Covidivisation Takes It's Toll

Friday. 8.50 a.m. Covid doing its worst. The night was better than the night before. I have finished the packet of Paracetamol, and need to get more. 

10.40 a.m. I needed to know what the situation was regarding isolating because of my positive covid test yesterday. I went online to an N.H.S. site and found 5 days, which I am adhering to, but no real advice, so I thought I ought to speak to my medical centre. I rang, but waited ten minutes to speak and even then the lady didn't seem to know the answer, so I rang N.H.S. 111. I had to answer a load of questions, but because I have had two heart attacks, they recommended I speak to a doctor, so rang surgery again, but they said no doctor could speak to me, not even for a telephone consultation, but a paramedic could ring me later.

5.25 p.m. I needed paracetamol, but I couldn't go out, so I had the idea of putting a message, asking if any of my friends on Facebook could get me a couple of packets. My good friend, Margaret, who goes to Shenley Christian Fellowship, must have seen the message, and she rang me, although at that point I was asleep on my bed, I rang back, and she said she would go and get me some paracetamol, which she came to Dexter House to deliver. I took some, and they do relive some of the more unpleasant parts of the covid. Shivery, flu-like, pain in the back, sort of, kidney area. Just keep taking paracetamol every four hours. I have slept a great deal. 

Saturday. 1.15 a.m. I have been trying to sleep, but, considering I slept a great deal of yesterday, it's really not surprising. I was having a sort of dream, more likely part awake, about a play called Noises Off. Why that, I don't know, but anyway, I decided that, because I couldn't sleep, together with coughing and needing the loo (just one of those things, people!) I got up, but painful getting off the bed, discomfort in my lower back, but, after a bit of effort, I managed it.

6.00 a.m. I've taken Alfie out, had a shave and put out the rubbish. I have taken a further two paracetamol. I am feeling slightly better, no shivering and sweating, which was the main feature of covid yesterday. I will do another test on Monday, but it seems unlikely I will be able to go to Camphill on Tuesday.

11.15 a.m. Not a great deal to report, except I've taken another two paracetamol. Not feeling so hot and sweaty, but still not one hundred per cent.

5.45 p.m. I've spent the afternoon watching Laurel and Hardy films, from my DVD collection of all their films. I bought it a couple of years ago on Amazon. I had known years ago that there was a complete box set of their films, as I love their films. But at that time the set cost around £200. Then they were on offer at around £50 in the HMV shop in Milton Keynes, but the set was sold on Amazon for around £30. I have been drawn back to these films because of the 'silent comedy' video project we have been involved in at Camphill in the performing arts workshop. The films I watched this afternoon were: "Them Thar Hills" and it's 'sort of' sequel 'Tit For Tat" and "County Hospital." They may be near enough 90 years old, but they still make me laugh and compared to a good deal of modern 'comedy' need a great deal of beating.

Sunday. 5.35 a.m. I had an idea that this bout of covid was coming to an end. How wrong could I be? I woke this morning with more pain in my lower back and the cough again wreaking its havoc. I took about three times longer than normal to get dressed, so I could take Alfie out. Any idea that I would go to church this morning is totally out of the question, and my weekly Camphill session on Tuesday is even more unlikely. Although having said all that, I don't feel as bad as I did when this thing started on Thursday. So, it seems I'm just going to have to endure this thing for the long haul. No way is it going to end soon, but I wish it would.

8.50 a.m. As I write this, it's 'sort of' raining. I mean, drizzly rather than pouring rain. Something that Alfie won't like, although he wouldn't get much of a dousing.

Monday. 5.35 a.m. It was something of a surprise to discover it was raining fairly hard as I looked out of the kitchen window this morning. I thought I could go out without a coat, but on arriving at the bottom of the stairs and seeing rain through the double doors which lead into the garden, I had second thoughts and returned to the flat to get my bright yellow Regatta raincoat. Alfie was not much bothered by the rain when we eventually hit Strudwick Drive and we were soon back inside.

As regards my covid infection has continued, although I'm not as hot and sweaty, brain fog has left me sort of in a sort of, well, fog. It takes ages to think and get dressed about three times the usual, length of time.

Practically Perfect!

 Tuesday. 7.17 a.m. It's a rather drab and dreary day. 'Quite cold generally', which is how Carol Kirkwood is describing today's weather, as I am watching BBC Breakfast as I write this.

4.35 p.m. I have only this minute got back from another day at Camphill, working in the performing arts workshop in the Chrysalis Theatre. Terrie, who is the leader, wasn't in charge today, because her father is ill, and she was with him. Paul was in charge. One or two of the regular team didn't come, for whatever reason. A new young lady came to work in the workshop. She is a regular support worker at Camphill. I don't know what she thought of the theatre workshop, but she seemed to fit in really well.

