A Marathon To Get To Church (and Other Matters)

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

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

To more mundane matters . . .

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

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

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

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

Yet Another Trip To Hospital

Tuesday. It's a very dull, grey and over-cast day. Somewhat depressing. We had to go to the Oncology Suite at 11.30 this morning as Carol had a blood test. Fortunately we managed to get the one and only parking space in the carpark. Always a problem when we have an appointment at the hospital so much later in the day.

We arrived in the Oncology Suite and it was extremely busy. The nurses work incredibly hard in this department. They never seem to stop. Probably dealing with more than one patient at a time. We sat and waited around a table as we usually do when we arrive. There was a lady in a wheelchair who went off to be set up with her chemotherapy session and I was left with Carol and an elderly man who was being very chatty. Carol went off with one of the nurses to a different area of the suite. The elderly man was telling me about the lady in the wheelchair. Apparently she was 94 and had been asked what was the secret of keeping so young and active. She responded with 'a glass of whisky every day!' We began to discuss the car parking at the hospital, and had the same thoughts about the morality of having to pay to park your car at  hospital and how much it cost. I was shocked to learn that a private company ran these carparks and kept the profits for itself, which is appalling when you think of the financial difficulties the N.H.S. finds itself in.

I went to join Carol the other side of the suite. She had to have a blood test, which is how the chemotherapy treatment begins each time, so we have got used to the procedure. The nurses are extremely efficient and everything is done quickly, so we were out of the unit within about 45 minutes. Well, it has to be run like this, as there are so many people in the unit, arriving and leaving all the time during the day. It couldn't be run any other way as there isn't space for all the patients to sit and have their treatment at the same time otherwise.

Having had the parking ticket clipped in the Macmillan unit after we arrived, we then found, when we got back to the carpark and were about to leave, that the barrier was raised so we didn't need the ticket to raise the barrier. It must be very annoying to those patients who can't have free car parking to then find the barrier raised when they've already paid at the machine. I trust they get a refund. I don't expect they would, unfortunately.

Wednesday. It's a very wet morning. Had to put the pink recycling bags out along with the black bin bags. Probably not such a good idea to go out in night-wear, but it has to be done. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the bin-men didn't come until late last week, basically because of the Bank Holiday. Are we allowed to call them 'bin-men'? Do we have to call them 'bin-persons' or 'refuse operatives or something, just to keep things politically correct? I've no idea, but there are one or two person's of the opposite persuasion on board the Council-run wagons. Not probably on our collection, but no doubt elsewhere within Milton Keynes. Perhaps we can't say 'black bin-bags' to keep things PC and maybe even 'pink bin-bags' is going to upset someone or other. But let's be realistic, do people get their tights in a tangle over such things, or is it some bureaucrat somewhere who has to come up with such stupidity? No racial slur or homophobic suggestion in the slightest. They are just bin-bags, after all.

After all the fuss when Woughton Community Council left those notices as regarding fly-tipping when people put their bin bags out too early (me included), I notice that there is a lot of broken furniture, such as bits of what look like broken kitchen units, doors and drawers, as well as a rolled-up mattress and odd bits and pieces of furniture, including a worn out sofa, left around the estate. No doubt most is there for someone to collect, such as the Council (you have to organise this in advance, and pay to have it removed.) But who gets fined for 'fly-tipping'? Just a thought, 'Woughton' is actually pronounced 'Woof-ton.' If that's the case, why is Loughton (another village within the Milton Keynes area.) is pronounced 'Low-ton,' so why not 'Luff-ton,'? Weird or what? Just shows how strange our language is.

Later. We went to the hospital for 11.30 but couldn't find a space where we usually park. We had to drive around the hospital campus and park in Car park A and then walk round to Oncology, quite a long walk.  Unfortunately we got things wrong. When we arrived in the Oncology Suite, the staff on reception couldn't find Carol on the system. It would appear we were 24 hours too early as Carol wasn't booked in until tomorrow morning. They could have fitted her in but on checking, they didn't have the prescribed material necessary for her chemotherapy treatment. So we left to go home and will return tomorrow at the same time.

Wild, Wet and Windy

Carol has been out with me for some short walks over the past couple of days, so it's a good sign that she's feeling up to taking Alfie out with me along the Redway behind the house and then into Eaglestone Park. A really positive sign. Yesterday she wasn't feeling very good, with a great deal of pain continuing. I've mentioned before that Alfie becomes a sort of Tasmanian Devil whenever you go anywhere near his lead, hanging on it's hook in the kitchen. He soon picks up on the idea that we're going to take him for a walk. I gave him a treat tin full of Baker's dog treats for Christmas. He soon realised that it contained his favourite treats and he's got wise to what's inside and has got the habit of going and prodding it with his nose to get attention and as a way to get me to give him a treat. 

It's just as well we didn't want to go anywhere over the New Year's Bank Holiday because the weather has been exceptionally bad.  Well, I say we 'didn't want to', which isn't exactly true. We would have liked to, but with Carol not being well, it wouldn't have been easy. We still plan to go somewhere or other, even if it's just for a short outing, to a garden centre or a coffee shop for an hour to so. But with the weather so awful it was certainly not advisable. At least not snow and ice, but wind and rain. Looking out of the kitchen window whilst washing up, it was raining hard and there was a river running down the road outside. As I write this, at 7.25 a.m., I can hear the wind roaring outside. It would actually put me off driving far as you can never tell whether there will be trees falling and things like roof tiles. No doubt we will see bits of tree everywhere outside and it's a well we have a relatively strong garden fence because otherwise we'll have had parts of it blown over. I expect there will be fences in a horizontal position around the estate. I did notice some new sections of fence when we took Alfie for a walk a few days ago which must have been to replace wind-damaged sections. The bird feeding station is being blown about by the wind. No doubt it's putting the birds off visiting it to have a bite to eat.

