Wild and Windy

Friday. 9.10 a.m. It's quite mild and pleasant today. I'd almost go as far as saying it's almost spring-like. That being the case, there are signs of green shoots coming out all along the hedge as we walk towards Oldbrook Green. (No, no signs of economic revival. You know, the cliché that is used during times of depression. I won't use it here.) But it does look like spring, even though, officially, it hasn't. Well, it is only the 6th of January. This reminds me, my Christmas decorations have to come down today, as it's Twelfth Night.

Saturday. 7.20 a.m. I'm sitting here, writing this, waiting to take Alfie out. I can hear the wind roaring away outside (well, I'm glad it's outside. I'd be worrying if it was inside this flat!)

10.10 a.m. I ordered a case for my new iPad Pro on Amazon on Thursday, and it arrived around midday. It's made of fairly substantial material and has a Van Gogh painting on its cover, the one with swirly clouds. Its title is 'The Starry Night.' I simply cannot have a plain and boring cover for any of my devices, and I really like Van Gogh's paintings. The iPad fits inside perfectly and there's a convenient space for the Apple Pencil, which remains fully charged and doesn't fall out. I can use the iPad flat or in a position which raises it up, which is convenient for such things as Zoom or Facetime calls. I am really pleased with the cover, and it should keep the iPad reasonably protected, and safe.

I've been to Waitrose to buy one or two items. On the way along Chaffron Way I had another driver tailgating me. I was driving at what I would call a reasonable speed, no more than 50, but this driver insisted on coming up behind me and then putting his headlights on full (I assume it was a male, I couldn't see the face of the driver.) I refuse to be intimidated by such people and I'm not putting myself at risk of an accident. There are a few people that simply don't like having a car in front of them.

It's still wild and windy outside. I came back from Waitrose and took Alfie out, but he didn't intend to remain out for long and did a wee on the grass and immediately came back inside. Who can blame him?

When we went out around 7.30 this morning, I noticed that the rubbish left by those who were letting off fireworks the other evening has now been removed. It's good to see it gone and no doubt Council workers picked it up, but there's still the thought that those responsible should have dealt with it.

Sunday. 6.30 a.m. I can hear the wind, but I don't think its as strong as it was earlier in the week.

8.20. I went out an walked around Oldbrook Green at around 7.35. It's now a good deal lighter earlier and earlier as we get further into January which was the reason for the circuit of the green.

4.15 p.m. The wind has stopped. It's a good deal calmer now.

6.20 p.m. I've been working on further developments of my writing project. I had an idea, which came to me whilst walking around Oldbrook Green, and then got somewhat stuck with it (I won't mention any details here, for obvious reasons.) and then came up with further ideas when I was laying in bed. I think it's because I can relax when laying down and let my mind wander. I am now beginning to write using these new ideas. 

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.

Another Fun Filled Week?

Monday. 5.55 p.m. I am continuing to transcribe my handwritten writing onto word processing. It's a long and quite laborious process, but as I continue with it I am making significant alterations and, hopefully, improvements. I have a good idea where things are heading once this section is complete. I have several pages of plot lines and I will follow most of those notes as I continue with writing. Then I need to integrate some other plot lines into this 'spine' plot line which runs through the middle of the whole project. 

Tuesday.10.45 a.m. I have baked a batch of scones this morning. I had to organize my kitchen carefully as there is little enough room as it is. I had left the butter out overnight as it needs to be soft enough to work and it was fine, so I proceeded with the recipe. The only problem was that the mixture didn't make more than a handful of scones. I was more than pleased with the result. They came out of the oven near perfect. Golden brown and good texture. Then I decided to drive to Kingston and visit Homesense, which is part of T.K. Maax. I was looking for a suitable tin in which to make a cheesecake for Sunday as we have a bring and share lunch to celebrate the return Ross and Joy Dilnot returning after their operations. I drove down Chaffron Way towards Kingston and was confronted by a sign telling me that the road ahead was closed, so I had to go into Waitrose's car park to do a short detour and then come out on Brickhill Street  and continue on down Chaffron Way. 

Wednesday. 6.20 a.m. It's mild this morning, but what I would term, muggy. Sort of warm and wet, if you get my meaning.

I've just been watching an item on BBC Breakfast, about a man by the name of Martin Hibbert, who was seriously injured and then paralysed when he was caught up in the Manchester Arena bombing in May 2017. He is currently raising money by climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. I noticed, when he was interviewed, that he had a logo for S.I.A., the Spinal Injuries Association, which is directly next door to Dexter House, and which I walk past with Alfie several times a day.

5.50 p.m. The weather has been behaving strangely all afternoon. It was teeming with rain earlier, and immediately it came to an end the ground didn't seem to be wet when I peered out of the kitchen window later. It sounded as if someone was having a shower as I sat and heard it. Then as I prepared my evening meal it began to rain and the sun was out. Just weird.

Thursday. 6.15 a.m. Yet another fine and sunny morning. We did a circuit of Oldbrook Green, but I'm sure Alfie would have preferred to stay tucked up in his lovely, cozy bed.

13.00 p.m. I've been out at the Oaktree Centre, helping to set up the playgroup which meets there on a Thursday. I was involved in a Bible study during the playgroup meeting and then returned a couple of hours later to dismantle everything.

Friday. 6.20 a.m. Well, here's a thing. Another fine and sunny morning. What more can I say?

Here We Go Again

Friday. 10.25 p.m. I've just come back from the Oaktree Centre. We had a quiz evening. It's just great to be able to have this type of event after the confounded lockdowns restricted everything. There were around eight teams and my team won! After the first round we were at the bottom, so it was great that we managed to win. We won a bucket (!) with smaller items, such as single-serving bottles of wine and chocolates. I got a bottle of wine. There was also the famous (or probably, more likely, infamous) 'Roll-A-Coin' game. Prizes are laid out at one end of the room, things such as bottles of wine, chocolates, candles and other things, and you stand some distance from the items and you rolled a pound coin at the items. If your coin hit an item, you win it!  As the whole idea of the evening was to raise money for the building of phase two of the completion of the Oaktree Centre, it was very successful. Anyway, I managed to win a bottle of wine.

Another 10,000 steps were done according to FitBit. I looked at it as I came through the door, and it rolled over to 10,000 at that precise moment.

Saturday. 6.45 a.m. I was up, dressed and out with Alfie at 5.20 a.m. It is, as I write this, overcast, but dry and relatively mild. We did a circuit of Oldbrook Green, and then I drove to Oakgrove to take some cash out of the cash machine outside the Metro Bank next door to Waitrose. I am going to the men's breakfast at the Fountain in Loughton and we will have breakfast there, which means I don't have to cook. Good fellowship and excellent time together. We last met a few months ago, and I must have mentioned it in these blog posts.

12.25 p.m. I've been to the men's breakfast at The Fountain in Loughton. We've met there before. People arrived just as I drew into the car park, and then we went inside the pub. We had the same set-up as last time, several tables pushed together in the same part of the restaurant area. Around 15 people and some people came in late. I ordered a cooked breakfast, and it was great to fellowship with others from SCF.

From there I drove to Sainsbury's to get a few items and then home. I think Alfie was somewhat bemused that he hadn't been able to come with me.

In Sainsbury's, I used one of the self-service tills. Why do I always have a problem with these things? Whatever you do, however careful you scan each item and put it in the correct place, the thing will inevitably stop functioning and a horrible electronic voice will scream at you so everyone in the vicinity hears that you've messed up yet again! Can they just cut that voice? So, a staff member comes to help and you feel such an idiot that feel you're incapable of doing the most simple of tasks.

Sunday. 6.10 a.m. I was out around 5.20 this morning. Good gracious! Whatever next? Lounging around in bed? Not me. I then had a real surprise. As we started walking towards Oldbrook Green I saw a fox standing on the surrounding path a hundred yards ahead of us. It stood and stared at us for about twenty seconds and then turned and went into the bushes that fill the area between the Dexter House garden and the next unit, SIA (Spine Injury Association.) Something of a shock and a real surprise. We did a circuit of Oldbrook Green, which Alfie wasn't keen on and tried to take us home, but I refused. Well, he can just snuggle back into bed or lie on the sofa. But I insisted. Then, on arriving back in the flat, I was washing up in the kitchen and I saw the fox in the garden below my window. It even lay on the grass and seemed to be having a great time.

Freedom Day . . . At Long Last!

This is the day we've been waiting for. All the ludicrous restrictions we've had to live under for the past two years are being abandoned. Let's say it; the pandemic is over, although Boris Johnson has said that the coronavirus hasn't gone away. Let's just say, it's hiding. We have to learn to live with it. 

It may be 'Freedom Day' if that's what you want to call it, but we now have all this overshadowed by the Ukraine Crisis with Russia threatening to invade that small country. Vladimir Putin making out it's their fault, and they're the aggressor. All this is done to deflect things from problems within Russia, mostly financial.

