Changeable Weather and No Haircut

Early, when I drove off to go to church at Shenley Christian Fellowship on Sunday morning, it was very dull and over-cast, a sort of mist or fog, but nothing much to talk of. It was also snowing, a combination of snow and rain. The car wasn't frozen up, so I didn't have to scrape of any ice. It continued for most of the morning and, when I left Shenley it was still cold and the snow was beginning to get thicker and faster. By the time I'd got back home it began to fall thicker and faster still. As I write this at 2.05 p.m. the snow has turned into rain and there's no sign of any snow on the ground, fortunately.

Monday morning. It's quite warm and sunny. Well, as warm as it's going to get for late January. I had intended going to get my haircut this morning, at Essential Barbers in Monkston Park. I normally go on a Monday morning, early, because if I go during the early part of the week, I get a discount because of being over 65. There are definite advantages of being of a 'certain age.' I managed to park directly outside and assumed the barbers would be open as normal at 9.30. A staff-member usually turns up a few minutes before-hand to open up. There was another man waiting outside, waiting exactly the same as myself and we chatted for a few minutes. Actually quite a rarity to find someone not attached to there smartphone and quite eager to chat. But after ten minutes or so, there was still no sign of anyone arriving to open up.

Then a young man arrived. Where he came from I have no idea. Wherever he came from, he must have seen us standing outside the barbers to come and talk to us.He told us that Essential Barbers would not be opening up. It had been closed for a few week, most likely since just before Christmas. I have now seen a post on their Facebook page which was dated 4th January. It would appear that the owner has 'done a bunk,' although I'm not entirely sure what that means. I just feel sorry for the staff who no doubt will be without their jobs and get no sort of pay. They still have another branch at North Furzton, but as I write this I have no idea exactly where that is. As I drove away from the parking space I saw another man appear and wait, so I wound down the car window and spoke to him to tell him that Essential Barbers wouldn't be opening any time soon. I do think someone should have put a notice on the barber's shop door to tell prospective customers that they wouldn't be opening up for business. So, if I want to get my hair cut then I will have to find somewhere else.

I drove away from Monkston Park. I made my way to Kent's Hill, which isn't too far away. I was going to close our accounts at Nuffield Health. We haven't been for a swim there in a few months, since Carol's diagnosis, and it seems ridiculous to keep paying out if we're not going to use the facilities. 

Christmas Over-Kill

I went out early to get my hair cut at my usual hairdresser's, Essential Barbers, in Monkston Park. As they open for business at 9.30 I arrived in good time and was inside the shop as soon as they opened up and was in the seat and having my hair cut almost immediately and was done and dusted within 30 minutes and then driving home. 

The mad Christmas dash is well and truly underway. Carol thought she had someone coming to visit this morning, but during the morning realised it was tomorrow, so we went out with the intention of having a coffee and something to eat in The Range and a good excuse to browse. As we turned into the estate at Winter Hill, where The Range is situated, I was followed by this inconsiderate individual who expected me to speed up within the estate. He drove as near as he could behind we and got quite aerated because I wouldn't do what he wanted. We went right into The Range Carpark and he went left into Bunning's carpark so why get so annoyed when he was going to be turning off within seconds? Some people just have no patience and expect to have the road entirely to themselves and really don't like the idea of someone else getting in their way. Crazy!

Not many parking spaces left in the carpark. Walking in through the front door of the store we were greeted by every conceivable type of Christmas tree lights, flashing, non-flashing and in between, pulsing, and glowing madly. Then, going up in the escalator we were greeted by two obscenely over-eager Father Christmas figures, which began singing horribly, certainly enough to give any child nightmares. Swaying about madly, and totally scary. An endless range of Father Christmas figures lined the outer edge, giving the impression of a sort of mad convention of the characters. Over-kill definitely.

The whole of the upstairs floor in The Range taken over by Christmas decorations. An aisle full of twinkly decorations that play music, but none very tuneful as they weren't in harmony with one another. Also, we found a row of interactive characters, sort of Santa's helpers, little green-and-red clad elves. You press the button on their hands and they play a Christmas song, but, being us, with a sense of fun, we have to set off a whole selection of them, a total cacophony. We did this in a store at Westcroft a couple of Christmases ago, where each figure set of the next figure, as they interacted with each other. It caused a great deal of amusement for not only ourselves but other shoppers!

Good to see we're helping the Chinese economy ticking over nicely for yet another year. Almost all of this Christmas stuff will be made in China or at least somewhere in the East. Not that I'm knocking their ability to take so many of our jobs. But I can imagine much of it being made in sweatshops and the staff working for a pittance and probably having absolutely no idea what a Christmas elf of glass bauble for a tree is and then packed up and loaded into several vast containers and then onto a ship and then sent across the sea to be sold in these places. And then, after the Christmas rush is over, returned to some vast warehouse and the following year sold at vastly reduced prices.

We then went to the café and had intended ordering paninis and coffee. Actually not a bad little place to eat, but there was a long queue and the man on the till didn't seem to know how to do his job and it was him fiddling about which was causing the queue. He had no idea how to operate the till. Just the company's lack of training which was obviously behind this. We eventually got our lattes and what looked like chocolate cake and sat and ate it. Not particularly nice, it was partly chocolate and partly some sort of mauve-coloured cake. Over-priced and not worth the effort

Carol bought a fish tank as she wants to get an aquarium, which we bought along with gravel and water treatment. We will have to leave the buying of the fish for another day, perhaps in Dobbie's or Frost's garden centres. We went home and she set up the tank, putting the water treatment in the water as it takes 24 hours before you can put any fish in.

