Restrictions On, Then Off and Then . .

Some of the pandemic lockdown restrictions have been lifted. We can now visit 'non-essential' shops, get our hair cut and a certain number of attractions, gardens and so on, have re-opened (I think these include National Trust properties, zoos, etc etc.) But if you visit a shop you need to wear a face covering (supposed to cover your nose and mouth.)

I went into the Milton Keynes main shopping centre to meet my friend Nick who lives in Northampton. Unfortunately not everyone is obeying the social distancing regulations nor is everyone wearing a face mask. I took mine, one of the handful I purchased in Lidl a few weeks ago. I don't particularly like having to wear one as it makes my face hot and my glasses steam up. You can't see people's faces clearly and it would be easy for someone, if they were inclined, to do something criminal, say, rob a bank or be objectionable to staff in a shop, and nobody would be able to recognise them, for example, on C.C.T.V. cameras.

Church is having a picnic on Sunday near Furzton Lakes. I have been attempting to find some sort of folding chair to take with me and went on the internet to have a look. I had hoped that Argos might have had some in stock. I looked at there website and sure enough they had quite a range but when I attempted to buy I kept being told that the Milton Keynes store had none in stock. I had an idea that Tesco would have these types of chairs. Whatever I buy needs to be folding, so that it will fit into the back of the car and then be stored in the flat in a corner.

(Friday) The Renault Captur was due for it's MoT in August. I rang Bleakhall Motors on Wednesday to book it in for this annual test and got an appointment for 4.45 yesterday afternoon. I drove there and the test went ahead. I waited in the waiting area and it was completed by 5.30. Thank goodness it passed without any further expense being necessary but they said that it would need the diesel emissions looking at before next year's test. I imagine it has something to do with the exhaust filter or something so I may ring them and ask what it entails. So, that's another year of driving. The tyres may need air in them, but considering that it hasn't been far in the last five or so months since lockdown, it's no surprise as there can't be much wear on the car in that time.

(Saturday) It seems there is an increase in infections of the coronavirus in some areas of the north of England, so some of the lockdown restrictions have been reintroduced. Some people are unhappy about this, but if we're to return to any semblance of normality then this has to be done. Five months of lockdown and a gradual reduction in infections nationwide. People must just adhere to the regulations and not become lazy, particularly with social distancing.

Wild, Wet and Windy

(Tuesday)It's a wild and stormy day here in darkest Milton Keynes. Storm Brendan is battering the United Kingdom from the west and, going out with Alfie as I did early this morning, it took all my time and effort to remain standing upright. I took Alfie out for a second time at 1.30 and the wind was a good deal stronger. It's dustbin-day in this area and people had put their rubbish out for collection and some of it, mostly boxes and bags of rubbish, was being blown into the road. Someone along the road has obviously bought a Hitachi HD television (a smaller version of mine I have reason to suspect, along with a Henry vacuum cleaner, as indicated by the remaining wind-blown packaging. The other day some bright spark had dumped an old television in the side entrance to Dexter House. Could it be the same person who purchased the Hitachi television and dumped. More like, fly-tipped. the carton in the road? I think there may be a connection.)

Walking around Oldbrook Green there is paper and goodness knows what else being blown about by the wind. As the day has gone on, the wind seems to have got a good deal stronger. I took out Alfie again at around 1.30, but I don't think he appreciated the weather and tried his hardest to return home.

I didn't go to Camphill on Tuesday because I didn't feel 100%. A rather shaky feeling when I got up and horrible tingling in my feet.  It was rather like an electric shock, although quite mild. I don't know what's caused this, but probably some side-effect of the medication I'm on. I didn't think I was safe to drive the car, so I stayed in the flat. I need to discuss this with either a doctor, cardiologist or pharmacist.

(Wednesday) It's not so wild and wet outside this morning. The wind has dropped, thank goodness, and the rain has stopped.

I've been to put fuel in the car at the Shell station in Grafton Street. I've done well, because the last time I put in fuel was on Christmas Eve, on my way out of Milton Keynes, driving to Worcester for Christmas. It just shows how economical the Renault Captur is, being able to drive to Worcester and back as well as driving around Milton Keynes. Then I went to Sainsbury's and did a fairly large shop which means I have enough meals for a couple of weeks.

