It's All Action? . . .More like Inaction!

Monday.  2.25 p.m.  Action, did I hear you say? This is Dexter House we're talking about. I have mentioned the matter of the scooter stores, which were built outside against one outside wall of this building. They were constructed because the fire officer did an inspection of Dexter house some while ago, (probably before I moved in more than three years ago), and said that the electric mobility scooters which some tenants use, can't be stored in any of the common areas, mostly in the corridors. They have to be parked there at present, so they can be charged overnight. A great deal of money has been spent building these sheds, which have concrete floors, electric power points, lighting etc, but cannot be accessed from the main building because of ramps and special doors which can be opened automatically so that scooters can get in and out of the building, but nobody at Milton Keynes Council will take any responsibility for paying for the work to be done to install these doors. Total incompetence on the part of the Council to get this work completed. It rather defeats the point of having the sheds built. Meanwhile, it's a trip hazard to have doormats on the outside of flats!!!! Meanwhile, if there's a fire in this building, some of the exit routes are blocked by mobility scooters!!!

I took my car to Bleak Hall Motors for its service, which was booked for 10.00 a.m. I try to get to appointments early so, if there is a chance of them starting earlier, then it's always worthwhile.

The mechanics soon had it in the workshop and I just sat in the waiting room as there was no point going home. I could have walked, but then I would have had to walk back. I read one of my books, which I had taken, and my reading glasses (or, at least, one pair that were usable and not broken.) 

After about an hour and a half, I was told that the brake fluid needed topping up, so I agreed to have it done. The whole procedure was finished by 12.20 or thereabouts, so I paid and left. I wanted to post some Christmas cards, which at that point I hadn't purchased, but I thought I'd get the stamps first and so drove into Coffee Hall, which is opposite Bleak Hall. The post office in the One-Stop shop in Garraways has a post office inside, so that seemed the obvious, and closest place to get stamps. Unfortunately, on arrival, I discovered it was closed for lunch. From there I drove to Waitrose at Oakgrove and got the Christmas cards and a book of postage stamps and as I was driving back home along Chaffron Way I realized that I had left the Sainsbury's bag which I had taken with me to Bleak Hall Motors was still in their waiting area and so I drove all the way back, retrieved the bag containing my book and glasses and then drove home to have lunch which consisted of a sandwich which I had purchased in Waitrose.

Tuesday. 6.25 a.m. It's been raining during the night. I could hear it when I woke up at around 2 o'clock. 

4.40 p.m. The drive to Camphill this morning was virtually free from the aggressive drivers and the long queue getting across the various roundabouts on the way. I imagine this is due to schools being on holiday and parents not driving their little darlings to school.

It has been really sunny and mild today. Considering how cold it was barely a week ago, with snow on the ground and surfaces in some places slippery and covered in ice. It's almost like spring. 

After the usual check-in, we did a game which had a Christmas theme to it. We stood in two lines across the hall, facing each other, and as you were in pairs, facing each other, you had to pretend it was Christmas morning and were giving your opposite number a present, which you had to mime giving to them, and then they opened it and then they gave you a present. A great deal of fun and a good way to use your imagination.

Terrie, the leader of the drama workshop, got the cast of 'Twelfth Night' to do a run-through of the first act of the play. A bit rough around the edges, but everyone remembered most of their stuff, and it was done because it will be several weeks before there will be further rehearsals.

The rest of the day was fun (well, in general, the drama workshop at Camphill is fun in some way or  another .) 

After the tea break, Terrie announced that we were to play the game 'Taskmaster', which was originally on one of the UkTv channels but is now on Channel Four. The idea is that a panel of five contestants are given various tasks and each is scored and the contestant with the most points is the winner. Mitchell, who is a new member of the leadership team within the drama workshop, went off and filled a bag with all manner of items and then the contestants, who sat on the stage, had to guess what was in the bag by feeling it. 

Several more tasks were given to the contestants and after lunch, one more go with a different set of contestants. Then there was Camphill's 'Great British Bake-Off.' I was chosen to be Mary Berry and Mitchell was Paul Hollywood (who are judges in the television show, if you didn't already know.) We made a bit issue of tasting the two cakes which some of the Camphill residents had made, which being definitely over-the-top. The two teams of bakers had to mime making their cakes (similar to how it's done on the television show.) and then we had to mark the cakes. In the end, we decided (at least I decided.) That there wasn't a lot between the two bakes and said that it was an equal win for both.

The final hour of the day was divided between having a dance around in the hall to Christmas music and the final half-hour was taken up with Terrie telling one of her stories which were very interesting and entertaining, by 4 o'clock when the drama workshop ends, it was all 'Happy Christmas!' to all until the group meets up again on 11th January 2023.

Back At Camphill!

Wednesday 12th January. 6.35 p.m. Yesterday I was at Camphill, the first time since late March 2020, when the first lockdown came in, and we had to hide away from each other to keep the coronavirus at bay. I did a lateral flow test early on Wednesday morning, as instructed. Fortunately, it was negative, as I thought it might be. Not something I enjoy, shoving a swab stick up each nostril and to the back of my throat. Am I the only person who wants to gag when they do this? I bet you do. Then it was take Alfie out onto the grass along Strudwick Drive and then drive to Willen.

