Sorting Things and Settled Weather

(Wednesday) Gareth has disappeared. Where he went I have no idea. Probably met up with Freya and having a lovely time in the Bahamas or on a tropical island. Having a blow-out somewhere.

I had a call from Camphill this morning. They seem really keen for me to work as a volunteer and will be going to a taster session on Tuesday morning, to work with their video production students. Sounds perfect for me. I can't believe they've got back to me so quickly. I'm really looking forward to starting there. I'm sure that Carol would be pleased for me.

I've managed to sort out a lot of Carol's clothes. Most gone to the Barnardo's shop in Oldbrook. I have been thinking of sorting the things out, but it's been difficult for me. I had asked Shelley next doo to help me, but in the end i just wanted to get it done on my own. I now have more space in the wardrobe and I've discovered stuff in there I haven't seen before or other things that I just haven't seen in years.

Amongst the things I found was a small cube speaker. I think we bought it in Sainsbury's. It's about a couple of inches square, coloured white and mauve. I don't think it cost much more than £10. It was bought to use on one of the laptops to improve the sound, or it may have been to connect to something else, but I have no idea what. Anyway, it had several leads sticking out of it, one for connecting to a U.S.B. port on a computer and the other has a jack plug to connect to a sound output. But I didn't realise that it was Bluetooth. I have two other larger speakers which are Bluetooth, along with a  Godmans soundbar which is connected to the television. It improves the sound a great deal, giving more bass tones. It will also connect to my iPhone and the Kindle, which has Alexa in it. Just connect and speak and Alexa will play music from my Amazon playlist, through the Goodmans soundbar or the other speakers. If I want radio on in the bathroom, I can use an app on he iPhone and it connects so I can have music on when I have a bath. It's taken a while to figure out how to get this to work, as only one device can be connected via the iPhone at one time, otherwise the things get confused. Amazing technology.

Sunday. I just realised, when I took out Alfie earlier, that we have to endure the Milton Keynes marathon going past the house this morning. They've already been round and stuck letters through our letter box informing us that the marathon will close off Golden Drive for several hours, so I can't get out in the car to get to church. I'll just have to stay at home until it's finished. Now, don't get me wrong. I find the marathon a good thing, people enjoying themselves, good to raise money for various 'good causes,' but when it inconveniences people, the fact you can't get out of your home in your car for a few hours and particularly in a Sunday, which is perhaps the only day of the week when people, particularly families, get together and go out for the day, it does seem really unfair and annoying and if you even suggest making a slight tweak to the route, you get some person or other complaining, as I did a couple of years ago when I even breathed a word against this fairly obvious suggestion (that they reroute it along the Redway, which is only a few yards away.) Oh, it's so easy to wind up some people! Just . . . . oh, I can't be bothered. Not going to listen or even agree to disagree! I'm staying put this morning and will miss church, but never mind for one Sunday. I may go out to Sainsbury's or Waitrose later as there's some items I need as I want to bake a cake.

It's bright and sunny, but still chilly. So it should actually be quite a good day for the marathon.

Later. I've managed to do some washing-up. Sorting out one of the cupboards. I thought we had a digital set of scales. If we have, I can't find them. Just a thought, but is scales in the singular or plural? Why a set of scales? Is it when you had an old-fashioned 'set' with the mechanical device onto which you put individual metal weights, in various amounts of weight? I digress, but it did make me wonder and 'scales' in the plural is still used when your device becomes more sophisticated, such as digital or more like a machine with a dial. I've been thinking about this a bit further. What about other items which are only plural, such as trousers? You never have 'a trouser,' much as with scissors, you never get 'a scissor.' Neither would be much use on their own. You wouldn't get far with a scissor, because it needs the other half to make it into scissors and wouldn't function properly, much the same as you couldn't really have a trouser. You could hardly go out with only one leg covered. It wouldn't work and wouldn't make sense and I doubt somehow it would work, apart from looking odd and you'd probably get some odd looks and might end up getting arrested!

I've now done a load of washing. It takes 45 minutes on eco setting, and the washing is now out on two lines in the garden, because it's sunny and there's a good breeze, so it shouldn't take long to dry. That is, unless it rains, which i trust it won't. This will be the first washing I've put outside this year.
I looked out of the bathroom window a minute or two ago (10a.m.) and, lo and behold! There are runners going past on the road! I just hope this marathon, or at least the part going along Golden Drive, is over soon rather than later, so I can get out in the car and go to Sainsbury's.

