Jam Yesterday, Jam Tomorrow, But Never Jam Today

Friday. 1.40 a.m. Yet another case of nothing being able to sleep. Never mind. I can always find something to keep myself busy, such as washing up, tidying the kitchen, sorting out the recycling and tying up the bags to take to the bin room. I did my Bible reading, which is 'Through The Bible In A Year, with Nicky Gumble.' I do this on my iPad. Then I feel hungry, and so I made several pieces of toast and had a really nice Lidl raspberry conserve on it. (Conserve, having a higher percentage of fruit in it than jam.) And far better value than other brands.

10.40 a.m. It's a bit overcast and dull. Where has the sun gone? I can hear the wind, making wind-like noises (!) The sort of whistling, yet not whistling noise. The sort of wind you'd expect in a rather clichéd production of 'Wuthering Heights.' You know what I mean, at least, I imagine you do, with Kathy outside and shouting to be let in, in the middle of a moor somewhere in Yorkshire. Sad, really, but very corny and the acting is somewhat over-the-top. Melodramatic.

2.30 p.m. I was about to take Alfie out at around 1 p.m, only to discover that it was pouring rain, so we only went out fleetingly. As I write this, the wind continues to howl around the building.

Saturday. 5.50 p.m. Where did the rest of the day go? Well, it began early, with me taking Alfie as usual around 5.00 a.m. We didn't do our usual circuit of Oldbrook Green, but I had all the recycling and rubbish bagged up and ready to take out to the bins. Washing up done and the kitchen tidied.

We had our monthly men's breakfast at the Oaktree Centre this morning. I thought it started at 8 o'clock, so I was there bright and early. There was nobody else waiting, so I sat in the car, listening to Classic FM, with the overture to 'The Flying Dutchman' blaring out of the car radio. I was listening as I drove up Chaffron Way, and, although I'm not a keen Wagner fan, it was very motivational, so I had to sit and listen to it in the car park outside the Oaktree Centre.  I have to admit, I was wondering if I had the day or the time wrong, but then Richard, who organizes the men's breakfast, arrived, with a load of what looked like bread rolls. The building was locked, so we had to wait for someone to come and open the place up.

A couple arrived to do the cooking of the food. They set up two gas-fired barbecue pans and proceeded to fry sausages and bacon. 

The group began to arrive and it turned out that it wasn't supposed to start at the usual time of 8 o'clock but an hour later at 9, which I didn't know.

We ate our bacon, eggs and sausage and drank tea (or coffee) and then we had a talk from someone who used to be involved with S.C.F., on advanced driving, which was very informative and instructive. 

I was planning to go to the history festival at Milton Keynes Museum directly after the men's breakfast, but, because it concluded later than expected, I decided to leave it until Sunday. As a result, and because I didn't want to be cooped up in the flat all Saturday, I drove into the Central Milton Keynes Shopping Centre and had a browse and went into John Lewis as I'm looking for a cable which would allow me to link certain peripherals to my iPhone, iPad and MacBook because Apple has changed the ports from lightening to Thunderbolt/USB 4. I didn't find what I was looking for, unfortunately. I may end up going to the Apple Store to find what I want, but, being a Saturday, the store is likely to be very busy, so I decided to leave it for another day.

I walked through the shopping centre and went to Waterstone's and purchased two books, one on 'How To Be a Victorian,' and the other about 'Peterloo.'

Sunday. 12.45 p.m. My goodness! What's going on? The sun is shining and it's really bright. Almost (Note: I said 'almost'!) like spring!

Came out of church early. Miss having my usual cup of tea, so that I could be ready to go to Milton Keynes Museum for the history festival. There were just TWO spare spaces in the church car park! 

My friend Nick (hello Nick, if you're reading this!) was coming over to Milton Keynes from Northampton on the bus so that we could go to the history festival at Milton Keynes Museum. At around 1.30, he texted me to say he was at the centre, so I drove in and he was waiting near The Point. We drove to the museum and managed to park, although the car park was very full and there were few spaces. Luckily I managed to find a place.

