Miracles Do Happen!

 Thursday. 2.25 p.m. It's sunny and bright today, but it's not as it seems. It's actually been quite chilly. I went to the Thursday Morning Life Group as usual, and, although the car wasn't iced up, the inside of the windscreen was misty, and it took some time for me to clear it before I could drive out.

The new Lidl has opened on Oldbrook Boulevard. I must have mentioned that the old store had closed and the row of shops with a Tesco Express. There was an A.T.M. outside, which could be useful if you needed cash in a hurry. I went to look around earlier this afternoon and was surprised by how many cars were in the car park and inside the store it was heaving. I did buy a few things and used a self-service till to pay. You must keep hold of your receipt at the end because you need it to scan to exit the store.

Saturday. 9.20 a.m. It's relatively mild but overcast. Never mind. Get used to it.

As usual, I took a sleepy Alfie out onto the grass along Strudwick Drive around 6.45 this morning It has been made into something of a mud patch, a ploughed field or whatever you want to call it, created by the workmen who are doing the work in the community garden at Dexter House. I just don't like getting my shoes covered in thick mud, but it really can't be helped. It was dark, and it was difficult to see clearly, but as I was dealing with Alfie, I saw something moving in the greenery which grew alongside the wall of Dexter House. I looked again, and to my horror, I saw two rats fighting. It is not something I am keen on seeing or being near. Having had the rather horrible experience of the rats we had running about the house when Carol and I lived in Crownhill. (I think I have mentioned this saga in an earlier blog post.). I shouted at the rats, and they soon disappeared. But that wasn't the end of it. About two hours later, I sorted out the recycling and the various bags of rubbish which had to be taken out to the bin store. I opened the lid of the receptacle which takes the bags, and in amongst the bags were two more rats! I quickly put in the rubbish and slammed down the lid. 

Sunday. 8.25 a.m. No rats were seen when Alfie and I went out earlier this morning. It wasn't excessively cold, but I have a feeling it was slightly frosty, because the grass had a sort of glitter on it which is always a sign.

Wednesday. 10.20 a.m. It's sunny but chilly.

I've been to Lidl. I love it when you can get in and out quickly. The only problem is, finding what you want. I have a good idea where everything I want is, when I go to Sainsbury's. I have set up the  Lidl app on my phone, so I can scan and get points, a bit like Nectar, but you get instant treats, such as cakes and fruit, which was a surprise. If I have a gripe, it's the fact that, when you've done your shopping, taken it out to your car and unloaded it, you have to return the trolley to the parking space near the store. It's when you push your trolley into the parked trolleys, that you get your token back for your next trip. I imagine that this is so they don't have to employ someone to retrieve the trolleys (which they have at Sainsbury's. One less employee means they can cut prices. The staff work hard in Lidl, because they not only have to work on the tills, but stack shelves. Again, another way to have fewer staff and keep costs down.

Tuesday, 7:20 a.m. I've taken my usual walk with Alfie. We strolled along the grass by Strudwick Drive, which has become muddy due to the workmen driving vehicles for the community garden project. Their tyres have churned up the grass, creating this mess. I'm hoping things return to normal once they complete their work. 

I was at the point where I was about to pick up Alfie, to avoid him walking in the mud, and go back into Dexter House, when an electric scooter shot past. If I had taken probably another step or two, I would have been in a direct line with this scooter. There was no noise, nothing to warn me. The rider seemed totally ignorant of my presence. A bit of a shock. This is why I don't like these things.

I have mentioned elsewhere that I had changed my broadband provider. I'm now with Vodafone Fibre Broadband. I have managed to reset the various devices I have, so they are once again connected to broadband, but the password you have to enter to connect is long and complicated. The only device I  needed to set up was my Canon Pixma printer. I spent all yesterday trying to fathom out how to achieve this. I even bought a cable from Amazon, intending to use that to connect my MacBook to the printer, but I could not get it to work. As these things don't come with a full instruction manual, you have to do a search on the internet. I have the Canon print app on my iPad, so, as a final attempt, I thought I would try and see if that would work. It was relatively easy to put in the password, and, thankfully, it worked! These things are so frustrating. I even went to Argos to buy a black ink cartridge, as I was sure there wasn't sufficient ink in the cartridge that was in the printer. Everything fell into place, and I have been printing a document, which is some of my writing project, which I can now read and begin to make edits and amendments. I now need a suitable file to put the pages in.

So, the title of this blog post is pretty well accurate!

Another Bank Holiday

Friday. 11.05 a.m. It's yet another warm and rather pleasant day. The digital thermometer currently reads 23ºc. 

