Unacceptable

(Sunday)I can't believe that people can behave so recklessly. I'm not sure if it's because of the pandemic lockdown, but I see no end of discarded masks and rubber gloves as I walk around Oldbrook Green with Alfie. It's not just that, but some dog owners think it's unacceptable to not clear up after their dogs. This afternoon I took Alfie out, after he kept staring at me, which is usually his way of asking to be let out, and walking along the right-hand side of Oldbrook Green (that is, facing the city centre and away from The Cricketer's, I saw two piles of flytipped rubbish. I don't see why people have to behave in such a reckless manner. I think Milton Keynes Council has enough to contend with at the moment without this sort of thing and I hope they get caught and fined, because it must cost a considerable amount of Council Tax to pay for it's removal and disposal and, with the coronavirus pandemic it's putting people's lives at risk having to deal with it. Also, there is the environmental aspect to consider. It attracts rats and other vermin and that in itself is going to have a health risk.

(Monday) I took photographs of the fly-tipped rubbish with my Canon digital camera and uploaded them onto Nextdoor, the social media site. I wrote a brief description of where it was and very quickly I got a response and someone contacted Campbell Park Parish council, who administer this area. This morning, as I walked past with Alfie, I saw it had been removed and close by, the workers clearing up other rubbish and litter. No doubt it was them who removed it and put it in their vehicle which was parked close by. There were hi-vis clad workmen elsewhere picking up litter. It's a real disgrace that people have to behave in such a thoughtless fashion, but it's good that this has been resolved and speedily so as to avoid any vermin getting into it or before it starts deteriorating which would make it more difficult to clear up.

I have this morning given Alfie a bath, basically because he is getting really mucky and a bit smelly. It's to be expected with a dog with a longish coat, which really needs grooming, but this isn't possible under the current pandemic lockdown restrictions. Also, being little and closer to the ground, he does tend to pick up mud and grime as well as getting bits of twig and leaves stuck in his coat. He doesn't like water particularly, but I think he enjoys the drying process because he gets a lot of attention. I had him on my knee in the bathroom and rubbed him dry with a towel and the he started running around the lounge, bouncing on and off the sofa and is now curled up in his pile of blankets on the sofa. His coat has gone all curly as a result of being wet.

I've now heard that a letter with an address was found in the pile of fly-tipped rubbish which means the perpetrator of this disgraceful incident will not be found and hopefully receive their just reward, probably a fairly hefty fine. It should be quite hight and then given some sort of media mention as a deterrent to others who might think it's acceptable.

(Wednesday) It's sunny but quite chilly this morning. Up and out with Alfie early and we walked round Oldbrook Green.

It looks as if the lockdown restrictions are going to be relaxed. Not a complete return to 'normal,' meaning how life was before the pandemic. I can't see how it can be, but from what I saw on the press conference on BBC1 last evening, it would appear that the number of recorded incidents of people with the virus as well as those who have died is beginning to flatten out. Mind you, there is far too much coverage of the pandemic and it's becoming to the point of saturation coverage.

I had intended going shopping in Sainsbury's this morning and I'd made a very detailed list to take with me and to speed up the actual shopping process and hopefully avoid the time actually in the store, but when I went to start the car I found it wouldn't start. It is most likely because the car has been sitting on the parking space and not being driven as it would normally, but because of the pandemic lockdown I haven't driven to church or to Camphill for a few weeks. I gave it a couple more attempts but nothing, so I rang Bleakhall Motors and they said they'd ring back in around an hour, and, as good as their word, someone came out and got the car started. I don't know how, but he had some sort of gadget, I don't know what it was, but it did the trick and was told I would need to drive around for about half an hour to boost up the battery's charge, which is what I did and drove part-way to Buckingham, going round one of the roundabouts and headed back into Milton Keynes. I will probably have to take the car out each day to keep it in running order, because I really don't want this to happen again in the near future. A lesson learnt.

I considered ordering via the Sainsbury's website, and did an order, but then discovered that I couldn't get a delivery slot because almost every one was taken for several weeks into the future. They have given preferential treatment to those who are 'vulnerable,' and I don't fit into this category, unfortunately. I'm wondering how they class someone as vulnerable, to the Covid-19 virus, as I would have thought I would have fitted this category as I have had two heart attacks, but apparently I don't come under this umbrella so I can't order food on-line, but it's fine for me to put myself at risk of the infection if I visit a supermarket.

