November Sun

 Thursday. 12.35 p.m. The weather is terrible today. It's raining heavily, and it's overcast.

The digital thermometer currently reads 21ºc.

We had our weekly Life Group at the Oaktree Centre this morning, but there were only 4 of us there. We had a long conversation about memories of Christmases, instead of the usual Bible study.

Friday. 9.25 a.m. I have washing in the dryer, and I'm waiting for it to finish.

It is brighter on the weather front. There is a weak sun, and at least it's not raining or a howling wind.

The digital thermometer currently reads 20ºc.

12.55 p.m. I had a Christmas card I wanted to post, to my brother, Andrew. I waited until my washing was dried and put away, and drove to the Post Office in the One Stop shop in Coffee Hall. I had gone on line to check my bank account, because I wanted to go on to Sainsbury's after I'd dealt with the card.l Unfortunately, when I got to One Stop, I then discovered that the Post Office counter within the store had gone, and I had to buy a book of stamps for around £6, took one and stuck it on the envelope which contained the Christmas card and then posted it in the post box outside the store. I then had to return to Dexter House to pick up my bank card and then drive on to Sainsbury's. Meanwhile, I had to contend with roadworks as it would appear that the Council was doing resurfacing work at the roundabout, which I had to cross to get to Sainsbury's and negotiate a lot of orange traffic cones, and it wasn't totally clear where you were supposed to drive.

Saturday. 7.50 a.m. Yesterday I took delivery of an SD card for my Osmo Pocket 3, which I had ordered from Amazon. These things are tiny, no bigger than the nail of your little finger. In fact, I think it's a good deal smaller. It is quite difficult to remove it from the packaging. You have to cut through the card which houses the thing and then attack the plastic which holds it in place. You need scissors to cut through everything and be careful to not damage the actual SD card. Once removed from it's prison, I had to remove the current SD card from the camera and replace it with the new one. Then, initialise it to make sure it will work correctly. This done, I had to remove it and at this point, it is quite difficult, as the thing is kept in place with a strong spring, which only managed to make the SD card shoot out of the housing and disappear somewhere in the area around my chair. I began to hunt frantically for it, and decided that it was totally lost. Which annoyed me, as the thing costs £30. So I ordered a second one on Amazon. It was whilst resting on my bed, that I thought it might be a good idea to look inside my armchair, by lifting the seat cushion, and, there was the missing SD card, which I put in the camera case. I will have to be a little more careful when dealing with the SD cards in the Osmo Pocket 3.

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.

All In A Day's Work

Tuesday. 10.20 a.m. It's still mild. Not sunny, although a slight chill. For late January, really mild. I thought it was cold enough for snow, but it doesn't seem cold enough for snow at the moment.

I have been to post the parcel for the grandsons. I drove towards Coffee Hall, but for some inexplicable reason, I missed the turn, thinking I had gone past the turning for Milton Keynes Academy. So I had to take the next right turn into Coffee Hall. A real maze of roads and with some manoeuvering, I managed to get to Garraways where One Stop is which has the post office inside.

I'm gradually transcribing my handwritten work onto word processing. The new MacBook is certainly making life easier in that respect. I have well over 1500 words written and it's going well. Not just transcribing, but making alterations as I go.

Wednesday. 9.40 a.m. I'm continuing with the transcribing. It's going well. A slow process, but it has to be done.

Yesterday evening I watched the first episode of 'The Green Planet', the latest David Attenborough natural history series on BBC 1. (Although I watched it via BBC iPlayer.) What can I say, except that it's beautiful and totally amazing, especially the use of time-lapse photography, to show plants growing? As usual, the final ten minutes is devoted to the people who make the show, answering a question I had as soon as I saw this footage, 'how do they do it?' This is the type of programme which only the BBC can make. The patience of the makers is totally incredible. It's a bit like animation, something else that intrigues me. A very slow process to get a mere couple of screen time. 

Oh dear! Boris Johnson is in a pickle. Nothing new there. He's something of a loose cannon. Partygate, which it has been christened, is all over the papers. There have been parties, both Christmas and the birthday variety, within the hallowed confines of Number 10 Downing Street during the lockdown in 2020. It would appear that there has been a certain amount of hypocrisy going on here. One minute our esteemed Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has been telling us to 'remain at home' during the pandemic lockdown, during the almost daily press conferences, the next he has been holding gatherings within Downing Street, one of which was in the garden. It has since been revealed that he has a birthday party held in his honour. There is a picture circulating where he has been presented with a rather tasty-looking birthday cake and he has a wide grin on his face. It seems that he cannot resist cake at any price. Even though he must have know that a gathering of his cabinet or other political allies within Downing Street would have been against the rules. 

Johnson is a combination of Mr Toad, Bertie Wooster, Billy Bunter and Winnie The Pooh!

There is an investigation going into Partygate. It does seem rather extreme, to say the least, and somewhat unnecessary. Will Boris be forced to resign over eating cake? Will he bite the dust? All rather like an episode of the rather brilliant 1980s political sitcom 'Yes Prime Minister."  Even something out of Oliver Cromwell's time as Lord Chancellor. Or perhaps something out of the works of Frans Kafka. Certainly comedic. 

So, what happens after the findings of the independent investigation are revealed? Will Boris be sent packing?

Just tell me, what did this woman Sue Gray investigate? Did she go round 10 Downing Street with a magnifying glass like Sherlock Holmes, looking for birthday cake crumbs? Did she find party poppers on the floor? The candles from Boris's birthday cake? The wrapping paper from presents? It all sounds so idiotic it sounds as if it's been fabricated by some sort of spoilsport.

Lockdown Frustration

I entitled this blog 'Frustration,' because I'm still cooped up like a battery chicken in a relatively small space, I speak to very few people during my day, each one becoming an exact copy of the last one, the fact that it's almost a year since all this lockdown business began (well, it will be by the end of March.) and there seems to be no sign of an end to this situation, even though we now have several anti-coronavirus vaccines being rolled out. There is no evidence, as yet, that these vaccines will actually make a vast difference, particularly whether they prevent cross infection between people, or, indeed, how long their effects last. I could go on, but I won't.

 (Monday) My  Apple MacBook Air needs to be charged, as any battery-operated laptop computer does. It has around 10 hours when fully charged. I like to keep it as fully charged as possible. It has a charger which has a magnetic plug which fits into the side port. Unfortunately, due to fair intense use over the years (it is around 6 years old.) But unfortunately, due to the constant use, plugging and unplugging, the cable has got worn. The actual metal cable had worn through and on some occasions I have felt a slight shock. Although not dangerous, I had meant to replace it. I think we had to replace the same cable on Carol's smaller MacBook, which was purchased through a scheme they had at Milton Keynes Academy, where by Carol paid in installments, take monthly from her salary. The MacBook I have (and on which this is being written.) was a birthday present she gave me.

I bought my iPad from Very, the on-line retail outlet. We bought quite a few items through them when we lived in Eaglestone. I had to buy a fridge/freezer when I moved to Dexter House and once it was paid off I decided to treat myself to an iPad, and since the lockdown which began in March 2020 it has been really useful as a tool to aid communication. I am still paying for it in instalments. I discovered that Very had Apple accessories, including the MacBook Air charger available, At £79 it's expensive, but at least I could buy it and add it to my account and pay that in instalments. It's quite a large outlay to pay for that if I'd gone to John Lewis or the Apple store which is in Milton Keynes shopping centre, so it was the right option. So, I ordered it and it arrived last week. I was a bit concerned that it might not be the right item, but when it arrived I opened the package and it does work and the old, worn, adapter was put in the recycling. 

