A Foggy Day in Milton Keynes

 Sunday. 2.10 p.m. It was foggy across Milton Keynes this morning as I attempted to drive to church. I say attempted, because there was an accident on Chaffron Way, at the junction with Strudwick Drive. I knew that something was up because there were people in hivis jackets on the roundabout near Venture Church, formerly known as M.K.C.C. (Milton Keynes Christian Centre). You may ask, why on earth change the name? It's because Milton Keynes City Council also has the same initials, since MK was made a city. Crazy name, but there it is. Then I had to wait at the junction, and I could see police in the road and further out, the mangled remains of a car at the side of the road. I could not turn right, as I wanted to, to get to church, so I had to make a left turn and eventually go around the roads near MK college and out onto Grafton Street, along Standing Way and back onto Grafton Street and onto Chaffron Way and on to church. A long and laborious route.

Monday. 8.40 a.m. Another gloomy and foggy morning. Not much you can do about it. I expect it will clear at some point during the day.

Tuesday. 2.55 p.m. It's relatively sunny today, but a strong wind is blowing.

Wednesday. 5.30 a.m. I have been rudely woken by the horrible sound of the fire alarm. It is so loud that it hurts my ears, and I went to the loo and then here, in the lounge. I have heard a vehicle turn up outside in the road, and hopefully it's the fire service. With some luck (although 'luck' doesn't come into it.) the firemen will turn the wretched thing off. Really not a good way to start the day. Horray! The horrid thing has been turned off!

Friday. 8.00 p.m. I have been continuing with the writing project. I have it more or less planned, but just needed to get down to the actual writing process.

I am hoping that, if the weather improves, I can go out with my new digital camera and do some filming. Currently, the weather has been unsettled, with a mixture of rain and blustery wind.

I am currently watching a drama series on Apple+TV, called 'Hijack.' The title alone should tell you what it's about. Starring Idris Elba. It's extremely tense and keeps you on the edge of your seat. It tells the story of an aeroplane being hijacked by a group of supposed terrorists and is in ''real time.'

We Three Kings

 Tuesday. 7.50 a.m. It's dark and gloomy at the moment. The sun hasn't risen. I'm about to prepare for my journey to Worcester tomorrow morning. I trust the weather will be fine, because driving on the M40 can be made more difficult if it rains and then there is spray, thrown up by other vehicles, particularly HGVs.

The digital thermometer currently reads 22ºc.

10.50 a.m. I've been to get the tyres checked at the ESSO service station in Grafton Street. I'm sure this was a Shell service station, and I've used it before. It is one job I dislike, because the hose which you pull out of the machine is so awkward, as it keeps on wanting to rewind itself into the machine. It needs some sort of braking system, so once you've pulled it out, it won't rewind. You get a short time once you've put your money in the machine, but it now accepts larger denominations of coins, and I happened to have a £1 coin on me, so I used that. It would be easier if there was a second person to help, as the operator, who checks the tyres, has to first unscrew the cap on each tyre and then put the end of the hose on the valve on the tyre and then manage to read the pressure on the machine, which is difficult, because, when you do the rear tyres, you can't always read the metre on the machine. Carol used to help me do this. Well, at least it'd be done before I drive to Worcester tomorrow morning.

Friday. Boxing Day. 1.45 p.m. I have just got back from my trip to Worcester.

I got partway home and then realised I had forgotten the box with all my medications in it. I really didn't want to go without the heart stuff. I'm not willing to find out. I let Chloe know and hopefully she can post it to me, but I needed at least a week's worth until the box turned up. Through the NHS 111 website, I was able to get passed on to Boots pharmacy in Milton Keynes, and then I got a call from them so I could give my details and the list of meds. Then I drove in a collec the parcel of meds. All very efficient and problem solved quickly, thank goodness. I just blame myself for forgetting the box.

The Sun Has Got His Hat On!

 Monday. 7.35 a.m. Yesterday was a busy day. We had a somewhat shortened service at church, followed by a members' meeting. Halfway through the service, a baby boy was dedicated. I must explain. We don't have christenings in our church. You are baptised when you accept Jesus, and it is a voluntary action. Anyway, the parents, friends and those who were to be Godparents went to the front of the church. Baby Leo, who is around three months old, was fast asleep during the dedication. At the end, his dad held him up for all to see, and it reminded me of a similar scene in the Disney film, 'The Lion King' and appropriate since he is called Leo.

Lots of stuff to be discussed and considered during the members' meeting, including voting for new members of the leadership team. Once that was over, we set up for what is called Messy Church and that went on until 5 o'clock, which was cleared up, and I eventually left for home at around 5.30. 

As I write this, the sun is out and the digital thermometer reads 22ºC. Yesterday was cloudy and dark clouds threatened rain, but if it did rain, there wasn't much.

Tuesday. 10.05 a.m. The weather has changed. What do you expect in this country? Fickle? Possibly. The sun no longer shines. Is summer over? Probably not. My digital thermometer currently reads 22ºC.

Wednesday. 7.50 a.m. Having just read the very short piece above, regarding the weather, I now have to write that the weather has now done yet another about-turn. When I went out earlier, as I do every morning, with Alfie, it was windy and dark clouds were crossing the sky. As I write now, it is sunny and a powerful wind blows. It's almost autumnal. My digital thermometer reads 21ºC.

Good Friday. 6.40 a.m. It's fully light as I write this. I have to say, I love this time of year. I took Alfie out and I noticed how quickly the trees are coming into leaf. I think the past few days of sunshine have helped them put on a spurt. The hedge, alongside the garden of Dexter House, is completely leafed (is that even a term, or a word? Well I know what it means.) 

The electric scooters are STILL taking up space along the corridor on the way out. When will these confounded things be able to be removed and stored in the sheds outside? The story continues. And continues . . . .  and continues.

Yesterday was Maunday Thursday, the day when Jesus and his disciples ate the Last Supper. I was on duty to supply the bread and wine in the evening for a time of reflection at SCF in the evening. I had to go to Sainsbury's to buy a white sliced loaf of bread, which I then cut up into small pieces. I did it early, because I was focussed on the task and wanted to have it done so I could concentrate on other matters. I drove to the Oaktree Centre at around 6.15, but found the place locked, so I had to wait until the place was locked up and once inside, the same old problem of having to open the kitchen, which has one of those doors with a lock which you open with a code. I don't have it, but it was eventually opened and I set up the trays into which the small plastic cups are placed and then made up some fruit squash (I think it's blackcurrant.) to then put into a squeezy bottle so that I could put a small amount into each plastic cup. This is a job you cannot rush. You need a steady hand. We weren't sure how many people were going to turn up, so I made up one tray and began to fill a second one, leaving the second one on the counter in the cafe area. In the hall, the table was set up in the centre, with chairs in a circle around it. It was a very moving evening, with readings and music.

