A couple of days ago, the BBC news correspondent Frank Gardener was left stranded for half an hour on an EasyJet aeroplane because the wheelchair lift at Gatwick airport had not turned up. Quite rightly he was not amused.
I can sympathise as the treatment of disabled passengers in airports around the world is downright shocking !!!!
In 2011 I had my first experience as a wheelchair airline passenger, having had to start using Wizzy in 2009, and it was not good. You can read all about it here and here.
Two Customer from Hell complaint letters were sent to both British Airways and Heathrow special services department. A grovelling apology and a bouquet of flowers from special services and a half-hearted telephone apology from BA.
Since then every flight we took we’ve encounter problems and discrimination. Things came to a head in November when the Customer from Hell had had enough.
We were flying home from Barcelona airport having been on a short cruise around the Mediterranean. At the departure gate an announcement was made for passengers with infants and those who required extra time boarding to make their way to the aircraft. BA’s policy for boarding disabled passengers is to allow them to board first. This is so they can take their time getting on the aircraft safely.
However when we tried to board we were told that because I was in a wheelchair I would have to board last with the rest of the wheelchairs passengers. When I queried this I was told in no uncertain terms that this was a BA policy and I would have to take it up with them.
To make matters worse, even though I was right next to John, he was then asked if “I could walk”. John snapped, “instead of asking me, ask my wife”.
Imagine the outcry if BA told its black passengers that they have to board last, and then ask the white husband of a black passenger ‘can she read or write’. Yet for some reason, BA thought it was perfectly acceptable to discriminate against wheelchair passengers.
Because of segregating the wheelchair passengers and making us board last we delayed the flight by about 10 minutes. Thankfully our seats were in the second row so it wasn’t too much of an obstacle course trying to avoid tripping over passengers feet sticking out. However I still had to put with the stares from other passengers like I was some kind of freak show.
Once we had landed I got chatting to the wife of a fellow wheelchair passenger and she was not happy about how we were boarded. Her husband, who I think had Parkinson’s disease, was extremely upset at passengers gawking at him.
When we arrived at Heathrow’s terminal 3 I was told by the cabin crew that a special service assistance would have to take me to terminal 5, as that was where Wizzy was going to be taken.
As BA’s flight connection policy states that a wheelchair can be delivered to the aircraft door I explained that I would like Wizzy brought to the aircraft. It had, after all, been given an orange ‘return to aircraft’ label.
I was told “this isn’t how things are done in terminal 3”. Having had problems in the past with Wizzy going missing and eventually turning up in several pieces on the baggage reclaim belt, I ask again for it to be brought to the aircraft door.
The cabin crew were not happy. I overheard one saying to another, “you can have a go at talking to her as I’ve tried and she just won’t listen to me”. When this particular cabin crew person walked passed me I said, “I heard that”, to which he replied that I was ‘being unreasonable’.
As I was refusing to move from the aircraft until Wizzy was brought to the door, which, consequently meant that the cabin crew couldn’t leave, it finally arrived.
When you have a complaint to make against BA they ask that you send it to customer relations, or something like that. I sent my letter to their CEO which was ignored… Not a good idea when you’re dealing with the Customer from Hell. I found his email address on google and sent the letter again.
Eventually I got a reply from one of his minions saying he apologised for any distress caused bla, bla, bla. What is really worrying though, is he couldn’t guarantee that this kind of behavior or discrimination wouldn’t happen again. I may as well be talking to a brick wall….
A couple of days later John received an email from BA’s customer service, which went something like this:
‘Dear Mr Harper. We understand that you have contacted BA’s CEO regarding a complaint. Could you please complete this short questionnaire in relation to how we dealt with your complaint’.
What was I saying about a brick wall !!!!!!
Marie
Showing posts with label Customer from Hell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Customer from Hell. Show all posts
Friday, January 13, 2017
Friday, January 16, 2015
Good customer service
Now that John’s retired there's no need for us to do our weekly grocery shop at Morrisons on an evening.
So we've changed it to during the day. There is though one small problem. Morrisons is a no-go area during the day. It’s full of pensioners taking advantage of the store being on the sea front so they use it as a day out; parking is a nightmare and you’re forever having to fight your way around the little old dears slumped over their trolleys as they stop and look at every single item on the shelves.
