Hotter Than Ever!

 Friday 10th July. 3.35 a.m. It's so hot, I just can't sleep. Even now, the digital thermometer reads 31ºc.If it's that hot now, with my little air conditioner on and the window open, which  itis has been all night, what temperature is it likely to be as the day progresses?

I went to the Milton Keynes Theatre yesterday afternoon, to see "The Carman," the ballet by New Adventures. This company is directed by Sir Matthew Bourne's company. This production is set in 1960s America and uses a specially arranged score based on Bizet's "Carmen" and is quite violent in places (there are a couple of murders in it.) I didn't drive, thinking it would not only be good exercise, and I wore my new earbuds for something to listen to as I walked, but it seemed a bit unnecessary to go in the car and have to pay for the privilege of parking. It was extremely hot, but I didn't experience any ill-effects, apart from my mouth becoming extremely dry, as a result of the extreme heat. Fortunately, the theatre was cool, no doubt due to having air conditioning, which you would expect in a modern theatre in the early years of the 21st century.

Saturday 11th July. 4.00 p.m. This morning we had our monthly men's breakfast at The Oaktree Centre. We had our usual cooked breakfast (well, it could hardly be called a men's breakfast if it didn't have that element. I had written a piece, because the whole idea is to have some element of Bible teaching or a talk with a Christian element to it. It was called "The Power of Parables and The Creative Gift of Words.' I thought it quite appropriate to do something related to story-telling, which obviously Parables are and my interest in writing and using words in my writing. I think it went well, and then there was a question-and-answer session afterwards. So, that's another thing ticked off my list!

I have written another two plays, so my current total of plays to date is around 6. Not bad, considering I have never written a play before last September, so it will be one year since I began playwrighting next month. So, I think I can now safely put the term 'playwright' on my CV!

Sunday 12th July. 2.20 a.m. Here I am, sitting here at this ungodly hour, couldn't sleep, the same old business of having to get up from bed to use the loo and doing a bit of work on one of my plays on my Macbook. Then, for no apparent reason, the fire alarm goes off. Why? Who has left their oven off, let the bread burn in the toaster? So, I suppose I will have to wait until the fire service arrives, to turn the wretched thing off. The door from the lounge into the central hallway is currently closed, which reduces the sound of the alarm to some extent, but it's still annoying. 

8.40 p.m. You will not believe this (although you might just believe it.) but the horrible fire alarm is going off as I write this. It is becoming something of a joke. Just the fact that someone has no ability to set the awful thing off, by forgetting that they have something cooking in their oven, or let their toast burn, or even let something burn on the top of the oven, the hob. Please, oh please, don'ts let this go on for another two hours, which is what happened at 2.20 this morning.

Sunny and Pleasant

 Thursday. 7.30 a.m. The weather continues to be sunny and bright. I just hope it stays that way.

Excitement! I cleaned my fridge out yesterday morning. It is a fridge/freezer, but I didn't touch the freezer part. It has been in need of a cleaning for a while, but, like a lot of domestic jobs, it gets forgotten or avoided. It was running with water, but I have a dredging kit, which has a sort of syringe mechanism and a tube which you insert into the drainage hole at the back of the fridge. It will suck out any water which is in the unit and then you use a metal, spring-like device with a small brush on the end and this clears out a small amount of muck. It worked! You never get told that this will help with the matter of water engulfing your fridge. All now clean and fresh! Time and effort are very well spent.

Saturday. 10.15 a.m. I've got an Apple Watch. I bought it via Very. It was ordered last Sunday and it arrived via Royal Mail on Thursday lunchtime. It was easy enough to set up and does far more than I expected. I am pleased with it, and it connects to my MacbookPro, my iPhone and my iPad. My only gripe is, to charge, you have to plug the charger device into the Macbook, which is fine, but I need to charge it away from the laptop, so I will need to invest in a new charger which will plug in to various ports I have around the flat.

I've been doing more domestic work. Cleaning the bathroom floor and washing the mats. I took out the rubbish earlier this morning and had another encounter with a rat in the bin store. It jumped out and ran out through the gate. Eeek! A bit of a shock, as you might imagine. Someone on Facebook has posted a solution to a rat problem. Get an owl, as they will leave as they are scared of owls. What a great idea, and totally environmental. No poison or other noxious material. This matter was bought up on Wednesday afternoon at the Tenant's meeting.

Sunday. 7.10 a.m. A really rather pleasant, sunny morning.

The digital thermometer currently reads 24˚C. Things are definitely hotting up. I have had my electric fan on for the past couple of days.

I have a parking space outside Dexter House. There are several along the street. It is a 'first come, first served' sort of arrangement. I prefer to have my car off the street as I always think it is safer. I can see my car from my flat window. But recently there has been a problem, caused by a large flatbed lorry which is often parked where I need to get in and out of my parking space. Some mornings it can be so close that it makes it virtually impossible to get out without scraping it. I really don't think this sort of vehicle should be parked in a residential street.

