Easter Bank Holiday Monday

Saturday. 4.20 p.m. We had another men's breakfast this morning, this time in the restaurant at Dobbie's garden centre in Fenny Stratford. When I had taken Alfie out at around 6 o'clock, there was a mist hanging over Oldbrook Green, but it was still quite bright, but not sunny (well, the sun had barely risen by then. The moon was again shining brightly, more allusions to coins, medals and silver discs as a description seem more than  appropriate.) But when I went out at around 8.35 to drive to Fenny, I found that a thin fog had descended over Milton Keynes.

Some of the men's breakfast members (for want of a better word.) began to arrive. Dobbie's didn't open until 9 o'clock, but when a staff member came and opened the front door, we went inside and made our way to the restaurant. The entire place has been modernized, given a good deal more than a mere lick of paint. In the restaurant, the self-service element has been removed. It used to be one of those restaurants where you took a tray and moved along a counter where you could choose what you wanted to eat and a member of staff served you and then, when you had everything you wanted to eat, you went to a till to pay. You now go to your table and staff come to you, and they take your order, which is written on an iPad this is how your order is made up, and then it's bought to your table.

Monday. 6.40 a.m. It has been raining overnight. There were definitely signs of it when I went out with Alfie. Well, it is a Bank Holiday Monday, and it's surely traditional for rain on a Bank Holiday.

10.15 a.m. It's overcast and drizzling. By which I mean it's a rather paltry, thin sort of rain. Not the sort of weather you would want to go out in, in the traditional British, Bank Holiday visit, to a zoo, stately home or wherever, so it's just a stay-at-home sort of day. Alfie, I'm sure, would love to go out, but as it's a bit wet out, I don't think he'd enjoy it. We will wait and see how the weather develops and then perhaps go out.

I have been to get a few items from Sainsbury's. Fairy washing-up liquid is the main item, but also a few snacks. It wasn't excessively busy. Well, I don't think most people go grocery shopping on Bank Holiday Monday.

Going down on the travellator (moving people carrier? I don't know what you call it. It's what you stand on to get from the car park level below Sainsbury's store.) there is a really annoying recorded voice, which keeps on telling you to 'stand still and hold onto the rail' and, as you approach the top or bottom to 'get ready to push your trolley off the travellator.' It's so repetitive and annoying, done with a female voice. I was thinking, don't people think for themselves? Do we really need to be told the obvious, like this? (I have discussed this sort of thing elsewhere within these blog posts.) It's a bit like 'nanny knows best.' Okay, I know it's to warn you, but surely, any intelligent person can SEE the spot where you either get on the thing, or off (unless, of course, you are short-sighted or 'visually impaired (politically correct usage for 'blind.' The female voice is not only annoying, bossy and over-repetitive. Why not less hectoring? It could have Anne Robinson's voice, she of, 'The Weakest Link.' As you step off, or on, it could say 'You are the weakest link, goodbye!' or a Margaret Thatcher voice, in her rampaging headmistress-style voice. That would be enough to get customers moving. I was wondering if a female voice has the same effect on people compared to that of a male voice. 

2.00 p.m. The rain has ceased, and the sun has been shining, although it hasn't been very warm. As I write this, I can hear the wind roaring around the building.

Wednesday and Thursday Mornings

Wednesday, early. I've put the rubbish out for the binmen. Several black bin bags and one pink recycling bag. The sound of a bin lorry came before 8 o'clock but they didn't pick up the rubbish. I've been out with Alfie round the park and back. It's bright and sunny so let's hope it stays that way all day. Carol's mum and dad are coming up to visit today, but not sure what time they're arriving. Yesterday I managed to cut down some of the grass with the rechargeable grass cutter. It was beginning to get really long. Also, cut down some of the colts foot growing in the grass at the front of the house.

They turned up around 9.30. Carol said she'd had a text to say they were about 15-20 minutes away. I'm not sure which way they came up from Bournemouth. I think via the M25 and then M1. If we go down to Bournemouth, as we have done in the past, we go via the A34, crossing to Buckingham and then down that way.

We had to decide what we were going to do all day. Until 4 o'clock when Carols parents were due to be picked up again for the return journey to Bournemouth. Not too far to drive and somewhere to have coffee and possibly something to eat. Carol suggested going to the Bell Plantation garden centre in Towcester, which we've been to on several occasions. There's a good restaurant there and plenty to do and look at and would keep us busy for an hour or two and the drive up the A5 Watling Street a pleasant journey through some attractive scenery. So Carol decided to drive as she hasn't done so for a while. So, after Carol had got in the car and altered the driver's seat, because when I drive I have to have the seat moved back quite some way before I can drive comfortably, we drove out of Milton Keynes via Standing Way and then onto the A5 near the football stadium.

As we drove towards the large roundabout on the A5 near Stony Stratford, where the road went off in various directions, one into the centre of Stony Stratford and another onto the A5 towards Towcester, we saw signs reading that there were roadworks in the centre of Towcester. It then seemed likely that had we continued up the A5 we weren't going to get to Bell Plantation so we had to decided where to go. It was decided to return to the centre of Milton Keynes or to go to either Frost's garden centre at Woburn Sands or Dobbie's on the A5 near Fenny Stratford. Carol didn't want to go into the centre of Milton Keynes, so we decided on Dobbie's. It's off the A5 on the roundabout just below Fenny Stratford. We had a browse in some of the concessions within the store, mostly in Cotton Traders. Carol's mum tried on some sandals in their sale and bought a pair. We did look through some of the sale items but didn't see anything that caught our fancy. We then went into the café and had lattes and had intended buying scones in the farm shop, but those we came across, really large, around the size each of several ordinary scones from anywhere else, but when we learnt how much they were, around 80p we declined and then drove towards Milton Keynes, with the intention of going to Morrison's. We found that a road was closed off along Watling Street, near Crownhill and Loughton  and had to take a quick decision where to go and ended up driving around near Denbigh School and eventually went to Westcroft to park and shop in Morrison's, buying some scones there along with clotted cream.
Alfie has taken to Carol's dad. He ingratiates himself with most of our visitors. He sat with him on the sofa while we had scones, jam and clotted cream. We watched Countdown on television. When Carol's dad fell asleep (I don't know whether he was really asleep, or whether he was pretending, but making a fair impression of sleep.) Alfie behaved really humorously, attempting to wake him up, prodding him with his paw. He really is a smart little dog. I think he missed him when they eventually left to go home.

