Spring Has Sprung

Sunday. 6.15 a.m. I don't think Alfie was in the least bit interested in going out this morning. He was in his bed next to the television in the lounge and behind the trolley on which my Canon printer sits. I had to pick him up to take him out. No sound, no barking or anything. We did an Oldbrook Green circuit and then returned to the flat.

Bank Holiday Monday. 6.15 a.m. It's another warm and mild morning here in Milton Keynes. I think I must put on my electric fan to cool down the flat. Yet another circuit of Oldbrook Green with Alfie. I am shocked by the amount of litter which is all over the grass around the place. The rubbish bins are overflowing. It is really unpleasant.

Tuesday. 5.10 a.m. I had the electric fan on all yesterday. I also had the lounge and bathroom windows open and the flat is now a good deal cooler.

I have had a refund for the gimbal, which I returned to Amazon. I was surprised at how quickly the refund was made and in my Amazon account. I have just ordered a replacement and it should arrive tomorrow. I just could not get that model gimbal to work as it was supposed to. The one I have ordered is a completely different make and model. I had considered ordering it last night, but I have to be at home in order to sign for it, as it is quite expensive. I should be going to Camphill today, which is why I've delayed the order. I think this is to assure that they deliver to the correct person. You get sent a code which you have to give to the delivery driver. It assures security, and I'm fine with that.

6.10 p.m. I have been to Camphill as I normally do, and worked in the theatre workshop. I had missed the previous week, and the gang knew that it was because Alfie hadn't been well last Tuesday. 

The morning was taken up with fire training. How to recognize fire hazards and how to deal with incidents of fire. The theatre workshop group sat in the 'gods' section of the seating, whilst the Camphill care staff sat below in the body of the hall. At the end of the morning, staff had the opportunity to operate a couple of fire extinguishers. I have done this type of course before, which was done at Bromham Hospital when I started working as a support worker for the  Bedford Hospital N.H.S. back in the late 1990s. As a result of all this, although very necessary, we did no work on the silent comedies we are developing. 

After lunch, Terrie (the leader of the workshop.) produced some props from her own collection, which could be used in the silent comedy films we are creating. 

Later on, my group went downstairs to the costume room to select costumes for our films. The guys seem to find suitable costumes for themselves, but I was searching for a suit. There is a whole rack of suits, but nothing in my size, so I will go to a charity shop and see if I can find something there. It's quite likely I can get something for around £10-£15.

Wednesday. 6.00 a.m. I was wide awake at 4.45 and couldn't get back to sleep. This is quite normal for me. I decided to clear up the kitchen from last night and sorted my recycling and rubbish. Tied up both bags and took them out to the bins later on. Then I took out Alfie at around 5.20. Another circuit of Oldbrook Green.

10.30 a.m. I purchased ink cartridges for my Canon printer. As it gets a fair amount of use, and it was likely that the ink would get used up rapidly, I thought it might be a good idea to have some set by in storage for the moment the ink was running low. You used to be able to buy these cartridges from Sainsbury's, but they no longer have them on the shelves. The reason I was told, by a member of staff, was that they get stolen by shoppers. It's the same with Gillette Pro and Mach cartridge blades, which are quite expensive. It would appear that some people will steal anything if they imagine they can get away with it, which is why this sort of item tends to be fitted with an electronic device that will sound an alarm if they don't go through the check-outs in a correct manner. I ordered a couple of these cartridges from Viking, an online retailer which sells stationery items. The ink cartridges have remained in the drawer of the printer unit for a couple of months. I have used the printer several times and the ink cartridges which came with it when I bought it have not been replaced. Until yesterday, when I wanted to print and the printer showed that the ink was running low. It wasn't until I opened up the printer, ready to put in the new cartridges, that I discovered that they were the wrong type and wouldn't work in the printer. I really wanted to be able to use the printer, and it's no point in having the thing if it doesn't work. I imagined that Argos would have ink cartridges, the reasoning being because that was where the printer came from. 

I drove to Argos and went inside the store and had to look for the ink cartridges on one of the computer screens to then discover that they didn't have any of the types I wanted in stock. I then decided to drive to the shopping centre to go to W.H. Smith's to find out if they had ink cartridges. I made a mistake and had to drive around the centre of Milton Keynes to arrive at the car park close to The Point and had intended to use the Ring Go app on my iPhone, but for some reason, I needed to put in the password and when I     attempted this, it wouldn't work. Frustrated by this, I decided to return home and think about where else I could obtain the ink cartridges.

I will have to leave the purchase of the ink cartridges until I can find somewhere that stocks them. There is no 'bricks and mortar' stationer anywhere in this area, unfortunately.

All In A Day's Work

 Saturday. 7.20 a.m. I woke up really late for me, around 6.30. 

8.55 a.m. The sun is out. It would appear that it's warm, but I have a feeling, when I go out, it will most likely be chilly, so I will need to put on a fleece or something. It's very deceptive.

5.15 p.m. I have no end of 'bits' of my manuscript, which are the various elements of the writing project I have mentioned in these blog posts. I use what is called 'clip' folders, which means you don't have to punch holes into the printed pages which you have to do if you use a ring binder, which I absolutely hate because the pages get torn and then look tatty. I remember from my days in college, years ago now, and my problems with the ring binders I used for the notes I had from the different classes I went to. So, being able to put my printed pages into the clip folder and no need to punch holes in the pages they are helped securely with a sliding metal clip and come in a neat and professional plastic folder with a transparent cover so you can see the title page through this clear cover. Problem solved. I have been searching all over the place to buy these folders, in W.H.Smith, Sainsbury's, Asda and anywhere else I could think of. We used to have a branch of Staples in Milton Keynes, but that has since closed down and gone online only. I think Staples merged with Office World, which had a warehouse which I used to past when I used to drive to Milton Keynes when I lived in Bedford. I'm not entirely sure if they still exist. I have bought stationary from a company called Viking, so I looked on their site, and, hey presto! They had clip files, so I have ordered a few and hopefully, they will arrive in the next couple of days.

Sunday. 12.40 p.m. There wasn't any worship as such at The Oaktree Centre this morning. Instead, we had what's called 'Café church, which could be described as 'open fellowship', with coffee, tea, pastries and biscuits and a chance to chat with anyone and everyone. The idea is to invite the 'unchurched' and be in a relaxed situation. It certainly was all that, and more. So much so, that there were so many people around in the café area that at one point you couldn't hear your own voice. Not that I'm complaining. It was good.

Monday. 7.25 a.m. A very mild and pleasant morning. The trees around Milton Keynes are rapidly changing colour, with amazing browns, yellows and a whole host of variations in between. Looking back towards Dexter House as I walked along the path beside Strudwick Drive, I could see the sky, which was a beautiful red. Where does the old saying go? 'Red sky in the morning, shepherd's warning?' It also goes on 'Red sky at night. Shepherd's delight.' We'll just have to wait and see if all that is accurate as the day progresses.

10.25 a.m. I may have mentioned in these posts, the fact that I was supposed to have an extractor fan fitted in the kitchen window when my kitchen was refitted. As I write this, no extractor fan has been fitted. It was at the beginning of July that the work was done on the kitchen and a good month or so before that, the two ladies who did the initial assessment for the refit came to see me and I mentioned the possibility of having an extractor fan installed, basically because without one, when I cook and there is the possibility of smoke or steam being produced, it sets off the fire alarm with all that entails, the arrival of a fire engine and the annoyance and embarrassment that causes. I rang the company responsible for this work around a month ago and I was informed that they would contact the installers, but nothing happened. I have this morning contacted Mears yet again and this time they tell me 'an order has been raised.' So, let's hope that this time something eventually gets done. But don't hold your breath.

Wheels Came Off The Bus

Saturday. 7.30 a.m. So, the wheels did actually come off the bus with Boris Johnson's resignation. The big question I have is, did he jump, or was he pushed? I think he was totally deluded if he thought he could remain as Prime Minister, considering what has been going on regarding 'so-called' 'Partygate' and the goings-on regarding Chris Pincher (I won't go into details on THAT.) 

This morning I have now moved the unit which had my microwave on it into the lounge. A bit of effort was required to do this, rather like a big game of Tetris. One thing moves, another thing goes into the space created, and then another bit of furniture is moved in. It has taken a considerable amount of thought and effort to achieve this. A bit like when I worked in stage management, working out how scene changes would be achieved, and often in a very short space of time. The problem is, now there's more furniture than the room can really take. It's going to be a bit of a squeeze, which is something of an exaggeration, but I will have to cope until the work in the kitchen is completed. 

12.50 p.m. I now have china and other kitchen items stored in the unit, which I moved from the kitchen (it was opposite the oven. I was hoping I might have got a new unit in that space, and, as there are what must have been screw holes in the wall above, I assume at one time there was a wall unit, but unfortunately I won't get this, as they are only replacing 'old for new.' Shame, but it's just as well I have this unit, which came from Amazon. 

I went into the main Milton Keynes shopping centre around 9.30. I just needed a break from the flat and all the shifting of stuff. I had intended to buy a magazine I have had on occasion, called 'Current Archaeology.' But W.H.Smith, from where I have managed to buy it before, have seen fit to rearrange their magazine section and the magazine doesn't appear to be there. Just very annoying. I think it might be worthwhile having a subscription and, as a result, having each monthly edition delivered, the same way I have two other magazines, 'BBC History Magazine' and 'History Today'.

