A Little Sunshine . . . and Then A Change In The Weather!

 Sunday. 7.25 a.m. Up early as usual. I'm certainly not one to lounge around in bed. When I was growing up on a farm, there was no use staying in bed after around 7 a.m., because there was always something to do on the farm. Although I didn't become a farmer, basically because of the thought of working with my brothers and father, who were always arguing with each other and making life really unpleasant (goodness knows what it was like for my mother, but I have a vague idea.) I think, if you stayed in bed, you would have the curtains opened and noise and people were moving about, and because Malting Farm house was freezing cold during the winter (no central heating!) you'd wake up with ice on the inside of the windows, you would have wanted to find heat somewhere or other, such as the kitchen, which had an Aga cooker in it, which was fuelled with coke, and was permanently on. Also, none of the bedrooms were exactly private. You had to go through one room to get to another, such as my bedroom.

It is relatively quiet this morning, on the weather front.

I don't know whether I mentioned in earlier posts about buying a DJI Pocket 2 video camera. It's a small and extremely neat little camera, which is deceptive. It doesn't look much, but it produces really amazing quality footage and even has stereo sound which can be recorded and has built-in microphones. It utilises a gimbal system which means, when you move about, the picture is always stable. You save what you record onto a card, the same way you save onto a memory card on a digital camera, which I have also. You have to be very careful with the memory card, which is tiny, no bigger than the nail of your little finger. When you put it into the slot in the camera, it's important to push it in until it clicks and make sure it doesn't jump out and get lost, very easy because it's so tiny.

I have done a couple of test videos, in an attempt to discover how it works. I have done a walk along the banks of the Grand Union Canal, but for the last one I had the camera set wrong and when I played it back, it was a speeded-up video, but I managed to set it up correctly. My biggest problem has been the ability to see clearly on the tiny monitor. But I have now bought a rig that enables me to put my iPhone on this and connect it to the camera via Bluetooth. Using the app that works with the camera, I saw more or less exactly what the camera sees. The gimble works so I can have a steady, level picture, making it easy to video when walking.

Yesterday (Saturday) there was what you might term a lull in the weather. The sun shone, which meant I had an opportunity to go out with the video camera, attached to the new rig. I walked around Oldbrook Green, and it was far easier to hold the rig with the camera in place, alongside my iPhone which connected via Bluetooth and I could use it as a viewfinder. The image was stable, and the whole experiment was a great success.

There is a sign of spring! I saw snowdrops on the opposite side of The Cricketers public house, in the area with a bench, amongst the trees. 

Monday. 7.45 a.m. It's another calm day on the weather front, although Storm Herminia is the latest 'weather event' to hit the British Isles.

4:20 p.m. The weather has taken a bad turn. The sky has been dark nearly all afternoon, but just a few minutes ago, there were two deafening thunderclaps, followed shortly by a powerful hailstorm. I stepped outside to check, and what I found wasn't rain but hail. It vanished as quickly as it arrived.

Donald Trump's Second Inauguration

 Monday. 7.40 a.m. I have just been reading what I wrote here eight years ago regarding Donald Trump's first inauguration as American President.  Well, they had four years of Biden and he became very unsteady as a President. Frankly, he was too old and frail to have the responsibility of running the largest economy in the world. Half the time he didn't know where he was or what he was talking about. I think he must have early onset Alzheimer's and was not really fit to be President. Kamala Harris, who took over mid-way through the election campaign, wasn't really fit to be president either, so, of the two candidates, love him or loathe him, Trump was the better choice.

7.10 p.m. I have been having problems getting my Panasonic Freeview Play set-top box to connect to my wi-fi router since I moved my broadband to Vodafone fibre around a month and a half ago. On two occasions I have attempted to put the password into the box, but for some reason, it just will not work. It is a very nerve-wracking experience because the password is long and uses upper and lower case numbers and letters and you have to use the remote control. So, I gave up on the last attempt. I then looked on the internet for some answers and one response was to use a cable connection, so I found the relevant cable and then plugged it into the router, and, fortunately, it worked.

I have been reading about Trump's inauguration and the executive orders he is going to sign. He is going to do away with a lot of the 'woke' rubbish that has been in place under Biden, such as gender and similar ideology. No government employee will be allowed to work from home, which seemed to be 'normal' since the pandemic.

Wednesday. 7.20. According to the weather forecast on BBC Breakfast a few minutes ago, Storm Éowyn is about to hit the British Isles. I'm not sure if that means wind, snow or rain, but I'm sure we will know when it eventually happens.

Friday. 7.10 a.m. Storm Éowyn has struck! It's extremely windy out and I didn't stay out long when I took Alfie out a few minutes ago. 