The MacBook charging device arrived on Friday when I was out walking Alfie. It was left with my neighbour and he gave it to me as I got back. I was glad that it was the right device and I immediately had it connected to the laptop and the old, worn device has gone in the recycling. Then the next day I came in again and my neighbour presented me with exactly the same package, the same shape and wrapped in blue plastic. A sense of  de javu. Why would I have a second parcel containing exactly the same device, particularly as I hadn't ordered it. I immediately opened the parcel to discover, to my annoyance, that it was indeed the same items as the first parcel which I had received. So, I would need to send it back to Very, as I didn't need it. Perhaps I could have kept it as a spare, but as these things cost £79, I wasn't keen to have to pay out twice for the same thing. 

I managed to wrap the MacBook charger in wrapping paper and got it sealed up with a healthy amount of Sellotape, having put  the returns form inside, stuck the return label on the top and left it to take to post in the morning. This morning, Monday, I drove to One Stop in Coffee Hall as there is a Post Office inside. I had to wait for a good twenty minutes as someone had goodness knows how many parcels to go through the system. The man behind the counter had to weigh each item and then put sticky tables on each one and it went on interminably. It was then my turn to hand over my parcel, and the man told me he couldn't take it! It had a pre-paid address label and he said I should take it, I'm not sure exactly because, having to wear a face-covering I think effected my hearing. I left, not exactly pleased, and drove to the next Post Office I knew of at Netherfield. He had said, next to the Coop, so I assumed it was there that he meant. I went into the Coop and soon realised it wasn't where the Post Office was. I then realised it was only a few shops along, so I went in and the lady behind the counter told me she wasn't supposed to take my parcel (for whatever reason, I can't think why. After all, that's what the Post Office is for, or I assumed it was. Anyway, I handed over the parcel, and that was the end of the matter, thankfully.

(Tuesday) It's 7.25a.m. I'm sitting here in my armchair typing away at this. It dark outside and I'm about to take Alfie out. He won't like it, because it's raining. At least, I have a good idea that it is, because earlier, when I was in the bathroom, there was rain running down the outside of the window, but as far as I know, it might have stopped, but I'm not entirely sure.

I had to order medication which was on the point of running out. On Sunday I went into the app I have on my iPad which allows me to order my medication and make appointments with my doctor as well as see my notes etc. But when I went into it on Sunday I found that Bisoprolol couldn't be ordered, for what ever reason. I attempt to make sure that I have enough of my medication on hand and that I don't run out. It can sometimes take a week for an order to go through, from the doctor authorising a prescription to it being sent to Lloyd's Pharmacy in Sainsbury's, to them making it up and then texting me to say it's ready for collection. On Monday morning I attempted to ring the surgery, but, unfortunately, after listening to a long splurge on this and that and in particular, information about Covid 19 and not going to the surgery unless it was an emergency, the system hung up on me. Not what I needed at that precise moment. So, after some thought, I decided to go into the surgery website and managed to leave a message on the site. Which must have been read and acted upon, as later in the afternoon I got a text message saying the prescription was made up and ready for collection. Bisoprol is a beta blocker, meaning it slows down my heart rhythm and hopefully, helping prevent another heart attack, which was why I was eager to have a plentiful supply as I take one tablet each morning and I don't know what would happen if I was to not take it for more than a day. Might be unpleasant and a bit dangerous.

No Milk!

(Saturday) I've done it again! The milk was off so I couldn't have my breakfast bowl of cereal or my mug of tea. I'll just have to wait until the local shop is open and then, once I've munched my cereal and drunk my tea, I can take Alfie out around Eaglestone Park. He's watching me on from his position on the sofa. Never mind. I just didn't realise the milk was off. It came out with horrible floaty bits in it so that's the end of it.

Later. I've been to get milk from the One Stop shop in Garroways, Coffee Hall. I came back and  took Alfie out for his walk. There was absolutely no way he was going to let me have my bowl of cereal and cup of tea before we went out. But I had this when we got back. Funny little dog, a bit of a control freak, but I love him to bits. He's been a fantastic support for me during Carol's diagnosis and since she's died. made myself a cup of tea

I went to Aldi at Bradwell Common. I'm trying to wean myself off Sainsbury's. Nothing wrong with them as a supermarket, but compared with Aldi, they are not cheap. I was in and out in barely 10-15 minutes. No lingering, which is how the big supermarkets want you to behave, selling stuff that you don't really need, such as clothing, so you put it in your trolley and before you know it, your final bill has doubled or trebled. I like the fact that Aldi, as well as Lidl, is relatively small footprint and that you have little choice for some products so its easy to make a decision. Why have so many versions of the same thing, washing-up liquid, breakfast cereal, coffee or tea? Just put it in our trolley. Then, at the checkout, they speedily scan it through. Someone has had the sense to make the barcodes easy to find and they're larger than on other supermarket's packaging. You just have your shopping scanned straight into your trolley and you pack it into your own bags on a nearby shelf once you've paid, which means less waiting in the queue.

Yesterday was hot. Infact, far too hot. After the glitch on Thursday, when my heart rate increased when I went out on my way to the Oaktree Centre, I made sure I stayed indoors and out of the heat. This morning it's not as hot, although the sun is shining at 6.55a.m. I have taken Alfie out around Eaglestone Park, a bit of a surprise for him and before I had my breakfast. Now watching BBC Breakfast and Donald Trump visiting the D.M.Z. (Demilitarised Zone) between North and South Korea. I'm not sure how the pictures are being transmitted, probably via a satellite link, but the pictures keep freezing. Trump preening and making the most of the photo opportunity. He really is a narcissist and relishes being the centre of attention. But, it depends how you read this 'historic event,' and I suppose it it, but don't forget that Trump intends to stand again for next year's Presidential Election, it's just a photo opportunity. But will President Moon, North Korean President, turn up to meet him? Of course, Trumpy has to broadcast this all over Twitter. Just surprises me that the President of the USA should be allowed to use Twitter or any social media, more from a security perspective than anything else.

I've decided that the world, at long last, will have to endure the sight of my knees and my legs! I've put on my shorts and the short-sleeved shirt I bought in Marks and Spencers some while ago. Just need to keep cool today, that's all. The sun continues to shine at 8.15a.m. Just sitting here in my armchair in the lounge writing this.

I've been to Shenley Christian Centre. The speaker was someone from Newlife Church called Dave Eyeington. One of the guys I work with in the drama workshop told me he went there. No end of people in the café area during the break between services when they serve tea and coffee. But NO BISCUITS! I know, I shouldn't eat them, but I do like a biccy with my cuppa and disappointed when there wasn't a Hobnob, Ginger Nut, Digestive, Jammie Dodger (I like them best, especially the red, jammy bit in the centre.) or Custard Cream. Now I've talked myself into going out and getting a packet from the local shop. I think it's called, I can't think now, but I know what I'm attempting to say. Something to do with psychology. It's how supermarkets get us to buy, buy, buy.

I left the Oaktree Centre and immediately drove down Chaffron Way and went to Waitrose and into the café to have a latte, egg sandwich and rather nice Danish pastry. I have bought myself a water bottle because I think I need to drink more, particularly in this warm weather. I think it was when my heart rate increased because of the heat the other evening that encouraged me to buy this item. I just now have to remember to actually fill it with water and take it with me and not leave it at home.

There was quite a queue of cars coming out of the carpark and going up the slope leaving Waitrose. Why on earth is it such a tight turn coming up that slope? Why do drivers insist of trying to turn right coming onto Chaffron Way? It's a particularly dangerous turn in the first place and surely it's safer and easier to turn left, go round the roundabout and go straight ahead, or is that too simple and easy and far easier? I just wonder how many accidents there have been at this junction. The local authority needs to put some sort of barrier in the centre of the road so that people can't turn right. I imagine if they did this, then there would be an outcry. Always someone who will complain, even if it's a safety measure. Driving at full speed around Milton Keynes, at whatever the speed limit is is also dangerous, but it needs to be no more that 50 miles per hour.

