Health Issues

 Thursday. 3.00 p.m. I have a cold. I haven't had one in years. In all the time I was with Carol, I didn't have one cold. I can't think where it has come from, presumably caught from someone at church or perhaps in Sainsbury's or the shopping centre. It's not heavy, but I keep sneezing and have a sore throat, and it's just unpleasant and makes sleeping at night difficult, because of a really unpleasant cough. I have sweets to suck and I've taken Paracetamol. I'll just have to put up with it until it clears up.

6.30 p.m. I have been for an appointment at Central Milton Keynes Medical Centre. It was scheduled for 4.30, but I was still waiting at 4.50, so I asked the receptionist and was told that they were running late. I eventually got called to go to Room 16, which came up on the digital screen. I had assumed that I was going to have an appointment with a doctor, but when I walked through the door, I then discovered that I was seeing the pharmacist. I was to have my blood pressure taken.  The pharmacist lady did my blood pressure sitting down, but, after looking at the results, I had to stand up for the second test. It was shown that there was a difference in the readings between when I sat down and then stood up to have my blood pressure taken. It would have been blood pressure which was the cause of my collapsing on the floor and then being taken to hospital.

It was odd seeing my writing on the computer screen when the pharmacist had a look at the blood test results when I had to check it over a week.

As a result of the blood test results, I am going to have to wear a blood pressure cuff for 24 hours, and this will begin next Tuesday. It doesn't concern me, but it will be quite difficult to have to wear it in bed. Then I will have to go back to the Medical Centre to give the pharmacist the device so it can be checked to see what the results find and have an E.C.G. done, which will check my heart health.

Friday. 7.30 a.m. I have put my washing in the machine. It's supposed to start at 8 o'clock, but I can't be bothered waiting. Just get on with it and start the machine. No point waiting, I say!

It looks like another mild morning. Please, no rain or wind!

Saturday. 12.25 p.m. It's bright and sunny. I can say, for the first time this year, that I've gone out WITHOUT A JACKET ON!

This morning we had Men's Breakfast at the Oaktree Centre. I arrived at 8.40 and the smell of frying bacon as I approached the building. So, a superb cooked breakfast of fried eggs, bacon, sausage and tea. I rarely eat fried food, so it is a treat and great to not have to cook it myself.

Richard, who usually leads this event, wasn't in attendance, so someone else was leading.

Sunday. 1.15 p.m. I haven't been to church this morning and attempted to watch the service via Facebook. I say 'attempted', because of technical issues. I have a Portal, which sits on the top of my television set and has a camera and microphone in it. It should allow you to communicate using Facebook (it is a product of Meta, the company which owns Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram. At one time you could view video from Facebook on it, but for some reason, this feature has been removed. You can use Zoom on it and other apps, which was handy during the Covid pandemic, when we weren't supposed to meet 'face-to-face.' 

I started watching the service through my iPad, but part way through things went pear-shaped, I lost video and only had sound and then that went, by which time I gave up, unfortunately.

Drama Workshop At Camphill (And A Few Minor Matters!)

Monday. 7.55 a.m. It's a somewhat blustery morning as I write this blog post. Alfie and I ventured forth, as we usually do early morning, to find plastic bags being blown along the path as we walked towards Oldbrook Green. Only a day ago I remember almost slipping over on the paving slabs on the path in more or less the same place where the plastic bag was being wafted about in the breeze. 

A blustery day makes me think of Winnie The Pooh. Disney made an animated film of the A.A. Milne story, Winnie The Pooh and The Blustery Day. I think it was shown in cinemas with a full-length Disney film, but I have no idea what it was.

10.45 a.m. I have had a letter from Milton Keynes Council regarding my rent, which is going up. I couldn't make head nor tail about how much I was actually going to pay, and then I was told that my account was actually in credit by a considerable amount. I had been paying too much. This is good news, but you would think, someone would let you know, probably giving a statement or similar which broke down how much I had paid.

I've taken Alfe out again, and we walked around Oldbrook Green. We bumped into Woody, one of Alfie's friends, a large rather ugly dog, with a flat face, which resembled the dog which appears in the 'Tom and Jerry cartoons. Big, stupid and with a loud bark. Sort of, his bark was worse than his bite. Anyway, Woody comes up to me and gives me a look and thinks he's going to get a treat from me, but I rarely have dog treats in my pockets, so he was somewhat disappointed when I didn't produce one. We walked on around the Green, but it threatened to rain, so we needed to get back quickly. It is really windy and there's a definite chill in the air, almost enough to freeze your face. I think it's very likely we'll get another load of snow.

Tuesday. 6.35 a.m. I was awake in the night. I'm not entirely sure what time it was, but probably around 1.30. There was a sudden rainstorm. I could hear it rattling on the windows, and then I could see raindrops running down the glass outside. As I write this, it's relatively calm and dry, but I expect there to be puddles along the road and possible flash floods around Milton Keynes.

4.30 p.m. I have just got home from a day at Camphill. It's been a really packed day. Terrie has been away for several weeks as her father is ill and has been in hospital. But she was back in charge today. As usual,, we had the regular check-in, which seems to take longer and longer each time. Last week they had videoed an improvised silent film (I wasn't at Camphill last week.) which was shown projected onto the large cinema screen, which is electronically bought in from above the stage level.

Mitchell, who is a third member of the leadership team in the theatre workshop, and who is a musician who created music for 'Twelfth Night', is currently on holiday in Bulgaria with his girlfriend. The holiday was delayed because of the travel restrictions which came in due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The holiday is at a skiing resort, but Mitchell damaged a leg so can't partake in any skiing, so is spending time relaxing in the hotel where they are staying. He had sent Terrie pictures which obviously showed that he was bored, having to sit around in the hotel, so she decided to send him photographs of the drama group on 'holiday', but constructed out of photographs found on the internet and then projected onto the cinema screen and with members of the drama team standing in front of the screen. It may sound crazy, and everyone had fun deciding where they would like to go on holiday. Then Terrie took photographs of the team standing in front of these photographs and in a variety of poses. 

After tea break, Terrie gets us all doing an exercise based on character archetypes, the sort of characters you would find in a silent film, and in turn, as seen in traditional melodramas in theatre, such as 'The Villain', 'The Hero', and 'The Damsel In Distress.' 

After lunch, we had to mime the archetypes, all without speaking. Actually quite difficult.

The final session of the day, this time, after the afternoon tea break, we were broken into groups of about five or six and had to improvise a short sketch, based on what we learnt. I lead one of the groups and the improvisation was about a couple living in a house and not being able to afford to pay their rent and the landlord, the 'Evil Villain' came in and demanded they pay their rent, which had presumably been increased., The 'The Hero' came in, who was going to pay their rent for them. It ended with 'The Hero' coming back and having a fight with 'The Villain' and winning with the two 'Damsels In Distress' (the tenants, smashing 'The Villain' over the head with a saucepan (mimed!) and throwing 'The Villain' out! All through this, I directed the piece.

Practically Perfect!

 Tuesday. 7.17 a.m. It's a rather drab and dreary day. 'Quite cold generally', which is how Carol Kirkwood is describing today's weather, as I am watching BBC Breakfast as I write this.

4.35 p.m. I have only this minute got back from another day at Camphill, working in the performing arts workshop in the Chrysalis Theatre. Terrie, who is the leader, wasn't in charge today, because her father is ill, and she was with him. Paul was in charge. One or two of the regular team didn't come, for whatever reason. A new young lady came to work in the workshop. She is a regular support worker at Camphill. I don't know what she thought of the theatre workshop, but she seemed to fit in really well.

