Flat Tyre

 Sunday 23rd August 9.25 a.m. Did I mention the car had a flat tyre? I don't think I did. All the rushing about when my bankcard was frozen, and then having to drive into the shopping centre to get money out at the Nationwide branch and then drive to Sainsbury's. It was when I drew up at a set of traffic lights on the way, that some kind driver pointed out the flat tyre, that I realized that something had to be done, and quickly, such as, find a tyre replacement service, which could come out to Dexter House and put a new tyre on the car and, hopefully, not cost the earth. In all of nearly 60 years of driving, I think this must be only the second, or possibly the third, flat tyre I have actually had, so I can't complain. Well, I suppose I can, but I won't. There was no way I could drive the car with a flat tyre,because it would have been dangerous and the hub of the wheel might have been bent out of shape as a result.

Anyway, to cut a fairly long story short, I found a company through the internet, who could come out and take the old, flat, tyre off the car and replace it with a new one. Luckily I found the small box containing the nuts which allowed the old tyre to be removed, otherwise the job could not be done, but, fortunately I found them in the car and the job was completed and the whole thing done.

Monday. 24th August. 8.30 a.m. On Saturday I thought, for a change, I would go to Aldi and do a bit of shopping. It then occurred to me that Curry's was just along the parade of units, I could go in there and enquire about external hard drives for my MacBook, because I am keen to get all my written material,in particular the plays, put onto some form of drive, as an insurance policy against something happening to the laptop and all that hard work being lost forever. I have now got a tiny memory stick which shows up on the desktop of the Macbook. So, I now have some of the material saved to the stick, although it is so tiny I am more concerned about how tiny it is and how easy it will be to loose that, rather than the contents!!

I had developed a really unpleasant rash, in a rather private place. It had become red raw and was beginning to sting. The solution to this rash was to get a doctor's appointment and, hopefully, the doctor could prescribe something to help it heal. I filled out the on-line triage form, because you aren't supposed to ring the surgery for an appointment, unless it is for something serious, which this isn't. I completed the form and posted it. Then an hour and a half later,  I got an email, telling me there were no available slots for appointments, but if necessary, go to the Urgent Care Centre, at Milton Keynes University Hospital. Well, being told that made my blood run cold, because experience told me that I might be there for several hours before being seen. Also, I have memories of taking Carol there after she was diagnosed with bowel cancer, which weren't good. But, after some consideration of the matter, I plucked up the courage and drove there. Fortunately, the waiting room wasn't as busy as it was last time I was in there and, on arrival I had to answer a few questions and then I sat in the waiting area. It wssn'tlong before a doctor called me into one of the rooms, to be asked a few mor questions and to show him the rash and be told I would be given a prescription, one for some cream to put on the rash and some antibiotics.

Once I had the prescription, I took it to the nearest chemist I could think of, in Netherfield. The only problem was, that, just as I arrived at this chemist's, it was turning 1 p.m., and the pharmacist had gone for their lunch, and it wouldn't be possible to get the prescription made up until 2 p.m., because a pharmasist had to be present, by law, in order to administer the drugs on the prescription. So, I drove back to Dexter House to have some lunch and then make my way back to the chemist after 2 p.m. to collect the prescription. So, this is precisely what I did and when I eventually got back to Dexter House, I took the first dose of the medication.

. . . And More Rain!

 Monday. 7.30 a.m. Oh dear! I was hoping for a dry day today, but no. I took Alfie out just now and it was. . . raining! As you may know, if you are a regular reader of these posts, Alfie doesn't like getting wet, especially when it's raining. 

Wednesday. 10.25 a.m. It's pension day, so I've been to Sainsbury's. The car park was virtually empty, so there was no problem finding a space and, because there were few shoppers around, it was quicker and easier to get what I wanted. The down traveller wasn't working, so I had to use the lift to get back down to the car. Signs of Christmas throughout the store. More 'stuff' which they seem to think people will rush in to buy.

Friday. 7.55 a.m. It's foggy this morning. It's not thick, and it's likely to clear as the day progresses.

