The Sun Has Got His Hat On!

 Monday. 7.35 a.m. Yesterday was a busy day. We had a somewhat shortened service at church, followed by a members' meeting. Halfway through the service, a baby boy was dedicated. I must explain. We don't have christenings in our church. You are baptised when you accept Jesus, and it is a voluntary action. Anyway, the parents, friends and those who were to be Godparents went to the front of the church. Baby Leo, who is around three months old, was fast asleep during the dedication. At the end, his dad held him up for all to see, and it reminded me of a similar scene in the Disney film, 'The Lion King' and appropriate since he is called Leo.

Lots of stuff to be discussed and considered during the members' meeting, including voting for new members of the leadership team. Once that was over, we set up for what is called Messy Church and that went on until 5 o'clock, which was cleared up, and I eventually left for home at around 5.30. 

As I write this, the sun is out and the digital thermometer reads 22ºC. Yesterday was cloudy and dark clouds threatened rain, but if it did rain, there wasn't much.

Tuesday. 10.05 a.m. The weather has changed. What do you expect in this country? Fickle? Possibly. The sun no longer shines. Is summer over? Probably not. My digital thermometer currently reads 22ºC.

Wednesday. 7.50 a.m. Having just read the very short piece above, regarding the weather, I now have to write that the weather has now done yet another about-turn. When I went out earlier, as I do every morning, with Alfie, it was windy and dark clouds were crossing the sky. As I write now, it is sunny and a powerful wind blows. It's almost autumnal. My digital thermometer reads 21ºC.

Good Friday. 6.40 a.m. It's fully light as I write this. I have to say, I love this time of year. I took Alfie out and I noticed how quickly the trees are coming into leaf. I think the past few days of sunshine have helped them put on a spurt. The hedge, alongside the garden of Dexter House, is completely leafed (is that even a term, or a word? Well I know what it means.) 

The electric scooters are STILL taking up space along the corridor on the way out. When will these confounded things be able to be removed and stored in the sheds outside? The story continues. And continues . . . .  and continues.

Yesterday was Maunday Thursday, the day when Jesus and his disciples ate the Last Supper. I was on duty to supply the bread and wine in the evening for a time of reflection at SCF in the evening. I had to go to Sainsbury's to buy a white sliced loaf of bread, which I then cut up into small pieces. I did it early, because I was focussed on the task and wanted to have it done so I could concentrate on other matters. I drove to the Oaktree Centre at around 6.15, but found the place locked, so I had to wait until the place was locked up and once inside, the same old problem of having to open the kitchen, which has one of those doors with a lock which you open with a code. I don't have it, but it was eventually opened and I set up the trays into which the small plastic cups are placed and then made up some fruit squash (I think it's blackcurrant.) to then put into a squeezy bottle so that I could put a small amount into each plastic cup. This is a job you cannot rush. You need a steady hand. We weren't sure how many people were going to turn up, so I made up one tray and began to fill a second one, leaving the second one on the counter in the cafe area. In the hall, the table was set up in the centre, with chairs in a circle around it. It was a very moving evening, with readings and music.

I have taken a case out of the cupboard in my bedroom, which has been in there, unused, since I moved in around 6 years ago. I have never looked inside, but I needed to empty it, because I want to use it when I go to Worcester later this afternoon. I found various bits of rubbish, which is often what you find when you've been on holiday, tickets, empty packets and so on. But I was surprised to find Carol's swimming costume. It was unexpected and caused me a certain bit of emotion. I just did not think that I would find that in the bag.

11.00 a.m. I've been to the Shell fillingl station in Grafton Street. I needed to check the car's tyres. It's not a job I enjoy. I had a £10 note, because I didn't know whether I would need to change it for coins. I had a couple of 50p with me, just it case. I got to the machine and drew up. I then discovered you could pay using your debit card, which I had with me. Unfortunately, the confounded machine wouldn't accept it. Goodness knows why. But the machine did accept my 2 50p coins. You have five minutes to go round and check your tyres, but the hose it uses is difficult to hold as it keeps wanting to rewind into the machine. Crazy! I had to unscrew each cap on each tyre, and keep a foot on the hose to prevent it being drawn back into the machine, at the same time attempting to read the pressure on the machine. Carol always used to help with this job. She would stay with the machine and stop the hose rewinding into the machine, but without her, I have to do this operation on my own.