It would appear, from watching the weather forecast on BBC Breakfast, that we are having it relatively easy on the weather-front. Storm Eleanor seems to be wreaking havoc in the west of the country whilst we're getting it fairly lightly. In some parts of the country it would appear people are having to endure power cuts as a result of the weather.

Well, at least, with the Christmas and New Year out of the way, things have returned to normal. We have to put 'the bins' or our rubbish bags out on a Wednesday normally, but with the two Bank Holidays it generally means the rubbish collection around here is scheduled for Thursday. Last week I put the rubbish out on Thursday, but they hadn't been to collect it by the evening. What had happened? Why had the Council workmen not been to collect the rubbish from around this area? Everyone else along the road had put their black and pink sacks of rubbish out as I'd done. Since having that sheet left outside warning us that putting our rubbish out too early might be classed as 'Fly Tipping' and we could be fined for doing so, I think our neighbours might be a bit wary of putting their rubbish out too early, but, in my opinion, it's a bit mean to fine people when it's not intended to be 'Fly-Tipping' if it's just put out for the Council workmen to collect. Just a good way to get money out of people, of you ask me. The collection didn't take place until Saturday, which was strange, as I don't think I've known they work on a Saturday. The longer the bags of rubbish are left outside, the more chance there is that they will become attacked by cats and other animals. I have seen a cat tearing open the black bin bag and the contents being spilled out. Crazy that the Council don't think about this issue. If the bags were inside bins, Wheeley or otherwise, they would be less likely to be attacked in this way. Well, surly they'd be free from the predations of cats and other animals, as well as birds with long, sharp beaks, such as magpies, which there are flocks of around this area. By the way, what is the proper name for a flock of magpies? Apparently, it's a tiding of magpies. So, I'm intrigued to know why a tiding. They seem to appear around the area on odd occasions, but at the moment there are none. So, if so, where do they go? Do they migrate in winter, going to warmer climes? They can be quite aggressive and I've seen them mob other birds. They also make a rather unpleasant sound, which is rather like the sound of a ratchet, like something being wound up, clockwork, like a clock.

When I looked out of the window in the kitchen early this afternoon there was a howling gale outside. Leaves being blown along the road outside and no doubt bits of tree, twigs, fallen branches and goodness knows what else out into the countryside. Not conditions I would choose to drive in, so it's as well we haven't been out. probably the road from the A5 into Woburn, which we drove along regularly, would be quite dangerous as it's lined with trees all the way.

By tea-time the wind had dropped considerably. I can't hear the wind howling outside as I write this (6.55 p.m.).

Next day . . .

This is being written on Thursday morning at approximately 6.05. It's raining heavily. I've had to put the rubbish out. I know, really exciting, but life must go on. Alfie followed me downstairs, so I assumed he wanted to be let out. I opened the patio door from the kitchen and he poked his head out. I continued to tie up the bin bags. The pink re-cycleing bag is full, but it's quite difficult to tie up, and these bags are made of thin, flimsy material which is easily torn. Why do they make them so thin and annoying? Two of the black bags are exceptionally heavy. I began to wonder if they contained bricks as they were so heavy. I closed the kitchen door, having lugged the bags out into the hallway ready to take outside, but leaving Alfie in the kitchen. If I don't do this, Alfie is likely to shoot out of the front door when I open it, and it would mean chasing after him to retrieve him if he got out. Not something I would exactly relish with the weather the way it is at the moment. It is then quite an effort to get both black bin bags out of the front door as well as the pink recycling bag. I plonk the bags at the roadside ready for collection. I'm in my pyjamas and it's raining, but never mind. I return to the kitchen and find a small puddle on the floor just inside the door. Alfie has shot upstairs, so I assume he didn't go out into the garden and the puddle is his little accident. I don't blame him, because he doesn't like getting wet. A little drop of wee, unfortunately, but he sits at the top of the stairs and I can see him peering down at me, looking anguished. Come down, silly little dog. It was an accident. Never mind. Who would want to go out into a rain-lashed garden to do a wee?

Milton Keynes Citizen Article

In this weeks edition of our local paper "The Milton Keynes Citizen", the following article appeared:

'LANDLORD FINED AFTER FAILING TO CHECK ON WASTE DISPOSAL'

'A company has been ordered to pay more than £1000 after a serious case of fly tipping.'

'Representatives from Copper Homes House Holdings pleaded guilty to two counts of breaching the duty of care to dispose of waste when he appeared at Milton Keynes Magistrates Court on Wednesday January 26th.'

'They were fined £350 for each breach of their duty of care in contravention of Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 as well as £350 towards the council's legal costs.'

'Magistrates heard how enforcement officers were called to a car park off Simpson Road in Fenny Stratford in March 2010 because of large-scale fly tipping. The company had hired a man to clear a property in Crownhill, but failed to check he was a registered waste carrier. They also failed to check there was an audit trail tracking the waste to its final destination.'