Busy, Busy!

Wednesday. 7.05 a.m. I took out Alfie as usual and I was almost blown away when I stepped out into Strudwick Drive, around 6.25. It was really blowy and enough to sweep you off your feet.

Yesterday I completed the online course for Camphill, which included manual handling, infection control, safeguarding and more. It has taken several hours, and as you complete each section, you have to do an assessment and achieve at least 80% in order to pass and get certified. Fortunately, because I have done most of this sort of course on other occasions, I managed to pass, so I am now waiting for my birth certificate to arrive. Once that has arrived I should receive my DBS certificate and then be able to work at Camphill in the theatre workshop.

2.00 p.m. I've put my washing in to wash. (So, what else would you do with it? Oh, sarcasm!) I don't usually do mine on a Wednesday, but a change is as good as a holiday, as someone or other said. No sooner had I come back to my flat, than the heavens opened, and it began to rain. Quite hard, but it was only for a minute or so.

I have been wondering when I will get my annual flu jab. I looked on the Milton Keynes Central Medical Centre website, but no mention, but then I saw a text message on my phone, so I followed the link and I have to go to the surgery on Saturday morning to have it done. I did think that it should be no later than the end of October, otherwise it won't be of any use, the closer we get to the winter period when the chance of catching flu becomes more likely. It's just so easy to book online and I just walk into the surgery, register on the computer screen and wait my turn. I must say, this surgery is a good deal more efficient than the old one I was at, Ashfield, Medical Centre. 

Friday. 11.00 a.m. I have had a cough for a while. I can't say I can accurately date when it started, but it can be really irritating and annoying. I bring up clear phlegm (sorry, not nice, but I have to describe it.) The cough can strike at any moment, totally out of the blue, often in the middle of the church, which is why I attempt to have either a water bottle or some sort of sweet to suck which helps relieve it. It struck during the quiz night last Friday, and no amount of drink would relieve it. So, this morning, I decided enough was enough and made an appointment at my doctor's surgery, Central Milton Keynes Medical Centre. I rang at 8.30, which is when the phone lines open. They now have a system whereby you press a key on your phone's keypad and this allows you to put down your phone, and when you eventually get to the front of the queue, you get a call from the surgery and then make your appointment. Such a good idea and saves having to hang onto the line for however long it takes to get to the front of the queue and then manage to speak. I got my appointment with one of the practice nurses, and it was for 9.30. I drove there and signed in and there were quite a few people in front of me and I could see them going through, and the digital board was showing people's names, and it was well past 9.30 when I eventually went into the nurse's room.  He checked me out, blood pressure, heart rate and so on and there appeared to be nothing wrong there. In fact, I feel generally fine, except for this confounded cough. I thought it might be a side effect of my heart medication, particularly statins, but he didn't see it could be that, or even the beta blockers, which help with my heart rate. Instead, he suggested taking antihistamines, and not antibiotics, as it might be caused by a virus. So, I went into the branch of Boots, which is a short walk from the surgery and bought Piriton, which is usually taken if you have an allergy, such as during the hay fever season. I have taken the first tablet and will see if that improves things.

12.15 p.m. It's really quite sunny as I write this, but the wind is strong. It's what you might call typical autumn weather.

Even Sillier Title for A Blog Post!

Friday. 5.35 a.m. The wind is howling around outside and something has been rattling or banging. It might be a door or something loose but I have to say it's really annoying me. Why can't someone go out and check and prevent it from doing so? Well, you may ask, if nobody else is going to do it, why don't YOU? Well, I could, but it means getting dressed and going out . . . It's getting light, and Alfie is sleeping in his bed, which is near the window. 

Later. 12.15 p.m. I had to do my washing this morning. Exciting stuff (irony) but very necessary. I was up early, as I have described above. Doing washing up and sorting recycling and rubbish. I took it out to the bin. It's a walk along the corridor to the room but there is no light in that room. The door that leads out into the bin yard has a difficult bolt to withdraw. It really is about time that someone sorted repairing these things as it's surely a matter of health and safety. I think I've discovered what caused the rattle and banging in the night. There was a broken plastic storage box outside and it's so light it can be moved by the wind, so I bought it inside and the noise has ceased! You really would think someone else could deal with this matter, but no.

There are workmen back in Dexter House doing something to the emergency lighting. I don't know what, but the system isn't completed from the last time they were here. The banging and drilling in the downstairs flat have finished thank goodness. I spoke to our SHO (Sheltered Housing Officer) and she tells me that the work is being done by MK Council. So, is my flat in line for a refit? The communal kitchen has been refitted, but some of the work was on hold due to the pandemic, but it looks as if it is being finished off. New cooker and fridge I believe, but I haven't been in to look. It would be nice if I could have my kitchen upgraded. It is somewhat past its best. The bathroom also, but one lives in hope. A full-length bath would be great as the one in there currently isn't long enough for someone over six feet to lay down and have a good soak. My knees have to be bent to allow me to lie down in it and the shower is too low to allow me to stand under it properly. It seems crazy that these things should be only for short people. But never mind, I shouldn't complain. It seems ridiculous that the flat downstairs gets refitted. Why don't they start at the flat nearest the front door and workaround? Just picking one in the middle seems a bit random, or have they selected the flats to refit by sticking a pin in a list and seeing what comes up, or a number picked out of a hat? If it's not done like that it does seem rather like it to me.

Later. 2.20 p.m. It's still blowing a gale, but it doesn't seem as powerful as it was earlier. I took Alfie out just before 2 o'clock and there seemed to be a threat of a downpour, so we came back inside. I arrived outside the flat and found a parcel on the doorstep. I was expecting a parcel from Amazon, but usually, they deliver around 6 p.m. so it was something of a surprise. A digital kitchen scale was only ordered yesterday morning. I opened it and I have to say, first impressions are good. It doesn't have a battery and you have to charge it using a USB cable and as I write it is plugged in and charging in the kitchen. I imagine it will take around 2-3 hours for it to charge fully, so I can test it out later.

I have managed to transfer some of my writing onto word processing, using the iPad's speech-to-text function. It is generally a far quicker way to write than using a keyboard, but still, it's a slow process. You have to keep an eye on the text as some words it mishears and you need to edit it as you go along, but it is a great way to write.

Saturday. 7.05 a.m. The howling wind has receded, thank goodness. Let's hope it remains that way. Also, no rain, but it looks as if we might get more.

Alife spent most of the night sleeping in his bed near the television and in front of the window, but early this morning he came into the bedroom and got on the bed and snuggled up against me under the duvet! He really is a little love and keeps me motivated. 

Later. My doctor at Ashfield Medical Centre prescribe Oxybutin, which is supposed to slow down my need to keep having to wee, and usually this at night. Little did I realise the side effects it would have. I can't say it made any change in my night-time visits to the bathroom, but I kept on with taking it, probably for around 5-6 years. I have mentioned the fact that I have an annoying cough for the past few years, with no other symptoms of flu, cold or feeling feverish. But the cough is caused by a dry and tickly throat and it can be really unpleasant and not a great deal will stop it or at least relive it. So I mentioned this to the doctor who rang me the other day and she said it was likely to be from taking the Oxybutin and she said I ought to stop taking it. So, this is what I have done. I can't say there's a marked improvement in the cough, but it is lilely to take a few weeks for the Oxybutin to work it's way out of my system. At least I have a doctor who doesn't just hand out medications without getting to the route course of whatever it is that's causing problems. I will just have to wait and see what improvements there are because when I get a coughing fit it can be quite nasty and only a drink of water or a sweet to suck can relieve it, but, unfortunately not completely.

Warm and Sunny Weather

(Wednesday)The weather is continuing to be warm and sunny. But lets enjoy it and not find any negatives. As I've mentioned in earlier posts, when you have the window open, you have to endure all manner of annoying sounds, people running the engines of their cars immediately below my window, children screaming, chatting people (actually quite good for someone who writes as there's dialogue and story ideas from this, so in some respects i'm not complaining. Alan Bennett has said that he used a few of his parents choice saying in his plays, so who knows what's going to come out of an over-heard conversation. I must learn to take my notebook and pencil out when I'm walking Alfie. I was following a couple down Strudwick Avenue and they were having quite a heated conversation, which, unfortunately, I didn't quite catch and then a couple, he dragging along one of those wheeled suitcases that people take with them on holiday and which you see on television when they show footage of airports, people about to board their planes or railway station concourses. It looked to me as if she' just thrown him out of the house, she walking ahead and him walking along behind. Another bit of over-heard conversation, again, quite heated. So, what was the reason? What storyline could I get out of it? What had he done wrong? Were they splitting up? Had she thrown him out of the house? Where was he/they going? To another house? To the station to catch a train? All these ideas stirring up my imagination. Could lead to a story somewhere along the line. You can't make these things up.)