Fun With Dick and Jane

Sunday. 4.40 p.m. So, here I am, on a Sunday afternoon. Nothing much to do except read, take Alfie for a walk, and peel potatoes for my evening meal. (Pork chops, roast potatoes and broccoli, if you must ask.) A bit like the Hancock's Half-Hour 'Sunday Afternoon At Home'.' Virtually nothing happens. Hancock moans and complains about the fact it's raining, Miss Pugh (his secretary, played by Hattie Jacques) has cooked lunch and Hancock complains about her gravy. It's obviously very thick and the fact that it doesn't move! A brilliant bit of scriptwriting by Galton and Simpson.  The ability to write about virtually nothing is a real art, and it brings out the various characters' little foibles. I have heard this episode many times and it's just as funny each time I hear it.

As I write this, the fire alarm has gone off. I have shut the lounge door as the alarm goes off in the entrance hall, and you can't hear yourself think with the confounded alarm. Alfie doesn't like loud noises, which is why he's laying near the door. A fire engine has arrived and is parked outside. Along with a police car. Hope they arrest the idiot who has set the alarm off (just hope it's not me as I have only just put the potatoes into roast. Perhaps they should charge £25 for each call-0ut, which is a sort of false alarm, which might make people a bit more careful. Just hope they manage to turn the alarm off soon as it's difficult to think properly.

The alarm stopped after around twenty minutes, by which time my ears were ringing. But it was such a relief! I just wish people would learn to cook, smoke or whatever, without setting off the fire alarms. Perhaps they had forgotten to take out toast from their toaster or left something in the oven which burnt. Whatever it was, it caused an annoyance.

Monday. 5.40 a.m. Alfie and I were out at 5.15. I'm not going to stay indoors when it's light and there's no rain. No sign of foxes, but one can hope to see one or two at some stage if you get up early enough. I have my electric fan on in my bedroom as it's already hot in the flat. Just crazy. 

Why did I choose the title for this blog post? I have no idea, but I suppose it reflects life at Dexter House.  It's all bingo and , jelly, gardening and more bingo. The fun of it is too much, nothing more and nothing less. That may be for some who live here, but not for me.

I am currently doing checks on my car before going to Worcester. I forgot how to open the bonnet, so I went on Google and, hey presto! It's easy. It's not a thing I do regularly, as the car was serviced in November and had an oil change. The oil level seems fine but now I need to check the tyre pressure, not a job I actually relish, but it must be done. I think I will do it the next time I top the car up with diesel.

10.55 a.m. I have been to the Shell filling station in Grafton Street to fill the car up with diesel. You have to move quite a long way forward otherwise you can't get the hose to reach the filler on my car and I have to remember that the filler is on the driver's side. I pad in the kiosk and got two £1 coins to operate the airline. A car was already using the airline so I waited near the pumps and then moved the car to the area which had the airline in it. It took me a while to discover where you put your coins to start the machine, It's not very well-marked. Then I pulled out the hose to start the job of putting air in each of the four tyres. It's a messy business and I got a black mess on my hands from the tyres and undid each of the caps on the tyres. Then I had to wrestle with the hose, which keeps wanting to rewind itself back into the machine, so you have to put one foot on it to stop it, this manoeuvre is rather like wrestling with a snake. It was at this point that I think it's somewhat like a scene from a television comedy and could imagine Rowan Atkinson's character Mr Bean attempting to deal with the hose and getting himself into a terrible but hilarious situation. Anyway, having dealt with these things the car is now ready for my journey to Worcester on Friday afternoon.

