The 'New Normal'

(Saturday)What exactly are they talking about when people talk about 'The New Normal'? It's in connection with the coronavirus pandemic and how our lives have been altered since the lockdown was bought in as an attempt to stem the infection rate of the virus. Is it referring to the changes that we have to make for such things as social distancing? Not being able to meet in groups? Not being able to meet our families who don't live with us? Those things aren't what you'd call 'normal' particularly. So if they are the 'new' normal, what was the old 'normal' and what exactly IS normal in the first place? Life pre-pandemic? Before lockdown? Quite a lot to ponder on there.

Whatever measures the government brings in it's all very new territory. It's the bleating and moaning from a certain section of the country which annoys me, lead by the media and in particular the BBC. They seem to love negative news and seem to side step anything that might be positive.

(Sunday) It's 9.55 and it's still strange not going to church and meeting up with everyone. Having some sort of worship on-line, via either YouTube or Facebook is becoming the 'Norm.' But it still seems odd without others around to sing worship songs with, but I suppose you might say it's ;better than nothing.'

I watched the film 'Darkest Hour'  this morning which was originally shown on BBC1 last weekend during the VE Day 75th Anniversary celebrations. I watched it on BBC iPlayer. It was a film I had wanted to see for some time so it was an opportunity to watch it without paying as it would be through the Television Licence. It's about Winston Churchill and his rise to becoming Prime Minister after the removal of Neville Chamberlain as PM after the 'Piece of Paper' incident and the appeasement of Adolf Hitler. Gary Oldman convinces completely as Churchill, not just the voice of the great man, but with the aid of incredible makeup, which must have taken hours to create each day before filming took place. Today I watched the first part of a three-part documentary series on 'History Hit,' which I subscribe to and presented by David Starkey and originally shown on Channel 4, covering the story of Marlborough, Churchill's great ancestor who built Blenheim Palace, and comparing the background to the Battle of Blenheim and the build-up to the Second World War and the rise of Hitler and the Nazis.

Things were going really well at the moment (apart, of course, from the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown) but this afternoon my bed decided to cave in beneath me as I lay on it. It's an IKEA bed. a king-size, and we bought it when we lived in Crownhill and was dismantled and moved with us when we moved to the house in Eaglestone. Like a lot of IKEA furniture, it's one you construct yourself and, unfortunately, they don't like being dismantled and then reassembled. This happened again when I moved to Dexter House, although it did survive being reassembled, which was done by the removal company. But there is a problem in that it has slats which support the mattesss and it's supposed to have metal cross pieces which keep the bed in shape, otherwise it can get out of the correct, square angles and in that case it can collapse. The wooden slats come connected with webbing and you lay these slats across the frame and they sit on the wooden frame, right inside the outer edge. But unfortunately on the side I used to lie on the metal cross-members got broken and as a result the slats keep falling out and you have to lift the mattress to replace the slats in the sides of the bed. Whenever I moved to get out of bed, usually when I sit up and then swing my legs over the side of he bed, the slats move and some fall out. So I started sleeping on the other side of the bed, which has been fine for the past few months, until this afternoon, when even the slats on that side of the bed collapsed. There seems absolutely no way I can continue to sleep in the bed in it's current condition. The slats will not stay where they are supposed to go, so it now looks as if I will need to replace the bed completely. This isn't exactly made easy with the pandemic continuing and not being able to visit IKEA or any other furniture shop, so I may have to simply dismantle the bed and take the mattress off and put it on the floor of the bedroom and make it up with sheets and duvet and sleep on it on the floor until such time as I can entirely replace the bed, which isn't likely for some while with the lockdown continuing. Watch this space for further developments in the saga of the IKEA bed.

(Monday) I managed to sleep really well with the mattress on the floor of the bedroom. I think Alfie was a bit mystified by the fact that I was lying more or less on the floor. He came to have a look during the night, lay down with me but didn't stay long and went back to sleep on the sofa in the lounge. I'm quite happy with the new sleeping arrangements and I will need to take out the bits of the bed whenever it's possible to get the Council to come and collect it all. I'm not bothered about replacing the bed and may just leave things as they are until I can get a new replacement.