Went out with Alfie as soon as I'd unpacked my shopping and put it away. It was almost spring-like as we walked along Strudwick Drive. I have mentioned the amount of litter which has accumulated around the area, most around Oldbrook Green and, in particular, the litter bins. I did mention that this had been removed but today I again saw a couple of Council employees litter-picking, and one had a wheelbarrow with a black bin bag in for the litter. Why on earth people have to fling their litter on the ground I can't think. It seems it's usually the younger generation who do this, unfortunately. I always assumed that the youth of today were more environmentally aware than, say, my generation, but it would appear that this is not the case.

I went out with Alfie at around 2 o'clock this afternoon and no sooner had we got outside and in Dexter Avenue, walking towards Strudwick Drive, than the sound of a siren could be heard and within a few seconds a fire engine could be seen, moving, at great speed, towards Oldbrook Boulevard. I couldn't walk fast enough to get to the crossing onto Oldbrook Green, but I could see it turn left along Oldbrook Boulevard but by the time we reached the crossing it was well out of sight. No sign of smoke, so it was impossible to know where it was going. It could have been going to a fire, of course, but you have to remember that the fire service can go to other incidents, unrelated to fire.

As I walked along with Alfie, I followed a man in dark clothes carrying what looked like some sort of camera, with a sort of digital screen attached to it, rather like a smart phone. When he got to the green, near where men and boys kick a football into a goal, he put down the back pack he had on and it was clear that the device wasn't a camera, but the radio control of a drone. A few days ago I was again walking towards Oldbrook Green and I heard this high-pitched noise. It would be difficult to describe, but rather like something moving at speed, a bit like a sort of mechanical sound. As we got closer, I saw the small drone the man was operating. It flew up high into the sky and made a sort of insect-like sound, rather like a mosquito. It flew vertically and was quite scary and I don't think Alfie liked it. This afternoon it was being flown again and, as we got to the green, there was a flock of seagulls sitting on the grass and they flew up into the air and were scared off by the drone. We did our usual circuit of the Green, and by the time we got back to the crossing, I heard a sort of clunk sound and I think the drone crashed into the ground. Whether it got broken or not, I wasn't sure, but the speed it was going, up and down and then horizontally, I can assume that if it came down too quickly and the operator mis-judged the height,  and it must have crashed into the ground and therefore got broken.

I'm using my newly-acquired and up-dated Fire TV Stick. It has Alexa voice control built-in and 'she' will work if you press the button on the remote to operate the gadget. You have to wait for the blue line to appear at the top of the screen before 'she' will answer and do your bidding. You can call up apps which you download, such as YouTube, or else, if the thing is set up properly, play music from the Amazon Music store. I used to pay a monthly fee, but I cancelled it and now only have the free service which comes with Amazon Prime. Alexa will also play voice activated games, some based on television gameshows, such as Pointless, Deal Or No Deal or The Chase. But some of these only go so far and you can't complete them unless you pay a fee (which I haven't.), which means they can be a bit frustrating as you don't get to the final (if you manage to answer questions correctly.

Car Repair

My Renault Captur needed work doing on it. I was told some while ago that it would need the timing
belt replacing. I don't even know what a timing chain is or what it does. I've been driving for 50 years and owned several cars but never come across this item in the engine. Well, I only drive my car and don't entirely understand how the thing works. The same with this MacBook Air, on which I write this blog. How on earth does the internet work? It's beyond me, but all I know is that it does work, miraculously. Anyway, I had to wait until my pension was paid into my account and then I went to Bleak Hall Motors to make an appointment for the car, which was yesterday (Friday). I was told it would take quite a long time, so there was no way I was going to sit in their waiting room until the work was finished, so I called for a taxi and went home and waited. I thought it might be a couple of hours, by which time the garage would phone me to tell me the car was ready to collect. This eventually came at around 4.15, and I then had to get another taxi to convey me back to Bleak Hall.  Bill paid and then I returned in the car, glad that the work is complete. Now the car needs servicing, basically because it's no point in having a car that doesn't operate properly, and anyway, with the computerised read-out on the dashboard constantly telling  me that it needs servicing in 20 days or so, I don't have much choice. It's sort of nagging me to have it done, so I will have to abide by it. I'll either go into Bleak Hall motors to arrange this or I can always ring.