Jam Yesterday, Jam Tomorrow, But Never Jam Today

Friday. 1.40 a.m. Yet another case of nothing being able to sleep. Never mind. I can always find something to keep myself busy, such as washing up, tidying the kitchen, sorting out the recycling and tying up the bags to take to the bin room. I did my Bible reading, which is 'Through The Bible In A Year, with Nicky Gumble.' I do this on my iPad. Then I feel hungry, and so I made several pieces of toast and had a really nice Lidl raspberry conserve on it. (Conserve, having a higher percentage of fruit in it than jam.) And far better value than other brands.

10.40 a.m. It's a bit overcast and dull. Where has the sun gone? I can hear the wind, making wind-like noises (!) The sort of whistling, yet not whistling noise. The sort of wind you'd expect in a rather clichéd production of 'Wuthering Heights.' You know what I mean, at least, I imagine you do, with Kathy outside and shouting to be let in, in the middle of a moor somewhere in Yorkshire. Sad, really, but very corny and the acting is somewhat over-the-top. Melodramatic.

2.30 p.m. I was about to take Alfie out at around 1 p.m, only to discover that it was pouring rain, so we only went out fleetingly. As I write this, the wind continues to howl around the building.

Saturday. 5.50 p.m. Where did the rest of the day go? Well, it began early, with me taking Alfie as usual around 5.00 a.m. We didn't do our usual circuit of Oldbrook Green, but I had all the recycling and rubbish bagged up and ready to take out to the bins. Washing up done and the kitchen tidied.

We had our monthly men's breakfast at the Oaktree Centre this morning. I thought it started at 8 o'clock, so I was there bright and early. There was nobody else waiting, so I sat in the car, listening to Classic FM, with the overture to 'The Flying Dutchman' blaring out of the car radio. I was listening as I drove up Chaffron Way, and, although I'm not a keen Wagner fan, it was very motivational, so I had to sit and listen to it in the car park outside the Oaktree Centre.  I have to admit, I was wondering if I had the day or the time wrong, but then Richard, who organizes the men's breakfast, arrived, with a load of what looked like bread rolls. The building was locked, so we had to wait for someone to come and open the place up.

A couple arrived to do the cooking of the food. They set up two gas-fired barbecue pans and proceeded to fry sausages and bacon. 

The group began to arrive and it turned out that it wasn't supposed to start at the usual time of 8 o'clock but an hour later at 9, which I didn't know.

We ate our bacon, eggs and sausage and drank tea (or coffee) and then we had a talk from someone who used to be involved with S.C.F., on advanced driving, which was very informative and instructive. 

I was planning to go to the history festival at Milton Keynes Museum directly after the men's breakfast, but, because it concluded later than expected, I decided to leave it until Sunday. As a result, and because I didn't want to be cooped up in the flat all Saturday, I drove into the Central Milton Keynes Shopping Centre and had a browse and went into John Lewis as I'm looking for a cable which would allow me to link certain peripherals to my iPhone, iPad and MacBook because Apple has changed the ports from lightening to Thunderbolt/USB 4. I didn't find what I was looking for, unfortunately. I may end up going to the Apple Store to find what I want, but, being a Saturday, the store is likely to be very busy, so I decided to leave it for another day.

I walked through the shopping centre and went to Waterstone's and purchased two books, one on 'How To Be a Victorian,' and the other about 'Peterloo.'

Sunday. 12.45 p.m. My goodness! What's going on? The sun is shining and it's really bright. Almost (Note: I said 'almost'!) like spring!

Came out of church early. Miss having my usual cup of tea, so that I could be ready to go to Milton Keynes Museum for the history festival. There were just TWO spare spaces in the church car park! 

My friend Nick (hello Nick, if you're reading this!) was coming over to Milton Keynes from Northampton on the bus so that we could go to the history festival at Milton Keynes Museum. At around 1.30, he texted me to say he was at the centre, so I drove in and he was waiting near The Point. We drove to the museum and managed to park, although the car park was very full and there were few spaces. Luckily I managed to find a place.

Because I had been to the museum some months ago, and paid and kept the ticket, I was able to enter, free. I have a few months left on the card, so I can go again. Today's history festival covered a vast timescale, from around the time of the Romans, the Medieval period right up to the time of the Suffragettes. There was a gladiator fight (quite scary) as well as a knight's battle from the time of the Wars of The Roses. 

We went into the café and had tea. I was ready for a drink, as by now I was thirsty. Then we went into the main museum building, which was the farmhouse, built in C.1840, at the time well before Milton Keynes was built. We learnt about the railway and Wolverton's part in the history of the railway in the mid-19th century.  We saw a display of Victorian music boxes, a pianola and a gadget which displayed photographs stereoscopically, When we emerged from that exhibition it was time to leave. I took Nick back to the bus stop in the city centre and said goodbye. There is to be a Victorian history festival in June, so no doubt I will be attending that and possibly Nick will come over from Northampton.

