It's All Action? . . .More like Inaction!

Monday.  2.25 p.m.  Action, did I hear you say? This is Dexter House we're talking about. I have mentioned the matter of the scooter stores, which were built outside against one outside wall of this building. They were constructed because the fire officer did an inspection of Dexter house some while ago, (probably before I moved in more than three years ago), and said that the electric mobility scooters which some tenants use, can't be stored in any of the common areas, mostly in the corridors. They have to be parked there at present, so they can be charged overnight. A great deal of money has been spent building these sheds, which have concrete floors, electric power points, lighting etc, but cannot be accessed from the main building because of ramps and special doors which can be opened automatically so that scooters can get in and out of the building, but nobody at Milton Keynes Council will take any responsibility for paying for the work to be done to install these doors. Total incompetence on the part of the Council to get this work completed. It rather defeats the point of having the sheds built. Meanwhile, it's a trip hazard to have doormats on the outside of flats!!!! Meanwhile, if there's a fire in this building, some of the exit routes are blocked by mobility scooters!!!

I took my car to Bleak Hall Motors for its service, which was booked for 10.00 a.m. I try to get to appointments early so, if there is a chance of them starting earlier, then it's always worthwhile.

The mechanics soon had it in the workshop and I just sat in the waiting room as there was no point going home. I could have walked, but then I would have had to walk back. I read one of my books, which I had taken, and my reading glasses (or, at least, one pair that were usable and not broken.) 

After about an hour and a half, I was told that the brake fluid needed topping up, so I agreed to have it done. The whole procedure was finished by 12.20 or thereabouts, so I paid and left. I wanted to post some Christmas cards, which at that point I hadn't purchased, but I thought I'd get the stamps first and so drove into Coffee Hall, which is opposite Bleak Hall. The post office in the One-Stop shop in Garraways has a post office inside, so that seemed the obvious, and closest place to get stamps. Unfortunately, on arrival, I discovered it was closed for lunch. From there I drove to Waitrose at Oakgrove and got the Christmas cards and a book of postage stamps and as I was driving back home along Chaffron Way I realized that I had left the Sainsbury's bag which I had taken with me to Bleak Hall Motors was still in their waiting area and so I drove all the way back, retrieved the bag containing my book and glasses and then drove home to have lunch which consisted of a sandwich which I had purchased in Waitrose.

Tuesday. 6.25 a.m. It's been raining during the night. I could hear it when I woke up at around 2 o'clock. 

4.40 p.m. The drive to Camphill this morning was virtually free from the aggressive drivers and the long queue getting across the various roundabouts on the way. I imagine this is due to schools being on holiday and parents not driving their little darlings to school.

It has been really sunny and mild today. Considering how cold it was barely a week ago, with snow on the ground and surfaces in some places slippery and covered in ice. It's almost like spring. 

After the usual check-in, we did a game which had a Christmas theme to it. We stood in two lines across the hall, facing each other, and as you were in pairs, facing each other, you had to pretend it was Christmas morning and were giving your opposite number a present, which you had to mime giving to them, and then they opened it and then they gave you a present. A great deal of fun and a good way to use your imagination.

Terrie, the leader of the drama workshop, got the cast of 'Twelfth Night' to do a run-through of the first act of the play. A bit rough around the edges, but everyone remembered most of their stuff, and it was done because it will be several weeks before there will be further rehearsals.

The rest of the day was fun (well, in general, the drama workshop at Camphill is fun in some way or  another .) 

After the tea break, Terrie announced that we were to play the game 'Taskmaster', which was originally on one of the UkTv channels but is now on Channel Four. The idea is that a panel of five contestants are given various tasks and each is scored and the contestant with the most points is the winner. Mitchell, who is a new member of the leadership team within the drama workshop, went off and filled a bag with all manner of items and then the contestants, who sat on the stage, had to guess what was in the bag by feeling it. 

Several more tasks were given to the contestants and after lunch, one more go with a different set of contestants. Then there was Camphill's 'Great British Bake-Off.' I was chosen to be Mary Berry and Mitchell was Paul Hollywood (who are judges in the television show, if you didn't already know.) We made a bit issue of tasting the two cakes which some of the Camphill residents had made, which being definitely over-the-top. The two teams of bakers had to mime making their cakes (similar to how it's done on the television show.) and then we had to mark the cakes. In the end, we decided (at least I decided.) That there wasn't a lot between the two bakes and said that it was an equal win for both.

The final hour of the day was divided between having a dance around in the hall to Christmas music and the final half-hour was taken up with Terrie telling one of her stories which were very interesting and entertaining, by 4 o'clock when the drama workshop ends, it was all 'Happy Christmas!' to all until the group meets up again on 11th January 2023.

Autumn Days

 So, we're now into October! Where did September go to? It's now downhill to Christmas. I have to say, I don't like winter, dark days, cold, defrosting the car, slippery surfaces and all that that entails. I walked into The Range the other morning, in an attempt to find distilled water for my steam iron, they had Christmas stuff on one side and Halloween junk on the other. The shops are beginning to get stacked up with everything you can't possibly do without. But what is the point of stocking up with mince pies, when they will be stale before the festive season arrives? I call it junk, but let's be honest, most of it is.

8.30 a.m. It's surprisingly foggy this morning. I don't suppose it's really a surprise, as it's what you come to expect when the seasons change. 

I have my Friday load of washing on. I'm going to be a good deal more careful than I was this time last week when I did my washing. I had a load on and went down to check if it was finished, which I thought it had and opened the door of the machine and found the load sopping wet. Thinking about it now, I must have opened the door too early. The machine was probably about to go into its final spin. As a result, nothing would dry. I did attempt to get some clothes dried in the drier, but it wasn't going to happen as the clothes were far too wet. I had to resort to putting it all on drying racks and had one in the bathroom. Fortunately, I had the second one which we had at the house in Eaglestone, but the clothes weren't going to be completely dry until at least Sunday or even Monday and as a result, I had to contend with all my washed clothes hanging around and in the way for a couple of days. My fault and not a mistake I intend to make again.

1.50 p.m. It's got quite windy outside (well, it would be worrying if it was inside. Stupid man! What an idiotic thing to say!) In the short time, we were walking around Oldbrook Green, it seemed to get stronger and stronger

5.55 p.m. You know it's autumn when the television shows that have been off our screens return. 'Strictly Come Dancing is one and will be there in the schedules on a Saturday for around three months leading up to Christmas. I can't say it's my favourite show, although Carol loved it. I don't dislike the dancing, but I hate the way people can be so nasty, usually led by one of the judges, Craig Revel-Horwood. Picking holes in the contestants' dance performances. Anything with celebrities is a definite turn-off for me and many of them can hardly be called 'celebrities' in particular those who have been on reality television shows. The whole thing is driven by tabloid newspaper reporting and social media posts and picks up on the slightest mention of something which happens in the show.

As I write this, the fog has disappeared, but the wind has now been replaced by rain. It's falling quite heavily.

10.25 p.m. I've just got back from The Oaktree Centre, where we've had a quiz night, which is a money-raising for the second phase of the building. There were a fair number of people there, so it should have raised a good sum for the project.

Welcome To 2022!

Sunday 2nd January. Here we are, Christmas the  New Year are over and a brand-new year. I just only hope that it can be better than the past two years. Being cooped up in a small flat with just a small Yorkshire Terrier isn't really my idea of any sort of life. Although I should just point out that Alfie has been and is still an excellent little companion, although he has become very demanding, probably because we spend so much time together.