Thursday. 9.45 a.m. I have just got back from taking Alfie out for one of his walks and, as we walked along the path that runs beside Strudwick Drive, I notice a bright yellow pencil that looked as if it has been thrown away. Nothing wrong with it, an ordinary Staedtler wooden pencil, HB grade. I'm thinking, 'I'll have that!" So I picked it up and put it in my jacket pocket. But further along, I picked up more and in total there were 10 of them. I just hope they were thrown there by a pupil from Milton Keynes Academy or even the Primary school which is just over the road. Are children so stupid as to throw away stuff they are given to use in their lessons? I know some children don't have such items given to them by their parents as they don't have the income to afford such items as pens, pencils and other things, so why waste these by throwing them on the grass. There are children in Africa who would be pleased to have even a scrap of paper to write on or a pencil to write with. I don't think the children around here realize how lucky they are to have even the basic things free of charge for use in their education.

Perfectly good pencils, rescued from the grass along Strudwick Drive this morning. Just a waste to throw them away.

7.30 a.m. As I've mentioned in earlier blogs, I have upgraded my MacBook and now have a MacBook Pro. I'm more than pleased with it. I'm really surprised how thin and light it is, compared with my MacBook Air. I had been searching online to find some way of recycling it and, hopefully, get a fair price for it. This morning it has been collected by a courier from DPD, packed it up in a sealed box and is now gone. It was in excellent condition, mostly because it has had a plastic cover. I had managed to remove the bottom cover, but not the top one. Which shows how effective it has been in protecting this laptop.  I always attempt to look after all my gadgetry, because it is expensive and if I want to use it there's no point in it getting damaged if it's cared for properly. I had wiped the surface with a wet wipe but got the driver to remove the top cover. Also wiped clean and hopefully, this will affect the price I eventually receive. 

I'm somewhat annoyed that the laundry room is locked until 8 a.m. Just crazy that I have to wait until 8 o'clock to do my washing. I haven't been told about this stupid new rule. More rules and regulations. Just annoying.

It seems that Freedom Day was somewhat overshadowed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Just tell me, when did Kiev become Kyiv? It seems that the names of quite a few places have more or less overnight been changed in their spelling. Most western nations have taken their eyes off the ball (you might say.) Biden, US President' is as much use as a wet fish. Probably has early-onset dementia. Meanwhile, our politicians have been more concerned about parties in Downing Street than watching what's happening centre stage.  No wonder Rome burns whilst Nero fiddles. Sorry, I'm mixing my metaphors. No wonder Putin has managed to do what he's done. Puts me in mind of the Munich Crisis in 1938 before the beginning of World War 2. Strange how history repeats itself.

10.30 a.m. It is quite sunny and warm. A pleasant enough day to wander slowly around Oldbrook Green.

I have been back baking. I got the Sainsbury's Magazine last time I was shopping and inside is a recipe for chocolate cookies, so I have bought the ingredients (not actually from Sainsbury's. I decided to go to Waitrose instead. It is quite an effort to make anything complicated in my tiny kitchen because there isn't much in the way of surfaces. It's a bit of a juggling act. Measuring out the flour, butter, sugar and so on and attempted to roll out the dough and then put it on baking trays, but my efforts have been worthwhile. The results have exceeded expectations. Now I have had all the boxes removed from the pantry/cupboard, I have more space to store the equipment, such as the food processor and the trays and pans. I need to get a good deal more organized next time I do a bake.

I have hit the 10,000 steps target today! That's approximately 5 miles. I took Alfie out  at around 4 p.m. as it was bright and sunny and it seemed a pity to not take advantage of the sun. I don't think Alfie was going to miss the opportunity to have a good walk and sniff around in the grass. Just glad to get the steps total in and finding the Fitbit is motivating me to get out of the flat.

Back To Normal?

So, what is 'normal' after something like eighteen months of various forms of lockdown? We're obviously not going to return to life as it was before the pandemic, that is for certain. It would be great to think we will, but I'm certain our beloved politicians will want to keep us under some form of regulations for as long as possible. Never in peacetime has Britain had so many regulations in place to restrict citizens' rights. And with nobody making any sort of effort to question any of these laws and regulations. We seem to have rolled over and just comply. It makes you wonder what would happen if we were invaded, as we were very nearly during the second World War.

Saturday. 3.40 p.m. I was sitting reading, minding my own business, just after I'd had a bite to eat for lunch. Then, for no reason, the fire alarm went off throughout Dexter House. Alfie doesn't like it. He hates loud noises. Our other dog, Poppy, was similar. She was scared witless by fireworks and around the time of Bonfire Night, November 5th, she would hide in any place she thought she was safe, like under our bed. But this fire alarm is so loud and ear-piercing (well, I suppose it has to be, particularly if it went off at night and you were fast asleep. Enough to wake you up.) But it gives me a splitting headache, so I decided it would be a good idea if we went out, hopefully, until it stopped. Which we did. Ending up doing three circuits of Oldbrook Green. No doubt someone in another flat had burnt their toast or forgot to take something out of the oven. But as I sit here, several hours later, I have a sneaking suspicion someone in one of the flats below me IS SMOKING! Well, what people do in their private space is up to them, but when it comes through into MY private space, that's another matter. I'm beginning to wonder if it's that which set the fire alarm off. I don't know who managed to stop the fire alarm. Last time we had a similar experience the fire service turned up. I went out and stood with Alfie on the pavement outside until we got the all-clear to return to our flat. Perhaps some people just should never be left alone with matches.

Monday. 7.35 a.m. What's this? Nothing for Sunday? Probably because there wasn't anything to report. Now, there's a thing.

12.40 a.m. I've been cleaning the kitchen. Well, the excitement is too much. But it had to be done. I've cleared away a great deal of clutter. Some have gone in the cupboard in the area where the kettle is, along with the tea-making equipment plus mugs. The sugar canister which I purchased in T.K.Maax several years ago had begun to get rusty. That's the problem with anything metal. So I decided it had to be retired and replaced and I drove to Waitrose as I have been in their homewares department and thought I could get just the thing to replace the old canister. It's perfect and made of pottery, so it's not going to rust. Just right and looks quite stylish. No rubbish in my home! I also needed to get some easy-peelers, those small easy-to-peel oranges (or are they satsumas or tangerines? I'm not sure.) Around a year ago, probably more, but around the time we had the first lockdown (probably March 2020.) I thought it would be a good idea to eat more fruit, possibly the 5-A-Day the government recommends. I hit on at least three of these small, juicy citrus fruit, together with an apple and probably fruit juice. Sainsbury's have them, but also most other supermarkets. Some are better than others. Some can be very pithy and almost inedible. You occasionally get a not-so-good batch, but most are very tasty. Good as they have vitamin C in them. I also take a vitamin D tablet with my morning medications, as directed by my doctor and I've taken them for well over a year.

Tuesday. 6.45 a.m. I'm determined to reach my daily target of 10,000 steps, recorded by my FitBit. I think around six circuits of Oldbrook Green must be at least that many steps. It's supposed to equate to around five miles, so it makes you realize how far I must have walked since I've moved to Oldbrook. Alfie has become somewhat reluctant to walk that far, insisting some morning that we return home directly once he's done what he needs to do (I don't need to describe what I'm referring to.) He is a very determined little person, amazingly strong when he wants to be.

Have A Nice Day!

Tuesday. 10.55 a.m. Alfie and I were out by 5.45 this morning. I think the mild weather is having a positive effect on us both. I'm not one to lounge about when it's mild and sunny. I was bought up on a farm and work usually started early and I would never be allowed to stay in bed, even if I wanted to. My mother would never allow us to stay in the house during the day when it was the summer holidays. Even the thought of daytime television (which wasn't introduced until the 1980s.) would have been heard of. And anyway, there was always something to do outside to keep us occupied.

I had to do some shopping. Running low on stuff like milk, breakfast cereal, and dog food. I can't have Alfie going without his dinner. I have been eating more fruit since lockdown. I have an apple and a couple of what they call 'easy peelers', which are small oranges, which, as the name implies, are easier to peel than ordinary oranges. Some are better than others. It's a case of 'you pay your money and make your choice. Some are juicy and sweet, like the ones from Sainsbury or Waitrose, whilst others can be tasteless, bitter, and just pith. I got some doggy treats, some of which are supposed to keep Alfie's teeth clean and freshen his breath. I got to paying and decided on using a self-service till. The confounded thing was really playing up. It didn't want to play ball (not literally, you understand. It would be interesting to see one of these machines playing tennis or even football.) It wouldn't recognize that I'd put an item in the infamous bagging area, and on at least three occasions I had to get a member of staff to sort things out. I threatened the machine with Alexa. I didn't think it was impressed, that is, if a machine can have any sort of feelings. Really didn't take much notice as far as I was concerned.

Wednesday. 6.30 a.m. Yet another sunny and bright morning. Out before 6 o'clock once again. Let's see how the day develops before I write anything further.