I went straight to the office once I had parked and had to go through a further test and fill in forms before I was taken to the Chrysalis Theatre. The gang were sitting in a ring, the normal set-up for the beginning of a day. I didn't expect the reception I got as soon as I stepped through the door! The whole place erupted! Just shows how lovely they all are. Apparently they hadn't been told I was going to come back, but they knew there was going to be a surprise.

As usual, we did a check-in, which involves having to say how you felt at that moment and what you had been doing at Christmas. It took a good deal longer than I remember when I was at Camphill almost two years ago.

Terri, who has taken over from Teo, who used to lead the theatre workshop on a Tuesday, gave a rough outline of how she intended the year ahead to develop, with new drama projects. Then a time doing exercises, warm-ups of a wide variety. One game where the team was put into pairs. One member of the group did a mime and the other person had to copy it. For example, a certain sort of job, such as a plumber, fisherman or whatever.

After lunch, Terri talked about a Royal pudding. It sounded weird at first, but it was connected to the Queen's Jubilee this year, her Platinum, which marks her 70 years on the throne. Buckingham Palace has unveiled a competition for people to create a pudding for Her Majesty. From this the guys did a piece which was based on the television show 'The Great British Bake Off.' They had to make a pudding or cake (not real by the way. Everything imaginary and mimed.) Following the format of G.B.B.O. the team had to 'make' their pudding or cake and, as some of us went round, in the style of the presenters from the show as well as the judges, in this case Paul Hollywood and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, they could describe in fairly minute detail the pudding or cake they were 'making.' At the end of the mock 'two hours' they had to present their concoction to the judges and then the judges went away to decide on 'Star Baker' and eventually an over-all winner.

A really great day and I'm so glad to be back at Camphill, although wearing a face covering does make life somewhat more difficult, especially talking as it does muffle your voice, and it's often difficult to judge a person's facial expression and to sometimes hear what they are saying. The sooner the Government realises that they don't really have much of an effect on restricting the virus, the better, infact, removing all the restrictions, the world would be a far better place.

Saturday Musical Evening (and other things)

(Saturday)I was going to get ready to go to the musical evening at around 6.30 on Saturday evening. I went into my bedroom and for some unaccountable reason, I thought the wardrobe was going to collapse. There has been a problem with one of the doors on the front of this IKEA unit. One of the hinges has broken and it hangs on just one. It wouldn't take much to repair this, but, on going to our local IKEA to get a replacement hinge, I was informed that they don't use that type of hinge any more. Just typical that they don't stock such things as hinges or other items that don't get used on more modern pieces of furniture they sell. Anyway, it doesn't make a lot of sense probably now, but it occurred to me that the wardrobe was leaning forward. I don't know why I got that impression, but it looked like that and there was no way I was going to allow it to collapse. I think it gave this impression because of the door which doesn't close properly. Well, it didn't collapse, fortunately, and I was able to get dressed and then drive to Shenley to go to the Oaktree Centre for the musical evening, remembering to take the two Victoria sponges with me. I put them on the floor, in the footwell on the passenger-side in the front because I wasn't going to have the cakes ruined if I put them on the back seat and then shooting forward if I had to brake suddenly.

My two Victoria sponges were given pride of place on the counter at church and had clear plastic covers put over them. I did actually manage to eat a slice, and, although I say it myself, they turned out really well, light and fluffy. What would Paul Hollywood, Mary Berry or Prue Leith, judges on 'Great Britsh Bake-Off' have to say? I'll have to try other cake recipes. The very last slice was eaten on Sunday morning during the break between the two services. Made me very pleased to think that both cakes were consumed and not a piece left, so it must have been enjoyed, which is the best reason of all to make cakes!

As regards the musical evening. I'm just amazed at the talent on show, playing a wide range of different styles of music. Very enjoyable. There is going to be another of these evenings in a few month's time.

(Monday)I've been into the Milton Keynes Council offices this morning, because I had an appointment with the Homeless Prevention officer. It turns out I'm not actually homeless because I have a house to live in, but I'm not going to be able to remain in this house because of the cost of rent. They won't pay me the full amount of rent as housing benefit and I've now learnt that I'm not going to have the Death In Service payment because Carol came out of the system, no doubt at the time we lost the house in Crownhill and had to pay the debt off because of what Sam did to our bank account (I'm not going into any more detail than that, but I have described it all in an earlier blog post.) I rang Teachers' Pensions this morning to be told this. So I now know what my financial situation is and as a result will have to look for accommodation myself, having been given a list of agencies who might be able to help. I need a one-bedroom house or bungalow, with a bit of enclosed garden for Alfie. I really no longer need a three-bedroom property, so it makes a lot of sense.

I got back from the city centre and had something to eat. I had been into Greggs and bought a ploughman's lunch roll, some egg custard tarts and a small bottle of fresh orange juice. Very crafty, Greggs, because you queue up right next to all the enticing food items, so you can't avoid jam doughnuts or sausage rolls. Or other very fattening food which you shouldn't really eat if you're diabetic or have a health problem. They never put how much fat or sugar they contain or the number of calories, but generally Greggs are good, fairly cheap and good value and they've managed to put their stores in places where they know the public will go to buy their lunch or whatever.

