The Flowers That Bloom In The Spring

Friday. 8.20 a.m. The whole place has flowers blooming like mad. If you drive along Chaffron Way towards Marlborough Street, you will see primroses blooming all along the grassed verges. Really beautiful. Trees have blossom, and hedges rich in white hawthorn blossom. The hedge alongside the path towards Oldbrook Green, which I believe is beech, has grown rapidly and needs trimming.

Saturday. 6.30 a.m. I have just returned from taking Alfie out. It's turned quite overcast and I wasn't sure whether it was raining. 'Sort of' spitting, as my mother would say. 

10.15 a.m. I have been wondering why the DJI Pocket 2 camera cuts out after around 15 minutes of filming. It has done this several times, so I did some research on the internet and discovered that it might be because the memory card hadn't been formatted. This I have now done and then I did a test by taking it out and recording as I walked around Oldbrook Green. It was a success, but when I came to view the footage, almost immediately after I got back to the flat, it cut out, and I got a message telling me it had closed down because it was overheating. I think it would therefore be obvious that it will need to film for no more than 15 minutes, and then switched off, to allow it to cool down.

Sunday. 7.15 a.m. A really beautiful and sunny morning. I took Alfie out as usual and was surprised that the grass was littered with leaves. I think it may be due to the lack of rain, which we seriously need.

8.55 a.m. Oh dear! Having written the above, I now have to mention that it is now raining, although a bit half-heartedly. A bit thin and undramatic. I doubt it will make much of a difference. We need torrential rain. We are being told, via the media, that there is the possibility of a drought situation in this country. Crazy, but true. Just typical British weather! I imagine someone is going to put it down to climate change.

Monday. 8.00 a.m. Today would have been Carol and my 18th wedding anniversary. I will just get on with things as usual. Such as sorting out the recycling and putting out the rubbish, doing the washing up. I think she would be happy to know that I have things to do, such as my writing, family research, and photography. 

The morning has begun with sunshine and warmth. It is a bank holiday Monday, so it's a rarity to have decent weather.

6.15 p.m.I had two phone calls this morning. Each time I went to answer, but it rang off. I expected the first one to be one of those confounded cold calls, trying to sell me double-glazing or similar. The second time it rang, I was asleep on my bed and managed to get to the phone in time to speak to my friend, Margaret, from church. She was inviting me to a cream tea afternoon at her flat with her husband, Mike, who has Parkinson's. I said I'd be there at 3 p.m. When I arrived, a few minutes later some more of the Thursday Morning Life Group arrived and had scones, cream, and jam, which was really pleasant.

Tuesday. 1.30 p.m. It's now raining as I write. I wasn't expecting it when I took Alfie out around 45 minutes ago

Wednesday. 1.35 p.m. I had quite a few parcels arrive from Amazon mid-afternoon yesterday. The grip for the Sony digital camera, a microphone set, a holder for SD cards, and a book. I have been attempting to connect the grip to the camera via Bluetooth, but without much success. I have been watching videos on YouTube in an attempt to fathom out the procedure to get this camera connected, but without solving the problem, but I will continue to do so until it is resolved.

The Whole Darn Thing

 Wednesday, 5:00 a.m. Well, I'm wide awake and thought I might as well do some more blogging.

I have mentioned in previous posts about the infamous electric scooter sheds (the scooters are electric, not the sheds. Well, I don't think they are. Oh, just being somewhat sarcastic.) The reason for them, so that these devices aren't in the way inside Dexter House and a hazard if there's a fire. We now have beautifully resurfaced paths, all with lighting and access to these lovely sheds (irony here.) has been completed at huge expense.  Workmen have been working on the external gates which open onto Strudwick Drive (or, at least, the path, which runs alongside the Dexter House garden, and where the scooters will get into the garden and, hence, the store sheds. But STILL, the work isn't completed! This whole situation has become farcical, to say the least. I don't think you can make any of this us, but if you did, nobody would believe it. 

I've been watching episodes of the BBC sitcom 'Yes, Minister', and the above situation could come straight out of one of the episodes. It may be over 40 years since this show was first shown, but I think it's probably more relevant now than it was then.

7.25 a.m. It's bright and sunny as I write this. The digital thermometer currently reads 21˚c. 

