All In A Day's Work

 Friday. 12.20 p.m. I know this sounds ridiculous, but it's true. I kept hearing a strange noise. A sort of whirring noise. I think I may have mentioned this in a previous post but never mind. I thought it was outside, probably a lawn mower or hedge trimmer.  Then I decided to check in the bathroom. It turned out to be my electric toothbrush! I know it sounds crazy, but somehow or other it had turned itself on. It's an Oral B model, and I suppose I've had it for around six years, probably bought around the time I moved into Dexter House. I have attempted to use it, but it now doesn't work, and it has been on charge overnight, this morning I tried to use it, but it just wouldn't work. I presume the battery has stopped charging, but that doesn't explain why it comes on by itself. It really is very odd. So, I came to the conclusion that it needed replacing. I have a lot of Nectar points, collected when I shop in Sainsbury's, so I could spend some of them in Argos, so I checked their website to find out if they sold electric toothbrushes. They do, and then it occurred to me that I could add Argos vouchers from something I am signed up to called Consumer Pulse, whereby you register items you buy, like clothing, books, CDs etc. and you gain points which can be redeemed for vouchers, which include Argos. 

It took me a while to discover how to redeem the points from Consumer Pulse and then input the voucher codes into the Argos website and then add around £5-worth of Nectar points to make up the difference in the price. Quite a long and laborious process, but I managed to do it. But now I have to wait until Tuesday to be able to go to the Argos store to collect my purchase of the Oral-B electric toothbrush!

Saturday. 6.30 a.m. It's a bright and sunny morning here in Milton Keynes. Alfie is curled up in his bed and fast asleep. As the saying goes, 'Let sleeping dogs lie.' 

1.25 p.m. Yet another trip to Sainsbury's. I needed to buy at least a week's worth of food, along with dog food and loo rolls.  These items now come in much larger rolls, supposedly with the idea that they use less packaging as well as the central cardboard core. I arrived in the appropriate aisle, but I couldn't find a pack of just four rolls. You can buy 9, 12 and more, but what is the point of so many, and I don't have the space in the flat to store large quantities. 

I'm having salad for my evening meal, so I bought all the ingredients, tomatoes, cucumber, spring onions, radishes, lettuce, red peppers etc., along with chicken and potato salad. It should make a change from cooking, so I have already made up the salad, and it's in the fridge and when I'm ready, I only have to put it on a plate and eat.

6.20 p.m. I got a text from Argos at around 4.45 to tell me that the electric toothbrush was ready to collect from their store. I had originally been told it wouldn't be ready to collect until Tuesday morning, so it was somewhat surprising. So I went to collect the thing, as I found out that Argos was open until 8 o'clock. So, I went to collect it and, when I got home, I put the thing to charge, although I discovered that it was already charged.

Another Fun-Packed Week?

Friday. 7.05 a.m. I have come to the conclusion, after a great deal of stress caused by the HP printer which I have been battling to get working (not actually too much for something which isn't doing what it is supposed to do, that's print.) that I replace it with another machine. I have quite a lot of Nectar points, which means I can use them to buy a new device from Argos.

6.20 p.m. I eventually got a new Canon Pixma printer from Argos. I used virtually all my Nectar points, ordering it through the Argos website, I then drove to the Argos store to pick it up. I have set it up and even printed off a couple of pages. It was relatively easy to get set up, and I have downloaded apps onto my iPad and iPhone, which means I can print directly from them. 

Saturday. 8.00 a.m. A mild and rather boring sort of day on the weather front. There's nothing more I can say at the moment.

3.30 p.m. I took Alfie out mid-morning. We did a circuit of Oldbrook Green, and on the opposite side to The Cricketers public house, I saw some snowdrops, just beginning to show. So, the first signs of spring! It is definitely getting milder. Well, compared to what the weather was like around a week ago. I think the temperature is around 10 degrees warmer. 

Sunday. 8.15 a.m. It appears to be another relatively mild morning. 

Monday. 7.15 a.m. Alfie insisted on being taken out earlier than usual. I had only just woken up, and he was still poking me with his paw. I just wanted to roll over and go back to sleep, but when you have a small Yorkshire Terrier poking you on the shoulder and then standing in the open doorway barking at you, I really didn't have much choice. So, very reluctantly, I got dressed and picked him up, and we went out of the side door of Dexter House. I had my small electric torch in my pocket, which was absolutely essential, as otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to see to pick up after Alfie.