Thursday morning. As I write this at 7.15 on Thursday morning, the weather has changed quite considerably. It's raining quite hard. So, it means I can't take Alfie out for his early-morning walk round the park, otherwise we're going to get soaked. We'll just have to wait until it stops. I don't think he's going to like being disappointed.

We have heard nothing as I write this as regards the Housing Benefit claim. I had intended going in to the Council offices on my own, to give them a copy of the newly-signed tenancy agreement. Carol decided to come with me. She was happy to drive and we parked in the multi-storey carpark near Debenhams. It is undergoing maintenance. Probably because it is under new management, like the entire shopping centre, Midsummer Place.

We walked through the shopping centre towards the Council offices and signed in at reception and took the numbered ticket and sat and waited until our number came up. Carol saw two of her former pupils from the Academy who had just got their 'A' Level results. Very good and now ready to go off to university, one to Coventry and the other to Northampton. We didn't wait too long to be seen by a staff member. I have to remember that the desk you go to isn't the red digital number, which is the number you get given on the ticket when you first arrive at reception, but the one above the digital display above each desk. It appears our application for Housing Benefit is currently being dealt with and the delay is because of a backlog of applications. We should get some of this back dated and hopefully by the end of the month when our rent is due. We gave them a copy of the newly-signed rental agreement which the lady on the desk photocopied.

Having done with the Council offices we walked back into the shopping centre. Carol said she needed a coffee. She hadn't drunk her tea she had at breakfast. At first I suggested Marks and Spencer's, which is the first shop you encounter as you walk in through the entrance. There is also a Costa, but she didn't fancy that either. We went through to Midsummer Place and went to Pret A Manger. She needed the loo so I stood at the till and ordered, two lattes, mine with caramel, hers without and two chocolate croissants. They were made very swiftly and I went to a vacant to wait for Carol to reappear. We sat ate the croissants and drank the lattes. Very good. I will say Pret is very good. This particular branch is well stocked and pleasant. There is another branch further along in the main shopping centre near Middleton Hall. You don't have to queue as long as you have to at, say, Costa's, which only has one till. I think most of their branches are like that and the queues can be considerable. It makes sense to have several as Pret have. From Pret we walked back towards the carpark near Debenham's and drove towards Lidl where we bought some food for tonight's meal. When I got home I went out again to top up the gas and electric at One Stop at Garraway's. No good running out of electricity, because it might mean the freezer defrosting which could be a disaster. I then took Alfie out for his walk, because by then (around 1.15) the rain had stopped. Alfie came across a Great Dane being walked. He did his usual running around in circles thing and attempting to be friendly, but the dog wasn't interested. Alfie was small by comparison to this dog, which was around five times his size. I don't think it knew what had hit it, and looked somewhat dazed. It might be large, but somewhat thick in comparison to Alfie. Small in stature by large in his mind. Alfie seems fearless somehow, regardless of his small size.

Tenth Chemotherapy Cycle Postponed

It's another really beautiful warm spring day. We've been to the oncology suite so that Carol could have the usual blood test so that she can have the tenth chemotherapy cycle beginning tomorrow morning (Wednesday), depending on whether the test is as it should be.

As it happened, at around 6 o'clock on Wednesday evening we had a telephone call from oncology to say that there were not enough neutrophils in Carol's blood, which are the blood cells that fight infection. Which now means the tenth chemotherapy cycle has to be postponed until next week. This happened a couple of weeks ago and the next chemotherapy cycle was postponed for two weeks because Carols parents came to visit for a couple of days (see earlier blog post.)

So, I'm a bit lost as to what to write to make this blog post worthwhile. Well, we've been watching more episodes of 'The Woman In White', the current BBC1 classic adaptation. It seems to have really taken off after the third episode (of 5) but there's so many plots overlapping and so much going on it can be somewhat confusing. I don't think it will be particularly clear what's going on until we've seen the final episode (which was shown on May Bank Holiday Monday.)

I'm currently reading 'White Heat' by Dominic Sandbrook, part of his mammoth cycle of books tracing British history from Suez in 1956 up until the election of Margaret Thatcher. It's an extremely detailed account of the period, this particular volume covering the '60's, Harold Wilson, The Beatles, Mary Quant and other personalities.

It's been a really warm night. As a result, it's difficult to sleep, particularly when you have to keep the bedroom cool with the windows open.  You get the sound of cars along the A5 making a lot of sounds, racing, revving their engines. A lot of loud noises. During the day, then having bees and other flying insects buzzing in and out of the house.

Later. The Christmas tree, which is currently in the garden, in it's original pot from when it was bought in Dobbie's garden centre two Christmasses ago, is growing rapidly. It desperately needs re-potting before it dies off, which usually happens when we buy a 'live' Christmas tree. We have been meaning to find a suitable size pot so it can be transferred so that it can happily grow. In the current plastic pot it's likely to get pot-bound and then the roots will start to rot which will end with it dying which would be a shame since it's growing so successfully. We've seen suitable pots but hadn't got round to actually buying one, so this morning we went to Bunnings (which has taken over the Homebase branch in Winter Hill.) They had a quite spectacular selection of very suitable pots, one of which we purchased, along with a fuchsia  plant which Carol bought, along with potting compost and gravel to put in the pots. We had to use a trolley to convey our purchases to the till to pay and then out to the carpark, but the thing proved quite difficult to manoeuvre through the store and, once at the car, it took some effort to fit the various items in the interior of the vehicle.