I've just come back from Lidl's, which is on Oldbrook Boulevard. I needed to get milk and ice cream. Just need something nice for my Saturday meal. The area where the parade of shops used to be, which included the Tesco Express store, is boarded up. The demolition has obviously finished, and I suspect they have done the basics which have to take place before they start building the new Lidl store, such as drainage, and footings (is that the right word? Foundations?) There used to be an A.T.M. on the outside of the Tesco's, which is gone, (obviously, if the building is no longer there.) and it is missed, as it was so handy having it and easy enough to park outside. I do hope the new Lidl has an A.T.M.

Saturday. 10.00 a.m. Yet another pleasant day on the weather front.

My family tree has now grown to well over 1000 people! It's really amazing how quickly it has grown. I still keep working on it.

3.40 p.m. A really fun-filled Bank Holiday Saturday afternoon! I was going to take Alfie out, but before we'd got to the door which leads out onto Strudwick Drive, I realised I didn't have my keys on me. I usually go through a route when we go out, with my glasses, Alfie and his lead and a handful of doggy bags for the inevitable pick-up. This could have caused a panic, but I went into the community lounge, where one of the lady tenants was about to have a birthday party with members of her family. She suggested pulling the emergency cord, which links to a response team that could possibly get the door open with a master key. When the gentleman arrived, he looked in the places where such a key would be kept, in drawers and the key safe which is outside the office, but no luck. It would appear that our S.H.O. must have gone home with the key on her key ring, and when he tried to ring her, there was no response. I can't blame her for having her mobile on mute, as she was on leave. So, the central office where the man worked suggested ringing Mears, and there was the possibility of me being charged for the lock being broken and replaced. But when the Mears man arrived, after some effort, he got the door open, by unscrewing the door handle on the outside which released the lock and allowed me access. I was more than grateful that there was a positive outcome to the situation, because otherwise I wouldn't have been able to have my meal, which was ready to prepare, and the possibility of spending the night sleeping on the chairs in the entrance to Dexter House! I shall be far more careful that I don't forget my keys from now on.

Heat Breaking Stormy Weather

 Sunday. 7.25 a.m. I have just been to the Tesco Express store in Oldbrook Boulevard to buy a copy of The Sunday Times. I went to pay at one of the self-service check-outs, only to discover there was a technical issue. I scanned the barcode on the paper, but an 'error code' came up on the digital screen. Not only that, but I had to get a member of staff to come over to rectify the machine, but it still didn't work. I then tried the second machine, but exactly the same problem occurred. I had to pay at a manned checkout, using a contactless payment method. It seems that stores want you to use these self-service machines, but there is a constant number of technical problems.

Monday. 5.05 a.m. It was another case of me being wide awake, bright and mild morning, so I took my Alfie out. He was somewhat reluctant, although who can blame him? Who would much rather remain in bed, instead of getting up and going out? It's probably easier in the summer months when it's warm, but far more difficult in the winter months, when it's cold, frosty and generally miserable and dark.

Yesterday, after church, I went to Milton Keynes Museum, as they had a Victorian Weekend. I have to say it was a bit thin on the ground activity-wise. People dressed up in period costume, making it seem as if I had, at one point, walked into a Charles Dickens adaptation. I started off in the tearoom, with a ham and cheese toastie, a slice of very nice walnut sponge and a cup of tea. Some of these 'enactors' (for want of a better word.) came in, some looking like Fagin's gang, a chimney sweep and a very wealthy couple, the woman in a smart dress and hat and the gent with a moustache which had been waxed. They sat at one table, but I very much doubt that, in reality, they would have mixed in the same way during the Victorian period. Queen Victoria herself did actually appear, with her entourage, and spoke to some of 'The people.' She did a tour of the museum site, which added a sort of frisson to the whole afternoon.

Tuesday. 5.20 a.m. Up and out early with Alfie again. A really beautiful sunrise. There's so much litter. I don't see what's so difficult about putting it in a bin or taking it home. The bin, at the point where we cross over from Strudwick Drive onto Oldbrook Green, is not only spilling its contents, but it rusted and off it's base. Likewise, the bin, on the opposite side of the green, has a badly rusted lid. The Campbell Park Parish Council (I presume they are responsible, or The Parks Trust.) really need to replace them or at lest, get them repaired.

We are in desperate need of rain. The grass is beginning to look very parched and brown. There are large cracks in the ground around the area. You could almost put your hand in some of them. Hopefully we should get a shower in the next day or two.

7.05 a.m. No sooner had I mentioned the possibility of rain, than it starts! Only very light, but definitely rain. Thank goodness, it is now a good deal cooler. My digital thermometer currently reads 23ºC. 

