The Sun Has Got His Hat On!

 Friday. 9.10 a.m. Having made all those scones yesterday (by the way, how do you pronounce 'scone'? Is it with an extended 'one' to rhyme with gone, or 'scone' to rhyme with cone? You decide.) Anyway, having made them I then realized it would be a Bank Holiday Monday on Monday, and so, no Monday Club. Pity. It means I will have to eat them or share them with other people. They have been a success, apart from being somewhat difficult to split in half. They just crumble. Maybe I should make the dough a bit stickier with some milk before I roll it and then cut the scones out. 

Saturday. 10.10 a.m. I had a further text message from Mears. It was to tell me that someone was coming on the 7th of June to measure the kitchen window, which will have the extractor fan installed in it. At last! After all the phone calls, it looks as if the fan will be installed. But I won't hold my breath and will only be entirely satisfied until the thing is in and working, which means, hopefully, I will be able to use my George Foreman grill!

12.20 p.m. I had a doctor's appointment at 11.30 this morning. I was all ready to go out at around 10.50, but Alfie decided to do a whoopsie on the floor, so I spent some time clearing it up. He didn't appear as if he needed to go out, but nevertheless, it was a bit of a bother. Never mind, it's mopped up now.

I drove over to the Central Milton Keynes Medical Centre and parked and then walked into the surgery. I signed in and sat down. Almost immediately, I was called into the doctor's room.  Well before the time I was booked for, so I'm really glad I got there early. Blood pressure, heart rate, and all the usual observations were done. My weight was taken, and he made a sort of oblique reference to it. I'm not sure if I'm within the normal weight for my age and height, but I mentioned cakes, and he 'sort of' said I shouldn't eat too many. Everything healthy. No swollen ankles or something. I left and then drove home.

Sunday. 5.20 a.m. It's no good, I simply can't lounge about in bed when it's light outside. Alfie in a good barking voice as I got dressed and a circuit of Oldbrook Green. Not much else to report, except an exceptional amount of rubbish falling out of the bins.

1.25 p.m. I managed to do the washing up from last night's meal, take Alfie out twice before I went to church and write a bit more of my project and then transfer it onto word processing, managing to edit as I went along and insert several paragraphs from an earlier draught. I am feeling very positive about this writing and, as I walked around Oldbrook Green with Alfie, I managed to come up with another character, so my perambulations with Alfie are never wasted.

The title of this blog post is very appropriate. It is really warm and sunny and as a result, I wore my shorts to church. I have to admit I sometimes struggle to come up with appropriate titles for my posts and often just pluck anything out of the air.

Not Even For Ready Money

Thursday. 9.30 a.m. I've been busy this morning. I have been making a batch of scones. I have made them before, following Delia Smith's recipe. I got most of the ingredients in Sainsbury's yesterday morning. I actually made a double batch, because the amount of scones you get from the measurements the recipe gives only makes a few, so it wasn't much of an effort to double up the quantities. They have come out of the oven looking good. One was not a full scone, so I ate it! Tasted good and far better than what you can buy in a supermarket.     They are intended for the Monday Club.

4.30 p.m. I managed to get an appointment booked with someone from Mears to come and look at my bathroom, because, when I rang the other day, enquiring about the extractor fan, which is supposed to be installed by an outside contractor and who should ring me regarding this installation, I then mentioned the floor in the bathroom, which is a total disaster, caused by the former tenant of this flat who put the floor in, but didn't make a very good job, as the tiles are lifting and have lifted in certain places and this makes cleaning the floor extremely difficult. I got two text messages from Mears, the first saying they were coming to do the work on 16th June and a second one saying someone would visit to survey the bathroom today at 10 a.m. I waited in expectation for a visit at 10, but nobody arrived, so I rang Mears to be told that the lady who was to come and visit was held up, which is what I thought must have happened. The lady turned up at 11, and having looked at the bathroom, she told me that it was in definite need of being upgraded. There is absolutely no way I can have a full-sized bath, unfortunately, and it is unlikely I would have a shower cubicle installed. I am not bothered by this if I only had a shower which was installed at the correct height so that I don't have to bend to get it to work on me, as I'm a little over 6 feet tall. It now depends on the Council deciding what I can have, so I wait with bated breath to see what I eventually have.

Friday. 5.05 a.m. Today would have been Carol and My 16th wedding anniversary. I'm not going to mention it again, as you can imagine it's pretty difficult since she died.

Well, I've been out as usual with my lovely Alfie, and we did our usual circuit of Oldbrook Green. 

I'm intrigued by the way the grass has been cut. The furthest side from The Cricketers has been cut, and the grass is laying in strips, similar to when the grass is cut for bailing. It seems such a waste to just leave it laying on the ground and not use it. It would make feed for horses or cows. 

