No-vember!

 Wednesday. 7.30 a.m. A somewhat wintry morning here in Milton Keynes. Rain with snow mixed in, which I noticed as I looked out of the kitchen window earlier. I doubt it will settle, but still icy and snowy.

The digital thermometer currently reads 21ºc.

I went to see the musical 'Mary Poppins' at Milton Keynes Theatre yesterday evening. I parked my car in the carpark near the Xcape and walked through to the theatre, but never expected to see a huge queue of customers waiting to enter the theatre. I purchased a programme and a souvenir brochure in the foyer and then went up several stories to my seat and entered at door 10. That area is called The Slips (don't ask me why. I have no idea. I got a really good view of the stage and actually a lot better than I expected, as, on the website, when I booked, it said 'restricted view.' An absolutely fantastic show, not a complete copy of the 1964 Disney film, with some dark moments in the plot. There are a lot of new songs, which blend in well with the film's original songs. The overall show was energetic, to say the least, very colourful, and the dance numbers were overwhelming. Mary Poppins flies out at one point, and at the end, flies off through the auditorium. I'm not entirely sure how this was achieved, but I imagine there is a cable running across the auditorium and the actor playing Mary Poppins wearing some sort of harness under her costume.

8.20 a.m. The snow has stopped falling, and there is a sprinkling of the white stuff across the community garden and on some of the cars in Dexter Avenue, including mine. I doubt it will remain

4.15 p.m. There is now absolutely no sign of snow. 

Thursday. 5.35 p.m. It has been bitterly cold today. There was some ice on the car windows when I drove off to go to Life Group this morning, but the sun melted it off, although I did wipe some mist off with a cloth.

Friday. 8.40 a.m. It's bright and sunny out this morning, but I doubt it's warm. The digital thermometer currently reads 21ºc.

I have my washing in the machine as I write. I plan to try making tomato soup again. The washing up is done, giving me space to work in the kitchen.

Saturday. 9.55 a.m. It's a bit wet and miserable this morning. I suppose you could say it's a typical November day. The digital thermometer currently reads 21ºc.

I've just come back from Sainsbury's. Nothing really much to report, but it's definitely the best time of the day to go there on a Saturday, as there are fewer shoppers about.

Sunday. 9.20 a.m. The sun is out this morning, although rather weakly. 

The digital thermometer currently reads 21ºc.

Covid Regulations Lifting

Saturday. 7.30 a.m. Today is the 1st of May! It's incredible to believe that we're almost halfway through 2021.

 It seems that the covid vaccines are working and reducing infections and thankfully, deaths. This means we are gradually coming out of this pandemic lockdown and even more so, HOPEFULLY, we won't have to have any more in the 'relatively near future.' On the 21st June, as part of the Government's 'roadmap' out of this situation, we can get back to some sort of normal.

Sunny and bright out and really pleasant. Let's hope it stays that way.

I took Alfie out at gone 2 o'clock. Sunny and bright. There were lots of people on and around Oldbrook Green. A group on the far side playing cricket. Children playing football, or at least kicking footballs into the goal in the tarmacked area on the 'Cricketers' side. There is a board which has 'Oldbrook Green' emblazoned on it and a list of 'does and don't (More don'ts as you would expect from a beaurocracy, Campbell Park Parish Council.) One of them says 'no cricket,' 'no organized games.'What about disorganized games? But, please explain what you mean by an organized game? So, what on earth is the point of this large piece of grass if it's not for playing games? I must say it was great to see people enjoying themselves and not being locked up in their homes because of the pandemic. So, what happens if you get caught playing cricket? Not that I'm a fan, but I'd love to see how they could stop this sort of thing. Sounds a bit like life under Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans. Would you get arrested and shoved into a van with handcuffs on? Staring out through bars? Clapped in irons? Makes you wonder. Would be mean you get a criminal record? Look a bit silly on your record: arrested for playing cricket. Who makes up these rules, and why?

