Scorchio!

Good old tabloid newspaper headline for my post title. Well, why not?

Last night it was again excessively hot. This morning I decided it would be a good idea to get an electric fan for the bedroom, so I've been to Sainsbury's and bought one. It is now set up and Alfie is making full advantage of it. It should make sleeping better, but we will have to wait and see.

Tuesday. 7.20 p.m. I can hear thunder as I write this. I have been looking out of the kitchen window and it looks as if it's raining. Goodness, quite a lot more thunder rolling around Milton Keynes. It seems to be approaching and will most likely relive the heat. 

I watched the launch of the Blue Origin rocket which has been funded by Amazon boss Geoff Bezos. One of the astronauts/passengers was 82-year-old Wally Funk who had trained as a cosmonaut but never made it into space because they said women couldn't go, for whatever reason. Just sexist. The journey to the edge of space and back to earth lasted for no more than 12 minutes. 

Wednesday. 8.00 a.m. I woke as normal at around 5.15. Alfie and I did our usual outing and it seemed as if it had been raining because of definite signs of the ground being given a real wetting. I had my usual bowl of cereal and tea and then went back to bed. I went back to sleep, which is unlike me. I've now done all the washing up in the kitchen and currently sitting here writing this. It seems my blog post reports are getting shorter and shorter. Oh well, such is life! I am so glad I got the fan yesterday as it's making sleeping better and Alfie seems to enjoy the breeze it produces.

Thursday. 6.15 a.m. Another bright and sunny morning, but it's likely to be warmer than ever.

I've been doing some more baking I went to get additional ingredients and have made a batch of brownies which have come out better than expected. Crunchy on the outside and soft and chocolatey on the inside. Not really baking weather. The heat isn't exactly conducive for this sort of work. I may do more once it's cooler.

Friday. 6.40 a.m. Well, the week is slipping by quickly. I can't believe it's Friday again. The excitement is too much. Do you sense a sort of irony in my words, a sense of sarcasm? Well, you might be right. Just running out of anything original to put in these posts.

Later. 4.25 p.m. I've taken Alfie out, as per usual. We walked down Strudwick Drive towards the crossing point onto Oldbrook Green. There was a somewhat large, rather undisciplined dog with its owner, who was sitting on the bench in the area you arrive in when you first get onto Oldbrook Green. I was reluctant to walk past as the dog looked likely to be unwelcoming of Alfie. Its owner shouted to me, asking if I had a light, but I replied that I didn't, as I don't smoke. I really had to struggle to get Alfie to walk around the Green, but he just would not. It was so unlike him, as he usually is more than happy to do the usual circular walk. I can't think what it was, but he was determined to take me home. For a little dog, he can be very determined and, in some ways, stubborn, and pulled me to cross the road and back to the flat.

All About Weather

It's bright and sunny this morning, but there's a cooling breeze. So, I begin my blog posts most days with a mention of the weather. I think most people, when they meet others, will almost always mention the weather. We do tend to spend a great deal of our time in this country discussing the weather. It does have an effect on our lives to a large extent. It gives the British their character. Stoical, long-suffering, uncomplaining. Is this true? A lot of British people moan constantly about the weather, as well as other things, such as politics, those in authority, but they make a living out of moaning, and do nothing much to try to change things. Admittedly you can't change the weather, you just have to 'grin and bear it,' whether it's too hot or too cold. We do have a habit of moaning on and on that it's far too cold in the winter or too hot in the summer, as we seemed to do during the recent heatwave. I have to admit it did get far too hot for me, but you can just keep out of the sun, or, when it's cold, put on more layers of clothes. If it's bright and sunny it does give you an up-lift to your mood, but if it's cold, due to snow and frost, or wet, due to rain, it can tend to make you miserable. I don't like it when the clocks move back in October, long dark days when it begins to get dark at around 4 o'clock in the afternoon. That long haul as we build up to Christmas, getting colder and even more dark doesn't help.

My father was a farmer and weather with important to him. There was a barometer on the wall in the corridor downstairs and he almost always consulted it at some stage of the day and he insisted on watching the television weather to find out how things would turn out, particularly during the corn harvest. If it rained it could effect the moisture content which was vital as to whether a particular batch of wheat, barley or oats was to be harvested. We didn't go on our annual holiday to Frinton-On-Sea until the first fortnight in September. I suppose school realised that most of the pupils were farmer's children and my father wouldn't go away until either the harvest was complete or unless the weather was fine and he could come with us to Frinton. It seems amazing looking back to think we must have missed two weeks of school, but that's what we did.