(Saturday) Been out with Alfie at around 6.45. It's light enough at that time in the morning and the poor little dog was eager as ever. A cloud of seagulls on the green near Oldbrook Boulevard. I think they're probably after the worms or something, but they make a lot of noise and it makes me think of the seaside.

Someone coughing their lungs out in a nearby flat. I think it caused by smoking, so it begs the question: if that is the result, why smoke? If I get a load of smoke in my lungs, then it causes me all sorts of problems, and I was told, after I had my first heart attack, that if I'd smoked, then my heart attack might have happened around 5 years earlier.

Last night I heard fireworks being let off. Thank goodness Hallowe'en is over. A really nasty import from America, just a way to make money out of a load of tat which then ends up in land-fill. I think some individuals don't know the difference between Hallowe'en and Bonfire Night (Guy Fawkes Night.) and that you don't have fireworks as part of Hallowe'en. Hopefully the rubbish being sold in the shops will now be gone, but we now have all the Christmas tat in the shops, endless shelves full of mince pies, Christmas puddings and wrapping paper and other stuff you don't need immediately for Christmas.

Later. I've been to Sainsbury's and I wasn't there long. The carpark was virtually empty. The store wasn't busy. I don't think the average shopper goes to a supermarket early on a Saturday. Most are tucked up under their duvets. But I suspect it's more to do with the rugby match in Japan, England v South Africa. I'm not sure what the time difference is between the United Kingdom and Japan. It does interest me, a good deal more than football, but I can take it or leave it.

I got hame and unloaded my shopping and was on the point of taking Alfie out for a walk, but the weather is foul as I write this, raining and there a high wind, but that wouldn't put off our Alfie.

Went to an archaeology exhibition in the Church of The Cornerstone. I've been inside the building, but not inside the actual church and was surprised by how small it was. It seemed an odd place to hold such an exhibition. It would have been better in the Middleton Hall, which is part of the main Milton Keynes shopping centre. Discovered that a Roman villa has been unearthed in a village called Piddington in Northamptonshire. It's just off the Bedford/Northampton road and not a long journey from here. There is a museum attached to it and I may visit in the near future. It's surprising what you discover when you visit such an exhibition and what other archaeology is going on in this area. I think I've driven along that road many times but knew nothing of this discovery, which was made around 40 years ago. Even so, nothing in the local papers to even mention it.

Car Passes MoT

I'm somewhat relived that the car, my beloved Renault Captur, has passed it's MoT. I took it to Bleak Hall Motors in good time, arriving at 12.45, a good 15 minutes before the time it was booked in for. I sat and read my book, Breaking The Code, Gyles Brandreth's Westminster Diaries, from the early 1990's until well into the 2000s. It's actually a signed copy which I bought, I think, from Postscript, an on-line and catalogue bookseller which has good discounts on the books it sells. I have always liked Mr Brandreth, a good presenter of a range of television programmes such as 'The One Show,' and he's into subjects that I like, such as words, literature and being on Radio Four panel shows such as 'Just A Minute.'  I was told that the brakes on the Captur will need work doing, so I think I will book it in sometime next month, although the timing belt needs replacing.

