Easter Weekend

 Saturday, 7.45 a.m. I've been to Worcester. I left Milton Keynes at around 3 p.m on Good Friday afternoon. I had left Alfie with Irene ("The Doggy Lady.") around 12.30, which meant I could return to my flat, unload the cage from the back of the car, and generally chill out before actually leaving Milton Keynes. The journey out wasn't too bad, apart from getting stuck behind several HGVS towards Buckingham. That's what you would expect on a country road, but never mind.

I was surprised how quickly I got to the M40, and it was a straight run to Worcester. It began to rain, although not heavily, but as a result, it caused spray to be thrown up by other vehicles, particularly those huge HGVS. I don't like where you have to move over lanes and then transfer to another motorway, from the M40 to M42 and finally, M5 to Worcester, but it was done easily, and I arrived outside Chloe and Steve's house a little after 5 o'clock.

It was great to have arrived. The grandchildren have grown, especially the youngest, Rosie. George, asks all sorts of questions. Lots of noise and general talk. George took my bag up to my room. Very polite and he didn't need to be asked.

We had spaghetti Bolognese for dinner, all sitting at the dining table. 

I had a small bedroom. When I last went to Worcester, I had to sleep in a bunk bed. It was somewhat difficult getting in, up a ladder to get onto the top bunk (no lower bunk.) So, if I had to get out of bed in the night, which was quite often, to use the loo, it could be quite difficult. Fortunately, that bunk bed has gone and been replaced by a single bed. Much better and no problems. I slept very well, even though I had to get up several times at night.

The next day, Saturday.

Chloe went to be part of a park run. I don't know where, but somewhere in Worcester. That meant that I stayed in the house with Steve and the children. It was raining slightly. It didn't really matter.

Later that afternoon I went with Chloe and the children to The Hive, Worcester's library, which is part of the University of Worcester. The children selected a wide range of books, and we sat and listened to story time with other children. On the walk back to the car, George, Eddie, and Arthur insisted on walking along walls and down the slope along the steps down to the road level. It looked quite dangerous to me, but it's no good telling them not to, as it's the sort of thing small boys do, and I think I did the same at their age. It's good to challenge them. They were certainly enjoying themselves.

After lunch, we went to Hanbury Hall, a National Trust property. It was attempting to rain, but we didn't let it prevent our visit. Keeping the children incarcerated in the house would only lead to arguments and be quite stressful for all. 

A field near the main house was set up with games, with a prize of, would you believe?- Easter eggs! Hula-hoops, racing around yellow poles, throwing bags into a sort of device with holes in and several others, which I forgot. I recognized the place as we drove in. We came to Worcester, to George's christening. We thought the christening began at 2, so we went to Hanbury Hall to have lunch. I remember it was very nice. We arrived at the church, and everyone was coming out. The christening had started at 1, not 2! Never mind.

The following day, Easter Sunday, there was another Easter egg hunt, but this time, all around the house! Later on, we went to Steve's brother's home, which is a short walk away. Yet ANOTHER Easter egg hunt, all around their garden. They have chickens in their garden. The garden is long and I don't somehow think you would find a garden similar if you were looking for a house in Milton Keynes.

We went back to Chloe and Steve's house and prepared for a meal which we had later. The rest of Steve's family turned up. A table was produced from behind the sofa and put together so that the main dining table was extended. A lovely meal was eaten, which included wine. 

The next day the weather changed. It rained,  although not heavily. Chloe had arranged for us to visit yet another National Trust property near Stratford-Upon-Avon, Charlcote Park. But, because of the weather, it was decided instead to visit Croome. So, the children were packed up in the car and we drove to this rather interesting place. It was a long walk to the house, but the exercise did me good. There was a means of transport to get there, as there usually is at most of the National Trust properties, a couple of what I would call buggies, which only took around 10 people. We had a look around the house and then walked back to the car park and drove home.

On arriving back at the house we had lunch and I got organized, making sure I didn't leave anything behind at around 2 o'clock I left for Milton Keynes and rang the lady who was taking care of Alfie, just to let her know what time I would be coming to collect Alfie.

It was a reasonably good journey home and when I got to Milton Keynes, I had to first go to my flat to collect the cage and then go to pick up Alfie. He appeared to have had a good time and then went home. So, a rather pleasant weekend and actually good to get out of Milton Keynes for a break.

Visit To Kenilworth Castle

Thursday. 12.40 p.m. Continuing my weekend away in Worcester. On Sunday we were all going to Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire, to a historic event with knights and a medieval theme to it. I have been to Kenilworth Castle before when Carol and I were members of English Heritage, and we got in free. Chloe and Steve are members, and we got reduced rates to get into this event. Steve managed to book online on Saturday. I was given an English Heritage sticker to put in my car's windscreen, and so got free parking at the castle. Steve went with the children in their car, and Chloe came with me in my car. It was around a 45-minute drive from Worcester to Kenilworth.

There were a number of things going on within the castle over the course of the day, including knights in armour taking part in archery, and other forms of medieval arms, such as fighting with staves, swords and so on. These were really full-on bouts and the whole gave a real theatrical atmosphere. Very colourful and exciting and the three boys, George, Eddie and Arthur seemed to be totally intrigued.  There were several sessions of different aspects of fighting, which ended around 3.30 with what is called a melee (do a Google search to discover what this is.)

Chloe had bought picnic food, so we were able to have something to eat during the course of the day. 

The three grandsons seemed to relish clambering about on the ruined sections of the castle. When we had our lunch, some distance away from the main activity of the history festival (for want of a description for the day's events.) George and Eddie climbed up a slope and seemed to enjoy enormously sliding down on their bottoms! As a result, their clothes got somewhat dirty, but what do you expect young boys to do? When there's such a great place to explore and then slide down, make the most of it.

We had a look inside the gatehouse, several floors of interesting stuff on the various characters who had either lived in Kenilworth Castle or who were connected to it in some way, which included Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley and then a walk around the Elizabethan garden, which was actually a reconstruction of what historians believed one was like and then we went to watch the falconry display, which was, as far as I was concerned, the best part of the whole day as I really enjoy seeing falcons and other birds of prey in flight.

Once we had seen the final session with the knights, it was time to leave for home. I thought it probably a good idea to move towards the car park before the rest of the crowds had the same idea, otherwise, we would have been inundated, and it would have taken some time to reach the car park, with one child in her pushchair/buggy (not sure which.) and rounding up the three boys. So we got to the car park and I bade farewell to them all as they were returning to Worcester and I was driving home to Milton Keynes.

Fun In Worcester

Continuing with my visit to Worcester. . . The next day, Saturday, we all went into the centre of Worcester to visit The Tudor House, a house, as the name suggests, built and lived in during the reign of both Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. It was lived in by various people and used as dental surgery and somehow connected to the local Home Guard in the Second World War. The Tudor House is now run as a museum but isn't open every day of the week. There were people there doing displays and talks on various topics connected with The Tudor period, and we spent some time listening to these talks and looking at items related to that period. 

We had tea from the teashop and sat in the yard behind the museum to drink it. Then we left to go to Clark's shoe shop. I was somewhat stunned by the fact it was so crowded, with parents and children. We were going to get the children new shoes, ready for the new school year, and it was obvious that this was what all the other parents and children were doing. Staff measured each of the three boys' feet and a selection of shoes were tried on. I think two came away with shoes which fitted correctly, but one, I think George, the eldest, didn't have shoes because the shop didn't have his size. An expensive afternoon, as each pair cost at least £45.

We left the shoe shop and walked through the town centre, and Chloe took a photograph of me and the three grandchildren seated near a statue of Edward Elgar, who happens to be one of my favourite composers. He had lived in Worcester and, I believe, was an organist at Worcester cathedral.

In the afternoon, Steve bought out the tent he had gone to collect from Lincolnshire. It wasn't what I was expecting, not the traditional tent, with tent poles and all that goes with the construction of that type of tent. It arrived as a large bundle, wrapped up in a zipped cover, and it weighed a considerable amount and took two people to lift it. The bundle was unpacked in the garden and the contents drawn out. I was somewhat surprised at the size of the thing, even though it wasn't assembled at this point. It was designed to be pumped up with pumps, rather like used to inflate lilos and beach balls and so on. It had a series of tubes built into its fabric which you connected to the pumps and when these are inflated, these inflated tubes hold up the tent construction. Unfortunately, at one point, Steve was over-enthusiastic with his pump and the inner tube burst, which will now have to be replaced, he did put some sticky tape over the puncture, but it didn't hold.

Chloe and Steve did manage to partly inflate the tent, but there wasn't really enough space in the garden to extend it completely. This was a second-hand tent and had some mould in it's fabric, no doubt because the previous owners had put it away before it was totally dry. 

In the evening we had a barbecue and sat outside at the picnic table to eat, burgers, sausages and all the trimmings, with Steve using the newly acquired gas barbecue, which seemed very efficient and not difficult to cook with compared with a barbecue which uses charcoal and can take some time to get up to the correct temperature to cook any food which is put on it.

Happy, Happy Talk!

