Yet Another Week of Lockdown

(Thursday) I've been to Waitrose this morning. There's things I can't get elsewhere, such as soap and I like their bath foam. Good value, considering it's  a Waitrose Essentials product. There was the obligatory queue system to get in, similar to that at Sainsbury's. I was in and out quickly and I used a manned checkout as I'm not sure about the self-service machines. It was a clear run down Chaffron Way and it was odd that there was virtually no traffic, as Marlborough Street, where it crosses Chaffron Way, is usually chocker-block at around 8.30a.m, which is around the time I'm driving to Camphill on a Tuesday morning. None of the nose-to-tail along the road, people obviously going to work. At the moment they will do doubt be on lockdown.

(Friday) Seems amazing to think it's 1st May. How did we get here so quickly? It doesn't seem that long ago that we were celebrating Christmas.

I'm having a bit of a Shakespeare festival currently. I know it was The Bard's birthday last week (how old would he have been? I think around 456 or something like that.) and I watched the National Theatre's production of Twelfth Night with Tamsin Greig as Malvolia, The Globe's version of Romeo and Juliet and, on BBC iPlayer, 'Hamlet.' As for other productions, available, free, on YouTube, I saw the National Theatre's 'Frankenstein' with Benedict Cumberbatch as 'The Monster.' It was a good production (I say 'was' because it's no longer in the National's repertoire. I'm not entirely sure how long ago it was on. I believe Twelfth Night was around five years ago.) but the only problem I have with watching via YouTube is that it doesn't work too well. I suppose I shouldn't look the proverbial gift-horse in the mouth, but generally speaking you don't get the full 'live' theatre experience seeing these plays on television. Well, you can't expect too, but it's great that they are recording these performance because once a live show finishes, there's usually no record of it for future viewing or for future generations to enjoy or for those who wouldn't normally go to the theatre.

(Saturday) It doesn't feel like the weekend. It doesn't feel like any particular day of the week. It's probably due to the lockdown, when each day seems to melt into one another. There's no focus to the week, such as going to Camphill on a Tuesday or church on Sunday.

I have been watching 'The A Word' and today watched two more episodes of the first season. I know there's a new, third, season due to start in a week or two so I want to have watched the second run before getting to the new season. Having worked almost exclusively with people with autism, I can identify with the problems of the family it's about. The little lad who plays Joe is amazing. I can't think how they get such a brilliant performance out of a child of around 5 or 6. They must have a great deal of patience.

(Sunday) I was out with Alfie before 6 o'clock this morning. He kept looking at me, which is usually his way of telling me he needs to go out. It was quite mild, thankfully. I usually do washing up from the night before, so I did that and the kitchen is again sparkling clean.

I have now seen the final episode of the first run of 'The A Word,' and I will start on season 2, probably this afternoon. I don't watch episodes back-to-back, but iPlayer almost insists that you with the next episode as soon as the previous episode is finished.

Having the windows open has it's disadvantages. Some delightful person drive up in their car and parked right below my window and had thumping pop music playing on their radio (it might have been a CD or from a mobile, but never mind.) This sort of thing is annoying. Please don't do this at such an hour of the morning. But Noel Coward was right when he said 'strange how potent cheap music is,' which is a line from his comedy 'Private Lives.' Just awful thumping news. People never play something calm, a bit of Beethoven or other classical music, and why play it so loud that it interferes with out people's lives, and in my case, concentration?

Having had a scan of what's on iPlayer, there is no excuse to say 'there's nothing much to watch.' Just overwhelming by the stuff you can watch.

Alfie insisted on another outing, as he was staring in his usual way so I felt obliged to take him out as soon as I'd finished watching 'The A Word.' I have to say, having worked with people with autism, it seems a very accurate portrait of someone with the disability. I'd be interested to know whether the writer had first hand experience of life with an autistic.