 It doesn't seem like a week has flown by since we went to Worcester for the Christmas weekend. We left on the Friday morning (Christmas Eve) and came back on Sunday (Boxing Day.) It was quite foggy on the motorway, but we made good time, arriving in Worcester just after midday. The three grandsons, George, Eddie and Arthur, were watching my arrival through the window as I drew up. I am called 'Grandad and Alfie Dog' almost as if we are an attached couple, although in some ways I suppose we are. Alfie just doesn't understand young children, probably because they move around faster than the average adult, have higher pitched voices and have a tendency to grab and stroke. This is entirely understandable since we have been leading a somewhat simple life since the pandemic and definitely since Carol's death. Chloe and Steve put a childproof stair gate across the entrance to the utility room, which is off the kitchen at their house in Worcester. Alfie had his bed, water and food if he needed to have a feed and the back door could be opened so he could get out into the garden. He did not like it, although he did settle down eventually and made little noise, but we did let him come out and wander around the house once the children went to bed in the evening. During this time he was quiet and seemed far more settled, wandering around after me like a shadow, even following me to the toilet.

We came home on Sunday afternoon and got back to the flat at around 5 o'clock. I'm so glad I didn't leave any later as I didn't want to drive on the Motorway in the dark, or at least, in reduced light. I'm not too keen driving in lights. On both the journey out and the journey back home I needed to stop at the  Moto Cherwell Valley service area. I had a need to use the toilets. It's a long walk into the building where all the shops and restaurants are. But it fulfilled my needs and I was soon back in the car completing the journey. Alfie is quiet minutes after being placed in the cage in the rear of the car, with the parcel shelf down which must make it dark, and he feels safe. But as soon as I draw the car up in a carpark or the drive at home, he starts barking and getting excited. 

Monday 3rd January. 11.00 a.m. I have turfed out the Christmas tree, which has been shedding it's needles for the past week or so and consequently looking somewhat thin and a real mess. I then vacuumed up the needles and have since given the floor a mop with the Vax steamer, and it's beginning to look a good deal better for the work it has entailed. 

For some unaccountable reason, my Panasonic Free view box stopped connecting to the internet. Without this connection, you cannot get any of the catch-up services such as BBC iPlayer to work or Netflix or other streaming services to work via this piece of kit. I had problems with it a few months ago. I simply wouldn't connect via Wi-Fi. I bought some cable from Amazon and used that to connect directly via the Wi-Fi hub. Furthermore, I attempted to reconnect via the hub once I got my Sky upgrade, and duly reconnected the cable via the back of the hub and into the Panasonic box. I seemed fine for a week or so, but then it decided to stop. I have since reconfigured the wifi connection with the new hub and used the password, and it now works. The thing was just being difficult for the sake of it, but at least it's working, thankfully. Yet another problem solved.

Revolting Tories

Okay, okay, it's a bit overdone to use that for a blog post title, but I will explain later.

9.50 a.m. It was cold and windy yesterday.  As I've mentioned in earlier posts, Alfie doesn't like cold, wet, windy, rain, and so on. You can't blame him. Yesterday I took him out mid-morning. He wasn't out for more than thirty seconds, turned tail, and beetled back indoors. But part-way along the corridor he did a naughty on the floor! Not like him at all. Not even as a puppy. He was easy to house train. But as an adult? No! He has had accidents in the middle of the night, but not outside the flat. I had to pick it up and we head to dispose of it in one of the bins within the boundaries of Oldbrook Green. (why can't there be a bin for this use further back towards Dexter House?) Quite a jaunt, but nevertheless, it had to be done. 

This morning, around 9.15, we went out again and Alfie did his business on the grass. I was in the process of picking it up in one of the disposable bags I carry in a pocket in my trousers, was just turning round to walk along the path to the bin across Oldbrook Boulevard and onto the Green, when a young man shot towards me on one of those electric scooters. I barely had time to stand aside as he hurtled past, narrowly avoiding being hit midships and possibly causing real damage to my person. No attempt to slow down, apologize or take evasive action. It really shocked me, particularly as you can't hear these scooters as they rush about. Just dangerous.

Okay. Boris Johnson gave another of the by now regular press conferences regarding the pandemic from 10 Downing Street. We are going to have to endure the reintroduction of some restrictions and new regulations, such as the wearing of masks in confined spaces, such as in shops (also, within the common areas in Dexter House.) Also, he said we have to 'work at home where possible.' You have to wear a mask in shops and offices, 'but don't cancel Christmas parties.' This doesn't make a lot of sense. Why in shops, offices and indoor areas? This includes theatres, which I trust doesn't mean the performers, just the audience. But I hear that some of Boris' Backbench MPs are threatening to rebel against the new restrictions. Why is the reason for my blog post title? 'Revolting Tories.' We shall have to wait and see how this plays out. Meanwhile, we will have to put up with 'Plan B' as these new restrictions are called, as they will be in place until around the end of February, all because of the omicron variant of the covid virus. Such is life.

So, if there's supposed to be a 'plan B,' and that doesn't work, does it follow that we can expect a 'plan C,' a 'plan D' and so ad infinitum? Please tell me NOT. We can't keep panicking when a new variant comes along. As mentioned before, all viruses mutate. That's the nature of viruses. We just need to stop this aimless race against a hidden 'danger.' There are dangers all over the place. Just crossing the road is a danger, so in getting in a car, walking along the street. You can't possibly live totally risk-free. So let's just get back to some sort of normal.

Then we have 'Partygate.' It has been discovered that there was a Christmas party in 10 Downing Street over the Christmas period, 2020 when the country was put into Lockdown. A video was discovered which showed staff laughing and mocking the fact that a party was held, regardless of lockdown, and seemingly not under social distancing restrictions. Boris Johnson has attempted to deny anything happened, but after the various gaffes, he has made it's difficult to believe the man. I think his days as Prime Minister are limited and it has now been revealed that there were TWO More parties held over Christmas 2020, one being at the Ministry of Education. Heads will roll and have started to roll. Is Boris going to come clean? I fear not.

Friday. 1.05 p.m. Not quite as cold as earlier in the week. The sun is shining, but there's a slight nip in the air.

Monday. 10.15 a.m. I'm going to rest this blog until after the Christmas break, so, once this post is completed, I won't be continuing with it until well into the New Year, so goodnight and God bless. Have a lovely Christmas!

Sunny, But Windy and Chilly

 So, lockdown version 2 is still continuing. It's meant to end on 2nd December. Let's hope that Christmas can go ahead as normal (well, as 'normal' as can be expected, due to the pandemic.)

It's a sunny but chilly morning. Alfie insisted on me taking him out at around 9 o'clock. I can't believe what I'm seeing. Most of the leaves are off the trees (well, we are almost into December, and barely a month until Christmas.) and the trees are putting on buds. I imagine, because it's so mild, they think it's spring. A sharp frost will either kill them off or slow down their growth. Definitely an odd sort of season.

I've re-subscribed to Netflix. Season four of The Crown has now landed. I watched episode 1 yesterday evening. A glaring error has been made. Princess Anne shown as a show jumper, but she was a three-day eventer and not a show jumper. Considering this show has a budget of some £100 million, I think they could have got their facts right. It's not too difficult to do a search on Google.

Yesterday (Sunday) Alfie and I were walking around Oldbrook Green when we saw Toto and his lady walking torwards us. Toto saw Alfie and ran to meet him. It's great that Alfie has doggie friends, at least one who doesn't bark at him or be otherwise really nasty towards him as some other dogs have a habit of doing.

A mist hanging over Oldbrook Green the other morning, giving a mysterious feel to the view.

(Thursday) I have the car booked in at Bleak Hall Motors for a service. I'm determined to keep the car in good order. I won't be able to a afford another and it's a decent car. I love it and it drives so well. I had messages coming up on the dashboard 'Car requires service in 30 days,' and going down gradually, so I had no choice but to have it done. I don't think it needs much, probably oil changing. It hasn't been on a long journey in ages, It's booked in for Thursday 1st December at 8a.m. The car has been there before, having had it's Mot done back in August, and they're a trustworthy garage.