I have taken a case out of the cupboard in my bedroom, which has been in there, unused, since I moved in around 6 years ago. I have never looked inside, but I needed to empty it, because I want to use it when I go to Worcester later this afternoon. I found various bits of rubbish, which is often what you find when you've been on holiday, tickets, empty packets and so on. But I was surprised to find Carol's swimming costume. It was unexpected and caused me a certain bit of emotion. I just did not think that I would find that in the bag.

11.00 a.m. I've been to the Shell fillingl station in Grafton Street. I needed to check the car's tyres. It's not a job I enjoy. I had a £10 note, because I didn't know whether I would need to change it for coins. I had a couple of 50p with me, just it case. I got to the machine and drew up. I then discovered you could pay using your debit card, which I had with me. Unfortunately, the confounded machine wouldn't accept it. Goodness knows why. But the machine did accept my 2 50p coins. You have five minutes to go round and check your tyres, but the hose it uses is difficult to hold as it keeps wanting to rewind into the machine. Crazy! I had to unscrew each cap on each tyre, and keep a foot on the hose to prevent it being drawn back into the machine, at the same time attempting to read the pressure on the machine. Carol always used to help with this job. She would stay with the machine and stop the hose rewinding into the machine, but without her, I have to do this operation on my own.

What's It All About, Alfie?

Thursday.6.00 p.m. I went to the Oaktree Centre this morning to help set up Acorns playgroup. I left around 8.40, which should have given me plenty of time to get there for 9. I left Dexter House and drove out of Oldbrook along Strudwick Drive and then found there was a queue of around six cars at the junction onto Chaffron Way. It's virtually impossible to get out onto the road to the right, due to heavy traffic so, as usual, I went left and drove around the roundabout near Eaglestone (commonly known as Four Bridges, for obvious reasons, and then doubled back on myself to drive along Chaffron Way. Then there was a jam only metres away, just before the turning into Rainbow Drive. Many cars appeared to be parked within the immediate entry, and I wondered if they were parents dropping off children going to either the college or Milton Keynes Academy. These parents (if indeed it is parents) don't seem to care about anyone else, just blocking the entrance and not getting out of the way. The other entrance into MK Academy in Saxon Street was always being clogged up with cars, by parents either leaving their children or collecting them and also not taking a blind bit of notice that it was dangerous, likely causing collisions with vehicles, even though the school had made it clear to them not to do so. People just seem to do as they please, regardless of being told not to do something. 

Beyond the roundabout where Chaffron Way meets Grafton Street, the traffic was nose-to-tail more or less all the way to Shenley. All I can say is, I was more than glad that I was driving in the opposite direction and I wouldn't want to put up with that sort of traffic daily, to and from work. I can't think what had caused the traffic to be so snarled up unless there was an accident on either the M1 or the A5 and traffic was being diverted through Milton Keynes or maybe there was resurfacing of some of the grid roads which might cause such problems.

Saturday. 6.05 a.m. Alfie came to me and prodded me. I had to force myself to respond and wake up. It wasn't easy, waking up, getting dressed and then taking him out, as I knew he was in desperate need to get out and I really didn't want a mess to clear up. So I carried him out (just as well he's small. I can't imagine doing that with a bigger dog, an Irish wolf-hound or Labrador.) This was at around 2.30 a.m., so you can imagine that it was very dark, even with a few street lamps illuminating things. But it was a success, and we were soon back indoors and back in bed a couple of minutes later.

We met up for the men's breakfast at Morrison's at Westcroft this morning. It was something of a disaster, although it was sorted out. We have met there to use the community room for several months and it seems a good enough venue, it's quiet, and we can have a cooked breakfast,, provided by Morrison's café. But I don't know what happened as regards getting the room set up and making it ready for us. You would imagine that if they had a regular booking, they would have known we were due there. But no. The staff had no idea. It was eventually sorted out and the meeting went ahead, but we could have just as easily gone to Costa which is right next door to Morrison's. 

I had planned to go to my creative writing group, which meets monthly in Waterstones in Midsummer Place. I should have left to drive a good deal earlier because when I got as far as the road opposite The escape, the traffic was backed up almost as far as the roundabout on Childs Way. It took some while to reach the carpark I usually go to when I drive into Milton Keynes centre and found it absolutely chocker-block, with not a single space vacant, although I did drive round with the hope that I would find a space, but no luck. I then drove out and thought I might be able to park in the adjacent carpark, but when I attempted to use the RingGo app it would not work. A similar situation happened when I came in earlier in the week to have my covid booster vaccine jab. It simply refused to work. I don't understand why it won't work, it won't connect or something. One of those confounded spinning wheel things, so I gave up and came home, unfortunately, abandoning any possibility of getting to the meet-up. I will just have to drive in a good deal earlier when the group next meets.

Fun With Dick and Jane

Sunday. 4.40 p.m. So, here I am, on a Sunday afternoon. Nothing much to do except read, take Alfie for a walk, and peel potatoes for my evening meal. (Pork chops, roast potatoes and broccoli, if you must ask.) A bit like the Hancock's Half-Hour 'Sunday Afternoon At Home'.' Virtually nothing happens. Hancock moans and complains about the fact it's raining, Miss Pugh (his secretary, played by Hattie Jacques) has cooked lunch and Hancock complains about her gravy. It's obviously very thick and the fact that it doesn't move! A brilliant bit of scriptwriting by Galton and Simpson.  The ability to write about virtually nothing is a real art, and it brings out the various characters' little foibles. I have heard this episode many times and it's just as funny each time I hear it.

As I write this, the fire alarm has gone off. I have shut the lounge door as the alarm goes off in the entrance hall, and you can't hear yourself think with the confounded alarm. Alfie doesn't like loud noises, which is why he's laying near the door. A fire engine has arrived and is parked outside. Along with a police car. Hope they arrest the idiot who has set the alarm off (just hope it's not me as I have only just put the potatoes into roast. Perhaps they should charge £25 for each call-0ut, which is a sort of false alarm, which might make people a bit more careful. Just hope they manage to turn the alarm off soon as it's difficult to think properly.

The alarm stopped after around twenty minutes, by which time my ears were ringing. But it was such a relief! I just wish people would learn to cook, smoke or whatever, without setting off the fire alarms. Perhaps they had forgotten to take out toast from their toaster or left something in the oven which burnt. Whatever it was, it caused an annoyance.

Monday. 5.40 a.m. Alfie and I were out at 5.15. I'm not going to stay indoors when it's light and there's no rain. No sign of foxes, but one can hope to see one or two at some stage if you get up early enough. I have my electric fan on in my bedroom as it's already hot in the flat. Just crazy. 

Why did I choose the title for this blog post? I have no idea, but I suppose it reflects life at Dexter House.  It's all bingo and , jelly, gardening and more bingo. The fun of it is too much, nothing more and nothing less. That may be for some who live here, but not for me.

I am currently doing checks on my car before going to Worcester. I forgot how to open the bonnet, so I went on Google and, hey presto! It's easy. It's not a thing I do regularly, as the car was serviced in November and had an oil change. The oil level seems fine but now I need to check the tyre pressure, not a job I actually relish, but it must be done. I think I will do it the next time I top the car up with diesel.