Tuesday. 6.00 a.m. Here we are again! Alfie and I were out at 5.15 this morning. A slight chill in the air and, according to the BBC Breakfast weather forecast, a likelihood of rain later today.

Carol Moves Wards

Friday began fairly mild and not a great deal of sun, but as the day progressed, the sun came out and we were back on hight temperatures. The heatwave doesn't look as if it's going to end soon. As much as I like sunshine, I don't like it this hot. Just doesn't suit me.

I drove the car to the hospital, the same as I did yesterday. My thoughts were that possibly Carol would be discharged and we could at last go home, but, unfortunately, the issue of her blood sugar level and her temperature is still causing problems. It is odd that her temperature was around 37.5 only a few days ago and shot up to dangerous levels over a very short space of time as well as her blood sugar levels, which seem to have shot up also. 

The doctors have decided that she needs to remain in hospital for a few more days, to make sure the temperature and blood sugar levels are reduced considerably before she can be allowed home. She was to be moved on to Ward 22 during the afternoon when a bed became vacant there.

Carol had an M.R.I. scan booked for 12 noon. When no porter arrived a before the time, we began to wonder whether she would be going for the scan or not, but by around 12.20 a porter did arrive and she was whisked out of the ward and a short distance along the corridor to the imaging department and around to wait outside the M.R.I. scanner room. I sat in the waiting area outside the doors which had warning signs to 'Not Enter. High risk of radiation.' The whole process took a little under 15 minutes. When the scanning was progressing, the doors automatically locked themselves and lights came on, rather in the manner of when they were filming for television and you got 'Red light and bell' before a 'take.' She soon reemerged and we returned to the ward.

There was a lot going on in Ward 1, during the morning. Lots of patients leaving and new ones arriving. It must be quite difficult for the staff, because they bring new patients in on their beds and there is little enough space to manoeuvre beds around, beds having to be taken out first before new ones can be bought in.

Finally, after a couple of days waiting, Carol was informed that she was going to be moved to Ward 22. We began clearing up her belongings, but we still weren't given an exact time. We just sat and waited, and waited. Bur eventually we were given the go-ahead and   a porter arriving on  the Ward1.

Ward 22 is where we had to go to get the pump removed at the end of one of Carol's chemotherapy cycles, so it was at least familiar to us. Compared with Ward 1, it differs in that the 'bays' are separated into male and female and each 'bay' has only four beds. As a result there's a good deal more room for each patient and each 'bay' has separate toilets and shower rooms. The first thing you notice is how quiet it is. Which makes a change from the constant noise on Ward 1, although, having said that, that ward was relatively quiet compared with some of the other wards we've been on. But on Ward 22 there isn't the constant coming and going of the patients being brought in and taken out. And the patients we came across seem eager to at least chat to you.

Saturday morning. It's started out sunny and bright. I'd decided a few days ago that Alfie needed a treat. He's been locked up in the house every day this week when I'v been to the hospital.  I wanted to take him for a walk before leaving the house. But with one thing and another I forget, but this morning I got myself organised and managed to get him on his lead. Even then he made a great deal of noise, barking and generally getting excited. We got out into the road outside the house and made for Eaglestone Park, where I let him off his lead and he bounded off, running like a little hare. I couldn't see any problems with his back leg which he has previously had a problem with, none of the holding it in the air or anything. Barking madly as usual. We did a complete circuit of the park but when we came down the Redway section near the shops I saw glass in the path. It might well have been as a result of an accident, but the way it looked, with a large and rather nasty larger piece of glass in the centre it looked like it had been put there deliberately to puncture some passing cyclist's tyres. I don't know what sort of idiot would brazenly set up this sort of thing, some mindless fool who should have known better. Even if you were to accidentally step on it with trainers, as I was wearing, it could cause a really nasty accident, with cuts to the soles of your feet, or if you fell on it, you'd need to go directly to the A and E department of the hospital. Also, all around the bench I was hoping to sit on and rest with Alfie during our walk, no end of litter, mostly drinks cans and cigarette butts. How disgusting are people? There is a great deal of litter around the park and it just shows that there is a certain element who live in this area who simply don't care about keeping things clean and tidy, regardless of the fact that there are no end of water bins to put there rubbish. A couple of squirrels running for cover as we walked on, but fortunately Alfie didn't notice them, otherwise he'd have run off in hot pursuit.