Because I had been to the museum some months ago, and paid and kept the ticket, I was able to enter, free. I have a few months left on the card, so I can go again. Today's history festival covered a vast timescale, from around the time of the Romans, the Medieval period right up to the time of the Suffragettes. There was a gladiator fight (quite scary) as well as a knight's battle from the time of the Wars of The Roses. 

We went into the café and had tea. I was ready for a drink, as by now I was thirsty. Then we went into the main museum building, which was the farmhouse, built in C.1840, at the time well before Milton Keynes was built. We learnt about the railway and Wolverton's part in the history of the railway in the mid-19th century.  We saw a display of Victorian music boxes, a pianola and a gadget which displayed photographs stereoscopically, When we emerged from that exhibition it was time to leave. I took Nick back to the bus stop in the city centre and said goodbye. There is to be a Victorian history festival in June, so no doubt I will be attending that and possibly Nick will come over from Northampton.

Monday. 4.05 p.m. I have done all the usual walks with Alfie and when I took him out at around 5.20 a.m. there was broken glass along the path leading to Oldbrook Green, which some delightful person felt it necessary to drop in our path. Fortunately, I avoided it before Alfie got his feet cut and I moved it out of the way. Not just his feet, but it would have punctured the tyres of anyone cycling along that stretch of path.

I went out, alone this time, with the gimbal and noticed a blue tractor cutting the grass, which I haven't seen before. I think it would be a good deal quicker than the usual mowers they use for this job. I got the gimbal set correctly and the results were a good deal better I have got the video to work on my iPad.

Unblocking Writing (and Other Matters)

Thursday. 2.15 p.m. I have just received an email from Camphill, informing me that I can return to working in the theatre workshop. Until my DBS goes through thoroughly, I can't work one-to-one with any group, but I can work 'under supervision.' I understand why this is, because they belong to a 'vulnerable group', under safeguarding. If I was to work there without them checking my DBS (Disclosure and Barring) and the CQC (Care Quality Commission) were to do an inspection and found I didn't have a disclosure certificate, Camphill would be in trouble, I can see why all this has taken so long.

Friday. 8.10 a.m. A bit of a rush to get Alfie out and then put my washing into the machine at around 7.45 a.m. I'm actually scheduled to load my laundry at 8 a.m., but I don't see why I have to wait ten minutes to do so. It's dark outside until at least 7.30, and it's quite difficult to see what you're doing, picking up after Alfie and then walking to the bin which is across Oldbrook Boulevard and on The Green. I don't know why they can't put a bin a bit closer but never mind.

Saturday. 8.05 a.m. I was under the impression that it was raining earlier. So, I was relieved to find, on taking Alfie out, that it wasn't raining. I think there was a distinct possibility that it had been raining overnight, as the leaves which are on the grass alongside Strudwick Drive were wet.

1.30 p.m. It's now bright sunshine outside (well, it's not inside) because if it was, there's probably be no roof over my flat. Oh, what an absurd thing to say! Never mind, it's the effect of being incarcerated in this place. 

Sunday. 7.15 a.m. The clocks have changed. I haven't had the fabled extra 'hour in bed' which is what we always get told everywhere, on television news, in papers and generally. Because it was relatively light (does that make sense? I don't know. What does it matter? I mean 'reasonably' light, enough to be able to see what I was doing.) I took Alfie out.

9.00 a.m. I suddenly got the urge to do some more writing. This often happens, I get a bout of creativity and manage to write several pages and then I get stuck (writer's block?) and then leave it for a while, and then I pick it up again and continue. This current sequence has been through several drafts, and this time I think I've got it how I want it. I have discovered if I write from a different angle, things are easier to write. Or else I have what they have 'reported speech', whereby some important event happens 'off-stage' and a character describes whatever it is. Shakespeare does this a lot, particularly when it's something like a battle, which is difficult to put on stage. It also means you can have 'off-stage' characters who don't actually appear 'centre stage' which rounds out the story without the need for extra characters. Alan Ayckbourn does this and quite often has characters 'off-stage.' This, in particular in one of his best plays 'Absurd Person Singular' is set in three kitchens over three successive Christmases, with parties going on 'off-stage' and never actually seen.

