A Liitle Hitch In The System

 Wednesday. 1.50 p.m. It's considerably cooler today. The digital thermometer currently reads 22ºc.

Friday. 6.15 a.m. It's even cooler today. It's becoming increasingly autumnal as the days pass by. The infamous digital thermometer currently reads 20ºc.

I had more fun discovering Alfie's whereabouts. Under my bed for most of the night.

Saturday. 7.00 a.m. I've got the gimbal to calibrate at last, which means I should be able to go out and do some filming. It has been a long process, but it should be worth it. 

Another somewhat mild and rather overcast sort of day. The digital thermometer reads 22ºc.

Sunday. 6.55 p.m. I do like cider. I have tried several brands. I bought a few bottles of alcohol-free cider in Lidl the other week and stored it in my fridge. I thought I'd have some with my meal this evening and took the bottle out, which was right at the back of the fridge. It was covered in ice, and it seemed to be iced up inside. I had to chip some of the ice off the base of the bottle so I could stand it on a surface to open it with my bottle opener. Some mist came out of the bottle! I tried to pour out the contents, but only a dribble came out. I have left the bottle on the kitchen work surface. What do I make of this? I will have to check the temperature of the fridge. I don't want the other bottles of cider in there to freeze.

Monday. 10.40 a.m. It's a Bank Holiday. Yippee! Not that it makes much difference to me. I have sorted the recycling, and three bins have gone out to the bin yard. One black bin and two other containers filled with recycling.

I attempted another session with the camera on the gimbal, but then the camera came up with the message, 'battery exhausted', so I gave up, and the battery is currently being charged, along with a spare. All the fiddling with the gimbal is responsible for this, and the batteries only last for 90 minutes.

I ordered a couple of new batteries and a charger unit for my Canon camera on Amazon early on Saturday morning, and I was hoping it would arrive yesterday evening, but then I found out on the Amazon website that there had been a problem, and it would arrive on Wednesday. So, I feel somewhat annoyed, because the idea was that I was going to the Buckinghamshire Agricultural Show on Thursday, and I intended to take the Canon camera with me.

4.50 p.m. The battery charger and batteries arrived mid-morning. I was somewhat surprised, having been informed that the parcel wouldn't be delivered until Wednesday at the latest. The thing has been working, and I have the batteries charged. Thankfully, that is completed.

It's been warm and sunny today. Good weather for a Bank Holiday. The digital thermometer reads 26ºc.

Easter Week

Thursday. 6.55 a.m. I have a barber's appointment booked this morning at 11.50. It's so easy to book via Central Barber's website, and it means that I go straight to their shop and don't have to wait.

4.10 p.m. I have been to the main shopping centre and had my hair cut at Central Barbers. The young lady who cut my hair had never cut it before. It was done extremely quickly, and then I was back out in the shopping centre. I walked to Marks and Spencer, which is at the opposite end of the shopping centre to Central Barbers. I am somewhat surprised by the new offerings in the men's department. Some really bright colours make a change from the usual bland colours used for most men's clothing, usually greys, browns and anything in between.

There are quite a few new shops taking over spaces of other companies which have either closed down or moved. 

There was a very loud thunderclap later this afternoon, and as I write this, it's pouring rain.

Good Friday. 7.25 a.m. Went out well before 6 o'clock this morning. There was a huge moon hanging in a lightning sky, almost like a vast silver coin.  I would have liked to have taken a photograph of it, but things were changing so fast, it would have been virtually impossible to get back home for either my Canon digital camera or iPhone and if I'd had Alfie with me, it would have been even more difficult to get a photograph. Pity. Alfie and I walked around Oldbrook Green. 

9.10 a.m. We've been for a second circuit around Oldbrook Green. We came across the tiny Yorkie which we see out with her master on several occasions. She's about half Alfie's size. I think she would be called a 'Teacup' Yorkshire Terrier. About the size that Alfie was when we first had him home.

12.25 p.m. I was scheduled to help set up the chairs at church this morning and arrived before 9.30, but it had already been done. Oh well!An amazing Good Friday service this morning. We are a multicultural fellowship, with many different nationalities. A Chinese couple read the Bible, in Mandarin. The English translation was projected on the screen and someone read the English version. The same with another section, read in Jamaican patois. Absolutely amazing! (I shouldn't keep saying that, but it was.)

I got home and then took Alfie out again because the weather was so warm and pleasant.

Time and Time Again!

Friday.7.00 a.m. I woke a lot later than usual, so it took me longer to get going. You know what I mean, not exactly 'with it', but, there again, not 'without it', either. Alfie barked and made a strange noise, which sounded as if he had bronchitis. Not his usual loud barking, but we still managed to get outside.

