Carol's Birthday and M.R.I. Scan

Today is Carol's birthday. Unfortunately she has her scan at 6.30 this evening. She can't eat anything after three hours before, so it will make things difficult as regards our evening meal. It won't matter one bit to me, of course. We're likely to get back around 7.30, depending, of course on if the scanning department is running to schedule. We were determined to go out somewhere at lunchtime, so we had to think of a place to eat, have coffee, had easy parking and didn't require too much walking. So we chose to go to Marks and Spencers at MK Stadium. It's not too far away and is relatively easy to get to. On arrival there was a fairly long queue and we couldn't avoid the fantastic selection of cakes on display. Who couldn't resist cake? We chose a piece of chocolate fudge cake and a piece of carrot cake. Also, sandwiches from a display unit.  A female member of staff came along the queue asking people what hot drinks they wanted. When I was about to say, she walked away! So what was the point of this exercise? As this was Marks and Spencer, I was surprised by the rather odd bit of customer care (or lack of.) Carol went to sit at a table whilst I got the order (eventually taken by the man on the till) and I had to gingerly walk over to the table with the tray of things, attempting to not spill the coffees (I ordered mediums, but the size of the cups were more like large. No complaints though.) The café was extremely busy. Mostly retired people (or I imagine so) and families with children. No doubt grandparents looking after grandchildren. One little girl sitting at the table next to us, probably no more than 3, very capable of opening one of those drinks that come with a straw. They can be difficult for me to open, to remove the straw from the side of the cardboard packaging and remove plastic wrapping and then straighten out the straw (why do they have to bend them in the first place?) but her grandad had to help her put the straw in the hole in the top of the packaging.

Our cake was pleasant. Along with the sandwiches, although somewhat over-priced. Never mind, it was a birthday outing, so the cost didn't matter.

I had intended buying some flowers for Carol. We went into the food section of Marks and Spencers on the way out of the store. She likes daffodils and tulips. They had some daffs near the tills, but they looked a bit bedraggled. No use buying flowers that are too well advanced, opened. They need to have closed buds, allowing for  few days for them to open. We selected a few items to eat later and then, when we got to the till there were several buckets of tulips, so I selected the least advanced bunch and paid.

We had to buy top-up for our electricity meter. So we drove to Garroways to go to the One Stop shop. I went to the till, and, having waited for a customer to be served ahead of me, was told that they would only take cash so I couldn't use my debit card to pay. So I had to go outside to use the A.T.M., and by the time I went back inside the shop there was a queue of several people. I must remember that they will only accept cash next time I have to top up our electricity meter.

We were due at the hospital for 6.30 this evening.  Fortunately we knew precisely where we had to go. One of the advantages of now knowing our way around the hospital site. The carpark had plenty of vacant spaces and the barrier was up so we drove in and out without the need for a ticket or to have to pay on exit. We got to the M.R.I. department  in plenty of time. I'm glad we did, as Carol was soon called in to be prepped for the scan. A good 15-20 minutes before the scheduled time. I had to sit in the waiting area. I suppose the scan took around 20 minutes. You can hear a computerised voice say 'you can breath properly now' or something, which indicated that it was over. Carol was bought out, not looking 100%. She had to be helped by a member of staff and the nurse went off to get a drink of water for her. Carol sat next to me for a while and then another member of staff came to clean up the cannula she has in her arm for the chemotherapy.  This was soon dealt with and we were soon walking back to the carpark and driving home. We should get the results of the scan on Monday when Carol goes to the oncology department for the beginning of the seventh chemotherapy cycle.

