The not so missing black box

For one reason or another our green rubbish bin and black recycle box always seem to go missing.

Two weeks ago we put our black box* out for the kerb recycle little men to empty and when we came to bring it in, it had disappeared. The next day we noticed that our next door neighbours upwards now had three black boxes, one more than they did the day before…

As the kerb recycle little men come round once a fortnight, John put out the recycle rubbish last night, and as we didn’t have a box, just put the bottles and tins in a cardboard box – like we’ve done many times before.

This morning when I was getting the car out of the garage I noticed next to the garage door was a black box and the cardboard box, which was extremely soggy and damp, and still full of the bottles and tins. Some Jobsworth at the council must have decided that as the items weren’t in a black box they wouldn’t take them.

As we have an old battered and damaged black box in the garage, I assumed John must have brought it out of retirement and put the newspapers and magazines in there. I emptied the bottles and tins out of the cardboard box, put them in the black box, and dragged it into the garage.

When I got home this evening from my mams I told John what had happened and he looked a bit bemused. He never put the old black box out last night, it was still in the garage, and our neighbours still had three boxes so it wasn’t them having a guilt trip and returned it. We don’t know where it came from as all the other boxes in the street are accounted for.

Spooky ! ! !

Marie


*our third one in twelve months. The first was stolen by our next door neighbours upwards, the second one (a brand new one courtesy of the council) was only six weeks old when it was abducted and the third was an abandoned one so we decided to give it a good home.

We’ve bin robbed again

I don’t know what it is with our neighbours but for some reason they seem to like both our wheelie bin and our recycle black box.

Our brand new recycle box got swiped two weeks after we got a replacement for the one that was stolen. We didn’t dare phone the council to ask for another replacement in case they thought we were stock piling them.

So for several weeks we just used an old wine box then gave a new home to an abandoned battered box that had been left unused and unwanted in the back lane for several weeks.

This morning when I went to go to my mams I found that our bin had been swiped.

I can understand people taking in the wrong bin by mistake as they all look alike, but ours had our address on the front and back painted in large letters and numbers.

Come bin out night next Thursday we’ll be kidnapping it back ! ! !

Marie

North East divide

We got a letter from the council to say that they were changing the day when our bins would be emptied, from a Thursday to a Friday. They were also changing the day and week when our recycling box would be emptied also.

On the Wednesday night we noticed that some people had put out their bins in the back lane and just thought that they had forgotten about the change of day as it often happens. There are some who put their bins out on Christmas eve expecting them to be emptied on Christmas day when it happens to fall on a Thursday…

The next day I happened to be in the main bedroom and saw that the bin men had in fact been. I rang the council to see if there had been a mistake and our bins should have been out that day but no, we were now a Friday collection. Sure enough the next day our bin was emptied.

We’re not sure why the council has decided to use our back lane as the new dividing line. Maybe they thought it was more economical to empty the houses facing north and South on a Thursday and East and West a Friday.

Marie

It’s been a busy old week

Yippee ! ! ! We’ve finally downed our paintbrushes. It’s taken us three months but we’ve managed to get the living room and dining room done.

However thanks to a certain paint company who has an X in their name we’re going to have to redo the dining room. Four coats later on the wood and metal work and it’s still not covering over the old colours.

I phone their help line on Monday wanting advice as four coats seemed a bit excessive especially when their non drip gloss was anything but. I got a snotty little man on the other end of the phone who tried to fob me off with all excuses known to man.

It must have been near his tea break so took my phone number, said he’d look into it and ring me back the next day. You guessed it, he didn’t.

Nearly a week later and still no phone call so the customer from hell has put pen to paper. Lets just say the letter will burn it’s way out of the envelope. Upset me at your peril ! ! !

I also had to shout at our electricity company on Monday. We received an estimate bill the beginning of November even though the meter was read twice in three days – don’t ask ! ! ! So yet again they were given the meter reading and we waited for a revised bill to be sent.