The mention of those two magazines makes me think about how they are delivered, by the Royal Mail. But there is a slight problem. Well, not actually a problem. You may recall all the flats within Dexter House had their front doors replaced. But the letter box in each of these doors has a flap inside, a sort of curved metal buffer if you like (I can't think of a better way to describe it.) It may be fine if ordinary letters are inserted through the letter box, but with this metal contraption, anything larger, for example, a magazine, will get mangled. Not such a clever device. Meant, one supposes, to prevent smoke from getting into the flat should there be a fire. But nobody tested these things to find out how they would prevent larger items from being put through the letter box. 

Sunday. 5.30 a.m. Another warm and still morning. 

12.35 p.m. I didn't go to church this morning, but watched the service online, via Facebook. 

Currently, the temperature, according to my digital thermometer, is 82ºF. Just quietly roasting, but does it matter? Seems not. I have attempted to get this reduced, but no one will listen. Crazy.

5.00 p.m. Alfie has been for a second visit to the family who is, hopefully, going to look after him when I go to visit Worcester. He seems to be settling down and enjoying being with them. We will have one more session and then let's see what happens next.

Monday. 6.45 a.m. So, this is it! All the waiting, all the frustration, the screaming, the shouting, the stamping of little feet. What am I referring to? Why, of course, the runners and riders in the race to select the replacement for Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party after the resignation of Boris Johnson. It makes me laugh when you see the two-faced behaviour of these MPs, one minute, all smiles and patting each other on the back, and, no sooner as any of them come forward as candidates, they're stabbing each other in the back (metaphorically, of course!) Rather like something out of a Shakespeare drama, such as 'Julius Caesar.' More like the television series (which I worked on, the BBC version, that is.) 'House of Cards.'

The last of the things have been moved out of the kitchen, and here I am, ready for the workmen to arrive to refurbish my kitchen. It's a bit of a squeeze in my lounge, with more than enough extra bits of furniture, but if it means I get a new, improved kitchen, then I don't mind.

8.25 a.m. Two workmen have come to start breaking up the units in the kitchen. I am going to have a temporary sink so at least I can wash up and make a cup of tea. Temporary that is, until the brand, spanking new sink unit is installed. (Intend to post each step of the journey from old to new kitchen on here. I am photographing it as well.)

Another Week

Sunday. 9.20 a.m. Yesterday I intended to go into the Central Shopping Centre. I have wanted to buy a styptic pencil. I don't think most people, particularly younger men, will know what these things are. If you shave using a more traditional, wet, system, to shave, as I do, you will know how easy it is to cut yourself, or produce little nicks, which cause bleeding. With me, it's not very often, but when it happens, it's often difficult to staunch the flow of blood. You can use bits of tissue or cotton wool, but who wants to go around for the rest of the day with bits of paper stuck to your face? I don't. A styptic pencil means you can stop these little bloody flows more or less instantly. It stings at first, but only mildly. Just a vital item to keep in your shaving kit. But it's very difficult to find such an item anywhere in a supermarket or pharmacy. I have managed to find them in branches of Boots, but nowhere else. You have to keep them dry otherwise they crumble to pieces and then keep them in their little plastic containers. The one I had has since ended up in pieces which is why I wanted to replace it. All this was an excuse to drive into the centre. I haven't been in for a while. I parked in the carpark next to The Point and paid using the RingGo app. It certainly saves having to have the right change for the machine and it's actually considerably cheaper. I went into the centre and had a look for the styptic pencil, first in Superdrug, but no sign of what I wanted. Then into Boots. A short walk further along inside the Centre, but after a good look in the men's shaving area, which has about every shaving item imaginable, every type of razor blade, no styptic pencil! Just a waste of my time. Why is it SO difficult to buy these things? They're really useful for when you have a slight cut when shaving, so you would imagine they would be vital and on sale in the razor blade aisle. But no.

I then went into T.K. Maax. Just for a browse. But the escalator was out of service which meant I couldn't get to the upper floor, so I didn't bother to find the stairs so I left. I then went into W.H. Smith with the intention of buying the latest edition of Current Archaeology which I find thoroughly interesting and worth a read, but, after a good look along the magazine racks I couldn't find it, so I left. Just a waste of a morning in the shopping centre. So I drove to Sainsbury's to buy one or two items and that was my outing over and out.

Monday. 6.05 a.m. Awake early so it was out with Alfie. There was a mist over part of Oldbrook Green and I noticed the obligatory supermarket trolley upturned near the tarmacked games area. Every urban scene must have an abandoned supermarket trolley to give the correct atmosphere. It makes me wonder why people can't return them when they take them away from whichever supermarket they come from.

I've had another great idea for my writing. I'm not going to reveal it on here, obviously, but it will take things to a new level. I'm now doing some research to see how it's going to work and fit into what I have already produced.

Any Day Soon?

 (Tuesday) Seems like we'll be out of lockdown any day soon. Watch this space!

Not so cold this morning, but rather wet underfoot as I took Alfie out at 7.15. 

10.50a.m. I've been to Aldi to get milk and other items. Just resisting going to Sainsbury's as it's so much cheaper. You have to remember to take a £1 coin to be able to use a trolley. It wasn't too busy. I go as far as saying it wasn't busy at all. I find having someone outside begging somewhat intimidating. I'm afraid I didn't have any change. A lady who was coming out of the store warned me of his presence. I don't know what to make of this 'begging' as he looked well enough dressed and quite well spoken (sorry if that makes a difference.) But there must be an underlying reason why someone does this. Milton Keynes has plenty of jobs at the moment, so there's no excuse, even more mundane jobs such as working in a warehouse or working on a production line (I've done it myself, so I do have an idea what's entailed.) Or if he needs food, there is a food bank he can use, even if it for a short while. I'm not criticising or judging, but he may even have a mental health problem which means he can't work, or is homeless. In that case the Council can help. But does he know about these services? I think it's the intimidation that gets to me. Someone sitting or standing outside a supermarket or, as in the case when I lived in Bedford, at a narrow place, an alleyway I had to go through to get to the Post Office, making you feel guilty, which is unfair, as you walk past.

I came back home with my shopping which I unloaded and put away. I took Alfie out, as he was doing his staring act. Which tells me that he really needs to go out. The merry sound of chainsaws coming from a distant, somewhere near Oldbrook Boulevard. It's Council workmen hacking bits off trees. Perhaps hacking is the wrong word as I don't think they exactly hack, more like 'trim.' But it's a distinctive sound.

'Cautious but irreversable' is how Boris Johnson has described any 'roadmap' out of lockdown. I think he's just been bounced into making some sort of route we take to get back to some sort of normal by the 60 plus Backbenchers who more or less demand something is done to get the county to some sort of normality. 'Lockdown 4' is a no-go, thank goodness. Please, Boris, just get us out of this! I realise we have to be careful so that there are few infections and deaths, but being in lockdown is like stagnation. Turn into very ripe cheese at this rate, or wine with an extremely high alcohol content.

I read this morning that those in the 80-plus age group are showing that they have antibodies to defeat the coronavirus, as a result of having the vaccine. This shown by giving them blood tests, so this is great news and shows that we are at last on track to end lockdown. Who would have believed this would be possible a year ago? Amazing that there are several effective vaccines which we didn't have at the beginning of this pandemic. Even news this morning on BBC Breakfast, that venues, such as concert halls and theatres could reopen if there was the use of rapid testing before audiences could be allowed, as well as all performers, musicians, actors and other staff. As theatres have been closed for almost a year, it would be great to have them open and performances to be restarted. A devastating blow to the theatre industry to have to close theatre doors and have so many being dark. It will take a long time to recover from this awful crisis.

1.55p.m. I've done a good deal more writing. I'm doing it a little bit at a time, which is a good way to go with this. A couple of lines at a time, even less sometimes. Better I reckon than struggling and in between it give me time to think what I will write next. Around fourteen pages at the last count, which is really amazing considering. I realise it will need to to be edited heavily, but that's better than not having enough written and it's a bit like when you're making a film or television programme, better to have plenty to play with in the edit, meaning you have more choices with how you want the piece to go. Once it's done I shall put it away for a while and come back to it. Reading it immediately will not help. Time is good to allow you to take a different view on what you've created.

The electronic Oxford Dictionary I have and which proves to be extremely useful when I'm writing showed on the digital screen which I used when I'm writing, told me that the battery was about to fail, so I had to put a new one in and fortunately I had some spare AAA batteries available, so things were not held up. Easy enough to replace. I've had that gadget several years and it's the first time I've had to replace the battery. I remember going into W.H.Smith's in the main shopping centre with Carol to buy it. I think it might have been a birthday present, but it saves a lot of time, rather than using a paper dictionary.

(Wednesday) Quite wet when we went out at 7.10a.m. I wasn't sure whether it was raining, having looked out of the kitchen window, and it was, which Alfie didn't like, so we soon went back inside in the dry. We'll have to go out a little later. Never mind, it's only water after all. But, saying that, it's surprisingly mild.

Later. It was sunny when we went out at 10.20, which made a change from what it was earlier. Workmen cutting hedges and generally tidying up around  Oldbrook Green. I suppose it's important to keep on top of that sort of work otherwise hedges particularly get overgrown and then impossible to manage.

Another Sunny Day!

The warm weather continues. Milton Keynes in the sun is a great place.