Having eaten my lunch, sitting down in front of the television and watching the BBC lunchtime news, but wishing I hadn't bothered, because it was more about Brexit, which is about as enticing as having your eyes piked with a sharp stick. Boring and negative. I think I'll attempt to avoid any more television news until this thing has been resolved or MP's can get their act together and vote so the ting can move on and we can at least leave the EU, for good or ill.

It was such a warm and sunny afternoon I couldn't possibly spend the rest of the day indoors, so I decided to take Alfie out for a second walk. I think it was something of a surprise, as I very rarely take him out a second time. It causes such a stir and I see the other side of Alfie as soon as I make moves to take him out. Trying to clip his lead to the harness he wears causes him to turn into a sort of Tasmanian Devil, barking and jumping around. Anyhow, we did get outside and walked down the medway towards the Grand Union Canal, going under  the bridge at Marlborough Street, then walking along the tow path that runs besides the canal and back over the canal at the next bridge. 

What's On Television?

As the days draw in, the children go back to school and everyone (presumably) stays in and watches television, the new Autumn television schedules start in earnest. 'The Great British Bake-Off" started it's latest series on Channel Four on Tuesday. I can't say I'm all that bothered with it. I can't say I'm that interested in cake-baking competitions. I did see some of last year's episodes, but I don't know why this has taken the nation by storm. I know there was a great deal of fuss when the BBC lost the show to Channel Four because, basically, the makers of the show got greedy and wanted more for making it. I still don't see how it can be worth something in the region of £5 million pounds. After all, they don't have to pay actors, writers and all the host of production staff that you would need for, say, a costumer drama, or any other sort of drama. Nor would they have to do endless takes as you have to have when making drama. I actually prefer the similar show where potters have to produce ceramic items. 'The Great British Throwdown' or something. I think it's made by the same production company that makes 'Bake Off,' called Love Productions. They also do something else called 'The Great Sewing Bee,' both shows were on BBC2. Having done a Google search I find that the pottery competition has been cancelled after two series and another says that the company who makes it is 'looking for contestants.' So, which one do I believe? I know you can't believe everything you see on the internet, but it seems a pity that the BBC had to fall out over 'Bake-Off.' Independent production companies are great, but I think some have let things go to their head. Money, that is. The format of 'Bake-Off' isn't exactly original, let's be fair. We all know it's 'formats' for television shows like this that sell. Different television 'territories' around the world, remake their own versions and the originating production companies make a lot of money from this. No doubt there are many versions of 'Bake-Off' being made in other countries. But if it wasn't for the broadcasters, such as the BBC, ITV or Channel Four, they wouldn't be able to survive without their money to make their shows, which they seem to forget. If the BBC hadn't commissioned the show in the first place, and looked after it on BBC2, where it started life, and then, eventually, moving it to the higher-rated BBC1 where it really took off, then they couldn't have managed to hike the price when it caused the trouble when the BBC realised they could no longer justify the higher production costs, hence the move to the commercial Channel Four, who can at least recoup the costs with sponsorship and higher advertising revenue. 

We have a host of new drama series coming up, most notably ITV's Sunday evening costume drama, Vanity Fair. I notice it's also being shown on Mondays, so presumably they're hoping that viewers will be so hooked on to it on a Sunday evening that they will want to switch on the next evening. But surely, with catch-up technology, it makes no difference when you watch. I also see it's in seven parts, which at least means they're giving it enough air-time for the story to be allowed to breathe. I was concerned that it might only get four episodes, which certainly wouldn't be enough, because it's a long and rambling novel which has lots of subplots, similar to a Dickens novel. Having read it, Thackeray, it's author, spends ages going somewhat 'off-topic', wandering off from the plot to discuss certain pertinent matters, a bit like Victor Hugo in 'Les Miserables,' where he also spends whole chapters discussing things that aren't all that central to the matter in hand. (This is also going to be adapted for BBC television, as a non-musical version, by Andrew Davies, who has adapted many of the more successful BBC classic dramas, such as 'Pride and Prejudice.') 'This 'Vanity Fair' is  being co-produced with Amazon money, so no doubt you'll be able to see it if you have an Amazon Prime account and a Fire Stick. This is at least the third version of Vanity fair done by television. I remember that the BBC did a version in the late 1970's which had Susan Hampshire playing Becky Sharp and it was probably the first classic serial they did that was in colour, no doubt on BBC2 which was the first channel to go over to colour in 1967. There was a production in 1987 and then a more recent one in 1998. It therefore seems quite a popular book to adapt for television. The newest one is the first done by ITV who don't seem to do a lot of costume drama, unless you count 'Downton Abbey' which definitely isn't (or wasn't, as it has ended it's television run) a classic drama. No doubt the thinking behind this being adapted is that audiences love classic, costume drama, which the BBC seems to have the lead in producing them, when one thinks of the 1995 version of 'Pride and Prejudice,' which has become the blueprint for adaptations of this type. I even hear that ITV is now developing a new version of this Jane Austen book, although one wonders how they can better the BBC, Andrew Davies scripted version. Perhaps it's because these novels are now in the public domain so they don't have to pay royalties to produce them.