I've just finished reading 'Zippy and Me,' by Ronnie Le Drew.  The book was crowd-funded and published by a company called Unbound.  I payed £30 and part of this went into the fund to produce and publish the book and all the ancillary work that would be needed to get it produced and I got my own, signed, copy, which arrived in the post about two weeks ago. I have a passing connection with Mr Le Drew, because in 1971, after I worked as an A.S.M. at Liverpool Playhouse, I needed work and eventually went to work as a technician, not exactly stage management, but near enough, working for the puppet company run by John Blundell, at the Midlands Arts Centre at Canon Hill Park, Birmingham. Ronnie was one of the puppeteers and it was from that job, operating a follow-spot on one of the shows, it might have been their production of Pinocchio or Peter and The Wolf, that I got interested in puppetry and my career (such as it was) took off in a slightly different direction. It's quite a difficult job, operating a lime (follow-spot), purched up high above the auditorium in the Studio Theatre at the Arts Centre, and attempting to follow various puppets with the light. It was a 'black theatre' production, which means the puppeteers are swathed from head to toe in black, even their faces are covered by black gauze, so that the audience can't see them, but the puppets are lit in such a way that they stand out clearly. I had to be able, at various points in the play, to turn off the follow-spot, and at another point, put it back on and accurately manage to pick out a specific puppet a bit later on, but do it in such a way so as not to illuminate the operator, no mean feat. Staring with concentration on a circle of light for any length of light tends to have a quite bad effect on your eyesight and you soon have blobs of light in your eyes for quite some time afterwards, which makes accuracy with a hot followspot, which needs to be kept at the correct angle otherwise it can tilt down, although you have handles on the back and sides to hold on to and knurled knobs which allow you to screw them up to make the thing stable.

I might have been a  trainee lighting assistant (I don't think I was exactly) and the man in charge of the lighting was a bit of a prankster. I was no more than 20, and what you would call 'green.' He would clamber up a ladder or onto one of those platforms that wheel about the stage, I think it's called a cherry picker, for he purpose of adjusting the lighting above he stage, or to take out the bulbs in several of the lights. I was detailed to stand below, presumably to steady the ladder, and he would undo a bulb and then throw it down to me below, where I was supposed to catch it. Much larger bulbs than your average domestic bulb and probably a good deal more expensive, so if I dropped the bulb, heaven forbid, I was in real trouble, but this never happened, fortunately. I also helped with the making of some of the puppets, which were going to be used in the next production which was a show based on two Hans Christian Andersen stories, The Emperor's New Clothes and The Steadfast Tin Soldier. The other puppeteer who went on to become well known was called David Claridge. I seem to remember it was he who designed the sets and puppets for the Hans Andersen double bill. He was responsible for creating and operating Roland Rat, saviour of TV-AM and the character went on himself to have his own television series in the 1980s.

I would have liked to have become a puppeteer there and then, but, first, there were no vacancies in the company, and, secondly, I wasn't a trained actor, because of learning lines and having some sort of experience of performance (apart from a few 'walk-on' bits-and-pieces when I was a Student A.S.M. at the Everyman, but certainly nothing concrete. So, if I wanted to become a puppeteer I would need to work for a company which used a pre-recorded soundtrack of the dialogue and work the puppets to that tape. Not always a particularly good way to work puppets, because once a recording is made it is 'fixed,' which means you can't vary each performance for the different audiences you would be playing to. In a 'live' performance, as with any play, the actors can vary the speed of their delivery when there is an audience reaction, for example, if they laught at a specific line, and would vary from performance to performance.

Change For Change Sake

I've been to Bleak Hall Motors after 9 this morning (Thursday) to book the Renault Captur in to have it's annual MoT. I discovered that the current MoT runs out on 8th August, so it's as well I had thought to have it done. It's booked in to be done at 1p.m. on Monday. I just hope it doesn't need much doing to it to pass. I have a feeling that the brakes might need doing as last time it was MoT'd they said one was in need of replacing. The other thing I was told was that, because it's a diesel car, the timing belt will need replacing before December, another expense, but it has to be done. It has something to do with how the pistons are timed. It can't be left, but with my financial situation, it will have to be done in the next month after my pension has gone into my account. It will cost around £300 or so.

As I was driving along Standing Way, going to Bleak Hall and was turning right on the roundabout, a car very nearly hit me, speeding across without stopping. Another couple of feet and he would have hit me. No wonder my nerves are a wreck after driving. Stupid idiot, it's people like him who make the roads a battlefield and are responsible for high motor insurance premiums. I wouldn't be surprised if this youth, because I saw him as he sped by, doesn't have any insurance, so if he had hit me, goodness knows what would have happened. Scary.

