Christmas-Gone

 Sunday. 3,50 p.m. So, that's it. Christmas is done for another year. At church this morning, there were fewer people in the congregation than usual, probably because some people were away, for whatever reason, or returning. Next, we have the New Year, and I might be going to my friends, Mike and Margaret, but I won't know until early next week.

The digital thermometer currently reads 21ºc.

Monday. 8.40 a.m. Well, I didn''t wake up until well past 7 this morning. It seems very quiet here at Dexter House. Not a mouse stirring, as someone said. I should know: it's a speech from the opening of 'Hamlet.'

The digital thermometer currently reads 21ºc.

11.15 a.m. I've been to Lidl to get milk and one or two items, such as biscuits. And why not, you may well ask? Just enjoy the occasional Hob Nob or chocolate digestive. I must have lost the trolley coin I used to have, which I had on my keyring, although I have a plastic one, which works just as well as the metal one, allowing me to use it to release a trolley before I enter the store. But I went inside and used one of the plastic trolleys,  for which you don't have to pay with a coin to release them. I don't like them, because they are low and it's far more difficult to manipulate in the store, but for the purposes of my current shopping trip, do well enough.

Tuesday. 9.10 a.m. Another typical late December morning. It's overcast, and not raining, frosty or otherwise.

The box of medications, which I inadvertently left behind in Worcester, arrived in the post yesterday, mid-morning. A very polite post lady knocked lightly on the door, and I was presented with the well-wrapped parcel. She said it was her first day doing the job. I think it is always a good thing to praise someone when they do their job well. It's easy to criticise when things go wrong, but more important to be kind and considerate when things go well. So, on opening the parcel up, I removed everthing necessary and was pleased that the unfortunate situation had a good resolution.

We Three Kings

 Tuesday. 7.50 a.m. It's dark and gloomy at the moment. The sun hasn't risen. I'm about to prepare for my journey to Worcester tomorrow morning. I trust the weather will be fine, because driving on the M40 can be made more difficult if it rains and then there is spray, thrown up by other vehicles, particularly HGVs.

The digital thermometer currently reads 22ºc.

10.50 a.m. I've been to get the tyres checked at the ESSO service station in Grafton Street. I'm sure this was a Shell service station, and I've used it before. It is one job I dislike, because the hose which you pull out of the machine is so awkward, as it keeps on wanting to rewind itself into the machine. It needs some sort of braking system, so once you've pulled it out, it won't rewind. You get a short time once you've put your money in the machine, but it now accepts larger denominations of coins, and I happened to have a £1 coin on me, so I used that. It would be easier if there was a second person to help, as the operator, who checks the tyres, has to first unscrew the cap on each tyre and then put the end of the hose on the valve on the tyre and then manage to read the pressure on the machine, which is difficult, because, when you do the rear tyres, you can't always read the metre on the machine. Carol used to help me do this. Well, at least it'd be done before I drive to Worcester tomorrow morning.

Friday. Boxing Day. 1.45 p.m. I have just got back from my trip to Worcester.

I got partway home and then realised I had forgotten the box with all my medications in it. I really didn't want to go without the heart stuff. I'm not willing to find out. I let Chloe know and hopefully she can post it to me, but I needed at least a week's worth until the box turned up. Through the NHS 111 website, I was able to get passed on to Boots pharmacy in Milton Keynes, and then I got a call from them so I could give my details and the list of meds. Then I drove in a collec the parcel of meds. All very efficient and problem solved quickly, thank goodness. I just blame myself for forgetting the box.

Time Goes By

 Sunday. 7.35 a.m. I was awake at around 4 this morning. You know how it is, you need the loo, then go back to bed, lie awake, not a chance of sleep. Someone in Dexter House, in a flat which is close to mine, has a radio or something on, not loud, but has a voice chattering. It's enough to keep me awake. I do all my washing up, which I normally do a good deal later. Tidying up my space in the lounge, my coffee table, which gets cluttered up, so I sort rubbish, which goes in the recycling bin.  I have a wash and a shave, then sort my medication out in the kitchen. I'm fussy, having it all in the same plastic box I bought just after I had my first heart attack in 2006. I have two glass shot glasses, which have measurements on the side, which I got from Amazon. The meds get put in one of those, and the other has Feroglobin liquid.I  do, eventually, go back to bed and sleep.

Monday. 8.35 a.m. A somewhat lacklustre sort of day. What more can I say?

The digital thermometer currently reads 22ºc.

