Sunday, Sunday

I'm trying to find a different title for each blog post I write. I usually try with alliteration, as most of my readers will notice. Sunny Sunday sounds just downright corny. Well, it might be accurate. This morning, as I write this at 7 a.m., the sun isn't blazing, so it's inappropriate. I can hear the boringly repetitive cooing of a pigeon. Or is it more than one? There was one which seemed to spend a lot of time in our garden, looking, frankly, half-witted. Just do tell me, are there full-witted pigeons? I somehow doubt it. Anyway, we had a rather large water filled plastic plant pot near the shed and this stupid pigeon looked as if it was going to dive into this plant pot. It wandered about on the roof of the shed, as if it didn't have the faintest idea where on earth it was. Seemingly lost the plot. It attempted to perch on the bird feeding station and tried to get some of the food out of one of the hanging feeders, without success. The repetitive nature of pigeon noises, coo-coo-coo-coo, does rather get on your nerves. Can't they make a more interesting sound? Infact, pigeons generally, are not the most interesting of birds. The way they move, like some sort of wind up toy, the way their head keep nodding endlessly. Do they not get a headache from doing this sort of thing? I was driving into the hospital campus this morning and as i drove round the inner ring road on the way to the carpark, there was a group of around half-a-dozen pigeons idly standing in the road. They made no attempt to move out of the way. One, in particular, just stood where it was. I think I would have run the stupid bird over if I hadn't slowed down. How totally idiotic these birds are. As thick as a couple of planks of wood. Just were not going to budge. 

Alfie more or less now asks for his early morning walk. He's now got into the routine with me, knowing that I'm as keen as him to get out. No sooner had I put on my shoes than he sets off barking and wanting me to collect his lead from the hook in the kitchen. Who says dogs can't talk? I don't mean using verbal language. He uses body language quite clearly. Although he barks, so I suppose that can be classed as verbal. If nothing else, it's good exercise for me. I had to use my G.T.N. spray because I got a sort of angina attack, not too bad though. I take the spray with me in my pocket because I was told that it's best to use it before any strenuous activity, not that a morning walk is exactly strenuous. Two of these circular walks of  Eaglestone Park, one in the morning and one when I get back from the hospital.

It's turned out to be another hot and sticky day. Not bright sunshine, but nevertheless it's still hot. At night it's just as clammy and it's difficult to sleep. This heat is tiring, which doesn't make sense when I can't sleep. I'm spending time reading, the Dominic Sandbrook book 'State of Emergency.' I watched the first part of his history of the 1980's. I don't know whether he's writing a book on this decade, but I would imagine he would, based on the BBC series and following on from the next book I have called 'Seasons In The Sun' and taking the history up until the election in 1979 which brought Margaret Thatcher to power. The episode of the History of the 1980's seems be explain why things were the way they were in that decade, the rise of individualism, and the roots of what became Thatcherism. A period of strife with strikes, the Troubles in Northern Ireland, unemployment and one or two scandals. It's a period I remember very well, strikes, piles of black bin bags littering the street when there was a dustman's strike, the three-day week, power cuts and television having to close down at 10.30 p.m.

After church this morning, I drove straight to hospital. Carol feeling really bored silly with the hospital, and no wonder, she's been in there for four weeks, or at least it will by tomorrow. Her temperature is stabilised and no further problems with her blood sugar. I think she's realised how important to keep her diabetes under control.

Hospital food is really disgusting. Carol had ordered soup, which was stone cold, followed by what was supposed to be roast chicken. She was really looking forward to it, but she said what purported to be chicken didn't taste of anything. Followed up with ice-cream, rather like those ice creams you get when you go to the theatre, in a small tub. But it was defrosted. Carol said it was warmer than the soup. How on earth can you make such a mess-up of food? Can't be too difficult to produce something at least appetising. I know they have a minuscule budget but how difficult can it be to keep food warm until the patients get to eat it? Have mobile units which have hot water in them, which they use in most catering establishments. These then plugged into mains supply to keep food warm. Hospital food should help patients to recover. Most of the food is thrown away and never eaten, which is a waste.

