Don't Rain On My Parade

 Wednesday 11th February. 5.50 a.m. I know it's too early, but I have changed all the bedding. It's most definitely not one of my favourite jobs, but my next slot on the washing machine rota is this afternoon. I keep putting it off, and my thinking is, 'don't put off doing what you could do today, or words to that effect. Putting on a duvet cover is my worst job, but it is done, and the old bedding is now in the laundry basket and in the hallway.

Thursday 12th February. 9.10 a.m. The digital thermometer currently reads 22ºc. It seems yet another soulless sort of day, slightly overcast, no sun.

Friday 13th. 6.20 p.m. Yesterday morning, I took the Zoomer puppet to the Thursday Life Group to introduce him to the members of the group. The idea is to use puppets at church for the children's ministry. I hope to find other people to work on this, because, basically, I can only operate one puppet at a time. It won't be just the performance, but the making of the puppets as well as the staging that will be needed.

An unsettled day. It's been raining. almost constantly. The weather forecast tells us that snow is on the way.

Sunday 15th February. 2.35 p.m. It rained really heavily when I left to drive to church this morning. As I write this, it has stopped raining, but it's now overcast.

Monday 16th February. 9.50 a.m. On this day in 1969, I began my first stage management job, as a Student A.S.M., at the Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham. The first production was an adaptation of 'Jane Eyre.' 

It is bright and sunny as I write this. It just shows how fickle the weather can be in this country. I hope it stays that way.

The digital thermometer reads 22ºc. 

Tuesday 17th February. 10.20 a.m. It's 'Pancake Day' or, to give it its proper name, 'Shrove Tuesday.' It's 40 days before Easter.

I have made batter for pancakes. I always got to make batter for pancakes and Yorkshire pudding when I lived at the farm. I think my mother must have shown me how to make it. It's not exactly difficult, but I make it several hours before I cook the pancakes, as it's important to let it stand and let it thicken. I put butter in it which makes the pancakes taste far better.

We live only a short distance from Olney, famed for it's pancake race. I'd love to go, except it would be extremely difficult to park, knowing that a lot of people would turn up to watch.

Action-Packed Week?! . . . Not!

 Monday. 6.25. a.m. I woke up, and I could hear what I thought was rain.  I'm fairly sure it is, but I won't know exactly until I take his nibs out. I am now dressed and shaved and sitting in the lounge waiting to take Alfie out and not going to go until it's a bit lighter. This time of the year isn't my favourite, basically because it's dark and cold.

9.45 a.m. I've been to Sainsbury's. I went a good deal earlier than I generally go, which meant there were far fewer other shoppers, but no staff on the manned tills, so I had no choice but to use the self-service tills. The one I used behaved itself, thank goodness. As a result of going earlier, I got in and out of the store reasonably quickly. No difficulty parking too as there were plenty of spaces. 

I do wish Sainsbury's would sort out their trolleys. So many have wonky wheels, or the wheels don't turn as they should, or the trolley bumps along as you push it or it squeaks. Surely a bit of maintenance wouldn't hurt sometimes.

It's sunny but chilly this morning.

2.50 p.m. I had an email the other day. It was Friday afternoon, informing me from Bedford Borough Council that I had made a mistake with my date of birth. Could I please inform them of my correct name, including my middle name, as well as my date of birth? I did as they asked. Apparently, I had accidentally ordered two birth certificates and this may be why they were asking me. They will refund the £11 which was taken from my bank account for the second certificate. What I want to know is, since this was ordered almost two weeks ago, why has it taken so long to realize there was a problem? The application, which was made online, must have been sitting in a file somewhere for that length of time, without anyone bothering to deal with it. Somewhat annoying, and I am still awaiting the birth certificate so my DBS check can be completed, so I can return to working in the theatre workshop at Camphill. Yet another case of bureaucrats controlling things and most likely not doing their jobs efficiently. 

Tuesday. 9.35 a.m. It's bright and sunny as I write this, but in actual fact, it was surprisingly cold when I went out with Alfie.

I am continuing with the Piriton, but they make me drowsy, and I fell asleep for an hour or so.

Regardless of how I'm feeling, I have managed to write a couple more pages. I think I've got over the hump in the writing process and will now have to transfer it all onto word processing and then do some editing.

5.00 p.m. I have completed the transfer of the handwritten writing to word processing. Not a great amount, but it's quality not quantity which counts.  Rather pleased it's done.

Wednesday. 9.30 a.m. My least favourite job is done! Changing my duvet cover and all the associated bedding. It has to be one of the worst jobs, replacing the cover on my duvet. There really isn't any easier way to do this job. It has to be done and everything will go in the wash this afternoon.

Changeable Weather

From being excessively hot, to rain and then humid, it's a really blustery day. I had intended washing

the bedding and stripped the bed and put on new duvet cover, bottom sheet and pillow cases and put the whole lot in the washing machine, with the idea of putting it all out on the washing line to dry, but it looked vaguely as if we were in for a downpour so, change of plan, the sheet has been folded and put over the bannister rail and the duvet is drying over one of the clothes racks. Not ideal, but it's the only way to dry clothes when it's so undecided. Alfie thinks it's some sort of game when I'm attempting to put the duvet on. He can't understand what I'm up to.

On Saturday I went to the writing group which meets in Starbucks in the shopping centre. I got there and found it really busy, with a long queue at the corner. I ordered a cold drink and a cheese and hame toastier and then sat near the entrance, having absolutely no idea who was going to turn up. Nobody I could see looked in the least bit as if they could be writers. How would I know, without going round asking? Would they be carrying notepads? Manuscripts in folders? Until someone came up to me and asked me, and a young lady who appears to be the leader of the group, and we went to one of the tables outside in the mall as it was far easier to talk, because it was so noisy within the actual Starbucks store.