Later. I had wondered what had happened to the appointment I was supposed to have had at Milton Keynes Hospital. I have mentioned this in a previous post. I had a blood test done when I moved from the hopeless Ashfield Medical Centre to Central Milton Keynes Medical Centre in Bradville Common. The doctor suggested I have a blood test, just to check my normal functions, which included cholesterol. It turned out that I needed to have a hospital appointment to have a test to check my liver, as the blood test had shown something not quite right (don't ask me what) which would have been caused by one of the medications I take for my heart condition. Typical that you get side effects caused by the medication. I have to take one tablet which protects my stomach because one of them can hard the lining or something. Anyway, I hadn't heard anything and it was some time ago, I this morning I decided to ring the surgery. I couldn't remember the telephone number, so I went to their website to discover you can leave messages on the website, giving your basic details such as date of birth. I gave a brief description of what I wanted to know, making sure it was clear that it wasn't urgent. I didn't expect to get a response for a couple of day, but this afternoon I had an email and it connected to a reply, saying that the original appointment had been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, which is what I had imagined had happened, but I was never informed of this. Regardless of the pandemic, I still need to have this test and they will attempt to arrange a new appointment.

Later still. I have picked up the writing, having got somewhat stuck with where things were going. I had a vague idea where it was going, but not how. I find that, when I go out with Alfie for our walks around Oldbrook Green that I suddenly get ideas for plots and story arcs. The actual writing itself isn't always too difficult, but unless you have what I suppose you could call tent poles, which, if you like, hold up the 'canvas' of the story. Apparently Charles Dickens is supposed to have gone on long walks, sometime going for 20 miles around London, and he got ideas for his novels during these walks, so I can say I am just following his technique for writing. I think it's probably because your mind is allowed to run free when I'm in the open air. I don't know wether the current lockdown situation is actually increasing my creativity but it would seem that might be the case. I suppose another way to describe story creation is to describe the basics as a bit like scaffolding. When builders start work on a house or other construction, they put up scaffolding and work on that as the bricks go up which is perhaps the best description. Without the basic scaffolding in place you can't 'build' your story. Or perhaps it's similar to a journey. You have to know where you going when you start, following a map of a satnav does help.

Doctor's Phone Call and Coronavirus

(Monday)I had a doctor's appointment booked for this morning. I made it, following my blood test which was done a few weeks ago. It was easy enough to make the appointment by using the surgery's on-line service. It's very much less stressful than trying to get through on the telephone, although I haven't, as yet, done this. Since moving from Ashfield Medical Centre to Central Milton Keynes Medical Centre I have to say I'm a good deal happier with the new surgery. I got  text message a few days ago asking me if my appointment was urgent and to, please, telephone the surgery to let them know and I was prepared to visit this morning, but then I got a further test message to say that the doctor would ring me to discuss the blood test.

It seems, in general, the blood test didn't show anything much to worry about. My cholesterol is at 3.1. I'm not sure exactly what that measures, but it's a good score. They usually say that you have to get your cholesterol below 5. I'm not entirely sure what the number represents. I should do some research first. Apparently there is something concerning the doctor which shows up in connection with my liver and she suggests having a scan which uses a sonic device (I think similar to what they use to check on the unborn baby when a woman is pregnant and I think was used when I had a heart check at Milton Keynes several years ago.) and I will be sent a letter from the hospital when an appointment comes up for me to attend.

Then I had to ask about coronavirus. Considering my heart condition, which makes me vulnerable to coronavirus, meaning it could be serious if I caught it, would she advise me to stay away from Camphill at the moment? Not actually necessarily for my safety, but also for the residents? To which she said it would be a good idea not to go, which means isolation. So, tomorrow I shall stay at home. I texted Teo, the leader of the drama workshop at Camphill and he soon texted back to say he'd got the message.

Having been watching Boris Johnson this afternoon during the latest press conference regarding the coronavirus outbreak, it would appear that guidelines suggest that everyone 'self-isolates.' I can order from Sainsbury's on-line and have it delivered, but I'm not sure about my repeat medication. I'm not sure whether I can have my order delivered or whether I have to go and collect from Lloyd's Pharmacy within Sainsbury's.

(Tuesday) I'm at home today. I am 'self-isolating,' attempting to keep myself free of the coronavirus outbreak. I needed a few items of shopping and decided to go to Aldi in Bradwell Common. I drove away from Oldbrook and had intended driving directly there via Witan Gate and went along Evans Gate, but at the roundabout at Childs Way there was some sort of incident, with police in attendance and the road closed. It's only a short distance to Sainsbury's and then on along Witan Gate and then across several sets of traffic lights and over another roundabout and into Bradwell Common. Aldi is directly opposite Central Milton Keynes Medical Centre. So, because of the road closure I had to take an alternative route and turn left and onto the next road across. Arriving near Aldi, I was really surprised by the number of cars arriving in the carpark. Considering it was mid-week, the volume of cars and people arriving was quite unbelievable.

I've had an email from Shenley Christian Fellowship. The quiz night has been postponed until October. I was really looking forward to this. It has already been postponed from before Christmas. The leadership team is meeting, I think today, to decide whether the Sunday services should be cancelled. It must be a very difficult decision to make when government guidelines say we shouldn't meet in groups and go into self isolation. It must be very difficult for families with young children.

(Wednesday) I'm bored silly. I'm reading more than usual. The next book in Simon Heffer's trilogy of books which lead up to the First World War. I've already read 'High Hopes,' which starts in C.1840 and ends C.1880. I'm currently reading 'The Age of Decadence', which takes the story from 1880 up until 1914.The next book, 'Staring At God,' isn't due out in paperback until mid May. As each book is around 800 pages long, I will be reading until at least then. Excellent reading and so detailed. Highly recommended if you're like me and have an interest in history.

Just been emailed by Ross at SCF. All church activities have been cancelled until the foreseeable future. Going to be odd not going on Sunday, but with the coronavirus pandemic, I can see why this has to happen. They are going to have some worship put on Facebook video, which should be interesting. Not entirely sure how it works. I can watch via my Firestick and have it on my HD television. I don't think I would want to have it on my MacBook.

I've discovered something called 'Sofa Singers,' which was mentioned on BBC Breakfast (I think it was there, or else it might have been on The One Show.' It allows those who are self-isolating to join others all around the world (or it might be just in the United Kingdom.) to join together and sing. Sounds like fun and a good way to do something to while away the boredom when you can't meet other people because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Foggy Day

(Wednesday)It was foggy as I went out with Alfie a little after 7.30 this morning. You could see the buildings in the city centre quite clearly across Oldbrook Green. Then I went to Sainsbury's to collect a repeat prescription and buy one of two other items, and on my return I took Alfie out again and the fog was thicker than ever, this time I wasn't able to see those distant buildings. 

I have to report something which happened in Sainsbury's underground carpark. It was a little afer 9 when I arrived there so parking was relatively easy. I parked on the upper floor, against the back wall and the then went into the store. On returning to my car and putting my shopping in the rear of the car, a car was pulling out of the next space to mine. Then the woman in that vehicle drove in the opposite direction in which you are supposed to drive along the internal road but along the walk-way, the marked-off area along which you are supposed to walk and proceeded to park in a vacant space. Firstly, this was incredibly dangerous, as she could have had an accident with a car driving in the right direction, and why move from a parking space she was already in and move elsewhere? No sense at all.

(Thursday) The awful fridge/freezer, which let me down terribly when it defrosted overnight about a month ago, leaving me with a load of wasted food which had to be binned, has now gone to the tidy-tip in Bleak Hall. Barbara, the new SHO (Supported Housing Officer) at Dexter House, helped me carry it out to the car earlier this morning. When I got to the tidy-tip I got a member of staff to help remove it from the back of the car. I was expecting to have to help, but he was able to carry it unaided. I would never have managed it on my own. Well, that's now gone, another box ticked. I now have to find some sort of unit to take it's place, in the kitchen, opposite the oven. I think I have found something suitable on Amazon, and should have space to take the microwave and have space to store other things which at present have no home.

I have moved doctor's surgeries. If you've read my earlier posts you will be well aware of my dissatisfaction with Ashfield Medical Centre. I had been told that CMK was a good and reliable surgery (Central Milton Keynes Medical Centre). It is based in Bradwell Common and opposite Aldi, so when I went to Aldi last week I thought it a good idea to enquire about transferring there and I am living within their catchment area, so I decided to get the paperwork and went home and filled it in over the weekend and found the identity that I would need, something with my home address on, so I took my photos Driving Licence with me on Monday and took everything with me. having h anded over the paperwork, duly filled in, dated and signed, I was expecting that it would be a couple of weeks before I got my welcome letter. It came yesterday, surprisingly, and a doctor has been assigned. I had to go back to the surgery to get a password for their on-line booking, which is exactly the same as that used by Ashfield. I had the password and have now got it set up. I also got a doctor's appointment booked for Friday 31st January, for a provisional discussion with my assigned doctor. Hopefully I can continue to use Lloyd's pharmacy in Sainsbury's to have my repeat prescriptions made up as I know the staff in their and trust them to do a good job, which makes a lot of sense. As for the doctor's at Ashfield? Sorry, no.