It's 6.25a.m. and it seems it's going to be another pleasant morning on the weather front. Washed, shaved and ready to take his nibs out at around 7.15.

Later. I've taken Alfie out again and it's odd seeing Oldbrook Green so free of people. Yesterday evening when we went out it was crowded and had the atmosphere of a Bank Holiday, with children with their parents, some sitting in groups on the grass, some playing football, others walking their dogs, like me, whilst others just strolling around. I'm still not completely certain how much of the social distancing is going on, but a definite more relaxed atmosphere generally.

Still Sunny!

On my way to Aylesbury on Saturday I saw, at the side of the road, a poster advertising the Buckingham County Show. It sounded to me like something I might like to visit. As a child, my family, being farmers, were always attending such events, the largest being the Royal Show at Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, as well as the East Of England Agricultural Show at Alwalton near Peterbrough. This was formed from the more local agricultural shows, one being the Bedfordshire Show, which was staged on water meadows near the River Ouse in Cardington Road, Bedford, but which is now home to a Tesco supermarket as well as the Oasis Beach Pool, which is quite a prominent building, having the form of a pyramid, which  no doubt gave rise to it's name. The East of England Show came to an end in 2013 after 200 years I have since discovered, because it was making a loss, due, mainly, to the fact that it couldn't attract enough visitors. I think it may not have helped being held mid-week (I'm not sure that it was ever held over a weekend, which would be far more sense than mid-week, because so many people wouldn't be able to attend because of work commitments.) It may have just not kept pace with modern life. There is a show now held at Blenheim Palace, which is called Countryfile Live and associated with the BBC Sunday evening programme Countryfile, which probably has events which are more relevant to a 21st-century audience.

Anyway, apart from all that, I was considering whether I wanted to go, because, as I say, I think it would make a good day out. I went on their website and there's enough going on to keep me entertained for most of the day, a Thursday. I then decided to book myself a ticket on line and even got a discount because of my age and have printed out the ticket which you have to show when you enter. I now have to set the SatNav in order to find the show ground, and according to good old Google Maps it's no more than a 30-minute drive.

(Wednesday) I've just this minute finished making a batch of chocolate nut brownies for the braai which is going to be at church this Sunday, instead of a service. For those who don't know, it's a South African barbecue and people will be busily creating similar culinary concoctions to take along. I just hope we don't have the awful rain we had last Sunday as I drove along Chaffron Way. It was a real deluge but during the service it stopped and the sun came out. Just shows how weather in this country can change rapidly. Now have the brownie mixture in the oven baking and should be done in 30 minutes. As I write this there's about 15 minutes left before I remove it from the oven.

I've had my first bereavement counselling session at Ashfield Medical Centre. I'm not going to discusss this further on this blog, just to say there will be 6 in total over the next few weeks, at the same time each Wednesday.

(Thursday) I have had a telephone call from someone, not sure whether it was the Council, but it was about discussing me moving to new accommodation, possibly a bungalow in sheltered accommodation. I don't want it too be too sheltered, but hopefully it means I can move out of a house which has three bedrooms, two of which I have no need for, and pay less rent. With a landlord who takes no interest in the place, not having been to visit for well over a year (usually just 10 minutes once a year and they don't even notice if it's clean or not.) I'd rather be living somewhere I know will be properly maintained. The upstairs toilet in the bathroom doesn't stop flushing, unless you lift the cistern lid and fiddle with the mechanism (it keeps on filling when it should stop.), the side of the bath is loose and, frankly dangerous, the floor outside the bathroom has loose boards, definitely dangerous. The cold tap on the wash basin in the bathroom is loose (has been in all the years i've lived here.), one of the kitchen cupboard doors has broken off. I could go on.

