Sunny But Mild

 Monday. 10.15 a.m. Yet another bright and sunny morning. There is apparently going to be rain later in the day, with the possibility of thunderstorms. My digital thermometer currently reads 27ºc.

Tuesday. 5.35 a.m. The rain, which was forecast, didn't appear. I don't know if the more westerly parts of the country had it, but not in Milton Keynes.

Wednesday. 3.40 p.m. It's really warm and sunny.

I have been to the centre to collect my new reading glasses from Boots Opticians. 

Secklow Gate was closed off with 'Road closed' signs up, so I had to get to the car park by a rather circuitous route, but I got to the car park without any trouble.

I wanted to park in my usual place, next to The Point (or what used to be The Point. It has become a real wreck, a blight on Milton Keynes. It needs demolishing and replacing. Disgraceful.) You have to pay for your parking at a new machine, which is at the exit into the main shopping centre. I paid with my debit card, but it's not clear how you do this, although you have to first type in your vehicle's registration number. I did succeed, and the machine printed a ticket, which meant I had to walk all the way back to my car to put the ticket inside.

The area around the shopping centre is beginning to look really scruffy and uncared for. The whole place needs a good clean-up.

I walked into Boots Opticians and I had to try my glasses on and they were good. I have them on as I write this. I left and went back to my car and drove back to Dexter House

It seems very dusty and humid. We haven't had rain in quite a while. I think other areas of the country have had showers, but not in this area.

Friday. 7.20 a.m. Where I park my car, just below the window of my flat, there is often a large lorry parked. On the back (it is a flatbed vehicle.) carrying equipment for what would appear to be road repairs. My car isn't parked on the road but on a parking bay within the boundary of Dexter House. I trust that nobody parks across the entrance, so I can't reverse out. But on one occasion this lorry was parked so close it was impossible to get out without scraping it. I think I did, on one occasion. It might have caused a minor scrape, but no more. It shouldn't be parked in a residential street such as this. I realise the lorry is needed by the young man who lives along Dexter Avenue, but I really believe it should be parked elsewhere.

Heatwave Forecast

 Sunday. 7.40 a.m. As I write this, the sun is shining. According to the weather forecast on BBC Breakfast, we are about to have a heatwave. Whether this is correct or not, we will soon find out. I just hope so.

I have been watching the first episode of the documentary series 'A House Through Time.' This series is different to the previous series, which took one house and then traced all the inhabitants for several years. This series takes two blocks of flats, one in London and the other in Berlin, and traces the inhabitants through the period shortly before World War 2. I was really shocked to discover that the block in London, Montagu Mansions, was where a great aunt of mine lived during the 1930s-40s. Quite a surprise to discover this. That bit of information was discovered when I was doing family research.

Monday. 12.15 p.m. It's a bright and sunny day. As a result, I went to Stony Stratford to have another go at doing some video as I walked along the main street. I have viewed some of the footage, and it looks good.

Wednesday. 1.30 p.m. It's bright and sunny as I write this. I have my electric fan on.

Monday. May Bank Holiday. 6.00 a.m. It's now a good deal cooler. It would appear that the heatwave is over. I hope not.

9.15 a.m.I had intended to go to Lidl to get one or two items. I drove there and then discovered that they didn't open until 11 a.m. I suppose I should have realized, this might happen because it was a Bank Holiday, but never mind, I can go back later.

On top of everything else, its the first day of the VE Day 80th Anniversary celebrations. I think there's to be an RAF fly-past at around 11. Also, many of the roads around Milton Keynes are closed off, or will be, because of the Milton Keynes marathon. I don't need to go anywhere, apart from Lidl, and the marathon doesn't come through Oldbrook.

Tuesday. 7.50 a.m. It's hardly a heatwave today. It's not sunny, but pleasantly mild.

I have an appointment at 2 o'clock to get my eyes tested. I had a letter from Boots Opticians telling me my eyes were overdue for testing. I was told the last time I had my eyes tested that they needed testing every year, so I booked an appointment online. The appointment went well. I had all the work and extra tests, one of which was photographs of the back of your eyes. The optician told me she could see something which isn't sinister, but I should keep an eye on it (sorry!) I don't need new glasses, as my sight hasn't changed much since last year, but I ordered a new pair of reading glasses, which I will collect once they are ready, on 14th May.

Spring Has Sprung!

 Saturday. 8.10 a.m. It's bright and sunny. Mind you, it can be deceptive and might well be chilly out. I won't know until much later.