10.55 a.m. I have been to the Shell filling station in Grafton Street to fill the car up with diesel. You have to move quite a long way forward otherwise you can't get the hose to reach the filler on my car and I have to remember that the filler is on the driver's side. I pad in the kiosk and got two £1 coins to operate the airline. A car was already using the airline so I waited near the pumps and then moved the car to the area which had the airline in it. It took me a while to discover where you put your coins to start the machine, It's not very well-marked. Then I pulled out the hose to start the job of putting air in each of the four tyres. It's a messy business and I got a black mess on my hands from the tyres and undid each of the caps on the tyres. Then I had to wrestle with the hose, which keeps wanting to rewind itself back into the machine, so you have to put one foot on it to stop it, this manoeuvre is rather like wrestling with a snake. It was at this point that I think it's somewhat like a scene from a television comedy and could imagine Rowan Atkinson's character Mr Bean attempting to deal with the hose and getting himself into a terrible but hilarious situation. Anyway, having dealt with these things the car is now ready for my journey to Worcester on Friday afternoon.

Tuesday. 6.00 a.m. Here we are again! Alfie and I were out at 5.15 this morning. A slight chill in the air and, according to the BBC Breakfast weather forecast, a likelihood of rain later today.

A Little Wet and Windy

 Monday. 7.45 a.m. Another week begins. It's relatively bright and sunny outside, but when I took Alfie out around an hour ago it was quite chilly. I think perhaps it's time to put my shorts away for the winter months. A pity, as I've got used to wearing them. I may have to find some cargoes made of similar material. They're Weird Fish brand shorts with plenty of pockets, which are useful, particularly when walking Alfie, as I can put treats in one pocket, keys in another, and doggy bags in another. 

Wednesday. 4.20 p.m. I've had two letters in the post. One from Milton Keynes Council about having my bathroom refitted. Is it possible? Might I have a proper full-sized bath that I can actually lay down in and have a decent soak? Most people are at least 5-6 tall, and most, if not all normal people would expect to be able to lie full length in it when they have a bath.)Anyway, having contacted the number on the letter, I have someone coming to survey the aforementioned bathroom to see what can or cannot be done. I will report on here after I have had the visit. I hold my breath in anticipation (metaphorically that is.) The other letter was from Lloyd's Pharmacy offering me a flu jab. Booked through their website and it's going to be on 28th October at their branch in Sainsbury's.

Thursday. I've made a batch of scones to take to the quiz night on Friday evening. They aren't bad. Taste good, texture good and I'm sure Marry Berry would be pleased with the result, but to me, they don't look very good. I will have another try tomorrow and hope the second batch turns out better.

Saturday. 8.10 a.m. I've been somewhat lax this week, in the fact that I haven't been writing blog posts for the past couple of days. Very lazy, but, I'll be honest not a great deal to report. 

I've made another batch of scones, and this time I've used my food processor and they've come out looking considerably better than yesterday's batch. The food processor certainly speeds the process considerably. 

I went into Sainsbury's and had intended to purchase ink cartridges for my Canon printer/scanner. I hunter along the shelves in the stationary section of the store and could see none, so I asked a member of staff and was told that they had been removed from the store because they are stolen by people who then sell them online, no doubt on sites such as eBay. Crazy that things have come to this. I have since managed to order them from Viking, the online stationers. They should arrive, hopefully, in the next couple of days.

We had a quiz night at the Oaktree Centre this evening. Raising funds for the second phase of the building.  A good evening was had by all and it was great to be around people once more and not virtually.

Sunday. This afternoon I went out with the intention of topping up the car with diesel because it is running low. There is no ulterior motive other than my usual topping it up. I'm not driving a great deal at the moment, but the fuel gauge is showing there's not much in the tank. I drove around to the ESSO station on Childs Way to discover a huge queue of vehicles stretching from the roundabout on Marlborough Street. I wasn't going to join the queue and I could say a similar queue on the opposite carriageway at the BP station. I then drove to the Shell station on Grafton Street and, seeing there was no queue I drove in, but most of the pumps were blocked off, signaling they had no fuel. So, I drove away and have decided perhaps I will wait until later in the week to have another go at getting a tank full.

Tuesday. 10.30 a.m. Alfie had a bit of an accident last night, requiring a complete change of bedding and floor-mopping. He spent the night in the lounge as I didn't want a repetition of things. He was quiet until the early hours of the morning and then began barking. I had to do a further clear-up, but as I write this he seems fine. I'll have to monitor things and see what transpires. He seems to be his usual perky self and we've just got back from another walk around the park. It's bright and sunny this morning.

I have been attempting to fuel the car. I know it's not urgent as the car can go for quite a long period before it needs fuel. The gauge is looking low, so it will need diesel sometime soon. I went around Marlborough Street and to the Esso station along Child's Way, but they had nothing, and then to the BP station on the opposite carriageway, but, again, nothing. I'll have to leave it until the end of the week and give it another attempt. Then I drove on to Sainsbury's. A great many empty spaces on the shelves but I managed to get the few items I needed.

June Is Bustin' Out All Over!

Okay, okay! Another blog post title quiz question. . . Where is this title from? Another musical . . . written by Rogers and Hammerstein. . . It's from their musical 'Carousel.' I actually thought it was from 'Oklahoma!', but after a Goole search, I found out my guess was wrong.

Saturday.7.10 a.m.  Yet another bright and sunny morning. It does seem that June is definitely 'Bustin'' out all over Oldbrook and further afield. Trees in full leaf. Flowers popping up all over the place. Birdies building their nests and fledglings taking their first flight. Goodness knows what else, but things are definitely bustin' out all over!

10.25 a.m. I decided I needed a hand mixer for use with my baking. Something simple, a hand mixer, which would make whisking up cake mix, batter, and other items far quicker and easier. I had a look on the internet, Amazon as a start-off, but so many brands that I haven't heard of, some cheaper than others and some definitely more than I was willing to pay. Then I thought of Argos and the fact I had quite a few Nectar points which I've collected through shopping in Sainsbury's and which I get with having a home contents insurance policy with Sainsbury's Bank. I had a look and then read the reviews of some of those hand mixers, the cheapest not having very good or at least, mixed (sorry about the pun! Just couldn't help it I'm afraid.) one saying it was liable to over-heat, so no good. I expected to pay a bit more, so I found a Kenwood model, a good brand, and supposedly reliable, so I decided on that one and at £22.99 seemingly good value. Multi-speed and you can store it with the whisks disconnected and stand on its flat base. So, it seemed ideal for my kitchen which has limited storage space.