Friday. 8.20. Another bright, but not necessarily warm, morning. 

Yesterday morning I had a bit of survey work to do. I do many of these online, and I've earned quite a bit in either cash or vouchers, mostly Amazon vouchers. This was actually done in a place in the centre of Milton Keynes, Margaret Powell House. (Incidentally, who was or is Margaret Powell? Her name seems to pop up all over the place around Milton Keynes. I will have to do some research and then let you know here.) Anyway, this session was to test pizza (I'm not going to go into any more detail than that.) There were quite a few other people signed up, and we were given pieces of pizza to taste and then evaluate via a survey done online (as most of these are done.) It took around an hour, and I've been paid with a £20 Amazon voucher, which came in an email earlier this morning. I participated in two online communities during the past week, one on insurance and another on pet food. Again, I won't give any more details than that. I have done several of these, where you spend a week or a few days discussing things, uploading videos or photographs and answering questions. I am still waiting for payment for both of these, but I trust they will send me my vouchers within the next week or so.

I have been looking for a new digital camera that will not only take still photographs, but also video. It seems that these cameras have developed to such an extent that the quality is incredibly good. I bought a Canon digital camera at the time I officially retired, as a sort of present to myself. It is good, but being over seven years old, it is somewhat limited. It will take digital video, but I haven't really tried it out to push it to its full potential. Now there are people who vlog, that is, upload videos to YouTube. I have watched a lot of this material and can show it on my  Hitachi HD television by using an Amazon Fire Stick.   I have looked at Canon and Sony digital cameras, some come as part of a kit, whereby you get a camera, but also a microphone, a special light and a tripod, so you are more or less ready to shoot 'out of the box.' 

I have since found that you can have a similar kit for your mobile phone, which comes with a mini tripod which allows you to attach your phone and connect a small LCD light and microphone. So, I found one on Amazon, the brand being Rode, a reputable brand and I ordered it, and it was delivered yesterday evening. I have to say, when you buy on Amazon, particularly this type of item, you are inundated with a vast array of similar items, not just the more reputable brands, such as Rode. There is the temptation to buy a cheaper, possibly, unknown brand, which, once you receive it, turns out to be of very cheap quality, most likely made in China, and not up to scratch. They seem to think it's fine to make an inferior copy of a reputable brand, without any respect for patents or copyright. You then discover that it doesn't deliver on quality in any area, and probably fails miserably, probably falling apart after only a couple of uses, probably because they cut corners and use poor quality materials. The Rode vlogger kit I ordered seems made of quality materials and engineered to high standards.

As with so much of what you buy these days, the instructions you get are very basic. In some cases, if you go on YouTube, you can find a video which gives good instructions on how to set up most gadgets. I managed to put the Rode vlogger kit, but not to complete it. But this morning I found out how to finish it and I'm more than pleased with it. Now to do some filming. I'm not sure what as I write this.

Earlier in the week, my FitBit failed. At first, I thought it hadn't got enough power, but the screen went like an old-fashioned television, with lots of lines and the clock face showing up behind these lines. It just wasn't going to resolve itself, so I went on the FitBit website. I wasn't entirely sure whether it had been registered, but I discovered I had bought it back in February, having got it through the Argos website and, fortunately, there was a record. I didn't have a paper receipt. I got on the live 'chat' and the agent told me I could have a replacement. So I filled out my address via an email I was sent and will now await the replacement's delivery. But now I am without any sort of wristwatch because I have been using the FitBit's time-keeping facility and I don't know where my red Casio G-Shock wristwatch has gone.

A Change In The Weather

The weather has changed considerably over the last few days. This morning (Saturday) it was quite chilly when I took Alfie out around 6.20. I have started wearing my chinos, having spent more or less the entire summer in shorts. A big difference felt.

(Wednesday) Well, excitement at the moment as I've had news from one of my film/television agencies that I might have work as a double on a film being made at Pinewood Studios. Can't reveal any more at the moment, but will probably have to go for a costume fitting if all goes according to plan.

(Friday) Well, I've been off this blog as you may have realised if you're a regular reader. I decided that my posts were becoming more and more repetitive as there simply wasn't much to report. Well, I'm back. Not exactly with a bang, but nevertheless, back.

The weather is currently warm and relatively sunny. Early mornings a chilly, not frosty (as yet) but I'm not in my shorts that early, but wear them occasionally. I don't think I have ever spent a summer almost entirely wearing shorts. 

Google has seen fit to mess around with Blogger. I don't like it. The same with Facebook. They fiddle with these sites at their peril. Too much change all at once. Why don't they consult the users of their software/sites and then get feedback? Surely not asking much.