There is a Red warding in place in Northern Ireland and Scotland due to the high winds caused by Storm Éowyn. This means that it is dangerous and could be a threat to life. In Northern Ireland, they have recorded a wind speed of 114 m.p.h.  There is therefore traffic disruption and the message going out that, unless your journey is important, not to travel. On BBC Breakfast this morning, the weather map of the British Isles has a large area of the north of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland covered in yellow which looks like some sort of balloon or rubber device, dare I say, condom. Sorry, but it does have that sort of appearance.

9.35 a.m. It's bright and sunny, but the wind is still blowing a gale.

The workmen doing the work in the community garden have got several layers of what looks to me like gravel or stone on some of the paths. There is a yellow JCB roadroller standing on the path, no doubt to be used to flatten the paths before the final layer goes down, probably tarmac. I suppose it has to be smooth if people are to drive their scooters along the paths.

Saturday. 8.10 a.m. Thank goodness it's a good deal calmer this morning. Having watched BBC Breakfast this morning, there has been a great deal of damage done to buildings across the country, most in Northern Ireland and Scotland, both of which seem to have been hit the hardest by Storm Éowyn. In Northern Ireland the speed of the storm was recorded at 104 m.p.h. in some places.

Cold and Frosty!

 Wednesday. 2.20 p.m. There was a slight frost when I took Alfie out at around 7 this morning. I had to clear off a thin layer of ice from the car's windows because I had to take Alfie to The Groom Room to have a trim. We were due there at 11.30 a.m. It was fortunate that I had bought spray for exactly that job.

Saturday. 7.20 a.m. It was a bit of a surprise to discover fog when I went out with Alfie about 20 minutes ago. Also, a crisp frost. Walking on the grass there was a real crackle. Alfie was keen to get back inside to the warmth, but who can blame him?

12.00 p.m. It's sunny but still chilly. I've been to Sainsbury's this morning and it took about 15 minutes to clear the ice off the windscreen and windows. I just cannot drive if I can't see clearly.

In Sainsbury's, the travelator was running, but what was formerly the up one was the down one and the down one was the up one. Goodness knows why. There always seems to be a problem with this technology, as you would have read if you had been following my blog over the years.

Wednesday. 7.55 a.m. It's still mild. That's good. We definitely don't need high winds, rain or snow.

The workmen are still here, digging trenches, making holes and generally getting on with the work in the community garden. It sounds to me as I write this that they are using some sort of drill or machine that makes a loud noise.

Thursday. 7.35 a.m. It's foggy out this morning. It's not thick, but foggy nevertheless.

I have bought an air fryer. I had points to spend, which included Argos, so I looked at their website and had first intended to buy a Ninja one, but after some thought, I decided to go with one where you could see the food cooking inside, so I decided on a Tower one, which utilises halogen as it's heating source. I am gradually getting the hang of how it works, but I keep thinking that it's like a microwave and that you can't put anything metallic in it, but my thinking is wrong, and you can. It will take me a while to get used to it and, as usual, the instruction manual that comes with it is of very little use and it's written in very small and faint print so that makes life difficult. I shall watch YouTube videos and now bought a recipe book on Amazon, so that will help matters, or, at least, I hope so.

Electronic Appliances Failures

 Tuesday. 6.30 a.m. Oh, dear! The new year hasn't started well for me. Yesterday I wanted to make some toast, so I took the toaster out of the cupboard and then discovered that it wouldn't work. I thought at first that there was a problem with the power supply, that maybe the workmen who were around Dexter House had turned off the electricity for some reason. But I tried other electronic devices that used the mains supply, such as my fridge-freezer, but it was working as normal. 

I was thinking, I want to make toast! I would need to replace the old toaster. I bought this one from Argos, and I had sufficient points on something called Consumer Pulse. I have been part of this for years, recording things I have purchased and earning points which can be converted into vouchers. So, I went onto the Consumer Pulse website and ordered Argos vouchers. Unfortunately, I will have to wait around 5 days before I receive them. They used to send you these vouchers via email and you put a code into the Argos website in order to pay for whatever you wanted and then go to the nearest Argos store to colled the item. So, I will just have to be patient and then order the new toaster.

That was the first failure. I have my main meal in the evening. I was going to have meat pie, chips and green beans. Everything was ready to cook, but then I couldn't get my electric oven to work. Again, I thought it must be the power supply, and I tried the oven several times, but it wasn't going to play ball. So, no meal. I thought I could order a take away using an app on my iPad. Deliveroo or something similar. I have used it before, with no probloems, but I could not get it to work. Password or something annoying like that. I attempted to resolve the issue, but it would not work, even trying to use the 'forgotten password' function, which is supposed to send you and email and then set up a new password, but it wasn't going to work.

