Sunny and Bright

Friday. 7.50 a.m. Yet another sunny and bright morning here in Milton Keynes. Temperatures have been hovering around the 28ºc mark yesterday, according to my digital thermometer. It currently shows the temperature in my flat at 22ºc. I have the window open, with the hope that it might keep the temperature low. Yesterday I had my electric fan on. 

Saturday. 7.15 a.m. Up early, as usual. It's bright and sunny again. The digital thermometer is currently reading 20ºc, a far more acceptable temperature.

Doctor Who is back today on BBC1, although it's available on BBC iPlayer and Disney+ from around midnight last night. As Disney are part financing it, to something in the region of £100,000,000, I suppose they would want it on their own streaming platform. I'm not sure if I like the idea of them financing it. I can see why, because the BBC, being funded by the Television licence, hasn't got the funds which would allow a show like Doctor Who to get the funding it needs to produce something that has the look and feel of a far bigger show, give it a cinematic look and attract actors to it who would give it an appeal internationally, as well as using the latest technology, such as C.G.I,  and animatronics, to create special effects, monsters etc.

I have been a fan of Doctor Who since its early days in the 1960s. I think I must have seen the very first episode,  'An Unearthly Child', which was broadcast on BBC television at 5.15, on 23rd November 1963.  It was somewhat overshadowed by the assassination of American President, John F. Kennedy the day before, in Dallas, Texas. I would have just had my 13th birthday, in October, so I presume I would have fitted into the age group at which it would have been aimed. There was nothing else at the time to compare it with. Most, if not all, adventure series aimed at boys particularly, were importations from America, such as 'Champion The Wonder Horse', and 'The Lone Ranger.' All in black and white as colour television didn't come in until around 1971, although the BBC introduced colour in 1967, when Wimbledon tennis was broadcast in colour on BBC2, as a sort of experiment. I remember being taken by my school to Granada Rentals, based in Bedford (probably to promote employment opportunities, but I can't remember.) and seeing a demonstration of colour television and a broadcast of Wimbledon.

The idea of a character who travels around in a machine, a time machine, called the Tardis, and allows it to move around in time and space and allow its passengers to stop off at historic periods and then move forward to the future, was intriguing. It had (and still has), different serials, and stories that ran for four or more weeks, and then, the Doctor and his companions would never know exactly where they had landed, in what period, who they would meet, whether friendly or not, monsters or whatever, which was one of the things I remember, never knowing exactly where they would land and so on. You had to keep on watching to find out. Most series on television would be set in the same location, with the same set of characters, from one week to the next. Doctor Who, on the other hand, changed, as I say, from one place and time, every couple of weeks. I would say that that element of the show is what has kept it going for more than 60 years. It can be refreshed very regularly, and the device of having The Doctor regenerated when the lead actor who plays him (or her, since Jodie Whittaker took on the role a few series ago.) and the show is given a makeover in some form or other.

1,700th Blog Post!!

Tuesday. 6.20 a.m. Yet another milestone for my blog! This is the 1,700th post. I can't believe I have managed to keep it going for so long. I know that a lot of what I post is totally mundane, but who knows, in years to come some historians might find my meanderings useful. I am currently reading a set of books (not actually linked by their authors.) taking me through the history of Great Britain from around 1870 up until the early 21st century. Many of the later books rely on people's personal diaries and something called 'Mass Observation, which utilized ordinary citizens completing surveys about everyday living.

My FitBit Versa 2 has gone somewhat haywire. You have to keep these things charged regularly. If I have a complaint about them, it's the fact that you have to charge them around every five days or so. They don't have a battery which you replace every couple of years, so it has to go on its charging base unit and a full charge will take about two-three hours or so. But then the face when peculiar, a bit like an old television set, with lines and flashing. The clock face came back on, at which point I thought it was back to normal, but I was wrong. It just kept on flashing and behaving oddly. Anyway, as I don't think I registered it as I should have done, to set up the guarantee/warranty, I went on the Argos website, which is where I purchased it, and found it was purchased in February, so it would still be under its year's guarantee/warranty. I then went on the FitBit website and used the chat function, and the agent asked me to reset it, back to the basic factory settings. But it would not work, so I'm being sent a replacement. This is the second FitBit I've had which has failed like this. Apparently, it has got corrupted, which I don't fully understand how that could happen unless it got near a magnetic field of some sort. So, I will await the replacement coming in the post.