(Sunday) Bright and sunny at the moment (8.53a.m) but it's chilly at 6.15 when I take Alfie out. He has a doggy friend, called Toto (I know you're going to say 'Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore!' the line from 'The Wizard of Oz.') I keep on meeting him and his owner whenever we go out for a walk across Oldbrook Green. Yesterday they were on the opposite side when we arrived mid-morning and I could see them on the path. We approached and Toto, who was off his lead, ran to meet Alfie and was excited when they greeted each other. He is a shitsu, which was part of what Poppy was (crossed with a West Highland Terrier. I think she was more shitsu than Westie. I think Toto has many of Poppy's characteristics, such as being stubborn when called. He is a lighter colour than Poppy, with a beautiful fluffy pom-pom-like tail.

(Monday) A really unseasonably warm day. I went for a walk with my friend Mike from church. We walk from his flat in Downhead Park to the rather nice cafe in Willen and walk along the canal path. There is a family of swans on the canal. The parents and no less than seven signets. I wanted to photograph them and last week took my Canon digital camera with me, but there was absolutely no sign of the swans. But this week- of course- they showed up! I did attempt to take some shots with my iPhone, but they weren't very good and certainly not as good as I might have got if I'd had the digital camera with it's telephoto lens. Just they way things turn out, but I might probably have another go at a later date.

(Thursday) Yesterday there were council workmen trimming the hedges near the children's playground on Oldbrook Green. It now looks considerably tidier, except it appears they have not done all of the hedges as there's a lot more to trim going towards Fishermead. Perhaps they will return at a later date to finish the job.

Wednesday) I know I haven't posted anything for a while, but thought I'd add something to this post which has been waiting to be completed for quite a while. It's getting very autumnal and early mornings are darker when I go out with Alfie. The past few days there has been a mist over Oldbrook Green as I walk with him along Strudwick Drive. Quite a few leaves have fallen and the weather is definitely changing. 

Naughty Alfie!

Alfie has been in trouble! It's because he barks too much. I got a note thorough the door of the flat, from Barbara, who is the  S.H.O. (Sheltered Housing Officer) of Dexter House. Apparently someone (I have a fairly good idea who) says that they don't like Alfie barking. Well, he is a dog and dogs bark. It's hilarious if it weren't so pathetic. I have to take him out early in the morning. Well, all dogs need their walk, and it's important, nay, vital, for him to be able to relieve himself (do I have to go into precise detail? I don't think so.) Whenever I am preparing to take him out, I have to get my outdoor shoes on and generally arrange myself and Alfie soon picks up on this (which I think I have described in earlier blog posts. Because of the current pandemic situation, with 'social distancing,' we aren't supposed to meet one another and I imagine Barbra would have told me face-to-face. I think it's the fact that this 'person' didn't come and face me over this issue which annoys me. There is always someone why likes to stir up problems, not that it's a problem. I have to carry Alfie out (which can be difficult because he doesn't like it and wriggles somewhat.) which generally prevents his barking. There's really no more to be said about it. Dogs have doggy ways and that's the end of it! More or less.

Let me make it quite clear that Alfie is NOT naughty! He's the best little dog you could wish for and has been an amazing support to me as I coped with Carol going from her cancer diagnosis to her passing away. I don't know whether he misses her, it's difficult to know if he does or doesn't, but he's so affectionate and caring. Yes, of course he barks a lot, but only really when he gets excited. So, if it upsets someone, that's not my problem but theirs and, anyway, his barking doesn't last long and it's only because he gets excited.

(Thursday) It's getting very boring. But life goes on. It is 6.28a.m. as I write this. I am up, having had a shave (my day can't begin until this is done.) and sitting here in the lounge with Alfie staring at me on the sofa as he wants to go out, but I am reluctant to do so as he makes a noise as soon as I start to get ready to go out, so it will be a further half an hour or so.

(Later) I went onto Facebook to watch Ross doing the daily devotional, but I couldn't see the complete devotional because the screen went blank after barely 10 minutes, I think because of the internet connection. I imagine the internet is being stretched to it's limits and far beyond because of the current coronavirus situation and people being on lockdown and being at home and therefore (presumably) using the internet more than normal. As a result I gave up and took Alfie out for a walk around Oldbrook Green and when I got back I managed to sign in to Facebook and watch the recorded devotional. Just a bit frustrating but at least I managed to finish it completely. I just hope the same thing doesn't happen tonight with the Zoom communion we have planned.

Later Still. It would appear that the lockdown is going to continue. Under legislation, the government has to review the restrictions on such things as social distancing every 3 weeks and that time runs out next Thursday.

(Friday) Good Friday, in fact, but it really doesn't seem like Easter. It always seems to creep up on us virtually unannounced. It's not like Christmas, which has been hijacked by all and sundry and been over-commercialised. I think, because of the current situation with the coronavirus pandemic, things seem as if they're on hold.