The morning got started with the usual 'check-in,' when every member of the team talks about what they've been up to and how they feel. This can take some time. 

Then we did several games, the famous EastEnders game, which I've mentioned in an earlier post and 'Bananas' (which I won't attempt to describe on here.) All I can say, very good to break the ice, and they can be a bit daunting if you've never done anything such as this before, but it certainly gets everyone 'warmed up.' A great deal of this is to get people's voices ready for any speaking they are likely to do, which can be good for anyone with a learning disability. When I rejoined the theatre workshop back in November, after almost two years of being away because of the various lockdowns bought in because of the coronavirus pandemic, I was a bit overwhelmed when I started to interact with the group in these games, particularly as I didn't know how they were played. I intend to get involved in as much of this sort of activity as possible, although some of the games I withdraw from.

The rest of the day was spent watching a range of silent films, a couple with Laurel and Hardy, one of which was the famous film, ''The Music Box,' where they have to deliver a piano to a house up some steps and the series of blunders they make in the process. Typical Laurel and Hardly material. Then, some films with Buster Keaton and then Harold Lloyd. 

After Lunch, we had yet another 'check in' and then we watched one of Morecambe and Wise's famous sketches, the one where they are having breakfast, and all their actions are done to the music of 'The Stripper.' Then, we did some exercises whereby we emulated Laurel and Hardy, with the scene in 'The Music Box', where they are clearing up after the disaster in the house they are delivering to, where Ollie is shifting wood from one place to another and Stan puts it back in exactly the same place, so it ends up with them not getting anywhere with the clearing up. We did it with two teams, with moving chairs and it turns out that they end up back where they started and then another with washing up, with the washed-up dishes are being endlessly recycled and washed. We then had to enact what we'd developed to watch the other team's efforts and then they watched ours.

Wednesday. 7.05 a.m. It is getting light earlier and earlier each morning and this morning, as a result of it being light out, I was out with Alfie at around 6.40 this morning. We did a circuit of Oldbrook Green, because I didn't see the point of wasting the early hour to not build up some footsteps with my FitBit. Looking at the FitBit I have on my wrist, it reads 2081 steps.

10 20 a.m. I've just been to Sainsbury's mainly to pick up a repeat prescription from Lloyd's, whose pharmacy is within the store. I now learn that this pharmacy is going to close in July. We have been ordering our medication from Lloyd's for I don't know how many years and know the staff well. They have been very supportive, particularly when Carol was diagnosed with cancer in 2017 and always manage to get whatever medication we need. So it will be such a shame for this facility to close. I can move to another pharmacy, but it's so easy to park, with the car park underneath the store. There is the option to set up delivery from Lloyd's and have my meds delivered direct to my flat, but it won't be the same without the personal touch. It seems so many companies are disappearing altogether or moving their businesses online. Argos is owned by Sainsbury and its head office is in Milton Keynes, just a stone's throw from Sainsbury's. Many of their high street stores are closing, and Sainsbury's will have Argos pick-up points in their stores. No doubt all this is as a result of the infamous pandemic lockdowns as well as Brexit.  I will be able to adapt to the new way of receiving my medications, but there will be some people, of a 'certain age' who will prefer to have the human contact of going into a store to pick up their medication and might not be able to use the internet to set up their accounts to have their medication delivered directly.

2.05 p.m. I am continuing to transfer handwritten material into word processing. This particular piece of writing was written some while ago, but it seems to fit as the backstory of the new character I want to bring into the project. It may need to be slightly adapted for that use, but, as it hadn't been used or transcribed, it seemed a good idea to use it.

It's A Lovely Day Today!

Saturday. 9.50 a.m. I've been constructing a bookshelf, which I bought on Amazon. I ordered it earlier in the week and was expecting it to arrive next week, probably Wednesday or Thursday. I got back from the doctor's appointment yesterday and there was this large parcel left outside my front door, so I left it unopened until around 7.30 this morning and have been working on putting it together. It is now finished and it's in the kitchen, but it will eventually be put in my walk-in cupboard, which will then contain all the cooking ingredients which are still awaiting a home since before the kitchen was ungraded.

12.35 p.m.  Amoxicillin is making me feel very sleepy. I was told to stop taking the Piriton, which I have done, and the remainder of the packet is now stored in my medication drawer. Well, I presume it's the new medication making me sleepy.

So, we have a new Prime Minister in Liz Truss. Well, I use the term 'Prime Minister' lightly. She's only been in office barely a month, and it seems the wheels are falling off the wagon. She's made more U-turns than a learner driver in a cul-de-sac. Seems likely she's going to have the shortest Premiership in history. It can't be long before there's a vote of no confidence, and we have a General Election. If you thought Boris Johnson was a disaster as PM, then Trussy takes the biscuit. She has the authority of an inept primary school teacher who can't get her class to behave. If she is forced out, which seems likely, does it mean we'll have to go through the ridiculous circus which is the Tory party system of voting for it's leader, which took around two months last time. Who would replace her? There can't be many candidates left.

A great deal seems to have happened in only a few days, but, as someone said so succinctly, 'A week is a long time in politics.' How true. Apparently attributed to Harold Wilson, former Labour Prime Minister.

Kwasi Kwarteng must have had the shortest time in office as Chancellor of The Exchequer and is now replaced by Jeremy Hunt. The contents of the disastrous 'mini budget' have been more or less totally replaced by new tax rates and goodness knows what else. They should install and revolving door to Number 11 Downing Street. How many Chancellors have we had in the last year? 

It seems the Conservative Party has been responsible for several disasters. So many splits within it's membership regarding the EU ('Euro Sceptics, I think the term is.) which led to the craziness of Brexit,  and now splits regarding the former Chancellor's 'Mini Budget' is likely to bring the whole house of cards tumbling down. Meanwhile, we have had two years of lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic and now a war in Ukraine. Has nobody thought that closing down the economy for two years and paying people to sit at home doing nothing, would lead to soaring inflation, which is exactly what we have at the moment? Then, attempting to get people to go back to work, usually those in offices, when they've been told to 'stay at home and protect the N.H.S., and using scare tactics to prevent people from meeting up, and not understanding that you can't expect things to return to any sort of normal when people have been filled with this sort of stuff.

Monday. 8.05 a.m. My cough is certainly showing signs of disappearing. The medication must be working. 

4.45 p.m. I've done a considerable amount more writing. What I have created has already been word processed and there is far more. Things in that department are going surprisingly well.

More Over-Used Phrases

So, what 'overused phrases' am I talking about? The one that has been done to death is the one which was used during the COVID-19 pandemic. It's unprecedented. It had become something of a cliché. Why? I think it was an attempt to make out the pandemic was really worse than it was made out to be, mostly by the unelected scientists who were actually pulling the strings. And Boris fell for it, and we, the electorate of the United Kingdom, were forced, more at less at gun-point, to accept house arrest without question.

Kicking the can down the road. This means, in effect, putting something off, usually unpopular or unpleasant. For example, a sort of denial, knowing full well that something has to be done. One example would be a Chancellor of The Exchequer knowing that the country's finances are in a total mess and putting up taxes.

It is not always over-used phrases that annoy me, but those clichés the news media use, particularly television news. Here's a list. These are a few, but I'm sure, over time, I will discover plenty more.