Daniel's Return and Job Interview

As I've mentioned in the last couple of blog posts, we had Daniel home for a couple of days. We met him of the coach at the coachway on Thursday evening. After a six-hour journey from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne I think he was absolutely exhausted, not surprising as he does night shifts at a hotel in Newcastle.  I made spaghetti bolognaise for our evening meal and it was ready to eat when we got back from collecting Daniel. It was just as well we had the car back from the garage, suitably repaired and back on the road. If not, we'd have had to order a taxi to go there and back to collect him.  On Friday morning he had to go into Central Milton Keynes to buy himself a suit, black shoes, a shirt and tie for his interview. I took him in and then took him to the company for the interview in Bletchley, which was in one of the roads opposite to Asda and MK Stadium. Friday evening we ordered a Chinese through Just Eat, an on-line ordering service and it was delivered promptly. This morning (Saturday) we went shopping early in Sainsbury's, although it was cutting it a bit fine, to make sure we were back home and ready to take Daniel to the coach station to get the coach back to Newcastle which was due to leave at around 10.30. As usual we got to the coachway well before the time the coach was due to leave Milton Keynes. We sat and had lattes, watching the busses and coaches arriving and departing. As a people-watcher, a very good place to see passengers getting on and off the coaches and people, similar to us, meeting family and friends or seeing them off. Daniel's coach was a couple of minutes late. Amazing, with modern technology, how all information is relayed via digital screens. The coach arrived as scheduled and we went out to the gate it had come in to. We were surprised to see the driver and assistant doing breath-tests, presumably they have to do this in order to be able to drive and be sufficiently safe to drive a coach. As they aren't supposed to drive for more than two hours without a break, I imagine the assistant driver would  have to take over at some point on the journey, no doubt at a service area on the Motorway. It took some while for the passengers' luggage to be stowed within the luggage-area which was accessed in the side of the coach, and when all were on board, the coach left. We couldn't see Daniel inside the coach as the windows were made of that dark glass that is presumably to protect the passengers' eyes and cut out the glare of the sun, which wasn't shining at that particular moment. In fact, the weather had gone from sunny and pleasant to decidedly over-cast and it looked as if it was going to rain.

Having left Daniel to make the journey back to Newcastle, we drove home. As the day wore on the weather became more overcast and as I write this post it's a combination of sunny and overcast and there has been some rain. Let's hope the weather is at least fine for the next two weeks that Carol is on holiday so we can get out for a few outings.

As I write this Daniel has no idea what the result of his interview was. He seems to think it went well, but he may have to come back for a further interview in a  few week's time. Why couldn't the interviewers spend the entire day doing interviews and other tests and give the result at the end of the day? Just seems that some companies need to take too long over the selection process.

I had a further unpleasant experience when driving on Friday, when I took Daniel for his interview. As we turned into the road on the way to Bletchley, a large white van came up behind me, so close, intact, that it seemed to very nearly touch our car. Why can't people just be sensible and not drive so close? What is the idea? To make you drive faster, or to merely intimidate you into moving out of their way, so they can have the whole road to themselves?

Further Little Niggles

A further blog post about those annoyances that make life difficult or impossible and, without them, things would go just that bit better. Not just niggles, but also meanderings and whitterings. I shall publish this as it is, but add to it as the day goes on, so if you read this at 8.00 a.m. it is not going to be the same by the end of the day as I intend adding to it as the day progresses.