As I drove back along Chaffron Way back home I got a phone call through the media system in my car. I have managed to connect my iPhone to the sound system via Bluetooth. This was only the second such call I have had since setting this up. It was from a friend, Margaret, who goes to Shenley Christian Fellowship. It was inviting me for lunch at 2 o'clock. I immediately said yes. It's nice to be invited and a chance to get out of the house. Also nice not to have to prepare a meal and also it means I won't now need to have a meal this evening. They live in Downhead Park, which is next to Willen, no just Willen Hospice (barely a five-minute drive when Carol was in there) but also Camphill.

1360th Blog post. Still Sunny!

This will be my 1360th blog post! Why should that be so important? Well, it isn't, but it's quite an achievement to have kept this blog going for so long.

The sun is shining, the birds are singing! What more can one want? I can do without wasps, flies and other insects which invade the house. I can also do without pop music blasted at me from whatever quarter. People have their windows open, which means there is a leakage of boom-diddy-boom-diddy-boom-bom-boom. You know, or perhaps you don't, that drum beat that a lot of pop music seems to have. It's right what Noel Coward said, 'strange how potent cheap music is!' which is a line from his play 'Private Lives.' The joke is, if you know this play, that the music which is playing in the background is 'Some Day I'll Find You,' which he wrote! So it's sort of turning things on itself. But, regardless of all that, I do agree. I suppose that the sentiment in that line is that popular music has to be potent, in the sense of probably, a drug or alcohol, it has to work it's magic by being repetitive or overwhelming. Anyway, my thing is that drum beating in the distance can be just annoying and puts me off whatever I'd doing, probably attempting to plot a piece I happen to be writing. Then there's those crazed individuals who insist on having pop music blasting from the speakers in their cars as they speed by. So loud it makes the car vibrate and all you get is the booming sound, no music to speak of. Why can it never be Beethoven or Mozart of any other composer's music you care to mention? But if that's the case, why have it so loud that everyone else has to put up with it, regardless of whether they want to or not.

Later. Yesterday evening (Thursday) I went to S.C.F. for another session of The Bible Course. There are three more to go. I was undecided as to what to wear and in the end I didn't wear my new shorts and short-sleeved shirt. As I left the house, I was suddenly hit by the heat. I was around 6.45 and it was quite intense, not helped by the fact that when I got in the car I found the interior hotter still, by quite a few degrees. It made my heart rate increase. I was feeling quite unwell, not exactly helped by the other drivers who insist on tailgating me as I drove up Chaffron Way to the Oaktree Centre. I had to have a drink of water on arrival and I found the main hall cooler than the café area and by the time we started the course I was feeling better. But I think it's a warning to be more careful when the sun is so hot and I was shocked by how hot it was so late in the day.

(Friday) I was quite insistent that I get a lie-in. I was more than determined that I wouldn't get up before 6a.m. I actually took Alfie out at 7 this morning! He wasn't exactly pleased, but it was worth the extra time asleep. I hope to continue with this regime.

Too good to stay indoors today. I had to get out, even if it was just a trip into central Milton Keynes. I had to first go to get some change for the carpark. I do have the RingGo app on my iPhone, but it doesn't always work, so I had to have change for the machine. I went to the Eaglestone shop to use the A.T.M. outside but when I got there, it wasn't working. No cash in it. I know these machines have a tendency to run out of cash, but it was somewhat annoying because I then had to drive all the way to the One Stop shop in Coffee Hall. Fortunately the machine was working, but because the sun was so strong it was next to impossible to read the screen, but fortunately I was able to extract £30 from the maws of the mighty machine and then go into the shop to buy two bags of wine gums and fruit pastilles in order to get change.

I arrived at the carpark and then I found the RingGo app wouldn't work, so I was glad that I'd had the foresight to get change for the parking meter. This technology can be great when it works, but when it doesn't, it's just a waste of time. So it's as well to not always rely on it and use a different method of payment. I walked into the shopping centre and paid some money into my Metro Bank savings account. From there I went into Midsummer Place and as I was waking through I heard my name 'John!' but at first I didn't respond. Then one of the guys from Campbell ran up to me. He said he was about to catch a bus to Peterborough. It's great that they can respond to me and we have long chats when I'm there. I told him he'd better not miss his bus, so he went off, presumably outside to the bus stop. No doubt I'll hear more about his visit (which I believe is where his parents live.) when I'm at Camphill on Tuesday.

Next. Something to eat. Waterstones was near so I went in and as there was nobody queuing I decided to order a latte, toastier and a bun. Very efficient staff and I was soon sitting at a table. As I had my iPhone with me I was able to connect to the internet and look at Facebook and Twitter. Are these devices such a good idea? In some respects, yes, but when people spend a long time on them and disregard those around them, for example, in a work situation, with family and friends, they are more of a distraction and aren't really a replacement for face-to-face conversation, but can be useful for keeping in contact with family and friends and if you want to be easily contacted, ideal. But being in a bookshop it's an ideal place to have a café. Put me near books and I'm quite happy, so once I'd finished my snack I had a browse of the tables that Waterstone so craftily has set up which entices you to look at the books on display and then I went upstairs to the history section to have a further browse. I left before I purchased a book. I have to be honest that I have more than enough books in my bookshelf and could easily buy more. I have several which are waiting in a queue to be read.

From Waterstones I went into the main shopping centre and walked along the mall towards John Lewis and was interested in a store which is going to open soon, called Typo which I have discovered sells stationary. As Staples has since disappeared from Milton Keynes, which is a disappointment because where am I to buy fresh stocks of computer ink cartridges, paper and all the other paraphernalia, pens, pencils etc etc? I'm not sure when it's due to open, but I will have to visit once it's up and running. Also, I had to go into The Works, because they're stock changes rapidly and you have to buy whatever catches your eye when you're there because otherwise it's gone and by the time you return it will be gone, which is the same with T.K. Maax, another store I love browsing in as well as their partner store called Homesense. A good place to go if you're looking for kitchen items, such as saucepans, baking tins etc. 

Saturday Morning At Stowe

A bright and sunny morning again. We were quite prepared to make the most of it. We chose to visit Stowe Landscape Gardens near Buckingham, about a 30-minute car journey from home. There are a lot of other National Trust properties we considered, but in the end Stowe was where we eventually chose to visit.

It's a quite spectacular drive when you turn off the road from Buckingham onto the avenue that leads to the magnificent Corinthian arch which you see from the distance. The road goes between two lodges either side of the road and out into the tree-lined avenue. As the road makes it's way you loose sight of the arch as you dip down because of the hilly landscape and then it comes back a couple more times as you approach. Today it is lit by the sun which almost makes it seem to glow. It would have been even more astonishing back in the 18th century when visitors approached via horse-drawn carriages. Ir would obviously have been a good deal slower than modern-day mechanical transport, such as cars and coaches, adding to the excitement before you arrive at the entrance, which was originally through this arch.