I've now seen the first two episodes of 'Vanity Fair.' Having enjoyed the BBC's adaptation which was broadcast in 1998, which I enjoyed enormously, and read the novel, this new version had plenty to live up to. Part from the opening sequence with Michael Palin as Thackerary, and the vision of a carousel and so on, it wasn't particularly inventive in style or production and no more different from any other classic period drama series.

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by what they'd done with 'Vanity Fair.' It must be difficult to do a classic novel such as this which has had so many previous adaptations, all having been produced by ITV. There are people on social media, such as Twitter, complaining about nit-picking things such as, why have C.G.I. in a 19th century serial? Doesn't make sense. Nor does the fact someone doesn't like having characters speaking directly to them, breaking the proverbial 'Fourth Wall.' But this has been done plenty of times before, in such shows as 'Lovejoy' and 'House of Cards.' All very petty and why not just enjoy the story and not find fault with things?

The BBC has 'The War Of The Worlds' in the pipeline, the H.G.Wells classic novel, which has been adapted quite a few times, notably the Orson Wells Mercury Theatre radio version which caused panic across the U.S.A. in the 1930's because of the way it was produced, as a sort of 'live' radio broadcast. Then it was made into a 1950's movie and more recently Stephen Speilberg made his own version, starring Tom Cruise. All these had in common was that the story was set in a contemporary period, but this new television version is to be set in the Virctorian era, like the original novel. Great that they are at least setting this production in the period in which the novel is set. I'm intrigued to see how they do the alien war machines and other sci-fi things such as the heat rays, and in particular, the way they do the opening scenes with the Martian spaceships crashing into earth and making the crater and the unscrewing of the capsule which gets buried on Horsell Common. With C.G.I. effects at their disposal they can make the war machines a good deal more realistic than trying to use miniatures which can look really pathetic. Wells gives the novel quite definite locations in places in and around London which gives it a reality amidst the fiction. That is why it works best being set in England and not in America as the two Hollywood films do.

As for comedy, well, sitcom in particular is rather thin on the ground at the moment. That is, if you mean by sitcom something shot in a studio with an audience, more like a stage play and it's done more or less 'live.' In this vein I can recommend 'Upstart Crow,' which is a sort of spoof on the life of William Shakespeare and starring David Mitchell as The Bard Of Stratford-Upon-Avon. It takes liberties with the perceived knowledge about his life and how his plays were written, but it's very funny and can even mention anachronisms which make the whole thing work. It's now in it's third series, which surprises me, because I was almost certain when it was announced that it would be produced in 2016 as part of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death that it wouldn't survive much more than one series. How wrong could I be when it seems to have become almost to have gained a cult following, similar in style and tone to 'Blackadder." Indeed, it is written by one of that show's co-authors, Ben Elton.

Woefully Awful Easter Telly

It's a Bank Holiday weekend. The weather's awful. If it looks sunny and bright, it might suddenly rain. We'd been shopping. We went over to Boot's at Westcroft as Carol had a prescription that needed making up. We parked and then walked over the carpark to Boot's. Having handed the paperwork over, we were told by the assistant in the pharmacy that it would take around ten minutes, so we went into Morrison's to buy a few items. Having then gone back to Boot's and collected the made-up prescription we returned to the car to drive home. The weather still not decided, so we turned on the television. Not the usual Saturday morning programmes, no doubt because it's a Bank Holiday weekend. Unimaginative scheduling generally, with cooking shows on both sides. James Martin used to be the host/presenter of 'Saturday Kitchen' in BBC1, but has recently decamped to ITV to do virtually the same thing but called 'James Martin's Saturday Morning.' How incredibly original, I don't think. Virtually the same thing as the BBC show, but because it's the commercial rival, it can have sponsorship. I don't dislike him, he's not what I'd call a 'celebrity chef.' Down to earth and all the rest of it (well, he's a Yorkshireman, after all.) And he does plain food, none of that poncey suff certain other 'chefs' get away with on other television shows. But do I sense that he's just gone to ITV because he gets paid a good deal more than he would have done on the good old BBC? It's similar to what happened over the 'Great British Bake Off' when it was revealed that the production company who make it, Love Productions, couldn't get a decent deal with the BBC as they wanted more dosh for making it, so it went to Channel Four. Another story for another day . . . Mind you, having seen some of the Channel Four episodes, it's not much different to how it was on BBC1, without Mary Berry or Mel and Sue, but never mind. Even with advertising, it doesn't seem much different.

The fact is, television just seems to churn out the same old stuff, no real imagination or originality. Too many game shows. Nothing wrong with one or two, things like Countdown, Only Connect or Mastermind. At least they have questions that make you THINK. But to just churn out endless stupid gameshows in the afternoon (Tipping Point, The Chase to name two that run one after the other.) While on BBC1, as the same time as The Chase, there's Pointless. No doubt these shows are cheap to produce. You don't have to pay your contestants (do they get expenses, for example, train fares to reach the studio for recordings? I doubt it somehow.)