Thankfully two new large Sainsburys and Tesco’s opened recently so we gave them both a try. Tesco had the edge on Sainsburys so we decided to start shop there.
Just before Christmas we had an encounter with a member of staff from the fruit and veg department who has the honour of being one of the rudest people I have ever met.
I take no prisoners when it comes to bad customer service so it was time to unleash the customer from hell.
A ‘its way out of the envelope’ letter was duly sent to Tesco's CEO – why go to the bottom when you can go to the top....
Early last week I received a reply. They were extremely apologetic; the member of staff in question had been reprimanded for their behaviour and enclosed was £30 gift card.
Yesterday when we were at the checkout the member of staff, along with the fruit and veg manager, came over and they both apologised in person.
Well done Tesco. I have nothing but praise for the way in which they handled my complaint. It’s a pity more business couldn’t follow their example.
Marie
PS they've got Easter eggs in all ready!!!!
So we've changed it to during the day. There is though one small problem. Morrisons is a no-go area during the day. It’s full of pensioners taking advantage of the store being on the sea front so they use it as a day out; parking is a nightmare and you’re forever having to fight your way around the little old dears slumped over their trolleys as they stop and look at every single item on the shelves.
Thankfully two new large Sainsburys and Tesco’s opened recently so we gave them both a try. Tesco had the edge on Sainsburys so we decided to start shop there.
Just before Christmas we had an encounter with a member of staff from the fruit and veg department who has the honour of being one of the rudest people I have ever met.
I take no prisoners when it comes to bad customer service so it was time to unleash the customer from hell.
A ‘its way out of the envelope’ letter was duly sent to Tesco's CEO – why go to the bottom when you can go to the top....
Early last week I received a reply. They were extremely apologetic; the member of staff in question had been reprimanded for their behaviour and enclosed was £30 gift card.
Yesterday when we were at the checkout the member of staff, along with the fruit and veg manager, came over and they both apologised in person.
Well done Tesco. I have nothing but praise for the way in which they handled my complaint. It’s a pity more business couldn’t follow their example.
Marie
PS they've got Easter eggs in all ready!!!!
Thursday, January 05, 2012
A grovelling apology
Back in May when we went on our cruise we experienced Heathrow Airport’s ‘special assistance’ service.
John briefly mentioned some of the problems we’d had in May 20th blog ‘A tale of three airports’. However that wasn’t the end of it. You can read a full account of the farce in ‘Our cruise – part 1’ and ‘Our cruise – part 3’ over on my Joint Journal blog (just click on the link at the side of the page).
I sent a Customer from Hell letter to Heathrow’s customer service manager and received a holding ‘we are looking into your complaint and will get back to you within seven day’s’ letter.
Seven days came and no reply. 14 days came and no reply. 21 days came and no reply. I think you can see where this is going…..
What with one thing and another I’d forgotten about it. It was only when I was sorting through some old correspondences in December that I saw the letter.
I must have been in a bad mood because otherwise I would have just shredded the letter and marked it down as ‘good Heathrow’s customer service’. Instead I did a bit of digging on the internet and found out that the ‘special assistance’ service was operated by a private company.
A letter, enclosing a copy of my original letter and the one I’d received from Heathrow, was sent to the chairman – in Atlanta, America.
As I’d sent the letter on 7th December I wasn’t expecting a reply, if any, until the new year. At 4.45pm on Friday 23rd December I received a phone call from the general manager of Heathrow’s ‘special assistance’ service regarding the letter I’d sent to their chairman.
Boy was he grovelling !!!!!
He assured me that when we next travel our experience of their ‘special assistance’ will be better than last time, and as a way of an apology he would be sending me some flowers.
The flowers duly arrived and they were lovely.
A good job well done by the Customer from Hell…..
Marie
John briefly mentioned some of the problems we’d had in May 20th blog ‘A tale of three airports’. However that wasn’t the end of it. You can read a full account of the farce in ‘Our cruise – part 1’ and ‘Our cruise – part 3’ over on my Joint Journal blog (just click on the link at the side of the page).
I sent a Customer from Hell letter to Heathrow’s customer service manager and received a holding ‘we are looking into your complaint and will get back to you within seven day’s’ letter.
Seven days came and no reply. 14 days came and no reply. 21 days came and no reply. I think you can see where this is going…..
