Saturday. 7.35 a.m. A rather gloomy and overcast day. Quite chilly when I took Alfie out. I don't think he couldn't care less, because he's having a sleep on the blanket in the bedroom.
Today I have to get my flu shot done at Central Milton Keynes Medical Centre. I knew it was today, but I wasn't sure of the time. I searched for the details in my emails and text messages, but nothing. I thought I could easily drive to the surgery to get the information, but then I thought I might just as well telephone the surgery, which I did. I was number 4 in the queue. It gradually shrunk down and I was number one and I got the information from the receptionist. The appointment is at 9.55 this morning, so that was a relief. I think I might have deleted the text or the email.
12.20 p.m. I've been to have my 'flu shot. I was at the surgery well before the allotted time and signed in with the computerised screen. I was called into the room and the nurse soon gave me the vaccine and out in less than three minutes.
Yesterday, late afternoon, I just happened to have a look at my mobile and the text messages, and one jumped out at me. It said that a suspicious amount of cash had been taken from my Nationwide account, and I should ring the number, which was included in the text message. I was somewhat surprised and rang the number. It was the Nationwide fraud line. It turned out that this was a scam and, with the help of the gentleman on the other end of the phone, checked things out and nothing was taken from my account, thank goodness. The scam works if you panic and then receive another call or text, and they take money from your account. A really horrible feeling of panic, which is what the scammers want.
Friday. 10.15 a.m. It's another typical November day, dull and overcast.
I am moving to a new broadband provider. I have been with Sky for around 10 years. I am moving to Vodafone Fibre. An engineer is coming on 20th November to install it, and it requires a hole to be drilled through the wall from the street to bring in the line. I will receive the router in a couple of days.
The router arrived in the morning. I came via courier. I opened the large box and not only the router inside, as expected, but also a smaller box containing an Apple TV device. Having done some research on the internet, it would appear to be similar to a Fire Stick. As part of my Vodafone fibre broadband contract, I forgot I got Apple TV free as well as Amazon points, which I don't expect to receive until well into the New Year. So, I will have more to stream when the system is up and running. I have also subscribed to a relatively new streaming service called Marquee, which streams theatre, dance, ballet and other artistic performances. This seems to be the way forward for television and particularly theatre when plays and musicals can be videoed 'live' and then either shown in cinemas or through online streaming platforms.
Sunday. 8.15 a.m. I am waking up later and later each day. It's probably because the clocks went back recently.
Another rather dull day, but the weather people on BBC Breakfast tell us that it will get colder as the week progresses. There has been snow in part of the north of England and parts of Scotland. It seems quite early to be having snow.
Monday. 8.10 p.m. I had a haircut today. As I wrote in an earlier post, ROK, the barbers I usually go to, has recently moved from their shop in the Central Shopping Centre to Unity Place. I had driven there to find out exactly where they had moved, a couple of weeks ago. It's easy enough to park outside and had only a few minutes to wait before it was my turn to have my hair trimmed.
I left ROK and walked along the road and wanted to explore what else there was at Unity Place. There is a restaurant and at the end of the building an aptly named shop called 'The Corner Shop.' As I entered, I was confronted by a barrier, similar to what you get on the London Underground, where you swipe your ticket. But here you had to swipe your bank card. There were no tills in the traditional sense. A lady was there, who at first I thought was a customer, but it transpired she was there to assist customers. I chose several items in the sweet section and she said, to pay, I just had to leave through the barrier and the value of the items would automatically be taken from my bank account. So, this is a taste of the way retail is heading. But my question is, what happens when the system fails, or there is a power cut?