Friday. 8.25 a.m. Yet another mild morning.
11.15 a.m. I've been to Aldi this morning. It's so easy to go in and get what you want and be out quickly. No fuss, no frills. The main supermarkets have so many distractions, things that you could possibly do without at that particular moment, such as clothes (alright, I know, we all need clothes, but you know what I mean.) They want you to browse and maybe not buy something immediately, but come back and buy it later. Also, books, toys, cards and a whole host of other stuff.
1.40 p.m. The roofing contractors appear to have left at around midday. A considerable amount of their equipment is scattered all over the grass below my kitchen window. The machine which I could not identify turns out to be a sort of lift, similar to what they used on my father's farm, an elevator to lift straw and hay bales up to the highest point when they built stacks. This machine is a good deal narrower and has its own engine to power it. They use it to take tiles up to the roof.
Saturday. 9.55 a.m. The lady in the flat beneath me smokes like a chimney. Now, I know, it's a choice and everyone has a right to do what they like in their own home. But when the Mears workmen were in her flat and the door was open, cigarette smoke got into my flat. I have never smoked and don't intend to ever smoke. I know the effects it can have on your health, not just the possibility of contracting cancer, but it can cause all sorts of illnesses, clogging up your arteries and causing heart attacks, strokes and so on. Not just that, but the smell of cigarette smoke is unpleasant, causing me to cough. I was told, after I had my first heart attack in 2006, that if I'd smoked I would in all probability have had my heart attack five years earlier. Under no-smoking legislation, which came in under the Blair government, smoking is not allowed in public spaces, which includes the common areas of Dexter House, but tenants are free to smoke in their flats. I just get annoyed that I'm having to endure cigarette smoke contamination when I don't want it and the fact that it's possibly endangering my health I get very annoyed, but there's not a great deal I can do about it.
I felt sorry for the Mears' workmen because they had to work in all that cigarette smoke. I don't think it's acceptable to expect anyone to have to work in such an environment. It's totally unhealthy. I remember, when I worked for Guardian Home care, around ten years ago, I had one of my clients who I visited several times a day, also smoked in their home. I had to breathe that smoke in for a couple of hours. They call it passive smoking, which I didn't like, but there wasn't much I could do about it. Why couldn't I object? It was unpleasant, in the same way, that the cigarette smoke coming from the flat below me is both unpleasant and dangerous to my health.
5.55 p.m. I've been to Camphill this afternoon to see a performance of 'Twelfth Night.' I had to park in the Peace Pagoda car park, which is across Brickhill Street from The Chrysalis Theatre. I knew it wouldn't be a good idea to park in the Camphill car park, as it was unlikely to be enough space. I had to use the ticket machine and work out how to use it, as it had contactless payment. Once that was done, I walked over the bridge and entered the Camphill campus from the opposite side to where I usually enter. On arriving in the foyer of The Chrysalis, I was totally surprised by the number of people who were waiting to go into the theatre. I estimate there were more than a hundred people. The seating had been set up, which pulls out from one of the walls in the theatre, and has raked seats built in.
The show was brilliant! There were a few prompts but never mind. Most of the cast knew their lines, and some didn't. The audience loved it all and laughed in all the right places. As a result, the actors played up to the reactions they got. The performance was videoed, so there will be a record for the future. It will be great to be able to watch on my television set, via YouTube or Vimeo.
Sunday. 8.00 a.m. Yet another bright and mild morning. I was out with Alfie at around 7.15 and there was a huge moon in the sky, so I had to go and get my iPhone and photograph it. I'm not entirely sure the result was successful, but at least I tried.
12.45 p.m. We had another Café Church session at the Oaktree Centre this morning. The only problem I have is, that, in a relatively small space, with a lot of people, when everyone is talking, you can barely hear what is being said. In some respect, it's not a problem, but not being able to hear properly is.
On the way home from The Oaktree Centre, I drove down Chaffron Way as usual. It's no more than a ten-minute drive and generally totally without incident. But driving down the long stretch between the Watling Street roundabout and the roundabout at Grafton Street, I had a BMW on my tail. It came up behind my car and was so close it was somewhat intimidating. I think this sort of behaviour is done deliberately, usually to get me to get out of the way. I was doing around 45-50 m.p.h., so I wasn't exactly crawling along. But there are some drivers, usually male, that simply can't tolerate another car in front of them. Then, around the point where there were chevrons along the middle of the road, I think where vehicles would go if they were turning right for The Bowl, the driver put his foot down and overtook me. Having just looked up 'chevrons' on the Highway Code website, I read that you're not supposed to enter this area unless there's an emergency, and this certainly wasn't an emergency. He shot off at great speed, probably between 70-80 m.p.h., and it was very unnerving, to say the least. Mind you, it was rather a pointless exercise for him, because by the time I reached the Grafton Street roundabout, he had to wait in a queue of around six cars to enter the roundabout, so, his speeding past me was a waste of time and energy.
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