This evening we have another quiz night at the Oaktree Centre. As part of it, there's the famous 'Roll-A-Coin' session. The idea is that there is a selection of items on the floor at one end of the hall, and you have to stand, at a distance, and roll a £1 coin at the items, if your coin hits an item, you win it! Members of the church (and other guests who come along.) bring gifts to be prizes. I have managed to buy several, one at each shopping visit to Sainsbury's, which I intend to take this evening. As for the £1 coins, that can be quite difficult, basically because I rarely use cash and mostly pay with my debit card, contactless or with a P.I.N., which means I don't often have change and certainly not a pocket full of £1 coins. So, yesterday at midday, after the Thursday Morning Life Group meeting at the Oaktree Centre, I went into the centre of Milton Keynes. Unfortunately, I went down the wrong street for the car park I usually park in. You would think, after around 18 years of living in Milton Keynes, I would have remembered which road to use, but I find so many of the streets around the place so similar that it's quite difficult to distinguish one from another, but I eventually managed to get to the usual car park. I then had to use the RingGo app on my iPhone to pay, but for some reason, it had to be downloaded again before I could use it, so I had to wait a good ten minutes before it was downloaded. I went into the shopping centre and sat on one of the seats inside the entrance and managed to get the confounded app to work and paid for the parking session. I then went to the Nationwide branch and took out £20 from the A.T.M. within the branch and took £5 of the cash to have it changed at the teller into £5 in coins. So, mission accomplished.

I notice some changes within the shopping centre. Barclays Bank has a new branch right next door to Nationwide. It's not yet opened because it's being fitted out, Starbucks is moving into what used to be Carluccios, and another restaurant is replacing Café Rouge. I'm not entirely sure of the name of the new restaurant. 

Saturday. 9.35 a.m. I woke up a good deal later than usual. I think it was probably because yesterday evening's quiz night finished at around 10 o'clock. On taking Alfie out, we discovered a light rain, which hasn't stopped. It has put paid to my videoing which I had planned for today. Oh well, once the weather improves, I will give it a go.

Sunday. 7.40 a.m. I did go out with the new video camera yesterday mid-morning. The sun shone, and it seemed perfect for what I wanted to do. I went down to the canal and walked along the bank and then back to where I parked the car. Unfortunately, the footage, which I looked at when I got back to the flat, was high speed, due to having the wrong setting in the camera. I'm glad in a way, because it proved to me that testing the camera out before attempting something more serious was a good idea, so I now hope I have it set to replay at the correct speed. It just goes to show how versatile this little camera is and how it is deceptive. It looks simple but certainly isn't in the least bit.

It seems windy out this morning. I think I might have to leave any further exploits with the camera until the weather improves.

Anything Goes!

 Wednesday. 8.35 a.m. A bright, but chilly, morning.

Thursday. 8.35 a.m. It's quite frosty and cold this morning. A good deal colder than yesterday morning. The car windows are frozen over, so I have been to scrape some of the ice off, so I can drive to the Oaktree Centre after 9o'clock for our regular Bible study.

I got the printed bank statement with my address on it in the post yesterday morning from Nationwide. I wasn't expecting it, so it means my D.B.S. can be completed at Bridge Builder on Tuesday.

Friday. 10.15 a.m. It's yet another frosty and cold morning, but it's also foggy. You can't see the central shopping centre from my kitchen window, because the fog is so thick. It doesn't look as if it's going to clear at all today.

I am watching David Tennant in the central role in the Royal Shakespeare Company's  production of 'Hamlet.' Patrick Stewart plays Claudius as well as The Ghost. As they are meant to be brothers, it makes sense. It is on the BBC iPlayer, as part of the 400th anniversary celebrations for the publication of the First Shakespeare Folio. There are quite a few programmes on Shakespeare, a three-part drama/documentary on Shakespeare's life, which is very good, and I have discovered a lot of new stuff, one fact being that one of the Gunpowder plotters was a relative of Shakespeare and was executed because of his involvement. Also, a Simon Shama series about the Bard.

I might have mentioned this before, elsewhere in these blog posts, but I am something of a Shakespeare fanatic. I also 'collect' productions of Hamlet. I can't now remember how many I've seen, over the years, besides being an A.S.M. on a production when I was at Liverpool Playhouse in 1971. Carol and I went to see a National Theatre production of the play, which had Rory Kinnear in the central role. I find it intriguing to see how many ways it can be staged. It never seems to lose its power. They have more recently staged what's called 'gender blind' (not sure if that's the right term though.) with Maxine Peake playing Hamlet, although, in that production, I wasn't sure she was a 'he' or 'she'. Thinking about it, having second thoughts, her version might have been transexual. Thinking further, in Shakespeare's time, the female roles would have been played by male youths, because women were forbidden from appearing on stage. Some of the other roles have been gender-swapped, such as Polonius, becoming Polonia. 