I've been up to the One Stop shop at Garraways in Coffee Hall. Just after 7 a.m. once they'd opened. I had to top-up electricity and gas. There's an A.T.M. machine outside so it's easy to check both bank accounts. A few extra bits bought, sandwiches and drink to take with me to the hospital ward which will mean I don't have to go to the shop at lunchtime. From Coffee Hall I drove to the Shell filling station in Grafton Street and put in £40-worth of diesel. One thing I can say about the Renault Captur, it's easy on fuel. The road has been resurfaced , which might explain all the  yellow diversion signs around the area. No road markings, but I suppose those sort of things put back at a later date. They are slowly managing to resurface most of the grid roads in and around Milton Keynes.

New Year's Monday Bank Holiday

New Year's Bank Holiday Monday. Carol's last day before she has to return to work at Milton Keynes Academy. We drove up the A5 with the original intention of visiting Stoke Bruerne. But we decided to drive on towards Towcester and go first to Tesco, as we needed milk. Before we came out of Milton Keynes we visited Staples to get some things Carol needed for work. But she forgot to buy a memory stick in Staples as we were on  our way up the A5, so we bought one in Tesco. The alarm went off in the car to tell us the petrol was running low. So we drove on a bit further and went to the Shell garage on the roundabout just outside Towcester. I filled the car and then went into the kiosk to pay. There was a queue at the till and a man at the cashier was ranting and raving about something. I think it was about the fact he couldn't get the carwash to work or something. Totally unnecessary behaviour. Certainly no need to take out his frustration on the poor girl on the till. I don't think I could do that job, having to put up with customers who are aggressive and angry like that man was. Fortunately he walked out of the door and took his anger with him. Myself and the rest of the customers in the queue were very supportive of the cashier.  People seem to have got extremely short tempered recently. There seems to be very little respect for other people. It's the same sort of thing when you're driving, as I've mentioned in earlier posts on here, particularly when drivers have to drive right up close behind you, in an attempt to get you to drive faster and in some instances, cut you up on roundabouts. I paid and we drove off in the car. We went to the garden centre which is opposite the Shell petrol station, called Bell Plantation. We've visited before and had good food in their restaurant. The place is currently being redeveloped and the toilets had been closed and replaced with a temporary building which wasn't particularly easy to find. We had a bit of a browse around after we'd had lattes and sandwiches in the café. Antiques and gift shops and Carol bought some bird feeders and seed and bird food to go on our bird feeder stand in the garden, just in time before the real winter weather sets in. 