Alfie has had an extra walk in the afternoon for the past two days. It has been bright, but not necessarily sunny, but nonetheless, he was surprised that he got out and had a run across the park. It's quite busy, with children playing and you come across people you don't usually see when we go out at around 6 o'clock early morning.

New Car and other things-Part2

We made the decision to go with the Renault Captur at Evans Halshaw. We discovered that there's no Road Fund Tax to pay on the car because it has low emissions. After so many years of driving it seems odd to not pay for a licence.  We had to go into the NatWest to have the money transferred to the dealer's account. No end of identification details at the bank, presumably to make sure it was all legal and above-board. I can see why, because of criminals laundering money and the threat of possibly funding such things as terrorism. It all went through without any problems. We had already paid a £200 deposit from my Nationwide account and we couldn't collect the new car until the next Monday as it had to be MoT'd and valeted and have final checks done before we could take delivery. The old car had to be cleared out and we needed the paperwork to hand over to Evans Halshaw, such as the Registration documents as well as MoT certificate. After a hunt around the house they were located, so fortunately there was no problem. The Registration document sent off to Swansea to make sure we are no longer the registered owners of the old car. It has since been acknowledged by them as the document had arrived and they responded that all details were transferred.

The new car has a built in SaNav. We already have a portable Garmin model which we got last year and we've managed to set up and use successfully. It's important to upgrade the computerised maps these things contain because roads are constantly being changed, new roads added when new housing estates and roundabouts are opened and constructed. The TomTom within the Renault is somewhat out of date so we need to discover how to upgrade the maps within it.

The other thing which is new to us is the fact it doesn't have a traditional 'key' as such to start the car. You get a sort of 'card' with the usual remote buttons to unlock the car doors and to start the car you insert this plastic 'key' into the slot in the dashboard and put your foot on the brake and clutch pedal and then press another button to activate the engine. Takes quite a lot of time to get used to, but far more economical in the long run.

Anyway, we went to collect the new car on the Monday and Carol drove it first. When we eventually got home I drove round the estate. It's probably that bit bigger than the old car. For a start it has four doors and probably a bigger boot.

We drove back towards Milton Keynes and stopped off at Marston Mortaine, to the Millennium Country Park which we've visited on several occasions. To use the toilets and to have a snack. Quite a nice café and a great place for children. We sat and could see children and parents outside, the children happily playing in the playground. How many parents dump their children in these playgrounds (generally safe, with a fence all round and a gate which stops dogs getting in and fouling the area.) but some parents are more keen on sitting and gossiping with their friends, drinking coffee and constantly checking their mobiles. I sometimes think these things cause more problems than they solve.

We had planned to do a wide variety of things during Carol's school holiday break. We've been members of the National Trust for quite a number of years now. We visit some of their sites frequently, as you will have discovered if you read these blog posts on a regular basis, such as Stowe Landscape Gardens, Waddesdon Manor and Wimpole Hall and Home Farm. We'd rejoined English Heritage. Both the National Trust and English Heritage allow you to pay in monthly instalments, which I suppose means that more people can afford to pay in instalments which makes it far easier. A good move on both their parts. English Heritage manage a good many historical sites, one near here being Wrest Park which we've been to on quite a number of occasions. Also, the H.H.A. (Historic Houses Association). We have been to Blenheim Palace using our H.H.A. membership. Last summer, which was really hot virtually throughout, we managed to visit many places. With Carol not being well it has been difficult to visit any of these places although we have been to Castle Ashby, not on either organisation's 'free entry' list but well worth a visit. It's not too far either, through Olney and driving towards Northampton. Lastly, Carol revived her Fellowship membership of Z.S.L. (Zoological Society of London) and we've already visited Whipsnade twice since reinstating the membership.

Last week we visited somewhere new which we only discovered, quite by accident. I was on Google Maps looking for something entirely different and found a place marked on the map, called Crocodiles of The World. I told Carol about it and she was more than interested to visit. Not only were there crocodiles there but a komodo dragon which she was keen to see. A large pool containing no less than 30 crocs which we saw being fed, which was quite spectacular as the man feeding them stood on a sort of platform over the water and kept feeding them with a pole with a sort of hook that could release the bits of chicken and each time he held it out over the water many of the crocodiles would jump up to get the food!