I have managed to finish the sequence I have been working on for months. Now, to develop the next stretch of writing. My creative muscles will be put to use.

4.40 p.m. I attended the U3A Shakespeare Group at Dovecote in Newport Pagnall. As I drove there, I was shocked by the amount of building work which is going on at the junction of the road I would have driven into from Bedford when we first went out before we were married. There is a roundabout on the A509, which, if you follow it on into Milton Keynes, becomes Monks Way. There are also traffic lights, which make it easier and safer to cross over into the road which leads into the centre of Newport Pagnall. So much building is going on, with vast warehouses on one side of the road and houses on the opposite side. Every time I drive around Milton Keynes, there is more building going on. When Carol and I married in 2007, we lived in Crownhill, and it must have been the last estate grid going out of Milton Keynes towards Stony Stratford.  That estate is called Whitehouse. Now, the farmland on Watling Street has been built on, and further along Watling Street there are more houses. 

The Holly and The Ivy

 Wednesday. 12.30 p.m. There was a gorgeous red rosy sky earlier this morning. The sun was out, but it was low, and from my kitchen window, as I stood and did the washing up at the sink, I could see the shopping centre, which is on higher ground than Oldbrook, it seemed to glow a golden colour, which was really the sun reflected in the glass. It was really beautiful. Strange how the most mundane things can have beauty.

Thursday. 1.20 p.m. We had a Christmas party at the Oaktree Centre this morning. It was with all those who are part of the Thursday Morning Life Group (Bible study group, as I've often referred to it in earlier posts). We had some silly games, and there was food, mostly what you'd call buffet food. A good time of fellowship and silliness.

It has been raining all morning, quite heavily, and I had to run to my car after the party, in an effort not get wet, which was impossible. I got slightly damp, but it didn't really matter as, once I got back inside the flat, I very soon got dry.

Friday. 8.30 a.m. I woke up a good deal later than normal. As I write, my washing is in the machine and should be done in around 30 minutes.

Currently, the digital thermometer reads 20ºc.

3.25 p.m. Some of the daffodil bulbs which I planted in September are starting to come up in the community garden. I know they will eventually blossom in the spring, but it's great to know that they are growing. I trust that the rest of the batch come up eventually. All planted in memory of Carol, as she loved daffodils.

The sun has been out, although only weakly.

Saturday. 10.00 a.m. I had an appointment with the doctor at Central Milton Keynes Medical Centre for 9.15 this morning. I was surprised to find it was foggy as I drove across Milton Keynes to get there. On arrival, I had to stand and wait outside before the doors were opened. I checked in on the computer screen, and before I knew it, my name came up on the digital screen, and I was walking to Room 7. The doctor took my blood pressure. Quite normal, as well as my weight, around 15 stone (don't ask me what that is in Kilograms. Sorry, I'm stuck with imperial measurements.) Everything seemed fine and I was soon back in my car, driving home.

It soon struck me that I would need some cash, and the A.T.M. that used to be outside Tesco's convenience store in Oldbrook has gone, and the row of shops it was in was demolished when the upgraded Lidl store was built. It seemed that the only one I could use that was close was at Sainsbury's, so I headed for the store and parked in the underground carpark and, walked up the travelator and got the money from the cashpoint (A.T.M.) and then decided to buy a few items in the store as I was there. 

Bah! Humbug!

 Monday. 10.15 a.m. It's bright and sunny as I write this. The digital thermometer currently reads 21ºc.

I had to get a few things from Sainsbury's; milk for a start. Can't have milk for my morning tea or cereal. I had made out a list and then drove to the store at a little after 9. When I got there, I went to get a trolley and then discovered they were locked and you needed a £1 coin to release the thing. Fortunately, I had a coin-sized token on my key ring. Other people were annoyed at not being able to take a trolley as they obviously didn't have a £1 coin. Mine came from Nielsen, IQ, because I use an app from them to scan my shopping. You build up points which are then redeemed for vouchers. I have a second one from Kantar, which works the same way. Both are worth signing up for. I've been with both for a number of years.

I completed my shopping and used a self-service till, paid and then pushed my trolley down to the car in the car park, unloaded it into the back of the car, and then couldn't find a trolley with the coin lock in, so that I could release my token. I had to spend some time searching for such a trolley, and fortunately, I found one, released the token and returned it to my keyring.

I drove home and then discovered that a van was blocking my parking space outside Dexter House, and had to park in the road that runs down the side of Dexter House. I trust it won't be there when I want to get out later on this morning.