Sunday. 12.30 p.m. It is a particularly unpleasant and wet day. I have just returned from the Oaktree Centre. I was scheduled to do tea and coffee, but an entire family were doing just that, so I had time to chat as it was what is called 'Cafe Church', which means there was no workshop, but a time of fellowship. 

My friends Margaret and Mike had invited me to lunch, so I came home to take Alfie out and as I got to my front door, I discovered a parcel, from Evri. It was difficult to read the label because the print was so tiny, so I had to get my reading glasses, but someone had put the wrong address on it. It was for the flat opposite. 

Good Morning Sunshine!

 Friday. 7.50 a.m. Already been out with Alfie, He was barking at me when he saw me getting ready. It's sunny and warm, but I am hoping we get rain soon, as it's too much. The digital thermometer reads 23ºC. On the weather forecast on BBC Breakfast, they were saying we might expect rain over the weekend. As much as I love it bright and sunny, I really can't cope with it being too hot. Alfie can't cope either.

I've done washing up, put rubbish out and washing in the washing machine. It should be done at around 8.40.

I saw a cat climbing a tree as Alfie and I walked towards Oldbrook Green. I don't think I have ever seen such a thing. It was clinging onto the trunk of the tree and then, when it saw me, it decided to come down and ran off into the tree-filled space between the rear of Dexter House and the next property, which is SIA (Spinal Injuries Association.)

6.35 p.m. I've mentioned in an earlier post my intention of selling my old iPad. It was bought during the pandemic lockdowns, but it didn't work with an Apple Pencil, which was originally why I wanted an iPad. I have to admit I didn't do my research and I now have a more powerful iPad Pro which works with my Apple Pencil. Having got all my data removed from the old iPad, I wanted to find a way to sell it. I went to the Apple Store in Midsummer Place this morning, to check that it was completely free of my data, and they did a diagnostic test to check for its technical specifications. It passed, and I was offered £120 for it, except this would only be paid as an Apple voucher.

 I wanted cash, so went to C.E.X. in the main shopping centre for a quote. The quote I got was £145, which I was more than pleased with. I had to wait 30 minutes, so they could do a security check on the iPad. I imagine they get quite a few stolen items, so they need to do a security check to make sure. My iPad is clean, so I got my payment in cash. I went to Nationwide and paid in most of the cash into my account and had some in change. We have another of the famous Shenley Christian Fellowship quiz night and I required £1 coins for that. It's this Friday evening. I went to Boots to buy Feroglobin and, as there are fewer manned tills, I had to use a self-service till. Just a pain, and as usual this one was particularly irksome. Do I need to say more? It was the same in Sainsbury's about 15 minutes later when I went in to buy one or two items. 

7.55 a.m. There's a possibility of rain sometime today or tomorrow. As it is, looking out of the window this morning, it's quite overcast.

Current temperature on my digital thermometer reads 22ºC. 

10.15 a.m. I've been to Waitrose. I use glycerin soap because other soap dries up my facial skin, and it appears that they are the only supermarket which sells it. Sainsbury used  to, but don't any longer. I think, in general, most people use liquid hand soap or shower gel. 

Having unpacked my shopping, I took Alfie out, and I saw two police horses come from the direction of The Cricketers pub and cross over Strudwick Drive and go towards Fishermead. I know these horses are kept in a field along Chaffron Way. Great to see them, and they are so well turned out.

When I came out of the door onto Strudwick Drive, there was a slight fall of rain. It was so slight that by the time we had walked halfway to Oldbrook Green, it had stopped. Not even enough to settle the dust.

4.15 p.m. It's a good deal cooler. As I write this, the digital thermometer reads 25ºC. The weather forecast suggests there will be thunderstorms soon. 

Baking Cakes (and the Art of Avoiding Life's Little Frustrations)

Monday. 6.30 a.m. It's Monday, and at 2 o'clock this afternoon there'll be the second Monday Club at the Oaktree Centre. Last week was well attended, not by Shenley Christian Fellowship members, but by several community members who are regular attendees. Plenty of cake and tea. Yesterday, after church, I was asked if I could make cakes for today's session. I have been checking ingredients in my cupboards and setting things up, as I will have to go out and stock up on some ingredients. I will go to Lidl later this morning. I have also printed out a recipe for Victoria sponge cake from Delia Smith's website.

