Bonkers Retail

I have been taking something to eat at lunch-time in the ward where Carol is at the moment. I have usually bought a sandwich or roll from the Friends shop in the hospital, but, unfortunately, they haven't always come up to a standard which means I have enjoyed what I have eaten. Usually they are reasonable edible, but generally they are tasteless, the bread dry and not particularly pleasant. A lot of this is down to the fact that everything we have offered us has to be low in salt and sugar, low-fat etc etc. The health fanatics have had a field day, making food really dull and uninteresting. Any effort to make the food we eat, or at least, buy from supermarkets and other retail outlets, has had all the flavour sucked out of it. I know that it's best to eat healthily, but when you can barely taste what you eat, the enjoyment of food is removed. With this in mind, I have endeavoured to find somewhere to buy a snack for my lunch which is at least tasty. There are several choices for me as regards outlets for lunch snacks. First, Sainsbury's, but even there I have managed to drain the well dry, as you might say. You can have a 'Meal Deal' in most supermarkets, where you buy a roll or sandwich and have an additional bag of crisps and probably a drink for a reasonable price, of, say, £2.50-£3.50 or so. Then there's Waitrose, probably a bit more expensive, but with a more imaginative selection, or going further away, Boot's, but they only have a store in the city centre, or at Westcroft or Kingston. Lastly, Marks and Spencer, with outlets at MK Stadium, Kingston or the city centre, but it means quite an effort to get to them, first  drive there and then to park and walk into the MK centre.

With all this in mind, I went to the Kingston Centre in the hope of finding something decent to take with me to the hospital as a snack to eat for lunch. I wasn't intending getting to the hospital too early, just for once. I was going to slow things down as much as possible, particularly because of having my heart attack four weeks previously. No good getting stressed if it means getting myself into a position where I just become ill. No good at all.  I arrived in the carpark and got as close to Marks and Spencer's and Boot's and went into Boot's to have a look at what they had to offer as regards sandwiches. Nothing struck me as in the least interesting, so I left and went into M and S. Could I find their lunch-snack display? Not at all, Usually supermarkets set these sections apart from the rest of their displays so it's easy to spot when you enter the store. But I had to be shown by a member of staff. Actually, quite an inviting display, so I selected a baguette filled with egg and ham, and then selected a bag of crisps and found their cold drinks display, selecting a Belgian Chocolate milk shake and also a Coffee Latte milk shake which I knew Carol would appreciate. But when it came to pay I had fun finding the till. A crazy layout had to be negotiated, because of a sort of maze-like approach. I could see the lady at the till, but how did I get there? Round this idiotic layout. Enough to put off any customer. What on earth is the point of making the place where you have to pay so difficult to find? What is the matter with Marks and Spencers? They're having enough trouble keeping customers or at least getting people to shop in their stores (as many other companies are at the moment, not just M and S.) But this is crazy. Make it easier, not more difficult, for goodness sakes.

I wanted to get something to help relieve the wretched cough I have since I've been taking Ramapril. Well, at least I'm no longer taking it since I was put back on Candesartan. It seems I'm left with the cough which I trust will disappear eventually, but how long I have no idea. I thought Boots would be able to help and went to the counter which stocks cough remedies. There was no assistant to help, although there appeared to be several on the pharmacy counter. I stood and waited a few minutes, but still no one appeared. They could surely see me waiting patiently, but after about three minutes I decided it was no use and left and then thought I'd walk to Tesco's and try their pharmacy. A bit of a walk, but I wanted this thing sorted. I got what I wanted and began to walk out of the store. Carol had asked me to buy her some Maltesers and it just happened, as I neared the exit of the store, I walked past a display which just so happened to have bags of Maltesers in it. I grabbed two packets and decided to use a self-service checkout. I walked towards what I thought were self-service machines and attempted to pay for the two bags. I waved the bags in front of what I imagined was a bar-code scanner, but nothing happened. No sign of the machine springing into life. Nothing seemed to be working. I pressed a key on the screen and suddenly an assistant appeared. It would then become apparent that it wasn't a self-service machine, but a machine to use if you'd been using a scanner to scan your shopping as you walked around the store. I was totally unaware of this, I saw no indication that the machine was for that purpose, and, anyway, thinking about it now, why don't ordinary self-service machines have the added facility for you to use a hand-held scanner. I decided I didn't want to bother to buy the Maltesers and handed the bags to the assistant and left, no doubt somewhat shocked by my rather abrupt exit. But it was more than I needed at that particular time, with enough to think about without having to bother with using one of those machines. It was a further example of company making it very clear what they expected their customers to do and to provide clearer signage.