You now park in a more recently-built and opened carpark from where you parked your car when we used to visit years ago, near the Stowe School playing fields and enter through a temporary building on the opposite side of the gardens. This was intended to replicate how visitors came to the gardens back in the 18th century, when some would have stayed in the inn, which now forms part of the visitors centre, which includes a café, toilets, shop and garden centre area outside and then you can walk down the road which leads into the gardens, or you can take one of the several buggies which ferry visitors the short distance if you don't want to walk. We saw many visitors walking with children in pushchairs as well as walking dogs, as this property seems to be a favourite dog-waking venue. This lane is known as Bell Gate Drive, because it leads to a gate into the gardens which used to have a bell which visitors would ring in order to be let in by a servant who lived in the near-by house. All the planting near the carpark is beginning to mature and the bushes and trees have grown considerably since we last visited. Also, the surfaces of the paths have been given a far more substantial finish, better for walking on or pushing wheelchairs or buggies on. We also noticed that there seem a few more ride-on buggies for those who prefer not to walk and some which circulated within the garden. A good idea, because it is quite a long way to walk if you come from the carpark along Bell Gate Drive and then go across to, say, Stowe House, which is on the opposite side of the gardens. Today we walked down but took the buggy back when we left to go home.

We walked quite some way within the gardens. Some areas which we have never visited before. It's such a large place that it's surprising that we saw parts we had never seen before. Everything looking well cared for and tidy, a good enough thing to notice particularly as we're National Trust members.

We had intended having ice-cream or coffee in the café when we arrived back at the visitor centre, having had a lift on the buggy. I went off to the toilet and Carol went to see what was on offer in the café, but by the time I got back to her she said that there was such a long queue that we'd have to wait too long and it would be better to just return home. Which is what we did. On arriving back in Milton Keynes we went to the One Stop shop in Coffee Hall to buy milk and Cadbury's Dairy Milk ice creams which we took home and sat and ate in the sitting room.

Carol Moves Wards

Friday began fairly mild and not a great deal of sun, but as the day progressed, the sun came out and we were back on hight temperatures. The heatwave doesn't look as if it's going to end soon. As much as I like sunshine, I don't like it this hot. Just doesn't suit me.

I drove the car to the hospital, the same as I did yesterday. My thoughts were that possibly Carol would be discharged and we could at last go home, but, unfortunately, the issue of her blood sugar level and her temperature is still causing problems. It is odd that her temperature was around 37.5 only a few days ago and shot up to dangerous levels over a very short space of time as well as her blood sugar levels, which seem to have shot up also. 

The doctors have decided that she needs to remain in hospital for a few more days, to make sure the temperature and blood sugar levels are reduced considerably before she can be allowed home. She was to be moved on to Ward 22 during the afternoon when a bed became vacant there.

Carol had an M.R.I. scan booked for 12 noon. When no porter arrived a before the time, we began to wonder whether she would be going for the scan or not, but by around 12.20 a porter did arrive and she was whisked out of the ward and a short distance along the corridor to the imaging department and around to wait outside the M.R.I. scanner room. I sat in the waiting area outside the doors which had warning signs to 'Not Enter. High risk of radiation.' The whole process took a little under 15 minutes. When the scanning was progressing, the doors automatically locked themselves and lights came on, rather in the manner of when they were filming for television and you got 'Red light and bell' before a 'take.' She soon reemerged and we returned to the ward.

There was a lot going on in Ward 1, during the morning. Lots of patients leaving and new ones arriving. It must be quite difficult for the staff, because they bring new patients in on their beds and there is little enough space to manoeuvre beds around, beds having to be taken out first before new ones can be bought in.

Finally, after a couple of days waiting, Carol was informed that she was going to be moved to Ward 22. We began clearing up her belongings, but we still weren't given an exact time. We just sat and waited, and waited. Bur eventually we were given the go-ahead and   a porter arriving on  the Ward1.

Ward 22 is where we had to go to get the pump removed at the end of one of Carol's chemotherapy cycles, so it was at least familiar to us. Compared with Ward 1, it differs in that the 'bays' are separated into male and female and each 'bay' has only four beds. As a result there's a good deal more room for each patient and each 'bay' has separate toilets and shower rooms. The first thing you notice is how quiet it is. Which makes a change from the constant noise on Ward 1, although, having said that, that ward was relatively quiet compared with some of the other wards we've been on. But on Ward 22 there isn't the constant coming and going of the patients being brought in and taken out. And the patients we came across seem eager to at least chat to you.

Saturday morning. It's started out sunny and bright. I'd decided a few days ago that Alfie needed a treat. He's been locked up in the house every day this week when I'v been to the hospital.  I wanted to take him for a walk before leaving the house. But with one thing and another I forget, but this morning I got myself organised and managed to get him on his lead. Even then he made a great deal of noise, barking and generally getting excited. We got out into the road outside the house and made for Eaglestone Park, where I let him off his lead and he bounded off, running like a little hare. I couldn't see any problems with his back leg which he has previously had a problem with, none of the holding it in the air or anything. Barking madly as usual. We did a complete circuit of the park but when we came down the Redway section near the shops I saw glass in the path. It might well have been as a result of an accident, but the way it looked, with a large and rather nasty larger piece of glass in the centre it looked like it had been put there deliberately to puncture some passing cyclist's tyres. I don't know what sort of idiot would brazenly set up this sort of thing, some mindless fool who should have known better. Even if you were to accidentally step on it with trainers, as I was wearing, it could cause a really nasty accident, with cuts to the soles of your feet, or if you fell on it, you'd need to go directly to the A and E department of the hospital. Also, all around the bench I was hoping to sit on and rest with Alfie during our walk, no end of litter, mostly drinks cans and cigarette butts. How disgusting are people? There is a great deal of litter around the park and it just shows that there is a certain element who live in this area who simply don't care about keeping things clean and tidy, regardless of the fact that there are no end of water bins to put there rubbish. A couple of squirrels running for cover as we walked on, but fortunately Alfie didn't notice them, otherwise he'd have run off in hot pursuit.

I've been up to the One Stop shop at Garraways in Coffee Hall. Just after 7 a.m. once they'd opened. I had to top-up electricity and gas. There's an A.T.M. machine outside so it's easy to check both bank accounts. A few extra bits bought, sandwiches and drink to take with me to the hospital ward which will mean I don't have to go to the shop at lunchtime. From Coffee Hall I drove to the Shell filling station in Grafton Street and put in £40-worth of diesel. One thing I can say about the Renault Captur, it's easy on fuel. The road has been resurfaced , which might explain all the  yellow diversion signs around the area. No road markings, but I suppose those sort of things put back at a later date. They are slowly managing to resurface most of the grid roads in and around Milton Keynes.

Watching the 2018 Winter Olympics

If you read my blog posts regularly you will have discovered that I'm not a great sports fan. To me football must be about the most boring sport ever invented. I can see nothing particularly interesting in watching a load of men running around on a piece of grass and chasing after a leather ball, with the intention of kicking it into a net. Just does not do it for me, I'm afraid. Rugby might possibly be another matter, as it's fast, dangerous and like some epic medieval battle. Far more of a skill in kicking a ball which isn't round, getting it to go over a bar at quite some height is definitely a skill. Even managing to get it to go in a straight line is an art in itself. Not just football as being boring to me, but cricket is another dumb sport. I think it's because I was put off the whole thing when I was at school, having to participate in something that I wasn't particularly good at. Most likely, totally hopeless. Having a leather ball flung at you for a start, and trying to hit it with a wooden bat, just not going to happen somehow. Standing about on a piece of grass, on a hot summer's day, waiting to bat or field and also having to field, as far from the centre of action as possible, not my idea of fun in the slightest. Footballers paid telephone numbers for doing very little. Who on earth is worth something like £400,000 a week? Crazy.

But this morning we've got the television on and watching the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics from Pyeonchang, South Korea. (Goodness, I did manage to spell it!) I have to say, having a larger-screen HD television does make watching this sort of thing far more, how shall I describe it, immersive. How on earth anyone can strap on a pair of skis and fling themselves down a mountainside I can hardly imagine, or lay on what is little more than a sort of tin tray and hurtle as I have no idea how many miles per hour down a sort of icey railway track (not a very good way to describe it I'm afraid.) with no visible sort of protection, I can never comprehend. All these sports people at the Olympics doing something they love, to represent their country, but doing it without being paid a bean. And generally doing it exceptionally well.