We've been out this morning. Carol had seen an advertisement in a magazine for a shop in Leighton Buzzard. They sell crafting materials. I'm not sure whether they have a website, but most likely they do. We drove there, via the A5 and then off towards Aylesbury along the by-pass. Some of the route is being resurfaced, the opposite lane. We got to Leighton Buzzard and parked in a Morrison's carpark but had no real idea where the shop was, but it's in a side-street off Lake Street, which means nothing to either of us. We visited the town a few years ago, but, frankly, the place has nothing much to recommend it. I think that time we parked near the theatre, but that's about all I remember. It's somewhat depressing, just looks rundown. Very bleak. Is it just me or is this how most towns look these days? Lots of boarded-up properties. No end of charity shops, pubs, banks and building societies. We eventually discovered the shop, which is down a rather seedy alleyway, which you wouldn't want to venture into at night. The shop is small and rather depressing and even more rundown than all the others. We have a browse and then return to Morrison's. Unfortunately you could buy everything they sold in that shop in large barn-like retail outlets such as Hobbycraft or on-line. We went into Morrison's and bought sandwiches, crisps and drinks to have for lunch. We were undecided where we should stop to eat our picnic, not really having an idea about the immediate vicinity. We drove away from the town towards Dunstable and the A5 because the alternative route back along the by-pass would be closed off due to the resurfacing. It seems incredible that such a recently opened stretch of road should require resurfacing. It is remarkably poorly constructed, no doubt as a way to cut costs when it was originally built only a few years ago. We reach the A5 at the roundabout we know well because we come this way when we visit Whipsnade, and go left and then meet a traffic jam. It creeps along at no more than walking pace. It goes on towards Hockliffe. No sign at all as to what caused the traffic hold-up. I imagined it might have been further roadworks, resurfacing perhaps, but absolutely nothing. Not even a road traffic accident. The jam just disappears and we move on at a higher speed. We decide to come off the A5 where the road meets a roundabout, to the left going off towards Stockgrove Park, which we visit on occasion with the dogs. But we go off right towards Woburn. There must be somewhere to stop nearby to have our improvised picnic. We drive through the deer park, doing the loop we usually do and come back through the park. We eventually find a rather pleasant bypass in the wooded area going back towards the A5. We sit in the car and eat our picnic and then return home via the A5 towards Milton Keynes.

Friday, later. The weather has changed considerably. The day started off sunny bit windy, but as I write this (at 6.55) it's been raining and we had a clap or two of thunder. It went quite dark as we were about to have our evening meal and I shut the curtains to keep the weather out.

Another Stormy Night

Just when we thought we'd got over the previous night's thunder storm, we had an almost exact repeat of storms last night. The sky went a strange colour, with the sun sort of diffused a yellowish tint and then the rain began, with a couple of thunder claps which sounded like bombs being set off which almost made us jump out of our skins and Alfie started barking. We almost wandered whether anything had been hit, it was so loud, but nothing was, thankfully.  Then the rain fell in such intensity it was like someone turning on a power-shower, and it seemed to go on for an extremely long time. You could barely see across the garden when I peered out of the bedroom window. The thunder rolled around and we thought it had gone away, but about twenty minutes it all started up again, a sort of repeat of the earlier storm. In all the whole storm sequence seemed to go on for several hours, with the rain falling heavily. This morning I looked out of the kitchen window to see what sort of damage there was and the road outside was completely dry. I was expecting there to be large puddles, but nothing. Carol said that when she'd looked during the storm there was quite a torrent of water flowing past. At one point it rained so hard that we though the windows had blown open at the front of the house, especially in the bathroom, but it was just the rain rattling the glass. As I wrote this (at 1.35 p.m.) the sun is out, although it's not that warm, although it is quite clammy. We just hope we don't get a further bout of storms tonight.

Only a short blog post, but there's not much else to report, although we did drive to Frost's in Woburn Sands to have coffee. We got there really early and as a result the carpark was virtually empty.