The morning got started with the usual 'check-in,' when every member of the team talks about what they've been up to and how they feel. This can take some time. 

Then we did several games, the famous EastEnders game, which I've mentioned in an earlier post and 'Bananas' (which I won't attempt to describe on here.) All I can say, very good to break the ice, and they can be a bit daunting if you've never done anything such as this before, but it certainly gets everyone 'warmed up.' A great deal of this is to get people's voices ready for any speaking they are likely to do, which can be good for anyone with a learning disability. When I rejoined the theatre workshop back in November, after almost two years of being away because of the various lockdowns bought in because of the coronavirus pandemic, I was a bit overwhelmed when I started to interact with the group in these games, particularly as I didn't know how they were played. I intend to get involved in as much of this sort of activity as possible, although some of the games I withdraw from.

The rest of the day was spent watching a range of silent films, a couple with Laurel and Hardy, one of which was the famous film, ''The Music Box,' where they have to deliver a piano to a house up some steps and the series of blunders they make in the process. Typical Laurel and Hardly material. Then, some films with Buster Keaton and then Harold Lloyd. 

After Lunch, we had yet another 'check in' and then we watched one of Morecambe and Wise's famous sketches, the one where they are having breakfast, and all their actions are done to the music of 'The Stripper.' Then, we did some exercises whereby we emulated Laurel and Hardy, with the scene in 'The Music Box', where they are clearing up after the disaster in the house they are delivering to, where Ollie is shifting wood from one place to another and Stan puts it back in exactly the same place, so it ends up with them not getting anywhere with the clearing up. We did it with two teams, with moving chairs and it turns out that they end up back where they started and then another with washing up, with the washed-up dishes are being endlessly recycled and washed. We then had to enact what we'd developed to watch the other team's efforts and then they watched ours.

Wednesday. 7.05 a.m. It is getting light earlier and earlier each morning and this morning, as a result of it being light out, I was out with Alfie at around 6.40 this morning. We did a circuit of Oldbrook Green, because I didn't see the point of wasting the early hour to not build up some footsteps with my FitBit. Looking at the FitBit I have on my wrist, it reads 2081 steps.

10 20 a.m. I've just been to Sainsbury's mainly to pick up a repeat prescription from Lloyd's, whose pharmacy is within the store. I now learn that this pharmacy is going to close in July. We have been ordering our medication from Lloyd's for I don't know how many years and know the staff well. They have been very supportive, particularly when Carol was diagnosed with cancer in 2017 and always manage to get whatever medication we need. So it will be such a shame for this facility to close. I can move to another pharmacy, but it's so easy to park, with the car park underneath the store. There is the option to set up delivery from Lloyd's and have my meds delivered direct to my flat, but it won't be the same without the personal touch. It seems so many companies are disappearing altogether or moving their businesses online. Argos is owned by Sainsbury and its head office is in Milton Keynes, just a stone's throw from Sainsbury's. Many of their high street stores are closing, and Sainsbury's will have Argos pick-up points in their stores. No doubt all this is as a result of the infamous pandemic lockdowns as well as Brexit.  I will be able to adapt to the new way of receiving my medications, but there will be some people, of a 'certain age' who will prefer to have the human contact of going into a store to pick up their medication and might not be able to use the internet to set up their accounts to have their medication delivered directly.

2.05 p.m. I am continuing to transfer handwritten material into word processing. This particular piece of writing was written some while ago, but it seems to fit as the backstory of the new character I want to bring into the project. It may need to be slightly adapted for that use, but, as it hadn't been used or transcribed, it seemed a good idea to use it.

Same Old Same

(Monday) Another fun filled week in store. Oh, the excitement is too much! Note the ironic tone of this blog post.  Cooped up in my flat like a battery chicken when it's really sunny and warm. I am hoping and even praying that the government will reduce the social distancing. It's a bit of a joke when I went out yesterday evening with Alfie and seeing people definitely not social distancing, children playing on the equipment in the playground at Oldbrook Green. The 'Rate of Transmission' of the infection rate of the coronavirus has been reduced to whatever number, I think it's 3, moved down from 4. I'm not entirely sure.