10.15 a.m. We went out again at around 9.15. It is currently sunny and bright, but once you get outside, it turns out that it's quite chilly, so we didn't hang around.

Tuesday. 7.50 a.m. Yet another mild day. What more can I say?

Repeat of Leadership Race

Friday 8.00 a.m. I didn't wake up until 7.25, so, as you can see, it's barely thirty minutes later I'm writing this. I suppose it's good in some ways, but I had to get my washing in as usual, although it went in somewhat earlier because I have someone telephoning me at 9.30, and I will have to have the dried washing back in the flat before that. It has been a bit of a marathon and attempting to get my head straight, as you can imagine (or, perhaps you can't!). What I mean is, when you've woken up, your head is often swimming. Attempting to think properly, having woken up. Well, it was a bit of an effort, but I made it.

Boris Johnson has apparently put himself forward as returning as Prime Minister. Please, don't go there. We really can't have that idiot back in 10 Downing Street. He was thrown out by his own MPs over the 'so-called' 'Partygate' scandal and an enquiry regarding the fact that he possibly lied to Parliament.  It hardly seems possible that we've had three Prime Ministers within three years!

12.20 p.m. I have been to Sainsbury's, initially to go to Lloyd's pharmacy within the store to pick up a repeat prescription and to buy one or two items. I have been eating easy peelers, and small, juicy oranges, from the time when the first covid-19 lockdown was announced in March 2020 and haven't stopped eating at least three per day. I think the vitamin C which they contain has helped boost my immune system and prevent catching the infamous virus. I have more recently started taking a liquid supplement called Vitabiotics Feroglobin, which has iron, ginseng and other ingredients in it, basically to help counteract tiredness. It tastes quite pleasant, with an orange flavour, and it's easy to swallow. Also, at the recommendation of my doctor, I take vitamin D tablets.

Before going to Sainsbury's, I went to the ESSO fuel station in Childs Way to top up the car with diesel. As I'm driving to Aylesbury tomorrow morning, I thought it might be advisable to put more fuel in the car, even though the fuel level was reasonably healthy. I also get Nectar points there, so that was an incentive. But then, in an attempt to get to Sainsbury's, I had to contend with some of the grid roads being shut off for road resurfacing and by the time I got to the traffic lights near the store, there was a long queue of cars and they took a great deal of time to change. I may have mentioned this before in these posts, but some of the traffic lights seem to take an inordinately long time to change.

Keeping The NHS Busy- Part 1

Monday. 9.50 a.m. I have been out with Alfie, although he was somewhat reluctant to go much further than the piece of grass along Strudwick Drive, but I insisted on walking around Oldbrook Green. As we came to the point where we cross over Oldbrook Boulevard and back along the path towards Dexter House, we saw the lady with Toto. She was sitting in an electric shopping scooter with the dog on her lap. She said she was waiting for a hip replacement operation. Well, to be honest, if it's on the NHS, she's likely to have a long wait, as they are making excuses over any sort of operation or procedure in the wake of the so-called pandemic. 

There seemed to be an excessive amount of traffic along all the roads within Oldbrook. I then discover it's due to our dear old friend, Milton Keynes Marathon. It seems a lot of the roads are closed off to traffic, so that puts an end to my idea of going into the shopping centre to have a look around. More as an excuse to get out of Dexter House for a couple of hours. I think I might leave it until tomorrow. I still don't know why they can't run along the Redways instead of causing inconvenience to everybody, but, of course, that is far too easy.

Tuesday. 6.05 a.m. As it was light outside, I took Alfie out around 5.30 this morning. Yet another mild and pleasant morning.