I'll mention what I have been watching on television as well as what I've been reading. To be honest, there's not a great deal to watch on broadcast television at the moment, unless you like sport, which I'm not particularly. We have the Commonwealth Games on virtually all the BBC television channels at the moment, which is fine by me. The BBC is the main broadcaster for this, so it makes sense. Then the Women's Euro games, which England won, and it's fantastic, but not my thing, but it definitely needs a lot of support, and again, it's fine by me. 

I'm currently reading 'Modernity Britain: 1957-62', written by David  Kynaston, as part of my journey through the 20th Century. It covers such things as the beginning of what you might call the 'Television Revolution', two years after the introduction of ITV, BBC television's programmes such as 'Hancock's Half-Hour', 'Tonight' and 'Juke Box Jury.' I think I vaguely remember some of these programmes. Also, 'Blue Peter' and 'Watch With Mother.'

Reading and Viewing- Part 2

Then there's Doctor Who. There's always Doctor Who. I have written about this venerable BBC Television show in an earlier blog post, or at least, the current run. I'm not really sure about it. I have no problems with The Doctor being a woman. Why not? At first I was not sure, because the part has always been played by a man. But if the character is alien, and can regenerate every few years, there's really no problem as regarding gender. The problem I have is with the half-hearted stories and scripts.  But what I do object is having so much political correct nonsense shoe-horned into the stories. Whether it be racial politics or environmental issues, why does it have to become a sort of lecture? It was always intended to have a certain amount of educational value from the very beginning, to teach children about various historical events, if it's about the Romans or other eras of history, but in the early days it was secondary to the stories in the different time periods the Tardis delivered it's passengers.

Why so many assistants? Three is superfluous and their backstories are so vague. Just don't see the point of so many. There were multiple assistants in Peter Davison's era. It seemed unnecessary then and it's the same now. The Tardis just seems over-crowded somehow and it's just unnecessary.

I have watched the final, fourth, season of 'The Man In The High Castle,'  on Amazon Prime Video. The first 3 seasons were good and I got hooked. But the fourth doesn't have the same appeal somehow. It petered out towards the end and it wrapped up far to quickly, almost as if the makers knew that it was coming to an end with no continuation so they had to tie things up in the last couple of episodes. But we still didn't get a proper explanation as to how the films were infiltrating the real truth and the time-shifting/multiple world element wasn't explained properly, but it was still worth watching.

'The Last Tango In Halifax\ has returned this week on BBC1 and this time given a Sunday evening slot in the schedules. This is the 5th season of the Sally Wainwright created series. Rock-solid characterisation and pitch-perfect acting from the ensemble cast, lead by Derek Jacobi and Sheila Reid, who re-connect via social media after 50 years apart and then marry. I just love this series. It's real, sad and funny all at the same time. I think it's what they call 'Bitter/Sweet.' By which I mean that it has elements of happiness, comedy, elation but the next it has feelings of sadness, regret, all tied up in one happy bundle. It's what good drama should be, not just plain, laugh-out-loud funny, but poignant and sad underneath the humour. Shakespeare does it in some of his comedy, particularly 'Twelfth Night,' which has all these elements. I means you recognise these elements and it makes it work perfectly. 'Last Tango' may not have particularly strong storylines, but it has a definite, 'can't-wait-until-the-next-episode' appeal, but you can't help loving the characters, along with all their foibles and flaws, which we can definitely recognise. I can really recommend it. 

A Little Bit Of This And That! (And in some cases, 'Little' being the operative word.)

(Wednesday)I've been for my appointment with the counselling lady at Macmillan at Milton Keynes Hospital. The appointment was at 2 o'clock yesterday afternoon. It's no more than a 10-15 minute walk away, which is fortunate as if you go in the car you only have the annoyance of finding a parking space. I notice that they are well on the way to completing the new cancer care unit which is being built on what was the staff carpark. It is supposed to be opening at the end of 2019. I remember when Carol was in one of the wards at the hospital we could see workmen staring work on I think what turned out to be the multi-storey carpark for the staff, so, thinking about it now, it was obvious that they would need to build that before starting work on the cancer centre, otherwise there would be nowhere for the staff to park. The structure is covered in pink, I don't know what it is, but one hopes it won't remain pink, probably a layer for insulation before the other surface is put in position over it.

Thursday. Phil and Robert came back this morning. They've done a really amazing job. The grass now looks a little more like a lawn (but not quite.) Phil managed to get the mower on it and take off the cut grass, which I think is the main problem. The little electric mower we have, a rotary job, really struggled to even touch the long grass and we never used a collection box, so the loose grass which was cut and left only added to the problems. The front looks even better, with the flower bed dug over and the grass and weeds remove and also the grass which was springing up on he parking space is gone and looks very neat and tidy.