(Friday) Foggy and overcast for most of the day. I was somewhat surprised when I took Alfie out just after 7 this morning. I was expecting the fog to be gone by midmorning, but it barely shifted.

My FitBit's strap has broken. It came with it when I bought it in John Lewis. It was made of a rubbery substance and it was the buckle which gave up. I bought a far better one from Amazon which is metal and it has a magnet which replaces a buckle and looks much better than the original one and is doing a good job. I trust it lasts longer than the original strap.

(Wednesday) More than a week has passed since my last post. The car went to have it's service yesterday act Bleak Hall Motors. £120 well spent and the oil changed and that confounded light has gone off which told me it needed servicing! Thank goodness. 

I saw a fox this morning when I went out at 7.15 with Alfie. It ran into the garden of Dexter House. This would explain why Alfie is always sniffing around in the hedge which borders the path along Strudwick Drive. I have a feeling I saw a fox (probably the same on.) the other morning, vaguely seen in the half-light of the early morning, crossing Oldbrook Boulevard and going into the playground of the primary school.

(Thursday) A bit of a surprise to find it was raining, although only slightly, when I took out Alfie earlier this morning. Alfie turned tail and decided to go home as he just doesn't appreciate getting wet and even when I took him out with his coat on a bit later (around 9.15.) I got the same reaction. He looks really bedraggled when he gets wet and ran around attempting to dry himself on various bits of furniture when we got back to the flat.

Car Repair

My Renault Captur needed work doing on it. I was told some while ago that it would need the timing
belt replacing. I don't even know what a timing chain is or what it does. I've been driving for 50 years and owned several cars but never come across this item in the engine. Well, I only drive my car and don't entirely understand how the thing works. The same with this MacBook Air, on which I write this blog. How on earth does the internet work? It's beyond me, but all I know is that it does work, miraculously. Anyway, I had to wait until my pension was paid into my account and then I went to Bleak Hall Motors to make an appointment for the car, which was yesterday (Friday). I was told it would take quite a long time, so there was no way I was going to sit in their waiting room until the work was finished, so I called for a taxi and went home and waited. I thought it might be a couple of hours, by which time the garage would phone me to tell me the car was ready to collect. This eventually came at around 4.15, and I then had to get another taxi to convey me back to Bleak Hall.  Bill paid and then I returned in the car, glad that the work is complete. Now the car needs servicing, basically because it's no point in having a car that doesn't operate properly, and anyway, with the computerised read-out on the dashboard constantly telling  me that it needs servicing in 20 days or so, I don't have much choice. It's sort of nagging me to have it done, so I will have to abide by it. I'll either go into Bleak Hall motors to arrange this or I can always ring.

(Saturday) Been out with Alfie at around 6.45. It's light enough at that time in the morning and the poor little dog was eager as ever. A cloud of seagulls on the green near Oldbrook Boulevard. I think they're probably after the worms or something, but they make a lot of noise and it makes me think of the seaside.

Someone coughing their lungs out in a nearby flat. I think it caused by smoking, so it begs the question: if that is the result, why smoke? If I get a load of smoke in my lungs, then it causes me all sorts of problems, and I was told, after I had my first heart attack, that if I'd smoked, then my heart attack might have happened around 5 years earlier.

Last night I heard fireworks being let off. Thank goodness Hallowe'en is over. A really nasty import from America, just a way to make money out of a load of tat which then ends up in land-fill. I think some individuals don't know the difference between Hallowe'en and Bonfire Night (Guy Fawkes Night.) and that you don't have fireworks as part of Hallowe'en. Hopefully the rubbish being sold in the shops will now be gone, but we now have all the Christmas tat in the shops, endless shelves full of mince pies, Christmas puddings and wrapping paper and other stuff you don't need immediately for Christmas.

Later. I've been to Sainsbury's and I wasn't there long. The carpark was virtually empty. The store wasn't busy. I don't think the average shopper goes to a supermarket early on a Saturday. Most are tucked up under their duvets. But I suspect it's more to do with the rugby match in Japan, England v South Africa. I'm not sure what the time difference is between the United Kingdom and Japan. It does interest me, a good deal more than football, but I can take it or leave it.

I got hame and unloaded my shopping and was on the point of taking Alfie out for a walk, but the weather is foul as I write this, raining and there a high wind, but that wouldn't put off our Alfie.

Went to an archaeology exhibition in the Church of The Cornerstone. I've been inside the building, but not inside the actual church and was surprised by how small it was. It seemed an odd place to hold such an exhibition. It would have been better in the Middleton Hall, which is part of the main Milton Keynes shopping centre. Discovered that a Roman villa has been unearthed in a village called Piddington in Northamptonshire. It's just off the Bedford/Northampton road and not a long journey from here. There is a museum attached to it and I may visit in the near future. It's surprising what you discover when you visit such an exhibition and what other archaeology is going on in this area. I think I've driven along that road many times but knew nothing of this discovery, which was made around 40 years ago. Even so, nothing in the local papers to even mention it.

Bringing Things Up To Date

I haven't posted on here for well over a week. The way things have been going I really had no desire to write anything. Carol's passing has hit me hard. We had such a wonderful life together. The funeral is arranged for 11th January at Crownhill Crematorium at 2 p.m.  Postcode : MK8 OAH. The finer details are beginning to be put in place, such as what hymns and songs will be sung and the numbers for catering for the wake, which will be at the Oaktree Centre, the address of which is: Wallinger Drive, Shenley Brook End, MILTON KEYNES, MK5 7GZ.

I was invited to stay with my daughter Chloe and her husband, Steve, in Worcester over the Christmas period, from the Saturday before Christmas until the Wednesday after the New Year holiday. It would mean I wouldn't be on my own in the house in Milton Keynes, and I could take Alfie, my Yorkshire Terrier, with me. I had, at first, asked if I could be collected from home to be taken back to Worcester, but it proved impossible. Then Chloe suggested possibly going by railway, but it would have meant at least a two-hour journey and a change in Birmingham. It would have been difficult taking Alfie, probably on a lead or at least a carrying case of some sort along with luggage. Not going to happen. Then I thought, I've got a perfectly good car, which has only recently been serviced, in good working order. I can drive to Worcester, fill up with fuel in Milton Keynes and go across country. It'll be a lovely journey. I didn't envision using the Motorway as I'm not a good driver on a Motorway. So I left mid-morning on the Saturday and it was fine driving from Milton Keynes, through Buckingham and then out towards Banbury. I didn't need to set the satnav for that section of the journey. I had intended then finding the road for Evesham and then onto Worcester, but I got into Banbury at exactly the wrong time. Nose-to-tail traffic, of people doing their last-minute Christmas shopping. I could not find my way out. I eventually had to set the satnav for Chloe and Steve's postcode and just followed the directions. It took me via the M40 and eventually the M5. It was fairly straightforward and the traffic wasn't too heavy and I just stayed in the slower lane most of the way. When I got to Worcester I had to reset the satnav for the final stretch to Chloe's address and arrived at their front door at around 3.30.

When I'd unloaded Alfie from the cage in the boot (incidentally, he'd been absolutely quite for the entire journey. Probably because I'd put the parcel shelf in which would have meant it would have been quite dark in the back of the car and he'd be safe in the cage.) I took him into the house. I don't think he was expecting two young children to be running about, George, age 3 and Eddie, just turned 1 (not quite walking but getting there.) so whenever George ran around, Alfie began to bark. It took him a while to settle down and by the weekend he had got used to having them about.

So, we had a lovely Christmas Day with Steve's parents and his sister, Katy, as well as other family members, which included Steve's grandfather who is in his mid 90's I spent a lot of time chatting to him. They Skyped other members of the Wilson family who could not be in Britain, spread far and wide, a couple in Australia. I've never used Skype before, so it was a new experience. The picture and sound quality is amazing when you think how far away some of the family members are. I'll have to give it a go sometime. In the evening we sat around a table and played games, one being Linkee which is similar in some ways to the BBC1 show 'Only Connect.' Another one was to identify objects from a very close-up photo.