I've been doing on-line surveys for a good number of years now. It's turned out to be quite a lucrative activity. I can't say you can make a living at it, but if you find the right survey sites that offer either vouchers or cash, then the points or cash can soon add up. One such site is called Consumer Pulse, which you have to be invited to join, as I was, some 10 years or so ago. This company wants you to record what you buy, not grocery items, things like clothing, CDs and DVDs, books and so on. I have already managed to purchase quite a few items using the points that I have a accrued and these can be converted into  variety of vouchers for well known stores, such as W.H. Smith, Waterstones, Argos and Currys. We purchased a steam iron, electric kettle as well as put a large amount to the cost of our Hitachi HD television set. I had got quite a good balance of points on Consumer Pulse. Well over £140 and decided that I could use them to purchase a new microwave. I got rid of the old model we had a few months ago because it wasn't in a fit state to use. It had gone rusty and it hadn't been looked after very well. If food is spilt inside when something is cooked and isn't wiped clean, then eventually it will fester and this is exactly what had happened to this model. It just wasn't hygienic, so I took it to the tidy-tip. For a replacement I intened getting one that, hopefully, would be better constructed, and wouldn't rust as quickly. Let's be honest here, many products aren't made to last. They have a sort of built-in obsilescence because the manufacturers want you to buy the latest model. This seems the case with such things as computers and mobile phones. You have to up-grade the software they run on frequently and then, when there are no further up-grades, you will want to change the model for a newer one. I had to decide which model I wanted and within the budget I had set and to then decide which retailer I would order the vouchers for, up to a value of £140. I chose Currys and duly went on the Consumer Pulse website and ordered them. You can only have them in blocks of £10, and I knew, once ordered, it would take around a week before they arrived at my door.

I was pleased when I got the delivery of the Currys vouchers in yesterday's post (Wednesday) because I was expecting them to come by Friday at the latest. I had to sign because the postie knocked on the door and I was expected to sign on a sort of digital device that it's difficult to write on and produce an at least half-respectable and legible signature.

I was hoping to use the vouchers in the nearest branch of Currys, but when I went to their branch and found the model microwave I wanted, I was told that they didn't have it in stock. I discovered that it was in stock at the Bedford branch, but when I asked if the required item could be bought to the Milton Keynes branch for me to collect I was informed that this was not possible. I could purchase the item on-line and use my vouchers to buy it and have it delivered to my home. So, this is what I attempted to do. You have to scratch off the back of the voucher and then put the long code into the website along with the P.I.N., which is the number on the back of the voucher and under the scratch-off area of the voucher. Having done this for five of the vouchers (each vouchers was worth £10, so there were 14 in total, making a total of £140.) But after the fifth voucher, the software told me that no more than 5 vouchers could be used per transaction! As you can imagine I was somewhat annoyed, but I went into the Currys branch in Milton Keynes and they transferred the 14 vouchers onto one voucher and this I eventually managed to put into the Currys website and order the microwave, to have it delivered next Friday.  Thank goodness thats over,

Meanwhile . . . I was told that my MacBook would be ready on Thursday, and that someone would telephone me to tell me if there was a probem, possibly after 12 noon. Nothing. No call, or anything. Just annoying. I forgot to take the charging cable when I took the computer in for them to look at it, so I took it yesterday when I was attempting to get the microwave sorted out. I just hope I get a call tomorrow and that it's ready for me to collect later in the day.

At the beginning of this blog post I wrote that it was sunny and warm. As I write this, looking out of the lounge window I can see that it is definitely not sunny. The wind is quite strong and it's moving the trees about. That's all I need to tell you at this moment in time.

A Miserable Wet Day

We went into the Central MK shopping Centre this morning (Wednesday). It's been a miserable wet day so there wasn't nothing much else to do. At least it's undercover, which is one good reason to go there, rather than sitting indoors watching depressing daytime television. Well, it seems Carol has come a long way since her cancer diagnosis, when we couldn't go anywhere last summer, and she's walking a long way as well as driving the car.

Arriving at the multi-storey carpark next to Debenhams far too early, because Debenham's wasn't yet open (at 9.30, we discovered) we found that they're currently refurbishing the carpark, areas under cover and weird noised emanating from this area. Scaffolding is up as you'd drive up the ramp and into the carpark. There were plenty of spaces and once we'd parked we came down into the shopping centre on the escalator. We walked through the mall and went into Waterstone's and browsed as we were looking g for a book of study notes and guide to 'The Woman In White.' We've been watching the BBC1 adaptation and wanted to learn more about the novel. You can find plenty of study notes on Amazon, but for once we wanted to buy from a bricks-and-mortar shop. A staff member went out of his way to help and even went on Amazon to find something suitable, but unfortunately we didn't find exactly what we wanted. We bought a set of CDs of Alan Bennet reading some of his stories. We can listen to them in bed as we have a digital radio with a CD player in it which is ideal for listening to not only digital radio, usually BBC Radio 4Extra, but also this type of thing.

We walked through Midsummer place and into the main shopping centre. Several of the shops have moved into different units. W.H.Smith moved from where they've been for years, no doubt from when the centre originally opened, into a new, smaller unit. On one floor. They gave up selling CDs and DVDs so didn't need the upper floor. We went in to see whether they had the study notes we wanted. This area is at the back of the store, hidden away in a corner. Probably if 'The Woman In White' was a set text for A Level they'd have it, but no sign of anything related to it. Probably go on the W.H. Smith website and have a look.

Patisserie Valerie has moved. They were up the end nearer Marks and Spencer and House of Fraser. When we saw the old unit boarded up the other week, we assumed that they had closed down completely, but this morning we saw the new unit they've moved into, further along from the old W.H. Smith's unit. Also, River Island, gone to where H.M.V. used to be. Infact, H.M.V. gone into a much smaller unit. Also, Holland and Barrett, which used to be in one of the malls that run between the main malls, a newer and bigger unit along from Boot's.

We walked as far as Middleton Hall and had lattes and croissants in Pret-A-Manger. Not busy, but as it was a Wednesday morning, not really surprising. Plenty of places to sit and eat. We eventually reached John Lewis and walked through the store until we got to the escalators and went up to the top floor, near the restaurant, as Carol wanted to look in the haberdashery department for something for one of the felt fairies she's making, some sort of crimped wool. I'm not exactly sure what it is but they didn't have any of what she was looking for. The staff in these shops must be bored stiff as there were so few customers to keep them occupied.

From John Lewis we wandered out into Middleton Hall and then on to The Works where you can always discover a bargain in books and other items. Carol had a browse in the craft section and I went to look at the history section. Quite a few I'd like, but at the moment I have plenty of books which I have to read when I've done with my current reading material. Carol came to join me and had a large item which turned out to be a jigsaw puzzle mat. A Porta-Puzzle mat. She's bought a jigsaw on Amazon and it means she can keep all the pieces together and as I write this, it's slid under the television unit and can be bought out and continued without any trouble. At £20 a good deal cheaper than elsewhere, including Amazon.

We began to walk back through the shopping centre and arrived back in Midsummer Place and got back to Debenhams and went downstairs as Carol wanted to look in the Manraray clothing range. There's currently a sale on but if we buy anything we'll come back to purchase something. Then we went back to the car and went home. By this time it was really raining hard.

As I write this at 5.30 in the evening, the weather has improved. It's sunny and bright, but I somehow doubt it will remain dry and we get rain over-night.

Ninth Chemotherapy Cycle

Carol had to be at the oncology suite for 9 o'clock this morning. We had intended walking, but then decided that, as we had other things to do, we decided to drive. We had to go to Ashfield Medical Centre to discover whether the prescription for Carol was ready. Carol drove and I went in and fortunately not many people in he queue in front of me. A mother with two little girls ahead of me in the queue were having fun with the footprints painted on the floor, being able to stride onto each step, the older one had no problem, but the little, youngest one had to make a real effort. Good to see their mother interacting with them instead of fiddling with her smartphone. When I eventually reached reception, it wasn't clear whether the ordered repeat prescription was in the surgery or at Lloyd's in Sainsbury's. I went back to the car, where Carol was waiting, and she had to go back in to the surgery and, because she remembered which three medications they were. It then transpired that whatever it was had gone to Lloyd's. This is becoming so annoying, having to go through Ashfield to order medication and then not knowing whether Carol can have a particular medication and on top of that, where it is in the system. Our patience is at breaking-point and it's causing no end of stress as a result.

Our next stop was the hospital. Not a long drive, as it's relatively close to Ashfield, but there was quite a long queue along Saxon Street and back onto the Standing Way roundabout, another cause of stress as we'd barely given ourselves time to get from home to Ashfield and then on to the oncology suite at the hospital. The carpark near cardiology and oncology, where we normally park was, had plenty of spaces, so that was one less thing to get stressed about and the  entrance barrier was raised, so no ticket. No great bother, the thing is almost always out of order. I know we don't have to pay as Carol is on chemotherapy, but even so it is annoying to have to go through the process of having the tickets clipped in the Macmillan unit. On arrival in oncology is was beginning to get busy. One lady who came to sit opposite was at the beginning of her chemotherapy. She was having some sort of cap-arrangement set up to wear on her head. Carol said it was something that they use which is supposed to help prevent a patient's hair being lost as a result of chemotherapy. She suddenly went limp, and she fell backwards in her chair. As if from nowhere, a whole host of nurses and doctors appeared to deal with what was probably an epileptic fit, or seizure, or diabetic reaction to the treatment. We moved out the way, as they began to draw the curtains around her and it seemed only decent to not be party to the doctors speedy intervention. So we transferred to chairs around the corner to let them get on with their job. It wasn't long before Carol was seen, her blood test carried out and we were out of the unit and driving out of the hospital carpark. I'm just impressed by the speed of the doctor and nurses getting to the poor lady's reaction to whatever it was. No doubt she had an underlying health issue. It just goes to show how well trained and efficient the staff in that unit are and how quickly they came to that lady's aid. It makes you feel far more confident that, if something was to happen to Carol or even myself, with my heart issues, you would be dealt with in a very professional manner. Everyone knew exactly what to do in an emergency.