I wanted to pay online and use the Nectar points and buy it through 'Click and Collect,' which I have done with some other items I have bought recently, such as my electric kettle, toaster, and more recently my food processor. It took several attempts to get the website to function and I had to pay 49p with my Debit card as the price of the food mixer was that much more than the number of nectar points would allow. Only possible to use £2.50 worth of points at a time if that makes sense. I eventually got the site to work for me, paid, and then an email to say that I could collect the item after 9 a.m because that was when Argos opened on a Saturday morning.

I needed to go to Lloyd's pharmacy in Sansbury's to collect a ready prescription, Beconase, which my doctor had prescribed when I mentioned the coughing I am experiencing at the moment and discussed during the telephone I had with her on Friday afternoon (I will mention this in the next blog post.) I also needed some shaving gel, because I had reached the end of the current pack and I cannot shave without gel, together with one or two other items. In and out relatively quickly and from there I had intended to drive to Argos, a short trip down Avebury Boulevard, or should have been until I discovered that the road was closed off due to work being done to construct a roundabout and traffic lights on the intersection with Avebury Boulevard and Grafton Street. It took me quite a while to work out a route to Argos, eventually driving further up Child's Way and going 180 degrees round the roundabout on Watling Street and then back towards the city centre and into the turning for Morrisons and through the car parks and park outside Argos. A good 20 minutes wasted in the process and several extra miles are driven somewhat unnecessarily, but I managed to collect the Kenwood hand mixer and return home, having completed the mission. 

later. I had been searching for cardboard bowls. For what purpose? Well, having made those scones I have mentioned in earlier posts, I found what I wanted in Sainsbury's this morning. I am giving them to my neighbours in Dexter House. I am putting the two halves of one scone in each bowl, buttered (actually it's Sainsbury's Olivia spread, but it's about as close to real butter and made of olive oil.) along with a teaspoonful of raspberry jam in an improvised kitchen foil container. I am attempting to be sustainable and environmentally friendly, having my containers fully recyclable wherever possible. My first delivery was to two tenants in the flat below me. I shall continue with further flats as the week progresses.

Now I have the mixer I want to experiment with other recipes. I have done scones before as well as brownies, which I may attempt once again and probably try something slightly more complicated, such as a fruit cake. I've made Victoria sponges, but I will need to buy some new baking tins and I think it's worth buying better quality, made of higher-grade materials because cheap, thin tins rust quickly and don't last as well as better, higher grade tins. It will be worth visiting T.K.Maax or Homesense, which is a subsidiary of T.K.Maax. You can buy some really good quality homeware items in both stores and at great discounts, up to around 60%. Never pay full price on anything if you can get something for a reduced price. 

Wild, Wet and Windy

(Tuesday)It's a wild and stormy day here in darkest Milton Keynes. Storm Brendan is battering the United Kingdom from the west and, going out with Alfie as I did early this morning, it took all my time and effort to remain standing upright. I took Alfie out for a second time at 1.30 and the wind was a good deal stronger. It's dustbin-day in this area and people had put their rubbish out for collection and some of it, mostly boxes and bags of rubbish, was being blown into the road. Someone along the road has obviously bought a Hitachi HD television (a smaller version of mine I have reason to suspect, along with a Henry vacuum cleaner, as indicated by the remaining wind-blown packaging. The other day some bright spark had dumped an old television in the side entrance to Dexter House. Could it be the same person who purchased the Hitachi television and dumped. More like, fly-tipped. the carton in the road? I think there may be a connection.)

Walking around Oldbrook Green there is paper and goodness knows what else being blown about by the wind. As the day has gone on, the wind seems to have got a good deal stronger. I took out Alfie again at around 1.30, but I don't think he appreciated the weather and tried his hardest to return home.

I didn't go to Camphill on Tuesday because I didn't feel 100%. A rather shaky feeling when I got up and horrible tingling in my feet.  It was rather like an electric shock, although quite mild. I don't know what's caused this, but probably some side-effect of the medication I'm on. I didn't think I was safe to drive the car, so I stayed in the flat. I need to discuss this with either a doctor, cardiologist or pharmacist.

(Wednesday) It's not so wild and wet outside this morning. The wind has dropped, thank goodness, and the rain has stopped.

I've been to put fuel in the car at the Shell station in Grafton Street. I've done well, because the last time I put in fuel was on Christmas Eve, on my way out of Milton Keynes, driving to Worcester for Christmas. It just shows how economical the Renault Captur is, being able to drive to Worcester and back as well as driving around Milton Keynes. Then I went to Sainsbury's and did a fairly large shop which means I have enough meals for a couple of weeks.

Went out with Alfie as soon as I'd unpacked my shopping and put it away. It was almost spring-like as we walked along Strudwick Drive. I have mentioned the amount of litter which has accumulated around the area, most around Oldbrook Green and, in particular, the litter bins. I did mention that this had been removed but today I again saw a couple of Council employees litter-picking, and one had a wheelbarrow with a black bin bag in for the litter. Why on earth people have to fling their litter on the ground I can't think. It seems it's usually the younger generation who do this, unfortunately. I always assumed that the youth of today were more environmentally aware than, say, my generation, but it would appear that this is not the case.

I went out with Alfie at around 2 o'clock this afternoon and no sooner had we got outside and in Dexter Avenue, walking towards Strudwick Drive, than the sound of a siren could be heard and within a few seconds a fire engine could be seen, moving, at great speed, towards Oldbrook Boulevard. I couldn't walk fast enough to get to the crossing onto Oldbrook Green, but I could see it turn left along Oldbrook Boulevard but by the time we reached the crossing it was well out of sight. No sign of smoke, so it was impossible to know where it was going. It could have been going to a fire, of course, but you have to remember that the fire service can go to other incidents, unrelated to fire.

As I walked along with Alfie, I followed a man in dark clothes carrying what looked like some sort of camera, with a sort of digital screen attached to it, rather like a smart phone. When he got to the green, near where men and boys kick a football into a goal, he put down the back pack he had on and it was clear that the device wasn't a camera, but the radio control of a drone. A few days ago I was again walking towards Oldbrook Green and I heard this high-pitched noise. It would be difficult to describe, but rather like something moving at speed, a bit like a sort of mechanical sound. As we got closer, I saw the small drone the man was operating. It flew up high into the sky and made a sort of insect-like sound, rather like a mosquito. It flew vertically and was quite scary and I don't think Alfie liked it. This afternoon it was being flown again and, as we got to the green, there was a flock of seagulls sitting on the grass and they flew up into the air and were scared off by the drone. We did our usual circuit of the Green, and by the time we got back to the crossing, I heard a sort of clunk sound and I think the drone crashed into the ground. Whether it got broken or not, I wasn't sure, but the speed it was going, up and down and then horizontally, I can assume that if it came down too quickly and the operator mis-judged the height,  and it must have crashed into the ground and therefore got broken.