More Reading and Watching-1

I'm currently reading Dominic Sandbrook's book 'State of Emergency,' the third of his series of books on the history of Britain since the Suez Crisis of 1956. It's covering the Heath government of the early 1970's and his negotiations for Britain to enter the Common Market, or E.E.C. (European Economic Community) and how he had to get the general public on side and then to get the required support of Parliament. It's interesting, in light of the 2016 referendum on whether Britain should leave what has now become the European Union (E.U.) and how indifferent the people of Britain were at the time. There was a referendum later in the 1970's, when Labour returned to power, which lead eventually to more integration with Europe, the Maastricht Treaty and the eventual creation of the single currency, the Euro (which Britain didn't join, for better or worse.) It's an extremely detailed account of the whole process and well worth reading. I have one more book, 'Days In The Sun' to read once I've completed this volume, and each volume is a think door-topper, each around 600-700 pages. 'State of Emergency' covers the years 1970-74, whilst 'Days In The Sun' covers the years 1974-1979, the year that Margaret Thatcher came to power. I'm hoping that Sandbrook will eventually release a book which covers the Thatcher years of the 1980's and, eventually, one on the 1990's.

The third  series of 'Humans' has finished. It is a co-production between Channel Four and the American network A.M.C., and is based, however loosely, on the Swedish television series 'Real Humans.' I have watched all the series up until now. It has been an enthralling series. If you don't know what it's about, it's set in a parallel world to our own, where synths (robotic humanoids) have been developed to aid humans in many tasks, from caring for the home to working in a range of jobs, such as in factories and warehouses. It's what science fiction should be, it should ask questions about such things as modern life, automation, A.I., computers etc etc. In another respect it can comment on such things which modern society discusses, issues which we are concerned with at present, such as immigration, genocide, integration, the introduction of automation, and how these things effect the world we live in.  As yet there has been no news as to weather a fourth season will be commissioned, but it certainly deserves to be decommissioned as there are so many plot threads which could lead to a fourth season.

I'm watching some of the classic television comedy which is shown on channels such as Gold, Yesterday and W. I've been revisiting sitcoms such as 'One Foot In The Grave.' The one where Victor and Margaret get trapped in their garden shed by a swarm of bees and then Victor has to go to get his eyes tested and has drops put in his eyes and, because he can't see, doesn't realise that everyone has gone home in the optician's. It's as funny as I remember it from first seeing it back in the 1990's. A comudgenly pensioner with a grumpy disposition, the bane of the people he meets, and a wife who often dispares when he is being moody. A gloriously understated performance from Annette Crosbie. Strange to think she played Queen Victoria in the ITV series 'Edward VII.' My mother always made mention the fact, when this actress was on television in anything, that she didn't have all her teeth, for  some strange reason. I hadn't noticed, but it was possibly true. She had all her front teeth, but for some reason or other, had none at the back. Why or how I have no idea. This would be before video recorders were invented, and you could record something off the television and then freeze frame. What an odd thing to remember? And how did my mother know? It must have been a gift to notice such things. Never mind. I digress, as ever. Just saying, it was a long way from Queen Victoria to Margaret Meldrew. She played another queen in the 1970's series on BBC1, 'The Six Wives of Henry VIII,' as Catherine of Aragon, opposite Keith Michell as Henry VIII. It must have been one of the first big colour drama series.

Another episode, from, I think, the second series has Victor attending a life-drawing class and when he gets home he shows the drawing of the naked female model to his wife Margaret, who becomes suspicious when Victor takes a job at the woman's home. Further complicating ensue, as they invariably do in a lot of sitcom, when Margaret has a male neighbour in to help with some jobs around the house and they go out together and one thing leads to another. Misunderstandings and the like, the basis of so much comedy, from Shakespeare right up to date with not only 'One Foot In The Grave' to many other shows, in the theatre and on television.

I recently bought the box set of 'Allo, 'Allo. I absolutely love this series, but I have never seen the earlier episodes. In 1985 I worked on the show as a Supporting Artiste, when it was being filmed on location in and around Lynford Hall, near Thetford, Norfolk. The stable yard was the location of the village square immediately outside Rene café, which is the centre of activities. I was amongst quite a few other S.A.s who played German soldiers and we were supposed to hang around in the square. Some other scenes were shot in the West Tofts Military Training area, not usually open to the public. I also filmed there for a drama/documentary series called 'Soldiers.' We were supposed to be the dead and dying at various battles all round Europe, including the Battle of Waterloo (details of which are mentioned in an earlier blog post on here.)

