Changing Weather

(Saturday)I received the new sim from Sky this morning. I can't believe how fast it arrived. I was afraid if I attempted to fit it into the new iPhone I would mess things up as I did yesterday with the sim card that come with the phone, so I went next door and Shelly managed to install it into the phone. I have since used the activation code and have also transferred my number from 02, by ringing and obtaining the PAC code from 02 and have gone through the process to transferring the number onto the new iPhone. It's supposed to take two days for the number to go through, so I will probably have to wait until Monday before anyone can phone me on that number on the new phone. It all seemed very simple and straightforward.

It's another really sunny and mild day here in Milton Keynes. On the BBC weather forecast this morning they told us that we're supposed to get violent winds of upwards of 60-70 m.p.h. over the next couple of days, so that should liven things up considerably. They've named the storm Freya. I don't know who gives them the names, and why on earth do they have to have names? Is it so they can be sort of humanised? To have a personality? Do storms have personalities? Whose idea was this in the first place? Just shows how crazy the world has become.

(Sunday) I wouldn't call it sunny and mild this morning. It's not cold, but there's a sort of drizzle falling. Not exactly rain, but some sort of precipitation. My goodness, a long word used at 7.15 on a Sunday morning! We did our usual circuit of Eaglestone Park, even though I would have liked to have left it somewhat later, but Alfie being Alfie, I took him out as usual.

They're still whittling on about Brexit when I turned the television on this morning. So, I immediately turned it off. It's now doing my head in, the indecision of politicians. Not good for the country, making us the laughing-stock of the world. Crazy.

I may go to London on Friday. One of the walk-on agencies I have signed up to online has what they call an 'open casting' session and if you go along they will take your photograph and up-load it onto their website. This company, called Uni-Versal Extras, are quite fussy about the photograph you upload and I uploaded one and it has been accepted. I need a full length photograph, which is quite difficult to take on your own and get right. So, if they do it, it should be so much easier. I think they want these photographs to look professional, so if they do it, at least it will look better than one you do yourself. I have found the email that the details of their address, which took some doing, as it was a few days ago. I have also found where the session is to be and from that I can find the nearest Underground station. If I get a taxi from home to Milton Keynes station that should make life easier and I have an app on my new iPhone which also makes paying easier as it has my debit card details on it so I don't have to find change to pay when I get to my destination. Getting into London is fairly straightforward and if I know which Underground station to get to from Euston, it can't be much trouble to get to the agency address. If I get there early enough I can go into central London and find something to do like visit a museum or art gallery and make a day of it. I haven't been into London for ages, and certainly not since Carol was diagnosed back in August/September 2017 or thereabouts.

I have done plenty of walk-on work over the years, as you will have learnt if you've read earlier posts. But I haven't done any of that sort of work for at least 20 years. I want to get back into that line of work, if only a day or two here and there. It's getting into an agency which is the problem. I signed up with a couple a few years back, going into central London and on another occasion, Birmingham. Quite a lot of effort to get there, but never actually getting used in anything. They 'put your forward' for stuff, but for some reason you never get chosen. In the past I have been contacted by telephone by an agency and they would ask me if I was going to be available on a given day and if I replied that I was, then you'd know you were going to work on that day. None of this crazy being 'put forward.' If you're a walk-on or 'background,' it's not like having a speaking part. You don't have lines, but you need to be able to take direction, to behave in a certain way on set, and be available at short notice. You can be called very early, probably 6 a.m-8 a.m., and to be able to get up in time to get to the location. There's a lot of waiting about and it can be extremely boring but it can be really interesting to see how they make a television drama, be able to watch the camera crew set up lighting and other equipment. This sort of thing takes time and then when you get on the set they will rehearse a scene, perhaps several times and then 'go for a take.' You have to remember your cues, when to begin walking across, for example, and to not knock into the set or equipment, be able to hit your marks and then, if the take isn't perfect, do it all over again.