Such Is Life!

To be honest, there's not an awful lot to put in a blog post at the moment. Carol let me take Alfie out for his walk across Eaglestone Park on my own yesterday morning. I don't think she wants to let me go anywhere much on my own since what happened two Sundays ago. I suppose I can't blame her. She's not feeling too well herself. She's experiencing a lot of pain which is as a result of taking the antibiotics, or, at least that's what we've discovered by reading the leaflet which comes with these tablets. I don't understand how antibiotics can have that effect, but it's a good idea to always read those leaflets which come with packets of medication just to see what some of the side-effects might be.

I haven't driven the car since the 'Incident' two Sunday's ago. Not that I don't want to, because I do. Carol has been driving. I haven't been back to S.C.F. yet. I hope to go again next Sunday. I don't think Carol likes the idea of me going off on my own since what happened. We'll just have to wait and see. I have been feeling incredibly tired since the heart attack. Which just goes with the territory, unfortunately, but I don't feel as tired as I did after the first heart attack in 2006. The bruising is beginning to receded as the days go by, but none of the bruises are as swollen as they were when I left hospital. Some of the medication can make you feel quite unsteady as well as effecting my appetite and making food taste peculiar, particularly making things tasteless.

I mentioned wanting to by a long-sleeved top in Marks and Spencer's in my last blog post. We went to their central Milton Keynes branch on Friday and couldn't see any of the rugby tops, two of which I have already. It seemed odd that, if you go on their website, you have a good selection, but then these garments aren't available in their stores. The Carol suggested going to their store at the football stadium and it was the same there. Yesterday we drove to Kingtson hopping centre and went into the M&S store there and there as a much better selection and I chose and bought a plain blue shirt in a similar style to the Rugby shirts with long sleeves. When we came out of the carpark there was a long queue coming out onto the grid roads, but I have no idea why it was so busy, perhaps we had just come out at a particularly busy time. It would seem most people, on a Saturday morning, don't go out shopping until a good deal later, say 10.00-11.00 a.m., by which time we've normally been shopping in wherever we go, for example, Sainsbury's, when it is relatively free of other shoppers and you can get in and out easily.

Alfie's taken to running upstairs and hiding under our bed. I can't think why. Perhaps he thinks he's done something wrong. If we're about to go out and I say 'Alfie, Kitchen!', he has a habit of running upstairs, but sometimes, he will obey and comply and go into the kitchen and then get in the bed he has in the corner by the patio door. I think it must be very snug and comfortable for him, so I can't see why he would go and hide under our bed on the cold floor. Although there are a couple of storage baskets under there where I have sometimes found him hiding. Funny little dog.

We've been back over to the Kingston Centre because Carol needed some pain relief medication so we went to Boot's, which opened at 10a.m. Being a Sunday, shops open later than during the week. We were confronted by the sight of hoards of starlings in the trees around the carpark and some wandering around on the ground. I reckon they were preparing to migrate which they do at around this time of year. They were making a lot of noise, sounding to me a bit like an audience in a theatre before the show starts. One we saw busily eating the dead flies caught in the front of the radiator of a car parked immediately in front of us.

Strange how I started this blog post not knowing what I was going to write, and end up with writing quite a lot, regardless how much garbage I actually end up writing. Such is life!

