Alfie Traumatised

I walked back home from the hospital at around 5.15. Unfortunately it's hallowe'en. I think you'll have realised I don't hold with this so-called 'tradition.' I don't honestly think it's acceptable for children to be let loose on the streets and be allowed to bang on people's front doors and demand what is, in essence, money with menaces. I mean, 'hand over some sugar-fuelled gift, sweets or chocolate, or if you don't, I'll wreak havoc on your house', for example, over-tip your dustbin. Also, going around dressed in really cheap and totally pathetic costumes, pretending to look like either Dracula, Frankenstein or the Walking Dead is not my idea of ideal entertainment. And, during all this totally imported nonsense, what happened to the more traditional British holiday of Bonfire Night or Guy Fawkes Night? When I was growing up we always had a bonfire party on 5th November, or at least the nearest Saturday to the date, with fireworks, hot cocoa, baked potatoes, bonfire toffee and all the works. It was usually in one of the fields behind Malting Farm or next door at Porter's house. We'd spend weeks going around collecting wood and all manner of rubbish to be used to build the bonfire and then we'd build a Guy out of old clothes, and this effigy was put atop the bonfire and when it was really dark, lit. So, why has this been taken over by hallowe'en? Well, to be honest, it's just another way for companies to make a bit more money, out of all the junk that is connected with it. It's just something that has crept in via Hollywood. An American 'tradition' because, basically, they don't have a long history and need something to make up for it. I think a lot of these things have been copied because they're featured in films such as 'E.T.' which I'm sure has a sequence where the little E.T. creature is part of a 'Trick or Treat' evening. It's the same with schools having 'Proms' at the end of the school year. No such thing when I was leaving school in the late 1960's. I still don't know why they call it a 'Prom' which to me is a concert held in the Royal Albert Hall every year and the singing of 'Land of Hope and Glory'.

As I was saying before I wandered somewhat from the track. I arrived home. The central heating was on because it's getting a good deal colder. Before I walked in there were a few children wandering about the street, going about their 'Trick or Treating.' I said 'please don't come to my house' and they seemed to get the message that I wasn't going to fall for that 'thing'. I walked in and Alfie began barking. He had gone upstairs to our bedroom when I got ready to leave the house earlier in the afternoon. He has a good idea what I'm going to do when he sees me putting my shoes on to go out and I try to get him to go in the kitchen where he's safe when the door is closed. But if he's aware I'm going out he shoots upstairs into our bedroom. I found him there the other day, under the bed, and in one of the storage baskets we have there. Quite funny to see him curled up in there. At least if he's in the kitchen he has water and something to eat in his bowl and we got him a really cozy dog bed which is in one corner. He seems to like it as it's warm and he doesn't have to be in a draught. Anyway, Alfie shot down stairs when I walked in. He didn't leave my side all evening. He couldn't get much closer to me and wanted to sit on my lap when I sat to look at my laptop to read emails. Mind you, he tried to push the thing off with his nose so he could sit on my lap and when he couldn't he attempted to climb onto the back of the chair. He can't sit there since we replaced the old chair with this new IKEA model as the back is too narrow for him to sit there. He also climbs along the back of the sofa and sits or lies there. I think this is a sort of terrier trait as the Jack Russel terriers my parents had liked to sit or lie like this, with their legs either side, even when we drove around in the car, they liked to sit on the back of the car seats. I imagine it gives the a good view of what's going on, being short dogs, they can't see out of the window or get a particularly clear view from ground level.

During the evening Alfie was displaying some body language I've never seen before. I was in the bathroom and he followed me upstairs and he was coming up the stairs with his body very low to the ground, looking almost as if he was creeping up he stairs and when he came into the bathroom, again he couldn't get close enough to me. It's as if he'd been frightened and he wanted me to reassure him that I would look after him. When I was in the bathroom, again, he couldn't get near enough.