Life's Little Niggles

There are quite a few little niggles I could mention as I go about my daily activities. What do I mean by a niggle? A fly in the ointment, a stone in your shoe? A minor hiccup? A spanner in the works of life? I'll try and explain a few I have come across. Such as having problems with opening packets, jars and bottles. Why do manufacturers insist on making it so difficult it get into the packets they put their products in? Such as teabags, particularly P.G. Tips. Why is it so hard to get through the cellophane wrap the boxes are covered in? They could put a pull-tag on the cellophane which means the covering comes off easily, but generally, no, there is never such a thing. Why cover the packets in this foul stuff in the first place? What is the point of it? It surely can't be to keep the teabags within dry, or can it? Then, once you actually get inside there is a sort of perforated flat, which you have to break into when you want to extract a teabag. They put a similar perforated section in boxes of paper tissues which are virtually impossible to break into and then you have to extract the tissues through a very thin opening, which means that several tissues get torn to threads in the process, most annoying when you have a cold, with a runny nose and want a tissue in a hurry. Going on from tissues, how about toilet rolls? How easy can it be for manufacturers to make a roll of toilet paper which are easy to start off when the roll is new? You go to the loo and then discover at the vital moment that the loo roll has run out so you hunt far and wide for a new roll and then have trouble getting the end of the roll to start because it so difficult to get hold of the end of the paper and when you do eventually find the end, it just disintegrates and becomes virtually useless. Ink cartridges for printers can be annoying. Not just the fiddly installation process, but the packages they come in can be very difficult to open. There again, they have to be covered in more cellophane and then you break your fingernails trying to open the packet and then the actual ink cartridges are wrapped in more cellophane. Another product which can be annoying to open are CD's which never come with a handy strip to pull which releases the enclosed CD from the confines of it's little plastic box. These boxes can be fiddly when it comes to getting the CD itself out as it's held inside with a weird little central 'hub' which has sort of plastic teeth on it. It can be quite difficult removing the CD from this 'hub' thing to such an extent that if you're not very careful you could damage the CD. And the 'teeth' of this 'hub' thing can break off very easily, because it's made of very fragile plastic which breaks off easily and if that happens it renders the thing useless, meaning the CD won't sit safely on it and so get damaged if the plastic case is dropped. If that's the case the whole case is useless.The same can be said of DVD cases and also trying to extract the confounded thing from a similar 'hub' which is as difficult to remove as a CD. You can break your fingernails if you have to try to open the plastic box the thing comes in which is just as annoying.

Butter and margarine comes in convenient plastic boxes. I know these products are more convenient than having blocks of butter which come in paper or foil which means you have to transfer them into butter dishes (do people do that today? I think my mother would have done that once upon a time, but that would have been in the 1970's.) These products also are handy because they spread easily from the fridge, but the little niggle I have is the horrible bit of paper they insist on inserting under the lid when you open it and sitting directly on top of the spread inside. What's the purpose of that? You just throw it away, or, if it's left inside, you have to lift it off every time you want to take out some of the spread.

Cellophane and plastic wrap seems to cause quite a few problems. Another example which often bugs me is what covers magazines. I have a couple of magazines which I subscribe to and they arrive by post. Getting into them can be difficult, but not necessarily opening them (again, not always come with a handy tag to 'pull' so the cellophane or plastic wrap will open easily, but if you're not careful you can tear the magazine within the packaging. On a couple of occasions the postman has shoved the magazine through our letterbox with such force that the magazine within the packaging is damaged or it may be it got damaged somewhere within the post office's sorting machinery. Then, once you've got inside the packaging and opened the magazine you often find a sheaf of leaflets which are annoying because you end up throwing them away. We recycle wherever possible, but generally these bits of paper are not for things we want to read or offers we need or want, much like the annoying leaflets for such things as pizza delivery services, double glazing or estate agents who insist that your house would sell easily, which I'm sure it wouldn't. All go in the recycling bin and are really a great waste of resources. Even if you buy a magazine in a shop, such as W.H. Smith, most magazines you buy from the newsstand have similar leaflets inside and I notice that Smith's now have a bin in their shops which are there to take these annoying leaflets as they fall out when you open the magazine.

At the petrol station. Why can it be so difficult to fill your car up with petrol? How is it, when you manage to remove the  petrol hose from it's holder on the pump, it can be incredibly difficult to pull the hose out of its housing? Why can't it remain a decent length enabling you to fill your car successfully? Also gripping the trigger-mechanism takes quite a bit of effort as it can be quite stiff and difficult to keep pressed so the petrol flows. This similar thing happens when you go to put air in your tyres, especially at our local Shell station. You need a 20p piece to operate the machine, which s reasonable I suppose price-wise, but attempting to pull the hose out can be tricky as it won't maintain a decent length so you can reach all four tyres. Particularly difficult when you need to get to the side of the car furthest from the air-pump machine. The hose keeps wanting to recoil itself when you let fo of it and you need to put a foot on it to stop it retracting into the machine. This job is difficult if done on your own which is why it's easier with a second person who stays with the machine as you need to be able to read the pressure of each tyre so as to make sure it is correct. Do the owners or manufacturers of this machinery not realise how difficult these operations are and perhaps modify them so as to improve them and make it easier for their users? The answer to that is 'probably not,' because most people never complain about these things.