From Bleak Hall I drove to Sainsbury's. I had to collect medications I only recently ordered over the phone, one of them being Diazepam. I was surprised that the Bisoprolol which had only been ordered a day or so ago was ready for collection. I have heard from the pharmacist at Lloyd's that the procedure for ordering will be changing in September. I won't be able to order as I currently do, by merely ringing Lloyd's and giving them the medications on my repeat list. They contact Ashfield Medical Centre to get the doctor to provide the prescription, which is signed and then emailed to the pharmacy. But from September I will have to order direct from Ashfield. I can set up an on-line account with the surgery and use that to order what I need to have on repeat. It worries me that this isn't going to work. I don't think I trust the system. I will be on edge that if I order that the surgery will get the order and then contact Lloyd's to make up the order. I feel sorry for the older patients who don't have access to the internet, let alone a computer, and wouldn't have any idea how to use one, so how are they expected to reorder their repeat medications? Does it mean they have to go to the surgery and make a paper order? Am I expected to do that? Why change a system which is working so well? It has been so easy, just to ring in my order, which I do when there are enough days for order to go through before my stock runs out. Some crazy pen-pusher somewhere, with no idea of the dress and upset this will cause seems they have to change things for change sake. If enough people were to complain I reckon it could be left alone. It's the people who waste such things as appointments, make them and never actually go to them, wasting N.H.S. resources in a really negative fashion.

Friday. Noon. It's a bright and sunny day. But the sun keeps going in and out. One minute, Bright, the next, it clouds over. Never mind. I'm actually bored silly. If Carol was here, we'd be going out and about, to Whipsnade, probably London, one of the National Trust properties, Wimpole Hall perhaps. But she's not, and my life's empty. I mustn't get myself upset, but it's days like these when the loneliness is the worst.

This morning I was planning to go to the Oaktree Centre to sample the food in the newly-opened café. One of Shenley Christian Fellowship members, Tim O'Brien is part of a musical group called Fadin' Shoes. It was he who drove me to the John Radcliffe Hospital to have my stent fitted. I drove out of Eaglestone at around 11.40 which would have given me plenty of time to get to Shenley, but, driving down Chaffron Way, the road ahead, at the roundabout where it intersects with Fulmer Street, there was a road sign in red stating quite clearly 'Road Closed, and a gang of workmen, presumably resurfacing the road. There was absolutely no advance warning as I drove along Chaffron Way, so this came as rather a shock, to say the least. I turned left and came to Standing Way and eventually got onto Watling Street and drove as far as Childs Way with the intention of hopefully getting into Chaffron Way further up towards Morrisons at Westcroft, but even that road was closed off at the roundabout at the intersection with Fulmer Street. So, not feeling very happy that my day had been ruined, I decided to head home along Fulmer Street and get home. Annoyed isn't the word, because I have wanted to listen go the music and have something to eat in the newly-opened café which has been a long time in the planning.

The Return of the MacBook!

(Friday) I was informed by both email and text message, that the microwave oven I'd ordered through the Currys website would be arriving between 12.20 and 1.20 this morning. It arrived more or less dead on time and I had to sign using one of these crazy digital devices where it's virtually impossible to sign your signature properly. The parcel came via DPD, the courier company, who very kindly kept me informed of my microwave's journey from the warehouse. Very crafty to be able to keep a track of a delivery and to give fairy accurate information as to when a parcel is going to arrive. I had also ordered a box from Bilbliophile books a couple of weeks ago, a paperback of Gyles Brandreth's diaries of his time as an MP and, to make it even more worthwhile, it has been signed by him. I've always liked his style and erudite manner whenever he appears on The One Show and such radio programmes such as Just A Minute. I had wondered where this book had got to, but it arrived in the post, earlier in the morning, along with a DVD of 'The Favourite' which I got from Sky as part of my subscription, so I have that to enjoy at some not-too distant point in time.

At last! The telephone call I've been waiting for came at around 12 midday today (Friday) to inform me that the MacBook was ready for collection from Currys. They had found a couple of viruses on it and they were removed. So I went off to Curry's no sooner had the microwave been delivered. One lest thing to wait around for, but it's fixed and I feel a good deal happier that that rather nasty incident over the scam had been resolved. Although I got a telephone call earlier, one of those strange computerised calls, saying it was from BT, but after what happened exactly a week ago, I have my serious doubts that it was actually from BT. As a consequence of this I have now rung the real BT (well, I do hope that it was the REAL BT.) and informed them of the call last week. Apparently they are attempting to stop these malicious and false calls. You can get your provider to put some sort of software in their system to stop these sorts of calls, so I might call Sky, who provide my landline telephone and see if they can stop these calls and hopefully prevent a repetition of last Friday's incident.