We had to go into the main Milton Keynes shopping centre because I had a cheque that needed paying in to my Nationwide account and Carol said she would like a coffee and something to eat. So we parked in Debenham's multi-storey carpark and we walked down through the store and out into the main shopping mall. First off, we walked to Pret-A-Manger and ordered lattes and croissants. Mine an almond one and Caro's a chocolate one. Good customer-service, a nice clean store and the girl who served us very friendly and gave eye-contact. Nice to be able to sit and relax after the experience of the hospital, and the fact that things regarding chemo going well. Hopefully by Thursday we should know when Carol will have her operation and more, the radiotherapy which will be done in Oxford.

We walked into the main shopping centre. Got to Nationwide and paid the cheque in via one of their self-service machines. How does the thing know how much the cheque is for? How is it able to read the printing and then allow you to see a sort of image of the cheque on the video screen and then print it onto your receipt? What I want to know is, why does it take so long for a cheque to clear? It used to be no more than three working days, so why does it now take at least a week? You'd think, what with modern technology, it would be shorter. I know that most people use contactless payments, chip-and-pin and other technology to pay for things as well as having money paid by B.A.C.S., so I can see no reason for it to take so long to clear. Just a little moan, I know.

Carol wants to replace a  silver chain which has a silver chain and pendant I gave her a couple of Christmases ago, but unfortunately the silver is tarnishing and she said she would like a replacement. It has a 'tree of life' design on it. We went into several jewellers to try and find a replacement. In one we were shown into a sort of lounge-area, where one of the sales assistants was quite helpful and went out of his way to find what Carol was looking for, but the price was more than we wanted to pay. He did a reasonably good job, but I think he was on commission so was going to be over-assertive to get a sale.  There are far too many jewellers in the shopping centre. How on earth do they survive when there is so much choice? No wonder that assistant was so assertive. We eventually went to another store and Carol got what she wanted. Not such a pushy sales assistant.

We walked along the mall and went to the Disney store. Why has their stuff become so cheap and tacky? They used to have far more quality things on offer, particularly from their classic period, collectable things as well as books on the 'making of' their animation in particular. Why no Henson stuff, particularly from The Muppets' which are owned now by Disney? Nothing that you'd buy for an adult, something with the original designs from the 'golden age' of the studio. It's a pity that Disney owns so much, from the Muppets to Marvel and 'Star Wars,'  as well as Pixar. Just becoming a conglomerate with far too much power. Why do they have to keep re-making their classic movies? Just a bit lazy to keep on re-hashing stuff. I think Walt Disney would have a fit if he knew what they've done to his studio. Just a pity that their films seem to be just an excuse for a load of merchandise. It should be 'story first,' 'quality movies' and then merchandise as s spin-off. Just a pity that the moves are, in essence, now just glorified advertising. Just love the hand-drawn animation from the 'Golden Age,' but some of the modern stuff isn't up to much. Pixar is the best at computer animation, but they shouldn't keep doing sequels to their best movies, such as 'Toy Story.'

A further walk towards Boot's. In the oncology suite, the nurse who had taken Carol's blood somehow over-looked the tube gauze she is supposed to have to cover the cannula she has for her chemotherapy. I was somewhat concerned that it might get knocked or even pulled off, even though it was taped on fairly securely. So we bought a roll of it, having to ask at the counter for scissors to cut of enough to cover her arm. We then went out of the store, having paid, and sat on a bench so she could pull it over her arm. Then on to W.H. Smith to buy a couple of notebooks and then a walk home towards Debenham's and up the escalator to the carpark and then to Sainsbury's to collect the medication that had been made up from the prescription.

On arriving home we had two parcels delivered. One had been left in the meter cupboard when we were out, a Regatta jacket I ordered from their website. A really good bargain as it was originally around £60 but bought for £25.50. A softsshell jacket, lightweight but very efficient to keep out the cold and wind resistant. It is so designed that it can be packed up into a small space and ideal to take away when we go out and might need a jacket if it's cold. Unlikely at the moment, as it's quite warm. Although, saying that, compared with the weekend, it's quite a few degrees colder so it was necessary for me to wear my fleecy top I bought in Dobbies a few months ago.

The second parcel was from Amazon, a set of head scarves for Carol to wear on her head when undergoing chemotherapy.

MK Shopping Centre Visit

Carol's mum and dad have been here for a visit today (Wednesday). They came up from Bournemouth and were given a lift from someone from their church, arriving here at about 9.45. We didn't take long to decide where to go for the day, rather than sitting in the house as they have done for the past couple of visits as Carol is feeling far better and thought she needed to get away from the house. It was a choice of going to Stoke Bruerne or the central Milton Keynes Shopping Centre. It was as well we chose the shopping centre because the weather turned out unsettled and cold, although it would have been nice to have visited the canal and museum at Stoke Bruerne and have something to eat in the pub we know there from previous trips.

We drove towards the centre and parked in the multi-storey carpark next to Debenhams and then walked in and down the escalator and stated off in the restaurant which we noticed immediately had been refitted. We had coffee and then made for the ladies department where Carol browsed the clothing and her mum and I bought her some things which will be birthday presents. One problem solved as I wasn't certain what she wanted.

We walked through Midsummer Place and Carol found it quite cold. This is one of the side-effects of the chemotherapy she's currently going through. Then we walked into the main shopping centre which is, thankfully, a good deal warmer.

It seems that Carol has come a really long way since her diagnosis. She has been through a great deal (haven't we both) and at an early stage she wouldn't have been able to walk as far as she did this morning, so it seems things are getting better.

We got as far as W.H. Smith and went in to look at books. They recently moved into a far smaller unit. No doubt because they seem to have cut the amount of stock they have and no longer sell, such as  CDs and DVDs which used to be on the floor upstairs. At one time they used to have a travel agent (well, at least in the Bedford branch) as well as knitting wool and a host of other items which they've stopped selling. We spent some time browsing and Carol found a couple of adult colouring books, which seem to be popular at the moment. Really perfect to keep her occupied whilst having chemotherapy and at home. One is based on 'Vogue' magazine illustrations and another you can barely see the outlines of the illustrations and wouldn't see what the picture was until all the colours are filled in.

We continued on walking on leaving Smith's.

We reached Middleton Hall, the vast open space in front of John Lewis. We were in need of something to eat, as the time was nearing lunch time. So we decided on going to John Lewis's restaurant. We have been in there before, but, unless you knew where it was, you'd be hard-pressed to discover it's whereabouts. It's on the top floor and up several flights of elevators. There don't seem to be any signs from the ground floor as far as I could  see. I suppose you'd have to ask a member of staff or look on one of the department location boards dotted around the store. On arriving in the restaurant we ordered our food. Carol had soup and a roll, I had a sandwich, although I must say they had a rather poor selection and it would appear that they were somewhat short staffed and it seemed to take ages for a member of staff to serve me. All he had to do was put the sandwich I wanted on a plate and hand it too me. Carol's mum and dad had scones and jam. I went back to get a pot of tea although Carol's dad didn't want tea. I was somewhat disappointed that the milk was only available in those horrible little plastic pots with those nasty foil lids which are virtually impossible to peel off in order to get at the milk inside. Also, they made the tea with just one teabag on a piece of string which I dislike intensely. I'm surprised at John Lewis, who have fairly high standards, to use such a method of tea-making.

The restaurant was fairly busy, including a couple a few tables along from us, who had young children, one of which was causing some problems for them, making a lot of noise. I'm also surprised how under-staffed it was for the time of day considering how busy it was. It got busier as we were about to leave.

We went down on the elevator and on the ground floor walked through the kitchen department. We had a brief browse and Carol had a look at the food mixers. She's seen a Kenwood hand mixer on the John Lewis website so knew that this was the one she wanted. At £20 it seemed good value, compared with other models and a reasonable price when comparing such companies as Argos, surprisingly, since John Lewis is generally somewhat more expensive than other stores although you always know you will get good customer service. The Milton Keynes store was refitted a few years ago and as a result they moved departments around. For example, the kitchenware department was on a different floor, as was the restaurant which used to be at the front and overlooking Middleton Hall. The departments had been in their old locations probably since the store opened back in the late 1970s and the store probably hadn't been remodelled since then. Anyway, we decided on purchasing the mixer and then left the store.

We slowly walked back through the shopping centre along the other mall and walked back through Midsummer Place to return to Debenhams and then up the escalator to the carpark and home. We spent some time talking before Carol's parents left for home when their friend from church came back almost precisely at 3 p.m. to drive them home to Bournemouth.

Wild and Windy Night

It was very wild and windy last night. I could hear the sound when I woke up during the night. I just hoped the garden fence wass strong enough to withstand the storm and we din't end up having the fence repaired as we had to a couple of years ago and woke up to find part of it laying across the garden. Alfie is spending a lot of time in the rough area at the end of the garden at present. No doubt he has come across something that might possibly be a hedgehog or other small animal which has left it's scent in the grass or rough area where the mower can't go. I'm just concerned that he might get into the old garden shed as he once got inside and got stuck and it took some while to rescue him.

12.45 p.m. Well, as I write this, the wind has dropped and the sun is out. We've been out, into the MK Centre to browse the shops. We walked through the centre, having parked in Debenham's carpark. Actually, I don't think that carpark is part of Debenhams, it's just in the centre and you walk in through Debenham's store. We didn't on this occasion as it looked as if there was a security alert as there were staff standing around near the door so we went into the shopping centre down the escalator and came out opposite the main Debenham's entrance. I don't like these moving staircases as you have to be so careful because if you mis-step you could come down faster than you would normally want. Also, going up I have a real thing about heights so don't want to look down. Sad really. I have to admit that I don't like heights at any price and no matter where.