More little niggles. How about this one? Pink bin bags. Those which are provided by Milton Keynes Council to put your recycled rubbish in. First of all, they come on a roll. A long roll and it can be difficult to find the perforations which you use to separate a single bag from the roll. Tear rather than pull, because if you don't you might rip the bag. The you have to peel the bag open, and because the plastic these bags are made of it's extremely difficult. I find that licking my finger helps so the separate sections allow the bag to open. As I say, these pink bags are very thin and flimsy, which means you have to be extra careful when you place your recyclable rubbish inside because otherwise it will tear and become worthless. Why do they have to be so flimsy and, therefore, easy to tear, allowing rubbish to spill out? Just ask those that provide them at Milton Keynes Council.

Visit to Whipsnade Zoo

Up until a couple of years ago we used to have membership of Z.S.L. (Zoological Society of London) which meant, having paid around £100 a year we could then visit either of their zoos, London and Whipsnade, as many times as we liked during the year. Incredibly good value when you consider that a single entry ticket costs around £25 and you can get in free(I'm not so sure of the individual ticket price around 5 years ago when we first became members.) The cost rose astronomically, to near-enough £200. We didn't continue with the membership as our finances at the time would not allow it. We were also member of the National Trust (and re-joined that recently.) as you can also get into their properties free. Carol found out that she could become a Fellow of Z.S.L. because she is a science teacher. So she applied and we now can visit again, both getting  free entry. It also means she has access to a lot of Z.S.L. material which is in their library at Regent's Park as well as being able to attend lectures, as well as their A.G.M. and get discount in their shops and restaurants at both Whipsnade and London Zoos. 

We went today for the first time in quite a few years. We left Milton Keynes at around 9 a.m. and had to get petrol on the way at our usual Shell petrol station and then on to Boots outside Bletchley as we thought it might be a good idea to get sun screen as it has been really warm and hot, with particularly sunny weather. We drove out of Milton Keynes along the A5 towards Dunstable and then on to Whipsnade along the Dunstable Downs, where we saw a few gliders as well as kites near the visiter centre. We got to the carpark at the zoo to find it filling up rapidly. We haven't seen so many people at Whipsnade, but considering the warm weather it's not surprising. We then found that there is now a completely new building at the main entrance which houses a state-of-the-art shop, booking hall as well as toilets (which, incidentally, were never the best feature of Whipsnade.) We had to get Carol's Fellowship car sorted out. Which meant she needed a photograph to put on the card. When we both had membership we had to have photographs taken and these were printed on the cards. This time it was just Carol who needed a photograph (I have to be 'signed in' as I'm not officially a Fellow). Fortunately they were able to find the old photo on their computer system, which was not too out-of-date to be used on the new card.) It means we can not only enter free each time, but can take the car in without further payment. As Whipsnade is quite a large zoo, it can take quite a while to walk from one enclosure to the next, although there is a bus which ferries you around if needed.

We have seen the Birds of The World presentation several times before, but we saw it again today and as usual it's really great to see some of the birds that you never get a chance to see in flight, such as some really colourful parrots and a little owl as well as some kestrels. Amazed at the speed these fly at.

A walk-through exhibit called 'In With The Lemurs' always delights as lemurs are such lively little creatures and we were surprised to find that there were baby lemurs on view, clinging on to their mothers (as you can see from the photo I took, above. We took more photographs that was absolutely necessary, but they are so photogenic it was worth taking every one of them.