Transcribing of my writing is going well. I just can't do more than about fifteen to twenty minutes at a time as it's quite intense, concentrating and working on the laptop keyboard, but it's getting there.

Thursday. 6.15 a.m. It's cooler this morning. A definite possibility of rain. I have an idea that I felt rain or at least a drop, so we're likely to get a downpour later in the day.

Later. 12.05 p.m. I'm not sure exactly what the weather is doing, but I don't think it's raining at the moment. I suppose that if I stuck my head out of the window I could find out, or just look outside, but at the moment I don't want to.

Friday. 6.25 a.m. I was surprised when I went out with Alfie at 5.45 to discover that there was light rain. As a result, Alfie didn't stay out for long. A couple of spots of rain and he turned tail and took me back indoors.

I've had some problems attempting to order a repeat prescription. I always make sure I don't run out and do a regular check because I know it can take a week for the whole process to go through. I can get my medication a good deal quicker and I get a text message from Lloyd's Pharmacy in Sainsbury's so that I can go and collect it. The problems started when I set up an account with something called Echo. The idea behind it is that you have an app on your phone or tablet and you set up an account, nominating your doctor's surgery and then put in your medication, and Echo, which is part of Lloyd's Pharmacy, will deliver your medication to your home, free of charge. I'm not sure whether it comes via post or whether they deliver via courier. I attempted to put in my medication but several didn't have the right dosage which I require, so I abandoned setting it up. Further problems came when I attempted to order a repeat prescription via the NHS app which I have been using successfully. I usually give at least a week so as to allow for the order to go through my doctor's surgery and then be sent on to Lloyds for them to make it up. I did this last Sunday when I realized that some medications were running low. When I didn't get a notification to say the order was ready for collection, I rang my doctor's surgery, Central Milton Keynes Medical Centre and they said that I couldn't order those particular medications as I had enough, according to their system. After several telephone calls to both Lloyd's and the surgery, I discovered that the repeat prescription had gone via Echo, which I thought had not been connected to the surgery. I imagined it had not linked to the surgery. Lloyd's have made sure that my repeat prescriptions will continue to be made up by them and I have since removed the Echo app from my iPad and through the app, I disconnected it from further connections with the surgery. I had thought that, because Echo was part of Lloyd's, the in-store pharmacy would make up my prescriptions, but that is not the case.

Saturday. 6.40 a.m. A somewhat unsettled day on the weather front. It was relatively dry when I was out with Alfie an hour ago, but I felt a slight drop of rain and Alfie scuttled back indoors when he must have felt a few drops of rain. I think we're in for a wet day head.

More transcribing. It's going really well and I'm making modifications as I go. I'm really pleased how it's going. The whole thing is over 28,000 words long.

Sunday. 6.45 a.m. A sort of undecided day. I'm nut sure whether it's going to rain, but I felt a few drops when I went out with Alfie around  6 o'clock this morning. It was slightly misty over the centre of Milton Keynes, but it will burn away once the sun comes out.

Some Like It Hot

This blog post's title refers to one of my all-time favourite films, the 1959 comedy starring Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, and the fabulous Marilyn Monroe, 'Some Like It Hot.' (Actually referring to jazz and not the weather.) The Curtis and Lemmon are out of work instrumentalists, Joe and Jerry,  in 1920's Chicago who accidentally witness the Valentine's Day massacre and have to dress up as women in an attempt to outwit the mob. Joe becomes Josephine and Jerry becomes Daphne,. They join an all-girl band and go on tour with them and on the train, they have to travel on to one of their gigs in Florida,  where they meet Sugar Kane Kowalczyk, played by Monroe in one of her most iconic roles. If you want a film that will make you laugh, then this beats a lot of modern comedy. It is in monochrome, so don't be disappointed in that, but it really doesn't matter, as it's fast-paced, funny, and downright crazy.

I was out with Alfie at 5.45 a.m. as we were ready, not bothered in the slightest that it was that early. As I write this (9.00a.m.) It's sunny and warm and likely to get warmer as the week progresses, according to the weather forecast on BBC Breakfast earlier.

I've been making fruit scones! They are currently baking in the oven and have about 3 minutes before they come out of the oven (should be saltanaley rather than currently. Sorry about the pun, but I just couldn't resist.) I have been using the equipment I have purchased on Amazon and in Dunelm, the digital scales, mixing bowl, rolling pin, and so on. It all seemed to go well, and as ever, using Delia Smith's recipe.

2 Minutes later. I have removed the scones from the oven. I'm a bit disappointed that they have come out no bigger than when they went in. Just a bit tiddly. I did follow Delia's recipe quite carefully and she said to use a 5 cm cutter, which I did. I was expecting them to rise a bit more than they did and come out somewhat larger. Oh well, as only the first time I've made them in quite a while, not really bad. As they say, the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

I have a saving account with Metro bank. The only way I can access it is either by visiting a branch or through their app or website. I had been attempting to reset the password but with no success. You are allowed a few attempts and then, if you attempt too many times, I think it's probably six, you are prevented from attempting further, probably to prevent scammers or hackers to pinch your cash. As a last resort, I decided to visit their branch down Chaffron Way, next to Waitrose. I also had a pile of 5p pieces which had been collected in a glass jar which had been steadily increasing to such a point I decided it needed cashing in at the bank. It was around £10 so I could deposit it in the Metro account, but then I wasn't certain if they would accept 5ps. I suppose it would take some time to count, but I had already done that.

It turned out that the bank has a machine which will count your change. All you do is tip your coinage into the hopper and after a while, once all the coins have worked through the machine, it gives you the total and then you put in your bank account number and date of birth and it gets deposited in your account. Ingenious, and certainly did the trick. 

I then had help from a member of the bank staff to reset my online account, and required me to come up with a new password and security number, and hey presto! It worked! Problem solved and it means I can keep an eye on the balance and it makes life simpler if you use the online facility rather than having to go into a bank branch.

T'was On A Monday Morning . . .

May Day Bank Holiday. 3.00p.m.  No, the gasman didn't call, according to the Flanders and Swann song. No, not swansong as in, 'the last song.' If you get my meaning. Sorry, just a bit of digression on my part, before I even start. I just felt like using it as a title for this blog and no more. But it is a good song. But who knows who Flanders and Swann were?

 I went out during the afternoon and it was blustery and there was the possibility of rain. Well, I did feel a few splashes of rain and I know that Alfie doesn't like getting wet, so he sniffed around on the grass and we came back inside. All things considered, it's just a typical Bank Holiday. Can you honestly tell me when it's been dry and sunny on such a day?

I've just been to Waitrose and I was surprised how busy it was. No queuing to get in, but they were restricting the number of people going in. 

Tuesday. 7.35 a.m. It's bright and sunny, but when I took Alfie out I was surprised by how windy and cold it was. Very deceptive, because my flat faces away from the wind and you can't hear it.

Later. I got a knock on my door at around 1.30 p.m. It was a young lady bringing my new glasses. I mentioned that I'd had my eyes test a few weeks ago. Much to my surprise that they would do it at Dexter House and that I would have new glasses made up. The new ones needed adjusting because, when I tried them on, they did slip down my nose, but with a bit of adjustment they were fine. I'm using the reading glasses to help me write this. Another thing ticked off!

Wednesday.  5.40 a.m.As you can see, not exactly over-busy at the moment. I'm stuck for anything major to write about on this blog post. Just a few lines for each day. Sitting here writing this with Alfie sleeping in his bed and waiting to take him outside. 

I was planning to go to Sainsbury's this morning. I had a well-planned shopping list as usual. But things didn't go as hoped when I went to start the car. The thing wouldn't start. I then considered walking to Sainsbury's, but then it occurred to me that it would be too much to have to lug everything back home. I rang Bleak Hall Motors but they couldn't come to help as they didn't have anyone available until probably Friday. At this point I decided to do my shop via Sainsbury's website which I did, referring to my shopping list and the 'favourites' making it considerably quicker. 'Favourites' saves those products you've previously ordered and you only need to click on those items to add to your trolley. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a delivery slot until Thursday evening, between 7.30-8.30. Not really a problem, but I will have to have my evening meal once the delivery is checked in. Not a problem. I'm only so glad I have the internet otherwise I couldn't have done this order. Certainly a lot quicker than visiting the brick-and-mortar store.

Thursday 9.30 a.m. It's a bit drab and dull today. The sun is not shining. On BBC Breakfast earlier Carol Kirkwood, the lady who does the weather forecast was saying that there had been snow in Scotland which is supposed to be a rare occurrence in early May.

2.30 p.m. I've only just got back from taking Alfie around Oldbrook Green. I saw one of the little white 'Starship' robotic pods (not really sure how else to describe them. Beer fridges on wheels, ice cream fridges? They look a bit like those chill cabinets you get when you go on a picnic to keep your sandwiches and drinks cool.) We caught up as it hurled along the path. I stood in its way, thinking it would stop, but it managed to go round me. I just wanted to have a conversation, but it didn't seem interested. It just scurried off on its deliveries and that was the end of that. I must say, they do seem to have a personality, even if it's a bit arrogant and mysterious. I don't think I'd want to encounter a whole group of them on a dark and windy night in a narrow alleyway. Who knows what injury they could inflict on you if they attacked your kneecaps.