We walked to a park, or, at least, a large green space. It seemed to be a popular place to walk dogs and Alfie made friends with one or two, but one large dog kept following us. It wasn't on a lead, which was annoying, and I don't think Alfie liked being followed. It took some while to get any mud off his paws when we got back to the house.

On Saturday we went to what is called Worcester Woods where there was a run. I don't know how many participated, but probably several hundred. Alfie came in the car, but he sat on my lap but he wouldn't sit still. Then, when we got out of the car, he didn't appreciate the crowds and I didn't appreciate all the mud. None of this made life easy for me, but never mind. He had a lovely run around a large field. Not really my sort of thing, but never mind.

I didn't leave Worcester until Wednesday morning. I thought it probably best not to travel back to Milton Keynes over the holiday period as there was likely to be heavy traffic on the Motorways. I left at around 8.45 and got to Milton Keynes at around 10.45. I had managed to reset the satnav the night before, but I couldn't get it to work once I left Worcester, so I just decided to get on the M5 and make for the M42, then the M40 and got off onto the road I know reasonably well and went through Buckingham and back towards Milton Keynes that way. I really need to spend a bit more time looking at the satnav in the car before I go on another long journey and set it up properly.

Things That Have Disappeared

Now, it's one of those mysteries. What, you may ask? Well, I was driving through the countryside the other morning and was aware of the passing scenery, as you do. I was fully aware of the other traffic, making sure I kept the car on the road, not too close to the vehicle in front, keeping to the speed limit and making sure I was going in the right direction to my destination. As I glanced around, it suddenly occurred to me, what ever happened to . . . . telegraph poles? What is odd, in this day and age, do we have such things as telegraphs? Do they refer to telegrams? What on earth, it has suddenly struck me, do, or did, (is that grammatical I wonder?) a telegraph pole actually DO? Are they (or were they?) support the cables that transmit telephone calls? So, why do I not see any as I drive about the countryside? If not, how do telephone calls get from A too B? Are the cables that once, long ago, were strung along these poles, now hidden underground, perhaps? Or are the signals that are transmitted sent by radio waves, digitally sent via some sort of dish-arrangement, rather like a Sky satellite dish? Can someone answer me this question then, what has happened to telegraph or telephone poles and how are telephone messages (and, no doubt, the internet) sent if there are no visible cables?

If there's no telegraph/telephone poles, what else do we not longer have which we once had, particularly when I was considerably younger? How about such things as level crossings? I mean, the old fashioned sort, with proper gates which are manually operated by a man who operates them from a little signal box. They used to have lights on them, so they could be seen at night. I don't mean those half-hearted excuses for 'barriers' that replaced them years ago, that only cover part of the width of the road. Sort of, vaguely, dare I say it,'continental-style'? When we used to go on holiday to Frinton-On-Sea, on the Essex coast when I was a child, you used to enter Frinton from the 'outside world,' through such level-crossing gates. Into an almost enchanteted world. I haven't visited Frinton in decades, so I don't know whether those level-crossing gates have been replaced by the 'modern' style barriers. It wouldn't be the same if they had. I'm not even sure whether there is a railway station at Frinton, necessitating the need for a level crossing.

Telephone boxes. You never see them these days. The traditional red variety. Is it because everyone has a mobile phone and has no need for the use of such a thing as a telephone box. The sort with the 'press button 'B.'' I can't remember when I last saw one.

Policemen on 'The Beat.' I mean a Police Constable actually seen walking the local pavements. Someone you can trust if there's a problem. A sort of deterrent if there's something likely to become a criminal act or is against the law. I used to live in a village where there was a local Bobby and if you were caught riding your bicycle on a footpath you would be stopped by the PC and told to get off and push your bicycle or at least ride it on the road.  There was a sense of community, people knew right from wrong (well, I suppose they did.) and a police officer being on hand gave you s sense of safety. But not anymore. You never see a policeman, except if they're driving past in a car.

One thing that definitely disappeared and that's manners. Why do some people insist on driving close behind me when I'm driving. Just because I'm not going at top speed and why do some people cut you up on roundabouts? I refuse to drive outside my safe zone. Then there's mobile phones. I have mentioned this before, but why on earth do people insist on having them permanently fixed to their hands? There's nothing more bad mannered than being in a situation where you meet someone, say, in a Costas or Starbucks, and the other person is constantly looking at their mobile, or they're texting. Really rude. It makes you wonder what people used to do before mobile phones and what would happen if these things disappeared. These things are as they are because, with, for example, the internet, you can make a rather nasty comment about someone and you aren't ever likely to meet them face to face. The same with driving. A motorist can cut you up on a runabout or tailgate you or whatever, but they're never likely to meet you in a face-to-face situation. It's rather a cowardly way to behave. People seem to think they're separated from the rest of society, sitting in their room on their laptop or mobile phone, Tweeting, posting things on Facebook or whatever, in a sort of bubble. It seems that's the way a lot of people spend their lives, isolated, separated. Rather a sad sort of world we've created.

Postmen. I know they're out there somewhere, but if so, I don't see many. On bicycles? I doubt it. Most come in little red vans. Some I see walking along with wheeled barrow things with the mail in. I presume they can take far more mail if they have these wheeled things. One thing I do know, they seem to deliver at almost any time imaginable, We've even had a delivery at 4.30 in the afternoon. I can't imagine it would be safe carrying a heavy load of mail on a bicycle because you'd have to strap the bag on somewhere on the bicycle. I can't imagine having to go out in the early morning, when it's dark and probably cold and wet and in snow and ice. I feel sorry for those people who do these sorts of jobs, the jobs we take for granted. We all expect our mail delivered on time and to be correct, although that isn't always the case as we often get the odd letter or even parcel which is delivered through our door but isn't actually addressed to us. The postman isn't looking at the address properly. I suppose if they have temporary staff on, particularly during the run-up to Christmas, those staff can't know all the little unknown places that a regular postman would know, or even get the mail posted through the correct door. 

Getting Colder?

There is a definite nip in the air. Considering how warm it got during the Great 2018 Heatwave, I'm not surprised that I now notice that it's getting colder in the morning, especially when I take Alfie out for his morning run in Eaglestone Park. I went out in a short-sleeved polo shirt when we went to Whipsnade, but considering how much colder it gets up there on Dunstable Downs I'm not surprised and had to eventually put on my jacket as I began to feel cold when we were looking at the penguins. We're now in the, sad to say it folks, what I would call without too much hesitation, the run-up to Christmas. We've already seen hints of the impending Festive Season, with bits and pieces in some shops, crafting things in one of the shops, I think The Range, the other day, and possibly The Works. Well, I suppose some people make their Christmas cards and decorations and need time to make them well in advance.

Having said it was cold, a couple of hours after I'd written the above paragraph, the sun is out and it's quite warm. Just typical for this time of year.

We went to Hobbycraft because Carol is looking for more crafting materials. I'm not over-keen on this vast warehouse of stuff. Over-priced. Carol bought a stamp and then we went to Sainsbury's. Ordered my repeat prescription and collected another repeated prescription. Later we went for a walk round Furzton Lake, somewhere we haven't visited in a long time, certainly not since our other dog, Poppy, died. It's somewhere that she'd quite happily love to swim, in the lake, although, having been on the Parks Trust website and on boards around the area of the lake, dogs are not supposed to swim in the lakes or other areas of water. Well, it would have been no use trying to stop her, because she'd have been in whether she was supposed to or not. Quite a long way round the lake and the park and we spent some time sitting on a bench and just enjoying the scenery and the warm weather. There were quite a lot of people walking, or cycling, around the lakes. It was especially nice to see families together, which makes a change that they weren't arguing or spending too much time on mobile phones.

