More Of The Same

 Saturday. 4.00 p.m. It's a rather dull and overcast sort of afternoon. The morning started relatively sunny and pleasant, but as the day progressed it gradually became more and more overcast. I had hoped that I could go out with the video camera and do some filming, but it didn't seem such a good idea. I am gradually getting to grips with the various settings, thanks mostly to the various YouTube videos I have been watching.

I have been doing some housework. I have a Vax steam mop, which is extremely good for cleaning the floors in the flat, but it does take a great deal of effort to use. I have avoided getting a traditional mop and bucket but decided that the kitchen floor needed a decent cleaning, so I bought a Vileda mop and a bucket at Sainsbury's the other day. I put some Flash liquid in the hot water in the bucket, and I was surprised at how effective it was. I have cleaned the kitchen floor, and the bathroom, which has now got a new floor (I must have mentioned this in an earlier post.) Also, the entrance hall. It was whilst cleaning the bathroom floor that I thought I could get some new mats for the bathroom. The old ones were falling apart. I attempted to give them a machine wash a few weeks ago, but unfortunately, the sponge rubber backing came off and caused a real mess in the machine when I'd finished, and it took quite a lot of time and effort to remove it. Also in the tumble drier. So, yesterday morning I went to The Range, to buy replacement bath mats. Usually, you get a bath mat and a matching mat for the toilet, with a bit cut out to go around the pedestal. I wandered around the store, and it took me a long time to find any bath mats. What I eventually found was really not my taste, and when I did find something suitable, there was no matching mat for the toilet. I gave up and then went into Homebase, and, again, after some time wandering around the store, I left with absolutely nothing. I drove away and then went into Dunelm, which is close by. Again, a good deal of searching of the store, but, regrettably, absolutely nothing that even vaguely resembled a bath mat. By this point my patience was beginning to expire and, because my mission to purchase these items had produced nothing, I then decided, to return to my flat, to have a look on the Amazon website and, sure enough, there were plenty to choose from.  I eventually found what I thought to be perfect for the job and ordered a set and hopefully, they will be delivered this evening.

It only shows how it is so easy to find what you want on Amazon (other online stores are available.) Such a wide choice. In fact, it can often be extremely difficult to decide on an item when there is so much to choose from. Because I have Amazon Prime, I don't have to pay for post and packaging, and the item will usually be delivered the next day. 

5.00 p.m. The bath mats have been delivered from Amazon. They are a great colour and are exactly what I wanted.

Have A Nice Day!

Thursday. 6.05 a.m. Yet another mild day. That title for this post is another of those bland expressions you here, which really means nothing. Just a sound which comes out of people's mouths but really has no meaning. 

9.25 p.m. There's going to be a Platinum Jubilee tea party here on 31st May. The Queen celebrates 70 years on the throne, quite an impressive landmark and the only British monarch to achieve such a goal, surpassed by Queen Victoria who was on the throne for around 63 years when she died in 1901. I hope there'll be lashings of scones and cream, jelly and ice cream. 

Friday. 6.35 a.m. The Ukrainian flag was delivered from Amazon. Just as I was about to have my evening meal. It was a far smaller package than I was expecting. I now have to go to Homebase or somewhere today to buy some nylon cord so I can attach it to the inside of the flat and then put the flag out of the window.

7.05 p.m.I've been to Homebase and bought some cord. Not sure whether it's actually cord or what it is, but the brand made me laugh, it's called Grunt! No, honestly. Who would call a brand Grunt?

I attached two lengths of the cord to the flag, using the eyelets which are in the flag, and tied the other end to the central heating pipe underneath the radiator behind my television. Unfortunately, it was fairly windy, so the flag just didn't flutter as I was hoping. I think I will try putting it out of the higher window and see how that works out. Hopefully, it won't get caught up in the rose bush, which is just below the other window. What I really need is a decent flagpole, but the likelihood of getting one is remote. If there was one, we could have The Last Post as the flag was lowered as the sunset. Who am I kidding? Who knows, probably nobody around here as nobody has much of a sense of humour in Dexter House.

The painting has been completed and there are workmen around the place, replacing front doors. Mine was due to be fitted on the 10th of May, but it has now been rescheduled for the 17th of May. On that day it will be 16 years since my first heart attack. 

Saturday. 6.10 a.m. So, another mild morning. It was breezy yesterday, so let's hope the wind doesn't develop as the day progresses.

1.00 p.m. I have successfully got the Ukrainian flag set up outside my window. I have it set up clamped at the top of the higher window in my lounge with the cords secured onto the central heating pipe undernerat the radiator. It seems to work well and is probably better there than how I had originally intended setting it up. As it is, it can move in the breeze, but the top is clamped securely and can't blow away or become detached. 

February Fun?

Is February generally a fun month? I can't say one way or the other. I think it's made worse at the moment because of the pandemic and being incarcerated in my flat. I have to say I feel a bit like a battery chicken, cooped up in one of those small cages, with little room to move (not true to some extent, but not being able to get out and about as before the first lockdown, definitely.) Days getting longer and lighter earlier, definitely makes things better. Do you not get a feeling of irony with my blog post title? Yes, definitely. But we do need something to relieve the boredom and have a good laugh. 

Pancake day, Shrove Tuesday, is on it's way!  Anything to cheer things up. Pancakes just happen to be one of my favourite dishes. I like to think I'm good at making them, and the preparation of the batter is the most important part of creating them. Using plain flour which is airiated by being put through a sieve which is held hight over the bowl and also with melted butter added along with a couple of eggs, which, when milk is added together with a pinch of salt and then beaten together until the whole becomes fairly runny, but not too runny for it to run out of the pan you cook in. It should just run off the spoon, but not too much (if that makes sense.) The next is to cover and let it stand for a few hours before making. This allows all the ingredients to settle and as a result the batter will thicken, so before you make the pancakes, add a little more milk to make the mixture more runny.

(Wednesday) Out early with Alfie and at gone 9 o'clock I went to Homebase, as I was searching for a bradawl. Before you ask, it's a handled device for making holes in a wooden surface. I wanted one so I can make holes in the construction of the coffee table so that the screws can better screw in tighter. If that makes sense. I had a good look in the tools section but I could see nothing suitable, so I left and went over the road to The Range and fortunately I found one, shown me by a member of staff. A really confusing display and it's not very clear what is what so you can find things easily. The same could be said of the Homebase display.  I can't believe such a simple item would be so difficult to find. But I got it!

I then went to Sainsbury's. I can't believe how long I was in there. I don't know what it was this morning, but it seemed to take forever to get round. I always take a well researched list so I don't forget anything and that generally makes things easier because I don't want to be in there longer than necessary, but perhaps my visits to Homebase and The Range have something to do with it.