I went to the Oaktree Centre for another session of The Church Course. This one on the history of the church. I now know who was there to help me when I collapsed when I had my heart attack in September. Just grateful for him and others who dealt with things the way they did, had First Aid experience and managed to make sure I didn't get injured when I collapsed on the floor. The lady who dealt so amazingly that morning works in the intensive care unit at Milton Keynes Hospital, so I know I was in good hands. Another good reason to support staff who work for the N.H.S. and the brilliant work they do.

Had a letter from Pension Credit. It was just reiterating what went into the application and no word about how much I'm likely to get. I have an appointment with AgeUK on Thursday regarding what other benefits I can claim and if they can help in any way to help me find alternative accommodation. As the landlord seems incapable of maintaining this house, then I'd much rather move to somewhere smaller and with lower rent, if that is at all possible. Just causing me further stress. The medication I was given by the doctor on Tuesday is going to run out on Sunday. So this means I will have to get a further appointment on Monday morning, along with all the stress that causes.

Friday. My friend Nick, who lived in the same house as me in Rutland Road in Bedford around 16 years ago, had texted me to say he could meet up with me in Milton Keynes today. He now lives in Northampton and came by bus as he has a free bus pass. We were going to meet at Starbucks, but which branch, as there are two in Milton Keynes, one in the main shopping centre and the other in Midsummer Place, the newer section. I got to the shopping centre and parked where I usually park and then  walked in and sat and waited outside Starbucks. We were scheduled to meet at 11a.m.

Saturday. Bright and sunny again this morning. Alfie and I were out walking around Eaglestone Park by around 6.10 and back before 6.30. No point lazing around in bed when it's such a lovely day. I say a group of squirrels playing around a tree as we walked along the path near the shop. Alfie didn't see them. I don't think he can see that well because he's so low to the ground. Funny this, because if he sees them in the garden he goes mad and barks, but out in the park, then he doesn't take any notice. Generally his eyesight is fine, particularly when it's seeing off pussycats!

I don't hang about. Why waste time in bed on a warm and sunny day, although as I write this at 8.45a.m, it's become a bit overcast and a bit dull, I've been to put credit on both the gas and electric meters, going to the local shop to do this. Then I drove to Aldi at Bradwall Common and was in and out of there in barely 20 minutes and then home to put everything away and now sitting here drawing breath. Alfie fussing to be given a treat out of the bag that sits on the bookshelf.

I went to the Oaktree Centre a little after 10 o'clock because there was a car-boot sale on. Fortunately it wasn't too hot. I had a bit of a wander round but nothing took my fancy. I was impressed by he vintage car that one of the church regulars had bought along, a Ford. It's in amazing condition. It must have taken ages to restore it to near-perfect condition. It reminds me of the cars that were used when I worked on the BBC television series 'Campion,' which starred Brian Glover and Peter Davidson. I was one of the villain's henchmen. Yes, I know, me as a baddie? Not brilliant casting, but good fun. I think I've described in fair detail how it went. A really hot day, if I remember rightly.

I got home and there was a pile of mail waiting on the doormat. One, a fairly thick manilla envelope, the sort that screams 'government department,' either H.M.S.O., or Dept of Work and Pensions (which is what it was from.) informing me that they had calculated how much Pension Credit I should get. Go on, shall I tell you? The princely sum of £7 per week. Hardly going to help pay my rent. They tell me that I'm being paid too much, including my pension and what I get from Carol's Teachers' pension. So, what shall I spend that on? A couple of packets of biscuits, teabags, washing-up liquid. I know I shouldn't complain, but the length of time it's taken to sort out and all he stress, it's hardly worth the effort to apply and just think of the cost in administration. Seems to me that it's one step forward and several back.

The meds the doctor gave me last Tuesday will run out tonight when I take the final one. So it means I will have to ring the surgery tomorrow to get a repeat or at least another similar medication. Just more annoyance and stress . . .

Watching 'Fawlty Towers'

We've been watching 'Fawlty Towers' on the digital television channel 'GOLD.' I have seen this countless times and infact I saw it when it was originally broadcast on BBC2 in the mid 1970's. Since that time I can't say how many times I've seen all the episodes, but even then it matters not as it's so well written and performed it stands up to endless repeat viewings, considering it's age and the limitations of technology and such things as editing and set construction. As  a series it has been described as 12 of the best farces ever written. In that respect it can't be bettered. It also features heavily in polls when the public has to vote on their favourite television programme or sitcom.