The Sun Has Got His Hat On!

Saturday. Too right. The sun has definitely got his hat on and he's coming out to play. It's really warm and sunny. This afternoon is the funeral of The Duke of Edinburgh. Only thirty people were allowed in the chapel at Windsor Castle but some 800 troops in the parade within the castle. The Queen will sit, alone and masked. Poor woman! That shouldn't be allowed, even with social distancing. (Thinks: 'social distancing' is an oxymoron. Never thought about it before. A contradiction in terms.)

I've just been to Waitrose for a few items, including eggs. They are double-yolkers. But, just tell me, how can they be certain that they have double yolks? Surely double yolks in chicken's eggs are rarer than, dare I say it, hen's teeth. You wouldn't know an egg contains a double yolk until you crack it. It's a bit like saying, which comes first, the chicken or egg. Are they guaranteed? If I take it back when I find that one doesn't have a double yolk, can I get a refund? Do they have an X-Ray machine to check? I remember, years ago, going to the egg-packing station which was in Bedford, somewhere in Horne Lane, probably where a carpark now takes up the land (probably not, as I have an idea it's been redeveloped, with flats there, but couldn't be sure.) Anyway, as the eggs went along the production line (packing line would probably be more correct. No chickens were harmed in the course of this entire procedure.) and at one point they were held against a light which showed if they were bad (well, I imagine that was what it was for.) So, perhaps that is how they would be checked for double yolks. All this sounds very like the Ardman Animation film 'Chicken Run.' If you've not seen it, you must, it's brilliant, and has to be one of my all-time favourite films. Clever, funny and so original.

I've started a new drama series on Amazon called 'Leonardo.' I have had something of an obsession with Leonardo Da Vinchi, so this seemed a good show to at least have a look at. The part of Leonardo is played by Aiden Turner, who played Ross Poldark in the rebooted BBC1 series. I seem to remember him in another series based on the lives of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, 'Desperate Romantics,' in which he played another painter, Dante Gabriel Rosetti. I can't say it's particularly dynamic but they seem to have got the period right and it makes a change to have something that isn't about people being horrible to each other, jumping in and out of bed, car chases, or shooting up drugs or killing one another.

Sunday. 6.55a.m. I woke up at around 2a.m. This is normal for me. I had a shave and did my Bible reading on YouVersion, ' 2021:A Year Through The Bible With Nicky Gumble', and as usual, Alfie followed me from room to room. A time to then check emails and then back to bed. Alfie kept on prodding me as he thinks I will just jump up and take him out. If anything, he keeps me motivated. 

It's another bright and sunny morning, although not particularly warm, as I discovered when I took Alfie out as normal.

Later. I got back from Church to be greeted by Alfie, excited as he is usually when I come home. He was a real sight, hair everywhere. He had been rolling about on the sofa and it really made me laugh. Eventually, he settled down, but it made me think that his haircut is more than ever important. Just a pity it won't be until July.

Later still. Alfie needed to go out in a hurry, so we did just that. Oldbrook Green is heaving with life. People everywhere, sitting on the grass, playing football, some children in the skateboard park, others in the playground. Then, add to that the litter, which is everywhere. With enough bins, why can't people put their rubbish in the bins which are there for that purpose? Likewise, dog mess. Just not nice. I could go on, but I won't.

Monday. 7.50a.m. Yet another bright and sunny morning. 

Alfie had a bit of what I can only describe as a 'situation' this morning. As a result, he was somewhat smelly. To say he was embarrassed by it would be untrue. If he has an unfortunate accident (!) he gives me such a look that can only be described as contrite. The only answer to the situation was to put him in the bath. He doesn't enjoy it, but he was going to have to put up with it. I had to organise thing beforehand, run the bath and make sure the water wasn't too hot and I had enough towels and the plastic jug nearby to use to rinse him. He shivered a lot, which showed he wasn't enjoying things. I took him out of the bath and, he shook himself, which is what all dogs do when wet. I managed to towel dry him sufficiently to allow him into the lounge but the bedroom door shut tight as I really didn't want him in there. As I write this he is sitting in his favourite place on the back of the sofa, looking somewhat disheveled but I can't take him out until he is dry.

Pandemic Burnout

(Wednesday) Oh  no! Yet another press conference about the pandemic, shown on BBC1 tonight with Boris Johnson leading. I get the impression, right or wrong, that all the questions asked by the journalists are censored and some questions are evaded. You're not allowed to undermine the scientists or go again government guidelines regarding the pandemic. Oh dear! I just think Boris should be a good deal bolder and not listen that idiot Witty who keeps on saying that there'll be x thousands of infections and x thousands of deaths as a result of the covid pandemic when his predictions are inaccurate and produced from computer projections which have been out my umpteen thousands. He should listen also to other scientists who have produced far lower infections. Why on earth can't these press conferences go on the BBC news channel? When they're on BBC1 it means the early evening programmes are scrapped, at least one or two on BBC2. Pointless gets moved to BBC2. If people want to watch them, then go to the BBC news channel. I'm not sure it's not on there as well. Why does it have to be on two channels at the same time?

I listen to Julia Hartley-Brewer on Talk Radio. She's a good journalist and doesn't suffer fools. She's like me in that she doesn't believe the data that the mad scientists feed the government. I'm no sheep and have to do my own research as regards the pandemic. She was grilling some N.H.S. bureaucrat on the fact that hospitals are probably not as busy as they would be in a 'normal' winter. The testing system is flawed in that it gives false negatives, picking up 'dead' coronavirus. I could go on ad infinitum on this issue. As I've already said in the above paragraph, the government should be listening to a wider range of evidence from a wider cross section of research from more scientists before making lockdown decisions.

I had a weird dream last night. Well, nothing usual in that because most dreams, or at least those we remember, are odd. I was in a theatre. Took me back to when I worked in stage management. It was in Leicester. As I was an A.S.M. briefly at the Phoenix Theatre in Leicester in the early 1970s, perhaps not a surprise, but it wasn't clearly like the Phoenix. A theatre where some of the auditorium seats had been removed. I sat at a table with other people and one was an academic of some sort. I'm not sure what I was doing there. Was i part of the stage management team? Or about to be acting in a play? It seemed that it might have been a rehearsal. Some of the seats in the auditorium had been removed and some were facing the wrong way round to the stage. That's about it, but I've had several similar dreams, one where I had gone to Northampton (I think. But it seemed like Northampton.) and had been brought in at the last moment to be an A.S.M. or at least a member of the stage management team. I had no idea what the play was that we were involved in but I have had dreams where I am expected to take over a part, without knowing any lines and standing on stage and trying ro recall my lines. I think this is a typical dream that actors are supposed to have, having to take over a role at short notice and be an understudy for an actor who is ill or otherwise incapacitated. I think it is understandable when actors have worries about forgetting their lines.

I have divested the Christmas tree of it's decorations. I am so pleased with that little tree which I got from Waitrose. Absolutely perfectly for the flat. It hasn't dropped a single needle. My experience of 'real' Christmas trees is that, when you come to deal with them at the end of the festive period, you find the floor covered in needles. I have kept it watered during the Christmas period which might be the reason it has kept it's needles. After all, a real Christmas tree is like a house plant which needs care, particularly watering. 

The little Christmas tree is now outside in the community garden. I have given it another water, I hope it doesn't get lonely. It's going to be another frosty night and it won't like getting cold.

I got a text message from Nationwide to tell me that there wasn't sufficient cash in my account to cover a couple of Direct Debits which go out today. My only option was to go into the city centre and take out money from my second account, the NatWest and transfer it into the Nationwide. This had to be done by 2.30. I had around an hour and a half to accomplish this mission. I drove in and parked near the Point and rushed into the shopping centre. The carpark was virtually empty and when I reached the Nationwide I had to wait to enter as they're not letting too many people in and they have a one-way system due to the pandemic. I managed to take out enough to cover the Nationwide payment, from my NatWest account and I then had to wrestle with the cash machine. You can only pay in cash one note at a time and the thing was being difficult. Several of the notes I managed to insert in the slot were disgorged, but eventually I managed to get them all into the machine, but it was a tortuously slow procendure. It was as I walked back towards the car that I realised that I hadn't paid my parking ticket. I was in such a hurry that I clean forgot.

Very few of the shops were open. I think W.H.Smith and Boots were open, along with banks. Probably they are what they call 'essential.' 

I got back to the car to find a host of crows either sitting on the cars or all over the ground, like a swarm of flies. Very reminiscent to the Alfred Hitchcock film 'The Birds.' A couple were sitting on my car. Not the sort of bird you'd want to have an argument with, considering the look they give you with their beady eyes and their sharp and pointed beaks!