11.00 a.m. I went to Lidl at just after 9 o'clock and stocked up on ingredients as I mentioned above. I really have to organize my kitchen, as there is a definite shortage of space. I had set a lot of it up around 6 o'clock, even before I'd taken Alfie out, but I wasn't going to do the circuit of Oldbrook Green because yesterday I walked at least, 11500 steps and was quite exhausted, but I am attempting to do far more steps. Anyway, as I write, the Victoria Sponge is finished, with raspberry jam as a filling and a sprinkling of icing sugar on top and it's in it's tin, ready to take to the Monday Club just before 2 o'clock. 

Tuesday. 3.05 a.m. Oh, dear! Alfie isn't very well. I thought he needed to go out, so I hurriedly got dressed and we were out on the grass (this was around 10 o'clock last night.) But he didn't do anything, just walking along the grass. We went back indoors and he did a mess. He seems to have the runs. Cleared it up. Not nice. But he'd done another, which I have just cleared up. I have had to change my duvet, due to another accident. I don't know what caused this mishap. I have decided to stay at home and not go to Camphill and sent an email. I feel disappointed, but I really can't leave him on his own all day in the flat.

2.30 p.m. As I have already reported, in above, Alfie hasn't been very well, which meant I didn't go to Camphill this morning, unfortunately. I thought it wasn't such a good idea to leave him on his own. I had a £25 Marks and Spencer voucher to spend, which had been earned from doing online surveys for a company called Maximiles. I wanted to spend it and decided to drive into the Central Shopping Centre. I got to my usual car park in Secklow Gate. I had hoped to pay using the RingoGo app on my iPhone, which I have used on quite a few occasions. It means you don't have to fiddle about with change and use the ticket machines and, if you need extra time to park you don't need to return to your car and can use the app to add your time and pay. But the app wouldn't open and for some unaccountable reason wanted the password to continue. This was somewhat exasperating, so I paid with a £1 coin I had in my pocket for such an eventuality. Having parked and paid I went into the shopping centre, first going to Boots to buy liquid Feroglobin which I have been taking for several months as a supplement. It has 14 minerals and nutrients in it. It's quite difficult to find it on the shelves, and had to ask an assistant to show me where it was. Having paid, I came out into the walkway and went to Nationwide to take out some money from my account and I walked towards NatWest to pay the cash into my account there. This NatWest branch has been there in all the time I have lived in Milton Keynes, but I discovered, much to my disappointment, that it had closed. It was then that I realized that there was a new branch at the other end of the shopping centre, opposite John Lewis and near Middleton Hall.

I crossed over the road from what had been NatWest and re-entered the shopping centre and went into Marks and Spencer, going up on the escalator to the menswear department and bought a set of shortie pyjamas and long pyjama bottoms. Easy and straightforward.

 If you know the shopping centre, you will know it must be a good half mile or so. On arrival outside, I found a machine which would allow me to pay through a slot, provided I used my debit card and my P.I.N. I couldn't get the machine to work, so I went inside the branch. I asked a member of staff whether I could pay the cash into my account via a teller. Yes, upstairs, I was told, although there was a queue. When I arrived upstairs there was indeed a queue, but the cashier/teller wasn't in place. Goodness knows, what was going on? Was it a tea break or something? The queue wasn't moving. I wanted to make a simple payment, that was all. It was at this point I thought to myself 'I'm turning into Victor Meldrew, the character in the sitcom 'One Foot In The Grave', who is constantly being frustrated by life's little upsets and is known for his line 'I don't believe it!'

There were several more ATMs nearby which could be used to pay in cash. I had to ask a bank staff member to help me operate the machine. You can use your card and your P.I.N. and then insert your banknotes through a slot. I then discovered that you can put them in a bundle and don't have to insert the notes individually.

After all the frustrations of A.T.M's and other things, it was time for a break, so I went into Costa on Middleton Hall. The other week I had a really great hot chocolate which had cream and bits of Kit Kat sprinkled on top. But, unfortunately, when I asked at the counter for another, I was told it was a special edition and they no longer sold them. So, I settled for a hot chocolate and cream. Well, why not? The after experiences of the day I think I deserved it.

So, that was my shopping trip! Nothing much else to report here. 

Dryday

Sunday. 2.20 a.m. Here I am, in the middle of the night, sitting in the lounge because I couldn't get back to sleep. Alfie has just come into the room from the bedroom. Probably he can't sleep either. I have ordered a repeat prescription via the Airmid app because I wasn't sure whether I had an adequate supply and it's as well to have it all ordered in good time to make sure I don't run out of anything. It should be ready for collection from Lloyd's Pharmacy in Sainsbury's by Tuesday at the latest.