I'm using my newly-acquired and up-dated Fire TV Stick. It has Alexa voice control built-in and 'she' will work if you press the button on the remote to operate the gadget. You have to wait for the blue line to appear at the top of the screen before 'she' will answer and do your bidding. You can call up apps which you download, such as YouTube, or else, if the thing is set up properly, play music from the Amazon Music store. I used to pay a monthly fee, but I cancelled it and now only have the free service which comes with Amazon Prime. Alexa will also play voice activated games, some based on television gameshows, such as Pointless, Deal Or No Deal or The Chase. But some of these only go so far and you can't complete them unless you pay a fee (which I haven't.), which means they can be a bit frustrating as you don't get to the final (if you manage to answer questions correctly.

Driving and other Motoring Matters

I needed to buy fuel for the car as the tank has run quite low, with all the driving to Willen and other places over the past few weeks. The Renault Captur is an extremely economical car and a full tank usually lasts over a month or more. So I decided to drive to the Shell station on Grafton Street, at around 9.15 this morning, making sure that most of the morning traffic had subsided. It's surprising how busy it gets around Milton Keynes just before 9 o'clock. Almost gridlock along many of the roads around Eaglestone and into the centre.

I drove out of the estate and came out near the Eaglestone shops. It's easier than trying to get out onto Saxon Street which is actually the nearest exit, but to turn right can be an impossibility when the traffic is heaviest. Usually if you turn left and then get to the roundabout on Standing Way, you can double back on yourself and came back onto Saxon Street, but it can be very busy on Standing Way, but in Milton Keynes you can always do this manoeuvre if you get lost, just get to th next roundabout and go back the way you came. So, I came out onto Chaffron Way and drove towards Grafton Street with the intention of getting to the Shell petrol station. But when i got there I discovered it was closed off 'for renovations,' or 'modernisation.' I had no alternative, I needed fuel, so I decided to drive on to the Shell station directly opposite so drove on to the roundabout on Standing Way and so drove around to the other Shell station. On arriving there, I had to drive to the furthest pump, but then discovered that the diesel pump had a notice on it, saying, out of use. Somewhat frustrating, I had no alternative but to try a pump further back on the forecourt, but it's a 'one-way' system in these petrol stations. You can't reverse to get to the pumps further back, so I chose to drive out back onto Grafton Street and drive to the next roundabout on Chaffron Way and then double back onto Grafton Street and drive back round the roundabout on Standing Way and end up at the first pumps at the Shell station, only to find that all pumps that served diesel were 'out of use.' Where else was I to obtain diesel? I chose to drive towards the city centre and use the BP station next to the Xcape on Childs Way. So, quite a long detour around Milton Keynes, along Saxon street and then right onto Childs Way. When I got there I could hear the most appalling sound, someone using one of those leaf-blowing machines. A rather pointless exercise, in my opinion. Just blowing leaves and other rubbish, out of the way, and not picking anything up.

I managed to fill up sufficiently with diesel and then returned home. I had to collect some things before heading off to Willen to see Carol.

The car has been playing up for quite some time. A light has been coming on and a digital message on the dashboard, telling me the car is in need of a service. I'm not getting full power from the car. It's not responding as it should. The journey over to Willen, although not particularly long, is quite difficult. I realise the car is in need of some sort of maintenance, perhaps a service, with a change of oil, filters and a retune. So when I leave Willen at about 1.40 I decide to check the bank balance at the Eaglestone shops where there's a convenient A.T.M. machine and then drive to Bleak Hall Motors, who did the MoT. On arrival I explain what the problem is with the car and one of the mechanics says  that, because it's a diesel car, it might be something to do with driving on short journeys. Not sure how they could fix this. He takes it out for a test run to find out what I'm on abut, and when he comes back he says, because the light is on permanently on the dashboard, it just needs a service, so I manage to book it in for this Saturday at 8 a.m. I'm surprised that they remember my name, which is what you don't often get nowadays with any business, which makes me feel a bit more comfortable with taking the car to this particular garage. So I feel happier that they can resolve the problems with the running of the car and it will hopefully be fixed on Saturday, probably taking two hours or so after which I can go over to see Carol in Willan Hospice.

It's quite foggy today when I drive to Garroways later this morning. An almost typical November morning. The weather forecast on BBC Breakfast says that we can expect it to get colder as the week progresses. Oh well, what do you expect as the winter draws on? 

Carol Moves Wards

Friday began fairly mild and not a great deal of sun, but as the day progressed, the sun came out and we were back on hight temperatures. The heatwave doesn't look as if it's going to end soon. As much as I like sunshine, I don't like it this hot. Just doesn't suit me.

I drove the car to the hospital, the same as I did yesterday. My thoughts were that possibly Carol would be discharged and we could at last go home, but, unfortunately, the issue of her blood sugar level and her temperature is still causing problems. It is odd that her temperature was around 37.5 only a few days ago and shot up to dangerous levels over a very short space of time as well as her blood sugar levels, which seem to have shot up also. 

The doctors have decided that she needs to remain in hospital for a few more days, to make sure the temperature and blood sugar levels are reduced considerably before she can be allowed home. She was to be moved on to Ward 22 during the afternoon when a bed became vacant there.

Carol had an M.R.I. scan booked for 12 noon. When no porter arrived a before the time, we began to wonder whether she would be going for the scan or not, but by around 12.20 a porter did arrive and she was whisked out of the ward and a short distance along the corridor to the imaging department and around to wait outside the M.R.I. scanner room. I sat in the waiting area outside the doors which had warning signs to 'Not Enter. High risk of radiation.' The whole process took a little under 15 minutes. When the scanning was progressing, the doors automatically locked themselves and lights came on, rather in the manner of when they were filming for television and you got 'Red light and bell' before a 'take.' She soon reemerged and we returned to the ward.

There was a lot going on in Ward 1, during the morning. Lots of patients leaving and new ones arriving. It must be quite difficult for the staff, because they bring new patients in on their beds and there is little enough space to manoeuvre beds around, beds having to be taken out first before new ones can be bought in.

Finally, after a couple of days waiting, Carol was informed that she was going to be moved to Ward 22. We began clearing up her belongings, but we still weren't given an exact time. We just sat and waited, and waited. Bur eventually we were given the go-ahead and   a porter arriving on  the Ward1.

Ward 22 is where we had to go to get the pump removed at the end of one of Carol's chemotherapy cycles, so it was at least familiar to us. Compared with Ward 1, it differs in that the 'bays' are separated into male and female and each 'bay' has only four beds. As a result there's a good deal more room for each patient and each 'bay' has separate toilets and shower rooms. The first thing you notice is how quiet it is. Which makes a change from the constant noise on Ward 1, although, having said that, that ward was relatively quiet compared with some of the other wards we've been on. But on Ward 22 there isn't the constant coming and going of the patients being brought in and taken out. And the patients we came across seem eager to at least chat to you.