I haven't been using my Canon detail SLR camera for somewhere, in fact, since Carol passed away. We used to take our cameras everywhere with us whenever we went visiting National Trust, English Heritage or Historic Houses Association properties and my computer has thousands of photographs on it, so many that many are stored on the cloud. I have been out and taken photographs using the telephoto lens in an attempt to get shots of the little robin which seems to follow me around and always sits and sings it's little heart out in the tree which over-hangs the path which Alfie and I walk along as we make our way to Oldbrook Green several times a day. I can't take the camera with me when I have Alfie as it's virtually impossible to get him to stand still and, holding and focussing a camera with a dog in tow is difficult, so I have to take him back to the flat first and collect the camera and return, with the hope that birdie hasn't flown away. The results are somewhat disappointing, but, at least I try. I had an idea for a photographic essay. Well, I think that's the term I mean, I would take photographs with my digital camera, in and around Oldbrook Green, on the subject of 'Spring.' I would take shots of buds, blossom, leaves, daffodils and then upload them onto Facebook. Which I did, not entirely successfully, as I couldn't set the camera so that I could get sharp close-ups of the items I chose, but eventually I got the settings correct and then, when I got back to the flat, I took out the card from the camera and put it into the MacBook, but for some strange reason the shots on the card would not upload.

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.

World War 2 Weekend At Milton Keynes Museum

The weather is playing tricks at the moment. It started off this morning fairly chilly, so I decided on wearing my Regatta jacket, but as the day drew on the sun made an appearance and by the time I drove into the centre of Milton Keynes it was a good deal warmer. I had to get bank statements from the Nationwide and NatWest because of my application for a sheltered housing place. I had to spend most of Saturday morning searching for the tenancy agreement, which was rather a tiresome job but it came to light, fortunately.

I've never visited Milton Keynes Museum before. I went to the special event held over the weekend, the theme being World War 2, presumably because this year is the 80th anniversary of the start. A lot of stalls laid out with period merchandise as well as people in the uniforms of various military units, army, navy and R.A.F. At midday there was a fly-past, I'm not entirely sure what planes they were, but nonetheless it was quite exciting to see them and I managed to take a couple of photographs of them as I'd taken my Canon digital camera with me. In one of the sheds, the one that has agricultural machinery in it, there was a demonstration of war-time dance, presumably the jitterbug or something similar. Really good stuff. The whole place was heaving, when I arrived there was a queue to get in and when I left, there was still a queue.

I have now bought a FitBit. I had a cheap version of one of these, bought off Amazon. It was alright, up to a point, it measured the number of steps I took and connected to my iPhone via Bluetooth and it meant I had a running record of the distance I had walked through another app which came with the iPhone, but the strap broke recently. More precisely, the buckle came apart so it wouldn't join together when worn on my wrist. I did an on-line survey and was part of a forum for the Times and Sunday Times and I was paid with a £50 John Lewis voucher. I had originally intended using it to buy a food processor, but thinking about it I decided that I wasn't going to get much use out of it and that it would probably spend a lot of it's time in the cupboard, and when I went into John Lewis the other day I had a look at FitBits, and then went into the food mixer department and looked at the food processors and decided that a FitBit was more useful. I had to make up the price difference with my own cash and it was purchased. I had to upload the FitBit app on my iPhone to get the thing working as you have to upload the relevant software, but I couldn't get it to cooperate, so I rang the helpline and the lovely lady on the other end of the phone (surprised when it turned out she was in America, when she said 'Pacific Time.') and then managed to get the thing to upload the software and it was working within minutes.

On Tuesday I went to Camphill as usual. I can't believe it's six  months since I started volunteering there. The drama group are so lovely. They always ask me how I am and usually want to know how Alfie is and they know about Arthur, my third grandson. I show them photos of them both on my iPhone. Regardless of their disabilities, they always try their best in the drama workshop. It's quite moving when you come to think that some of them can't read, so Teo, the leader, has devised a method by which they can use a sign to suggest certain words and the dialogue is written in verse so it's easier to learn. We are still rehearsing the complete 'piece' which means more or less taking it to pieces and re-assembling it with the transitions between scenes. It shows them how different it is to making the video, where you stop and start, film from different angles and do re-takes to get the best take before the whole is assembled in the edit. The idea is that all the actors are sitting in a sort of arc around the stage and then enter for their particular scene. There are a couple of screens either side of the playing area which can be used for costume changes.

Teo has asked me if I'd be interested in working with several of the other volunteers to created a new drama piece. It's just that I haven't been involved with 'Stranger Danger' since it's beginnings (something like four years in the making, apparently.) and he thinks it would focus my abilities elsewhere if I get involved in creating a new piece of theatre. This will be separate from the 'Treasure Island' project, which we haven't worked on for several weeks.