Oh dear! I knew if I mentioned on Facebook that the so-called Milton Keynes Festival of Running was going past my home this morning and that I was going to be inconvenienced by it (which I am, up to a point) that someone would respond in a 'oh my goodness, someone doesn't like it! Oh, I don't like it when someone doesn't agree with me' sort of attitude, hey presto! The response has been just as I expected. They took the bait! I've got the sort of response I would expect. The fact is, I couldn't actually care less what people do if they want to. It's just that some people (look at what's happening over Brexit.) don't like it when someone dares to have an alternative opinion. Sad really. Just love winding some people up. Naughty, I know, but really loved to see what happened, and it did.

Winding People Up

My comments I made on this blog a couple of days ago is winding up certain individuals via my Facebook link regarding the Milton Keynes Festival of Running. It doesn't obviously take much to do this as they are like cats with mice who come out to play and then run away and hide immediately. Rather makes me think of those clockwork toys you get which you wind up and then let it go. It runs around for a minute or two, clanking and making all sorts of noise and then runs down. Literally wind them up. Some people out there always need to be right, even when they know full well they are wrong, but don't like to admit it.  My little Yorkie gets quite agitated whenever the next door's cat appears on the fence. He barks wildly, but the cat has the upper hand as it knows he can't be reached. Alfie makes a lot of noise and then runs back to the house. My comments have certainly stirred things up. Oh, I do like it! At least it gets people reading my blog, which is what it's there for. No point writing it if nobody reads it.

I notice that Golden Drive is still cluttered up with those awful brightly-coloured signs the organisers of the marathon-thingy had put up on Sunday. They are that garish colour used for things like jackets worn by workmen. You certainly couldn't miss them, not even in a thick fog. Maybe they glow in the dark as well. A hazard to low-flying aircraft. Although, if you were colour blind you might have a problem.  I would have thought by now someone would have come along and removed them. I expect I'll get some sort of comment if I mention it on here. Just goes to show they don't care that they're cluttering up the street with their signs. I expect some vandal will come along and set light to them or something. Why were they never taken away on Sunday evening?

Just goes to show that some people have got nothing better to do. But, I think I'll leave it at that as I've got far better things to do with my time.

Ruffling Feathers

It seems I have ruffled a few feathers with my last post about the Milton Keynes Festival of Running. I got quite a cross response via Facebook that I should just shut up and put up. Well, it seems that some people, (no names, no pack-drill) just don't like it when someone disagrees with them. No wonder I was put off sport of any sort when I was at school, even though it was many many years ago. I have no objection to anything anyone else does, so long as they do it away from me or at least, it doesn't impinge on what I'm doing.  Some people don't like considering other people. It seems to be a failing that seems quite prevalent in society currently. It's the same with all those cycling fanatics out there on the roads in and around Buckinghamshire who like to hog the road and don't seem in the least bit bothered that they are holding up the traffic behind them when we meet hoards of them when we're out and about on the roads. I think, apart from anything else, it's just common sense to keep to one side of the road and to let vehicles which come up behind them pass safely. Riding three abreast is just plain dangerous. Which is what we came across when we went to Salcey forest the other week.  I'm afraid I rather like winding up people, so it just goes to show, that post has certainly done that. I shan't respond further as it's going to get nasty otherwise, which isn't my intention. 

MK Festival of Running and Wet Weather

We won't be able to leave Eaglestone by car this morning after 9.20 due to the road being closed off because of the Milton Keynes Festival of Running. This is becoming something of an inconvenience, because they could very easily re-route the marathon so they run along the Redway and it would be a good deal safer because they would then go over any of the grid roads via bridges and underpasses. There would be little or no inconvenience to drivers and anyone else. I know it's for only a couple of hours ever few months, but it's surely time they did this. I think if enough people on our estate were to complain then they might change the route. It wouldn't make a good deal of difference, but I suppose there are those who would say 'it's always been done that way, so let's not change it.'

We have been notified well in advance of this event with letters posted through our doors as well as large yellow signs on the roads in and around Eaglestone, so it's no use complaining we haven't been warned.

It is pouring with rain, so in the next half an hour or so there's going to be a lot of very wet, cold and miserable runners passing our house. Well, I for one wont't be sorry for them. Please, just run elsewhere for one day so we don't have to contend with it all morning.

A little later . . .

I was washing up at the kitchen sink and saw a crowd of runners pass by. It was windy and raining and some of them were making a vague attempt at keeping themselves dry by wearing an odd assortment of pink bin-bags and pac-a-mac type rainwear and some odd bods carrying strange objects which I have no indication what they were. As I write this at 10.20 the sun has come out and we have another hour at least before we can venture out in the car.