Blenheim Palace Outing

Thursday was a really hot day. We had planned to have at least one day out, visiting somewhere interesting. We have a lot of choice, as members of the National Trust and H.H.A. (Historic Houses Association.) Carol has said she wants to visit Chatsworth in Derbyshire, so we had a look at their website. This house isn't included in the H.H.A. handbook as having free entry to their members so it seemed that Blenheim Palace would be a better choice. Not only with free entry, but nowhere near as far to drive as it's just outside Oxford and perhaps around an hour's journey. We have been there before, but it was probably six-seven years ago. As H.H.A. members you are only supposed to visit a property once a year as I imagine it would reduce their income. A single entry to Blenheim is around £25 so that would be a £50 layout for the two of us.

Entrance to Blenheim Palace

We discovered on the Blenheim Palace website that there was going to be a triathlon in the park and that, as a result, some areas of the park and the Palace itself, would be restricted. No problem, we thought. On arrival we had to park in a somewhat inappropriate grass field, serving as temporary parking, but never mind. We then had to walk a considerable distance to the Palace, somewhere in the region of half a mile or more. Again, no problem as we needed the exercise. The last time we visited we did the guided tour of the house. I recall it was extremely well done, with a very knowledgeable guide who gave a lot of information about the Palace's history, which included the building of it and quite a bit on Sir Winston Churchill, who was born and raised there. Coincidentally, I am reading Peter Ackroyd's book, "Revolution," which is the fourth book in his series on the history of England and covers the 'Glorious Revolution' and the Battle of Blenheim which is where the Duke of Marlborough scored a mighty victory over the French and was then given Blenheim as a reward by Queen Anne. So, it was quite interesting to have the background so well recorded in this book and to then see the actual place in all it's magnificence. As we'd already seen the interior of Blenheim before, regardless of it's amazing scale, design and size, we decided against it. We didn't see much of the park, so this time we decided to discover what there was beyond the confines of the main building. We'd seen the Italianate gardens on our previous visit, but on this occasion we walked down towards the lake and began our tour of the grounds.

One of a number of classical-style statues in the Great 

Court at Blenheim

It was a really pleasant amble along the side of the lake. Looking back, you could just see the tower of the main palace building and a small boat house on the edge of the lake. It was quite a steep incline down and there was work going on to repair and restore the path. There was a warning sign set up warning those in wheelchairs or pushing children in buggies that it was dangerous to use this path. I can see why, because if you were pushing a child in a pram or buggy or someone was in a wheelchair there was a danger of it running away and landing up in the lake. We walked on, and at several places along the lake we stopped to take photographs of not only the view but a whole variety of flora. We eventually arrived at what is called the Grand Cascade. I knew there was a cascade at Blenheim, but I imagined it to be quite a gentle slope. This was more like a fairly active and fast-flowing torrent and amazingly there were a couple of ducks in the flowing water. It was a wonder they didn't get washed down into the river below.

The Grand Cascade, although from this shot you get no 

idea of it's size and scale

We continued on our walk, and eventually came to a small garden which was designed as a memorial to Winston Churchill, who was born at Blenheim Palace. In the centre there was a large and very impressive bust of the great man.

Bust of Winston Churchill

By this time we'd walked a considerable distance. A good two miles by my reckoning. We had a look around the shop, which was part of the new development along with the restaurant. I bought a guidebook, to add to my by now considerable collection of similar guidebooks, bought at other properties we've visited. We took a few more photographs as we walked to the exit and the amble back to the car in the field and to drive home towards Milton Keynes.

