Good Samaritanry; Last Supper; health efforts

Two instances of police involvement the week before last, the second unplanned. Phoned the non-emergency 101 number to report criminal damage to one of the entry doors to my block in Wolverton Park – I suspect some of the other residents had also reported it but there seems to be a feeling that the more people who report these things, the better. Hoping it gets fixed soon but it was still detached when I left MK on Friday morning. There seems to be considerable frustration on the Wolverton Park Noticeboard with the block management company RMG, who appear to be claiming that even basic security maintenance is going to mean doubling the flat owners’ service charge. Much animated discussion over the last week re whether one of the residents should go ahead with an interview with the MK Citizen that he has provisionally arranged, with some residents concerned about impact on their property prices if the development’s issues get publicized.

The second instance was the following day when, arriving at the Langland School bus stop on the V8 to catch the bus back to Wolverton after work, I encountered a young man approaching the stop from the other direction, who then lurched and grabbed the end of the bus stop and started calling me towards him. Stopped where I was out of self-preservation and asked him what had happened, keeping a safe distance. Got the response that he’d just been seriously assaulted and could I call an ambulance. Although he didn’t look very seriously injured to me, I didn’t like to argue the point so phoned 999 – first time I’ve done so. I will say that the phone gets answered very quickly. When asked what service I required, I suddenly realized that I wasn’t sure which service one requests for attacks that have supposedly just happened, so not liking to dither I asked for the police, though with hindsight I suspect the chap involved would have preferred that I’d just asked for an ambulance. In the event the police operator I spoke to said they’d send an ambulance as well. Another woman appeared while I was on the phone to the emergency services and tried to get more detail out of the chap, though he was pretty uncooperative all round. The ambulance did eventually turn up, though took longer than I expected given that the local A&E was pretty much just around the corner from the bus stop.

When the ambulance crew had carted off the chap, the other woman told me that she’d tried asking him a number of questions including whether his attackers had been black or white, which he claimed not to be able to answer. All a bit suspicious, we thought. As I’d given my details to the police over the phone, they duly phoned later that evening and took details of what I’d seen, and then phoned again the following morning asking if they could take a formal statement. Seemed overkill given that I hadn’t actually witnessed the assault, but I agreed, thinking I should do my bit. Luckily the PC agreed to come to campus so I spent an hour and a half in a meeting room reiterating what I’d said the previous night, while she scribbled pages of A4. Didn’t sound to me as though it’s going to go anywhere given that the chap was apparently refusing to give the police any details of his alleged attackers – when I expressed surprise at this, the PC advised that it often depends on what they were doing at the time they were assaulted. You live and learn.

Went down to Abergavenny on Friday 13th to spend a couple of nights with Mum while Dad was away in Ireland with his MSc students. On the Saturday we drove to Crickhowell and went for a walk up the oddly-named Pregge Lane and on up towards the Table Mountain (or Crug Hywel, if you will). We cut the walk shorter than planned, in part through confusion over which path to take, and retraced our steps back down to the town to seek lunch. On the way down we met a woman walking two small dogs – one a tiny seven-month-old dachshund – who asked us if we’d seen a lost Bichon Frisé that had apparently been spooked by another dog and run off. The owner of the BF could be heard calling for it the other side of the valley. We didn’t see it so hoped it had made its way home. We had a nice lunch at Number Eighteen on the High Street. In the evening we watched the Hammer film Taste of Fear, which I hadn't seen before. Quite good actually.

Began last week with breakfast at Julia’s Meadow with Ray, who has been trying to adopt a healthier diet and has apparently lost five pounds in the past two weeks. Bloody typical – I’ve lost a pound and a half in the past three. Was hoping for something far more dramatic at this Monday’s weigh-in but no, no change. I should no doubt perceive it as some sort of test of my perseverance rather than assuming that I must have some as yet undiagnosed glandular problem which means I’ll never shift weight again.

Matt organized an Information Office ‘Last Supper’ last week at which, strangely enough, there were actually 12 of us. We dined at the Akasaka in Wolverton, a little Japanese restaurant that looks to be one of Wolverton’s very few eateries that aren’t just takeaway joints. Menu full of lovely-looking raw fishy stuff, as well as tofu, beef teriyaki etc. Will go back. Before the dinner some of us had a drink in The North Western on Stratford Road - not somewhere I'd rush back to; have to say none of Wolverton's pubs looks exactly enticing.