1: Inflation, money: Piles of one-pound coins, stacked up, or images of one-pound notes. Shots of the Bank of England. Computer screens, with facts and figures over-laid or Photoshopped on. A person taking cash out of a cash machine. 

2: Care, usually of the elderly: Old people, usually seen from the waist down, with wrinkly stockings, tatty slippers, shuffling along, holding onto a Zimmer frame. Often out of focus. Or elderly people eating soup, or being served some food, usually looking revolting and totally unappetizing. Usually, the elderly portrayed are supposedly around 85 plus. So at what age do we become 'elderly'? That is a good question, and not easy to answer. 

3: Children/Education. Rows of empty desks, piles of exercise books, something written on a blackboard (which hasn't been used in schools for decades.), naughts-and-crosses on a blackboard, or some complicated bit of algebra. (Do schools teach algebra these days? They attempted to teach me that subject when I was at school, but I have never found a use for it.) Children are seen in a playground, probably playing, and we see just their feet. Sitting on a bench, just their backs, faces blurred or just from the waist down.

4: Law/legal: Shots of the statue on top of The Old Bailey. The one with the woman holding the balancing scales. Piles of documents, tied in red ribbons. 

5: NHS/Medical. Doctor in a white coat, with a stethoscope around his/her neck. Someone has their blood pressure taken. Piles of hypodermic needles, packets/bottles of tablets. Nurses looking after patients, filling in forms on clipboards, looking at X-Rays. A patient's arm with a blood pressure cuff on, with a nurse assisting. 

6: Employment: Shots of a Job Centre sign, job boards in a Job Centre. People queuing up to collect their benefits in a Post Office.

7: Recession. Boarded-up shops on a high street, in some undisclosed town. Factory gates locked, with weeds growing through pavements, bits of litter blowing in the wind. Then, graphs of numbers of employed and unemployed. 

Revolting Tories

Okay, okay, it's a bit overdone to use that for a blog post title, but I will explain later.

9.50 a.m. It was cold and windy yesterday.  As I've mentioned in earlier posts, Alfie doesn't like cold, wet, windy, rain, and so on. You can't blame him. Yesterday I took him out mid-morning. He wasn't out for more than thirty seconds, turned tail, and beetled back indoors. But part-way along the corridor he did a naughty on the floor! Not like him at all. Not even as a puppy. He was easy to house train. But as an adult? No! He has had accidents in the middle of the night, but not outside the flat. I had to pick it up and we head to dispose of it in one of the bins within the boundaries of Oldbrook Green. (why can't there be a bin for this use further back towards Dexter House?) Quite a jaunt, but nevertheless, it had to be done. 

This morning, around 9.15, we went out again and Alfie did his business on the grass. I was in the process of picking it up in one of the disposable bags I carry in a pocket in my trousers, was just turning round to walk along the path to the bin across Oldbrook Boulevard and onto the Green, when a young man shot towards me on one of those electric scooters. I barely had time to stand aside as he hurtled past, narrowly avoiding being hit midships and possibly causing real damage to my person. No attempt to slow down, apologize or take evasive action. It really shocked me, particularly as you can't hear these scooters as they rush about. Just dangerous.

Okay. Boris Johnson gave another of the by now regular press conferences regarding the pandemic from 10 Downing Street. We are going to have to endure the reintroduction of some restrictions and new regulations, such as the wearing of masks in confined spaces, such as in shops (also, within the common areas in Dexter House.) Also, he said we have to 'work at home where possible.' You have to wear a mask in shops and offices, 'but don't cancel Christmas parties.' This doesn't make a lot of sense. Why in shops, offices and indoor areas? This includes theatres, which I trust doesn't mean the performers, just the audience. But I hear that some of Boris' Backbench MPs are threatening to rebel against the new restrictions. Why is the reason for my blog post title? 'Revolting Tories.' We shall have to wait and see how this plays out. Meanwhile, we will have to put up with 'Plan B' as these new restrictions are called, as they will be in place until around the end of February, all because of the omicron variant of the covid virus. Such is life.

So, if there's supposed to be a 'plan B,' and that doesn't work, does it follow that we can expect a 'plan C,' a 'plan D' and so ad infinitum? Please tell me NOT. We can't keep panicking when a new variant comes along. As mentioned before, all viruses mutate. That's the nature of viruses. We just need to stop this aimless race against a hidden 'danger.' There are dangers all over the place. Just crossing the road is a danger, so in getting in a car, walking along the street. You can't possibly live totally risk-free. So let's just get back to some sort of normal.

Then we have 'Partygate.' It has been discovered that there was a Christmas party in 10 Downing Street over the Christmas period, 2020 when the country was put into Lockdown. A video was discovered which showed staff laughing and mocking the fact that a party was held, regardless of lockdown, and seemingly not under social distancing restrictions. Boris Johnson has attempted to deny anything happened, but after the various gaffes, he has made it's difficult to believe the man. I think his days as Prime Minister are limited and it has now been revealed that there were TWO More parties held over Christmas 2020, one being at the Ministry of Education. Heads will roll and have started to roll. Is Boris going to come clean? I fear not.

Friday. 1.05 p.m. Not quite as cold as earlier in the week. The sun is shining, but there's a slight nip in the air.

Monday. 10.15 a.m. I'm going to rest this blog until after the Christmas break, so, once this post is completed, I won't be continuing with it until well into the New Year, so goodnight and God bless. Have a lovely Christmas!

A Red Sky In The Morning . . . Boris' Trousers on Fire

 Sunday. 10.15 a.m. Another cold and blustery day. The cough is still causing problems. I continue to take the cough mixture, and it seems to help. I didn't go to church because of the cold and the effect it would have on the cough. I took a dose of cough mixture and then attempted to watch the SCF service via Facebook, but the whole thing froze up and wouldn't work properly. Furthermore, I imagine it's got something to do with the church broadband connection. Several other people who were watching posted that they were finding the images were freezing or at least juddering. It really needs dealing with, unfortunately.

Monday. 8.10 a.m. It's cold again this morning, but I could see a bright red sky from my window as I was having my breakfast. What do they say? 'Red sky in the morning, shepherd's warning. Red sky at night, shepherd's delight.' Not sure how accurate, but let's wait and see whether it gets colder or even windy. Storm Arwen has done its worst and calmed down and disappeared, but next, we have to expect Storm Barra. Don't ask me where they got the name from.

Wednesday. 7.45 a.m. Alfie is definitely not one to like cold, wind, rain or generally wet in any form. This undoubtedly this morning when we went out and the little tyke was in and out as quickly as possible and back tucked up on the sofa, but, as I write, on my bed, probably under the duvet.

11.10 p.m. I was just getting off to sleep when the merry sound of the fire alarm went off. No doubt someone in another flat within Dexter House has either forgotten to check their oven was on with their oven chips or something, a fag-end was left smoldering in an ash-tray, or else they burnt their toast. Either way, it's deafening which means I moved from the bedroom into the lounge, and Alfie's looking at me as he doesn't like the noise. Who can blame him? Whatever it is that set the confounded thing off means I get to write a bit more of this and Alfie's attempting to climb on my knee which is impossible with the laptop in the way. There is a fire engine outside in Dexter Avenue as I can hear the engine running and I could see the flashing blue light when I look out of the window, not that easy as my Christmas tree is in the way. I just hope they manage to discover the reason for the alarm being set off as my ears are ringing from the sound of the alarm and giving me a headache.

