January Weather

 Saturday, January 24th. 7.20 a.m. I awoke from my slumbers a good deal later than normal. But, what is 'normal' anyway? I think it might be a good idea to put the actual date of the day I write these posts.

Sunday, 25th January. Again, I woke a good deal later than I usually do.

I can't believe that Christmas was one month ago. It all seems like a fleeting memory. I'm glad it is, as it always seems to be so over-commercialised. Everything is overblown. You get the great build-up, Black Friday, which isn't just one day, because it goes on for around two weeks, prices are discounted, but people go stupid just for one day, and then, the next day, you get Boxing Day sales, and stuff which was overpriced before Christmas is reduced in price. I noticed in Sainsbury's the other day that they already had Valentine's Day cards on display. All the Christmas tat (to put it kindly) had gone.

Tuesday, 27th January. 7.55 a.m. It's blustery outside this morning. The digital thermometer currently reads 20ºc. The storm is named Chandra. I have no idea where the name comes from, but I will find out eventually. Why have names for storms? What's the point? There isn't one.

I went to the Shakespeare group in Newport Pagnall yesterday morning. We were looking at Shakespeare's villains. We watched Laurence Olivier's opening speech from 'Richard III.' It is somewhat hammy by modern standards, and I immediately thought of Peter Sellers' version of 'A Hard Day's Night' in the style of Shakespeare and very much inspired by Olivier's style of declamation.

I am continuing my family history research. I have discovered I'm a descendant of Anne Hathaway, William Shakespeare's wife. As a result, I will have to see the new Oscar-nominated film 'Hamnet' because he is very distantly related. Also, Benjamin Franklin, who was a signatory of the Constitution of the newly-independent United States of America. 

2.55 p.m. I have given away most of Alfie's bits and pieces, such as his bed, drinking and eating bowls, and remaining-in-date food. I now have the cage left, which was used to transport Alfie and was put in the back of the car.. Last week I washed the mat which sat inside, making it more comfortable for Alfie to lay on when he was travelling. I took the cage with me this morning, thinking it might be a good idea to try the Willen Hospice furniture store in Kiln Farm. I did some research on Google Maps, so I had a good idea where it was. I drove there, after 9 o'clock this morning. Unfortunately, they wouldn't take it, because, firstly, they don't take anything connected with pets, and, secondly, it's got something to do with our old friend Health and Safety, so I still have it and have yet to think of how to dispose of it.

A Foggy Day in Milton Keynes

 Sunday. 2.10 p.m. It was foggy across Milton Keynes this morning as I attempted to drive to church. I say attempted, because there was an accident on Chaffron Way, at the junction with Strudwick Drive. I knew that something was up because there were people in hivis jackets on the roundabout near Venture Church, formerly known as M.K.C.C. (Milton Keynes Christian Centre). You may ask, why on earth change the name? It's because Milton Keynes City Council also has the same initials, since MK was made a city. Crazy name, but there it is. Then I had to wait at the junction, and I could see police in the road and further out, the mangled remains of a car at the side of the road. I could not turn right, as I wanted to, to get to church, so I had to make a left turn and eventually go around the roads near MK college and out onto Grafton Street, along Standing Way and back onto Grafton Street and onto Chaffron Way and on to church. A long and laborious route.

Monday. 8.40 a.m. Another gloomy and foggy morning. Not much you can do about it. I expect it will clear at some point during the day.

Tuesday. 2.55 p.m. It's relatively sunny today, but a strong wind is blowing.

Wednesday. 5.30 a.m. I have been rudely woken by the horrible sound of the fire alarm. It is so loud that it hurts my ears, and I went to the loo and then here, in the lounge. I have heard a vehicle turn up outside in the road, and hopefully it's the fire service. With some luck (although 'luck' doesn't come into it.) the firemen will turn the wretched thing off. Really not a good way to start the day. Horray! The horrid thing has been turned off!

Friday. 8.00 p.m. I have been continuing with the writing project. I have it more or less planned, but just needed to get down to the actual writing process.

I am hoping that, if the weather improves, I can go out with my new digital camera and do some filming. Currently, the weather has been unsettled, with a mixture of rain and blustery wind.

I am currently watching a drama series on Apple+TV, called 'Hijack.' The title alone should tell you what it's about. Starring Idris Elba. It's extremely tense and keeps you on the edge of your seat. It tells the story of an aeroplane being hijacked by a group of supposed terrorists and is in ''real time.'

A Little Bit Of Rain

 Thursday. 6.45 p.m. We have a storm heading towards Britain, called Storm Goretti. I have no idea where the name came from, but it sounds like a sort of spaghetti or ice cream brand or even a biscuit.

Sunday. 7.35 a.m. The cough is almost gone, but now I'm suffering with what you might loosely call 'brain fog.'

10.05 a.m. I was scheduled to set up Communion for this morning's service. I had the bread, bought from Sainsbury's yesterday and cut up ready. Because I don't feel too well, I decided to take the bread to church and find someone to take over, which I did. It is under control, and I'm back in the flat. I think, if this 'thing' hasn't finished by Tuesday, I will have to make a doctor's appointment. Antibiotics may help deal with it.