We drove home to unload the posts, plants and bags of gravel and potting compost and then went out, first to drive through Woburn park, which is one of our favourite 'go-to' places when the weather is fine, searching out first rhododendrons which have begun flowering along the side of the road leading up to the cattle grids you have to go over on entering the open spaces of the deer park. We could see a few deer straggling across the road ahead of us, with one car stopped, no doubt to get a close-up view of these animals. Unfortunately we hadn't remembered to bring either of our cameras with us, because we might have got some really good shots had we got them with us.

We had to decide on somewhere suitable to have lunch so decided on Dobbie's at Bletchley, which has a good restaurant and we  had lattes, baguettes, panninis and cake. Carol had a rather nice slice of chocolate cake and I had a really tasty lemon frangipani tartlet, absolutely delicious. One of the best cakes I've had in a while. We must return at some time in the not-too distant future to partake of such delights again. We bought some plants which Carol wants to use in a bottle garden which she intends to construct in the former fish tank we have sitting in the garden.

Having finished in Dobbie's we drove back into Milton Keynes, to go to Marks and Spencer's at the football stadium where we bought milk and garlic bread which we needed.

My least-favourite job has to be done, mowing the grass. The grass seems to grow at unprecedented speed once we get any sun. It was cut a few weeks ago, and was somewhat difficult as I'd let it get too long and the mower, not really designed to cut such tough grass, really struggled. I think it's intended for those gardens which possess nice, neat turf and not the type of grass we have to contend with, more suitable to be eaten by horses, sheep and cattle and perhaps not mown at all.

Sunday Early

There's already traffic cones out along Golden Drive. I was in the bathroom, about to have a shave. I thought I'd have a look out of the window. I just hope it doesn't stop me getting out to go to church. Some people just don't care, as long as they get what they want. If it annoys other people, well so what? I'm going out regardless. Even if it means shifting the cones to get through. Tough!

It's surprisingly warm today, compared with last week when we had snow. I managed to drive out of Eaglestone well before the runners started. One brightly coloured orange-clad gentleman looking a bit forlorn on duty at the entrance to Eaglestone as I drove out and onto Saxon Street on my way to S.C.F. I don't know what his purpose was. A steward of some sort, or marshall or whatever they call such personnel. Must have been a bit miserable for him, standing out there all on his own. There were cones all the way down the centre of the road and the occasional car passing.

Not one runner spotted, either on the way out or when I came back. I stayed on after the 9.15 service as I usually do, but I stayed longer as I wasn't sure whether I'd be able to drive back into Eaglestone, what with all the runners. I went to Sainsbury's, to buy one or two things and to really waste time before heading back home. Not one runner did I see, so what's all the fuss about? Where were they? I was expecting to see at least a straggler as you do with these events. The traffic cones were in evidence as I drove back into Eaglestone. But not one runner. Phantom runners perhaps? Did I imagine it, or were they invisible or something? It doesn't matter. It's over and done with. But we have another of these events again in another week or so.

It's been a generally very warm day today. I went out in my red fleece top, the one I bought in Dobbie's when Carol's mum and dad were with us a few months ago. In the Edinburgh Woollen Mill shop or whatever it's called in there. I was far too hot, as it's quite deceptive at the moment. You would think it was far colder, when you consider it was snowing last week. 

Latest Television Viewing

We're totally captivated by Blue Planet 2. The photography is superb. I have to say I enjoy anything that David Attenborough attaches his name to. We had another wildlife documentary series on last year called 'The Hunt' which was just as captivating. Having recently bought a Hitachi 43 inch HD television,  this type of programme is a perfect viewing when you can see the amount of detail a set of this size reveals.

Carol recently bought a fish tank and we went to Dobbie's garden centre near Bletchley to buy two fish for the tank. I think the two fish are enjoying 'Blue Planet 2'. I'm sure they're watching the fish and other under-water inhabitants from the safety of their tank. There's a rock in the tank with a hollowed-out centre and they hide in this 'cave.' Meanwhile . . .  Alfie, or little Yorkshire Terrier, sits on the back of the sofa, just within view of the fish-tank which has been placed on a bookcase, and seems intrigued by our newest family members. It's difficult to judge what he makes of the fish, but no doubt it's the fact that they're moving about in their round home. We'll have to keep an eye on him to see that he doesn't interfere with the fish in their tank.

I have to say there's nothing like a really good bit of television drama. The BBC is renowned for it's classic adaptations of novels, probably best known for such things as 'Pride and Prejudice' with Colin Firth as Mr Darcey, which has to be the definitive version of the novel. So, when I heard that they were doing a new adaptation of 'Howard's End' I couldn't wait for it to be shown. At least if it's something that is adapted for television you know, generally speaking, that it will be given enough time to play out, unlike a film which will only have a couple of hour's screen time, in which case a great deal will have to be cut in order for it to fit a film's playing time.

'Howard's End,' the BBC adaptation of the E.M. Forster novel is extremely good. I have read the novel and saw the 1992 film version made by Ishmail Merchant and James Ivory and starring Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins. The new 4-hour production had a great deal to live up to. They seem to have spent a lot of time and effort on getting the period right. There's a real sense of place and the settings are well created.