2.15 p.m. After yesterday when I couldn't drive into the centre of Milton Keynes due to the marathon, I decided to go in this morning. I had a need to just escape from the flat as it can get incredibly claustrophobic. It was good to just wander about and in the shops. I have had really itchy skin and I needed something to relieve it. I found that E45, which is a lotion for such a skin condition, might be suitable. I had looked on the Boots website, but it was apparently out of stock in their Milton Keynes store, so I tried Superdrug, and, hey presto! they had it, so I went into their store and bought some. I now have Superdrug's loyalty card and set up an account when I got back to the flat. The only problem I have with these cards is that they soon fill up your wallet. How many do I have? Probably a dozen or so. The most used are Nectar, which is connected with Sainsbury's and Argos (which is now owned by Sainsburys) Tesco Clubcard, Waterstones, Costa coffee, Body Shop, IKEA, Lakeland, Boots, Morrisons, T.K. Maax, Pets At Home and no doubt many more. The trouble is they take up so much space in my wallet, so when I get to the till to pay at one of these retailers, I can spend a long time rifling through my wallet in an attempt to find the relevant card. Although you can have an app which is supposed to do the same job as a plastic card, I don't always have my iPhone on me.

I have been having what I can only describe as 'mini' angina 'pains', although they're not really pains. I suppose they could be best described as sort of pin-pricks of discomfort in my chest. I know exactly how an angina episode feels and more than sure of what a heart attack feels like, although the pain of a heart attack and heart burn, or indigestion, can feel very similar. I have tablets to check heartburn, Gaviscon, which are actually quite pleasant to suck, unlike a lot of medication and do work. I have them in my medication drawer for just this sort of moment. 

On Wednesday night I was woken up by Alfie poking me with a paw and needing my attention. I realised be probably needed to go outside, but it takes quite a while for me to come round from deep sleep, put on my clothes and stagger out to the grass outside alongside Strudwick Drive. This happened again a couple of hours later, but, unfortunately, he couldn't wait and I ended up clearing up after him. One of the reasons I have kitchen roll handy for such an incident. Then it happened again a few hours after that, by which time my patience was wearing a bit thin, unfortunately, but it was no good blaming Alfie. Well, at least he is capable of telling me, in his own original way that he needed my assistance. This was when the strange angina-like 'attacks' began, and I was thinking I ought to do something about it. Although not actually serious, or so I imagined, it might be advisable to contact my GP and discuss it with him/her.

Due to the weird angina-like symptoms, I thought it might be a good idea to get checked out by a GP. I wasn't expecting that I would get an appointment immediately, but nevertheless, I rang the surgery and found out that they now have a system which allows you to key in a number on your phone's keypad and they will ring you back when your number gets to the front of the queue. It certainly saves having to hang on for what can be hours until you hit the front spot. I spoke to a receptionist, and she listened to my symptoms and said that I would get a call-back from a doctor on Thursday afternoon. But then an hour or so later they rang and said that a doctor would see me face-to-face at 4.40 p.m. The doctor checked my heart rate and stuck that thing on my finger. What is it called? Oximeter or something. He decided I would need to have an E.C.G. and a blood test, just to see what was going on, and I arranged this for the next day with the receptionist.

Friday. 5.00 p.m. I went to the surgery to have my E.C.G. and blood test at 9.20 a.m., but I got there well in time and as a result, I was called into the room to have the tests. The lady doing the bloodletting, sorry, taking my blood, had a real problem finding a vein. So, what's new. In the end, she gave up and said she would need to have a second nurse available to help with this, and I would need to book another appointment. The E.C.G. caused no problems. Well, all I have to do is lie down on the bed and have those contact things stuck on me. No problems. All done and then I went home.

Easing Lockdown

So, the lockdown is being slowly eased. We can apparently meet six people in open spaces, such as parks and gardens. Horray! As it is, we can't remain in lockdown forever, otherwise the country is going to become bankrupt. It will be great to be able to go shopping for what they term 'Unessential items,' for example, clothes, which, as far as I understand aren't unessential unless you want to go around stark naked, which might not be such a good idea, although with the weather so warm it wouldn't be such a bad idea but just don't try it!

I am taking Alfie out through the side entrance which goes out directly into Strudwick Drive. He's a bit shocked I think to find himself outside on the grass area next to the road, but at least it's quicker than going through the front entrance and walking round along Dexter Avenue.

Some delightful soul has seen fit to break glass and all the pieces are on the pavement as I walk Alfie towards Oldbrook Green earlier this morning. Fortunately I was able to move some of the larger and positively lethal pieces onto the side so that Alfie and anyone on a bicycle doesn't run over them. If they got in his paws he could be horribly cut and it wouldn't be pleasant for him. I saw hi-vis clad council workers in the distance as we approached the crossing onto the green and at first thought they were streaming the grass, but it appeared that they were picking up rubbish. The amount has got worse since the lockdown began. As we got to the furthest side of the green I saw that one of the workmen had put black bags into a shopping trolley. I saw a Morrisons and Lidl trolley left abandoned a few days ago and it seems rather odd because if they were taken from either supermarket then whoever used them must have walked quite a distance to unload their groceries and then take them to abandon them in the middle of Oldbrook. Doesn't make a lot of sense.

