Blog Post 1,900

 Saturday. 3.15 p.m. This, dear reader, is, unbelievably, the 1,900 blog post! I can hardly believe I am writing that, but it's true, and still rambling on about the mundane things of life! Sometimes the most mundane things are the most interesting, in a rather strange and ironic way.

Sunday. 5.10 a.m. I know it's very early morning. 

It was raining, although lightly, when I took Alfie out a few minutes ago, so we didn't remain out for long.

Wednesday. 10.25 a.m. Well, things didn't get off to a good start yesterday when I had problems opening the Safari browser on my MacBook. It meant that I could do virtually no work which required the use of the MacBook and the internet because Safari is the main browser I use. I thought at first that I had been hacked because I kept getting strange messages popping up on the screen, although I have software installed which checks for viruses and strange activity. As a result of this, and because I was hacked and had money taken from my bank account (although returned, thankfully.) I decided there was no alternative but to have the MacBook looked at and have the issue resolved. The only place I could think of where they would be able to do this for me was Curry's. I had taken the MacBook there a few years ago when I had been hacked (as mentioned above.) Knowing that Curry's was open at 9 a.m., I drove there, only to find that no one could deal with a MacBook at that time. I was told to return after 11 as the person who was trained to work on Macintosh computers would be able to have a look at the problem.

So, I went home and then, just after 11 a.m. I returned to Curry's and this time I was able to tell the young man who was trained in Apple computers what the problem was with the MacBook, and he told me it would take a couple of hours to discover what the problem was and, hopefully, fix it for me.

I went home and had lunch and at around 2.30 I got a call from Curry's that the MacBook was ready to collect. I drove to Curry's and collected the MacBook. I was relieved that it was working properly again. I then drove to Sainsbury's, as I wanted some ice cream and chocolate sauce (and why not? I managed to get it, paid, and then went home. Mission accomplished!

12.15 p.m. Earlier this morning, I had an appointment at the cardiology department at Milton Keynes Hospital. The appointment was for 9.30 and the letter I received from the department, a few weeks ago, told me that the appointment could take around three hours. I managed to park in the nearby Number 3 car park, which is where Carol and I used to park when she went for her chemotherapy appointments, and we would walk through Cardiology. Luckily there was no problem with parking as there were a lot of spaces when I arrived.

I reported to the reception in cardiology and I hadn't been sitting in the waiting area much more than 5 minutes, then I was called into a side room by a nurse. She took my height, apparently not 6ft 1 inch, which I have been for years. So, less than six feet tall? Surely not! Does that mean I'm shrinking? Weight, which I didn't know, although I have a rough guess, as I have my own digital scales. Next, I had to lay on a couch to have an E.C.G. done. Around a couple of minutes of that. Having to keep still when this is done and then a printout is taken off the printer.

I went through to see the consultant, and he went through my medication box as I had to let him know about the meds I was on. I should have made a list, but only realised I needed this, having reread the letter I had from the hospital regarding the appointment. I have to say, I was not impressed by the way he threw the various packets of tablets back in the box. I am very particular about keeping it tidy! He listened to my chest, using what I thought was a mobile phone (no stethoscope?) No doubt this is a new technology, an app on his phone.

Having checked me out, he then told me that I could have a device fitted under the skin of my chest, which would monitor my heart and, if it detected something wrong, it would alert the hospital, so I could be taken in for investigation and prevent another incident as happened in January when I was taken to hospital. He then dictated a letter into a recorder device, which, I trust, whoever has to unscramble it could make head nor tail of his words. At that, the consultation was concluded. I was somewhat surprised that it was less than thirty minutes since I had arrived at the cardiology department. I drove out of the car park and, when I went to put the ticket in the machine at the exit, it lifted the barrier, so I could drive out, pleasing me because I didn't have to pay!

1.45 p.m. Having dealt with the cardiology department at the hospital, at around 2.40 I drove to see my friends from church, Margaret and Mike. Mike has Parkinson's and has been in hospital and was discharged around three weeks ago. I drove out of Oldbrook and towards the roundabout which crosses Marlborough Street and came to a halt because there was so much traffic, which, for the time of day is quite unusual. I moved forward slowly and traffic coming to the right was quite heavy, but I eventually managed to cross over, but then there was a considerable queue of traffic coming up from Chaffron Way. I drove on, but then I saw an ambulance racing towards me, with lights flashing, and a siren blasting. If I hadn't slowed down and come to a halt, I would have had a head-on collision with it.

Maybe, Possibly . . . On The Edge, Only Slightly . . . But Perhaps Not . . Can't Really Decide . . .