(Thursday) Been out earlier than usual. Alfie fast asleep in his bed. It was frosty and crunchy underfoot as we walked along the grass beside the path. Good thing we weren't out too long as my hands go blue if they get cold and it can be really uncomfortable. I should remember to wear my gloves. 

I needed to get a fresh supply of vitamin D tablets. I was told by my doctor that I ought to take vitamin D after I had the results of my last blood test, so I bought some in Sainsbury's, but when I was in there yesterday I couldn't find any. Every other permutation of vitamins, minerals etc etc but not vitamin D. This morning I drove over to Bletchley to visit Boots and managed to get a pack in there. 180, one a day, which is what I was already taking. So, that problem solved. I had hoped to visit T.K. Maax, which is further along the parade from Boots, but I found it boarded up, due to covid restrictions, but Greggs was open. So, what's so difference, if Boots and Greggs can be open, why not T.K. Maax? Just wanted a browse through the men's department, but definitely not going to happen for a while at least.

Later. Been out at around 2.15 this afternoon and there's been a definite drop in the temperature. Really cold and I couldn't wait to get back inside as my hands were turning blue. Also not good to be in the cold with a heart condition.

(Friday) I woke at around 1.30 and couldn't get back to sleep. Had a shave and then sorted the rubbish into black bag and tied it up, ready to take out to the dustbins and put new bag on the kitchen bin. Did some washing up and the kitchen now looks neat and tidy.  Sorted washing into washing basket, ready to take to the laundry room just before 8a.m.Did my Bible reading (one year with Nicky Gumble through the You Version app on my iPad.) Alfie is fast asleep in his bed, although he had been in bed with me up until the time I got out of bed. It is now 3.00a.m and sitting here in the lounge writing this. What's the day going to be like, on the weather-front? Seems calm at the moment, but I think the wind was blowing a gale in the night.

A good deal later. Out with his nibs at 7.15. Not as cold as yesterday, but still chilly. Got washing on and now back in the flat. There was an amazing red sky over Milton Keynes. I would have done a photograph but it's virtually impossible to get a good vantage point around Oldbrook without getting buildings in the way. I would need to get up a lot higher to get a good shot, unfortunately.

It's 7.55a.m. Just not a lot to say at the moment, but watch this space.

Another Week Of Lockdown

(Tuesday) They're saying that the first peak of the coronavirus pandemic has probably been reached. It's still not possible to ease the lockdown restrictions, which means that shops selling 'non-essential' items are going to still be closed. It seems odd that D.I.Y. centres, such as B and;Q and Homebase can reopen, as long as they have social distancing measures in place, but garden centres cannot. This doesn't make any sort of sense and if things are relaxed it looks as if a lot of plants will be destroyed once they reach the point where they can't be sold. In that case a lot of growers are going to go out of business, as will many retail outlets, particularly those that sell clothing. Debenhams have already gone into administration, and a lot of overseas suppliers have been told they won't be paid for orders which had already been taken. Things look in a precarious stage at the moment.

Boris Johnson is back in Downing Street, having been in hospital recovering from coronavirus infection. I think it will inform how things now develop, having experienced firsthand how the NHS is coping. We should now get some idea how the lockdown will be lifted, probably gradually, allowing for more businesses to re-open, provided they use social distancing.

The weather has done a u turn. From being bright and sunny, it’s become wet and cold, which I noticed when I peered out of the window in the kitchen this morning. Alfie was as keen as ever to get out, but as soon as we got outside and were walking along Dexter Avenue, he wasn’t so keen as he got a bit wet. We got to the grass along Strudwick Drive, spent some time sniffing the grass, did a wee, and immediately headed home as fast as his little feet could carry him! No time to hang about and  consider ‘other matters.’ He couldn’t wait to get back into the flat, and I can hardly blame him.

I'm not watching much television news at present because it seems all they can discuss is the pandemic and to be honest it's becoming somewhat tiring having it thrust down your throat every time you turn on the television. I watch perhaps a few minutes at the beginning, to get the headlines, but there's no other sort of news, so I have either switched to another channel, such as BBC2 in the evening, where they have moved Pointless at this time, or I watch something on BBC iPlayer and on Tuesday I watched the first episode of a new series presented by Mary Beard about Rome, called 'Meet The Romans,' in which she discovers the 'real' Romans, the ordinary people who lived at street level. It's a revelation, and she doesn't mince her words, some of it down and dirty. What annoys me is that I didn't know that this series was on until I was trawling through the E.P.G. (Electronic Programme Guide) on my Freeview box. It hasn't been trailed on the other channels and I would have missed it otherwise. Thank goodness for the BBC iPlayer.

I've been to Sainsbury's again this morning, arriving at the carpark at around 8.15, to discover the queue further round the carpark than the last time I was there. Even so it didn't seem to take as long to get into the store. I had made a detailed list on Monday, which made the job easier and quicker as I had worked out well in advance what I needed. No point dithering around trying to think and being stuck in the store longer than usual. I was in and out of the store within around 40 minutes and used a self-service till to pay. I'm actually getting quite good at operating these self-service tills and it's probably best to use them and use my debit card with either contactless or 'chip and pin' to pay.

Another series I have only just discovered, about the Renaissance, and presented by Waldemar Januszak and called 'The Renaissance Unchained' in which he challenges the traditional views of art's most important epoch. Another brilliant documentary series which the BBC seems to insist on burying and not bothering to trail and I only discovered it when I accidentally came across it on the E.P.G. There are three more episodes and thank goodness for the ability to either record or view on iPlayer through my Freeview box. All the junk television such as Holby and EastEnders as well as reality shows get all the attention but the better stuff, the intelligent stuff, gets forgotten. They are not adhering to John Reith's three founding principles of the BBC, to inform, to entertain and to educate, probably in some form, but not entirely. I think it's because everything is ghettoised on different channels, because at one time, when there were fewer channels, BBC1, BBC 2 and ITV, you had a more mixed schedule and you were more likely to come across something such as a programme on the arts or history, by accident. Now it's just become very boring, and every day is identical, the same programmes on at the same time every day. I remember a time. probably when I was at school in the 1960s, when you would, for example, have a classic play on Sunday evening, when the BBC did 'Play of The Month,' and you could see a play by, for example, Shaw, Ibsen, Chekov or Shakespeare, or when they did 'Play For Today,' written by playwrights such as Alan Bleasedale or John Mortimer and directors of the calibre of Stephen Frears, Mike Leigh or John Slesinger. I don't think the BBC or ITV ever do what they term the 'single play' in a similar vein, except the BBC afternoon drama 'strand' called 'Moving On.' Everything has to be part of a series, probably because they don't imagine an audience being able to cope with material that ties up within the running-time and only managing to deal with on-going plots in a run of episodes.

