Boxing Day and Beyond. . .

 Thursday. 8 a.m. I went to the Christmas Day service at SCF yesterday morning. It was an hour and there wasn't any tea or coffee as we usually have after our services, so I came straight home afterwards. 

I had my Christmas Dinner at around 5.15. I had purchased all the bits that made it up from Sainsbury's which included a chicken breast (which turned out to have stuffing inside when I began to carve it.) Brussels sprouts, roast potatoes, pigs in blankets, stuffing and bacon. I had bought a ready-made Christmas Pudding, but I decided to have it another day (probably this evening.

Later, I watched the new Wallace and Gromit film, 'Vengeance Most Fowl.' I'm a fan of the work of Aardman Animation, so this was something of a treat. I know it takes years to make an animation film, and probably more work goes into this type of stop-frame animation. It was so inventive and imaginative and hilarious. According to the over-night ratings, it got over 9 million viewers.

Friday. 1.40 p.m. It's been foggy and overcast for the past couple of days. Just typical December weather, I suppose.

Another trip to Sainsbury's this morning. The travelator was not working on the trip up to the store. They seem to have endless problems with this technology, but I can walk up the travelator, which is odd when it doesn't move, but the down one was working.

There seems to be a lot of Christmas stuff left over. Perhaps they should sell off mince pies and Christmas puds at half price, or even less.

All the tenants at Dexter House, including myself, have had letters from the maintenance contractors, Mears, today. Reading down the list of things they are going to do, caught my attention. It reads 'Slip and trip hazard free pathways from external doors to the scooter stores, from the fire exits of the scheme to external gates, and from the scooter stores to the external gates.' Which means, if I am right, but don't hold your breath, they are actually going to do the work, which has been held up for at least 3–4 years! SOMEONE in the hierarchy within Milton Keynes Council, has decided to act on this work, or at least, signed the piece of paper which means that, at last, the work can be done and the electric scooters, which are stored at the moment, in common spaces, for example, the corridors, and were deemed a fire hazard by a fire officer years ago. I have been watching the brilliant sitcom 'Yes, Minister' on BBC iPlayer. This business of the scooter stores seems very much like a storyline straight out of this series. 

Well the work begins on 6th January, so I will report on here how things progress, but don't hold your breath.

Saturday. 9.45 a.m. It's yet another gloomy and overcast day here in Milton Keynes. I see from BBC Breakfast, that vast swaithes of Britain is covered in thick fog, but this area seems to have escaped. There are problems with visability as airports and flights have either been delayed or cancelled. Drivers have been told to be careful on the roads, and, in particular, because visability if poor.

I went to the prayer meeting at SCF this afternoon. A lot of the people who are in the Thursday morning group were there.

Sunday. 7.35 a.m. I've been out with Alfie. There's a bit of fog hanging around although it's thin and is likely to disperse as the day progresses.

Monday. 9.35 a.m. A bit of a misty, rather than a foggy day. Overcast and murky is the best way to describe it.

I found that I was running low with some of my medication, so I decided it would be advisable to put in a repeat prescription. I went on the on-line pharmacy I use, Pharmacy2U or whatever it's called. When you can order, then those medications which you have signed up to a 'clear', but those they say you can't have yet are screened out, being 'greyed out.' As most of my repeat medications were 'clear', I clicked to order. I thought to myself, 'ok, that's done!' and they will arrived in a few days time through the post. But a few days ago, over the Christmas period, I got a text message from my surgery to tell me I had ordered too early. Which bothered me, because, by this time I had finished the Bisoprolol tablets I take, which I think are to control my heart rate and, hopefully, prevent me having a further heart attack. This morning, rather than ringing the surgery, because I knew it would likely take me about 45 minutes for them to respond, hence causing stress, it was far simpler to drive to Central Milton Keynes Medical Centre and get the medication ordered, which I did. I was concerned that they might not be open, due to the Christmas and New Year holidays. But I needn't have worried, as they were open, and I spoke to a receptionist, who did the order on her computer and I will hopefully receive the medication in a couple of days, maybe a bit longer than usual due to New Year getting in the way.

Well, Did You Ever?