The actual opening ceremony includes a rather amazing snow leopard or lion, not a real one of course, but a sort of large puppet. Also some, what look like mythical creatures, a dragon and some sort of bird, being operated by several puppeteers. A bit like how the puppets were operated in the show we saw at the Derngate last May. A phoenix we're told by the commentator. Amazing lighting, lots of dancers and quite spectacular. Almost on a par with the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics. I think that has to be the sort of standard these ceremonies have to now be compared with.
All participants are wearing what look like white dressing gowns with furry edging and brightly-coloured flower-pot hats with sort of Christmassy decorations on them. Well, I'm sure they're not in the least connected to the festive period, but that's what they look like to me. How on earth they manage to coordinate so many people is quite beyond my comprehension. Having worked in stage management for a few years I have some idea of the huge logistics of dealing with that many people, not just off stage but on, and in such a huge space.

Later. Carol had to go to the Oncology Suite for 11.30 this morning for a blood test before the fifth chemotherapy cycle to begin on Monday morning. The carpark entrance was being repaired (or assume it was.) because when we arrived at the barrier their was a mechanic there with the cover off the machinery and handed us a ticket as we drove in. Fortunately we were able to find a parking space and then walked into the hospital as we usually do through the cardiology department.

Carol's colleague from Milton Keynes Academy, Sandy, who used to work as a technician in the science department, was in the oncology unit with her husband when we arrived so there was someone to talk to before the nurses came to do the blood test and check out Carol's weight and blood pressure. There was a television on in the unit with the Winter Olympics opening ceremony on. Each team was being lead into the arena with a lady dressed in what might have been Christmas characters, but obviously wasn't. A very good display of the various types of jacket and suits worn by all the participating country's teams as they walked through the arena.

It seemed that the oncology unit was somewhat short staffed as there didn't appear to be the full number of nurses on duty as there usually was, meaning that only a couple of nurses were doing several people's jobs. Which is probably why we had to wait for some time before Carol was seen to. It didn't matter too much as we had plenty to keep us occupied, chatting to Sandy and her husband.

By the time everything was complete we were beginning to get hungry. It was a good hour or more later when we left than when we usually have something to eat for our lunch, so we drove to Dobbie's at Bletchley to go to their restaurant. As we drove along Chaffron Way we were followed by a small car with a young man and a girl in it. The driver insisted on driving very close behind. Nothing unusual about this as it's happened many times before. He attempted to get me to drive faster but I wasn't going to drive any faster than is safe or at least within the speed limit. As a result he hooted at me, which made me jump. I continued driving on towards the roundabout and on to Grafton Street. Again the driver honked me. I ignored him and continued on. Eventually the driver turned off into Coffee Hall near the Shell petrol station. Just another ill-mannered individual more concerned with his selfish ways than any respect for other people on the road. We drove on and got on the A5 and continued on to Dobbie's. I had cottage pie and chips and Carol had egg mayonnaise baguette. Good-sized portions and just what we needed. It was surprisingly busy, considering it was a Friday. Having eaten, we went to buy some bird feeders and some food as the bird feeder in the garden was empty and it was well and truly time to fill it up. We also had a browse in the food hall and bought some cakes and fudge and then went back to the car to drive home.

Modern Youth and a Digression

I went to the One Stop shop at Garroways in Coffee Hall to buy milk. I prefer to go there rather than the Eaglestone shop, although they stock milk and it's generally a good shop for basic items. I preferred to go to the one at Garroways because they sell milk in six-pint bottles which means less traipsing to the shops when it runs out. Incidentally, on the subject of milk, I had a knock on the door the other morning and it was the milk roundsman asking if we wanted milk delivered. I suppose it's a shame that the supermarkets have virtually killed off the traditional milkman's deliveries. No, we didn't want to have it delivered, although in some ways it would be more convenient but in all honesty I don't think we'd benefit from having it delivered as we always pick it up when we're in Sainsbury's or which ever supermarket.

Anyway, before I wandered from the track. A little digression. A bit like Ronnie Corbett in his rocking chair when he did those marvellous monologues as part of the BBC Saturday evening shows "The Two Ronnies." Did he have a rocking chair? I'm not sure. But it was an armchair of some sort, surely? I'll have to do some research on that.  Or even Laurence Sterne's amazing book "Tristram Shandy" which goes off in all sorts of directions and never seems to get to the point. (Incidentally, a book which I have read and enjoyed immensely and can recommend.) Now, where was I? Oh, yes.  I was queueing at the till to pay and there was this individual in front of me with headphones stuck in his ears (earbuds, not necessarily headphones) and he was jigging away to his music, looking a right idiot and oblivious to the world around him. Do the youth of today realise how stupid they look, not only jigging around in silence (obviously not themselves if they can hear the 'canned' music through their ear-phones) but more stupid if wearing those big headphones, which must be heavy on their head? Also, thinking logically, how can you hear the noise of traffic if you're listening to loud music and even people having conversations around them? I don't suppose it any worse than someone going around with their smartphone glued to their hand and not paying attention to things. I was walking along one of the many corridors in the hospital the other afternoon (I think I was going to the pharmacy to pick up some medications for Carol which were on order.) This couple were walking along, one, a young boy, more interested in looking at his mobile, and they walked past me, and a few steps on I head this crash, he'd walked into a chair, obviously not paying much attention to the world around him. Most likely injured as a result, but more interested in texting or reading messages on Facebook than being aware of what's in the way. A little laugh to myself, not only as a result of this incident. but the other one earlier this morning.

What are the statistics, do you suppose, of how many people are injured or even killed, as a result of walking along looking at their smartphones and not paying attention to what they're doing? Or the same with those narcissists who insist on taking a selfie with their iPhones and falling over the edge of cliffs when they step backwards, or into the passing traffic along a busy road?  Must be quite a high figure. I've mentioned something similar about this when we visit Whipsnade or any other zoo. People seem more interested in taking selfies rather than taking photos of the animals  that are in the enclosures behind them. Not everyone, of course, but quite a large proportion.

Road Accident and Amazon Deliveryman's Blunder

I had to go to the local shop in Garroways for a few items. I drove out of the estate and was amazed to find a single-decker bus attempting to do some sort of manoeuvre in the slip road off Saxon Street. It wasn't clear what the driver was trying to do; was he going to drive through the estate or turn round in the road? It wasn't clear until I moved into Saxon Street because at first I had to wait for the bus to move. On looking left I could see the road was closed off, with cars drawn up across the carriageway and several emergency vehicles with flashing blue lights on their roofs. It was then clear that there had been a car accident when someone had pulled out of the road leading into Garroways, Lloyds, which was where I had hoped to go. I wasn't going to get through so I had no alternative but to execute a u-turn and return the way I'd come, this time going to the local shop in Eaglestone. Other cars were doing as I had done and then a red car raced past, I think probably from the Fire Service, as it had blue lights flashing and it's siren blaring. It was clear that the road hadn't been closed off at the Four Bridges roundabout on Chaffron Way because traffic was still coming along Saxon Street, totally unaware that the road was closed off because of a traffic accident. I could see a smashed-up car in the road, so I imagine the driver had attempted to come of of the turning into Coffee Hall at Lloyds, the road which leads up to  Garroways and risked running into another vehicle and ended up in a, what looked to me, somewhat nasty smash.

