A Little Of What You Fancy

I think the Partygate scandal, if indeed it can be termed a scandal, just shows how much Boris Johnson can obfuscate. Now there's a good word. I think I will henceforth attempt to find a 'Word of The Week. This word.

So, obfuscate. Wording something in such a way that it is so excessively complicated that nobody really understands it. This can be said of the crazy and somewhat pointless regulations regarding the pandemic lockdowns. Then, why on earth are there different regulations in the various constituent countries in the United Kingdom? Why are they not consistent throughout the whole United Kingdom? Then, on top of that, we have Boris Johnson who waffles on and seems to evade responding to the various questions in Prime Ministers Questions and debates in the House of Commons, such as, was he at a party in 10 Downing Street or other government establishments?

Wednesday. 2.50 p.m. So, Denmark has got rid of all its pandemic lockdown rules and regulations. So, when can we in Great Britain remove all of our stupid restrictions? Boris was more or less bludgeoned into introducing them in the first place, by the scientists who should have known better.

I think it's time to drop any more mentions of Partygate. It's getting really boring. 

Thursday. 7.45 a.m. Quite mild as I write this. I just hope it stays that way, at least, for the next week or so.

I've bought a Fitbit Versa 2. It replaces the old one I've had for a couple of years, which stopped working. This model isn't merely a step counter, but a watch that measures heart-rate, and many other things. I bought it from Argos, using my Nectar points and points I had collected doing various online surveys. I was surprised how quickly I was able to get it up and running and using it. I had ordered it via the Argos website and collected it from their store in Milton Keynes yesterday morning ('Click and Collect' I believe they call this.) Argos have stopped their catalogue and seem to only work with their website. I suppose it must have been extremely expensive to create these catalogues which came out twice a year and then distribute them. If you have the internet it's far easier to find and order items which you can then collect from their showrooms or have delivered.

I went to my first lecture of the National Trust Association at the Oaktree Centre at 2 p.m. It was somewhat off being there, but not for a church event, but nevertheless it was interesting. It was a talk by someone who used to work for Charles Ross fine art auctioneers in Woburn. Charles Ross is a regular antique expert on such television shows as Bargain Hunt and Antiques Road Trip. This gentleman, by the name of Evan Willison, gave an amusing talk (he didn't like it being called a lecture, and I can see why. Smacks of 'education' and it being somewhat po-faced, which this certainly wasn't. He mentioned many and various incidents which had happened to him over the course of working as an auctioneer for over 30 years. Very amusing. I was surprised by how well attended the event was. There are regular talks given on a variety of subjects as well as outings to various places, one coming up to the British Museum and another to Chartwell, home of wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill. I don't think I will be going on that one, having already visited and the fact that it would take a good two hours to travel down to Kent and then another two hours back on a coach. Not my idea of fun, particularly as I'm over six foot tall and sitting on a coach for any length of time would be uncomfortable. Most coaches aren't designed with any thought for someone my height. I may wait and see what other outings they have and decide to go one something else, especially if it's to one of the National Trust properties.

Dryday

Sunday. 2.20 a.m. Here I am, in the middle of the night, sitting in the lounge because I couldn't get back to sleep. Alfie has just come into the room from the bedroom. Probably he can't sleep either. I have ordered a repeat prescription via the Airmid app because I wasn't sure whether I had an adequate supply and it's as well to have it all ordered in good time to make sure I don't run out of anything. It should be ready for collection from Lloyd's Pharmacy in Sainsbury's by Tuesday at the latest.

I am not attending church in person until we don't have to wear masks. It is virtually impossible to sing when you have something over your mouth and nose. Apart from the fact that it steams up my glasses and having to breathe out hot breath so your face ends up as if it's been in a sauna, it sparks off that horrible cough I've mentioned before in these blog posts. I'm not entirely convinced that face-coverings prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Or protects you in any way. Most of those that people wear will be unwashed and not particularly hygienic, and those that are 'medically' serviceable, or of a higher standard, are not as effective as they might be. Also, some people, probably a very small percentage of the population, insist on disposing of them by flinging them on the ground. Very likely to be a cause for environmental problems as well as likely to contaminate water etc because of the chemicals they contain or the materials they are made of.

Later. 6.55 p.m. I've spent a great deal of time over the weekend transcribing my handwritten material into word processing. It's going better than I thought and have cut and pasted some material from elsewhere that had to be put in the correct place for the story to work.