Later. 10.00 p.m. I've been watching a musical version of 'The Wind In The Willows' on BroadwayHD. It has music and lyrics by Styles and Drew who did the additional songs for the Cameron Macintosh/Disney stage musical of 'Mary Poppins.' Book by Julian Fellowes, who wrote the ITV series 'Downton Abbey' and did the adaptation of 'Mary Poppins.' Bright and breezy and very clear story-telling, At least the animal characters aren't dressed in obvious costumes. Suggestions that they are a particular type of animal by the addition of hats, ears stuck on, tails, etc., while the actor's faces are kept clear. No real attempt to be 'realistic' which includes the set design.

Sunday. We have to book tickets for church through something called Eventbrite. As we can only have 40 people in the hall, including musicians, it seems the best way to keep control of the numbers, to make sure we adhere to the government's regulations. I thought I had booked my ticket, but it turns out that I hadn't. Just can always trust technology.

The Excitement Is Too much!

(Sunday) It's mild, windy but clammy. There has been a blustery wind in force. How would Winnie The Pooh manage? Or Mary Poppins? Would she be able to manage with her flying with her umbrella if there was a high wind? Would she be a danger to aircraft? How does she manage to hold on to the handle and still manage to travel so far? Does she ever get cramp in the arm she uses to hold on, her hand never loosing it's grip? What happens to her? Does she fall to earth? Why does she not have a parachute? Doe she have insurance? Can she fly at night? Doe she have lights? Has she ever been hit by aircraft, or other forms of propelled flight? Has she done any sort of risk-assessment? How does health and safety come into things?  When I was at school, about the time the first film was released in the 1960's, one of my teachers made the rather obvious observation that, did she never worry about people seeing up her skirt? It does occur when you think about it. Not that I ever did. Like, later, when I was at college a good deal later, when Evita, the Lloyd-Webber/Tim Rice musical about Eva Peron came out, why would anyone want to see a musical about the wife of a fascistt  dictator? I suppose he had a point, but it didn't put me off buying the original concept album. 

I'm continuing with my writing. It's going gradually, having now found a way to move forward. It's taking a while to write but I'm getting there. As the day progressed I managed to get quite a considerable amount written. I will leave it until tomorrow and hopefully get this particular section completed, but I'm not rushing it.

Dominic Cummings is in trouble. His name is just about right as he's been coming and going and as a result some people, including members of the government, think he's getting away with breaking the lockdown regulations by going all the way to County Durham, but I'm not entirely sure why, to care for a child and his wife has been infected by the coronavirus apparently and so has he. He's a naughty boy. Who is he? Boris Johnson's political advisor or something. What does that mean and is he actually a Member of Parliament? Is he part of the Cabinet? What is his function? From the pictures I've seen in the Sunday Times today as well as on line on the Sunday Telegraph website, he just looks plain odd. Creepy, even. Why does he always wear that stupid wooly hat and go around in a thick jacket when it's so sunny and warm? No, he's not an M.P., but described on his Wikipedia profile as a 'Political Strategist,' whatever that means. It would be better if Boris Johnson go rid of him because if he doesn't watch out it will get out of control, as some sort of damage limitation. The left wing press, which I have to include the BBC as it seems full of lefties, is the biggest culprit, infact I would include most of the British media, who are doing more harm than good to the Conservative government, mostly the Remainers who are still not happy with the results of the 2016 EU referendum and the fact that we've left the failing EU. They keep picking away at it, rather like someone with a scab. As my mother used to say 'I'll never get better if you picket,' which someone should have said to Arthur Scargill duding the Miners Strike. Sorry about the dreadful pun, but it just came to me as I was writing this.