I stopped on the path to see a crow which was sitting on the fence. It must have been at least a minute before I move away, and it makes a loud noise which I think would have been an alarm to other crows because Alfie was with me.

As we walked along the path towards Oldbrook Green, I could hear birds singing and some sounding remarkably like the sound you get from a range of electronic devices, such as mobile phones. I watched a video on Facebook about a starling which can mimic the human voice, and its voice was remarkably human-sounding. Also, a very clever raven called Loki can make a range of sounds which he must have heard and then mimic. 

9.05 a.m. It's really sunny and pleasant this morning. My washing is in the drier at the moment. It should be done at 9.30, hence I have time to sit and write this blog post.

Little Grey Cells

Tuesday. 5.05 a.m. I'm wide awake again. The kitchen tidied and washed up and I've even prepared the chilli con carne for my evening meal. Am I crazy? No, I just can't stand wasting time. Bright daylight outside and I took my lovely Alfie out.  As we walked along the path towards Oldbrook Green, my attention was drawn to the sight of a police car parked in Olbdrook Boulevard, going towards Tesco's further down and opposite The Cricketers pub. As We got closer, I then noticed it was parked on the grass verge. Being an observant sort of person and also having a vivid imagination, I was constructing a narrative for why they were there. Hercule Poirot, Endeavour Morse and countless other criminal investigators which have done the same. Then, on the grass near their car, a black object was seen. What was it? Then, as we were about to cross over the road onto Oldbrook Green, a second police car went past from the direction of Fishermead. It stopped briefly near the first police car and then drove off. Then, no sooner had we crossed over the road and were heading in the direction of the skateboard park, I heard a noise above me. Looking up I could see what at first I took to be possibly a microlite or similar object. Then it became obvious that it was a drone. It had that distinctive sound these things make, and I saw one of the police officers operating the thing with a remote device. She brought the thing down to ground level and appeared to pack it away in the black object, which was obviously the carrying case for the drone. I was attempting to get a closer look but then walked on. By the time we got to the corner of Oldbrook Green and turned back to go home, the police car was driving away. So, what were they doing with the drone? Were they using it to attempt to find a person, wanted for something? An escapee from prison or wanted for questioning? Or, some other thing which could be best seen from the height only managed from a higher altitude? Or, were they merely playing with a new gadget they had been given to use for detection purposes? And Oldbrook Green at 5 a.m. was the best place to play with it? I don't know, and it made me have all these questions going on in my mind as we walked past.

As we walked back towards Dexter House, I could see the vapour trail of what appeared to be an aircraft, possibly coming to land at Luton Airport, which isn't that far from Milton Keynes. Mind you, it appeared to be coming in at a rather steep angle if it was an aircraft. Usually, they come in at a far less steep angle. In my imagination, I was thinking it could be a rocket or item returning from a space mission and was going to hit the Earth. But it did make me wonder what it was, although its speed appeared quite slow so it probably was an aircraft. I then thought, at that angle, the passengers would find it somewhat uncomfortable at that sharp angle.

8.05 a.m. I have now had a text from Mears. Someone is coming to see the bathroom floor on Thursday morning at 10, so it looks as if my efforts the other morning have paid off.

4.50 p.m. Another great day at Camphill in the Chrysalis Theatre. Little did I know that there was going to be a rehearsal for Maypole dancing. I had seen the maypole on the green outside the theatre, but never did I expect to actually act as the maypole, standing in the centre of the circle of the theatre workshop team and having to hold lengths of ribbon in the air with one arm. It was great to be at the centre of the whole thing, although it was quite an effort to keep my arm up in the air as well as hold on to the ribbons. It didn't quite work. I don't know why Terrie didn't do the rehearsal on the green outside. During the tea break, she tied the ribbons on the railing of the upper level of the seating and when they did another rehearsal, things went a good deal better. 

I should explain about the seating in the Chrysalis Theatre. It's quite ingenious. The main body of the hall has to serve as not just an auditorium, We use it for the performing arts workshop, and for doing the various activities which are part of the workshop. Then it has to be used for other Camphill activities, as a community hub for meetings, and discos for the Camphill residents, and then it's hired out for such things as craft markets. When there are theatre performances, whether by the Performing Arts Workshop or outside companies, then the auditorium is transformed by the raked seating which is able to be set up and can accommodate 220 people. But when not used, it folds into itself to allow the space to be used for other activities, as described above. 

After lunch, we spent time discussing the 'time travel' silent movie we are creating. Then we did a rehearsal and one of the other groups (there are three groups making movies. Mine, which is the 'time travel' story, another, which is a Western and the third, which is a pirate 'swashbuckler.' ) went off to 'scout' for locations for their movie. 