(Monday) I went to the Willen coffee morning at John Lewis and sat with a different group with whom I haven't chatted before. I have been given a telephone number of a bereavement counselling service which I've not come across before, so when I got home I rang and left a message and later I got a call-back from their secretary. They have a drop in run by volunteers, but then I got a call back from Willen Hospice, and told them that I had got two nurses coming from the new N.H.S. service, which I've already mentioned in an earlier post on here, so I will wait until after they've visited me on Wednesday afternoon before setting up any further counselling. The woman at the Milton Keynes Bereavement Counselling Service said they couldn't help because they have such a long waiting list of people but that I could go in to the drop-in if I was feeling I needed to chat. I will wait and see what happens after the Wednesday visit.

I ordered printer ink cartridges on Amazon. Mid morning I got a knock on the door and flew downstairs to answer was it was quite aggressive. I was expecting it to be another of those door-to-door salespeople trying to flog energy, gas and electricity, but as I got there, the door was opened and a parcel was thrust in without waiting for me to answer. This is not the way for Amazon drivers/deliverers to complete a delivery. I opened the door to confront this young man and said he should put the parcel in the meter cupboard and definitely not just open the door! He was apologetic, but still, not acceptable because Alfie could have got out and I know what he's like if he gets out. He could get run over. In this instance, fortunately I was able to get to the door before he got out, although he did bark.

(Tuesday) Camphill as usual. The traffic going is again calmer than usual. I can't believe most of it would normally be school traffic, parents taking their offspring to drop off at the school gates. Is that correct? Anyway, it's not as busy as it would be during a school day. None of those impatient idiots tailgating me all the way. What is it with some people?

We did a line-run of 'Stranger Danger.' Apparently the residents had a training day with the Police yesterday and they were shown the video of 'Stranger Danger,' and they were impressed by it. The training was on safety, keeping safe on-line and more or less the same as the material provided in 'Stranger Danger.'

Teo wanted to rehearse 'Stranger Danger' as if it was a proper performance. Up until now it has been rehearsed in 'bits,' the separate scenes not linked together. It was something like a technical rehearsal, as I remember when I worked in rep, where the whole play is taken apart, once the set is constructed and the lighting and sound cues 'topped and tailed,' where the play is run, but then stage management is allowed to try out scene changes and the sound and lighting cues put in. It also gives the actors a chance to get used to the set, using props, making entrances and so on. This is something like what we did today, with the actors sitting on stools around the stage (but in this instance it was set up in the theatre in the space where the seating would have been (the Chrysalis Theatre has seating which can be folded back into the back wall of the auditorium in a very ingenious arrangement, and when needed, drawn out on a motorised mechanism. Quite amazing to see it in operation for the first time.) It meant that new movements of the actors could be tried out and how and when pieces of furniture such as tables and chairs could be set and 'struck,' which is where support staff come in handy, me being one of them.

(Wednesday) The weather has changed yet again. I did a load of washing (boring and mundane, I know) and was considering whether to put it out on the washing line. I'm glad I didn't and it's now on both drink racks.

I've now got two bits of writing posted on the WhatsApp creative writing group and I've had a few comments. So, it seems worth all the effort has at last paid off and after waiting to find a creative writing group the results look good. I'm reading other member's work and they look good too. It's certainly a boost to my morale to have this to work at.

And Now . . . Cleaning The House

Having had to contact our beloved landlord, he now wants to inspect the house. So I am busily cleaning and generally tidying the house. Will someone tell me that changing a king size duvet cover isn't the worst job ever??? I then go to find that the clean one is inside out and that takes some time to turn right side out. My experience of stage management and having to deal with 'tabs' (curtains) comes in handy. Working with extremely large cycloramas and tabs has come in handy, strangely. Getting the corners of the duvet to match the corners of the cover and then putting the whole thing over the bannister rail and getting the whole thing to fall out (as we would have done with tabs when working in theatre, so all the creases fall out. Some of those velour tabs weighed a ton and a half. Not literally, but if you did it wrong, when hanging onto a cleat-rail at about 40 feet from the stage floor, could be dangerous. Another story for another blog post, possibly.) Anyway, I did manage to get the duvet cover sorted. All those buttons to match up precisely is quite a difficult job. but it's done now and so another job ticked off the list. The duvet cover and sheets are now in the washing machine and doing their 'thing,' and will be out on the washing line within about another 15-20 minutes or so.

Carol has just this minute rung from Ward 22 to tell me that she's got an eye test at 9.30 this morning and I need to be there as they have to put drops in her eyes and she wouldn't be able to see properly for quite a while afterwards. Just as well I'm available to assist her.

Later. Well, I did get to the ward well before 9.30. After we'd waited some time and nothing happened (much as it did yesterday) we were then told that the appointment wasn't until tomorrow. Carol was told she was to have another M.R.I. scan, but she point blank refused to have it directly after the eye appointment, basically because, first, she wasn't supposed to eat 3 hours before the scan and second, she would have to have drops put in her eyes for the eye appointment and would not be able to see properly, which is why they needed me there to assist her because she wouldn't be able to see properly. There was a possibility that she could have the M.R.I. scan today, but it would be unlikely.

Another possible wrong piece of information. Carol was sure she had a consultant's appointment in the Macmillan Unit this Friday, but one of the nurses did some digging and found that this appointment wasn't until the following Friday. Quite a few mistakes today, but they were sorted out as the morning progressed.