The thing about 'Allo, Allo' is that it has several plot lines running through it, which is unusual for a sitcom. Usually in a sitcom, you get the same characters appearing every week, and each situation, generally, ties up within each half-hour episode, but with 'Allo, 'Allo you get several of these plot lines running concurrently, the Gestapo chasing after the stolen paintings of the 'Fallen Madonna With The Big Boobies,' The Resistance ('I will tell you this once and once only' etc etc.) The British Airmen and how they will be got out of France to return to England etc etc and how all these inter-relate and run across whole series and, indeed, the entire 80-odd episodes.  It is actually a parody of an earlier BBC drama series called 'Secret Army' which starred Bernard Hepton and Angela Richards, an actress who was in the company when I was starting out in Stage Management at the Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham in 1969. 

Annoying Mistakes

As I mentioned in yesterday's blog post, Carol had a telephone call, a 'ring-back,' from the doctor, as a result of my early-morning telephone call to get Carol's medical certificate tor work. The doctor did eventually ring, but it was almost lunch-time. Carol spoke to him on the phone and she said he wasn't sure why she wanted to speak to him. He said he'd sign a certificate and that it would be ready to collect fro the surgery 'after 2 o'clock.' From experience I knew that it was unlikely to be done, so I decided to driver to pick it up this morning (Friday). So I went to Ashfield Medical Centre at gone 10 o'clock. Having picked up the certificate from Ashfield, I drove to deliver it to reception at the Academy. Unfortunately, midway through the morning, we got a call from the H.R. department at the Academy to say that the date was wrong on the certificate. It had been signed for the 23rd when it should have been for the 18th May. Which would mean I would have to drive over and collect it from the reception and then take it back to Ashfield to have it altered and then returned back to the H.R. department. Just annoying. The doctor should have checked the date before he signed it. It's this sort of annoying mistake which is getting somewhat stressful.

It wasn't just this mistake we're having to sort out. Apparently Carol was over-paid with her last salary payment. So quite a large amount will now be taken from her next couple of salary payments. Someone in the salaries office wasn't doing their job properly. So we're more or less to blame. Oh well, it can be rectified, but like the doctor's medical certificate dating we just have to accept it and move on. As if we didn't have enough to contend with at the moment.

It's been a rather ordinary sort of day on the weather front. No rain or sunshine, but mild.

I've just completed reading 'White Heat,' the second book in Dominic Sandbrook's series of books covering the period 1956 to the present day. This particular volume covers the period from 1963 until 1970. It's interesting as I lived through this period. It's extremely detailed and not only covers political events but also focusses on popular culture, the rise of The Beatles, Rolling Stones as well as cinema and television. It's interesting to read in detail about things that we would have been aware of in the news and get the background on certain things.

Tenth Chemotherapy Cycle Postponed

It's another really beautiful warm spring day. We've been to the oncology suite so that Carol could have the usual blood test so that she can have the tenth chemotherapy cycle beginning tomorrow morning (Wednesday), depending on whether the test is as it should be.

As it happened, at around 6 o'clock on Wednesday evening we had a telephone call from oncology to say that there were not enough neutrophils in Carol's blood, which are the blood cells that fight infection. Which now means the tenth chemotherapy cycle has to be postponed until next week. This happened a couple of weeks ago and the next chemotherapy cycle was postponed for two weeks because Carols parents came to visit for a couple of days (see earlier blog post.)

So, I'm a bit lost as to what to write to make this blog post worthwhile. Well, we've been watching more episodes of 'The Woman In White', the current BBC1 classic adaptation. It seems to have really taken off after the third episode (of 5) but there's so many plots overlapping and so much going on it can be somewhat confusing. I don't think it will be particularly clear what's going on until we've seen the final episode (which was shown on May Bank Holiday Monday.)

