Another Fun Filled Week?

Monday. 5.55 p.m. I am continuing to transcribe my handwritten writing onto word processing. It's a long and quite laborious process, but as I continue with it I am making significant alterations and, hopefully, improvements. I have a good idea where things are heading once this section is complete. I have several pages of plot lines and I will follow most of those notes as I continue with writing. Then I need to integrate some other plot lines into this 'spine' plot line which runs through the middle of the whole project. 

Tuesday.10.45 a.m. I have baked a batch of scones this morning. I had to organize my kitchen carefully as there is little enough room as it is. I had left the butter out overnight as it needs to be soft enough to work and it was fine, so I proceeded with the recipe. The only problem was that the mixture didn't make more than a handful of scones. I was more than pleased with the result. They came out of the oven near perfect. Golden brown and good texture. Then I decided to drive to Kingston and visit Homesense, which is part of T.K. Maax. I was looking for a suitable tin in which to make a cheesecake for Sunday as we have a bring and share lunch to celebrate the return Ross and Joy Dilnot returning after their operations. I drove down Chaffron Way towards Kingston and was confronted by a sign telling me that the road ahead was closed, so I had to go into Waitrose's car park to do a short detour and then come out on Brickhill Street  and continue on down Chaffron Way. 

Wednesday. 6.20 a.m. It's mild this morning, but what I would term, muggy. Sort of warm and wet, if you get my meaning.

I've just been watching an item on BBC Breakfast, about a man by the name of Martin Hibbert, who was seriously injured and then paralysed when he was caught up in the Manchester Arena bombing in May 2017. He is currently raising money by climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. I noticed, when he was interviewed, that he had a logo for S.I.A., the Spinal Injuries Association, which is directly next door to Dexter House, and which I walk past with Alfie several times a day.

5.50 p.m. The weather has been behaving strangely all afternoon. It was teeming with rain earlier, and immediately it came to an end the ground didn't seem to be wet when I peered out of the kitchen window later. It sounded as if someone was having a shower as I sat and heard it. Then as I prepared my evening meal it began to rain and the sun was out. Just weird.

Thursday. 6.15 a.m. Yet another fine and sunny morning. We did a circuit of Oldbrook Green, but I'm sure Alfie would have preferred to stay tucked up in his lovely, cozy bed.

13.00 p.m. I've been out at the Oaktree Centre, helping to set up the playgroup which meets there on a Thursday. I was involved in a Bible study during the playgroup meeting and then returned a couple of hours later to dismantle everything.

Friday. 6.20 a.m. Well, here's a thing. Another fine and sunny morning. What more can I say?

Doctor's Appointment and Poor Customer Service

Carol had an appointment at Ashfield Medical Centre at 6 o'clock this evening. So it meant our usual routine was disrupted. The idea of having it so late was to hopefully avoid being with other people who were likely to be infectious, and as she's more likely to get infected, due to being on chemotherapy, it was vital to avoid such contact, hence the later appointment time. But on arriving at Ashfield we found the waiting area was busy. She'd had a letter from the surgery asking her to make an appointment as the doctor needed to see her. As it turned out he really wanted an up-date of how the chemotherapy was progressing and gave Carol repeat prescriptions of ,cost of her medications. We could have gone to Cox and Robinson's pharmacy a few doors along from the doctor's surgery, but unfortunately I hadn't remembered to bring my wallet with me, as it contains the exemption card which means Carol doesn't have to pay for her prescriptions. So we had to return home so I could pick up the aforementioned wallet and then drive to the branch of Boots at Kingston to get these items made up. The traffic was quite heavy and we got snarled up at several of the roundabouts along Chaffron Way. We parked easily and then went into Boots and handed over the prescriptions at the pharmacy. We were told it would take at least 30 minutes for the order to be made up, so we wasted time browsing in Marks and Spencer's. I needed the toilet in the store, so we walked through. But for some unfathomable reason the toilet was locked. Also, the café was closed, with chairs up on the table. Carol wanted to buy a strawberry-flavoured milk shake and found what she wanted on the shelves. They do a really nice chocolate milk shake which has pieces of chocolate in it. A real indulgence. But on getting to the checkout there was only one member of staff on duty. A reasonably long queue so we decided to leave the store, putting what we had intended purchasing on the shelving at the rear of the checkout-area. Carol decided she needed paracetamol and ibuprofen so I went to pay and she sat near the pharmacy. The same thing as we had experienced in M and S, just one member of staff on the checkout and they were working exceedingly slowly. Well, what is the point of these stores being opened late if they don't have sufficient staff to operate the tills? Carol pointed out that, in Marks and Spencer's it would have been relatively easy to shoplift, to walk out of the store with several fairly expensive items without paying and, with virtually no staff on duty, no-one to apprehend a thief. Then, why was the toilet locked? Why don't they consider that their customers needs as regards having the toilet functioning fully? 

So we returned to the car and I drove us home, by now the traffic was a good deal easier than it had  been when we'd left home.