Over-Night Thunder Storm

Last night we had an almighty thunders storm over Milton Keynes. I don't think it was confined to just Milton Keynes. It was over most of the south of England, apparently. I woke up and found that Carol was downstairs with Alfie. There was some rain and I could hear it rattling the windows but gradually the sound of distant thunder could be heard and it came nearer and nearer. Then I could hear Carol coming upstairs and into the bedroom. She does not like thunder or lightening. The storm got more and more intense and violent. It seemed to go on for quite a while. Probably not long in reality, but it seemed a long time. Alfie didn't know what to do. He just wanted to get as close to either of us as he could. It's difficult to know whether he was scared and he didn't bark or seem to get particularly upset. Poppy, our other dog (who died well over a year ago.) didn't like sound noises, particularly fireworks or thunder. She would hide under furniture, usually our bed, to get away from it. Alfie didn't used to be bothered with fireworks when he was younger, but now he barks. I think he thinks it's someone knocking on the door or something. I suppose it's difficult for any dog to understand what those outside noises are. Their little world is the house, with us taking care of them. He dives under the duvet and pushes himself up against us. Actually comforting for him as well as us. It's actually upsetting to see him getting so stressed.

As I write this (at just gone 1 o'clock.) its quite calm and peaceful. It's warm, no rain, but I think there's the possibility of rain later.

I drove over to S.C.F. (Shenley Christian Fellowship) at 8.40 this morning. As it's a bright and clear morning, no rain, it was quite a pleasant drive. Until, just going over the roundabout at Fulmer Street, a car comes right up close behind me. I was doing at least 50 M.P.H. I was taught to always drive within my safe speed, but this idiot was almost touching my rear bumper. I suppose I could just put my foot down on the accelerator and get out of his way, but why should I be bullied into driving more dangerously? He wouldn't move back. He could have easily overtaken me, as there was no other traffic in the other direction. He seemed to be closer than ever. So I pulled into a lay-by. very conveniently placed, and just let him drive past on his way. Then I continued with my journey once he'd gone.

Why do people have to do this? Is it just that they want to have the whole road to themselves? The old 'I own the road' syndrome? It does seem like it. If you don't get out of the way, I'm going to sit on your tail and get as close as possible, just to annoy you, so I get my own way. It's actually quite intimidating. I think some people drive around in their cars, in a sort of bubble, and don't have to actually interact with others. I reckon this is caused by social media. You can set up an account on Facebook or Twitter (or other sites) and collect 'Likes' and 'Friend' people, but they aren't real. You can make comments on other peoples' posts, their photographs or whatever. You can make quite nasty comments, but you know you can't be touched. It's not like communicating in the 'real' world. You are anonymous to some extent. It's not as if the person you're making comments on is in front of you. I doubt that the driver of that car who came so close to me in his car this morning would have come that close to me if we'd been standing in a queue in the supermarket or elsewhere. If he'd shoved me he could probably  have been done for assault. 

The Sound of Thunder

Around about 8 this morning there was an almighty clap of thunder. Thankfully it's a good deal cooler today, after the scorching hot weather of the past few days. Alfie didn't know what to make of it. He charged off into the garden and began to bark madly. I don't think he had the least idea what for. If Poppy had been around she would have most likely hidden herself under our bed as she was terrified of thunder. Around Guy Fawkes Night she wasn't keen when fireworks were being let off. There was a downpour of rain which at least relieved the hot and clammy atmosphere. It's been quite difficult to sleep the last couple of nights because of the heat. Carol came home at 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon as it was far too hot in the Academy building. She had been in The Hub, the top-most area of the building which has large windows and she said the air conditioning broke down so it was like a green house. Amazing that when it's at it's hottest, and apparently yesterday was supposed to have been the hottest June day since 1976 when there was a drought, the machinery which is supposed to keep things cool has to malfunction. I went into Sainsbury's this morning and wanted to buy some ice-cream of some sort. I couldn't believe that a whole section of refrigerated display units which are supposed to be full of various ice cream delights were completely empty. I have no idea what was wrong with them or why they were empty. Presumably a technical fault but I think Sainsbury's will have lost a large amount of custom as a result of this problem.

No sooner had Carol returned home at around 4 yesterday afternoon we drove to Nuffield Health. It was really great to be able to cool down in the pool. Only problem was that everyone else had the same idea and the pool became very crowded. As usual, one individual was taking over things and swimming up and down making a lot of noise in the process. Just can't believe that some people have to behave in this selfish manner. 