Ninth Chemotherapy Cycle

Carol had to be at the oncology suite for 9 o'clock this morning. We had intended walking, but then decided that, as we had other things to do, we decided to drive. We had to go to Ashfield Medical Centre to discover whether the prescription for Carol was ready. Carol drove and I went in and fortunately not many people in he queue in front of me. A mother with two little girls ahead of me in the queue were having fun with the footprints painted on the floor, being able to stride onto each step, the older one had no problem, but the little, youngest one had to make a real effort. Good to see their mother interacting with them instead of fiddling with her smartphone. When I eventually reached reception, it wasn't clear whether the ordered repeat prescription was in the surgery or at Lloyd's in Sainsbury's. I went back to the car, where Carol was waiting, and she had to go back in to the surgery and, because she remembered which three medications they were. It then transpired that whatever it was had gone to Lloyd's. This is becoming so annoying, having to go through Ashfield to order medication and then not knowing whether Carol can have a particular medication and on top of that, where it is in the system. Our patience is at breaking-point and it's causing no end of stress as a result.

Our next stop was the hospital. Not a long drive, as it's relatively close to Ashfield, but there was quite a long queue along Saxon Street and back onto the Standing Way roundabout, another cause of stress as we'd barely given ourselves time to get from home to Ashfield and then on to the oncology suite at the hospital. The carpark near cardiology and oncology, where we normally park was, had plenty of spaces, so that was one less thing to get stressed about and the  entrance barrier was raised, so no ticket. No great bother, the thing is almost always out of order. I know we don't have to pay as Carol is on chemotherapy, but even so it is annoying to have to go through the process of having the tickets clipped in the Macmillan unit. On arrival in oncology is was beginning to get busy. One lady who came to sit opposite was at the beginning of her chemotherapy. She was having some sort of cap-arrangement set up to wear on her head. Carol said it was something that they use which is supposed to help prevent a patient's hair being lost as a result of chemotherapy. She suddenly went limp, and she fell backwards in her chair. As if from nowhere, a whole host of nurses and doctors appeared to deal with what was probably an epileptic fit, or seizure, or diabetic reaction to the treatment. We moved out the way, as they began to draw the curtains around her and it seemed only decent to not be party to the doctors speedy intervention. So we transferred to chairs around the corner to let them get on with their job. It wasn't long before Carol was seen, her blood test carried out and we were out of the unit and driving out of the hospital carpark. I'm just impressed by the speed of the doctor and nurses getting to the poor lady's reaction to whatever it was. No doubt she had an underlying health issue. It just goes to show how well trained and efficient the staff in that unit are and how quickly they came to that lady's aid. It makes you feel far more confident that, if something was to happen to Carol or even myself, with my heart issues, you would be dealt with in a very professional manner. Everyone knew exactly what to do in an emergency.

We had to go into the main Milton Keynes shopping centre because I had a cheque that needed paying in to my Nationwide account and Carol said she would like a coffee and something to eat. So we parked in Debenham's multi-storey carpark and we walked down through the store and out into the main shopping mall. First off, we walked to Pret-A-Manger and ordered lattes and croissants. Mine an almond one and Caro's a chocolate one. Good customer-service, a nice clean store and the girl who served us very friendly and gave eye-contact. Nice to be able to sit and relax after the experience of the hospital, and the fact that things regarding chemo going well. Hopefully by Thursday we should know when Carol will have her operation and more, the radiotherapy which will be done in Oxford.

We walked into the main shopping centre. Got to Nationwide and paid the cheque in via one of their self-service machines. How does the thing know how much the cheque is for? How is it able to read the printing and then allow you to see a sort of image of the cheque on the video screen and then print it onto your receipt? What I want to know is, why does it take so long for a cheque to clear? It used to be no more than three working days, so why does it now take at least a week? You'd think, what with modern technology, it would be shorter. I know that most people use contactless payments, chip-and-pin and other technology to pay for things as well as having money paid by B.A.C.S., so I can see no reason for it to take so long to clear. Just a little moan, I know.

Carol wants to replace a  silver chain which has a silver chain and pendant I gave her a couple of Christmases ago, but unfortunately the silver is tarnishing and she said she would like a replacement. It has a 'tree of life' design on it. We went into several jewellers to try and find a replacement. In one we were shown into a sort of lounge-area, where one of the sales assistants was quite helpful and went out of his way to find what Carol was looking for, but the price was more than we wanted to pay. He did a reasonably good job, but I think he was on commission so was going to be over-assertive to get a sale.  There are far too many jewellers in the shopping centre. How on earth do they survive when there is so much choice? No wonder that assistant was so assertive. We eventually went to another store and Carol got what she wanted. Not such a pushy sales assistant.