Monday. 6.35 a.m. Another day and still under some form of lockdown. Today should have been 'Freedom Day' but things haven't changed since the so-called 'Delta Variant' is supposedly causing problems. But we have a vaccine  (something like 60 million doses have been given.) and a large percentage of the population has herd immunity. It's almost as if the government doesn't trust it to do its work. On BBC Breakfast (yes, I'm back watching that again.) they are discussing booster vaccines. Which makes sense as they don't know how long the vaccine will remain effective. But I'm thinking, surely, once you've had the two doses, your body will build up natural immunity. Keeping people apart surely prevents this natural ability to build up any immunity.

10.30 a.m. I've been into the city centre intending to apply for an ATM card which I can use with my newly set-up savings account with Nationwide. After parking in my usual place near The Point and paying using the RingGo app and then walking into the centre (which is deathly quiet as there are virtually no other shoppers about. When I see any they are walking the wrong way in the system is set up. You are meant to walk one way up and the other to walk down, but, as I say, some people don't appear to know this. They can hardly ignore the signs that are everywhere unless they have poor eyesight, can't read English, or have no ability to read whatsoever.) I arrive at the Nationwide branch and then I'm told that the account I have set up doesn't have an ATM card, because it was set up online. I wasn't made aware of this when I set it up. Oh, never mind. It's not important, although I could change it to be operated with a card. Such is life!

I then walk to Marks and Spencers. I want to go to the menswear floor but the escalator wasn't working. It looks as if it's being repaired, so I decide to use the stairs. Hidden away to one side of the store and it's quite a hike up to the floor I want. I think I might need oxygen, because of the effort. The irony, oh the irony! Also, a dose of sarcasm here. I hunt around to find polo shirts and discover several which I like and then take photos with my iPhone. The idea being that I will have some M and S vouchers soon, earned from doing online surveys. I can order the required items online and use the vouchers and then 'click and collect', which I have done before. I found the product number on the hang tickets and put these numbers on the M and S website. I know, a lot of effort but a good deal easier than finding and paying for the item in-store. It also means you just go in and collect the items without any more frustrations, such as queuing and paying.

Too Darn Hot

(Thursday) On BBC Breakfast this morning  we being told that today will be very hot. 31°, hot and humid. But if that's in Centegrade, what's that in Fahrenheit? I'm sorry, but I'm from the generation which is used to Fahrenheit, the same as with metric measurements. I still think in feet and inches. Why on earth we didn't change over completely to metric which is actually far easier, I can't think. You would have though when we joined the EU it would all change, but it didn't, so we're stuck in between them, betwixt and between as they say.

I have put on sun block, a handy spray version, which is a good deal easier than a cream. Just need to get it topped up as the day progresses. Alfie doesn't like the heat and finds it extremely difficult to find a place cool enough the flat.

(Friday) A hot and humid night which made sleeping difficult. I was in need of a fan to cool down the flat, so I have ordered on on the Argos website and I can go and collect it later from the Grafton Gate store. 'Click and Collect' as they term it, so it should be relatively easy to collect it without having to spend time in the store. Lets wait and see what happens when I go there later. I have washing on, so will have to wait until that is complete before going.

(Saturday) It's a good deal cooler this morning. It is drizzling outside (well, just as well it's not inside.) not raining, but damping things down. It's 6.45a.m. and I'm on the point of taking Alfie outside. I have the tower fan I got from Argos yesterday on and I think I'll leave it running to keep the flat warm. Alfie is asleep on the sofa. Poor little thing has been trying to find a place where he can keep cool.

Later. When I took his Nibs out a bit later, we didn't manage to escape the wetting caused by a sort of drizzle again. Alfie doesn't like getting wet and was appreciative of the fact that we went home fairly rapidly. As we were walking back home a wind got up from virtually nowhere, which presaged rain and I walked as fast as I could, with Alfie, as usual, sniffing ever blade of grass and taking his time as he has a habit of doing. He just loves pottering around.

Sunday. The lockdown is having more of a negative effect on people than actually helping to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. People are becoming totally fed up with being locked inside their homes, which includes me. I'm not used to sitting and doing virtually nothing and under different circumstances I would be doing things outside my home.

There was supposed to be a church meeting/worship via Zoom this morning, but I don't really think it's possible to have worship through this form of technology. Just not viable. But I couldn't get the connection to work, after several attempts, so I gave up. I suspect it may be because there are so many people using this technology as well as the internet being over-loaded at the moment, with so many people using it and it not being capable to cope with so many users on line. But, as a result, I decided to watch something via television catch-up, and 1994 episode of Time Team, about the discovery of a Roman iron smelting site on a golf course in Sussex (well, I think it was sussex.)