Yesterday morning, I went out again with my DJI Pocket video camera. I went back to Campbell Wharf, which is on the Grand Union Canal where there is a marina, pub and flats. It looks as if it's being developed, with more buildings going on, a cycle shop and a One-Stop convenience store, a coffee shop and a barber's, which appears to have only just opened recently. There were workmen outside, putting up the sign.

I took some good footage, but I still haven't got the settings absolutely right with the gimbal. Having my iPhone connected to the camera on the new rig makes it easier to view what you are filming, by using the Mimo app. When I got home I managed to view the footage through the app and discovered you can even edit what you have filmed and also watch through my Apple Watch with the app.

5.50 p.m. It's been warm and sunny all day.

Alfie was due for a haircut at The Groom Room at midday, so I drove across Milton Keynes to the Pets At Home store in Bletchley. I took him into the store and got him registered. A trim around his face and body and then I went to Greggs, further along the parade of stores, for a drink and filled roll and then returned to my car to eat it. I went to T.K.Maax to have a browse. It seems the upstairs departments have been moved around and, as usual, there were no end of items I liked, but didn't buy. I went back to the car and a minute or two later the Groom Room phoned to say Alfie was done and I could collect him.

Spring Is In The Air!

 Monday. 7.05 a.m. Spring is here. It officially begins around the 20th of March, but metrological spring begins on 1st of March. It's chilly out, with a light frost.

Tuesday. 10.20 a.m. I have been out this morning to shoot some more videos. It was bright and sunny, as it has been for the past few days. I was using my iPhone, connected to the rig which takes the DJI camera and has a reserve power pack and, when required, a tripod, which screws onto the base. Using the DJI app, it means I get a far better idea of what I'm filming. I had the thing set correctly and I have already looked at the footage on my iPad. I'm very pleased with the result.

Saturday. 6.10 a.m. I went to get my hair cut yesterday at ROK Barbers in Unity Place. It definitely needed a good trim.

Chloe rang me the other evening, and she hoped I would be able to visit them all in Worcester sooner rather than later. I have rung the lady who looked after Alfie so well last time I went and everything is in place to go over the Easter weekend. So I have that to look forward to.

As I write this, it's bright and sunny, so it looks like 'Spring is in the air'! Crocuses and daffodils, as well as a host of primroses, are blooming along the sides of Chaffron Way.

Monday. 7.10 a.m. It's colder this morning, and there was a light mist over Milton Keynes when I took Alfie out around 30 minutes ago.

Tuesday. 7.10 a.m. It might be bright and relatively sunny, but it's chilly.

Saturday. 8.55 a.m. It's bright and sunny, but chilly.

I've been to Lidl. At this time of year, I always have daffodils because Carol loved them, and it would have been her 61st birthday last week, as you will know if you read my posts regularly. Lidl is so much easier to get to and have a quick shop. I still get a few items from Sainsbury's, such as bread.

Sunday. 6.40 a.m. Another mild morning on the weather front. But there was a light frost on the grass when Alfie came out with me around 10 minutes ago.

A Little Sunshine . . . and Then A Change In The Weather!

 Sunday. 7.25 a.m. Up early as usual. I'm certainly not one to lounge around in bed. When I was growing up on a farm, there was no use staying in bed after around 7 a.m., because there was always something to do on the farm. Although I didn't become a farmer, basically because of the thought of working with my brothers and father, who were always arguing with each other and making life really unpleasant (goodness knows what it was like for my mother, but I have a vague idea.) I think, if you stayed in bed, you would have the curtains opened and noise and people were moving about, and because Malting Farm house was freezing cold during the winter (no central heating!) you'd wake up with ice on the inside of the windows, you would have wanted to find heat somewhere or other, such as the kitchen, which had an Aga cooker in it, which was fuelled with coke, and was permanently on. Also, none of the bedrooms were exactly private. You had to go through one room to get to another, such as my bedroom.

It is relatively quiet this morning, on the weather front.