Monday. 4.05 p.m. I have done all the usual walks with Alfie and when I took him out at around 5.20 a.m. there was broken glass along the path leading to Oldbrook Green, which some delightful person felt it necessary to drop in our path. Fortunately, I avoided it before Alfie got his feet cut and I moved it out of the way. Not just his feet, but it would have punctured the tyres of anyone cycling along that stretch of path.

I went out, alone this time, with the gimbal and noticed a blue tractor cutting the grass, which I haven't seen before. I think it would be a good deal quicker than the usual mowers they use for this job. I got the gimbal set correctly and the results were a good deal better I have got the video to work on my iPad.

Tiresome Tech

 Monday. 7.10 a.m. I have spent the past two days (actually, I have a feeling it may be far more than that.) attempting to get my Canon Pixma printer to work. When I first bought it home, having purchased it from Argos, I had absolutely no problems setting it up and actually managing to get it to print. But now it simply refuses to work. I have now bought it into my lounge from the bedroom, where it has sat on its trolley. It is now plugged in, and I will have another attempt to get it to work. I think I will probably have to ring the Canon helpline and get a technician there to sort the problem out.

10.30 a.m. I have the Canon printer working. I rang the helpline and the technician on the other end of the line went through several options to get the thing up and running. I am not going to describe everything on here, suffice it to say, we went through around three options and the final one worked, much to my relief.

I've been to Sainsbury's, as I needed some food items to take with me in my pack-up when I go to Camphill tomorrow. When I got back to Dexter House, there were workmen in the entrance, with the manhole covers removed, and it looked as if they were about to put something down the drain to unblock the system. This has been on the cards for months, so perhaps the water from my bath and sink will flow better once this has been done. Having spoken to Barbara, the SHO (Sheltered Housing Officer) she told me that they had put a camera down the drain. What on earth were they expecting to see down there? One dreads to think. Does it now mean they are going to use some sort of rod to unblock the drain? But, more importantly, what is blocking the drains within Dexter House? The excitement is just overwhelming. I know, but someone said that sarcasm was the lowest form of wit. You just need some of that around here.

Tuesday. 7.00 a.m. Today would have been Carol's 59th birthday. I am staying at home and not going to Camphill. I am fine, just having a day to myself. They have raised the age when you can retire. I'm not sure what the current age is, but she kept saying that, because of the age being raised, she was never going to retire. For women, the retirement age is currently 67.

I was awake at around 5.45, and I looked out of the window and saw snow falling. But it hasn't settled. Apparently, according to Carol Kirkwood on BBC Breakfast, we're likely to get more snow across the country in the next couple of days and it will settle. There was a warning that transport will be disrupted.

12.20 p.m. I am beginning to write new material which will link to the new character I have developed. It means I have to unpick some of what I had already written in order for this material to be put into my writing and introduce a new character.

Wednesday. 3.30 a.m. Well, here I am, in the middle of the night, sitting here on my MacBook, writing this blog post. My pension has gone into my account. I have checked the balance of my account via the bank's website. I have paid my service charge (monthly payment for such things as water, utilities etc.) and done my daily Bible reading, I had drunk a mug of tea and now I can't get back to sleep! 

Weekend Writing and Printer Hitches (and other matters)

 Saturday. 4.00 a.m. So, here I am once more, not being able to sleep and feeling really hungry. So I decide to make myself toast and put some of the raspberry conserve on it which I had I bought in Sainsbury's about a week ago. (Incidentally, conserve isn't jam, because it has a higher concentration of fruit compared to jam. I'm not sure of the percentage, but its a good deal higher, which means it's got more fruity flavour.) So, I organize my workspace in the kitchen and get out the toaster and make three slices of bread into, what else? Toast! As well as toast, a mug of tea. Then I go into the lounge and decide, after some consideration, to watch something on BBC iPlayer and watch an old episode of 'W1A', the spoof documentary series which stars Hugh Bonneville amongst other actors. Actually, it's not ''old' in the sense of being old, or ancient, in the sense that it's 30-40 or more years old. If you get what I mean. Or from the BBC archives, such as something by Frankie Howerd or Harry Secombe. I love this show. It's not going to appeal to a lot of people. I think you have to appreciate the wordplay, the dialogue is almost circuitous. People speak in a sort of new speak (the language used in Orwells '1984.' They go to meetings which never seem to produce anything. They have jobs which have titles which don't have any real function. Its management for management's sake. The show is what I think you'd call a docudrama, or, at least a spoof of one. Dramady, (ie: Drama/comedy.) David Tennant does a rather fine job of providing the voice-over, which is what you always get in these 'reality' documentaries. Even that has a hint of mangled words, and twisted language, for want of a better word. It's interesting that he is used as he does a lot of genuine voice-over work on other 'real' documentaries, which gives a sort of realism to the fiction.