I'm currently reading 'White Heat' by Dominic Sandbrook, part of his mammoth cycle of books tracing British history from Suez in 1956 up until the election of Margaret Thatcher. It's an extremely detailed account of the period, this particular volume covering the '60's, Harold Wilson, The Beatles, Mary Quant and other personalities.

It's been a really warm night. As a result, it's difficult to sleep, particularly when you have to keep the bedroom cool with the windows open.  You get the sound of cars along the A5 making a lot of sounds, racing, revving their engines. A lot of loud noises. During the day, then having bees and other flying insects buzzing in and out of the house.

Later. The Christmas tree, which is currently in the garden, in it's original pot from when it was bought in Dobbie's garden centre two Christmasses ago, is growing rapidly. It desperately needs re-potting before it dies off, which usually happens when we buy a 'live' Christmas tree. We have been meaning to find a suitable size pot so it can be transferred so that it can happily grow. In the current plastic pot it's likely to get pot-bound and then the roots will start to rot which will end with it dying which would be a shame since it's growing so successfully. We've seen suitable pots but hadn't got round to actually buying one, so this morning we went to Bunnings (which has taken over the Homebase branch in Winter Hill.) They had a quite spectacular selection of very suitable pots, one of which we purchased, along with a fuchsia  plant which Carol bought, along with potting compost and gravel to put in the pots. We had to use a trolley to convey our purchases to the till to pay and then out to the carpark, but the thing proved quite difficult to manoeuvre through the store and, once at the car, it took some effort to fit the various items in the interior of the vehicle.

We drove home to unload the posts, plants and bags of gravel and potting compost and then went out, first to drive through Woburn park, which is one of our favourite 'go-to' places when the weather is fine, searching out first rhododendrons which have begun flowering along the side of the road leading up to the cattle grids you have to go over on entering the open spaces of the deer park. We could see a few deer straggling across the road ahead of us, with one car stopped, no doubt to get a close-up view of these animals. Unfortunately we hadn't remembered to bring either of our cameras with us, because we might have got some really good shots had we got them with us.

We had to decide on somewhere suitable to have lunch so decided on Dobbie's at Bletchley, which has a good restaurant and we  had lattes, baguettes, panninis and cake. Carol had a rather nice slice of chocolate cake and I had a really tasty lemon frangipani tartlet, absolutely delicious. One of the best cakes I've had in a while. We must return at some time in the not-too distant future to partake of such delights again. We bought some plants which Carol wants to use in a bottle garden which she intends to construct in the former fish tank we have sitting in the garden.

Having finished in Dobbie's we drove back into Milton Keynes, to go to Marks and Spencer's at the football stadium where we bought milk and garlic bread which we needed.

My least-favourite job has to be done, mowing the grass. The grass seems to grow at unprecedented speed once we get any sun. It was cut a few weeks ago, and was somewhat difficult as I'd let it get too long and the mower, not really designed to cut such tough grass, really struggled. I think it's intended for those gardens which possess nice, neat turf and not the type of grass we have to contend with, more suitable to be eaten by horses, sheep and cattle and perhaps not mown at all.

Reading and Watching-1

As I've mentioned in an earlier blog post, I have an interest in history. Our lounge is full of books, infact, one of the two IKEA bookshelves, which we bought from the house in Crownhill when we had to move (see earlier blog post for more information on this.) is crammed full of books and magazines, one of which is in serious need of attention as it's not fixed to the wall, and leans at a slight angle. Many of these books and magazines are on history. I'm always looking for more history books to read and such shops as The Works are always good places to find a bargain, the last one being on The Norman Conquest' and another on 'The Battle of Waterloo'. We have now managed to order a new bookshelf unit on the IKEA website. Paid for and it will be delivered next Thursday. We decided to have it delivered as it would unlikely not fit in the car, so to have it delivered means someone else will have to lift it into the house. As we have a similar unit in our bedroom it shouldn't be too difficult to assemble and it's possible to buy baskets, drawers and boxes which can be slotted into the unit to make it even more flexible.