(Wednesday) It's rather wet and dull today. But, saying that, it is mild. Alfie isn't keen to be out as he really doesn't appreciate getting wet, even if slightly. I only have to say to him 'Alfie, home,' and he immediately changes course and heads back to the flat. I got a belt for my shorts when I was in Sainsbury's yesterday, with the idea that I could start wearing those shorts, but as the weather has now changed, there is no likelihood of me wearing them for the foreseeable future. In some ways it's good that the weather has gone like this as it means people aren't tempted to go out and start gathering but remain in isolation and keep the social distancing going.

The news is that Boris Johnson's fiancee, Carrie Symonds, has given birth to a baby boy. In the midst of all the awful news regarding the pandemic, it's good to have something positive, but it must be a rather traumatic experience, when you think of the possibility of contracting the coronavirus.

We have had a church meeting using Zoom. It's a strange experience. We have had a sort of coffee morning and a communion service using Zoom and Pastor Ross does a devotional each morning at 10 o'clock on Facebook. I can watching through an app called Facebook Video on my Fire Stick on television which means at least that it's on a bigger screen and not just peering at the MacBook screen or iPad, or, if it comes to that, my iPhone, but in that case it would be far too small.

Getting Colder

I had an email from the removal company when I got home from Camphill, telling me that they had reserved Wednesday 9th of October as removal day. The men will be here at 7.30a.m., and they will be able to disassemble my bed and the large pigeon-hole unit in the lounge and reassemble at the flat in Dexter House. Also, they will be able to disconnect the electric oven and reconnect it in the flat, one less thing for me to have to think about. My only concern is not having a fridge/freezer, but that is being sorted out. I may get  grant from the Council to purchase one, and in any case, the old one which is being left behind is really too big for a single person.

I have now heard from Daniel, and he's coming here from Thursday to the weekend and will collect his belongings from what was his bedroom when he lived here. It seems that everything is falling into place and I must say I'll be glad when I am settled in the flat and the long journey to find alternative accommodation is over. I took several boxes of books in the car, a couple of which went to Dexter House, and another couple to the charity shop near Tesco's in Oldbrook Boulevard. Also, some clothes from the wardrobe which I hung in the fitted wardrobe at the flat.

It is getting a lot colder. Autumn is definitely here. There are leaves on the ground when I go to take Alfie for his early morning walk around Eaglestone Park this morning. My FitBit wouldn't charge properly, so I didn't get a step count as I should. I say it wouldn't charge, but it's difficult to know exactly whether it is charging when it's on the charging gadget. You would expect that once it's fitted in the thing there would be some sign that it is charging, such as a sound or a small light, which lit up, indicating power is going into the thing. So I left it off when we went out.

I said it was getting colder. Yesterday evening (Wednesday) I put the central heating on for the first time, but I put it off as soon as I went to bed. Oh well, I suppose it's bound to turn colder now we're into October.

I noticed that there are no curtain tracks in either the bedroom or lounge at the flat. Annoying, because I have to now go and buy some before I can hang the curtains I purchased in The Range this morning. First thing this morning I went to Homebase to buy a measuring tape and then went to the flat to measure both windows.

I have now rung Sky to have my phone and broadband transferred to the flat in Dexter House. Because there is no telephone line there an engineer will come on 17th October to install a line. I don't want to loose my internet connection, otherwise I won't be able to keep this blog going and I rely on it for such things as email and the occasional glance at Facebook, basically to keep in touch with the outside world. 

Foggy Morning

Quite a foggy and overcast morning here in Milton Keynes when I took Alfie out for his routine walk around Eaglestone Park. We veered off the usual circuit and went off through the estate and ended up on the Redway. Alfie decided to do a whoopsie on the Redway. I always do my duty and picked it up. I always make sure I carry black biodegradable bags for this very purpose. There are no red bins to dispose of dog waste so I had to walk back into the park and put the bag in the nearest bin. So I decided, as we were there, to walk back around the park and came back home the way we come out, along Griffon Close. I'm afraid there are those dog-owners who still refuse to take responsibility for their dogs and do not clear up when they mess. It spoils the park and the surrounding environment that this is the case. It doesn't take much effort to clear up after their dogs, but then there are some people who will still ignore any sort of regulation, regardless, whether  it's conforming to traffic speed limits or clearing up after their dogs. As it is, it makes an unpleasant environment and I have seen notices to this effect, because it means that events planned and run around the park for children have had to be cancelled because of the health risk. It's a shame that those who don't comply don't get caught and fined.

I've been doing some ironing. Don't laugh. Men doing ironing? What's wrong with that? I'm pretty good at it. I think I must have been shown the best way to iron a shirt, for example, when I was working in stage management somewhere or other, probably by one of the wardrobe staff, or I watched whilst they did this and asked how to do it fast. They could wash and iron for goodness knows how many people, because if a show was running for a certain length of time, it was necessary to keep shirts and items washed, ironed and back in the actor's dressing rooms ready for the next performance.

 Anyway, I use a steam iron. I try to use distilled water in the thing because if you put ordinary tap water in a steam iron, around this area at any rate, where the water is hard, it can build up limescale which can block up the inside of the iron and the holes where the water comes out as steam soon clog up and you can get horrible deposits of limescale on the clothes you are ironing. Anyway, I needed to get a fresh supply and went to The Range yesterday afternoon, which is where I got the last supply, but none to be found. I then went to Homebase, across the road from The Range, and, again, none in stock. Today I went to Morrisons, where I'm almost certain I saw some the last time I was in there, but none to be found. Why is this? Is it because people who own steam irons don't bother with distilled water in their irons? Or is it that distilled water isn't considered to be an important enough item to stock, taking up valuable shelf space and not making enough profit to warrant selling it? Seems odd. It was always used in car batteries, but presumably modern car batteries don't require the occasional topping up with distilled water. I don't think modern car batteries have the little plastic caps which you had to undo in order to put in the distilled water. The cells inside had to be covered in order to make the battery work efficiently. I don't know what my dad would make of this. He would always tell me, whenever I was going anywhere in my car, 'make sure you check the oil, have you topped it up? Are the tyres correctly inflated? Have you checked the battery?' and so on. Even to this day I have to go through this routine whenever I go for a long journey in my car. It sounds crazy, but I suppose he was right. I can't think what he would make of modern cars, with things like SatNavs, computerised systems which tell you to do this and that, how to drive the car, when to have it serviced and goodness knows what else. Alarms for all manner of things, if you haven't put on your seatbelt, or closed the doors properly. Mine even tells you when to change gear!

Sorry, I digress.

I've been making scones. I have made them before. I used Delia Smith's recipe. They taste great but don't look particularly brilliant. Not going to win any prizes but I made the batch just as a sort of test and then make another lot and hopefully they will be better. Is it scone or scone? How do you pronounce the word. With a short end or long? To rhyme with gone or cone? I suppose it depends where you come from, north or south. Does it really matter? What ever the pronunciation, they taste great with cream and jam! Best with clotted cream.