7.15 a.m. I've been out with Alfie. We did the obligatory circuit of Oldbrook Green and I now have 2480 sets registered on my FitBit. It's quite chilly, and we have been warned, on BBC Breakfast, that its going to become colder over the next few days, and there will even be snow in parts of the United Kingdom.

10.10 a.m. I have given Alfie a bath! He was getting rather smelly, and it seemed a good idea to clean him up. He goes for a haircut on 23rd March, which is quite a long time to wait. I have to organize things before he goes in the bath, for example, closing the bedroom door, because I don't want a wet dog on my bed. I have to take off his harness and collar before he goes in the water. I run a few inches of warm water into the bath before he goes in and use a plastic jug, bought for the purpose, to rinse off the shampoo, which is a product intended for use when bathing dogs. It doesn't create too much lather, which is easy to rinse off. I also use the shower, taking off the device which fits on the wall, to help rinse off the lather. He was filthy and the water showed how dirty he was. I think he likes being made a fuss off, particularly when I work the shampoo into his coat. Once he's washed, he comes out of the bath and I towel him dry, as much as possible, but, like all dogs who get wet, he shakes himself to take off most of the water. I then gave him a bit of a brush, and he's now settled down on the sofa, smelling a good deal better than before the bath!

Sunday. 7.15 a.m. Alfie came to me in bed and keep staring at me. I didn't pick up what he was doing and why, but then I thought he might need to go out. He barked, so I confined him to the lounge by closing the door and then went into the bathroom to get dressed. By the time I came out, dressed and ready to go out, I realized he'd had a 'little accident' on the floor. I managed to clear it up, and I now realize that the treats I gave him might have had 'consequences' such as the accident. Then I scooped him up, and we went out and onto the grass alongside Strudwick Drive. 

I have completed the transfer of the handwritten piece of writing onto word processing. I wanted to read it on a printed copy, so I set up the MacBook and the Canon printer, but the printer steadfastly refused to function. So, we're back on the 'dysfunctional printer' mode, which I thought had been rectified with the new Canon, but obviously not. I have a feeling that it might be possible to sort this out by resetting the printer, by whatever means, like a factory reset. I have attempted, but during this, the printer decided to print out two copies of what I had wanted. How, I don't know, as it wasn't connected to the Wi-Fi or the MacBook. I think it may have been enabled because the printer would supposedly have all the print data stored within itself and so could print those two copies. There is no other explanation for this. But I have now managed to read the print copy of the new piece of writing, and I am more than pleased with it and now I can continue with my writing. But still, the printer is causing a headache.

4.25 p.m. I'm watching the 'Great British Pottery Throw Down, which is on Channel 4, but I watch via catch-up. I'm not a great lover of some of the competitions on television, especially 'Strictly Come Dancing.' It's too hyped for my liking and anything with so-called 'celebrities' is a turn-off and some of the things which the judges say can be really nasty. That's not so with the pottery 'Throw Down.' No celebrities in sight, and the judges don't come out with nasty comments. Having attempted pottery at college, I found it very difficult to throw anything on a wheel and didn't succeed with it. I'm better at other areas of art, photography and creative writing are my thing.

Working Technology!!

Monday. 8.40 a.m. Yet another mild and sunny, although not particularly warm, day. Dare I say 'springlike'? Probably tempting providence if I say that. Alfie and I were out well before 7 o'clock. He had to be woken up, as he was fast asleep in his bed.

I have printed off the first twenty pages of my writing project. I'm not sure whether to call it a novel. It was never really intended to be a 'novel' in the strictest sense. I think it should be issued in 'episodes' or 'instalments' which is how many novels were published in the 19th century, most notably Dickens'. I will now edit and modify what I have written and, having begun some research, be able to continue what I have been working on gradually over the last couple of years.

The Canon printer is working well! After all the issues I had with the HP printer, it's great to have a printer which does what it's supposed to do. The Wi-Fi connection works exceptionally well, meaning I can be in the lounge with the MacBook and the printer, which is in my bedroom, basically, because there's no space in the lounge for the printer, which is set up on the unit I got from Amazon. Definitely a good buy, having wheels and space underneath to store paper and other supplies. The printer will print on both sides of the paper, which is good, as it saves on paper. It's fascinating watching it work. When a page is printing, and it gets to the end of one side, the printer stops for a second or two, presumably to give the ink a chance to dry, and then the sheet is drawn back inside the printer so that the second side can be printed. The HP printer wouldn't do this. Considering all the problems I have had with the various printers I've owned, it's great to have at last got one who actually WORKS!