I've been reading 'Never Had It So Good,' by Dominic Sandbrook. It's 'A History of Britain From Suez to The Beatles.' Which is about all you need to know about the subject matter. I read a later volume of his set of history books called 'Seasons In The Sun,' which takes his series up until 1979. At the time I read it, I was unaware that it was the latest in a series of books (of which 'Never Had It So Good' is the first.) So I decided I wanted to read the series from the beginning and managed to buy all the books on Amazon. As I lived through the period covered, I thought it would we worth a read, although I wasn't old enough at the time the first book covers to be aware of the incidents recorded, such things as the Suez Crisis or the Profumo Affair or the 'Night of The Long Knives.' As with any account of history, it's interesting to see how we got to where we are today, what with Harold Macmillan's attempts at negotiating a possible membership of the Common Market or 'European Economic Community,' as it was called in the late 1950's and early 1960's (now the E.U.) and how the President of France, Charles De Gaulle kept blocking our entry. Interesting when you compare it with the Brexit negotiations following the Referendum vote to leave over the last few months.The rest of the Sandbrook series are 'White Heat,' and 'State of Emergency,' which I will read in the fullness of time. Each book is very thick; the first book is some 800-900 pages long.

I'm a real fan of Alan Bennett. I enjoyed the plays he wrote for the BBC in the 1960s and 1970s, in particular the very first one called 'A Day Out,' which was made in black and white and about a group of men who go on a bicycle ride in Yorkshire and set just before the First World War. Not a great deal happens, but his attention to detail, particularly his depiction of the individual characters is very detailed. It's directed by Stephen Frears who went on to make some large-scale cinema films such as 'Dangerous Liaisons' and 'The Queen.' Alan Bennett is interested in the small things in peoples' lives, the every-day, the mundane. He has also written for the stage, most notably for the National Theatre, with plays such as 'The Madness of King George III,' and 'The History Boys.' I have read most of his diaries which get published on a  regular basis, and was given the latest collection, covering the millennium, and called 'Getting On, Getting On,' and given to me as a Christmas present by Carol last year. I am about to read it.

I've watched the first episode of the new Sky drama series, "Britannia," which is on Sky Atlantic. It's set in a Celtic Britain at the time that the Roman invasion is about to take place. It's somewhat preposterous, so if you watch it don't expect an accurate history lesson. I had serious doubts about this when I first heard it was being planned, but it turned out to be a good deal better than I expected. It has David Morrissey as the Roman general (I assume he's a general) who leads his troops across the Channel and then pillages and burns the Celtic villages and murders a few in the process. It also stars Zoe Wanamaker as a sort of tribal leader. Another actor who is in it is Iain McDiarmid, who I have a connection with as he was in the company when I was working as an A.S.M. at Liverpool Playhouse in the early 1970s. I did the book for a production of Alan Ayckbourn's play 'Relatively Speaking,' which also had Thelma Barlow in the cast, who went on to play Mavis Wilton in 'Coronation Street.' It's good to see Sky producing stuff which at least has some sort of British connection, however accurate it is. I notice that all the episodes are available to view on catch-up, obviously in an attempt to follow the same principle as such on-line television services as Netflix and Amazon, where all the episodes of their shows, such as The Crown are available to view instantly. Apart from some strong language (which, frankly, adds absolutely nothing to the thing in my opinion.) it's a good rollocking yarn and will no doubt attract a young, male audience, who no doubt enjoy such shows as 'Game of Thrones,' and a good many video games. I shall watch the rest of the series with interest.

I'm glad all the episodes of 'Britannia' are available as a box-set, because you can watch all the episodes one after the other if you so wish. I've watched the second episode. I'm really hooked on this show and can't wait to see the next episode. It's got a real 'have to watch the next episode' something about it, rather like a good novel where you can't put it down. Generally I need to get through about 15-20 minutes of a new drama series to know whether I'm going to continue watching and this certainly has that 'something.' Unlike a lot of similar shows, the dialogue is convincing. They seem to have avoided the somewhat stilted dialogue that you tend to get in a lot of dramas set in a 'certain period,' and the whole thing is rather tongue-in-cheek, it doesn't take itself too seriously. It has a sense of humour as well. And they haven't made it pretentious in any way, unlike a lot of costume dramas that are precious and rather unrealistic, not that you can make a show set in 43 A.D. as nobody knows what they spoke like. It's not exactly historically accurate, but who cares? Definitely entertaining and that, in all honesty, is what one needs at the moment. The fights are convincing, too, and you get the feeling that the Romans have more than a hand-full of soldiers in their invading army, they've spent quite a lot on extras to fill out the scenery. 