Scratching Dog

Alfie has been scratching a lot lately. I know that all dogs do this, and it can usually be caused by fleas. He hasn't got any nasty raw patches on his skin and his coat hasn't gone dull which is usually a sign of the presence of fleas, but just in case he had any little visitors, I went into Morrison's and had a look in the pet section for some sort of treatment. I chose Bob Martin Clear Spot-On. I think we've used this before when we had two dogs, but having spent so much time in hospitals with Carol over more than eighteen months, unfortunately Alfie has been neglected to a certain extent. Which was the same regarding having him groomed and the rather unpleasant matter which had built up under his eyes, which is more or less now under control. He doesn't like me touching either areas when I attempt to clean these areas with cotton wool soaked in water. I think he enjoys the fuss and readily comes to sit on my knee, then growls noisily when I go near with the cotton wool. Strange little dog that he is! Take his collar and harness off Alfie and he wonders what on earth is going on. You have to take them off because the flea treatment won't work properly. I went to put his collar on and he started barking and yapping, no doubt thinking he was going out for a walk or something else. But no.

(Monday)I've been into the Council offices to give them details of the Teachers' Pension payments. I had to because otherwise if they knew I had it without them knowing I could be done for fraud. I had to sign in at the touch-screen computer at the reception and then took the ticket with the number on and had to just sit and wait. It was probably around 45 minutes before I got seen.

I'm supposed to get what is called a 'Death In Service' payment. I didn't know about this until Chloe mentioned it, because she is an art teacher. The HR department kept badgering Carol to get her to be 'medically retired.' I can see why now. Even though she was on 'Sick Pay' and supposedly still on their books as an employee, as soon as she signed anything so that she was no longer officially an employee of Milton Keynes Academy, then they could avoid paying me anything such as the 'Death In Service' payment. I have given various bits of information to Chloe who is passing it on to the finance department at the school where she works and they will deal with this for me. I'm just annoyed that nobody let me know what I was entitled to. You don't get any sort of support to find out what benefits you can apply for (except, of course, the C.A.B. lady who works for Macmillan.)

I've got to clear out a lot of stuff if I'm to ever move from this house. There's loads of stuff in the smaller bedroom. It's piled on top of the bed and if you move some of it there'll be an avalanche. I can't deal with Carol's clothes. I'm going to have to get someone to help me. It's all far to personal. I know it sounds crazy, but that's what usually happens when someone dies and there are clothes and other items left behind. It can go in bin bags and go to a charity shop or somewhere where it can be recycled or sent to places where this stuff can be used. I'm sure that's what Carol would want. Just writing about this on here is sort of therapeutic and I can deal with it. It is taking time. I know we have lots of books. I do tend to hoard to some extent. Paperbacks can be given to a charity shop, particularly those books that I've read once and won't ever likely read again. A lot of hardbacks are useful, a lot of art books, particularly Dorling Kindersley stuff, and history books or those connected to my interests regarding cinema, animation, history or similar.

I would never have known how to get this payment unless I'd contacted Carol's union, the N.A.S.U.W.T. I had no idea how I would go about claiming anything, so I rang the area office and they sent out the relevant paperwork for me to fill out. It wasn't until I got a more recent telephone call from a caseworker that I was told that if I went to the Teachers' Pensions website and downloaded the form to fill in and then printed off that I was able to take things further. I had to get Carol's employee number from Milton Keynes Academy and put this on the form and then post off that things began to move. I only knew I had received a payment when I went to my bank account on line to discover the money had been put into the account. No letter at this point to inform me of how they had worked out the payment, so I rang Teachers' Pensions and they told me that a letter had been posted out, and quite by chance I got the letter in the post a couple of hours later. Just a coincidence really.

(Tuesday) I took out Alfie as usual this morning. He just won't let me forget him. He sits on the sofa when I'm working on the laptop and stares at me. When we eventually went out, we did the longer walk, ending up walking along the redway that runs alongside Marlborough Street and then back home along the redway from the hospital and going behind the house. It was still chilly but the sun did eventually make an appearance.

I've been out this morning, to Homebase. I wanted to get some plastic boxes in which I could pack such things as books, DVDs and other items, so that it can be taken to a charity shop or shops. I wasn't expecting to find such a good selection in the area where you walk in. A larger, deeper, box and a set of several shallower boxes, which are ideal for packing paperbacks. They have lids and should fit in the back of the car quite comfortably.

I have done the first shift, for want of a better word, clearing out some of the stuff in the small spare room. I have two boxes of paperbacks packed up. I can't spend too much time on this. I'm not really supposed to lift heavy items, but there's no other way of getting this job done. If by chance I move from this house, all this will need to be done, so I've decided I have to start on it. I can do all this is small stages which means it's likely to take some time to complete. Some paperbacks taken off the shelves in the living room, which means I now have some vacant space. Just great to have started on this job. I've been thinking about it for some time, but hadn't thought how to go about it. But I still have to sort out Carol's clothes, shoes and other things which I just can't touch. I know it sounds crazy, but it's too personal. I will get around to it eventually, but not at the moment.

A Symphony of Summer

It's hot. Really hot. Probably the hottest day of the year. Who knows? Who cares? Who has a thermometer to check? We've done some washing.  It's been hung out, dried and collected in. It dried in record time. Barely two hours. I've done work in the garden. It's looking a good deal better than it has in ages. It's just too hot to be outside fiddly with cutters, clippers, Strimmers, mowers, and all the plethora of gadgetry needed to keep one's little bit of garden neat and tidy. The kitchen looks tidier. Done washing up. Had suds up to my elbows. Kept my hands soft because Fairy liquid says so. Tidied the work-top. Been shopping in Sainsbury's. Put up with the queues. Been home and put it all away, having lugged several bags-worth of groceries in from the back of the car. Now, having completed all this, a rest was in order. Just laying on the bed, cooling down having had a nice cold drink. Then, to our absolute delight we get, bang, bang, bang! A few doors down. Whirr! Whirr! Clink, bang, thump! Someone's decided to build a shed, a pergola, or some such. Been to Homebase or B & Q. We had the windows open, to keep the house cool. A decent breeze blowing in. But why do people think D.I.Y. is such a good idea on a Saturday afternoon.? Obsessive/compulsive disorder. But, most of all, the question I want answered is- WHY make so much noise? And why make it when all we want to do is have a rest, when it's so hot? What is the idiot doing outside in the first place? Why isn't he watching football? There's hours and hours of it on television? Next week, Wimbledon tennis? Why not wait until then? Madness! Sheer madness. Perhaps the heat has got to the man's brain. Some people just cannot manage to be quiet, if it's revving a car (which someone did the other day. Have they no sense at all? That it's wasting fuel? That's it's environmentally unfriendly? Just think of the exhaust that is being sent out into the air, poisonous, attacking the ozone layer and so on. Not just that, but it's annoying people who are living nearby.) Then there's the idiots who ride motor bikes at speed along the Redway. It's surely not legal. I have an idea that they are youths riding those micro motor bicycles. They look stupid riding something intended for younger children, which should be ridden  only under adult supervision. It's very dangerous to ride on the Redway which are designed for pedestrians and cyclists. There could be a serious accident if someone was to get in the way when they are speeding, or was to walk out from one of the side entrances and get caught out by a speeding motor bike.