10.30 a.m. I've been to Sainsbury's, and at last done the shopping (or I should say, the rest of my list. I could only manage to carry one bag of shopping back home after my trip on Saturday, due to having to walk when I'd had problems with the power steering. See the last blog post for more details. I bought daffodils. It's approaching Carol's birthday. It's 7th March, and she would have been 59. So, in memory of my lovely lady, I have cut daffodils, which are replaced in the vase I have. The current bunch is at a very early stage, so they will gradually open as the days pass.

Tuesday. 7.15 a.m. I've only just got back from going out with Alfie. It's another fine morning. I've done all the washing-up and the kitchen is tidy. I've also done my pack-up to take with me to Camphill. This is why I went to Sainsbury's yesterday. I have pork pie because I have got tired of boring sandwiches. 

5.40 p.m. I had almost forgotten that today was Shrove Tuesday, better known as Pancake Day. Arriving at Camphill, I soon discovered that things weren't going to be the normal sort of format for the day. As it was Pancake Day, the theatre workshop team were going to have an outing to Campbell Park, as there was scheduled to be a pancake race event, with one of the leaders of the group running to represent Camphill. Some people were going to walk, whilst some were to be ferried to the site via minibus, some were going in Terrie's vehicle and I was going on my own and wouldn't be able to take anyone, because my car isn't insured for such work, only having private insurance. All this wasn't going to kick into action until after tea break.

Terrie had a meeting with me. She told me that, because the theatre group was growing, with quite a few people coming from outside the Camphill Community in Milton Keynes, the ratio of clients to staff was being eroded. She told me that she and Julia had been discussing the need for there to be another member of staff in the theatre and that she would like me to have more of a role in the group, which would probably mean me leading some of the sessions, because, with so many in the theatre group, it might eventually be possible to run separate teams within the workshop. I am now going to consider how I could see my role, but still remain a volunteer. This really makes me so pleased as I want to be able to give as much as I can to the theatre workshop.

Around 11.20, I drove off to Campbell Park, not knowing exactly where I was going to park. I remember going to a history festival there in 2019 (which is how I made contact with various groups, such as the Bucks Archaeology Society and Milton Keynes Heritage Association.) I couldn't remember whether I had parked nearer the park (where the pancake race was to be held.) and then realised, during my drive, that I had parked nearer the shopping centre, probably near the Xcape. At which point I decided that I would need cash to pay to park and then drove back to Dexter House to collect my wallet.

Having done the journey back to Dexter House and then return to park near Xcape, I walked over to Campbell Park and, as I crossed the road, I could see in the distance the encampment which had been set u for the pancake race. As I got closer, I saw the Camphill stand, with staff selling food and some of them cooking pancakes. There were several heats of pancake races, run as relays, one of which was a Camphill team of staff and one member was Mitchell, who works in the theatre workshop. There was also a special race for those with disabilities, in particular, Camphill and something called Snap (Special Needs Advancement Project) which is a day-services organization. Some of the Camphill residents go there. It was one of the organizations I had considered volunteering at before I discovered Camphill and the theatre workshop. This race was run with the circuit broken into quarters and each team only running each quarter. I'm not sure, but I think Snap won. 

The group who had walked from Camphill arrived long before Terrie arrived, no doubt because she had to park her vehicle and then walk over from near the shopping centre as I had done.

There was plenty to eat, as well as drink. I got a free pancake from the Camphill stall as well as a latte which I paid for at a nearby coffee stall. I think I recognize this mobile coffee van, possibly from the Bucks agricultural show from several years ago.

After all the races were won and prizes distributed, the event was over, so I walked back to my car and drove back to Milton Keynes. On arrival, I discovered that the car park was full, so I had to park in an area outside the Camphill campus I sat in the car and ate my pack-up, which I had put in the car well before leaving Camphill earlier in the morning.

After lunch, we watched a couple of silent films on YouTube, although it was projected onto the cinema screen in the Chrysalis Theatre. There was a bit of a problem getting the laptop to connect to the internet, but it eventually worked. One was a very early French film, made in around 1903 called 'From The Earth To The Moon.' Probably the first science fiction film. The second one was from around 1922, based loosely on Lewis Carroll's 'Alice in Wonderland', and utilized all sorts of visual effects, both films were restored (as far as it was possible.) by the British Film Institute.

After a short tea break, everyone went outside into the forecourt area of Camphill, because there were to be some further pancake races. I think my last visit to Camphill, before the pandemic lockdowns in 2020, was coincidental with pancake day, and I  have seen video footage of it on Vimeo.

A Foggy Day In Milton Keynes

 Sunday. 8.10 a.m. I awoke around 4.30 and then went back to sleep. I felt the wrath of a small Yorkshire Terrier who came in and poked me, which got me viewing my watch. I thought it was 6 o'clock but found it was 7.20. As it was getting light outside, I quickly got dressed, but not quick enough for Alfie, who was barking vigorously when we went out onto the path alongside Strudwick Drive, I discovered it was foggy as well as crisp under my feet, meaning frost.