So, it seems as if my devices were being decidedly awkward today.

In the end I just made myself a cheese sandwich. 

As regards the electric oven, I thought the only solution would be to replace it. I have an on-line account with Very, so I went on their website and found what looked like the perfect replacement oven, in their sale, as around £150 off the price, the right width to fit in the space in my kitchen, ceramic hob like my old one and fan-assisted. So, after some thought I went ahead and ordered it, which means I can pay in installments, which is how I bought my fridge-freezer when I moved into Dexter House. I paid extra to have the old oven removed, but I will have to find someone, probably at church, to come to my flat to install it, as I'm not able to do electrical stuff like connecting an electric cooker. The new oven isn't likely to be delivered for around two weeks, so I will have to figure out a way to cook my meals, although I can use my microwave oven.

6.20 p.m. The situation regarding the toaster and oven. I spoke to Vashti, the S.H.O at Dexter House. She spoke to someone at Mears (I imagine it was them.) about the situation and I was told it might have something to do with the fuse box, although it isn't a traditional fuse box, which was renewed a few months ago. The box contains several rows of switches, and if an appliance is faulty or fails in some way, the circuit it is connected to will fire the switch. It turned out that the oven and toaster (or, in that case, the socket in the kitchen.) had shown up with a light which was orange, so we pushed the switch and the light turned to red. As a result, the oven and toaster worked. As a result, I have cancelled the order from Very, because a new oven is no longer required. Situation resolved, thankfully.

A Happy New Year!

 Tuesday. New Year's Eve. 9.50 a.m. Yet another mild but rather dull and overcast sort of day. The weather is expected to get worse, with more wind and rain, and in Scotland, Hogmanay has been cancelled in Edinburgh, due to the weather which is forecast. I simply can't imagine Scotland foregoing their New Year's Eve celebrations.

I needed to do a top-up shop in Sainsbury's. Christmas is over, although stuff like mince pies are on offer, or, at least, they are very much in evidence. But there are Valentine's Day cards already on sale. No doubt there will be Easter eggs on sale soon.

I had a package arrive via Royal Mail this morning. It was the Bisoprolol tablets which I have been waiting for and which were actually ordered when I went to the surgery on Friday morning. It just goes to show that Pharmacu2U can deliver quickly when needed.

Wednesday. 9 a.m. I did see the New Year in. I watched the Jools Holland show on BBC 1.

This morning it is very windy. I took Alfie out, and it was difficult opening the door with the wind pushing against it and making weird noises. The strength of the wind was almost enough to blow you over.

Friday. 8.10 a.m. It's getting a good deal colder. Snow is forecast. An Amber alert has been given, meaning that temperatures below zero can be dangerous for those over a certain age (probably me included.) Also, danger of slips and falls, and dangerous driving conditions are expected.

Saturday. 7.35 a.m. I had the foresight to buy an extra bottle of antifreeze spray for my car. I got it when I was in Sainsbury's a couple of weeks ago. I also bought a large bottle of spray which you have to spray on your car's windows the night before and it is supposed to prevent them freezing over. I did this yesterday evening but I'm yet to find out if it has worked.

When I went out with Alfie about an hour ago, I found it was frosty, but as yet, no sign of snow. It seems that the north of England and Scotland have had snow, and it is causing problems with transport. I'm not so sure if we will get it this far south.

Sunday. 7.15 a.m. There was a scattering of snow overn night, but it's more like a dusting than what they have had in the north of England. I'm yet to take Alfie out, as he's fast asleep, so it seems unfair to wake him up.

9.05 a.m. I think Alfie was somewhat shocked by the cold when I eventually took him out.

I wasn't feeling very good when I got up. A bit light-headed and wobbly. I was scheduled to do refreshments at church, so I have sent a message via WhatsApp and someone will step in. I didn't think it was a good idea to continue, because of the blackout I had a year ago as well as the heart attack I had in church six years ago. Better to be safe than sorry.

Monday. 7.45 a.m. The snow has gone, but there's a thin fall of rain, if you can call it that.

I decided to come off the refreshment rota at church. I have been involved in this for well over a year, so it's time for others to step forward. I am still on the rota to set up communion, which I shall continue with.