Landlord's Visit

We've been madly cleaning the house for about the past week. I don't think the house could be any cleaner. Every nook and cranny was dusted, polished, and dusted and polished again. You could almost eat your dinner off the floor (if you were so inclined.) We even cut the grass yesterday evening. It was just as well we did it then because it's been raining for most of the day. At one point we were resting on the bed and I was almost asleep. It was raining outside (just as well outside. But you get what I mean, or at least I hope so.) There was an almighty clap of thunder. I jumped, almost out of my skin, and Carol screamed. I have never heard such a loud clap of thunder. Both dogs jumped off the bed. Alfie hid underneath and I don't know where Poppy went. She hates thunder and fireworks even more so.  It continued to thunder and the rain became heavier. It was sounding something like a power-shower, as if it had to be turned up to the highest level. It didn't last too long and then the sun came out.

We got a telephone call a bit later from our landlord, just to check that we'd be at home. We were definitely going to be at home. I think it was to make sure we'd remembered that he was visiting at 6 o'clock. We certainly hadn't forgotten.

By 5.45 we were busily watching television. The waiting was getting too much. There was most definitely nothing else in the house to clean. I pushed the vacuum cleaner around the lounge. We had to get the dogs out of the house because the landlord's wife (who would also visit.) doesn't like dogs and it seemed a good idea to have both dogs out of the way. Carol suggested putting them in the garden, but when they were out there, Poppy began to bark- to be let back in. It was no use, she wasn't going to be stopped, so Carol suggested keeping Alfie outside and she'd put Poppy in the car, which is parked in its normal spot at the front of the house in its parking space. I put Alfie outside, back in the garden.  She scooped Poppy up and carried her to the car and at that exact moment the landlord and wife appeared in their car! I put Alfie back in the garden, because he had come in as soon as Carol picked up Poppy. Poor little dog kept peering in through the shut sliding door into the kitchen, almost pleading to be let back in, as if he'd done something wrong, when, of course, he hadn't.

They were given a guided tour of the house. Nothing to be bothered about. Each room visited a few comments. Very pleased. They were here no more than ten minutes, if that. Drove away. We were relieved it was all over. That's over for another year. 'Contact us if there's a problem' as they left the house.

I went out to the car to release Poppy. She wouldn't come out of the car. She just looked at me as if to say 'Aren't we going anywhere? I usually get in the car when we go off for a walk.' I had to half drag her out to get her back into the house. Crazy creature!

Worsening Weather

As I've mentioned in the earlier post, we now have a repaired fence. It's taken long enough time to find someone to do the work, that is, within a reasonable budget. We knew our beloved landlord wasn't going to do anything about it as he's tight-fisted, to say the least. As a result of the work we are now hoping to transform the garden so at least we can use it to sit in and enjoy. I think 'garden' is a somewhat loose term as it's got no beds or flowers in it or any vegetables in order to qualify it for 'garden.' I spent some time yesterday removing some rather unsightly objects from the 'space', such as a really ugly black plastic dustbin and a pile of four white plastic chairs which has been in the garden since we moved in. Also, an ancient barbecue and unsightly rubbish which is now inside the shed, or at least, what remains of the shed. The door to this hangs on one hinge, but at least this unsightly paraphernalia is out of sight and out of mind. I had considered getting the local council to remove it all, but it would have meant lugging it all through the house and placing it on the grass at the front of the house, and it would have meant a payment of around £20 for the council to come along and remove it, so the idea of it all going in the shed seemed a far better option all round. It seems that we have to contend with former tenants of this property who left oddments of furniture such as mattresses and the like in the shed (why they couldn't be disposed of to the local tidy tip I can't imagine. None of these items, particularly the mattresses are well past their best and not fit for use, having been in the shed in all the time we've lived in the house.) Well, when we look out of the lounge window we now have a better view without the junk in the garden and a decent fence in place. I had spent some time yesterday mowing the lawn and had intended finishing it today, but the weather has turned wet and it's impossible to mow grass when it's wet as well as being somewhat dangerous considering the fact that the mower is electric. So I will now have to wait until the rain stops and the grass is dry enough to cut.

