TICTH the almost blasphemous fusion of Football with Christmas, at least in the evil gambling adverts that persist on appearing on YouTube.
*England have won a game in the World Cup? It must be Christmas!* and suchlike Tosh.
As mentioned on the British thread, I had to bring my offspring home from school because he's unwell. After he woke up, I decided a doctor was necessary*, so I called the urgent GP service. (Essentially: getting an urgent appointment with your own GP is usually nigh on impossible in big cities so they send someone out from this service for things that are urgent but not serious enough to require a trip to Emergency.)
Anyway: they have no one. Basically anyone who gets ill in my sector this evening has to suck it up and carry on being ill or wait till it gets so bad they can justify calling an ambulance.
I'm not mad at the people working there (although it would have been nice if the dude answering the phone has sounded a bit bothered about telling me to sod off because no doctors are available for anything less than life threatening emergencies.) I'm mad about a system so stretched that there are no more doctors available for anything other than life threatening emergencies.
*which I don't think is overreacting. In the absence of better, we headed to the pharmacy for some kind of stopgap solution, and they also told me to see a doctor. There aren't any.
Banks, or rather the one where I have opened a new account. I have been sent a debit card but not a Pin, so cannot use the fancy card reader. Tried the app where apparently I can get a reminder, but failed the wretched facial recognition biometric thingy. Online Chat does not recognise my questions. I can order a new Pin but it will take five days, or call it ten, taking Royal Mail strikes into account.
Just as well it is not my main account.
How frustrating for you. I don't suppose taking up bank robbing is an option?
It sounds like Royal Mail workers have timed their strike strategically. I hope the situation is resolved in a timely manner, even if it isn't your main account, it's still an aggravation.
Also banks - a major branch in the city near me has closed for renovations. It is the nearest branch to me, at an hour's bus ride away. When I enquired, having found no information on the website, the Twitter account people said they would have to get hold of the manager to find out how long the branch would be closed.
So - nobody at Head Office has any idea that one of their major branches is closed, or for how long?
I would have thought that it was fairly basic information that they should know straight away.
It wouldn't normally bother me unduly, but I have some financial transactions to sort out soon, and I want to do them in person, at my branch, talking to a real person.
... It sounds like Royal Mail workers have timed their strike strategically.
I actually have something good to report of Royal Mail. I ordered some jewellery last week from Ortak in Orkney (a very belated 60th birthday present to myself), and supposed I mightn't get it until my 61st (next February), but it arrived today.
Ooh - good to hear that Ortak are still going - we were very sad when their shop at Hatston shut, especially as it's the only shop I've ever been into to get the key to a Neolithic monument!
Ooh - good to hear that Ortak are still going - we were very sad when their shop at Hatston shut, especially as it's the only shop I've ever been into to get the key to a Neolithic monument!
If the key wasn't made of stone I'm going to be mildly disappointed.
Ooh - good to hear that Ortak are still going - we were very sad when their shop at Hatston shut, especially as it's the only shop I've ever been into to get the key to a Neolithic monument!
The Hatston shop is open again according to their website, and so is the one in Albert Street. ❤️
Bloody football. Just when you need an afternoon of soothing TV in which people bake cakes or dig gardens or move from nice houses in the suburbs to even nicer houses in the country, BBC 1 and 2 are showing Turkmenistan vs St Helena or some such.
Bloody football. Just when you need an afternoon of soothing TV in which people bake cakes or dig gardens or move from nice houses in the suburbs to even nicer houses in the country, BBC 1 and 2 are showing Turkmenistan vs St Helena or some such.
This last fortnight has been a nightmare of boredom, and chaotic scheduling. The greatest insult is Strictly being shown a day early, on Friday instead of Saturday, this week, therefore clashing with the last episode of a radio program I have been enjoying.
Not only on the wrong night, but it is the semi-final, and the contestants get a day less for training.
Totally fed up with having my routines messed up. My only 'normal' evening was Wednesday, as Sky Arts is sport-free, and I could still watch the Artist Of The Year programmes while Mr Lil was out for the evening.
No idea when the second semi-final and final of Masterchef will be slotted in.
It wasn't the Strictly semi-final, but that has also been shoved out of its normal slot.
The whole of this coming week's programming is messed up by the B***** football, and it continues into the following week.