Saturday morning. I've been out early with Alfie. Any idea that I might get some sort of lie-in because it's the weekend has completely gone out of the window. Alfie doesn't realise it's the weekend and that either of us could do with a rest. I did get up a bit later than usual, but not much. It would have been around 6.40 but the time we set paw and foot on the path outside the front door and the set off towards Eaglestone Park. Alfie came across a young bird as soon as I let him off his lead. I think it was a newly fledged starling. It was fluttering around in the long grass. Alfie, being a Yorkshire Terrier, showed his terrier instincts, and wanted to catch it. I had to prevent him from picking it up. I'm not sure what he would have done with it if he had, and I wasn't going to find out, so I had to pick him up, but when I put him down again, he tried to follow the little bird. No doubt the fledgling was being watched by it's parents from the safety of a nearby tree. But I managed to distract Alfie long enough for him to not follow the birdie. Then, in a tree at the rear of a garden which backs onto the park, we saw several squirrels playing in a tree. I thought they would make a really great photo and got out my iPhone in an attempt to get a shot or two, but it's not easy trying to get a decent shot with a Yorkshire Terrier in tow and pulling on his lead and barking. The squirrels were running up and down the trunk of the tree and then leaping from branch to branch above my head. They move very quickly and are extremely adept at hanging on to the very thin and bendy branches. But in the end I lost sight of them and we walked on along the path.

My car needed fuelling. The gauge in the car was showing low. I could have gone on for a few more days, but I didn't want to put diesel in until it was really necessary. The Renault Captur is a very economical car to run and I can go for several weeks on one tankful. I have been going to the BP station on Childs Way, behind he Xscape building, basically because it's convenient and I get Nectar points. When I got there it now seems they are going to give up on Nectar and set up their own points system. Annoying, because it means if you join it you have to have another card or app on your phone if you intend collecting them. At least with Nectar there are several places that give them if you shop with them. I also go to fuel there early because there's less traffic and it's easier to get out onto the road afterwards.

Car Serviced

This blog post refers to events of over a week ago. Basically because of things the way they are, which will become apparent in my next post, I just haven't had the will to write anything, but now I think I'm able to continue with this blog.

As explained in the last blog post, I had to get the Renault Captur looked at because it wasn't running as well as it should. On Saturday morning I drove to Bleak Hall Motors to have it serviced. I arrived on their forecourt at 7.50. Not much traffic so it was fairly staightforward. It was getting closer to 8 o'clock. Other customers were turning up. Well, they couldn't be staff because they came to stand at the entrance of the garage. A few staff came in cars and parked to the rear of the building. 8 o'clock passed and still the front of the building which has the reception desk in it, remained shut. Once the mechanics had arrived, they took down details of each customer so that they could start on working on each person's car which had been booked in, mine included.

They eventually opened up the reception area so those waiting could sit in comfort, me included. There was no point in me going home as I'd only have to walk or get a taxi and I had bought plenty to read, including my Kindle which I soon got connected via free wi-fi at Bleak Hall and at one point watched the final episode of 'Blackadder Goes Forth' which I've seen on several occasions, but even after seeing it before it still brings a tear to the eye. Good comedy which goes from being screamingly funny one moment to deeply tragic the next. You know what's coming, but it's extremely profound and says more about the futility of war than a great many other plays, books and discussions about the First World War.

I got told, after an hour or so, that one of the front tyres on the Captur was worn, probably due to all the roundabouts in Milton Keynes. It would beed replacing, so I decided to go ahead and have it replaced whilst I was at the garage. No point having it there if it wasn't done so I let them do the job.

Anyway, after three hours the car's service was complete. I paid, and drove off and it was great to have it back, in better working order than it was before it went into Bleak Hall Motors.