3.15 p.m. I was doing my washing up at the kitchen sink this morning, when I notice a group of men in the community garden. They were all dressed in overalls, and I remembered that work was to be carried out, including the scooter stores which have been in place for around 3-4 years, but cannot be accessed from the main building here at Dexter House, because there is no ramp or specially adapted doors to allow the scooters to be taken out into the stores. An orange digger appeared and there is a fenced off area further over which is no doubt where equipment will be stored. Later, when I took Alfie out onto the grass along Strudwick Drive, I noticed a small truck being unloaded and the gate open and another larger lorry parked in Dexter Avenue, just below where the door comes out of Dexter House and I imagine it had further equipemt to be used by the workmen. Oh, the excitemnt of all this (Not. Scarcasm I'm afraid.) I will keep my readers imformed as this work progresses, or not.

Boxing Day and Beyond. . .

 Thursday. 8 a.m. I went to the Christmas Day service at SCF yesterday morning. It was an hour and there wasn't any tea or coffee as we usually have after our services, so I came straight home afterwards. 

I had my Christmas Dinner at around 5.15. I had purchased all the bits that made it up from Sainsbury's which included a chicken breast (which turned out to have stuffing inside when I began to carve it.) Brussels sprouts, roast potatoes, pigs in blankets, stuffing and bacon. I had bought a ready-made Christmas Pudding, but I decided to have it another day (probably this evening.

Later, I watched the new Wallace and Gromit film, 'Vengeance Most Fowl.' I'm a fan of the work of Aardman Animation, so this was something of a treat. I know it takes years to make an animation film, and probably more work goes into this type of stop-frame animation. It was so inventive and imaginative and hilarious. According to the over-night ratings, it got over 9 million viewers.

Friday. 1.40 p.m. It's been foggy and overcast for the past couple of days. Just typical December weather, I suppose.

Another trip to Sainsbury's this morning. The travelator was not working on the trip up to the store. They seem to have endless problems with this technology, but I can walk up the travelator, which is odd when it doesn't move, but the down one was working.

There seems to be a lot of Christmas stuff left over. Perhaps they should sell off mince pies and Christmas puds at half price, or even less.

All the tenants at Dexter House, including myself, have had letters from the maintenance contractors, Mears, today. Reading down the list of things they are going to do, caught my attention. It reads 'Slip and trip hazard free pathways from external doors to the scooter stores, from the fire exits of the scheme to external gates, and from the scooter stores to the external gates.' Which means, if I am right, but don't hold your breath, they are actually going to do the work, which has been held up for at least 3–4 years! SOMEONE in the hierarchy within Milton Keynes Council, has decided to act on this work, or at least, signed the piece of paper which means that, at last, the work can be done and the electric scooters, which are stored at the moment, in common spaces, for example, the corridors, and were deemed a fire hazard by a fire officer years ago. I have been watching the brilliant sitcom 'Yes, Minister' on BBC iPlayer. This business of the scooter stores seems very much like a storyline straight out of this series. 

Well the work begins on 6th January, so I will report on here how things progress, but don't hold your breath.

Saturday. 9.45 a.m. It's yet another gloomy and overcast day here in Milton Keynes. I see from BBC Breakfast, that vast swaithes of Britain is covered in thick fog, but this area seems to have escaped. There are problems with visability as airports and flights have either been delayed or cancelled. Drivers have been told to be careful on the roads, and, in particular, because visability if poor.

I went to the prayer meeting at SCF this afternoon. A lot of the people who are in the Thursday morning group were there.

Sunday. 7.35 a.m. I've been out with Alfie. There's a bit of fog hanging around although it's thin and is likely to disperse as the day progresses.

Monday. 9.35 a.m. A bit of a misty, rather than a foggy day. Overcast and murky is the best way to describe it.

I found that I was running low with some of my medication, so I decided it would be advisable to put in a repeat prescription. I went on the on-line pharmacy I use, Pharmacy2U or whatever it's called. When you can order, then those medications which you have signed up to a 'clear', but those they say you can't have yet are screened out, being 'greyed out.' As most of my repeat medications were 'clear', I clicked to order. I thought to myself, 'ok, that's done!' and they will arrived in a few days time through the post. But a few days ago, over the Christmas period, I got a text message from my surgery to tell me I had ordered too early. Which bothered me, because, by this time I had finished the Bisoprolol tablets I take, which I think are to control my heart rate and, hopefully, prevent me having a further heart attack. This morning, rather than ringing the surgery, because I knew it would likely take me about 45 minutes for them to respond, hence causing stress, it was far simpler to drive to Central Milton Keynes Medical Centre and get the medication ordered, which I did. I was concerned that they might not be open, due to the Christmas and New Year holidays. But I needn't have worried, as they were open, and I spoke to a receptionist, who did the order on her computer and I will hopefully receive the medication in a couple of days, maybe a bit longer than usual due to New Year getting in the way.