A lot of children we saw at Whipsnade have those scooter-things, which I don't think are appropriate for use in such a place. They seem to be everywhere. Use them supervised (as most of them are there, with parents and other adults they were with somewhere around) but they could be dangerous and get run over by vehicles moving along the zoo roads, or collide with other zoo visitors on foot.) 

True British Grit, where has it gone?

Oh dear. Here we go again. A little bit of snow and the whole country grinds to a halt. What's the matter with people? We're British and a little bit of the white, cold stuff, and we just get on with things. Go about our lives without letting things bother us. Just like Brexit (I hate the term, but we know what it means). Once we've been freed from the EU, we're going to manage perfectly nicely, thank you. I did vote to remain, but finding out about how the negotiations to leave have been going on, I think I'd be perfectly happy to be separated from this 'bloc.' (More like block-headed, the negotiators in my opinion. They need us more than we need them. I shan't make mention to this further as I don't want to bring politics into this blog.) British people are not effected by the weather, if it rains, we just get our umbrellas out, or don Wellingtons and macintoshes or wet-weather gear and continue. The old 'Dunkirk Spirit' comes into force. Have we really become so wet and wimpy to allow a spot of snow to effect our lives? Probably, yes. But why have we become so pathetic? There has to be a reason for this state of affairs. The media has a part to play in this. Weather plays a major part in the 'discussion' in the press and television. Scenes of snow make pretty pictures on BBC Breakfast or on the front page of tabloid newspapers, The Mail and Express in particular. When there's no other news, then our weather makes easy headlines, whether it's going to be a 'scorcher' or a 'chiller,' of course, depending on the time of year. No big political news, scandal, party-division or squabble? Then write a story about snow, sun, fog, frost or whatever. Easy peasy. And then big it up, hype it, mash it, over-write it and you have a story and a big headline, in over-sized type. Sells papers. 

As for the weather, well, we have a couple of inches and the motorways grind to a halt. When I was at school in the 1960's I seem to remember we managed to get there in the worst winter on record (I think it was the winter of 1962-3) and even had to help clear the snow in the school playground. None of this mamby-pamby 'health and safety' business then. We shovelled the snow into a pile at one end of the playground and against a wall. As the snow fell, and it froze and then thawed, but mostly froze, the wall began to get pushed over. I don't think it actually fell, but it began to lean at a dangerous angle. I can't imagine today's children shovelling anything. If it snows nowadays, schools close down. Pathetic. Are we creating a new generation of children who can't cope when problems arise? They can't cope with a little bit of snow and ice? They need to have a bit of resistance, some back-bone to cope with life's little problems. If so, they'll never be able to cope with bigger issues that arise, far bigger than what the weather throws at them.

A few inches of snow, and our railway system grinds to a halt. Excuses such as 'leaves on the line' or a little bit of frost and the whole network is thrown into total confusion. People insist on flying off for a break over the Christmas and New Year holiday and can't understand why they get stuck in long queues on the motorway and when they arrive at the airport they don't like the idea that their flight has been cancelled because of snow and ice on the runway or perhaps their plane is covered in ice and needs thawing out. Oh dear! Why not just stay at home and be environmentally friendly?  Just get a shovel out and start clearing the snow instead of wingeing on about compensation. If you insist on travelling when the weather is bad, just pack a thick jumper, a scarf, a wooly hat, a Thermos of tea, coffee or soup and put up with it.

Come on folks, if you don't need to go anywhere, unless your journey is vital, just stay at home. After all, we know perfectly well that it's winter, and the weather can become very treacherous and dangerous. The weather can cause very low temperatures, so this is what we can expect. The whole country grinds to a halt. Councils send the gritting lorries out. Apart from that, we just don't prepare for winter when we have such harsh conditions.

As for Brits becoming a lot of wimps, I blame things like Health and Safety regulations, burocratic spoil-sports, you can't do this, and you can't do that. Can't people take responsibility for THEMSELVES? Live a little life, even if it's a bit dangerous. Too much reliance on government departments and especially the N.H.S.

Cliche Soap Misery

I couldn't resist. I had to write something. I said I wouldn't write a blog post over Christmas. But every Christmas it's the same. They can't manage to come up with a happy storyline for EastEnders. The characters can't have a nice, peaceful, happy Christmas. Den handed the divorce papers to Angie on Christmas Day goodness knows how many years ago. Someone has a complete dislike for someone so they have to shoot that 'someone,' (was it one of the Mitchell brothers?) Pauline Fowler breathes her last, falls over in the snow in the middle of Albert Square, all alone. How come it snows exactly on 25th December (when in reality the temperature is spring-like in the 'real world'? Does Albert Square have it's own micro climate?) Why on earth would anyone choose to live in Walford? Does nobody have the common sense to just LEAVE for a better life elsewhere? It makes me wonder why ON EARTH people want to watch soap. Particularly when most are so full of misery and such horrible characters. I reckon it's because they're on at the same time every week, it's familiarity and nothing changes. Just a habit to go on being bored with he same old same. Pity really.

In tonight's episode, Max Branning explains the reason for his behaviour on a 'virus in his 'ed.? Is this a new medical condition? How can you blame your mental state on a virus? Just a weak scriptwriter's excuse. Now, as I watch, Phil Mitchell is threatening to shoot Max with a shotgun, he's lying on the ground and it's pouring with rain. Mind you, it's good BBC stair-rod type rain  (real rain never falls in that shower bath type fashion. Far too regular, and they're using pre-recorded BBC sound effects thunder.) Just one big cliche if ever there was one. No, sorry, I'm not concentrating too hard on what's going on. A great deal of arguing and shouting about something or other. So, this is Christmas television entertainment? Over two 30-minutes instalments? I don't generally watch any television soap. Quite frankly, I have better things to do with my time. There's far better drama on elsewhere. Piles of stuff on catch-up with our SkyQ box.

Can nobody cook a Christmas dinner without burning it, or there being some other disaster in the kitchen? Then, as a result, everyone going to the Vic to have their Christmas dinner. Or going somewhere else in the Square for their meal. Then their being an almighty argument over the turkey and pudding. Probably a lot of stuff being broken, food thrown about, possibly somebody having their face thrust into a plate of food.

Then, the other old stand-by. A long-lost relative arriving at the last moment. A character who hasn't been seen in the Square for years, knocks on the door or someone or other. Or a love-child or a character arriving to stir things up somewhat. Admittedly, this doesn't always happen at Christmas, but it matters not, as it's still a cliche.

I know this is all awful, but I only ever watch EastEnders to see how truly bad it is. There can be no other good reason, and particularly over the Season of Goodwill. Certainly the characters in EastEnders have never heard of 'Goodwill.' 

Christmas Holiday

Not a great deal to discuss in this blog post. We're ready for Christmas. Just myself and Carol, as it has been for the past few years. We have our fridge well and truly stocked with food for the festive period. It's just as well as I don't intend going to any of the major supermarkets as they are likely to be crammed with last-minute shoppers. There's this crazy, almost what I'd call a siege mentality that grabs people, the very idea that they're going to run out of sausage rolls, mince pies or wrapping paper, or they've forgotten to buy Great Aunt Ethel or some long-lost relation who just happens to turn up out of the blue and needs  pair of socks or a set of matching oven gloves and egg whisk so they have to rush out and scour the aisles in Morrison's for such an item. The shops will be open again on Boxing Day and most of what has been bought as presents at over-inflated prices will then be sold at half price or less.

So I'm going to leave off blogging for a couple of days at least, so to my loyal followers on here I'll say adieu and see you in a few days time. But do have a super Christmas but don't eat too many mince pies!