As we've gone through the play, one of the volunteers has been taking notes, which will show all the new details, such as scene changes, rather like my job when I was a D.S.M. and had to note all the moves, scene changes, setting of props etc during rehearsals when I worked in stage management. Putting it directly into the spreadsheet software of the script (actually it makes so much sense, even though it would never occur to me to write a script using spreadsheet software, because you have several columns which allows for stage directions, or notes such as what goes where and who does what.) I have to say the two girls who are volunteers really throw everything they've got into the work with the drama workshop and are just so brilliant to work with.

In the afternoon, during the run-through of 'Stranger Danger' (which is really developing well. A lot more comedy is coming out and several of the volunteers and support staff are being involved, although none have speaking parts. Some help with scene changes, setting and striking props etc etc.) we had a visitor. I'm not entirely sure if I got his name right, but he was a runner-up in the ITV talent show 'The X Factor.' I can't remember his name. But he and his wife, who is American, run a business which helps with promotion for businesses such as theatre, and they say that they can help create a website for the Chrysalis Theatre and love how Camphill is run, the ethos behind it and the calm and friendly atmosphere. They were impressed by 'Stranger Danger' and the message it conveys.  Once they'd seen the rehearsal, coming in towards the end and then we ran it from 'The Top' so they saw the complete 'piece,' there was a question and answer session with the guys, and it was great for them to meet someone who they're likely to have seen in 'The X Factor' on television. Sorry I can't remember his name, but when I remember or I discover what it is, I'll post it on here.

Haircut and Heat

A strange sort of subject-line for a blog post, you may ask, but, wherever possible, I attempt to use alliteration. It just makes it that bit more memorable and it's fun to try and find words that fit what I am attempting to write.

On Saturday morning I went to get my hair cut at Essential Barbers in the main Milton Keynes shopping centre. There is method in my madness (a sort of quote from 'Hamlet,' actually not spoken by Hamlet, but by Polonius, but I digress.) I am attempting to get back into television walk-on work and I have already signed up to two on-line agencies. I have uploaded some fairly out of date photographs of myself but need more up to date ones and my friend John in Bedford as agreed to take some for me, and I'm going over to Bedford on Wednesday morning to get them done. I need specifically a full-length photograph done for one agency, done against a white background if possible. I think it's so that if all those on the site have the same sort of 'look' they will look far more professional. So, I wanted to look neat and tidy, so a haircut was in order.

I arrived at a little after 9 o'clock and the shop was open and I didn't have to wait long to be sitting in he chair having my hair cut. I always like to be outside waiting but there was no need to this time. They open half an hour earlier than during the week.

Monday morning. Alfie is such a funny little dog. He spends a lot of time on the sofa. It's where Carol spent so much time, laying on the sofa when she couldn't sit comfortably when the cancer was at its worst. I begin to wonder whether Alfie is under the impression that as she lay there, often with him by her side, that she will come back. He doesn't come upstairs at night to sleep on my bed. He sometimes comes up at some point, but doesn't always stay with me. He often goes into the kitchen where his bed is, in the corner near the sliding patio doors. Perhaps that is safe and very snug for him. No draughts and he can hide away. He seems to quite like his own space. As I write this he's on the sofa next to me, staring at me, as if I'm about to do something spectacular. He's also snoring. But he doesn't like one particular cushion that usually lives on the sofa. He will look at me with a certain amount of surprise, expecting me to remove it, but he will often push it off with his nose. Don't ask me why he doesn't like it. Just amusing watching him with it.Perhaps it just takes up space or something. I'm still not sure what it is.

Later. It is actually quite warm today, so the title of this blog post is appropriate. I've been in to John Lewis's restaurant for the Willen coffee morning, a lovely group of people and really supportive and helpful. I have been downstairs to the electrical department looking at Canon digital cameras. I would like to upgrade to a more modern model. They  now have new features, such as connecting to your printer and laptop via wi-fi and Bluetooth, remote control and the use of an app on your iPhone to control the camera as well as a swivel viewing screen which enables you to view what you are photographing from a different angel. The remote might be handy if you want to get shots without being too obvious, such as setting the camera up on a tripod, say, out in the garden, with the camera focussed on the bird feeder. You could then trigger the shutter remotely without disturbing the birds. Or for taking self portraits. You could turn the screen round so you could see the pose and set the frame up accordingly and then trigger the shutter with the remote control.