Rainy Day Walk

(Friday)It's been a rather over-cast sort of day today.  The sort of day when it's very low light, almost light early evening, just as the sun is about to set. I can't describe it any other way, but dreadfully dull, to say the least. You just want to go back to bed and pull the duvet over your head. I'm attempting to encourage Alfie to not want to be taken for a walk at 6a.m. For starters, it's dark and you can't see what you're doing, even though there are some street lamps which give some light. And saying that, there were workmen at the junction with Oldbrook Boulevard digging a trench and it looked at if they were replacing a street lamp. I think they're replacing conventional sreetlamps with low-emission LED lamps, if I'm not mistaken. I don't think I am. I went to get fuel for the car from the Shell station on Grafton Street early this morning and then went to Lidl to do a top-up shop. I had my fridge/freezer delivered on Wednesday afternoon, having been told it would come in the morning, but then I had a telephone call to say that they wouldn't be able to come before lunch because they'd had the van's windscreen broken or something. I'm not sure how this happened, I just hope they weren't involved in an accident or worse. I thought perhaps it had been vandalised, but I still don't know what really happened. The fridge/freezer is described as 'under-counter,' which means it's small. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, but so small there is very little space. I can at least keep the milk from going off, which is has been on occasion. Part of the reason being is that the kitchen can get hot and if I don't refrigerate the milk, I can go to make a cup of tea and find the milk has turned to yoghurt, or what appears to be something similar and certainly not suitable to put in tea or breakfast cereal.

(Saturday) It's very windy. As a result I'm experiencing real back pain. I don't normally mention this sort of thing, but I do get this when the weather is severe, cold, wet or when it's windy. I am waking later and later and taking out Alfie a good deal later. The clocks change tonight so things are going to be even more different tomorrow morning. Just try to explain that to a small, very alert Yorkshire terrier.

Having been to Sainsbury's and walked Alfie around Oldbrook Green in the wind and the rain, I got back to the flat and then suddenly realised that I was supposed to go to Ashfield Medical Centre this morning to have my 'flu jab. They are usually open from 8a.m. until 12 noon, so I rushed out and drove there and was surprised by how busy it was. I registered my arrival with the receptionist and sat down to wait and was more than surprised by how quickly my name came up on the digital display and I walked in to the room where I took off my jacket and had the jab in my arm and then had a cup of tea and a couple of biscuits which I don't normally have but this time, due to rushing to the surgery, it seemed a necessity. From Ashfield I drove over to Bletchley and managed to get Alfie booked in for a grooming session at the Groom Room within Pets At Home and the appointment is at 1 p.m. on 11th November. He is in definite need of a trim and hasn't been there for quite a while.

(Sunday) I did remember that clocks went back last night. I did this well before I went to bed. But I have had a reaction to the flu jab and don't feel that good this morning. But I did manage to take out Alfie before 7 o'clock and it was fairly light so we could see what we were doing. I haven't gone to church, but let people know why on Facebook. I think if I hadn't done this they might wonder where I was and why.

(Monday) My turn to use the washing machine and tumble drier. I need to reorder some of my meds and went on line to the Ashfield Medical Centre website and have now found that I can't because I need a review of virtually all my meds. I did attempt to ring the surgery but I spent around an hour to find they weren't going to open up the phone lines and gave up around the time I was scheduled to start my washing. Just annoys me that when you need something such as medication they decide to not open up the lines. I'll have to have another go tomorrow morning. Frustrating!

Technology Troubles

The Fitbit, which I've mentioned in these blog posts, has failed. It wouldn't charge. I have rung the helpline and run through some things that might have been causing it not to charge, like cleaning the contacts which take the charge on the charging station, but still nothing. I have been given a special number which I shall take with me when I go to John Lewis in Milton Keynes, which is where it came from, and they should give me a replacement or I can have a refund, which I don't want. I have to say, as this brand is supposed to be a leader in this type of technology, that I'm more than a little bit disappointed. It may do more things than the cheap model (not a Fitbit) and purchased through Amazon, lasted a good deal longer, even though the strap broke. I expect these things to last a lot longer than a week. Just have to wait and see when I return it.

I had to get to Ashfield Medical Centre for 10 o'clock because my appointment with Doctor Haye was scheduled for then. I needn't' have bothered to get there so early, because 10 o'clock came and went and I still wasn't called by 10.15 so I went to the receptionist and told her that I was still waiting. I think some people spend the 10 minutes, (which I believe is the average time your doctor's appointment is supposed to be.) spend far too long talking and don't think that there are other people waiting. I may be wrong, but I'm not one to over-spend my time with my doctor.) It was around 10.30 when my name came up on the digital screen. I have been re-prescribed diazepam, but the doctor is trying to get me off them because they can become addictive. I did manage to get through last night without taking the one I have left. He wants me to take them alternate nights, or at least, every third night, so I will take one tonight (the one which is left.) I had attempted to take the tablet a good deal later, around 10, rather than earlier, usually around 8. But I am still waking in the early hours of the morning. I have just seven in the current course so I'll have to wait and see what happens with them this time. I was out of his office within around 3 minutes, annoying as I don't get a chance to discuss anything with him. Perhaps that's because I now have the Integrated Community Team to call on if necessary. As I walked back along the corridor on my way out, I noticed they had their names on a door and there is a social worker in the team.

I could have taken the prescription to Cox and Robinson, the pharmacy a couple of doors along from the Ashfield Medical Centre, but because I was going into the centre of Milton Keynes to take the Fitbit back to John Lewis I thought I might go into Boots. Having driven in and parked near The Point, I walked into the shopping centre. In Boots there was a long queue at the pharmacy, so I didn't bother waiting and then walked through the shopping centre. I headed for Central Barbers, right next to John Lewis to get my hair cut. Jade cut my hair, the young lady who goes to Shenley Christian Centre. There was a really odd conversation going on as I was having my hair cut, begun by another of the hair stylists, about horses. I think he knew what he was talking about, but it was somewhat surreal, a bit like a Monty Python sketch, or from a play by N.F.Simpson. Really strange, but nonetheless, fascinating. I only wish I'd had a tape recorder, because it was something that would make the basis for a piece of writing.

I went into John Lewis and made my way up to the electronics department, which is one floor below the restaurant where we meet for the Willen coffee mornings on a Monday. I took the Fitbit in it's packaging. along with the code which I'd been given by the helpline when I'd rung yesterday and explained to the assistant at the counter what was wrong, the fact that it wouldn't charge. He plugged in the charging gadget and put the Fitbit into this and, lo and behold! It showed it was charging! I don't know what's wrong with it, or, indeed, whether it was actually faulty. It might have been that I hadn't put the thing in the charger gadget correctly, with the three contacts touching the contacts on the charger. Makes you wonder. It isn't entirely clear when the thing is set correctly.

Coming out of John Lewis and walking across Middleton Hall (correction: I couldn't actually walk across Middleton Hall because workmen are currently dismantling the summer attraction, which had at the heart of it a beach with sand. I saw them scooping it up the other day, and had wondered how on earth they would deal with its removal. There was a collection of those heavy-duty builder's bags scattered across the floor, so I imagine someone has the unenviable task of actually scooping it up with a shovel, into these bags, which are then loaded on to a lorry, probably taken outside the shopping centre on fork lift trucks.) I saw a display which turned out to show the proposed redevelopment of the former Food Centre. The old Sainsbury's unit has been empty for years. This is where the Age UK office is, and when I was in there several months ago, a couple of the volunteer ladies were discussing this proposed redevelopment and I was wondering where Age UK was going to transfer to once they start moving out and the demolition work begins. I had a good look at the designs, a mixture of commercial buildings with shops and offices. The multi-storey carpark is to remain and there are to be several storeys to some of the buildings, which seems to go against the original concept for Milton Keynes when it was originally proposed in the late 1960s, buildings weren't supposed to be much higher than the average tree, probably no more than three storeys. I had a chat with a lady who made notes of my suggestions, one of them being that there should be a concert hall included (not that it's likely to be built.) but that's the whole point of a consultation.

I went to Sainsbury's, because I had the diazepam prescription and I had asked at reception if the other repeat prescriptions had gone to Lloyd's pharmacy in Sainsbury's and they had apparently, so  drove there after my trip into town and I had a bight to eat in the café whilst I was there.

Having done my shopping and gone through the checkout, I had to go down to the carpark on the travelator, the moving walk-way or whatever you prefer to call it. Anyway, the moving slope which allows you to be whisked down to the carpark levels. It can be rather a bumpy ride. Something must be wrong with the mechanism, because part-way down you sort of lurch forward. This time it stopped dead, about three-quarters of the way down. I couldn't budge the trolley, try as I might to push it. What was I to do? Some kind man came and helped, but lifting the front of the trolley the remaining few yards of the, by now, stationary walk-way. The wheels of your trolley lock into grooves in the surface I imagine to keep it steady as you move down. I'm not sure whether they manage to get this moving once I'd left the carpark, but it was somewhat comical to say the least. But  not all this technology can be expected to work according to plan, the amount of work it gets, probably running for quite a few hours continuously when the store is open.

Then I drove home, unpacked the few bits I had bought and then put the Fitbit on charge. This time it seemed to charge without a problem. I have to say it's not easy to know exactly whether it's charging. With some items when on charge, such as the bluetooth speaker I have, you know it's charging because it has a red light that glows, the same with the Canon digital camera battery, the charger has a light that is red for discharged and green for charged. With the Fitbit it has no indication of whether it's actually taking the charge, but as I write this, it's on my wrist and working.

The bird feeding station is extra-busy at the moment. I have managed to keep it topped up with food, usually peanuts, but unfortunately it seems that the local squirrels seem to think it's a free-for-all for their use and the little blue tits (I imagine that's what they are, but perhaps I should do a more accurate identification.) come and around 6-8 of them are constantly feeding. I think perhaps I should get a disc which fits around the stand of the feeding station and prevents squirrels climbing up. Amazing that they can do this, but I really don't want them to.