Visitors and Sunshine

Yesterday morning (Friday) Carol's friend Pauline visited. She's another science teacher and works with Carol in the science department at Milton Keynes Academy. She left to work at another school but returned to work at the Academy. She visited Carol several times when she was in hospital. She bought Carol a lovely present of Clarins moisture-rich body lotion. She was telling us about how the fish that lived in her pond in her garden have been eaten by some strange night visitor, possibly a heron. They found evidence of something that must have been the culprit, because remains of some of the fish were left beside the pond and there was a splashing about in the water at around 2 a.m. one night. Neither Pauline or her husband or son have found out what animal it was took the fish. Possibly a fox or even a heron.

It's been sunny for the last couple of days. I did two loads of washing and couldn't decide whether to put it out on the line in the garden, but put one load on the airer in the kitchen. The second load went out in the garden, at the time that Pauline arrived and it was virtually dry within two hours.

We'd contemplated whether we should buy a new mower, or perhaps a Strimmer. The grass has got so long that the mower would struggle to cut it as it's got too long, basically because of the 'on/off' weather, one day it rains, then it's sunny. It's absolutely hopeless trying to cut it when it's wet. It's hard work as it is. We then thought a Strimmer or at least one of these hand-held gadgets that has a spinning fishing line in it might perhaps be easier, and after it's cut down to a reasonable length, use the mower to cut it even shorter.We went to Bunnings (which used to be Homebase) at Winter Hill (where we bought some plant pots a few weeks ago.) We looked at several machines, including cordless models. We ended up buying one which doesn't use fishing line, but has a cutting blade similar to the Qualcast mower we already have. It's cordless and requires charging for about an hour, and, having put it together successfully, and waited for the battery to charge fully, gave it a try-out. It takes some getting used to, but it turns out to be far easier than at first thought, although I didn't manage to complete the whole area of grass (I still refuse to term it a 'lawn.') The machine cost a good deal more than we'd anticipated, but if it does it's job successfully it's worth it. It's an Ozito, a brand I've never heard of before. Because it's cordless, it means you don't have to bother with the confounded power cable, plugging it into the reel of cable, you just pick it up and carry it out and get on with the job and don't have to think about the cable getting in the way all the time.

From Bunnings we went to Morrisons, which is just over the road near the railway station. Carol was determined to get a coffee to drink. As Morrison's has a café it seemed reasonable to go there to have the aforementioned coffee. I sat at a table and Carol went to queue for the coffee. She'd wanted a latte but she soon returned to me at the table empty-handed. It turned out that she couldn't have the latte after all as the machine that made the drinks was out of order. We've been to Morrison's café before and there is always a problem, a long queue which takes ages to move, or they've run out of something or other. What is it with these places? Don't they want customers? All they are managing to do is annoy their prospective customers who will merely go elsewhere for refreshment. 

Sunny Trip To Olney

It's a sunny but bright morning, but it's chilly. It's supposedly the astronomical start of autumn. The autumn equinox, apparently, when the hours of light are equal with those of the hours of darkness. Or so we were told on BBC Breakfast this morning. The trees are rapidly changing colour. Carol's mum visited us last Tuesday. She also visited us the week before. The last time she came she bought Carol a present of some bulbs, I think they were hyacinths or crocuses, but not sure which. We have a large round earthenware planter in the garden which we bought at Norfolk Lavender when we visited my brother who lives in Norfolk, several years ago. It hasn't been planted so it seemed the ideal place for the bulbs. We went to Bunnings, the company which has taken over Homebase, and bought a bag of potting compost and Carol has now planted the bulbs, so that's something to look forward to for the spring.

Some mornings there is mist or fog. How do you distinguish between the two? Mist is a sort of drifting cloud, thin and elusive whilst fog is denser and all-pervading. It usually disperses once the sun comes out.

We went out this morning. Carol had been almost pain free and needed a change of scenery. We haven't been out and about as much as we would have normally done over the summer and as it was a bright and sunny day I suggested going to Olney, one of our favourite haunts, and about a 20-minute drive from Milton Keynes. On the way Carol needed a loo, and we were near  garden centre called Alban Hill. (Actually a nursery, but what's in a name? What is the difference between a garden centre and a nursery?) We've driven past on numerous occasions and seen the sign but have never visited and were surprised by the selection of plants and other items on sale. There is a café within the grounds, which we didn't visit on this occasion, but we will have to visit on a return visit. Carol wanted to buy a couple of plants to put in the pot where she put the bulbs which she managed to find and we browsed in the bird food area and then drove on towards Olney. A really great place to visit as it's got lots of antique shops and really quirky buildings with a history. We parked in the area near the Co-op and walked into the centre of this village. We have never visited the Cowper Newton museum which is situated near the centre but must return for a visit at some time in the future. Lots of places to eat, coffee shops, restaurants and a very good fish and chip shop we have patronised in the past. We returned to the car park and did some shopping in the Co-op and then drove back towards Milton Keynes. We looked for somewhere to eat our sandwiches and drove into the village of Emberton which is on the road between Olney and Milton Keynes and found a place to stop near some allotments and then drove home once we'd had our break.

Heavy Rain

It's been fairly sunny and warm for the past few days. As I write this the sun is out. We went to Bunnings, the new D.I.Y. store in Winter Hill, Milton Keynes. It was Homebase but they were taken over by this company.  Sainsbury's took over the company who owned Homebase and Argos and presumably sold on Homebase to Bunnings, which I had never heard of this company but it's no surprise really as it's an Australian company and have only recently opened stores in this country. We just had to go and have a look and I must say I'm quite impressed from what I've seen. They have a cafe which Homebase didn't have. When we were there we heard this most amazing sound and could't work out what it was. It turned out to be the heaviest rainstorm and the sound was the rain on the roof of the building. Absolutely pelting down when we walked into the garden area where they were handing out umbrellas to customers.