2.05 p.m. After church this afternoon, we had a church member's meeting. The budget for the year was approved and one or two other matters were raised. Just as the meeting was coming to a close, the heavens opened and it rained, quite a torrential downpour, which made driving back to Dexter House along Chaffron Way quite challenging, to say the least. Some drivers didn't have their lights on, which was somewhat foolhardy. I had Classic FM on the car radio as usual and Beethoven's 7th Symphony blaring out as I was driving and, with the torrential rain, the whole was made even more dramatic with such powerful orchestral music playing. I love Classic FM, but it has too many advertisements on it, probably because it has grown it's an audience and once that happens, then it's bound to attract more advertising.

6.05 p.m. Another creative spurt, although the sequence I'm writing isn't finished. I will transcribe it all into word processing. I'm more than happy with what I've written. That's not always the case. I write something and then leave it for a couple of weeks and then return to it and, on re-reading it, I find it's not working how I want it to go and end up completely rewriting it. In the end, it's the best way to write for me, because the various drafts can be altered as I go along.

All Over The Place

Thursday. 7.10 a.m. I can't think of a title for this post, but no doubt something will come to me in the fullness of time.

It's early and I'm warm. The kitchen, as I must have mentioned in earlier posts, is roasting hot. I am well aware of the remark some American politician said which goes something like this 'if you can't cope with the heat, stay out of the kitchen!' (I'll have to do a Google search and find out who it was and the correct wording.) It's the heating system of Dexter House. They seem to think (they being someone or other in Milton Keynes Council.) that 'old' people need to be kept in accommodation that is so warm that a tropical plant would wilt. I may be over 70, but I don't consider myself old in any way. You can't alter the temperature with a thermostat. It is something to do with the hot water pipe which runs under the sink in the kitchen. It must run very close to the cold water pipe because sometimes when you turn on the cold tap, hot water comes out for a few seconds. When I first moved here, I, unfortunately, left out a bottle of milk and by the morning it had turned sour. You could have made cheese or yogurt out of it!

I have now looked up the phrase 'if you don't like the heat, keep out of the kitchen. It was said by the American President, Harry S. Truman.

Friday. 6.40 a.m. Watching Good Morning Britain on ITV. Richard Madely had taken over from Piers Morgan and he isn't in thrall of the scientists who are keeping us all frozen in time. I just want to know where his wife Judy is. They always worked together as a couple, having been the original presenters of  This Morning and then their own show at teatime on Channel Four. I am really getting tired of being lectured to by the BBC, which is why I've switched over this morning. On 13th June there is a brand new channel opening called GB News, lead by Andrew Neil. Quite a few former BBC reporters have been signed up, including Simon McCoy. It would seem that many BBC presenters are leaving the sinking ship, not just television. Classic FM has now got several former BBC presenters on-air, such as former BBC Breakfast presenter Bill Turnbull, John Humphries, and Moira Stewart, who used to be a new reader.. I think there was a huge tidal wave of BBC personnel jumping ship (sorry about the puns.) when the BBC had to reveal how much they paid their personnel and I presume a commercial channel would be able to pay far higher salaries than the BBC.

Later. 9.05 a.m. I have written around two sides of A4. My 'project', for want of a better term (I don't know really whether it's a novel, or what you'd describe it as.) is growing. I've managed to find a way of linking the various elements together, which was actually quite obvious, but I won't mention it here

Well, we're all over the place (my blog post title coming into its own now.) as regards the variant of the coronavirus. We have the so-called Indian Variant, which is also known as the Delta Variant and now, give a round of applause to . . . the Nepal Variant. They are supposed to be more infectious than earlier variants and scientists are saying that the Government should be cautious of lifting restrictions on 21st June. A great deal of anger from various sections of society about the newest restrictions coming into force regarding traveling abroad. You have to quarantine for ten days if you return to some countries, not actually sure which, as the system of 'traffic lights' to show which are the highest and lowest countries to have levels of infections and so on because of coronavirus, is really confusing, which is probably why there is so much annoyance and anger, which I suppose is going to happen if you had intended travelling abroad for a holiday as well as the airline industry. But if that's the case, why not just stay in Britain and have a holiday here instead of trotting off to wherever increase the carbon emissions of the plane you will fly in and then spend a great deal of money on testing as well as having to isolate for however many days are required when you come home.