At the end of all this, I had a problem of another sort. I have mentioned that I can no longer order my repeat prescriptions by merely ringing Lloyd's pharmacy in Sainsbury's and giving them the list of items required to be ordered, and then they contact Ashfield Medical Centre and it's all done electronically. But some bright spark, some bureaucrat within the N.H.S. has decided that this is inefficient use of their resources and that we now have to order direct from our doctor's surgery. We can take our order to the surgery and fill in the required order form and the repeat prescription will be signed off by the doctor and then sent electronically to our pharmacy (as was the case originally.) But, if you have access to the internet, you can order on-line, provided you set up an account (and this is through the surgery website.) I already had an account set up but needed to have a new password (you have a username and then put in the password when prompted.) But I have attempted to do this several times, having been given a fresh password by reception at Ashfield, but on each occasion it will come up when it doesn't work with 'unrecognised' or 'wrong password and username.' Let's be honest, it just doesn't want to work and no amount of resetting will allow it to work, adding further to the frustration. So, I beg the question, why do they have to change something which was working perfectly well??? What is the benefit of all this? Words fail me. I certainly don't trust this new set-up and wish they'd left it well alone. Not a happy bunny when I just want to make sure my meds don't run out.

Weather- Wet and Windy

(Wednesday)The blasts of autumn are upon us. I woke in the early hours of the morning and I was almost certain it was raining. I sprung from my bed (I exaggerate somewhat, I know. Poetic licence is what it's called.), drew aside the curtains and, lo, it was raining! At that early hour, around 3.30, there was no chance of taking Alfie for his routine walk around Eaglestone Park. Try as I might, I could not get to sleep, so I decided to go downstairs and switch on the television. I'm not so sure it was such a good idea. Talk of Brexit. At the moment, whenever the television news comes on, I switch over. Politicians bickering is one thing, but within their own parties, what is the sense? It would appear that the Tories lost a vote or something, a lot of MP's lost the Whip because they voted for a piece of legislation which would prevent a No Deal Brexit. The EU must be more flexible, if it ever can be, what's wrong with a bit of common sense and compromise? What's with the so-called 'Backstop,'? Something to do with the Northern Ireland border with the Republic of Ireland (which is in the EU.) So, could someone please explain how it is that a country, such as Switzerland, which isn't in the EU, manages it's borders with those country which surrounds it, which are within the EU? There must be quite a few other countries in a similar situation, I can't name many, but who aren't in the EU, but next to member states. I think this situation regarding the Northern Irish border can be resolved amicably and it's just an excuse to keep us forever shackled to the EU. I don't remember this matter being mentioned during the run-up to the referendum in 2016, so why has it come up more recently?

(Thursday) I have had to ring Ashfield Medical Centre because the diazepam are coming to the end of their course. As I only get ten in a packet, it's a question of having to get another prescription and I was told that I should have a review before I can have more. I rang at 8.10 and was more than surprised that not only were the lines open but that I got through in record time. I had to wait for a doctor to ring back and I have to see Doctor Haye at 10 tomorrow morning.  I am keen to get a skip to use to clear out the small bedroom and other bits and pieces before I can move out of this house. I am somewhat shocked to learn that it will cost at least £160, which will make a huge hole in my bank account and which I can't really afford. So, because of this I thought I'd go to Bleak Hall Motors to get the brakes on the car dealt with. I rang the other morning and was told to just bring it in, but on arrival this morning, they said there were eight other cars being dealt with. I could have waited, but it's booked in for Monday morning at 8.30. From there I drove to the Oaktree Centre because the café is now up and running. I had tea and a really scrummy bacon and sausage sandwich and, speaking to John, who runs the café, mentioned the cost of hiring a skip, and he's offered to help because he has a trailer and will come to help me on the Saturday after Willen Furniture Warehouse come to collect the various items (as mentioned in th last blog post.) So, that is another problem solved.

I started off this blog post by describing the weather as 'the blasts of autumn,' (a good expression, worthy of Shakespeare, I reckon. Thinking about it, I wonder if he had got there before me, but never mind.) But as I sit in the lounge writing this on my MacBook Air, I can see out of the window into the garden (if that space can be termed 'garden.' I think not. Just a fenced-in space with grass in, a ratty, tatty, crumbling shed and several yards of washing line stretched across the grass.) and that the sun is shining and it's really quite warm.

Went to Sainsbury's this afternoon and a large area is closed off for a re-fit. It's the area where the TU clothing is the focus, also, the household items, such as kitchen equipment. It must be difficult for stores to do a re-fit without totally disrupting things, by keeping other areas open to shoppers. All will be revealed in the fullness of time, as they say. I have to say it's somewhat annoying when you go shopping, especially if you go to the same supermarket as I do with Sainsbury's, you get used to the layout, you know exactly where items you regularly shop for are within the store and then suddenly, without any sort of warning, it's all moved around and you can't find what you want. They've done that in the pet food aisle. The cat food is where the dog food used to be. But WHY? I think it's to confuse the shopper, so you have to go and hunt for whatever it was you were looking for. Very annoying.

(Friday) I was more than ever determined not to get out of bed quite so early. There really is no need to be up and about at 6a.m., but it's convincing Alfie of this fact. I took my time, getting dressed, shaved etc etc and sorted some washing and we were out at around 7.a.m. I'm annoyed that the Fitbit has failed. (See next blog post.) so the number of my steps are not measured. Oh well, such is life! Let me finish this off and get it published.

Turn on the television to discover that Robert Mugabe has died, former President and tyrant of Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia.) Makes a change from depressing news about Brexit.

Confounded Technology!

As I've mentioned in an earlier blog post on here, the way I have to order my repeat prescription is changing. From September I won't be able to merely ring Lloyd's in Sainsbury's and give them the order for medications, which will then be electronically sent to Ashfield Medical Centre for the doctor to then return the relevant prescription which will be then sent back to Lloyd's for them to then actually make up the prescription. You can always take your order directly to the surgery and put it in the box on the reception desk and it is supposed to be ready for collection within 48 hours, the order then being sent via electronic means to your chosen pharmacy, mine being Lloyd's, but it should be easier, with an internet connection, to order through the Ashfield website. Well, in theory, yes, but in practice, not easy.

I had to get a new password and went to the surgery yesterday morning with identity, my photo driving licence, proof of address on my bank statement and Council Tax documentation and I was given a printed-out letter with a new password. But when I got home and attempted to set this up on-line (I have a feeling I already had an account but I have never used it.) it simply refused to work and after a couple more attempts to re-set the password, I gave up. Does it mean I have to go back to Ashfield Medical Centre and get a new password? Probably, yes, but I don't have a lot of faith that the system will work.

(Monday) On Friday Phil and Robert came to give the grass another cut. Unfortunately, the mower Phil bought wouldn't start. Something to do with the 'pull' mechanism. Robert cut some of the back lawn (grass plot, not lawn!) with the trimmer and Phil had the idea of using my electric mower to cut the grass, but it turned out that the plastic cutters were missing, or just worn down. The state of the shed where this is kept is deteriating by the minute. It's beyond repair. It leaks, or must do, because the roof is falling in and our beloved landlord doesn't care less. He should be responsible for such repairs but I think his bank balance if far more important than any necessary repairs. Anyway, Phil managed to improvise cutters/blades by attaching fishing line and it worked! I have a pack of these plastic blades, but I hunted high and low and couldn't find it, so we were left with the fishing line alternative.

Yesterday we had the South African Braai at church. I'm not sure how many people were there, but it was quite busy and we had to queue around the cafe area to get the food. I think there may have been quite a few neighbours who came along as a lot of faces I didn't recognise, although, going to the first of the two Sunday services I don't always see new people who only go to the second service at 11.15 so I may start going to the second service just to get to know some new people. You see lot during the interval between services, when coffee and tea is served, so I may go to this service when we go back to two services from this Sunday.

It's  August Bank Holiday Monday and the sun is shining! I thought it  good excuse to give Alfie a bath. I have to make sure he doesn't get out into the garden once he's been bathed as I know he has a tendency to roll and it would defeat the object of a bath if he then goes and gets dirty again! I shut the patio doors into the garden and ran the water so it was warm enough but not too deep. I can never work out whether he likes it or not. He does make a fuss when he first goes in, but once you start shampooing him, I rather think he enjoys it. Anyway, as I write this (at 11.15a.m.), he's laying on the sofa next to me, giving me a look as if to say 'what next?' Let's be honest, it's far too hot to go out as I don't fancy getting too hot as it's not such a good idea if you have a heart health problem.

So, I did some washing . . . if it's going to be hot, surely it would dry quickly, and, sure enough, it did.  Have to take advantage of the weather and not leave it when it's likely the weather is going to change and be wet.

Sunny Summer?

(Thursday, last week)Today has been sunny and bright. Nothing particular has happened. I have been transferring more of my handwritten writing to my MacBook.

