Friday. 6.15 a.m. I can't believe Alfie and I were out well before 6 o'clock this morning. The weather seems very settled as I write this.
Saturday. 6.40 a.m. What's going on? Is that all I wrote for yesterday? I usually write far more.
Alfie and I were out at 6 o'clock, and it's been raining overnight. Quite chilly.
3.20 p.m. I have been to meet up with my friend Nick, who I knew from my time living in Bedford (hi Nick, if you're reading this.) He lives in Northampton and comes to Milton Keynes on the bus. I was due to meet him at midday. I drove in and parked in Secklow Gate car park, where I normally park, which is next door to the somewhat dilapidated Point. It's not always easy to find space later on a Saturday. I then walked in and through the shopping centre. It was surprisingly busy. We met outside Starbucks. I ordered an ice-cold cold drink made with oats. Surprisingly good. Also, a cheese and ham toastie. From Starbucks, we walked to John Lewis and went up to the electrical department. We spent time browsing the television sets, some with huge screen sizes, some over 60 inches and costing in the region of £4,000. That size would be far too big for my flat, in fact, such a size screen would probably not fit in. The quality of the picture on these sets is amazing. We looked at Samsung mobiles and then Apple products.
From John Lewis we went to browse in T.K. Maax and then we walked through the shopping centre and eventually went into Costa opposite M and S. I had a rather tasty chocolate drink which was made with bits of Kit Kat and cream on top. Then, into Marks and Spencer's to look at clothes in the menswear department. Nick doesn't like escalators, which take you to the various levels of the store, so went up via the lift. A few quite decent items I may come back and purchase, as I have a voucher coming from doing some online surveys. This should come in the post in the next few days. Then Nick came to the car park as I was leaving and we said our goodbyes and I drove off.
12.45 p.m. If you know me and if you read these blog posts, you will know I am a lover of theatre, I have worked in professional stage management, amongst other things. I have a subscription to National Theatre At Home, which is a streaming service which streams 'live' recordings of plays. I have seen several shows at the South Bank home of the National Theatre and it's probably the leading subsidised theatre company in this country. Amongst the plays I've seen was the 1980's production of Guys and Dolls as well as On The Razzle, which was a play written by Tom Stoppard and based on the play which eventually became the Thornton Wilder play 'The Matchmaker' which then formed the basis for the musical 'Hello Dolly.' (I did 'The Book' for a production of 'The Matchmaker' when I was D.S.M. at Ipswich Theatre in the mid-1970's. ) But I digress. . .
There are quite a few fantastic shows to stream on NT At Home. 'Treasure Island', a reimagining of the Restoration comedy, 'The Rivals', retitled 'Jack Absolute Flies Again' and set the play in the Second World War. Last night I watched 'All About Eve', which is based on the 1950's film which starred Bette Davis and Anne Baxter. This stage version isn't actually a National Theatre production. It was produced by Sonia Friedman Productions and Fox Stage Productions. I haven't seen the film, but I know about it. I believe it was made into a musical called 'Applause.' This stage version uses 'live' video, so you can see two scenes simultaneously and could see the camera operators. I don't know whether this added anything to the action or whether it was just a gimmick. Just because you can do something, doesn't necessarily mean you have to use it. Like, in films, where they use C.G.I. It doesn't always add anything. In fact, if used too often, it just becomes a distraction. You shouldn't actually be able to notice any special effects.
5.50 p.m. I have now managed to complete the piece of writing which will connect two sections of my writing project, which means I can introduce a new character.