We walked along the mall and went to the Disney store. Why has their stuff become so cheap and tacky? They used to have far more quality things on offer, particularly from their classic period, collectable things as well as books on the 'making of' their animation in particular. Why no Henson stuff, particularly from The Muppets' which are owned now by Disney? Nothing that you'd buy for an adult, something with the original designs from the 'golden age' of the studio. It's a pity that Disney owns so much, from the Muppets to Marvel and 'Star Wars,'  as well as Pixar. Just becoming a conglomerate with far too much power. Why do they have to keep re-making their classic movies? Just a bit lazy to keep on re-hashing stuff. I think Walt Disney would have a fit if he knew what they've done to his studio. Just a pity that their films seem to be just an excuse for a load of merchandise. It should be 'story first,' 'quality movies' and then merchandise as s spin-off. Just a pity that the moves are, in essence, now just glorified advertising. Just love the hand-drawn animation from the 'Golden Age,' but some of the modern stuff isn't up to much. Pixar is the best at computer animation, but they shouldn't keep doing sequels to their best movies, such as 'Toy Story.'

A further walk towards Boot's. In the oncology suite, the nurse who had taken Carol's blood somehow over-looked the tube gauze she is supposed to have to cover the cannula she has for her chemotherapy. I was somewhat concerned that it might get knocked or even pulled off, even though it was taped on fairly securely. So we bought a roll of it, having to ask at the counter for scissors to cut of enough to cover her arm. We then went out of the store, having paid, and sat on a bench so she could pull it over her arm. Then on to W.H. Smith to buy a couple of notebooks and then a walk home towards Debenham's and up the escalator to the carpark and then to Sainsbury's to collect the medication that had been made up from the prescription.

On arriving home we had two parcels delivered. One had been left in the meter cupboard when we were out, a Regatta jacket I ordered from their website. A really good bargain as it was originally around £60 but bought for £25.50. A softsshell jacket, lightweight but very efficient to keep out the cold and wind resistant. It is so designed that it can be packed up into a small space and ideal to take away when we go out and might need a jacket if it's cold. Unlikely at the moment, as it's quite warm. Although, saying that, compared with the weekend, it's quite a few degrees colder so it was necessary for me to wear my fleecy top I bought in Dobbies a few months ago.

The second parcel was from Amazon, a set of head scarves for Carol to wear on her head when undergoing chemotherapy.

Woefully Awful Easter Telly

It's a Bank Holiday weekend. The weather's awful. If it looks sunny and bright, it might suddenly rain. We'd been shopping. We went over to Boot's at Westcroft as Carol had a prescription that needed making up. We parked and then walked over the carpark to Boot's. Having handed the paperwork over, we were told by the assistant in the pharmacy that it would take around ten minutes, so we went into Morrison's to buy a few items. Having then gone back to Boot's and collected the made-up prescription we returned to the car to drive home. The weather still not decided, so we turned on the television. Not the usual Saturday morning programmes, no doubt because it's a Bank Holiday weekend. Unimaginative scheduling generally, with cooking shows on both sides. James Martin used to be the host/presenter of 'Saturday Kitchen' in BBC1, but has recently decamped to ITV to do virtually the same thing but called 'James Martin's Saturday Morning.' How incredibly original, I don't think. Virtually the same thing as the BBC show, but because it's the commercial rival, it can have sponsorship. I don't dislike him, he's not what I'd call a 'celebrity chef.' Down to earth and all the rest of it (well, he's a Yorkshireman, after all.) And he does plain food, none of that poncey suff certain other 'chefs' get away with on other television shows. But do I sense that he's just gone to ITV because he gets paid a good deal more than he would have done on the good old BBC? It's similar to what happened over the 'Great British Bake Off' when it was revealed that the production company who make it, Love Productions, couldn't get a decent deal with the BBC as they wanted more dosh for making it, so it went to Channel Four. Another story for another day . . . Mind you, having seen some of the Channel Four episodes, it's not much different to how it was on BBC1, without Mary Berry or Mel and Sue, but never mind. Even with advertising, it doesn't seem much different.