Coronavirus Panic, Camphill and Television Viewing

Just been watching the penultimate episode of the latest season of 'Doctor Who,' and I have to say it's really rather good. It would appear they've thrown everything into this story, with better special effects and generally a better story and all the assistants had plenty to do. I still don't understand the second story, presumably set in Ireland. Then (spoiler alert!) a central enemy of the Doctor appears in the closing moments and there's the finale episode of the season still to be seen . . .

(Tuesday) I've now seen the final episode of he season and it's good! But there's rumours that some of the actors who play the assistants are leaving, notably Bradley Walsh, due to other work commitments.

(Saturday) Today would be my lovely Carol's 56th birthday. I'm upset and I miss her, but I know she wouldn't want me to dwell on things and I'm getting on with my life. It's ironic to think that, had I not been driving to Willen Hospice to see Carol when she was there and going past the entrance to Camphill, I might not have thought to become a volunteer there and make so many friends with the group of residents in the drama workshop. I'm sure she'd be so pleased to think I'm doing something I enjoy and using what skills I have to benefit that group of people.

(Sunday) It's bright and sunny. There was a fairly strong wind blowing when I took Alfie out and we walked partially around Oldbrook Boulevard, but it was still chilly.

(Tuesday) Only at Camphill until 12 o'clock because they were having training and then community assembly. We did a line-run of 'Stranger Danger.' It's getting better and stronger each time the guys perform it. Every line very clear and you could hear each word spoken. I again was a 'Little Piggy,' because one of the residents, who never seems to appear before midday, wasn't with us. Then we watched part of 'The Sound of Music.' Another film I remember going to see when it was originally released, probably around 1965, and going with my father instead of my grandmother, and all he did was complain about the cost of the cinema seats, no doubt shown at the Granada cinema in St Peters Street, now demolished and the site now a branch of Lidl. Great pity. At one point it had the second largest cinema screen after the Odeon Marble Arch in London. Just one question I have to ask about the 'Sound of Music.' How come Captain Von Trapp (played by Christopher Plummer) is a sea captain, because if the film is set in Austria, which has no coastline, how come they had a navy? Or did they? Which navy was he a sea captain of? Then we did an improvisation, based loosely on the scene where the children march out when the Captain blows his whistle. I'm not sure it worked but we will need to rehearse it some more before it's perfect.

The residents at Camphill have done some sort of training since the coronavirus outbreak. They mustn't shake hands but touch elbows. Although i'm not sure that isn't as bad as hand-shaking as it's still touching. Wearing of face masks, which we see a lot of on television news since this epidemic began, somewhere in China, because these things are mean't to be worn once and then only for a shot time and then, if you touch them on the outside when you take them off, that would spread the virus, so in that case they are pointless.

(Wednesday) I've been shopping in Sainsbury's this morning and I saw the aisle where the toilet rolls are and a lot of shelf space is empty, due,  no doubt, to total panic buying. I can't see why particularly toilet rolls. Pasta as well, apparently. No doubt some crazy item in one of the more reactionary newspapers, such as the Daily Mail or Express. It's a sort of siege mentality.

It's nowhere near as blustery and cold today. Do I get a sense of it being almost spring-like, or is that being a bit too optimistic?

I've discovered that there's going to be an 'Alice In Wonderland' exhibition to be staged at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, starting in June. I am something of an 'Alice' fanatic and read it avidly when I was a child and it has really fascinated me even as an adult, so it's a must for me to visit an exhibition which is going to have some of the original artwork which was done by the illustrator Sir John Tenniel as well as preliminary artwork for the 1950's Walt Disney animated cartoon as well as a good deal more, so I will have to get my ticket on-line, which is the only way it would seem you can get to see the exhibition, timed-ticket only. I only found out about this exhibition whilst listening to Classic FM which I had on when I was driving to Camphill the other day, so thanks to them and whoever was the presenter, I think probably John Suchet. I think I may wait until the coronavirus situation is under control before deciding whether I go to this exhibition. I don't fancy going into London and putting myself at risk of catching the thing. I don't want to, but it makes sense.