Saturday morning. It's started out sunny and bright. I'd decided a few days ago that Alfie needed a treat. He's been locked up in the house every day this week when I'v been to the hospital.  I wanted to take him for a walk before leaving the house. But with one thing and another I forget, but this morning I got myself organised and managed to get him on his lead. Even then he made a great deal of noise, barking and generally getting excited. We got out into the road outside the house and made for Eaglestone Park, where I let him off his lead and he bounded off, running like a little hare. I couldn't see any problems with his back leg which he has previously had a problem with, none of the holding it in the air or anything. Barking madly as usual. We did a complete circuit of the park but when we came down the Redway section near the shops I saw glass in the path. It might well have been as a result of an accident, but the way it looked, with a large and rather nasty larger piece of glass in the centre it looked like it had been put there deliberately to puncture some passing cyclist's tyres. I don't know what sort of idiot would brazenly set up this sort of thing, some mindless fool who should have known better. Even if you were to accidentally step on it with trainers, as I was wearing, it could cause a really nasty accident, with cuts to the soles of your feet, or if you fell on it, you'd need to go directly to the A and E department of the hospital. Also, all around the bench I was hoping to sit on and rest with Alfie during our walk, no end of litter, mostly drinks cans and cigarette butts. How disgusting are people? There is a great deal of litter around the park and it just shows that there is a certain element who live in this area who simply don't care about keeping things clean and tidy, regardless of the fact that there are no end of water bins to put there rubbish. A couple of squirrels running for cover as we walked on, but fortunately Alfie didn't notice them, otherwise he'd have run off in hot pursuit.

I've been up to the One Stop shop at Garraways in Coffee Hall. Just after 7 a.m. once they'd opened. I had to top-up electricity and gas. There's an A.T.M. machine outside so it's easy to check both bank accounts. A few extra bits bought, sandwiches and drink to take with me to the hospital ward which will mean I don't have to go to the shop at lunchtime. From Coffee Hall I drove to the Shell filling station in Grafton Street and put in £40-worth of diesel. One thing I can say about the Renault Captur, it's easy on fuel. The road has been resurfaced , which might explain all the  yellow diversion signs around the area. No road markings, but I suppose those sort of things put back at a later date. They are slowly managing to resurface most of the grid roads in and around Milton Keynes.

Birthday Outing To Stratford-Upon-Avon

Saturday was my birthday and, the weather being fine, Carol thought I might appreciate a visit to Stratford-Upon-Avon. Actually, as we drove to the Shell petrol station along Grafton Street, we were greeted by a thin fog. It was dull and sunless, but that didn't prevent us having our day out. The first day of Half-Term as well as my birthday. I had found the postcode of the Stratford-Upon-Avon park-and-ride carpark and set the satnav, so it was just a matter of following the device's instructions and driving out of Milton Keynes. A wonderful invention which makes driving and particularly navigation so much easier and stress-free. There are some modern inventions which one can well do without (mobile telephones for one, although they have their place, obviously.) but a satnav is a brilliant bit of kit. Attempting to follow a large fold-out map in a car as you are moving along can be very difficult.

We drove out of Milton Keynes towards Buckingham and eventually to the M40. Our journey was fairly stress-free. Fortunately the fog began to lift as we approached Stratford. We got to the park and ride carpark and it was here we discovered that it didn't seem possible to use the ticket machines. You should have been able to use your bank debit card to either pay with chip and pin or contactless but the machine wasn't working. We ended up finding we had to use the bus without paying and the driver allowed us to pay on our return journey. I have a free bus pass and it was at this point that I discovered that it had expired, meaning I couldn't use it for a free journey. I will have to go to the Council offices in Milton Keynes to get it updated. I would have thought I would have had a letter from them informing me that it was about to expire. It not only means a trip into the centre of Milton Keynes, but that I will need to get passport photographs done to go on the card.

On arrival in the centre of Stratford-Upon-Avon we decided that we required some sort of refreshment so we went to a Caffe Nero branch in Henley Street. Carol ordered hot chocolate and I had caramel latte with a good topping of whipped cream and caramel sauce and we also had chocolate brownie and pecan pastries. For once there wasn't loud music playing, which is one thing which we both find annoying in many restaurants and cafes we visit, which means you can barely hear anyone speaking and restricts conversation. A very clean and tidy branch and the staff were friendly and helpful.

William Shakespeare's birthplace.

From Caffe Nero we walked along the street towards the Shakespeare Birthplace. I have a longstanding interest in William Shakespeare and have studied his plays at school and university, and this was one place I had always wanted to visit. We were going to visit on this occasion but were put off by the cost of entry, so didn't go inside. I realise such places need to be paid for and kept going with such payments, but it seems a shame that they are making money out of tourists which keep such centres as Stratford alive, but in another sense they are putting of others who might like to visit but wouldn't be able to afford such costs. We did go into the shop, further down the street, and bought some cards and other items. Much of the souvenirs are, frankly, very tacky and cheap, but in the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust shop there were some very worthwhile items, including books, pens, postcards etc etc.

Further along the street we discovered a shop which sold teddy bears. Carol has a love of these toys and has a wide collection at home. Several years ago I bought her a Steiff bear, which was sold as an offer in the Guardian newspaper. Outside this shop was a very large, more or less life size  bear dressed in Tudor clothes, no doubt to look like William Shakespeare. Within this shop there were all manner of bears, in all manner of clothes, large and small, some at reasonable prices but others very expensive. We have never been in such a well-stocked shop selling teddy bears!

Having left the teddy bear shop we walked towards the river. We found where the bus would leave to return us to the park and ride carpark, just outside McDonald's. We walked on and got to the Waterside, which is where the R.S.C. (Royal Shakespeare Company) has it's theatre. We visited Stratford a few years ago and it was at the time the theatre was being redeveloped and was under scaffolding. It is now open (it has been for the past few years.) and now has a tower as part of it's structure. There is also a recently-opened permanent exhibition inside which is about Shakespeare and called 'The Play's The Thing' which we ought to visit when we next come to Stratford. All part of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death in 1616.

 Canal boat at Waterside, Stratford-Upon-Avon

Along the Waterside were barges and boats and one which took passengers on a cruise along the River Avon and part-way along the canals. We thought it would make a pleasant and relaxing afternoon's experience, having spent several hours walking. We then saw a barge further along which sold food and bought ourselves baguettes which we took on board the boat, after we'd bought our tickets. So we spent around 45-50 cruising on the boat and went through the lock and into the main part of the river. It was from the boat that we got a view of the theatre you don't normally see and then, further along, the church where William Shakespeare was buried.

Falstaff statue at Shakespeare Memorial

Hamlet statue at Shakespeare memorial

When we got back to the Waterside we walked round to look at the statue of Shakespeare, which has him at the centre, but high up so you unfortunately can't see him at very close quarters. Around the four corners, but at ground level, are statues of some of his most famous characters, Sir John Falstaff, Lady Macbeth, Henry V, and Hamlet. I took photographs of each.

We then wandered back into the town centre and visited Marks and Spencer, buying lasagne and salad for our evening meal. We returned to the bus stop outside MacDonalds and waited for the bus which would take us back to the carpark and our car and drive home back to Milton Keynes.