What makes it such a successful situation comedy? It follows all the rules of a well-written sitcom. It is set in a closed setting, in this case a hotel. The characters are recognisable, with Basil as the owner and manager of the hotel (at the top of the hierarchical pile.) It has a definite class structure (again, Basil at the top) and below him the staff are further down the class pile. Basil looks down on those who are below him, or so he believes, and is an incredible snob as a result. It is set in a work-place, with the characters forced together. They wouldn't presumably meet if they met in the outside world. It is set firmly within the walls of the hotel and rarely departs from this setting. The set of the hotel is clearly defined and as such we, the viewer, have to know the layout, where the bar is, the reception desk, the dining room and the kitchen, which allows the machinations of the characters to work the way they do. It uses such tropes as deception, secrecy, misunderstandings and slapstick which have been used as devices in comedy for centuries. Basil Fawlty has an unhappy marriage. He's married to a dragon of a wife in Sybil. She's bossy and incredibly lazy. The rest of the cast play off these two central characters superbly; the maid/waitress, Polly (played by Connie Booth, and Manuel, the  Spanish waiter, played by Andrew Sachs.

The 1970's was a fertile period for sitcoms. Not just 'Fawlty Towers,' but 'The Good Life,' 'Last of The Summer Wine,' 'Porridge,' all on BBC television. Meanwhile, ITV had success with shows such as 'George and Mildred,' 'Robin's Nest,' 'On The Busses' and 'Mind Your Language.' Many of these shows would never have been produced today, due to the racist and sexist content of some of them. 'Last of The Summer Wine' ran for well over 40 years, making it the longest-running sitcom in the world. It couldn't  have survived much longer because most of the cast died. It seemed to be a bit repetitive. Only so many times you can have a group of old men sliding down a hillside in a tin bath, or at least doing crazy things and getting away with it. If anything, the show can't have harmed the Yorkshire tourist industry.

When I did some walk-on work on something or other, several years ago, but I'm not sure, but I think it was at either Pinewood Studios or Elstree, I spoke to one of the other walk-on's, as I always did when we were waiting to be called onto the set of whatever it was (there's always a lot of waiting about on these jobs, so you have lots of opportunities to talk to people.). This was a lady who had worked on Fawlty Towers as a 'stand-in/double' for one of the old ladies who are regular characters in the show, Miss Tibbs or Miss Gatsby, (Renee Roberts and Billy Flower). She was more likely a 'stunt double' during a scene where Basil Fawlty hits one of the around the head or something and they obviously couldn't have him hit either of the actresses as they were probably quite elderly at the time. You wouldn't know this if you watch that particular episode as its edited in cleverly so it's not obvious. But this actress gets a repeat every time Fawlty Towers is repeated. I'm not sure this would be when it's on GOLD as it's always on at some time or other.

Even More Television Annoyances

Why do the credits at the end of so many television shows have to be rushed through so fast? How on earth are you supposed to be able to read at that speed? Then, not only do they insist on speeding the credits through at high speed, but they have to shrink them down by putting them in a narrow window at the same time and you get a voice-over which tells you what the next programme is or some other television show. So why do they have to treat the credits in this way? It seems something of an insult to all those who have contributed to the making of the programme that has just ended, not just the actors but the production staff and other creative personnel. It's almost as if they're not important enough to be given some sort of recognition for the work they've done as regards the production that has just finished.

At one time dramas on television used a minimal amount of music in their productions. Obviously you'd get music as the programme started, the opening titles and at the end, over the credits. You didn't get a lot of music used as incidental to the action. Probably such shows as 'The Onedin Line' had the very distinctive music at it's opening and closing and it probably had quite a lot of music over scenes of ships and the sea. But today we seem to have far too much music. Is this another bit of American television's influence on our productions? It can be over-used and in some ways it's become something of a cliche to have a hidden orchestra bursting forth as the action on screen gets dramatic. It's almost as if the director can't allow the audience to think for itself. The problem with all this music is that in some cases it can drown out dialogue. There was much controversy some while ago over the BBC production of 'Jamaica Inn' where viewers were complaining about the actors not speaking clearly. I find it difficult to believe that actors were unable to be understood because they weren't speaking clearly. I know from working in theatre that it's one of the most important things that an actor has to do and that is to be able to speak clearly and be heard. When I worked in rep (and, yes, it's around 45 or so years ago) none of the theatres I worked in used microphones for the use of the actors. Most big musicals use amplified sound and the actors have tiny microphones hidden in their costumes and sometimes in their hair or even stuck to their faces. As a result it means that the sound engineers can balance the singing voices with the orchestra or band. It means that nowadays actors don't have to worry about speaking clearly or to be able to project their voices to the back of the auditorium so every audience member can hear them. It also means that if actors have no real experience of working in theatre and only concentrate on television and film work they can then rely on sound engineering and all the paraphernalia of sound production without worrying about their ability to project properly.