Visit To Woburn Abbey

 Deer at Woburn Abbey Park 

Well, it was sunny and warm yesterday morning (Saturday) so we decided to go out. It was a necessity to just get out of Milton Keynes, after the dismal Bank Holiday. We didn't want to drive far, as petrol is such a price, so we went to Woburn Abbey as there is currently a display of sculpture on in the gardens. It's just pleasant driving through the park in the sunshine and seeing all the deer. We drove round towards the Abbey, paying at the gate and saw herds of deer under the trees, and stopped to take some photographs from the car.

Parked the car at the carpark. There is to be a charity run for the British Heart Foundation, so there are preparations for this in and around the carpark, for example tents being erected and other things going on, but that is tomorrow. We walked into the grounds, and found that you now have to enter through the gift shop. A very clever ploy, this, which means you are going to spend money in the shop. It doesn't really bother us as there is some nice stuff in there, compared to some other places we've visited. The last time we came here was several years ago, when we were members of the H.H.A. (The Historic Houses Association.) This is similar to the National Trust, whereby if you become a member you gain free access to houses and other properties in their protection or management. We were able to go to quite a few other properties when we were members, such as Blenheim Palace and Newby Hall in Yorkshire. Blenheim has been used for quite a few films, such as the Kenneth Branagh version of Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' whilst Newby was used in an I.T.V. adaptation of a Jane Austen novel which starred Billie Piper.

In the gardens at Worburn Abbey there was a sculpture exhibition,  called Artbeat, which was just suited to the location, and it was pleasant to walk round and admire the works on display (or otherwise, as some of the more abstract work doesn't appeal to either of us, although some of it is interesting, nevertheless.)

These giant glasses are somewhat amusing, to say the least, although to be honest, I don't see them as 'art.' They are quite large, and you don't unfortunately, get much of an idea of scale in this photograph. This sculpture was created by Grande Disco, a collaborative project created by the artist Joel Grey in conjunction with Solubema, the largest quarry in Portugal.

I rather like these sculptures, entitled Paladins, created by Kate Denton. Further down is a close-up shot of one of the sculptures.

Love this sculpture of a dog,  by Kate Denton, complete with a stick in it's mouth. You get a sense of it enjoying it's owner throwing the stick and then going to fetch it. Quite beautifully portrayed and very realisitic.

The above dog is displayed in this grouping, with the woman sitting and relaxing on the bench and the dog in front of her waiting to play a game with her, perhaps going to fetch a stick she has thrown for him.

This I love. A pig sculpted by Kate Denton.

Not so keen on this. Interesting all the same. Just doesn't resonate for me I'm afraid.

These figures have a real sense of movement and are real fun. I rather like them.

Having walked around the garden looking at the sculpture we went to the tearoom and had something to eat. No visit to one of these places is complete without a bite to eat and drink. We were surprised at how empty the place was. On arrival there were very few cars, or, indeed, people around the place, but by the time we left it was beginning to get quite busy. No doubt it will be full of tourist around the time of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee weekend in a month or so's time as it will no doubt be the sort of place that tourists will flock to.

Holiday Over

It has certainly been a strange few weeks. Holiday it might have been, and Christmas and New Year, but we haven't done a great deal. The weather and the snow in particular, has meant that we haven't been out and about as much as we would if the weather had been better. Being cooped up in the house hasn't exactly helped. I'm not a great one for sitting about indoors for days on end. As a couple Carol and I like to get out and visit places. We're members of the National Trust and have also been members of English Heritage and something called the H.H.A. (Historic Houses Association). Once you join these organisations you can visit these places free. It makes a great day out and means you don't pay for entry. When we were H.H.A. members, for example, we went to Blenheim Palace near Oxford. Normally single entry is around £15 each (I'd have to visit their website to find out the actual current entry price per person.) so, to get in free after being H.H.A. members meant we saved something like £30. Over a year we can visit more than enough properties to make it worth our while being members of these organisations and cover the cost of membership. At the moment most of these properties are closed, although some of the English Heritage sites do remain open throughout the winter months, but, generally, National Trust properties close around October and re-open in the spring.