Editing Play

 Thursday 27th August. 1.00 p.m. It is raining, although not heavily. I cannot remember the last time we had even a few drops of the wet stuff. As I look out of the window and glance at the community garden, it looks so parched and dry, it rather puts me in mind of a desert in North Africa, possibly the Sahara.

Monday 31st August. Bank Holiday. 1.20 p.m. I have been working on another play. This is one that I started, but then couldn't find a way to complete it, but I suddenly thought for a while and it came into my head, so it is now more or less complete. I have several plays in the same sort of incomplete state, so I hope I can complete them, given time.

Wednesday 2nd September.  8.0 a.m. Thank goodness it's cool. The heat was far too much. The digital thermometer currently reads 27ºc, so a far more comfortable temperature.

All sorts of odd things are happening within Dexter House. I am not entirely sure what has been going on, but a newish tenant has been vandalising items of furniture and smoking some sort of illegal substance and causing problems so the Police have been informed. No sign of anybody from the Council making an appearance to sort this issue, and it is causing stress amongst some of the tenants.

I haven't mentioned this on this blog, but last Friday evening I drove over to Bedford to meet up with my friend John, to have a drink at the Pilgrims Progress pub. This is a Wetherspoon's public house nd was a former Longhurst and Skinner furniture store. The traffic from the Bedford bypass and along Ampthill Road was extremely busy, and then I parked in Rutland Road, where I used to live before moving to Beauchamp Court and then, more recntly, moving to Milton Keynes, when I married Carol in 2007. There was a very convenient space to park the car, righ outside Rutland Road Church, which was where Carol and I got married.

It was good to catch up with John. We had worked on a series of projects, particularly one that I had attempted to get off the ground, with John woerking on character designs for my project about a puppet dog called 'Bosworth' and which might have developed when I had a television producer had made a lot of effort to get the project off rthe ground, but eventually I had to abandon things which was more than a little bit frustrating. 

Friday 4th September, 9.15 a.m. A good deal cooler this morning. I am trying to get the writing edited, but it is a bit frustrating when the files I have saved will not open properly. However, I will hopefully get the file opened and complete the required editing. I know, that sounds a bit bonkers, back to front, or even front to backwards, but I know what I mean. Also, having several versions of the same scene and then whole sequences that are missing in one version and not in the other, makes it harder to construct a new complete version of a particular scene. (All this must sound strange,because I suppose it is. Some of the characters have different names in different versions an then I cut some characters out completely, basically because, when I started out writing plays, I wanted to keep the number of actors employed to a minimum number, so I had to avoid introducing more characters, as well as simplifying the staging, so there was no need for more sets, lso to keep cots down. The thinking was, keep all this under control, and there i sfqr more liklihood of any of my work being staged.

A Liitle Hitch In The System

 Wednesday. 1.50 p.m. It's considerably cooler today. The digital thermometer currently reads 22ºc.

Friday. 6.15 a.m. It's even cooler today. It's becoming increasingly autumnal as the days pass by. The infamous digital thermometer currently reads 20ºc.

I had more fun discovering Alfie's whereabouts. Under my bed for most of the night.

Saturday. 7.00 a.m. I've got the gimbal to calibrate at last, which means I should be able to go out and do some filming. It has been a long process, but it should be worth it. 

Another somewhat mild and rather overcast sort of day. The digital thermometer reads 22ºc.

Sunday. 6.55 p.m. I do like cider. I have tried several brands. I bought a few bottles of alcohol-free cider in Lidl the other week and stored it in my fridge. I thought I'd have some with my meal this evening and took the bottle out, which was right at the back of the fridge. It was covered in ice, and it seemed to be iced up inside. I had to chip some of the ice off the base of the bottle so I could stand it on a surface to open it with my bottle opener. Some mist came out of the bottle! I tried to pour out the contents, but only a dribble came out. I have left the bottle on the kitchen work surface. What do I make of this? I will have to check the temperature of the fridge. I don't want the other bottles of cider in there to freeze.

Monday. 10.40 a.m. It's a Bank Holiday. Yippee! Not that it makes much difference to me. I have sorted the recycling, and three bins have gone out to the bin yard. One black bin and two other containers filled with recycling.

