Following last week's appointment at the Audiology Department at the hospital and the completion of the course of antibiotics which ended last week to clear up my ear infection, I had to make a fresh doctor's appointment this morning. As I've said in earlier posts that it can be difficult enough to get an appointment by telephoning the surgery, I decided to go direct to the surgery in Beanhill before 8 a.m. after I'd taken Carol to work. It was around 7.40 when I got there and parked the car and had even taken a book to read with me so that I had something to keep me occupied if it chanced that I got an appointment and I had to wait for some time. There were around six people ahead of me waiting outside the surgery door, and, as it was quite warm weather-wise, it was actually pleasant standing outside. Considering the cold weather we have had recently, any sign of sun or the temperature rising is a good thing. Once inside the surgery I managed to get an immediate appointment and saw the doctor within around 15-20 minutes of the doors opening. I have been given a prescription for antibiotic drops for the ear infection and just need to get the prescription made up. The doctor did say that I should make an appointment for a week's time, but when I got to the reception desk to make this appointment I was then told I couldn't make an advance appointment and would have to come in ON THE DAY to do so. So why did the doctor say I could? More annoyance. I really don't see why you can't make advance appointments at Ashfield Medical Centre.
Then things got quite exciting. I left the surgery and walked back to the car which was in the carpark immediately outside the surgery. As I turned into the road a large police van drove past, followed by two police cars, all with sirens sounding and lights flashing and driven at considerable speed, considering they were coming out of a Milton Keynes housing estate this did seem quite surprising. The van then stopped abruptly in the middle of the road, and the police car behind stopped. I was fortunate (or not, as the case may be) to have at that precise moment drawn out of the carpark so was directly behind the police van when two policemen opened up the van (I think it was a riot van, as it had wire cages over the windows and looked the type of vehicle used to transport police around when there is the possibility of a riot.) Inside the back of the van, when the back door was opened, there was another inner cage door and two police got inside and there was a scuffle with a youth within the van. Had they been to raid a property in Beanhill, and this 'youth' arrested? I'm not actually sure whether it was male of female from where I was sitting, some 10-20 yards behind the van. I assume the person within the vehicle was causing quite a stir, banging around inside, making the van shake no doubt, to make it necessary for him/her to be calmed down. One assumes they were taking him/her to the police station for questioning over whatever charges had been made by the police. They drove off towards the centre of Milton Keynes with quite a large tail-back of traffic at the roundabout at Standing Way. But it was quite an exciting incident and made what had started out as a rather mundane day into quite an eventful one! Just imagine if the person (arrestee/prisoner, call them whatever you like.) had escaped and run off, what would have happened then? Would have had quite a high excitement quotient no doubt!