Latest Reading

I've been reading some of H.G. Wells's short stories. I had a period when I was a teenager when I read all the classic fantasy and science fiction stories, from 'Dracula', 'Frankenstein' to 'First Men On The Moon' to 'The Invisible Man' as well as H.G.Wells's 'The Time Machine.' I had the complete stories in one volume (since lost.) I have since re-read that particular story (in a volume I bought second-hand through Amazon) and I'm so surprised how modern it is, considering it was first published in 1895. It's amazingly ahead of it's time and must have inspired a whole host of science fiction literature and consequently films, television series ( I can't believe the producers of 'Doctor Who' didn't read it when they were developing the show in it's early days as there are aspects of the story which are similar or at least used in some of the early stories)   Not only is it a great science fiction story, but Wells is able to make political comments which I might never have been aware of  when I originally read it. It has a believability about it which is quite striking.

Sky Arts did a series called 'The Nightmare World of H.G.Wells,' which was a series of adaptations of a few of the short stories. They were 'The Moth,''The Purple Purleus,' 'The Late Mr Elvesham,' and 'The Devotee of Art.' In some ways they have a great deal in common with the stories written by Roald Dahl and used as the basis for the ITV Anglia television series 'Tales of The Unexpected.' All having a creepy and very sinister feel to them, keeping you on the edge of your seat and all having a sting in their tail. I have since read them all and enjoyed them immensely. Another I read recently 'The Strange Orchid' is also exceptionally chilling and I expect it inspired the film 'The Little Shop of Horrors,' both the original black-and-white and musical versions.

Channel Four has recently done a series based on the short stories of Ray Bradbury and called 'Electric Dreams.' I have only seen on episode, 'The Commuter' and starring Timothy Spall. I read some of Brdbury's stories, the 'Martian Chronicles,' when they were adapted for television a couple of decades ago. I'll now have to read the short stories as a result of the latest series.

I have begun writing a 'sort of' science fiction story, very much inspired by the H.G. Wells stories. Actually the opening has been an initial idea for some time, and it's only recently that I've made any sort of effort to commit it to paper. I have been attempting to take it further, a lot of ideas coming since visiting Milton Keynes Hospital lately. It's surprising how ideas are created. Just seems all those corridors and the fact that everything is white and clean. Sort of 'Doctor Who'-type corridors, the idea of being chased along them, or searching for monsters, the 'villain' and so on. Just have to tie the various threads together to create a story line. People in blue or green overalls, with aprons, strange trolleys being pushed about. Makes you wonder, what's going on? Why? What? Lifts to strange places, different time-zones, etc etc.

I have a passion for history and read many books on historic subjects, and I'm currently reading the first of a series of books covering the last 60 years of British history. I read one which I had for Christmas a few years ago called 'Days In The Sun' and written by Dominic Sandbrook. I was unaware at the time that it was the latest instalment of what will probably be a six-part series, and I'm going back to the beginning of the series with the first book which covers the period from The Suez Crisis in 1956 up until the Beatles in 1963 and called 'Never Had It So Good.' A really chunky volume of perhaps 800-1000 pages. The next volume is 'White Heat',  takes in the 1960's; the next is entitled 'State of Emergency,' covers the period 1970-1974, whilst the third volume  'Seasons In The Sun,' takes in the the years 1974-1979. I believe he's been responsible for a television series called 'The Eighties,' so one assumes there will eventually be a book to go with it. It would be great if he can complete the series with 'The Nineties,' and possibly 'The 2000's' and into the current decade. I have the complete collection. The first two were offered as a set  on Amazon and cost less than the full price of just one volume. A real bargain and they are both brand new copies. These books are really well written, the detail is impressive and it must have been a long process to do all the research these volumes, each at least 800 pages.

I read the two-part 'Making of Modern Britain' written by Andrew Marr. The first book begins in 1901 with the death of Queen Victoria and ends in 1945 with the end of World War 2. The second volume takes up in 1945 and continues on into the 2000's. Both are companion books to Marr's BBC1
 television series.