Pandemic Continues

Well, I'm awake at 2.10a.m. It's Wednesday morning, 22nd April. Each day, during the coronavirus pandemic lockdown is merging one day into another. Each day is becoming very much the same as the last and then the next. I couldn't sleep, so I got up to make myself a cup of tea. I turn on the television and, would you believe, someone attempting to sell me a Rug Doctor and telling me it can get rid of all that deep-down dirt, even bacteria. What about viruses? I doubt it. Live television is just boring. There's no excuse moaning about daytime television, constant programmes about antiques, people attempting to sell their house, because they've got more money than sense, so they decide to move to darkest Somerset, Dorset or Yorkshire. Selling their 2-bed semi in Maidenhead, because the kids have flown the nest and they've discovered the house is worth silly money. Then, they eventually move to the country and then discover that the nearest Tesco is a forty-minute drive from their new home, the mobile signal is weak and there's no broadband and that their family doesn't want to visit them, necessitating the new house having too many bedrooms with en suite bathrooms for them to stay in and they don't like being woken at 4a.m by the sound of bleating sheep or cockerels crowing, nor the fact that, if they do decide to drive to Tesco or the nearest town to buy a wooly jumper when it gets cold, they have to get stuck behind a tractor and trailer, crawling along at 5 miles per hour and there's now way they can overtake because the roads are narrow and there's nowhere you can safely overtake.

What I'm saying is, you don't have to put up with all this daytime stuff, just there to fill up space in the schedule. Come on, you've got catch-up television, BBC iPlayer, which has a rich variety of back-catalogue material to whet your appetite, not just more recent stuff, on their from the previous day, but some of it going back several years. (Oher catch-up services are available, such as ITV Hub, as well as streaming services such as Netflix and the newest service, Britbox. Then there's Amazon Prime video.) I scrolled through what was available on BBC iPlayer. There's stuff from the last few days and months, but it seems the BBC has realised that it has a great back catalogue of material which it can upload to iPlayer because people are relying on television for entertainment because of having to stay at home due to the lockdown. Channel 4 has box sets of their own stuff and, as something of a fan of Time Team, there's virtually every episode of that to watch. I have seen two of the first episodes of the original series and I'm shocked that Tony Robinson looks so young! Not surprising as it started in the early 1990's. I watched 'Scarborough,' the new BBC1 sitcom set in the Yorkshire seaside town. Having visited Scarborough on a couple of occasions and done a month in a summer season at the Spa Theatre, I know it reasonably well. This sitcom has a certain reality about it, probably because it's shot on location and it has characters what you can relate to and a good mix of ages, not all young and they have cast older actors such as Stephanie Cole who is probably best know for shows such as Tenko, Waiting For God, Doc Martin and Open All Hours. There isn't the usual studio audience cackling away in the background which there seems no real point in having and wouldn't really work in a show like this. I think she would be described as a character actor, as she can take on a wide range of parts and not get tied to a 'type.' It has a sharp script and the author, Darren Little,obviously has a keen ear for dialogue.

So, it's now 5.15.m., and I'm somewhat bored and still can't sleep, hence sitting and writing this. It's getting light outside and I've done the washing-up and the kitchen is sparkling clean. I'm finding things to keep myself occupied and I've even done the one job I detest above all others, changed the bedding. Putting a duvet cover on is one of the worst jobs but at least it's done and it can go in the wash later this afternoon.

(Thursday) I'm awake earlier than yesterday. It's 4.45, although I was awake far earlier. I've been reading my book, 'The Age of Decadence' by Simon Heffer, covering the period 1880 to 1914. A thick book of some 750 or possibly more pages and written in amazing detail. I have washed up in the kitchen and even had a shave and I have just learnt from the BBC website that social restrictions are likely to go on for the rest of the year. If that's the case, we're just going to have to get used to it, although I'm not sure how church is going to cope and how many people are going to cope if that's how things are likely to remain.

I've done the washing up as well as some other housework. I mentioned yesterday that I'd changed the duvet and bedding. The excitement is too much (irony here) and it's washed and back in the airing cupboard.

I watched the Globe Theatre production of 'Romeo and Juliet,' which is one of the free-to-view theatre productions being streamed via YouTube. I enjoyed it, plenty of good sword fights (I noticed, the fights were arranged by Malcolm Ranson, who was an A.S.M. or at least on the stage management team when I was an A.S.M. at Greenwich Theatre in the early 1970's.) This production had plenty of energy, good chemistry between the actors playing Romeo and Juliet and I loved the use of live music and the singing to underline some of the action. They really brought out the comedy some of which is actually quite raunchy, particularly the way The Nurse is treated. She is usually played by a much older actor  but in this production she is a good deal younger than usual.

