Warmer Weather

Tuesday. 6.15 a.m. I have been writing this blog for quite some time now. In fact, this will be the 1887th post. You may have come to the post through Facebook because I have always used a link at the bottom of each post so that more people have the opportunity to read what I post. But this morning, having decided to publish the last post, I got a message from Facebook telling me my post had been removed. It was extremely rapid, only seconds after I posted the link. I am intrigued to know why this happened because there is nothing contentious in any of my posts, nothing obscene, racist, or controversial in any way. I will attempt to connect this post to Facebook when it is completed, and see if it happens again. I realize this wasn't done by a human and was most likely done by some sort of algorithm.  

Good. I have got that out of the way!

The weather seems to be warming up. I do hope so because we've had some awful weather, far too much rain and wind.

8.40 a.m. Strange, but true. I mentioned linking this blog to my Facebook profile, and it was rejected for whatever reason. Well, I've had another go, just to see what happens, and it was posted without any problems. 

Wednesday. 6.15 a.m. Apparently, according to the weather forecast on BBC Breakfast this morning, we are likely to get thunder and lightning at some point in the day, not necessarily in Milton Keynes. It's definitely warming up, but heavy, thundery rainstorms, according to Carol Kirkwood as I write this! 21ºC in some parts of the country.

I was more than a bit upset when I heard about the felling of the Sycamore Gap tree on Hadrian's Wall last September. I don't think I was the only person to be shocked when this was announced on various media outlets. I am now more than a little pleased to learn that the two young men who were responsible for this vandalism have been charged with causing criminal damage, and will have to now face court and, hopefully, some sort of penalty, no doubt some sort of fine or even prison. It upset me because Carol and I went to Northumberland for our honeymoon in 2007 and the cottage we rented was a short drive away from Hadrian's Wall, which we visited and saw the Sycamore Gap tree. It was featured in the film 'Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.' We also visited several other locations which were used in that film. On a later holiday we had in North Yorkshire, we went to Aysgarth Falls, which is where the famous fight between Robin Hood and Little John was filmed.

Another Visit to Whipsnade

The thought of just sitting indoors all day today because of the awful weather we are currently experiencing was not going to be repeated. Daytime television is so awful. We wanted to get out, at whatever cost. Anywhere was preferable to being in the house. It seems unfair to Carol in particular, that you look forward to your summer holiday and plan things to do and then the weather turns nasty, wet and cold. Infact, too cold for the month of July. So, regardless of the weather (and when we set out mid-morning, it was cloudy and definitely threatening rain.) we decided on another visit to Whipsnade. We put together some items of food so that we didn't have to buy stuff to eat when we got there and went to Tesco's in Oldbrook to buy sandwiches and drink. We actually had a £3 Tesco Clubcard voucher which needed using before it expired. And once we'd been to buy our picnic we drove off out of Milton Keynes on the A5 south towards Dunstable and across the Downs to Whipsnade Zoo. For the first time ever we drove into the zoo, using Carol's new Z.S.L. Fellowship to not only get our entry free but also avoid paying to take the car in (all told about £75.) It was great to be able to drive around and park in the various spaces around the site. We saw a lot of the animals in action due to the fact that the weather was cooler, in particular the lions (took some great pictures of them.) as well as hippos wallowing in their pool, rhinos as well as very close-up views of cheetahs. We ate our picnic sitting on benches near the elephant enclosure.

We couldn't believe how cold it was, considering it was July. We took coats with us and I really didn't think we'd need them. I have recently bought a hooded fleece off Amazon and imagined that I'd not be wearing it until the winter months, but I was really glad I'd taken it to Whipsnade as it was really warm and cozy as we walked around the zoo.

As we were walking through the 'Africa' section of the zoo, having been to see the cheetahs (and, goodness, how close we got to them. I don't think I've ever seen them that close, or, if it comes to that, so active. We also saw a red kite flying overhead. Quite exciting to see these amazing birds as well as the zoo animals.) Carol said she saw Brendan Cole, one of the professional dancers from the B.B.C. Saturday evening show "Strictly Come Dancing." With his wife and children, although I didn't notice as there were so many other families. Apart from that, I'm not a particular fan of this show. Just over-rated, personally, and I don't go for television 'reality' shows stuffed full of 'celebrities.' Several years ago we were on holiday in and around Northumberland and Hadrian's Wall. We drove up to Gretna Green, as we had joked when we were about to get married that we could go there to get married. We were disappointed in how naff and contrived the place was, expecting there to be only one of these places where you got married, something about a blacksmith's forge or something. It turned out that there are numerous places, all making money out of the 'marriage' industry. Anyway, we didn't stay long and then drove away and went to an outlet shopping centre just outside Gretna Green, a bit like the Bicester Village outlet we visit often. As we were walking around the shopping centre, Carol said she saw someone famous sitting and having coffee outside somewhere like a Costa or Starbucks. She said it was Elton John. I wasn't sure and we didn't stand and stare, as most people would do. We could, I suppose, have gone up to him and asked for an autograph and probably a photo, a 'selfie' with him. I wasn't sure whether she had seen him or not, but when we got back to the cottage we were staying at for the week, we turned on the television and apparently Elton John was about to do a concert somewhere in or around Carlisle or a near-by town. So, it was very likely it was him we'd seen, although he had made every effort to not be recognised. Who would imagine he'd have gone to somewhere like the shopping outlet centre for coffee, as a superstar and famous person?  I think he must have been relieved that we didn't break his cover by going and speaking to him or acknowledging him because I reckon we must have been the only people to recognise him as he was dressed in such a way, with a cap on and a scarf around his neck, that without looking closely you wouldn't have known that was who it was and also it was an unlikely place for him to be. Anyway, whatever the reason, it certainly made Carol's day!

A few years ago we managed to get free tickets for a recording of the B.B.C. Television comedy show "Dead Ringers." It was quite an event, not only getting the tickets, but going to Television Centre in Shepherd's Bush in London and being a member of the audience. As we were queued up to go into the studio, who should walk past but Gary Lineker, the former footballer and sports presenter. Carol got quite excited, but to me it was just another bod off the television. I'm not that keen on football, but I suppose he would have been working there on some show such as "A Question Of Sport." 

Cough and Cold

Not feeling too well today. Have had a sore throat for the past couple of days, which has developed into a cold. Just unpleasant. Constantly blowing my nose and coughing, which is made worse when I lay down in bed. I suppose I really shouldn't complain as I haven't had a cold for at least five years. It seems to drain all the energy out of me.

I have begun a course from Futurelearn this morning, the subject being "Hamlet", the play by William Shakespeare. I have done several courses from Futurelearn. They are free which is amazing. All done on-line. I did one on Shakespeare's world last year and another on Hadrian's Wall, as well as one on creative writing. 

Creative Writing

I didn't continue with the writing course at Milton Keynes Academy. It was really far too basic. I have rung and I'm getting part of the fee refunded. I am now doing an on-line course through something called Futurelearn. I've done a couple of these free courses, one on Shakespeare and another on Hadrian's Wall. I can recommend them highly. I have signed up to do another of their courses, starting in January, on William Shakespeare's play 'Hamlet.' Should be interesting as I have a particular fascination with the play and have seen a couple of stage versions as well as the Kenneth Branagh film version which is uncut as well at the B.B.C. Shakespeare television production which has Derek Jacobi in it. I was involved in a production of the play when I was an A.S.M. at Liverpool in 1971. Hamlet was played by John Castle and Ophelia by Joanna David.