(Later) Boris is given ANOTHER press conference! How much more of this can a person endure? It's getting so tiresome. I know we have to be told, but endless ramblings and those miserable faced scientists and their graphs. Just turn off the television or watch another channel, which is exactly what I did. I put 'Pointless' on, which was on BBC2.

Nothing Changes. Or Does It?

(Thursday)This is getting somewhat boring, monotonous, call it what you will. I'm awake at 5.40a.m. I have been up earlier, reading and on the internet. I now have some idea why I'm feeling so awake when I should be asleep. Something in The Telegraph about this, how your body clock gets thrown into confusion when we are indoors without proper daylight. It makes you feel groggy, almost the feeling you have when you are hung over from drinking alcohol, you can't think straight and most certainly shouldn't be driving a car or operating machinery.  I think it's similar to how I used to feel when I worked in care and had to to night shifts. I would go home afterwards and wouldn't be able to sleep for more than a few hours and my body clock was thrown into totally confusion. I used to hate those shifts.

(Friday) Today is the 75th Anniversary of VE Day. The BBC is making the best of a difficult situation because of the pandemic lockdown. I don't think using Zoom to make television programmes makes for very good television as you just have people facing forward to the camera all the time and it's a bit like having talking portraits in an art gallery. I know it's difficult because of social distancing, but it's not going to add anything. BBC Breakfast seems to be stuffed full of this sort of material, mostly doctors talking. Frankly, dreary and unimaginative.

Yesterday afternoon I took Alfie out around  Oldbrook Green and it was quite busy, people exercising, sitting on the grass and a lot of them ignoring the social distancing. There were children playing on the equipment in the fenced-off children's playground who wouldn't have been there and also in the skateboard park, totally in defiance of the notices which are put on the various items intended for the public to use for exercise. The white-and-blue tape which was wound round the seated, covered shelter has been totally removed and there were people sitting inside. It makes me wonder whether these people don't read English, whether they are able to read and understand the notices which tell us that these places are banned from use. If so, why are the notices not written in different languages, because this area is home to a wide range of different ethnic groups who obviously have English as their first language.

I've been out to give the car a bit of a run so that the battery remains charged and that I don't find the car won't start. I went to Waitrose and there was a longer queue to get in. It took around 20 minutes to reach the door inside. I wanted so sweets, chocolate and 'afters' for my evening meal, and there was a tannoy message which I couldn't hear properly and then there was a 2-minute silence at 11a.m., but I was unaware that it was because today is the 75th anniversary of VE Day. Nobody told me. I had no idea. Anyway, from Waitrose I did a round trip of Milton Keynes, going towards Camphill and then round through the centre of Milton Keynes and along Chaffron Way up towards Morrisons at Westcroft and around the roundabout and back to Oldbrook.

It's really warm. The flat is stuffy, even with the windows open. The kitchen is far too hot. For some reason, which I can't fathom, the heating is on all the year round. It's excessively hot and it can't be turned down. I can understand if it was mid winter with snow and ice on the ground, but it's early May, the sun is shining and it's actually pleasant out. The heating pipes run through my kitchen and are under the sink and the kitchen is more like one of the sweat rooms we used to inhabit at the gyms we used to be members of. It means I have to have the kitchen window open permanently otherwise the fridge/freezer will not function properly and probably break down. But for some reason I have to just put up with this craziness. A waste of resources and not exactly environmentally friendly. Goodness knows how much carbon this project produces, but I imagine quite a large amount. Under other circumstances I would merely turn the heating off, but that isn't possible. Then, with the windows open I have to endure noises from outside.

(Monday) It's not warm and stuffy this morning. A real change in the weather. It might be sunny, but it's windy and chilly. I have the BBC Breakfast weather forecast on as I write this and I'm being told that there's frost likely but warming up later in the week.

I've been watching a really fascinating documentary series that's been running for a few series on BBC television, called 'Inside The Factory.' It's presented by Gregg Wallace and Cherry Healey. They visit the factories to discover how various products are produced, going through the processes which go into the making of such products as biscuits, soup, breakfast cereals, cooking pots and the recent one was about the making of cereal bars. There was a sequence which explained the background and invention of these bars presented by the historian Ruth Goodman and I had imagined that they were quite an old product, probably going back a hundred years or so, but that's not the case. She visited the Bedfordshire base of Jordan's mill near Biggleswade and it turned out that they invented the idea of cereal bars when Bill Jordan used to go to music festivals and he trialled a new product called Crunchy G and this in turn was used to make the first cereal bars. My father was a farmer and we lived in Cardington, outside Bedford, and grain from our farm was sent to Jordan's mill, which would have been used to make Jordan's flour. My dad had an interest in cars and most things mechanical and at that time (the 1960's) John Jordan, who set up Jordan's mill several decades before the 1960's was motoring fanatic and my dad knew him personally. We even were allowed to swim in jordan's private swimming pool at their home near Biggleswade and next door to the famous mill, which is now a visitor attraction. You can visit and buy Jordan's products in their factory shop and see the workings of the mill.

I've been searching around for home contents insurance. I've been on the Compare The Market website and decided to go with Sainsbury's. I went on their website and got a good quote but when I got to the point where I went ahead and made the transaction, the next page wouldn't load after I clicked. I attempted this around half-a-dozen times and eventually gave up. I tried to get through to their call centre but it appeared to not be operational due to the coronavirus pandemic. Not good, since I want to be covered. I have items in my flat which I don't want stolen or otherwise damaged, such as the television, iPad or MacBook or the fridge/freezer. I have this morning got through and it's now set up and I'm covered from today and I will get double Nectar points when I shop in Sainsbury's.

Yet Another Week of Lockdown

(Thursday) I've been to Waitrose this morning. There's things I can't get elsewhere, such as soap and I like their bath foam. Good value, considering it's  a Waitrose Essentials product. There was the obligatory queue system to get in, similar to that at Sainsbury's. I was in and out quickly and I used a manned checkout as I'm not sure about the self-service machines. It was a clear run down Chaffron Way and it was odd that there was virtually no traffic, as Marlborough Street, where it crosses Chaffron Way, is usually chocker-block at around 8.30a.m, which is around the time I'm driving to Camphill on a Tuesday morning. None of the nose-to-tail along the road, people obviously going to work. At the moment they will do doubt be on lockdown.

(Friday) Seems amazing to think it's 1st May. How did we get here so quickly? It doesn't seem that long ago that we were celebrating Christmas.

I'm having a bit of a Shakespeare festival currently. I know it was The Bard's birthday last week (how old would he have been? I think around 456 or something like that.) and I watched the National Theatre's production of Twelfth Night with Tamsin Greig as Malvolia, The Globe's version of Romeo and Juliet and, on BBC iPlayer, 'Hamlet.' As for other productions, available, free, on YouTube, I saw the National Theatre's 'Frankenstein' with Benedict Cumberbatch as 'The Monster.' It was a good production (I say 'was' because it's no longer in the National's repertoire. I'm not entirely sure how long ago it was on. I believe Twelfth Night was around five years ago.) but the only problem I have with watching via YouTube is that it doesn't work too well. I suppose I shouldn't look the proverbial gift-horse in the mouth, but generally speaking you don't get the full 'live' theatre experience seeing these plays on television. Well, you can't expect too, but it's great that they are recording these performance because once a live show finishes, there's usually no record of it for future viewing or for future generations to enjoy or for those who wouldn't normally go to the theatre.

(Saturday) It doesn't feel like the weekend. It doesn't feel like any particular day of the week. It's probably due to the lockdown, when each day seems to melt into one another. There's no focus to the week, such as going to Camphill on a Tuesday or church on Sunday.

I have been watching 'The A Word' and today watched two more episodes of the first season. I know there's a new, third, season due to start in a week or two so I want to have watched the second run before getting to the new season. Having worked almost exclusively with people with autism, I can identify with the problems of the family it's about. The little lad who plays Joe is amazing. I can't think how they get such a brilliant performance out of a child of around 5 or 6. They must have a great deal of patience.

(Sunday) I was out with Alfie before 6 o'clock this morning. He kept looking at me, which is usually his way of telling me he needs to go out. It was quite mild, thankfully. I usually do washing up from the night before, so I did that and the kitchen is again sparkling clean.

I have now seen the final episode of the first run of 'The A Word,' and I will start on season 2, probably this afternoon. I don't watch episodes back-to-back, but iPlayer almost insists that you with the next episode as soon as the previous episode is finished.

Having the windows open has it's disadvantages. Some delightful person drive up in their car and parked right below my window and had thumping pop music playing on their radio (it might have been a CD or from a mobile, but never mind.) This sort of thing is annoying. Please don't do this at such an hour of the morning. But Noel Coward was right when he said 'strange how potent cheap music is,' which is a line from his comedy 'Private Lives.' Just awful thumping news. People never play something calm, a bit of Beethoven or other classical music, and why play it so loud that it interferes with out people's lives, and in my case, concentration?