The fact is, television just seems to churn out the same old stuff, no real imagination or originality. Too many game shows. Nothing wrong with one or two, things like Countdown, Only Connect or Mastermind. At least they have questions that make you THINK. But to just churn out endless stupid gameshows in the afternoon (Tipping Point, The Chase to name two that run one after the other.) While on BBC1, as the same time as The Chase, there's Pointless. No doubt these shows are cheap to produce. You don't have to pay your contestants (do they get expenses, for example, train fares to reach the studio for recordings? I doubt it somehow.)

Anyway, I digress, as I have a habit of doing. Never mind. On turning on the television this morning, we had to endure endless sofas adverts. What is it about Bank Holiday television? Why do we get a sort of traffic jam of sofa advertising in the run-up to Christmas, New Year, Easter and other Bank Holidays? I've discussed this matter in an earlier blog post. Do people honestly go out and buy new three-piece suites just because there's a holiday period coming up? DFS, SCS, Furniture Village etc etc all have those annoying adverts on again where you are supposed to get a sofa for ridiculously low prices. They're virtually giving them away. How can they do it?

Anyway, we turned on the television this morning, expecting James Martin, when all we got was another cookery show (of a sort) called 'Who's Doing The Dishes.' It's been on for several series, but we seem to have missed it. A load of celebrities have a meal in another celebrity's home. They have no idea who it is, but as each course of the meal is presented to them, and from various clues in the rooms they try to work out who the celebrity it is who cooked the meal. Really trite and awful. A sort of mash-up of 'Through The Keyhole' and 'Come Done With Me.' On this edition the celebrity who was the hostess was Lesley Garrett, the opera singer. I'd heard of hear, obviously, but the guests who had the meal she'd made I'd never heard of. Did it matter? Carol wanted to turn over to another channel as it was so dire, but I was determined to stay with it til the end, as it got worse and worse, just to see how it ended. The so-called celebrities could win £500, if they could guess who their hostess was, if they got it right, that person had to do the washing up. Such an unoriginal idea. It's sad that ITV has come down to producing this sort of stuff. No doubt it cheap and cheerful to make and gets high ratings. Talk of going down-market or merely dumbing down, but this is a good example.

Doctor's Appointment and Poor Customer Service

Carol had an appointment at Ashfield Medical Centre at 6 o'clock this evening. So it meant our usual routine was disrupted. The idea of having it so late was to hopefully avoid being with other people who were likely to be infectious, and as she's more likely to get infected, due to being on chemotherapy, it was vital to avoid such contact, hence the later appointment time. But on arriving at Ashfield we found the waiting area was busy. She'd had a letter from the surgery asking her to make an appointment as the doctor needed to see her. As it turned out he really wanted an up-date of how the chemotherapy was progressing and gave Carol repeat prescriptions of ,cost of her medications. We could have gone to Cox and Robinson's pharmacy a few doors along from the doctor's surgery, but unfortunately I hadn't remembered to bring my wallet with me, as it contains the exemption card which means Carol doesn't have to pay for her prescriptions. So we had to return home so I could pick up the aforementioned wallet and then drive to the branch of Boots at Kingston to get these items made up. The traffic was quite heavy and we got snarled up at several of the roundabouts along Chaffron Way. We parked easily and then went into Boots and handed over the prescriptions at the pharmacy. We were told it would take at least 30 minutes for the order to be made up, so we wasted time browsing in Marks and Spencer's. I needed the toilet in the store, so we walked through. But for some unfathomable reason the toilet was locked. Also, the café was closed, with chairs up on the table. Carol wanted to buy a strawberry-flavoured milk shake and found what she wanted on the shelves. They do a really nice chocolate milk shake which has pieces of chocolate in it. A real indulgence. But on getting to the checkout there was only one member of staff on duty. A reasonably long queue so we decided to leave the store, putting what we had intended purchasing on the shelving at the rear of the checkout-area. Carol decided she needed paracetamol and ibuprofen so I went to pay and she sat near the pharmacy. The same thing as we had experienced in M and S, just one member of staff on the checkout and they were working exceedingly slowly. Well, what is the point of these stores being opened late if they don't have sufficient staff to operate the tills? Carol pointed out that, in Marks and Spencer's it would have been relatively easy to shoplift, to walk out of the store with several fairly expensive items without paying and, with virtually no staff on duty, no-one to apprehend a thief. Then, why was the toilet locked? Why don't they consider that their customers needs as regards having the toilet functioning fully? 

