Things Actually Getting Somewhat Slightly Worse (Probably A Little Bit, But Not Sure) Might be, Not Making My Mind Up, In fact, probably can't decide

Oh dear! We have a war raging in Ukraine, but Mr Putin doesn't call it a war, or an invasion. So, what is it? A jolly boy's outing? On  a serious note, it all sounds to much like what happened in Europe in 1938 and then lead to Germany invading Poland in September 1939 which then lead to war being declared and the start of World War Two.

I can remember The Cuban Missile Crisis which was in 1962. It was more or less exactly over the period of my birthday, which is 22nd October and seeing an episode of Panorama, which mentioned how close to nuclear war we came over the matter of nuclear weapons being stationed on the island of Cuba and being more or less terrified that we were all going to be annihilated in a nuclear war. Those were the days when you were never told what the significance of such things were, and if you were a child (I would have been around 12-13.) it wasn't something you would discuss with a child. Are we in a similar situation, regarding the situation in Ukraine, in particular as Putin has said he has put out a nuclear alert. Is he just bluffing (one likes to think so.), a distraction from what is going on with his troops in Ukraine? Only time will tell. Well, anyway, in my childish mind in 1962, it would have been scary. There was certainly quite a lot going on at the time for me, what with that awful winter of 1962-63, having my appendix out and in 1963, seeing the first episode of a new children's science fiction television series (actually, to be more accurate, it was a fantasy show.) about a time-travelling gentleman and his granddaughter, the show being 'Doctor Who.' Who (sorry, pun warning.) would have imagined that it would still be going strong (well, reasonably, regardless of falling audience ratings.) sixty years later? Aimed specifically at my then age group and so amazingly different from what else was aimed at children at the time. 

Wednesday. 4.15 a.m. I had BBC news on yesterday evening and there was footage of Russian attacks on buildings in Kyiv and, quite frankly, it was nothing but aggression. Why destroy buildings like this? Many Ukrainians are being brutally murdered, regardless of what Putin is saying. It was quite horrifying, and we can see such footage in our living rooms, without any sort of editing, which makes it more horrifying. I had to switch to another channel as it was too much. That might sound pathetic, but I think we need to stand back and take a different approach, not helped by being stuck in a room on my own. Just heart-rending. 

2.15 p.m. The excitement is too much! They are laying new carpet in the lounge here at Dexter House. I think I ought to lay down and rest, it's too much to take! They've been working on it for a couple of days now. Nothing very exciting about the colour. Just boring. The same as the newly-painted walls. A sort of washed-out lavender colour (if the colour lavender isn't washed out enough, to begin with. Now, now, Murdoch, don't hyperventilate! It's just a shock that it's actually happening. It's been in the works for months.

By the way, what's happened to the lady cleaner who does the common areas around here? I mean, the corridors and some of the rooms we are allowed to inhabit? Is she ill? Is she on holiday? She hasn't been seen for at least a week.

I've taken Alfie out, but, because it's raining, not heavily, but making the ground wet nevertheless. He didn't want to go far, so we didn't do our usual tour of Oldbrook Green.

Meanwhile, in another part of the forest . . . I mean, Dexter House. We still have only one operational washing machine. The old one which was taken out is still sitting in its place at the entrance. When will it be replaced? The one that is left isn't working particularly well, and I reckon is on its final legs (or however you want to describe it.) It has bits falling off it, for example, the front panel of the drawer you are supposed to use for detergent. I never use it as I use gel capsules that go directly into the drum before doing any washing. If we have to put up with this breaking down as well, where are we supposed to wash our clothes? I have no idea where the nearest laundrette is, just in case. Perhaps we should get washboard and take our laundry down to the canal or the river and wash it there . . . How slow the powers that be can be knows no bounds. A bit like fiddling whilst Rome burns. 

Freedom Day . . . At Long Last!

This is the day we've been waiting for. All the ludicrous restrictions we've had to live under for the past two years are being abandoned. Let's say it; the pandemic is over, although Boris Johnson has said that the coronavirus hasn't gone away. Let's just say, it's hiding. We have to learn to live with it. 