Having had a scan of what's on iPlayer, there is no excuse to say 'there's nothing much to watch.' Just overwhelming by the stuff you can watch.

Alfie insisted on another outing, as he was staring in his usual way so I felt obliged to take him out as soon as I'd finished watching 'The A Word.' I have to say, having worked with people with autism, it seems a very accurate portrait of someone with the disability. I'd be interested to know whether the writer had first hand experience of life with an autistic.

The Sainsbury Shuffle

I have attempted to avoid going out to shop too many times, but there comes a point where I simply need some basic items, such as milk, bread and potatoes. I did some washing this morning and had things back, dried and put away by around 9.30, so it seemed a good idea to go to Sainsbury's as early as possible. On arrival at the underground carpark, I found a space on the upper level and had to join the queue that had formed around the outer edge of the carpark. I had thought the end was part-way back from where I had parked the car, but I was wrong. I had to walk down the slope to the lower level and was shocked to see the end was a good way further back, where I stood with everyone else, with the recommended 2-metre (six feet) gap between myself and people in front of and behind me. The queue shuffled along, hence the term 'Sainsbury Shuffle' which I have used as this post's title. It makes me wonder what a docile nation we are in Great Britain. We seem to put up with a great deal, including queuing. But today people don't seem to have the patience. If the coronavirus pandemic is to be bought under control, people need to obey the social distancing advice in order to prevent the virus spreading. I think it's asking a great deal of people if the government expects everyone to just sit at home and do very little, even though the weather is fine. It is, as I write this. The sun is out and there's no wind. Let's just hope and pray that this situation improves or, better still, comes to an end.

My FitBit has been playing up. I can't get it to function, even though it appears to have a charge. My only real complaint about it is that it only keeps a full charged battery for a week. Why can't it be for longer? You never know exactly if it has started charging when you put it on the charging device. There are three metal pins (Brass? I'm not sure.) which are supposed to align with pins (prongs?) on the actual device. If it was a Apple device it would make a very decisive sound, which my MacBook does as it starts up, but the FitBit only makes a sort of shiver or vibrate which should denote it is charging, but the screen makes no sign of life. I haven't therefore been able to wear it when I take Alfie out for the past couple of days (more like, a week or so.) I emailed FitBit and got a response and have had the thing charging connected to the MacBook. It is now showing 99% charge, so something must be happening, so it would appear that all is well, or so I hope.

Later. The FitBit is back at full charge and is on my wrist and working as it should.

The sun is shining and we're stuck indoors. We're not supposed to go out. What? Indoors on a bright sunny day? That's awful. It may be to prevent the spread of the dreaded virus, but how long does the government honestly think the average person is going to endure this lockdown? Let's be perfectly honest, not long I would imagine.

Alfie can't seem to understand why we're cooped up indoors. I am sitting and watching a programme about Waitrose and he sits on the sofa next to me, staring. It's actually quite intimidating (how can a small Yorkshire Terrier be intimidating, you may ask? Well, when that dog stares and whenever you move, he follows.) In the end, once the programme was over, I just gave in and put him on his lead and took him out.

(Sunday) It's bright and sunny and we're still locked inside. We mustn't go out . . . But I hear the police, who have been given powers under new legislation which has recently been bought in by the government, to make sure people don't gather in groups, in an attempt to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. But I am hearing reports that the police have been somewhat heavy-handed over this.

We're now being told that the government may even prevent us going out to exercise. My goodness, we're slowly but surely becoming a police state! So, how on earth will this be policed? Doesn't bare thinking about. . .

(Monday) I've found it difficult to know what day of the week is is, as they are beginning to blur into one another. Having my Tuesday as a sort of focus of my week, and now that it's gone (but I quite intend continuing there as soon as things get back to normal, whatever 'normal' is now.) that focus has disappeared.

I have been out with Alfie, at around 7.15, and I found it quite over-cast and it would appear that it must have been raining, if only slightly, over night.

Boris Johnson has been admitted to hospital, as he has tested positive with the coronavirus. We haven't been told what he's been admitted for, but he is still in charge of the government and presumably keeping in contact with the cabinet and other politicians.

Keir Starmer has now been elected as leader of the Labour Party. An improvement on Jeremy Corbyn, who, quite frankly, wasn't Prime Minister material. He had a sort of 'couldn't-care-less' sort of attitude, well, at least that's how he came across. Untidy. His scruffy appearance didn't help. Remember what happened to Michael Foot and his donkey jacket? Well, I do and it's similar with Corbyn. Also, his crazy financial policies didn't help, particularly as he had no idea how to pay for them. Tax those who make wealth, those who set up businesses which create jobs, not a particularly good move.

I'm getting on with my writing. I seem to have found a way forward and as I write this I'm doing some research and have done quite a few pages which I'm writing in pencil, as I usually do and it will eventually get transcribed into word processing.

It is reasonably sunny at the moment and I will make something to eat for lunch and probably watch 'Bargain Hunt' as I eat. I hope it's a new episode rather than a repeat, but I suspect they will have suspended production because of the pandemic.

Later still. We may be in what is being called 'unprecedented times,' which is becoming something of a cliche and, frankly, rather an annoying term to describe the lockdown, due to the coronavirus pandemic, but we may be able to watch free presentations of theatre productions as a result. Most have been recorded with the intention of them then being broadcast in cinemas, although some have been 'live' broadcast. As all theatres are closed due to the pandemic, this is a good chance to see many of these theatre productions, and this evening I am watching a production of 'Hamlet,' which is a recording made at the Shakespeare Globe Theatre.

Wild and Wet

(Tuesday)Alfie insisted on going out earlier than usual. It was dark and we could hardly see, but still, it really didn't matter to him. He got to bark as loud as ever and I let him off his lead at the bottom of the path and he had a god run. But there were a few drips of wet and it was close to raining so I didn't intend walking the entire circuit of Eaglestone Park. It was just as well that we didn't, because it soon began to rain in ernest and we got back to the house in time and as I write this at 7.45 it's continuing.

Usually when I drive down Chaffron Way to Camphill on a Tuesday, the traffic is reasonably busy. It can be a bit hairy crossing the roundabout on Marlborough Street and then on down Chaffron it's plain sailing. Generally there is traffic queuing up in the other direction, but the heavy rain caused quite difficult driving, with the water remaining on the road surface and making the possibility of aqua-plaining a possibility, so some cars were driving extra slow (in complete contrast to a dry day, when a lot of drivers speed and you get lot of 'tailgating,' as I've mentioned in previous blog posts. It took  good 15 minutes to reach the exit into the Waitrose carpark and a good 20 further minutes to drive along Brickhill Street and actually arrive in the Camphill carpark. I then had to walk to the Chrysalis, not particularly far, but in the process I got thoroughly wet, my trousers mostly, because I wore my Peter Storm jacket with the hood on, something I haven't worn in probably the past 12 months. The rain didn't ease off until mid-morning, and eventually the sun came out and it because quite sunny by lunchtime.

Teo, the leader of the theatre workshop at Camphill, is still on holiday, so his deputy, Paul was in charge for the day. We did a run-through of 'Stranger Danger' up until teatime and then, when we went back we did something completely different, improvisation. We all sat in a circle (which seems the default.) and the idea was to tell the rest of the gang three things about yourself, two which were fake and one that was true, and then the other way round, two which are true and one fake. We all went off and had to come up with these fake/true things, myself going with one of the guys, Matthew, to the library (more of an office than a library.) and it was quite difficult to get him to say something which wasn't going to be too much of a give-away, because the others would know which was true and which fake.

After lunch we were on a totally different improvisation game. Some were supposed to be in a car. That was it. No more information. My group were supposed to be in a lift. The idea being that the lift started at the bottom of the building and when the doors first open one person gets in and gradually it stops at each floor as it goes up and more people get on at each floor. We managed to develop our own characters but somehow we couldn't get a story to develop, which was a pity. It's no good having a character, but they need to have a reason why they were getting in the lift, where were they going? What was the reason for getting in the lift and so on.

The we did another game (if that's the right word) where we had a partner, and we stood either side of the hall (auditorium of the Chrysalis Theatre) and had to speak without shouting, across at your partner, and make sure they could hear during a conversation. Another worthwhile bit of improvisation.

Then we did a second improvisation which was supposed to be set on a bus, so we had chairs set out in the form of a bus with the seats in rows with an aisle in the middle. We came up with characters on the bus, mine being someone going for a hospital appointment and being stressed that the bus was going to get to Oxford on time. Someone became the driver and someone else the conductor (do they have conductors on busses these days? My experience of going on a bus is that they don't, because you pay the driver when you board the bus, but that's a minor quibble.) As the conductor walked along the bus he asked to see passengers tickets and everyone made an excuse as to why they didn't have one. One of the group improvised being a spy, and when the conductor came to ask for his ticket, he got out all his secret weapons, hidden in a briefcase or bag, and just showed him as not being very good at being a SECRET spy! A good afternoon's work and everyone agreed it was worth doing the improvisations.