Anyway, I digress, as I have a habit of doing. Never mind. On turning on the television this morning, we had to endure endless sofas adverts. What is it about Bank Holiday television? Why do we get a sort of traffic jam of sofa advertising in the run-up to Christmas, New Year, Easter and other Bank Holidays? I've discussed this matter in an earlier blog post. Do people honestly go out and buy new three-piece suites just because there's a holiday period coming up? DFS, SCS, Furniture Village etc etc all have those annoying adverts on again where you are supposed to get a sofa for ridiculously low prices. They're virtually giving them away. How can they do it?

Anyway, we turned on the television this morning, expecting James Martin, when all we got was another cookery show (of a sort) called 'Who's Doing The Dishes.' It's been on for several series, but we seem to have missed it. A load of celebrities have a meal in another celebrity's home. They have no idea who it is, but as each course of the meal is presented to them, and from various clues in the rooms they try to work out who the celebrity it is who cooked the meal. Really trite and awful. A sort of mash-up of 'Through The Keyhole' and 'Come Done With Me.' On this edition the celebrity who was the hostess was Lesley Garrett, the opera singer. I'd heard of hear, obviously, but the guests who had the meal she'd made I'd never heard of. Did it matter? Carol wanted to turn over to another channel as it was so dire, but I was determined to stay with it til the end, as it got worse and worse, just to see how it ended. The so-called celebrities could win £500, if they could guess who their hostess was, if they got it right, that person had to do the washing up. Such an unoriginal idea. It's sad that ITV has come down to producing this sort of stuff. No doubt it cheap and cheerful to make and gets high ratings. Talk of going down-market or merely dumbing down, but this is a good example.

More Niggles-Television- Part 3

Why do television schedulers think that, by putting the word 'celebrity' in the title of something, that viewers will flock to watch it? And anyway, what does the word 'celebrity' mean? What does it conjure up in someone's mind to make them think something is worth their time and effort to watch?

Today, the word has been spoilt because people become a so-called 'celebrity' by merely being on a particular show, for not actually doing a great deal, such as being a contestant on a something such as 'Big Brother.' Merely being ON TELEVISION seems to mean you've become a star! No real skill is necessary, you're not even an actor, presenter or anything particular. Look at someone like Jade Goody. She was a contestant on Big Brother (hardly a 'contestant' being in that show. Not even a 'show' either, in my opinion.) She didn't do anything in particular. Annoys me that that sort of programme makes people think they've got a right to become some sort of performer or 'celebrity.' Andy Warhol said that 'in the future everyone will be famous for 15 minutes.' My quote may or may not be his exact words, but he was right, nevertheless. Now it's possible to be 'famous' for merely being on television as a contestant in a 'reality' show such as 'Big Brother.' No skill or training required. Just be on television. In that respect this 'celebrity' thing is watering-down any skill that you might require to be entitled to be called a 'celebrity.' So we get shows which suddenly get the appellation 'celebrity' included in their titles, such as 'Celebrity Big Brother','Celebrity Masterchef','Celebrity Great British Bake Off.' And the list goes on and on. I know that a lot of these shows have an element of raising cash for charity, such as Children In Need and Comic Relief, but it does get really boring.

My next niggle: Saturday evening television. Why do schedulers think that, just because it's a Saturday evening, we have to endure dumbed-down rubbish? A new show has arrived on BBC1, hosted by the former lead judge from 'Strictly Come Dancing,' Len Goodman, being the host of something called 'Partners in Rhyme.' Having only seen a trailer for this, I have to say, from what I've seen, it looks just plain appalling and down-market.  Who on earth thought this was a good show to commission? As Goodman has left 'Strictly,' it seems the good old BBC thought they ought to use him in some way, so offered him the job of compere of their heap of old tat. Then there's that show where the contestants have to fling themselves onto huge rubber balls and obstacles with water pouring onto them. I forget the name of the show, but it's not exactly demanding viewing, although it must be very demanding for the contestants. The show as called 'Total Wipe-Out.' Having just done a Google search. Then there's the National Lottery gameshows which have such easy questions that they're just an insult. I know what you're going to say, with so many television channels, you don't have to watch any of this sort of television, to which I agree, but as a television license payer I get annoyed that they have to waste the money on such rubbish. As the Beeb is lumbered with providing a show which presents the Lottery (now re-branded at Lotto for some reason best known to the company who runs the National Lottery.)  numbers on a Saturday they have to dress it up someway by showing a rather lame gameshow. 