Thursday. 5.45 a.m. Well, I'm awake (let's say, almost!) dressed and already taken Alfie out. The pain in my lower back (I think, to be far more precise, my hip.) is still causing problems. I imagined it would be fading away by now, but it doesn't appear to be doing anything of the sort.

9.00 a.m. Goodness, gracious! The sun is out. It's almost (I do stress the word almost here!) the right sort of weather for August. Just don't hold your breath. I haven't recorded the room temperature from my digital thermometer for quite a while, but as I write this, it's currently 26ºC.

I have decided (now, there's a thing) that I will give this blog a break once I get to the end of this particular post. I will start it up again at the beginning of September.

Friday. 6.05 a.m. Spits and spots of 'sort of' rain when I took Alfie out. Apart from that, nothing very much to report.

Saturday. 11.05 a.m. Another bright and sunny morning. It is hot in the flat. My digital thermometer currently reads 27ºC.

I have reactivated my Netflix account. I'm glad I did because there are a couple of films I want to see, particularly the film version of Matilda, The Musical, and a stop-motion animation version of Pinocchio created by Guillermo Del Toro, and coming in December, a sequel to Chicken Run. I'm a bit of a fan of Aardman animation, who made those brilliant Wallace and Gromit films, which I really love and have watched countless times. Also, the spin-off series, Shaun The Sheep, which are so brilliant and funny. I have to say, their work outshines any of the modern Disney animations, doesn't have to resort to sentimentality and is so beautifully crafted and executed, the detail in the sets, props and puppets is remarkable.

I am currently watching the 5th season of 'The Crown.' I have seen all the earlier episodes. This season seems a good deal more intimate and doesn't seem to concentrate so much on the politics of the time covered. As usual, the detail is exceptional, and the costumes, production design and acting is really excellent. My only reservation would be that it's a bit boring. Some of it doesn't exactly grab your attention.

3.25 p.m. I have just been watching Guillermo Del Toro's film Pinocchio and I have to say, it's quite brilliant. It doesn't shy away from some difficult subjects, such as death, and is certainly not a sentimentalised version. The stop-motion animation is faultless, along with the voice acting of such actors as Ewan McGregor and David Bradley, while the set and production design give the whole thing a real depth. I think Disney might learn a thing or two from this film, If only they would just stop remaking their classic animation films, but messing them up by tampering with them and altering parts of the stories and characters which don't fit the modern politically correct agenda. It certainly deserved its Oscar win as Best Animated Film.

Bank Holiday Monday

Sunday. 7.00 a.m. It's a cool and misty morning. 

I've now taken Alfie out twice, the first at around 6.15 a.m. and then 9.30 a.m. He did his usual staring at me and what I call 'clucking' sort of chicken noises, which generally alerts me to to the fact that he needs to go out. So, we trotted down Strudwick Drive (I say trotted, but more of an amble and excuse to sniff virtually every leaf and blade of grass and we went along (I mean Alfie and not me, you understand.) He did need to 'go' as I politely refer to 'it' and 'it' was disposed of in its biodegradable bag and put in the bin at the entrance to Oldbrook Green. We walked home and I decided to sit down and read my book. It was then that Alfie began to clank around in his feeding bowl, which is hidden behind the sofa under my desk, along with his drinking water bowl. I attempted to ignore him, but it was virtually impossible, so I put my book down and thought I'd put some food in his bowl. He usually only gets fed in the evening, but on this occasion I thought he must be hungry, attempting to glean a morsel of food from the bowl, which is why he was pushing it about on the floor and making the clanking sound. I put a dry mixer in as I usually do and then food from one of the pouches I keep stored in the kitchen. When I put it back down for him on the floor, he soon scoffed the lot and returned to his place to lay down on the sofa, and as I write this he appears to be asleep. Problem solved and perhaps I should give him food in the morning as well as the evening.

