New MacBook

Wednesday. 1.35 p.m. I now have a brand new MacBook Pro. Completely paid for and up and running successfully. In fact, this blog post is being written on that laptop. I had an email from Milton Keynes Council last Tuesday, telling me to ring and speak to a lady in what is called the Income Department. On Wednesday I did just that, and it appeared I was owed a credit, I'm not quite sure what for, but I hadn't been paid whatever it was. I gave my bank details (and thinking about it later I began to wonder if I had been wise to do such a thing, considering how spams work and how easy it would be for a criminal to extract money from your bank account.) It was a sizeable amount, so my first thought was 'good gracious! It means I can buy a brand-new laptop!' This, as I've mentioned before in these blog posts, is because my MacBook Air has come to the end of its working life. I can't upgrade the operating system, and it's become very slow and difficult. I still wasn't sure whether it was real or not, so I kept looking at the balance on my Nationwide account. Yesterday (Tuesday) I went online, and the money was in the account. So, I did some research online regarding MacBooks and eventually went on the John Lewis website and ordered a new model, more powerful than the old model, and this morning I got an email telling me it was ready to collect. So, I went in and collected it, via the John Lewis customer collection department. I had to migrate data from the old MacBook to the new one, which took a couple of hours, which means virtually all my files are on this new one. It was a really simple and easy process, and I'm surprised how well it went. There are one or two websites that I visit regularly which need their passwords put in, but apart from that, everything went well, fortunately.

I am currently watching my box set of the sitcom 'Allo, 'Allo.  I have had it sitting on my bookshelf for the past couple of years. I watched the first episode, but I haven't watched any of the other episodes. I have watched the occasional episode,  when they were shown on various channels over the years, but never from the beginning and in chronological order. I have never seen any of the first series. I have a connection to it, as I did walk-on work on the second season, spending around a week in 1985, when exterior scenes were filmed around Norfolk and on the outdoor set which was constructed in a courtyard at  Lynford Hall, which is now a hotel. The BBC created the courtyard to become the village square and the exterior of Rene's cafe.

Thursday. 12.10 p.m. It's surprisingly warm and sunny. You could almost say 'spring-like' if you were so inclined. I suppose so, but we're in early January.

I have ordered what is called an 'over-bed' table from Amazon. Not that it will be used 'over-bed.' It should allow me to sit in my armchair and write on my MacBook Pro as well as use it to eat my meals. I don't have a dining table, so it should make life somewhat easier. It's due to be delivered sometime today, well, at least before 10 p.m.

The best bit of news is that more of the covid pandemic restrictions are to be lifted after 26th January. Including not having to wear muzzles, oh er! I mean face coverings. We're supposed to wear the wretched things when shopping, but for me, it's made more difficult because my glasses keep steaming up. You can't communicate properly with them on, almost impossible to have a decent conversation with someone and virtually impossible to 'read' a person's face. So, it's excellent news. Let's just hope that this is the end of the confounded pandemic, or at least, near enough. I might well mean we have to live with the virus and not keep being locked down. 

4.35 p.m. The over the bed table has arrived. Usually, when I get a delivery, the van driver will call me on the intercom from the front door of Dexter House, but this time someone in the front office telephoned me to tell me I had a delivery. Which meant I had to go down and pick up the package. It doesn't really matter, but you would think a delivery driver would have some sort of idea how to contact the recipient of a parcel. Now to construct the table. I'll let you know how I get on, but surely it can't be too difficult to put together. I trust it has instructions within the package and they're easy to read and there are no pieces missing.

6.20 p.m. The table is built! It wasn't as difficult as I was expecting. The worst part is screwing the various pieces together with an Allan key (I think that is the correct name.) You can never always manage to turn the screw through a complete turn, but do it in small increments. Lots of packaging, polystyrene and plastic bags which contain the various screws and tiny bits. The secret I find when working on these self-build bits of furniture (or 'flat pack if it's IKEA or the old MFI furniture. By the way, whatever happened to MFI?) is to put these pieces in a box or plastic container so they don't get lost. As I say, the thing is built and ideal for taking the MacBook so I can work.

More House Cleaning

It was too hot yesterday to even think of cleaning the house. I took a load of cardboard and other rubbish to the tidy-tip, as mentioned in the last post. They said on the BBC Evening News that it was the hottest day so far this summer. I can well believe it. I was getting rather concerned when I started to get a tightness in my chest. A bit like angina. I used my G.T.N. spray and it did relieve it, but on the news they did say there was a health warning, to keep out of the sun and to not stay out in it where at all possible. The N.H.S. has issued a level 3 heat health warning to people with chronic long term health issues, (which I imagine would include myself, with a heart condition) and particularly keep out of the sun where necessary during the hottest part of the day, which would be between 11a.m and 3 p.m. The hottest place yesterday was Santon Downham, in Suffolk, with a recorded temperature of 33.3C. I know more or less where that is. It's not far from the road towards Norwich and Brandon, which was the base for some television work I did years ago and around where ''Allo,'Allo" was filmed in the 1980's.

Later. I went to Sainsbury's early. Same sort of shopping as usual, something for tonight's meal. Just salad bits as I don't fancy anything hot when the weather is so warm.

I drove into the hospital campus and waited at the entrance to the carpark, but the woman in the car in front was having problems with the barrier; it didn't want to rise. Stubborn refusal methinks. There was a car in the road in front of me. I couldn't work out what the driver was intending to do. A van arrived and a man got out. I think he was a security man, or at least a workman who was going to fix the barrier. Well, to at least get it to rise and let us through so we could park. No, the confounded things was steadfastly refusing. Just not playing ball. Just abandon the thing completely as the heat wasn't exactly helping matters. I gave up waiting. The heat wasn't exactly helping, so I decided to drive home and park the car and then walk in. I wasn't over-keen to have to walk in the intense heat, but there seemed no alternative.

After lunch (which was a bowl of tepid soup and a dried excuse for a ham sandwich. Surely it's possible to make a sandwich that isn't shrivelled up. Food from the British Rail school of catering, anyone?) as I was saying, after lunch one of the doctors came with some more encouraging news. They had found an antibiotic which could be administered which would work the infection and for two weeks Carol would need to come into the hospital on a daily basis to have this given via a P.I.C.C. line or something similar, possibly something which is mid-way between a canula and a line, which Carol had for her chemotherapy, but which was removed recently. No clear indication as to them the line would be fitted or exactly when Carol would be discharged. Hopefully tomorrow (Friday). Don't cross your fingers because if Carol is given the go-ahead to be discharged tomorrow it can take five hours for all the paperwork to be done as well as sorting out any medication that she will take home with her, as I can attest when I was in hospital some while ago. First a doctor had to sign the paperwork and it just went on for ever (figuratively, not literally.)

Wednesday morning. As I write this the house is spotless. I don't think it has been as clean. Alfie must be wondering what on earth is going on. There are one or two things that need wiping, such as windowsills, but I'm not getting to obsessive. I now just want the inspection over and done with so I can relax.