August Bank Holiday

 I  often wonder, do banks really DESERVE to have a holiday? Considering the mess many of them got into in 2008 (I may have got the year wrong.) when the government bailed them out with taxpayer's money, THEY should be paying US!

Sunday. 11.35 a.m. We haven't had a proper church service for a few weeks now, because it's August, and the thinking is that, as most people will be away on holiday, there's really no sense in full service. Last week we had a community picnic and this week we have the famous church barbecue. I have made up a salad and done a few baked potatoes, which I put in the oven at around 6.30 this morning. I had gone to Sainsbury's yesterday after another of our prayer triplet sessions at a friend's home in Conniburrow. I then realized, when I got home, that I should have got something to drink to take with me. I drove to the Tesco Express store in Oldbrook Boulevard. Because of social distancing, you are supposed to follow a one-way system around the store. I picked up what I wanted and then made my way to the check-out, going to a manned till because there was someone using the self-service tills. I arrived at the back of a reasonably long queue and for some reason wasn't sure who was queuing. Then a young man let rip at me, accusing me of pushing in. Untrue, but he was adamant that I had. He continued to rant at me, using bad language which I won't repeat here. I thought he was going to end up hitting me, so I stood back. Then he hurled a packet of sweets or chocolates at me and then stormed off out of the store, continuing to rant and rave. It left me feeling somewhat shocked, and I think the same could be said of the rest of the customers who were queuing ahead of me. I have a feeling he was probably from a residential home nearby, probably with a severe type of learning disability or another mental health issue. Which made me wonder why he was allowed out on his own.

Monday. 11.00 a.m. So, Bank Holiday Monday! It's not exactly a baking hot day. Drizzling when I took out Alfie earlier. I'm not doing a lot, just pottering around. His Nibs is asleep on the sofa as I write this.

I had another odd dream last night. I know, most dreams are odd. I have mentioned before in these blog posts my time working in stage management and on one particular play I was A.S.M. on at Greenwich Theatre some fifty years ago, 'A Voyage Round My Father', written by John Mortimer. In the dream, I had a visit from his wife (not sure of her name.) She wanted to give me a copy of a book John Mortimer had written (I have no idea of its title.) and I told her about working on the play. She signed the book, and that was all. Strange, particularly as I haven't been thinking of that play or anything to do with it recently. Mortimer also wrote the Rumpole stories and television series, which I love.

Tuesday. 4.10 p.m. I am currently working on a sort of subplot for my writing project. I wouldn't call it a fantasy as such, but as my main character is a writer it's a sort of spoof of a genre of writing very much inspired by 'The 39 Steps' by John Buchan. I have always loved the Hitchcock version, which veers off course from the original story to a large extent. I watched the BBC television version which seems to stick to the original to some extent then uses some of Hitchcock's ideas and then changes the ending, what exactly are the titular 39 Steps? It seems as if each version has different suggestions, but it's one of those films and stories which is the blueprint of many later espionage thrillers.

Busy Doing Nothing!

Friday. 8.a.m. Bright and sunny. Virtually no clouds in the sky, and, according to the BBC weather forecast this morning, we can expect more similar days. 

Actually, the title for this post isn't accurate, as I have plenty to keep me going. My family history research is going well. The My Heritage site works best on the app on the iPad. Got back around 9-10 generations. Baking at a standstill at the moment, but I intend to do more soon. Writing going well, although I'm doing the research before I continue. Reading, still on the Juliet Gardiner book. It's around 600-700 pages, so I don't expect to get through it much before the autumn.

Witty is saying 'we're not out of the woods' in regards to the pandemic. But the data says otherwise. The stupid NHS app is flawed and people are being 'pinged' because the idiot thing is sending messages saying people should isolate when there is no need to. It's just scare-mongering once more. Crazy. 

I got the quote from my current car insurance provider, Swinton. Am I glad I did some research before going with them again? The quote is an eye-watering £759.95! The new quote, which is already set up and the deposit paid, is £329. Just shows how important it is to shop around to get a better quote and with a breakdown cover from the RAC. This is from Dial Direct, which I found through Go Compare.

Saturday. 6.45 a.m. It's bright and sunny this morning. The BBC weather forecast is telling me that it's likely to be the hottest day of the year. I just need to keep out of the heat if that's the case, as it can be dangerous with a heart problem.