(Saturday) I'm continuing with the photography project. I had a good excuse to take the car out and went along Chaffron Way and saw some poppies on the verge and decided they would be a good subject for said project, so I parked in Fishermead and walked back but, strangely, couldn't find the aforementioned poppies as it's quite a difficult matter to find a route through the trees and nettles, but in the process found quite a wide range of plants and flowers to photograph. Once I'd managed to take as many shots as possible I went back to the car and drove down Chaffron Way as if I was going to Camphill and eventually came back through the centre of Milton Keynes. It's so strangely free of traffic, except for the occasional vehicle, making it seem more like a Bank Holiday or even a Sunday, all due to the lockdown.

Alfie was expecting to have another outing so we went out along Strudwick Drive. On crossing Oldbrook Boulevard and onto the Green, I was shocked by the sight of a man, dressed in red football strip, having a wee behind a hedge, well, not even BEHIND it, standing on the road-side and making no attempt to hide. I have seen most things, but the sight of someone relieving themselves in this blatant fashion is quite unbelievable and actually quite unacceptable and I think if he was seen doing so by a passing police officer it is likely he would have been prosecuted for unacceptable behaviour. Not something one would wish to see in 'polite society' as they say.

Mystery Building

I've been watching with interest the building work that is currently going on the opposite side of Oldbrook Green to The Cricketers public house. There are three constructions on Oldbrook Green, all built to a similar style. I think one might have been a public convenience, but it is closed off with fencing around it, another a sort of strange brick construction with a brick roof and this supported by posts and the third, at the furthest side to Oldbrook Boulevard and on the patch which leads to the city centre, what could have been used for storage but has certainly seen better days and built to a similar design to the other two. Workmen have been working on site to the right of this construction, starting off with the foundations (well, how else do you start a building?) and gradually building a wall and as I write this, the brick-work is more or less complete and it now has the trusses in place for the roof. It would appear that they are renovating the main building, with the gable-ends being replaced and repainted. But I'm intrigued with what the new build is going to be. It isn't particularly large and the height matches the rest of the original building. I thought at first it might be used as a cafe, tea kiosk or similar, but I can see no windows or even doors in it as it rises. No sign at all of what is going to be. The workmen appear to be restoring the rest of the site, with a low wall being built of brick to one side. I will just have to wait patiently to see what it turns out to be. Probably it will boringly just turn out to be somewhere for them to store equipment, such as lawn mowers, wheelbarrows and whatever else is needed to tend the grass on Oldbrook Green.

Walking past the 'mystery building' later on Thursday, I noticed that there were metal gates now installed to the side of the area where the mystery building is being constructed. They have sharp-pointed tops to the metal bars, so it begs the question; what needs to be protected by metal gates and why the sharp spikes along the top? It makes me wonder if it's going to be a storage area for valuable items, because who wants to climb a gate and get cut by spikes? Just an idea. It looks as if they're making a sort of yard area which would explain the wall that they are building.

Oldbrook Green, the actual grassy area that is, is really soggy. At the furthest side, opposite The Cricketers, it tends to flood when there is heavy rain. Part-way along the path the actual path gets flooded and when I'm out with Alfie I have to negotiate this flood and Alfie doesn't really like getting his little paws wet. Walking on the grass is somewhat like walking on marshy ground, or at least sponge. There is a dip in the grass which tends to fill with water when it rains and it's been like a water feature, or at least, a pond. Over the past few days there have been ducks on there, an almost perfect place for them to have a paddle.

I took Alfie out at around 10.30 and as we walked along Strudwick Drive, along the fence that encloses the community garden belonging to Dexter House, Alfie stopped as he often does and came face-to-face with a black cat which was inside the garden and just inside the metal gate. Alfie began to bark at the cat excitedly and even tried to get through the gap in the gate, but, fortunately, he was too broad to squeeze through. The cat made the typical 'don't-come-near-me-or-I'll-scratch-your-eyes -out' noises, which didn't really bother Alfie and the cat just stared at him. It was definitely a question, 'who's going to blink first?' sort-of situation, but I decided to move on, so I pulled gently on Alfie's lead and we continued our walk along the pavement. I think it's the closest that Alfie has been to a pussycat!

Even more blossom coming out on the trees around Oldbrook Green, this time it's white. I presume it's hawthorn or May. But isn't it too early for blossom? We're barely into February.