UPS usually does a good job but not this week. I received a package that says it contains a room heater.( I did not open it) It has my address but not my name and I did not order anything. I called the number and was on an auto answer that had me in a loop saying we have your address wrong. NO. I hung up and dialed again and that time was able to talk to a human. No problem he said, we will pick it up on Monday. Monday came and went. I called again Tuesday and had to go through the loop thing again, but got to a human and was told to take it to my nearest UPS office. No, I do not drive and can not leave the husband I care for. No problem we will pick it up on Wednesday. It is now Thursday and I think I own a room heater that I do not want or need. Hopefully, I will find someone to use it. I have given UPS enough of my time. It is not my problem.
I ordered two items of clothing a few weeks ago. A delivery man finally turned up this week with two parcels, took their photo and left. I opened the smaller parcel and then discovered it wasn’t mine - it was for an address in a nearby town, and contained clothing too small for me - and both my items were in the larger parcel.
It was then very difficult to get rid of the wrong parcel. The website for the delivery service only permitted certain options, not including getting someone else’s parcel by mistake as well as your own, and not including any sort of general query. It wasn’t delivered by Royal Mail so I couldn’t take it to the post office. If the address had been a bit nearer I might have dropped it round, but it was about a 40 minute drive away.
In the end I took it to an outlet which had a click and collect service for that particular company and asked them if they could try and get their courier to take it. They weren’t hopeful, but I told them otherwise I was just going to bin the item, so they reluctantly accepted it.
On a slightly related note, I've ordered one of those little plug-in heaters advertised on eBay and YouTube, in the hope that it will increase the ambient heat, without greatly increasing the bills...
On a slightly related note, I've ordered one of those little plug-in heaters advertised on eBay and YouTube, in the hope that it will increase the ambient heat, without greatly increasing the bills...
There was an episode of Sliced Bread on Radio 4 the other week you may want to find on BBC Sounds.
Essentially you can't break the conservation of energy. Apart from a little light and sound, electric heaters convert all the electrical power they use into heat - they are essentially 100% efficient because heat losses are the way in which other electrical devices are inefficient.
You can point a mini-heater at yourself so you feel warmer while it's on, but they can't raise the ambient temperature for any less electricity than any other electrical heater.
On a slightly related note, I've ordered one of those little plug-in heaters advertised on eBay and YouTube, in the hope that it will increase the ambient heat, without greatly increasing the bills...
There was an episode of Sliced Bread on Radio 4 the other week you may want to find on BBC Sounds.
Essentially you can't break the conservation of energy. Apart from a little light and sound, electric heaters convert all the electrical power they use into heat - they are essentially 100% efficient because heat losses are the way in which other electrical devices are inefficient.
You can point a mini-heater at yourself so you feel warmer while it's on, but they can't raise the ambient temperature for any less electricity than any other electrical heater.
O well - it cost less than £20, but it can at least be moved around more easily than a larger unit. Point taken, though.
Of course a fan heater is good to sit near if you want to warm yourself quickly! But what KarlLB wrote is correct, the hype around this "low energy" heater is IMO misleading.
Of course a fan heater is good to sit near if you want to warm yourself quickly! But what KarlLB wrote is correct, the hype around this "low energy" heater is IMO misleading.
Yes, and having it near me - in various places within the Ark - is, in a way, the point. I confess to having been misled by the *saving electricity* thing, as @KarlLB has pointed out.
We have an oil-filled electric room heater. The oil remains warm and heats the room. Works well, low energy use.
All electric heaters are by definition almost 100% efficient; losses from light and sound are minimal. The heat you get out from the hot oil after it turns off is the same as the heat you don't get out of it while it's warming up.
True, but I'd like it to cost a bit less, if possible!
I fear that your cheapest option is going to be feeding the dragon.
You may be right.
Neighbours T & F and I have just invested in a metric tonne of e-coal between us, which makes it look as though the Ark is moored next to a Coal Yard, but we have paid the lowest price per bag - which is not to be sneezed at. The same product is often available in big DIY outlets, but a much higher cost...
Samsung - promising a delivery date for a new fridge freezer that they turn out not to be able to meet and not only that had no prospect of meeting. Instead of being without a fridge for 3 days it's going to be more like 3 weeks.
Two evenings of illegal fireworks to celebrate the New Year. Last night's round besides sending the dog under the bed with her toy for most of the night, also in spite of rain managed to set the local Walmart's roof on fire. Other things as well not reported as I heard a number of fire sirens.
Not quite Hellish, but definitely irritating. We bought several paint testers from Homebase, tried them out and chose our favourite. Today we went to buy the paint.