It's a relatively mild morning. No frost, ice or snow. The digital thermometer currently reads 20ºc.

Thursday. 8.35 a.m. I got my hair cut yesterday, at the usual place, ROK, in Unity Place.(Incidentally, I have no idea why it's called ROK.) It seemed appropriate to start 2026 with a haircut. It did need doing.

I have been sorting out Alfie's bits and pieces, his bed, feeding bowls and little coats. I am giving it all away to anyone who wants it, and it seems crazy to just leave it in the flat when someone else's dog might make good use of it all.

Currently, the digital thermometer reads 21ºc.

Friday. 8.35 a.m. The digital thermometer currently reads 20ºc.

I took all of Alfie's remaining bits and pieces to church, and someone has them who has dogs. There was no point in hanging on to it all.

Saturday. 10.45 a.m. My new reading glasses (or, I suppose I should say 'newish.') have come apart. One of the arms is the part that goes over one of your ears. I had intended to go into Boots Opticians in the central shopping centre, but when I got out to get in my car I found it was raining heavily. I didn't want to park and then walk into the centre and then get wet, so I changed my plans by going to put fuel in the car at the ESSO station in Child's Way and went to Sainsbury's because I didn't have anything for this evening's meal. At least there is an underground carpark, so I wasn't going to get wet.

A Little Bit Of Snow!

 Saturday. 8.10 a.m. I was up and about later than usual this morning. At least I'm sleeping better.

The digital thermometer currently reads 21ºc. Apparently, according to various weather forecasts, we're in for a cold spell, with snow, frost, ice and all that goes with it. The media always makes such a big issue on this sort of topic. When I was growing up in the 1960's, you just got on with it. We went to school. No such thing as 'Health and safety' then. Now, schools close down, and the children get a day off. I remember having to shovel snow off the playground at school. Trains are prevented from running because the lines are blocked by snow, or more likely, the drivers won't work because it's too cold!

Sunday. 7.30 a.m. I was awake at 7.10. That has to be the latest for a very long time.

The digital thermometer currently reads 21ºc. No sign of snow here, but I expect there to be some further north, in Yorkshire and Scotland.

Monday. 8.40 a.m. I am currently experiencing a really unpleasant cough and feeling totally drained. I'm not sure what this thing is. It's not the flu, but it could be. On Saturday, I got some cough mixture in Sainsbury's, which does help, but I'm coughing up phlegm, which is unpleasant.

I would have thought that having the , flu vaccine would have protected me, although, as I say, it's not like full-blown 'flu. I don't have a high temperature. It would appear that I'm not alone with this 'thing,' because so many people in church yesterday morning had the same ailment. It's something you just have to put up with and it will eventually pass. Well, I hope it goes soon.

A light frost over the grass and covering car windscreens this morning. I may have to put the heating on in the flat.

Tuesday. 3.00 p.m. We had a very brief flurry of snow this morning. It left a sort of sugary coating to the lawn and road outside, but by now it has more or less evaporated. More like, melted.

I dismantled my tiny Christmas tree. I divested it of its decorations. It is still in its pot, and I moved it out into the garden, but then I managed to lock myself out, and someone had to let me in. Stupid, I know, but once the door closes, that's it. You can't get back in.

Thursday. 3.15p.m. We started back with the Thursday morning life group at the Oaktree Centre this morning. It's great to have got Christmas and New Year out of the way, basically because my routine is thrown out. I had a coughing fit in the middle of the meeting, but it did settle down. This is something which comes back every year. 

Chloe asked me if she could have information about my heart condition, which I imagine is for her doctor of maybe insurance, Anyway, I put a message regarding this on the Central Milton Keynes Medical Centre website, and I was really surprised how quickly I got a response, and after the Thursday Morning group, I drove over to Bradwell Common and the recptionist printed out the information. Now I can post it off to Worcester. I can do that tomorrow. From there, I drove to Sainsbury's to do a shop.

Twixmas

 Tuesday. 2.05 p.m. I've just been to Mursley Farm shop with Margaret and Mike. We have been there before, with the Thursday Morning Lifegroup. I do know how to get there, but it didn't make a lot of sense taking two cars, so Margaret drove to Dexter House to pick me up, and then we drove on to the farm shop, which has a great cafe, serving a wide selection of goodies.

This post is entitled 'Twixmas', referring to the period between Christmas and New Year, 'Twix', having nothing to do with chocolate biscuits, but a contraction of 'betwixt.'

Wednesday. New Year's Eve. 7.55 a.m. Another unremarkable morning. I'm yet to see outside. It might be frosty.

The digital thermometer currently reads 21ºc.

10.15 a.m. The sun is shining. But, when I went to my car earlier, the windows were covered in a thin layer of ice, which I got rid of with some defrost spray and a scrape with my scraper which I keep in the car for such eventualities. I drove to Sainsbury's for the final shop of 2025.