I seem to have wandered slightly from the main subject of this blog post, but the matter of actors being able to speak clearly does connect with television sound and the over-use of music and the reliance of sound being over-used in dramas and other television productions.

My final moan is regarding the use of what I imagine must be library music. In a lot of shows, particularly documentaries and lifestyle shows, particularly those about antiques, is the repetitive use of some very familiar music. No doubt it's because they might not have to pay a composer to write original music and then fall back on using library or 'stock' music which doesn't require the production company to pay a royalty. But the same bits of music seem to appear regularly on things like 'Antiques Road Trip,' 'Flog It,' 'Bargain Hunt', and 'Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is.' Just becoming very annoying and repetitive. I bet if you watch a lot of these shows, usually shown during the day, you will notice this music and how it's over-used. Come on producers and other people, do give us a break from this monotony.

Television Documentary About Milton Keynes's 50th Anniversary

2017 is the 50th Birthday of Milton Keynes. I moved here in 2007 when I married Carol, having previously lived in Bedford, around 20 miles to the east. BBC television has shown a documentary about the town (I can never decide whether it's a town or a city, and it seems, do other people. Which is it? You decide.) It was built as an over-spill for London. Half-way between London and Birmingham and between the A5 to the west and the M1 to the east. The Grand Union Canal cuts through the town and is around half a mile from our home in Eaglestone, walking down the Redway. To some extent, according to this documentary which was co-producted by the Open University, which is based in MK, the town was built as a sort of social experiment. All manner of different architects were employed to have a virtual freehand in the design of the various 'villages' which were conceived within each of the 'girds' which make up the town.

The documentary was told from the point of view of one man, Richard Macer, who lived and grew up in the town, left to go to university and came back to visit the place again. His parents continued to live in the town, in Great Linford. He went to school at Stantonbury Campus, where Carol was a teacher before transferring to her current school, Milton Keynes Academy.

Milton Keynes has been the subject of quite a few jokes over the years, not least because of the number of roundabouts, and in particular the so-called 'Concrete Cows' which have become the unofficial symbol for the town. Also, described as 'dull', 'soulless' as well as uninspiring. Having lived here for a little over ten years I can say I have not found it to be any such thing. Infact, it's got plenty going for it. I particularly like the fact that there's so much open space here. As you'd drive along the grid roads you almost forget the fact that you are driving through a town at all, as the design of the place means all houses and most other buildings, can't be seen from the road, that there are plenty of trees to screen the grids which contain the 'village' like communities within them as well as cleverly landscaped sections, banked up with the plants and trees on them as well as having all housing beyond a fairly wide margin of each road, giving a pleasant feel to the place, unlike many other modern towns which have houses almost on the roadside. The town has been highly successful in creating employment. The rate of growth is amazing. The amount of homes being built is startling and Milton Keynes is expanding at a great rate. We drove across the town a few days ago and went past Crownhill, the area we originally lived when we were married in 2007. The fields along the side of Watling Street as you drive towards Stony Stratford and Wolverton have been developed and now it's all houses. On the approach-road from the M1, coming in from Bedford, there is a large amount of construction going on. Since I've been living here, a vast John Lewis warehouse complex has been built along that stretch of road, as well as for their partner company, Waitrose. The road system has been vastly improved, partially duelled along that piece of road, where there is a roundabout with an impressive steel statue of Greg Rutherford, the Olympic Gold-Medallist Long Jump winner at the 2012 London Olympic Games who lives within the Milton Keynes area. There is further building going on at the newly-improved roundabout which used to be a point where there were long traffic queues before it was widened and with new traffic lights and then going towards Newport Pagnall there is even more development of not just houses but more warehouses, no doubt going to be distribution centres for more companies. Infact, Milton Keynes has a higher rate of employment than more areas of the United Kingdom.