The mystery woman who keeps stopping cars along Oldbrook Boulevard has been seen again, standing on a traffic island near The Cricketers pub. It was frosty and bitterly cold at just before 7.30 yesterday morning. I have mentioned this on Nextdoor, the social media site I recently discovered and then subscribed to. It would appear that quite a few other people have come across her, but it would appear that nothing has been done to try and find out first, what her name is, and second, where she lives. The police have been informed of her activities, on several occasions and I have spoken to someone at Milton Keynes social services department, but until we know her name and where she lives it's impossible to deal with this issue. It is more a safety matter that concerns me, because she is putting herself at risk by standing in the road and the fact that she keeps asking for money will eventually cause further problems.

I have now been told where this lady lives, but I'm not going to divulge this information on here, but it should make things easier as we begin to find out who this lady is so we can deal with this issue.

(Friday morning) I've been out with Alfie, around 7.10. It was frosty and foggy, but it was great to be out so early.

I've been sent some dog food from one of the market survey companies. Great, because it means I don't have to buy any dog food and as the current food for Alfie is about to run out and I was going to have to buy some more, probably from Lidl or Sainsbury's.

Cleaning The Flat

I've been in the flat since October and I'm gradually getting the place as I want it. It does take quite a while to adjust things so they are more how I like them, such as arranging the furniture to where the most used items in the kitchen are stored. There is a shortage of space, so I will need a new unit in the kitchen. I have to remove the stupid fridge/freezer which let me down when it defrosted a couple of months ago and as a result I had to throw away all the food in it. I will need assistance to take it in the car to the recycling centre in Bleak Hall. I intend buying some sort of unit to replace it which can take the microwave and have space to store kitchen equipment. I have seen the ideal unit on Amazon and will have to order it, but this can't be done until the fridge/freezer is taken out to make room.

When Carol and I lived at Golden Drive, we used a Vileda mop which had a build-in water supply which allowed you to mop and it had a built in spray system, meaning you didn't need to have a bucket of water when you were using it. So, I decided I would get a new one so I could keep the floors clean and sparkling in the flat. I went to look in Sainsbury's the other morning, as I imagine we purchased the original one from there. I was surprised by the price, so didn't buy it immediately from there until I'd done a search on the internet. To my surprise I didn't believe that the price could vary so much from one retail outlet to the other. Full price the thing costs in the region of £30, the lowest price being £14 at Dunelm. I decided to visit Dunelm, which is fairly close to Oldbrook, in the business estate at Winter Hill  Retail Park, in Milton Keynes. I found the Vileda display, which had most of their range of cleaning products, including mops, but not the particular type I wanted. Yesterday (Thursday) I decided to go on the Dunelm website and found you could purchase items and then 'click and collect,' so I did this to buy the  spray mop I wanted, using my Debit card. I was expecting it to be ready for collection in a couple of days, but barely an hour later I had a text message to say it was ready for collection, so I drove to Dunelm to collect it. All this is a rather crazy situation, that you can't pick it up within the store, but can buy it via the website. This would mean, surely, that they had the item I wanted in their warehouse at the store, and not on the store's floor. No doubt this is how retail is going to go. But I noticed they didn't have any staff on the floor of the store, who might have been able to assist me in checking whether the item I wanted was in stock.

(Saturday) I discovered that it was quite cold and frosty when I took Alfie out this morning. Ice on the windows of the car and I will definitely have to find my gloves and hat as the weather forecast is warning me that things are due to get even colder.

On a different matter. I was watching an item about social media on BBC Breakfast yesterday morning (it was about research being done by a university to find out how children use such sites as Facebook and the effects such things as bullying has on their mental health.) As a result I did a Google search (other search engines are available.) and found a list of some and one, called Nextdoor, which sounded as if it might be worth investigating. So I found it on-line and have signed up and find it works very differently to Facebook (which has far too much trivia and pointless stuff on it, including annoying advertising.) Having signed up and particularly the site for Oldbrook, I find a post about the lady I've mentioned in these blog posts who keeps stopping people and cars along Oldbrook Boulevard and asking for money. It would appear that other residents are concerned about her safety and why nothing is being done to deal with this issue.

A good deal later. I have been keeping a track of responses to the post on Nextdoor, regarding this woman who is constantly seen asking for money on Oldbrook Boulevard.  Someone has reported the woman to Milton Keynes Council Safeguarding Department, so perhaps something will be done this time. At least if they report this matter and it's logged, at least there is something in writing (well, one would hope so.) and they can deal with it. One can only hope that is what will happen.