Another Sunny Day

(Thursday) So, we're allowed to meet up with family and friends outside, since some of the pandemic lockdown restrictions have been lifted. Thank goodness. It's like being locked up in solitary confinement. Well, let's be perfectly honest, it is solitary confinement in some ways. I took Alfie out for his last walk around Oldbrook Green and there were far more people around than there have been in ages. Youths playing football and others in what appears to be family groups but some not adhering to the 2 metre social distancing regulations. Several of the notices which had been attached to various  bits of exercise equipment were laying on the ground and people sitting in the covered shelter  but it would appear that things are gradually going to return to some sort of normal.

(Friday) It's 7.10a.m. I'm waiting to take Alfie out, but I'm trying to avoid him making a noise because a certain person who lives in Dexter House again complained about his barking (Alfie, not this idiot. Although, thinking about it, Alfie behaves better.) It's sunny and warm and I don't want to have BBC Breakfast on when all they go on about is the pandemic, which seems to have totally engulfed their news broadcasts. There must surely be more to report on in the news. This 'person' (for want of a better description.) leaning out of his flat window when I came back with Alfie yesterday afternoon, and hurling abuse at me. Just not acceptable and almost like something out of a Shakespeare play or even Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.

I have had a delivery from Staples of a paper rack and a couple of pads of paper which came yesterday lunchtime. Ordered on Wednesday and surprised that the parcel was delivered barely 24 hours after the order was made, on line. I'm still waiting for the Apple pencil, which was ordered via Very almost a week ago. No notification from Very to let me know where the item is in the system, not even that it's not in stock. The iPad came within two days of ordering, so I don't see what the problem is. I realise that these businesses are working within social distancing guidelines, so some deliveries are likely to be a lot longer in arriving, but not being kept informed is not very good customer care in my opinion, The order from Weird Fish, of the shorts I ordered through their website was supposed to have arrived yesterday before 6 o'clock, but still nothing, so I assume that is on it's way.

The paper rack is now put together, but causing problems because the screws that hold it together won't tighten sufficiently so I have had to improvise making cardboard washers and putting them on the screws and tightening the screws with a Phillips screwdriver and it seems to have done the trick. It now means I can organise the handwritten pages of my writing which need putting into order so I can transcribe it all onto my MacBook and in the process make some amendments.

Later. I have 'Good Morning Britain' on, ITV's answer to the BBC's breakfast programme. I'm not sure which is better, but I think their set is a bit more imaginative. It make me laugh that it comes to the former BBC's Television Centre, which they rent from the new owners and then re-rent to ITV. It seems bonkers.

Walking with Alfie around Oldbrook Green, there was a ride-on mower cutting the grass. It seems they cut the grass several times in succession. The only problem is that they leave the cut grass and it has a tendency to get on your shoes and then walk it into the flat and there's piles of cuttings all over the floor. Nothing much you can do about it except sweep it up or pick up with the vacuum cleaner.

I have begun to sort out the handwritten pages of my written material. It's got really muddled and I will need to get some plastic wallets to put these collated pages in otherwise they will get muddled up again. Some were numbered but other are not which makes it far more difficult to sort out. I have begun to transcribe more of these hand-written pages into word processing.

(Saturday) 6.15a.m. It's another reasonably bright and sunny morning. The flat window is open and I can hear the birdies singing merrily. Alfie is expecting to be taken out, but I must wait because it will only upset someone who shall remain nameless. Just doesn't need winding up, but it's so easy. I have managed to get Alfie out by carrying him until we get round the corner into Strudwick Drive. It's preventing him making a noise and if you carry him (which he doesn't like) he can't, or simply won't, bark. It's restricting his natural tendency because that's what makes his character and I don't like stopping him. I have written a shopping list which sits on the coffee table and I intend going to Sainsbury's after 8 o'clock as there's no point going earlier because of the queuing system and I know that NHS frontline staff get preference between 7a.m and 8a.m.

Later. I was at Sainsbury's at around 8.15 this morning. The queue didn't stretch as far as when I first went when the lockdown restrictions were first put in place, when the queue was right back to the lower level of the carpark. This morning things moved reasonably quickly and I was inside the store and finished within about 30 minutes. I think it may actually have been less. I'm getting far better at using the self-service checkouts and I have a feeling that since the pandemic they are keeping them in better order so you don't get so many glitches, none of that 'unknown item in bagging area.' I'm definitely more confident and can scan each item faster. The trick I find is being able to discover where the bar code is on each item so it's easier to scan.  I have  now got the wallets so that I can sort out the different stories I have written which are in handwritten form, some of which need collating into their correct order, which, hopefully, these wallets should help with.