I drove back into Eaglestone and drove around the inner ring road and went to the local shop to get eggs, milk and other items for our lunch. Having completed my shopping trip I drove home. Yesterday I had ordered a couple of books from Amazon and was expecting the parcel to be delivered sometime during the day and was somewhat surprised to see the parcel on the step we use to reach the electric meter outside in the bin cupboard. The parcel had arrived when I was out. Then Carol told me that the delivery driver had opened the door and shoved the parcel inside without first knocking on the door and as a result Alfie very nearly got through the door. The driver rushed off before Carol could speak to him as this sort of behaviour isn't acceptable, particularly as she was alone in the house due to illness. As a result of this I went through the Amazon website, and got a call from someone in their call centre and explained what had happened and got an apology. I said that this had happened before and, according to Carol, it was the same delivery driver. The woman who I spoke to was very apologetic. I said the driver should be disciplined as his actions were not acceptable. In now way should a delivery driver ENTER a customer's home. It was obvious that he hadn't done his job properly. He should have knocked on the door and waited for someone to open it and then hand over the parcel, not just leave in inside the house, or else leave it in the pre-determined place or ask a neighbour to take the parcel in. I got a refund of the cost of the books as a goodwill gesture and I trust the matter will end there.

And Even More Roadworks

Carol has been off work for two days with 'flu. She has hardly been able to speak. I had to go to Boot's in the centre of Milton Keynes to get Sudafed tablets. You can only buy them 'over the counter' so it was necessary to go to a pharmacy and I knew that Boots would have them in stock. I knew if I was going to park near the main shopping centre I would need change for the machine, so I went to the Eaglestone shop, but, when I arrived at the carpark I couldn't park because it was totally full. I presumed that there must be something going on at the primary school nearby. Perhaps there was something on which meant parents were involved, some sort of performance or assembly, a prize-giving ceremony, which would account for the carpark being full. I thought to then go to the shop at Garraways in Coffee Hall, which is the next grid over from Eaglestone. It meant driving around via Saxon Street. On arriving in Coffee Hall all the roads were clogged up with more cars. Being a Friday, I was aware that the mosque on the corner of Lloyd's, the road into Coffee Hall was busy with people arriving (Friday being their holy day of prayer.) To be honest, I'd seen this building being erected, but wasn't aware that it was a mosque. Anyway, the roads in and around the area were heaving with people coming and going and you wouldn't have found a parking space if you'd wanted to. I managed to get to the One Stop shop in Garraways without too much trouble and then went in to buy some sweets so I'd have change for parking. Then I found that Saxon Street, from the Four Bridges roundabout near Eaglestone was closed off. I think because they were going to resurface the road. About time, because of the potholes, so I shouldn't really complain. It meant I would have to change my route into the city centre so drove towards Marlborough Street, only to find that other drivers had decided to change their route, as there was a considerable queue of cars approaching the roundabout.

I had intended parking where I usually park, near The Point (or what remains of this once-iconic building. It's been left in a more or less derelict state for a good many years. The Odeon cinema which was part of the complex was the first multiplex cinema complex in Britain when it was opened several decades ago. They've since built a new complex near the MK Stadium, which we have visited several times.) Due to the fact that I'd had to approach the city centre from Marlborough Street, I somehow came along Saxon Gate in the wrong lane and couldn't get into the usual carpark so I ended up parking close to the XScape. £1 for an hour, so I had to make sure I was done in the shopping centre before the hour was up. The centre was strangely busy for a Friday. It was also near enough lunchtime, so perhaps people were there during their lunch break. I could think of no other reason for it to be so crowded. I went to Boots and had to queue at the prescription counter. I wanted to get a spare G.T.N. spray and bought one here a few months ago and found it to be a good deal cheaper than elsewhere. I got one in Cox and Robinson some while back and it was one that had an unpleasant taste. If you don't know, these are sprays that you use if you get an angina attack. You spray it under your tongue and it reduces the chest pain by widening your arteries. It does work, but it can make you feel very light headed and can cause a headache. It generally goes off after a few minutes. I use one before we go swimming or if we're going to do a lot of walking or anything somewhat strenuous. I've no intention of letting an angina attack stop me doing anything, so I wanted one as a spare to put in my gym bag. I had one ordered with my repeat prescription but it wouldn't be ready until Saturday morning when we would go to Sainsbury's to pick up the prescription which I'd ordered last week. It seemed to take the lady assistant some while to find the G.T.N. spray on the computer system. But she found it and I purchased the Sudafed for Carol.

I'd been into town a few days previously (remember I'd gone out because of the annoying noise from next door.) I'd gone into The Works for a browse. I love their shops. Books going at very reasonable prices. I'd seen some colouring books (seems like a craze that's really caught on recently) and saw one using Gustav Klimt's paintings as models for colouring and thought that Carol would appreciate this. I also found several books in the 'history' section, one on Waterloo and another, written by Ruth Goodman, who does a lot of television documentaries on various aspects of history. This one entitled 'How To Be A Tudor.' Well worth having at about a third of their normal price. I've bought quite a few books in The Works, and as they now have a loyalty card, you get points which you can use against future purchases.

Time was ticking on. I walked back to the car, with about 15 minutes left on the parking ticket. I next went to Sainsbury's as I needed to get bread which we'd have for our lunch. Another detour caused by the roadworks along Saxon Street.

Saturday morning.

We didn't get up that early this morning. Carol's cold/flu is beginning to abate, thankfully. The Sedated seems to be doing it's job. It makes you sleep well and you have to be careful that, if you feel drowsy to not drive a car.

We went into Sainsbury's. Saxon Street was open to traffic. The large pothole that you had to avoid when you drove along this stretch of road is now repaired. I'm not sure what else is due for repair. They have also been mowing the grass along the side of the grid roads. I managed to mow the grass at the back of our house. Not over-eager to do it, but it only takes around 20 minutes. I did it on Monday morning.

The sky is threatening rain. Dark rain-clouds hang over the city. We actually want it to rain because we don't want the noise to continue from next door's garden. You can see the work they've been doing, laying a patio, from our bedroom window. The rest of the garden looks like a building site.

Fixing the Car Door and Enabling Mobile Top-Up

I've been back to O.K. Garage this morning. The speed that traffic has been moving is making me feel quite unsafe. The people at the garage were talking about this matter, saying that there should be a lower speed limit on the grid roads around Milton Keynes. So, it's not just me thinking that drivers around here have become excessively aggressive. The mechanics have had a really difficult job trying to find where the thing is in the car that controls the car. I waited in their reception area for around an hour and a half and was eventually told that this 'thing' that controls the sliding doors and which is, presumably, playing up and preventing the driver's side door from working properly, is actually INSIDE THE DOOR!!! I can't believe it. It took most of yesterday and near enough two hours this morning to discover this. I would have thought there would be some sort of diagram somewhere or other, probably on a website, which would show the electrical circuitry for the car. There is, but apparently it doesn't show this electrical thingemy. The garage will let me know when they've managed to track down a replacement so that it can be fitted, but it means we have to drive around for a little bit longer with the door still not working properly. It's beginning to become somewhat annoying and wearing having to use brute force to open and close the door and sometimes having to contend with the alarm going on to tell us that the door isn't closed properly.

The other problem has been not being able to top up my mobile, using the 02 code which I bought in One Stop in Garraways. I decided the only solution was to go into the actual 02 shop in the Central Shopping Centre in Milton Keynes. I wasn't exactly over-enamoured of the idea as it was pouring with rain, and, having just spend so long at the garage I wasn't actually in the right frame of mind to be walking around inside the centre. But I was eager to sort out this problem. So I drove into the centre and parked where I usually do near The Point. It's becoming more and more dilapidated and really needs demolishing. As I've mentioned before, it seems awful that such an iconic building should be allowed to get into such a state of decay. How come nobody has been able to take the site over and refurbish it? It has 'For Sale' signs all over it and no doubt it will eventually be sold and the site cleared for more shops and offices. 

