Flat Tyre

 Sunday 23rd August 9.25 a.m. Did I mention the car had a flat tyre? I don't think I did. All the rushing about when my bankcard was frozen, and then having to drive into the shopping centre to get money out at the Nationwide branch and then drive to Sainsbury's. It was when I drew up at a set of traffic lights on the way, that some kind driver pointed out the flat tyre, that I realized that something had to be done, and quickly, such as, find a tyre replacement service, which could come out to Dexter House and put a new tyre on the car and, hopefully, not cost the earth. In all of nearly 60 years of driving, I think this must be only the second, or possibly the third, flat tyre I have actually had, so I can't complain. Well, I suppose I can, but I won't. There was no way I could drive the car with a flat tyre,because it would have been dangerous and the hub of the wheel might have been bent out of shape as a result.

Anyway, to cut a fairly long story short, I found a company through the internet, who could come out and take the old, flat, tyre off the car and replace it with a new one. Luckily I found the small box containing the nuts which allowed the old tyre to be removed, otherwise the job could not be done, but, fortunately I found them in the car and the job was completed and the whole thing done.

Monday. 24th August. 8.30 a.m. On Saturday I thought, for a change, I would go to Aldi and do a bit of shopping. It then occurred to me that Curry's was just along the parade of units, I could go in there and enquire about external hard drives for my MacBook, because I am keen to get all my written material,in particular the plays, put onto some form of drive, as an insurance policy against something happening to the laptop and all that hard work being lost forever. I have now got a tiny memory stick which shows up on the desktop of the Macbook. So, I now have some of the material saved to the stick, although it is so tiny I am more concerned about how tiny it is and how easy it will be to loose that, rather than the contents!!

I had developed a really unpleasant rash, in a rather private place. It had become red raw and was beginning to sting. The solution to this rash was to get a doctor's appointment and, hopefully, the doctor could prescribe something to help it heal. I filled out the on-line triage form, because you aren't supposed to ring the surgery for an appointment, unless it is for something serious, which this isn't. I completed the form and posted it. Then an hour and a half later,  I got an email, telling me there were no available slots for appointments, but if necessary, go to the Urgent Care Centre, at Milton Keynes University Hospital. Well, being told that made my blood run cold, because experience told me that I might be there for several hours before being seen. Also, I have memories of taking Carol there after she was diagnosed with bowel cancer, which weren't good. But, after some consideration of the matter, I plucked up the courage and drove there. Fortunately, the waiting room wasn't as busy as it was last time I was in there and, on arrival I had to answer a few questions and then I sat in the waiting area. It wssn'tlong before a doctor called me into one of the rooms, to be asked a few mor questions and to show him the rash and be told I would be given a prescription, one for some cream to put on the rash and some antibiotics.

Once I had the prescription, I took it to the nearest chemist I could think of, in Netherfield. The only problem was, that, just as I arrived at this chemist's, it was turning 1 p.m., and the pharmacist had gone for their lunch, and it wouldn't be possible to get the prescription made up until 2 p.m., because a pharmasist had to be present, by law, in order to administer the drugs on the prescription. So, I drove back to Dexter House to have some lunch and then make my way back to the chemist after 2 p.m. to collect the prescription. So, this is precisely what I did and when I eventually got back to Dexter House, I took the first dose of the medication.

The Return of the MacBook!

(Friday) I was informed by both email and text message, that the microwave oven I'd ordered through the Currys website would be arriving between 12.20 and 1.20 this morning. It arrived more or less dead on time and I had to sign using one of these crazy digital devices where it's virtually impossible to sign your signature properly. The parcel came via DPD, the courier company, who very kindly kept me informed of my microwave's journey from the warehouse. Very crafty to be able to keep a track of a delivery and to give fairy accurate information as to when a parcel is going to arrive. I had also ordered a box from Bilbliophile books a couple of weeks ago, a paperback of Gyles Brandreth's diaries of his time as an MP and, to make it even more worthwhile, it has been signed by him. I've always liked his style and erudite manner whenever he appears on The One Show and such radio programmes such as Just A Minute. I had wondered where this book had got to, but it arrived in the post, earlier in the morning, along with a DVD of 'The Favourite' which I got from Sky as part of my subscription, so I have that to enjoy at some not-too distant point in time.