I have been watching another episode of one of my favourite, and I think probably the best sitcoms, 'Outside Edge.' I have mentioned it somewhere on here in the past. It was made during the 1990s, by the now defunct ITV company, Central, and is based on the stage play of the same name. It revolves around a village cricket team, although not entirely about cricket (thank goodness, as I can't stand it. Memories of school enough to put me off entirely, unfortunately.) It has Brenda Blethyn and Robert Daws as one couple and Timothy Spall and  Josie Lawrence as two sets of married couples (there are others, but these two are the central characters.) I just think it's brilliant, and not your classic 'sitcom' in the sense that it's not set in a house, no sofas and no cackling studio audience and it's filmed on location which gives it a more realistic feel. I don't know how many episodes there where, but the one I saw earlier would seem to be one I haven't seen before, where the Timothy Spall and Josie Lawrence characters are set to re-take their wedding vows and it's all arranged, everyone is in church ready, and they can't make it to the church because they're in the loft of the lady who lives next door, attempting to find her cat which has decided to get itself stuck. As usual in a sitcom, there are complications and misunderstandings, but it ends up sorting itself out as any decent and respectable comedy should. The recent comedy I mentioned in an earlier blog post, 'Scarborough' is similar in that it doesn't have a studio audience and it's filmed on location. Brenda Blethyn is in an ITV sitcom, set, again, in a seaside town (why so many sitcoms set in seaside towns?) called 'Kate and Koji' and set in a café, although, having watched the first two episodes, I can't say I'm that impressed. It tries to hard and it's not particularly funny or well written. One-set, not particularly interesting group of characters and the storylines aren't that brilliant either.

I ordered some clip files and permanent marker pens from Staples. They don't have a bricks-and-mortar presence any more and the Milton Keynes branch closed some while ago. I went on line to order these items and was expecting them to be delivered in a week or two because of the pandemic and was a little surprised to see the delivery van draw up outside when I looked out of the window. I always ensure that I get the address correct when I order, but the driver thought the address was for another house in Dexter Avenue, so I went down to the front door and got the parcel.

Later. I've just been out with Alfie. As we were walking along Strudwick Drive on our way to Oldbrook Green, Alfie was surprised to see a cat in the garden of Dexter House, through the metal gate which is used by the mowers when they come to cut the grass. The cat was only a few feet inside the garden and laying in the sun, as cats seem to do, and Alfie pulled on his lead and refused to move, and began barking, but the cat steadfastly refused to budge an inch. I had to insist on Alfie moving away, but it took quite an effort of get him away from the gate.

Arriving at the other side of Oldbrook Boulevard, I noticed a group of youths playing football, or at least, some ball game, on the area of tarmac which is partially enclosed by fencing, and to me they didn't appear to be obeying the social distancing regulations.

Friday. I'm watching the National Theatre 'Twelfth Night' which is being streamed free on YouTube. A very clever staging, using the revolve and Tamsin Greig is absolutely amazing as Malvolia. A really stunning performance. Too good to miss. I know the play from doing it for 'O' Level and to degree level. When I first got to know Carol (we met on line.) and she was teaching at Stantonbury. she had to teach Twelfth Night and had no idea how to plan lessons, so I helped because of my knowledge of the play. I have seen quite a few productions over the years (if you know me I have a bit of an obsession about Shakespeare, from the historical as well as the literary angle.). But this one is a real knock-out.

Just Another Day

The lockdown continues. It looks as if it's likely to continue, at least until they have the infection under control, but as I write this on Wednesday, it doesn't seem likely. The three weeks of lockdown expires tomorrow (Thursday), so by the time I have finished writing this post, we might hear something to the contrary, but it seems unlikely. At what point does the number of people who have contracted the coronavirus peak, and the  daily number of deaths begin to fall?

It is sunny as I write. It's actually quite bright as I write this at 1.07p.m. on Wednesday April 15th. I have done more work on my writing project, but somehow I have made a bit of a mess of the pasting of a new sequence and now I can't print out the entire document, which runs to over 30 pages. I had begun to print it off, but part way through the ink showed signs of fading and it was clear it was actually running out, so I will just have to abandon that idea until I can order new ink cartridges, probably on line as I can't get to a shop because of social distancing and anyway it can wait as it's not all that important.

I've continued to transcribe more of my written material onto my computers. I have been using the dictation mode on the iPad which I have mentioned in an earlier post on here. It is definitely a good deal quicker than using the keyboard, but there are some problems, as some words don't come up as they should, at times with quite comical results. I wanted to write a line which said 'he had pustules all over his face,' but the iPad wrote 'pastles,' which definitely changes the meaning of the sentence. Another, referring to chickens roosting in trees, misunderstood (if a computer system can misunderstand.) and wrote 'roasted.' It's the idea of having chickens roasting in the trees which made it hilarious. Never mind. I can easily go through the piece of writing and correct it, one of the major advantages of word processing.