We're currently enjoying a late-afternoon television show called 'Money For Nothing.' It's been running for quite a while. The idea is that Sarah Moore, a very clever designer/entrepeneur, visits local tidy-tips, where members of the public are taking their cast-off furniture, rubbish of all sorts, such as D.I.Y. remnants, doors, shelving, house-clearcut bits-and-pieces and takes stuff she likes (with these people's permission) and has it restored or made into new and exciting pieces of furniture which she then sells on, at a profit, and returns the profit to the people who took the broken and old items to the tidy-tip in the first place. It's part of the new culture of 'make and mend' or 'recycle.' Either this, or these items land up in land-fill. It just goes to prove that anything can be re-used or 're-purposed' into very stylish and chic pieces of furniture. This type of television programming makes a change from antiques and selling houses or mere trivial programmes about celebrities and gossip.

I love a really great comedy on BBC Four called 'Detectorists.' It's  written, directed and stars Mckenzie Crook together with Toby Jones. Very gentle, not laugh-out-loud comedy, doesn't have a cackling studio audience. Makes a change from a lot of comedy which is broad, noisy and brash. It's what I'd describe at thoughtful. There have only been two series and this will be the final series. A shame, but it probably went as far as it could. Hopefully McKenzie Crook will write more for television and probably film. Certainly a good start for a director and writer.

Sorry to say it, but I absolutely hate reality television and in particular, anything with 'celebrity' in the title. I'm certainly not a fan of things like 'Big Brother' or 'I'm A Celebrity, Get Me out of Here.' 'Strictly Come Dancing' drives me mad. I don't mind the dancing, but the hype that surrounds it, plus the awful audience clapping along with the music like tame monkeys and all that surrounds it, just not my idea of entertainment. The Saturday episodes go on interminably, and the comments of such as Craig Revel Horwood are just plain nasty at times. The whole thing is set up so that they get free publicity in the tabloid press and on social media. I'm not convinced that it's all 'live.' The Sunday evening results show must be pre-recorded, basically because I don't believe they'd send the audience home and then bring them back for the Sunday evening show. I still reckon it's recorded after the Saturday night show once the results have been decided.

Saturday Whipsnade Zoo Outing

Having had to remain indoors for such a long time it was a necessity to get out and with the sun shining it was a really good excuse to visit Whipsnade Zoo. We went to the hairdresser's in  Shenley Brook End, Arcarna, as Carol wanted to book an appointment. She got one for Wednesday morning at 9 o'clock. From there we went to Morrison's to put fuel in the car, and remembering that the new car is a diesel and to not put the wrong fuel in the tank. Having done that we drove towards the A5 as we went to Whipsnade south towards Fenny Stratford when Carol said she needed a toilet. We could have gone into Dobbie's garden centre but ended up at the McDonald's on the roundabout on the A5. The traffic lights weren't operating so it was somewhat dangerous as this is a large roundabout with many roads leading in and out and it depended on other cars being sensible and allowing other vehicles to enter and leave without trying to take advantage. Having negotiated the roundabout and got into the side-road which is how you enter the McDonald's carpark, we noticed that it wasn't lit up and the found that the site, which also includes a Shell petrol station, was not operating so assumed that the fact that the traffic lights were not working the whole area was dark due to a power cut. We went into the McDonald's building and the staff were sitting at a table, no doubt unable to do any work with the fact that there was no electricity. Carol managed to use the toilet and we then returned to the car and drove back towards the A5, having to negotiate the heavy traffic that was backing up along the road towards Aylesbury and managed to squeeze in and then back onto the A5 and south towards Dunstable and Whipsnade.

The zoo opens at 10.00 am. but we were there at around 10.20, and managed to drive in without too much trouble. There weren't a lot of people so finding a place to park at the various stops around the zoo was easy and the fact that it was sunny and warm made it virtually perfect conditions to see many of the animals. We drove through the Passage Through Asia 'drive-through' which has a wide variety of animals within it such as deer, camels and other animals. Many of the deer were lying down which we have never seen before. We decided to not take too many photographs as we already have plenty. Having driven through this enclosed area we came out and went towards the elephants paddock. A couple of months ago we were at Whipsnade we visited the day after H.M. Queen visited to open the new Elephant Care Centre, an enormous building perfectly equipped to house elephants and with a viewing platform. Many of the animals houses at Whipsnade have been up-graded to include areas where you can see the animals at close quarters. This has been done at the giraffe house where there is a platform which means you see them up close and personal, virtually at giraffe-eye level. A couple of the female elephants were close to the fence at their paddock, two with their calves, one is called Elizabeth after the Queen and born close to either the Queen's wedding anniversary or her jubilee or when she visited. We met a lady-Z.S.L. volunteer who spoke to use about the elephants and had an elephant tooth to show us. Quite heavy and she explained how elephant's teeth grow from the back of the mouth and are replaced over several years. The tooth was like a mill stone with a rough surface which would be perfect for chewing grass and other vegetation. Apparently another female elephant, called Donna, is pregnant but we weren't told when the new baby will be born. Probably quite some time as elephants are pregnant for near-enough two years.

We went into the Wild Bite Café which is just opposite the tiger enclosure and very near the pelicans and flamingos. We had hot chocolate and a slice of very nice lemon drizzle cake which we shared, along with sandwiches. We didn't eat all of the cake so wrapped it in paper serviette to take home with us to eat later. No doubt we'll be back for another visit quite soon.

A bit of a wander around the zoo until we decided to leave and drive back to Milton Keynes. Fortunately the power had returned when we got to the roundabout on the A5 near Fenny Stratford and the McDonalds looked as it was up and running as normal although we drove past.