At last! The telephone call I've been waiting for came at around 12 midday today (Friday) to inform me that the MacBook was ready for collection from Currys. They had found a couple of viruses on it and they were removed. So I went off to Curry's no sooner had the microwave been delivered. One lest thing to wait around for, but it's fixed and I feel a good deal happier that that rather nasty incident over the scam had been resolved. Although I got a telephone call earlier, one of those strange computerised calls, saying it was from BT, but after what happened exactly a week ago, I have my serious doubts that it was actually from BT. As a consequence of this I have now rung the real BT (well, I do hope that it was the REAL BT.) and informed them of the call last week. Apparently they are attempting to stop these malicious and false calls. You can get your provider to put some sort of software in their system to stop these sorts of calls, so I might call Sky, who provide my landline telephone and see if they can stop these calls and hopefully prevent a repetition of last Friday's incident.

Saturday morning. I've been out early with Alfie. Any idea that I might get some sort of lie-in because it's the weekend has completely gone out of the window. Alfie doesn't realise it's the weekend and that either of us could do with a rest. I did get up a bit later than usual, but not much. It would have been around 6.40 but the time we set paw and foot on the path outside the front door and the set off towards Eaglestone Park. Alfie came across a young bird as soon as I let him off his lead. I think it was a newly fledged starling. It was fluttering around in the long grass. Alfie, being a Yorkshire Terrier, showed his terrier instincts, and wanted to catch it. I had to prevent him from picking it up. I'm not sure what he would have done with it if he had, and I wasn't going to find out, so I had to pick him up, but when I put him down again, he tried to follow the little bird. No doubt the fledgling was being watched by it's parents from the safety of a nearby tree. But I managed to distract Alfie long enough for him to not follow the birdie. Then, in a tree at the rear of a garden which backs onto the park, we saw several squirrels playing in a tree. I thought they would make a really great photo and got out my iPhone in an attempt to get a shot or two, but it's not easy trying to get a decent shot with a Yorkshire Terrier in tow and pulling on his lead and barking. The squirrels were running up and down the trunk of the tree and then leaping from branch to branch above my head. They move very quickly and are extremely adept at hanging on to the very thin and bendy branches. But in the end I lost sight of them and we walked on along the path.

My car needed fuelling. The gauge in the car was showing low. I could have gone on for a few more days, but I didn't want to put diesel in until it was really necessary. The Renault Captur is a very economical car to run and I can go for several weeks on one tankful. I have been going to the BP station on Childs Way, behind he Xscape building, basically because it's convenient and I get Nectar points. When I got there it now seems they are going to give up on Nectar and set up their own points system. Annoying, because it means if you join it you have to have another card or app on your phone if you intend collecting them. At least with Nectar there are several places that give them if you shop with them. I also go to fuel there early because there's less traffic and it's easier to get out onto the road afterwards.

Another Sunny Day!

The warm weather continues. Milton Keynes in the sun is a great place.

I've been doing on-line surveys for a good number of years now. It's turned out to be quite a lucrative activity. I can't say you can make a living at it, but if you find the right survey sites that offer either vouchers or cash, then the points or cash can soon add up. One such site is called Consumer Pulse, which you have to be invited to join, as I was, some 10 years or so ago. This company wants you to record what you buy, not grocery items, things like clothing, CDs and DVDs, books and so on. I have already managed to purchase quite a few items using the points that I have a accrued and these can be converted into  variety of vouchers for well known stores, such as W.H. Smith, Waterstones, Argos and Currys. We purchased a steam iron, electric kettle as well as put a large amount to the cost of our Hitachi HD television set. I had got quite a good balance of points on Consumer Pulse. Well over £140 and decided that I could use them to purchase a new microwave. I got rid of the old model we had a few months ago because it wasn't in a fit state to use. It had gone rusty and it hadn't been looked after very well. If food is spilt inside when something is cooked and isn't wiped clean, then eventually it will fester and this is exactly what had happened to this model. It just wasn't hygienic, so I took it to the tidy-tip. For a replacement I intened getting one that, hopefully, would be better constructed, and wouldn't rust as quickly. Let's be honest here, many products aren't made to last. They have a sort of built-in obsilescence because the manufacturers want you to buy the latest model. This seems the case with such things as computers and mobile phones. You have to up-grade the software they run on frequently and then, when there are no further up-grades, you will want to change the model for a newer one. I had to decide which model I wanted and within the budget I had set and to then decide which retailer I would order the vouchers for, up to a value of £140. I chose Currys and duly went on the Consumer Pulse website and ordered them. You can only have them in blocks of £10, and I knew, once ordered, it would take around a week before they arrived at my door.