 A new butterfly house  has recently been opened, much like the butterfly house we saw at Twycross Zoo a few weeks ago. In the middle of it is another display which housed a miniature crocodile in a glassed space which allowed you to see beneath the surface of the water. You walk into this heated  structure, rather like a vast plastic greenhouse. The butterflies fly around inside and some settle on you. It's an amazing experience. It is heated by some sort of steam system which keeps on billowing out over the centre of the building.

We walked around the zoo and within 4 hours we managed to see tigers, elephants, penguins, bears (several varieties) as well as camels, bison, hippopotami, rhinoseros and giraffe. There is now a new feature, a sort of walk-way which allows you to see the giraffes at near enough eye-level as well as going inside their house and I took the photograph you see below.  Made a change to be able to see these animals like this.

Not like you would if you stood at ground-level. You can virtually see them at eye-level.

Quite a few improvements generally at Whipsnade since we were last there. It was generally looking rather shabby and some of the animal enclosures were looking somewhat tired. They have built a wooden fence around the penguin pools, which seemed rather odd and you have to go in through a gate. There are a couple more shops and some lodges where you can book and stay in overnight as well as some toilets which are far more clean than they have been in the past.

We walked back towards the entrance and had a look in the new shop and then had tea in the cafe. By which time we had completed our visit and then went home via Dunstable. We didn't manage to see everything, particularly the elephants, but it does mean, with the membership, we can return anything we want to which may be over the summer holiday period. It is merely a 45 minute drive from Milton Keynes.

Difficult Customer

Carol went back to work at Milton Keynes Academy today. We went to the Shell filling station in Grafton Street, which is where we usually go to fill up the car with petrol. I did the filling and then we went into the shop to pay as Carol wanted to buy newspapers for a lesson she is teaching and a sandwich for her lunch. We had to queue up at the till to pay and there were several people in front of us. A man and a youth were at the till when we got there, having chosen Carol's sandwich (which wasn't much of a choice, I have to say.) and she got a coffee from the self-service Costa machine in the shop. We could hear the older man at the till having an argument with the cashier. He had asked for vodka and the youth bought a multi-pack of lager. The older man began to get quite abusive when it came to having to pay 5p for a carrier bag. He was covered in tattoos (I know that shouldn't have any bearing on the incident, but I'm afraid it did underline the sort of cliche of the 'type' of individual he was.) From what I could hear, he sounded somewhat 'tanked up' or drunk, as he had a slurred voice. He continued to hurl abuse at the cashier, who pointed out that the 5p was going towards a charity to fund research into leukaemia. It seems most companies have a similar policy over plastic carrier bags and it's seemed reasonable to me as a way to reduce the use of carrier bags, particularly in supermarkets where you can now buy 'lifetime' bags and take them with you to use when you shop. But this individual was more interested in being abusive. Carol then intervened and said in quite an assertive voice that could he hurry up as there we people waiting who had to get to work, a very reasonable request. The man took a 5p coin from his pocket, or from some place I have no idea where, and threw it very bad temperdly across the shop. A pointless exercise as he might just as well have given it to the cashier and accepted the bag and left. We were somewhat surprised and anxious that this man was driving a vehicle, from what we saw of the vehicles on the forecourt a taxi, so we were concerned that he was going to be drunk in control of a vehicle. It seemed doubtful that he could have been working or at least driving a taxi as the taxi company would not want i's employees driving and drinking. As there are so few police to be seen on the grid-roads of Milton Keynes, the man was going to get away with his behaviour. It's not so much the man's driving that was our concern, it was the fact that his alcoholic state could cause a serious accident and injure or kill innocent people. I also think it's somewhat irresponsible of Shell to sell alcohol in it's petrol stations. I was very impressed by how the cashier handled the situation as it could have got quite nasty. I don't think the two individuals were going too far away to drink their booze. Most likely going to sit in a carpark or lay-by and drink themselves into oblivion. I just hope they didn't go off drinking and then drive around Milton Keynes as the older man must have been several times over the limit and should have been apprehended by the police and charged with drunken behaviour, but I very much doubt that will happen, unfortunately.