A Little Bit Of Snow!

 Saturday. 8.10 a.m. I was up and about later than usual this morning. At least I'm sleeping better.

The digital thermometer currently reads 21ºc. Apparently, according to various weather forecasts, we're in for a cold spell, with snow, frost, ice and all that goes with it. The media always makes such a big issue on this sort of topic. When I was growing up in the 1960's, you just got on with it. We went to school. No such thing as 'Health and safety' then. Now, schools close down, and the children get a day off. I remember having to shovel snow off the playground at school. Trains are prevented from running because the lines are blocked by snow, or more likely, the drivers won't work because it's too cold!

Sunday. 7.30 a.m. I was awake at 7.10. That has to be the latest for a very long time.

The digital thermometer currently reads 21ºc. No sign of snow here, but I expect there to be some further north, in Yorkshire and Scotland.

Monday. 8.40 a.m. I am currently experiencing a really unpleasant cough and feeling totally drained. I'm not sure what this thing is. It's not the flu, but it could be. On Saturday, I got some cough mixture in Sainsbury's, which does help, but I'm coughing up phlegm, which is unpleasant.

I would have thought that having the , flu vaccine would have protected me, although, as I say, it's not like full-blown 'flu. I don't have a high temperature. It would appear that I'm not alone with this 'thing,' because so many people in church yesterday morning had the same ailment. It's something you just have to put up with and it will eventually pass. Well, I hope it goes soon.

A light frost over the grass and covering car windscreens this morning. I may have to put the heating on in the flat.

Tuesday. 3.00 p.m. We had a very brief flurry of snow this morning. It left a sort of sugary coating to the lawn and road outside, but by now it has more or less evaporated. More like, melted.

I dismantled my tiny Christmas tree. I divested it of its decorations. It is still in its pot, and I moved it out into the garden, but then I managed to lock myself out, and someone had to let me in. Stupid, I know, but once the door closes, that's it. You can't get back in.

Thursday. 3.15p.m. We started back with the Thursday morning life group at the Oaktree Centre this morning. It's great to have got Christmas and New Year out of the way, basically because my routine is thrown out. I had a coughing fit in the middle of the meeting, but it did settle down. This is something which comes back every year. 

Chloe asked me if she could have information about my heart condition, which I imagine is for her doctor of maybe insurance, Anyway, I put a message regarding this on the Central Milton Keynes Medical Centre website, and I was really surprised how quickly I got a response, and after the Thursday Morning group, I drove over to Bradwell Common and the recptionist printed out the information. Now I can post it off to Worcester. I can do that tomorrow. From there, I drove to Sainsbury's to do a shop.

No-vember!

 Wednesday. 7.30 a.m. A somewhat wintry morning here in Milton Keynes. Rain with snow mixed in, which I noticed as I looked out of the kitchen window earlier. I doubt it will settle, but still icy and snowy.

The digital thermometer currently reads 21ºc.

I went to see the musical 'Mary Poppins' at Milton Keynes Theatre yesterday evening. I parked my car in the carpark near the Xcape and walked through to the theatre, but never expected to see a huge queue of customers waiting to enter the theatre. I purchased a programme and a souvenir brochure in the foyer and then went up several stories to my seat and entered at door 10. That area is called The Slips (don't ask me why. I have no idea. I got a really good view of the stage and actually a lot better than I expected, as, on the website, when I booked, it said 'restricted view.' An absolutely fantastic show, not a complete copy of the 1964 Disney film, with some dark moments in the plot. There are a lot of new songs, which blend in well with the film's original songs. The overall show was energetic, to say the least, very colourful, and the dance numbers were overwhelming. Mary Poppins flies out at one point, and at the end, flies off through the auditorium. I'm not entirely sure how this was achieved, but I imagine there is a cable running across the auditorium and the actor playing Mary Poppins wearing some sort of harness under her costume.

8.20 a.m. The snow has stopped falling, and there is a sprinkling of the white stuff across the community garden and on some of the cars in Dexter Avenue, including mine. I doubt it will remain

4.15 p.m. There is now absolutely no sign of snow. 

Thursday. 5.35 p.m. It has been bitterly cold today. There was some ice on the car windows when I drove off to go to Life Group this morning, but the sun melted it off, although I did wipe some mist off with a cloth.

Friday. 8.40 a.m. It's bright and sunny out this morning, but I doubt it's warm. The digital thermometer currently reads 21ºc.