Incidentally, on a different matter, has nobody realized that omicron is an anagram of moronic? Or that the two words delta and omicron spell 'media control'? Too right. The conspiracy theories regarding the pandemic and the virus just go on. Boris Johnson now attempting to wriggle out of the latest scandal regarding the Christmas party which was alleged to have taken place in Number 10 Downing Street last year after pandemic restrictions were introduced and not adhering to the aforementioned regulations and making a mockery of the whole situation when the rest of us were in lockdown and not supposed to attend any sort of party. Totally contemptible. Makes me wonder how much longer Johnson can last as Prime Minister as he is rapidly turning into a liability, to not only the Conservative party but also the country as a whole.

11.30 p.m. The alarm is still going and no sign of the wretched noise coming to an end. What exactly IS going on? I can't see smoke emanating from any window or anywhere else, so we'll just have to endure it I suppose.

11.55 p.m. By around 11.40 I'd had enough. The fire engine has gone. So, what set the alarm off? I got dressed as Alfie was beginning to get stressed. He can't cope with the noise. We went out through the front door near the SHO's office and there were two men fiddling with the fire alarm keypad, looking as if they were aimlessly pressing random keys on the pad. I don't know who they were, but by the time we'd walked around to the other entrance on Strudwick Drive the alarm had stopped, so we went back in and returned to my flat. Thank goodness it was over and silence reigned once more! I presume there is a fault with the alarm system.

Pandemic . . . Over and Out?

So, is that the end of the covid-19 pandemic? Is it now an epidemic rather than a pandemic? Boris has always said that he would 'follow the science.' The data shows that infections have fallen.

Sunday 6.30 a.m. I woke a good deal later than usual. I waited to take Alfie out and when we did, we found it quite windy. Alfie obviously doesn't like the wind, so he took us back home. When he doesn't want to do something, he makes sure he gets what he wants and that includes not getting wet or enduring wind. Funny little person!

I arrived at church at around 9.50 this morning and I was somewhat surprised that there were no chairs put out. So myself and several other people were drafted in to bring them in on the trolleys. It's surprising how quickly this was completed when everyone works together. No restrictions! No horrible masks! Ability to sing properly! Just great to have things almost back to some sort of normal. Then, after the service had finished, we had to remain to clear up the chairs and put them away on the trolleys. Twenty-two on each.

Monday. 6.20 a.m. Alfie was just not bothered about walking this morning. He's just becoming rather lazy. Not like him at all. I found him on the bed, in my usual place. Curled up and fast asleep. I attempted to move him but he growled at me. Not his usual behaviour.

I've spent most of the morning moving half of the furniture in the lounge so that I could sweep up the dust and other bits off the floor and then steam mop the floor with the Vax steam mop. It's quite a military exercise as the armchair was quite difficult to get through the door and put it into the hallway. No end of cables for such things as the floor light, the wifi router, and the chargers for the iPhone and iPad. I've already cleared out a lot of paperwork and generally cleared away clutter. It now means I have the second half of the room to clean, which will mean moving the television unit, the desk, and the sofa. 

Tuesday. 6.36 a.m. Another relatively mild and pleasant morning. But, saying that, just as I settled down to go to sleep at around 10.30 yesterday evening, there was an almighty rainstorm. It seemed to go on for quite a while, but there wasn't much to suggest rain when Alfie and I went out before 6 o'clock this morning. He really is getting reluctant to walk the entire circuit of Oldbrook Gree, but I am really determined to do the steps which are being recorded on my FitBit.

11.10 a.m. I've been to Sainsbury's this morning. I had to collect a  repeat prescription which was ready and pick up some bits and pieces, particularly milk and dog food. I can't have Alfie going without, now can I? I was surprised by how many gaps there were in the aisles, breakfast cereal being one. No doubt this is because of people being 'pinged' by the ridiculous app which tells you to self-isolate if you've been near someone who has been found to be infectious with covid or whatever. No end of the staff in various industries have had this happen, in what is called the 'pingdemic.' Crazy. 

Freedom Come and Freedom Go

Okay, okay! Blog post title from a Fortune's hit single from 1972. It just seemed appropriate for the current pandemic situation. Are we going to be released from lockdown or not? It appears to be neither one thing nor the other.

So, will things be relaxed today? It's both yes and no, which is going to confuse so many people.

Monday: 6.20 a.m. Phew! What a scorcher! It is excessively not. Even with all the windows open and an electric fan working, the flat is very warm. I woke up in the night really wringing wet. Poor Alfie can't find a place to keep cool. We didn't go out until late yesterday evening, but even at around 7 o'clock, it was bright and sunny and very warm.

3.55 p.m. I may or may not have mentioned the online surveys I take part in. I think I've mentioned Consumer Pulse, where I put into a website everything I buy such as books, CDs, DVDs, and clothes. I have been with several of these online sites for several years and earn vouchers and cash which accrue and can be banked in your current account or your PayPal account. A lot of what I've earned goes into my Nationwide savings account, but some are converted into retail vouchers. One such is Maximiles. Today I had £50-worth of Marks and Spencers vouchers arrive in the post and, with £16-worth of M and S vouchers from two other survey sites, I went into the Milton Keynes M and S and bought two more of their polo shirts and cargo trousers, which I had been searching for elsewhere without success. 

It was great not having to wear a face mask in the shopping centre or M and S! Just make life far easier. I think generally people seemed far more relaxed than on previous visits.

I have an idea that the government is attempting to get the population to get herd immunity by freeing up society by lifting social distancing and not legally being required to wear face coverings. Boris was on television, but he sounded as if he was isolating in a cupboard in Chequers, where he has gone to self-isolate. It just sounded weird. Probably in the bathroom or in a drain.

Tuesday. 5.35 a.m. Yet another hot and sticky night. I had to change my top several times. Alfie settled in next to me. I'm not sure what the weather is going to be like today, but if it's hot I'm staying indoors.

There is an Amber warning from the met office. For the next couple of days, it's going to be extremely hot. For someone like me, who has a heart-health problem, it can be dangerous. So I won't be going out in it, staying indoors.

Is It Over And Out?

Monday. 6.00 a.m. So, Matt Hancock, Secretary of State for Health, has resigned over breaking social distancing regulations that he helped set up. All due because he was caught kissing his aide which was caught on CCTV camera. It wasn't necessarily the kiss that has caused the uproar, but the fact that they were in a clinch and obviously breaking the social distancing regulations. All this makes a mockery of the rules on this and is like rubbing our faces in the dirt, those of us who have gone along with what we've been told, kept strictly to the rules. It's a certain hypocrisy  amount of which is so unbelievable, a case of 'do as I say, but not as I do.' So, it would seem it's definitely 'over and out' for Hancock. The question everyone is asking, was he pushed, or did he jump? 

Well, that's over. Can we now get on with our lives? No, you can't. You've got to be good and do as you're told. Or you'll be arrested and have to pay a fine.

I was surprised that it was raining when we went out at 5.50 a.m. Alfie didn't stay outside too long when he realized it was raining. 

I'm currently watching the recent BBC1 adaptation of 'Les Miserables', the version which was shown over Christmas and New Year 2019. It's adapted by Andrew Davies who has made a successful career out of adaptations for television of classic novels, including the 1995 'Pride and Prejudice', which had Colin Firth as Mr. Darcey in it and has become the definitive version of that novel. Having seen the musical version on stage twice, once in the West End at the Place Theatre and then two years ago when the touring version visited Milton Keynes as well as seeing the 2012 film adaptation as well as reading the Victor Hugo novel (some 1500 pages or so.) I think I know the story very well. This is a more faithful version that has six hours to tell the story and can therefore go a good deal deeper than a 3-hour stage or film musical can possibly manage. 