So we returned to the car and I drove us home, by now the traffic was a good deal easier than it had  been when we'd left home.

New Year

Well, here we are in a new year. I don't think there'll be that many people who will be sorry that 2016 is over and done with, what with the E.U. Referendum, Donald Trump being elected President in America (mind you, we still have his Inauguration in February to come.) and countless bombings, terrorist attacks, murders and however many famous people dying, amongst them George Michael, David Bowie, Victoria Wood (at 62, far too young. A great talent gone and a huge hole left.) etc etc. You could hardly turn on the news on television without there being news of someone significant reported as kicking the bucket. Nothing but gloom and doom. I just hope 2017 will be better.

As for myself, I'm hoping to do more writing. I have a fairly good story-arc constructed (working on this over the Christmas period. Always amazes me that, giving something a good deal of time and thought how ideas come along. Usually when I least expect them to.) My health is in fairly good order. Carol has had some real health problems to deal with. I just hope she is feeling better in the New Year, what with her recent eye condition and dealing with diabetes.) 2017 will see our 10th wedding anniversary in May and the 11th anniversary of my heart attack. We had a really great summer, visiting no end of National Trust properties as well as those which we can visit, free, as members of the H.H.A. (Historic Houses Association). It was exceptionally warm and pleasant which meant we got out more during the summer months. Having the SatNav made finding some of the more difficult to find properties easier than it might have been. A really clever bit of technology which gets plenty of use. We've been to Whipsnade Zoo on many occasions. The fact we can get in free because Carol is a Fellow makes a great difference. We're hoping to see more theatre in 2017 and in particular I'm looking forward to seeing the musical 'Billy Eliot' which is currently on tour and will be visiting the Milton Keynes Theatre in May.  Just in time for our wedding anniversary. We'll need to book our tickets fairly soon if we're to have a chance of seeing it.

We went to  the Kingston Centre yesterday morning, as Carol needed to get test strips to do her blood sugar tests and it seems that the branch of Boot's the chemist was the only place we could get them. Every shop seems to have sales on. A lot of Christmas stuff going half-price or less. The sort of junk you can, quite frankly, live without. Marks and Spencer's is full of such things as champagne and stuff for the New Year celebrations. We got salad and bits for tonight. We didn't go out but actually saw in 2017. Fireworks going off all over Milton Keynes as midnight came and went. This really upsets Alfie, our Yorkshire Terrier. He just doesn't understand what's going on. The noise did seem to go on a long time.

Autumnal Sunshine and Blackberry Picking

The weather has returned to pleasantly sunny, although it was quite chilly first thing this morning. A definite nip in the air.  There is a real need to put the thicker duvet on our bed.

I have ordered my repeat prescription at Sainsbury's, which I did earlier in the week. It was  a G.T.N. spray. (Glyceryl Trinitrate) For those who've had a heart attack and suffer from angina attacks, you will obviously know that this little bottle, which comes with a neat spray, helps to relieve this angina pain. You spray a few puffs under your tongue and then wait for a minute or two for the effects to take place.  It relaxes and widens blood vessels in the heart and the rest of the body.You tend to get a sort of high (not unpleasant) and the pain goes off gradually. Certainly headaches and dizziness. If you sit down for a minute or two or lie down, it soon goes off.  It is the same as the isosorbide mononitrate which I take twice a day. I wasn't due to collect the prescription from Sainsbury's pharmacy until Monday, and as we're going out tomorrow, weather permitting, hopefully to Whipsnade, and we'll no doubt be walking around, I thought it a good idea to buy an extra G.T.N. spray so I had it in my pocket in case I had a bad angina attack. I went to Boots at Bletchley this morning (near Pets At Home, Brantano, Sports Direct and T.K. Maxx) to enquire at their pharmacy to find out if they had one I could buy. They couldn't, but could order one, to be delivered by Monday or Tuesday.  On the way home I decided to try Cox and Robinson's pharmacy at Beanhill, in the same block as Ashfield Medical Centre. They had one in stock. A good bit larger than what I'm usually given with my repeat prescription. This new one is supposed to give around 200 doses, whilst the one I usually get has around 180 doses. Well, at least I will have it in my pocket for every eventuality tomorrow. Then I went into the surgery as it's getting to the time of year when I get my free flu jab (having fallen into the 'vulnerable' class due to having had a heart attack, I get this free each year.) I got a sort of garbled phone call telling me when the two Saturdays were for this flu jab. It appears that it's being done on the 8th and 22nd October (which is actually my birthday!) The computerised phone message was so difficult to understand that I couldn't remember so it was as well to go into the surgery. Never mind.) You just turn up and get the jab. Not a problem. I certainly don't want to get the flu as it can be nasty if you have a heart problem.