I have my washing in the machine as I write. I plan to try making tomato soup again. The washing up is done, giving me space to work in the kitchen.

Saturday. 9.55 a.m. It's a bit wet and miserable this morning. I suppose you could say it's a typical November day. The digital thermometer currently reads 21ºc.

I've just come back from Sainsbury's. Nothing really much to report, but it's definitely the best time of the day to go there on a Saturday, as there are fewer shoppers about.

Sunday. 9.20 a.m. The sun is out this morning, although rather weakly. 

The digital thermometer currently reads 21ºc.

A Happy New Year!

 Tuesday. New Year's Eve. 9.50 a.m. Yet another mild but rather dull and overcast sort of day. The weather is expected to get worse, with more wind and rain, and in Scotland, Hogmanay has been cancelled in Edinburgh, due to the weather which is forecast. I simply can't imagine Scotland foregoing their New Year's Eve celebrations.

I needed to do a top-up shop in Sainsbury's. Christmas is over, although stuff like mince pies are on offer, or, at least, they are very much in evidence. But there are Valentine's Day cards already on sale. No doubt there will be Easter eggs on sale soon.

I had a package arrive via Royal Mail this morning. It was the Bisoprolol tablets which I have been waiting for and which were actually ordered when I went to the surgery on Friday morning. It just goes to show that Pharmacu2U can deliver quickly when needed.

Wednesday. 9 a.m. I did see the New Year in. I watched the Jools Holland show on BBC 1.

This morning it is very windy. I took Alfie out, and it was difficult opening the door with the wind pushing against it and making weird noises. The strength of the wind was almost enough to blow you over.

Friday. 8.10 a.m. It's getting a good deal colder. Snow is forecast. An Amber alert has been given, meaning that temperatures below zero can be dangerous for those over a certain age (probably me included.) Also, danger of slips and falls, and dangerous driving conditions are expected.

Saturday. 7.35 a.m. I had the foresight to buy an extra bottle of antifreeze spray for my car. I got it when I was in Sainsbury's a couple of weeks ago. I also bought a large bottle of spray which you have to spray on your car's windows the night before and it is supposed to prevent them freezing over. I did this yesterday evening but I'm yet to find out if it has worked.

When I went out with Alfie about an hour ago, I found it was frosty, but as yet, no sign of snow. It seems that the north of England and Scotland have had snow, and it is causing problems with transport. I'm not so sure if we will get it this far south.

Sunday. 7.15 a.m. There was a scattering of snow overn night, but it's more like a dusting than what they have had in the north of England. I'm yet to take Alfie out, as he's fast asleep, so it seems unfair to wake him up.

9.05 a.m. I think Alfie was somewhat shocked by the cold when I eventually took him out.

I wasn't feeling very good when I got up. A bit light-headed and wobbly. I was scheduled to do refreshments at church, so I have sent a message via WhatsApp and someone will step in. I didn't think it was a good idea to continue, because of the blackout I had a year ago as well as the heart attack I had in church six years ago. Better to be safe than sorry.

Monday. 7.45 a.m. The snow has gone, but there's a thin fall of rain, if you can call it that.

I decided to come off the refreshment rota at church. I have been involved in this for well over a year, so it's time for others to step forward. I am still on the rota to set up communion, which I shall continue with.

3.15 p.m. I was doing my washing up at the kitchen sink this morning, when I notice a group of men in the community garden. They were all dressed in overalls, and I remembered that work was to be carried out, including the scooter stores which have been in place for around 3-4 years, but cannot be accessed from the main building here at Dexter House, because there is no ramp or specially adapted doors to allow the scooters to be taken out into the stores. An orange digger appeared and there is a fenced off area further over which is no doubt where equipment will be stored. Later, when I took Alfie out onto the grass along Strudwick Drive, I noticed a small truck being unloaded and the gate open and another larger lorry parked in Dexter Avenue, just below where the door comes out of Dexter House and I imagine it had further equipemt to be used by the workmen. Oh, the excitemnt of all this (Not. Scarcasm I'm afraid.) I will keep my readers imformed as this work progresses, or not.

Christmas Madness

 Wednesday. 10.40 a.m. It's bright and sunny, but there's also a gusty wind. I went out to my car to drive to Sainsbury's a little before 9 and the wind was enough to blow your head off.

Thursday. 9.25 a.m. It is bright and sunny and no howling wind.