1.00 p.m. It has turned out to be quite warm. Not sunny, but mild nevertheless

I've been to Boots Opticians to collect my new glasses. I had two pairs made up, one for long vision, for driving and every day, and the second pair for reading. I was shocked to find when I put on the long vision pair, how sharp and crisp everything was. 

I then walked through the shopping centre and went into Midsummer Place. Just inside the doors, a man had set himself up, with an amplifier and microphone, and was singing. I say 'singing', but, let's be perfectly honest, it wasn't very good. One of the pieces he mangled (for want of a better word.) was a song which Carol and I had as our 'sort-of' song, 'Chasing Cars,' originally done by 'Snow Patrol.' Brought back some memories, and happy, but it upset me to some extent, not more so than having some idiot mangling it. 

I walked back to the car and, just as I was about to get in my car, t a really large car turned up, I think it was one of those huge 4-by-4 monsters. The driver was attempting to reverse into a space, just opposite where I had left my car. As the car began to manoeuvre, I saw that one side was heavily dented. It looked as though something or someone had run into the car, or else, the driver had smashed into another vehicle or run into a wall or something. The way the driver was making a complete hash of reversing into the parking space, it was no wonder the car got dented. 

Sunday. 8.00 a.m. I was woken in the night by a very heavy rainstorm. I'm not sure what time it was, but I think it must have been around 2 a.m. I went into the kitchen to look out of the window, and it was difficult to see across the garden (obviously not helped by the fact that it was dark, although there were very bright lights along the various paths. Bright enough to guide any passing aircraft into land, or even some alien space creatures.) The rain was so violent, there was a sort of fog. It was extremely noisy. Fortunately, it didn't go on for more than five minutes. I expect there will be a great deal of standing water on the roads around Milton Keynes, no doubt there will be vast puddles in and around the roundabouts, pooling where the water can't run away. The roads in Milton Keynes were built without cambers, and gutters which allow water to drain away. It seemed more like a cost-cutting exercise when the city was built, but it was a mistake. If the Romans could build their roads with cambers, why aren't modern roads built with them? I actually think most roads are. 

As I write this, the sun is shining.

1 p.m. I was on refreshment duty at The Oaktree Centre this morning. I've been involved with this for several months now. I used to be on The Genesis Team, which is responsible for setting up the Sunday services and setting out the chairs, but I was beginning to find it quite tiring, as it involved lifting and pushing, the chairs on trolleys and then lifting the chairs off the trolleys. 

Today we had what's termed 'Café Church', which means there was no service, but a chance to fellowship with church folk and, hopefully, allow those who don't generally go to church, to come along and enjoy coffee and tea, pastries and cookies, in a relaxed and totally informal setting, with some live music. I got to the Oaktree Centre at around 9.40 and had to start filling the coffee urn. This takes at least an hour to warm up sufficiently before a decent cup of coffee can be produced from it, but for some reason, it didn't seem to warm up properly. It would take at least the whole length of a normal Sunday service, to be ready for people when they came out at the end. I wasn't on my own doing the refreshments. A lovely lady who is in my Thursday morning Bible study, Hyacinth, was with me. But there was real, what I call 'frothy coffee' being made, a la Costa or Starbucks, produced by a proper coffee machine. Several people have been trained as baristas to make this coffee. The machine they use is in the cafe area and is a Gaggia machine. But most people would seem to prefer this coffee, rather than what we had to offer. Because the urn wasn't functioning properly and not heating up sufficiently, we could only offer Nescafé. Nothing wrong with that, but when you've got coffee which is as good, if not better, than what you could get in a high street coffee shop, such as Costa or Starbucks, who could blame them?

Still Going Strong!

Saturday. 8.15 a.m. Well, can't believe I'm still writing these blog posts. This will be the number 1,873. I know a great deal of what I write is waffle, boring and a lot of it is mere trivia, but it has kept me busy and, when I started it back in around 2011, I would never have imagined that it would be going so many years later.

It's fine and sunny this morning, as I type this. Not sure how warm it is outside, but I shall find out soon enough, as I'm going to Sainsbury's soon to buy milk and one or two other items I need.

9.55 a.m. It is actually quite warm out. I've only just come back from Sainsbury's. The travelator is working on the downside, although it is making some unpleasant noises. The wretched voice which tells you to get ready to push your trolley off as you approach the bottom is not working. I hope it isn't merely having a rest or gone away on holiday, as it is really annoying.