I am not attending church in person until we don't have to wear masks. It is virtually impossible to sing when you have something over your mouth and nose. Apart from the fact that it steams up my glasses and having to breathe out hot breath so your face ends up as if it's been in a sauna, it sparks off that horrible cough I've mentioned before in these blog posts. I'm not entirely convinced that face-coverings prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Or protects you in any way. Most of those that people wear will be unwashed and not particularly hygienic, and those that are 'medically' serviceable, or of a higher standard, are not as effective as they might be. Also, some people, probably a very small percentage of the population, insist on disposing of them by flinging them on the ground. Very likely to be a cause for environmental problems as well as likely to contaminate water etc because of the chemicals they contain or the materials they are made of.

Later. 6.55 p.m. I've spent a great deal of time over the weekend transcribing my handwritten material into word processing. It's going better than I thought and have cut and pasted some material from elsewhere that had to be put in the correct place for the story to work.

Monday. 6.35 a.m. Another day and still under some form of lockdown. Today should have been 'Freedom Day' but things haven't changed since the so-called 'Delta Variant' is supposedly causing problems. But we have a vaccine  (something like 60 million doses have been given.) and a large percentage of the population has herd immunity. It's almost as if the government doesn't trust it to do its work. On BBC Breakfast (yes, I'm back watching that again.) they are discussing booster vaccines. Which makes sense as they don't know how long the vaccine will remain effective. But I'm thinking, surely, once you've had the two doses, your body will build up natural immunity. Keeping people apart surely prevents this natural ability to build up any immunity.

10.30 a.m. I've been into the city centre intending to apply for an ATM card which I can use with my newly set-up savings account with Nationwide. After parking in my usual place near The Point and paying using the RingGo app and then walking into the centre (which is deathly quiet as there are virtually no other shoppers about. When I see any they are walking the wrong way in the system is set up. You are meant to walk one way up and the other to walk down, but, as I say, some people don't appear to know this. They can hardly ignore the signs that are everywhere unless they have poor eyesight, can't read English, or have no ability to read whatsoever.) I arrive at the Nationwide branch and then I'm told that the account I have set up doesn't have an ATM card, because it was set up online. I wasn't made aware of this when I set it up. Oh, never mind. It's not important, although I could change it to be operated with a card. Such is life!

I then walk to Marks and Spencers. I want to go to the menswear floor but the escalator wasn't working. It looks as if it's being repaired, so I decide to use the stairs. Hidden away to one side of the store and it's quite a hike up to the floor I want. I think I might need oxygen, because of the effort. The irony, oh the irony! Also, a dose of sarcasm here. I hunt around to find polo shirts and discover several which I like and then take photos with my iPhone. The idea being that I will have some M and S vouchers soon, earned from doing online surveys. I can order the required items online and use the vouchers and then 'click and collect', which I have done before. I found the product number on the hang tickets and put these numbers on the M and S website. I know, a lot of effort but a good deal easier than finding and paying for the item in-store. It also means you just go in and collect the items without any more frustrations, such as queuing and paying.

Pandemic Burnout

(Wednesday) Oh  no! Yet another press conference about the pandemic, shown on BBC1 tonight with Boris Johnson leading. I get the impression, right or wrong, that all the questions asked by the journalists are censored and some questions are evaded. You're not allowed to undermine the scientists or go again government guidelines regarding the pandemic. Oh dear! I just think Boris should be a good deal bolder and not listen that idiot Witty who keeps on saying that there'll be x thousands of infections and x thousands of deaths as a result of the covid pandemic when his predictions are inaccurate and produced from computer projections which have been out my umpteen thousands. He should listen also to other scientists who have produced far lower infections. Why on earth can't these press conferences go on the BBC news channel? When they're on BBC1 it means the early evening programmes are scrapped, at least one or two on BBC2. Pointless gets moved to BBC2. If people want to watch them, then go to the BBC news channel. I'm not sure it's not on there as well. Why does it have to be on two channels at the same time?

I listen to Julia Hartley-Brewer on Talk Radio. She's a good journalist and doesn't suffer fools. She's like me in that she doesn't believe the data that the mad scientists feed the government. I'm no sheep and have to do my own research as regards the pandemic. She was grilling some N.H.S. bureaucrat on the fact that hospitals are probably not as busy as they would be in a 'normal' winter. The testing system is flawed in that it gives false negatives, picking up 'dead' coronavirus. I could go on ad infinitum on this issue. As I've already said in the above paragraph, the government should be listening to a wider range of evidence from a wider cross section of research from more scientists before making lockdown decisions.