We walked through the shopping centre and were going to buy something to take home for lunch and went into Gregg's to find sandwiches but we weren't over-impressed by the selection on offer and there was quite a long queue to pay so we gave up and left. We went into W.H.Smith's to find a suitable birthday card for our grandson George, who's birthday is coming up and browsed in the racks, found what we wanted, paid and left. We walked back towards the carpark at Debenham's and went into Waterstone's (there are two branches in Milton Keynes, one in the main shopping centre and the other in Midsummer Place, which also has it's own coffee shop.) A good range of books as usual. It's building up to Christmas so all the newest titles are on offer and on display. Clever that they have books on tables which are laid out so you can pick them up to look at them, which makes it far more tempting to buy. We then went into Marks and Spencer's to get the sandwiches for lunch and returned to the carpark and left to drive the relatively short distance home.

Life's Little Niggles

There are quite a few little niggles I could mention as I go about my daily activities. What do I mean by a niggle? A fly in the ointment, a stone in your shoe? A minor hiccup? A spanner in the works of life? I'll try and explain a few I have come across. Such as having problems with opening packets, jars and bottles. Why do manufacturers insist on making it so difficult it get into the packets they put their products in? Such as teabags, particularly P.G. Tips. Why is it so hard to get through the cellophane wrap the boxes are covered in? They could put a pull-tag on the cellophane which means the covering comes off easily, but generally, no, there is never such a thing. Why cover the packets in this foul stuff in the first place? What is the point of it? It surely can't be to keep the teabags within dry, or can it? Then, once you actually get inside there is a sort of perforated flat, which you have to break into when you want to extract a teabag. They put a similar perforated section in boxes of paper tissues which are virtually impossible to break into and then you have to extract the tissues through a very thin opening, which means that several tissues get torn to threads in the process, most annoying when you have a cold, with a runny nose and want a tissue in a hurry. Going on from tissues, how about toilet rolls? How easy can it be for manufacturers to make a roll of toilet paper which are easy to start off when the roll is new? You go to the loo and then discover at the vital moment that the loo roll has run out so you hunt far and wide for a new roll and then have trouble getting the end of the roll to start because it so difficult to get hold of the end of the paper and when you do eventually find the end, it just disintegrates and becomes virtually useless. Ink cartridges for printers can be annoying. Not just the fiddly installation process, but the packages they come in can be very difficult to open. There again, they have to be covered in more cellophane and then you break your fingernails trying to open the packet and then the actual ink cartridges are wrapped in more cellophane. Another product which can be annoying to open are CD's which never come with a handy strip to pull which releases the enclosed CD from the confines of it's little plastic box. These boxes can be fiddly when it comes to getting the CD itself out as it's held inside with a weird little central 'hub' which has sort of plastic teeth on it. It can be quite difficult removing the CD from this 'hub' thing to such an extent that if you're not very careful you could damage the CD. And the 'teeth' of this 'hub' thing can break off very easily, because it's made of very fragile plastic which breaks off easily and if that happens it renders the thing useless, meaning the CD won't sit safely on it and so get damaged if the plastic case is dropped. If that's the case the whole case is useless.The same can be said of DVD cases and also trying to extract the confounded thing from a similar 'hub' which is as difficult to remove as a CD. You can break your fingernails if you have to try to open the plastic box the thing comes in which is just as annoying.

Butter and margarine comes in convenient plastic boxes. I know these products are more convenient than having blocks of butter which come in paper or foil which means you have to transfer them into butter dishes (do people do that today? I think my mother would have done that once upon a time, but that would have been in the 1970's.) These products also are handy because they spread easily from the fridge, but the little niggle I have is the horrible bit of paper they insist on inserting under the lid when you open it and sitting directly on top of the spread inside. What's the purpose of that? You just throw it away, or, if it's left inside, you have to lift it off every time you want to take out some of the spread.

Cellophane and plastic wrap seems to cause quite a few problems. Another example which often bugs me is what covers magazines. I have a couple of magazines which I subscribe to and they arrive by post. Getting into them can be difficult, but not necessarily opening them (again, not always come with a handy tag to 'pull' so the cellophane or plastic wrap will open easily, but if you're not careful you can tear the magazine within the packaging. On a couple of occasions the postman has shoved the magazine through our letterbox with such force that the magazine within the packaging is damaged or it may be it got damaged somewhere within the post office's sorting machinery. Then, once you've got inside the packaging and opened the magazine you often find a sheaf of leaflets which are annoying because you end up throwing them away. We recycle wherever possible, but generally these bits of paper are not for things we want to read or offers we need or want, much like the annoying leaflets for such things as pizza delivery services, double glazing or estate agents who insist that your house would sell easily, which I'm sure it wouldn't. All go in the recycling bin and are really a great waste of resources. Even if you buy a magazine in a shop, such as W.H. Smith, most magazines you buy from the newsstand have similar leaflets inside and I notice that Smith's now have a bin in their shops which are there to take these annoying leaflets as they fall out when you open the magazine.

At the petrol station. Why can it be so difficult to fill your car up with petrol? How is it, when you manage to remove the  petrol hose from it's holder on the pump, it can be incredibly difficult to pull the hose out of its housing? Why can't it remain a decent length enabling you to fill your car successfully? Also gripping the trigger-mechanism takes quite a bit of effort as it can be quite stiff and difficult to keep pressed so the petrol flows. This similar thing happens when you go to put air in your tyres, especially at our local Shell station. You need a 20p piece to operate the machine, which s reasonable I suppose price-wise, but attempting to pull the hose out can be tricky as it won't maintain a decent length so you can reach all four tyres. Particularly difficult when you need to get to the side of the car furthest from the air-pump machine. The hose keeps wanting to recoil itself when you let fo of it and you need to put a foot on it to stop it retracting into the machine. This job is difficult if done on your own which is why it's easier with a second person who stays with the machine as you need to be able to read the pressure of each tyre so as to make sure it is correct. Do the owners or manufacturers of this machinery not realise how difficult these operations are and perhaps modify them so as to improve them and make it easier for their users? The answer to that is 'probably not,' because most people never complain about these things.

More little niggles. How about this one? Pink bin bags. Those which are provided by Milton Keynes Council to put your recycled rubbish in. First of all, they come on a roll. A long roll and it can be difficult to find the perforations which you use to separate a single bag from the roll. Tear rather than pull, because if you don't you might rip the bag. The you have to peel the bag open, and because the plastic these bags are made of it's extremely difficult. I find that licking my finger helps so the separate sections allow the bag to open. As I say, these pink bags are very thin and flimsy, which means you have to be extra careful when you place your recyclable rubbish inside because otherwise it will tear and become worthless. Why do they have to be so flimsy and, therefore, easy to tear, allowing rubbish to spill out? Just ask those that provide them at Milton Keynes Council.

Just Another Weekend?

On Friday, after Carol finished work, we went into the Milton Keynes Central Shopping Centre. We had a need to break our rather ordinary routine and get out of the house. We parked in Debenham's multi-storey car park and we had a good idea that it would be easy to park there. We met a queue of cars going into the town centre, most likely because it was Black Friday, which would mean a lot of shops would have pre-Christmas bargains. It seems that everyone has to go totally mad whenever there is any chance of a bargain but we were just keen to get out. We walked through Debenhams and the place was seething with shoppers. We went out into Midsummer Place and ended up in Waterston's and it was in the middle of being revamped which seemed amazing considering it was so close to Christmas. I don't think the shop has been modernised in all the time I have been coming to Milton Keynes. It will be a good deal brighter and modern once the work is completed. There used to be a Costa coffee shop upstairs as well as a Paperchase concession on the ground floor, both gone, so no doubt these were taken out due to the store being under new ownership. We did spend some time browsing and I have some ideas for book I would like to buy. Both Carol and I have done our Christmas present lists which makes it easier for us to buy each other presents. I am going to buy myself a new digital camera in the New Year, a Canon, which I have seen in Jessop's, the camera shop in the shopping centre, but may wait until then because it is bound to be a good deal cheaper in the January sales. I don't mind buying the camera in Jessops as the staff are very helpful and it was one of the businesses which very nearly collapsed when the economy was in a nose-dive and was rescued by one of the 'Dragon's', Peter Jones. If you've never seen the BBC2 show "Dragon's Den" no doubt you won't know who I mean, but anyone who rescues a good business from financial collapse and manages to turn it round to become a profitable business earns not only my total respect but my loyal custom. I can't wait to get the new camera and it will be a sort of joint retirement/birthday and Christmas present to myself!

The main shopping centre was seething with shoppers. I don't think I have seen it so busy, even in the build-up to Christmas. We went into W.H. Smith as Carol wanted a folder for work. We then decided we needed a break, with a coffee and something to eat. We had intended going into Costa near John Lewis but then went to Pret A Manger. There is a lot of choice regarding places to get a drink and something to eat and we've been to Cafe Nero which is the opposite side of Middleton Hall, where the Christmas display is currently on. We were surprised when we went to get our drinks in Pret A Manger when the young man on the till said it was free. We had hot chocolate and mince pies which were very good. A shock to get something without having to pay, but apparently, according to Carol, they are expected to give away some food and drink free to customers. No doubt a sort of 'good will' gesture or something. I can't imagine many businesses doing that sort of thing.

We did have a cursory glance at the Christmas display, but to be totally honest it is a real disappointment. I don't know what it is, but it's certainly not the best effort. The usual little train they have every year is there, but the whole thing lacks any sort of imagination. A load of snow, a few mechanical penguins and Father Christmas doesn't make for a particularly entertaining experience, but I suppose as it's aimed at very little chidren, that's all that matters, but in past years they've had a theme, such as 'Peter Pan', 'Pirates ' or 'Pantomime.' Don't ask me what the theme of this year's extravaganza is as it doesn't appear to have one and it's a shame you have to pay to see most of it. So, as a result, we didn't bother, unfortunately.