Calke Abbey and Car Break-Down

The sun was shining. Why spend a Saturday indoors when you could be outside, visiting a National Trust property? Visiting Whipsnade or even London Zoo or any of the attractions in and around Milton Keynes and the adjacent counties? We had looked in the National Trust handbook and on-line at their website and decided on Calke Abbey, which we had intended visiting a while ago and had given up on the journey up the M1 as it was in the middle of being widened or some other roadworks on it's length for I don't know how many miles going north from Milton Keynes and junction 14 on. We left home at around 9.30 a.m., having filled up with petrol at our usual Shell station in Grafton Street. We got on the motorway and the journey wasn't too bad but the confounded roadworks we eventually met meant we could only travel at 50 m.p.h. I don't know why they have to have these coned-off sections or why you have to drive so slowly and at one point along what would have been the hard shoulder. It really put a damper on the day's outing. We came off the motorway at junction 23 and headed for Calke Abbey and Ashby de la Zouche. Infact, it turned out to be not far from Twycross Zoo, which we visited a few months ago (see earlier blog post for details.) We arrived at Calke Abbey to discover the carpark overflowing. You drive in through a very attractive avenue of trees and through a park with sheep in it and at one point these sheep were laying down in the shade of the trees and one sheep in particular looked as if it might be dead rather than asleep and almost in the path of our car and others who followed into the carpark. We had to get a timed ticket in order to visit the house (it is to prevent too many people walking around at once.) Our time slot was at 1.45 which gave us time enough to have a drink and a sandwich in the very nice restaurant (there are actually two, as we discovered.) as well as browsing in the shop and then watching a video about Calke Abbey. I think it was actually a video of a television programme from a series that has been shown on the Sky Arts channel on National Trust properties and narrated by Martin Jarvis. I'd know his voice anywhere as he seems to make a living doing voice-overs and narrating books on B.B.C. Radio 4 Extra. We'd seen a couple of these documentaries and saw one on Waddesdon and another on Stourhead, two places we've visited at one time or other over the years. We wandered around the gardens, very beautifully kept, with attractive flower beds and all the rest and then wandered into the house. I'm not sure whether I liked it as much as some places we've visited, perhaps because it has been left in a  somewhat decayed and unkempt manner. Some of the rooms a a little too over furnished and in the Victorian style whereby there are too many ornaments for our taste. Some of the upstairs rooms are in a very poor state, but it's good that they are allowing the public to see how they go about restoring not only the structure of these old properties but also the artefacts within them, such as tapestries and pieces of furniture. A pity that so much of the house has to be left in almost complete darkness. I realise that they want to protect the interiors and furniture and other items from the damage which can be caused by light, but in some cases it's so dark you can barely see what's in some of the rooms.

We finished our tour of the house. We spent more time meandering around the grounds and then had a further rest to have ice-cream and a drink and then left for home. It took some while before we hit the correct road which lead to the M1. We again had to endure the confounded 50 m.p.h. zone through the roadworks. After a fairly short distance Carol, who was driving, said there was a problem with the car. An oil light came on on the dashboard and then a 'stop' sign lit up on the display. We've got used to the alarm which keeps coming on which shows there's a problem with the E.S.P. mechanism (described in greater detail in an earlier post, after we had visited another National Trust property at Ascott a few months ago.) What were we to do? Were we to continue with our journey, or find somewhere to draw into at the side of the motorway and wait for a recovery vehicle to come and rescue us as the signs kept on telling us on the boards all along the section of roadworks on the M1? There seemed no option but to pull over between the cones which sectioned off the lane which would in another situation been the hard shoulder which is intended for breakdowns. This is what we did and fortunately we have our own breakdown cover with Swinton insurance. I used my mobile to call for assistance which took a long time to connect. By the time I'd done this a breakdown truck had arrived and we had to be taken off the motorway at junction 16 and left in a truck-stop lay-by which fortunately had a pub where we could get a drink and a sandwich as well as very convenient toilets. We had to re-arrange the breakdown rescue from Swinton as they had been directed to collect us from the motorway. We we then informed that it would be a good two hours before they could arrive. But by then we were relieved to have been rescued from the motorway roadside as it was somewhat nerve -wracking, to say the least. Not something I would ever want to repeat, even though the traffic was moving at 50 m.p.h. through the roadworks it was still extremely heavy-flowing and dangerous. I have never, in all my driving career of some 45 years or so, broken down on a motorway and had to be rescued. Indeed, I think in all that time I have perhaps had no more than three callouts or had to use my car insurance for some incident. The rescue truck did eventually arrive and the car was lifted up onto the back of the truck and we were taken home. A very upsetting and annoying end to what had started out as such a pleasant day out and, considering what had happened to the car exactly a week ago in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne not something we had anticipated happening again. The driver who took us back to Milton Keynes had a look at the car when it had been delivered safely onto our driveway and said he thought it could be the head gasket that had caused the problem.

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. 

Difficult Customer

Carol went back to work at Milton Keynes Academy today. We went to the Shell filling station in Grafton Street, which is where we usually go to fill up the car with petrol. I did the filling and then we went into the shop to pay as Carol wanted to buy newspapers for a lesson she is teaching and a sandwich for her lunch. We had to queue up at the till to pay and there were several people in front of us. A man and a youth were at the till when we got there, having chosen Carol's sandwich (which wasn't much of a choice, I have to say.) and she got a coffee from the self-service Costa machine in the shop. We could hear the older man at the till having an argument with the cashier. He had asked for vodka and the youth bought a multi-pack of lager. The older man began to get quite abusive when it came to having to pay 5p for a carrier bag. He was covered in tattoos (I know that shouldn't have any bearing on the incident, but I'm afraid it did underline the sort of cliche of the 'type' of individual he was.) From what I could hear, he sounded somewhat 'tanked up' or drunk, as he had a slurred voice. He continued to hurl abuse at the cashier, who pointed out that the 5p was going towards a charity to fund research into leukaemia. It seems most companies have a similar policy over plastic carrier bags and it's seemed reasonable to me as a way to reduce the use of carrier bags, particularly in supermarkets where you can now buy 'lifetime' bags and take them with you to use when you shop. But this individual was more interested in being abusive. Carol then intervened and said in quite an assertive voice that could he hurry up as there we people waiting who had to get to work, a very reasonable request. The man took a 5p coin from his pocket, or from some place I have no idea where, and threw it very bad temperdly across the shop. A pointless exercise as he might just as well have given it to the cashier and accepted the bag and left. We were somewhat surprised and anxious that this man was driving a vehicle, from what we saw of the vehicles on the forecourt a taxi, so we were concerned that he was going to be drunk in control of a vehicle. It seemed doubtful that he could have been working or at least driving a taxi as the taxi company would not want i's employees driving and drinking. As there are so few police to be seen on the grid-roads of Milton Keynes, the man was going to get away with his behaviour. It's not so much the man's driving that was our concern, it was the fact that his alcoholic state could cause a serious accident and injure or kill innocent people. I also think it's somewhat irresponsible of Shell to sell alcohol in it's petrol stations. I was very impressed by how the cashier handled the situation as it could have got quite nasty. I don't think the two individuals were going too far away to drink their booze. Most likely going to sit in a carpark or lay-by and drink themselves into oblivion. I just hope they didn't go off drinking and then drive around Milton Keynes as the older man must have been several times over the limit and should have been apprehended by the police and charged with drunken behaviour, but I very much doubt that will happen, unfortunately.