(Wednesday) I've tried to put off going out with Alfie as late as possible, because it's far too dark to see clearly, but you try explaining to a very lively Yorkshire Terrier! When I did eventually get dressed and prepared to go out with him, I discovered it was raining, not that hard, but enough to get somewhat damp. So I took young fellow-me-lad down to the bottom of the path where I usually let him off and came back home almost immediately.

Waitrose Café, Service Slipping

I should have had a pension payment in my bank account this weekend. I have a fairly good idea when it should be paid, working backwards from the last payment by going on-line to my Nationwide account and it should be paid every four weeks. But I had checked on Friday and nothing and then Saturday, so I had to have a final look this morning, fairly early, before I took Alfie out for his walk. But, again, nothing. This has caused some stress, as you can imagine, what with bills to pay and the added stress of clearing out this house so I can move to the flat. Fortunately I have managed to save sufficient money in a savings account with Metro, which was intended for he purpose of buying a Yorkshire Terrier puppy which would eventually replace Alfie, not that I see him popping his clogs for a couple of years, hopefully. Also, I needed to have sufficient funds in my other account which is with NatWest and I knew I would have to cover that with a transfer from the Metro bank, but the account is only operational by taking your cash into a branch and having them transfer money from one to another in branch. Annoying that I have to do this, but there is no alternative and thinking about it, the rent payment will be the last to the landlord of this house before I vacate the property.

After church I came home to pick up the bank details necessary to do the transfer as describe above and then to drive to Oakgrove, a relatively short drive down Chaffron Way where there was a branch of the Metro Bank, fortunately open on a Sunday (one of the advantage of being with this bank is they open when the customer needs them and not necessarily to fit round their staff, which is how any business should be run. It's surprising how busy it gets there, what with cars coming into the carpark, which is down quite a steep incline and you have to be careful as you get to the bottom of the slope as there are barriers in the way which I imagine are there for just this purpose. Also, the Metro Bank was ram-raided some months ago and they've put bollards in front of the unit which I imagine are to prevent, or at least deter, further ram-raiding. Whether they would stop this sort of criminal activity is doubtful, because if criminals are determined enough they will just smash the wall of a building and then use whatever it takes to remove the A.T.M. (hole in the wall machine.) with a fork-lift truck or whatever. Anyway, once parked I walked to the bank and the business was done. They recognise me apparently because as soon as you give your details, there is a digital photograph of me on their computer screen to prove my identity. All done and dusted and then a walk along the pavement to Waitrose and a snack in their café. I ordered a hot chocolate with marshmallows, cream and sprinkles for a change from the standard latte as well as a cheese and ham toastie and something rather tasty called a 'Yum-Yum. Is this confection named after a character in the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, 'The Mikado'? I have no idea, but it's worth a try speculating.

I seem to have stood in he queue for some time before a member of staff took my order. It wasn't that busy and when I eventually got my drink and Yum Yum I had handed over the cold ham and cheese toastie to the girl behind the counter for it to be heated, and then took my tray, together with the number 12 which was put on a stand, which would be placed on my table so when the toastie was ready the member of staff who bought it out would find me. I sat at the far end of the café and waited for the toastie to arrive. I drank what was a really lovely hot chocolate (with all the trimmings) and waited  . . . and waited . . . and waited, what seemed forever. It must have been 20 minutes later . . . that I went to the counter to tell the girl on the till that I hadn't yet received my toastie and said, under my breath, but someone must have heard me, that I would knock three stars off my Trip Advisor review when I wrote it (actually not done as I write this.) I returned to my table and waited . . . and waited. The toastie eventually arrived, by which time I had more or less lost interest in eating it, although I did eat it and then the rather delicious toastie. Then a member of staff arrived, and asked me if I would like a drink? I said, 'provided I didn't have to pay,' and I got a bottled apple juice, which I drank and it was tasty. I think this was offered as a sort of apology for the length of time I had waited. Waitrose, if they're going to have the café open on a Sunday, should sort the issue of staff, because there are obviously not enough to cover for the amount of customers they have on a Sunday. It can't be too difficult to recruit staff, or is it? Are some people just not going to lower themselves to do catering work, and on a Sunday? But that's not an excuse. They needed at least two more staff members behind the counter, one on the till, probably one making hot drinks and another, taking orders from customers further back in the queue if it's busy. That's how they seem to run the ship if you go to other similar eating establishments, such as Starbucks or Costa, so why not here at Waitrose? They have a good reputation and the food and drink is good, if a bit pricey, but that's what you expect in a John Lewis or Waitrose store. This business has quite a good reputation for service and quality, but this won't do it a lot of good. They will loose customers because as soon as such things a service slips people go elsewhere and it takes a long time to build that reputation back up again.

No Milk!

(Saturday) I've done it again! The milk was off so I couldn't have my breakfast bowl of cereal or my mug of tea. I'll just have to wait until the local shop is open and then, once I've munched my cereal and drunk my tea, I can take Alfie out around Eaglestone Park. He's watching me on from his position on the sofa. Never mind. I just didn't realise the milk was off. It came out with horrible floaty bits in it so that's the end of it.

Later. I've been to get milk from the One Stop shop in Garroways, Coffee Hall. I came back and  took Alfie out for his walk. There was absolutely no way he was going to let me have my bowl of cereal and cup of tea before we went out. But I had this when we got back. Funny little dog, a bit of a control freak, but I love him to bits. He's been a fantastic support for me during Carol's diagnosis and since she's died. made myself a cup of tea

I went to Aldi at Bradwell Common. I'm trying to wean myself off Sainsbury's. Nothing wrong with them as a supermarket, but compared with Aldi, they are not cheap. I was in and out in barely 10-15 minutes. No lingering, which is how the big supermarkets want you to behave, selling stuff that you don't really need, such as clothing, so you put it in your trolley and before you know it, your final bill has doubled or trebled. I like the fact that Aldi, as well as Lidl, is relatively small footprint and that you have little choice for some products so its easy to make a decision. Why have so many versions of the same thing, washing-up liquid, breakfast cereal, coffee or tea? Just put it in our trolley. Then, at the checkout, they speedily scan it through. Someone has had the sense to make the barcodes easy to find and they're larger than on other supermarket's packaging. You just have your shopping scanned straight into your trolley and you pack it into your own bags on a nearby shelf once you've paid, which means less waiting in the queue.

Yesterday was hot. Infact, far too hot. After the glitch on Thursday, when my heart rate increased when I went out on my way to the Oaktree Centre, I made sure I stayed indoors and out of the heat. This morning it's not as hot, although the sun is shining at 6.55a.m. I have taken Alfie out around Eaglestone Park, a bit of a surprise for him and before I had my breakfast. Now watching BBC Breakfast and Donald Trump visiting the D.M.Z. (Demilitarised Zone) between North and South Korea. I'm not sure how the pictures are being transmitted, probably via a satellite link, but the pictures keep freezing. Trump preening and making the most of the photo opportunity. He really is a narcissist and relishes being the centre of attention. But, it depends how you read this 'historic event,' and I suppose it it, but don't forget that Trump intends to stand again for next year's Presidential Election, it's just a photo opportunity. But will President Moon, North Korean President, turn up to meet him? Of course, Trumpy has to broadcast this all over Twitter. Just surprises me that the President of the USA should be allowed to use Twitter or any social media, more from a security perspective than anything else.

I've decided that the world, at long last, will have to endure the sight of my knees and my legs! I've put on my shorts and the short-sleeved shirt I bought in Marks and Spencers some while ago. Just need to keep cool today, that's all. The sun continues to shine at 8.15a.m. Just sitting here in my armchair in the lounge writing this.

I've been to Shenley Christian Centre. The speaker was someone from Newlife Church called Dave Eyeington. One of the guys I work with in the drama workshop told me he went there. No end of people in the café area during the break between services when they serve tea and coffee. But NO BISCUITS! I know, I shouldn't eat them, but I do like a biccy with my cuppa and disappointed when there wasn't a Hobnob, Ginger Nut, Digestive, Jammie Dodger (I like them best, especially the red, jammy bit in the centre.) or Custard Cream. Now I've talked myself into going out and getting a packet from the local shop. I think it's called, I can't think now, but I know what I'm attempting to say. Something to do with psychology. It's how supermarkets get us to buy, buy, buy.

I left the Oaktree Centre and immediately drove down Chaffron Way and went to Waitrose and into the café to have a latte, egg sandwich and rather nice Danish pastry. I have bought myself a water bottle because I think I need to drink more, particularly in this warm weather. I think it was when my heart rate increased because of the heat the other evening that encouraged me to buy this item. I just now have to remember to actually fill it with water and take it with me and not leave it at home.