Birdfeeder Returned To It's Rightful Place

We've had a birdfeeder in our garden for the past couple of years (if you can honestly describe the space to the rear of our house as a 'garden.' More like a mere oblong of grass, brambles and other indescribable vegetation.) I bought Carol what they term a 'bird-feeding station' a couple of Christmases ago in Lidl, which consisted of a central pole which you stuck in the ground and it had metal arms which fitted onto it and you hung fat balls and other feeding material onto hooks on these arms. It's didn't last too long, probably because of the weather conditions and it was difficult to keep upright and so it got removed. Earlier this year we bought a new one. I think it came from Amazon. A good deal more durable, and it had a set of feeders to put peanuts and other food into and place on the arms, similar to the old one. This was a success up to a point, until we had some strong winds and it began to lean at a somewhat precarious angle. I removed it completely a couple of weeks ago as I had to mow the lawn as it was quite difficult to do properly with this thing in the way. We decided we wanted to reinstate it at some point but the problem was keeping it from falling over and so finding some form of solution which would make this possible. We had visited a Wyevale garden centre in Bicester some while ago and saw a device which you screwed into the ground and then put the upright pole of your bird feeding station into this screw-device which was designed to keep the pole in an upright position and hopefully prevent the thing falling over or at least getting pushed over at an angle. Last week we went to the Wyevale branch in Woburn Sands with the intention of finding this item but without success. We eventually found something in Frost's, also in Woburn Sands, a four-pronged thing which you fixed to the upright pole and the four prongs acted as sort of legs for the pole and allowing the pole to be far more secure. We purchased this thing and it is now fixed to our bird feeding station, and with new feeders as well as footballs and other items which birds seem to love. We re-sited it a good deal further from the house and not too close to the neighbour's shed roof as we don't want a repeat of the squirrels jumping onto it as we have had in the past.

It's taken a while to get birds to come back to feeding from the feeding station. I think it may just be that they need to trust that they won't be eaten by either cats or our little Yorkshire terrier, Alfie. He does have a dislike of any cats who tend to congregate (if that's the best way to describe two cats.) on the roof of the shed and saunter along the fence. He can't reach them, which they are fully aware of, but it gives him something to amuse himself, chasing up the garden barking madly and they peer at him with a look of disdain down their noses. The last time we had a feeding station set up we also had a couple of squirrels who came and did their party pieces by leaping from next door's shed onto the thing, managing to avoid being impaled on the spike-thing on the top of the feeder.

I recently purchased a tripod for my Canon digital camera. Again, from Amazon. Quite good value I thought for £35. I have set this up in the kitchen and, along with the zoom lens, trained it on the bird feeder with the hope of catching some good shots of some birds on the bird feeder. It's taken a day or two before we got a regular visit from one or more blue tits to the feeder. With the camera set up and focussed on the feeder and me sitting in the lounge and watching for any birds that visit, I have to then get to the camera before the birds fly away and attempt to get some reasonable shots without frightening the birds away in my attempts to get to the camera. Not an easy task.

Canon Camera Repaired

I had a letter in the post yesterday from Jessops informing me that my Canon digital camera was back from being repaired. We decided not to rush in and collect it yesterday, preferring to go in this morning. The weather was really cold and there was quite  frost, as well as fog. I don't like driving in fog. Just not nice. Carol is the same. She does most of the driving these days. We went up the A5 yesterday, to one of our favourite haunts, just beyond  Weedon, and called Heart of Shires. It must have been a farmyard in a former life, but is now a rather special shopping centre, with some rather pleasant little shops within it's perimeter, including clothes, toys, antiques and gifts of all sorts of descriptions as well as a restaurant, Darlington's, which I imagine must have been the farmhouse, when the site had an agricultural purpose. We had lattes and toasted tea cakes and spent a rather pleasant hour or so browsing the retail outlets. It was a cold day, but the sun was out. The A5 has several similar retail sites along it's route, another being just outside Towcester and yet another further down the A5, which we have visited several times. Also, a couple of garden centres which have a good selection of gardening items such as plants and flowers and from which we occasionally buy our Christmas trees over the past few years. You can drive along the A5 in preference to the M1, which is only a short distance away, but we prefer the A5 (or Watling Street) as the scenery through which it passes it far more interesting. For some reason motorways seem to be designed so you can't always admire the scenery they pass through, and you are expected to drive far too fast and other motorists (but not all) can be very aggressive and self-centred and not respect you. Not quite so bad driving along Watling Street. 

It was foggy as we drove into Milton Keynes centre this morning. We parked in Debenham's multi-storey carpark. We walked through the shopping centre and arrived near Middleton Hall and had coffee in Caffe Nero. As Carol is diabetic she has to have occasional snacks to prevent her blood sugar going too low. We went into Boots to try and get test strips for her blood sugar monitor, but they didn't have them in stock. Quite complicated as there are so many of these devices on the market and all having different systems that aren't interchangeable. By this time it was time to go to Jessops to collect the camera and took out an extended warranty on the Canon so that if it needs repairing over the next few years it will be repaired without need for further payment. Also, bought a spare battery which we put in the camera. Always quite handy to have two batteries when we go out for the day as one can be in the camera and the second one, if fully charged, is always there as back-up should the one in the camera use up it's charge. It only takes two hours to charge, unlike the more traditional rechargeable batteries the Fuji camera uses which take around eight hours for a full charge.