Later. 2.40 p.m. I am part of what is called a 'Prayer Triplet' which is part of SCF. We met for the first time this morning. The idea being that we are mentored and supported, probably quite necessary considering the current situation regarding the pandemic as well as the effects of Carol's death. Good to be able to talk about things that are going on in your life and then pray it through. I had to drive to Conniburrow, which isn't much more than a ten-minute drive from home. I had been there before, to a barbecue, but still, I needed to refresh my memory and then decided to use Google Maps on my iPhone, which acted as a satnav. Amazingly very good and a clear voice, as I had the mobile sitting on the passenger seat beside me. Just crazy how this technology works and I soon got there.

It's really hot today. I've been out with Alfie who didn't get his mid-morning outing because of me being out for the morning. I just can't cope with the heat and neither can Alfie.

Sunday. 8.55 a.m. I've been out twice with Alfie. I didn't wake up until 5.45, which isn't my usual time to wake up. It's usually a good deal earlier. So I had to really struggle to get out of bed and then get dressed and take Alfie out. I can't think what was different. 

It's really hot and it's only barely 9 o'clock, so I'm glad we went out when we did. I would rather stay indoors out of the heat as it's not safe if it's too hot when you have a heart problem. Alfie doesn't like it either and I think he prefers it cooler.

I had a shower, which isn't my usual time to have one, but I am a good deal cooler than when I came indoors. I have a drink of cranberry cordial with ice in it. I have plenty of ice in the fridge.

Been to get milk from Tesco Express on Oldbrook Boulevard. I don't want to have none for my early-morning cup of tea and bowl of breakfast cereal.  I noticed that the Dominos Pizza and Bernados charity shop have closed. I have a sneaking suspicion that the whole block is to be demolished to make way for a new, larger Lidl branch to be built, with this being the opposite end to where it is currently. Presumably, Lidl has bought the entire site, which might explain all this. I have since discovered that Dominos has moved across the road into Duckworth Court, where there is already a Pizza Hut. I'm not sure when all this is due to be started, but I just wonder what will become of the mini Tesco branch which is so handy for buying milk and last-minute things. Also, it has an A.T.M. outside when you need cash or to at least check your bank balance. I hope that Lidl will have one when all this is completed.

Welcome Sun!

Monday. 10.00a.m.The confounded pigeons are making the same ridiculous noise outside my window, which is wide open to cool the place down. Can't pigeons learn a different song? Just so boring. The simple fact of the matter is that they have to be the most boring birds around. Not exactly the most intelligent of birds, granted, just wandering around with that stupid head movement. If I was to go around like that I'd get a really bad headache. It made me laugh as I stood at my kitchen sink doing washing-up (yes, unbelievably, I do that occasionally.) watching a group of pigeons perched in the trees which are in the community garden at Dexter House. It was quite breezy, and the branches of the trees were swaying too and fro, but the silly birds wouldn't move. No sense at all.  I would laugh if they fell out of the trees! They don't have the sense to perch somewhere more secure. No wonder they get eaten by predatory birds such as hawks. Just make a lovely meal for some bird and it would rid us of the stupid noise. There are red kites that circle around this area, so perhaps they are likely to sup on a dense pigeon or two.

Wednesday. It's a bit colder this morning. Not frosty, but considerably cooler than the past few days. I have decided to give my knees an airing and put on my shorts. I didn't realize how cold it was until we got outside. 

Thursday. 8.10 a.m. I was surprised again by how cold it was this morning. The sun is out and that stupid pigeon is again making its stupid noise.

I did a Sainsbury's online shop on Monday and the delivery was yesterday at around 12.30. Unfortunately, I ordered skimmed milk instead of semi-skimmed. I don't know why I ordered it as, quite frankly, it's not nice. Just thin and watery. Never mind. I had to drive to the Tesco Express in Oldbrook Boulevard to get some semi-skimmed. I found that there was ice on the car's windscreen which had to be thawed off before I could drive away. A few sprays of de-icer and a few flicks of the wipers and it was gone.

Later. I have taken Alfie to have his face trimmed at The Groom Room. I can just say he can now see where he's going and I'm sure he's a good deal happier. The proper groom has now, fortunately, been scheduled to 28th April thank goodness, which means he can now be trimmed fully, have his claws trimmed, and generally have a full grooming session. It really was too long to wait until July which was when he was originally booked.

Friday. 7a.m. It's bright and sunny as I write this, but even so, it is chilly out, as I discovered just now when I took Alfie out for his usual walk. Not a great deal more I can say at the moment. What's changed? Not a lot. Lockdown is a bit like being in that film, 'Groundhog Day,' where you get trapped in the same day, which just repeats endlessly. You seem not to be able to get out of it. I think we're in some mad experiment, to see how long we can put up with isolation. We are being observed by an alien species, who sit inside their mothership, several thousand miles into deep space. They view us in the same fashion we watch ants in a colony.  Those aliens are preparing to invade, and we won't notice, because we're so obsessed with our mobile phones, we just don't seem to notice what's going on. I think there's a sci-fi novel in there somewhere  . . .