Our outing ended with us going home towards Eaglestone and going to the fish and chip shop as we usually do on a Friday evening. You really can't beat the fish and chips from the Brothers Fish Bar in Eaglestone.

Trip Into Milton Keynes Centre

As we were unable to use the car  at the moment(as described in the earlier blog post.) we decided to go into Milton Keynes Central Shopping Centre on the bus. As I have a free bus pass (now being of a 'certain age'.) it seems sensible to use it (Carol has to pay full price for a bus ticket.) and we left the house at around 9.30. It was unsettled, weather-wise, and we had to put on jackets. It wasn't raining as we left, but the sky was becoming very over-cast, with dark clouds. We got to the bus stop in Saxon Street and soon caught a bus. It took us to near the Milton Keynes Theatre where we got off and went into the Central Shopping Centre. Carol wanted to go into Pret a Manger, the coffee and food outlet in Middleton Hall, as one of her former pupils worked there and had said, if she visited, she could have free coffee. Which is what happened. She was so pleased to see the young man, who was very well-mannered and she was so happy that he is doing well. I presume he is working, like my stepson Daniel, who is at Newcastle University and has a part-time job to supplement his student loan. We had really come into the shopping centre more as a way to fill in time, and to 'window shop' as we can't currently buy much until payday this Friday. We did browse in The Works, which always seems to have an amazing selection of books at discount prices and the stock changes so rapidly you have to keep returning because of snapping up any bargains. We went into Hotter Shoes as Carol needs a pair of comfortable shoes for work. She tried a pair on and finds it difficult to get shoes in her shoe size, which is very small. Expensive shoes, but very well made. Good that they are all manufactured in this country. I think you get what you pay for. Later we went into Tiger, the new store further along from Pret A Manger. I mentioned that we visited the last time we were in the shopping centre. It would appear that their stock changes regularly because a lot of what we saw last time, and it was only a week or two ago (when we had walked into the centre along the canal.) and the stock was different then. We looked in at W.H. Smith, but compared to the stock in Tiger, such things as pens, ring binders and notebooks are a good deal cheaper in the other store compared to Smith's, which looks really boring and bland in comparison. Carol's favourite store in Paperchase and we had to visit, even if to just browse, and I was pleased to find that they had a particularly good selection of notebooks as well a range of pens which I have only just discovered called Lamy. I have purchased a mechanical pencil and ballpoint pend via Amazon as well as buying Carol a ballpoint which had free engraving. Actually quite expensive, but worth it, as they are well made and feel good in your hands when you're writing.  Next we visited Gregg's and had baguettes and sausage rolls. We then saw a display in a shop called Mr Simms' Olde Sweet shop, of sugar-free sweet in their window, so we went inside and bought a small amount of sugar-free sweets as Carol was recently diagnosed diabetic. It was quite encouraging to find such a great range of such products. We  gradually walked as far as Marks and Spencer which is at the opposite end of the shopping centre to John Lewis and purchased some bits and pieces for our dinner later in the evening.  I was most impressed by the cashier, because when we'd arrived at the checkout, Carol decided we needed some soy sauce to go with the stir-fry we were having that evening. The lady got up from her seat at the till and went to find Carol, who we could see struggling to find the soy sauce, and the lady managed to point out the location. That's what I call going beyond the call of duty and was really impressed. Not many staff in a shop would go to such lengths to help a customer. It had by now begun to rain quite heavily and we had to get to the bus stop next to The Point (which is in a really poor state of dis-repair. Sad to think such an iconic building left to deteriorate so badly. Shame on whoever owns it. Surely it could be restored to it's former glory and be put to some use or other.) and managed to return home, through the rain-soaked streets of Milton Keynes and were glad to get back and I made us tea.

Saturday Shopping

The first weekend of the school holidays. Well, for the children it is. The teachers, including  Carol, still have to go in to the Academy on Monday and Tuesday because they have training. Unfortunately. We went in to the Milton Keynes Central Shopping Centre early this morning and parked in Debenham's car park near Midsummer Place. A good deal easier if you park in there as I've probably mentioned on this blog before now, as you're more or less guaranteed a parking space and it's cheaper in the long run. I remember when the shopping centre opened back in 1979 and it was quite a novelty to have so many shops under one roof, you could park virtually anywhere and it was free. Now it is divided up into areas which have more expensive charges and not-so expensive and at one time there were a few free spaces if you got there early enough in the morning. But, unfortunately, the Council got greedy and made it paying. The same happened where I used to live in Bedford and the Council there put parking machines on the street so you had to  pay to park. I wonder how much business was lost when they introduced these parking machines? Quite a lot, I should imagine. At least if you park in the Debenham's multi-storey car park you can just walk in through Debenham's store and if the weather is bad it is at least under cover. We went in and went down the escalator and into Debenham's as I want to look in the menswear department as I wanted to buy some shorts. As the weather is so warm at present I wanted to make the most of it, as I don't currently own a decent pair. I had looked on heir website and saw some I rather liked. Tailored one's in particular. We found several pairs on a rail and a very helpful member of staff came to assist and I took a couple of pairs to try on in the changing room and found that the ones I tried on fitted perfectly so we paid and then went out into the shopping centre. We went into Sports Direct and bought several shirts in their 'buy 3 for £10' together with a smart Pierre Cardin polo shirt for myself. Next into Waterston's to look for the new Harper Lee book which has just come out "Go Set A Watchman" which is a sort of prequel to her other novel "To Kill A Mockingbird." I have read this book as part of a G.C.E.  'O' English Literature course I did years ago. Also, we went to see a stage adaptation of the book a couple of months ago, so we were interested in getting a copy of that and the newly-published book. It was a good deal cheaper in Waterstone's and they had a special exclusive hard-bound edition of the first book, which was supposed to be a facsimile of the original edition which came out in the early 1960's. We eventually decided to not buy it at that time. We then went to Marks and Spencer's because Carol wanted to buy a pair of trousers for herself. It took quite a while to find exactly what she wanted. From there we went to Costa coffee to have a break, lattes and a rather tasty chocolate slice to share. Good to sit for a while and rest before walking along the shopping centre and eventually reaching W.H. Smith's where Carol wanted to get a magazine on dolls houses. We found they had the Harper Lee book for around the same price as in Waterston's but we hd got a voucher when we'd paid at the checkout for £5 off when you spent £15 on books so we bought the copy of "Go Set A Watchman" as well as a paperback edition of "To Kill A Mockingbird," together with a copy of a book which has been made into a film, "The Help" and if you bought two paperbacks you got one half-price, so with the £5 off voucher we seemed to get a really good bargain.

Nostalgia of Shopping -Part 3

Continuing from my last post, further along Bedford High Street was Hockliffe's bookshop. I've always had a real passion for books, so to spend time browsing in a good bookshop and selecting a book to read has always been, to me at any rate, part of the enjoyment or owning books. It was one of those shops that seemed to go on and on, further back, what seemed to me a long way, down a lot of steps and into different room and along passage-ways and up stairs. They had a record department upstairs, selling L.P.'s and singles. This was long before the introduction of cassettes and C.D.'s. There's something exciting about browsing for music in a shop. L.P's in particular because they always had good art-work on their covers. The size of a cassette box was so small that the artwork always looked cramped and pathetic. C.D.'s weren't much better. They may have been technically better, it was easier to find a track on a C.D., they contained more music and they didn't 'click' or 'crackle' like L.P.'s which you had to treat with care. I did have a Philips cassette player, one of the first portable models, but I never liked cassettes. It was difficult to find a track, as you had to keep on winding the tape back and forward. Even with some sort of numbered indicator on the more advanced machines, they were difficult and technically inferior. You could have Dolby noise reduction, special metal tape and so on but it never really improved the sound quality. Hockliffe's eventually became W.H. Smith, which in a way was a pity because when the 'big boys' take over the independent shops you just get bland shops, so that every high street throughout the country has exactly the same shops, the chains such as Smith's, Boot's, Marks and Spencer etc, and all selling exactly the same stock. When the Harper Centre opened in the late 1970's W.H. Smith moved into the new shopping centre. I'm not sure what became of the old Hockliffe's. I think it became a bank or building society branch. 

Almost opposite Hockliffe's/Smith's was (or still is, I'm not so sure, I haven't been along Bedford High Street in a good while) Golding's ironmongers. Another shop which goes back a long way and also has an upstairs department. Not only did they sell your usual range of things like kettles, pots and pans and the usual household paraphanalia, but at the very back was a department selling craft items such as Airfix model kits, balsa wood, glue, aeroplane kits and the like. I was always making models of some sort when I was a child and this was a sort of Aladdin's cave and really interesting. All the staff in Goldings were of a 'certain age,' all seemed at least 50 years old or older and some seemed to have been working there since they left school. You always got excellent service, the staff would go out of their way to help and this was another shop where they had chairs for the customer to sit on. Nothing was too much bother for their staff. You could buy things like nuts and bolts , nails, screws, hooks and so on individually, not in packets. If you wanted only one or just a few items, you could, not waste a packet of, say, a dozen, when you only wanted one item. This was an old fashioned shop which had old-fashioned values. They certainly knew how to look after their customers.

There was another grocers further along the High Street called International Stores. I think my mother shopped their occasionally, but it was difficult to park around there so perhaps she only went in there for the occasional item which she couldn't find elsewhere. This was the time when you went shopping at different shops, the greengrocers, baker's, chemist etc, unlike today where you drive out to a large supermarket on the outskirts of a town, a Tesco's, Morrison's, Sainsbury's etc etc and do all of your shopping in one place which as everything under one roof, along with such extras as opticians, pharmacy, baker, fishmonger, butcher, greengrocer's. May be convenient, but I expect a lot of the smaller businesses closed down because they couldn't compete on price and value, unfortunately.

