No Social Distancing

I was out with Alfie quite late yesterday afternoon.  (Monday)Well, when I mean late, I don't mean it was dark, with the sun going down. I mean, around 4.45.  Oldbrook Green was busy, but any sense of social distancing had been totally disregarded. There were youths in the skateboard park, using it to . . . skateboard. People sitting on the grass in groups. We walked around and one boy was on a bicycle, attempting to ride it on its rear wheel. He came up behind me on the final lap, near the children's playground, and didn't make any sort of sound, which made me jump somewhat. What would have happened if he had come off and hit his head, requiring hospitalization? There were a couple of girls climbing over the fence into the children's playground, which was locked and had a notice clearly stating it was banned from use, due to the coronavirus pandemic, but it was obvious that they wouldn't have seen this notice and then proceeded to sit on the swings, not designed for people of their size.

I had a telephone call this afternoon. Wow! That's a thing. From the cardiology department of Milton Keynes Hospital. I am going to get a call on Thursday at 3 p.m. from one of the cardiology doctors to see how I'm getting on. Not bad, just bored and sick of the lockdown, but I don't suppose they can do anything about that. Or maybe they can. Would be good if they could.

(Tuesday) Here I am, wide awake at 4.55a.m. I have had a shave, and done all the washing up (my kitchen must be the tidiest in the country.) Lockdown has turned my world upside down. It's no use sleeping, as I just can't get back to sleep. I have watched a further episode of the Peter Ackroyd 'Thames' documentary series on History Hit. It's fascinating. Read a bit more of the Simon Heffer book, 'The Age of Decadence,' and currently reading the chapter on the Suffragettes. What a brave lot of women. When people say that they don't intend to vote in an election, they should bear in mind all those who fought to get them the right to have a vote, not just women, but men as well. The force-feeding of women in prison would be considered abuse by today's standards.

I needed a different place to take Alfie for a walk this afternoon, so I put the cage in the back of the car and installed his nibs in it and we drove down Chaffron Way to the Ouzel Valley Park, which Carol and I visited on many occasions with the dogs. I was able to let Alfie have a run, and he seemed to appreciate the fact that he could run free, but I made sure that there was no livestock in the meadow we were walking across, although there were cattle in the adjoining meadow. There were lots of other people who had the same idea as myself, many with dogs, in family groups and many with children in various forms of pram and buggy. We walked through several kissing gates. This is how Wikipedia describes kissing gate:

'A Kissing gate is a type of gate that allows people, but not livestock, to pass through.

The normal construction is a half-round, rectangular, trapezoid or V-shaped part-enclosure with the free end of a hinged gate trapped between its arms. When the gate is touching an arm, it must be pulled or pushed to pass through. The gate may need to be pushed to give access to the small enclosure, and when in the enclosure, the person pulls the gate past the bulk of the enclosure to exit. Some examples have latches. Most are installed self-enclosing, to the side away from the pasture (livestock field), by hinge geometry, a spring or weight.'

So, if you didn't know, now you should. They are usually installed where livestock are in a meadow and allow people to move through without allowing the livestock to go through, usually where there is a cattle grid. (no, I'm not going to explain what they are here.)

We went through several kissing gates and then began the walk back towards the car. Several more people with dogs and then as we approached the car park, a couple was coming towards me with a large dog. Alfie was on his lead and when we got closer Alfie began barking and the dog came at him, attempting, well it seemed to me, that it wanted to pick him up in its mouth. I scooped up Alfie in my arms and the couple were most apologetic. Alfie was just as much to blame, barking as he always does, but he always wants to be friends with every dog he meets, as he has virtually no fear. The other dog continued to growl. Probably because it didn't like Alfie's aggressive noise, or so it probably was thinking. What do dogs think? That's a matter of dispute. I was upset, as anyone would be who has their dog attacked by another dog. But it probably wasn't. The bigger dog was probably just putting Alfie in his place, a big dog telling off a smaller one. We walked on and I put Alfie in the cage in the car and drove him.