I attempted another session with the camera on the gimbal, but then the camera came up with the message, 'battery exhausted', so I gave up, and the battery is currently being charged, along with a spare. All the fiddling with the gimbal is responsible for this, and the batteries only last for 90 minutes.

I ordered a couple of new batteries and a charger unit for my Canon camera on Amazon early on Saturday morning, and I was hoping it would arrive yesterday evening, but then I found out on the Amazon website that there had been a problem, and it would arrive on Wednesday. So, I feel somewhat annoyed, because the idea was that I was going to the Buckinghamshire Agricultural Show on Thursday, and I intended to take the Canon camera with me.

4.50 p.m. The battery charger and batteries arrived mid-morning. I was somewhat surprised, having been informed that the parcel wouldn't be delivered until Wednesday at the latest. The thing has been working, and I have the batteries charged. Thankfully, that is completed.

It's been warm and sunny today. Good weather for a Bank Holiday. The digital thermometer reads 26ºc.

Confounded Technology!

As I've mentioned in an earlier blog post on here, the way I have to order my repeat prescription is changing. From September I won't be able to merely ring Lloyd's in Sainsbury's and give them the order for medications, which will then be electronically sent to Ashfield Medical Centre for the doctor to then return the relevant prescription which will be then sent back to Lloyd's for them to then actually make up the prescription. You can always take your order directly to the surgery and put it in the box on the reception desk and it is supposed to be ready for collection within 48 hours, the order then being sent via electronic means to your chosen pharmacy, mine being Lloyd's, but it should be easier, with an internet connection, to order through the Ashfield website. Well, in theory, yes, but in practice, not easy.

I had to get a new password and went to the surgery yesterday morning with identity, my photo driving licence, proof of address on my bank statement and Council Tax documentation and I was given a printed-out letter with a new password. But when I got home and attempted to set this up on-line (I have a feeling I already had an account but I have never used it.) it simply refused to work and after a couple more attempts to re-set the password, I gave up. Does it mean I have to go back to Ashfield Medical Centre and get a new password? Probably, yes, but I don't have a lot of faith that the system will work.

(Monday) On Friday Phil and Robert came to give the grass another cut. Unfortunately, the mower Phil bought wouldn't start. Something to do with the 'pull' mechanism. Robert cut some of the back lawn (grass plot, not lawn!) with the trimmer and Phil had the idea of using my electric mower to cut the grass, but it turned out that the plastic cutters were missing, or just worn down. The state of the shed where this is kept is deteriating by the minute. It's beyond repair. It leaks, or must do, because the roof is falling in and our beloved landlord doesn't care less. He should be responsible for such repairs but I think his bank balance if far more important than any necessary repairs. Anyway, Phil managed to improvise cutters/blades by attaching fishing line and it worked! I have a pack of these plastic blades, but I hunted high and low and couldn't find it, so we were left with the fishing line alternative.

Yesterday we had the South African Braai at church. I'm not sure how many people were there, but it was quite busy and we had to queue around the cafe area to get the food. I think there may have been quite a few neighbours who came along as a lot of faces I didn't recognise, although, going to the first of the two Sunday services I don't always see new people who only go to the second service at 11.15 so I may start going to the second service just to get to know some new people. You see lot during the interval between services, when coffee and tea is served, so I may go to this service when we go back to two services from this Sunday.

It's  August Bank Holiday Monday and the sun is shining! I thought it  good excuse to give Alfie a bath. I have to make sure he doesn't get out into the garden once he's been bathed as I know he has a tendency to roll and it would defeat the object of a bath if he then goes and gets dirty again! I shut the patio doors into the garden and ran the water so it was warm enough but not too deep. I can never work out whether he likes it or not. He does make a fuss when he first goes in, but once you start shampooing him, I rather think he enjoys it. Anyway, as I write this (at 11.15a.m.), he's laying on the sofa next to me, giving me a look as if to say 'what next?' Let's be honest, it's far too hot to go out as I don't fancy getting too hot as it's not such a good idea if you have a heart health problem.

So, I did some washing . . . if it's going to be hot, surely it would dry quickly, and, sure enough, it did.  Have to take advantage of the weather and not leave it when it's likely the weather is going to change and be wet.