I was pleased when I got the delivery of the Currys vouchers in yesterday's post (Wednesday) because I was expecting them to come by Friday at the latest. I had to sign because the postie knocked on the door and I was expected to sign on a sort of digital device that it's difficult to write on and produce an at least half-respectable and legible signature.

I was hoping to use the vouchers in the nearest branch of Currys, but when I went to their branch and found the model microwave I wanted, I was told that they didn't have it in stock. I discovered that it was in stock at the Bedford branch, but when I asked if the required item could be bought to the Milton Keynes branch for me to collect I was informed that this was not possible. I could purchase the item on-line and use my vouchers to buy it and have it delivered to my home. So, this is what I attempted to do. You have to scratch off the back of the voucher and then put the long code into the website along with the P.I.N., which is the number on the back of the voucher and under the scratch-off area of the voucher. Having done this for five of the vouchers (each vouchers was worth £10, so there were 14 in total, making a total of £140.) But after the fifth voucher, the software told me that no more than 5 vouchers could be used per transaction! As you can imagine I was somewhat annoyed, but I went into the Currys branch in Milton Keynes and they transferred the 14 vouchers onto one voucher and this I eventually managed to put into the Currys website and order the microwave, to have it delivered next Friday.  Thank goodness thats over,

Meanwhile . . . I was told that my MacBook would be ready on Thursday, and that someone would telephone me to tell me if there was a probem, possibly after 12 noon. Nothing. No call, or anything. Just annoying. I forgot to take the charging cable when I took the computer in for them to look at it, so I took it yesterday when I was attempting to get the microwave sorted out. I just hope I get a call tomorrow and that it's ready for me to collect later in the day.

At the beginning of this blog post I wrote that it was sunny and warm. As I write this, looking out of the lounge window I can see that it is definitely not sunny. The wind is quite strong and it's moving the trees about. That's all I need to tell you at this moment in time.

Doing This and That

I had a telephone call from Theresa, who is part of the Family Support group at Willen Hospice. She spoke a lot to Carol when she was in Willen. She was ringing to discover how I was getting on since Carol passed away. She said I might like to have bereavement counselling, which I agreed. She said that she would pass on my name and try to find someone to come and see me. I got a call a few days later from a lady called Hilary and she came out to see me last Friday morning. I was told that there was a group of people who met in the  John Lewis restaurant on a Monday morning. Hilary was there when I arrived at 10a.m. I was introduced to the group and it was a pleasant time just getting to know people and having a chance to chat. They have outings and also meet in a pub for a meal somewhere in Milton Keynes. I believe it's called The Barn, somewhere in the City centre.

I've recently bought a soundbar for my Hitachi High Definition television. It's made by Goodmans. I got it because it was on offer in Sainsbury's. I had some fun setting it up. It will connect using Bluetooth, to my Kindle as well as my iPhone. I have the BBC 'Sounds' app on the iPhone and you can listen to radio, podcasts or download broadcasts, such as comedy or drama. I had a problem getting it to connect to the television. In the manual which came with the device they suggest that for best results to use the 'optical' connection, but a lead for this did not come with the device so I had to go to buy the cable from Currys. I attempted to connect it to the sounder but it would not work. The actual plug just wouldn't connect to either the television or the soundbar. I tried this several times but almost gave up. I then decided to use Google and I found a YouTube video. Low and behold, it suggested removing the plastic covers on each end of the cable. No? Why was this not in the manual or other places? So, I took off these clear plastic covers, and would you guess? The lead fits perfectly! I assumed these clear plastic covers were part of the lead, not there to protect the end of the lead. Why is no mention of this in the manual? Then I followed the instructions in the manual and now the thing connects perfectly and boosts the television sound considerably!