I have been out and picked some blackberries. The crop has been quite extensive on the bramble bushes all along the Redway and on the overhang on our garden fence. I suppose they've had the right amount of sunshine and rain to produce such a large crop. I shall go back out and get some more during the next  few weeks. The berries are so plump and ripe that they virtually fall off the bushes into the box I have  to collect them.

Hottest Day Of The Year

They had forecast this as being possibly the hottest day of the year so far. I can well believe it, because, as I write this (at 10.47 a.m.) the sun is out in full force. Carol and I have been into the Central Shopping Centre (Centre MK as it's called) and parked the car in Debenham's multi-storey car park, as it's the best place to park as you are more or less guaranteed a place, even though you have to pay. It was virtually empty when we arrived at around 8.45, having dropped Sam off at Maplin's where he recently started working. We walked down through Debenhams and out into the shopping centre. We were going to Boot's opticians, and they have a branch outside their main store, but it didn't open until 9.30, so we walked to the main branch and upstairs, where I made an appointment for my eye-test for 9.00 a.m. on Monday. We browsed for new glasses and selected three frames, so I will order these once my eyes are tested. You should get a second pair, for reading, when you get the distance glasses as theres a 'buy one, get one free' offer on in Boot's. We went into Marks and Spencer as Carol was looking for a skirt. We went up several floors on the escalator, and found it exceptionally hot the further up the building you went. There must have been something wrong with the air conditioning in Marks and Spencer, and they had several industrial air conditioning units dotted around the various floors, one of which we stood in front of to get the benefit of the cooling air.
Several other people came to enjoy the breeze from the air conditioning unit. But it was far too hot to remain inside the store, so we left, to find it a good deal cooler at the lowest level. It would be a good idea if Marks and Spencer was to rectify the fault in their cooling system, especially on a Saturday, which would, no doubt, have been their busiest shopping day of the week, and even more so with the current state of the country's economy. We left the building and walked to Gregg's, bakers, confectioners, call it what you will, and purchased two delicious-looking buns, with icing and surmounted with glace cherries, which we later consumed at home with our coffee. We browsed in W.H.Smith and then B.H.S. and then returned to Debenham's and went up on the escalator to the carpark. When you enter the carpark you have to take a ticket at the barrier, which rises to admit your vehicle, and then, on leaving, you put the ticket in another machine which tells you conveneitly how much you have to pay, and it returns the original ticket to you, which you then use in the machine at the barrier to let you out of the carpark.
Both our dogs can't cope with warm weather. Alfie, in particular. I must have mentioned that we took the dogs to Marston Mortaine where there is a country park, when it was exceptionally hot, and Alfie almost collapsed and died because it was so hot. It was very distressing, but we got him home and he got over it. Things are not helped by our neighbours, whose dog barks at our dogs through the fence, which sets Alfie off, barking and generally getting really wound up. So we have to call him into the house, but our beloved neighbours make no attempt to stop their dog behaving in this fashion. Dogs being dogs, I suppose it's in their nature to behave like this, territorial behavior or something, but we don't want our dogs getting over-hot. So, it end up with them having to come indoors and the French windows into the garden shut, to stop them going outside, which is rather unfair on them, particularly as they enjoy pottering around the garden.