Tuesday. 7.50 a.m. Fortunately, the van I mentioned above had gone by the time I was due to drive out.

I haven't attended the Monday Club at the Oaktree Centre in over a year. I think the idea is great, being a place for those over 60 to meet up, have a chat and play games, as well as have a cup of tea and a sandwich, but, as it was a Christmas party today, I decided to go. My main reason for not going was that I didn't want to be with a group of other older people. I already live with a load of what I call fogeys, even though I am 75. I don't want to hear about their aches and pains, their hospital appointments and other illnesses.

I had a slight problem, more or less at the time I was about to leave the flat. I put on a pair of my distance glasses and one of the lenses fell out. Fortunately the lens is plastic, so it didn't break, because it fell on the floor. I didn't stop to find an alternative pair, so I drove to Shenley with glasses with only one lens in place!

The afternoon was really enjoyable. We played games, one of which I remember playing as a child, 'pass the parcel', where you have something, a box of chocolates, a toy, or whatever, and you wrap it several times, so that there are a number of layers of paper. The contestants sit in a circle, and you play music, and the parcel is passed around, and when the music stops, whoever has the parcel has to tear off a layer of paper. At the end, the winner is the person who opens the final layer of paper and finds the prize inside. Another game consists of everyone again sitting in a circle, and one person has a Post-It note stuck to his or her head, on which is written the name of a person, well-known, living or dead. Of course, the person who has the Post-It note doesn't know the name of that person, and the rest of the group has to answer questions regarding that person, and he/she who has the Post-It note has to try and guess. 

Then we had food! There was a table ladened with food: sandwiches, sausage rolls, mince pies, crisps and a good deal more! Everyone stacked up their plates, and we sat and ate.

People began to leave, and I went home in my car. By now it was getting dark and I don 't enjoy driving with lights.

Comfort and Joy?

 Friday. 8.20 a.m. It's yet another somewhat overcast and uninspiring sort of day, here in Milton Keynes.

The digital thermometer currently reads 21ºc.

3.55 p.m. I have been searching for a suitable present for my grandchildren. It has to be something they can share. I got them a game called Pirates, which was a great success. Chloe WhatsApped me this morning, saying she had found something called Chicken and Hotdog (I know, crazy!) I searched various toy websites, and eventually found it on Smyth's Toys website and ordered it via click and collect and then went to collect it earlier this afternoon. It is far easier to buy anything via click and collect, because it means you pay on the website and, as soon as it's ready to collect, you merely go to the store and collect the item.

I was staggered by the number of people in Smyth's store. For a Friday, in the middle of the day, it was a bit of a surprise. The carpark outside was packed, and it was difficult to find a space. I realise that Smyth's isn't the only retail outlet in that particular retail park, but the store I went into was heaving. Then, people went crazy, coming out laden with toys, almost as if there was some sort of shortage of toys (there wasn't.) It's only for ONE DAY, and they're likely to have paid on credit cards, which will have to be paid off over the course of 2026. Yes, they want their children to have a great Christmas, but to go to this extent is totally mad. The REAL meaning of Christmas is totally lost.

Saturday. 7.55 a.m. It's another rather dull morning. I haven't been outside yet, but I will very soon, as we have our monthly Men's Breakfast at the Oaktree Centre.

The digital thermometer currently reads 20ºc.

I have been reviewing the footage I recorded using the Osmo Pocket 3 when I was at the Central Shopping Centre the other day. I'm really pleased with it. I still need to do further tests before I use it for something more serious (or not!) The quality is amazing, considering its size. 

11.05 a.m. I went out to my car around 8.40, intending to drive off to The Oaktree Centre, but I found ice on the windows, so I had to spend around 10 minutes scraping it off. I then found that there was mist on the inside of the windscreen, when obscured my view. I can't drive if I can't see clearly, but by the time I had come out of Oldbrook, and onto Chaffron Way, it was clear enough to see clearly.

Sunday. 5.30 a.m. Far too early to be awake and writing this blog post, but does it matter? I think not.

The digital thermometer currently reads 21ºc.

I must have mentioned how I get my medication. I would prefer if I could merely go into a pharmacy and pick the repeat prescription up, but things don't work like that anymore. We used to have its own pharmacy in its Witan Gate store, which was taken over by Lloyds, and even that has now closed. Sainsbury's used to have its own pharmacy in its Witan Gate store, which was taken over by Lloyds, and even that has now closed. I now order online through Pharmacy2U. To make sure I have never run out of medication, I need to get the order made at least a week before my stock runs out. I go online, tick all the relevant areas on the page and hit 'send.' This is sent to the doctor to approve, and then the online pharmacy makes up the repeat order, and then, eventually, the order is sent to me via Royal Mail.