Carol's Eye Problems

Carol has been having real problems with one of her eyes. I have mentioned it in earlier blog posts. She had been given drops when she last went to the doctors a couple of weeks ago, but the situation seemed to get worse rather than better. It has been something of a concern, because she is diabetic. On Wednesday evening she wanted to get some medicated drops from the Boots pharmacy at Kingston, so we drove there. Unfortunately we hit some traffic going along Chaffron Way and spent around 20 minutes or so in a queue of cars from just beyond the roundabout after Waitrose to the roundabout at Kingston. Then it took quite a long time to find a parking space near Boots  but we soon got into the Boots pharmacy and got what she needed. On Friday morning the eye didn't seem to be clearing up so we decided a doctors appointment was needed. It was easier to go and wait outside the surgery in Beanhill rather than attempt  to get through on the telephone. It was cold standing outside the surgery but it was worth the wait because we were around the first to walk through the door at 8 a.m. and Carol was seen after no more than 15 minutes and we got a prescription which we took to Boots at Kingston and it was made up rapidly so we could get back home and in the warm house.

I had to go to Sainsbury's early this morning to pick up a repeat prescription for myself as well as Carol and get a few additional items such as milk and bread for the Christmas period. It wasn't as busy as I was expecting, fortunately.

Better Summer Weather and Bad Tempered People

The weather has taken a turn for the better. In fact, it's positively heatwave-time! We managed to sit outside and have our evening meal at our new table yesterday evening. It certainly makes a change from the rotten weather we've had to endure for about the past week. It seemed unfair when you consider it was Half Term, as well as the fact that our holiday we'd hoped to have at the booked cottage over Easter was aborted due to the awful weather.

On Friday, we drove to Worcester to see my daughter Chloe and my new grandson George. The journey there was less stressful than it might have been, due to the fact we went via Buckingham and then the Motorway. It took less than two hours. When we drove there for Chloe's graduation ceremony (well over 7 years ago, or maybe more, I'm not sure now.) the journey seemed to take a good deal longer, travelling via the M1 and around Birmingham. Admittedly it was mid-week and during the heavy volume  travelling time and it was a really awful journey. This time, it seemed a much better route and we will be going that way on 10th July as we're going to George's Christening on that day.

On Sunday, we visited Whipsnade Zoo again. Carol's Fellowship subscription runs out next week and she'd got a letter from Z.S.L. (Zoological Society of London) reminding her of the fact and so we went with the letter and paid the annual fee so we're able again to visit both London and Whipsnade Zoos without paying any entrance fees. We drove the car in again. As it costs around £25 per person together with £20 for the car, that's a saving of £70 each time we visit. We arrived at 9.45 a.m. (the zoo opens at 10 a.m.) and there was a queue of cars waiting. We were on the end of the queue and you just had to sit patiently in the car and wait for the gates to open and drive in. Quite easy you would imagine. But this rather unpleasant individual drove up and seemed to think it was his right to barge straight in. He wound down his car window and hurled abuse at us, for no other reason that he imagined we should get out of the way for him. Not a nice situation and Carol was understandably upset by the incident. He presumably drove to the car park and walked in with his family, but all the time we were in the zoo Carol was concerned that this unpleasant individual was going to find us and hurl a further load of abuse at us just because we'd got there first. There are really some crazy self-obsessed people out there. Sad really.

I actually got to wear my shorts on Saturday. I bought them last year in Debenhams and because the weather was so awful I hardly got to wear them at all last summer. Lets hope the weather is better this year so I get more wear out of them. I've been to Tesco at Kingston and bought a new sun hat because I need to keep my head covered when it's really sunny. The hat I have is a few sizes too small and if a hat is too tight on my head I get a headache. 

Twycross Trip and Visit to Urgent Care Centre

Last year we visited Twycross Zoo for the first time. Well, it was for me. As Carol lived in Leicestershire, in a village called Thornton, which is very close, she says she remembers visiting when she was at school. A one-and-a-half hour journey up the A5 and we found it fairly easily. I think it's quicker than going north on the M1, which, as far as I know, still has roadworks which means you have to drive at 50 m.p.h., which is somewhat annoying. These roadworks have been going on for far too long and what is more than annoying is the fact that they close off mile upon mile or motorway lanes and there never appears to be any work going on. I think something seriously needs to be done about this as it must be causing inconvenience to many people and must be frustrating to local businesses.

The day started out relatively cold, although bright. It was therefore quite difficult to decide what to wear and I wore my hooded fleece. As the day progressed the weather got warmer which meant I didn't really need the fleece and spent most of the day carrying it around with me.

We got to Twycross at 10.30 and immediately noticed that the carpark had been re-surfaced. Infact the whole place  seems to have had a make-over, with not only roads and paths having new surfaces but a complete re-design of the logo and better signage through the zoo. We immediately made for the newly-opened Gibbon Forest exhibit, which was being build when we visited almost exactly a year ago. At that time it was under wraps and it meant you have to navigate the zoo too avoid any of the building work. There is an island exhibit, which looks as if it is still being completed. But you go inside the building and up several levels and can see the gibbons in very naturalistic environments. We spent some time watching these amazing creatures climbing and swinging about on ropes and what look like tapes and moving very fast across the ceiling of the exhibit.