More Niggles: Television- Part 2

What's next on my list of niggles regarding television? How about the over-abundance of similar shows, such as antiques and cookery? One or two would be fine, but why do schedulers think that the viewer is going to relish the possibility of a rash of the same sort of show? Crazy. All the fuss about Great British Bake Off transferring to Channel 4 was totally over-the-top. I can't honestly see how it can be worth £75 million or thereabout, even if it's for five years. There are a couple of antique shows we watch and enjoy, such as Bargain Hunt and Flog It! Well, they just happen to be on at the right time, when we have lunch or tea and at least you learn something about antiques. Then there's 'lifestyle' shows, doing up houses, 'Escape To The Country' as well as 'Homes Under The Hammer.' Why do the people who go on something like 'Escape To The Country' want to move to the middle of nowhere, North Yorkshire or somewhere in Cornwall, miles from anywhere, a long drive to the nearest supermarket or a hospital or doctor? They generally have more money than sense and they want a huge house with more bedrooms than they really need. If you're going to move once you retire, why not just down-size and spend the money you have left over because you've gone for a smaller, more economical house? It's just so you can invite your friends and family and impress them with your new, huge home.

Day-time television is awash with selling things. Virtually every programme has some aspect of selling, such as houses to antiques. It's the same thing as I've already mentioned. Once a show is found to be a success with an audience they seem to think that we'll want more and more of the same.

Why do these shows have the same music on their soundtracks? I can't understand why, when they make some programmes, usually documentaries, they have to use the SAME music which gets recycled endlessly. Perhaps the budgets for these shows don't allow for original scores and they use royalty-free library music. It's the most likely reason, but the same rather clichéd music seems to do the rounds of such shows as 'Antiques Road Trip.'

Not just antiques and cooking, but during the afternoon there seem to be endless gameshows. There's nothing wrong with a really good gameshow. 'The Chase' is currently a huge hit on I.T.V. at teatime. It's main selling-point would be that Bradley Walsh is the questionmaster. He has a good repport with the contestants and can, occasionally, corpse when a rather risqué answer comes up on the three answers the contestants have to select. Then there's The Chasers, who are usually good value for money. Then the questions are quite difficult. I hate those gameshows which have questions that are, frankly, an insult to one's intelligence. The worst offender in that department is 'Tipping Point.' We've watched this addictive show, but some of the questions are, to be honest, an insult. Such questions as 'What month is Christmas?', 'What colour is the sky?' Doh! Who really thought that a gameshow that is really a version of those machines that you'd find at the fair or on a seaside pier, where you put a few pennies in a slot and the machine has different shelves or 'layers' that move backwards and forward and you have to get the coins to fall over the edge to win? Crazy.

Day-time television is awash with selling things. Virtually every programme has some aspect of selling, such as houses to antiques. It's the same thing as I've already mentioned. Once a show is found to be a success with an audience they seem to think that we'll want more and more of the same.

Why do these shows have the same music on their soundtracks? I can't understand why, when they make some programmes, usually documentaries, they have to use the SAME music which gets recycled endlessly. Perhaps the budgets for these shows don't allow for original scores and they use royalty-free library music. It's the most likely reason, but the same rather clichéd music seems to do the rounds of such shows as 'Antiques Road Trip.'

Something that really gets on my nerve and that's the need for producers of television shows to have 'what's coming next' at the beginning of a show. 'Bargain Hunt' does this. I quite like this show, but why do I need to get a glimpse of what's going to happen? I'm quite capable of staying with a programme to find out. I don't need this stupid element. It's taking up valuable running-time. Then, most drama series have to have 'Next time . . .' and you get a glimpse of the next episode. Totally unnecessary. Something pinched from American television which is best off being ditched. I know that a lot of our shows are either sold to American television or are co-productions, but it's as if you're not going to stick with a long-running series (or 'season' as we have to call a long-running drama series, also pinched from America.) And a great deal of fuss is made out of the final episode of a run of shows, or 'series' or 'season.' Now called 'Finale.' Which sort of separates it from the rest of the run of shows.

After Christmas and Pre-New Year

Well, Christmas is over. It was on a Sunday this year and it seemed somewhat odd. No services at Milton Keynes Christian Centre. There were a couple of Carol services on Saturday afternoon, Christmas Eve, but it was decided not to have Christmas Day services, I think because they didn't think enough people would attend. We stayed at home and opened our presents. We watched a DVD, something that Carol wanted to see, 'The Secret Life of Pets,' a computer animated movie which was quite enjoyable. We'd been to see 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' on Thursday at the new Odeon cinema at the Milton Keynes Stadium. It's a sort of prequel to the Harry Potter movies and stars Eddie Redmayne. Hugely enjoyable and the special effects are amazing. Carol bought me a book on the art of the film, which I shall read with great pleasure.

Yesterday we visited Whipsnade Zoo as the weather was so mild. We went to a talk on giraffes at the giraffe house which was fascinating and all six of the giraffes, including the youngest were inside the shed where the talk was done, given by one of the keepers. It makes it so much more interesting if you know a bit more on a subject like this. We've visited Whipsnade on quite a few occasions as you will know if you read these blog posts. We had coffee and cake in one of the cafes. As Carol is a Fellow of the Z.S.L. (Zoological Society of London), who operate Whipsnade and London Zoos) and which allows us free access to these places, we also get a discount in their cafes and shops. We got some superb views of some of the animals and this was somewhat frustrating because my Canon camera is currently being repaired, otherwise we would have got some really great photographs to add to our ever-expanding collection.