I should mention that I had the planned visit from the two ladies from what is called  the Integrated Community Support Team. They came after 2 o'clock yesterday afternoon. It would appear that they got my details through Ashfield Medical Centre. They can give me support with bereavement counselling, and this afternoon (Thursday) I got a telephone call from a lady at Mind and I have my first appointment at Ashfield next Wednesday at 2 o'clock and it's going to be on-going for 6 weeks.  The new service (as mentioned in an earlier blog post.) can give me support in different areas, such as supporting me with my health issues, considering I have a heart condition first and foremost and it was suggested (because as we spoke the telephone rang and it was Doctor Haye telling me that my diazepam prescription would be sent electronically to Lloyd's in Sainsburys.) and that perhaps my medication should be reviewed by the doctor before it is repeated when this new batch runs out. This is basically because Diazepam can be addictive as well as not being as effective after a while, so it may need changing to another type of medication which does a similar job. Also, I can be allocated a link worker who could help me with benefits as well as possibly finding me somewhere else to live, possibly smaller, such as a bungalow, within Milton Keynes and which would allow me to have Alfie with me, so it would need to have a bit of garden. Also, I could be given help to clear out belongings from this house which would allow me to move out. This, at present, is only a possibility and not a certainly, but this Integrated Community Support Team links the various agencies together, for example, the bereavement counselling from Mind, the doctor's surgery, housing benefit, cardiology at Milton Keynes hospital and other related agencies. It has also been suggested, at my recommendation, that I have a referral to start a  cardiology rehab regime which would take place somewhere in Bletchley. I have to say all this is giving me less stress and it's great to at last get the support and help I need to get me through a somewhat difficult, emotional and very stressful period.

(Friday) It's anything but sunny and bright today. In fact, it's wet and miserable. In other words, an almost typical summer's day in England.

(Monday) On Saturday I went to see a performance of 'The Addams Family Musical,' performed at the Waterside Theatre in Aylesbury. I saw it advertised in the theatre's brochure when I was having lunch at the Chrysalis Theatre at Camphill the other week and it sounded as if it would be worth seeing as I had known there was a musical based on The Addams Family and that it had run on Broadway for a while and that it had toured in this country for a while. It was staged by something I had never heard of, Stage Experience, which puts on professional-standard productions of well known shows, and cast with young people up to the age of 25. I had no idea where I was going to park the car when I got there because I don't know Aylesbury, except to drive through. We have driven through on several occasions, usually if we're going to West Wycombe Park, a National Trust property, or the time when Carol had to go to Stoke Mandeville Hospital for an appointment. It seems it's similar to Bedford in that if you want to get anywhere in that direction you have to go through the centre as there is no by-pass. The route through is the only way to get to High Wycombe, for example. I over-estimated how long it would take me to drive to Aylesbury. It's only around 14 miles from Milton Keynes. My main concern was, I had no idea where to park, although I had briefly looked on Google Maps so I had a vague idea where to park. I used to work for a care agency based in Aylesbury and had to go there a few times for training so I knew roughly where the multi-storey car park was I used to park in, but it would appear to now be only short-stay. I drove a round for a while and then found a multi-storey carpark which was long-stay. It turned out to be one of the most depressing places to park I've ever had the misfortune to have to park in. When I drove down the ramp I wasn't actually sure it was a carpark, really run down and hadn't been upgraded ever, it would appear. Not somewhere you would choose to enter in the dead of night, but at least it was somewhere to leave the car. I paid using a machine, but it didn't give change. Really mean. These council-run establishments must make a vast amount of profit if they don't dole out change, which is mean if you ask me (but please don't!)

I walked over to the Waterside Theatre.  Outside, sitting on a wall, is a stature of Ronnie Barker. He has a stature there because Aylesbury used to have a repertory theatre ('Rep') in the days when most large towns across the country had a theatre, where you could expect to have a season of plays running at one, two week's at a time, similar to what I was involved in during the early 1970's, but working in stage management. The theatre which he appeared at is no longer in existence, or if it is, probably converted into something else. The old rep in Colchester was a converted hall and now a building society branch and Bromley rep, believe it or not, was a converted swimming pool. Anyway, Ronnie Barker's statue is at ground level, as I say, sitting on a wall, so at least you can see it as if it's the actual Ronnie and not perched on a pedestal and out of the eyeline of most people. He joined the rep company in 1948 and the first play he was in was called 'Quality Street,' by J.M. Barrie and playing the part of Lieutenant Spicer.

I haven't been inside before. It is very modern and has a large foyer with a bar and café and because I was so early I had to sit and wait. The space soon filled up with other members of the public. As the show was due to start at 2 o'clock, and the doors hadn't opened to allow the audience in, we had to wait a good while and then, at about 1.45 we went in to find our seats. Mine was V13, some way back in the stalls and immediately behind the area where the sound and lighting was controlled.

It was a good performance and the cast really threw themselves into the performance. Before the curtain went up an announcement was made that the show had been rehearsed in 8 days, which, considering the amount of effort that has to be put into a show, more so a musical than a straight play, with not just dialogue but songs and dances needing choreography, it was a really good show. My only criticism would be that, although the songs were good, the actual story and plot was extremely weak. Pity a little more effort had been put into creating a more original plot, but I suppose if you are going to put on an existing show, and you have to accept the book and lyrics that goes with that show, you have no choice but to 'go with the flow.' I can see quite a few of the cast going off to stage school and probably making a career out of acting, so the show would be good experience and certainly a stepping stone to other things and if you'd had a leading part in such a show, something good to put on your C.V.

Road Works

A couple of days ago I noticed a couple of men walking along Golden Drive, spraying marks on the road surface. It has been in a fairly poor condition for some while, great chasms along the centre. I think the roads around here, particularly those within each grid square, were really cheaply constructed, looking like they were laid in sections, with a sort of seam where the two sections of tarmac meet and they have gradually shrunk apart, leaving a sort of crack, so when it rains, these rifts or cracks fill up with water and then, in the winter, when there's frost and snow, when it then freezes, the expansion of the ice breaks the road up further. This has been the case quite clearly at the entrance from Saxon Street, which has since been patched up in a rather cheap method which was also used along the road near my house. Now the Council is coming back to do a far better job, using the more traditional method of using a pneumatic drill to dig out the old tarmac and then the workmen shovel in tarmac in the hole and then use a road roller or one of those machines that 'bounces' (for want of a better word.) to press down the tarmac. I'm not so sure they don't put down a layer or rubble or grit before they put in the tarmac. But a notice was put up a couple of days ago to warn motorists that the work was about to commence. Today being the day when the work would be done. I went out to Sainsbury's just after 9 o'clock this morning and had forgotten about this work and the possibility that I wouldn't be able to get back in to my parking space in front of the house. I saw the 'Road Closed' sign but ignored it, because I wanted to get back home with my shopping fairly sharpish as there were some items which needed to go in the freezer before they thawed. There was no work being carried out and this didn't start in ernest until well past the time I got back home. As I write, I can see out of the window where they workmen have filled in some of th holes with tarmac, but it now looks a bit patchy. I know this is a cheap job and we should be grateful for any repairs, but it would shortly have been better to completely remove the surface of the road and replace it completely, but perhaps that's expecting far too much. Be thankful for small mercies, as someone or other said.

I wanted to get a doctor's appointment. I just need to chat to my doctor about the medication I've been on and whether they are actually working. Just having 10 because diazepam is a controlled medication and you can only be prescribed that many may be in my best interests, but it's annoying to have to keep ringing to get a repeat. It didn't take long to get through this time and when I did get to speak to a receptionist I was told that, Doctor Haye, wouldn't be available to speak to until Wednesday.

I then rang Willen Hospice. I eventually spoke to a lady and said that I thought I needed further cerement counselling and she said that it might be a couple of days before they could set something up. I told her I had been going to the coffee mornings in John Lewis restaurant and then she said that it was herself who had set up the extra coffee morning in the John Lewis Express Bar, because there are so many people who need care and support who have a connection to Willen. Now I just have to wait until they ring me to set up this counselling session.

(Friday) I woke this morning to what I thought was the sound of rain, and it wasn't until I stuck my head out of the bedroom window that I realised that it was indeed raining. So Alfie was somewhat disappointed that he didn't get his routine walk around Eaglestone Park. But I don't fancy having him soaked to the skin and myself soaked, so it will have to wait until the rain either eases off or the stops completely. It was quite muggy yesterday evening, so the rain has eased the temperature considerably.

(Friday) I had a telephone call this morning from a lady who works for the N.H.S. It would appear that someone at  Ashfield Medical Centre has passed on my details to a new service which hopes to be able to support people in my situation, not only with bereavement counselling, but who has health issues such as mine. This sounds the sort of service that I could benefit from. She said that they could come out and visit me at home, two of them, one being a nurse, and could give me contacts of organisations which might possibly give me support. So they are visiting me on Wednesday next week to have a chat and see how they can help. So, this is making me feel a good deal more relaxed about things in general. All this since I met Doctor Ben when I went to see Danny on Ward 22 last week. He has a remarkable way with patients and Carol always got on with him very well. Some doctors might have the head knowledge and be good at their job, but then there are those who don't know how to deal with patients, particularly when it's something like cancer. He certainly had a knack of being able to understand the emotional side of what was, in effect, a terminal illness. It's thanks to him last Friday that I will now get the help and support I need.

Later I went to the Oaktree Centre to have something for lunch in the recently reopened cafe, nothing spectacular, just a cheese and salad sandwich and a latte, which was really excellent. I sat and spoke to John and Margaret, the couple who so kindly drove me to Worcester the other week to enable me to see my newest grandson. My N.H.S. manual handling training came in handy when I had to help with a wheelchair-bound lady who was stuck in the disabled toilet. No lifting of your service-user or client (depending on where you are working, to use the correct terminology.) but we were able to extricate the lady and all very successfully achieved.