What with one thing and another I’d forgotten about it. It was only when I was sorting through some old correspondences in December that I saw the letter.
I must have been in a bad mood because otherwise I would have just shredded the letter and marked it down as ‘good Heathrow’s customer service’. Instead I did a bit of digging on the internet and found out that the ‘special assistance’ service was operated by a private company.
A letter, enclosing a copy of my original letter and the one I’d received from Heathrow, was sent to the chairman – in Atlanta, America.
As I’d sent the letter on 7th December I wasn’t expecting a reply, if any, until the new year. At 4.45pm on Friday 23rd December I received a phone call from the general manager of Heathrow’s ‘special assistance’ service regarding the letter I’d sent to their chairman.
Boy was he grovelling !!!!!
He assured me that when we next travel our experience of their ‘special assistance’ will be better than last time, and as a way of an apology he would be sending me some flowers.
The flowers duly arrived and they were lovely.
A good job well done by the Customer from Hell…..
Marie
Monday, June 20, 2011
Bootifull
On Saturday we had to go into the Metro Centre, primarily to visit Boots. John’s eye test was due and I need to speak to the manager about a complaint.
Normally every two years when John has his eyes tested, he has to have new glasses.
He has ‘seven to 10 day eyes’ so a fortnight, all inclusive, holiday to Spain is cheaper than his spectacles….
I nearly fell out of Wizzy when John came out of his examination to say his eyes were fine and no new glasses were required. Yippee !!!!
We then went to find a manager as I needed to become ‘the customer from Hell’.
Before we went on our cruise we bought, as always, their own brand factor 50 sunscreen. I have an allergy to the sun (by the wonderful name of Polymorphic Light Eruptions), plus I burn really easy, so need to have a high sun factor.
After washing our holiday clothes we found that the sunscreen had badly stained several garments – one of John’s shirt and six of mine.
I rang Boots Head Office and explained what had happened. No problem, said customer service, just go into any Boots store with the receipts for the garments and we’ll give you a refund.
“I don’t have the receipt for John’s shirt”, I explained, “as it’s a couple of years old, and I’m a dressmaker, so made all my shirts”.
“Oh”, she said, rather slowly, then several seconds later said, “they’ll sort something….”.
We spoke to a manager who too went ‘Oh’, when we explained about my shirts. She went off for a few minutes then came back to say she’d had a chat with the General Manager and they were prepared to offer me cash for the garments.
“So”, she said, “it’s bartering time. How much do you think it’ll cost to replace your garments”.
That really was a tough one because it’s not that simple to put a price on a handmade garment.
“I’ve been told I can go up £50. Will that do….”, she asked.
So before our next cruise I’ve got to go fabric hunting to make six shirts. It’s a hard life !!!!!!!
Marie
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Result
I had a phone call this afternoon from the Customer Service Manager at Social Services regarding my complaint letter.
She was appalled at the way I had been treated and promised that a full investigation would take place to find out the guilty people, and action would be taken against them.
She has arranged for the mattress to be collected on Thursday afternoon instead of a week today which was the earliest date the nasty little woman would give me.
The Customer Service Manager was also concerned about the length of time it took for the collection people to pick up the phone, so will be bringing that up with their manager as well.
She’s also going to investigate why the mattress which was supposed to be new, stunk of tobacco.
She even offered to come and visit me at home, along with the manager of the collection people, to discuss my complaint further and to inform me of the actions they have taken. I thanked her for the offer but said I was satisfied that my complaint was being dealt so a visit wasn’t necessary.
Another result for the Customer from Hell.
Marie
She was appalled at the way I had been treated and promised that a full investigation would take place to find out the guilty people, and action would be taken against them.
She has arranged for the mattress to be collected on Thursday afternoon instead of a week today which was the earliest date the nasty little woman would give me.
The Customer Service Manager was also concerned about the length of time it took for the collection people to pick up the phone, so will be bringing that up with their manager as well.
She’s also going to investigate why the mattress which was supposed to be new, stunk of tobacco.
She even offered to come and visit me at home, along with the manager of the collection people, to discuss my complaint further and to inform me of the actions they have taken. I thanked her for the offer but said I was satisfied that my complaint was being dealt so a visit wasn’t necessary.
Another result for the Customer from Hell.
Marie
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
The return of….
…the Customer from Hell.
After a long period away she’s back !!!