There have been people at Dexter House who shouldn't have been here at all, totally flouting the lockdown regulations. I had a sleep this evening, and woke up to hear voices. I imagined it was outside the confines of Dexter House, the sound of children, shouting and general noise. I went into the kitchen to do some washing up and could see in the garden below through the window people, mostly children, I don't know who they were, family members of others who live here, but clearly not observing the two-metre social distancing rules. I don't know what they were thinking, the parents just being irresponsible. We can apparently meet people outside, but only on a one-to-one basis, not in groups like this. Just making a nonsense and very likely to spread this wretched virus by their behaviour. If nothing else, putting themselves and others at risk of catching the coronavirus which has been causing all the problems over the last few months.

Politically In-Correct Children's Books and Films and other matters

Has anyone thought how so many children's books and films have things in them that contravene all sorts of things like health and safety, child protection and a lot of other things society throws at us? Would you, in all honesty, employ a nanny who flies on an umbrella and carries things around in a hold-all that is bottomless and she keeps things like a lamp-stand and then takes the children she's in charge of to see a crazy uncle who eats his tea FLOATING ON THE CEILING? Also, encouraging those two children, Jane and Michael to slide up or down the bannisters in the Banks' home?  Did Mr and Mrs Banks do a Criminal Records Bureau check on Mary Poppins or even ask for any references from past employees? Then, she has a male friend called Bert who has a predilection for dancing all over the rooftops of London with a weird gang of chimney sweeps? And, how dangerous is it to be up on the roof in the first place? What health and safety concerns did either Bert or Mary have for those children? First, falling off the roof, then, climbing all the way up a STAIRCASE made out of SMOKE? Did they consider the health-hazards of breathing in all that smoke and soot? Then, when they go through the chalk drawings that Bert has scrawled all over the pavements (did he have a licence to do this? Was he allowed to do graffiti in such a callous and unseemly manner in Edwardian London? I think not.) When they get into the animated land, did they consider they were thrown into a world of fox-hunting (banned by law in Great Britain now. Tush! Not P.C. to do so.) Then, gallivanting all over the countryside and eventually getting involved in horse-racing and allowing, no doubt, for those minors to BET on the outcome of the race? No moral responsibility at all. 

Then, we go to other books and films. Who would trust a weird man who runs a chocolate factory with the care of your children (I refer to Willy Wonka. Don't go into the name which has all sorts of peculiar connotations which I won't go into on this post.) Also, ENCOURAGING CHILDREN TO EAT SWEETS!! it's definitely a no, no. Just get them to eat sensibly, five pieces of fruit and veg a day for a start.

Peter Pan. A bit of an odd-ball, to say the least. Flies in through the bedroom window. I don't expect he had a C.R.B. check. Left alone with those children. THEN he expected them to believe in Never-Never land (connotations with things like 'payments in instalments' for example, but that's another matter.) What about getting them to FLY? Well, all very clever, how ever it was done, but did Mr Pan have any health and safety procedures in place? I doubt it (come to that, did Mary Poppins, with her umbrella? What happened if she was to crash-land? How many attempts did she make before she got her flying licence?)

It's interesting, on a different subject, how many children's books and films feature a character or something that flies or at least has the ability to fly. Not just Mary Poppins and Peter Pan, but how about Dumbo (featured in the classic Disney animated cartoon) or Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. I seem to remember that Disney also made another film in the '60's about a mad professor who invents a substance which makes things gravity-free, called flubber I think, and is put on the tyres of a car which then flies. I think it might have been remade and called 'Flubber.' The original was called the 'Absent-Minded Professor, I think. Have to check it out on I.M.D.B.  Of course, there's Mary Poppins, who needs the aid of her umbrella to fly. I am wondering, though, how long she could stay aloft, with her hand holding onto the handle of that umbrella (which, if I remember correctly, is shaped like a parrot WHICH TALKS? does it actually LIVE, this parrot? Weird and wonderful.) I'm also reminded of what a teacher said when I was at school, at about the time Mary Poppins was released, regarding being able to see Mary's underwear as she flew. I won't make any further allusions to this, but I think you'll get what I mean about this if you think about it. Sorry to bring this up, but on reflection it's fairly obvious. 

I shall continue with this discussion as and when I have more to add, so keep an eye-out for further instalments.