I had a weird dream last night. Well, nothing usual in that because most dreams, or at least those we remember, are odd. I was in a theatre. Took me back to when I worked in stage management. It was in Leicester. As I was an A.S.M. briefly at the Phoenix Theatre in Leicester in the early 1970s, perhaps not a surprise, but it wasn't clearly like the Phoenix. A theatre where some of the auditorium seats had been removed. I sat at a table with other people and one was an academic of some sort. I'm not sure what I was doing there. Was i part of the stage management team? Or about to be acting in a play? It seemed that it might have been a rehearsal. Some of the seats in the auditorium had been removed and some were facing the wrong way round to the stage. That's about it, but I've had several similar dreams, one where I had gone to Northampton (I think. But it seemed like Northampton.) and had been brought in at the last moment to be an A.S.M. or at least a member of the stage management team. I had no idea what the play was that we were involved in but I have had dreams where I am expected to take over a part, without knowing any lines and standing on stage and trying ro recall my lines. I think this is a typical dream that actors are supposed to have, having to take over a role at short notice and be an understudy for an actor who is ill or otherwise incapacitated. I think it is understandable when actors have worries about forgetting their lines.

I have divested the Christmas tree of it's decorations. I am so pleased with that little tree which I got from Waitrose. Absolutely perfectly for the flat. It hasn't dropped a single needle. My experience of 'real' Christmas trees is that, when you come to deal with them at the end of the festive period, you find the floor covered in needles. I have kept it watered during the Christmas period which might be the reason it has kept it's needles. After all, a real Christmas tree is like a house plant which needs care, particularly watering. 

The little Christmas tree is now outside in the community garden. I have given it another water, I hope it doesn't get lonely. It's going to be another frosty night and it won't like getting cold.

I got a text message from Nationwide to tell me that there wasn't sufficient cash in my account to cover a couple of Direct Debits which go out today. My only option was to go into the city centre and take out money from my second account, the NatWest and transfer it into the Nationwide. This had to be done by 2.30. I had around an hour and a half to accomplish this mission. I drove in and parked near the Point and rushed into the shopping centre. The carpark was virtually empty and when I reached the Nationwide I had to wait to enter as they're not letting too many people in and they have a one-way system due to the pandemic. I managed to take out enough to cover the Nationwide payment, from my NatWest account and I then had to wrestle with the cash machine. You can only pay in cash one note at a time and the thing was being difficult. Several of the notes I managed to insert in the slot were disgorged, but eventually I managed to get them all into the machine, but it was a tortuously slow procendure. It was as I walked back towards the car that I realised that I hadn't paid my parking ticket. I was in such a hurry that I clean forgot.

Very few of the shops were open. I think W.H.Smith and Boots were open, along with banks. Probably they are what they call 'essential.' 

I got back to the car to find a host of crows either sitting on the cars or all over the ground, like a swarm of flies. Very reminiscent to the Alfred Hitchcock film 'The Birds.' A couple were sitting on my car. Not the sort of bird you'd want to have an argument with, considering the look they give you with their beady eyes and their sharp and pointed beaks!

(Later) Boris is given ANOTHER press conference! How much more of this can a person endure? It's getting so tiresome. I know we have to be told, but endless ramblings and those miserable faced scientists and their graphs. Just turn off the television or watch another channel, which is exactly what I did. I put 'Pointless' on, which was on BBC2.

Snow gone?

The weather has changed from cold and snowy to cold, dank and miserable. I looked out of the window earlier and there was some fog about. There was a small amount of ice and snow at the front of the house, but not too much to worry about. A cheque we have been waiting for has finally arrived. Over-payment of something, so we have been into the centre to put it in the Nationwide. Carol drove me to the branch, I got out and managed to use one of the machines to put the cheque into the account without having to queue. It would have taken at least an hour, I reckon, to reach the cashier, and it didn't look as if they were going to put on extra staff to help the situation. Well, at least you can use the machines- key in your P.I.N., follow the instructions on-screen and put the cheque in the slot. It even gives you a photocopy of the cheque and you don't even have to put in the amount written on the cheque. That's modern technology for you. Outside the shopping centre, it was total chaos. People losing their tempers because they can't park where they want to. Carol had to drive round the block until I came out of the Nationwide. People going totally nuts because there are sales on and they can't get to the shops they want to. Total madness.