(Wednesday) It has been raining, although very lightly, this morning, and we didn't remain out very long. I think Alfie was quite happy to return home quickly when he discovered that he was getting wet. We needed the rain, whatever the amount. It didn't last long, and it barely laid the dust. The grass is beginning to look very brown and parched in many areas.

I have managed to stitch together various parts of my writing project and it is now over eighty pages long. I cut and pasted these elements into the 'core' storyline, and I'm grateful to the technology because I can't imagine writing it in longhand or on a typewriter. 

Reading and Viewing- Part 1

So what have I been reading and watching recently? On the book front I recently completed reading 'High Minds,' by Simon Heffer. It was a hefty read, some 700-800 pages, taking things from around 1840 to around 1880. I have since ordered the next volume which is called 'The Age of Decadence' which takes things up until the start of the First World War, which I have already received from Amazon and then the third book, which is already available in hardback but comes out in paperback in around May-June and called 'Staring At God,' which covers the First World War. If these books are as well researched and written as the first volume, then they should make excellent reading. I can recommend the first one, but since I haven't started the next one, I can't as yet comment.

I next read 'The Old Vic: The Story of a Great Theatre- From Ken to Olivier to Spacey' by Terry Coleman. Right up my street, being something of a theatre fanatic and having worked in professional theatre myself. Carol and I went to see a production staged by Propellor Theatre, in a performance of 'The Taming of The Shrew at the Old Vic, when she was a teacher at Stantonbury School and we were hooked on this all-male company and following this production, managed to see them several times more, at Milton Keynes Theatre and the Oxford Playhouse. Really great theatre and rip-roaring productions.

Having read all that history (and there was a lot I learnt as a result.) I decided I needed some fiction to read next, so I turned to my good old stand-by, Sherlock Holmes, as i'm gradually working my way through the entire canon and I have now reached 'The Return of Sherlock Holmes,' which begins with 'The Empty House.' Since reading that I decided to read one of Anthony Horowitz's take on Sherlock Holmes, so I have bought the first one in the series, which have apparently been approved by the Conan-Doyle estate, called 'The House of Silk.' I wasn't sure I would like this novel, and have been pleasantly surprised by how good it is. Horowitz has managed to write in the style of Conan-Doyle, the voice of Doctor Watson is very well done and completely convincing, but done in a modern manner. We get a fair amount of backstory for Watson and the typical Holmesian 'tropes' are in place; the arrival of the gentleman who wants Holmes to investigate the crime (I won't give to much of the plot away on here.) An easy read, which is what I wanted and I will have to read more of this series.

I've finished the third series of 'The Crown' on Netflix and as a result I've closed my subscription. I've enjoyed the show, but I don't think this last season was as good as the first two. Olivia Colman as Her Maj is good, but the episodes haven't been as enticing and engrossing as earlier episodes. Out of the 10, several were duds, nothing wrong with the writing, but a couple just didn't gell somehow. I can't explain, but I realise out of ten it must be difficult to maintain a particularly high standard and were there just to make up the numbers. I still think it would be better to have some sort of connection between each episode, a story arc which links them. There's nothing to keep you wanting to carry on watching. I know there was no intention to be a 'cliff-hanger' at the end of the episodes, but it's what keeps you wanting to continue watching. I can understand why they're ending the show with the 5th season as it would become to close for comfort when it gets nearer to the present and some difficult events in the royal story would have to be covered, I imagine the death of Princess Diana would be difficult to handle as well as several royal relationships and particularly what the Queen referred to 1992 as her 'Annus Horribilis.' It still has amazing detail, the period is beautifully portrayed, the costumes, makeup and sets are brilliant and it deserves all the awards. I may resubscribe to Netflix in time for the fourth season, but there is nothing else on Netflix which makes me want to continue with it.