We drove the short distance to The Range which is just over the road from Bunnings. Carol needed the loo so we went upstairs. On the way in we had to pass a display of hallowe'en rubbish. The usual crass stuff, stupid grinning skulls with bright red lights for eyes and some of the most pathetic ghoulish stuff imaginable. I can't believe people want to buy such stuff, but I suppose companies know that people will buy anything such as this. It's amazing how they start putting this stuff out for sale earlier and earlier each year. The we saw Christmas decorations. We went to Frost's at Woburn Sands yesterday and they had a lot of Christmas stuff already on sale, most of it tat. Lots of space being made for all this stuff. We went upstairs on the escalator at The Range and for some reason we noticed that as you got on the thing it got faster. Did I imagine it? I don't think so. More Christmas stuff upstairs which we attempted to ignore. We had a good browse around the store and looked in particular at the range of Regatta clothing, for example, decent fleeces at good prices which interested me. We would have gone back to the car but at that moment the heavens opened and the rain fell again. We just risked getting a real soaking as we ran to the car in the carpark and drove out. Unfortunately there was an huge queue of cars coming in and out of the road back onto the grid road and it took a long time to get out of Winter Hill.

Cutting Grass and Neighbour's Noises

I have today been out and cut the grass. Not something I exactly relish, as the lawnmower is quite hard work to push and the grass is long, but it's no use just thinking about it. You just have to get on and do the job. It's surprising how the rotary mower manages the job so well, when all that actually cuts the grass is a tiny plastic blade. I was surprised when I had to replace the thing when the mower gave up cutting and had to venture out to find a replacement. Not an easy job, but I did manage to eventually buy a packet of these things in our local branch of Homebase. They fit in quite easily into the machine but I'm still surprised by how a piece of plastic manages to cut the grass. Probably not as efficiently as a conventional mower, but not bad, nonetheless. You have to reel our the electric cable and plug the thing into the socket which the fridge/freezer uses (not forgetting to re-plug it afterwards, otherwise we'll have a lot of de-frosted food, which wouldn't be such a good idea.) The reel the cable out into the garden and then retrieve the mower from the shed and then set-to and cut the grass. I still refuse to refer to it as a lawn, as I've mentioned in earlier posts. It's no more a lawn than any other stretch of grass around here. No striped finish, worthy of Wimbledon or a cricket pitch (not that I'm particularly interested in either activity.) Just a rough bit of grass, more ups-and-down than flat and perfect. When it rains, the water runs towards the patio doors into the house. It's best not to attempt to cut after wet. Water and electricity don't mix so it's best to attempt cutting when dry and the sun is out. Generally, if I start the job, I want it done in one go, but it can take no more than 10-15 minutes.

Yesterday I did some washing. It was quite a warm and sunny day, so it was a good excuse to get this job out of the way. Two loads, done fairly quickly and efficiently. Our relatively new machine has an economy cycle which means it does a load in approximately 45 minutes. Quite handy to have the timer on the machine which shows how far into the cycle the machine has got. I must say the machine is far more efficient compared to the old machine we had.

I notice that our neighbour has erected a shed in his garden. There seems to be a great deal of noise going on constantly. I look over the fence and see this construction set up in one corner of the garden. I can't really fail to notice as I'm pegging out washing yesterday morning. Where on earth did our neighbour, Gary, get the shed? It looks somewhat rickety and ancient, certainly not brand new. As they say, every man has to have a shed. Not me, particularly. But this ancient thing looks as if it's had better days. No doubt it was someone's who didn't want it, or replaced it with a new one. It makes me wonder how on earth he got it delivered, on the back of a lorry or something, which would have needed to be quite large as the flat pieces would have been quite large to fit a van or smaller vehicle. Perhaps strapped to a roof-rack or something? I don't know. but I wasn't aware of any building when it was constructed as they make quite a lot of noise next door, hammering and generally making D.I.Y. noises.

Windy and Wet

The weather has changed dramatically over the past few days, so much so we've put the central heating on and I've had to find Carol's hot water bottle! We have the thicker duvet on the bed, the nights are drawing in. The clocks will be changing in the next couple of weeks, actually on 30th October. The sun is shining, as I write this, but it has been quite overcast early today.

On Saturday morning we went to IKEA. The reason for this was that our wardrobe has one door which keeps on swinging open. It has a hinge missing. Probably went missing when we moved from the house in Crownhill. We had to dismantle the wardrobe and then reassemble it here and no doubt one of the hinges got mislaid. Every time I walk past the wardrobe the door swings open and it will not stay closed, however, I attempt to push it closed. I unscrewed one of the existing hinges and we took it with us to IKEA, with the intention of comparing it with what they would have in stock. We already went to B & Q and Homebase earlier in the week but could not find a similar hinge. They are the type that has a bit that recesses the inside of the cupboard or wardrobe and spring shut. They are found in most modern flat-pack furniture, kitchen units, and wardrobes.  I imagined that this would be easy enough to replace. Or so I thought. On inquiring at the spares desk in IKEA it now appears that they no longer use this type of hinge, having replaced them with a new style hinge around 18 months ago.

We also went to find a suitable frame for a print we bought when we went to Avebury the other week. There is a considerable choice of frames in IKEA all a reasonable prices. Also, I am researching a new armchair for my use in the lounge as the one I seem to have inherited from my stepson, Daniel, is falling apart. The arms have had black sticky tape on them as I attempted to repair the chair, but this has gone beyond repair and on one side the stuffing is falling out. The seat has a broken spring in it and can make a rather sharp 'twang' sound if you sit down suddenly which can be most disconcerting, to say the least. There are plenty of chairs to choose in IKEA and we spent quite a  time trying each out. The Poang range is quite good, with wooden frames of different colours as well as having various fabric for the seats. 

If you have ever been to IKEA you will no doubt had fun engaging with their traffic management system. You are (supposedly) expected to move around the different departments in a sort of 'one-way' system, but this means you can walk miles, or what seems like miles, between not just departments, but floors. There are lifts and moving walkways which link the different floors. We had to return to the earlier departments and seemed to spend a great deal of time walking back and forwards, which can become extremely exhausting. 

When I eventually came to pay at the check-out I discovered that I had won a prize! This is shown on your receipt. I was thinking, 'we've won a fitted kitchen or perhaps a two-week holiday in the Bahamas or something equally exciting. But no. I had to take the receipt to a scanner across from the check-out and get the barcode on the receipt 'read.' It turned out I'd won a doughnut, worth 40p! The excitement was far too much to bear!

Greedy Pigeons and Disappearing Cats

I have mentioned the trouble we have with the cats that come into our garden. Well, actually, to be perfectly honest I don't have a problem with them. I'm not a particularly cat-type person, preferring dogs. I don't dislike them, but to me you can't have a relationship with a cat the same way you can with a dog. Most cats are self-sufficient and only really need humans to feed them (occasionally) as well as providing a home. Most, if not, all cats wander around away from the home and find food around their neighbourhood (actually decimating the small animals that live in the wild, such a mice, voles etc. as well as birds.) and returning to their home base to rest and sleep. The two cats which come from our neighbours come into our garden and sit on the roof of the shed and wander along the top of the fence, and when they do and either of our dogs see them, it sets them off barking and all hell seems to be set loose. Which is what dogs do. I'm not sure whether it's just because they think of the garden as their territory, or that, instinctively, all dogs simply don't like cats. Who knows?