Signs of Autumn

The weather's getting colder. The trees are changing colour. The days are getting shorter. Definite signs that autumn is well and truly here. Infact it was so cold we put the central heating on and I started wearing my long pyjamas for the first time.  We didn't want to have it on, but Carol said she was feeling cold. We just didn't want to start having the heating on until at least the end of October. It hasn't exactly been a warm and sunny summer, and we've had more rain than usual. What with Carol's health issues we haven't had the outings we would have normally had. Last year was exceptionally warm and sunny and we spent a good deal of our time visiting various National Trust and other properties as well as regular visits to Z.S.L. Whipsnade Zoo. I have been picking blackberries which have been abundant all along the Redway behind the house, no doubt because we've had a good combination of the right conditions for a bumper harvest with plenty of sun as well as rain. I was out early Sunday morning picking them and I made blackberry and apple crumble which we had with our evening meal.

The shops are beginning to stock up with the usual Christmas tat. Christmas cards were seen in Frost's garden centre the other day but in The Range (all mentioned in my previous post.) had Hallowe'en stuff as we walked through the door the other day. It's confusing, having all this 'seasonal' stuff on display at the same time. Can't we get one load of stuff out of the way before the next batch of tat is put on display? I can't believe that anyone would want to buy a Christmas tree months in advance of the festive season. Or mince pies, wrapping paper or decorations. I suppose it would be fine if you lived in a house with enough space to store it. Mention of Christmas trees brings me to ours from last year. It's still in it's pot in the garden, happily continuing to grow. It was bought in Dobbie's last year and hopefully will be fine when this year's festive season comes round and we can just bring it in the house and decorate it. Great, because it means we don't have to buy a new one when the time comes.

Mixed Weather

It was a strange sort of weekend on the weather-front. It started out rather unsettled, rather over-cast, but by Sunday late afternoon it was quite sunny and warm. We didn't have to endure next door's D.I.Y. sounds. Whatever they were up to out there in their garden didn't make any sort of sound. Glimpsing from our bedroom window it looks a bit like a builder's yard with a pile of bricks in one corner and on the roof of their shed an up-turned wheelbarrow. Carol said, had I noticed the new shed? I replied, 'what shed?' There could hardly be room for another? The garden is about the same size as ours, around 15X25 feet at the most. Then she pointed out that there were sections of shed leant up against the lean-to near the house. I could see it when I had another look. Where on earth are they going to re-assemble it? There is hardly enough space. They have been putting down blocks to form a sort of patio area on one side and the remaining space is grass. Or is it turf? It must be turf, because how could grass seed suddenly sprout so quickly, and the other morning I saw a large lorry at the front of our house (it blocked us in completely) which has 'turf' written on it's side. It was one of those large flat-bed lorries which has it's own lift system built in, which would be used to unload whatever material it carried, in this case, turf. So I imagine this turf (it can't have been a particularly large amount, considering the small space left in their garden next door) was unloaded at some point in the day and which I didn't see. I just hope we don't have to endure more sounds next weekend. We were hoping for rain, so that they couldn't do any more work and spare us the constant noises. They have been laying more of the bricks for their patio/terrace (whatever you want to call it, I don't know.) The next thing well know, they have re-created Stowe Landscape Gardens with follies and lakes. Yes, that would be the last thing they'd have, a water feature, a fountain or something that makes a trickling sound. Plenty to choose from at any number of garden centres around Milton Keynes, such as Frost's or Wyevale in Woburn Sands or Dobbie's at Fenny Stratford.

Wet Weather

After the warm, almost springlike weather yesterday, it's a really miserable sort of day. I'm really glad I cut the grass yesterday because today it's pouring with rain. Infact it's a good deal colder and we have the central heating on. I refuse to call that patch of grass a 'lawn' because it's nothing of the sort. A lawn is reasonably good quality grass, cut with a mower which makes the traditional stripes. Think Wimbledon tennis (I don't as I'm not a fan, but you know what I mean.) I suppose I mean what we see when we visit a National Trust property and go into the various gardens attached to these properties. Indeed, as a young man living at home, particularly Malting Farm, I was usually in charge of mowing the lawn.  I wasn't over-keen about having the job, but you had no choice. You did what your were told and just got on with it. I can actually think of nothing more boring than mowing a lawn, walking up and down, pushing the benighted thing, which wasn't always eager to start. My father was particular about the thing, making sure you checked it for oil, and then having to fill the engine with two-stroke petrol. To this very day I don't understand what is meant by 'two-stroke' petrol. How does it differ from any other petrol? We had to go to a local petrol station with the can and get it filled before I could put the petrol in the lawn mower before I could even think of mowing the lawn. Then check the oil level with the dip-stick. I suppose it was good that I was instructed on how to properly care for a petrol engine, but it was a bit of a chore, all this fuss and bother. There was a large garden at Malting Farm, Cardington, and my father was somewhat particular about how the lawn was mown. It was done with a traditional lawn mower, you know, petrol-driven, you had to empty the bucket think on the front which caught the grass as it went along. Not many up-and-down lengths before you had to stop and empty the thing into a wheelbarrow and when that was full, push the thing the length of the garden to the pile that grew exponentially at the other end of the garden. Compost heap was the word I was looking for. It gave off a very distinctive odour. I don't know what happened to it. It steamed gently. Mysterious. I expect this compost was used to bed in plants, act as a sort of fertiliser. Anyway, I'm drifting from my main subject. What I'm attempting to say is that the grass patch at the rear of this house is more like a quagmire, particularly when it rains. It's excessively uneven, which makes cutting it much more difficult. It's tusky and difficult to cut, even more so if it's slightly wet. I don't think our electric, rotary mower was made to cut such poor quality grass. More likely intended for even, flat lawns, at those houses with pocket-handkerchief sized gardens and even smaller pieces of lawn, made of nicely rolled, tended turf, purchased for some garden centre such as Frost's at Woburn Sands, or Dobbie's or even Wyevale. The mower at Malting Farm was one of those green Atco models. It had a detachable bucket on the front and you had to pull a cord to get it started, making sure you didn't flood the engine otherwise it wouldn't start. It was something of an effort to pull that cord-thing, which had a sort of wooden cross piece handle and the cord sort of re-coiled itself after you'd pulled it. It began to really hurt every muscle in your pulling arm after the sixth or so attempt.