All The World's A Stage

 Monday. 5.15 a.m. Up and out early once again. As they say, 'the early bird catches the worm.' I'm not the sort of person who likes lounging about in bed. When I was growing up on a farm, there was absolutely no chance of a lie-in. Things to do outside, such as feeding animals. No, we didn't milk cows. It wasn't a dairy farm, although there was what was called a 'house cow', which was milked specifically for the house. More or less straight to the table. I doubt very much that you'd be allowed to do that now. Probably too much red tape. It wasn't processed, not filtered or pasteurized. It was put in large aluminium bowls in the pantry, where it was allowed to stand. The cream was taken off and scooped off with a sort of large spoon with holes in it.  No delivery from a milkman. 

12.05 p.m. I must have mentioned in these posts regarding Mears, the contractor which deals with the maintenance in Dexter House and was responsible for my refitted kitchen last year. They were supposed to be giving me an extractor fan so that I can use my George Foreman grill without setting off the fire alarms. I have phoned on several occasions and at one point was told that they had put an order in for the work to be done. But I haven't heard a thing. After some thought, I decided this morning to see what the situation was regarding the extractor fan. It took some while to get through and the lady kept me waiting as she had to ask someone else in the office about the matter. Apparently, they contacted me back in September regarding this, but I wasn't aware. It was an outside company and not Mears, but I wasn't aware of this. I may get a call later in the week to arrange a new appointment, but don't hold your breath. Then I asked about the bathroom refit. It turns out that the Council hasn't allocated funding for this. A bit strange, that, considering other people in Dexter House have already had their bathrooms refitted. I said the floor was in a poor state, due mainly to the fact that a former tenant had put down tiles on the floor, but, because they were so poorly laid and some were coming up and there were even gaps, it was virtually impossible to clean it properly, I was told that it might be replaced and someone would come out to have a look and then decide whether it needed replacing. Well, if that was the case, why not rip out the old flooring and the bath, toilet and sink at the same time, if they put in a new floor, it would only need taking up so the bathroom could be refitted.

5.40 p.m. Following on from the above, I had two emails from Mears. They have not listened to what Itold them, regarding NOT visiting on a Tuesday to survey the bathroom floor so that it can be replaced. So, another day will have to be organized.  Watch this space for an conclusion to this situation.

Goodness Gracious Me!

 Friday. 5.25 a.m. It's bright and early, and I've already taken Alfie out. 

Yesterday, after going to The Oaktree Centre for Bible study and help with packing up Acorns, playgroup (I don't go earlier because it opens earlier than it used to. There are two sessions, and the second one finishes at 12.15.) I drove home and immediately went into the shopping centre to have a browse and go into Costa which is opposite Marks and Spencer. I had a cold drink, caramel (not sure what it's called), cheese and ham toastie and banana and pecan cake.  Very tasty. Then into Waterstone's. Bought two books, one from Anthony Horowitz, 'The Magpie Murders'. It's currently being shown on BBC1 and on 'Britbox', although I haven't watched it. I may once I've read the novel. The other, 'This Sweet Sickness', by Patricia Highsmith. I've read a couple of her novels, 'The Talented Mr Ripley' and 'Strangers on A Train' which was made into a film by Alfred Hitchcock. I think her novels are best described as psychological thrillers.

Saturday. 5.05 a.m. Alfie and I were out well before 5 o'clock this morning. He was doing his usual barking when he saw me getting ready to go out. The buildings in the city centre, which are normally seen from Oldbrook Green, were obscured by fog. Completely hidden by grey and gloom, but it was reasonably mild out.

12.20 p.m. My Sky mobile SIM contract will expire in June. I wasn't aware of this. I was under the impression that it was paid for with my iPhone payments, which are paid in instalments. I had an email informing me that this was about to happen and that I could end my contract or continue. I don't want to change to a different provider, so I telephoned the call centre (I was wondering if it should be open this morning, as it's a Saturday. Fortunately, it was. The young man who answered was extremely helpful. He informed me that I hardly use my data allowance, and he advised me to go for a lower allowance, which would reduce my costs considerably. So, I now have 6 GB of data and cost £7 per month. I also learned that my contract, which pays for the iPhone 12 I currently have, expires in June next year, meaning that I can upgrade to a newer model iPhone when the contract ends and the phone is paid off.

Sunday. 7.00 a.m. I have been up since well before 4 o'clock this morning. The reason was that there was a noise somewhere within Dexter House. I have a feeling an ambulance was called because someone fell over in the corridor, but I'm not sure, and I didn't investigate. Because I couldn't sleep, I read a chapter of my current book, 'Les Misérables.'  I did some clearing up in the kitchen and even cleaned the bath! I know, rather odd, but it's cleaner than it's ever been since I moved into the flat.

I took out Alfie at around 5.15, with him barking outside the bathroom door, where I get dressed. As I write this, the sun is shining and it's relatively mild.

