Everything's Coming Up Roses! (Or Is It? Probably not . . . )

 Friday. 2.00 p.m. It's been sunny and pleasant so far today. When I took Alfie out at around 6.15 there was a rosy-red sky.

I wanted to go to Lidl after 9 o'clock this morning. I usually drive around the block and onto Oldbrook Boulevard along Truman Place, which runs alongside Dexter House, but, on arrival at the roundabout on Oldbrook Boulevard, I discovered that the road was closed and an army of workmen in bright orange overalls. This meant I had to return to Dexter Avenue and then onto Strudwick Drive, turn right onto Chaffron Way, go right around the grid, and enter Oldbrook from Grafton Street. No real problem in all this, but a bit annoying as I wasn't aware of the road closure until I got to it. This seems to happen regularly all around Milton Keynes, mainly when they have been resurfacing parts of the grid road network.

I took Alfie out again a few minutes ago and I could see the workmen with a large lorry with 'Tarmac' written on it and another machine which I believe lays the new surface. I have to say I quite like the smell of tar. Is that odd? I seem to remember a play I did in Liverpool in the 1970's, which I think was called 'June Evening' (I covered the book for this production.) and one of the characters talked about tar being used to clear the chest of a baby, who was held over a barrel of hot tar. Strange how such things come back as a memory.

When I had completed my shopping in Lidl, I had to use a self-service till (they had only one manned till open, even though the store was busy.) I had problems getting items to scan, but a young lady who is there for such an incident managed to scan my shopping. I don't know why this happens. It's odd, though, that you are supposed to scan from right to left, which isn't the standard way of doing things. Or is it just me? Most things are operated from left to right, which seems more logical.

Saturday. 7.50 a.m. Another bright and sunny but cold, which I discovered earlier when Alfie and I went outside.

Sunday. 7.25 a.m. I had no idea that the clocks went forward today. I think it happened at 1 a.m., so I suppose that means it's today. There was nothing about it on the news yesterday, and no sort of reminder. Also, it's Mothering Sunday. Please, not Mother's Day, which is an American institution. Whatever it is, it's yet another way for businesses to make money, similar to Valentine's Day or, dare I say it, Hallow'een. 

I have a subscription to The Daily Telegraph. It's for digital, meaning I don't have the print paper and can read via the app and also the website. My current subscription ends in April and I had an email to inform me the next year's subscription would be around £200. I was keen that this amount didn't come out of my bank account and was prepared at that point to cancel the subscription. So, yesterday morning I rang the callcentre to discuss cancellation. The friendly man the other end was understanding but then wanted to offer me a cheaper deal. He first said '£150', but I refused that. The £99.' Again, I refused. Gradually it went down until it was £39, which I accepted. It just goes to show, you don't need to go with the first offer on something like this and it makes you wonder how many people take the first offer, not knowing that you can beat them down. I presume he didn't want me to disappear and not have a subscription, but it was worth it in the end.

This, That and The Other . . .

 Saturday. 8.50 a.m. A bright and relatively sunny morning. You could almost say that spring is here!

10.10 a.m. I had a few bits and pieces to buy in Sainsbury's. I always think, that if I go early enough, I will escape the crowds, but it was quite busy. A lot of men with bunches of flowers, which would suggest, because it's Mother's Day tomorrow (actually, Mothering Sunday, but never mind.) they would have to buy their mothers at least a bunch of supermarket flowers. There is an entire aisle of Mother's Day presents, all done out in pink. Why? Do mothers generally like pink? Carol didn't like roses, so woe betide me if I got her any. I have daffodils, because they were perhaps her favourite, and Thursday would have been her 60th birthday. 

The travelator was working on the upside, but the down one looks almost finished and should be open again shortly, so no having to go down in the lift as I have to do at the moment.

I have mentioned on several occasions in these blog posts how Sainsbury's has changed the locations of various items I have intended to buy. Some things have been in the same place in the store since I first shopped there several years ago, and it's so annoying when you go to the original location to find that item no longer there. This happened more recently when I intended to buy pate. I have at last found its new home and bought some today!