Carol's New Bike

We were up good and early this morning. The car needed petrol and was virtually empty when we went to the Shell petrol station along Grafton Street. Put in around £30-worth of petrol and we decided to go shopping at Morrison's so we went via Standing Way. We got to their supermarket at Westcroft but they weren't open as it was 7.15 and didn't actually open until 8 a.m. so we went to Sainsbury's in Witan Gate. They're open 24 hours so we did our shop there. Good to get there so early as it was virtually empty of other shoppers but it got busier as we went round the store. We also had breakfast in their cafe. We got home and unloaded the shopping. Carol had emptied the freezer so we had an empty freezer with no ice in it so what went in there was easier than normal. 

I told you I'd bought a bicycle from Argos recently. Carol has been looking for one for herself and we've been to a few places to have a look, including Bike King in Stoney Stratford and another shop at Shenley near the new branch of Sainsbury's. Bug nothing she liked or was suitable. We went to Toys R Us and bought one there, having tried out several different models until she selected one she really liked. We got it home and put it together. Having assembled mine a few weeks ago it wasn't that difficult including the front brake assembly. We then decided to cycle down the Redway towards Woughton-On-The-Green and across the Grand Union Canal at Peartree Bridge and round the green and through the orchard, having a rest on some benches and then back towards the canal and going to the Peartree Bridge pub for ice cold Cokes and then back home along the Redway. 

Wild and Windy Weather

We went early to get petrol from the Shell station in Grafton Street before Carol went to work this morning. I had problems with using the card in the self-service pump. They are a good idea in principal, meaning that you don't have to go into the shop and possibly queue up to pay at the till, but the thing seemed reluctant to 'read' the card and then, once that was rectified, on putting in the loyalty card, that wouldn't respond as it should. There was no indication as to which way up this card was supposed to go into the slot, which didn't exactly help, but after some effort it decided to work and I was able to put £10-worth of petrol in the car. As we drove round to the filling station we were struck by the sunrise. It was really very beautiful with most of the sky a bright red. I would have liked to have taken a photograph but by the time I had got home to collect the camera it would have been too late as the red of the sky was fading fast. 

It was really quite chilly when we got in the car and the wind was rising considerably. We have been warned on the television news that there will be  yet another powerful storm either today or tomorrow and something about high tides along the east coast, a sort of surge, but I'm not clear exactly. It must be serious as apparently the Thames barrier is to be closed. As I write this there is quite a strong wind blowing and howling around the house, whipping up clouds of fallen leaves.
With the crimson-coloured sky I was put in mind of the saying 'red sky at night, shepherd's delight/Red sky in the morning, shepherd's warning.' I just hope the forecast for storms and sea-surges doesn't mean a lot of damage and chaos. If so, the well-known saying will be completely correct and not just another so-called old-wives tale. And could someone tell me who this 'old wives' were and why they kept coming up with their sayings, correct or otherwise?
Watching the BBC lunchtime news it looks as if the storm has hit already. When the Environment Agency is involved and places are being evacuated, things must be getting really bad. They are saying it could be one of the worst storms for 60 years.

Deep and Crisp and Even

The snow started falling slowly around 9 yesterday morning and didn't stop until early evening, so we are now well and truly snowed in. We had to take Sam to work and went to Tesco's at Oldbrook to get a few essentials. Fortunately I had heeded the warning in the forecasts for the week ahead and had already stocked up with groceries from Lidl's, such items as milk, bread and a chicken which we had roasted yesterday evening. Carol got the message around 7 this morning that the Academy would be closed, so she has a day off. It seemed totally unlikely that any of the local schools would open, due mainly to health and safety issues. The gridroads around Milton Keynes have been fairly clear of snow, although Grafton Street was like a cart track as there was a lot of snow which had not been melted by passing traffic. We had to go to the Shell petrol station along there to put some fuel in the car, and it was really quite treacherous, somewhat slippery where the road out of the petrol station joined the gridroad. The roads have been gritted but it takes moving traffic on it to work the grit into the ice and snow so that it is kept clear. Standing Way was generally snow-free, basically because it is a busy road with enough traffic moving on it to work the grit into any snow that falls on it and so thaw it. As I write this (9.50 a.m.) the snow has stopped falling, but I imagine the temperature is well below freezing outside. This is when it becomes dangerous, when the road surface becomes icy and then really slippery. The inner road around Eaglestone is very snowed up, essentially due to the fact that these roads don't get gritted by the Council. Our front drive is around 6 inches under snow and the car has a thick layer of snow on top of it.

Impatient Drivers

Been to take Sam to work. Coming out of the industrial estate at Winterhill can be a bit stressful. You can cross the duel carriageway and back home that way, but it's generally safer to go up to the roundabout near ToysRus and go round and back onto the carriageway there. Which I did today. The traffic comes along Grafton Street at full-speed. It's like a racetrack. I really think there should be a speed limit of around 50 m.p.h. on the grid roads around Milton Keynes. We live off Saxon Street, which is next to  Milton Keynes hospital and Milton Keynes Academy. There is a 40 m.p.h. speed limit, no doubt imposed because of the hospital and the Academy.  I think it may be there because there have been a couple of deaths because people have to cross the road which is dangerous when they should use either a bridge or under-pass. A great many drivers seem unaware of this speed limit, even though there are clear signs as you come off the roundabout (known locally as Four Bridges, as there are footbridges over the grid roads at the roundabout.) But if you attempt to keep to the speed limit you are likely to get cars coming up behind you and trying to get you to go faster (as I've mentioned in earlier posts.) This morning I got to the roundabout after coming out of Winterhill and was waiting for the traffic to clear before going onto the roundabout. As I got there, no cars were behind me, but suddenly a car did appear as I could see it in my rear-view mirror. Just a few seconds of patient waiting and this woman began hooting impatiently. So, did she think I was going to pull into the road and cause a collision with another vehicle? Why are people so impatient? Is it perhaps because they don't like the idea of stopping at roundabouts? If so, I just hope they have good insurance. Along Saxon Street they have used a traffic calming device which tells you your speed as you approach, and if you are travelling at the correct speed (40 m.p.h.) you get a smiley face. If you are going to fast you get a miserable face. I think these are more effective than having speed cameras which can give you a fine, as sometimes they are there just as a way of raising cash for the local authority. Don't get me wrong, I'm not condoning speeding. It's just that speed cameras can have a rather negative effect- when you see them you slow down, but once you've got past you speed up again, rather negating their effectiveness.