(Saturday) They continue to drone on relentlessly about the pandemic on BBC Breakfast. The issue of Dominic Cummings is still being raked over by all the media, probably because they can't talk about much else as there isn't much else TO talk about. The BBC becomes more and more biased against the government as the days go on.

(Wednesday) I can't believe I haven't written anything since Saturday. It is becoming rather repetitive, hence the lack of anything fresh to say on here.

I've been to fill the car up with fuel, going to the ESSO station on Childs Way. I decided to go there because of getting Nectar points. Virtually no traffic on the roads and then I went to Waitrose to buy some fruit as I eat at least several pieces a day. There was a short queue and it was in and out relatively quickly. Actually improved when the place is virtually empty of customers and this means no queueing at the tills and it's easy to move around the store.

(Friday) Nothing much to report, except that it's quite blustery out this morning when I took Alfie out at just turned 7 o'clock, which was a bit of a surprise.

I was due to have a hospital appointment today at 1.20 at the X-Ray department. It was to be a scan rather than an actual X-ray. I was all prepared to go and I knew from the letter I received from the hospital offering me the appointment that I wasn't to eat anything after 6 hours before the time. But I have cancelled the appointment, mainly because of a fear of catching the wretched virus. I have managed to get this far without anything, so I'm not going to get infected. I know it wouldn't be the staff's fault and that they would have sufficient Personal Protective Equipment, but I will have to get the doctor to refer me again for another appointment in probably two month's time when the risk is likely to be very much reduced.

I can spend ages hunting for ideas for stories, or at least, where a story I'm working on should go next. But I would never have believed that I would dream ideas. This has happened twice recently, but I won't give away what the dreams were about and where those story ideas are being used. I think it's best to write down these dreams and even if I don't use them immediately then I never know when they might be used in the future. I'll wait and see if and when I have dreamt another story idea.

Nothing Changes. Or Does It?

(Thursday)This is getting somewhat boring, monotonous, call it what you will. I'm awake at 5.40a.m. I have been up earlier, reading and on the internet. I now have some idea why I'm feeling so awake when I should be asleep. Something in The Telegraph about this, how your body clock gets thrown into confusion when we are indoors without proper daylight. It makes you feel groggy, almost the feeling you have when you are hung over from drinking alcohol, you can't think straight and most certainly shouldn't be driving a car or operating machinery.  I think it's similar to how I used to feel when I worked in care and had to to night shifts. I would go home afterwards and wouldn't be able to sleep for more than a few hours and my body clock was thrown into totally confusion. I used to hate those shifts.

(Friday) Today is the 75th Anniversary of VE Day. The BBC is making the best of a difficult situation because of the pandemic lockdown. I don't think using Zoom to make television programmes makes for very good television as you just have people facing forward to the camera all the time and it's a bit like having talking portraits in an art gallery. I know it's difficult because of social distancing, but it's not going to add anything. BBC Breakfast seems to be stuffed full of this sort of material, mostly doctors talking. Frankly, dreary and unimaginative.

Yesterday afternoon I took Alfie out around  Oldbrook Green and it was quite busy, people exercising, sitting on the grass and a lot of them ignoring the social distancing. There were children playing on the equipment in the fenced-off children's playground who wouldn't have been there and also in the skateboard park, totally in defiance of the notices which are put on the various items intended for the public to use for exercise. The white-and-blue tape which was wound round the seated, covered shelter has been totally removed and there were people sitting inside. It makes me wonder whether these people don't read English, whether they are able to read and understand the notices which tell us that these places are banned from use. If so, why are the notices not written in different languages, because this area is home to a wide range of different ethnic groups who obviously have English as their first language.