Saturday. 6.20 a.m. If you read my blog posts regularly, then you would know that I have been attempting to find someone to look after Alfie when I visit my daughter and grandchildren in Worcester, because Alfie doesn't get on well and makes a lot of noise. There has been a bit of a cul de sac as regards one attempt, but now it seems I have found someone who can look after him, who has dogs. I suddenly had a brainwave. I had the idea that someone at Dexter House might be able to help if I were to go to Worcester and leave Alfie in the flat, but to have someone go in and feed him and take him out several times a day. I thought of Dave, who is a neighbour. I met him when I was about to go somewhere in my car, as he parks his car next to mine. He told me it might be difficult for him to look after Alfie, but his sister might. She loves dogs and has a small one herself, so Alfie would possibly fit in and settle if I left him for a long weekend.

Sunday. 5.50 a.m. It took quite a while to wake up properly this morning, which meant it was somewhat difficult to focus so that I could take Alfie out. He was wide awake and barking loudly, which is why I had the lounge door firmly closed whilst I got myself organized, dressed and ready to go out. It is a mild but somewhat overcast morning. We are being told that for the next couple of weeks we can expect another heatwave. I just hope it's not going to be as hot as it was a few weeks ago. My digital thermometer currently reads 71ºF.

12.50 p.m. There was no church this morning, but there was a picnic at Furzton Lake, but I decided not to go. I had intended to watch the M.K.C.C. service via YouTube, but, having got it all set up through my Fire Stick, it just buffered, so unfortunately I gave up. It just froze, which made it impossible to watch. I've been reading, more of 'Modernity Britain', David Kynaston's book on the later '50s and early 1960s. Very informative, particularly as I can remember vaguely some of the details, as I would have been around 10-11 during that period. He mentions the opening of the Lionel Bart musical, 'Oliver!' which opened at the then, New, Theatre, (Now, I believe, called the Gielgud Theatre. I was at Rushmoor School in Bedford, and we were taken up to London by the English Teacher to see the show. I was very much inspired by it, and it would have been my first experience of a West End musical.  It must have been quite radical in some ways, because the book on which it's based is quite dark in places, think the murder of Nancy by Bill Sykes. The set, designed by Shaun Kenny was very distinctive, imaginative and probably unlike anything a West End audience would have seen up until that point in time. I think it must have coincided with the marriage of Princess Margaret to Lord Snowdon. If I remember correctly, we saw decorations in the street which must have been for this momentous occasion, but, at such a young age, it might not have meant much to me. I do recall going to a Lyon's corner house, of which there were many, not just in London, but in all the major towns and cities throughout Britain at the time, but, now, long since closed. I think this branch was somewhere in the vicinity of the Houses of Parliament. We were all allowed to order whatever we wanted, and one boy being very bold and having a Knickerbocker glory, one of those sweet concoctions, created in a long, stemmed glass, and consisting of brightly coloured jelly, in layers, with fruit cocktail and topped with whipped cream and that completed by a glacé cherry. Very pretentious. Which is probably why I remember it, some 60-plus years later. It must have been that school trip to London, where we were waiting on an Underground station platform, and a train came in, and everyone got on it but it turned out to be the wrong train, so we all had to get on, otherwise some of the group would have gone without us. I don't know how it turned out, but no doubt we had to go back to the same station and start again, getting on the correct train.  The following year we were taken to see 'Pickwick', another musical based on a Charles Dickens novel. It starred Harry Secombe, but it didn't have the same impact or long West End run as 'Oliver!' had. That show was staged at the Scala Theatre in Shaftsbury Avenue, but now converted into a cinema.

I am gradually returning the stuff which was removed from the kitchen units before the refurbishment was started. I just want things back as more or less what they were before the work began. I have lugged two large plastic boxes which have been parked in the bedroom. More or less all the stuff under the sink is back, and I find quite a lot of stuff is duplicated, such as furniture polish. A lot needs throwing away. I have found a really great-looking unit on Amazon which would be ideal to take my HP printer. If I get it, the printer can be moved from the IKEA unit where it lives at present. It comes with wheels and can be pushed around and has space underneath to store printer-related stuff like paper and ink cartridges and even has a handy drawer.

Wheels Coming Off The Bus

Wednesday. 7.40 a.m. A bright and sunny morning. I have already managed to clear out another cupboard! So, the whole clearing-of-the-kitchen is going well.

3.15 p.m. Alfie has been invited back by the family he met last Sunday. I have to say that I'm really pleased as it shows that he can settle down if given a chance. So, he has his own fan club! Also, it means I     can likely go to Worcester without him and have some time with Chloe and her family.

Thursday. 6.30 a.m. It looks like Boris Johnson will soon be forced to resign as Prime Minister.  The wheels are falling off the bus, as they say. 

12.40 p.m. I've been to help set up the Acorns playgroup at the Oaktree Centre this morning. As I wrote this, I have come home and I'm watching BBC 1, with a live report from outside Number 10, Downing Street, regarding the resignation of Prime Minister Boris Johnson. It was expected, although he did his best to cling on, regardless of the number of his ministers who resigned. He came out of Number 10 and gave a speech, saying he would remain Prime Minister until a replacement is chosen.

My replacement debit card arrived in the post this afternoon. I'm just grateful that the incident with my bank card being used fraudulently has been resolved and the money that was taken has been returned to me. I'm really amazed at how quickly the replacement card was sent out. Well done Nationwide Building Society!

Friday. 7.25 a.m. I have more or less finished moving stuff out of the kitchen. Two cupboards are left to clear out and the microwave is now sitting on my desk. There's really nowhere else for it to go. I really just want to get the job started and, hopefully, and I say hopefully, it won't take ten days as specified. The electric oven and the fridge-freezer will be moved by workmen on Monday, into the hallway, and then they would be able to start hacking away at the tiling and the flooring, which is in very poor condition.

11.45 a.m. I've just got back from Sainsbury's. They continue to change things around in there. Why? Is it some made management exercise, just to annoy their customers? Some of it seems absolutely pointless. I'll give you an example: the pet aisle. Dog things on one side, cat things on the opposite side. They have merely swapped them around! I can't think of a good reason for this. No more, or less, space. No new products. Just shifting things across the aisle!!

Bright sunshine this morning. Inside, my digital thermometer reads 82ºF. I'm not sure what the outside temperature is at the moment, but probably around 10-15 degrees less than inside. 

I mentioned on here, quite a few months ago, about the construction of scooter sheds (no, not THAT sort of scooter.) They had to be provided because where they are currently parked, according to the fire officer, they are a danger. So, specially constructed sheds have been constructed outside, with electric points for charging etc. But they can't be used because a special door needs to be constructed so that users can get in and out of the building. Why on earth can't this be completed? There's no sense. SOMEONE in Milton Keynes Council needs to sign the relevant paperwork and get the work finished, so these confounded sheds can be used.  It would be an irony if there was actually a fire and the confounded scooters go in the way of people attempting to leave the building. Oh, wait! If there is/was a fire, we're supposed to remain in our flats. Not a good idea. Look what happened to the tenants of Grenfell Tower, who were told to remain in their flats when that awful fire took place in 2017. Just don't expect me to sit in my flat and not make any attempt to escape.

Small Dog, No Go

Wednesday. 6.30 a.m. Nothing much to report. I have been out and walked with Alfie around Oldbrook Green.

I turned on BBC Breakfast this morning and discovered that there had been yet another massacre at a school in America to my complete and utter horror. It just doesn't seem possible that the American people can allow this sort of thing to be repeated so many times and STILL not have any sort of legislation in place to prevent it from happening. In Britain, we have had similar incidents, but then our government has dealt with it by bringing in legislation to prevent it, or at least make it more difficult for a madman to run amuck in society and kill people. In America, it seems too easy to get hold of weapons without any sort of control, such as requiring a gun licence. They just don't seem to learn from this sort of incident. Why was the gunman allowed to even get into the school? Why no security? C.C.T.V. or gates and barriers to at least slow down a rampaging gunman to enter? I remember when Carol was working at Milton Keynes Academy, to get in you had to stop at the gate (that is, if you were driving in, as I did many times.) you had to press a key on the keypad and wait for the receptionist to answer and then you were let in and then, once, inside the building, you were seen on C.C.T.V. and if you needed to go beyond the reception area, you would be met by a staff member. 

3.00 p.m. I took Alfie out mid-morning and as soon as I put my foot out through the door, I was almost sent flying by an idiot on one of those confounded electric scooters. I never heard it approaching. No noise, no warning or anything. I dread to think what sort of injury I would have received if I had been in the middle of the path. They never slow down and expect you to move out of the way for them. These things should be regulated and the operator/drivers should have insurance and wear a helmet. Then I saw one being ridden on the road, which is crazy because they don't have any sort of protection if they were run into by a motorized vehicle. Just an accident waiting to happen. Goodness knows what it must be like for people with poor eyesight or no eyesight or someone in a wheelchair or with poor mobility.

Thursday. 5.30 a.m. Today would have been Carol and my 15th wedding anniversary. I won't say any more about it on here.

Alfie and I went out at around 5.25 this morning. It was light, and I could hear the birdies singing, so it seemed a good idea. I don't lounge around in bed, as you probably realize.

1.55 p.m. I've been to the Oaktree Centre this morning to help set up and pack away for the playgroup that meets every week. Then I was invited to a Bible study and was the only man amongst about eight women. It didn't matter and then afterwards I helped pack the gear away after the playgroup.