Monday. 6.15 a.m. Where did Sunday go? I went to church as usual. It was Palm Sunday yesterday. There's something called 'Messy Church in the afternoon, which is aimed at children and families. I've never been involved, so I don't know enough about it.

I woke up a good deal later than normal. Which meant that Alfie didn't go out as early as he usually does. 

It's light outside as I write this. Spring is definitely here.

I have mentioned this before, but around this time of year, near Carol's birthday, I have daffodils in the flat as a sort of memorial to my lovely late wife. I got several bunches in Sainsbury's and put them in two vases, one on each side of my television. They start off with their buds tightly closed, but over time they gradually open, and I have the full glory of them. The past couple of bunches have started to open, but then they don't fully open and they die. I can't understand why they don't why they don't open fully. The current bunches aren't actually daffodils. I think they are narcissi. They are more star-shaped, with an orange centre.

Tuesday. 5.25 a.m. Oh dear! It's really the last thing I want at this early hour. The fire alarm is going off. I have taken Alfie out, but he doesn't like it, and neither do I. He has gone into my bedroom. I suppose I'll have to endure the confounded noise for the next hour until the fire engine arrives, and the thing is switched off. I suspect someone in one of the flats within Dexter House has burnt their toast or something, which set the alarm off.

I've bought a new Fire Stick. The old one, which I've had for quite a while, probably 4-5 years, is not now up to the job. It doesn't have enough memory and it's become slow. This new one has a far larger capacity, and a few more bells and whistles. It was at a reduced price in the Amazon sale, and I got it around half price. I ordered it yesterday morning, about 7 o'clock, and it arrived at about 6.30 p.m. It was easy enough to set up and get all my apps working.

5.35 a.m. Thank goodness! The fire alarm has been turned off. I'm not sure, but someone came to switch the wretched thing off. Not sure if a fire engine came. If it did, I didn't hear it.

Wednesday. 7.40 a.m. A bright and sunny morning, but chilly.

10.25 a.m. Been to Sainsbury's . . . . again! I know, I do seem to spend quite a lot of my time shopping in there. I'm just trying to buy stuff for only a few days. We used to have a sort of habit of stocking up for about a month or so, which is what any supermarket wants you to do. I don't see the point myself. For a start, I don't have space for a month's worth of food.

2.20 p.m. I have been to Boots Opticians to get my eyes tested. The appointment was booked for 12.10. I got to the store in plenty of time, having made sure I could park the car and then walk through to the shopping centre. I got to Boots and had to sit and wait for about 20 minutes. A lot of new technology is used to check for various eye conditions. I don't like the one where they shoot a puff of air into your eye, but it went well enough. Also, one (which is an additional check, which you pay for.) has something to do with a 3D scan (not sure how it works.) Having an interest in archaeology helps explain the way it probably works. They can scan objects, such as vases, buildings, furniture etc etc., and then a 3D model can be produced, either on a computer screen or can be used to 'print' a 3D model. Anyway, no real problems with my eyes, except for slight deterioration due to my age, which I suppose is to be expected.

Once the eye test was completed, I had to choose glasses frames and have two pairs made up of lenses, one with Transitions lenses, which become darker when you go into bright sunlight. My current glasses have these lenses. Also, scratch-resistant surfaces on glasses, which is always worth having. Anyway, the glasses will be ready to collect in a week.

Storm Gareth Brings Strong Winds

We have another storm expected to come in raging today, called Gareth. I just wonder who gives these storms names? As I sit here in my lounge, it's early morning, I can hear the wind outside raging somewhat. Not shaking the windows, but definitely blowing quite strongly outside.

Later in the day. It's been raining. Not particularly hard, but still raining.

Wednesday. I had to go into Boots opticians to collect my new glasses. I was supposed to be there at 10.30. I got to the carpark in plenty of time and then had to fill in about 30 minutes, so I went to Clarks shoe shop because I saw a style of shoes I rather liked in their window when I was in the shopping centre the other morning. Being Clarks they are not cheap, but considering the quality of the workmanship and also the fact that they are made in this country, the price doesn't really come into it. The Adidas trainers I currently have are beginning to wear out. I can feel something through the soles. The top part are fine, it's the soles that are wearing through. I have already looked in Sports Direct, which is where the trainers came from, and I couldn't see anything I liked, so Clarks seemed the next option. I only had a quick glance as I didn't have enough time to really have  decent look and couldn't try any of the shoes on for size, so decided, once I been to collect the glasses I would return.