As a child I used to go to several toy shops in Bedford. Alas, none of these are still in existence. One was in Midland Road, about where the junction of Alexandra Road is, called Hepplethtwaite's (I think that's the spelling, or near enough.) Another of those shops that seemed to stretch back miles and miles, or is it when you are a child you're a lot smaller than an adult, height-wise, so everything appears smaller and when you grow up, everything you see now is a completely different size because you're seeing it all from a different angle. Anyway, it was the sort of shop that you don't have many of nowadays, sadly, because the large warehouse-type companies have come along, such as Toys R Us and just put the smaller independent shops out of business because basically they can buy in larger quantities and then pass on the price cuts to the customer. This is the same with bookshops, unfortunately. There was another toyshop in Greyfriars, I think called Longhurst. I think it was part of Longhurst and Skinner's which was a large furniture shop which also had a toy department and presumably someone managed to keep this going, but in a much smaller shop. Both now long gone and the old Longhurst and Skinner's department store is now a pub called the Pilgrim's Progress. The last toy shop was in St John's Street, called Brightman's and this is where we bought both my brother James and Robert's bicycles. I think Robert's was red and James's was blue. They had them to ride to and from school. I don't know what happened to the red one, but I inherited the blue one, a Rudge I believe, which I had for many years until it was unfortunately stolen from a house I lived in in Tyne Crescent in the early 1990's or thereabouts. Anyway, Brightman's sold all manner of toys, not just bicycles but things like Meccano, which I had as a child. My eldest brothers had it and then it was passed down to me (probably one of the advantages of being a middle child.) and was often given Meccano for birthdays and Christmas and so built up quite an extensive collection. This shop, Brighton's had a connection with school, as one of the Brightman sons went to school with me when I was at Rushmoor. I have a recollection that after a game of football (not my favourite, as I have discussed in an earlier post.) I must have gone home with some of his kit or something, because we had to have everything marked with name tapes. The shop and as far as I know, the business of Brighton's disappeared some years ago. It was demolished when a new one-way traffic system was introduced in the town and they put a sort of link road in almost exactly where the shop stood in St John's Street.

The large out-of-town supermarkets didn't reach Bedford until the 1990's or thereabouts. A Tesco was built on what had formerly been the show ground for the Bedford agricultural show which sadly disappeared in the 1970's. (I believe it merged with other county shows and became the East of England Show and moved to a permanent site at Alwalton near Peterborough.) To gain planning permission the supermarket company put forward the proposal that a leisure pool would be built alongside the supermarket on the same site. This became the Oasis, and is quite a  distinctive building which is in the shape of a pyramid. I believe that originally Asda was going to open on the site but for some reason Tesco took over the site. Another Tesco was built and opened on land on the outskirts of the town at Goldington. Sainsbury had a central Bedford store up until the late 1990's. It wasn't very large, but it closed and they eventually opened a new store at the corner of Shakespeare Road and Clapham Road. My mother wouldn't have been around to see either as she sadly died in 1981. I don't know how she would have coped with shopping in a large out-of-town supermarket. She shopped at some point at a shop off Cardington Road called P and A, a sort of discount supermarket which was laid out with all the grocery items left in their boxes and not neatly as you would have in a more modern supermarket. I don't know what happened to them. I think they closed down at some point but may have run a wholesale outlet somewhere in the town.  I think people did shop at a variety of outlets, going from one to the other, such as the butcher, greengrocer, baker etc etc and not in a large outlet as we have today.

Our school uniforms could only be bought from one outlet in the town. That outlet was Braggins. Not in the High Street, but in Harper Street. My eldest brothers went to Bedford School, and myself to Rushmoor School. Braggins was yet another very old fashioned store, built over many small departments much like the bookshops and other shops I've mentioned. My mother had a cash account there and once a year we'd go in to get our school gear replaced. Another company that seemed to pride itself on it's customer care. You were treated with respect, allowed to sit down whilst shopping (at least the ladies were.). They had one of those systems whereby once you're purchased something, all the paperwork was put in a sort of sealed tube and it was closed up and then disappeared, presumably to the pay desk somewhere within the store and a few minutes later your invoice and change came back in the tube. I imagine it was operated by compressed air or something, but it always intrigued me. Not like today's shopping where it's all done with barcodes on every product and the till operator just scans the items and doesn't even have to work out the change or else you present your credit or debit card and enter your P.I.N. and the transaction is made. The department we went to was called Ovr Boys, or at least that was what the sign said outside in the street. It was for all types of children's school uniforms, every item including socks, shirts, shoes, blazers and trousers. At Rushmoor (no doubt the same at Bedford School and all the other private and Harper Trust Schools throughout the town.) you were expected to have a summer uniform as well as a winter one. Aertex shirts for summer and a grey shirt and tie in winter, a raincoat as well as a cap. The cap was a vital part of the ensemble. Bedford School had a blue one with a crest on a sort of embroidered design, no doubt the school crest with a motto, don't as me what it was. Rushmoor's cap was dark, royal blue, with a red top section, with an embroidered 'R' on the front. It had a peak which meant when you took it off you could fold the peak inside. You were expected to wear it at all times when in uniform outside the school and could be sent for detention if you didn't wear it or were seen out not wearing it.  I can't remember exactly what he rest of the uniform comprised of, but junior boys were short grey trousers and then as you progressed through the school you wore long grey trousers. Very scratchy on the legs, from what I remember. Horrible.

I believe my elder brothers went to school with the Braggins brothers. They must have sold the business at some point or other as it became Universal Stores in the late 1960s or early 1970s, and then it was sold on again and became Beale's. It changed considerably over the years and had a very good stationary department as well as records, books and CD's. They built a new section which faced onto Harper Square which was originally Bedford Modern School, the mock Gothic-style building was saved from demolition in the 1970's when the school moved to brand new premises in the 1970's, to a site in Manton Lane. A hill-side which at one time had been where the games field for Rushmoor School was, up a steep track which was invariably muddy and unpleasant and usually in rain, snow or other appalling conditions. You can see why I couldn't stand games and got put off all sorts of sport, having to run around in howling gales on the top of a very open hill in games kit, getting cold and miserable and generally not enjoying things. Above the new extension of Beales the local council built the brand new Central Library.

One more store which I haven't mentioned is E.P. Rose. In the High Street and you couldn't possibly miss it as it was an imposing building on several floors and the entrance from Silver Street had a sort of tower, made of white stone or brick. It became Debenhams, probably in the 1970's-80's. My mother had an account there and I assume she bought most of her clothes there. It intrigued me as a child as it had a lift. I think it might possibly have been the only store in Bedford with a lift, but it fascinated me that you could get in this 'box' with a door on the front and then we whisked up, or down, and move fast. Possibly because it made me think of the Tardis in 'Doctor Who' which was one of my favourite television shows and which began in 1963 and I must have seen the first ever episode. Sorry to say, but the newly-revived version hasn't got the same sort of magic as the original, even if they can use the latest C.G.I. graphics and a far bigger budget.

Roses had a Father Christmas grotto at Christmas, no doubt in the toy department. Sadly, Debenham's don't have a toy department any more. I think I saw through the fakery of Father Christmas because another store also had it's own Father Christmas and I worked out that he couldn't possibly be in two places at once. They did make quite an effort over the grotto but what spoilt it for me was that he wore Wellington boots covered in a layer of white paint and I saw through the whole thing because i noticed that the paint was peeling off and you could see clearly that they were a common-or-garden pair of Wellies. My cousin Rosemary Kendal had her belief in Father Christmas completely ruined when she was taken with us to visit Father Christmas one day and I pointed out the flaking Wellies! I remember another occasion when I went with mum shopping, and going into Roses, no doubt to buy clothes for herself. She went to the department and wanted to pay for something and she found a group of staff gossiping and was somewhat annoyed that they weren't paying attention. Well, it wasn't the time or place for them to be gossiping, and certainly not on the shop floor or in front of customers, and an account customer at that.
I do remember Taylor Brawn and Flood, a chemist's which had several branches around Bedford. As a child I used to call it 'Taylor, Brawn and Fluid.' I know, sad really, but you know how you pronounce things as a child. It no longer exists as a company, as far as I know. Probably got merged in with another company long ago or just went bust. They had a shop part-way down the High Street in Bedford, I think on the corner of Mill Street. I suppose my mother shopped there. All I remember is that they had some really large bottles in their window, filled I presume with different coloured liquids, probably red, green, blue etc. Sort of bulbous at the bottom and narrowing into a thin neck. I think I've seen something like them on Bargain Hunt or Flog It on television, but these particular bottles intrigued me as they were so large and very striking, taking up a large part of the window display. I think they also had a branch in St Peter's Street, at the traffic lights at St Cuthbert's Street. No doubt I was attracted to the huge bottles in the window there when I was in my parent's car and waiting at the traffic lights.

On the way to school we used to go over the River Ouse along Prebend Street and past an antique shop called, I think, Sherwood's. I've never been inside, but it always appeared to always have the same things in the windows for years and years. As I haven't been to Bedord for a few years and certainly not been along Prebend Street, I can't say whether it's still there, but I don't think I ever saw anyone come out or go into this shop. As the stock never appeared to change over a great many years I can't see how on earth the owner made a living from it. The stock was hidden behind a sort of pull-down shutter or mesh sort of screen, which I presume was to discourage burglary, but all I could ever remember seeing as we drove past was a large brass bed-warmer thing, hanging in the window and the rest of the stock looked very dusty and not very inviting.