The excitement doesn't get much better. Well, it might or it might not. They're going to plant a . . . wait for it, wait for it. . . . Make sure you're sitting down. . . . A Jubilee rose bush! Just think of it. It doesn't get much better. Sorry for being sarcastic, but do you honestly think we could live without this? Why on earth a ROSE bush? Why not a grand piano, or even a day out at the seaside? I had to stifle a guffaw when I heard. Who is going to plant it? Will it be bug-free? Will the slugs and snails nibble on it?

Friday. 5.25 a.m. I was out with Alfie at 5.10 this morning! How much earlier can I get out and walk around Oldbrook Green? I think I totally took Alfie by surprise when I picked him up off my bed where he had been snoozing.

So, this is the day I get to leave Fogeyville and drive to Worcester, not forgetting taking Alfie across Milton Keynes to be cared for by Whitney who has kindly volunteered to take care of him this long weekend. I'd partially packed up and organised and will start putting things in the car, which is already fuelled and ready for the off!

Later. I have to report that my trip to Worcester was cancelled. I drove to Wolverton Mill, where Whitney lives. She was going to look after Alfie for the weekend. I parked as close to her flat as possible and then unloaded Alfie and took him into her flat. But once I left him with Whitney, Alfie wouldn't stop barking and was distressed when I left him. There was no way I could leave him in distress and also I think Whitney was somewhat distressed. I wasn't expecting this situation. I really imagined I would be able to leave him and then drive away. Unfortunately, that wasn't going to happen. I think it's because he has latched onto me and we've been locked down together for two years due to the pandemic as well as just having me around since Carol passed away. I'm not sure how to overcome this situation so I can go to Worcester without him. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know.

As a result of going to Worcester, I hadn't stocked up with enough food for the weekend. I didn't have anything for the usual evening meal, so I ordered a rather tasty Thai green curry through Deliveroo, which I have never used before. The app has been on my iPad for a while, but I hadn't used it before. But we were back to the situation of the delivery driver not knowing where to deliver to. I had put on the order, to make sure the driver delivered to my flat in Dexter House, but I got a call from the driver as he couldn't find the flat. Even with a huge new sign outside! I'll say no more about this, but it is annoying.

Saturday. 6.20 a.m. Once again, Alfie and I were out bright and early. This time about 5.10. A chilly but bright and sunny morning. What more can I say? These reports are getting a bit repetitive.

Welcome To 2022!

Sunday 2nd January. Here we are, Christmas the  New Year are over and a brand-new year. I just only hope that it can be better than the past two years. Being cooped up in a small flat with just a small Yorkshire Terrier isn't really my idea of any sort of life. Although I should just point out that Alfie has been and is still an excellent little companion, although he has become very demanding, probably because we spend so much time together.

 It doesn't seem like a week has flown by since we went to Worcester for the Christmas weekend. We left on the Friday morning (Christmas Eve) and came back on Sunday (Boxing Day.) It was quite foggy on the motorway, but we made good time, arriving in Worcester just after midday. The three grandsons, George, Eddie and Arthur, were watching my arrival through the window as I drew up. I am called 'Grandad and Alfie Dog' almost as if we are an attached couple, although in some ways I suppose we are. Alfie just doesn't understand young children, probably because they move around faster than the average adult, have higher pitched voices and have a tendency to grab and stroke. This is entirely understandable since we have been leading a somewhat simple life since the pandemic and definitely since Carol's death. Chloe and Steve put a childproof stair gate across the entrance to the utility room, which is off the kitchen at their house in Worcester. Alfie had his bed, water and food if he needed to have a feed and the back door could be opened so he could get out into the garden. He did not like it, although he did settle down eventually and made little noise, but we did let him come out and wander around the house once the children went to bed in the evening. During this time he was quiet and seemed far more settled, wandering around after me like a shadow, even following me to the toilet.

We came home on Sunday afternoon and got back to the flat at around 5 o'clock. I'm so glad I didn't leave any later as I didn't want to drive on the Motorway in the dark, or at least, in reduced light. I'm not too keen driving in lights. On both the journey out and the journey back home I needed to stop at the  Moto Cherwell Valley service area. I had a need to use the toilets. It's a long walk into the building where all the shops and restaurants are. But it fulfilled my needs and I was soon back in the car completing the journey. Alfie is quiet minutes after being placed in the cage in the rear of the car, with the parcel shelf down which must make it dark, and he feels safe. But as soon as I draw the car up in a carpark or the drive at home, he starts barking and getting excited. 

Monday 3rd January. 11.00 a.m. I have turfed out the Christmas tree, which has been shedding it's needles for the past week or so and consequently looking somewhat thin and a real mess. I then vacuumed up the needles and have since given the floor a mop with the Vax steamer, and it's beginning to look a good deal better for the work it has entailed. 

For some unaccountable reason, my Panasonic Free view box stopped connecting to the internet. Without this connection, you cannot get any of the catch-up services such as BBC iPlayer to work or Netflix or other streaming services to work via this piece of kit. I had problems with it a few months ago. I simply wouldn't connect via Wi-Fi. I bought some cable from Amazon and used that to connect directly via the Wi-Fi hub. Furthermore, I attempted to reconnect via the hub once I got my Sky upgrade, and duly reconnected the cable via the back of the hub and into the Panasonic box. I seemed fine for a week or so, but then it decided to stop. I have since reconfigured the wifi connection with the new hub and used the password, and it now works. The thing was just being difficult for the sake of it, but at least it's working, thankfully. Yet another problem solved.

Worcester and Wellies

Friday. 6.40 p.m. Yesterday (Thursday) I went to Sports Direct with the intention of buying a pair of Wellington Boots. I was certainly not paying somewhere in the region of £60-£100 for a pair, which seems totally ridiculous. Just a bog-standard pair of Dunlop Wellies and I browsed in the shoe department and chose Karrimor walking shoes, good solid shoes with, hopefully, tough soles. I think they will do the job admirably. I think I have mentioned the two pairs of Skechers began to leak water and thus became unwearable in wet weather. When I went to Chloe and Steve's around three years ago, just after Carol died. We all went out, and it was necessary for me to borrow a pair of Wellingtons, so it seemed a good idea to arm myself with them for the trip to visit again tomorrow. Chloe has told me we may be visiting an English Heritage property and wet weather gear is in order, so I will pack the Wellingtons as well as my bright yellow Regatta coat. She also said I should wear earplugs, no doubt because the four boys, George, Eddie, and Arthur, are somewhat boisterous and noisy. Well, that's what little boys do, so I won't be in the least bit surprised. Just be nice to see them all for the first time in almost two years.

Saturday. 6.00 a.m. So, today I'm going with Alfie to Worcester! I've sorted everything I need to take with me and will pack it all into the car and drive out of Milton Keynes. I topped up with diesel yesterday, which should see me well all the way there and back, so no time wasted on fuel on the way.

I managed to get everything loaded into the car, along with Alfie in the cage in the back of the car. He made a lot of noise, barking, and so on, but once we were moving and driving out of Milton Keynes he settled down for the rest of the journey. I know my way well to the M40, and it took around an hour before we eventually drove onto the motorway. Unfortunately, it was raining, although relatively lightly, but the moving traffic threw up spray, which obscured the motorway ahead and to some extent, behind, making overtaking somewhat hazardous, and I had to drive below the normal top speed, but it was necessary to keep safe. 

By the time I got off the M5 for Worcester, I had to use Google Maps to direct me to Steve and Chloe's home, and around ten minutes later I was drawing up outside their house. I was greeted at the door by George, Eddie, and Arthur. Really excited to see me! I just realized that it was almost two years since I visited. I briefly visited when I went to see Arthur after he was born, taken there by friends from church, but not for a longer visit.

After lunch, we went to Witley Court, an English Heritage property around a twenty-minute drive out of Worcester. It was just as well I had my wellies, as it was quite wet and muddy. The boys enjoyed playing on a climbing frame, which included a rope walk and a slope to scramble up. Then we went to the mansion area, now a ruin, because it had been burnt down in the 1930s. A Victorian pile, a real hodgepodge of styles, some neoclassical, some Italianate, lots of columns, and very excessive in style. It was interesting to be able to wander around inside the ruins of this mansion and see how it had been built and get a glimpse of what must have been a really impressive building. Interesting to see that the inside walls were rough brick and the exterior was covered by a relatively thin layer of dressed stone. All very similar to a set for a film or play, the audience side is painted to look 'real' and impressive whilst, if you go round the back, it's rough wood, plywood and canvas.

We had a picnic, sitting on the grass near the most magnificent fountain. It was somewhat in need of a good clean, but that didn't detract from its size and scope, some sort of, presumably, mythical horseman spearing what looked like a dragon. The horse had wings, although very small. Was it supposed to depict St George and The Dragon? Who knows. As we ate our picnic the fountain burst forth into life, water gushing out of the mouths of fishes and several from each side of the central section and a larger fountain in the centre of everything which shot into the air to a great height.

Witley Court fountain in action.

It was beginning to get dark by the time we walked back to the car. Back at Steve and Chloe's home, we unpacked the children (having for to deal with is somewhat like an army on manoeuvres. You have extra stuff with a six-month-old child to consider.) All loaded into each of the two cars, with me in Chloe's, and we got back to the house. 