Yesterday was reasonably fine and dry for most of the day. Which is what prompted me to get on with sorting out the garden. I got about three-quarters of it done. At around the time I usually go to meet Carol from the Academy, the sky darkened and it spotted with rain. I was going to walk over, as it's only a ten-minute walk, but had thought, it's no good walking, because we'll both get soaked because there was a very dark cloud looming over Milton Keynes. As I stepped out of the front door there was a rumble of thunder. Not good. Poppy doesn't like thunder. It's no good. I know she doesn't like it, but there wasn't a great deal I could do about it. I decided I'd have to drive over, even though it actually takes longer to drive than walk, which seems absurd. You can't get out through the exit which is opposite the Academy because of the traffic, so I have to drive round the estate and go out near the shops. By now it was raining hard, so it was just as well I had chosen to drive. But the joke was, by the timeI drew into the carpark at the Academy the rain had stopped and it was bright sunshine again. Just shows how crazy our weather is in this country. I got out of the car and saw Carol walking towards me. Suddenly there was an almighty clap of thunder and she screamed! She ran towards me and wrapped her arms around me. She doesn't like thunder or lightening! To be honest it never bothers me. I actually like a good thunderstorm. There's something elemental about it. It's exciting. But I don't think Carol would say that. She got in the car and she was glad to be going home.

I am in the process of transcribing my written material onto word processing. It's a somewhat time consuming job and not all that exciting, to say the least. But it must be done. I have several sequences written and I'm currently editing and revising these bits and pieces. I can do around 20 minutes at a time but no more as I can't type for much longer. My hands begin to ache. I think, if you were working in an office, you aren't supposed to work on a computer for more than 20 minutes at a stretch. So I have left off for today and will continue after the weekend.

Stormy Night

It has been exceedingly warm these past few days. On Wednesday apparently it was the hottest July day on record. Yesterday it was cooler, but still warm. We went to bed with windows open and electric fan running to cool the bedroom down as much as possible. I did manage to sleep for a couple of hours, but then found it too hot and went downstairs to get a drink in the kitchen. Alfie, our Yorkie, followed me and I let him out into the garden for a while. I then went on-line and was on Facebook for a while and then read for a while. Then at exactly 12.44 there was a flash of lightening and a roll to thunder which made Alfie bark. It was the beginning of an electric storm. Very bright flashes of lightning and thunder and then it rained. Most of the storm there was very little thunder but then it rained and the storm lasted for around an hour-and-a-half. 

Freak Hail Storm

I'd done two loads of washing this morning. I put it out on the washing-line in the garden with the hope that it would dry. I was hoping that there wouldn't be any rain and kept an eye on the sky as it began to cloud over. It had been out for a couple of hours and it seemed as if it would be alright for a couple more hours. But it wasn't to be. At around 1.15 it clouded over. I gave a further glance out of the window: no sign of rain. But then the heavens opened. I rushed out to retrieve the clothes which took up two lines which are strung up over the garden, from the house out to the shed (if you can actually term the clapped-out object at the end of the garden as a 'shed' which I doubt. I hastily grabbed fists-full of clothing and shoved it in the clothes basket, but the rains began to fall faster and faster. There was then a sudden very loud clap of thunder and it went extremely dark. Then I remembered that one of our dogs, Poppy, was scared witless of thunder and lightening. During the Guy Fawkes Night of November 5th she i terrified of fireworks and is happiest hiding under the bed or up close to one or other of us as the bangs and whooshes of fireworks are going on. So this afternoon. As I was rapidly pegging sopping wet clothes onto the clothes drier in the kitchen and over some of the downstairs radiators, she came up to me and wanted some support and comfort which was rather sad and as I write this she is sitting on the armchair with me typing on the Macbook. She had insisted on sitting on my knee but it would be difficult to write this with the laptop on her back so she is wedged in beside me. I think she is a good deal happier now. There is hail falling fast in the garden as I look out from the lounge and the grass is covered in white, some of the hailstones are around the size of peanuts. I'm just glad I'm not outside in it as these chunks of ice would really sting exposed skin

Rain and Thunder

We had a very heavy rainstorm mid-afternoon today. It not only rained but there was thunder and lightening. Both dogs got really scared as did myself and Carol. I just hope we don't get any more as the ground is very saturated. The garden, such as it is, is nothing but a quagmire and when the dogs did eventually go out they came in covered in mud and we had to keep them in the kitchen to make sure they were dry before coming into the lounge. The floor leading from the patio doors from the garden was covered in muddy paw-prints after they came in. All the work and effort of cleaning the floor earlier in the week for the house inspection gone in a moment. Never mind, it can be mopped again.