How about parking machines? I'm talking about those ticket machines which are set up, mainly by local authorities, which you are supposed to use when you go into town and want to park your car. They generally take One Pound coins and you put them into the slot provided and then, a couple of seconds later, they fall out the slot where your change comes out. Oh, on second thoughts, they don't give change, or, at least, those in and around the Milton Keynes Central Shopping Centre. Why is this? It seems a bit of a cheat, they would charge you if you didn't have a ticket in the first place, or you arrive back at your parked vehicle, having spent a small fortune in the shops, laden with packages. Is it your fault that your time was taken up in a queue in a certain store? Some old dear at the check-out, counting out her cash, a mountain of 1p and 2p pieces? Or people who can't find their debit or credit card, or some such similar hold-up? If you know you will need these items, why not have them handy, so there isn't a hold-up at the checkout? And, while we're on the subject of checkouts, if you use a self-service checkout, why do you have to have that awful voice which keeps telling you that there's an 'unexpected item in bagging area,' or having you every flaw shouted at you so the entire supermarket can hear. I don 't mind using the machines, but why have a voice, usually sounding like a grumpy old aunty shouting at you for misbehaving. Or mechanical voices in general. Another is in lifts. Who are they for? 'Doors opening' and 'doors closing,' Are they for the benefit of those with poor eyesight, the visually impaired (not supposed to say 'blind' as it's not 'Politically Correct.') Surely if you had a visual impairment, your hearing would be better than if you had sight, you would know well enough when the doors in a lift open or close. you would sense when this happens. You would feel the lift moving. it's just because THEY CAN put a mechanical voice in a list that there is one. And, a further thought, who records the voices in the first place? It's the same when you top up your mobile, the irritating female who is supposed to guide you through the operation. Is it some out of work Equity member who couldn't get a job working on EastEnders or who failed her audition for the R.S.C. or National Theatre. What a job! Standing in a recording studio and just saying 'doors opening' or 'doors closing,' how many 'takes' did they do to get the right inflection? Angry, pleased, frustrated?  You can only imagine. Why not do different voices for all of these? Or actors who work on radio shows such as 'The Archers.'

Why are the traffic lights in Milton Keynes so slow to change? There are several sets in and around the centre, along Witan Gate near Sainsbury's. You can drive along Witan Gate and then stop at each set. Surely they could be set so as to allow you to keep moving and not have to stop at the next set. Or is that too easy? The ones near Sainsbury's take far too long to change. There's no reason as the traffic along Witan Gate is generally not too busy. I usually go to Sainsbury's by going along Saxon Street (which is the main route from where we live in Eaglestone.) and then turn at the traffic lights near Debenhams and along Avebury Boulevard. The set of lights near Debenham's take an inordinately long time to change. Is it to allow busses time to come out from the stopping place they have near The Point? There has to be so reason. Surely no traffic lights should be set to hold up traffic for more than 20 seconds at the most. Just another little niggle.

I've been into the centre of Milton Keynes this morning. To go to the Central Shopping Centre. I manage to park in the surface carpark near The Point. Incidentally, why has this ironic Milton Keynes building been left to rot? The multiplex cinema complex behind is left empty. It looks in a really bad state. This was the first multiplex complex in this country. I know things move on, and we have a brand new cinema complex near the MK Stadium, but it seems scandalous that The Point, that pyramid-shaped construction which is a sort of symbol of Milton Keynes, along with the concrete cows, is at the point of no return. It looks scruffy and rusty. There used to be a nightclub inside it and when it was lit up you could see it for miles away, particularly when I lived in Bedford I drove over to Milton Keynes in my car at night, you could see it quite clearly on the hill from the road when you drove in from the Stagsden/Chichley/Newport Pagnall road.

A lot of black crows hanging around in the carpark. I've seen them several times when I park in that carpark. Quite creepy. They perch in trees as you cross the road into the shopping centre. It makes me think of the Alfred Hitchcock film 'The Birds.' Carol says she sees  similar birds hanging around the Academy and doesn't like walking past them. They are actually quite harmless, but being black and having that sort of gothic look, as well as long beaks that look as if they might give you a nasty peck, I can see why she doesn't like them. A sort of cliche used in movies and television dramas, suggest death, foreboding and so on. A sort of Hammer movie cliche I suppose. Short-hand for death and destruction. 