It may be 'Freedom Day' if that's what you want to call it, but we now have all this overshadowed by the Ukraine Crisis with Russia threatening to invade that small country. Vladimir Putin making out it's their fault, and they're the aggressor. All this is done to deflect things from problems within Russia, mostly financial.

Thursday. 9.45 a.m. I have just got back from taking Alfie out for one of his walks and, as we walked along the path that runs beside Strudwick Drive, I notice a bright yellow pencil that looked as if it has been thrown away. Nothing wrong with it, an ordinary Staedtler wooden pencil, HB grade. I'm thinking, 'I'll have that!" So I picked it up and put it in my jacket pocket. But further along, I picked up more and in total there were 10 of them. I just hope they were thrown there by a pupil from Milton Keynes Academy or even the Primary school which is just over the road. Are children so stupid as to throw away stuff they are given to use in their lessons? I know some children don't have such items given to them by their parents as they don't have the income to afford such items as pens, pencils and other things, so why waste these by throwing them on the grass. There are children in Africa who would be pleased to have even a scrap of paper to write on or a pencil to write with. I don't think the children around here realize how lucky they are to have even the basic things free of charge for use in their education.

Perfectly good pencils, rescued from the grass along Strudwick Drive this morning. Just a waste to throw them away.

7.30 a.m. As I've mentioned in earlier blogs, I have upgraded my MacBook and now have a MacBook Pro. I'm more than pleased with it. I'm really surprised how thin and light it is, compared with my MacBook Air. I had been searching online to find some way of recycling it and, hopefully, get a fair price for it. This morning it has been collected by a courier from DPD, packed it up in a sealed box and is now gone. It was in excellent condition, mostly because it has had a plastic cover. I had managed to remove the bottom cover, but not the top one. Which shows how effective it has been in protecting this laptop.  I always attempt to look after all my gadgetry, because it is expensive and if I want to use it there's no point in it getting damaged if it's cared for properly. I had wiped the surface with a wet wipe but got the driver to remove the top cover. Also wiped clean and hopefully, this will affect the price I eventually receive. 

I'm somewhat annoyed that the laundry room is locked until 8 a.m. Just crazy that I have to wait until 8 o'clock to do my washing. I haven't been told about this stupid new rule. More rules and regulations. Just annoying.

It seems that Freedom Day was somewhat overshadowed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Just tell me, when did Kiev become Kyiv? It seems that the names of quite a few places have more or less overnight been changed in their spelling. Most western nations have taken their eyes off the ball (you might say.) Biden, US President' is as much use as a wet fish. Probably has early-onset dementia. Meanwhile, our politicians have been more concerned about parties in Downing Street than watching what's happening centre stage.  No wonder Rome burns whilst Nero fiddles. Sorry, I'm mixing my metaphors. No wonder Putin has managed to do what he's done. Puts me in mind of the Munich Crisis in 1938 before the beginning of World War 2. Strange how history repeats itself.

10.30 a.m. It is quite sunny and warm. A pleasant enough day to wander slowly around Oldbrook Green.

I have been back baking. I got the Sainsbury's Magazine last time I was shopping and inside is a recipe for chocolate cookies, so I have bought the ingredients (not actually from Sainsbury's. I decided to go to Waitrose instead. It is quite an effort to make anything complicated in my tiny kitchen because there isn't much in the way of surfaces. It's a bit of a juggling act. Measuring out the flour, butter, sugar and so on and attempted to roll out the dough and then put it on baking trays, but my efforts have been worthwhile. The results have exceeded expectations. Now I have had all the boxes removed from the pantry/cupboard, I have more space to store the equipment, such as the food processor and the trays and pans. I need to get a good deal more organized next time I do a bake.

I have hit the 10,000 steps target today! That's approximately 5 miles. I took Alfie out  at around 4 p.m. as it was bright and sunny and it seemed a pity to not take advantage of the sun. I don't think Alfie was going to miss the opportunity to have a good walk and sniff around in the grass. Just glad to get the steps total in and finding the Fitbit is motivating me to get out of the flat.