2.45 p.m. I have been watching the National Theatre production of 'Much Ado About Nothing' on the National Theatre At Home app (and shown on my Hitachi HD television.) This production, which was originally in repertoire in the Lyttleton Theatre at the National Theatre's South Bank Home, is set in a 1930s hotel and has Katherine Parkinson as Beatrice and John Heffernan as Benedict. There was an element of a 1930s film musical about it, mixed with that of a Marx Brothers film, with mistaken identity and plenty of visual gags. I have also seen the David Tennant/Catherine Tate production of the same play, and, of the two plays, I think they had a far sense of chemistry than in the more recent National Theatre production.

Hap, Hap, Happy Day!?

Tuesday. 5.55 a.m. Alfie and I were out on the grass alongside Strudwick Drive at 5.15 this morning. It was light outside, and I was wide awake, so it seemed a good idea to be up and about. No good lounging about in bed.

I had an email from Sky, regarding my broadband contract, which was about to end at the end of June. My monthly charge was to increase to £45, and I wanted to speak to someone regarding this. I have been a customer of Sky Broadband for nine years. I rang the helpline and the operator spent time searching for a cheaper deal and I have got a reduction, it will now be £29 a month, with exactly the same download speeds as well as the landline phone, which I was prepared to drop, but as it's part of the deal, it will remain. The contract is for 18 months. I was concerned that if I moved to another provider, it would likely cause problems, for example, having to reset passwords and generally learning to negotiate the setting up of a new router etc. As the saying goes, 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it.'

6.25 p.m. A hectic but productive day at Camphill today. The day was very different compared to other days I've had there, principally because we had a group of pupils from Shenley Brook End Upper School (which is next door to the Oaktree Centre.) They arrived at around 9.30. Terrie had set up some games to play, which the theatre workshop team knew well.  Some of the pupils were not comfortable with the games they were expected to join. I imagine it was because they were at the age when such games would not interest them or it was embarrassing in front of their peers. They were given a tour of the theatre and after around an hour and a half they left, and we had a late tea break.

It was soon lunch break and then afterwards we got on with finishing off the plot line for our silent film. We discussed locations, and it may be easier, in the long run, to do our time-travelling film within the theatre and construct sets out of cardboard and even use 'blue' or 'green screen' to achieve some of the backgrounds. We then did a tentative rehearsal of what we had. It's not like a play, done live, obviously. Each scene will be filmed separately and editing will create the 'flow' of the piece, so any rehearsal can only give a vague idea of what the whole thing will be like, once it has the intertitles, that's the graphics which will display the various elements that the 'silent' actors speak, set the scene for the audience and other pieces of graphics, including the opening titles and of course 'The End.' 

Wednesday. 10.50 a.m. I need a suit for my part in the silent film we're creating at Camphill in the theatre workshop. I have tried on jackets in the wardrobe department but nothing fit me, so the alternative was to try several charity shops in Stony Stratford. I had the presence of mind to look on Google Maps (such a useful resource) and saw there were several in the High Street, one, Oxfam, and another Red Cross. I drove there this morning and went into the Red Cross shop and found a suit jacket that more or less fits, but no matching trousers which fit. I purchased the jacket, at £6.50, not a lot to pay, and I will have to see if they have trousers in the wardrobe store in the Chrysalis Theatre next time I'm there. Or, I think I may have some black chinos which might do, at a stretch.

Driving to Stony, I got a message coming up on the digital display on the car's dashboard, informing me that the key battery was running low. Without the key, which locks and unlocks the car's doors, there might be a problem further down the line, so on the way back to Dexter House I went to Halfords and got a new batter fitted. No point in leaving it until there is a problem.

Jam Yesterday, Jam Tomorrow, But Never Jam Today

Friday. 1.40 a.m. Yet another case of nothing being able to sleep. Never mind. I can always find something to keep myself busy, such as washing up, tidying the kitchen, sorting out the recycling and tying up the bags to take to the bin room. I did my Bible reading, which is 'Through The Bible In A Year, with Nicky Gumble.' I do this on my iPad. Then I feel hungry, and so I made several pieces of toast and had a really nice Lidl raspberry conserve on it. (Conserve, having a higher percentage of fruit in it than jam.) And far better value than other brands.

10.40 a.m. It's a bit overcast and dull. Where has the sun gone? I can hear the wind, making wind-like noises (!) The sort of whistling, yet not whistling noise. The sort of wind you'd expect in a rather clichéd production of 'Wuthering Heights.' You know what I mean, at least, I imagine you do, with Kathy outside and shouting to be let in, in the middle of a moor somewhere in Yorkshire. Sad, really, but very corny and the acting is somewhat over-the-top. Melodramatic.

2.30 p.m. I was about to take Alfie out at around 1 p.m, only to discover that it was pouring rain, so we only went out fleetingly. As I write this, the wind continues to howl around the building.