3.40 p.m. I didn't go to church this morning. I would have like to have gone, but wearing a mask isn't exactly helping with the confounded cough I have at the moment. I mentioned this in a few posts back, caused by taking oxybutynin, but now stopped since I mentioned this to my doctor a few weeks ago. I was told that it would take a while for it to disappear completely, as soon as the medication is out of my body. No sign of that at the moment. Wearing a mask means you are breathing in your hot breath and that sets of the cough. Apart from that, it steams up my glasses. Just not pleasant having to wear the things for any length of time. Regardless of all this, I managed to see the service via Facebook. I have discovered that if I set things up correctly if I open Facebook on my iPad and set my television with the Fire Stick set up, then I can 'cast' the live video to the television. Surprising what you discover when you least expect it.

Monday. 5.20 a.m. Well, I'm wide awake and already done all my usual morning routine things, shaved, dressed, done my Bible reading, dressed, and even done washing-up, so the kitchen is tidy. I always feel that if all this is done, I can start my day better. Particularly shaving. I don't feel right if I miss a shave in the morning. When I was in the hospital the last time, after my second heart attack, I had none of my own things with me, not even clothes. I didn't have shaving items, so I had to endure several mornings without having a proper shave. I ended up being given a disposable shaver by one of the nurses on the ward, but it was like shaving with a blunt tin lid! (not that I have actually done that!). It wasn't pleasant. 

6.20 a.m. I took out Alfie at 5.50. It must be the earliest we've ever been out. It's still misty and quite chilly, but I have a feeling it will be warm today, and as it's a Bank Holiday, quite a rarity, as most Bank Holidays are wet and miserable. Add to all that the fact that lockdowns are being lifted gradually, it would appear that tourist areas will be crowded. But then the question is, will that mean that there will be an increase in coronavirus infections as a result? Only time will tell. PLEASE, can we avoid further lockdowns? I don't think the British people can take anymore. Patience is at a low point, but surely with so many people vaccinated we can climb out of this hole and ESCAPE!

4.50 p.m. I'm sitting here writing this with my Macbook Air on my knee. Alfie has had his dinner and has been whittling to get a couple of treats. I asked him what he wanted so he glanced at the tin which is on the top of the bookcase. I took three out of the tin and put two on the edge of the coffee table and another on the back of the sofa. He finds the two on the coffee table. He sticks his nose up over the edge of the coffee table and manages to grab one of the treats but doesn't find the second one. He then jumps up onto the sofa (which can cause him problems, probably showing his age.) and soon discovers where the third treat is. He eventually sniffs it out and has to reach up by standing up on his back legs and snaffles it without any problems.

It's been extremely warm and sunny today. What a real Bank Holiday Monday should be like. Walking around Oldbrook Green earlier this afternoon and there are people all over the place, even laying sunning themselves on the grass. The same old same old, men not having any idea they look ridiculous in shorts (not all by the way.) but that's just my opinion. Shorts only getting worn when the sun shines and they (and myself!) not always brave enough to wear for the first time this summer (I believe we are now in summer, officially.) But those infamous shorts not always in perfect order, often worst for wear and not up to standard in the fashion or sartorial stakes.

6.45 p.m. Just been watching Wallace and Gromit in 'A Close Shave.' I've seen all these brilliant animation films I don't know how many times, but it's so clever and imaginative. All of the Ardman Animation films are so well made and creative. It's all the little details that make them special, some things that you don't notice the first time around and add to the fun, for example, the headlines you see fleetingly in the newspapers that Wallace reads or the books they read.

Watching BBC news, which came on after Wallace and Gromit. There are some scientists who say that the 21st June deadline to end lockdowns may need to be postponed until data suggests that the Indian variant of the coronavirus is under control. Oh please, no! I think that if that happens and for a length of time there will be civil unrest. I think we've had our patience pushed to the limit. Surely, with the vaccines being delivered so successfully and the possibility of people not being infected, then there is no need to have further lockdowns.

I watched an episode of 'Miranda', the sitcom performed and written by Miranda Hart. I have seen it before, but it's so funny. She talks directly to the camera, 'breaking the fourth wall' in much the same way as Lovejoy did in that great series (I worked on quite a few episodes, filmed in and around Norfolk and Suffolk.) She is very self-deprecating, making comedy about her height and tripping over things. A great deal of visual comedy, which we don't get nowadays. They also showed an episode of 'Fawlty Towers.' One of the classic comedies of the 1970s. It must be because the BBC doesn't have enough new material to put out due to the pandemic.