I've been out to give the car a bit of a run so that the battery remains charged and that I don't find the car won't start. I went to Waitrose and there was a longer queue to get in. It took around 20 minutes to reach the door inside. I wanted so sweets, chocolate and 'afters' for my evening meal, and there was a tannoy message which I couldn't hear properly and then there was a 2-minute silence at 11a.m., but I was unaware that it was because today is the 75th anniversary of VE Day. Nobody told me. I had no idea. Anyway, from Waitrose I did a round trip of Milton Keynes, going towards Camphill and then round through the centre of Milton Keynes and along Chaffron Way up towards Morrisons at Westcroft and around the roundabout and back to Oldbrook.

It's really warm. The flat is stuffy, even with the windows open. The kitchen is far too hot. For some reason, which I can't fathom, the heating is on all the year round. It's excessively hot and it can't be turned down. I can understand if it was mid winter with snow and ice on the ground, but it's early May, the sun is shining and it's actually pleasant out. The heating pipes run through my kitchen and are under the sink and the kitchen is more like one of the sweat rooms we used to inhabit at the gyms we used to be members of. It means I have to have the kitchen window open permanently otherwise the fridge/freezer will not function properly and probably break down. But for some reason I have to just put up with this craziness. A waste of resources and not exactly environmentally friendly. Goodness knows how much carbon this project produces, but I imagine quite a large amount. Under other circumstances I would merely turn the heating off, but that isn't possible. Then, with the windows open I have to endure noises from outside.

(Monday) It's not warm and stuffy this morning. A real change in the weather. It might be sunny, but it's windy and chilly. I have the BBC Breakfast weather forecast on as I write this and I'm being told that there's frost likely but warming up later in the week.

I've been watching a really fascinating documentary series that's been running for a few series on BBC television, called 'Inside The Factory.' It's presented by Gregg Wallace and Cherry Healey. They visit the factories to discover how various products are produced, going through the processes which go into the making of such products as biscuits, soup, breakfast cereals, cooking pots and the recent one was about the making of cereal bars. There was a sequence which explained the background and invention of these bars presented by the historian Ruth Goodman and I had imagined that they were quite an old product, probably going back a hundred years or so, but that's not the case. She visited the Bedfordshire base of Jordan's mill near Biggleswade and it turned out that they invented the idea of cereal bars when Bill Jordan used to go to music festivals and he trialled a new product called Crunchy G and this in turn was used to make the first cereal bars. My father was a farmer and we lived in Cardington, outside Bedford, and grain from our farm was sent to Jordan's mill, which would have been used to make Jordan's flour. My dad had an interest in cars and most things mechanical and at that time (the 1960's) John Jordan, who set up Jordan's mill several decades before the 1960's was motoring fanatic and my dad knew him personally. We even were allowed to swim in jordan's private swimming pool at their home near Biggleswade and next door to the famous mill, which is now a visitor attraction. You can visit and buy Jordan's products in their factory shop and see the workings of the mill.

I've been searching around for home contents insurance. I've been on the Compare The Market website and decided to go with Sainsbury's. I went on their website and got a good quote but when I got to the point where I went ahead and made the transaction, the next page wouldn't load after I clicked. I attempted this around half-a-dozen times and eventually gave up. I tried to get through to their call centre but it appeared to not be operational due to the coronavirus pandemic. Not good, since I want to be covered. I have items in my flat which I don't want stolen or otherwise damaged, such as the television, iPad or MacBook or the fridge/freezer. I have this morning got through and it's now set up and I'm covered from today and I will get double Nectar points when I shop in Sainsbury's.

Crazy Shopping and Bread-and-Butter Pudding

(Thursday) I've been to Sainsbury's this morning. I'm just a little bit shocked by the crazy behaviour of shoppers in there. Many of the aisles have shelves completely empty. People don't seem to be panic buying toilet rolls, but stuff like biscuits and dog food has gone. I wanted liquid soap, the sort that comes in those handy little pump bottles. Not a single one in stock. Sainsbury have put signs up as you enter the store, asking shoppers to restrict the amount they buy and then not being able to buy any more than three of certain items. Looking at shopper's trolleys and baskets in Sainsbury's this morning, it would appear that most people are not listening to this advice and as a result a lot of products are missing from the shelves. Just a very selfish attitude and certainly not caring that some people, probably the most vulnerable, are having to go without some items they need.