Birthday, Theatre and Broken-down Car

On Friday it was Carol's birthday. A momentous day: her 50th. I had to give her something special, out-of-the-ordinary. I decided to give her 50 presents, but not large presents, you understand. I planned to buy 50 tiny 'treats' and wrap them up in five seperate parcels, each representing each of her 5 decades. I went to the Central Shopping Centre in Milton Keynes the Friday before last and went first to perhaps her favourite shop, Paperchase, and bought 10 little figures, erasers, pencil sharpeners etc and then went round the shopping centre buying more for the parcels, from W.H.Smith, Hawkin's Bazaar, Blott etc. It was a lot of fun choosing the items, then bringing them home and carefully hiding them until I purchased wrapping paper and carefully wrapped them without her knowledge. I managed to buy a birthday card in Clinton's and a 'Happy Birthday' sign in the form of bunting on a long ribbon from Waitrose and put this up across the window in the lounge on Friday morning when she was at work.

In the evening we went to the theatre. We went with one of the girls she does tutoring for, who is studying 'A' Level English Literature. She has to study several plays and part of the study is on stagecraft so Carol thought that if she saw a 'live' performance it might be to her benefit. The play we went to see was an adaptation of the Charles Dickens' novel "A Tale of Two Cities" and was at the Royal Theatre in Northampton. We have been to see several productions of various shows in the theatre next-door  in the complex, the Derngate Centre, but nothing in the old rep theatre. I have myself seen quite a few productions over the years, and I nearly got a job there when I left school but eventually ended up going to work at the Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham.

We left in what we hoped would give us plenty of time to drive to Northampton but as soon as we'd got on he M1 outside Milton Keynes we encountered a tail-back of traffic caused by an accident further north and crept along at around 5 m.p.h. We eventually left the motorway near Northampton and found a multi-storey car park but had barely 15 minutes before the curtain rose on the show as it started at 7.45. The play had actually started as we took our seats in the stalls. It turned out to be a very good show which we thoroughly enjoyed. We drove back to Milton Keynes and arrived home at a little before midnight.

The next day it was really bright and sunny.  During the morning there had been a card stuck through the door by the postman, informing us that £1.09p was owing on a letter or some item or other. This was somewhat annoying as the postman never attempted to knock on the door and let us have the item, or let us pay the small amount owing, so we had to drive to the sorting office in Brinklow, which is around two miles from here. It was even more annoying to find, when we got there, that the sorting office was closed. So this item will have to remain there until we can get there to collect it. We had to do some shopping but decided it would be preferable instead  if we went out somewhere as I wanted to take Carol out for a birthday treat and we ended up at the Millennium Country Park at Marston Mortaine, somewhere we've been before with the dogs. The place was extremely busy, it must have been the warm weather which brought the people out. We had something to eat in the cafe and then drove back towards Milton Keynes and went to Tesco's store at Kingston. We did our shopping and then returned to the car and it was at this point that Carol couldn't get the car to start. No amount of attempts would get it to start. Carol had her mobile phone on her but there was very little battery life left in it so she decided to text here friend Pauline, who had worked with her as a teacher at the Academy. Fortunately she texted back saying that she and her husband Paul were on there way to us and would arrive in about 45 minutes. When they eventually arrived we again attempted to get the car to start but still no joy. Paul said that it could be something to do with the petrol, not getting into the engine or something, but that seemed unlikely as I had only  filled the car up a few days previously. But we decided to try filling it with more fuel and purchased a can from Tesco's and then went to the filling station and put £5 in the can and then transferred this to the car. But when we attempted to start the car it still wouldn't play ball.

By now it was clear that the car wasn't going to start so we were taken home with our shopping  by Pauline and her husband. When I got home I telephoned Laverne, who I know from church and who is a motor mechanic. He was as good as his word and came out to pick me up outside our house and took me back to Tesco's carpark, but he could not get the car to start. After a while he asked me whether I had any breakdown cover and remembered that we were insured with Swinton but had no reference number for the policy. As luck or sheer coincidence would Laverne said he was with the same company and said that if he used his mobile he could ring and see whether he could get Swinton to send out a recovery truck to get either the car started or transport the car home. He managed to get through and fortunately they sent someone. It took a further 45 minutes or so for a truck to arrive and the repair man eventually got the car started. It would appear that the starter mechanism where the key goes in to turn to start the car was not functioning properly and preventing the car to start. So, once the car was running the mechanic left and Laverne followed me home just to make sure the car didn't stop running. I will now have to find a garage to repair the car as it's not advisable to drive when it's likely to cut out again. The car it due for it's MoT this month so it can be done at the same time.

Eye Test

I've been into Milton Keynes Centre and had my eyes tested at Boot's Opticians. I parked in Debenham's car park, as I was likely to be some while, having dropped Carol at the Academy, as they were having G.C.S.E. results this morning. I had some time to waste so I walked around the shopping centre, although most of the shops weren't yet opened, although I did go into W.H.Smith and browsed around in the book and magazine section. I got to Boot's at around 8.35, and was surprised to find them open. The eye appointment was at 9.00, but I had to fill in a form first and then had the pre-screening done, which includes the rather nasty test they do to check for glacoma, done with a small puff of air on your eyeball. I have had this done before and it's unpleasant. Even though I know it's coming, and you're expected to keep your eye open and stare at a red dot, I still jump when it comes. They have to do three for each eye, I suppose to get at least one of those three as an average reading. The you do the periperal vision test with a machine with lights that blink on and off and you have to click on a button. I had to sit back in the waiting area and then the actual eyetest began. No real problems, but I haven't had an eye-test for at least five years. Then I had to select a pair of glasses and an assessment was made as to the finished glasses, and I will pick up the finished glasses in a few days time.

Theatre Visit and Milton Keynes Centre

We went to see a production of "Henry V" by W. Shakespeare performed by Propellor Theatre at Milton Keynes Theatre on Saturday afternoon. We decided to leave the car and went into MK centre by bus, which was a good deal easier and far more stress-free than going by car as we didn't have to worry about where we were going to park, nor the cost of parking. We had imagined that it would be busy, in the build-up to Christmas, and we were absolutely right. We got into the centre with more than enough time to spare, so we walked into the shopping centre (the bus dropped us directly outside the theatre.) and couldn't believe how crowded the place was. It doesn't appear as if there's an 'economic downturn' as people were (supposedly) doing their Christmas shopping and not really taking much notice of the fact that things were so dire. We did notice that a lot of shops had pre-Christmas sales on. We went to W.H.Smith as Carol is interested in getting an E-reader. Smiths have their own one called a Kobo, and we got a good demonstration from a member of Smith's staff. Carol is more interested in the basic model, whilst I'd like the one that is wi-fi connected and colour so you can surf the internet.

We continued to walk through the shopping centre, then visiting Boot's as they have their usual 'Buy 2 items and get one free' and we selected what we'd buy as presents. I have won a £25 voucher from doing on-line surveys, which came at just the right time to spend on presents. We didn't buy the things there and then as it would have meant taking the shopping into the theatre, so we'll buy the items later. Next, we went to Waterstone's, thinking that they would have e-readers in stock. I have an idea that I saw a display of Kindles when we were last in the store in Midsummer Place a couple of weeks ago. We went upstairs and asked an assistant, to be told that, since Waterstone's was taken over by a new company, they no longer stocked Kindles. Very strange, as Kindles (and all brands of E-readers) where the latest 'must-have' gadget, and if that was the case, Waterstone's weren't doing themselves any favours by not stocking them.

We walked back through the shopping centre and ended up in John Lewis, and browsed in the gifts department. Then we walked towards the theatre, which is only a short distance from John Lewis. We had a good forty-five minutes before the play began, so we got coffee from the bar and sat in the foyer.

We could hear music and laughter and raised voices coming from behind a glass partition. I at first thought it might have been something to do with a drama course, as the theatre does have courses for acting and other stage-related business, such as fights, etc. It then turned out to be a rehearsal for the theatre's pantomime "Aladdin" which opens on 9th December. We could see into the rehearsal studios, and Carol got quite excited when she saw the 'star' of the show, Gareth Gates, a former winner/contender on something like 'Pop Idol' or at least, one of those so-called 'reality' television talent shows.  We could glimpse what was going on in the rehearsal room through little glass panels in the partition. It was difficult not to hear what was going on, and occasionally there were children's voices cheering, such as 'he's behind you!' and 'oh yes he is!' etc etc. It's certainly not every day that you get a glimpse into the rehearsal room for any show, and not least a pantomime. Having sat and drunk our coffee, we made our way into the theatre auditorium. We have seen several Shakespeare productions by Propellor. The first was when Carol was teaching at Stantonbury Campus, and we went with a party on a bus to the Old Vic in London to see their production of "The Taming Of The Shrew." This is an all-male ensemble, which means all the parts are played by men, as would have been the case in Shakespeare's day, when women weren't allowed on stage. "Henry V" is modern dress, with the cast dressed in army uniforms as if off to the war in Iraq or Afghanistan. By turns very emotional, funny and quite gripping. We have also seen their production of "Twelfth Night" at the Oxford Playhouse, and the fact that it's an all-male cast is even more effective, as the play involves characters who are not only twins, but one is supposed to be a girl who dresses up as a boy. Which makes it more relevant to the plot, which you certainly don't get if it's a cast of men and women. We last saw their production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" also at Oxford Playhouse, and "Henry V" is the first of their productions to be toured to Milton Keynes Theatre. It was a very sparse audience, unfortunately. Perhaps the people of Milton Keynes don't like Shakespeare or have never heard of this company. Our last visit to the theatre was to see the National Theatre production of "Hamlet" with Rory Kinnear in the lead.