Saturday. 5.50 p.m. Where did the rest of the day go? Well, it began early, with me taking Alfie as usual around 5.00 a.m. We didn't do our usual circuit of Oldbrook Green, but I had all the recycling and rubbish bagged up and ready to take out to the bins. Washing up done and the kitchen tidied.

We had our monthly men's breakfast at the Oaktree Centre this morning. I thought it started at 8 o'clock, so I was there bright and early. There was nobody else waiting, so I sat in the car, listening to Classic FM, with the overture to 'The Flying Dutchman' blaring out of the car radio. I was listening as I drove up Chaffron Way, and, although I'm not a keen Wagner fan, it was very motivational, so I had to sit and listen to it in the car park outside the Oaktree Centre.  I have to admit, I was wondering if I had the day or the time wrong, but then Richard, who organizes the men's breakfast, arrived, with a load of what looked like bread rolls. The building was locked, so we had to wait for someone to come and open the place up.

A couple arrived to do the cooking of the food. They set up two gas-fired barbecue pans and proceeded to fry sausages and bacon. 

The group began to arrive and it turned out that it wasn't supposed to start at the usual time of 8 o'clock but an hour later at 9, which I didn't know.

We ate our bacon, eggs and sausage and drank tea (or coffee) and then we had a talk from someone who used to be involved with S.C.F., on advanced driving, which was very informative and instructive. 

I was planning to go to the history festival at Milton Keynes Museum directly after the men's breakfast, but, because it concluded later than expected, I decided to leave it until Sunday. As a result, and because I didn't want to be cooped up in the flat all Saturday, I drove into the Central Milton Keynes Shopping Centre and had a browse and went into John Lewis as I'm looking for a cable which would allow me to link certain peripherals to my iPhone, iPad and MacBook because Apple has changed the ports from lightening to Thunderbolt/USB 4. I didn't find what I was looking for, unfortunately. I may end up going to the Apple Store to find what I want, but, being a Saturday, the store is likely to be very busy, so I decided to leave it for another day.

I walked through the shopping centre and went to Waterstone's and purchased two books, one on 'How To Be a Victorian,' and the other about 'Peterloo.'

Sunday. 12.45 p.m. My goodness! What's going on? The sun is shining and it's really bright. Almost (Note: I said 'almost'!) like spring!

Came out of church early. Miss having my usual cup of tea, so that I could be ready to go to Milton Keynes Museum for the history festival. There were just TWO spare spaces in the church car park! 

My friend Nick (hello Nick, if you're reading this!) was coming over to Milton Keynes from Northampton on the bus so that we could go to the history festival at Milton Keynes Museum. At around 1.30, he texted me to say he was at the centre, so I drove in and he was waiting near The Point. We drove to the museum and managed to park, although the car park was very full and there were few spaces. Luckily I managed to find a place.

Because I had been to the museum some months ago, and paid and kept the ticket, I was able to enter, free. I have a few months left on the card, so I can go again. Today's history festival covered a vast timescale, from around the time of the Romans, the Medieval period right up to the time of the Suffragettes. There was a gladiator fight (quite scary) as well as a knight's battle from the time of the Wars of The Roses. 

We went into the café and had tea. I was ready for a drink, as by now I was thirsty. Then we went into the main museum building, which was the farmhouse, built in C.1840, at the time well before Milton Keynes was built. We learnt about the railway and Wolverton's part in the history of the railway in the mid-19th century.  We saw a display of Victorian music boxes, a pianola and a gadget which displayed photographs stereoscopically, When we emerged from that exhibition it was time to leave. I took Nick back to the bus stop in the city centre and said goodbye. There is to be a Victorian history festival in June, so no doubt I will be attending that and possibly Nick will come over from Northampton.

Monday. 4.05 p.m. I have done all the usual walks with Alfie and when I took him out at around 5.20 a.m. there was broken glass along the path leading to Oldbrook Green, which some delightful person felt it necessary to drop in our path. Fortunately, I avoided it before Alfie got his feet cut and I moved it out of the way. Not just his feet, but it would have punctured the tyres of anyone cycling along that stretch of path.

I went out, alone this time, with the gimbal and noticed a blue tractor cutting the grass, which I haven't seen before. I think it would be a good deal quicker than the usual mowers they use for this job. I got the gimbal set correctly and the results were a good deal better I have got the video to work on my iPad.

Happy and Glorious!

Tuesday. 5.40 a.m. Today would have been my mother's 97th birthday. She's so missed. It would have been wonderful if she had seen her great-grandchildren or even her grandchildren.