Walking The Dog (and Sundry Matters)

(Saturday) A really lovely warm day today. As a result of hearing the weather forecast I decided to take off the bedding, duvet cover, sheet and pillow slips, and have them in the washing machine early this morning. Bedding changed and sorted and took Alfie out for his routine walk around Eaglestone Park. We met a large labrador also being walked and as usual Alfie wanted to be friends but I wasn't sure whether the other dog was that interested. Poor Alfie! We did the longer route back through the estate going towards Marlborough Street and came back along the Redway. I had a package to collect from Marks and Spencer, a short sleeved Henley top which was on their website and with 20% discount because I have a Sparks card (the Marks and Spencer loyalty card.) it seemed to good an opportunity to add to my wardrobe, particularly with the warm weather. I went into town after 9 o'clock and parked where I normally do near the Point.

I walked through to Marks and Spencer's. Hardly anybody about. Well, as it's a Saturday, a lot of people who would be shopping in this shopping centre aren't even out of bed yet. I go up on the escalator to the first floor, to the department where you pick up your 'Click and Collect' orders. It's a simple system, go on-line to order and pay and then wait a few days to get an email and then go in and pick your order up, beautifully packaged and even on a hanger. It means you don't have to wade through racks in the store or spend ages trying to find that particular item in your size. I then had a look at sort sleeve shirts. Marks have a good range, in lovely colours and fabrics and found what I wanted, but it wasn't in my size, so I had to ask a member of staff if they had it in stock. She looked on a computer screen and said they could order it for me. I wanted an XL size, and a regular fit, not what they call 'slim fit.' I don't like clothes that are too tight and I usually take a size L, but find if I have XL then there's a bit more room, if you know what I mean. I have lost a fair amount of weight, but putting some of it back on. I lost no end of weight when Carol was diagnosed and going through that awful time before she died. I had to put several more holes in the belt on my trousers. I don't wear jeans, I never have done since I was around 17-18. I much prefer Chinos as they fit better and don't go all baggy in the backside. Generally more comfortable. Anyway, the lady on the till said that the shirt I wanted would be available to pick up, on Monday. So, when I go to the Willen coffee morning in John Lewis, I can go and pick it up then.

So, order collected, I walked back through the shopping centre and returned to the car. By this time it was beginning to get busy. I'm glad I came in when I did. From there I drove to Sainsbury's to do some shopping and mainly to collect a repeat prescription from the Lloyd's in-store pharmacy.

I have a mystery. When I got home I checked to see if the washing was dry. It was. I'm so glad I had it out on the line so early. I want to know is this: why is it whenever you wash a duvet cover and you put it in the machine the right way round, when you come to remove it, how come it's inside out? There's no reason why it should. And why do you nearly always find, when you peg out socks, in particular, you always get one sock that doesn't have a mate, a matching one? It then either gets left inside the machine, so you have to spin the drum with your hand to see what is left, or it might just not even make the wash, and remain in the laundry basket, or you find you left it on the bedroom floor. The laundry elves must have something to do with it . . . .

It was bright and sunny as the day progressed. After lunch I took Alfie out for a second walk. He was more than happy to oblige and must have thought all his birthdays had come at once. We walked down the Redway towards the Grand Union Canal and walked along one side and then came back over the other, crossing over the canal at one of the bridges and then came back round and walked back along the Redway and home. I was quite exhausted when I got back, but never mind, it was worth it, just to have Alfie happy and for me to get some good exercise.

I forgot to mention. On Thursday, about half an hour before I left the house to drive to the theatre to see 'Les Miz,' I got a telephone call on my mobile. It was from Universal Extras, an agency which I have started applying to work for on their website. I have already uploaded two photos, one of which has been approved and the second, one of the full-length shots that John did for me the other week, was awaiting approval. It wasn't that which the call was about. Apparently they need proof of my right to work in the United Kingdom. A bit of a shock, because I have never been asked this by anyone before because I was born and have only ever lived in the UK, and, secondly, I don't have a passport. I was told I could use my birth certificate, a copy of which I don't currently have. Once these documents have been seen, uploaded or whatever, then I can be offered work by them. So, on Friday I went to the Bedford County Council website and applied on-line, as most things seem to be done these days. I at first thought I could have to drive to Bedford and apply 'over-the-counter,' but, no, it's just a question of filling in an on-line form and paying using my debit card and hopefully the certificate copy will be posted to me and should arrive in a couple of days.