Sunday Sunshine

We woke this morning to more news of a terrorist attack in London. Only a few weeks ago another similar attack happened at a concert in Manchester. It makes the heart sink. Our immediate response was to text our children to see whether they were alright. None of them were anywhere near London at the time of the incidents. Just needed reassurance that they were fine. It's getting to the point that you don't really want to switch on the television news as the BBC and other television companies seem to insist on blanket coverage of such incidents.

The day began bright and sunny. Then we had the merry sound of hammering next door. I can't imagine what on earth they're doing. Laying a patio or something and there's a large pile of tiles or bricks for the purpose of patio-laying. On Friday we came back from shopping in town and found a large flat-bed H.G.V. parked opposite the house next door with rolls of turf on the back. I'm not sure if it was intended for 'next door' or not. It's not just the hammering and banging we have to contend with, it's the added music which we have to endure. People can't seem to work without pop music blasting. Well, it's not exactly blasting. As Nöel Coward so succinctly put it 'strange how potent cheap music is.' From his brilliant play, "Private Lives," and actually about his own composition 'Some Day I'll Find You" which was supposed to be playing in the distance, so it was a sort of side-swipe at himself in a way. Irony. Never mind. I digress.

As the morning progressed, we had another load of banging and hammering. Not immediately from next door. Carol said that someone was dismantling a shed a few doors further down. Things can't get any worse, we thought to ourselves. Carol suggested packing things up, a few rugs, cushions, food, books and so on, and de-camping to a secluded spot, possibly in a field, away from the hustle and bustle of the town, in the country somewhere. In other words, somewhere as far from all this noise and annoyance. I suggested Campbell Park. Carol, not too keen. Then we decided to go to Nuffield Health. 

It was a great idea to just swim up and down the pool at Nuffield. Not too many people there, fortunately. I have to say it's a far more friendly environment than D.W. Fitness, which we used to be members of. No children are allowed to this branch at Kent's Hill. You get a towel as you enter. There's no loud booming pop music. The jacuzzi and other facilities are always in good order. Unfortunately, at D.W., the two jacuzzis (spa pools) were invariably out of order or at least one was closed off for some reason. The place was beginning to look tatty, even though it was a fairly new building. At Nuffield there's a spa pool, a steam room and a sauna (D.W. didn't have one).  Anyway, the outing to Nuffield was a good idea. At least we got away from the noise for a while. The shed-dismantling was complete but unfortunately the other sounds continue.

I attempted to read my book. I'm currently reading the fourth book in Peter Ackroyd's series "The History of England." It's called "Revolution" and covers what is called the 'Glorious Revolution' and covers such things as the foundation of the Bank Of England, the beginning os coffee houses, invention of the novel as a form of literature and many other things. But I found it quite difficult concentrating with the constant noise from next door.

Unable to Login To The Internet

Yesterday morning I was unable to get into the Mac Laptop yesterday morning, unfortunately, which means that I couldn't get on here to write up a blog post. I am now writing this on our second little laptop, which may not be an Apple, considerably slower, but it at least works and I'm able to do all the work I need to do on a computer, including this blog and reading and writing emails. It is taking a lot to re-learn as it doesn't work anywhere near the same as an Apple.

Yesterday, Thursday 7th March, was General Election Day here in the United Kingdom. Seeing how the S.N.P. seemed to take virtually every seat in Scotland it makes you wonder how much longer we will be a United Kingdom, because I imagine there will now be a second Scottish Independence Referendum. Elsewhere, it looks as if David Cameron will continue as Prime Minister and no doubt Ed Miliband will resign as Labour Party leader as Labour didn't do very well, particularly in Scotland where the S.N.P. took most of the previously Labour-held seats. I spent most of the night watching the Election results coming in on BBC Television.

I rang Apple earlier this morning regarding the problems with the MacBook Air laptop. I thought I was actually ringing the Apple store in Midsummer Place in the Milton Keynes Central shopping centre but it seemed to be a call centre. I had to go through a voice-activated menu, which knew my name, even though I hadn't mentioned it. A bit creepy. It's difficult to know whether the system has actually respond, as you have to repeat some words which it's unclear to know whether it has understood, but the very idea of a machine 'understanding' you seems creepy. I eventually go through to a human, and I had to go through a few system-checks to find out whether the laptop was working, which it plainly isn't, but it's difficult to take instructions over the phone, hear the instructions whilst attempting to use the keyboard, but in the end I decided it was easier to go into their showroom and get someone to check it out and if they can fix it there and then, then O.K. So I made an appointment for Tuesday at 11.45 a,m. I just hope it it done there and then and doesn't incur any sort of expence, as, what with the car needing repair as well at the moment, we don't need this sort of expence also.