On Monday we had a free trial session at Nuffield Health. We cancelled our membership of DW quite some time ago and we were eager to find a replacement. A much quieter and far more private health club with a good swimming pool, which is a good deal deeper than the swimming pool at DW, as well as a jacuzzi, sauna and steam room. We even get given towels which means they are always clean and dry. Generally a good deal more pleasant. So we decided we will join at the end of the month. Great to have somewhere to relax and swim every week.

Plenty to watch on television, as there always is over the Christmas period. We watched the Great British Bake Off Christmas special (although I can't say it was particularly special.) I avoided Strictly Come Dancing as I can't stand the audience noise (why on earth do they have to clap along to the music all the time? It's annoying and stupid. Also, the plain nasty comments made by certain members of the judging panel.) It's over hyped in the tabloid press and social media such as Facebook. At least Bake Off is more gentle, it's not full of so-called celebrities and it doesn't have a live audience who are wound up to react accordingly. It's as well we have a Sky Q box as otherwise we wouldn't be able to watch all the decent programmes. You can record at least four shows which are on at the same time as well as catch-up which is such a brilliant idea.

We've just been watching the documentary about Alan Bennet and his diary (the latest instalment called 'Keeping On Keeping On' has just been published and I will have to buy it, but it can wait until it comes out in paperback. I will need to read his earlier instalments so that's quite a lot of reading to get through.)

Aggressive Driving

I may have made some mention of this on more than one blog post, but I'm going to mention it again. Drivers in and around Milton Keynes can be excessively aggressive. I have on more than one occasion had to contend with drivers coming up behind me when I'm out in the car, and attempting to get me to go faster. When I was learning to drive (and it's a good many years since I past my Driving Test.) was taught to drive within my safe limits, for example, not driving at such a speed that I'd feel out of control or too fast. Obviously you would attempt to drive within the legal speed limits (i.e. 30 mp.p.h. in a built up area and up to 70 m.p.h. on open country roads and Motorways.) Around Milton Keynes the speed limit on the Grid Roads is 70 m.p.h. which is a shock to me. There are very few long stretches of road between the various roundabouts which would allow you enough distance to get up to a relatively high speed before you have to slow down at a roundabout. Some drivers seem to think that they don't need to slow down at a roundabout when they arrive and can just speed across, taking very little heed of traffic coming onto the right, giving way etc etc as you are supposed to do (according to the Highway Code.) If you just happen to drive with any care and attention and stop at a roundabout and obey the rules and check before attempting to enter the said roundabout, and a somewhat aggressive drive comes up behind you, some have the idea that they can intimidate you in such a way that you will risk your life  by moving into the traffic when you are sure it is unsafe to do so. Some will even hoot you in order to make you move, even if you are only a fraction of a second late in moving, according to them. Which can be very off-putting.

When I worked as a home carer and used to spend a lot of my time driving from one 'call' to another, I had the misfortune to come across quite a bit of aggressive driving. I was on my way to one evening call, driving along Fulmer Street towards Bletchley at a safe speed. A large van came up behind me, with three young men inside it, or so I could see in my rear-view mirror. They didn't seem to appreciate the speed I was driving nor the fact that I was simply in their way. The driver came right up behind me and seemed to be attempting to get me to move faster, which I refused to do. Then he began moving from side to side across the road behind me, ziz-zagging about across the road, weaving too and from across the road. I found it somewhat frightening and, considering I had had a heart attack, not doing my blood pressure a lot of good. In fact, I had to find a lay-by and pull over to let them pass. Very intimidating experience and totally unacceptable behaviour.

On three occasions I was run into by drivers on roundabouts which had a very detrimental effect on me. In all the years I have driven a car I have never been run into. On each occasion it was not pleasant. My car was damaged and only on one of the three occasions did the driver stop to see whether I was alright.

Last Sunday we drove to Waitrose, which is about  two miles from home down Chaffron Way. On the way out we had to circulate the carpark to get out and came across a car coming in. It was going at an excessive speed and unless we'd stopped when we did we'd have hit it. The female driver was so fixated on getting where she was going, she had no intention of slowing down. It seems that these people who behave in this way are being selfish. We seem to have produced more and more people, and particular car drivers, who have become self-centred. It appears that they are becoming more and more selfish. We are producing even more people, particularly on the internet, on social media such as Facebook and Twitter, who can say quite unpleasant things to people, particularly contestants on such things as 'Strictly Come Dancing' or 'The Great British Bakeoff', which they would never say face to face. It seems it's O.K. to say these unpleasant things on-line, in writing, but not in a direct way to their face. It's as if it wouldn't hurt that person, but actually it does have a psychological effect. A gradual build up of nastiness probably has more effect on someone like this rather than to their face, and this is the same thing as drivers out on the roads. Getting cut up on a roundabout (which has happened to me and Carol on quite a few instances.) does have a marked effect on your confidence as a driver.

Then, on two more occasions on driving out of Waitrose's car park, and in barely two minutes, we came across more of this aggressive driving from other people. We had to come out of their carpark and head left towards the roundabout at Monkston Park and another driver, yet another female, hooted at us to get out of the way because we didn't move fast enough for her. Just plain rudeness in my opinion and then one more, similar, as we approached the roundabout at Eaglestone, at what is called 'Four Bridges.' (So named because of the four foot bridges over the Grid Roads at this point in the road system.)