I don't know whether I mentioned in earlier posts about buying a DJI Pocket 2 video camera. It's a small and extremely neat little camera, which is deceptive. It doesn't look much, but it produces really amazing quality footage and even has stereo sound which can be recorded and has built-in microphones. It utilises a gimbal system which means, when you move about, the picture is always stable. You save what you record onto a card, the same way you save onto a memory card on a digital camera, which I have also. You have to be very careful with the memory card, which is tiny, no bigger than the nail of your little finger. When you put it into the slot in the camera, it's important to push it in until it clicks and make sure it doesn't jump out and get lost, very easy because it's so tiny.

I have done a couple of test videos, in an attempt to discover how it works. I have done a walk along the banks of the Grand Union Canal, but for the last one I had the camera set wrong and when I played it back, it was a speeded-up video, but I managed to set it up correctly. My biggest problem has been the ability to see clearly on the tiny monitor. But I have now bought a rig that enables me to put my iPhone on this and connect it to the camera via Bluetooth. Using the app that works with the camera, I saw more or less exactly what the camera sees. The gimble works so I can have a steady, level picture, making it easy to video when walking.

Yesterday (Saturday) there was what you might term a lull in the weather. The sun shone, which meant I had an opportunity to go out with the video camera, attached to the new rig. I walked around Oldbrook Green, and it was far easier to hold the rig with the camera in place, alongside my iPhone which connected via Bluetooth and I could use it as a viewfinder. The image was stable, and the whole experiment was a great success.

There is a sign of spring! I saw snowdrops on the opposite side of The Cricketers public house, in the area with a bench, amongst the trees. 

Monday. 7.45 a.m. It's another calm day on the weather front, although Storm Herminia is the latest 'weather event' to hit the British Isles.

4:20 p.m. The weather has taken a bad turn. The sky has been dark nearly all afternoon, but just a few minutes ago, there were two deafening thunderclaps, followed shortly by a powerful hailstorm. I stepped outside to check, and what I found wasn't rain but hail. It vanished as quickly as it arrived.

Sunny Saturday

 Saturday. 8.25 a.m. I haven't quite got the hang of using and operating the DJI Pocket. I didn't actually record any footage when I walked around Oldbrook Green, but I have since discovered that you have to give the record button a couple of presses to make it work. I know it sounds simple, but you only discover this sort of detail when you find YouTube videos which teach you how to operate the camera. You get an extremely basic instruction leaflet with the gadget (I think this is the case with most devices today.) Also, merely playing with the various buttons on the device to find out which one does what. I am now discovering how the wireless microphone connects to the camera. It uses Bluetooth and WiFi to connect. Another YouTube video explains the procedure.

As the title of this post suggests, it's a sunny day. What more can I say on the subject?

4.00 p.m. I have been out once more with the DJI Pocket and been around Oldbrook Green. I have now viewed the footage, and I'm more than pleased with the result. I didn't have the wireless microphone attached, although I have discovered how to connect it, having viewed a YouTube video on the subject. The secret of using a camera with a gimbal is that, don't play around with the settings. Once you have it how you want it, leave it alone. I had the camera facing away from myself, and the gimbal managed to keep the horizon level. Perhaps I should hold the device a little bit higher, but that's a minor point. I think if the manufacturers were going to make any adjustments to the DJI Pocket, or any of their next generation, to make the handle more rounded, so it's comfortable to hold.

Sunday. 8.25 a.m. I have now managed to extract the microcard from the DJI Pocket 2 put it into the adaptor and into the reader, and then plug that into my MacBook. I have to say that removing the card is very fiddly and because it's so tiny, no bigger than the nail of my little finger, and, if you're not careful, it could easily spring out and then shoot across the room and get lost. But I have managed to watch the footage I took when I walked around Oldbrook Green yesterday, and I'm more than pleased with the result. For a first attempt, it's better than expected, and I have high hopes for using it for future work.

4.05 p.m. We had Café Church this morning. I was doing the usual refreshment thing. There is a new coffee machine installed in the café area. It produces a range of coffee, latte, Americano etc. It's easy enough to use. It has coffee syrup in cartons inside and a touch screen to select what a customer wants, so it's easy to use and more or less foolproof.

Monday. 3.00 p.m. I need to have video editing software so that I can manipulate the footage I film on the DJI Pocket. I did a Google search and I discovered that my MacBook has it's own software for that purpose, called iMovie. 