Change For Change Sake

I've been to Bleak Hall Motors after 9 this morning (Thursday) to book the Renault Captur in to have it's annual MoT. I discovered that the current MoT runs out on 8th August, so it's as well I had thought to have it done. It's booked in to be done at 1p.m. on Monday. I just hope it doesn't need much doing to it to pass. I have a feeling that the brakes might need doing as last time it was MoT'd they said one was in need of replacing. The other thing I was told was that, because it's a diesel car, the timing belt will need replacing before December, another expense, but it has to be done. It has something to do with how the pistons are timed. It can't be left, but with my financial situation, it will have to be done in the next month after my pension has gone into my account. It will cost around £300 or so.

As I was driving along Standing Way, going to Bleak Hall and was turning right on the roundabout, a car very nearly hit me, speeding across without stopping. Another couple of feet and he would have hit me. No wonder my nerves are a wreck after driving. Stupid idiot, it's people like him who make the roads a battlefield and are responsible for high motor insurance premiums. I wouldn't be surprised if this youth, because I saw him as he sped by, doesn't have any insurance, so if he had hit me, goodness knows what would have happened. Scary.

From Bleak Hall I drove to Sainsbury's. I had to collect medications I only recently ordered over the phone, one of them being Diazepam. I was surprised that the Bisoprolol which had only been ordered a day or so ago was ready for collection. I have heard from the pharmacist at Lloyd's that the procedure for ordering will be changing in September. I won't be able to order as I currently do, by merely ringing Lloyd's and giving them the medications on my repeat list. They contact Ashfield Medical Centre to get the doctor to provide the prescription, which is signed and then emailed to the pharmacy. But from September I will have to order direct from Ashfield. I can set up an on-line account with the surgery and use that to order what I need to have on repeat. It worries me that this isn't going to work. I don't think I trust the system. I will be on edge that if I order that the surgery will get the order and then contact Lloyd's to make up the order. I feel sorry for the older patients who don't have access to the internet, let alone a computer, and wouldn't have any idea how to use one, so how are they expected to reorder their repeat medications? Does it mean they have to go to the surgery and make a paper order? Am I expected to do that? Why change a system which is working so well? It has been so easy, just to ring in my order, which I do when there are enough days for order to go through before my stock runs out. Some crazy pen-pusher somewhere, with no idea of the dress and upset this will cause seems they have to change things for change sake. If enough people were to complain I reckon it could be left alone. It's the people who waste such things as appointments, make them and never actually go to them, wasting N.H.S. resources in a really negative fashion.

Friday. Noon. It's a bright and sunny day. But the sun keeps going in and out. One minute, Bright, the next, it clouds over. Never mind. I'm actually bored silly. If Carol was here, we'd be going out and about, to Whipsnade, probably London, one of the National Trust properties, Wimpole Hall perhaps. But she's not, and my life's empty. I mustn't get myself upset, but it's days like these when the loneliness is the worst.

This morning I was planning to go to the Oaktree Centre to sample the food in the newly-opened café. One of Shenley Christian Fellowship members, Tim O'Brien is part of a musical group called Fadin' Shoes. It was he who drove me to the John Radcliffe Hospital to have my stent fitted. I drove out of Eaglestone at around 11.40 which would have given me plenty of time to get to Shenley, but, driving down Chaffron Way, the road ahead, at the roundabout where it intersects with Fulmer Street, there was a road sign in red stating quite clearly 'Road Closed, and a gang of workmen, presumably resurfacing the road. There was absolutely no advance warning as I drove along Chaffron Way, so this came as rather a shock, to say the least. I turned left and came to Standing Way and eventually got onto Watling Street and drove as far as Childs Way with the intention of hopefully getting into Chaffron Way further up towards Morrisons at Westcroft, but even that road was closed off at the roundabout at the intersection with Fulmer Street. So, not feeling very happy that my day had been ruined, I decided to head home along Fulmer Street and get home. Annoyed isn't the word, because I have wanted to listen go the music and have something to eat in the newly-opened café which has been a long time in the planning.

Telephone Troubles

My Diazepam tablets ran out yesterday. I am only given them in batches of 10. This is because they can become addictive and sometimes, if taken regularly, your body gets used to them and they become ineffective. I had to ring Ashfield Medical Centre this morning to at least get a doctor's appointment to either give me a repeat prescription or give me an alternative that have the same effect. They help me sleep and I'm not lying awake in bed at 2.30a.m. with all my problems going through my head, the biggest one being when will the D.W.P. sort out the possible pension that Carol had when she lived and worked in Bournemouth and the fact that I'm not being paid my full rent through Housing Benefit. With this in mind I began ringing at around 8.25 and eventually got through at 8.35. I'm still uncertain what time they are supposed to open the lines, because, before they answer, you just get a sort of engaged tone. Then, when I did eventually get through, there were no more than four other people in the queue in front of me. That infernal music you have to endure has changed, when you are put on hold, and the woman's voice who tells you 'we have a high volume of calls at the moment,' and 'sorry for keeping you waiting,' sounds less angry. Why did she sound so angry to me and similar to the voice of Shula in the BBC radio soap 'The Archers'? Sorry, but to me she does, and it's almost as if this 'voice' has a sort of tone to it suggesting, 'get off my line, I'm busy, and I don't want to be disturbed!' Then I eventually got to be first in the queue and I was ACTUALLY SPEAKING TO A HUMAN! what ever is the world coming to? I explained why I was ringing and then was told I should have rung another number for repeat prescriptions, which opened after 11a.m. Having given my date of birth and then name (I suppose they have to do this, so as to make sure that they're dealing with the right patient and that you don't get someone else's medications and it would no doubt be a contravention of G.D.P.R. (General Data Protection Regulation, yet another E.U.-imposed bit imposed legislation which I bet hasn't been voted on democratically in the E.U. parliament and no doubt invented by some faceless bureaucrat, or am I just being a pessimist?) I said that, because it wasn't on a repeat list, as are all my heart medications, I should perhaps have an appointment with one of the doctors to discuss this, also, how I was coping with taking the Diazepam, any side-effects etc etc. So, at the end of the conversation I was left none the wiser and hopefully going to get a call-back from one of the doctors when she told me that she would pass the information on to the duty doctor who was assigned to deal with appointments, once he or she had heard what the appointment was about.

There's absolutely no certainty at what time the call-back from the doctor is going to be. I can be barely an hour or two, but it was getting nearer and nearer to midday when they still hadn't returned my call. I went upstairs and was laying on my bed when the phone rang and I ran downstairs to the phone in the hall (that is, the landline phone) and picked up the phone, expecting it to be one of the doctors with the awaited ring-back. It wasn't. A foreign-sounding woman with an Oriental sound to it, telling me she was 'from the Windows department' which immediately rang bells, as I could tell it wasn't a curtesy call. I know, from  really nasty experience, that all these calls are a scam, they just want to get into your computer system and hack your details, bank account numbers and so on. I told her I knew it was a scam and told her to get off my phone and all I got back was a load of expletives F you B . . . F you B . . .  F you B . . . which told me all I needed to know, so I immediately put the telephone down. You know the old saying 'once bitten, twice shy,' which is about all you need to know. For a  start, no sooner had she said she was from the Windows department and that 'there's a problem with your computer,' I knew it was a scam because I don't have a Windows computer. End of story.

I had another of these 'scam' calls, this time on my iPhone. I can't see where they get my number, landline or mobile. I don't intentionally give my numbers out and they shouldn't actually be phoning me because I'm signed up to the preference service which is supposed to stop these unsolicited calls. Then there are those calls that, when you pick them up, nobody answers and there's just a long silence until you get this weird 'good bye,' at the end. What is that all about?

Later I got yet another call, from of all people, Sky. They knew that I had closed down my Sky Television account and even gone as far as sending back the Q Box and all the paraphernalia that went with it, including the cables and the two remotes. Sky sent the packaging, very cleverly posted in a flat-pack format and you have to assemble it yourself and use peel-off adhesive strips to keep it all together, along with pre-paid postage labels. But I wasn't swayed by the marketing tactics of the young man on the other end of the phone. I said I now had Freeview and I had no intention of resubscribing, basically because of the cost and the fact that I didn't need even half of the channels. Apart from that, the Panasonic Freeview box I now have is perfectly adequate. It allows you to record and also you can use catch-up with such things as BBC iPlayer, as well as having a dedicated Netflix button and if you look carefully, such things as YouTube and even Amazon Prime video, which means you don't need to set up the Fire Stick which can be quite touch and go whether it will work properly.

A Wet Morning

Thursday morning. I got up as usual and was in the process of taking Alfie out as I normally do. I had my jacket on, because even though it's late July, it can be quite chilly first thing in the morning. I had everything ready, with Alfie on his lead, but as soon as I got outside with him I realised that it was raining. Not particularly heavily, but enough to get a bit of a soaking, so we ended up returning indoors, much to Alfie's displeasure. I wasn't risking a soaking, of either him or myself. I needed to ring Ashfield Medical Centre to get a repeat of the Diazepam, as I had but one final tablet to take tonight. I could take Alfie out once I had rung the surgery.

I managed to get though to Ashfield Medical Centre in record time. I don't think there was any sort of queue even though it was gone 8.35 when I eventually got through, but I was told that today was protected time after 1p.m. so a doctor was unlikely to ring me back to arrange an appointment, but that my repeat prescription would be sent directly to Lloyd's pharmacy at Sainsbury's, so I should be able to collect it from there tomorrow.

