Fridge-Thawing and Chasing Cats

I spent most of Saturday morning de-frosting the fridge/freezer. I had turned the thing off on Friday night, because the third of the drawers I had ordered from Candy was delivered by Parcel Force on Friday morning. I cleared out the old drawers and had to bin a lot of stuff that wasn't worth keeping and the rest I put in a plastic box and took next door because Shelley and Garry allowed me to put it in their freezer until mine was ready for me to replace it in the cleaned-out and defrosted fridge/freezer. I should have left the fridge/freezer door open because it didn't defrost as quickly as I'd imagined, so early on Saturday I left it open and it seemed to thaw relatively quickly. I had put an old towel on the floor to try and absorb as much of the melt water as possible and it soon became like a tidal wave had hit and it ran all over the floor and under the table. I knew it would be a mess but I had to cope with it until the whole fridge/freezer was clear of ice. It was the fact that there was so much ice that caused the problem with the drawers breaking in the first place, so much that it was difficult to slide them out. The old broken drawers can be taken to the tidy-tip in Bleak Hall late next week, along with lots of other refuse, the packaging from the Panasonic microwave and quite  few other bits ad pieces which are hanging around the house. It isn't worth going until at least Thursday, because it's likely to be very busy, because people seem to use a Bank Holiday as an excuse to do clearing-out of their attic, garage or wherever they have unwanted stuff stored. The BBC1 programme, 'Money For Nothing' is based on the fact that people throw out old bits of furniture, either because they want to up-grade it, they inherit it from relatives or parents, it's not fashionable or else it's past it's best, broken and probably past repair. Sarah Moore, one of the designers who fronts this show, along with Jay Blades, takes these items away before they hit the skips (having got special permission to do this because you're not allowed to remove items from a tidy-tip otherwise.) and these pieces of furniture is restored and 're-purposed.' It's quite amazing to see what becomes of these pieces of furniture, sometimes transformed into bright, funky and quite striking pieces.

By mid-morning the ice had cleared from the fridge/freezer. I cleaned the shelves in the fridge section, taking them all out and wiping them as well as the shelves in the door. I was then able to turn the thing on again at the electric wall socket and it gradually started to freeze up, but not as much as it did before and producing too much ice. I think it will be more efficient, not having to work as hard and it doesn't seem to make quite as much as it did before and not producing a lot of melt water which gathered in a pool on the floor of the fridge section and trickling out onto the kitchen floor. So, around 10.30 the job was completed, and I wiped the outside of the whole unit along with the rubber seals in the door which had got very dirty. Job well and truly completed and the floor mopped and cleaned. I just have to make sure that it doesn't get as iced-up so that the drawers get broken again.

(Sunday) I had intended going out later than usual to take Alfie for his routine walk around Eaglestone Park. We got down to the area of grass where I usually let Alfie off his lead, but there was a black sat sitting in front of one of the houses within the park. Alfie wasn't slow in discovering it and the cat must have wondered what on earth had stuck it, because it shot off into the wooded area with Alfie in hot pursuit. I shouted at Alfie, but he wasn't going to come back immediately. I was concerned that the cat would run out and onto a road and that, if Alfie followed, he was likely to get run over by a car. But, having run after him and shouting loudly, he did eventually come back and I decided it would be best to put his lead on because I didn't want him running away, but usually he does come back to me, but knowing how he reacts to cats, I wasn't going to find out the difficult way.