Tuesday. 9.30 a.m. I have a FitBit. I replaced the strap it came with originally and bought a leather one on Amazon. The original strap was made of plastic or at least, a cheap material which didn't wear well.  It had a proper buckle, so it stayed put on my wrist, but it was cheap and, frankly, not up to much wear and tear. In fact, it came apart so I decided on replacing it with a metal one. I looked on the Amazon website and found one which I thought would be perfect. On arrival, I put it on the FitBit, even though it is quite a fiddle because it has tiny pins which are used, which go through the strap and then into small holes on the body of the FitBit. Unfortunately, this strap had a magnetic clip, which isn't up to the job of keeping the FitBit on my wrist. Whoever thought that a magnet would be strong enough to keep a Fitbit, or other similar device, on your wrist? Because the thing wasn't much use, I decided to go on Amazon and have another look for a replacement. I found what I thought would be a good replacement, metal, with, hopefully, a decent buckle, black, and looked good, but when it arrived, a day or so after I'd ordered it, it turned out to be another strap with a magnetic fastening! It was difficult to see, looking at the images on the Amazon website, what the fastening was. As a result, I was going to return the thing for a refund.

It used to be relatively easy to return an item to Amazon. You could print a return label, with no postage required, and then pack up the item stick the label on the parcel and take it to the nearest post office or put it in a letterbox. There is a new system, which uses a QR code which you can have on your mobile phone, but I managed to print it out on my Canon printer and then, when you find the nearest Post Office which will accept your Amazon package and then have the QR code scanned and the parcel input in a bag which gets sent to Amazon's returns department. 

I have seen an email from Amazon, and I've discovered that the cost of the strap has been returned to my account. I can't believe how quickly this has been done. I expected the refund to only happen once the item reached the Amazon warehouse and was checked in.

3.00 p.m. I took Alfie out earlier and was surprised to find it was raining, quite heavily.

Mothering Sunday and Marathon

Sunday was Mothering Sunday. It has been re-branded or re-named 'Mother's Day' so as to fit in with the American style of naming. Why do we in Britain insist on being driven by what America does and says? Anyway, Carol didn't get any sort of card, flowers or even a phone call from either Sam or Daniel. I'm afraid I'm a little disappointed. Considering that almost every shop you go in has some sort of recognition of the day you can hardly not know it's coming up. I know I'm being cynical when I say it's just another commercial day, much like Valentine's, Hallowee'n, and all the other 'days' so that businesses can push more products, be it flowers, chocolates or a hundred-and-one other items. but never mind.

We couldn't get out in the car on Sunday morning as there was another Marathon in Milton Keynes and the runners came past our house. It wasn't for long, and we were warned well in advance. There was a large yellow sign up along the road and the club who ran it did put letters through everyone's door who lived on the route, so we had no excuse to not know. Our dogs don't really like their routines being altered, particularly Alfie, and they started barking loudly when they heard the runners coming past.  Carol picked up Alfie and let him see what was going on through the kitchen window. He seemed intrigued to see so many people.

We did go out later, in the car, once the Marathon was over. Carol was shocked to see someone in a car stop outside the Academy and pick some daffodils, which were growing on he grass outside, and then get back in the car and drive off. We couldn't believe what we were seeing. Were these going to be  Mothering Sunday present? What a cheapskate? Do you mean to say this cheap individual couldn't be bothered to go and buy some flowers for his mum and had to pinch some from the side of the road? Almost as bad as stealing flowers of someone's grave! The we drove to Westcroft to try and find a replacement for the Comic Relief 'Giggling Ball' which Alfie loves and plays with happily. I We went into Jolley's but with no success, so we went next door to the Pricesaver store, or whatever it's called. The 'Giggle Ball 'is slowly coming to the end of it's life, so we have been attempting to find a replacement, without success. We did find a ball, made of plastic, into which you put treats, and it makes a sound when it's moved, and this allows your dog to work to get the treats out. Poppy seems to like it, and has been playing with it, pushing it along with her paw. She has shown no interest in the 'Giggling Ball.' As we got out of the car in the car park, there were lots of men walking along with bunches of flowers. I said to Carol 'It's a case of 'last-minute dot com.' Men who had forgotten to get their mothers flowers and needed to get some 'at the last minute.' Or else they wouldn't get their Sunday dinners, or something.