Forgotten Medication

When Carol was discharged from Ward 20 on Friday, she was given a carrier bag full of all the medication she needed to manage her condition. A nurse had sat on her bed and went through a list she had of everything. But Carol has been in more pain since being at home. We were hoping that, having had the operation to unblock her bowel and having been in hospital for very nearly three weeks (together with several days when she went in and was on Ward 19.) the pain would be more under control. But it seems that two lots of medication, antibiotics, were left off this list. Most likely because of this being left out, the pain has not been reduced. Just annoyed that someone didn't deal with this to then avoid more pain, distress and for me, a lot off annoyance, and as it turned out, inconvenience. I realise that the nurses (and other healthcare professionals) were over-worked and put under a great deal of pressure on Ward 20, but to forget or 'mislay' some of Carol's medication does show a certain lapse of, I don't know, concentration on someone's behalf, or at least, not being up to scratch in some respects, which has left myself and Carol feeling a bit let down.

 I went to church on Sunday, but when I got home, I hadn't changed my clothes or taken my shoes off before Carol told me that I'd have to go out again. Someone had telephoned from Ward 20 to say that Carol needed these two extra medications and that they had a prescription made out for these two medications. I had to go in and pick them up immediately and have them made up. You can imagine that I wasn't exactly over-pleased as I was about to sit down and spend the rest of Sunday afternoon relaxing. So I had to get back in the car and drive to the hospital, park in the multi-storey carpark and then walk all the way to Ward 20 (something that is incredibly exhausting as it quite a way.) I soon got to the ward and the nurses knew exactly what I was there for and then I had to decide which pharmacy would be open in order to make up the prescription. I decided to drive to the shopping centre at Kingston as there is a Boot's chemist as well as a pharmacy with the Tesco Extra which is also there. If one wasn't open, or couldn't provide the medications on the prescription, surely the other would have them. Fortunately I didn't have to pay anything to park. I had taken a ticket from the machine when I drove into the multi-storey carpark, and when before I drove out I put the ticket in one of the ticket machines and it showed 'no payment' which was at least a relief as I was expecting to pay something, but I imagine because I hadn't been there for much more than 20 minutes, it hadn't registered a payment. I then drove out of the hospital campus and decided to drive towards Kingston. I have to say I went considerably faster than was probably wise, but, as I was keen to get the prescription made up for Carol, I wasn't that bothered. Just a good thing there are no speed cameras or no police around at the time. 

I got to the Kingston Centre and found it was very busy. No doubt people doing their Christmas shopping. Hardly able to move. I went into Boots (fortunately open, together with the pharmacy) and handed over the prescription. I was told that they had both medications and that it would take 10 minutes to complete. So I went away to kill the time, having a browse in Next, and then into another shop further along the parade of shops. Home Sense, which is full of an incredible range of furnishing items.

I returned to Boots to find they'd completed the prescription. I had to walk across the carpark to return to the car. It always seems to me, whenever I've been to the Kingston Centre, that it's not designed to make your life easy as there's no path across this carpark. For some ridiculous reason they had to put barriers in your way, fences and hedges which mean you can't get a clear path to get from one side to the other. They obviously intend for you to walk right round and this takes far too long. Well, I eventually got back to the car and then, having driven out, I then had to spend around 15 minutes standing still in the car because of a very long queue of vehicles also leaving and back to Chaffron Way. Other drivers getting very annoyed, but, lets be perfectly honest, they only had themselves to blame. What were they expecting, in the build-up to the festive holiday, with other people doing Christmas shopping. Sunday has become very much like any other day of the week, since they relaxed the opening hours of shops and other businesses. I eventually got over the roundabout at Tongwell Street (one of the busiest roads in Milton Keynes) put my foot down and shot across as I made my way home. Thank goodness I'd completed my mission and was able to get back with the medications which I'd gone to get for Carol.

Even More Irritations of Life

Why do supermarkets have to keep moving their stock around their stores? I don't mean by putting it in trolleys and shifting it manually. I mean, when you, as a customer, get used to finding a particular product in the same place week after week, and then, for no accountable reason, they move it to entirely different aisle and shelf. This usually happens before Christmas, Easter, Valentine's Day, Mothering Sunday or any of the other 'festivals' or 'holidays' throughout the year. They seem to think it's fine to fill the shelves with stuff you can perfectly well do without, such as mince pies, Christmas puddings, crackers and so on, and whatever product you wanted is suddenly shifted to a remote corner without any warning.

Poor customer service is another irritation I can't stand. When I was at Milton Keynes hospital on Sunday I went to the branch of Costa they have in the newly refurbished entrance foyer (if that's the right term. I know hotels and theatres have foyers, so what is the entrance of a hospital called? Is there a correct word? Probably is, but I'm not sure what it is.) The queue was coming out of the door and into the corridor. I had to wait about 20 minutes before I could get served. A woman in front was fiddling with her mobile phone. What is it with people? Why is everyone so hooked on their mobile phones? Constantly peering at the little screens, looking at Facebook or Twitter, checking to see if someone has contacted them. Anyway, by the time I got to the till I had almost lost the will to live. I had taken a panini out of the display cabinet at the beginning of the queue and handed it to the girl at the till and paid for that as well as two drinks, I think they were lattes, but I forget now. Anyway, the girl I handed the panini to was going to heat it for me. Is that a microwave that heats the food or is it some other sort of oven? Whatever it was it did it's job efficiently and quickly. I had said I wanted to take the food away with me, but the girl put it on a plate. She had such a look on her face, it was as if I'd made some rude suggestion to her. More likely she didn't want to be working there, and particularly not on a Sunday. It wasn't so much the scowl on her face, but the fact that she hadn't listened to me when I'd said I wanted to take away the food I had ordered. THAT was the irritating part of this whole incident. She had such a look on her face, as I say, no doubt because she had drawn the short straw of having to work her shift on a Sunday. And who can blame her? Just didn't make for a very pleasant customer experience as far as I was concerned. Anyway, she made some sort of effort to place the two pieces of panini she had cut so nicely on a chopping board into a cleverly-designed cardboard container and handed it to me and I was able to walk back to the ward and devour the food and share the lattes with Carol. Just another of life's little irritations, when things should be better but aren't. Staff in such places can make all the difference to your experience, particularly at the checkout in the supermarket. If they scowl at you, as that young lady did in Costa, it can be a rather negative experience and put you off shopping there at a later date.

Living At Home- Part 1

I have many more memories of living on the farm at Cardington. Being a farm, life seemed to revolve around the kitchen. I've probably mentioned this in an earlier post, but it was some time ago if I did but never mind. 

We had all our meals around a large table in the kitchen. We rarely, if ever, had meals in the dining room. Probably at Christmas, but certainly not for every-day meals. The kitchen table was large, probably made of deal and had a Formica surface. My mother used it when she was making cakes as it was high enough to stand at comfortably to work.

We always sat around that table to have meals. I don't think we ever sat and watched television with plates of food on our laps. We had to eat whatever was put in front of us, no finicky eaters. I don't suppose my mother would have put up with that sort of carry-on, with having five children to feed. We weren't allowed to be fussy eaters. You had to sit and eat what was put on your plate and finish it off. You had to sit quietly and wait until everyone else had finished until you got down from the table. I think it's only manners. Thank goodness we had such manners instilled into us as children. I grew up during the 1960's, well before the introduction of gadgets such as smart phones and tablet computers. You certainly wouldn't  bring toys or any sort of gadget to the dinner table. I think we had more respect for adults when I was a child. We stood up whenever an adult came into the room and you gave up your seat, for example, if you were on a bus. You held the door open for a lady (I expect you'd be called sexist if you did this today.) You didn't talk unless asked to and you didn't butt in if two adults where having a conversation. I'm sure in general people had more respect for other people and you waited patiently if you were in a queue.