Something amused me this morning, after the slight rainfall we had earlier. A squirrel came into the garden, hopping off the fence and approaching the bird feeding station. It gave a glance at the house, almost as if it was expecting to find a camera set up to take it's photograph. It then attempted to climb the central pole that supports the feeding station, but because the thing was wet it couldn't get a grip and began to slide down! Looked very amusing and this may be the answer to the problem of keeping these little blighters off the feeder, put something greasy on it and they can't climb up. More likely, just slide down.

A Little Bit Wet!

(Monday)A bit wet when I took Alfie out this morning around Eaglestone Park.

I needed to make a doctor's appointment. I have had a sort of rash on my neck. Scaly skin that irritates slightly, but not too much. I was going to leave it to clear up itself, but I thought that it might be better to get a doctor's opinion. I can't think where it came from. I was going to leave it until Wednesday and then make an appointment, but then I thought that, once I've been I can forget about it. I began ringing the surgery at 8.15, but the surgery phones must have been switched off as I only got a sort of 'engaged' tone. I rang about every 5 minutes after that and it wasn't until about 835 that I eventually got through to the system and then another 10 minutes of just hanging onto the line until a receptionist answered. I eventually got through and told the receptionist what my problem was and she said I should go to a pharmacy. I wasn't convinced that a pharmacist would be any use. If I did go I could only have 'over the counter' medication so I said I'd prefer a doctor's appointment. When I got the 'ring-back' from one of the doctors about an hour later, I was given an appointment with one of the practise nurses at 11 o'clock. So I had to sit and wait which is a bit annoying, but if you need a doctor's appointment you have no alternative, unfortunately.

I got to Ashfield Medical Centre in good time. I don't like the carpark at the rear of the surgery, basically because there's very little room for manoeuvring your vehicle and when you come out you have to be careful because you can't see cars coming in. And, walking round to the front, why is there a really unpleasant pile of cigarette ends as you walk round? I do think if people insist on smoking and have to go outside for a smoke, they shouldn't just throw their cigarette ends on the ground.

I didn't have to wait too long util I was called in to the practise nurse's room. Infact, a good 10 minutes before 11, so it was worth arriving early. I got a prescription for a cream to put on the dry skin on my neck. I took the prescription to the pharmacy next door to the surgery to have it made up. I didn't have to wait long and then drove into the city centre and parked where I usually do, near 'The Point.'

I've signed up to a walk-on agency called Universal Extras. I had one of my photographs approved by them and another of the shots my friend John did for me a few weeks ago has also been approved. But I needed to prove that I could work in the UK (as I think I've mentioned in an earlier blog post.) I have had a copy of my birth certificate returned from Bedford County Council Records department and I had to photograph it and then upload it onto the Universal Extras website, but for some reason it wouldn't upload. I took several photos with my iPhone, but I imagine it was too large and after several attempts it still wouldn't work. I needed to use my Canon digital camera to take further photos and then upload those. I don't really understand the technology. I had been looking around the house for the cable to allow me to upload photos from the camera onto my MacBook, but I couldn't find it, so I had to go into Jessops's shop in he central shopping centre to get a replacement lead, but they don't stock them and had to buy a card reader to do the same thing. I just took the card out of the Canon camera and put it into the card reader (a bit like a memory stick) and plug it into one of the USB sockets and upload the photos via that. It worked, thankfully. Then I had to find out how to reduce the size of the photo I wanted to upload to the Universal Extras site. I managed to get the photo taken but then it would not upload to the site. I think the photo is too large, and by going on Google I managed to find out out to reduce the photo file, but still it won't upload. I have not attached it to an email and sent it to Universal Extras, but I don't know whether they received it as I have had to response from them and it doesn't show on their website. Come back to find out whether this situation is resolved.
Tuesday morning. It's been raining all night. Not just rain, but a strong wind. It was so cold I was tempted to put the central heating on, but I didn't. It was raining so hard when I eventually got up that I decided not to take Alfie out for his customary walk. He was not pleased, as you can imagine. There was no way I was going out to get soaked and to have Alfie come home like a drowned rat. I am hoping (as I write this at 8.20a.m.) that I can take him out when I return from Camphill around 4.30 this afternoon. I'll just have to wait and see if things get better.

'Flu Jabs and Wild, Windy Weather

It's that time of year when I have to go for my free 'flu jab. I knew it was coming up and eventually I discovered they would be holding the annual 'flu jab clinic at Ashfield Medical Centre. It would be held this Saturday and next between 8a.m. and 12 noon. I always want to be there as the doors open at 8 so as to get it out of the way as quickly as possible. Alfie was disappointed that I couldn't take him out for his walk around Eaglestone Park, but it wasn't light enough at 7.20 as well as a howling gale lashing the trees outside. I wasn't going to be able to get round the park and back in time to leave for the surgery at 7.45, so he was going to have to wait until I got back.

As I came out of the house and ready to drive off to Ashfield it was bright sunshine over the tops of the houses and a really amazing rainbow across the sky. It was a complete arc and quite unusual because you never seem to see a complete one, probably the end as it touches the ground, but this one seemed to arc over all of Milton Keynes. I rushed back into the house to find my digital camera and attempted to capture it, but it wasn't easy. I couldn't manage to fit the entire rainbow in but i think I got some of it in. Such a rare thing to see and it was gone very quickly so I'm glad I managed to get some of it before it disappeared.

I drove to Beanhill and got to the Ashfield Medical Centre carpark in good time and parked at the rear of the unit. (There is also a dental surgery as well as a Cox and Robinson pharmacy within the block of premises with Ashfield Medical Centre being the largest unit.) I prefer to park at the rear as generally there is more space and it's easier to park and get out than at the front.

As I got to the front of the surgery there were a few people gathering, one lady had an umbrella up because it began to rain. Thankfully the practise manager came to open the door up so we could go inside to wait. I really didn't fancy getting soaked so it was as well we didn't have to wait in the rain, although I don't think it lasted long.

They couldn't begin giving the jabs until 8 o'clock. Would it have mattered if they had? What reason was there to not begin? Some formality or other. I won't ask, being Ashfield Medical Centre. Anyway, they allowed us to register, or at least, report to the reception desk to sign in which would at least record that we were there. Then, to have to sit and wait until 8 before the flu jabs began. I wasn't bothered at all that some people went before me. Who cares? They had tea and coffee to drink before and after you'd been for your injection, but, to be honest, I wasn't bothered. Then the clock ticked over, 8 o'clock and bingo! People were called, or at least there name and which person was doing the injections and which room came up on the digital screen. You'd have thought it would have been in alphabetical order, but no, a sort of random name came up, although, now thinking about it, the names were probably just in the order of people being signed in. About ten minutes later my name came up on the digital display, to go to Room 4. One of the doctors. She asked my name and date of birth (which seems to be the standard way to identify you in the N.H.S.) and I sat on a chair and she administered the injection into my left arm, without me feeling a thing, which should be how it's done and I was out and driving on to Sainsbury's.

It wasn't 8.30 when I got to Sainsbury's store in Witan Gate and it was great to be able to move around the store easily without hoards of other shoppers. Having completed my shopping I returned home and because it had, by now, shown signs of being quite bright outside I decided to take Alfie for his delayed walk, much to his complete and utter happiness. It was quite windy and we came across quite  few bits of twig and benches which had been bought down by the wind. But by the time I came to leave the house to see Carol in hospital the skies opened and it rained, so there was absolutely no way I was going to walk, which was what I had intended. It is, after all, a mere ten-minute walk there along the Redway and it would at least mean I wouldn't have to pay parking (you have to pay, because the Macmillan Unit isn't open over the weekend so you can't get your parking ticket clipped which means you can't get free parking, which is a bit mean.) But by the time I'd got to the park park near Cardiology, which is where I generally park, and then walked in to Ward 9, it had stopped raining and the sun was out!

Saturday Morning Frost

(Saturday) I went out to the meter cupboard to check the gas meter. It was fine and didn't need credit putting on it, fortunately. It was quite chilly and there was a light frost on the car's windscreen. The first frost of the autumn.

I went to Sainsbury's early. I got there at around 8.45. Not busy at that early hour. I had to pick up my repeat prescription. I forgot to tell them at the pharmacy that I'm no longer taking Ramapril and now on Candesartan. It needs to be put on their list of my new medications. I now realise that Carol had a repeat prescription which needs collection and should have been ready. For some reason another of my meds wasn't available., Oxybutin. I can't think why, because I've only about four left. It's Ashfield Medical Centre just being awkward for now real reason. Or perhaps they just don't have any in stock. They said I couldn't have any until 27th October, so that's nearly in a month's time.

I got home, unpacked my shopping and then drove to the hospital. Carol seemed in a better frame of mind. I think at last the nurses have got on top of her pain relief medication.

As we sat quietly in the room, I was aware of someone entering  behind me as I sat in one of the chairs near the door, without our permission. One of the patients, who must have a learning disability. It was a bit of a shock. He came in and started looking at Carol's belongings on the bed-side table and touched the bed. He was followed by a carer, who apologised, and got the man out. The man didn't make any sound, didn't talk or anything. The type of patient I would have been caring for at one or other of the houses I worked in for the N.H.S., but they were usually those with extreme challenging behaviour. This man has been wandering about the ward all day and has two support workers with him. Carol was upset he had come in. The carers shut the room door to prevent him coming in and came back to again say they were sorry he had come into the room. It would be somewhat unsettling to have your personal space invaded like that.