Just to change direction somewhat, I must mention my culinary capabilities. I like to think I'm quite capable of whipping up a meal without too much bother. I always managed to make sure that Carol, bless her, had a decent meal when she got home from a hard day working at Milton Keynes Academy, where she worked as a science teacher. This evening what I made was a bread-and-butter pudding, which has to probably be what I might term my signature dish. This was made with brioche, which I purchased whilst in Aldi the other day. Light and fluffy and I will have to make again. Cut fairly thin and spread with butter (make sure it's butter and not margarine spread.). Cut the slices into triangles and start to layer them in your oven-proof dish, adding a few raisins or currents, liberally sprinkled, and then, whisk up an egg in some milk, making sure that the egg is properly whisked and then pour this mixture over the bread and then put into your pre-heated oven for around 20 minutes at 200. It's probably a good idea to check on the bread and butter pudding several times whilst cooking, to make sure it's not burning. Serve with either custard or cream. De-licious, and so easy to make. You can make with standard sliced white bread, but brioche makes a far lighter pudding.

(Saturday) I was in need for milk this morning. I hadn't run out entirely, but I still needed to get some. I wasn't over-keen to go anywhere, because of the coronavirus outbreak and mixing with other people put me at risk. The government has now closed schools, theatres, gyms, pubs and other places where people gather. We are supposed to keep at least a metre between ourselves and others. What sort of measure is that anyway? I know a yard, but a metre? Is that an arm's length? I don't know exactly. It's fine for those who were taught at school to use metric, but I was probably the last generation to use and be taught imperial measures. Sainsbury's don't want customers to use actual cash and to pay using contactless with our cards. Fair enough, I don't have a problem with that. There were far more people in the store than I was expecting. Probably thinking like me, that there would be fewer other people, to avoid any sort of contact and possible infection. I still cant't find hand sanitiser, not even for ready money (to quote Oscar Wilde.) Also, no toilet rolls, again, for ready money. They didn't have enough staff on the manned checkouts and I'm not over-keen to use the self-service tills. Why is it, whenever I attempt to use them, they don't work properly? You scan certain items though them and they don't work, which means you end up having to get a member of staff to do it for you. I had a Nectar voucher, which meant, if I bought something in their clothing range, TU, which is Sainsbury's brand of clothing, I would get bonus points. I selected a rather nice short-sleeved shirt, but when I went to pay for it at the checkout and handed the lady at the till the voucher, it wouldn't scan, so I had to go to the customer service counter. It did go through and scan and I got my bonus points.

I took Alfie out again when I had unpacked. The woman who I have mentioned in these blog posts, who stands in the road at the crossing from Strudwick Drive onto Oldbrook Green and stops cars to ask for money was out at around 7.30 and again when I last took Alfie out at 9.30. The first time I was in the car and very nearly ran into her as she was standing in the road near The Cricketers and the second time she was walking in the middle or the road along Strudwick Drive. She's going to get run over sooner or later. I have let the police know on several occasions and also rung Milton Keynes social services department but unless they have the woman's name they can do nothing to help. Which isn't helping matters and there's no way I can find out her name. The situation will just go on regardless and there's nothing more I can do or anyone else for that matter.

Early Morning

It's early morning on Wednesday. I've tried going out a good deal later with Alfie, but he has sat on the sofa beside me and has been staring intently at me, expecting something to happen. I tried my hardest to avoid eye-contact but it wouldn't work. So, I got dressed, having had my bowl of Shreddies and my mug of tea. Alfie's not satisfied until he gets the dregs at the bottom of my mug. I know, I know, tell me off for sharing my mug or my bowl or plate with a dog? It won't hurt. I know Chloe was horrified when I went to stay with her over Christmas. It was difficult for Alfie to not have his tea in the morning or when I'd finished. But does it matter? I don't think so. Having dressed and taken my medication, I got Alfie hooked up with his lead on his harness (a better arrangement than using his collar because it doesn't put stress on his neck.) The whole neighbourhood knows when Alfie's about because of the noise he makes as we go out of the front door. It turns out to be a good deal milder this morning. No frost on the car.

We do our usual walk around Eaglestone Park but go a good deal further. We get as far as the Redway which runs along the side of Marlborough Street. The traffic is relatively heavy. It's going much too fast. People seem to treat the grid roads like a speedway. Then we come out where the Redway goes under the grid road, and back towards home along the Redway behind the houses.

I've been to put diesel in the car this morning. I go to the BP station along Childs Way. It means I will earn extra Nectar points. I then drive out and onto Marlborough Street and then round into Witan Gate as I want to get to Sainsbury's. I have to collect a repeat prescription from Lloyd's which is inside Sainsbury's. I have a further repeat prescription to collect but that won't be done until later in the week.