5.30 p.m. A very productive day at Camphill. Last week we were informed that we were going to be joined by school pupils, but there was a mistake, and it wasn't today but will be next week. We also learned that they weren't going to be primary children, but sixth-form children, and from Shenley Brook End School, an Upper School, and right next door to The Oaktree Centre. In fact, when I first came to live in Milton Keynes, after marrying Carol in 2007, we used to go to Shenley Christian Fellowship, which, at that time, met at that school, before the church moved into its own, purpose-built home at the Oaktree Centre, which opened in 2016.

We were told that a new project will be set up sometime next year which will utilize puppets and be a collaboration with another workshop department at Camphill, which will create the puppets. As part of this project, we will also go to see a show at the Barbican Theatre, which is called 'My Neighbour Totoro Barbican Theatre, My Neighbour Totoro' which is based on the Japanese animation studio, Ghibli and is a collaboration between the R.S.C. (Royal Shakespeare Company) and Henson, the company behind The Muppets and other characters, television and film productions, such as The Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal. There is a distinct possibility that we will be going to a relaxed performance of 'My Neighbour Totoro' which is devised to make it easier for those with autism and other learning disabilities to enjoy, lower sound levels, lighting and more. Also, we might be able to go backstage for what is called a 'touch tour' which allows those with sight problems to interact with the set, costumes etc. There are a couple of members of the theatre group who do not like crowds and would find a theatre performance difficult, so they may not come with us.

We continued with developing the three silent movies, although there were several members missing because they were elsewhere. My group, which is working on a time-travel story, managed to complete the storyline. It is somewhat convoluted, to say the least. After lunch, the other group, which is developing a sort of pirate/swashbuckling mash-up, showed the rest of the group what they had been working on and at the end of the day we gave feedback on the day.

I got back to Dexter House, and it was overcast, with a vague fall of rain, but no sooner had I got back in the flat than the heavens opened and there was a very heavy fall of rain, followed very shortly by an almighty clap of thunder, which continued for about twenty minutes and a while later, joined by flashes of lightning.  I managed to record it on my iPhone because I thought it might be useful as a sound effect in the Camphill theatre workshop at some point.

Wednesday.1.30 a.m. I am wide awake, having gone to bed and then immediately fallen asleep. This always seems to happen when I've been out all day at Camphill. I think it's best explained because it's quite tiring. Part of it is due to the medication I am on, according to my doctor, to whom I mentioned this when I had my last GP appointment. 

8.45 a.m. It's quite sunny and bright as I write this. The rain I mentioned earlier has been useful, as I am using it to help write the next sequence in my writing project. It should, in some ways, add some authenticity to what I am attempting to create. According to Carol Kirkwood, the weather presenter on BBC Breakfast earlier, there were around 8,000 lightning strikes across the country.

2.10 p.m. I have now got a remote for the gimbal. I knew this could be controlled with such a device, but I had to hunt on the internet to find where I could buy one. In the end, I found it for sale on the Hohem website. Well, the most obvious place! I paid in Dollars, so I imagined it would be coming from the U.S.A., but it was delivered to me at midday, which was a surprise. But, like so many things, I had to do further internet research to find out how to pair it with the gimbal. I eventually found out how this was achieved and it's now working. Success!

God Save The King!

Saturday. Coronation Day. 10.20 a.m. I have my television on, with King Charles III's Coronation in progress. As I write this, Charles has left Buckingham Palace with Camilla, on their way to Westminster Abbey in a gold-encrusted coach (The Diamond Jubilee State Coach.) Apparently, it has been fitted out with air conditioning and decent suspension, giving a far more comfortable ride. 

So many horses. I noticed that one or two weren't behaving particularly well, one being the large one with a mounted drum on its back.

Surprisingly emotional and really spectacular.

Sunday. 5.30 a.m. After the excitement and razzmatazz of yesterday, a more subdued day ahead. Alfie was in fine form when I went to take him out this morning, barking and not asleep. 

5.15 p.m. I was on duty with setting out the chairs at church this morning. I wasn't actually on the rota, but someone asked me to do a swap. The service was led by the youth group. They did incredibly well. Then, once the service was over, it was all changed, as there would be a Coronation tea party. Lots of food, which people had bought, as well as tea and cakes which were put on cake stands. This was followed by a quiz, all about the Royal family.

I think I have got the gimbal sorted out. It has been easier than it might have been, considering it is a relatively new technology. I am so pleased that I sent the gimbal I purchased from Amazon went back, and I got a refund. Most of this has been because I followed video instructions on YouTube.

9.20 p.m. I am currently watching the Coronation concert from Windsor Castle. It is quite spectacular and better than I expected. An excellent mixture of acts and is very diverse. I appreciated the musical piece involving Gareth Malone, which had one group which used B.S.L. (British Sign Language).

Coronation Bank Holiday Monday. 5.30 a.m. A bright and mild morning, although the BBC weather is forecasting some rain later. 