We had something to eat in one of the many cafes and restaurants throughout the zoo. By this time it was getting quite warm and the place was beginning to get quite crowded.

Over-all, our stay at the zoo was around three and a half hours. You can never get to see everything, which means we can visit again and manage to see the rest of the animals that are exhibited. We left and returned home. We had to do shopping so visited Sainsbury's.

We had our evening meal, and Carol was concerned about a rather nasty rash on her leg. It has become very uncomfortable and itchy. She has a cream, prescribed by her doctor, but it does not seem to be clearing. She says that it has begun to swell and it may have something to do with the fact that she has type 2 diabetes. She said she needed a doctor's appointment. I was beginning to get somewhat concerned. She could have waited until Monday to make an appointment, but, considering how the appointment system works at our surgery, Ashfield Medical Centre, it would be almost impossible to get an appointment. So we decided to go to the Urgent CareCentre at Milton Keynes Hospital, formerly called the 'Walk-In Centre.' This is where you go if you have a medical condition which isn't strictly urgent enough for you to need to go to Accident and Emergency. It is staffed by doctors and nurses who are able to diagnose specific medical problems and refer you to other medical practitioners if they are unable to help. We were reluctant to go there, but as this rash was getting worse it was clear that something needed to be done. We drove there, arriving at around 8.15. Carol was questioned by the receptionist, a form of triage and we sat and waited for her name to appear on the digital board so she could see a staff member. The place was already very busy when we arrived, and more people came in in the time we were there. In all we were there around three hours. She got prescription for antibiotics and we had to go to Boots at Kingston, near the big Tesco store, as there is a night pharmacy which could dispense the medication she needed. There were other people waiting, who we'd already seen in the Urgent Care Centre. You had to press a bell and a young man appeared and hand over your prescription form for him to make up the prescription. Carol has an exemption card which means she does not have to pay the prescription charge as she is diabetic. We had to go home as we didn't have my wallet which had the card in it. 

Attempting to Get Doctor's Appointment

I have been attempting to get a doctor's appointment for Carol this morning. Our surgery has a new system which means you don't need to queue up outside before 8 a.m. before the surgery opens. You have to telephone and they use a triage system whereby you have to tell the receptionist what your symptoms are and they decide what sort of priority it requires and then the doctor will telephone you during the day and after a discussion will decide whether you need to have a face-to-face appointment. All very well and good, as it will weed out the time wasters, those with minor ailments, sore throats, cut fingers and so on (which are so minor the patients with these sort of ailments should go to a chemists and speak to the pharmacist and stop wasting the doctor's time so that more serious ailments can be dealt with or at least be seen by a nurse at the surgery. There us a walk-in centre at Milton Keynes Hospital which is only a short distance from Ashfield Medical Centre or else if your needs are more serious you should go to Accident and Emergency.) 

I started ringing the surgery just after 8 a.m. and all I got was a sort of engaged tone, similar to what you get if you were to keep the phone 'off the hook.' It took half a dozen more attempts and by 9.30, by which time I had almost given up all hope of getting through, I managed to get through to a recorded message which lead to a menu with several options and from that I got to a further selection of options and a horrible repeating message and music (not as bad as some orgnisations, but bad enough when it keeps on playing over and over.) I eventually got to speak to a human and after some explination as to why Carol needed an appointment or at least a doctor to speak to via telephone, the woman told me that she would need to phone when he got home from work. So, all a waste of time and effort to be told that and I hope Carol can get through when she done ring. Who dreams up this sort of sytem in the first place? Do they have any idea how stressful it is when you can't get through? It's not easy if you're working and you need an appointment and particularly if you're too busy, as Carol is, to ring the surgery. Also, it seems the Academy doesn't like it if you go for an appointment during the day which means you have to arrange to go for an appointment outside work hours, which isn't easy. 

I've been reading back some of the material I wrote months ago. I haven't looked at it for a while and I'm really surprised by how good it is. Or at least, that's what I think of it. I'm attempting to find a way to develop this particular storyline further and have written a couple more pages. It needs editing, infact, quite heavily. But at least it's no worse than it could have been which is great. 

I'm not getting involved in Black Friday, or whatever it's called. I went to Tesco at Kingston yesterday morning and they had signs up all over the store telling you that the store would be open from midnight tonight for customers. It's just an attempt to get as many customers as possible buying madly before 25th December. When you see how totally mad some people can get when these sales are on it's something that I'm keen to avoid at all costs. It does annoy me that companys put their prices up so people buy stuff just for one day's worth of presents and then a few days later those same companys have to start their January sales and the self-same items are reduced considerbly. You might just as well wait and buy your presents then and get th discounts.