People on Oldbrook Green flying a kite. The wind was more or less perfect for such an occupation. There is something fascinating about kites. I really like them. We took Sam and Emerline to Dunstable Downs to fly his kite many years ago, although not entirely successfully. When we used to go on holiday to Frinton-On-Sea I used to fly a rather incredible box kite, which wasn't mine. It belonged to my younger brother, Sandy, who had been given it as a present, I think, by his godmother, Jane, but he wasn't in the least bit interested, so I got the pleasure of flying it. Quite high, from what I remember, on the Greensward, the grassed area between the road, The Esplanade I believe, and the promenade where the beach huts were. Quite a strong wind off the sea and it took some effort to get it to fly to the furthest extent of it's string.  A lot of effort to keep hold of it and probably a danger to low-flying aircraft. More on holidays to Frinton-On-Sea in an earlier blog post but I may write more in a future blog post.

(Tuesday) 4.02a.m. I haven't slept much. Someone in a flat below me has a television or radio on with a voice that never stops. I can't think what it can be. Not BBC or Sky News because there's no music, advertising or those 'stings' or whatever they cal them, the bits of music between items or over credits or the opening of programmes. Whatever it is, it's difficult to get to sleep. I turn on BBC News and have a cup of tea. Something to watch or listen to. They have an item about a digital television channel calle 'Talking Pictures' which has seen it's ratings rise since the start of the pandemic lockdown. It shows old programmes, most of which are black and white and run by a handful of staff. Apparently the main channels don't show black and white material. Why? Does that mean some of the classic films of the early days of the film industry aren't important because they aren't in COLOUR? So, that means that Laurel and Hardy, the Marx Brothers, Buster Keaton and a whole host of other comedy films are worthless? Absolutely not. Then how about: Casablanca, Sunset Boulevard, and probably the best film comedy of all, Some Like It Hot aren't worth bothering with? Are audiences so dumb that they can't be doing with black and white films? I don't think so. Surely it's the story, characters and just plain charm of these early films which makes them what they are. They survive because they are so brilliant. Oh, and then, how about the priceless Ealing comedies such as Passport to Pimlico (which is on tomorrow as I have looked at the EPG (Electronic Programme Guide), Kind Hearts and Coronets and The Ladykillers (I think the only Ealing comedy to be made in colour and also the last one made.)

The social distancing is likely to be reduced from 2 metres to 1 metre today, after the Cabinet has met this morning. It has to happen. BBC Breakfast has said that we can expect high temperatures in the next few days, possibly the highest temperatures of the year, towards the end of the week. Heat kills viruses, so it's going to wipe out the coronavirus. Just wait and see.

Later. 'I just don't believe it!' as Victor Meldew would say repeatedly in the brilliant sitcom 'One Foot In The Grave.' I have mentioned the problems I have had regarding my Television Licence. If you need a reminder, when I moved into Dexter House I made sure I had this set up so that I was 'legal , decent, honest and truthful' (an advertising slogan which was used by the Advertising Standards Authority.) I'm rambling. Going off-topic. Not keeping to the script.  Digression is the word I'm looking forAnyway, I discovered that I didn't need to pay a full licence living at Dexter House. Don't ask me how or why. You can, but you won't get an answer. I paid by cheque and it must have cleared as it shows up on my bank statement so the licensing people have proof. But I keep getting letters, beautifully printed and posted, no doubt at great expense. So . . . what on earth is going on? Making a mockery of the whole confounded TV licence business and must cost a fortune, money which could be going to the BBC to pay some hard up celebrity on their payroll who needs to probably put petrol in his/her Rolls Royce or to buy more caviare or pate de foie gras from Harrods or Fortnum and Masons.

Later still. So, that's it. Boris Johnson says the social distancing can be reduced to one metre and that more businesses can reopen. Thank goodness! Being a prisoner in your own home is no joke. But lockdown can be reenforced if there's any new infections, or something, I'm not sure of the exact words. But it's not going to happen. It's summer, the sun is out and viruses don't survive in a hot climate.

(Wednesday) A hot and humid night and I found it difficult to sleep, but the kitchen is as hot as ever. Why on earth can't the heating be reduced? It just doesn't make sense and I have mentioned it but it seemed impossible to get anyone to deal with this situation.

Day Out To Black Country Living Museum

We had planned to visit London Zoo on Wednesday, taking advantage of the fact that Carol was a Fellow of the Zoological Society of London and get free entry for both of us, as we also do for Whipsnade Zoo. But on researching train tickets it seems far too expensive. How on earth can train tickets cost so much? This would be enough to put off many people from visiting London. And we couldn't leave early to take advantage of any so-called 'special offers.'  We then  did some research on-line and decided on a visit to The Black Country Living Museum at Dudley, near Birmingham. We have seen glimpses of this open air museum on television programmes and it sounded the sort of place we'd enjoy. We've been to Beamish Museum in the north east of England which would seem to be very similar, so that is where we went on Wednesday.