Anyway, I went to Homebase last week and purchased a spray which is supposed to deter cats (and dogs, apparently.)I have absolutely no idea what it has got in it that cats don't like.  I have sprayed it on the roof of the shed and also on certain points along the fence. It does seem to have worked, although you have to re-apply it every two days or so. I imagine it will get washed away by rain and natural evaporation. One of the cats came in and went on the shed roof and appeared to be oblivious of the spray. I re-applied the spray yesterday and we have since had no cat invasion. Alfie keeps going out into the garden and seems disappointed that there are no cats to keep and eye on. You just can't win, or so it seems. Anyway, I think we really prefer the quiet life, rather than either dog barking when the cats appear. 

The other thing I've been doing is setting up a bird-feeding station which Carol bought from Amazon.

A metal construction which you set up with the central pole stuck in the ground with sections which screw together with arms or branches that fit on the central pole and to which you attach feeders. Some are clear plastic whilst others are made of metal mesh. We have had a good range of birds come to enjoy a feast, such as blue tits, sparrows and starlings. But over the past week we've had pigeons come and hog the whole feeding station and sitting on the water bowl and making a meal of the food on offer and, so it seems to me, putting off the smaller birds and emptying the feeders. I have now managed to rearrange the feeding station so the pigeons can't sit on the thing and take over. Also, there is a group of starlings which come and seem to always go around in a gang, rather like naughty schoolboys, making a lot of noise and eating virtually everything in the feeders. I think that starlings are the sort of birds which do make a lot of noise and are always in groups like this. In general I can say that this addition to our garden has been a success. 

Warmer Weather

A real increase in the temperature as the weather improves. I can't believe I'm going out without a jacket on. I've managed to cut the grass. It seems to grow a good deal faster once it's mown. I still refuse to term it a 'lawn.' It has absolutely no attributes for a lawn, such as very short grass, with those distinctive stripes and ironing-board flat. It's more like a meadow, but without the cattle chewing the cud. Or sheep, roaming about. It's got so many undulations, it's more like a scale model of the Pennines. 

We've begun to fill the collection of pots we have scattered around the place. Several had been sitting on the front bit of paving for I don't know how many years. We were given some by someone who worked with Carol at the Academy as well as a rather nice planter which originally had a Christmas tree in it but then the tree died and the remains of the tree were still in it. We never seem to have any success with Christmas trees. I suspect it's because, once Christmas is over, being the middle of winter, any chance of the poor little fir tree surviving is so remote because the weather is so cold. When I lived in Cardington we always had a real Christmas tree, and once the festive season was over the tree was planted out in the garden and lasted for many years until it grew far too big to be brought indoors. Ours always seem to die and I'm not sure what we can do to prevent it happening again. Anyway, we have had quite a few plants from various garden centres we've visited over the past few weeks, including strawberry plants and bedding plants which were free from Homebase with an offer which was in last weekend's Daily Telegraph. 

I have also been clearing all weeds and moss off the front drive, in between the paving slabs and the block paving where the car stands. It's beginning to look really clean and tidy. Quite a hard job, but now I've started it I want to complete the job. I don't think this has been done in a long time. Certainly not in all the time we've lived in the house.

We have a bird feeder in the garden. We had one a few years ago, but I'm not sure what happened to it. This thing is described on the box it came in as a 'dining station.' We got it from Amazon. I always thought of Amazon as being the place on-line to buy books, and nothing more, but it seems you can buy virtually anything on there. I got a case for my Canon digital camera. To keep it safe when I carry it about. I used to own a traditional film S.L.R. Camera, a very good Olympus, and it had it's own case which it lived in, which was fixed to the body of the camera by the screw underneath which you used to fix it to a tripod. Nothing, unfortunately, like this for a digital camera. The Olympus case was made of a fairly rigid material which kept the camera within safe from knocks and folded down when in use. Unfortunately, you have to remove the camera completely from the Canon case and won't fold out of the way like the Olympus case.

As I was mentioning, the bird 'dining station' came with a central metal pole which you stick in the ground and then attach the feeders onto the hooks at the top and then fill each of these wire feeders with nuts or other food. It has proven very popular with the small birds which live in and around the garden. We had a group of starlings who seemed to enjoy the coconut we had hanging on the dining station.' So much so that they have completely devoured the coconut and as I write I can look out and see the completely empty shell of the coconut. I will have to go out and buy some more. The content of the feeders needs replenishing.

I got a knock at the front door earlier this morning. A man dressed in bright orange work gear, the sort of  colour used for people who work in possibly dangerous situations. I can't think as I write what the term is, but I'm sure it will come to me once I've finished this.  I have now remembered what the term is, and it's 'High Vis' a shortened version of 'High Visability'. I can see why they wear it as it's very bright and they are certainly 'Highly Visable.' It turned out he was an employee of Anglia Water. He said he was working with a gang further along the road and, as their van was blocking our exit, if I wanted to move our car, to just let him know. I'm not entirely sure what they're doing. I thought it might have been something to do with water meters or something unless someone further along the street has a water leak. Never mind. At least he had the decency to let me know, as a lot of people never bother to tell you, and then when you want to drive out, you can't, because their vehicle or other equipment is in the way.

I'm currently reading 'The Lady In The Van' by Alan Bennett. I bought the DVD of the film which was based on the book and play which he wrote and about Miss Shepherd, the old lady who lived in a van in his garden. She is played by the amazing Maggie Smith. I've always been a admirer of this actress. The part is light years away from the character she plays in 'Downton Abbey.' I also love anything Alan Bennett writes. I'm really surprised he had the patience to put up with such an eccentric old woman living in such strange accomodation in his garden, and for fifteen years.