8.45 a.m. I have at last managed to buy ink cartridges for my Canon printer. How difficult, you may be asking, can it be to purchase such mundane but necessary items? If you have been reading my posts from a few days ago, you will have learnt how many places I have been in order to get them. I had avoided Amazon, but because of the difficulties I have endured, I, at last, gave in and ordered these things on that website. They have been delivered, yesterday evening, and they are now available in the drawer of the unit where the printer sits, ready for when the current cartridges expire. I keep getting an 'ink low' message, when I attempt to print, which was the initial reason for ordering fresh ones.

Tuesday. 5.30 a.m. I've been out and I'm back, having taken Alfie out. He came to me, barking madly, unlike the last couple of days, when he was asleep when I went to take him out. I washed up from last evening's meal and the kitchen is now clean and tidy.

It has been raining overnight because there is standing water in and around the children's playground. A great deal of litter, a lot of it falling out of the rubbish bin as you get onto Oldbrook Green.

Another Day In Paradise? (No, It's Dexter House)

 Thursday. 5.40 p.m. Another mild and pleasant morning and I have already been out with Alfie.

I mentioned in an earlier post that I'd bought a gimbal which works with a mobile phone, the idea being that you can make videos and take steady photographs because of the mechanism within the gimbal. I had bought one from Amazon, but, going through the set-up procedure and following what manual which came with the device, I could not get it to function properly. I decided to return it to Amazon for a refund (read the previous post where I described all this.) I was surprised when the refund went through and appeared on my Amazon account. I was expecting it to take at least a week. As a result, I looked at a replacement on Amazon. It is really difficult to decide, unlike in a shop where you can pick up an item and try it out (which I have done in John Lewis's Milton Keynes store, with several of their cameras.) So I took the plunge and selected a Hohem gimbal (having seen a video on YouTube which was a review of the model I chose.) It cost quite a bit more than the price I had paid for the earlier gimbal, but I thought I would make up the difference. It was ordered early yesterday morning and the device was delivered yesterday evening at around 5.30. It was easy enough to set up, and I've had it working successfully. If you are interested, the model is an iSteady M6 and comes in a kit which includes the case and fill light and AI movement sensor, which fits on the device with a powerful magnet.

Friday. 5.30 a.m. Yet another mild and relatively pleasant morning. It took Alfie a while to wake up, which isn't something I thought I'd ever write on here. We were out briefly and I have now come back to the flat and have the television on with talk going on about the local elections. 

10.50 a.m. When I went out with Alfie, it was dry and mild, but at just after 9.30, when I went out to go to Sainsbury's, it was drizzling, that is, a very light rain. As it's Coronation Day tomorrow, there is the prospect of rain in central London, so those people who have camped along The Mall, as seen on BBC Breakfast early this morning, they are likely to get a soaking.

4.30 p.m. I have been out around  Oldbrook Green with the gimbal set up and videoed around 20 minutes of footage. I have downloaded it onto the MacBook and have been viewing it. Considering it was my first attempt to use it, it wasn't too bad. I am getting to grips with the various functions, which take a while to fathom. It is considerably better than the gimbal I returned to Amazon. The manufacturers have included a manual which is easy to understand, and I have been viewing YouTube videos on how to use it, so it is likely to take a few more attempts using it to get a better result.

Saturday. 1.40 a.m. I have woken up. I couldn't sleep. This is quite normal for me. I did my Bible reading. (Actually, a good time to do this, because there are no distractions, no noise, Alfie not staring at me or prodding me.) I make a cup of tea (not a cup, a mug. I don't have any cups or saucers, and, thinking about it, who on earth, in this day and age, has a tea set, with cups and saucers? Everyone uses mugs. Thinking further, nobody makes tea in a teapot. Just a teabag in your mug, pour on hot water, give it a few seconds, and take out the teabag, milk and sugar (optional) and that's it. Life made simple, or is it laziness? You decide.

I digress. I put on the television, with a mug of tea, a bag of crisps and a few chocolate digestive. BBC News channel. There are Americans, those who are obsessed with the Royal family and are going to be watching the Coronation. Then a piece on people who are camping along the Mall, towards Buckingham Palace. King Charles actually did a 'walk-about' and chatted with some of the people. Then a piece about people who either remember the late Queen's Coronation in 1953, either watching it on television or being part of it. A lady, who was 17 at the time, and did some of the embroidery which was on Her Majesty's wedding dress and a man who was a trumpeter in Westminster Abbey on the day. 

Saturday. Coronation Day. 5.35 a.m. It's here! Today is Coronation Day. It's something that is historic and as far as I'm concerned, and possibly quite a lot of people, I'm not likely to see it again (unless, of course, God forbid, Charles falls off his perch and William takes over.) I would have been 2 when Elizabeth II was crowned in 1953, although at that tender age, I wouldn't have been aware of what was going on.