Fixed MacBook

As I've mentioned in an earlier post, my MacBook Air has been playing up for the past few days. I couldn't get the Safari browser to open and eventually the whole laptop seemed to freeze up. I had taken it into the Apple store in Midsummer Place in Milton Keynes and it seemed as if it was solved by one of the staff members, but by the evening of Thursday it was playing up again. To say I was annoyed would be an understatement. As I had to phone to get the appointment and then go in, park the car and then walk into the shopping centre, it didn't please me to have to go through the whole process yet again. I rang after 9.30 this morning, having discovered, when I rang at 9 o'clock, that they didn't open up until gone 9.30. When I eventually got through I was speaking to this lovely lady from Apple Care. I had given the serial number of the machine and she talked me through what was likely to be wrong and it appeared that I didn't have the latest up-date of the operating system. Mojave. I had the earlier version. I had attempted to download the latest update, but each time I attempted it I kept getting a message which told me I didn't have enough space on the machine. This lovely lady showed me how to remove unnecessary files and software to make space which would all0w the upgrade to take place. I found I had loads of podcasts which were taking up a lot of space and then I was able to download version 10.14.4 of MacOS Mojave, which took around 30-45 minutes and once the machine was restarted, everything functioned perfectly and Safari worked as it should, although it now appears in the Dock at the right-hand side, where previously it was at the left. So, all present and correct. I has taught me, if anything else, that it's advisable to keep removing unnecessary files from your computer.

Having dealt with my MacBook, I decided to have a bath this evening. I usually listen to Classic FM when I'm in the bath. Nothing beats a good soak in a really hot bath. Why anyone thinks a shower is a substitute for a proper, old fashioned bath I can't think. Anyway, I'm a classical music fan. But Classic FM spoils things with their awful adverts. I know that it's funded by advertising, but do they have to be so dumb? The worst thing is having a sort of bunch of them running up to the hour, something like 5 minutes of mindless pap. The worst of those for P.P.I. 'Doris from London didn't thin she had P.P.I. . .' Well, Doris, where were you when the brain cells were handed out? Why didn't you think to keep the paperwork? Well, just text '1234' and the words 'Idiot' and you could have the dulcet tones of some person working in an overcrowded call centre bothering you. They can do the search for you, and if you get you money returned, they'll take their vast percentage for doing the work for you. Now they're telling me and all Classic FM's other listeners that you can claim back thousands if you were mis-sold an investment. But, please, if you invest in stocks and shares, they have a habit of going down in value as well as up, so it's your silly fault if you don't make a million from your aunty Dotty's money you got left in her will. Silly you. All these adverts get in th way of the music, which I generally love. In the end I just turn the radio off. In the case of listening in the bath, I connect my iPhone to a bluetooth speaker, using the Classic FM app. It works really well. The speaker came from Sainsbury's and is a Boombar.

A Surprise Parcel!

We were quietly watching television this afternoon (actually the run-up to the Grand National, if you must ask!) when there was a loud knock at the door. I didn't take much notice at first, as our neighbours make all sorts of odd, extraneous noises, and this made the dogs bark! I went and answered the door, to discover a postman handing me this large, brown parcel, which I took. We haven't ordered anything, nothing from Amazon, which is where most parcels come from for us, and took it through to the lounge to open, and discovered inside a rather nice cafetiere, two matching mugs and a packet of ground coffee, all curtesy of Taylor's of Harrogate. There was nothing to say where it was from, as you'd expect. I think it may have been some sort of draw on the Classic FM website, there again it may be something to do with Betty's of Harrogate (who own Taylor's.) Carol and I love Betty's teashops, when we visit Yorkshire, there being several branches, one in Harrogate, another in York, and one in Northallerton (all of which we've visited during holidays in Yorkshire.) so it may have been when I've signed up for emails from them. Several years ago I won a rather nice Robert's digital radio from a similar draw on Classic FM (which I still have and use regularly.) Just goes to show that if you sign up to things you do eventually win something.