On arrival at the carpark we found many people also turning up, some including coaches. Within the main entrance building there was a long queue in the booking hall and in all we had to queue for around 30 minutes. We decided it would be better value to turn our entrance tickets into yearly membership which means we can return as many times as we like over the next twelve months without having to pay entrance fees or car parking (an additional £3. This is fair enough, but I do think if you're paying for entrance and you arrive by car you shouldn't have to pay this. As a charity I can understand they have to raise cash somehow, but this does seem a bit unfair.) You got a metal token which you use to raise the barrier when you drive out of the carpark.

Once within the museum site we discovered that it was a fair walk down into the main part of the museum site. Several vintage vehicles, including a red bus, a trolley bus and tram, could be used to convey you to the main town further down the hill. We decided to walk. Probably not such a good idea as it was quite tiring. Rough cinder on the paths really hurt our feet. Never mind.

There are many reconstructed buildings on the site of The Black Country Living Museum. Carefully demolished in their original location and then transported to the site and then reconstructed and fitted out with furniture and everything inside to fit the correct time frame in which they were originally built, giving a sort of snapshot of their historic context. They are all from the area around Dudley, which is known as The Black Country. Due to the soot and smoke produced by the industries in the area.

The first building we visited was a cast iron house. Quite amazing to think that at one time they constructed houses from cast iron. What about rusting? Did they stay warm in winter and cool in summer? If you lived in one could you hang wallpaper? Were they safe if you had electricity? I'm thinking about earthing the power supply. It does make me wonder. We walked on down towards the town area, past a mine. You could go inside but there was a long queue which put us off. I'm not to keen on being in an enclosed space such as a mine or a cave so it wasn't something I'd want to experience and certainly not if it was a small space and you had to go down and underground. We walked on and got to the period fairground. There's a heater skelter as well as a wide range of stalls. You have to pay to go on any of the rides or exhibits. We bought burgers from a stall around here and sat  on benches near the canal and ate them. We had intended buying fish and chips from the shop which was part of the period shops, but when we saw the queue of people outside we decided against the idea. This queue was moving extremely slow and it seemed to take perhaps 20 minutes to reach the shop. A pity, because from what we saw of the actual fish and chips that people were carrying away it looked very appetising and the portions looked large. There is a period garage along with some period vehicles in the area near the fairground. We didn't visit.

We went inside the school. Period lessons were held at regular intervals during the day, but we weren't there at the time it said on the sign inside the building. Pity, because, as Carol is a teacher herself she would have been interested to see how the style of teaching had changed over the years. We went into several of the houses to view the interiors and in some we were surprised at the size of the rooms. Very small and cramped. If they had several children it makes you wonder how they coped.

We watched as someone demonstrated making nails and another man showed how chain was forged. There was a cinema, which apparently had been built in a private back garden in a house somewhere around the Dudley area. We sat and watched a silent Laurel and Hardy film. I was surprised how some people laughed whilst others didn't respond at all. (How do modern day children respond to the antics of these two? I've always enjoyed their films and have only recently bought a 20 DVD collection of all their short films. £35 on Amazon, but it was £200 when the set first came out. We saw if for around £50 a few years ago in H.H.V. in Milton Keynes, so at that price it was good value.)

 View across canal bridge

 Period trolley bus

Interior of tobacconist's shop

Out in the street children were playing with hoops. Rolling them along the cobbles with sticks. Great to see modern children doing something that is 'real' and not computer-related. So many people walk around with their mobile phones stuck to their ears or peering at the screens and seem so disconnected with the 'real' world. It makes you wonder how they would cope if these gadgets were taken off them. They don't seem to be engaged with what's going on around them. It's the same when we've visited either Whipsnade Zoo or Twycross Zoo. People are so busy taking 'selfies' of themselves, slap-bang in front of some of the animal enclosures. They seem more interested in themselves than in looking at the animals. Similar at this museum.

Wandered in and out of more of the buildings, including an ironmonger's, tobacconist, baker's and several more and then a church.

So we went back to the bus stop. We had to wait a good twenty minutes, but it was actually quite nice to sit down and relax for a while. We eventually caught the bus and arrived back at the top of the hill where we'd entered the museum. We had a look at some vintage vehicles in a garage and then went inside the visitor's centre, had a cup of tea and a pastry and bought a guidebook and by then we'd decided we'd seen all we wanted to see and returned to our car to drive home.

We did follow the SatNav's direction. It is generally very good, but for some reason it took us into central Birmingham instead of navigating us back home the way we'd come, which was odd. So it took a good 30 minutes longer than it should have done. Don't always follow the SatNav we've learned. All together it was a very enjoyable day out and we'll be returning sometime again in the Spring now we have a year's membership of this particular museum.