Today I was waiting for something to be collected. My nurse at the doctor had arranged for me to try a pressure sore mattress to see if that would help my wound. Unfortunately the mattress was too soft and it also smelt of tobacco.
I tried ringing the collection people all day last Monday but couldn’t get an answer. After several rings last Tuesday I finally got to speak to someone and arranged for the mattress to be collected today.
I was in the kitchen this morning when I heard something being pushed through the letter box. Normally I don’t bother rushing to see what has come as it’s usually a pizza or Indian take-away menu. However for some reason I decided to go and take a look straight away.
It was a note from the little collection people to say they had called but no-one was in, and as they could not obtain an answer, I’d have to contact them to arrange a re-collection. I opened the front door to see if he was still there but he had gone.
The little man had not rang the door bell – and I know it working as the window cleaner had been for his payment today – and if he had knocked then it must have been so quiet that even a dog wouldn’t have heard it.
I rang the number on the slip, having waited for over two minutes for someone to pick up and explained very nicely what had happened.
The little woman was extremely snotty and insinuated that I was lying about not hearing the little man calling. She even claimed that I couldn't have looked out from the front door as the little man would have been driving a van and I couldn't have missed seeing it.
Those immortal words rang in my ears ‘don’t make me angry. You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry’. Guess who appeared. Yep, the Customer from Hell.
A ‘burn its way out of the envelope’ letter will be on it’s way to her manager. That’ll teach her to upset me…
Marie
After a long period away she’s back !!!
Today I was waiting for something to be collected. My nurse at the doctor had arranged for me to try a pressure sore mattress to see if that would help my wound. Unfortunately the mattress was too soft and it also smelt of tobacco.
I tried ringing the collection people all day last Monday but couldn’t get an answer. After several rings last Tuesday I finally got to speak to someone and arranged for the mattress to be collected today.
I was in the kitchen this morning when I heard something being pushed through the letter box. Normally I don’t bother rushing to see what has come as it’s usually a pizza or Indian take-away menu. However for some reason I decided to go and take a look straight away.
It was a note from the little collection people to say they had called but no-one was in, and as they could not obtain an answer, I’d have to contact them to arrange a re-collection. I opened the front door to see if he was still there but he had gone.
The little man had not rang the door bell – and I know it working as the window cleaner had been for his payment today – and if he had knocked then it must have been so quiet that even a dog wouldn’t have heard it.
I rang the number on the slip, having waited for over two minutes for someone to pick up and explained very nicely what had happened.
The little woman was extremely snotty and insinuated that I was lying about not hearing the little man calling. She even claimed that I couldn't have looked out from the front door as the little man would have been driving a van and I couldn't have missed seeing it.
Those immortal words rang in my ears ‘don’t make me angry. You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry’. Guess who appeared. Yep, the Customer from Hell.
A ‘burn its way out of the envelope’ letter will be on it’s way to her manager. That’ll teach her to upset me…
Marie
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Busy, busy, busy
Sorry for the lack of blogs but things are starting to get busy, busy, busy for Blackpool conference.
Last Thursday we had snow ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
It started with a few flurries mid morning then came down really heavy around noon and didn’t stop for several hours. Thankfully by the evening most of it had turned to slush.
Friday we were in Blackpool for a meeting with the hotel to finalise things for the conference. Then after the meeting we drove to Doncaster as we had a conference team meeting the next day.
We had arranged to meet with Emma and Paul, who were also staying at the Premier for the team meeting, at 6.15pm as the Beefeater Pub had a special priced three course meal for £9.99 each, but you had to be seated by 6.30pm.
We were running a little late having got caught in traffic on our way to Blackpool, which made us half an hour late for our meeting, then we hit rush hour traffic big time on the M62.
At 6.00pm we were only four hundred yards away from the Premier when we hit yet more traffic jams. The police had closed the very road we needed to get to the hotel...
It was dark, we were in the middle of a huge business park with no divisions signs, and a railway line in the way, and we had no idea how to find the hotel.
Eventually, with more luck than anything else, we stumbled on the hotel, and finally made it into the restaurant at 7.30pm. The restaurant staff had very kindly let us have the meal for £9.99 as Emma & Paul had been seated at the table at 6.15pm.
Blackpool conference, like the last time, is a complete sell out, and unfortunately the hotel can’t give us any more rooms. Apparently there’s an aerobic convention taking place somewhere in Blackpool and they’ve taken up the rest of the rooms.