Visit To Bedford- Part 2

Having parked the car and paid the extortionate parking fee, I walked to Nick's flat.  I didn't get any change out of that confounded machine, I realise. Bedford Borough Council owes me 10p.

It was a relatively short walk down Chaucer Road and across Bromham Road and then down Ashburnham Road. I got to Nick's flat and he let me in and we spent some time chatting and had a cup of tea together. We then went into the centre of Bedford, where I haven't been for a good four years. I have been over to Bedford briefly on several occasions, one of which was to go to the funeral of Louis Fussell, my former landlord in Rutland Road, but I didn't spend much time wandering around the town centre. So we was interesting to see what had happened to Bedford in the intervening years. I had lived at Beauchamp Court, a block of flats within a stone's throw of the bus station, and was interested to see what had happened as regards the redevelopment of that area. I noticed that two of the blocks of flats had been demolished (over the road from Beauchamp Court.) and that was about all. I can't see how it can take that long to get this work underway and still only have the blocks of flats demolished. Oh dear, things take an exceptionally long time to get done in Bedford, for some weird reason. It took over sixty years for the by-pass to get built, and most of that was because there was endless wrangles over the proposed route.

We ended up in Costa's coffee, which wasn't there when I lived in Bedford (in what used to be Clayton's menswear.) and then we walked through the town centre to Silver Street. What posessed the local authority to put that weird sculpture in there, I can't imagine. It's near Debenhams's and facing the High Street. It's of two enormous faces, made of shiny metal, facing each other. It would look fine on the side of a hill somewhere, and seen from a distance (perhaps behind a few hedges and a tree, to hide it completely, perchance.) But stuck in the centre of Bedford town centre, it looks really out of place. There is another sculpture on the roundabout near the bus station (not far from Beauchamp Court) which I saw as we walked past, and that looks a little better (I think there was a fountain there once upon a time, but that went long ago, sadly.)A little more in keeping with the surroundings than the awful monstrosity in Silver Street. I bet there was an outcry from the Council Tax payers of Bedford over these items, as I bet they cost quite a bit.

I was somewhat shocked at the shabby state of everything. Bedford has been totally neglected over the years, what with empty shops everywhere as a result of the recession (the one in the 1980's and not necessarily the last one, or the current one) as well as the result of the Credit Crunch. There are many new cafes and eating places, which I don't understand. If there's really no reason to visit the place (nothing much in the way of attractions, such as in Oxford, Cambridge, York, Harrogate or similar-sized towns.) why would anyone want to eat there? No theatre, concert hall or anything of much artistic or cultural interest (apart from, perhaps, concerts in the Corn Exchange or  exhibitions at the Cecil Higgins art gallery.) There is the Civic Theatre, which seems to remain steadfastly open, but I can't think why, as it's the most moth eaten place to see a show you could wish to find. I have discovered that the Bowen West Theatre, which was part of DeMontfort University and in Lansdown Road, is empty and awaiting, I presume, the demolition ball, as a result of what is now Bedfordshire University selling all their propeties around there to fund the new buildings in Polhill Avenue. But what a waste of a perfectly good theatre. Why didn't the local authority take it over and keep it as a venue, as it's of a good size, with reasonable site-lines etc, and would be far better than the tatty Civic Theatre which has all the appeal of a village hall with cramped seating, awful backstage facilities and has to contend with the sound of traffic thundering past.

Apart from all of this, you have to contend with traffic thundering through the town. I know there is the newly opened by-pass, but why does traffic still have to come down the High Street and round that idiotic one-way traffic system, which must try the patience of many a passing motorist?

I knew the parking ticket on the car was due to run out at 12.50, so we walked back to my car and I bade farewell to Nick. I had one or two items to buy in Sainsbury's at Clapham Road, which was a short drive from where I'd parked. I got the things I needed and then drove out of Bedford along Shakespeare Road and went out of town via Bromham Road. I then realised that I could get to Milton Keynes by using the relatively new link road from Bromham to Kempston and then to the M1 at Brogborough (the way I'd come into Bedford.) I drove with one of Beethoven's piano concertos playing on Classic Fm, which I tend to have on when I'm driving, and could see some spectacular cloud formations and rain moving across the landscape as I drove back to Milton Keynes.