Hunkey Dory!

 Monday. 9.35 a.m. It's a good deal cooler this morning. The digital thermometer currently reads 24ºc. 

The drains are to be cleared. Oh, happy day! That is, along the corridor in which my flat is. We can't flush the toilet, have a shower or wash up in the kitchen and let out the water. I have already done the washing up, so there's no problem with that, don't currently need a shower, but I don't know about flushing the toilet. Such is the fun at Dexter House.

Tuesday. 8.00 a.m. It's a good deal cooler again this morning. My digital thermometer currently reads 22ºc, so a 2º drop on yesterday's temperature.

3.55 p.m. I've just taken Alfie out, to the usual spot on the grass alongside Strudwick Drive. There were quite a few people walking along the path, a lot of them from Milton Keynes Academy, which is just the other side of Chaffron Way. Then I saw a group of around three youths, on electric scooters, the sort I mention regularly on here, riding along the road. To me, this is extremely dangerous, because they could easily get hit by a car, or fall over in the road. If this was to happen, the chances are they would be killed. As they rode on, going past The Cricketers public house, one of the male youths was weaving in and out of the centre of the road and at that point, a few cars were driving behind the group. As I have said, it only needed a slight misjudgement and a wobble, and that youth could have fallen off his scooter and into the path of one of those cars.

Wednesday.2.25. p.m. I booked a haircut this morning, online, and have been to the appointment, which was a 1.40 p.m. I drove to Unity Place, where the barbers is. I parked the car and then walked to the ticket machine. I thought it would have a slot for my £1 coin, but there wasn't one, so I attempted to use the card reader facility. You have to key in your car's registration number, but I still have no idea whether it worked. No ticket issued and nothing came up on the screen. Just so annoying. I walked into Unity Place, and saw a statue of a cow. What on earth is the significance of a COW?? I have absolutely no idea.

Friday. 8.35 a.m. Washing in washing machine, washing-up more or less done. Floors mopped (actually partially) Alfie asleep in his bed, the sun is out and it's still warm. My digital thermometer currently reads 27ºc. 

4.35 p.m. Unfortunately, when I went to do my washing this morning, I found the drier I normally use was out of action. So, I had to use the second one, which I rarely use. By the time my washing was done and I need to use the dryer, I put everything in it and hit the first button. There is no help anywhere to show which button does what and for how long, so when I came back an hour later, the load wasn't entirely dry. I put the drier back on for ten minutes, but even then it didn't dry completely. This meant I took the load back to my flat and put most of it on the drying rack in the bathroom.

I have been continuing with editing and revising my writing. It's going well. I am rounding out some of the characters and adding some new ones. Also, doing a bit of research to get some details right, and this should help give the piece some realism.

Spring Is In The Air!

 Monday. 7.05 a.m. Spring is here. It officially begins around the 20th of March, but metrological spring begins on 1st of March. It's chilly out, with a light frost.

Tuesday. 10.20 a.m. I have been out this morning to shoot some more videos. It was bright and sunny, as it has been for the past few days. I was using my iPhone, connected to the rig which takes the DJI camera and has a reserve power pack and, when required, a tripod, which screws onto the base. Using the DJI app, it means I get a far better idea of what I'm filming. I had the thing set correctly and I have already looked at the footage on my iPad. I'm very pleased with the result.

Saturday. 6.10 a.m. I went to get my hair cut yesterday at ROK Barbers in Unity Place. It definitely needed a good trim.

Chloe rang me the other evening, and she hoped I would be able to visit them all in Worcester sooner rather than later. I have rung the lady who looked after Alfie so well last time I went and everything is in place to go over the Easter weekend. So I have that to look forward to.

As I write this, it's bright and sunny, so it looks like 'Spring is in the air'! Crocuses and daffodils, as well as a host of primroses, are blooming along the sides of Chaffron Way.

Monday. 7.10 a.m. It's colder this morning, and there was a light mist over Milton Keynes when I took Alfie out around 30 minutes ago.

Tuesday. 7.10 a.m. It might be bright and relatively sunny, but it's chilly.