I must say it makes me somewhat annoyed that this horrible thing, hallowe'en, has to cause distress to not only humans, but also animals. Poppy, our little westie/shitsu, was terrified of fireworks. She would cower under the most convenient piece of furniture or go under our bed. It seems Alfie is just as bad. He barks whenever a firework is let off (incidentally, what on earth is the point of letting them off in daylight??? Surely they're at their best when it's dark. They are part of Guy Fawkes night, not hallowe'en.) It's irresponsible of people to cause so much upset to pets and humans when they just want to be safe and protected. Banging on people's doors and demanding things is not a good thing, regardless of what people might think. The best way to deal with all this is to ignore it.

A bit later

It's 7.45 a.m. I've been busy since I got up. Put washing on and it's now finished and on the airer in the kitchen. That thing is annoying. Just hate having to slot every item of clothing through the bars on this annoying contraption. Just not well designed. I'd far rather hang stuff on the line in the garden, but it'll never dry properly as the weather is a bit unsettled. Anyway, I was sitting and eating my breakfast and Alfie is attempting to sit on my lap. He starts yapping at me, being very insistent, as he can be. He wanted to show me something. I assumed he wanted to be let out into the garden, so I moved towards the patio doors, but no, he took me to where the dog leads are kept, on a hook in the kitchen. He stood and yapped and it was really obvious that we wanted to go for a walk. I had to sort myself out, put on my shoes and then a jumper, as it's quite cold out first thing in the morning. I grabbed the lead and managed to hook it onto his collar and away we went. Alfie yapping at full voice, as is his usual want. We crossed the road and into the park. I saw a man with his dog across the park but Alfie charged off at full tilt, the other dog not knowing what had hit it. They usually don't as Alfie is like a mad thing, running in circles round the dog. The owner didn't mind, thankfully. Alfie just wants to be friends, but the other dog usually stares at him in disbelief. We walked across the wide grass area where there's some climbing equipment and other exercise items. I saw a woman and some children with a large Alsation-type dog in the distance and didn't want Alfie to run towards it as I really don't trust them so we went back across the grass area. This was long and very wet and I got my feet soaked, unfortunately, and meanwhile Alfie charging about like a mad thing. We walked back to the house and Alfie calmed down, I think the walk did us both a power of good. Just shows how much a little dog can do to make you feel better after the trauma of the past few days.

Oxford Outing

We haven't been to Oxford for quite a while. There is more than enough there to keep us busy. A good shopping centre, several good theatres (The New Theatre and Oxford Playhouse, along with Creation Theatre which doesn't have a theatre building of its own.) The Ashmolean Museum is the oldest public museum in the world as well as the Pitt Rivers and the Natural History, all enough to give anybody who visits them hours of amusement. We left home early on a bright and not particularly sunny morning in order to make the most of our day. Carol has only two more days left of her summer break (going back to Milton Keynes Academy on Friday for a training day.) so we wanted to make the most of the day. We stopped off at Morrisons petrol station at Westcroft as they seem to have the cheapest petrol price at the moment and then drove out on Standing Way towards Buckingham. We eventually arrived at the Water Eaton park-and-ride and parked the car and then boarded the bus and rode into the centre of Oxford. This is all so much easier and stress-free when you know exactly where to park the car and arrive at the centre of a town or city knowing you don't have to hunt for a parking space or pay out something astronomical to park. Well, at least it's better for the environment to have people use a bus rather than have so many cars travelling into the centre of towns and cities. It was a very clean bus and the journey was no more than ten minutes at the most.  We got off opposite the New Theatre. Interesting to see what's on there at the moment. 'The Rocky Horror Show.' Not actually something I'd want to see. We had coffee in a Costas and then walked the short distance to the Ashmolean Museum. It opened at 10 o'clock and as we were early we had to wait outside. Pleasant enough, sitting on convenient benches. We then spent just over an hour browsing the museum. Saw an amazing Chinese screen, with lacquer-work all over it. Also went to the Victorian galleries and saw many well-known paintings by Pre-Raphaelite painters such as Burne-Jones and others. It's interesting to be able to see these works of art at such close quarters rather than in a book. A couple of quite spectacular painted pieces of furniture, one a bookcase and another a sort of wardrobe. I think you'd need a very large room to house both items. We also saw the lantern that Guy Fawkes was holding at the time he was arrested in the cellars of the Houses of Parliament as part of the Gunpowder Plot. Amazing to see such a simple item from a major  incident  from history. It just surprised me to see how basic it was and to think it was thought important enough to preserve in a museum collection.