This means that the ‘Innkeeper from Hell’ has had to make an appearance as would-be delegates complain that ‘there’s no room at the inn’ and are not happy bunnies….
This afternoon I had to go to the doctors to get some stronger painkillers for my knee as the others weren’t doing anything. I’ve now got four different one to take, each with their own various side-effects.
Wonderful ! ! ! !
Marie
Last Thursday we had snow ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
It started with a few flurries mid morning then came down really heavy around noon and didn’t stop for several hours. Thankfully by the evening most of it had turned to slush.
Friday we were in Blackpool for a meeting with the hotel to finalise things for the conference. Then after the meeting we drove to Doncaster as we had a conference team meeting the next day.
We had arranged to meet with Emma and Paul, who were also staying at the Premier for the team meeting, at 6.15pm as the Beefeater Pub had a special priced three course meal for £9.99 each, but you had to be seated by 6.30pm.
We were running a little late having got caught in traffic on our way to Blackpool, which made us half an hour late for our meeting, then we hit rush hour traffic big time on the M62.
At 6.00pm we were only four hundred yards away from the Premier when we hit yet more traffic jams. The police had closed the very road we needed to get to the hotel...
It was dark, we were in the middle of a huge business park with no divisions signs, and a railway line in the way, and we had no idea how to find the hotel.
Eventually, with more luck than anything else, we stumbled on the hotel, and finally made it into the restaurant at 7.30pm. The restaurant staff had very kindly let us have the meal for £9.99 as Emma & Paul had been seated at the table at 6.15pm.
Blackpool conference, like the last time, is a complete sell out, and unfortunately the hotel can’t give us any more rooms. Apparently there’s an aerobic convention taking place somewhere in Blackpool and they’ve taken up the rest of the rooms.
This means that the ‘Innkeeper from Hell’ has had to make an appearance as would-be delegates complain that ‘there’s no room at the inn’ and are not happy bunnies….
This afternoon I had to go to the doctors to get some stronger painkillers for my knee as the others weren’t doing anything. I’ve now got four different one to take, each with their own various side-effects.
Wonderful ! ! ! !
Marie
Thursday, July 17, 2008
BT
Yesterday afternoon I received a telephone call from BT wanting to speak to John. I explained that he was at work but as I was his wife could I help.
The little man explained rather quickly that BT were offering us free weekend and evening calls. In order to receive this we must remain with BT for 12 months and that every 12 months the contract would be renewed. Should we decide to leave BT then we would be liable for a fine.
He asked if I would say yes to agree to this offer. I refused and asked if he could send something in writing to our home address regarding this offer.
He again asked if I would say yes to agree to this offer. Again I refused and said that I would not agree to anything without having first discussed it with my husband. He then became disinterested and quickly ended the call.
I think it is holey unacceptable for BT to cold call a customer and pressurise them into agreeing to something which they know nothing about. Other than being offered free weekend and evening calls I was not told anything else about the service they were offering. What were the Terms and Conditions of this offer? What was the cost of the fine should we decided to leave BT? How would we be told when the 12 months contract was up?
I also find it quite disturbing that BT are allowed to make changes to a customers account without the knowledge of the account holder. John is the account holder and therefore I should not have been asked to agree to any changes to the account.
As you an imaging I am not intimidated by cold callers, however I found the little man’s manner quite abrupt and somewhat bulling.
A complaint has been made to BT…
Marie
The little man explained rather quickly that BT were offering us free weekend and evening calls. In order to receive this we must remain with BT for 12 months and that every 12 months the contract would be renewed. Should we decide to leave BT then we would be liable for a fine.
He asked if I would say yes to agree to this offer. I refused and asked if he could send something in writing to our home address regarding this offer.
He again asked if I would say yes to agree to this offer. Again I refused and said that I would not agree to anything without having first discussed it with my husband. He then became disinterested and quickly ended the call.
I think it is holey unacceptable for BT to cold call a customer and pressurise them into agreeing to something which they know nothing about. Other than being offered free weekend and evening calls I was not told anything else about the service they were offering. What were the Terms and Conditions of this offer? What was the cost of the fine should we decided to leave BT? How would we be told when the 12 months contract was up?