Tuesday. 6.45 a.m. Another somewhat overcast day. It seemed dry enough when I took out Alfie for his usual walk.

Still in Groundhog Day. Now that Hancock has gone as Health Secretary we have a replacement, Sajid Javid, former Chancellor of The Exchequer. His approach to the pandemic is a good deal less 'Nanny State' and insists that we return to near-enough normality on 19th July. Thank goodness! I just hope that we can at least not have to wear face coverings and social distancing is either entirely removed or somehow relaxed in some way.

Wednesday. 6.00 a.m. I was out with Alfie around 5.30 this morning. Well, if you're awake and you have a very lively Yorkie that's got a need to go out, why not just go for it? Not warm, but still mild and fairly pleasant.

There was a certain amount of noise coming from The Cricketers (well, I presume it was there.) as I did washing up yesterday evening. I think it was because England had just beaten Germany in their game in the Euro football game. I'm not interested in football, as you will have realized if you follow my blog posts. But it's good that there's something positive to give people a lift after near enough eighteen months of lockdown and misery which it's caused. The outside of this pub has been decorated with flags of all nations in celebration of this football competition and certainly adding a touch of colour to the area around Chadwick Drive and Oldbrook Boulevard.

I have a new iPhone 12 arriving sometime today! My contract with Sky Mobile has finished and because Sky had a very good deal on iPhones (other mobiles are available, even if they're not as good as iPhones!) I decided it was too good to miss. I won't be paying much more per month than I am currently with around the same amount of data. I will return the old iPhone 7 back to Sky and get a credit on my new contract and, with the data I have used each month 'rolls over' and can be used to get a discount on the contract. So getting excited about it arriving. Red iPhone 12. Now I have the fun of transferring the SIM card from the old mobile into the new iPhone, which isn't difficult but very fiddly getting that tiny little chip into the little tray that slides out of the side of these mobiles. This is because I will be keeping my phone number as I really don't want to change it. I ordered a case for the new case which had arrived in the post from Amazon. I always get cases for my various gadgets because I want to look after them. My iPad and this MacBook air which this is being written on have their own cases. If you're going to buy expensive gadgets, then it makes sense to me to keep them in good condition.

Life's Little Mysteries

This blog post is the 1550th. I can't believe that I have managed to reach this landmark. I know a lot of what I write on his is just mundane, but I bet Samuel Pepys, who kept a diary, had days when he had to write mundane things to keep his famous journal alive, and just think how valuable that has become to historians, giving a vivid insight into life in London between 1660 and 1669, which included mention of the Great Plague, which in some ways reflects with the current covid-19 pandemic and lockdown. He also mentioned the Great Fire of London. What a time to live through! Can the same be said of this current time? Maybe not, but someone in, say, 200 years will be intrigued by all this.

Why is it, when you do washing, you almost always find one sock that doesn't get washed and is left alone in the basket when you've started the machine? By which time it's too late for it to go into the machine because you can't open the door to put it in? Again, why is it when you do washing up (incidentally, I don't have a washing-up machine, so it has to be done by hand.) there's invariably one or two items of cutlery, usually teaspoons, which get left at the bottom of the washing up bowl once the job is over? Is it some freak of nature that these things happen? 

How many of you out there have trouble with child-proof bottles? They are usually how many medicines are packaged. I bought Robitussin cough syrup a few weeks ago. I think I told you I bought some in Boots (no, not that sort of Boots! I mean the high street chemists. Doh!) I really needed to open the bottle, but you really have to press down on the cap and twist to get it open. If I can't open the thing, what about someone who has arthritic hands or other problems with their hands. No chance of a child would be able to open the bottle. The same on the plastic box in which my washing gel tabs come in. I know you don't want your child to eat these things, but that box is difficult to open.

It's not just child-proof bottles. I had bought some raspberry jam a few days ago and when I came to open it, or at least I attempted to open it, I had real problems. I assume these bottles are put on and tightened by a machine. The only way I could open it was to stab the thing with a sharp knife, which released the pressure inside and the lid was then easy to open.

Why do those wretched television commercials for carpets and furniture have to have voice-overs that shout at you? Is it the only way they can communicate their lowbrow products to people who can't comprehend basic English? Brash, loud and totally horrible. It seems that some of the lesser digital channels have this sort of advertising because they can't get space on any of the other, mainstream channels. Then these companies have obvious names such as Carpets 4 Us or Oakwoodfurniture.co.uk Can't they come up with more original names. Oakland, I think it's the name of a furniture company, presumably sells furniture made of oak. Am I right? Why not call it MDF World or chipboard world. Would that put people off investing in such pieces of furniture. Well, IKEA furniture is made, generally, out of MCF and chipboard, but they don't make a big issue out of the fact. How about Put-it-together-yourself.com, or Flatpackworld.com.  Trymaypatience.com, when you find the instructions which come with the flatpack furniture extremely difficult to understand and when some of the bits go missing, like the screws or bolts which keep the whole thing together.

Just thinking of when they audition for the voice-overs for those furniture adverts where they shout. How does it work, do you think? Do they expect the voice-over actors to stand the opposite side of a field and shout? They wouldn't have to have amplification. Why not get someone like Brian Blessed to do it instead? He has a voice that's so loud he wouldn't need a microphone and if he did, his voice would probably break the recording equipment.

'Cautiously Optimistic'

Wednesday. 6.25 a.m. 'Cautiously optimistic' was how Prime Minister Boris Johnson described how his infamous 'roadmap' out of lockdown which is supposed to be lifted on 21st June.  That is, unless there is a sudden rise in infections or something else to scupper the plans. He also said it about the Brexit deal that had been agreed with the EU. So, are we going to be celebrating our freedom from being bossed around? That is, if the by now more than a little bit famous Indian variant of the virus doesn't get a starring role over the next few weeks. 

Boris Johnson is a bit of what you'd describe as a 'loose cannon.' He is somewhat unpredictable and he doesn't work like any other Prime Minister I can think of.  The matter of making statements about letting dead bodies pile high rather than implementing lockdown, may or may not have been said by him. Also, the business around who paid for the alterations to his flat in 10 Downing Street, which  seems to have disappeared from being mentioned in the media, He gets away with all sorts of things that anyone else would be in court for. I see him as a combination of Winnie The Pooh, Bertie Wooster and Mr Toad, he of 'Wind In The Willows.'

As for the former political advisor to Number 10 Downing Street, Dominic Cummings, who has today been grilled by MPs in a Commons select committee about the Government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, or perhaps that should be, lack of it. He was removed from his post in No 10 back in November and it seems he is attempting to stab people in the back in a sort act of revenge, worthy of something out of a Shakespeare tragedy, such as Othello, with Cummings in the role of Iago. He's definitely not the sort of person you'd want as a friend. As someone said, 'with friends like these, who needs enemies?" He's stuck the knife into several government personnel, not least saying that Boris Johnson wasn't fit for the position of Prime Minister. Well, someone also said that 'you get the politicians you deserve', and in some respects that's totally true. It was American President Thomas Jefferson who came out with that one.