Saturday. 8.55 a.m. It's bright and sunny, but chilly.

I've been to Lidl. At this time of year, I always have daffodils because Carol loved them, and it would have been her 61st birthday last week, as you will know if you read my posts regularly. Lidl is so much easier to get to and have a quick shop. I still get a few items from Sainsbury's, such as bread.

Sunday. 6.40 a.m. Another mild morning on the weather front. But there was a light frost on the grass when Alfie came out with me around 10 minutes ago.

Hap, Hap, Happy Day!

 Saturday. 7.35 a.m. A rather gloomy and overcast day. Quite chilly when I took Alfie out. I don't think he couldn't care less, because he's having a sleep on the blanket in the bedroom.

Today I have to get my flu shot done at Central Milton Keynes Medical Centre. I knew it was today, but I wasn't sure of the time. I searched for the details in my emails and text messages, but nothing. I thought I could easily drive to the surgery to get the information, but then I thought I might just as well telephone the surgery, which I did. I was number 4 in the queue. It gradually shrunk down and I was number one and I got the information from the receptionist. The appointment is at 9.55 this morning, so that was a relief. I think I might have deleted the text or the email.

12.20 p.m. I've been to have my 'flu shot. I was at the surgery well before the allotted time and signed in with the computerised screen. I was called into the room and the nurse soon gave me the vaccine and out in less than three minutes.

Yesterday, late afternoon, I just happened to have a look at my mobile and the text messages, and one jumped out at me. It said that a suspicious amount of cash had been taken from my Nationwide account, and I should ring the number, which was included in the text message. I was somewhat surprised and rang the number. It was the Nationwide fraud line. It turned out that this was a scam and, with the help of the gentleman on the other end of the phone, checked things out and nothing was taken from my account, thank goodness. The scam works if you panic and then receive another call or text, and they take money from your account. A really horrible feeling of panic, which is what the scammers want.

Friday. 10.15 a.m. It's another typical November day, dull and overcast.

I am moving to a new broadband provider. I have been with Sky for around 10 years. I am moving to Vodafone Fibre. An engineer is coming on 20th November to install it, and it requires a hole to be drilled through the wall from the street to bring in the line. I will receive the router in a couple of days. 

The router arrived in the morning. I came via courier. I opened the large box and not only the router inside, as expected, but also a smaller box containing an Apple TV device. Having done some research on the internet, it would appear to be similar to a Fire Stick. As part of my Vodafone fibre broadband contract, I forgot I got Apple TV free as well as Amazon points, which I don't expect to receive until well into the New Year. So, I will have more to stream when the system is up and running. I have also subscribed to a relatively new streaming service called Marquee, which streams theatre, dance, ballet and other artistic performances. This seems to be the way forward for television and particularly theatre when plays and musicals can be videoed 'live' and then either shown in cinemas or through online streaming platforms.

Sunday. 8.15 a.m. I am waking up later and later each day. It's probably because the clocks went back recently. 

Another rather dull day, but the weather people on BBC Breakfast tell us that it will get colder as the week progresses. There has been snow in part of the north of England and parts of Scotland. It seems quite early to be having snow.

Monday. 8.10 p.m. I had a haircut today. As I wrote in an earlier post, ROK, the barbers I usually go to, has recently moved from their shop in the Central Shopping Centre to Unity Place. I had driven there to find out exactly where they had moved, a couple of weeks ago. It's easy enough to park outside and had only a few minutes to wait before it was my turn to have my hair trimmed.

I left ROK and walked along the road and wanted to explore what else there was at Unity Place. There is a restaurant and at the end of the building an aptly named shop called 'The Corner Shop.' As I entered, I was confronted by a barrier, similar to what you get on the London Underground, where you swipe your ticket. But here you had to swipe your bank card. There were no tills in the traditional sense. A lady was there, who at first I thought was a customer, but it transpired she was there to assist customers. I chose several items in the sweet section and she said, to pay, I just had to leave through the barrier and the value of the items would automatically be taken from my bank account. So, this is a taste of the way retail is heading. But my question is, what happens when the system fails, or there is a power cut?