I have had no problem with the delivery, and the meds are well packaged and normally come through my letterbox. Except yesterday. I knew the order was about to arrive, due to being sent an email. Then I got a notification that the order had arrived. It had not, so I went onto the Royal Mail website, and it showed the package had been sent to 6 Dexter Avenue. There was a photograph showing the house, so I went over to the house to ask the resident if the package had been delivered there. There was no answer, so I presumed they were out and I would need to go back when they came home.

I thought no more about it, until the evening, when I got a buzz from the door intercom. You press one button to speak and another to release the door so it will open. I waited in expectation for the delivery person to arrive, but nothing.

A while later, the parcel arrived, when the gentleman from 6 Dexter Avenue came and knocked on the window of one of my neighbours, and she came to my door with the parcel.

The conclusion of all this: the delivery person should read the address label and make sure the parcel/letter comes to my flat and not the wrong address. Crazy. Simples.

Blow Wind and Crack Your Teeth!

 Sunday. 7.15 a.m. A dark and supposedly calm morning here in Milton Keynes.

The digital thermometer currently reads 21ºc.

I am continuing with my transfer of writing material to word processing. As I do so, I am making changes to the original handwritten material and developing things as I go.

Tuesday. 8.15 a.m. I am waking up a good deal later than I have in the past. With no Alfie to think about and take out, that may be one reason.

It's wild and windy outside. The storm that is raging is called Bram. I'm not sure where the name originates, but possibly a contraction of Abraham. Answers on a postcard, please.

The digital thermometer currently reads 21ºc.

6.30 p.m. The wind is still raging. There are weather warnings across the country.

I can imagine Lear, out in the middle of all this, with the Fool, shouting at the wind and the rain. It wouldn't make much difference, but I used a quote from King Lear for this blog post.

Wednesday. 10.20a.m. It was bright and sunny earlier. I had been considering going into the shopping centre with my new Osmo Pocket 3, to get some footage, especially the Christmas display, which is always in the Middleton Hall section, near John Lewis. I was somewhat put off because of the roadworks along Secklow Gate, because, to get into the carpark near The Point, you have to make a detour. However, it wasn't as busy as I had expected, due to Christmas, and I managed to park, then pay at the new ticket machine, which allows you to use your contactless bank card. As I walked back to my car to collect the camera, a lady approached me, saying she needed air put in a tyre of her car, so I agreed to help, expecting we would need to go somewhere, such as a petrol station, to use their air machine. But she said she had a foot pump which I used, and soon, after quite a bit of effort, I managed to put sufficient air in the tyre, and I told her she should get the tyre checked and possibly buy a new one. So, having done my Samritan act, I managed to open up my car and set up the camera, which has several parts which need to be connected, before it can be used. I had only recently charged it, and there was enough charge to do some filming. I walked into the shopping centre, but I couldn't get the camera to work in landscape mode, so I had to sit down on a bench and work out how to change the orientation. Eventually, I got it set up properly and walked through the centre. 

I arrived at Middleton Hall, where the Christmas display is located, but found it somewhat disappointing. It's all bright, over-coloured lights, with a railway which runs around the perimeter, along with the usual Santa's grotto. All rather tacky, frankly. Usually, this display has a theme, such as Peter Pan, which is what it was some years ago, with a ship, and models of Captain Hook and Peter Pan. However, it has become boring and unimaginative at present.

I started walking back to the car, and as soon as I got outside, toward where the car was parked, it began to rain, although not particularly heavily.

November Sun

 Thursday. 12.35 p.m. The weather is terrible today. It's raining heavily, and it's overcast.

The digital thermometer currently reads 21ºc.

We had our weekly Life Group at the Oaktree Centre this morning, but there were only 4 of us there. We had a long conversation about memories of Christmases, instead of the usual Bible study.

Friday. 9.25 a.m. I have washing in the dryer, and I'm waiting for it to finish.

It is brighter on the weather front. There is a weak sun, and at least it's not raining or a howling wind.

The digital thermometer currently reads 20ºc.