Several years ago Carol was involved in a car accident at one of the roundabouts on Fulmer Street early one morning. She was waiting in a queue of vehicles at the roundabout when a taxi cab came crashing into the queue. The force of the car crashing into the car at the back of the queue was so great that it forced the car she was driving to cause it to run into the car immediately in front that it got caught onto the tow bar. It gave Carol fairly a serious whiplash injury.  The driver of the car that caused the accident was not paying what they called 'undue care and attention.' No doubt he was using his mobile phone at the time, but certainly not concentrating. I see quite a lot of drivers using their mobiles as they're driving. The most disturbing was when we were driving up the M1 a few years ago and got caught behind a lorry, but as we passed we could see the driver using his mobile. I think he was texting. It doesn't bear thinking the sort of accident he might have caused had he wobbled as he was driving that lorry.

The other concern is what I hear in the news on television about people deliberately causing accidents on the roads in order to make insurance claims. It makes me wonder at time, knowing this sort of information, whether that is what a great many of the cases I've mentioned of 'aggressive driving' is deliberate so as to cause such an accident and then claim on insurance. When people cut you up on a roundabout or those that don't stop at a roundabout, it makes me wonder whether it's deliberate to make a fraudulent insurance claim. Then there's cases of 'road rage', caused when a driver is driving too slow and then being assaulted by a driver who couldn't wait for that slower driver to move out of the way. When knives are used, fists fly and so on, it can be quite scary.

Another recent incident happened the other morning. We drove to Tesco's at Oldbrook. It would have been around 7.15-7.20. We turned into Oldbrook Boulevarde from Strudwick Drive and had just turned left from the roundabout. We were driving through a section of road where there were two carriage-ways, the road being divided down the centre with a paved area. We drove at a reasonable speed, considering it was a built-up area, so the speed was 30 m.p.h. Then a car appeared at speed behind us. It would have been reasonable to expect the driver to merely follow us at 30, but now, he couldn't wait, and shot past us at at least 50-60 m.p.h. All I can say is, thank goodness that there wasn't another vehicle coming in the opposite direction. It was very scary. The driver was laughing as he drove past. It took us quite a while to recover from the shock. Just another incident where it was aggressive driving. It was a pity that there were no speed cameras to record the incident. This is what it needs to stop this sort of behaviour, but, unfortunately, these drivers get away with this behaviour because there are never any police around to see what is going on and then charge them with reckless driving. It's the innocent driver or passer-by who gets injured when things go wrong and an accident occurs.

Great British Bake Off

It's surprising how addictive the television show "The Great British Bake Off" can be. I suppose you could ask, doesn't it fall into the category of 'reality' television, competition, gameshow or reality, because it has real people put into a situation that they wouldn't otherwise be put in, or perhaps it's got a combination of all these.  I'm not a great reality television fan. In fact, I detest it. I cannot see what the attraction of 'Big Brother' can possibly be. Merely watching a group of non entities living in a house and having their every move poured over by the media, Facebook, Twitter, the Red Tops and so on, just doesn't make very interesting television I'd rather watch the testcard (if they use one still, which I very much doubt). For a start, I hate the term 'reality television' because everything you see on television is fake. The very picture you watch is an illusion. Made up of 625 lines and flickering at a rate of something like 250 frames a second. The image you watch has been edited carefully. Put a camera in front of anyone who isn't trained as an actor or other performer and they will react differently. Some people clam up, whilst others 'play' to the camera. Then the images you see are carefully edited as I say. This particularly for something like 'Bake-Off' because the time scale of each episode has been condensed. The contestants have, say, two hours to bake a cake or whatever and it is filmed and edited to take perhaps 15 minutes on screen. The director and editor will edit out the extraneous matter, the un-interesting bits and keep only the most interesting bits. How do we know what bits have been re-shot, with the camera in just the right place to get the most interesting view of something? We can never be sure. Do Sue and Mel spend a long time composing what we imagine are off-the-cuff remarks? Does the director make sure that they are put in just the right place so that they can come out with these remarks? And the double entendres, those little gems such as 'soggy bottom' etc etc, put in to get a cheap laugh?

After all that, I think I like it because the contestants are interesting. They're not celebrities. They have interesting lives. We can, as the viewer, identify with them all, or most of them. There's the builder the grandmother, the former practice manager of a doctor's surgery. Nobody is generally nasty to one another. There is no viewers' vote. It doesn't get spun out for ages and ages before we learn who has been voted off at the end of each week's programme. No baying audience as there is on 'Strictly Come Dancing' who clap and cheer at every little thing the dancers do. And the setting is somewhat different to most other similar shows. A tent in a country house garden where the weather seems to interfere on a regular basis. How the production company manages to keep the rain out whenever there's a downpour is a mystery to me. Have you ever been in a similar tent when there's a rain storm? You can't seem to avoid the drips. Not every tent in one hundred percent waterproof. And the biggest mystery to me is, how do they manage to keep secret each week's vote-off and most importantly, the over-all winner when it is filmed so many months in advance?