I was in the kitchen, preparing my evening meal. I just happened to look out of the patio doors and, lo and behold! I see it's snowing! Quite heavily. Alfie was wandering about and it looked as if he might need to go out into the garden. I slid the door open and he stuck his head out. He had one look at the falling snow, and withdrew into the house. I can hardly blame the poor little dog. He doesn't like cold and he wasn't going to venture forth. He's currently curled up on the sofa, in the bundle of blankets he likes very much.

(Wednesday) I put the rubbish out for the bin men early this morning and I was more than a little surprised to discover we'd had a fall of snow. Not a lot, but enough. When is there ever enough snow?

A bit later . . . I've discovered a load more of Carol's medication in one of the kitchen cupboards. I put it all together in a carrier bag and took it to Lloyd's pharmacy in Sainsbury's this morning. I have also thrown out no end of part-used packets, bottles and jars of stuff from one of the kitchen cupboards and as a result there's a good deal more space in that cupboard. It needed doing. It's all gone out in black plastic bags and now taken away by the bin men. I was surprised that it had all been taken away when I got back from Sainsbury's.

The sun is out and it's quite warm now (11.00 a.m.) Now sitting in the lounge writing this and resting after the exertions of going to Sainsbury's and then emptying the cupboards. It's quite therapeutic. I think that's the word.

Next Wednesday I'm booked to have my second stent fitted at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. I had a telephone call from one of the nurses there to find out if I was alright. I told them I wanted the think over and done with. I'm on the morning list and may be there until about 5p.m. 

Eighth Chemotherapy Cycle Postponed

We got news late yesterday afternoon that it was fine for Carol's next chemotherapy cycle to be postponed for another week, the week after the Easter holiday. As mentioned in an earlier blog post, her recent blood test didn't show enough of a certain element which, if the chemotherapy was to take place as scheduled,  would mean she would be open to infection. It now means that her mum and dad can come and visit. We've yet to decide where we're visiting. As long as the weather is fine, we have several National Trust properties lined up, or even an English Heritage one. But I won't mention where on here, for obvious reasons.

Not a lot for me to write about over the past weekend. I think my posts have become a bit repetitive, since we haven't been anywhere interesting since the diagnosis back in late August/September.

As I write this (at 6.35 a.m.) I can hear rain on the lounge window. It's considerably colder of late. We turned the central heating down, so no doubt we'll turn it up again.

We've been looking for a new vacuum cleaner. Carol has suggested getting a cordless one, which is lighter and easier for her to use. It does make sense. The old one we have is alright up to a point, but it clogs up quickly and the hose is a nuisance. Also, with a plug-in model you are somewhat restricted by the cable. A cordless one would make cleaning the stairs, for example, much easier. We keep seeing advertising on television for a G-Tech vacuum cleaner. I've been looking on-line at retail outlets who stock the various machines made by the competition, Argos, John Lewis and Curry's have different models. You can buy a G-Tech on-line, according to the advertising. We went to Curry's early, but they don't stock this particular brand. We tried two Dyson models. Very much more expensive than the G-Tech.

We then went to park in the multi-storey carpark near Debenham's and walked down through the store. There was a sale on in the store and then left to walk through the shopping centre. We went into Marks and Spencer and I bought a new polo shirt and then we continued to walk towards John Lewis.  The electronics department is now on the ground floor (the store was given a make-over a couple of years ago) and we found the vacuum cleaners and a G-Tech on display. From having a demonstration by one of the sales assistants we found it to be good at it's job and decided to buy one. We didn't want to carry the parcel back through the shopping centre, so we managed to have it ready to pick up from the pick-up point, so we walked back to the Debenham's carpark. We stopped off at McDonald's to have burgers for lunch, using a very efficient computer screen to order and pay. We sat outside the store to eat and then walked on to collect the car from the carpark and drove round the shopping centre. It wasn't possible to drive around where we expected to be able to drive, due to building works near John Lewis. A new carpark, but managed to find a space nearer the collection point and I walked in to collect the G-Tech, very well packed up by the staff. There seems to be quite a considerable amount of building going on in and around Milton Keynes at the moment.

