relief to be able to bend, particularly when putting my clothes on, it is certainly better.

1.25 p.m. Around half an hour ago there was a tremendous rainstorm, which lasted all of two minutes. This delayed me taking out Alfie, but it appeared to be only a light rain.

6.35 p.m. I'm watching the BBC sitcom 'The Good Life' on Britbox. I have seen it before, and probably when it was originally broadcast in 1975. It seems to stand the test of time really well. We don't have this sort of show any more. It was produced when there were only three channels, BBC1, BBC2 and ITV.  It made a star of Richard Briars, Felicity Kendal, Penelope Keith and Paul Eddington. I must have seen Richard Briars in several Alan Ayckbourn plays, 'Absurd Person Singular' and Penelope Keith in one of 'The Norman Conquests' trilogy. Thinking about Ayckbourn's plays, I did the book for a production of 'Relatively Speaking' when I was A.S.M. at Liverpool Playhouse in the early 1970s. That play (although not that production.) would have been Ayckbourn's first major success, and in the West End, it starred a young Richard Briars. On a further note, I was working on some BBC show, as a walk-on, and one of the runners (or at least, one of the stage crew.) was one of Richard Briar's daughters, although she didn't want to admit to being his daughter.

Thursday. 5.35 a.m. Another relatively mild morning. The Voltarol is working well. The only side effect of using it is I think it's making me feel sick.