Buying A Christmas Tree

On Sunday morning we decided it was time to go out and buy a Christmas tree. So many of the people we know on Facebook have photographs of their homes, decorated for the festive season, complete with all the decorations and central to all this, a Christmas tree! For the past few years we've made do with an artificial tree, but, to be honest, it's seen better days. It's in sections which have to be bent out and then all these sections slotted together. This is stored in the spare bedroom, along with a lot of other clutter. Having a look at this excuse for a Christmas tree, it certainly looks very shabby. So we came to the momentous decision to go out and buy a real tree this year. Our efforts to maintain a real Christmas tree has generally ended in failure. We buy them ready potted, and by the end of the Christmas season, they usually end up looking very miserable, because they loose most of their needles, all over the lounge carpet, and when we put them out in the garden, they survive a couple of months and then get taken to the tidy tip for recycling. We had usually gone to a garden centre up the A5 near Towcester to buy a tree. It occurred to us that if we didn't buy a tree soon there would be a good chance that we'd be left with the scrag-end of the bunch, the lonely, sad little runty Christmas trees that nobody wanted to buy, so Sunday morning we looked on line for the garden centre and it looked as if they were under new management and that they didn't sell real Christmas trees, which is rather sad when you think it's a garden centre. We definitely didn't want anther artificial tree. After some considerable thought we decided on visiting Dobbies garden centre to have a look at their selection of trees. We weren't disappointed. There were a few on display at the front of the main building as we got out of the car at the carpark. But we went inside and found they had a good many more at the back. You don't just have one type of trees nowadays, but several variety of fir, some which are supposed to last a good deal longer and some which don't seem to drop their needles. I'm not convinced that they don't, but it's surely to be expected when they are bought indoors and the heating in your home dries them out, hence the propensity to needle-drop. We went for a variety. The one we eventually chose had roots as we intend planting it out in the garden after Christmas. It came in a rather attractive pot. It was netted by a very helpful lady and we put it on a trolley and took it to the car. We then returned to the restaurant to have coffee and scones. (Yes, I know. If you read my blog posts regularly you will know that we have something of a love affair with scones!)

By now the place was heaving with people. I can understand why, because your average garden centre sells a good deal more than just plants and gardening items. They have a very well stocked food section at Dobbies where you can buy all types of food ranging from sausages, cakes, biscuits, wine and a good deal more. We left for home as Carol was eager to get the new Christmas tree installed in the lounge and decorated.

Garden-Tidying and Milton Keynes Marathon

We were informed, by reading yellow signs on the Grid Roads around here, that the roads were to be closed over the May Day Bank Holiday weekend ( Sunday 1st and Monday 2nd May.) From experience we are used to having Golden Drive closed off on marathon days, meaning we usually can't get out in the car at such times. We are also usually informed through the medium of a letter put through our letter boxes well in advance. This didn't happen, although a leaflet was put through our door on Saturday evening, too late to be of any real use. It turned out that, in the end, the runners kept to Saxon Street and didn't come into our estate at all. Which meant we could get out if we'd wanted to. But it would appear, having read the leaflet again, Golden Drive will be closed off tomorrow for another marathon. It's all very well and good, and there's nothing wrong with any of this, but it is beginning to become somewhat tiresome. Why can't they use the Redway, which runs only a few yards away, behind our house? It would surely mean they don't have to cause so much inconvenience to anyone and it must be safer in the long run (sorry about the unintentional pun. These things just happen that way.) as the Redway system was designed in such a way that users don't have to cross the Grid Roads, being designed to utilise bridges and under-passes. 

I have bought a Strimmer. Well, actually it isn't a Strimmer as such. It uses the same technology and is actually a Qualcast Grass Trimmer, 'Strimmer' being a trademark of a particular make of grass cutter which uses plastic fishing line, revolving fast inside a hand-held device run on electricity and enabling the user to trim generally inaccessible grass around a lawn, under trees etc. I purchased it in Homebase earlier in the week. I had a voucher which meant if I spent £30 or more I could get extra bonus Nectar points, so it seemed a good enough excuse to buy the machine and claim the extra points. I have been using the thing and it's making a good enough job of tidying up the grass at the back of the house. As we now have the fence repaired it seems a good enough excuse to start on sorting out the garden. I have also been clearing the weeks and mess from the front of the house. Weeds and grass have been growing between the cracks in the paving slabs at the front of the house and I've been using the hoe we bought in Wickes the other week to scrape the weeds out. It's quite a difficult job but it seems well worth it. The Daily Telegraph has had an offer in the paper this weekend, you cut out a voucher and take it to Homebase and receive bedding plants free, so we went early this morning and picked the plants up, pansies as well as strawberry plants. We also got a rather nice ceramic strawberry planter which will go well on the patio in the garden. We went to Dobbie's garden centre yesterday afternoon and got trays of plants as well as another visit to Staple's garden centre near Flitwick later on this morning and got another plant as Carol has been busy sorting out our collection of pots which we've had sitting around the garden for far too long, steadily growing weeds inside them, but now have some fresh and colourful flowering plants in them. 

Going To Collect New Car

I managed to set up insurance for our new car, by ringing up the company on Friday morning who arranged insurance for  the Hyundai, Swinton. It was a simple matter of transferring it to the new car, although for some reason I assumed the insurance policy on that car ran out at the end of this month and was surprised that it ran until the end of October.