No revised bill came, only a letter demanding payment for the estimate bill otherwise they will cut us off. I was not amused and made my feeling known to the poor girl who happened to take my call. It would seem that there is no record of either of the two readings nor of the one I phoned in – wonderful….

So what did I have to do, yes you’ve guessed it, give them yet another reading. I was assured that I would not be cut off and that I would receive a bill on 8th December. The bill arrived on Wednesday – so much for 8th December…..

Good news on the replacement wheelie bin. I had to ring the council asking if they could send someone out to clean up the mess as the local scavengers who patrol the streets ahead of the bin man had very kindly emptied the contents of several black bags in the back lane. While I was on the phone I asked if the wheelie bins were in stock. ‘Yes Mrs Harper, they’ve just come in so you should be getting yours shortly’.

Finally got all the Christmas cakes made. Now to start on the eight dozen mince pies ! ! !

Marie

News from a snowy sunderland.....

Thought I better do a blog as I haven’t done one for a couple of days.

Wasn’t very well from last Sunday till Tuesday. My throat was really sore and I felt absolutely rotten. Feeling much better now though.

The phantom door bell went off (four times ! ! ! ) during the night. I don’t know who it was locking, unlocking then locking their car at 4am in the morning and then again at 5am but I’d like to get my hands on them…..

It’s four weeks since our wheelie bin was stolen and still no replacement from the council.

On Friday saw the untimely death of Richard Burns. He was only 34. For those of you who don’t know who Richard was, he was the World Rally Champion in 2001 and the only English man ever to do so. Ironically he died four years to the day he won the championship.

He collapsed on the way to the 2003 Rally GB (what used to be called the RAC Rally) and was diagnosed with a brain tumour. He was a lovely man and even in his early days when we used to help lift his Peugeot 205 out of ditches you could see he was a bit special.

Sadly being a lovely man and being a bit special doesn’t get you 12 pages in the Sunday newspapers. What does get you 12 pages is being a man who threw his life away. If you haven’t already guessed I’m talking about George Best.

Richard never had a second chance of life unlike George and this makes me so angry. Here is a man who was given a liver transplant from a person who sadly died. That person didn’t have to donate their organs but they did. That person allowed Best to continue living when they couldn’t – and what thanks do they get. Not a damn thing.

Marie

Baby it’s cold outside ! ! !

We had our very first frost of the winter today. It must have been really cold as we live less than 800 yards from sea so don’t normally get much frost due to the salt in the air.

I’m pleased to report that the washing machine is fixed. The repair man came on Tuesday (a day earlier than expected….) and it turned out that a couple of the weights had come loose.

Still no replacement wheelie bin.

The new neighbours (or should I say their workmen) are getting on my nerves a little. I don’t mind all the banging, that’s to be expected when you get a new house. It’s their loud music. Even teenagers would ask them to turn it down.

I decided if you can’t beat them, join them so out came my Runrig CD’s. That got them to turn it down…..

That’s all for now.

Marie

Hello I’m Marie and I have a confession…..

I’ve started watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Yes I know I’m several years too late and that as it was probably meant for 12 year olds I’m a little older than there intended audience, but I can’t help it. Do you think I can be cured…..?

Update on our missing wheelie bin.
Still no sign of a replacement but we’ve found out who’s stolen it.

It’s our other next door neighbour. It would seem that their new(ish) bin has gone missing so they have taken ours instead.

We’re going to do the neighbourly thing and not steal it back. That’s a very kind gesture I hear you ask. Not really as our old bin smelt of cold pizza so they are most welcome to it ! ! ! !

Marie

We've Bin Robbed

It's true. We put our wheelie bin out the Thursday before last and it's gone. Some miscreant stole it. What was it Paul said about a horse and four piles of bricks.

And it gets worse. Marie called the council to see if we could have another one. No problem they said. Take about seven to ten working days. That was twelve working days ago.

It would seem that there isn't a spare wheelie bin anywhere in the entire City of Sunderland.

At the moment every available piece of land in Sunderland is sprouting houses. Here's a tip. Don't buy one. You won't be getting a bin.

John