Tuesday. 7.45 a.m. I am definitely sleeping a good deal better than I have been. I think the sertraline tablets are partly responsible. 

Yesterday I started to transfer some handwritten material into word processing. I was looking through all that I had written, which is in various notebooks, and I discovered some which hadn't been transferred. I'm editing as I go through it.

The day has begun and the conditions on the weather-front looks as if it's overcast and, according to BBC Breakfast weather, it looks as if we can expect rain later in the day.

October Begins

 Tuesday. 8.10 a.m. So, here we are in October. I can't believe that the summer is more or less over. It is definitely getting colder. On Sunday, I went to church without a jacket or coat of any kind, but I think it will probably be the last time and next week I will have to wear my jacket or at least a fleece or jumper.

Thinking about the drive to church, I was minding my own business, driving at a reasonable speed along Chaffron Way, after coming out of Strudwick Drive. This driver comes up behind me, attempting to get me to drive faster. I don't like it when I get tailgated like that, as I've probably mentioned in these posts somewhere or other. Well, I was driving along, when suddenly this idiot driver overtook me, driving on the 'restricted' part of the road in the centre. By restricted, I mean marked in red. It really shook me, and, fortunately for that driver, there wasn't anything coming in the other direction.

We've had a great deal of rain over the last week or so. There's a great deal of flooding all around Milton Keynes and neighbouring villages and towns. The A421 dual carriageway, which runs between the M1, Milton Keynes to Bedford, is completely flooded on this side of Marston Moreteyne. In some places it is around 8 feet deep, so, as a result, it has been shut. There have been attempts to pump off the water, but, as there's no river to pump the water into, it will be a long time until it gets clear and can be used by traffic again. Goodness knows how traffic will get through that area by avoiding that stretch of the road, but I expect it will take some complicated route to get to Bedford and beyond, no doubt going through local villages which were bypassed when this new stretch of dual carriageway was opened.

Wednesday. 7.45 a.m. As a result of the various incidents I have endured, driving around Milton Keynes, and elsewhere, and involving other drivers, cutting me up, tailgating me and generally bad behaviour on the road, I long ago thought it might be an idea to invest in a dash cam. So I bought one through Amazon. But it's difficult choosing the right one, and I wanted one which would be able to view the road in front as well as behind. Then, with so many to choose from, which was going to be best for what I wanted, It's a bit like potluck in a way, because it isn't until you get the thing and set it up do you discover whether it's suitable for the job. I have the front camera set up but have, as yet, to deal with the rearview camera.

Thursday. 7.25 a.m. We're going out a good deal later. I suppose it's because it's dark until around 6.30, although I do have a small torch to see what I'm doing with Alfie.

I am going to get back to some writing, but I need to have something to write on, so I have ordered some writing pads from Viking, an online stationery supplier. We don't have Staples any more in Milton Keynes, where it was possible to just walk in, have a look around and buy there and then. A great shame. I think they have an online presence, but it's not the same as just being able to go in and buy a product there and then. It looks like a lot of businesses are going that way. It will take a day or two for the order to arrive, obviously.

Friday. 7.55 a.m. There was a thin fog when I took out Alfie at around 7 o'clock. But as I am writing this, the sun is out, although it is somewhat weak and the fog has cleared.

I have bought a mini video camera from Amazon. It is a DJI pocket 2 and I ordered it at the beginning of the week and it arrived yesterday. I think it came from somewhere overseas, but I'm not sure where exactly. This would explain why it took several days to get here. I am currently figuring out how it functions, but it connects to my iPhone and you install an app on that to install software and learn how to use it. For something so tiny, which sits in your hand, it seems quite sophisticated and even has a wireless microphone. It will take a few days before I can make use of it. 

9.50 a.m. I think I have managed to set up the DJI Pocket. I have it on charge at the moment, but when it is fully charged, I intend to go out around Oldbrook Boulevard and 'give it a go.' For something so small, it certainly packs a punch. I have watched some of the footage I took yesterday when I first set it up, through my iPhone. I would like to watch some of it through my Firestick on my television. I'm going to have a lot of fun with this! Watch this space!

11.00 a.m. I have just been around Oldbrook Green with the DJI Pocket. I trust the thing has worked and I can watch the video that resulted.