 Good Friday. 7.45 a.m. I'm waiting to go and put my washing in the washing machine. I mustn't put my things in the machine before 8 a.m otherwise I get my wrists slapped. I mean that metaphorically of course  (or do I?) It's just someone being very petty about things. Well, I'm not one to waste the day lounging about in bed, and if I had my way I'd have the washing machine on an hour earlier. Such is life. I have started the process of making a Victoria sponge and have the cake tins lined with greaseproof paper I've sorted out ingredients and will go out and buy some more ingredients, such as eggs and flour and will start baking this afternoon. There's a Good Friday service at the Oaktree Centre at 10.30 a.m. so it will be after that.

8.20 a.m. It's an exceptionally warm and sunny morning. Can this be real? A British Bank Holiday with SUNSHINE? Except, is Good Friday officially a Bank Holiday? It should be. Monday is. My digital thermometer reads 74º F. It really seems crazy to have this place so warm. I think I'm turning into a hothouse plant. 

Washing in the machine and it's on. Oh, the excitement is too much! I'm overwhelmed by it all. How do I operate the newly-installed machine? It looks like the same machine as the other one, but it has what looks like a digital screen. How to operate?

3.15 p.m. I've been to the Good Friday service at church this morning. There seem to be quite a few new faces. Cross buns afterwards, but not hot. Oh, don't be picky! Well, you can't really call them Hot Cross when they aren't. I drove home and then nipped to Lidl as I wanted to make a Victoria sponge I'm taking it with me to my friends Mike and Margaret as I have been invited to lunch with them on Sunday.

The temperature in the flat as I write this is 81º F. It's crazy. I have the lounge window open and electric fans on in the lounge and my bedroom.

5.30 p.m. The temperature is currently 85ºF. How much warmer will it get?

Saturday. 7.08 a.m. It's another bright and sunny morning. The thermometer currently reads 76ºF. Still far too hot inside my flat, but it's cooler outside. Whose idea is it to allow these flats to be so over-heated? Not good for the environment and is a real waste of energy and money.

2.58 p.m. Currently, the temperature in my flat is 82ºF. The world has gone crazy. Even with two electric fans on full blast and the window open, this flat is like a steam room.

Easter Sunday. 6.55 a.m. The thermometer currently reads 78ºF. A really sweltering night. No possibility of the heat being reduced. Although, saying that, it was really cool and pleasant out when I took Alfie out.

Just learnt that ITV is going to revive the infamous reality show 'Big Brother.' There seems a sort of desperation in reviving this as it's been on Channel Four, then Five where it was dropped. Why do they think there's an audience for this on ITV? Going further down market. They have more or less got endless gameshows on and this, channel although not officially a game show, shows a total lack of imagination on behalf of the management of ITV. 

Monday. 3.30 a.m. I have woken up and the heat is too much, so here I am on my MacBook writing this. The digital thermometer reads 81ºF. How crazy is this situation?

1.50p.m. The temperature is currently 83ºF. Still enough to fry an egg, if one was inclined to do so (which I'm certainly not.)

Tuesday. 6.40 p.m. Currently, the temperature as recorded by my digital thermometer is 76ºF. I have had the windows open all night and both electric fans running, and it has been very uncomfortable in the flat. 

5.50 p.m. It's a good deal cooler as I write this. My digital thermometer currently reads 78ºF. 

Wednesday. 6.20 a.m. It's a good deal milder this morning, thank goodness.  My thermometer now reads 71 º F. At least it's a temperature which I can cope with.

Life's Ups and Downs

We're slowly drifting towards autumn. The days are drawing in. It's getting light in the morning later and later. By the time we reach September, we'll be seeing the first signs of Christmas in the shops. 

Tuesday. 6.25 a.m. Really, honestly, not a great deal to report. Except for the 'Mystery of the Blocked Drains.' It sounds like something that Sherlock Holmes or some other private detective would be bought in to solve. In all the time I've been living at Dexter House I've had an awful pong in my bathroom, presumably coming from the sink or bath plug hole. It's a smell similar to over-boiled cabbage (yes, I know, not nice.) Having done a lot of schools touring with puppets over the years, arriving in school halls to set up shows, usually places which are also used for school dinners. You used to get the lingering smell of boiled cabbage, apart from anything else. The pong from the drains is similar and there's no explanation. It would appear that other tenants here have complained of not only the smell but the fact that water doesn't drain away properly after you've had a bath or used the sink. The contractors who maintain this building are supposed to be dealing with it, apparently going to put a camera down the drains to try and find the blockage. Well, all I can say is, good luck to them! Not a job I would have anything to do with.