Then we  had just 3 television channels. We now have countless television channels on multi-channel-channel platforms such as Sky, Virgin and Freeview. BBC 1, BBC2, ITV and much later Channel 4. We didn't have colour television in our home until well into the 1970's. My father didn't want a set until the system was well established. People who had colour television tended to show off that they had a set by having their television positioned so that if the curtains at the window were drawn people who walked past the house could see in and see the television when it was on. Not in our house, as the television wasn't positioned in such a way. We had a black-and-white set and you couldn't record anything as you could when V.H.S. and Betamax recorders came in in the 1980's. We didn't have ITV in our house until around 1964-5 as far as I can remember, probably because we had to have a new television arial put up.  Anglia was the ITV company serving the East Of England where we lived. We didn't have BBC2 because you needed a set which had the higher definition signal which gave 625 lines for the picture. BBC1 and ITV were on the old system which had 405 lines. Colour didn't come in until the early 1970's, but BBC2 introduced colour in the late 1960's and I remember going on a trip to Robinson Rentals, which later got taken over and became Granada Television Rentals in Bedford when I was at school and they showed colour television pictures of Wimbledon tennis which I think was a sort of experimental broadcast.

Crazy Advertising

You're watching television, probably your favourite drama series. It's on a channel which has advertising. The action gets exciting and then suddenly- bang!- there's a commercial break. The whole storyline is interrupted by stupid advertising for sofas, car insurance or shampoo. So why do these advertisements have to be so facile? I'm not saying that every advert on television is poor, because there are one or two which are actually very clever and creative. But around 95% are just downright insulting and embarrassing. I realise that companies like ITV rely on advertising for their funding, but why do so many adverts have to be so awful? There are a few that have become classics, such as the Guinness one which has horses representing waves in the sea and perhaps the one for Hovis shot on a hill and spoofed by The Two Ronnies and made by Ridley Scott the director. But those are few and far between.  It can be said that making a television commercial is a very good way for a director to learn his craft. You have to be able to tell a story in a very short space of time, probably no more than 30 seconds. And make sure the viewer knows what brand your advert is for. Otherwise it's not going to be much use in selling that product.

Why do companies like Compare The Market and Confused.com have to use stupid characters to draw you in? The Alexander The Meerkat maybe a funny cuddly character and the animation may be clever and witty but it really has very little to do with car insurance or any other insurance. The annoying operatic singer who heads up the Confused.com advertising is little more than an annoyance and, frankly, would put me off using their products. Do they really think people will flock to them if they use this sort of tactic? If you buy Compere The Market and take whatever product it is they sell you're supposed to get a free meerkat toy or free cinema tickets. Do you necessarily get a good deal on these comparison websites? I can't work out how these companies make their money, but it must be something to do with getting some commission from the actual insurance companies if you buy insurance from them. They don't actually provide the insurance themselves. I think the fact that there's a funny furry character and that you can get a toy if you sign up is just to appeal to children who are supposed to have quite a lot of influence on what product people buy. Look along the breakfast cereal aisle in any supermarket and it seems that most breakfast cereals are aimed at children. Full of sugar, many of them, but if you look at the packaging they have free gifts quite obviously aimed at children. The same with companies such as McDonald's who seem to aim a lot of their fast food at children with lots of free gifts if you buy such-and-such a meal. No wonder there's a real problem with child obesity.

Sofa adverts are another bugbear we have in this household. How is it these companies are always having sales? Do they ever sell their sofas at full price and why are they always advertising just before Christmas or Easter and then say 'order now in time for Christmas?' Does it mean that their customers buy a new sofa (what happens to the old one? Is there a huge pile of ancient sofas in a warehouse somewhere? Redundant, unwanted, unloved? All because their former owners don't want them any more and need a new one 'just in time for Christmas?') Are their owners so fickle and pathetic that they have to show off with a new sofa at Christmas? And why, from seeing these adverts, are the sofas they show, so awful and ugly? Why do they always have a stupid woman advertising who has a high-pitched voice that drives you nuts and probably attracts all the dogs in the neighbourhood? Is she a former R.A.D.A. student-actress who can't find a better acting job? Although I imagine doing a television ad like that pays quite well, but it wouldn't look good on her C.V. when she applies for work at the National Theatre or R.S.C.

Signs of Autumn

The weather's getting colder. The trees are changing colour. The days are getting shorter. Definite signs that autumn is well and truly here. Infact it was so cold we put the central heating on and I started wearing my long pyjamas for the first time.  We didn't want to have it on, but Carol said she was feeling cold. We just didn't want to start having the heating on until at least the end of October. It hasn't exactly been a warm and sunny summer, and we've had more rain than usual. What with Carol's health issues we haven't had the outings we would have normally had. Last year was exceptionally warm and sunny and we spent a good deal of our time visiting various National Trust and other properties as well as regular visits to Z.S.L. Whipsnade Zoo. I have been picking blackberries which have been abundant all along the Redway behind the house, no doubt because we've had a good combination of the right conditions for a bumper harvest with plenty of sun as well as rain. I was out early Sunday morning picking them and I made blackberry and apple crumble which we had with our evening meal.

The shops are beginning to stock up with the usual Christmas tat. Christmas cards were seen in Frost's garden centre the other day but in The Range (all mentioned in my previous post.) had Hallowe'en stuff as we walked through the door the other day. It's confusing, having all this 'seasonal' stuff on display at the same time. Can't we get one load of stuff out of the way before the next batch of tat is put on display? I can't believe that anyone would want to buy a Christmas tree months in advance of the festive season. Or mince pies, wrapping paper or decorations. I suppose it would be fine if you lived in a house with enough space to store it. Mention of Christmas trees brings me to ours from last year. It's still in it's pot in the garden, happily continuing to grow. It was bought in Dobbie's last year and hopefully will be fine when this year's festive season comes round and we can just bring it in the house and decorate it. Great, because it means we don't have to buy a new one when the time comes.

Heavy Rain

It's been fairly sunny and warm for the past few days. As I write this the sun is out. We went to Bunnings, the new D.I.Y. store in Winter Hill, Milton Keynes. It was Homebase but they were taken over by this company.  Sainsbury's took over the company who owned Homebase and Argos and presumably sold on Homebase to Bunnings, which I had never heard of this company but it's no surprise really as it's an Australian company and have only recently opened stores in this country. We just had to go and have a look and I must say I'm quite impressed from what I've seen. They have a cafe which Homebase didn't have. When we were there we heard this most amazing sound and could't work out what it was. It turned out to be the heaviest rainstorm and the sound was the rain on the roof of the building. Absolutely pelting down when we walked into the garden area where they were handing out umbrellas to customers.

We drove the short distance to The Range which is just over the road from Bunnings. Carol needed the loo so we went upstairs. On the way in we had to pass a display of hallowe'en rubbish. The usual crass stuff, stupid grinning skulls with bright red lights for eyes and some of the most pathetic ghoulish stuff imaginable. I can't believe people want to buy such stuff, but I suppose companies know that people will buy anything such as this. It's amazing how they start putting this stuff out for sale earlier and earlier each year. The we saw Christmas decorations. We went to Frost's at Woburn Sands yesterday and they had a lot of Christmas stuff already on sale, most of it tat. Lots of space being made for all this stuff. We went upstairs on the escalator at The Range and for some reason we noticed that as you got on the thing it got faster. Did I imagine it? I don't think so. More Christmas stuff upstairs which we attempted to ignore. We had a good browse around the store and looked in particular at the range of Regatta clothing, for example, decent fleeces at good prices which interested me. We would have gone back to the car but at that moment the heavens opened and the rain fell again. We just risked getting a real soaking as we ran to the car in the carpark and drove out. Unfortunately there was an huge queue of cars coming in and out of the road back onto the grid road and it took a long time to get out of Winter Hill.