This morning (actually Carol's birthday, by the way.) we cleared out the Hyundai. It's shocking to find so much rubbish in the car, which we soon put in black bin bags for the collection on Wednesday. We had to put £5-worth of petrol  at the Shell station in Grafton Street, which was sufficient to get us to Dunstable and then  we went into  the NatWest bank in  Milton Keynes city centre which didn't open until 9, parked the  outside and went in to take the money out of our account to pay for the new car. We had found that, had we paid using our debit card as we had done to pay the deposit on the car on Thursday evening, we would have incurred a £15 charge which we wanted to avoid.  Having left the bank we decided that, as it was too early to go direct to Dunstable, we would go to Dobbie's garden centre in Fenny Stratford, and not too much out of our way as it's on the A5 en route to Dunstable, and had coffee and cake in their restaurant and wandered around the garden centre to fill in time as the car dealer in Dunstable wasn't going to be open until 10.30. We drove on down the A5 and just as we got into Dunstable we found the road blocked ahead of us by a vast traffic jam but fortunately we turned off into Frenchs Avenue which was where the car dealer was, thus avoiding being held up. On arrival there we found the place was very busy with a lot of cars parked in the road outside In the yard where the cars were on display a lot of people  were viewing cars. On enquiring about our car we were told that it was out being test-driven. They had taken it to be MoT'd elsewhere and it was apparent that it was stuck somewhere in the town amongst the traffic jam we had seen as we'd come into Dunstable. We had to wait in the office for around 20 minutes. Fortunately during this time we were able to hand over the cash and sort out the paper-work that was required including setting up, on-line, payment of the car licence which we can pay in monthly installments which seems to be a recent development and mans we don't have to fork out a further fairly hefty amount of cash in one lump. Having done the paperwork we were then told our car had been bought back so we could take it away, but we then found that it had been parked in such a way that it was extremely difficult to get it out so a good gentleman who was waiting in his car got it out for us. Carol then got in to drive home and we had to go out slowly and steadily as it is a good deal bigger than the Hyundai. We got out on to the main road out and stopped at the petrol station at Chalk Hill to fill up. Unfortunately I went to open the passenger-side door to manually open it when we were getting back in. The car has automatic, sliding, doors and you have to use the remote on the electronic key and not open the doors manually. As I'd opened it by hand my passenger-side door kept opening and closing because it had become 'confused.' But eventually it closed properly and we were able to drive off down the A5 back to Milton Keynes. We had to return home as we needed to get the re-usable shopping bags so we could go shopping in Sainsbury's. 

550th blog post: Sunny Start to October

This, for those who are interested, this is the 550th post I've written on this blog. Just thought I'd mention it. Not only that but I've been writing these posts for 6 years, beginning on 27th September 2009. It seems amazing to me that I have managed to keep these musings going, although I'm not so sure they are all particularly interesting. And it's been seen, or at least, according to Google's statistics, had 23, 430 page views.

It's the 1st October and it's as sunny and warm as it was in August. There's something definitely odd about it being this warm. On B.B.C. Breakfast early this morning the forecast said that this warm weather had something to do with the Gulf Stream and that it has moved north or something, but that the weather was going to break and we were going to have rain and high winds in the next couple of days.  

I'm busy currently ringing round trying to get a quote to have our car serviced. We went out in it the other Sunday, and as we went down the A5, just before we got to the roundabout for  Fenny Stratford and Dobbie's garden centre, we could see smoke pouring out of the exhaust. Other drivers in cars which were following us were keeping a wide berth and some were apparently signalling. I wasn't driving so I couldn't see, but, looking in the rear-view mirror I could see a could of blue smoke which appeared to be following us and most definitely was coming out of the exhaust pipe at the rear of the car. We got to the roundabout and pulled in near the garage next to the new McDonald's and looked at the rear of the car. The smoke had stopped even when we put our foot down on the accelerator pedal. The smoke seemed to vanish as quickly as it appeared. We drove back through Fenny Stratford and Simpson because Carol didn't want the embarrassment of driving with any more smoke coming out of the exhaust. We had intended driving through Woburn deer park as it was such a sunny morning, but the smoke from the car put an end to that. As a result I am looking for the cheapest quote from garages to have the car serviced, with oil change, filters etc etc. We also have a problem with the windscreen wipers as none are working at the moment. Anyway, the most expensive quote was £200 and the cheapest £85. 

Not going out at the moment because we have a grocery delivery coming from out on-line shop from Sainsbury's and it's booked to arrive between 11-12 this morning. They usually come quite promptly so there's not a lot to do apart from me writing this post.

A little while later . . .

I could have started a fresh post, but I didn't see the point. The Sainsbury's delivery arrived at around 11.30. As I was taking the delivery in and about to put it away, the telephone rang and I went to answer. It was Sainsbury's pharmacy. It seemed a bit of a coincidence that I was dealing with the Sainsbury's delivery, but never mind. Both Carol and I have our repeat prescriptions made up by Sainsbury's. You ring about a week in advance and they deal directly with the surgery at Beanhill. Then around a week later you go in and collect the ordered medications. It has gone very well for the last year or so. You have to remember to order so that you have enough medication to allow for them to make up the order. It seems something went wrong with Carol's prescription which I had telephoned in well over a week ago. The Sainsbury's driver had presumably gone to the surgery to pick it up and it wasn't ready. So I had to drive to Beanhill to get the printed prescription (which, according to the lady on reception, had only just been prepared.) then drive to Sainsbury's to get the order made up. I was surprised how busy it was as it seemed to be crawling with office staff who must have been on their lunch breaks. I bought a sandwich because I would have made something to eat after I had put the grocery delivery away. It just goes to show that it only needs one element of the system with the repeat prescription to go slightly wrong to cause a lot of other problems.