12.55 p.m. I had a Christmas card I wanted to post, to my brother, Andrew. I waited until my washing was dried and put away, and drove to the Post Office in the One Stop shop in Coffee Hall. I had gone on line to check my bank account, because I wanted to go on to Sainsbury's after I'd dealt with the card.l Unfortunately, when I got to One Stop, I then discovered that the Post Office counter within the store had gone, and I had to buy a book of stamps for around £6, took one and stuck it on the envelope which contained the Christmas card and then posted it in the post box outside the store. I then had to return to Dexter House to pick up my bank card and then drive on to Sainsbury's. Meanwhile, I had to contend with roadworks as it would appear that the Council was doing resurfacing work at the roundabout, which I had to cross to get to Sainsbury's and negotiate a lot of orange traffic cones, and it wasn't totally clear where you were supposed to drive.

Saturday. 7.50 a.m. Yesterday I took delivery of an SD card for my Osmo Pocket 3, which I had ordered from Amazon. These things are tiny, no bigger than the nail of your little finger. In fact, I think it's a good deal smaller. It is quite difficult to remove it from the packaging. You have to cut through the card which houses the thing and then attack the plastic which holds it in place. You need scissors to cut through everything and be careful to not damage the actual SD card. Once removed from it's prison, I had to remove the current SD card from the camera and replace it with the new one. Then, initialise it to make sure it will work correctly. This done, I had to remove it and at this point, it is quite difficult, as the thing is kept in place with a strong spring, which only managed to make the SD card shoot out of the housing and disappear somewhere in the area around my chair. I began to hunt frantically for it, and decided that it was totally lost. Which annoyed me, as the thing costs £30. So I ordered a second one on Amazon. It was whilst resting on my bed, that I thought it might be a good idea to look inside my armchair, by lifting the seat cushion, and, there was the missing SD card, which I put in the camera case. I will have to be a little more careful when dealing with the SD cards in the Osmo Pocket 3.

Changeable Weather

Saturday. 8.55 a.m. It appears to be a somewhat overcast and dull sort of day. What of it? Just get on with things. It's a bit gusty, and it might be raining.

The digital thermometer currently reads 21ºc. 

I purchased a book from Amazon, titled "DJI Pocket 3 User Guide." This little gadget is far more complex than you might imagine, and with numerous settings, a manual is really a necessity to get the best from it.

Sunday. 2.50 p.m. It has been bright and sunny this morning, although, as I write this, it has become overcast.

Currently, the digital thermometer reads 23ºc.

I have begun going through the Osmo Pocket 3 manual and getting to discover what each setting does, which includes how to download a completed video file so it can be edited.

Chloe has sent me a lovely photo of all the grandchildren, which was taken by the school photographer. I am going to be with them all over Christmas, and I will travel to Worcester on Christmas Eve and return home on Boxing Day.

Monday. 6.45 a.m.  1st December, so Christmas is closer than ever. 

There is quite a strong wind raging outside as I write this.

The digital thermometer currently reads 20ºc.

Tuesday. 7.20 a.m. The raging wind has gone, thankfully.

The digital thermometer currently reads 20ºc.

I should have mentioned that yesterday I had another appointment with the nurse at Milton Keynes Central Medical Centre to try again for a blood sample. Unfortunately, it wasn't successful, so I have to go to the hospital and try there, where they can use an ultrasound scanner to find a vein. This is getting annoying, to say the least, as I don't want to go, what with the difficulty of parking my car and then walking to the relevant department.

10.00 a.m. I have been to the blood department at the hospital. It was easy enough to park in the multi-storey car park. You don't have to take a ticket. A machine takes a picture of your car's registration number. There were more than enough spaces, although I don't like these sorts of carparks. I don't like the slopes between floors.

I walked downstairs and then across the road and into the reception, and asked the receptionist to direct me to the blood department, and I soon found it and took a numbered ticket and sat for a while in the seated area and very soon my number was called, and I went into the room. The nurse was able to find a vein, and some blood was taken. Success! It was all over in a minute or so, and I was soon returning to my car and driving out. At the exit, you pay with your contactless debit card, and the barrier rises, and you drive away.

At the moment it is quite sunny.

2.40 p.m. I have just been to Lidl. The last time I was in there, I noticed they had Christmas trees, small, and ideal for my flat. They come in a metal pot, grown in soil and even have LCD lights which run on a battery and also a handful of decorations, so I've been to buy one. I also bought a Christmas jumper which has motion-activated flashing lights on it! I had been looking for something with lights on and with a Christmassy theme, so, ideal.

It remains sunny, and the digital thermometer currently reads 22ºc.