We got back to Debenhams and, as there was a sale on, Carol wanted to have a browse. She saw a rather nice coat and a dress in the Mantaray department downstairs which she bought, along with a lovely silver broach in the form of a dog which looks somewhat like Poppy. Once we'd finished in Debenhams we went back to the car and drove to Sainsbury's. The fog had got a good deal thicker when we drove out of the multi-storey car park and it was even colder and it was as well we weren't driving far.  On the television news we've been hearing of accidents in and around the area, particularly one involving a bus on the M40 near Oxford. A lot of these crashes are because people will simply not slow down in fog. They seem to think they're safe continuing to drive as if it's clear, bright sunshine, but then get caught out when they don't realise they can't see as clearly as they should and so run into vehicles ahead of them that are driving a good deal slower.  In Sainsbury's, whilst looking for a suitable joint of beef for Sunday's roast,  we couldn't see a suitable piece of a size big enough for just the two of us, so we decided to leave and go to Morrison's near the railway station and did our shop there. By the time we'd finished we were well and truly shopped out, having been out for around four hours.

Warmer Weather

A real increase in the temperature as the weather improves. I can't believe I'm going out without a jacket on. I've managed to cut the grass. It seems to grow a good deal faster once it's mown. I still refuse to term it a 'lawn.' It has absolutely no attributes for a lawn, such as very short grass, with those distinctive stripes and ironing-board flat. It's more like a meadow, but without the cattle chewing the cud. Or sheep, roaming about. It's got so many undulations, it's more like a scale model of the Pennines. 

We've begun to fill the collection of pots we have scattered around the place. Several had been sitting on the front bit of paving for I don't know how many years. We were given some by someone who worked with Carol at the Academy as well as a rather nice planter which originally had a Christmas tree in it but then the tree died and the remains of the tree were still in it. We never seem to have any success with Christmas trees. I suspect it's because, once Christmas is over, being the middle of winter, any chance of the poor little fir tree surviving is so remote because the weather is so cold. When I lived in Cardington we always had a real Christmas tree, and once the festive season was over the tree was planted out in the garden and lasted for many years until it grew far too big to be brought indoors. Ours always seem to die and I'm not sure what we can do to prevent it happening again. Anyway, we have had quite a few plants from various garden centres we've visited over the past few weeks, including strawberry plants and bedding plants which were free from Homebase with an offer which was in last weekend's Daily Telegraph. 

I have also been clearing all weeds and moss off the front drive, in between the paving slabs and the block paving where the car stands. It's beginning to look really clean and tidy. Quite a hard job, but now I've started it I want to complete the job. I don't think this has been done in a long time. Certainly not in all the time we've lived in the house.

We have a bird feeder in the garden. We had one a few years ago, but I'm not sure what happened to it. This thing is described on the box it came in as a 'dining station.' We got it from Amazon. I always thought of Amazon as being the place on-line to buy books, and nothing more, but it seems you can buy virtually anything on there. I got a case for my Canon digital camera. To keep it safe when I carry it about. I used to own a traditional film S.L.R. Camera, a very good Olympus, and it had it's own case which it lived in, which was fixed to the body of the camera by the screw underneath which you used to fix it to a tripod. Nothing, unfortunately, like this for a digital camera. The Olympus case was made of a fairly rigid material which kept the camera within safe from knocks and folded down when in use. Unfortunately, you have to remove the camera completely from the Canon case and won't fold out of the way like the Olympus case.

As I was mentioning, the bird 'dining station' came with a central metal pole which you stick in the ground and then attach the feeders onto the hooks at the top and then fill each of these wire feeders with nuts or other food. It has proven very popular with the small birds which live in and around the garden. We had a group of starlings who seemed to enjoy the coconut we had hanging on the dining station.' So much so that they have completely devoured the coconut and as I write I can look out and see the completely empty shell of the coconut. I will have to go out and buy some more. The content of the feeders needs replenishing.