A Load More Corny Television Clichés (Usually In Soap Operas)

Why is it that scriptwriters, as well as directors, use lazy clichés in television drama, particularly soap? Things that annoy me such as when a scene is supposed to be night time and the action is outside and dark, it's always lit so that you can see the characters and the action perfectly clearly. Why is it so light? Where is the light coming from? The moon isn't always full at night, or if it is it's not always clear and cloudless. It's just rather corny. I bet if I go outside at night and there's no street lighting and there's the chance of it being a full moon, I don't somehow think I'm going to be able to see that well and certainly not other people, regardless of how close they are to me. And it's always a sort of false moonlight-blue sort of coloured light. Why? If it streetlights it more likely to be that orange sodium light that are more common these days.

Why is it when a character in a drama, particularly a soap, is searching for something on the internet, using a search engine such as Google (although for some reason, another cliche, they never actually use Google, which anyone else would use, they use a made-up search engine which nobody else in real life would bother to use, basically because they couldn't use a named 'brand' particularly the BBC, which tries it's hardest to disguise a known name, otherwise they'd get done for advertising. Probably ITV could pass it off as 'product placement' and then get paid by the company.) Anyway, returning to this character using a search engine. How is it that when they're searching for something or other, they always manage to find exactly the right website and THEN, once they're on it, they find the bit of information they're looking for, if it's a detective story, the detective finds the vital bit of information which will lead to the murderer or whoever. Too corny by half. Another one, when there's something someone wants to hear about, such a news item, how is it, when they turn on the television or perhaps a radio, it just so happens to be EXACTLY the right bit of news on when the set comes on, at just the right time, with exactly the right person or thing that they wanted to know. The headlines on the front of a newspaper just HAPPENS to be about a particular incident, a murder, a police investigation, which is the main subject of a particular television drama, how is it it is on the front of the paper at that particular moment in time, or if it's inside the paper, when a character is looking for it they find it so easily, without making any effort to search for it? If I was looking for a newspaper article I imagine it would take a good deal of time and effort before I discovered it, having waded through many pages before I found it. Totally unrealistic. I realize that television drama isn't always supposed to be REAL, but at least make it believable. I know it speeds up the action, but why does it have to be so UNREALISTIC?

In a soap, particularly EastEnders, so many of the characters find it difficult to communicate logically. Why are they endlessly searching for another character? Why not just use their mobile phone and RING UP the other character or text? Wouldn't you do that in real life? They do seem to spend an amazing amount of time on this search for so-and-so. Again, crazy and unrealistic. Just another cliche.

In soaps, why do so many of the characters put up with the generally awful surroundings they live in? In EastEnders or Coronation Street, why is it that someone like Ken Barlow, who had a degree, became a teacher, then ran a local newspaper (amazing and very unconvincingly, all on his own. How come? Was he editor as well as reporter etc etc.) He then became a local councillor or something, and ended up as a (wait for it) trolley collector in a supermarket! Crazy and unrealistic. How many wives has he had and why has he spent his life living in a somewhat rundown back-street in a Manchester suburb? Why on earth didn't he move away years ago? Totally ridiculous and crazy sort of thing for a man with his academic ability. In real life, how many people remain in exactly the same street they were born and raised in and then went to university and then come home and spend the rest of their life in? I know a soap isn't supposed to be like a documentary, but at least make it a bit more convincing. I know I wasted a lot of my time watching Corrie for years and years, but I haven't seen it for more than 10 years so I'm somewhat out of date with the characters and plots, but I don't imagine things have moved on much.

In other forms of drama there's got to be some sort of journey for the characters to go on as the story develops. The central character has to change as things develop, he/she should be different at the end of the story, at the climax of the plot, to have learnt a lesson to some or a greater extent. In soap opera the characters never seem to develop, to learn from their mistakes and try to change things. They're not supposed to, because the audience expects things to be safe and cosy. To retain the audience it's no good having the characters change too much. That is what makes soap so popular, the fact that you know exactly what you're going to get each time you tune in. It's a sort of familiar and safe place for your returning audience. Make too many changes, such as writing out characters to frequently or changing the location, you'd find you would loose your audience in droves and a soap is really there in the schedules as a ratings winner. The fact that a soap is set in one location, such as a Manchester suburb street, a square in the East End of London means that it's a good deal cheaper to produce with fewer sets which can be reused endlessly and cuts down the expense of producing the show. Also, with a large cast of characters they can have virtually endless plots created for them, even if they are actually recycling the same sort of plots week after week and year after year.

I can see why soap is so popular, but for me they're just full of stock characters and cliched plots that are, as I've already mentioned, recycled endlessly. I can't stand the fact that most storylines go one ad infinitum. I want plots that come to a definite conclusion some how or other and characters that change. We always get a 'big story' breaking over the Christmas period. Who'd ever get married in a soap? There's always a big bust up or some 'reveal' whenever there's a wedding, or someone who's been out of the show for years suddenly makes an appearance or a long-lost relative makes an appearance or the illegitimate child of someone appears who didn't realise they even existed. Or as I say, at the big Christmas dinner there's an almighty bust-up or another 'reveal.' Just think Angie Watts and Den, when Den gives Angie the divorce papers on Christmas Day, perhaps one of the first big 'events' in the early days of the soap. 

After Christmas and Pre-New Year

Well, Christmas is over. It was on a Sunday this year and it seemed somewhat odd. No services at Milton Keynes Christian Centre. There were a couple of Carol services on Saturday afternoon, Christmas Eve, but it was decided not to have Christmas Day services, I think because they didn't think enough people would attend. We stayed at home and opened our presents. We watched a DVD, something that Carol wanted to see, 'The Secret Life of Pets,' a computer animated movie which was quite enjoyable. We'd been to see 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' on Thursday at the new Odeon cinema at the Milton Keynes Stadium. It's a sort of prequel to the Harry Potter movies and stars Eddie Redmayne. Hugely enjoyable and the special effects are amazing. Carol bought me a book on the art of the film, which I shall read with great pleasure.

Yesterday we visited Whipsnade Zoo as the weather was so mild. We went to a talk on giraffes at the giraffe house which was fascinating and all six of the giraffes, including the youngest were inside the shed where the talk was done, given by one of the keepers. It makes it so much more interesting if you know a bit more on a subject like this. We've visited Whipsnade on quite a few occasions as you will know if you read these blog posts. We had coffee and cake in one of the cafes. As Carol is a Fellow of the Z.S.L. (Zoological Society of London), who operate Whipsnade and London Zoos) and which allows us free access to these places, we also get a discount in their cafes and shops. We got some superb views of some of the animals and this was somewhat frustrating because my Canon camera is currently being repaired, otherwise we would have got some really great photographs to add to our ever-expanding collection.

On Monday we had a free trial session at Nuffield Health. We cancelled our membership of DW quite some time ago and we were eager to find a replacement. A much quieter and far more private health club with a good swimming pool, which is a good deal deeper than the swimming pool at DW, as well as a jacuzzi, sauna and steam room. We even get given towels which means they are always clean and dry. Generally a good deal more pleasant. So we decided we will join at the end of the month. Great to have somewhere to relax and swim every week.

Plenty to watch on television, as there always is over the Christmas period. We watched the Great British Bake Off Christmas special (although I can't say it was particularly special.) I avoided Strictly Come Dancing as I can't stand the audience noise (why on earth do they have to clap along to the music all the time? It's annoying and stupid. Also, the plain nasty comments made by certain members of the judging panel.) It's over hyped in the tabloid press and social media such as Facebook. At least Bake Off is more gentle, it's not full of so-called celebrities and it doesn't have a live audience who are wound up to react accordingly. It's as well we have a Sky Q box as otherwise we wouldn't be able to watch all the decent programmes. You can record at least four shows which are on at the same time as well as catch-up which is such a brilliant idea.

We've just been watching the documentary about Alan Bennet and his diary (the latest instalment called 'Keeping On Keeping On' has just been published and I will have to buy it, but it can wait until it comes out in paperback. I will need to read his earlier instalments so that's quite a lot of reading to get through.)