I got back to the flat and put all groceries away, most importantly the frozen things which needed putting in the freezer section of the fridge/freezer. I took Alfie out for a walk around Oldbrook Green and then started watching the video of 'Cats' which is being shown for 24 hours via YouTube as part of the 'Show Must Go On' project. I didn't watch the entire show but paused it and completed watching an hour or so later when I was eating my lunch. I saw the original London production at the New Theatre probably only weeks after it opened in 1981. I saw the touring production which came to the Derngate in Northampton a couple of years ago.

Remembering Carol- Part 3

I got to meet Carol's two sons, Daniel and Sam. I met Daniel when we first went to London together. He had a job working in a hotel in St Albans, where his dad lived. I'm not so sure about Sam. They both lived with us in the house in Crownhill. Some weekends Daniel went to live with his dad and would come home, bearing in mind he was coming to his education. I think he was doing his A Levels at the time I first met Carol. Because Sam was younger, he must have been doing his G.C.S.E.'s, but, looking back, I don't remember exactly.

When I came to live with Carol, after we were married, I got  job as a home carer for people with a range of disabilities or needs, for company called Guardian Homeware. I have discussed this in an earlier blog post, so I don't want to repeat it in this post.

We went to see several television and radio productions being recording. I was able to go on line and sign up to several websites which provided free ticket for such shows. We went to see a couple of radio shows being recorded, something which really interested me, because if you have an interest as I do in media, how either television or radio shows are made, then going to see a show as a member of the audience. The first was a  BBC Radio Four panel show called 'The Write Stuff,' and was recorded in a venue which I had never heard of near the British Museum. interesting to see how a show such as a panel show is recorded and we saw that what would at first appear to be spontaneous wasn't in the slightest, because some of it was rerecorded when some hitches took place. They record two shows back-to-back, probably because  a half-hour show isn't going to make an evening's entertainment for  live audience as well as being far more cost effective. The second show we went to see was a sitcom called 'Clement Doesn't Live Here Anymore.' That was interesting to see because I had always wanted to know how they managed the sound effects and music. What ruined it for us was when the producer came on and made some rather unnecessary rather rude comments which we didn't think amusing, particularly as there were children in the audience, so we left after the recording of the first episode and didn't return for he second episode. A great pity. I didn't think it was a particularly brilliant show, but never mind. When the tickets are free, who's complaining.

Then we went to Television Centre to see the television version of 'Dead Ringers' being recoded. It has to be one of my favourite radio shows, so it was interesting to see how it worked as a television series. As we waited outside in a queue before we went into the waiting area (a great deal of waiting a some time or other when visiting a television studio either as a participant, for example as a walk-on or supporting artiste or member of an audience, who should walk past but Gary Lineker. Carol shrieked and said 'Oh, it's Gary Lineker!!" He just walked on past, no doubt used to such ruction from  a member of the public. I turned to her and said 'We shouldn't be surprised to see someone well-known when we visit Television Centre."

Another free television audience episode was when I managed to get tickets to the very first of a revival by ITV of the iconic series 'Sunday Night At The Palladium.' We went to the recording on I believe a Sunday, and got into London earlier than necessary and spent some time wandering around London, something we often used to do. We knew exactly where the Palladium was and visited Liberty's store, which is virtually opposite the Palladium and then wandered down to explore the recently-opened Broadcasting House, which had been extended and revamped. We looked through the window of the studio where the BBC 1 early evening 'The One Show' is made (if you watch this show you can clearly see this window and passing people do look in, and you can clearly see people queuing opposite as they go into recording sessions in he main Broadcasting House building.) Then we returned to the Palladium as it was by then approaching time for the recording of the show to begin. There was a quite sizeable queue forms, members of the public, like us, who had tickets for the show. We thought it would be a long time before we got inside to take our seats, but we shouldn't have worried. There were several officials walking along the line checking tickets. When they got to us, one of them looked at ours, and said that we need not queue. We were lead off, past the other queuing people, taken inside the Palladium and right into the stalls of the auditorium and shown to probably some of the best seats in the house! Quite an overwhelming feeling, of being taken out of the queue. It was probably because I had managed to get the tickets early and hence being able to get better seats and probably a better view of the stage than the rest of the people queuing up outside in the street. To top it all, who should be on the bill of the show we were about to see, but Carol's favourite, Bryan Adams, which really made her day! We hadn't known this fact, it was a sheer coincidence that he happened to be in the show!