I've managed to use the steam mop to clean the remainder of the lounge floor. It's a bit of a game of Tetris having to move the furniture around. You move one thing and then another and do such-and-such to get to behind the television. I was shocked by the amount of dust and fluff! It makes me wonder where on earth it comes from. But it's now done, and I'm pleased with the results. 

Wednesday. 7.20 a.m. I woke up around 6.15, which is the latest I've woken in ages. But Alfie was still sleeping and didn't seem to realize we hadn't been out. I have the feeling it had rained in the night as there were signs of a good wetting on the path and grass.

The kitchen is clean and tidy from last night's meal! I want it clear as I'm going to Sainsbury's later this morning and it's easier when I get back and unload my shopping. All wiped down and clear.

Thursday. 6.35 a.m. The week seems to fly by. Not a great deal to report at the moment.

Friday. 6.45 a.m. I woke up later than normal. But what is 'normal'? The last eighteen months or so have been anything but normal. Being stuck in some sort of limbo isn't anything normal.

The work on the infamous scooter sheds has ground to a halt. There is a concrete 'pad' outside in the corner outside where my stairs come down from my flat. The sheds aren't going to be built of brick as I was expecting, but will be wooden structures. (This is sounding a bit like 'The Three Little Pigs' story. First house, straw, second house- Sticks, third house- Bricks. The whole thing is a bit of a fairy story.) Not sure where things stand regarding the 'big stink' from the drains.

Saturday. 5.50 a.m. My MacBook decided it wouldn't open up yesterday morning. Try as I might, I couldn't get the thing to respond. I imagined there was something seriously wrong with it. There was a full charge on it's battery, but the screen remained blank. My thinking was, that's it, it's finished, it's dead. Well, it's served me well, it's almost seven years old, it will probably need replacing. Fortunately I did manage to get the MacBook to function, which was something of a relief. I know it is going to have to be replaced eventually, because technology such as laptops do have a limited life. 

New iPhone and other Computer Technology

We recently invested in a new iPhone. I say 'we' because we both decided it was a necessity. I would be using it. It was a necessity, really. I'd had a Samsung Galaxy J1 for over a year, purchased from Sainsbury's. It started out as a reasonable smart phone. Not too difficult to use. But it didn't really live up to expectations. I realise that, for what it cost, it wasn't going to be exactly a state-of-the-art model. I wasn't expecting it to. I had held off for a long time getting a smart phone, having only needed a mobile phone for the occasional voice call or text message. Carol has a basic model, almost a 'retro' model. Easy to use, for text and phoning. You can't put apps on it. It suits her for what she needs it for. Texting me and so I can text her.

Back to the Samsung. It was a SIM free model, meaning we could select the provider it would be connected to. We went for 02, with a 'bundled' package, so many texts, calls and data for internet connection and it costs £10 per month. All fine for a while. Then we realised the mobile wasn't up to much. It cost around £70. Not bad I suppose. But Android, the operating system, isn't that good. After a year and a few months of putting up with the Samsung's strange little quirks (I won't go into them too much) and the fact that you can't download many useful apps onto it, due to the lack of memory, we decided to go with a new iPhone. Not the latest model, but an iPhone 5, purchased from Very. And what a difference it has made, moving onto that phone! I have always used Apple Macintosh computers for years. I've never used anything else. Ever since I did my degree course, and learning IT. I had never used a computer before. Although I lie through my teeth. I had an early Amstrad word processor many years ago, when they first came out, I suppose in the early 1990's. The machine cost around £200. No such thing as the internet in  those days. A screen with black background and green text. Strange little floppy disks, sort of lozenge-shaped, not the square sort that came out and became very popular as time went on. Infact, these disks couldn't be used in other machines, only in Amstrad computers. But it did teach me how to use a computer, even though it was very basic.

We joined the A.A. after we had trouble with our car and broke down on he M1 and needed rescuing (actually we had a breakdown service with our Swinton car insurance package which rescued us on this occasion and bought us home.) But we then moved to the A.A. as we took our an insurance package which meant, if we broke down, we would not only get rescued, but any car maintenance problems would be covered which meant we didn't have to pay any more than £35. Also, if we had the A.A. app on our smartphone, it would allow the breakdown service to find us easier. Which is great, because if you do breakdown, and you can't tell them exactly where you are, it would be more difficult to find you. So, this app was put on the Samsung and now transferred on to the iPhone.

Let's just say that the new iPhone works like a dream. It does what it is supposed to. As for the Samsung, well, it's definitely not fit for purpose. I realise the iPhone cost a good deal more, but I do expect a thing to work as it's supposed to when I buy whatever it is. So, no going back to using substandard equipment. Nothing further for me to report.