There was quite a queue of cars coming out of the carpark and going up the slope leaving Waitrose. Why on earth is it such a tight turn coming up that slope? Why do drivers insist of trying to turn right coming onto Chaffron Way? It's a particularly dangerous turn in the first place and surely it's safer and easier to turn left, go round the roundabout and go straight ahead, or is that too simple and easy and far easier? I just wonder how many accidents there have been at this junction. The local authority needs to put some sort of barrier in the centre of the road so that people can't turn right. I imagine if they did this, then there would be an outcry. Always someone who will complain, even if it's a safety measure. Driving at full speed around Milton Keynes, at whatever the speed limit is is also dangerous, but it needs to be no more that 50 miles per hour.

As I drove back along Chaffron Way back home I got a phone call through the media system in my car. I have managed to connect my iPhone to the sound system via Bluetooth. This was only the second such call I have had since setting this up. It was from a friend, Margaret, who goes to Shenley Christian Fellowship. It was inviting me for lunch at 2 o'clock. I immediately said yes. It's nice to be invited and a chance to get out of the house. Also nice not to have to prepare a meal and also it means I won't now need to have a meal this evening. They live in Downhead Park, which is next to Willen, no just Willen Hospice (barely a five-minute drive when Carol was in there) but also Camphill.

Sunny and Bright!

(Friday) A really pleasant bright and sunny morning! Let's just hope it stays that way for the next few days.

I had the washing machine on early and as I write it's out on the line. It shouldn't take long to dry. Not a job I'm exactly over-excited about, but it needs doing. So hopefully it should be dry around lunchtime.

I went into the shopping centre. I wanted to put some cash in my savings account at the Metro bank. Then I went to Marks and Spencer and had a salted caramel latte and cheese and ham toastie. It wasn't busy presumably because it wasn't lunchtime. I had a look in the men's clothing section. No end of short-sleeved shirts on display. Why is it when I was looking earlier I couldn't find anything decent and then, there're all over M and S? One in particular would be suitable for the Treasure Island production at Campbell, with what could be pirate ships on and octopi which would be very appropriate, unless the storyline is altered, as it's likely to be. But I've got two suitable short sleeved shirts already, so I don't need any more at the moment.

I've shifted some of the clothing from the cupboard where the clothing rail collapsed yesterday because Garry is coming round this evening with a more suitable clothing rail to replace the collapsed one. So I should be able to put all my clothes back where it all belongs. My suit which I wore at our wedding, which I haven't worn since that day, which I think needs dry cleaning, probably have a good press so that it can be worn again and a jacket which Carol brought me in Next. It's black and padded but makes me look like a security guard in a night club, what they call a 'bouncer' if that's the correct term. Need dark glasses and an ear-piece on one of those curly cords in one of my ears and a sort of fixed, unsmiling face. But that's not my character, just that clothing can suggest a character. Whether it's a stereotype I don't know, but whenever they have such characters on television, usually a soap sigh as EastEnders, and there's a scene which involves a nightclub and the script demands a bouncer or security-type character, the wardrobe department usually dresses such a character in a short, usually black, or at least, dark colour, and that character is a sort of 'heavy,' hard-faced individual, who never cracks a smile, wears dark glasses, which adds a sort of hint of danger to the part.

I must make mention of the birth of my third grandchild, Arthur Albert Wilson, born on Monday morning at 10.39a.m. at Worcester Hospital, weight 8.13 l.b., mother and child doing well. I haven't mentioned this event until now because Chloe didn't want it announced until more family had been informed. It's easy enough nowadays to plaster such news all over social media, but it doesn't make up for a more personal approach, face-to-face or even via telephone. I was supposed to go to Worcester today because yesterday (Saturday) was the second grandchild, Eddie's second birthday. I was scheduled to share driving, but it hasn't happened. I can't drive all the way to Worcester and then come back later, because that would make at least a 5-6 hour round trip. Not  good idea when I have several health issues, just sitting in the car for that length of time isn't a good idea. I have birthday presents all wrapped up and ready for Eddie and hopefully he can have them when Chloe and Steve come up to visit Louisa and her family who live in Stony Stratford.

As a result of not going to Worcester I went to Shenley Christian Fellowship. I'd forgotten that there was going to be a baptism during the second service. The band was on top form and the worship exhilarating to say the least. Pastor Ross preaching on baptism, which was very appropriate. I stayed for the second service, sitting in the back. There were more people visiting than usual, most probably family and friends of Luke, the young man who was being baptised. He's very tall, and they kept making mention of the fact and because of his height it was difficult to baptise him in the baptistry so he didn't hit his head! He gave a great testimony and the singing was really good. From SCF I drove down Chaffron Way and had a snack in Waitrose's café, although I wouldn't have the gluten-free bread which was what my sandwich was made of, because I didn't fancy the texture. You only find these things out after you've bought this sort of bread, but the cappuccino was excellent.

It's been a rather strange day on the weather front. It started out overcast and I was hoping it would be sunny so I could wear my new shorts and the rather nice short-sleeved shirt I got in M and S the other week, but I'll have to save it all for another day. Not sure, though, that the world is yet ready for the sight of my bare legs!

Volunteering At Camphill

I've been a volunteer at Camphill for quite a while now. It must be two months, if not more. I have mentioned this in previous blog posts. When I started there I only did a few hours, from 9 until 12. More to see whether I could cope with the hours as well as to see if I would fit in, whether the residents would get on with me. I do fit in and they seem to like having me there. It's actually a perfect fit from all aspects.

It seemed to take for ever to get to Camphill this morning (Tuesday). There was a tractor with a grass mower on the back going along Chaffron Way, all the way from my leaving Eaglestone until I turned onto Brickhill Street near Waitrose at Oakgrove. It meant that I could drive at barely 20 m.p.h., and as a consequence the traffic behind had to follow. There was  no way I could overtake. There are traffic calming areas which have recently been installed along the central reservation. If you even attempted to overtake there was a very strong risk of running into the cones and other barriers which are in the way. I don't think some drivers appreciate having to drive so slowly, but at least it meant none of the stupid tailgating that I have to endure most days when I am out in the car.

When I eventually got to Camphill and parked the car, it turned out that around half the drama group were going to be out, visiting a school in Milton Keynes, Hazley Academy as it turned out, something to do with planting herbs in pots. I think it was for the school childen to sell, but I'm not sure. At the beginning of each session the residents have to give a sort of resume of how they felt and what they had been doing and what they expected to get out of the day. Support staff (which is what I am, even though I'm voluntary.) have to also give an account of themselves. I had the Disclosure Certificate with me, so I had to got to the office to inform them that I now had this piece of quite important paper and it has now been photocopied and put in my file. We spent most of the morning tidying up the theatre, sweeping and vacuuming and moving equipment around and then we went upstairs to the library (I can't think why it's called a library, because there weren't a lot of books in evidence. More of an office. Tao, the theatre leader (I'm not sure of his actual title, but he seems in charge of most things in the theatre, not just directing the student actors, but the general running of the place, including the technical side.) wanted to have a written document to explain what happens when a tea-break is called. I am to be given responsibility for keeping the tea-bar organised, to make sure it is clean and tidy, the dish washer is properly organised, the tablet put in whenever a load is put in and emptied etc etc. So we sat and this document was created using a MacBook (the whole theatre department is extremely well equipped with MacBooks, iPads etc etc as well as digital projectors which means DVDs of films can be shown, including the one that has been made of the Stranger Danger project, which was shown to the community assembly last week. Unfortunately I was unable to attend, although my name is to be added to the credits, even though I have only been involved for a few weeks.)

We broke for lunch and I had my first experience of the Camphill café. I am really impressed by the whole set-up. You have a waiter/ waitress service, staffed by residents, and they bring it to your table. I had cheese toasty and latte and then a slice of really great chocolate fudge cake. I shall definitely be returning for further lunches over the next few months and years.

After lunch I helped load the dish washer with one of the drama regulars and then we sat and discussed what we wanted the video to be delivered on, either a memory stick or DVD, or given a link to the Vimeo upload on the internet. I had decided to have it on DVD so I can play it on my television which has a built in DVD player.

As there weren't all of the gang during the afternoon, Teo decided that, because it was so hot and sunny, to take everyone out for a walk along the shore of Willen Lake. It is only a fairly short walk over Brickhill Street, passing under the road and then out to the path. It was quite a long haul walking along the shore of the lake, but because it was such a pleasant afternoon it was just perfect and stopping to look at some birds and some of the guys recognising whatever species they were. Then further, walking along the path that passes Willen Hospice and remembering what it was like when My lovely Carol was there. This is where we took George, my grandson, when Chloe and Steve bought both grandsons to visit Carol and George seemed more interested in what the workmen were doing chopping down some of the branches of the trees when it was very windy. Then we went through Willen village and back around to the path on the other side of the lake and back to Camphill, climbing up a fairly steep hill that lead to the foot  bridge that crossed Brickhill Street and in to the entrance at the back of the Camphill campus. I will say that all that walking did some good for me as I had a really good  night's sleep. That's what good exercise does for you!