Strange Delivery

I returned home from visiting central Milton Keynes, to discover a card on the doormat, informing me that the courier company, DPD, had attempted to deliver me a parcel, but took the driver took it away when they discovered nobody at home. So it was returned to the depot. I wasn't sure what it could be and was intrigued to discover what it was they were attempting to deliver. I rang the telephone number on the card and discovered that this parcel was in their warehouse and I could go and called it. No problem. I could use the SatNav to find the address. I also saw on the card that there was a little map and that it couldn't have been all that much further off from Camphill, so I got in the car and set the SatNav. Not that it was a great deal of help . . . I just drove off and found the industrial estate and then couldn't find the exact building which was where DPD was located. Having parked the car next to what I assumed was the right building, I tried several doors, all of which were locked and then saw a group of people sitting outside the building, presumably on their lunch break. I asked them where DPD was and they pointed to another unit, so I walked over and saw some DPD vehicles, so assumed it to be the right place. I walked through the warehouse, empty and looking decidedly abandoned and not exactly busy. A man appeared and I showed him the card that had come through my door and he told me to come through to the reception area. He went off to find the parcel, which was large and had no indication on it to tell me what was within. He then asked me for identification, but, as I didn't have any on me, he told me he couldn't hand the parcel over. I said I had my wallet in my car and there would be some form of ID in it, so I walked back and then decided to drive to the DPD carpark. I have to say this company didn't make it exactly clear where their depot was, it wasn't well signed, but I managed to park outside the reception and then walked back in. I found my Driving Licence in my wallet, which has my photograph on it, which the reception man took to be good enough ID and got me to sign the electtronic pad to say I'd received the parcel and then I carried the said parcel out to the car and put it in the boot. It was then that I read the label on the side of the parcel and found it was from Candy, the fridge company I'd ordered new drawers for the fridge/freezer. This, because several of them are broken, basically because the fridge/freezer is iced up and there is far too much ice, making it difficult to get the drawers to shut properly inside the body of the fridge/freezer, hence me telephoning Candy to order new drawers. Two of them were in the parcel, but the third one, the lower of the three, was not in stock and will, hopefully, be sent on to me when it is available. I was somewhat disappointed that this was all the parcel contained, even though it was what I had ordered, and these drawers are essential, but not exactly exciting. The box was far too large for the two plastic drawers it contained. A lot of packaging, though.

A Marathon To Get To Church (and Other Matters)

(Sunday) I hadn't remembered that there was going to be a marathon run around Milton Keynes today and tomorrow (Monday.) So, when I realised that I might be stuck in Eaglestone with runners going along the road in front of my home, I panicked because I wanted to get to church. I came out of the estate near the Eaglestone shops, because the exit onto Saxon Street (opposite Milton Keynes Academy) was closed off with signs and barriers and there were people with high vis jackets on. Then, when I came out onto Chaffron Way, I found I couldn't turn left and had to turn right and then down and onto Marlborough Street.

Now, don't get me wrong. I have nothing against marathons, so long as you don't expect me to take part. Just not my thing.  Just the thought of having to possibly wear Lycra doesn't appeal to me somehow. There's noting wrong with people doing what they enjoy. And a lot of cash is raised for various charities and it's a community thing. There's not enough 'community' going on in this country as it is, we need events that bring people together. What with Brexit and all the divisions that's caused, it would be wrong to oppose something such as a marathon which brings people closer. My only objection is that it has to come down the road where I live and it means, if I want to get out in my car, I can't. O.k., you say, but it's only a few days in the year and then only a couple of hours on a Bank Holiday or a weekend. Well, yes, true. But if it's the only time you have with your partner or other members of your family, why do we have to be inconvenienced by this event? It could be easily be re-routed along the Redway, which is only a few yards away. Then I notice it comes along Golden Drive and then, further along, goes onto the Redway, so why not all the way along the Redway? If I so much make a comment to this effect on Facebook, I get the full force of someone or other's complaints. It's as if I'm not allowed to make a simple comment, a statement of common sense, I get shot down in flames. Oh dear, even say something in opposition. But the fact is, this person is easy to wind up. He/she has no sense of the irony. Doesn't take much to get them upset, riled I think the word is (must look that one up. I have just had a look. Perhaps I've spelt it wrong. Perhaps it's spelt with a 'y' instead of an 'i'.) I'm quite good at winding people up. Just need someone to take the bait and get them started, ranting and raving! Quite a few people out there like that. Just put the word 'Brexit' into the conversation and light blue touch-paper. Probably best to retire to a safe place and stick your fingers in your ears . . .