Mixed Weather

It's really considerably colder this morning, as it has for the past few mornings. I think poor Alfie must feel the chill more than ever, since he was groomed last Tuesday and now has a close trim. He doesn't like being cold, or too hot, for that matter. I will have to go out and find him a proper little jacket for when he goes out in the cold. I've seen some dogs wearing jackets and have to go and buy him one. I have a Regatta jacket which I bought last year as well a Regatta fleece to wear underneath and this morning I had to find my gloves out of the car to put on before venturing out on our regular morning walk through Eaglestone Park. The sun, however weak, was attempting to shine.

Yesterday I had to make an appointment at Ashfield Medical Centre. I began ringing at 8 o'clock and eventually managed to get through at around 8.15. Then I had to wait for a doctor to ringback at around 9.15, to be then given an appointment with one of the practise nurses at 10.45. I have been finding it difficult to sleep at night and sometimes wake at around 2 a.m and don't get back to sleep for a long time, so I have been prescribed Zopliclone. Having read the leaflet which came with the tablets ( a week's worth.) I was put off after reading it, having found out what some of the side-effects are, but then decided to take one at around 9 o'clock and then didn't wake up until gone 6 a.m. Just going to have to see how I feel before continuing with the rest of the tablets. As I write, I don't feel too bad but still have to be careful that I'm not drowsy or sleepy if I'm going to drive the car.

I had to go to the Shell station to fuel the car. I have to be careful to concentrate as it's a petrol model. It would be far too easy to put petrol in the tank, but thankfully there's a reminder when I open the petrol cap flap on the side of the Renault Captur. Then I drove straight over to Willan. I was followed by a woman driver one of those 4X4 vehicles, high off the road, lots of bull-bars etc etc and she was insistent on driving right up behind her. Fortunately there are local speed areas along Chaffron Way driving near Waitrose. Then a tractor came out of a side-road and I had no choice but to slow down, but this woman wasn't too pleased. No, I refuse to drive faster than I'm comfortable with. Why do so many drivers insist on driving like this? It is a relatively small percentage of motorists who behave in this disrespectful manner.

When I got to Willan, Carol was in her room, with one of the doctors. It seems that they have got some of the pain under control. Carol not particularly chatty, due to taking medication to keep her calm. She has a new medication delivered by two pumps, which take 24 hours to complete their administration. They use a sort of skin patch to deliver this medication. Then Roz, a lady from Shenley Christian Centre, and who has been visiting Carol at home and when she was in Milton Keynes Hospital. She cycles from work to visit. But Carol was asleep for most of the time she was there, unfortunately, although shel did wake up several times during her visit.

I was surprised that not one single child knocked on our front door trick or treating because it was halloween. Not that it bothered me. We could hear fireworks being set off somewhere nearby and it seems that some people don't realise that Guy Fawkes Night (November 5th) and halloween are two different things.

Thursday. It was relatively mild first thing this morning, but Alfie and I cut short our walk across Eaglestone Park because it was trying it's best to rain. As the day progressed it got heavier and you could barely see the lake from Carol's room window at Willen when I arrived.

Friday. A bit of a sharp frost when Alfie and I went out this morning. A considerable amount of ice on the car windscreen, but never mind. We can cope with it. Regardless of the cold, quite beautiful bright, golden sunshine lighting up some of the park. Even when it's bitterly cold, the sun can shine and lift the mood of even the coldest Autumnal day. I'm having to put on my gloves now because otherwise I wouldn't be able to do up Alfie's lead.

I had to go into the bank to pay in a cheque this morning. I parked near The Point and walked through the shopping centre. I bought a sandwich in Boots because the bank wouldn't be open until 9.30 and then walked along the shopping centre. So many shops are relocating within the shopping centre. W.H. Smith is now in a much smaller unit, as well as Patisserie Valerie. Where I came into the shopping centre I noticed that Hawkins Bazaar has taken over the unit formally occupied by FatFace. I'm not sure where that company has relocated to, even if it's still within the shopping centre.

Having been to NatWest and paid in using one of their machines (not as simple to use as the system used by Nationwide.) I walked over back towards the shopping centre. I went into Marks and Spencer as I wanted to buy new slippers. My current pair are wearing out rapidly. I was surprised by the range they have in stock. I can't believe there can be so many varieties. But the one's I liked are over-priced. They seem to have increased the price considerably since my last purchase. I think I can get virtually the same for far less elsewhere. I'll have to have a look around.