Today would have been Carol and my 14th wedding anniversary. It's no good dwelling on things and she would expect me to get on with my life, which I am, except that it's all been cancelled due to the covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.

I was up and out before 6 o'clock with Alfie this morning. A bit overcast and it looked as if it might rain later, but one hopes not.

I have received a letter from the Nephrology department of  Milton Keynes Hospital. I have no idea what nephrology is, but never mind. I'm always keen to learn new words, so his is another to add to my growing collection.  It's regarding the 'incidental finding of a small renal angiomyolipoma' in one of my kidneys when they did the ultra scan. I have no idea what an angiomyolipoma is, but, having spoken to my doctor on the telephone recently, it isn't malignant, like a cancer. When I first heard about it I did panic, really as a response to not knowing clearly what it was, because of my memories of when Carol was first diagnosed with bowel cancer. The letter goes on to say that I should have an ultra scan done every 4-5 years just to keep watching it and seeing how it behaves. I shall be discussing this further when I speak to my doctor on the telephone on 11th June.

A New US President and Flooding

(Thursday) Quite chilly when we went out at 7.30 this morning, but it wasn't raining. A cold wind blowing.

On BBC Breakfast, reports on the flooding, particularly in Didsbury, near the River Mersey. Water levels quite dramatically high and people's homes completely submerged. The situation is made more difficult when people have to be evacuated and issues regarding the pandemic, especially with social distancing and the fact that there was heavy snow falling which is really hampering any sort of work.

Joe Biden, the new President of the U.S.A., reversing a lot of Donald Trump's legislation and orders, particularly those involving climate change and no doubt at some stage, that connected with what's called 'Obama Care.' The big question everyone is asking is, will Trump be impeached for a second time? The American Senate has agreed he should be, after the awful storming of the Capitol by Trump supporters on January 6th, being motivated by Donald Trump. He will be the only President of the United States to be impeached twice, but it seems a bit odd if this second impeachment goes ahead now he has left the White House.

I've taken Alfie out again, around 2.30. We crossed over Oldbrook Boulevard and no sooner had I begun walking around the Green than an idiot on a bicycle almost collided with me. More interested in his mobile than the safety of others walking along. It's crazy that anyone would even consider fiddling with their mobile phone as they were cycling along. Just dangerous. For all that, it's been quite windy but the sun has been out.

On BBC News this evening, Boris Johnson has said that lockdown is likely to continue until the summer. I realise that it's necessary to control the spread of coronavirus, but we do need some sort of plan put in place or at least considered, how we will get out of this situation. If things aren't to return to as near normal as possible, I foresee more mental health issues as a result of uncertainty, what with not knowing what is going to happen, how jobs can be protected, particularly in the hospitality industry. I know I'm biased in this respect, but what about theatre? We hear a lot (in my opinion, far too much) about football and how it has been effected by lockdown, but theatre as well as other related industries, such as film and television production, is a vital part of this country's economy. Currently we have a large number of Hollywood films being made in British film studios, such as Pinewood, Shepperton and Elstree. Not only are actors out of work, many are self employed. Then there are the ancillary jobs which are connected to these industries, make-up, wardrobe, set construction, props, box office and so on. Then, consider all the restaurants and bars which are in the vicinity of a theatre which would be visited by theatre audiences. Add to that, companies who supply hospitality outlets, breweries, food, fruit and vegetable, meat and fish. The list goes on and on.

There's another variant of the coronavirus which is said to be more dangerous, although the R-number has fallen. They are now saying the epidemic is slowing down. Let's hope it just fizzles out and we can all get back to some sort of normal.

I've managed to complete the coffee table by building the drawer. One of the side panels was the wrong way round and I have now dismantled it and it's now the right way round. I then found that the handle for the drawer has a missing bolt which holds the thing together. I managed to email the manufacturer, through their website. I wasn't expecting such a quick response. They will post me a bolt and it should arrive within three days. Just means with  that in place  the coffee table will be complete. 

Weather Warning

 (Tuesday morning) There is an urgent weather warning. A yellow, covering most of the country, including Milton Keynes. A real danger of flooding and people told to keep well away from rivers. There  are some people who won't heed the warnings and get themselves into trouble and need rescuing. It's been called Storm Christoph. I know they use names which are in alphabetical order and alternate male and female names.

I had a text message from my doctor's surgery about making an appointment to have the covid vaccine. I rang this morning and it's booked for this Friday at 3.20p.m. Well, at least that will be done. I think we can definitely see a  light at the end of the tunnel with this current pandemic. I'm not suggesting for one moment that we can all go around hugging each other and that life will immediately return to normal, because it's not likely to. For a start, the scientists who have developed these vaccines aren't sure how long they will be effective for and, probably more importantly, whether, once you've had it, will you be able to spread the virus, which is the main problem and basically why we have to have social distancing.

Alfie has recently had the strange habit of sitting on the sofa next to me and staring at me. I hadn't the slightest idea what it's about. I took him out earlier and thought he needed to 'do his thing,' (do I need to explain further? Probably not.) Yes, he did. But when we got back in the flat, this 'staring' business continued. Then I had a lightbulb moment. Possibly he was hungry. Staring at me was his way of trying to communicate with me. So, I gave him one of the meat sachets I use to feed him in the evening. He scoffed it down completely, so that explains the staring at me. Situation resolved and he now seems a good deal happier.

(Wednesday) I didn't wake up until 7.30 this morning. I don't think I've woken so late for goodness knows how long. On taking Alfie out we found it was windy and wet, but not the torrential rain I was expecting. We'll probably get a real downpour later in the day.

(Later) I had to go to Lloyd's Pharmacy in Sainsbury's to pick up a prescription which had been made up for me and got one or two other items at the same time. It was relatively quiet and easy to get in and out including parking the car. As I write this, the wind is blowing half a gale outside (well, it would be worst if it was inside!) They were warning on BBC Breakfast about heavy rainfall in the north of England, particularly in the area of Yorkshire that we had holidays in, the Calder Valley in particular. I feel sorry for the householders who get flooded on a regular basis in that area. I don't expect their insurance companies will pay out if you have repeated flooding. 

(Later) I've been watching the Inauguration of Joe Biden, which had been shown on television. BBC1 had it as well as the BBC News channel. As expected, Donald Trump didn't turn up, although his vice president, Mike Pence, did.  Biden's Vice President, Kamala Harris, the first woman and of colour to become his Vice President also sworn in. 

Pandemic Burnout

(Wednesday) Oh  no! Yet another press conference about the pandemic, shown on BBC1 tonight with Boris Johnson leading. I get the impression, right or wrong, that all the questions asked by the journalists are censored and some questions are evaded. You're not allowed to undermine the scientists or go again government guidelines regarding the pandemic. Oh dear! I just think Boris should be a good deal bolder and not listen that idiot Witty who keeps on saying that there'll be x thousands of infections and x thousands of deaths as a result of the covid pandemic when his predictions are inaccurate and produced from computer projections which have been out my umpteen thousands. He should listen also to other scientists who have produced far lower infections. Why on earth can't these press conferences go on the BBC news channel? When they're on BBC1 it means the early evening programmes are scrapped, at least one or two on BBC2. Pointless gets moved to BBC2. If people want to watch them, then go to the BBC news channel. I'm not sure it's not on there as well. Why does it have to be on two channels at the same time?