The conversation went as follows:
HB assistant: I'm sorry, that colour has been discontinued. It's not available anywhere.
Us: But you're selling testers of it.
HB assistant: Yes, we sell testers in that colour, but not full size pots of paint.
Us: ?????
HB assistant: We can mix the colour for you, but it'll cost more, and you can't take it back if you change your mind.
We forked out for the specially mixed paint, but I am not impressed.
Cathedral Square has been resurfaced since the big quakes of 2010 and 2011 nevertheless the surface is far from perfect theses days. I was wandering across the Square to Turanga, the Central library when my foot hit a protruding piece of something and I went flying. I opened my eyes to find myself surrounded by a group of concerned looking young women, possibly from a nearby language school who were eager to pull me up. As my world was still spinning alarmingly I thanked them, but said I needed just to lie there for a while, saying that I would be OK. (not only was I worried that I could be hurt by being pulled, but they could be injured as well).
That was on Tuesday, on Wednesday a GP from the medical squeezed me into his schedule, reassured me I wasn't dying, nothing was actually broken and prescribed painkillers. Today is Friday. My left eye is a combination of amazing colours, my ribs are testing the efficacy of the painkillers and I'm having difficulty with joined up thinking.
On Monday I will take my glasses to be panel beaten and visit the Council Offices to enquire sweetly what flaming idiot decided to remove the ramp that was there before Tuesday. and ask that it be reinstated. I will also visit the WEA (Workers' Educational Association, an organization that run inexpensive courses on a variety of subjects) to enquire about this term's offering of classes to prevent falls, (I think they are based on Tai Chi).
After writing that I realized how much worse it could have been, and am very relieved it wasn't.
And take pix of the eye (and any other lurid bruises) for the record.
I've had a few close encounters with pavements myself, so having acquired the habit of a stick when I had a foot problem last year, I'm retaining it. We may not have earthquake damage, but make up for in in potholes, broken paving and gaping setts (plus seasonal joys of wet leaves and ice).
Oh, Huia - how dreadful for you. Press the council to pay for new glasses and a series of physio visits and so forth. (As I understand it, NZ has by and large legislated away claims for damages for such incidents. Your'e only entitled to expenses.)
Comments
Assistant.
Maybe I should have put that in the dialect thread.
*England have won a game in the World Cup? It must be Christmas!* and suchlike Tosh.
Happy Kickmass, everyone...
As mentioned on the British thread, I had to bring my offspring home from school because he's unwell. After he woke up, I decided a doctor was necessary*, so I called the urgent GP service. (Essentially: getting an urgent appointment with your own GP is usually nigh on impossible in big cities so they send someone out from this service for things that are urgent but not serious enough to require a trip to Emergency.)
Anyway: they have no one. Basically anyone who gets ill in my sector this evening has to suck it up and carry on being ill or wait till it gets so bad they can justify calling an ambulance.
I'm not mad at the people working there (although it would have been nice if the dude answering the phone has sounded a bit bothered about telling me to sod off because no doctors are available for anything less than life threatening emergencies.) I'm mad about a system so stretched that there are no more doctors available for anything other than life threatening emergencies.
*which I don't think is overreacting. In the absence of better, we headed to the pharmacy for some kind of stopgap solution, and they also told me to see a doctor. There aren't any.
@la vie en rouge So sorry the young man is sick. Prayers for a speedy recovery with or without an on top of it health care system.
Just as well it is not my main account.
It sounds like Royal Mail workers have timed their strike strategically. I hope the situation is resolved in a timely manner, even if it isn't your main account, it's still an aggravation.
So - nobody at Head Office has any idea that one of their major branches is closed, or for how long?
I would have thought that it was fairly basic information that they should know straight away.
It wouldn't normally bother me unduly, but I have some financial transactions to sort out soon, and I want to do them in person, at my branch, talking to a real person.
I actually have something good to report of Royal Mail. I ordered some jewellery last week from Ortak in Orkney (a very belated 60th birthday present to myself), and supposed I mightn't get it until my 61st (next February), but it arrived today.
happy piglet
If the key wasn't made of stone I'm going to be mildly disappointed.
It was quite a big church-type key, if I remember rightly, mind you.
The Hatston shop is open again according to their website, and so is the one in Albert Street. ❤️
How long until this wretched thing is over?
A million billion years apparently.
* Qatar and Iran - about the most unlovable and rubbish teams you could imagine
Not only on the wrong night, but it is the semi-final, and the contestants get a day less for training.