I took a sleepy Alfie out as normal and we walked around Oldbrook Green. There must have been a very light rain overnight as there were dry patches below the trees near the Green.

Spring Has Sprung

Sunday. 6.15 a.m. I don't think Alfie was in the least bit interested in going out this morning. He was in his bed next to the television in the lounge and behind the trolley on which my Canon printer sits. I had to pick him up to take him out. No sound, no barking or anything. We did an Oldbrook Green circuit and then returned to the flat.

Bank Holiday Monday. 6.15 a.m. It's another warm and mild morning here in Milton Keynes. I think I must put on my electric fan to cool down the flat. Yet another circuit of Oldbrook Green with Alfie. I am shocked by the amount of litter which is all over the grass around the place. The rubbish bins are overflowing. It is really unpleasant.

Tuesday. 5.10 a.m. I had the electric fan on all yesterday. I also had the lounge and bathroom windows open and the flat is now a good deal cooler.

I have had a refund for the gimbal, which I returned to Amazon. I was surprised at how quickly the refund was made and in my Amazon account. I have just ordered a replacement and it should arrive tomorrow. I just could not get that model gimbal to work as it was supposed to. The one I have ordered is a completely different make and model. I had considered ordering it last night, but I have to be at home in order to sign for it, as it is quite expensive. I should be going to Camphill today, which is why I've delayed the order. I think this is to assure that they deliver to the correct person. You get sent a code which you have to give to the delivery driver. It assures security, and I'm fine with that.

6.10 p.m. I have been to Camphill as I normally do, and worked in the theatre workshop. I had missed the previous week, and the gang knew that it was because Alfie hadn't been well last Tuesday. 

The morning was taken up with fire training. How to recognize fire hazards and how to deal with incidents of fire. The theatre workshop group sat in the 'gods' section of the seating, whilst the Camphill care staff sat below in the body of the hall. At the end of the morning, staff had the opportunity to operate a couple of fire extinguishers. I have done this type of course before, which was done at Bromham Hospital when I started working as a support worker for the  Bedford Hospital N.H.S. back in the late 1990s. As a result of all this, although very necessary, we did no work on the silent comedies we are developing. 

After lunch, Terrie (the leader of the workshop.) produced some props from her own collection, which could be used in the silent comedy films we are creating. 

Later on, my group went downstairs to the costume room to select costumes for our films. The guys seem to find suitable costumes for themselves, but I was searching for a suit. There is a whole rack of suits, but nothing in my size, so I will go to a charity shop and see if I can find something there. It's quite likely I can get something for around £10-£15.

Wednesday. 6.00 a.m. I was wide awake at 4.45 and couldn't get back to sleep. This is quite normal for me. I decided to clear up the kitchen from last night and sorted my recycling and rubbish. Tied up both bags and took them out to the bins later on. Then I took out Alfie at around 5.20. Another circuit of Oldbrook Green.

10.30 a.m. I purchased ink cartridges for my Canon printer. As it gets a fair amount of use, and it was likely that the ink would get used up rapidly, I thought it might be a good idea to have some set by in storage for the moment the ink was running low. You used to be able to buy these cartridges from Sainsbury's, but they no longer have them on the shelves. The reason I was told, by a member of staff, was that they get stolen by shoppers. It's the same with Gillette Pro and Mach cartridge blades, which are quite expensive. It would appear that some people will steal anything if they imagine they can get away with it, which is why this sort of item tends to be fitted with an electronic device that will sound an alarm if they don't go through the check-outs in a correct manner. I ordered a couple of these cartridges from Viking, an online retailer which sells stationery items. The ink cartridges have remained in the drawer of the printer unit for a couple of months. I have used the printer several times and the ink cartridges which came with it when I bought it have not been replaced. Until yesterday, when I wanted to print and the printer showed that the ink was running low. It wasn't until I opened up the printer, ready to put in the new cartridges, that I discovered that they were the wrong type and wouldn't work in the printer. I really wanted to be able to use the printer, and it's no point in having the thing if it doesn't work. I imagined that Argos would have ink cartridges, the reasoning being because that was where the printer came from. 

I drove to Argos and went inside the store and had to look for the ink cartridges on one of the computer screens to then discover that they didn't have any of the types I wanted in stock. I then decided to drive to the shopping centre to go to W.H. Smith's to find out if they had ink cartridges. I made a mistake and had to drive around the centre of Milton Keynes to arrive at the car park close to The Point and had intended to use the Ring Go app on my iPhone, but for some reason, I needed to put in the password and when I     attempted this, it wouldn't work. Frustrated by this, I decided to return home and think about where else I could obtain the ink cartridges.

I will have to leave the purchase of the ink cartridges until I can find somewhere that stocks them. There is no 'bricks and mortar' stationer anywhere in this area, unfortunately.