Sainsbury's now expect their customers to use a £1 coin to release the trolleys before you commence shopping. Fortunately, I have a token on my key ring, but the metal one I had seems to have got lost, unfortunately. I'm wondering why the need to lock trolleys and expect customers to use a coin to release them. Might it be that trolleys make a habit of losing themselves out in the community? People take them out of the store and don't return them? I often see supermarket trolleys left in odd places, far away from their natural habitat, the supermarket itself, quite often dumped in ditches, ponds and similar places.

Thursday. New Year's Day. 8.20 a.m. I sat and watched Jools Holland's New Year's Eve show on BBC2, which included the traditional singing of Auld Lang Syne and The Band of the Scots Guards. The chimes of Midnight rang out, and then Lulu sang. I ate a couple of mince pies and drank a Whiskey Mac, Scots whiskey and ginger wine.

5.20 p.m. I've been to lunch with Margaret and Mike in Downs Barn. Plenty to chat about, and we went out for a walk around the block. It's great to get out of the flat for a while.

Friday. 12.15 p.m. It's bright and sunny, but it's been quite cold.

The State of Christmas Television in 2025

 It would appear, from the dreadful ratings for Christmas television, mostly on BBC 1, that the British public has turned their back on the national broadcaster. Why do you suppose? Could it be the number of scandals that have engulfed the BBC in the last few years? The scandal of Jimmy Savile? The more recent business of the editing of a speech by President Donald Trump, to make it seem as if he had something different to what he actually said? The influence of 'woke' ideology? Or is it that most households don't watch traditional, linear television, that is, television that is broadcast 'live', in a schedule, one programme after another, at a set time and day? You can watch a wide range of television on streaming services, such as Netflix, Amazon, Disney+, as well as the catch-up services which are connected to the traditional television services, such as BBC iPlayer, 5, Channel 4 , Apple TV, etc. You can binge-watch programmes, if you so desire, because all the episodes are available online, meaning you don't have to wait for the next episode to be available a week later, which was the model for television in the past, probably no more than 25-30 years ago.

In years gone by, probably in the 1960s and 1970s, when I was in my teens and early 20s, you could always rely on television to provide a wide range of programmes, across a very wide selection of genres, from children's television, classic drama adaptations, theatre adaptations, contemporary drama, light entertainment, situation comedy, arts, music and a whole range of inbetween material. On a Saturday, you could start with sport, with Grandstand, which ran in the afternoon, then something for children, Basil Brush, and dare I say 'Jim'll Fix It,' (which now has a rather unpleasant scandal attached to it, so I will leave well alone.) Doctor Who, followed later by 'The Generation Game,' which had Bruce Forsyth as presenter in it's earlier days, followed by comedy from 'The Two Ronnies' and later still, probably some form of drama to round off the evening.

The buildup to television was intense in those decades, and it's probably the same today. I can remember, during September, a new television 'season' being unveiled. There would be returning series, 'The Good Life', 'Fawlty Towers', 'Rising Damp' and a whole raft of sitcoms which were born during this period. 'Dad's Army' was still running and continued on well into the 1970s. Then, at Christmas, we would get Christmas specials of these shows and not, of course, forgetting the legendary 'Morecambe and Wise' show which was a huge ratings winner on Christmas Day. 

ITV had its fair share of hit shows, such as 'Upstairs, Downstairs', 'Brideshead Revisited' and classic comedies such as 'Man About The House' and 'Please Sir.' And, to compete with 'Morecambe and Wise and 'The Two Ronnies', they had shows fronted by Stanley Baxter.

What do we now have that comes even close to any of these television shows? I can think of none. I suppose we have had some big hitters, such as 'Drop The Dead Donkey', 'Father Ted' 'Last of The Summer Wine' and 'Keeping Up Appearances,' but these have been off our screens for several decades.

I admit, it's very difficult to compare television from 40-50 years ago with today's offerings. For a start, there were only 4 channels in 1992, when Channel 4 came on the scene. Today, we have endless channels on digital platforms, such as Freeview and Sky. (Other providers are available.) That is, not to mention streaming platforms, such as Disney+, Netflix, Paramount and Amazon. 

Looking at the schedules for the Christmas period, there was nothing I could honestly say grabbed my attention and have me watching. The, by now, traditional 'Strictly Come Dancing' edition. The rating for this were poor, compared with previous years. Let's be honest, I think this show has run it's course. It has also had it fair share of controversy. To run for 20 years is pretty good. All things, particularly television shows, must come to an end sooner or later.  Compared to any of the Morecambe and Wise or Two Ronnies shows, there is no comparison. To make those big Christmas shows from the 1970's you have to consider the time and energy it must have taken to produce them, let alone the cost. Then, rehearsing, set-building, and probably filming months ahead of studio filming. Today, it seems that nobody in traditional television has any imagination to produce anything, except endless game shows and reality programmes, or anything with 'celebrity' in the title.