I've been asked if I'd like to take part in the quiz night at the Oaktree Centre on Friday night. It seems that someone else can't take part. I say yes, because I haven't ever been involved in a quiz before. I love television gameshows such as 'Eggheads,' where at least the questions are relatively hard. Even being able to answer some of the questions on 'University Challenge' surprises me because some of them are really hard. Then there's ''Only Connect,' where the questions are notoriously difficult, having to find the link between three questions or other things. It's compered by Victoria Coren-Mitchell. Some of her remarks are what you might call 'off the wall.' These were some of Carol's favourite television shows. I'm also doing a course at church on Thursday evenings, called 'Freed To Lead.' Who knows what this may lead to? I'm also going on the 'set-up' team to being involved with setting up for Sunday services, so I'm not sitting around doing nothing at the moment, as well as going to the coffee morning which meets at John Lewis's café for people who've been bereaved and connected to Willan Hospice.

I've been to Willen this afternoon. I was annoyed to discover that Chaffron Way was once again closed off at the Marlborough Street roundabout so I had to get to Willen along Childs Way. It would be nice to be informed of such closures well in advance of the actual road closure. It seemed that the same was going on the other way along Chaffron Way. Whether it was for resurfacing or some other matter I have no idea, but still, it must be annoying for any businesses in the area. 

10th Wedding Anniversary

Today is Carol and my 10th Wedding Anniversary. Not sure what stone, piece of metal or other material represents this anniversary. Apparently, after doing a search on Google, it's supposed to be tin or aluminium. So, what are we supposed to be given? A tin of baked beans or some cutlery made of aluminium? A set of steak knives? Kitchen spoons? Well, at least it's warm and sunny. Carol finishes school this afternoon as it's Half Term next week. We're booked to go to see a show at the Derngate in Northampton tomorrow. 'Running Wild.' This is a play that uses puppets and is based on a novel written by Michael Morpurgo. 'War Horse,' another of his books, was adapted by the National Theatre and has been a highly successful play which is currently touring the U.K.

It's yet another very warm day. I have had to go into Sainsbury's as I needed to order Carol a repeat prescription. I didn't have much in my trolley and was queuing at one of the checkouts when one of the staff came up to me and asked me if I wanted to use the self-service checkouts. I don't always use them as I'm always in favour of having a human on the check-out. I'm not over-keen on the voice you get on these computerised check-outs which keep shouting at you to do this or that and tell you that you've got an 'unrecognised item in bagging area' when you've haven't. Anyway, I was wheeled around to the self-service checkout area and this lady whisked my shopping through at break-neck speed. I had little time to draw breath. I think she was keen to get me out of the store. Then I couldn't find my Nectar card, to swipe it to get my points. This is a problem, as most stores seem to have some sort of loyalty card. We have quite a collection and they're kept in my wallet, along with my bank debit cards. So, the problem is, when you arrive at the checkout, wherever it might be, Tesco, Waitrose, Sainsbury's or even Costa, Waterstone's, Pets At Home etc etc., you have to scramble for your wallet and then ferret within it's confines to look for the relevant card. My wallet has space for a couple, but then the rest that aren't used that often get buried in another compartment. I have managed to download the apps that are supposed to correspond with the various loyalty cards but not all of them can be used in the same way as their plastic counterparts.

I had to drive home a slightly different way because I knew that along Saxon Street they are resurfacing the road. 

Garden-Tidying and Milton Keynes Marathon

We were informed, by reading yellow signs on the Grid Roads around here, that the roads were to be closed over the May Day Bank Holiday weekend ( Sunday 1st and Monday 2nd May.) From experience we are used to having Golden Drive closed off on marathon days, meaning we usually can't get out in the car at such times. We are also usually informed through the medium of a letter put through our letter boxes well in advance. This didn't happen, although a leaflet was put through our door on Saturday evening, too late to be of any real use. It turned out that, in the end, the runners kept to Saxon Street and didn't come into our estate at all. Which meant we could get out if we'd wanted to. But it would appear, having read the leaflet again, Golden Drive will be closed off tomorrow for another marathon. It's all very well and good, and there's nothing wrong with any of this, but it is beginning to become somewhat tiresome. Why can't they use the Redway, which runs only a few yards away, behind our house? It would surely mean they don't have to cause so much inconvenience to anyone and it must be safer in the long run (sorry about the unintentional pun. These things just happen that way.) as the Redway system was designed in such a way that users don't have to cross the Grid Roads, being designed to utilise bridges and under-passes. 