There is so much more I could say about Carol, but at the moment I don't want to. I've written the last of three blog posts, and at the moment that's enough for now, but I may continue with more in blog posts in the future.

Another Visit to Whipsnade

The thought of just sitting indoors all day today because of the awful weather we are currently experiencing was not going to be repeated. Daytime television is so awful. We wanted to get out, at whatever cost. Anywhere was preferable to being in the house. It seems unfair to Carol in particular, that you look forward to your summer holiday and plan things to do and then the weather turns nasty, wet and cold. Infact, too cold for the month of July. So, regardless of the weather (and when we set out mid-morning, it was cloudy and definitely threatening rain.) we decided on another visit to Whipsnade. We put together some items of food so that we didn't have to buy stuff to eat when we got there and went to Tesco's in Oldbrook to buy sandwiches and drink. We actually had a £3 Tesco Clubcard voucher which needed using before it expired. And once we'd been to buy our picnic we drove off out of Milton Keynes on the A5 south towards Dunstable and across the Downs to Whipsnade Zoo. For the first time ever we drove into the zoo, using Carol's new Z.S.L. Fellowship to not only get our entry free but also avoid paying to take the car in (all told about £75.) It was great to be able to drive around and park in the various spaces around the site. We saw a lot of the animals in action due to the fact that the weather was cooler, in particular the lions (took some great pictures of them.) as well as hippos wallowing in their pool, rhinos as well as very close-up views of cheetahs. We ate our picnic sitting on benches near the elephant enclosure.

We couldn't believe how cold it was, considering it was July. We took coats with us and I really didn't think we'd need them. I have recently bought a hooded fleece off Amazon and imagined that I'd not be wearing it until the winter months, but I was really glad I'd taken it to Whipsnade as it was really warm and cozy as we walked around the zoo.

As we were walking through the 'Africa' section of the zoo, having been to see the cheetahs (and, goodness, how close we got to them. I don't think I've ever seen them that close, or, if it comes to that, so active. We also saw a red kite flying overhead. Quite exciting to see these amazing birds as well as the zoo animals.) Carol said she saw Brendan Cole, one of the professional dancers from the B.B.C. Saturday evening show "Strictly Come Dancing." With his wife and children, although I didn't notice as there were so many other families. Apart from that, I'm not a particular fan of this show. Just over-rated, personally, and I don't go for television 'reality' shows stuffed full of 'celebrities.' Several years ago we were on holiday in and around Northumberland and Hadrian's Wall. We drove up to Gretna Green, as we had joked when we were about to get married that we could go there to get married. We were disappointed in how naff and contrived the place was, expecting there to be only one of these places where you got married, something about a blacksmith's forge or something. It turned out that there are numerous places, all making money out of the 'marriage' industry. Anyway, we didn't stay long and then drove away and went to an outlet shopping centre just outside Gretna Green, a bit like the Bicester Village outlet we visit often. As we were walking around the shopping centre, Carol said she saw someone famous sitting and having coffee outside somewhere like a Costa or Starbucks. She said it was Elton John. I wasn't sure and we didn't stand and stare, as most people would do. We could, I suppose, have gone up to him and asked for an autograph and probably a photo, a 'selfie' with him. I wasn't sure whether she had seen him or not, but when we got back to the cottage we were staying at for the week, we turned on the television and apparently Elton John was about to do a concert somewhere in or around Carlisle or a near-by town. So, it was very likely it was him we'd seen, although he had made every effort to not be recognised. Who would imagine he'd have gone to somewhere like the shopping outlet centre for coffee, as a superstar and famous person?  I think he must have been relieved that we didn't break his cover by going and speaking to him or acknowledging him because I reckon we must have been the only people to recognise him as he was dressed in such a way, with a cap on and a scarf around his neck, that without looking closely you wouldn't have known that was who it was and also it was an unlikely place for him to be. Anyway, whatever the reason, it certainly made Carol's day!

A few years ago we managed to get free tickets for a recording of the B.B.C. Television comedy show "Dead Ringers." It was quite an event, not only getting the tickets, but going to Television Centre in Shepherd's Bush in London and being a member of the audience. As we were queued up to go into the studio, who should walk past but Gary Lineker, the former footballer and sports presenter. Carol got quite excited, but to me it was just another bod off the television. I'm not that keen on football, but I suppose he would have been working there on some show such as "A Question Of Sport."