We had supper (what do you call your evening meal? Dinner if you're posh, supper if you're not so posh? Tea? Which is what Carol used to call it. I suppose it depends on what area of the country you come from. Tea for me, when I was growing up was bread and butter with jam or honey or any sort of spread on it. Today it might be chocolate spread or peanut butter, followed by cake ('bread before cake!', as my mother used to say. I digress . . . ) 

Then time for bed. It was difficult sleeping in a single bed with Alfie . . . He's used to sharing my king-sized bed. I had his own cosy dog bed with me, bought from Milton Keynes. After some effort to keep him on the bed, he eventually decided it was easier to sleep in his own bed and I got a good night's sleep.

Next morning I was planning to go home early afternoon. Not before I'd been surprised with a birthday cake with one candle on (which I blew out!) presents, colourful socks and chocolates and then around midday we had a proper family roast lunch, which I haven't had in years. Sitting around a table is something I haven't done in quite a while. Then, packed up my belongings in the car, first installing Alfie in the cage in the boot, with quite a lot of barking. I managed to set the SatNav properly and for the first time I got the voice to work. Having said my goodbyes, I was off and soon on the M5, followed by the M42 and eventually the M40 and came off onto the main road which leads home through Buckingham and soon Milton Keynes hove into view and the journey just under two hours.

The World's Your Oyster

Saturday. 6.40 a.m.Why, you may well ask, did I choose THAT as the title for this blog post? The simple fact is, I don't know. It just came to me, so I decided to use it. Crazy, but true.

It's a sunny and bright morning, and Alfie and I went out as usual. As we got to the crossing onto Oldbrook Green, I saw a group of men playing what I thought was football on the grass. Well, not much of a game, but more of an old-fashioned kick-about. I think from their voices, which were quite loud, that they were probably Russian or at least what you'd call East European. Well, they appeared to be enjoying themselves, but from the raised voices, I don't think the neighbors would have been too pleased, especially not on a Saturday morning, to be woken by a noise like that. But at least it was good-natured.

I have now got my FitBit working properly at long last, as I think I mentioned in my last post. As a result, I can use it to count steps when I am out walking with Alfie. So I was determined to do a circuit of Oldbrook Green. But unfortunately, Alfie has other ideas. He kept attempting to pull me back home to the flat. He can be very strong-willed when he wants to. An extremely determined little person at the best of times and considering his size, quite strong in the sense that it takes quite a lot of effort to prevent him from taking us both home. I had to really struggle to get him to walk all around the circuit, but we did eventually. I'm really determined to do my 10,000 steps (or, hopefully, far more.) each day.

We got back to the crossing point over Oldbrook Boulevard and it was as we were walking along the path I saw this large, very fluffy cat slinking along and making for the main path into Fishermead. When it saw Alfie, it decided to turn round and make for the other side of Strudwick Drive, near The Cricketers pub. Fortunately, Alfie didn't see it, otherwise, things might have been very different.

I've been watching a documentary which was on the television channel 'Talking Pictures', but which I had recorded on my Freeview box. I had forgotten all about it until I was short of something to watch and I had a look and it came up. It was about the film and theatre director, Lindsay Anderson. I am always interested in discovering more about the creative process someone goes through to produce a film a novel or any sort of artistic creation. There are a great many similar documentaries on YouTube which I have seen and as a result learned things I wouldn't have done otherwise. Anderson directed a film in the late 1960s called 'If . . . .' which was about a revolution in a public school. I remember seeing it when I was a student A.S.M. in Cheltenham. It was filmed in large part at Cheltenham College. It's strange how some things become a sort of intersection of several areas of my life. That one, obviously, Cheltenham. One of the actors was David Wood, who went on to play the part of The Son in the play 'A Voyage Round My Father' by John Mortimer when I went on to be an A.S.M. at Greenwich Theatre in 1970. David Wood mentioned that he had been an actor in rep at the Swan Theatre in Worcester at the time he was cast in 'If . . . .' which is where my daughter Chloe went to university there and now lives. The film had a very powerful effect on me. It was not only interesting at the time I first saw it to see Cheltenham portrayed when I was living there, but the fact that it was about rebellion and radical. My other favourite film is by Terry Gilliam, one of the 'Monty Python' team who created the brilliant animations which were used in the television series and then went on to direct several groundbreaking films. The film that really interested me was 'Brazil' which stars Jonathan Pryce. Set in a dystopian Britain and very similar to Orwell's '1984.' A comedy with a very black sense of humour and draws very heavily on Gilliam's illustration and design style. Not a comedy that's for the faint-hearted but with a clear message, similar to the Lindsay Anderson film. A great many Hollywood films are just like chewing gum for the eyes. Just fodder for the masses.  Chew on it and the flavour is gone, so you either spit it out or put it in a bin (or you should do.) Mindless pap. Just made to make money and that's about all. You come out and it's forgotten ten minutes later. But these two films make you think. I think it's that which makes them so brilliant. Blockbusters are not really my sort of thing. 

Normal Life? Don't Bank on It!

Thursday. 6.45 a.m.  So, what are the chances that we might return to some sort of normal life with lockdown restrictions being lifted, or at least, some of them? Let me think. Probably not going to be quite as 'normal' as one might expect, because there's still going to be the threat of further outbreaks of coronavirus infections. So, tomorrow (Monday) the first of the lifting of restrictions are going to begin.

My lovely daughter, Chloe, has just given birth to the fourth grandchild, a girl, Rosie Alice. Born 10th May, weight 7lb 15oz. Just hope I can go and visit them soon in Worcester. The three other boys, George, Eddie, and Arthur will no doubt make a real fuss of her! I can't wait to go and visit them. It's been so long since I went to see them. In fact, it was Christmas 2019 when I was last with them.

Friday. 7.00 a.m. It's overcast and mild. It was wet yesterday, so let's hope it remains relatively dry today.

During his Downing Street press conference the other evening, Boris Johnson was talking about how we will be able to cuddle once some of the lockdown restrictions are lifted. It was all mentioned with a very serious look on his face. The same could be said of the reporters who have been covering all of this on BBC News,  BBC Breakfast, and so on. How on earth they managed to avoid bursting into laughing I can't imagine. To be honest, it really would do no harm to let go and at least smile when discussing it. It is coming over rather like a sketch on Monty Python's Flying Circus or The Goon Show. Things have been pretty grim for the last year and more, so a guffaw or titter wouldn't hurt. 'Oh er, madam! Titter not!' as Frankie Howerd would have said. 'Cuddle not! Ooh er, Missus!' 

The other thing which might put the cat among the pigeons might be what they call the 'Indian Variant' of the coronavirus which has been identified within the United Kingdom. But we must get out of this current situation and we can't go on running away from this virus. We all know that viruses mutate and this one is no exception. 

Saturday. 8.10 a.m. Quietly sitting and working on the laptop. I've been out with Alfie, as normal. It's raining, but not heavy. A light shower, almost like a mist. ('mist-like would be better.) Then my ears are assaulted by the fire alarm going off. Just so loud it hurts my ears. It can't be a test, because that is done during the week when our S.H.O. is here, and it lasts about 30 seconds. Alfie barks and doesn't stop barking. Nothing for it, but to go outside. I abandon what I'm doing on the laptop, scoop up Alfie in my arms (which stops him barking. I suppose it's difficult to do so if he's being held.), and walk down to the front door and stand under the awning to keep out of the rain. Alfie is heavy to hold for any length of time, so I put him on the ground. He shakes like a leaf. I suppose, because dogs can hear higher pitch sounds than humans, it must hurt his ears, hence his barking. After around five minutes we can hear a fire engine approaching, and it roars up with lights flashing and one of the firemen gets out and I have to let him into Dexter House with my keys because the automatic door doesn't open without. (This needs repairing urgently and causes some annoyance and inconvenience.) It turns out someone left something cooking in their oven and it was that that set the fire alarms off. After around 15 minutes the noise went off and we could return to my flat. Panic over!

Flooded Milton Keynes and Bedford

 (Monday) I put BBC Breakfast on at around 6.20 and they were reporting 'live' from Bedford. The centre of the town is flooded and all along the Embankment and around Longholme lake the river has risen and engulfed the fields around the River Ouse, all places I know well.

Although I wasn't able to visit Chloe and family in Worcester over Christmas, I was able to chat with her via Skype, something I haven't done before. It was great to not only chat, but she gave me a guided tour of the extension to the house which is more or less completed. She didn't show me upstairs, because the children were asleep in bed (it was around 7 p.m.). There is a new utility room and the downstairs wet room off the kitchen as well as an office. I hope that probably next week we can have another chat and this time have the boys involved as I haven't seen any of them since last Christmas because of the pandemic.

It's a good deal colder this morning. I was out with Alfie at 7.45a.m and not only was it a good deal colder, but there was a fog hanging over the centre of Milton Keynes which I could see from Oldbrook Green. I am making sure that I wrap up to keep warm, with my Oddballs woolly hat on as well as gloves (which I managed to find.) My hands get really cold and can get so cold they become numb. Something to do with having had a heart attack. Your extremities, such as your toes and fingers, can be affected. I ought to explain that Oddballs is a brand of clothing, utilising brightly coloured and highly patterned clothing, particularly underwear for men and women. Originally set up to sell these items and the profits going to cancer charities, initially for research into men's cancer, particularly testicular and prostate cancer but now also women's cancers. A good cause and I have bought quite a few items, and because of Carol's cancer, I thought it highly personal to me.