Crazy Squirrels and Working Computers

The Macbook is now running normally again. For whatever reason it hasn't been opening for the past couple of days and I've had to use Carol's Toshiba laptop, but it now appears to be fine. I have a feeling it might be something to do with the battery as it seems to become very hot when it's been fully charged. It might be a good idea not to keep it plugged in once it's completed it's charge.

We've been amused by the antics of a couple of squirrels who live in and around our garden. I thought there was one, but I'm sure there's two, or maybe more. I first saw one of them running along the top of the fence (or, at least, what remains of it, as there's a great gap where a section has given up the will to live and looks more like a piece of decking than a fence.) and along the roof of the shed. It jumps onto one if the concrete posts and then off through the gap and then it comes back and this is repeated endlessly. On Sunday morning, this went on for a good fifteen or twenty minutes. The dogs were unaware if these antics, but it started off again early this morning and both dogs barked loudly at them. We didn't open up the sliding patio doors into the garden because Alfie, in particular, would probably try to chase them and most likely end up through the gap in the fence with me in hot pursuit.These squirrels have also been seen running up the trunks of the trees at the rear of the garden and then leaping about from one branch to another. Certainly quite energetic and very amusing. Whatever they were doing it looked as if they were enjoying themselves.

It's another bright and sunny spring morning. I just hope the weather remains warm and dry for the next couple of weeks, during which time we will be going away for a well-earned holiday.

New Year 2016

Well, here we are, the first week of January 2016. It's has been a relatively stress-free Christmas and New Year. We were on our own, so nobody else to bother us. Carol had a hospital appointment on the Sunday after Christmas Day, so that was on her mind for most of the holiday period. It might seem odd to have appointments on a Weekend day, but it makes sense in some ways, when they are endeavouring to cut waiting times for appointments. We walked through from Eaglestone, but even then it was incredibly difficult to find the place where the appointment was. Nobody told us that you couldn't enter the hospital via the main, front' entrance, as it is closed off for building work. Where you would enter if you had parked your car in the carpark. So we had to walk back round to the side and go in through another entrance and then walk along a very long corridor until we found were we were supposed to be for the appointment. Not very well sign-posted anywhere, unfortunately. Up a few stairs to another floor. 

Today Carol had to go to Ashfield Medical Centre for a blood test. It was a little after 8 o'clock and we got there far too early. No queue at the door as you now have to ring to get a doctor to ring you back and then decide if you really need a proper appointment. (See my earlier post on this matter.)  The self-checkin system wasn't working. Now there's a surprise. It hasn't been working the last couple of times I've been to the surgery. A member of staff put a notice on the screen saying 'out of order.' No sooner had she put it there than it fell off. So she came back out and re-affixed it, but it fell off again. There was one other person waiting. Unusual, as the place is usually heaving with people waiting and attempting to get appointments. We were in and out relatively  quickly and easily but then we had to get back to the Academy and there was quite a queue of cars at the Standing Way roundabout. 

We have a house guest staying at present. She is from Canada and has begun as an English teacher at Milton Keynes Academy and is staying with us until she can find permanent accomodation. She flew in to Gatwick Airport of Saturday and was driven up to Milton Keynes by someone who is also a teacher at the academy. She is very self-sufficient and we have made her very welcome. Hopefully she will have sorted out a flat or somewhere to share within 4-6 weeks.

The weather has been exceptionally unseasonal over the last month or so. Certainly not cold and icy as it usually is at this time of the year. We went to Whipsnade on Boxing Day, which was great as it was a good excuse to get out of the house. The Fellowship membership of Z.S.L. makes it well worth visiting as we don't have to pay entrance to get in and we drove the car round which saves all the walking.

I mentioned that we'd set up a subscription to a magazine called PhotoPlus. I was surprised to get a delivery yesterday morning, the camera bag which is a gift for becoming a subscriber. A really fantastic Lowepro Urban Reporter, which is worth at least £80. It certainly makes being a subscriber worth while if it means you get this bag. We were looking for a camera bag when we bought the Canon digital camera before Christmas, so this makes a sort of late Christmas present. It also means I can keep not just the camera in it and carry around when we go out and about, but also if necessary, the Apple Macbook laptop (which, incidentally, I'm writing this blog on at the moment.) plus lenses and any additional equipment that goes with the camera. I was expecting the bag to arrive in a month or two, not so quickly as it did.

I haven't done any further serious writing over the holiday period, but I have been making notes for a piece of writing I have been working on recently and as a result I have since been doing more work on the actual writing  over the past couple of days and which is going surprisingly well,  so it's a really good start to 2016.