I listen to Julia Hartley-Brewer on Talk Radio. She's a good journalist and doesn't suffer fools. She's like me in that she doesn't believe the data that the mad scientists feed the government. I'm no sheep and have to do my own research as regards the pandemic. She was grilling some N.H.S. bureaucrat on the fact that hospitals are probably not as busy as they would be in a 'normal' winter. The testing system is flawed in that it gives false negatives, picking up 'dead' coronavirus. I could go on ad infinitum on this issue. As I've already said in the above paragraph, the government should be listening to a wider range of evidence from a wider cross section of research from more scientists before making lockdown decisions.

I had a weird dream last night. Well, nothing usual in that because most dreams, or at least those we remember, are odd. I was in a theatre. Took me back to when I worked in stage management. It was in Leicester. As I was an A.S.M. briefly at the Phoenix Theatre in Leicester in the early 1970s, perhaps not a surprise, but it wasn't clearly like the Phoenix. A theatre where some of the auditorium seats had been removed. I sat at a table with other people and one was an academic of some sort. I'm not sure what I was doing there. Was i part of the stage management team? Or about to be acting in a play? It seemed that it might have been a rehearsal. Some of the seats in the auditorium had been removed and some were facing the wrong way round to the stage. That's about it, but I've had several similar dreams, one where I had gone to Northampton (I think. But it seemed like Northampton.) and had been brought in at the last moment to be an A.S.M. or at least a member of the stage management team. I had no idea what the play was that we were involved in but I have had dreams where I am expected to take over a part, without knowing any lines and standing on stage and trying ro recall my lines. I think this is a typical dream that actors are supposed to have, having to take over a role at short notice and be an understudy for an actor who is ill or otherwise incapacitated. I think it is understandable when actors have worries about forgetting their lines.

I have divested the Christmas tree of it's decorations. I am so pleased with that little tree which I got from Waitrose. Absolutely perfectly for the flat. It hasn't dropped a single needle. My experience of 'real' Christmas trees is that, when you come to deal with them at the end of the festive period, you find the floor covered in needles. I have kept it watered during the Christmas period which might be the reason it has kept it's needles. After all, a real Christmas tree is like a house plant which needs care, particularly watering. 

The little Christmas tree is now outside in the community garden. I have given it another water, I hope it doesn't get lonely. It's going to be another frosty night and it won't like getting cold.

I got a text message from Nationwide to tell me that there wasn't sufficient cash in my account to cover a couple of Direct Debits which go out today. My only option was to go into the city centre and take out money from my second account, the NatWest and transfer it into the Nationwide. This had to be done by 2.30. I had around an hour and a half to accomplish this mission. I drove in and parked near the Point and rushed into the shopping centre. The carpark was virtually empty and when I reached the Nationwide I had to wait to enter as they're not letting too many people in and they have a one-way system due to the pandemic. I managed to take out enough to cover the Nationwide payment, from my NatWest account and I then had to wrestle with the cash machine. You can only pay in cash one note at a time and the thing was being difficult. Several of the notes I managed to insert in the slot were disgorged, but eventually I managed to get them all into the machine, but it was a tortuously slow procendure. It was as I walked back towards the car that I realised that I hadn't paid my parking ticket. I was in such a hurry that I clean forgot.

Very few of the shops were open. I think W.H.Smith and Boots were open, along with banks. Probably they are what they call 'essential.' 

I got back to the car to find a host of crows either sitting on the cars or all over the ground, like a swarm of flies. Very reminiscent to the Alfred Hitchcock film 'The Birds.' A couple were sitting on my car. Not the sort of bird you'd want to have an argument with, considering the look they give you with their beady eyes and their sharp and pointed beaks!

(Later) Boris is given ANOTHER press conference! How much more of this can a person endure? It's getting so tiresome. I know we have to be told, but endless ramblings and those miserable faced scientists and their graphs. Just turn off the television or watch another channel, which is exactly what I did. I put 'Pointless' on, which was on BBC2.

A New Year and Lockdown 3.0

There are words and terms which, frankly, I'm getting rather sick of hearing. One is that this current pandemic is 'unprecedented.' It seems to be over-used by the media, mostly on BBC news programmes. The whole pandemic is becoming something of a bore generally and it has taken over media at every point. I think the BBC, in particular, have over-done their reports, such as the roll-out of the different vaccines. I know it's good news, but any excuse to do an item on it is just overkill in my opinion. They do overdo the 'gloom and doom' aspect of the pandemic and never report good news, although the vaccine roll-out can be described as being good news. So, what exactly IS the 'new normal'? Does it refer to living under lockdown? Nothing new or normal about it. It almost suggests that we have to endure this way of life, which, frankly, we don't.

I'll attempt to ignore further reports on the pandemic. It had overtaken Brexit as being newsworthy, but hopefully, that has been finished and done with since a trade deal was done over Christmas.

The microphone was delivered around lunchtime. I have managed to set it up and get it working. I'm very pleased with the results. Using a piece of free software called Audacity which allows me to record with very few problems. I have spent some time this afternoon experimenting with it, and it comes with a 'pop' filter as well as an arm that can be bolted to any piece of suitable furniture and allows the microphone to be positioned in various configurations for the best recording. It will take me a while to get the best from this microphone, although I have been doing recording using a tape-recorder since I was at school. I even bought a reel-to-reel Grundig tape recorder from a teacher at school and I taught myself tape spicing, which came in use when I worked in stage management and had to create sound tapes for the shows I worked on.

(Later) Oh no! Boris has been on television telling us that we're to be back into a lockdown! All I can say is- come on, lockdowns don't work. How much more of this do we have to endure and when will the government listen to the alternative scientists regarding the pandemic? We soon won't have an economy left and I feel sorry for the next generation and probably the next couple of generations who have to pay off  the debt created by this disaster.

Another Landmark! The 1,500th Post

So, another landmark for my blog! This is the 1,500th post. When I started this blog, back whenever (not sure exactly. I'll have to check.) I really didn't think I would be able to keep it going. I admit that some posts are mundane, but that's the whole idea of it in some way. I imagine when Samuel Pepys wrote his diary, he committed boring incidents to his journal, the everyday goings-on in his life. Not that I would consider my ramblings are in any way equal to his jottings, but who knows, someone a couple of hundred year's hence might find my blog posts of interest.

So, we're finally out of the EU! Boris got his deal approved by The Commons by a huge majority. We have two vaccines to deal with the coronavirus. Hopefully, by the spring, we might possibly be able to see a light at the end of the tunnel and the possibility of getting on top of the pandemic. Boris did say around a year ago, at about the time of the General Election that he would 'Get Brexit Done,' and he has done that, but it's been four and a half years to get to this point, with a great deal of effort and confusion along the way.

(New Year's Day) Nothing exciting to report. I did see the New Year in. I had a Whiskey Mac, my ideal drink on such occasions. I imagine my Scottish heritage takes over. I just like ginger wine and a slosh of Scotch never hurt anyone. I could hear fireworks being set off somewhere. I don't think it was an 'official' firework display. No doubt kids letting them off on Oldbrook Green. I shall no doubt find much evidence when Alfie and I walk around. 