Garden-Tidying and Milton Keynes Marathon

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

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

Lawn-mowing

The sun is out. Infact it is positively a heatwave. Just don't hold your breath. It may last. The trees are busily leafing like crazy, and blossom is opening rapidly. There are primroses all along the grid roads around Milton Keynes. A veritable hive of activity. The grass in our back garden is growing to such an extent that both dogs are getting lost in the lushness. So it's about time I got out the mower. Which I did early this morning. Hunt for the power cable, plug it in and unwind said cable into garden. Open garden shed and dig out mower. Attach cable to cable and begin to mow. The grass is slightly wet, which might have been a good reason to not mow. Unfortunately the machine grinds to a halt after barely five minutes. Strange noise emanating from beneath machine. Unplug mower and turn over on grass, to discover that one of the little plastic blades has broken off. Not surprising owing to length of grass and the fact that the mower isn't really designed to cut such long grass. More capable of cutting neatly-turfed lawns and not this horrible uneven, tusky grass. Methinks perhaps a herd of sheep or goats might be the answer. I spend a half-hour or so hunting around in the kitchen and other places to see if we have any spare blades. We had a packet with the machine when we bought it but where they are now is a complete mystery. I write down the machine number, a Flymo and decide to head off to the local branch of Homebase to purchase the requisite packet of blades so that I can resume grass-cutting. On arrival at Homebase in Winterhill I find plenty of Flymo mowers but no spare blades. After asking a member of staff where I might find the blades, we still are no closer to locating the required items. It seems you can buy a Flymo mower but when you need the blades they don't appear to have them. I leave, somewhat frustrated by lack of purchase and then go over the road to The Range. The same story there: they have the machines for sale but no blades. This seems quite incredible. I then go further along the road to Wickes but it appears that they don't sell mowers so I return home empty-handed but none the wiser as to where I might be able to obtain the mower blades.

A little while later . . . I have had a good look for the spare mower blades and sure enough I found some in the kitchen drawer. So I managed to attach to the mower and got the machine working again so I have managed to cut around a quarter of the grass. I will be doing a bit each day as it's really hard work as the grass is so long and still a little damp, which isn't surprising due to it's length, even though the sun is out and shining brightly and there's a gentle breeze.

Noisy Neighbour . . . quiet at last!

Well, no noise has come from next door for a day or two. We feared another onslaught of the drills, hammers, grinders, sanders et al, but it seems our fears were unfounded. We saw their car arrive back from somewhere such as B and Q or Homebase with something on the roof-rack. Maybe some sort of device to help saw wood, a work-mate or whatever it's called. I think the man devours Black and Decker catalogues and loves sales in these D.I.Y. places so as to try out the latest high-powered drill with hammer-attachment, just to try the patience of his neighbours. We await the next onslaught and if that happens, we'll leave him to it and go out for the day . . .

Washing Machine Fun!

 I think you may have realised that the title of this post has a sort of ironic ring about it.

 Yesterday, mid-morning, I eventually got a phone call from the rental agency, after I'd phoned earlier in the morning and said that if something drastic wasn't done regarding the flooded kitchen and the non-installation of the washing machine, to be told that 'someone would be coming at 6 p.m.' I wasn't going to hold my breath as regards things being repaired, and, as it turned out, I was right, because as 6 p.m. rolled round and by five-past nobody had arrived, I was still believing that nobody would, when I looked out of the window to see Carol chatting to our beloved landlord. I was expecting the plumber who had come out earlier in the week, and when he told me he was expecting the young man who'd caused the problems in the first place, my heart sank (as I think it did with Carol, also.) He eventually arrived, so I decided to remain in the lounge watching television as I was quite prepared to say something about the mess that had been caused.

They went off to the D.I.Y. store, most likely B and Q or Homebase, who both have warehouse stores within a short distance of here, with Carol and I in total disbelief. They had really got no idea what they were doing, or were about to do. Neither had any genuine experience of plumbing, so goodness knows what mess they are going to make. We were somehow  imagined that we were going to have the plumber who came during the week to look at the situation, or at least another plumber who knew what he was doing. But, no. Just our beloved landlord too mean to spend out on a plumber and get the job done properly.

I expected them to come back with a load of bits and pieces of pipe, to replace what had been damaged. They told us that we couldn't touch the water supply to the house outside in the street, that Anglia Water would need to come and check out the supply and then turn it off (and charge some excessive amount to do so, apparently, but I can't see why. Just another ploy to make money.) The landlord and his 'assistant' had no idea about any of this and were, I assume, given this advice by staff at the D.I.Y. store. The Landlord then said he'd phone Anglia Water, which he did, and rang later to tell me that Anglia Water would send someone out today (Friday) to give their advice as to turning off the water so that work could be done on the repair in the kitchen. And none of this can be done until Monday, so we'll be without the washing-machine for another couple of days, with the water dripping and the task of us having to empty buckets, bowls etc every couple of hours. This is gradually turning into one of those comedys, starring such people as Michael Crawford or Norman Wisdom. Yes, certainly my thoughts tht 'Some Mother's Do 'Ave 'Em'!

Broken Washing Line and Unforgiving Female Driver Who Couldn't Park Properly (and other matters.)

The washing line broke. I was in the middle of pegging clothes out when the thing snapped. Everything pegged onto the line went down. I knew this was going to happen as the line was somewhat frayed and it was a matter of time before it would break. I have already put up one new line across the garden, so I just needed to get some fresh line to replace the old, broken line, and a couple of screw eyes or something to put in the wood of the fence to thread the line through. I decided to drive to Homebase and get some fresh washing line and, hopefully, a couple of screw-eyes, or something that would hold the line. I first went into Wickes, which is in the same industrial estate as Homebase, but I could see nothing suitable, so came out and drove the short distance to Homebase. I parked near the entrance and went inside to have a look round. I soon found some washing line (exactly the same as the old line, as I had a good idea where to look.) I spent some time deliberating over some hooks and/or screws but couldn't find anything suitable. I then heard a message over the Tannoy. It was to the effect, could the owner of the green Atoz please come to the front of the shop? I had to listen again to make sure it was for me. This has never happened to me before. I hurried to the front and went to a cash-desk. The cashier there had no idea what I was on about (which wasn't very encouraging.) She insisted on checking out the washing line I had in my hand. I went outside to the carpark, to find two women, who'd parked next to my car, making a great deal of fuss over the fact that their car was parked close to mine, so one of the couldn't get in the car. Rather pathetic, I thought. If it was me, I'd have climbed in through the passenger side door. The woman blamed me for parking too close. I think it should have been the other way round; she parked too close to me. I drove round so she could get out, with no apology and a certain amount of bad temper from the woman.  I have to admit it made me laugh, and was determined to come home and write about the incident on this blog. I re-parked the car and returned to the store. I had to ask an assistant whether they sold anything suitable to attach the washing line and was taken to another area of the store where there were screw-eyes, but not really suitable for the job I wanted. I got some other screw-eyes and said thanks to the member of staff and went back to the check-out. It turned out that the other cashier had wandered off, to goodness knows where, but left the washing-line on the counter with a receipt. I took this to the nearest available cashier and it turned out that the item had been voided by the other cashier. I paid and left the store. I then returned home and was able to put up the new washing-line across the garden, using the screw-eyes by putting them into a couple of points, each on the sheds we have in our garden, take out the old, rotten line and replace it with the new, and managed to end up with quite a lot of line left over and could attach the other end to a screw-eye which was already in the wall of the house near the patio doors. We have far more washing-line now than when I began this project and put a load of laundry on and when it was finished, pegged it out on the new washing line.