Totally fed up with having my routines messed up. My only 'normal' evening was Wednesday, as Sky Arts is sport-free, and I could still watch the Artist Of The Year programmes while Mr Lil was out for the evening.
No idea when the second semi-final and final of Masterchef will be slotted in.
The whole of this coming week's programming is messed up by the B***** football, and it continues into the following week.
It was then very difficult to get rid of the wrong parcel. The website for the delivery service only permitted certain options, not including getting someone else’s parcel by mistake as well as your own, and not including any sort of general query. It wasn’t delivered by Royal Mail so I couldn’t take it to the post office. If the address had been a bit nearer I might have dropped it round, but it was about a 40 minute drive away.
In the end I took it to an outlet which had a click and collect service for that particular company and asked them if they could try and get their courier to take it. They weren’t hopeful, but I told them otherwise I was just going to bin the item, so they reluctantly accepted it.
Result! May it bring you Heat, Comfort, and Happiness!
There was an episode of Sliced Bread on Radio 4 the other week you may want to find on BBC Sounds.
Essentially you can't break the conservation of energy. Apart from a little light and sound, electric heaters convert all the electrical power they use into heat - they are essentially 100% efficient because heat losses are the way in which other electrical devices are inefficient.
You can point a mini-heater at yourself so you feel warmer while it's on, but they can't raise the ambient temperature for any less electricity than any other electrical heater.
O well - it cost less than £20, but it can at least be moved around more easily than a larger unit. Point taken, though.
Of course a fan heater is good to sit near if you want to warm yourself quickly! But what KarlLB wrote is correct, the hype around this "low energy" heater is IMO misleading.
Yes, and having it near me - in various places within the Ark - is, in a way, the point. I confess to having been misled by the *saving electricity* thing, as @KarlLB has pointed out.
I fear that your cheapest option is going to be feeding the dragon.
All electric heaters are by definition almost 100% efficient; losses from light and sound are minimal. The heat you get out from the hot oil after it turns off is the same as the heat you don't get out of it while it's warming up.
You may be right.
Neighbours T & F and I have just invested in a metric tonne of e-coal between us, which makes it look as though the Ark is moored next to a Coal Yard, but we have paid the lowest price per bag - which is not to be sneezed at. The same product is often available in big DIY outlets, but a much higher cost...
If I'd known the date upfront I could have probably got one quicker, but their dithering has meant lead times are now pretty similar.
I am, however, exploring my rights under the Consumer Protection (Amendment) Regulations 2014.
The conversation went as follows:
HB assistant: I'm sorry, that colour has been discontinued. It's not available anywhere.
Us: But you're selling testers of it.
HB assistant: Yes, we sell testers in that colour, but not full size pots of paint.
Us: ?????
HB assistant: We can mix the colour for you, but it'll cost more, and you can't take it back if you change your mind.
We forked out for the specially mixed paint, but I am not impressed.
Cathedral Square has been resurfaced since the big quakes of 2010 and 2011 nevertheless the surface is far from perfect theses days. I was wandering across the Square to Turanga, the Central library when my foot hit a protruding piece of something and I went flying. I opened my eyes to find myself surrounded by a group of concerned looking young women, possibly from a nearby language school who were eager to pull me up. As my world was still spinning alarmingly I thanked them, but said I needed just to lie there for a while, saying that I would be OK. (not only was I worried that I could be hurt by being pulled, but they could be injured as well).
That was on Tuesday, on Wednesday a GP from the medical squeezed me into his schedule, reassured me I wasn't dying, nothing was actually broken and prescribed painkillers. Today is Friday. My left eye is a combination of amazing colours, my ribs are testing the efficacy of the painkillers and I'm having difficulty with joined up thinking.
On Monday I will take my glasses to be panel beaten and visit the Council Offices to enquire sweetly what flaming idiot decided to remove the ramp that was there before Tuesday. and ask that it be reinstated. I will also visit the WEA (Workers' Educational Association, an organization that run inexpensive courses on a variety of subjects) to enquire about this term's offering of classes to prevent falls, (I think they are based on Tai Chi).
After writing that I realized how much worse it could have been, and am very relieved it wasn't.
When you go to see the Council, be sure to drop words like "lawyer" and "compensation" into the conversation!
I've had a few close encounters with pavements myself, so having acquired the habit of a stick when I had a foot problem last year, I'm retaining it. We may not have earthquake damage, but make up for in in potholes, broken paving and gaping setts (plus seasonal joys of wet leaves and ice).