Friday morning’s eclipse drew quite a crowd of OU staff out onto the sports pitch. Those who got there early managed to snaffle a limited supply of special eclipse glasses; I wasn’t among them but Harvey, John and Claire, who’d got there early out of our lot, generously passed theirs around. They certainly made a big difference to viewing it. Matt did try and construct a pinhole camera out of a £20 note and a receipt from his local; the pic is of him and Galina trying it out but I don’t think it worked too well. Here are instructions for how to do it properly. John did take some photos through his eclipse glasses, as per the one on the right.

Failed to persuade Ruth to accompany me out for a wallk on Saturday so struck out on my own to explore some new routes locally. Took the bus to Sonning Common and got off on Wood Lane, then walked down Kidmore Lane to Kidmore End, which is quite posh-looking and has a duck pond and a church with a bizarrely-trimmed tree/bush-thing (poss yew?) in front of it. Walked through the churchyard to come out on Tokers Green Lane and then turned right into the narrow Mill Lane. Passed one house on Mill Lane that caught my attention because of the blaring music playing; glancing through the hedge there was a man lolling in a sunken hot tub on the patio. Looks from a quick Google search as though the house, The Copse, is available for rental. The home page describes it as a “luxury cottage”, though the 'cottage' part seems a slightly odd description of a property that sleeps 14 and includes its own cinema. The per night price range is given as between £800 and £1750, so I don’t think I’ll be staying there any time soon.

Crossed the A4074 near The Packhorse and continued down Sheepways Lane, turning left at Lilley Farm onto Pond Lane, and then cross-country via the path across Caversham Heath golf course back into Caversham. Just over six miles in total.

Another day in London yesterday, this time at an NSS Stakeholder Workshop led by Sami from Ipsos MORI. Actually the workshop was only for the morning, so like anyone would I booked the afternoon as leave, originally thinking I should make the most of the train ticket and do something cultural, though I didn’t in the end. The workshop was held at an obscurely-placed venue on the Edgware Road, so armed with MapMyWalk I strode out healthily westwards from Euston, visiting the Marylebone branch of Carluccio’s en route. After the workshop, fitted in another 3 miles or so walking back to Euston via Regent’s Park.

While waiting for my supply of toasted posh breads to arrive, I pondered the renaming that seems to have been going on on Carluccio's breakfast menu (doubtless as a way to delay looking at my notes for the workshop). Their full English – formerly named the ‘Colazione’ – appears to have been renamed the Carluccio’s Breakfast. Conversely, as though suddenly worried they might be dumbing down, their former ‘Breakfast Bread Tin’ – served, rather appealingly, in a tin – is now called the ‘Pane con Marmellata di Fichi’, and comes on a board. (Digressing, Ruth has moaned at tendency of gastro-type pubs to serve food on boards, pieces of slate etc, as though the establishment is so posh it has gone full circle and reverted to a time before plates.)

Picked up lunch from a branch of itsu on Baker Street - had an itsu tuna & salmon from their sushi menu, with a quite nice green tea-flavoured water drink. Have some way to go though before I become one of those trying people who exist on fish and vegetables (my fondness for pasta and toast should keep that at bay).

While approaching Euston on my return walk, I was struck by this imposing dilapidated building on the corner of Hampstead Road and Cardington Street. Looks from a Google search as though it’s the former London Temperance Hospital, now standing derelict. Seems amazing it hasn’t been converted into luxury apartments, though the area that side of Euston is still a bit down at heel, which seems amazing really. The Wikipedia entry seems to suggest that the building may be demolished to make way for HS2.

Have been doing YouGov surveys for a while, mainly in the hope of winning one of their prize draws. Usually they confine themselves to asking fairly low-level questions on a variety of topics: whether you use Costa Coffee machines, whether you'd be embarrassed to work for Crosse & Blackwell, how many hours a week you spend idly watching telly, etc. However, worked through one this morning that took a turn towards more serious questioning, with the following:

Tentatively selected 'None', and was then faced with a follow up question along the lines of "What do you consider would be the most likely cause of such a disaster?", to which one of the response options was 'Zombies'. I forget the others. Not sure if this was an early April Fool or whether opinion polling is genuinely going a bit weird.