On arrival home we set up the G-Tech and got it charging. As I write it's fully charged and ready to try out on the lounge carpet.

Dog-Walking, Lawn-Mowing and other Trivial Pursuits

Well, it's now a good deal cooler. We have had some rain, although hardly storm conditions. Certainly enough to lay the dust and freshen the atmosphere. The dogs have had three walks this week. One along the Redway and back along the Grand Union Canal and a couple of rounds of Eaglestone Park. Alfie is like one of those clockwork toys which you wind up and then let it go and it runs until the clockwork runs out. We let each dog off their leads once we reach the open area of grass and Alfie runs off madly, but soon comes back when you call. He likes to know that we're not too far away. Poppy, on the other hand, just potters along. She's really showing her age. But come across another dog and she has to run up to it and make friends. Alfie charges in, no questions asked, and the other dog is taken by surprise. We attempt to get them back on their leads, but it can be a difficulty. Try to get Poppy to respond and she does the opposite. Stubborn little minx that she is. 

I have managed to get the grass cut. Done last Friday. Just as well I did it when it was dry because I certainly wouldn't be able to cut it when it was wet. It would clog up the mower. 

I mentioned that our Hoover packed up a few weeks ago. It has now been replaced by a Vax model. Actually far more efficient in comparison to the Hoover. But now the washing machine has gone into decline. I think I've mentioned this on this blog before. It just will not spin. So we are looking at replacing it. We've been to Curry's to look at a replacement. It is actually owned by our landlord, but considering how long it's likely to take for him to replace the said washing machine, it is easier for us to do this ourselves. You may recall, if you've been following this blog, what happened when he replaced the last machine a couple of years ago and how his so called 'friend' came to install it and over-looked the fact that you had to remove the transit bolts which hold the drum inside the machine and how the machine behaved when it was turned on, pulling out the plumbing from the wall and fracturing the piping and so causing a leak which took some time to be repaired. So much for using unreliable workmen who have absolutely no idea what they're doing. We had to get this damage repaired ourselves at our own expense. Hopefully, we can buy the new washing machine next week and have it installed and the old machine removed .

Faulty Technology

I do a number of 'on-line' surveys and get paid for doing them. Some you accrue points which can be used to convert into vouchers for a number of well-known retail outlets, or they can be converted into Amazon points. I have managed to get quite a few items from Amazon, books, a digital watch, an external hard-drive for the iMac, as well as managing to get a microwave, an electric iron and a mini DVD player as well as a Sony e-reader from Argos and Curry's. I had a cheque to pay into my Nationwide account come in the post on Saturday and decided to go into the city centre to pay it into the account. The branch has a couple of automated machines that allow you to pay in cash, cheques as well as the usual A.T.M. functions found on most other 'hole-in-the-wall' machines. I put in my cashcard and pressed the relevant keys in order to pay in the cheque. I put the cheque in the slot as indicated, to have it immediately rejected and spat out unceremoniously. I had thought that I had managed to put it in the slot in the correct way, as indicated by the illustration shown on screen. But again it was rejected. It grabbed the cheque in a very brisk fashion. Can't they programme a machine to at least have a few manners? Doesn't seem they can. I attempted this action several more times, much to the amusement of the lady who was waiting to use the thing behind me. I then decided, when the cheque was thown back at me for around the sixth time to give up on the whole process, and was about to queue up to use the traditional method of payment, through a human being behind a desk (the whole purpose, supposedly, of having the automated system would have been to cut down on having to queue.) I went to another machine the other end of the banking hall, and this one worked perfectly, without a single hitch. How can one machine be so difficult, and the other work perfectly? What particularly annoyed me was that none of the Nationwide staff who where nearby made any effort to help resolve the problem with the machine. I was always under the impression that their staff were quite helpful, so this has really changed my view of them.