Wild and Windy

Wednesday. 7.20 a.m. It's a wild and windy morning. Just been out with Alfie, but we didn't hang around, because we were both getting wet. 

1.20 p.m. I have been to have my covid vaccine. I had a text message telling me the vaccine was available and that I could book an appointment through the text, which is what I did and the appointment was at Jardine's chemist in Shenley Church End. The vaccine used was the Astra-Zenica vaccine and went into my right arm, because the flu vaccine, which I had on Saturday, went into my left arm.

Thursday. 7.40 a.m. I will, hopefully, drive to Worcester tomorrow morning,  and come back on Monday morning, so I won't be writing any posts during that time. I say, hopefully, because of Storm Ciårn, which, as I write, is raging across the south of England, mostly along the coast. I am keeping an eye on the situation and it would appear Milton Keynes and Worcester are not affected, although we are likely to get rain and wind, but not the strength they have been having in the Channel Islands., up to 92 miles per hour.

A little discomfort in the area where the vaccine injection was in my right arm, after the covid vaccine, but nothing too bad, thankfully.

Friday. 10.35 a.m. I'm all packed and ready to drive off to Worcester. I've been to put diesel in the car and now have a tank full, so I should be able to get to Worcester and come home without having to refill. 

The weather is calm! Yesterday there was quite a strong wind, but not as strong as the wind on the south coast of England or the Channel Islands. If I couldn't go today, I would have gone tomorrow, Saturday, morning.

Only one problem. As usual on a Friday, I did my washing. All were put in the washing machine at around 7.40, left to get on with the job and then came back an hour later to put it all in the tumble drier. I went back to take the dried clothes out and found that the door of the drier wouldn't open, so I now have a load of clothes locked inside and there's no way to open the door until someone from Mears comes to deal with the matter.

Monday. 1.00 p.m. I'm back from Worcester. I had a lovely time with Chloe and Steve and the grandchildren, George, Eddie, Arthur and Rosie. It got quite noisy at the time, but that's young children. 

I left Milton Keynes around 2.15, having dropped Alfie off with Irene, who was looking after him for the weekend. The journey was trouble free and I got to the M40 in well under an hour. Having the SatNav made things easier because I don't like having to change between the three motorways, M40, M42 and M5, but it all went smoothly.

I arrived outside Steve and Chloe's house at about 4.10. I rang the doorbell and Steve came to the door, He works at home and Chloe came back around 40 minutes later, having left work and having collected the children from their various activities and school.

The next day, Saturday, it was raining, and, rather than spend the morning stuck in the house, we went with the children to the centre of Worcester, to visit the cathedral. A truly awesome place, the cathedral, No end of history, which interests me, which included an archaeological find made some years ago, of a shoe (or, maybe a boot) which was discovered when some work was done in and around the cathedral precincts, said to be worn by a 15th-century pilgrim, whose headless skeleton was unearthed in 1986. This is on display in the cathedral crypt.

In the afternoon Steve's parents and two lady relatives visited and later we went for a walk across the park, by which time it was beginning to get dark, and a mist began to rise. We had a meal together, the first course being lasagne, which Chloe had made and as a pudding, Steve had made sticky toffee pudding, really delicious and I want the recipe. As good as you would expect from a restaurant.

Sunday was bright and sunny, although it clouded over later in the afternoon. I sat outside in the garden as Steve, Chloe and the children swept up some leaves which covered the lawn.

The following morning, Monday, I woke early and got ready to drive back to Milton Keynes. I waited for everyone to leave the house and had already said my 'goodbyes' and left around 8.25. The journey home was relatively straightforward, except for a hold-up around mid-way. I don't know what caused it, but the traffic slowed to around walking pace, but at least it didn't stand still. I got back to Milton Keynes around 10 a.m. and went straight to the house of the lady who had been looking after Alfie. It was a possibility that she would be home, although I had said I'd be there at 11, so I went to Dexter House to unload my stuff and went back at 11 and she was at home so I collected Alfie and went back to Dexter House.

Graduation Day At Worcester

Carol and I went to my daughter's Graduation at Worchester Cathedral yesterday. We had to get up really early and left for our drive there at around 6.15. It was a bit close, but we managed to make it on time. We were supposed to meet Chloe and her boyfriend, Steve, at their house at just before 9.00 and then go to the University campus in Steve's car and then be taken to the cathedral by coach, but we weren't going to make it in time so parked the car in the centre of Worcester and walked to the cathedral. We were both hungry as we hadn't had time for anything to eat before we left, so we went into a Gregg's bakery shop (this was a little bit after 9.) and bought coffee and sausage rolls to eat as we walked through the centre of the town. I had spoken to Steve via mobile phone to be told that they were about to board the coach, and just as we turned up outside the cathedral a coach turned up. Carol said 'do you think they will be on it?' and sure enough, as people got off the coach, they got off! It seemed a really good bit of timing. Chloe's mum, Helen, and Chloe's half-sister, Elizabeth also came,and we went into the cathedral. It was slowly filling up with graduates, dressed in their robes and mortarboards, and we sat on one side of the nave whilst the graduates sat on the opposite side. We had a good forty-five minutes wait before the ceremony started. Some people were obviously not going to be able to see much of the ceremony from where they were sitting, so events were being videoed and relayed to them onto large television monitors.

Then the ceremony started, with a procession into the cathedral of all the local dignatories and people from the University. Some wore amazing headgear, and one man more a hat with a large display of feathers on the top. After an introduction by the Dean of the Cathedral, and then the Registrar and Secretary of the University, the degrees were presented. Midway, an Honorary Degree was presentd to Henry Sandon, who is better known from his appearances on B.B.C. Television on such programmes as "Antiques Roadshow," a show we watch regularly on a Sunday night.

At the end of the ceremony, there was another procession out of the cathedral, but this time the new graduates followed the rest of the dignatories and university people, and it was to really rousing organ music.

Everyone else then left the cathedral, all the parents, friends, relations and so on who had come to watch the presentations. This took quite some time as the place was really packed. I don't think there was a single seat empty. I would have liked to have had time to look around the cathedral, but we didn't have time to do it justice. We will have to visit it on another occasion when we come to Worcester to see Chloe.

We went to the rear of the cathedral to take photographs, and then we had to queue up to catch the coach to the university campus where drinks and eats were laid on. We then went in Steve's car to a Toby Carvery outside Worchester to enjoy a meal, before Carol and I left for home. A great day was enjoyed by all, and Chloe was congratulated for completing her course and getting her degree.