Monday. 8.00 a.m. A bit of light relief this morning on BBC Breakfast, about a duck who lives in Chorley, Lancs, and with a name, Ham. He lives in a run, or, at least, he should, but he has a habit of escaping and wandering around the neighbourhood. He has quite a following, on TikTok and Facebook. It seems he's quite a character and wears a scarf. 

It's quite clear and fog-free this morning, but frosty nonetheless.

11.05 a.m. My HP printer is causing problems. I last used it quite some time ago, but it just refuses to cooperate. I really need to print out some material. It seems to be fine taking to my MacBook Pro and connects wirelessly, but then it will not go on and print. It appears to have plenty of paper and ink, but when I hit 'print' it refuses to do just that.

1.30 p.m. The workmen are back today, repairing the roof along the corridor. A great deal of noise, currently what sounds like drilling or something. They have brought in a load of wood and tiles and a machine which I can't identify.

Tuesday. 8.05 a.m. It doesn't seem as cold as it has been over the past few days. Looking out of my window at my car, which is parked below the window, it didn't seem to be as frozen up as it might have been earlier in the week. I have just been down to spray the windows with de-icer and scrape off the ice, the idea being that I can drive off to Camphill in about 40 minutes without having to clear the windows.

Wednesday. 1.50 p.m. A great day at Camphill. Most of the play was rehearsed and some of the actors knew their lines, but not entirely. There was some sort of incident with one of the residents. I'm not entirely sure what it was. I think someone got hit on the nose or something. I don't think it was intentional, more likely an accident. Staff had to deal with it (away from the theatre, in one of the houses.) I have a feeling Terrie, the lady who leads the theatre workshop, had to fill in accident forms, so was out of the theatre during the early part of the afternoon, but soon joined us after we had done some fun warm-up exercises. 

I have been attempting to get the HP printer to work, to actually print. I managed to find the helpline number, after a lot of searching online. But as a result, I didn't get the confounded thing working, but I did discover that this particular printer has to print on far thinner paper. I went to Asda to buy a packet of far thinner paper than I had in stock and, as I write, I have tried it and still no results. Also, following advice sent via email from HP, to check the paper intake slot and underneath the machine to check if there was any debris. I found a piece of sticky tape which is used to secure the machine in transit and which should have been removed before installation. Still no success printing.

Thursday. 8.00 a.m. It's a good deal milder this morning. No fog, no icy-frost. Hopefully, no need to scrape ice off the car! According to Carol Kirkwood, the BBC Breakfast weather lady this morning, it is going to get milder as we approach the weekend.

4.40 p.m. I am still struggling to get the HP printer to work. I have no idea what to do with it next.

Mild November

Saturday. 6.20 a.m. I'm awake (well, almost!) and BBC Breakfast is on television. On the weather forecast, I've been told it's 19ºc (what's that in Fahrenheit? I can only really recognize Fahrenheit. I can't spell it, so my spell-checker has done it for me. I have Grammarly installed on this MacBook.

My MacBook has now upgraded the operating system. It now has Ventura 3.01 installed. It was done on Thursday when I went to help set up the playgroup at the Oaktree Centre. It took two hours, so I left the laptop downloading and installed the new OS when I returned to the flat at around midday.

9.30 a.m. I've been to Sainsbury's. Going early saves all the bother of queuing at the checkout, although you have alternative methods, self-service as well as scan-and-go (or whatever they call it.) I don't always trust the self-service machinery to not break down or something going wrong, so I have always preferred to use manned checkouts (are we allowed to say 'manned'? They are usually operated by women, although 'manned' should refer to men or women. Well, I know what I mean.

Sunday. 6.40 a.m. Wide awake (well, almost.) I have tidied the kitchen. Washing-up done. I can't stand coming home from something and finding a load of dirty dishes in the sink, so it's done and dusted. Meds took and waiting around 15 minutes before I take Alfie out as it is far too dark at the moment. 

8.40 a.m. I have now had breakfast and my regulatory cup of tea (well, mug, actually. Who on earth has cups and saucers in this day and age?) We went out, Alfie and I, and we walked around Oldbrook Green. I am attempting to get my number of steps in. Currently, my FitBit tells me I've done 1847 steps.

Monday. 7.30 a.m. A surprise this morning to discover it's foggy outside. 

I managed to exceed my 10,000 steps yesterday. Great! I must keep this going. I have lost quite a bit of weight, although I'm not so sure if it's all down to walking. 100.03 kg, although I can never really know what that is in stone. I'll have to do a conversion and find out. (That converts to 15 stone. Not so sure, I wanted to know that.)

10.45 a.m. I had intended to take Alfie out at around 10.15. We went out through the side door into Strudwick Drive and immediately outside was a 'men at work' sign in the middle of the path (you could hardly miss it. I think you would probably trip over it.) Looking towards Oldbrook Green, I could see a large tractor parked on the grass and two workmen in day-glow yellow suits, discussing cutting the hedge (which I had thought was due for a trim at some stage.) I had heard a strange sound, a sort of mechanical hum, earlier, so it may have been the cutter making the noise. As I write this, I can hear nothing, so perhaps the machinery needed repairs or adjusting to cut the hedge. Maybe it will be done later. Anyway, we didn't walk any further and returned to the flat.