(Friday) Alfie has been whittling all day to go for a walk. I think he's probably as fed up with being stuck in the flat because of lockdown as much as I am. We were out by 6.45 this morning and then about 9.15. I was determined to watch the National Theatre's production of 'Treasure Island' which is currently being streamed free on YouTube, following the production of 'One Man Two Guvnors.' It was good up to a point, they managed to avoid the usual clichés that usually go with anything related, such as a corny 'yo-ho-ho' accent and the Robert Newton voice, sort of 'aye! Jim Lad!' etc etc. Jim was a girl (from Jemima. I did wonder about how they would deal with that.) No problem with that. But the best part of the show was the set, which fills the Olivier Theatre stage (which is vast) and utilises the amazing drum revolves (a bit difficult to describe here, but it allows for very quick scene changes, not only revolving, but the centre can disappear down five stories and allow scene changes to be done. Quite spectacular and it gets a round of applause, allowing us to see a sort of cut-throughs section of the Hispaniola, the sailing ship which takes the crew along with Jim, Squire Tralawney and Doctor Livesey (also played by a woman) to Treasure Island. But the show doesn't come off entirely convincingly. Long John Silver isn't scary or villainous enough. And there isn't much of a feeling of conflict after the pirates mutiny on the way to the island. The pirates are given plenty to do and are differentiated nicely but the ending is a bit vague. When the treasure is eventually discovered, it just fizzles out and doesn't have a very conclusive ending but it's a good entertaining piece, but would be quite scary for some children, as it was intended as a children's play, done as a Christmas production in a similar way 'War Horse' was in a few years ago.

Lockdown!

(Friday) Another sunny but frosty morning here in Milton Keynes. I've been up since 4.30. Nothing unusual in that, because I can do plenty of things. I started watching a documentary about the Normans which was on BBC iPlayer. It was presented by Sam Willis, and showed the use of a variety of weaponry as used by and introduced by the Normans. I didn't watch all of it and paused it and finished watching when I got up. A really interesting documentary and well worth watching. Made a lot of what else is on, such as soaps such as EastEnders or Coronation Street or endless reality shows such as Big Brother look pathetic and irrelevant, this is what the BBC does best. I think that, if you've read my earlier blog posts, you will know how I feel about EastEnders. A bit like sticking pins in your eyeballs. Just hateful and miserable. Why waste your time watching such misery when there's better stuff elsewhere, a lot on iPlayer? The BBC never seems to trail this sort of stuff and it's hidden away on BBC Four. Go on iPlayer and you will actually find quite a lot of archive stuff which is worth looking at.

I begin to wonder if the BBC, or at least, those who are entrusted with it's administration, have forgotten the first Director General, John Reith's mantra that the BBC should "Educate, inform and entertain." The guiding principles of what is known as Public Service Broadcasting. Too much of the 'entertain' and certainly plenty of informing going on but far too much 'entertaining.' Far too much dross being shown. Stuff that should be only available on commercial channels.

(Saturday) The excitement is getting too much! Scrolling endlessly on Facebook. People are desperate, putting trivia on social media. The effects of this 'lockdown' must be having some sort of effect on people. It is; just trying to keep busy, but, if you are stuck at home, not being able to work, then anything is better than nothing, so scrolling through Facebook and putting senseless stuff on your profile is one way of relieving boredom.

We had church on-line via Facebook on Sunday and will continue to do so every Sunday until this pandemic is finished. There is also the chance to use another on-line site called Zoom, which is intended for conferencing, similar in some ways to eater Skype or FaceTime, but which allows up to 100 people to communicated at one time and we will be using it for a communion service in a few weeks time.

There's quite a lot of free resources currently on-line, such as theatre productions, notably the National Theatre, putting what were recorded productions which were originally screened in cinemas on line through YouTube, 'One Man, Two Guvnors', with James Corden in the lead, which is loosely based on the Goldoni play, 'The Servant of Two Masters.' I had wanted to see this when it was originally staged, but never got a chance, so now I will be able to see it. These productions will be available to view on Thursdays, via YouTube.

I was supposed to have been going to an archeology conference near Peterborough today, but it has been cancelled, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Disappointing, I know, but I have just learned that I can do a free on-line archaeology course though something called 'Dig Ventures,' so that should more or less replace that 'live' event. It obviously can't entirely replace something which is 'live,' but at the moment, with the way things are, certainly better than nothing and it should keep me busy when it's not possible to meet people face-to-face in the 'real' world.