Wheels, Woods, Wags, Walkies and Water

We cycled around the estate yesterday. I'm fine on my new Muddyfox bike, but Carol had been having problems with her new bike. She couldn't fathom the gears, which admittedly is quite difficult as with something like 21 gears and two levers one on each handlebar, it can be quite tricky getting the right gear for the correct speed and pedalling. We went round the estate several times. I just want to ride along the Redway for a distance to get myself fully conversant with the machine. Great as it is, I haven't cycled for quite a while. Also, I have never ever owned a brand new bicycle before. The one I did own and I used to cycle to school on (a good many years ago now, forsooth!) was a machine handed down from my eldest brother, James. It was later stolen from outside a house I lived in many years ago in Tyne Crescent, Bedford. Which was a pity, as it was a good machine. A bright blue Rudge. Amazing that I remember the brand.

The weather has been unsettled which is why we haven't been out too much recently. No good going out in pouring rain. I must buy a bike lock so that when I park at various locations, such as the local shops or even church, there is no chance that somebody can even attempt to steal the new machine, which would be both annoying and a great shame. It's appalling that you can't trust people to leave your property alone, but never mind. Also, I think I need to buy a helmet as there have been far too many accidents with people falling off their machines and hitting their heads.

Earlier this morning we went to D.W. Fitness. It opened at 8 a.m. so we must have been amongst the first customers through the door. It was great that there were very few people in the pool. Why do people who exercise always look so miserable? Why do they almost all seem so humourless? We did around 20 lengths of the pool. I spent some time in what I call the 'hot cupboard,' the steam room. Very hot and steamy (!) and does you a power of good, sweating out all those toxins etc etc. We sat in the jacuzzi for a good 20 minutes and then back in the pool for a further four lengths. Then one of the swimming instructors came in along with a few parents with children which decided us on getting out and dressed as it gets really crowded and noisy when the children are doing their swimming lessons. All very well, but it doesn't do my motivation much good. We went home and had toasted buns to eat and tea and coffee. There is always the temptation to have food in the cafe at D.W. but it can be quite expensive. It's a good year at least since we signed up. 

Later, when we'd looked at the situation regarding the weather, we decided to take the dogs out for a walk at Rushmere Park, near Leighton Buzzard. Getting Alfie, our little Yorkshire Terrier, into his harness and then into the car is a real problem. We take him out in a cage which is in the back of the car and I had to make sure it was installed within the car before he came out and that he didn't see me doing this as he gets so over-excited. We managed to get him in the lounge on his own while Carol got Poppy into her harness in the kitchen. Alfie became like a demon-possessed creature and I could hear him attacking the doors and making the most appalling noise. Goodness knows what the neighbours must have thought if they could hear his commotion. They must have done, as he was really loud. We eventually managed to get him harnessed and into the back on the car in the cage and we gingerly drove out of Milton Keynes and onto the A5 towards Leighton Buzzard and the country park at Rushmere. 

The dogs had a great time when we let them off their leads. Alfie runs ahead of us and approaches any people he sees along the path, regardless of whether they want to be assaulted by a small terrier. Poppy just ambles along and it was very pleasant with the sun shining through the trees. 

They have made some improvements since we were last there, with a new cafe just opened and a brand new toilet block near the visitors centre. I have to admit that the old toilets there were somewhat unsavoury to say the least.

We were going to have ice creams from the cafe, but Carol found that there wasn't much of a choice and they were somewhat over-priced so we didn't partake. We left and drove out of the carpark and through the barrier where you have to pay £2 to get the barrier to open so you can exit.

It was at this point that Carol decided she wanted chocolate cake (as you do!) so we went to Dobbie's garden centre which is just off the A5 at the roundabout near Fenny Stratford. No sooner had we parked the car than Alfie started yapping. He had been quiet up until this point, but we had to leave the dogs in the car when we went inside the garden centre and into the food hall to find suitable cake. I did think £4.50 for a small chocolate cake somewhat over-priced, but, on getting home and after unloading the dogs, I made tea and we ate some of, what turned out to be very tasty and moreish chocolate cake!

A Bright and Sunny Day

Well, after all the rain and wind of the past few weeks it makes a change to have at least one day when the sun shone. I went to church alone this morning as Carol hasn't been feeling well for the past few days. M.K.C.C.  (Milton Keynes Christian Centre) has two services currently on a Sunday at 10 a.m and 12 noon, but from Sunday 2nd March there will be three services, at 9 a.m., 10.45 a.m. and 12.30 p.m. I got home having been to the 10 a.m. service and, seeing how it was so bright and sunny, we decided to go out to Dobbie's garden centre at Fenny Stratford. We got onto the A5 and going down towards the roundabout which goes into  Watling Street we encountered a queue of cars backed up as there is a large amount of roadworks there as the road is being widened for the instillation of traffic lights. Carol unfortunately took the wrong turn off the roundabout (which at the best of times can be quite a difficult place to get though due to a high volume of traffic at peak times of the day) and we ended up going on to the next roundabout on the rod towards Aylesbury and came through Water Eaton and then into the centre of Fenny Stratford and then down Wating Street to Dobbie's. It was just nice to get out for once instead of being stuck indoors over the weekend due to rain and high winds. We had coffee and toasted cheese sandwiches in the restaurant and may come back another weeekend as there is a really good Sunday roast on offer.

I think, in general, we have been lucky with the weather in this part of the country, when we see what has happened with flooding, particularly in the Somerset Levels and along the coast. We seem to have escaped the worst although we have had a fair amount of rain and wind, particularly the day when  a section  of the garden fence was blown down.

As I write this we have had no further notification as to when we can expect to have the landlord visit for an inspection. Last weekend we were supposed to have a visit at 3 p.m. on Saturday, but it was cancelled at the last minute, somewhat annoying considering the amount of time and effort we put into cleaning the house ready.