I've been out again with Alfie and it was really quite foggy. Well, not too thick that you couldn't see a hand in front of your face, but a good deal thicker than it was earlier.

(Later) I've been watching a documentary on YouTube, called 'The Cult of Doomwatch,' which was an early 1970s drama series which had storylines about what happens when science goes wrong. I remember it quite clearly and it had some really frightening storylines. I have a connection to it as one of the leading actors, Simon Oates, was a guest director when I was at the Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham in 1969, working as a student A.S.M. I'm desperately trying to remember what he directed. I have an idea that it was 'A Day In The Death of Joe Egg,' written by Peter Nicols. I may be wrong and unfortunately I don't have any way of finding out. I used to have a whole box full of the programmes from plays I worked on. You always got given one on the opening night of the plays I worked on. Some were signed by the cast. It's a pity, as they would be great to look through. I even had production photographs, but they also went astray years ago. I expect they went missing along the way as I've moved quite a few times over the years.

(Tuesday) I've been doing on-line surveys for several years now. You sign up to various sites and give as much detail about yourself and then you get an email with a link to the survey. You have to do a quick survey to show if you are eligible and if you qualify you do the survey, which can take up to 20 minutes and you get rewarded points which accrue and can be turned into cash or vouchers for well-known brands. I usually get Amazon points which you can spend as you wish from their site or else turn the points into vouchers for 'bricks-and-mortar retailers such as Marks and Spencer, John Lewis or any other high street companies. Don't expect to be able to make a great deal from these surveys, but as the Tesco ads tell you 'Every Little Helps.' I am also on a site called Consumer Pulse (you have to be invited. You can't just sign up to this site.) You have to input to their site when you buy products such as clothing, shoes, books, CDs, DVDs etc and the points build up and can be turned into vouchers for such companies as Sainsbury's, Argos, B and Q etc etc. I had reached a good payout of around £100 so I decided to redeem them, turn them into Argos vouchers. You usually get your vouchers sent to you, as paper vouchers, but because of the pandemic, you get them as eVouchers which can be spent on-line. I was expecting them to come in a couple of weeks which is what normally happens, but I was surprised to find they were sent in an email, as a string of letters and numbers. So, I thought I'd spend them. I got to the Argos website and managed to select some items, a new toaster (the old one is beyond repair, frankly, and it took ages to toast a piece of bread.) I found a Breville toaster and decided on that. Then, a new electric kettle. The old one is a Russell Hobbs and it has a Brita filter in it. The one I chose is similar but made of glass. That's ordered, but won't be ready for collection until tomorrow, Wednesday. Also ordered a plate rack for the kitchen sink, bath mats and a 'Welcome' doormat, which might be helpful in preventing mud and other bits and pieces coming into the flat. I got the toaster on Sunday and I had to go to the Argos store in Milton Keynes to collect it. Click-and-collect only and you have to queue up and it took about 20 minutes to get to the check-in. They don't allow you inside the store. A member of staff takes your details, your order number and another code which identifies you as well and the item ordered and it's handed over. 

Foggy and Cold

It's a foggy and chilly morning. You couldn't see across to the opposite side of Oldbrook Green when I was out with Alfie at 7.30. It doesn't seem as if it's going to clear as it was just as foggy when we went out at 9.15.

(Tuesday) I've been to Sainsbury's to get a few bits and pieces and to collect a prescription order. I realised when I was doing my medication on Sunday that some tablets were on the verge of running out so I did an order through the NHS app I have on my iPad. The order goes to the surgery and then it's sent electronically to Lloyd's pharmacy in Sainsbury's. I then get a text message to let me know that it's ready for collection and that's it. Efficiency. I even bought a Christmas jumper! I thought I'd throw myself into the festive spirit as much as possible. I'm not going to Chloe and Steve's in Worcester because Chloe is expecting. Grandchild number four! Due to arrive in May. I can't imagine what their house will be like if it's a boy (probably the same if it's a girl!) but very noisy I can imagine. I can visit in the spring, but with the pandemic and the risk of passing on the coronavirus, (either me to them, and in particular, Chloe, as it might be dangerous if she's pregnant.) but also for myself.

Some of the residents of Dexter House have been busy creating what I would describe as tableau or presentations. The first one was to celebrate Remembrance Day in November. It consisted of a large model of an RAF plane flying over the White Cliffs of Dover and they had made poppies out of the bases of Coca Cola bottles painted red and stuck on pieces of wire, similar to the poppy sculpture which was displayed at the Tower of London in 2014 to be part of the centenary of the beginning of the First World War. Then a Christmas display was created, consisting of a 'set' of a room, with a fireplace (working. Not sure how, but very realistic with a fire inside it.) a Christmas tree and decorations and a Father Christmas model which was supposed to sit in an armchair. The walls of the room 'set' was made of cardboard covered in wallpaper. But . . . (there is always a big but in these things, I'm afraid.) someone from Milton Keynes Council, I think responsible for managing Dexter House, decided that it was a fire hazard so it had to be dismantled. I suppose he was right, but it was a pity after all the work was put in to make it.

(Wednesday) There are workmen in Dexter House, removing asbestos from the ceiling along the corridor where my flat is. They are currently working on the furthest section, which is closed off with firedogs, so I can't take Alfie out through the door which opens onto Strudwick Drive, although I can get out at the main door onto Dexter Avenue. Tomorrow I will have to stay in the flat with Alfie as asbestos is a dangerous substance.

(Thursday) A relatively mild day. I overslept somewhat this morning. Unlike me. The asbestos-removal was completed well before lunch. We were told it would finish around 4p.m. so I took Alfie out for a walk. He has been fidgeting all morning, with the hope of being taken out. I'm glad that the workmen have finished.

Christmas In Worcester

On Thursday I got back from Worcester, having stayed with my daughter Chloe, Steve and the children, George, Eddie and the newest grandson, Arthur. I drove there on Christmas Eve (Tuesday), stayed over-night into Christmas Day (yesterday, Wednesday) and drove back today (Boxing Day.) It seemed to take longer than anticipated going and somehow it took less time, or seemed to, driving back to Milton Keynes.

I had intended to leave Milton Keynes around 10 o'clock, but then I decided to leave earlier, around 9.30.  I had to get Alfie safely installed in the cage in the back of the car, with the luggage shelf in place and then loaded up my luggage, managing to take a minimum of stuff with me. I stopped at the Shell petrol station along Grafton Street and put more diesel in the car and then drove off towards Buckingham and eventually got on the M40. Unfortunately the weather changed somewhat. It was dull when I left Milton Keynes, with dark clouds building, but beyond Buckingham the sky cleared and the sun came out, but by the time I got on the M40 it clouded over and rained and the other vehicles threw up a really horrible spray, so it was well that I kept my distance from the vehicles ahead of me, but I kept my windscreen wipers on and they managed to clear off any thrown-up spray.

I got about half-way to Worcester and suddenly realised, far too late to do a anything about it, that I had left the three grandson's Christmas presents behind in the flat. I had ordered books from The Book People and had them delivered by post and they were wrapped up and ready to take, but they were in the bookshelf and there was no way I could go back and pick them up. In my rush to get out and start the journey, I had unfortunately not packed them.

I arrived at Chloe and Steve's around 12.30. Alfie was somewhat over-whelmed by the two boys, my grandsons, George and Eddie, and spent the first hour or so barking loudly, but eventually settled down and was fine for the rest of my visit.

Chloe and Steve are having an extension built to their house. There will be an extra bedroom as well as a utility room and the bathroom will be moved from it's present position. They are hoping to have the work started around May/June 2020 and it is hoped to take a few months to complete. I've slept on a folding bed which was set up in what is called the playroom, downstairs at the front of the house. Last year, when I came for Christmas, I had the small bedroom which Steve used as an office, but this year it is the third grandchild, Arthur's, bedroom.

At around 2.30 Chloe and Steve took the children to what was called the Manger Service at the local church. I remained in the house and they came back at around 3.45.

Once the two grandchildren had gone to bed, Chloe and Steve bought the Christmas presents out of the loft, where they had been hidden. I was shocked by the number of presents (not all for the two boys, you understand!) One present was a bicycle for Eddie, which had to be wrapped with old wallpaper in an attempt to disguise it. Not easy, because of it's shape. But it was placed near the Christmas tree. Chloe had to set up something for Father Christmas to eat when he came during the night to deliver the children's presents, a glass of milk and a mince pie (with a bite taken out of it.) and a carrot for Rudolph (again, with a bite taken out of it.)

The next day, being Christmas Day, the house was a hive of activity, with Christmas lunch being prepared.  George and Eddie came downstairs and began to open their presents, which were under the Christmas tree. Chloe and Steve had got the vegetables ready for preparation and I was detailed to do the Brussel sprouts. Steves parents arrived at around 10.30 and they had bought with them turkey and other foods.  More people arrived at before lunch could be served we had to rearrange the furniture, with the dining table taken into the lounge with one of the sofas removed to the space the table had originally taken and the second sofa moved to a different position. The table has an extension which was put in and then chairs placed around it and eventually the table was laid for 12 people, including two babies and one toddler.