I took Alfie out for his, by now, routine run across the park. I didn't go the whole circuit, because I felt a certain amount of discomfort in my chest. Not an angina attack, but I wasn't keen to risk being out. I always carry a G.T.N. spray, nevertheless. It has been mild, with  weak sun shining on the scene. A lot of leaves now fallen and definite signs of autumn. I can't believe it'll be October tomorrow.

This evening I have managed to put my medication out ready to take. I have looked at the repeat prescription I collected this morning and find that my Bisoprolol dosage hasn't been changed with the new order, it is still at the original, higher dosage of 5 mg, but it had been lowered to 2.5 mg by the doctors at John Radcliffe. Also, I got Ramapril, which has now been replaced by Candesartan. It's obvious that Lloyd's didn't know about the Ramapril being replaced, but the surgery hasn't looked carefully at the Bisoprolol dosage and it needs changing to the correct dosage. I think I will need to go back to Lloyd's in Sainsbury and get this rectified. No doubt it will require the surgery to make this change before Lloyd's can change it. So more aggravation.

When I got home I found a pile of post. One of them a letter from John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.
I have an appointment there on Monday 8th October at 2 o'clock to have a Myocardial Perfusion Imaging Test. Seems to be similar to Carol's scans and the whole process takes 4-5 hours. My concern is that I don't relish having to drive all that way, and then, all the way back home afterwards. I would hope Carol could come with me, but considering her health at present I'm not sure. When she had a scan at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford all those months ago, we went via a hospital ambulance/minibus. However, it wasn't the most comfortable journey, but if it means I didn't have the stress of getting to Oxford I would be more than happy to go on that ambulance. Unless someone at church could volunteer their services, but that's a big ask, considering the length of time the procedure is likely to take. I'll have to look into the options. Until I got the letter today I had never heard of this particular test.

Waiting For A Call

I rang Ashfield Medical Centre several times after 8a.m this morning. The first couple of times I just got an engaged tone. It was obvious that their phone system is taken off the hook (you might say) until around 8.15, by which time I did at last get through and was in a queue of 5 other callers and the eventually got to speak to a receptionist. I explained why I needed a doctor to ring me back (not really needing a face-to-face appointment at the surgery) to get a doctor to change my medication from Ramapril to anything similar (probably Candesartan), because the Ramapril is causing an unpleasant cough that will not go away. 

So, here I am, well over two hours later, still waiting for the call from Ashfield. I just hope it isn't going to be much longer, although I was told it could be anytime, morning or afternoon.

11.20a.m. I had a call from Doctor Haye from Ashfield. I explained what I needed, to possibly change the medication from Ramapril to something that doesn't cause a cough and he said he wanted to see me and I now have an appointment booked for 2.30p.m. I can understand why, as it would be a dereliction of duty if something happened to me, considering I've recently had a heart attack. So, hopefully this matter can be sorted out and a prescription produced so the cough can be reduced and hopefully eliminated so I can get a good night's sleep.

Later.  I had gone upstairs to have a rest, but fell asleep and woke in something of a start. I looked at my watch to see it was 1.50. I needed to be at Ashfield Medical Centre for 2.30 and decided to leave at around 2.10 as I always think there is always a vague chance I'll be seen before the allotted time if I manage to get there sooner. Having parked in the rear carpark, which is far easier to get in and out of than the carpark at the front of the surgery, although coming out it fraught with the possibility of hitting another vehicle because the entry is very narrow and you can't see what's coming in. They ought to have a mirror so you can see round the corner.

Well, I walked to the surgery and signed in using the computer and I found I was seeing one of the practice nurses and not a doctor. Well, at least they can write prescriptions so there was no problem. It was the nurse who did my blood test a few weeks ago.

Then a lady came to talk to me.  It took me a while for me to recognise her, I couldn't for the life of me remember her name, but Carol used to tutor her daughter. The lady worked at the Academy. She had been a cleaner and worked her way up to be supervisor. I'm not sure if she didn't still work there, but Carol used to go to her house in Oldbrook, just a short walk from M.K.C.C., usually on a Saturday morning, to tutor her daughter with English so she could get into college, or something. Carol had to stop because of her contract with the Academy for some reason or other. Anyway, the lady was with the daughter, who knew about Carol being in hospital. No doubt this was learned as these things do, via the 'grapevine.' Anyway, I didn't have time to talk, because my name came up on the digital display, so I had to leave them and go in to see the nurse. But she said she would telephone so she could visit Carol.

I left them in the waiting room and walked along the corridor to the nurse's room. I discussed why I'd come for the appointment, about how I'd had the heart attack barely three weeks previously and how I'd been discharged from the John Radcliffe with new medications, one of which was Ramapril, which appeared to be going me the awful cough. She took my blood pressure, which appeared fairly normal, considering. She viewed my notes on the computer, copies of letters from the hospital to Ashfield and then a list of the medications prescribed. I have to come back to the surgery to have my blood pressure checked in two week's time.

Candesartan was one of my medications before I had the recent heart attack. It does the same job as Ramapril. It seems odd that I was taken off it when it had no side effects, whilst Ramapril gives me such an unpleasant cough, or so it seems. I have no other symptoms which you'd have if you had, say, a cold, such as a temperature, feeling feverish, although I have a runny nose, but certainly not as a result of a cold. The nurse went to speak to a doctor and came back and said that I should be put back of Candesartan and to stop the Ramapril. So she printed out a prescription which I took to Cox and Robinson, the pharmacy which is a short walk from the surgery. I had to wait about 10 minutes for it to be made up.

I drove home, and parked the car on the drive and then walked to the hospital, because, by now, it was gone 3 o'clock and I knew for certain that I wouldn't be able to park. It is only a ten-minute walk and I'm surprised how close the unit in the hospital is, just a walk along the Redway which runs through the grounds.

More Unnecessary Aggravation

(Wednesday) I've mentioned on an earlier blog post, that I went to our doctor's surgery a week or two ago to find out whether they had received notification from the John Radcliffe Hospital regarding my new medication so that when I made a new repeat prescription it would be up-and-running and there would be no problems. The discharge information was given to me when I left the hospital and a copy would have been forwarded to my doctor's surgery. I was informed when I went to speak to the receptionist she looked on the computer system and assured me that the new medication was record. Little did I realise that actually this wasn't the case. Or if it was, then part of the information was missing, or at least it would appear so.

I went to Sainsbury's early this morning and went to the Lloyd's pharmacy within the store, which is our nominated pharmacy for all our repeat prescriptions. We've been using them for several years now. But when I went to give them the new order I was informed by their pharmacist that they couldn't do the order without first having it on THEIR system. I would need to ring Ashfield Medical Centre and speak to them to have the new medications recorded before the pharmacy could make up the order. As you can imagine, what with having had a heart attack three weeks previously and also having Carol in hospital, this is only adding to stress and frustration which is certainly not what I want at the moment.

Having completed my shopping in Sainsbury's, I returned home and immediately telephoned the surgery. I was expecting it to take some while to get through, there also was an option on the menu which you have to select when you ring, to phone a special prescription help-line, but this 'after 11 a.m.,' which didn't exactly please me as I wanted to go and visit Carol and if left too late it would be difficult to find a parking space for the car. I just rang the normal telephone number intended for making appointments, but told the receptionist my repeat prescription was urgent. I ran through what I wanted to order until I reached Ticagrelor, which I had been prescribed especially because it's supposed to protect the stent I had put in at the John Radcliffe. The receptionist had never heard of it, which was a surprise. It now seems a doctor will have to approve this additional medication before they can make out a prescription, which will then be sent electronically to Lloyd's before the repeat prescription can be made up. There seems to be some sort of bureaucratic glitch in all this somehow.

I'm having problems with a cough, which I have mentioned in earlier blog posts. Apparently it is a side-effect of taking Ramapril. I spoke to the pharmacist about this matter, because I spent most of last night awake with this horrible cough. Nothing seems to alleviate it, no amount of cough linctus or cough sweets. I just concerns me that it might spark off something like another heart attack. The pharmacist looked at all my medication already held on their system and she saw I was on Candesartan. Which apparently does the same job as Ramapril, but without the side-effects. So it does seem odd that the doctors at John Radcliffe should charge this medication regardless of the fact that I had no problem with the Candesartan but now have to endure a horrible cough with Ramapril.  I decided to go into the Cardiology department at Milton Keynes Hospital when I went to visit Carol this morning, with the intention of mentioning this to the cardiology nurse I spoke to last week. I was fortunate to be seen by her briefly when I went in. She said that  the cough would most likely be as a result of the Ramapril but she couldn't change it for me, I would need to speak to my GP. It would appear that Ramapril is a standard medication given to patients after they've had a heart attack. So, I need to telephone Ashfield, how ever long that is going to take, and ask my doctor to see if he can change the Ramapril for Candesartan or a similar drug.

Having said in the previous post that it was getting colder, it's actually been quite warm for the past couple of days. The weather is getting so confused. I came out of the hospital yesterday and there was bright sunshine, similar to what we have today (Wednesday.)