I got to Boots and went upstairs to the opticians department. I was soon being dealt with by a young man who got me to try on each of the two pairs, one for distance and the other for reading. They both needed a slight adjustment because I don't want them sliding down my nose when I wear them. Not a problem and I had to wait when he went off to do the adjusting of the glasses frames. I was soon walking out with the whole transaction complete and I walked back towards Clarks shop and looking at several pairs of shoes and trying on one pair which I purchased. I was by this time feeling rather hungry and decided I'd go into Greggs, because I was going to sit and eat in their store and a few tables were vacant and there wasn't too much of a queue at the till, so I joined the back of what queue there was and selected a baguette, a bottle or fresh orange juice and a packet of three egg custard tarts and waited patiently to reach the till so I could pay. But it seemed to take an eternity for the staff to do their job, paying at the till, making a coffee for one customer and generally get round to dealing with me. I think it took a good ten minutes. They seemed to be having a go-slow or something. Not exactly impressed. It wasn't as if the place was heaving with customers, not lunch-time, so no office workers queuing up for their lunch. I think if there had been, I would have walked out and found an alternative for food and drink. I think it might be because there is such a wide range of alternative outlets within a short distance and they just don't manage to get staff to work in these places. Still not an excuse to have such slow service.

Having finished in the shopping centre, I make my way back to the car. When I get inside and I'm about to drive off, I see the completed application form for volunteer work at Campbell laying on the passenger seat. I had bought it with me with the intention of taking it to deliver to Camphill, but I had forgotten after my time spent in the shopping centre, buying shoes and having collecting my new glasses. So I made he decision to drive to Camphill immediately and deliver the form. No time like the present.

I parked my car in he carpark and then realised that Camphill had it's own carpark, which was within the campus. But I didn't realise this until I began walking in through the entrance. I got to the offices and said I wanted to hand over the completed application form. Then I was introduced to a man in another office off he main office. I'm not entirely sure what his role is, but I think he is the manager of he site or at least administrator of the facility. He seemed really interested in my application and he spoke to me for some time about Camphill and was quite keen to have me work there as a volunteer. He took me to see the theatre and told me that they also have workshops and I could be working as a support for those people who lived at Camphill, who have learning disabilities. So, I have to wait until someone else who is in charge of taking on volunteers, who will invite me to come to a 'taster' session, just to see how I like it and whether I want to proceed with the application. They would obviously have to do a disclosure (similar to a Criminal Records check) before I could work there and  contact my referees before I can work there. So, it looks very positive and I will have to wait for them to go through all these procedures before I can start at Camphill.

I'm sitting her on a Wednesday afternoon . It's almost 5 o'clock and it's light outside. The wind has dropped, fortunately, but there are no birds on the bird-feeding station. I can't think why it's not attracting birdies. The feeder has been full of food for the last two weeks, but I have to say that it's a real disappointment because I want to see it busy and it's just not attracting anything. I suppose I'll just have to be patient and if I wait then in time it might possibly be attracting all manner of different varieties of birds.

New glasses!

I hadn't heard anything from Boot's opticians as regards my new glasses being ready so I went into Milton Keynes Shopping Centre mid-morning. I have continued to deliver the IKEA catalogues, and managed around 60 more along the Chaffron Way side of Eaglestone. It's easier when you have a clear map, which I don't have. Google Maps is useful, but even that doesn't mark all the names of the little alleyways and roads. The photographic version is clearer as you can see the actual houses. I have done another 'block' of houses this morning, so that leaves a block coming back towards home for tomorrow and there's some flats within the hospital grounds that need to be delivered to.

I got to Boots and asked at the reception desk. I had been told that it would take two weeks from the original eye-test for the glasses to be made up, and was told that they would telephone when they were ready for collection, so, when I still hadn't herd anything, I decided to go to the store to find out what was going on. The lady on reception looked on their computer but could find nothing. They seemed to be having trouble getting into the system to track orders. I sat and waited, and after around 10 minutes they told me that my glasses were indeed in. I had to try them on, and they fit perfectly. The old ones, as I've already mentioned in the earlier post, fell apart, and not only that, they had kept slipping down my nose and making life really difficult. These, thankfully, remained on my face and didn't slip down my nose! So, I wore them as I left. Mission accomplished, and now I can see the world clearly again, thankfully.