I have been attempting to change the time on my Casio G-Shock digital watch. It's very complicated trying to move on the time by an hour. I have had this watch for around 5 years and have always found it difficult to reset this watch. I found a video on YouTube, but even then it was a bit of an effort. I have now managed to reset the thing, but I think, because it's supposed to reset it set using a radio signal from the nuclear clock near Rugby, I think it did it anyway. The date seems to have reset automatically.

Booking Theatre Tickets

On the 26th of May Carol and I will celebrate our 10th Wedding Anniversary. We've been searching for a theatre production to see near enough to the actual day and have chosen to go and see a show at the Derngate Centre in Northampton, called "Running Wld." It's based on a Michael Morpurgo book, the same author who wrote the book "War Horse," which was adapted for a production at the National Theatre with great critical acclaim and which is still touring. We've yet to see that. With my background in theatre, and, in particular, puppetry, these shows seem very appropriate.

We thought it would be easier to book on line, so we went on the Royal and Derngate website. It should be a relatively easy process to find the relevant day we wanted to go, a Saturday, so a matinee performance. Easy enough to find. Then we had to register to use the website. It was simple enough and then we found for some reason it wouldn't accept our address. Several more attempts, changing the password needed to book tickets. It just would not work and I tried on Tuesday morning again (yesterday) with no success. By now it was getting annoying and frustrating.  On Monday we'd even attempted to ring their box office telephone number but it was closed (odd, considering it was a performance day and you would imagine it would be open up until 'curtain-up' time for whatever shows were on that day. As there are two auditoria at the Royal/Derngate there would be two shows running together with a small cinema which is within the centre. But it was not operating, so further annoyance.

So yesterday evening, when Carol got home, we rang the box office again. This time, after a bit of a wait, I managed to get through and booked two tickets as planned.

I have a particularly special love of the Royal in Northampton,  there long before the Derngate was opened, which is next door and now part of the same complex. I think it was here I got my interest and love for theatre. In 1968 I had been on an A Level course at Mander College in Bedford and was supposed to go to Bristol University to do a drama course. I had originally intended getting into television to do Floor Management, but my results on the two A Level courses (or, at least, the 'mocks'.) were not very good so I changed my direction by approaching regional theatres (or 'repertory' or 'reps.') to start off as a Student A.S.M. I wrote to as many theatres as I could (using 'Contacts,' the directory of theatre and associated industries in the theatre, television and film world.) and got interviews at, amongst others, Northampton Royal Theatre and Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham. I had an interview at Northampton but the Everyman post I was offered began well before that at Northampton, so I began off working at Cheltenham on the 16th February, 1969, thrown in at the deep-end on the technical rehearsal of a production of 'Jane Eyre.'

Yesterday I just had to get out of the house. The constant 'tap-tap-tap' and 'bang-bang-bang!' coming from next door's garden was beginning to really get on my nerves. They've been doing more work on their tiling since Saturday. I couldn't believe this was going to continue into the week. So I went into the centre of Milton Keynes and spent a good hour in the main shopping centre. Having parked where i usually park, near The Point (it's beginning to get really dilapidated and tatty. It might be closed, but the site is a real eye-sore.) I couldn't walk straight into the shopping centre because the road and paved area around that side of the shopping centre was blocked off with temporary fencing, because workmen were ripping up the old pavings and re-paving this area. I have to say it was beginning to look really shabby so it's a good thing they've decided to redevelop all this. I don't think it's been renovated since this area was built in the late 1970's. Several shops within the shopping centre have re-located. W.H.Smith have moved into a smaller unit and H.M.V. has now done the same. They probably realise that they don't need such big units. Neither now don't have a second floor. I suppose Smith's would not need so much space because they don't have a record department. Likewise, H.M.V. just don't have the selection that they once had. It's mainly D.V.D's. I imagine all this is down to being able to download music from sites such as iTunes. With Sky you can download films onto your Sky + or Sky Q box and therefore don't require a disc although you can buy and keep both downloads and then be sent a D.V.D. copy of the latest film releases.

Further Little Niggles

A further blog post about those annoyances that make life difficult or impossible and, without them, things would go just that bit better. Not just niggles, but also meanderings and whitterings. I shall publish this as it is, but add to it as the day goes on, so if you read this at 8.00 a.m. it is not going to be the same by the end of the day as I intend adding to it as the day progresses.