Haircut and Car Service

(Monday) A bright but chilly morning. I took out Alfie before 6. I rang Bleak Hall Motors a little after 8 and got the car booked in for it's annual service tomorrow (Thursday). I'll have to get it there for 8 tomorrow and get a taxi back to the flat because I don't want to have to sit and wait there for hours and hours whilst it's being done. The Renault has this annoying computerised system with a digital screen right in front of my eyeline as I'm driving, with the annoying message that keeps reading 'Service now due,' with an orange light which remains on with a spanner symbol, in case I'm in any doubt that this work is required. Well, it's not driving at full capacity because of needing work doing, so I'll be glad when it's done, in time to drive to Worcester for Christmas with Chloe, Steve and the grandchildren. I'm looking forward to going, even if it's not for as long as last year.

A little later I drove into the city centre and parked near The Point (it really is looking terrible. I know I've mentioned it before, but this iconic building, which was the pride of Milton Keynes in the 1980's when it was one of the first multiplex cinemas in Britain, but now is an empty wreck, and the pyramid is just a rusting shell. Please, someone, do something with it, even if it's to demolish it and build something else on the site. Driving into Milton Keynes at night from Bedford you could see if from  distance as it was lit up.) I was going to the Central Barbers in the shopping centre to get my hair cut. They don't open until 9.30, so I had a good 15-minute wait, sitting on the seats conveniently placed outside. Getting chilly, but it's interesting to see the people who walk past. The Middleton Hall is now completely taken over with the traditional Christmas display. It seems somewhat mundane. It used to be excellent, with some sort of theme, one year it was pirates, or was it Peter Pan, with  large masted ship, with Peter Pan standing on it. But they seem to have run out of ideas or at least, originality, and it's just a sort of large-scale snow-dome in the middle, with Santa's grotto somewhere and a excuse to make money out of parents when there children insist on visiting.

Eventually got into Central Barbers and was sitting in the chair having my hair cut (so, what else would I be doing? No surprises there.) Very pleased with the result and soon paying and back out and walking back along the shopping centre and taking £20 out of the A.T.M. at the Nationwide Building Society, because I will need the cash to pay for a taxi once I've dropped off the car at Bleak Hall Motors tomorrow morning. Then, once the car is finished being serviced, I can get another taxi back home to the flat.

From the shopping centre I drove to Bradwell Common to do some shopping in Aldi's. Of the two discounters, Lidl and Aldi, I think I prefer Aldi. I'm not sure why, but they have a better range. I like the fact that there's no fiddling about at the checkout. The way they whisk the items through and you can pack your items on a shelf rather than actually at the checkout is a good idea and the way they put larger barcodes on each item is brilliant. They don't spend an age searching for tiny barcodes that you get on the products on any of the larger supermarkets such as Sainsbury or Tesco. And the bill is usually a good deal cheaper. Probably around a third of what it would cost in Sainsbury's.

Then home and unpacking shopping and one small Yorkshire terrier desperate to go out for a walk. You can't really avoid his gaze, or his yapping when he thinks it's time to go out. So, lead on, shoes on and out walking along Srudwick Drive. As we near Oldbrook Green, I notice a large black crow on the grass. It is standing near a discarded  clear plastic package, no doubt containing food that some thoughtless person has thrown there, having eaten the contents and not bothering to put it in a rubbish bin. The crow is having a good time, tapping the package with it's long, sharp beak. I stand and watch, totally intrigued by the antics of the crow. I manages to turn the box over and it attempts to gain entry by stabbing it with it's beak. It doesn't manage to get inside, although from where I'm watching I can't see if it has the remains of food inside. So why is it going through this business? Can it smell the remains of the food, or is it merely playing with this shiny item it has come across? who knows, but it makes good entertainment and I only wish I had my mobile with me to be able to video this incident. We walk on, to traverse the park, but by the time we walk past where I saw the crow with the plastic package, there was no sign of the bird. It probably lost interest and merely flew away. It just goes to show how intelligent these birds are.

(Thursday) I couldn't sleep last night. Nothing wrong, but just awake at around 2 a.m. I have sleeping tablets but the doctor gave me some new ones and says they can be addictive, so I'm reluctant to take them and I was concerned that I would be sleepy this morning because in the leaflet you get with them it says. 'Do not drive or use machinery if you feel sleepy the next morning.' It also makes me laugh when you get the label on the box they come in which say 'Can make you feel drowsy or sleepy.' Well, there's a surprise! Sleeping tablets which make you feel sleepy. Just tell me, what do they put on packets of Viagra? No . . . please don't reply to that! Just amuses me that now you can have Viagra without a prescription (incidentally, I can't have it because of my heart medication. And funnily enough, it was created for the treatment of heart problems, ironically.) Anyway, whenever I go to collect my medication from Lloyd's pharmacy in Sainsbury's, there's advertising all over the place for Viagra. You can't miss it.

I've taken the car to Bleak Hall Motors for it's service, which I managed to book by ringing them yesterday morning, as mentioned above. I got there in good time, gave the keys to reception and got a taxi home, because it's going to take around half a day to do the service. Then, when I got hack I immediately took Alfie out for a walk around Oldbrook Green.

For a couple of days, when I've been out with Alfie around Oldbrook Green, I've been stopped by a woman who keeps asking for money. At first I thought it might be for something like the use of a phone, but there's no telephone box anywhere to be seen. You just don't see the iconic BT telephone boxes any more, probably because most people have a mobile phone. She asked me for £1.50, but at this time I had no change on me. I don't usually carry change of any kind when I'm out with Alfie. Then, yesterday, she was out near the road crossing from Strudwick Drive over Oldbrook Boulevard. This time she wanted £2.50, but, again, I didn't have any change. She was standing in the road and I had to tell her to move out of the way because there were cars attempting to get past. This is when I thought that perhaps she wasn't mentally stable. It made me wonder whether she was from a residential home or perhaps from the Campbell Centre, which is part of Milton Keynes Hospital. By this time she was stopping cars and asking for cash, and there was a build-up of several cars because she was talking to one of the drivers. I don't know whether she got the cash she was asking for. She was well dressed, didn't look in any sort of distress, so it was unclear why she was behaving like this. When I lived in Bedford there were a couple of people who used to stand and constantly ask for cash. One became quite aggressive and had to be given a court order which prevented him being a nuisance, because he was putting off customers to certain businesses in the town centre. I don't know how they managed to stop either of these people being what were, in effect, aggressive beggars. I can't think where the woman came from, but presumably somewhere within the Oldbrook area of Milton Keynes.

Later. I got the call to tell me the car was ready for collection at just gone 11 o'clock. I rang for a taxi so I waited outside in the road and around 5 minutes later it turned up. I was somewhat surprised that the driver couldn't find Bleak Hall Motors. I was always under the impression that taxi drivers knew virtually every place in the town they operated in, but this wasn't the case with this driver. We eventually found it (I usually drive in from the opposite end. It's in a sort of service road and can be tricky to negotiate because of lorries parked all the way along and some pulling out of the various units along it's entire length.) I was somewhat shocked that the cost of the service was considerably more than anticipated, but they have done a good job, changing the oil, topping up water, brake fluid and replacing some parts, so it's done for another year. It will leave me rather short of cash for the rest of the month, but I will have to manage. I can't have the car not running efficiently, breaking down or not working properly, what with the winter weather coming up, so, in the end, it was worth it.

Going To Worcester

Since I have been keeping the bird feeders on the feeding station replenished, our old friend Cyril Squirrel has been making an appearance. Even though he shouldn't be on the feeding station and I should really make some effort to remove him, however I manage to do that, probably by merely opening the window and shouting, I can't be be entertained by his antics. But how do you remove a squirrel from a feeding station? You can get a sort of disc that goes around the central supporting column but it would be difficult to fix. Then there's the crazy pigeon that attempts to sit on the structure and is far too big and seems to find it difficult to balance on the think. It doesn't have a lot of sense and in the end it just gives up and flies away.

Sunday. It's to such a bright and sunny day today, but still quite pleasant. Infact, I think I prefer it like this. If it's too hot I can't cope.

I've been out early to put diesel in the car, well before 8 o'clock. Virtually car-free on the way, which is the whole purpose, none of those idiots who insist on tail-gating. Shell have a new loyalty system and I have the app on my iPhone. I don't know if it's as good a system as the old one but after 10 visits you get money off your fuel, so it may be worth the effort to use. BP have done the same and given up Necar for their own system.

Monday. A not particularly bright and sunny day, but it did get warmer as the day progressed. I was ready and waiting for John and Margaret to arrive at exactly 10 o'clock this morning as they were driving me all the way to Worcester to see my new third grandson, Arthur, who was born four weeks ago. We drove out of Milton Keynes but going in a slightly different direction from the route I would have driven if I'd gone myself, up the A5 and across to Buckingham whereas I would have gone via Standing Way, but actually not a lot of difference as we still ended up on the M40 and then M5. I was surprised how quickly we got to Claines, which is part of Worcester, the remaining couple of miles being directed by the use of the Google Maps app on my iPhone.