I walked into the centre and reached the 02 shop and explained my problem. I was told they could do nothing, the assistant attempted to top the mobile up with the code on the voucher I'd bought in One Stop. It still would not work. I'm beginning to get heartily sick of the woman's voice you have to listen to who tells you how to top the thing up. I bought a sandwich and drink in Boots and then left to return to the car and drove to Galloways in Coffee Hall. I had to queue at the till and eventually got the assistant to try the top-up once more, but no joy. I don't think she had much idea how to resolve the problem but decided to give me the benefit of the doubt and gave me a fresh voucher. I went home and tried it. Thankfully it worked. So the old voucher must have been wrong, but I can't see how, as these voucher codes must be randomly generated. I'm just glad that it now works and I have my £10 credit on the mobile.

Annoying Top-Up

We both have mobile phones which require top-up. We don't see the point of being on a contract as we don't use our mobiles that often. We have them so we can text each other, the idea being that I get a text message to let me know when Carol's leaving work for home. My phone is a smartphone and it's a Samsung but I'm not over-pleased with it. Just fiddly to operate. I'm on a 'bundle' which means I spend £10 a month and get so many texts and calls together with data (to use for internet, which I rarely use as I find it more trouble than it's worth. Just too fiddly. I'd rather use the MacBook which has a decent keyboard than ever try to use the stupid keyboard which is on the mobile.)

I went to buy credit at the shop in Garroways, in Coffee Hall. Together with top-up credit for electricity and gas (we use a key for electricity and a smart card for gas, so we don't have a bill for each.) I bought two mobile top-up vouchers, Carols' mobile is on EE, and mine is on 02. I got home and then had the fun of trying to put the credit on my mobile. It just wouldn't work. You have to phone a number and then listen to the annoying voice and THEN try to put the voucher number in, a 16-number code. It just wouldn't work. I attempted to ring the number and use that, but still no joy. I even attempted to use my debit card, but even that wouldn't work. I don't know how many attempts I've had at this, but it must be around a dozen. I now think there must be something wrong with the 02 site, their software is faulty or something. I may attempt to do this later this evening, but currently it's causing more stress than anything else.

Blackberry-Picking and Sunshine

It's been a bright and sunny day today. Having seen blackberries on the brambles all along the Redway, as I walk with Carol to and from the Academy, it was too much for me to ignore them and so I went out this morning and picked quite a few. It looks, though, that others have had the same idea. Probably not as many as there might have been. And you can hardly blame people for getting the same idea as me as it's just a few yards from the back of our house onto the Redway and pick a bowlful of berries.

We have been searching for Carol's Driving Licence. The plastic card bit, which contains her driver's number. I have been on-line attempting to find a reasonable quote for our car insurance which runs out at the end of October. You have to put in your car registration number as it links to the D.V.L.C. database which brings up the make of car, model etc. I have my driving licence card in my wallet where I keep all my cards, loyalty cards such as Nectar and Tesco Clubcard, Debit cards etc. You also enter this driver number to show proof of your identity in order to set up your car insurance when you do this on-line with a number of insurance companies. So we have spent the past day searching the house for this card and eventually found it in the most unlikely of places but then we decided to just ring our current insurance company, Swinton, and decided to continue with our current company, but managing to get a better quote and avoid the hefty excess that was on the current policy. So, it's done and the policy will start at the end of October. The plastic card and the paperwork for Carol's driving licence was still stuck onto the 'Counterpart' paperwork section of the licence, as it had come in the post all those months ago and obviously had never been separated. They always seem to use the most sticky substance to attach these cards to either letters or 'counterpart' driving licences which are really difficult to remove. A gum-substance like chewing gum which then gets stuck to everything else it comes into contact with. Just annoying and unnecessary.

You no longer need to have the paper part of your driving licence. They have done away with this seemingly pointless bit of paper from the 8th June. I could never see the point of having the paper part of your driving licence as it was always getting lost. If the system was completely computerised it seemed a bit of a waste of time having it also on a paper document which was always going to be separated from the neat little picture card which you carried around in your wallet as I do with mine.

I walked to the shop in Galloways in Coffee Hall to take money out of the A.T.M. there this morning. Not only is walking good exercise, but it allows me to think positively about my writing and I've now got some more ideas to put into the various bits of work I'm working on. Well, if walking was good enough for Charles Dickens, who used to do his best thinking for his novels whilst walking, then it's good enough for me. it's so easy to take my iPod and listen to a podcast which I can download easily, but pondering plot-structure seems far more positive and useful. No end of squirrels chasing up and down the trees and on the grass. They come really close to me and I spent some time watching them. We seem to have quite a few of these cheeky, nimble little creatures around Milton Keynes. Also, I find many conkers under the horse chestnut trees along the side of the road and pick a handful up to take home. Do children still go 'conkering' as we used to as children? Do they still tie them onto bits of string and play the game of 'conkers' or have the 'health and safety' people stopped this game? Pity if they have.

I'm actually reading a Charles Dickens novel at the moment, 'Nicholas Nickleby.' I read it over 30 years ago, just before the famous Royal Shakespeare Company production was shown on Channel Four in  it's opening year. A good old-fashioned story that fair cracks along at a good lick and keeps you entertained with some of his most intriguing and preposterous comic creations. I'm sure that Victor Hugo must have read it, along with 'Oliver Twist' as there are some similarities with his 'Les Miserables' which I have also read. 

Walk To Church On Sunday Morning

We awoke a good deal later than we usually do yesterday morning. No doubt due to all the cleaning we have done over the past couple of days, due to our landlord's visit to inspect the house. As a result we had our breakfast too late to get to the 9 a.m. service at M.K.C.C.  (Milton Keynes Christian Centre.) so we went to the 10.45 one instead. We walked along the Redway because the car has been out of action for the past week due to breaking down on the M1. Actually a very pleasant walk along the with the sun out and noticing along the way the blackberries ripening rapidly in the hedgerows. It will soon be time for me to pick them. A very lively service, as usual. Two speakers this morning, as part of the series "Have You Heard The One About . . ." on the Parables of Jesus. The first on "The Pharisee and The Tax Collector" and the second on "The Great Banquet." It was interesting to compare the earlier service we usually go to with this middle one. It was a good deal fuller. Infact, I think it was a 'full house.' I don't think I could see any empty seats. 'Discovery Kids,' the children's church which is usually on at the same time as the service in the main auditorium, was not on as it's closed during August, so all the children who normally would go there were in, but it was surprisingly undisturbed, no babies or children making too much noise, or not that I noticed. Infant it was fuller than I would have expected as I would imagine most people would have been on holiday. A further walk back home. It takes no more than 25 minutes to do the walk. We are actually deciding that not having the car at the moment does have benefits because we are getting some very good exercise. It's surprising how lazy having a car can make you because it's so easy to just get the car out to drive even the shortest of distances, for example, to the local shops, either at Eaglestone or Coffee Hall and it's not just ourselves who get the exercise because if we take the two dogs they also get some exercise.

Alfie Has A Haircut

I had seen a mobile dog-grooming van in Coffee Hall when I had gone to the shop around a month or two ago and we had decided that Alfie needed a trim-up. Poppy does, too, but she's another matter. So I found them on the internet (who doesn't have a website these days? Seems illogical to not if you want to do any sort of business.) They're called Palmer's. So I went to their website and then emailed and had a response. Couldn't fit Alfie in for at least two months ahead. So today the lady arrived. I was getting stressed as I know how Alfie gets when we are about to go for a walk with the dogs (see earlier posts.) I found that, if I had his lead in my pocket and he couldn't see it (which is half of the problem. If he sees the lead he starts getting excited and then we get lots of barking and scratching. I have got scratches on my legs caused by him jumping on my lap. I'm hoping the nails will be trimmed sufficiently to prevent this happening as they are quite sharp.) Anyway, as soon as I saw the van turn up I managed to get his lead on without any noise at all. Quite remarkable. Considering what he can get like. A sort of schizophrenic dog, turning into the Tasmanian Devil or Mr Jekyll turning into Mr Hyde. He's usually very calm and peaceful but can become quite difficult.