4.25 p.m. I have done a bit more writing. I have been working on this particular sequence for quite a while and it has gone through several drafts. I get some of the dialogue in my head, and it seems to go round and round until I manage to actually get it down on paper. I find I get most ideas when laying on my bed and sometimes when I'm out walking with Alfie. It's said that Charles Dickens would go on long walks and it was at these times he got the inspiration for his writing, so I can see why and how this would work. This bit of writing is now on word processing and saved onto a memory stick. The only problem I have with memory sticks is that they are so small and easily mislaid. The one I have is so tiny it is easily lost. I have three in a plastic box SOMEWHERE in the flat and I can't find them.

Tuesday. 7.35 a.m. I wasn't expecting rain when we went out early. Alfie not over-keen on remaining outside and more than happy to rush back to the warmth and comfort of the flat. I think he's currently tucked up within the confines of the duvet on my bed! Who can blame him?

Printer Problems Resolved!

Thursday. 10.30 a.m. Another much cooler day, thank goodness. My digital thermometer currently reads 76ºF.

I have been absolutely determined to get my HP printer up and running. I have been going through the set-up process with a helpline engineer at HP. It turns out that my MacBook didn't have the small bit of software called drivers installed, which was partly responsible for the thing not working. Then one of the ink cartridges was found to be damaged or not allowing the printer to function, so I am being sent a replacement. I bought the printer back in around April, so that's at least five months without it performing. It now means I can AT LAST print out some of my writing material and begin to edit it.

4.00 p.m. The printer works! I have run off several pages, including a part of the longer bit of writing. It is working using Wi-Fi, so there's no need to use the cable, meaning I can keep the printer in my bedroom on the newly-acquired unit I got from Amazon, and connect from my MacBook in the lounge.

Friday. 9.05 a.m. It's a bright and sunny morning. In this flat, this time with the window closed and the electric fan on, my digital thermometer reads 80ºF.

We are hearing, on BBC Breakfast this morning (although I expect other media are carrying the story.) about the 87-year-old man who collapsed in his garden and his family constructed a shelter for him as he has fractured his pelvis, and had to wait a staggering 15 HOURS for the ambulance to arrive. I know it's terrible, but why doesn't someone do something to remedy such a situation? I know it might be due to what is called 'bed blocking', where there is nowhere for patients to go, once they have been discharged from A and E, for example, into a care home, or have nobody at home to look after them when they leave the hospital. In the case of ambulances not being able to reach a patient who collapses at home, such as the gentleman mentioned above, why don't they use 'rapid response' paramedics, who have cars and not ambulances, to deal with such cases? Surely this is one solution, even if a patient needs hospital treatment, the paramedics can give that person some practical help until they can be moved to a hospital. Then, why not have a sort of reservoir, a ward where people can go, to wait until they are moved to a care home or other place? This was done when I had my first heart attack. I went onto a ward after I had been through A and E and was then released to the C.C.U. (Coronary Care Unit.) sometime later.

Saturday. 6.30 a.m. Another fine and sunny morning. My digital thermometer is currently reading 69ºF. The window is open, so at least the air that is being brought in is cooling the room.

In The Loop

Friday. 6.25 a.m. I'm just thinking of relevant titles for each of my blog posts. This one, 'In The Loop', seems relevant, in relation to the lack of communication I have had regarding Mears and the work done on my kitchen. In the leaflet they sent, entitled, 'Mears: Resident Information Pack-Kitchen Refurbishment,' there is mention of the 'Role of the Customer Care Officer.' I quote 'The Customer Care Officer should be your first point of contact if you have any questions regarding the work to your property, however trivial they may seem.' Then, further on it says 'Your customer Liaison Officer/Planned Works Supervisor, will visit each day to check that you are happy with how the works are progressing.' Well, I haven't seen this person in all the time the work has been going on, and they certainly haven't been to see me in my flat. Then, I didn't get a reply, as promised, to either of the two telephone calls I made yesterday. There is no indication regarding the electric works that are supposed to be happening, either yesterday or today.

11.20 a.m. Still, nothing doing as regards completing work on my kitchen, even with an electrician in Dexter House. This seems to get worse and worse, even though I have telephoned Mears again.

4.35 p.m. The electrician has been, replaced the board and the fridge/freezer and oven are back in their original place in the kitchen. Someone is coming next week, hopefully on Monday to 'sign off' the whole process and finish off things like the power sockets which need screwing fully into the walls and there's a certain amount of finishing at the skirting board level regarding the floor which needs doing, but that is it. I have just moved the freestanding unit back into the kitchen, which takes the microwave. Just great to have had the oven and fridge/freezer and oven moved as you had to manoeuvre around them when they were in the hallway.