I have bought a Strimmer. Well, actually it isn't a Strimmer as such. It uses the same technology and is actually a Qualcast Grass Trimmer, 'Strimmer' being a trademark of a particular make of grass cutter which uses plastic fishing line, revolving fast inside a hand-held device run on electricity and enabling the user to trim generally inaccessible grass around a lawn, under trees etc. I purchased it in Homebase earlier in the week. I had a voucher which meant if I spent £30 or more I could get extra bonus Nectar points, so it seemed a good enough excuse to buy the machine and claim the extra points. I have been using the thing and it's making a good enough job of tidying up the grass at the back of the house. As we now have the fence repaired it seems a good enough excuse to start on sorting out the garden. I have also been clearing the weeks and mess from the front of the house. Weeds and grass have been growing between the cracks in the paving slabs at the front of the house and I've been using the hoe we bought in Wickes the other week to scrape the weeds out. It's quite a difficult job but it seems well worth it. The Daily Telegraph has had an offer in the paper this weekend, you cut out a voucher and take it to Homebase and receive bedding plants free, so we went early this morning and picked the plants up, pansies as well as strawberry plants. We also got a rather nice ceramic strawberry planter which will go well on the patio in the garden. We went to Dobbie's garden centre yesterday afternoon and got trays of plants as well as another visit to Staple's garden centre near Flitwick later on this morning and got another plant as Carol has been busy sorting out our collection of pots which we've had sitting around the garden for far too long, steadily growing weeds inside them, but now have some fresh and colourful flowering plants in them. 

Haircut

I got my hair cut yesterday morning. The same place I usually go in The Food Centre near the Milton Keynes  shopping centre. I didn't have to wait  long and I feel a lot better after I had my hair cut. My hair had become very long and unkempt and I really like it kept short. I suppose at my age I should be lucky that I have any hair at all, so I shouldn't complain. Most men of my age have very little hair, or they are bald, but I don't have to worry about such things.  

Anyway, they have this incentive scheme there to encourage you to go back again. You are given a card and each time you have your hair cut (or any other service they offer.) you get the card stamped, and then, after you have six stamps you can have a free haircut (or use it for some offer they might have on.) Seems a good idea to me to keep your customers loyal. I have a Tesco Clubcard and a Nectar card and collect points on them, but, to be honest, as a family we're not that loyal to any one supermarket. In Milton Keynes we are spoilt for choice as we have a large Tesco at Kingston, and another at Bletchley, a huge Asda at Bletchley, near the football stadium, a Morrison's at Westcroft (where we did our main shop on Saturday.) and a newish Sainsbury's at The Hub, which is near the City centre, as well as Lidl (see below) which is what you'd call a budget supermarket and they have remarkably good products. Then there are quite a few mini Tescos, or Tesco Express stores dotted around the city, which we use for basics such as milk and buying a newspaper or items we might run out of if the supermarkets are closed.

It's surprisingly mild this morning. It was fairly windy in the night, and there was some very slight rainfall, but certainly nothing to write home about. 

I went to Lidl for some milk and cheese crackers on my way back from the City centre yesterday and  I found that they've rearranged the store. Doesn't it annoy you when you go to a store regularly and you know exactly where everything is that you want and then they have to move it all around? Well, it was like that. They can't move the milk as the refrigerated units are fixed in one place, but I had a good idea where the cheese biscuits were. I had to walk up and down the aisles several times in order to find what I wanted. I have a good idea why it's been rearranged like this. It's partly because they have to bring in Christmas stock, and partly it's because most shoppers only go in (like I do) and by the essential items (ie. bread, milk, eggs, fruit and vegetables.) and if you know precisely where they are, you just go to those places in the store, pick up your items and then go to the next place. It's to make you look at other items you might not necessarily want to purchase, and you search for your essential items. I found the cheese crackers and I was annoyed. They had moved them right next to the entrance! The last place I expected to look for them!

For those who are interested, the barber's website is at www.centralbarbers.com.