Coming out of the store we saw a couple in a car in front of us who'd obviously had an almighty row. It looked as if he was sulking because she wanted to go Christmas shopping and he didn't. The body-language said it all. He drew up in their car and she got out and he drove off in a right mood and almost hit someone crossing the carpark with a load of shopping. Oh dear, if that's the effect Christmas has on people, is it really worth all the bother and stress? Surely not. Perhaps the musical and discordant decorations we saw upstairs in the store were a sort of symbol of this sort of total disharmony of the shoppers (or at least, some of them.) So much for it being a season of peace and happiness to all men (and women.)

Hair Cut, Story Development and Grass Mowing

I went to get my hair cut this morning at Essential Barbers in Monkston Park. As they open at 9.30 I always try to get there as early as possible so I don't have to wait. There was another prospective customer waiting outside and the same sign on the door saying that their chip-and-pin machine was out of order as it was the last time I had my hair cut around a month ago. So I went into the next-door  Co-Operative store and used their cashpoint to withdraw £10. As soon as they opened I was in the chair and having my hair cut by the nice lady who usually does my hair and I was surprised when I only had to pay £6 which is the O.A.P rate (not officially 65 until October.) which was a nice surprise.  As I was driving past Waitrose in Oak Grove, just off Chaffron Way, I decided to go in and buy a few items such as bread and things for our meal tonight. Always very friendly staff in there and excellent customer service.

I am continuing to watch the Channel Four drama series "Humans." It's at episode 6, so there's just two more episodes remaining. A lot of the 'loose threads' are being tied up and it continues to be a very thought provoking series and has definitely got me hooked. No news, as yet, as to whether there's to be a second series. There should be as apparently the ratings have been the highest for a new Channel Four series since they did "The Chamomile Lawn" in 1992. I remember watching it, a somewhat racy series adapted from a novel by Mary Wesley and starring Paul Eddington and Felicity Kendal.

I spent some time around midday mowing the grass. I shall continue to refrain from referring to it as a lawn, as it has as much resemblance to a lawn as it is possible to get. Very uneven piece of ground and the grass is more like the sort of grass you'd find in the average meadow. It would be gratefully eaten by a cow or two or even a goat. I haven't completed it as it's a really exhausting job but will hopefully complete it tomorrow, that is, if it doesn't rain, as it looks at the moment as if it might as there are dark clouds over-head.

Later . . . I was pondering whether I should wait and finish cutting the grass tomorrow, when I was overcome with the idea of finishing it this afternoon. So I plugged the cable back in and got the mower out of the shed and had the job completed within ten minutes or so. It's always with a certain feeling of 'job well done' when this sort of task is finished. I'm not over-keen on the job, but leaving it and just thinking about it isn't my normal mode of action. So, that job is now out of the way for a month or two at least.

I'm beginning to find how I might finish the story I began a couple of weeks ago. It now might possibly have more of an 'arc' to it and hopefully with a bit more work on it and a few more pages of notes I can continue with it once the summer holiday is over at the beginning of September. I must say I'm very pleased with what I've come up with but I'm certainly not revealing anything on here.

Wet, Wild and Windy

The weather seems to have made a backwards step. So much for 'flaming June.' It's more like Autumn. Wind and rain. Just as well we went out when we did on Saturday, because we certainly wouldn't have bothered with the weather the way it is today. 

I went to get my hair cut early at Essential Barbers in Monkston Park. They opened at 9.30 and I was done by 9.50. Really cheered up when the lady who cut my hair asked me if I was 65 as I would get my hair cut for £6. I don't know whether I'm pleased or not, but I suppose I should be pleased. When we went to Twycross Zoo on Saturday I got my entry at reduced concession as I'm over 60.  I then drove to Sainsbury's as we had to have tonight's meal organised. I have made a mistake in thinking the new fridge/freezer was coming yesterday. I mis-read the email, which actually said 8th June. Then I got a call from Candy yesterday morning, the company who make the fridge/freezer we've ordered from Very and they say it will be delivered after Thursday and they will ring again on that day to give me more idea what time but within a 'four-hour window' which can mean anything. Just be glad when the thing is delivered and set up and running so that we can go shopping properly and put whatever needs to go into the freezer will be safe from thawing out. It's just annoying only being able to shop for food on the day, but there is no other way of managing things at the moment. 

I selected what I wanted in Sainsbury's and then went to the checkout to pay. I was intrigued by what the man in front had bought; a watermelon and a packet of balloons. What on earth was he going to do with these items? Your guess is as good as mine.

Tree Felling

I went to get my hair cut this morning. I go to a barber's at Monkston Park, which is a relatively short distance from Eaglestone down  Chaffron Way. I don't come out of the estate onto Saxon Street, which is virtually directly opposite to Milton Keynes Academy as it can be very difficult to turn right as the traffic can be very heavy which means you can sit waiting for a long time. So, I come out round near the Eaglestone shops, and onto Chaffron Way there. But this morning I couldn't get through as there was a tree across the road. Not something you see every day. I think the Council workmen (or the employees of the contractors, working on behalf of Milton Keynes Council.) are busily chopping down trees along Saxon Street, probably taking out diseased trees and generally opening up the groves of trees and bushes. Anyway, as I say, I couldn't get through, so I had to drive right round the inner ring road and come out from the Chaffron Way exit. We are really fortunate that whoever laid out Milton Keynes in the late '60's thought it a good idea to plant so many trees, and to bank up the sides of the roads so as to improve the environment and to also leave plenty of green space. For all that a lot of people criticize Milton Keynes for being ultra-modern, a 'blot on the landscape,' etc etc, I can say from the experience of living here that it is actually a very pleasant place to live. For example, the Redway system of cycle tracks or paths which criss-cross the town mean that if you ride a bicycle or want to walk you can do so without having to cross any of the main roads, as there are bridges and under-passes which allow you to do so. I have walked into the City centre along the Redways and it takes no more than 30 minutes.