(Later) I did find evidence for fireworks being set off on Oldbrook Green when I took out Alfie later. A lot of remnants of those fireworks and it looks as if someone had burnt the cardboard cases of fireworks by a couple of the bins which are scattered around Oldbrook Green. Alif wasn't in the least bit bothered by the noise as he has been in the past. Poppy was scared stiff of the noise and really needed reassuring around Bonfire Night. But if people will insist on setting off fireworks (which, according to a couple of notices around the Green, set up by Campbell Park Parish Council, which states that no fireworks are to be set off on the Green. Not that these individuals would take any notice. Similar to those dogwalkers who insist on not picking up after their dogs. There are notices on the dog bins which say 'we are watching you,' which is totally untrue. Just a pity that those that don't obey such notices don't get fined if they refuse to clear up after their dogs. It's a pity the Council doesn't have some sort of warden patrols to check on such behavior. They could also catch those who drop litter. It's shameful how much there is around Oldbrook Green, but at the moment, what with the pandemic, they have other issues to deal with. Although, saying that, I often see Council employees in hi-vis jackets, picking up litter.

I'm constantly meeting other dog-walkers whenever I take Alfie out for his daily walks as I have mentioned in my posts on here before now. We go out at least four times during the day. He's a dog that more or less insists on going out. I think because we have dogs it creates a sort of bond and I often talk to other dog walkers. I've mentioned Toto, a shizu, and when he sees Alfie he runs towards him. But we haven't seen him or his owner for a few weeks. He's probably taken out when I'm in the flat and we don't meet at times when we're both out. Some dogs can't cope with Alfie's friendly attitude. He always wants to be friends with the dogs he meets. Some can be very friendly but then others can be quite aggressive. I think this may be because they have been over humanized and not socialized to be with other dogs. A pity. Alfie has no issues with socializing. There was a rather nasty Yorkie we came across the other week which was very aggressive when it met Alfie on the path going round Oldbrook green. I made sure we kept away as I didn't want it to bite either myself or Alfie.

A couple of weeks ago we came across a dog and its owner, walking along with the patch towards Oldbrook Green. This dog looked remarkably like Poppy, and I almost thought that Alfie agreed. Does he remember Poppy? It's difficult to know. Probably. Anyway, the lady who was this dog's owner (I forget the dog's name now.) said, walk along and let the dogs get to know each other on the Green, which we did. I let Alfie off, which isn't something I often do. I think I'm just being over-protective, basically because, having lost Carol, Alfie is my best companion and I don't want anything horrible to happen to him, such as getting run over or attacked by another dog. Alfie was having a lovely time, running around and really enjoying his freedom. She noticed my colourful socks. Something else I got from Oddballs. I also got a wooly hat. You get freebies when you spend over £30. I said there was no way I was going to wear dull clothing. Most men's clothing is grey, brown, or striped or has a check pattern, on shirts, etc, and socks were likewise dull, grey, black, striped, etc. 

I went out later in the day and as soon as we got out onto the path in Strudwick Drive I saw the same lady with her dog once again. Her little dog does look remarkably like Poppy, even down to her colour. I'm sure Alfie thinks so too. We had a chat and then walked on to Oldbrook Green and let the dogs off their leads. Alfie had a lovely time running around. He does come back to me when I call him. He follows me around, doesn't leave me for a moment. I know he won't run for it is let off his lead. He seems to know that he's going to be safe with me. He just loved being with the other dog (I don't know her name.)

Alfie had a slight problem. I don't need to describe exactly, but he needed cleaning up. I couldn't do it on my own, because he had been very difficult if you attempt to cut his coat. It needed scissors to deal with the situation. Eve (the lady's name.) suggesting going to her home to do this as she had scissors there. I don't usually go to ladies ' homes without being invited, but this situation needed dealing with. So we walked there and as she held Alfie, I used scissors to clip off the offending matter. Situation resolved! And Alfie was really none the wiser. We had a mug of tea and a chat and I returned home to Dexter House. Alfie was getting restless. I think due to his routine being changed. He was barking and it was somewhat distracting and once I'd bade farewell to Eve, Alfie took me back to the flat.   

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. 

Vaccine Vacillations

 So, we now have a vaccine against the coronavirus. Will it make any difference to lockdowns, restrictions on everyday living, social distancing etc etc? It seems very unlikely in my opinion. It's all very well having a vaccine against this wretched virus, but getting people to have it is another matter. In a democracy, you can't make people have such a vaccine. It really against you human rights and liberty. There will be those who will believe conspiracy theories regarding it's use, for example, the government is putting microchips into people's bodies to track their movements (false, but never the less, this theory would be spread via social media etc.)

(Monday) It's a good deal milder this morning. As I write this at 8.50a.m., it appears sunny, or at least it seems so as I haven't yet opened the curtains. Alfie is sitting on the sofa next to me and waiting in anticipation of me taking him out for a jaunt around Oldbrook Green. I usually wait until past 9 o'clock because otherwise we will be inundated with children going to school and have to wait for the traffic to go by crossing the road onto Oldbrook Green.

I've been for a drive out in the car. As it's been sitting on the parking space at Dexter House and not being driven anywhere in particular, I thought it advisable to give it a run out to keep the battery charged and avoid having to get it started as I had to a few months back. No problems. It starts fine. It should do, as it's recently been serviced. I just need to keep it in good running order.

I drove past Crownhill,  which is where we lived after we were married in 2007. I can't believe the changes. The road layout is different because there is  now a housing estate opposite Crownhill,. which used to be open agricultural land when we lived there. The wooded area which borders it was where we used to walk the dogs, which now has an entrance driven through it into the estate, with a roundabout. Just unrecognisable.

(Thursday) I went to Sainsbury's in Witan Gate after 8 o'clock yesterday morning as pension money went into my account earlier. I had things to get for Christmas. As I will be staying here over the festive period, I wanted to make sure I could get stuff which was likely to be in short supply, such as mince pies, Christmas pudding, brandy butter and turkey, although I didn't intend buying a whole turkey. Just be far too big, would never fit in my oven, so I had a look on the Sainsbury's website and saw you could buy a turkey roast, boneless (presumably) and made of turkey meat and stuffing. So, ideal for my purposes. There was one on the shelf when I went to look in the store and snapped it up immediately as if it was the last one, what was the chance of there being more the next time I visited? Probably too big for one, but I can make the most of it when it's cold, in sandwiches etc, after Christmas.

I drove into the centre of Milton Keynes to meet up with a lady I met on a Christian website. We have met up several times before. I wanted to go to Costa for coffee to try out their limited edition drinks based on Nestlé chocolate products and had an After Eight hot chocolate which came with a very generous dollop of cream on top and a single After Eight mint and at the very bottom of the drinking glass was some gooey and thick chocolate sauce which you can only eat with a long spoon. I can recommend this and want to try the rest of the range, which I think is only available over the Christmas period.

When I got home I found that a card from the Post Office had put through the door, informing me that a parcel was at the sorting office, because the postman had attempted to deliver it. Having walked so far over the past couple of hours, I wasn't ready to drive to collect it from the sorting office in Brinklow (I knew exactly where it was as I've had to collect parcels from there before now.) According to my FitBit I had walked approximately six miles! I can well believe it. 

My anticipation for whatever the parcel contained knew no bounds. So, on Friday morning I drove to the sorting office in Brinklow. There was a queue outside as only one person at a time was allowed into the waiting area. I eventually reached the window and handed over the card which had been put through the door. I had to provide identity so I showed my Driving Licence. And, lo and behold! The lady behind the counter handed over a parcel and it was clear that it was from Chloe and Steve. In her usual style, Chloe had written humorous messages all over the box and it reminded me to 'not open until 25th December. Alfie had a good sniff when I put it on the floor in the lounge, so I imagine it contains (amongst other items.) some sort of food item, possibly some doggy treats for his nibs.

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.