Chloe in the garden hanging out washing and Steve was at home. We had lunch sitting at the table in the garden, salad and quiche and then Chloe got baby Arthur who had been having a nap when I arrived. Still very sleepy when she bought him down for me to see in the garden and given a chance to hold him. The other two, George and Eddie, were at playgroup and wouldn't be home until around 4.30 so I would be unlikely to see them as John and Margaret were coming back at 3 p.m. for the return journey back to Milton Keynes.

Sure enough, almost exactly at 3 there was a knock on the door and Margaret came in to say they were back, having been into the centre of Worcester. So, I bade farewell to Chloe, Steve and baby Arthur and we got in the car and drove home to Milton Keynes, arriving back just before 5p.m. I was surprised by the fact that we had left Milton Keynes at 10a.m. and driven all the way to Worcester and got home at 5p.m. I don't know exactly how many miles it was for the round trip, but it must have been a fair distance and I'm still so grateful to John and Margaret for taking me all that way. As babies grow up so fast, it was great to see Arthur as such a small baby. Probably the next time I see him he will have changed considerably, as is the way with babies.

All Sorts

I'm really overwhelmed that two people I know, who are doing the Church Course on Thursday evenings have offered to drive me all the way to Worcester to see my new Grandson, Arthur. It's arranged with my daughter Chloe, and I'm going next Monday. Really looking forward to going.

The medication I had last Tuesday when I went to see the doctor, has now run out, so I've had to make another doctor's appointment this morning. Fortunately it didn't take that long to get through on the phone, but I'm now sitting here waiting for a doctor to ring and arrange the appointment.

Later. I was actually quite surprised by how quickly I got a doctor's call. I didn't have to go into the surgery to have a face-to-face appointment. The prescription for Diazepam was sent electronically to Lloyd's pharmacy in Sainsbury's, so I made a trip there as I had a few items I needed for my pack-up lunch which I will take with me to Campbell tomorrow.

I had texted Chloe about me coming to visit to see grandson Arthur. Chloe has soon responded and I'm going next Monday and will be there around midday. I'm not likely to see George or Eddie because they will be at playgroup. I will be able to take Eddie's birthday present which I had all wrapped up ready but was unable to take because I couldn't go two weeks ago.

Wednesday. I went to Camphill yesterday. I left to drive there a good deal earlier than I would otherwise and I'm glad I did. The pinch-points at the roundabouts along Brickhill Street, where there is usually heavy traffic heading into the centre of Milton Keynes are difficult to cross and made more so when you have a driver close behind you who has no patience and would happily see you crash into one of the vehicles negotiating these two roundabouts, on Childs Way and Portway. One miscalculation and you'd get run into, which is something I don't intend to do, but it is quite stressful and not good when you have a heart condition as I have. I sometimes think that if they were to just install traffic lights at these points, the other one being on the Saxon Street/Standing Way roundabout, then it would make life easier and safer, probably just at those times such as early morning and evening. But I imagine to just suggest it would not go down with a lot of drivers, probably those who love to tail-gate other drivers and drive excessively fast. The driving speed around the Grid Roads of Milton Keynes needs to be lowered to around 50 M.P.H.

We spent the morning being split up into groups to continue with Stranger Danger. I was working with one of the students who work with us as support, attempting to get two of the residents to really push things further to find the comedy in the piece, going over it several times, with me reading the lines of one of the residents who wasn't with us. We were working in what they call The Crypt, and not in the main theatre, because they were setting up the lighting for a show that was being put on in the Chrysalis (the name of the theatre at Camphill.) Once we'd spent around 30 minutes on this rehearsal we then went back to the Crypt to show to the others what we'd done and it was remarkable how, with a bit of effort, we could get laughs where possibly there hadn't been before. After lunch there was a training session for the residents on food safety and handling. Probably I've done this several times before, and we spent quite a lot of time shifting chairs and tables, the result of which really made me very tired. Possibly that and the effect of the new medication I'm on. They then had a community assembly after the trining session, but I didn't stay because I was feeling totally washed out. A pity, but perhaps on another occasion I will stay to see what this entails.

This morning I couldn't get the Freeview box to respond. I kept getting a 'No Signal' message. I couldn't see how to resolve it until I thought that perhaps it needed re-tuning. This usually happens at night. So, I managed to do this and now it's working perfectly. As a result of not having the Freeview box working I couldn't see BBC Breakfast, but, honestly to goodness, with the constant news about Brexit, I think I am better off not watching.

Later in the day I managed to upgrade the Freeview box. Often, when you start it up you get a message that says, 'upgrade now,' because there's new channels which are added. So you press the 'OK' button on the remote control and the thing does it's thing and then another message says 're-ordering channels,' and that's what it does. Not such a problem, but it does it so regularly that you have to let it 'do it's thing.'

Alfie Has A Haircut

I've had Alfie booked in to have a grooming session at Pets At Home in Bletchley today for about two weeks. I don't know how he knew we were going out, because I had put the cage in the back of the car earlier in the day. I had to do this without him seeing me lifting this thing out of the house, otherwise he would have started making a lot of noise, as he does before we go out in the morning.

We arrived in good time at the retail park where Pets At Home has a branch. As soon as I parked the car, Alfie was off, barking madly. When the car is moving, he's quiet, except for a couple of yaps. With the parcel shelf in place, it must be safe and cozy. Not pitch black, but safe. He was like that when I took him to Worcester at Christmas. Wed didn't stop on the way, although we should have done. I managed to park right outside Pets At Home, and in such a position that the car faced forward so driving out wouldn't be a problem. Then I got out of the car and opened the hatch at the back. Alfie rattled the cage to be let out. Now I know where the expression 'who rattled your cage?' comes from. I think, if he could, he would have opened the gate on the cage and would have been out. I had to make sure I was holding tightly to the lead, which I always manage to have outside so I can grab hold of it before I open the gate and he bounds out.

Alfie barked all the way through the store and into the Groom Room, which is at the rear of the store. He got quite a reception from other customers and store staff. Well, a small, barking and very lively little Yorkshire terrier, who was very eager was likely to get such a reaction.

I left Alfie in the capable hands of the staff in the Groom Room and drove home. I was told that he would be ready for collection by 3.45. There was no point in me waiting around the retail park where Pets At Home is situated. It's no more than a 10-minute drive home, although it was really busy on the traffic front. Probably because it's the Easter holiday. The roundabout on Standing Way can be really difficult to cross because of the volume of traffic. Certainly not my favourite place to cross.

About 15 minutes after I arrived home I got a telephone call from The Groom Room. I was told that, unfortunately, Alfie had an infestation of the little persons, in other words, fleas. I was horrified. I was totally unaware of them. He has been scratching a lot recently, but it never occurred to me that it might be cause by fleas! I was told that they would have to use a anti-flea shampoo and that Alfie would need a flea treatment. I had already used a treatment but it obviously not effective enough. I would need to buy an over-the-counter treatment which I could buy at Pets At Home and also use a strong, spray, treatment in the house, because there was a likelihood that the house was infected with fleas, although I have seen none. It would take some while to spray around each room, from top to bottom, and have to use a facemark, as the treatment is quite toxic. Alfie wouldn't be able to stay in the house. So, on going back later I was given the two treatments and I went home to wash Alfie's two blankets which he often sleeps on which are on the sofa. I began the first course of the anti-flea treatment which I put on Alfie's back. There are two more to give him which I should use every month.

 This morning I put Alfie in the cage in the back of the car and ,putting on the face mask I was given at The Groom Room, I began spraying round all the rooms in the house. Then, we went out of the house in the car. We went to Campbell Park and walked along the tow path along the side of the Grand Union Canal. So, in the midst of all this, Alfie had a treat, a second long walk which he wasn't expecting. We had to stay out of the house for at least an hour, which, hopefully, went to work killing off any fleas that might be lurking in the house.

Bringing Things Up To Date

I haven't posted on here for well over a week. The way things have been going I really had no desire to write anything. Carol's passing has hit me hard. We had such a wonderful life together. The funeral is arranged for 11th January at Crownhill Crematorium at 2 p.m.  Postcode : MK8 OAH. The finer details are beginning to be put in place, such as what hymns and songs will be sung and the numbers for catering for the wake, which will be at the Oaktree Centre, the address of which is: Wallinger Drive, Shenley Brook End, MILTON KEYNES, MK5 7GZ.

I was invited to stay with my daughter Chloe and her husband, Steve, in Worcester over the Christmas period, from the Saturday before Christmas until the Wednesday after the New Year holiday. It would mean I wouldn't be on my own in the house in Milton Keynes, and I could take Alfie, my Yorkshire Terrier, with me. I had, at first, asked if I could be collected from home to be taken back to Worcester, but it proved impossible. Then Chloe suggested possibly going by railway, but it would have meant at least a two-hour journey and a change in Birmingham. It would have been difficult taking Alfie, probably on a lead or at least a carrying case of some sort along with luggage. Not going to happen. Then I thought, I've got a perfectly good car, which has only recently been serviced, in good working order. I can drive to Worcester, fill up with fuel in Milton Keynes and go across country. It'll be a lovely journey. I didn't envision using the Motorway as I'm not a good driver on a Motorway. So I left mid-morning on the Saturday and it was fine driving from Milton Keynes, through Buckingham and then out towards Banbury. I didn't need to set the satnav for that section of the journey. I had intended then finding the road for Evesham and then onto Worcester, but I got into Banbury at exactly the wrong time. Nose-to-tail traffic, of people doing their last-minute Christmas shopping. I could not find my way out. I eventually had to set the satnav for Chloe and Steve's postcode and just followed the directions. It took me via the M40 and eventually the M5. It was fairly straightforward and the traffic wasn't too heavy and I just stayed in the slower lane most of the way. When I got to Worcester I had to reset the satnav for the final stretch to Chloe's address and arrived at their front door at around 3.30.