New Car

Carol had a doctor's appointment at 3.50 yesterday afternoon. We knew it wouldn't be a sensible idea for me to drive over to the Academy to collect her, as there are always a number of cars in the road leading up to the entrance gate, driven by parents of children being collected from the Academy. They are not supposed to park there, but that doesn't prevent them clogging up the entrance and making it somewhat dangerous. Some people will never take any notice of any rule or regulation, however it might impact others safety. So I drove out of our drive and parked along the road near the postbox and waited for her to text me when she was coming out, which wasn't long. We got to the surgery in Beanhill and it wasn't too long before she went into the doctor's surgery. The results were back from her recent blood test. It now looks as if she is diabetic, which wasn't unexpected. We had to take a prescription for yet more medication into the nearby Cox and Robinson pharmacy to get it made up. Having done that we decided to go to a  used car trader's showroom in Dunstable which we'd discovered on the internet. On arrival, having found the place which is well and truly hidden just off the main Dunstable road, we were surprised at the number and quality of secondhand vehicles they had on offer. We have gone for a Peugeot 1007, green in colour and only 7 years old. It has doors which slide open which makes it quite unique as far as I can see. Has all the specifications we want including having enough space in the back to carry groceries when we go shopping as well as being able to take the cage for when we take Alfie and Poppy out for their walks at the various places in and around Milton Keynes. We managed to get the car trader to take our old Hyundai Atoz, giving us £100 which was much more than we expected to get and it also means we don't have to worry about getting the poor old car scrapped. Frankly, it would been a waste of money if we'd decided to get it repaired as it hasn't got much more life it in. Having looked at the engine the mechanic told us that it looked as if the head gasket would need replacing and that it had perhaps no more than 100 left before it went. So, having paid a deposit on the new car and doing all the paperwork, we went home and went to the  Kentucky Fried Chicken take-away restaurant near the MK Stadium because we didn't fancy cooking when we got home. I have to now sort out the car's insurance, which shouldn't be too difficult as all I have to do is ring Swinton insurance who we had used for the Hyundai and transfer it to the new car. When we go back to fetch the new car on Saturday morning the car showroom will have MoT'd the new car for us for a further year and at the same time pay for the car tax once that is done as you can't tax a vehicle without both insurance and MoT. 

Car Fails It's MoT

As I mentioned in the last post, our Hyundai Atoz was due for it's MoT over the next month or two. I had managed to book it in to have a service and MoT at Brake and Service World (T and H) where we have usually taken our vehicles for repairs, servicing and MoT's. It wasn't due to go until 11.30 a.m. so we didn't need to get up too early. The idea was that it would be tested first and then any faults that came up could be rectified to get it through a re-test. We knew it wasn't going to get through as the windscreen wipers didn't work (both front and rear) as well as a possible tyre as one at the rear is always needing taking to the local  Shell petrol station in Grafton Street to have air put in. I think this may be caused by all the speed bumps around our estate as well as the poor quality of the road surfaces around the Milton Keynes grid roads. We managed to get the car to the service centre (along Watling Street not far from the MK Stadium) by around 11.15. We had to ring for a taxi on my mobile and were soon home. Then we had to wait for the garage to phone to let us know how the car had fared in the MoT. But over an hour later they ran and unfortunately the news was not good. It failed on a lot of points: headlamps aim beam incorrect, windscreen wiper not operating, windscreen washer provides insufficient washer liquid, stop lamp not working, exhaust has minor leak, rear brake pipe corroded and several more. Having spent around £700 last year to get the car through it's MoT it would be crazy to spend more money on getting it through it's latest test. As it is only worth around £800-£1000 we would in effect throwing good money at it, which, unfortunately we don't have at the moment. We are also in the position that we can't raise a loan for a new car, due to what situation we were left in financially due to Sam's interference with our bank account around 5 years ago (mentioned in far greater detail in an earlier post on here.) So we now have a car which has around 10 day's life left in it, now sitting on our drive. But fortunately we are in a position that we don't need a car if we can manage as Carol's work is so close and we really only need the car to get to the supermarket once a week. We can manage without until our financial situation improves and we can always do our grocery shopping online as we have done before and get it delivered. We also have two bicycles as well and as for church, that is only a fairly short walk away. I get free bus usage so we can get half our fares for nothing so we can get around Milton Keynes and further fairly easily.