How about parking machines? I'm talking about those ticket machines which are set up, mainly by local authorities, which you are supposed to use when you go into town and want to park your car. They generally take One Pound coins and you put them into the slot provided and then, a couple of seconds later, they fall out the slot where your change comes out. Oh, on second thoughts, they don't give change, or, at least, those in and around the Milton Keynes Central Shopping Centre. Why is this? It seems a bit of a cheat, they would charge you if you didn't have a ticket in the first place, or you arrive back at your parked vehicle, having spent a small fortune in the shops, laden with packages. Is it your fault that your time was taken up in a queue in a certain store? Some old dear at the check-out, counting out her cash, a mountain of 1p and 2p pieces? Or people who can't find their debit or credit card, or some such similar hold-up? If you know you will need these items, why not have them handy, so there isn't a hold-up at the checkout? And, while we're on the subject of checkouts, if you use a self-service checkout, why do you have to have that awful voice which keeps telling you that there's an 'unexpected item in bagging area,' or having you every flaw shouted at you so the entire supermarket can hear. I don 't mind using the machines, but why have a voice, usually sounding like a grumpy old aunty shouting at you for misbehaving. Or mechanical voices in general. Another is in lifts. Who are they for? 'Doors opening' and 'doors closing,' Are they for the benefit of those with poor eyesight, the visually impaired (not supposed to say 'blind' as it's not 'Politically Correct.') Surely if you had a visual impairment, your hearing would be better than if you had sight, you would know well enough when the doors in a lift open or close. you would sense when this happens. You would feel the lift moving. it's just because THEY CAN put a mechanical voice in a list that there is one. And, a further thought, who records the voices in the first place? It's the same when you top up your mobile, the irritating female who is supposed to guide you through the operation. Is it some out of work Equity member who couldn't get a job working on EastEnders or who failed her audition for the R.S.C. or National Theatre. What a job! Standing in a recording studio and just saying 'doors opening' or 'doors closing,' how many 'takes' did they do to get the right inflection? Angry, pleased, frustrated?  You can only imagine. Why not do different voices for all of these? Or actors who work on radio shows such as 'The Archers.'

Why are the traffic lights in Milton Keynes so slow to change? There are several sets in and around the centre, along Witan Gate near Sainsbury's. You can drive along Witan Gate and then stop at each set. Surely they could be set so as to allow you to keep moving and not have to stop at the next set. Or is that too easy? The ones near Sainsbury's take far too long to change. There's no reason as the traffic along Witan Gate is generally not too busy. I usually go to Sainsbury's by going along Saxon Street (which is the main route from where we live in Eaglestone.) and then turn at the traffic lights near Debenhams and along Avebury Boulevard. The set of lights near Debenham's take an inordinately long time to change. Is it to allow busses time to come out from the stopping place they have near The Point? There has to be so reason. Surely no traffic lights should be set to hold up traffic for more than 20 seconds at the most. Just another little niggle.

I've been into the centre of Milton Keynes this morning. To go to the Central Shopping Centre. I manage to park in the surface carpark near The Point. Incidentally, why has this ironic Milton Keynes building been left to rot? The multiplex cinema complex behind is left empty. It looks in a really bad state. This was the first multiplex complex in this country. I know things move on, and we have a brand new cinema complex near the MK Stadium, but it seems scandalous that The Point, that pyramid-shaped construction which is a sort of symbol of Milton Keynes, along with the concrete cows, is at the point of no return. It looks scruffy and rusty. There used to be a nightclub inside it and when it was lit up you could see it for miles away, particularly when I lived in Bedford I drove over to Milton Keynes in my car at night, you could see it quite clearly on the hill from the road when you drove in from the Stagsden/Chichley/Newport Pagnall road.

A lot of black crows hanging around in the carpark. I've seen them several times when I park in that carpark. Quite creepy. They perch in trees as you cross the road into the shopping centre. It makes me think of the Alfred Hitchcock film 'The Birds.' Carol says she sees  similar birds hanging around the Academy and doesn't like walking past them. They are actually quite harmless, but being black and having that sort of gothic look, as well as long beaks that look as if they might give you a nasty peck, I can see why she doesn't like them. A sort of cliche used in movies and television dramas, suggest death, foreboding and so on. A sort of Hammer movie cliche I suppose. Short-hand for death and destruction.