Fixing the Car Door and Enabling Mobile Top-Up

I've been back to O.K. Garage this morning. The speed that traffic has been moving is making me feel quite unsafe. The people at the garage were talking about this matter, saying that there should be a lower speed limit on the grid roads around Milton Keynes. So, it's not just me thinking that drivers around here have become excessively aggressive. The mechanics have had a really difficult job trying to find where the thing is in the car that controls the car. I waited in their reception area for around an hour and a half and was eventually told that this 'thing' that controls the sliding doors and which is, presumably, playing up and preventing the driver's side door from working properly, is actually INSIDE THE DOOR!!! I can't believe it. It took most of yesterday and near enough two hours this morning to discover this. I would have thought there would be some sort of diagram somewhere or other, probably on a website, which would show the electrical circuitry for the car. There is, but apparently it doesn't show this electrical thingemy. The garage will let me know when they've managed to track down a replacement so that it can be fitted, but it means we have to drive around for a little bit longer with the door still not working properly. It's beginning to become somewhat annoying and wearing having to use brute force to open and close the door and sometimes having to contend with the alarm going on to tell us that the door isn't closed properly.

The other problem has been not being able to top up my mobile, using the 02 code which I bought in One Stop in Garraways. I decided the only solution was to go into the actual 02 shop in the Central Shopping Centre in Milton Keynes. I wasn't exactly over-enamoured of the idea as it was pouring with rain, and, having just spend so long at the garage I wasn't actually in the right frame of mind to be walking around inside the centre. But I was eager to sort out this problem. So I drove into the centre and parked where I usually do near The Point. It's becoming more and more dilapidated and really needs demolishing. As I've mentioned before, it seems awful that such an iconic building should be allowed to get into such a state of decay. How come nobody has been able to take the site over and refurbish it? It has 'For Sale' signs all over it and no doubt it will eventually be sold and the site cleared for more shops and offices. 

I walked into the centre and reached the 02 shop and explained my problem. I was told they could do nothing, the assistant attempted to top the mobile up with the code on the voucher I'd bought in One Stop. It still would not work. I'm beginning to get heartily sick of the woman's voice you have to listen to who tells you how to top the thing up. I bought a sandwich and drink in Boots and then left to return to the car and drove to Galloways in Coffee Hall. I had to queue at the till and eventually got the assistant to try the top-up once more, but no joy. I don't think she had much idea how to resolve the problem but decided to give me the benefit of the doubt and gave me a fresh voucher. I went home and tried it. Thankfully it worked. So the old voucher must have been wrong, but I can't see how, as these voucher codes must be randomly generated. I'm just glad that it now works and I have my £10 credit on the mobile.

Annoying Top-Up

We both have mobile phones which require top-up. We don't see the point of being on a contract as we don't use our mobiles that often. We have them so we can text each other, the idea being that I get a text message to let me know when Carol's leaving work for home. My phone is a smartphone and it's a Samsung but I'm not over-pleased with it. Just fiddly to operate. I'm on a 'bundle' which means I spend £10 a month and get so many texts and calls together with data (to use for internet, which I rarely use as I find it more trouble than it's worth. Just too fiddly. I'd rather use the MacBook which has a decent keyboard than ever try to use the stupid keyboard which is on the mobile.)

I went to buy credit at the shop in Garroways, in Coffee Hall. Together with top-up credit for electricity and gas (we use a key for electricity and a smart card for gas, so we don't have a bill for each.) I bought two mobile top-up vouchers, Carols' mobile is on EE, and mine is on 02. I got home and then had the fun of trying to put the credit on my mobile. It just wouldn't work. You have to phone a number and then listen to the annoying voice and THEN try to put the voucher number in, a 16-number code. It just wouldn't work. I attempted to ring the number and use that, but still no joy. I even attempted to use my debit card, but even that wouldn't work. I don't know how many attempts I've had at this, but it must be around a dozen. I now think there must be something wrong with the 02 site, their software is faulty or something. I may attempt to do this later this evening, but currently it's causing more stress than anything else.