Before the Palmer's grooming lady turned up in her van, the Council recycling lorry came to take the old fridge-freezer away. I had booked it a week ago to have it taken.  I went on-line and had to pay £20 to the Council. I was trying to avoid paying, but if it meant getting rid of the wretched thing, so be it. We couldn't possibly take it in our car, apart from it being far to heavy,  it wouldn't have fitted in the back and would have probably damaged the car. and there seemed no other way to get rid of it. We left it out thinking that someone might come past and take it, travellers or somebody or other, as they did with the old bedstead and the old cooker. They were gone within hours of being put out on the grass at the front of the house. Which reminds me, someone has cut the grass for us. There was someone cutting the grass along the road-side in Eaglestone the other day, so it may have been them. It was done a few months ago, much to my surprise and it did need doing again, as there were dandelions growing which is a sure sign that the grass is too long. Gary from next door has a habit of cutting it, as the grass from his garden sort of runs into ours, so he does it. He has a decent petrol mower which makes life easier and simpler. I did the grass in the rear of the house on Monday. It took no more than 20 minutes. I couldn't believe how quickly I managed to do it. I thought it might be a good idea to do it as soon as possible, what with rain and it was relatively short and didn't take a lot of effort. Ours is an electric mower which needs a cable and it isn't probably as efficient as a petrol mower, but considering it's got a  couple of very flimsy looking blades, it's surprisingly effective. I don't think it's designed to cut the sort of rough grass that we have, certainly not high-quality turf that you'd find in the average garden and the ground is incredibly uneven. It's best to keep it short because last year we let it grow far too long and we didn't have a decent mower and had to get a gardener in who had a proper mower. It was so long it was beginning to seed and whenever we let the dogs out they almost got lost in it!

Alfie after his haircut. He was so excited to see me, he kept running around and barking, hence the photograph with his mouth wide open!

About two hours after Alfie began his grooming session, I got a knock on the door and the young lady delivered him back to me! Quite a dramatic transformation. His face is now easier to see (he'll be able to see out better now!) as his fringe was getting in the way. The rest of his coat is nice and neat and very tidy, all the nasty knotty bits have gone, especially the horrible matted mess on his tail and his nails are short and neat. What a great job she's done! We now have to decide about Poppy, as she really needs a trim. She's got a very dense coat and it really needs stripping and her nails are in a definite need of a trim. She won't let you touch her nails and the last time we took her to be groomed at Pets At Home she was very difficult and the groomer wasn't able to do a good job as Poppy tried to bite her. Not an easy job by any means.

Youth and Modern Technology

I had to drive to the shop in Garraways, which is in  Coffee Hall, the next grid square to Eaglestone, to buy a stamp at the Post Office which is within the 'One-Stop' shop. I followed this youth in who wore these enormous headphones over his ears. Do youths realise how ridiculous they look walking around with such things on their ears? I thought you could get really neat 'ear-buds,' which you use with your iPod or other M.P.3 player which don't look so obtrusive. I should know, as I have my own iPod, although not the latest model.  I don't use it much. But I don't walk around with it on. What worries me most about walking around with those things over your ears, how do they hear what's going on around them? There's the possibility of not hearing a vehicle coming when you cross the road and getting run over. Even worse, is seeing a youth riding around on a bicycle with those things on his ears. Not just the danger of not hearing traffic, but the possibility of getting the cable caught in the workings of the bicycle they are riding, the chain mechanism, the handlebars or whatever. Then I was shocked to discover that the price of a first-class stamp is 63p. We very rarely have a need for postage stamps. We use email a lot, but this was to stick on the envelope of a Father's Day card for Carol's dad. It has to get to Bournemouth before next Sunday which is Father's Day.

It's not just headphones that are a danger. How many people have I seen who walk around whilst they are fiddling with their mobile phone? Texting or doing something or other as they walk along, and most certainly not aware of the world around them. The distinct possibility of not concentrating on the world around them, stepping off the kerb and into the path of a vehicle and getting knocked over. How ridiculous is that? Worse still, people having conversations on their mobile phone while at the same time DRIVING THEIR CAR! it's illegal, but people still do it. When we were driving up the M1 the other week we came across this lorry which we tried to pass. It was weaving all over the place, in the middle lane, but it didn't seem safe to overtake. When we eventually drove past it was clear that the driver was texting on his mobile. How on earth can you possibly think it's safe to do such a thing? One small slip and you'd cause a very nasty pile-up. Can't people wait until they are stationary before using their mobiles? It's a pity that the Police don't catch these people before they cause mayhem.

Boiler Breakdown

It's a cold and frosty morning. The boiler decided to play up first thing. It had a red light flashing on it's front, which usually indicates that the gas has run out. We have a pre-payment meter, meaning we have to 'top-up' using  a card for gas and a key for electricity and buying credit for them at either the local shop in Eaglestone or the shop at Garraways in Coffee Hall. I usually do this at the beginning of each month. I had to go out to the bin cupboard, climb on the step-stool and use a small torch we have to see how much credit is on the meter. The card has to be put in the slot on the meter which you have to stretch your arm inside the cupboard as the meter is put in perhaps the most awkward place. It showed up on the digital read-out that it had well over £40 so it wasn't that which was the problem. We tried the boiler again but it steadfastly refused to start. So, we had the prospect of no hot water for baths and washing-up as well as no heat in the house as the central heating system works from the boiler. If it needed repairing we would need an engineer to look at it, which would mean if we went through our landlord it wasn't likely to be fixed any time soon. As we were promised by the landlord that we would have our fence repaired, and still nothing on that (very nearly six months have passed since we signed the tendency agreement with the landlord and moving away from the rental agency.) So, what to do? Ring round to find an engineer who might be able to fix the boiler ourselves or go through our landlord? Fortunately the thing seems to have sorted it self out and is now working. So, I've been able to do the washing-up from last night and the house is relatively warm again. With my heart condition I cannot afford to get too cold. We presume that the boiler needs to be at the correct water pressure to work and this cold snap as interfered with this water pressure.

Car Passes MoT

The car had been booked in to be serviced and MoT's last Thursday, but at the last minute it was moved to today, Monday. I took the car early, to MK Diagnostics in Bleak Hall, arriving there at around 8 a.m. I had to walk all the way home through Coffee Hall and back to Eaglestone. At around 10 the garage rang to tell me it would need two rear wheel bearings. So, the total bill for service and Mot together with parts and labour came to £238.50. The usual garage we go to was going to charge £146 for just the MoT and service, so I'm more than pleased that we rang round for a quote. So the car is done for another year, and hopefully the peculiar juddering which we've had to endure for the last month or two has been cured, no doubt due to having an oil-change. The car is a Hynundai Atos, and it might be small but it's really cheap to run, insure and tax. A couple of years ago we went on holiday to Flamborough Head in Yorkshire and we managed to get all the way there on £35-worth of petrol! I have to say that living in Milton Keynes makes driving more expensive, probably due to the number of roundabouts and 'sleeping policemen' or speed bumps, and also the really poor quality of some of the road surfaces around here. Going over pot-holes and speed-bumps seems to put extra strain on the suspension of most vehicles as well as wearing the tyres quicker.