Saturday. 6.00 p.m. Well, not a great deal to report. We had a Christmas party on Thursday morning at The Oaktree Centre. The usual Thursday Morning Life Group were there, and we had games and lots to eat. One game took me back to around the age of probably 8 or so, pass-the-parcel. If you don't know, the person in charge wraps a present in lots of layers of paper and everyone sits in a circle. Then the parcel gets passed from one person to the other as music plays. When it stops, whoever has the parcel has to remove one layer of paper. This continues until the final layer is removed, and whoever has the parcel and removes the paper wins the prize.

We had a 'Secret Santa.' If you don't know how this works, everyone had to buy a present, costing no more than £5 and wrapped, put into a pile, and you pick a present, but you don't know who bought it. I got a cuddly Christmas pudding! I know, a bit crazy, but that was the idea.

A good time was had by all.

Monday. 1.20 p.m. Yesterday morning at church, we had a 'Carols By Candlelight' service. There are no real candles, but electronic ones. Just as well, because real candles can cause smoke and fumes which make me cough.

My friend Margaret at church asked me if I could sit with her husband, Mike, who has Parkinson's. She was going to the hospital visiting and when she came back we shared dinner together. A really pleasant evening.

Tuesday. 5.00 p.m. I had one or two items to get in Sainsbury's this morning. It means I'm ready for Christmas Day. The place was heaving. I thought, if I went early enough, it would be far easier. How wrong could I be? People had trolleys full to the brim, and more. It's like they had the idea that things were going to run out, so grab it and put it in the trolley.

Someone wasn't doing their job when I went to get a trolley. There is usually a young man who collects the trolleys and brings them up to the store on the travelator. Two rather ratty trolleys, a couple with wonky wheels which makes pushing them difficult.

One of the items I had on my shopping list was a Christmas cake. Probably a small one, or at least a wedge of Christmas cake. I looked in the bread and cake area of the store but could not find a small cake. But eventually if went for a whole cake, which came in a box with a clear window so you could see the cake inside. On unpacking this when I got home, I was somewhat surprised to find that the cake was a good deal smaller than the packaging suggested. Looking through the window on the packaging, it was clear that they were deceiving customers because the cake was on a sort of plastic base and there was a lot of space around it. It was certainly not as large as I was expecting.

I'm waiting for my dinner to finish cooking. Pork chops are in the oven, green beans are done and roast potatoes are done.

. . . 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.

Busy, Busy!

 Saturday. 7.50 a.m. I got up a good deal later than usual. It's a bright and sunny morning and the digital thermometer currently reads 23ºc, so much more of a temperature which is easier to cope with.

I've just come back from Sainsbury's. It was quiet in there, no doubt- and I think I've remarked about this elsewhere in these blog posts- because it's a Saturday, most people don't get up too early and probably do their shopping a good deal later. I suppose you can't blame them, but there was a lot of space to park the car in the underground car park.

Sunday. 10.15 a.m. There's no church this morning, but there is what's called 'Messy Church', which is intended for children and families, although I don't intend to go. If it's too 'messy' I do hope they clear up after themselves when it's finished!

Thursday. 8.05 a.m. What on earth am I doing? I now get up a good deal later than I have in the past, which is a good thing. This is mainly because it's now darker for longer in the morning. As I write, there is a strong wind howling around outside (well, it would be worrying if it was INSIDE!

The Thursday Morning Life Group isn't meeting today, so I shall go shopping at Sainsbury's. Things should be back to normal next week. My pension was in my bank account yesterday. I had an idea it wasn't going to be there for at least another week, so it was somewhat of a surprise, which meant I could go shopping.

Friday. 6.15 a.m. It's wild and windy out this morning. A strong wind and rain is lashing the building. It's enough to blow you off your feet. This is Storm Lillian, and it's forecast to reach 80 M.P.H. in some parts of the United Kingdom.

Saturday. 3.20 p.m. It's been raining heavily most of the day, but as I write this, it has stopped, and it seems quite calm on the weather front. I just hope it stays dry because this is a Bank Holiday weekend. Next weekend it will be September.

I was supposed to have a telephone call from the cardiology department at Milton Keynes Hospital, in response to the upload of the data from the electronic device which was put in my chest some six weeks ago. I did as I was supposed to on Thursday, and sent the data as requested. I was supposed to get a call at 1p.m. on Friday. I sat dutifully near my phone but no call came. I don't know what happened, so I was somewhat annoyed.

Sunday. 7.55 a.m. I was up even later than yesterday. As I write this, it's sunny and bright outside. The digital thermometer reads 24ºc, so a good deal cooler.