To more mundane matters . . .

I'm going to have to defrost the fridge/freezer. What excitement. Not. It has built up a great deal of ice and the fridge part has water that runs down the sides and gathers on the floor and when you open the door it tends to gush out. The freeze temperature probably needs adjusting. It hasn't been defrosted since it was first installed, I can't remember how long ago. The plastic drawers in the freezer section cause a problem, because with the amount of ice, some of them don't close properly. I have a problem that, if the door isn't closed properly, then there is a tendency for there to be a certain amount of thawing of the food inside. I have, unfortuntely, broken a couple of these drawers, because of the difficulty of pushing the drawers back inside. As a consequence, several have got severely broken. One has now got a large piece broken off completely and there is  danger of food inside the drawer falling out. I need to get these drawers replaced as soon as possible. So I found the manufacturer's website on-line yesterday and their telephone number, which, fortunately, being a Sunday, they were open for business. The manufcturer of the fridge/freezer is Candy, which I didn't realise was part of Hoover. I had to find the details of the fride/freezer on a label inside the fridge section, in the 'crisper' department. I spoke to someone at the call centre and, when he was given the relevant details of the fridge/freezer, was able to look up whether they could supply replaceent drawers. They can, but they don't have all the drawers in stock at he moment, and if I ring back in a couple of week's time, they will hopefully have the relevant items in stock and can dispatch them to me. Once they arrive, I can empty the fridge/freezer, get it defrosted and cleaned and the whole thing back in proper working order once again.

Later. I can't get out  in the car at the moment (11.15a.m.) because the Milton Keynes marathon is going past. Odd assortment of humanity, all shapes, sizes, colours, genders (to be 'diverse.') Why do some men have absolutely no idea of what they look like? Dressed in inappropriate clothing. I'll say no more. Just that, in the summer, when it's hot, why do men have no idea (not every man, of course.) that sometimes they look awful in shorts and tee shirts. Just not going there . . . Don't their women-folk tell them off when they get the horrible baggy shorts out? Go and by some better-fitting shorts. Not difficult to find. I have a vague idea what I look like. Just USE A MIRROR before going out!

Someone, somewhere near is using a Strimmer or a similar gadget in their garden. It's making a horrible noise. Why is it people insist on making this sort of noise whenever it's a Bank Holiday and all I want myself is to be quiet and relax? The D.I.Y companies, such as B and Q and Homebase, seem to think they can make more money by having offers of things like lawnmowers, Strimmers and other grass cutters, not realizing that they are condemning the rest of us to the dreadful noise they create.

There is a mystery. A white mattress has appeared just opposite my kitchen window. I'm intrigued as to where it's come from, and why someone would think it a good idea to dump it at the side of the road. There is really no need to just dump anything. You can take such items which have no further use or are just worn out or broken, to the tidy-tip in Bleak Hall. I took a photo with my iPhone and sent it with an email to the council so that they would be aware of this item. It is actually fly-tipping and as such it's an offence and whoever dumped it there can be fined heavily, and they deserve to be done for this.

New Fridge-Freezer Arrives

We had mobile phone messages this morning, bright and early, to inform us that our new Candy fridge-freezer would be delivered within the hour. It took us a while to get to the voicemail on my mobile, as we had to set up a P.I.N. number before we could get to the message. And by 7.40 the lorry arrived, just a few minutes after Carol left for work. The two deliverymen took all the packing and cardboard it was encased in away, which has saved me the time and effort of doing it myself. They lifted it in and put it in the space vacated by the old fridge-freezer and it's now plugged in and running. It will be a few hours before we can begin stocking it up with food. No doubt we will have to go shopping this evening. Unfortunately we couldn't have our early-morning cups of teas as the milk was off. We had stored milk in the old fridge, but it's obvious that it wasn't cold enough to prevent the milk going off. The new Candy fridge-freezer is considerably bigger than then old one, which is really great, meaning we can store more in it. I'm glad that they came so early as it means I don't have to sit around all day waiting for the delivery.