When I arrived in Willen there was a sign up saying you wouldn't be able to park at the hospice, because there was an open day on. I had to park away from the hospice and walked down the road and in at the normal entrance. You can usually park directly outside the reception area. The place was really busy with visitors.

Carol was fast asleep when I eventually got to her room. I got about two minutes-worth of conversation before she fell back asleep. According to one of the nurses I spoke to she didn't have a good night and they're giving her some form of sedation to relax her which would probably account for her sleepiness. She work to have her lunch, really nice fish and chips and followed by fruit crumble and custard.

I left Willan just after 2 o'clock.

New Car and other things-Part 1

I haven't been posting on here for quite some while. Life seems to get in the way, in quite a large and uncomfortable way. I had intended updating on happenings around here, but had only just got round to doing it. Carol hasn't be well. A urinary infection which has been impossible to shift. We've been to the doctor's at Ashfield Medical Centre on several occasions. She's been given antibiotics which just don't seem to work. She's been in a great deal of pain and taken paracetamol, cocodomol as well as Ibuprofen. Helps with the discomfort for a short while but then the pain comes back. She eventually saw one of the practice nurses and has an appointment with a consultant at Milton Keynes Hospital next week (23rd August.) Fortunately this came through fairly rapidly and we only wish the doctor could have got this referral a good deal earlier. As a result we've not had the summer we would have liked. It's supposed to be a long relaxing break for Carol, off from work. It's just as well we didn't have anywhere booked for a holiday as it would have been cut short.

On a far better note, we now have a new car, a Renault Captur. The old car a Peugeot 1007 Dolce, had caused us so many problems, what with breaking down twice, once, when we went up to Newcastle to move Daniel into his new flat and then on the way home from our visit to the National Trust Property, Calke Abbey, when it broke down on the M1 and we had to be rescued from the 'coned off' area within the roadworks and then we had to have the big end replaced (at great expense, after the repair done in Newcastle. Then the driver-side sliding door wouldn't work properly (and was never repaired, hence having to slide it manually which was a real annoyance. I could go on: both coil springs had to be replaced when it was MoT'd earlier this year and no end of squeaks and odd noises which really put us both driving the car. So, you can see it hasn't been the most successful of cars. It was definitely time we replaced it. But, the only way we could possibly afford a new, or at least, second hand, car, was get a loan. I managed to arrange an overdraft on our NatWest account, more as a sort of safety net so that, if the worst happens and we don't have sufficient funds in the account when one of the direct debits comes out, it will be covered and we won't be charged something like £30. At the time I was told that we might be able to get a bank loan. After all our problems with our finances which have not been paid off it seemed that at last we might be able to get a bank loan so as to buy a replacement car. It would be a good idea before the winter sets in and the possibility of us spending out vast sums to keep the old Peugeot on the road, what with the possibility of more repairs. In a way, throwing money away on an old car when we might just as well put it towards a newer one.
We visited Brayley's at Westcroft one Sunday and were really taken by the Renault Captur. It was, of course, no use thinking of buying a car without first seeing whether we'd get a loan. Then a few weeks ago we went into our bank, NatWest, and made an appointment to see whether we'd get a loan.
It was a Thursday when we ventured forth with trepidation and went into the bank branch. The staff were very good and we went through the formalities. It's all done on computer and our credit score is taken ito consideration. And, low and behold, we got accepted! The money would be available the following day. So we began the search for a suitable car which would fit our budget. We went back to Brayley's and they had a Captur which was newly in, second hand but not ready for sale, needing servicing and valeting. We couldn't manage to beat them down on the price. So we left it. We went home and did a search on the internet and found that Evans Halshaw in Bedford had a good selection of used cars. So we drove over there and saw a Renault Captur which fitted our budget. The only downside was the fact that it was a diesel and not a petrol model. Also, would they accept our old clapped-out Peugeot in part-payment? What was it worth, if anything? When we bought it, only three years ago, we part-payed with exchanging our old Atoz and were surprised when we got £50. The salesman had to get someone to do an inspection and it turned out it was worth £200. So, we could have spent that easily to get it through it's next MoT and it wasn't likely to make it through the winter.