Saturday. 2.30 p.m. The kitchen is more or less finished, as I've mentioned above. We had our monthly prayer triplet on WhatsApp at 10.00 a.m., although I had fallen asleep on my bed and the sound it makes woke me up. Then I went to Sainsbury's to do a top-up shop. Having spent the past week or so eating microwaved meals, it certainly will make a change to eat proper, cooked meals again.

Sunday. 3.30 a.m. I hope we're not heading for another excessively hot period. I say this because my digital thermometer is currently reading 80ºF. The temperature had gone down considerably since last Monday, when we had record temperatures in this country, which made life very difficult.

Monday. 7.25 a.m. A milder morning, but the temperature in the flat is 78ºF.

There was a problem with the electric supply yesterday evening. I couldn't understand why the reading light, which is next to my armchair, wouldn't work. Also, this MacBook and my iPad wouldn't connect to the internet. It would appear that the circuit that they were on had tripped out, but I had no idea why. I have since managed to get it back working, by flicking a couple of switches on the new panel which was installed on Friday afternoon, but now I can't boil my kettle to make a cup of tea, so I imagine the kitchen sockets are on a different circuit. I'll just have to wait until the workmen come later to sign off the kitchen work and, hopefully, get that circuit operating. I'm concerned that the fridge/freezer goes off, and I lose all the contents if it defrosts, but it appears to be functioning properly at the moment.

Bring Me Sunshine!

Monday. 10.15 a.m. Oh dear! After several days of warm and sunny days, we now have light rain! Not something a small Yorkshire Terrier is going to relish! It was certainly a surprise when I went out mid-morning, dressed in my shorts and short-sleeved polo shirt! But never mind. That's the good old British weather for you, totally unpredictable.

12.32 p.m. On Saturday, I got a text message from the N.H.S., informing me that I had come into contact with someone who had been infected with the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus. I was told to order a test kit, which I did, clicking through the text message. I was over-pleased that I was expected to fork out £1 for postage, which was a bit of an affront. Why couldn't they pay? Having done this, I had my doubts that it was genuine. Well, with the number of scams that are going around, it's often difficult to tell what is real and what is fake. But I'm sure it's genuine. So, I suppose I will have to wait and do the test when it arrives and see what happens. I don't feel under the weather, so I'm reasonably sure it's going to be negative.

It's still raining fairly hard, so McNugget (alias Alfie) won't like it. I don't blame him, because I don't relish getting wet either.

Tuesday. 6.45 a.m. Another bright and sunny morning. What more can I say?

Wednesday. 6.30 a.m. It's not quite as bright and sunny this morning as it has been for the past couple of days. It must have been raining overnight, as there were definite signs when I took Alfie out this morning.

If you recall in my earlier posts, I mentioned how I had hoped to be able to leave Alfie with a young lady who would care for him over a long weekend at the end of May, and then, how it was abandoned because he didn't like the idea of being left? Well, that young lady's mother had suggested that perhaps she could have him for a few hours so that he got used to the idea of being left with her. It's the abandonment thing which he doesn't like; the idea that I won't be coming back, which isn't true. I think the fact that he barks at the grandchildren (and other children, which is when we're out and children approach wanting to stroke him.) is probably to protect me. I don't know exactly what's going on, but some of this behaviour is because he doesn't understand small children, particularly because they talk with higher-pitched voices than adults and move around far more unpredictably. Anyway, with all this in mind, I'm taking him to her house on Sunday afternoon just to attempt to get him settled so I can have time in Worcester with Chloe, Steve and the four grandchildren.

2.00 p.m. I've been into Sainsbury's, shopping, this morning. I went in a good deal earlier than I would normally, for no other reason than I just wanted to get it out of the way. Not only that, but I'm really glad that I did because it was very quiet. What does annoy me, though, is that they don't have more people at the check-outs. I think it's to encourage you to use the self-service tills. I'm fine using them, but whenever I use one, there's a problem. 

I was queuing up to use a check-out and several people were ahead of me. I couldn't help reading a notice at the end of the checkout line. It read: 'Bags for life now cost 30p. Replace old bags free.' Which made me think, I can think of quite a few old bags I'd like to replace . . . free!

I realized a few days ago, on looking through the pile of cards which inhabit my wallet, in amongst the loyalty cards, that my free bus pass ran out last year, so I decided to apply for a new one. It's an easy job and made easier when I have my birth certificate photographed and on my MacBook Pro, along with several digital photographs. You just fill in the online form on the Milton Keynes Council website and upload proof of age and photograph (easy and far better than going to their offices and having to queue up.) The replacement card came in the post this afternoon. Now to decide where to go by bus, using the card. It's just a shame I can use rail as I fancy going further afield for a day out.