I got a knock at the front door earlier this morning. A man dressed in bright orange work gear, the sort of  colour used for people who work in possibly dangerous situations. I can't think as I write what the term is, but I'm sure it will come to me once I've finished this.  I have now remembered what the term is, and it's 'High Vis' a shortened version of 'High Visability'. I can see why they wear it as it's very bright and they are certainly 'Highly Visable.' It turned out he was an employee of Anglia Water. He said he was working with a gang further along the road and, as their van was blocking our exit, if I wanted to move our car, to just let him know. I'm not entirely sure what they're doing. I thought it might have been something to do with water meters or something unless someone further along the street has a water leak. Never mind. At least he had the decency to let me know, as a lot of people never bother to tell you, and then when you want to drive out, you can't, because their vehicle or other equipment is in the way.

I'm currently reading 'The Lady In The Van' by Alan Bennett. I bought the DVD of the film which was based on the book and play which he wrote and about Miss Shepherd, the old lady who lived in a van in his garden. She is played by the amazing Maggie Smith. I've always been a admirer of this actress. The part is light years away from the character she plays in 'Downton Abbey.' I also love anything Alan Bennett writes. I'm really surprised he had the patience to put up with such an eccentric old woman living in such strange accomodation in his garden, and for fifteen years.

Repaired Fence and Leaking Washing Machine

We are supposed to be having the fence repaired today at long  last. Well, we found someone through the internet who could do the work for us. As I write this at 8.50 there is no sign of the man. We have even been to the A.T.M. to take out the cash to pay for it. So, when is he going to appear? I wait with baited breath, because, if you've followed this blog for any length of time, you will know that this matter has been a cause for some sort of concern for quite a while. Even when we were with Smartmove, the rental agency, someone had come to have a look at the fence with a view to having it all repaired. That was a good FIVE YEARS ago, and the state of the fence is, well, words fail me. I have even been out with the new Canon digital camera and taken some photographs so we can have 'before and after' shots when the work is completed. If it's completed, because I was expecting the workman to be here by now. At least by 9 o'clock.

Then there's the other problem. I did two loads of washing on Monday, and after the second load, I discovered some water on the floor near the machine. In the slot where the recycling bin and rubbish bin stands. I have a sneaking suspicion that it's coming from the outflow pipe because it has a really poor connection with the pipe which takes the waste water from the sink and the washing machine. It looks like a really botched, amateurish job, no doubt done by our landlord who has to get the cheapest job on this sort of thing. Which means that it will cause the sort of problem I have already described. Just to save a couple of pounds. So, I have someone coming later in the morning, again, found through the internet. Never mind. These things are sent to cause us the most problems. Just have to sort it out even though it is the landlord's job to get it fixed. If I had rung him, it would be days before it was done and we need to use the washing machine again soon.

It's now 9.03 and still no sign of the fence man. Is he going to turn up? Keep reading to find out. The excitement is too much.

I have put the dogs in our bedroom because I don't want a repeat of what happened when the workmen came to replace the boiler and Alfie got out. He was easy to get into the room upstairs, but Poppy, being her usual stubborn self, refused to comply. I had to pick her up and carry her. But least they are in there and safe until the work is done. That is if it is done. I do hope so.

The workmen arrived a few minutes later. Three of them. As I write this they are carrying fence panels around to the rear of he house.

It turns out that they also do plumbing and one of the men has been looking at the plumbing behind the sink and the washing machine and what he has said about it is worrying, to say the least. The piping needs replacing. Another botched job in order to save a few pounds. It must be done, so I will have to get them to come back at a later date. It isn't actually the washing machine which is leaking. It's because there is a back-up of water and muck caught in the pipes because there is insufficient fall to allow the water to drain away as it should.

I have had another plumber come and look at the leaking pipe, as contacted earlier this morning. He had a look and now tells me it should be dealt with by the company who installed the new boiler. So I have rung them and they should come and look at the problem and should repair it for nothing as it's their fault there is a leak. I'm somewhat annoyed that the joint (where the boiler is plumbed into the outflow pipe) is so poorly finished hence the leak.

Some time later. The gas boiler fitter came out and looked at the leaking problem and then said that the pipe is most likely blocked. I'm not surprised, looking at the weird arrangement of plumbing. It needs to be unblocked. It is the pressure of any water building up inside, and particularly when the washing machine is emptying, which is putting a strain on the joint which is where the leak is coming from. So it looks as if I'll have to ring our landlord and get him to find a plumber himself to sort this thing out. I only know that he's going to get a cheap job just to save money, but without the thing fixed we can't use the washing machine which is really out of the question.

Now that the fence is restored to some sort of normality, we're intrigued by Alfie's reaction to it. He went out as soon as the workmen had left and he had to go out and see what all the fuss and commotion was about. He had been in the bedroom with Poppy but couldn't see anybody but could obviously hear. He stood and looked at the fence and seemed to be saying 'What's that thing? It wasn't there yesterday. I seem to remember I could see things through there.' Very comical, to say the least. And he keeps on going out and staring at it. A Very sharp little dog is Alfie.