1450th Blog Post. Unpresidented Times!

Another milestone reached. This is the 1450th blog post. I'm not sure how many words I've written, but it must be quite a few.

I was running low on milk. I'm fully stocked with everything else. My fridge/freezer is fully stocked, so I do't need to buy anything for a while. I'm not sure whether I can order from Sainsbury on-line (other supermarkets on-line shopping are available.) I took Alfie out for his morning trot (not really a walk as he doesn't walk.) and no sooner had I got back to the flat, I went back out and went to Tesco Express in Oldbrook Boulevard. I wasn't sure whether they would be open, or whether there would be a queue outside, but, fortunately there wasn't. 

Having a keen interest in history, I have signed up with Milton Keynes Heritage Association, which I discovered when I visited the History Festival which was held last year in Campbell Park. I get regular emails from them and the last one had details of Milton Keynes Living Archive, which I discovered  is based at Milton Keynes Museum. In the email they mentioned that they would be interested if people were keeping diaries or journals about the coronavirus pandemic and in particular, the lockdown. I think what I am recording in this blog might be quite useful in years to come as a historic document. Well, there is enough of it! Just think of Samuel Pepys, who wrote a diary, and which is a good record of what life was like in the 17th century and covers the Great Fire of London and several periods when plague swept the nation.

Later. It's as warm as ever. The sort of weather that would get you out in your shorts and T-shirt and drive to the seaside. Probably Southwold or Frinton-On-Sea. I had to take Alfie out for his final walk around Oldbrook Green, although, I'll be perfectly honest, the sight of it is beginning to wear a bit thin. It's a bit boring now. There are signs on some of the play equipment around the Green, on the children's playground which has a fence around it and the skateboarding park. As I walked around, barely 10 minutes ago, I saw some youths quietly throwing a ball into a basket on the tarmaced area which has a netball basket on one side and a goal on the other. It seems quite harmless to me, but a four-wheel drive vehicle drove up on the grass and told the youths that they weren't supposed to be playing there, which was contrary to the anti-pandemic regulations bought in to help control the spread of  the coronavirus. I thought he was being somewhat heavy-handed and then drove off. I don't think it's such a good idea to drive a large vehicle across the grass as it ruins the surface. I am somewhat shocked by the high-handed and rather pompous attitude of the council man (I think from Campbell Park Parish Council, which controls this area of Milton Keynes. They have fixed notices to some of the equipment, but they could at least put 'please' and 'thank you' on them. I am naughty and I expect I could get a tongue-lashing from the fact I saw one of these notices on the ground as I walked past the other day, and, heaven forfend, put it in a . . . bin! I plead guilty, your honour. I know, I know. Unpresidented times and all that, but what do you expect???

Wind Drops and Sun Shines

After the almost galeforce winds of the past few days, today it's a good deal calmer. According to reports on the internet yesterday evening there were 60-70 m.p.h. winds around Milton Keynes. The sun has been out for part of the morning, although the wind strength has reduced considerably.  But the remaining fence around our garden has not been blown down, fortunately, but in some respects, miraculously. Apparently the Tesco Express branch in Tinker's Bridge had it's facia damanged by the high winds and had to be removed by firemen. There is a 'Yellow' weather warning in place for the area. There are four levels of weather warnings given by the Met Office, each given a colour. They are as follows:

Green: No severe weather

Yellow: Be aware

Orange: Be prepared

Red: Take action

I've never come across these coloured weather warnings before, so at least I've leant something new.

A change of subject. Our Post seems to come at any time, or so it seems. At one time, and not that long ago, you could virtually tell the time by the Post being delivered. Where I used to live in Bedford, we had two deliveries at one time. The first was at approximately 7 a.m. and then there'd be a second at 11 a.m. or at least around that time. Now we're lucky to get it at midday or even 2 p.m. I know they've cut the early delivery, but why do you have to wait most of the morning to any delivery at all? I was annoyed this morning (the delivery was just after midday.) to get a card pushed through the door, informing me that I would have to pay £1.50 because an item (not sure whether it was a parcel or a letter.) hadn't got the correct amount payed on it. So, I'll either have to drive to the sorting office at Brinklow which is about two miles from here and pay to get the item or I can pay using a credit or debit card on-line and they will deliver the item within two days. I'm intrigued to know what this item is and why whoever sent it forgot to put the correct amount of postage on it. I just hope that whatever it is is worth the £1.50. I'll just have to wait and see.