When I'd unloaded Alfie from the cage in the boot (incidentally, he'd been absolutely quite for the entire journey. Probably because I'd put the parcel shelf in which would have meant it would have been quite dark in the back of the car and he'd be safe in the cage.) I took him into the house. I don't think he was expecting two young children to be running about, George, age 3 and Eddie, just turned 1 (not quite walking but getting there.) so whenever George ran around, Alfie began to bark. It took him a while to settle down and by the weekend he had got used to having them about.

So, we had a lovely Christmas Day with Steve's parents and his sister, Katy, as well as other family members, which included Steve's grandfather who is in his mid 90's I spent a lot of time chatting to him. They Skyped other members of the Wilson family who could not be in Britain, spread far and wide, a couple in Australia. I've never used Skype before, so it was a new experience. The picture and sound quality is amazing when you think how far away some of the family members are. I'll have to give it a go sometime. In the evening we sat around a table and played games, one being Linkee which is similar in some ways to the BBC1 show 'Only Connect.' Another one was to identify objects from a very close-up photo.

We walked to a park, or, at least, a large green space. It seemed to be a popular place to walk dogs and Alfie made friends with one or two, but one large dog kept following us. It wasn't on a lead, which was annoying, and I don't think Alfie liked being followed. It took some while to get any mud off his paws when we got back to the house.

On Saturday we went to what is called Worcester Woods where there was a run. I don't know how many participated, but probably several hundred. Alfie came in the car, but he sat on my lap but he wouldn't sit still. Then, when we got out of the car, he didn't appreciate the crowds and I didn't appreciate all the mud. None of this made life easy for me, but never mind. He had a lovely run around a large field. Not really my sort of thing, but never mind.

I didn't leave Worcester until Wednesday morning. I thought it probably best not to travel back to Milton Keynes over the holiday period as there was likely to be heavy traffic on the Motorways. I left at around 8.45 and got to Milton Keynes at around 10.45. I had managed to reset the satnav the night before, but I couldn't get it to work once I left Worcester, so I just decided to get on the M5 and make for the M42, then the M40 and got off onto the road I know reasonably well and went through Buckingham and back towards Milton Keynes that way. I really need to spend a bit more time looking at the satnav in the car before I go on another long journey and set it up properly.

Visiting Grandson George

It's a good many months since we were at George, my grandson's christening in Claines, near Worcester. We had to wait until the Easter holidays to be able to plan another visit. A good two-hour drive there needs a certain amount of organisation. We'd bought him some clothes in Sainsbury's a few weeks ago as well as a chocolate rabbit in Morrison's on Sunday. A difficult decision as regards an Eater treat of some sort, whether to get him an Easter egg, something made from chocolate, or a rabbit (gold paper wrapped with a little golden bell on a red ribbon around it's neck.) so the bunny won. Duly loaded the car, SatNav installed, camera, mobile phone and all the other paraphernalia. Car fuelled up on Sunday, which saved us some time. Not able to see Chloe or George until after 2 p.m. 

We needed something to eat mid-journey. We needed to find a suitable place to eat something. We needed to go to buy sandwiches or at least something suitable. We went to Asda. As it turned out it wasn't such a good idea, unfortunately. It was around 10.30 when we got there and the place was heaving. What is it that makes people behave in a sort of siege mentality whenever there's any sort of public holiday? Easter, Christmas, New Year, or whatever? We picked up the sandwiches we wanted off the shelves, and a few crisps and other snacks and then went to pay. Every till in what is a really huge supermarket seemed busy, with long queues with customers pushing trolleys which were over-loaded with goods. Most tills had people already being checked through but with large amounts of goods on the conveyor belts. We stood in one queue and it seemed to take forever for it to move. It was no good moving to another or even going to a self-service checkout as all dozen or so were busy, with people waiting. No express tills either (do they have these in Asda? I don't think so. Or a self-scan system which I've seen in Tesco and I know Waitrose have as we've used ourselves. It does cut down on queuing.) Anyway, the woman on the till we were using seemed as if she was on a go-slow. Not making much effort to speed herself up. I don't think she could, even if she tried. By the time we'd paid and walked out, it was near enough 11 o'clock. I would have left a good deal earlier but Carol insisted we leave around 10-11. We followed the SatNav's directions and for some strange reason we went via Buckingham, but made a really different detour and followed a road we'd never been on before. It usually takes us a completely different way. We got to the M40 and then onto the M5. The whole journey was taking a good deal longer than anticipated. We had hoped to arrive at Claines at around 1.45, but we got held up in long queues of traffic and didn't arrive until around 2.40.

Unfortunately we weren't at Claines very long. We did go for a walk with Chloe and George. He's walking well and into everything, as all children of his age.We walked as far as the sports ground, with George exploring everything on the way, mainly drains and inspection covers and putting stones and sticks into various holes he hound on the way. We were surprised when Steve appeared. I wasn't aware that he worked from home. He made us a cup of tea and we sat and chatted while George played. We sat in the garden and saw their newly-laid lawn. Made of decent turf, unlike our uneven excuse for a lawn.

Around 5.15 Chloe announced that they had to go and collect her car from being repaired from the garage. It was by then that we decided on leaving, unfortunately, as we knew it was a long drive home. It was just as well we did leave when we did, because by the time we hit the M5 towards Birmingham the traffic was building up. We journeyed back towards the M6 and the M1 and finally back towards Milton Keynes. We were somewhat surprised that the roadworks along the M1 south near Daventry is still continuing. It was this area where we broke down in the car a year or two ago. A somewhat traumatic experience, as you might expect. We were rescued by a breakdown truck as we had gone into the coned-off area. Not an experience either of us would want to repeat in a hurry. It seems the roadworks have been going on for much too long. What is annoying is that the part of the Motorway which is coned off has no work going on, or at least from what we could see. Why they can't open up more and allow the traffic to flow properly, instead of having such long stretches coned off, and expecting drivers to travel at no more than 50 M.P.H. seems crazy. We arrived home at around 7.15.

Grandson George's Christening

On Sunday we went to Worcestershire for my grandson George's Christening. I have to come clean and admit that we were late. An hour late and missed the actual Christening. For some reason we thought it was at 2 p.m and not 1 p.m. I know, we should have checked, but we didn't.

We started out at around 9.30 and used the newly-acquired SatNav. It's becoming really helpful, because, if you've been reading any of my earlier posts on here you'll know that our sense of direction if fairly awful and we've spent a lot of time attempting to find a whole lot of places during our outings. It's actually quite assuring to able to rely on this technology to assist in finding places which we haven't been to before.

When we drove to Chloe's graduation in Worcester a few years ago we had to be at Worcester Cathedral (where the ceremony was held.) at something like 9.30 a.m. and we went via the M1/M5 and, as it was early morning we hit a lot of traffic on the way and it took a good deal longer than it ought to have done. The time before last (a couple of weeks ago.) we went on a Friday and went via Buckingham and then onto the Motorway beyond Brackley. It took a little over 2 hours. Had we gone that way on Sunday, even though it was the weekend, we would have got caught up in traffic going to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix, so it was as well the SatNav directed us up the M1. We weren't going directly to Claines, where Steve and Chloe live, but to a National Trust property called Hanbury Hall and Garden as we needed to get something to eat as we weren't likely to get anything to eat until around 3 p.m. (or so we imagined.) This turned out to be a really interesting house and we managed to get in a group which went into the house to hear a presentation by one of the staff on the history of the house and the Vernon family who had lived there for around 250 years. It was very interesting and worth the time to listen to.

Hanbury Hall from the front

The gardens at Hanbury Hall

Pavilion at Hanbury

We had a very pleasant lunch in the restaurant, which was at one time the servants' hall when it was lived in. Reminding us very much of "Downton Abbey." Our meal consisted of cottage pie followed by apple and blackberry crumble and ice cream. We spent a little while wandering around the garden (which is when I took the above photographs.) and we then left to drive the short distance to Claines. It was as we got to the church and saw all the guests outside in the churchyard that we realised that the Christening was over, unfortunately. We then drove to the village hall for a rather pleasant tea (actually, I wasn't in the least bit hungry because we had eaten at Hanbury Hall. It was a pity we missed the actual Christening, but it was a chance to meet up with my brother Robert who I haven't seen in a long time as well as my aunt Jasmine (Aunty Jas as she was always called when we were children. My late mother's sister.)

The tea didn't go on too long and we were soon driving home and got back to Milton Keynes by around 7.30. A long day but worth it.