We spent time looking in shops and at lunch time we went to Prezzo, an Italian restaurant near the Castle. We had been given a gift voucher by Kendra as a 'thank you' for when she had stayed with us earlier in the year. This was in a very pleasant spot and we sat outside under a beautiful wisteria and ordered spaghetti carbonara. It was virtually empty of customers when we arrived but as we left it was really filling up with people.

We walked back towards the main shopping streets. Carol had compiled a quite extensive list of things she needed before she returned to work on Friday. This required visiting Blackwell's book shop in Broad Street. We visited Waterstones as soon as we had arrived in Oxford. She wanted a copy of E.M. Forster's novel "A Room With A View" but the only edition they had was paperback. She wanted to get a hardback copy and Waterstones didn't have one. We walked towards Blackwells and saw hoards of people being taken on walking tours of the city. Similar sights in Cambridge the other week when we were there. Fortunately, none of those people attempting to sell punting on the river which we found somewhat aggressive in their tactics.

We spent quite some time in Blackwell's. We discovered that the shop contains what is supposed to be the largest room in a shop in the world, with several miles of shelving. Well, this is according to their website. I was also unaware that Heffer's bookshop in Cambridge is part of the same company. We visited a branch of Blackwell's when we went to Newcastle last year to help Daniel, my stepson, to move flats. A considerable amount of time was spent in this shop. We love books, so it's hardly surprising. There was a great offer on Oxford Classic paperbacks: buy one and get one free. We Bought "Emma" by Jane Austen and we got "The Secret Agent" by Joseph Conrad free. This novel has recently been adapted by BBC Television and so I was keen to read it. It was somewhat amusing when Carol asked an assistant 'Do you have "A Room With A View"?' Well, we thought it was quite amusing and I think the assistant got the joke. It turned out that they had the same paperback edition that Waterstone's had.

We walked back towards the centre of Oxford and decided that we were in need of a cup of tea and went into Debenham's, principally to use their toilets. A long queue for the 'ladies' but that's what you get when you don't provide adequate facilities. Sat and drank our tea in a rather cramped area near the escalators. It was a branch of 'Patisserie Valerie.' There is a branch in the Milton Keynes Central Shopping Centre. It's quite expensive but they have a great range of food on offer.

By the time we'd finished in Debenham's, after Carol bought some ear rings, we decided that, because we had walked so far and it was exceptionally warm, we would catch the bus back to the park-and-ride carpark and return home. 

Bonfire Night

It was November 5th, Bonfire Night last night. If you don't know the significance of this date, because you don't live in the UK, then you won't know why we celebrate this day. It was the day when Guy Fawkes almost blew up the Houses of Parliament when King James came to open Parliament. You would do better than Google 'Guy Fawkes' or 'Bonfire Night' in order to get a better idea of what it's all about. Anyway, effergies of Guy Fawkes are made by children and bonfires built and lit and fireworks are let off.  Also, there is a lot of food available at Bonfire parties, such as baked potatoes, firework toffee and  soup. Poppy, our shitzu/Westie hates the noise of fireworks, and we had a few bangs and crashes outside last night, just as it was getting dark. She hid under the coffee table and wouldn't come out and then sprang onto the sofa where Carol was to get some attention. As a result, Alfie, our Yorkie, couldn't understand why she was hiding and tried to get her to come out of hiding. He doesn't seem to be effected in the least bit by the sound of the fireworks, which seems to be a bit strange. There are likely to be far more fireworks this evening and most likely tomorrow evening as it's a weekend. It seems that Hallowe'en has taken over from Bonfire Night as a celebration in this country. I think it may be something to do with the old health and safety police getting in on the act and prevent people having a bit of good old harmless fun with fireworks and building bonfires. It needs one or two silly people letting off fireworks in the wrong place to get it banned, which is a pity.