I also find it quite disturbing that BT are allowed to make changes to a customers account without the knowledge of the account holder. John is the account holder and therefore I should not have been asked to agree to any changes to the account.
As you an imaging I am not intimidated by cold callers, however I found the little man’s manner quite abrupt and somewhat bulling.
A complaint has been made to BT…
Marie
Friday, May 16, 2008
Double take
As you know we’re off on our cruise shortly – one week and five days ! ! !
With the exception of our cruise to Monaco, this is the first time we have booked our cruises through a travel company. Previously we have booked direct with Silversea. We won’t be doing it again…
The travel company were cheaper than Silversea but we have had nothing but hassle with them. So much so that the Customer from Hell had to make an appearance and told them that if the problem wasn’t resolved, I would be taking the matter up with ABTA. It was sorted within 24 hours.
As we had completely lost all faith and trust in the travel company we requested that all correspondence, including our tickets, be sent direct to us from Silversea and not the company. They assured us this would happen.
On Wednesday our tickets arrived and guess where they had come from, - the travel company. We were not amused….
Yesterday a special delivery parcel arrived direct from Silversea - with our tickets ! ! !
We now have two lots of airline tickets, cruise tickets, even Silversea leather luggage labels. Sadly though they’re identical and not for another cruise.
Given the incompetence of the travel company that wouldn’t have come as no surprise….
Marie
With the exception of our cruise to Monaco, this is the first time we have booked our cruises through a travel company. Previously we have booked direct with Silversea. We won’t be doing it again…
The travel company were cheaper than Silversea but we have had nothing but hassle with them. So much so that the Customer from Hell had to make an appearance and told them that if the problem wasn’t resolved, I would be taking the matter up with ABTA. It was sorted within 24 hours.
As we had completely lost all faith and trust in the travel company we requested that all correspondence, including our tickets, be sent direct to us from Silversea and not the company. They assured us this would happen.
On Wednesday our tickets arrived and guess where they had come from, - the travel company. We were not amused….
Yesterday a special delivery parcel arrived direct from Silversea - with our tickets ! ! !
We now have two lots of airline tickets, cruise tickets, even Silversea leather luggage labels. Sadly though they’re identical and not for another cruise.
Given the incompetence of the travel company that wouldn’t have come as no surprise….
Marie
Monday, November 12, 2007
They don’t make things like they used to
When we got engaged my godfather, who was clearing out his mam’s house as she had just died, asked if I would like her old ironing board.
It was a little rusty and rather heavy to lift but other than needing a new cover it would do fine until I got round to getting a replacement.
Nearly 11 years later and I finally bought a new one.
This morning the ironing board collapsed whilst I was ironing. One second it’s up and the next the board, the t-shirt I was busy ironing and the iron are flat on the floor. Thankfully I managed to pick up the iron before it did any damage to the carpet.
It would seem that two welds on one set of legs had come away.
Having a pile of ironing still to do and no board I improvised – the piano stool and a dining room chair ! ! !
Marie
It was a little rusty and rather heavy to lift but other than needing a new cover it would do fine until I got round to getting a replacement.
Nearly 11 years later and I finally bought a new one.
This morning the ironing board collapsed whilst I was ironing. One second it’s up and the next the board, the t-shirt I was busy ironing and the iron are flat on the floor. Thankfully I managed to pick up the iron before it did any damage to the carpet.
It would seem that two welds on one set of legs had come away.
Having a pile of ironing still to do and no board I improvised – the piano stool and a dining room chair ! ! !
Marie
Monday, October 08, 2007
A s***ty day
Apologies for the lack of blogs over the past week or so. There hasn’t been much to tell really.
Still waiting on the death certificate for my Nana Dinah (sorry for being a bit morbid but I need it to confirm her date of birth. Once I have that I can then obtain her full birth certificate …). Also no word from Beamish about the Pit Cottages as the curator is currently on holiday.
Without any actuate information I’ve only been able to do a rough trace of my family tree. If everything is correct then my ancestors on the Thompson side originated from Northumberland and from Yorkshire on the Archer side. I’ve yet to tackle things on my mam’s side.
Anyway about my s***ty day. Newport conference is coming up shortly so things are getting a little busy in the BOGOF household. Last night while the printer was busy churning away, I decided to look on the internet for some hotels in Heathrow as we have to have an overnight halt there when we go on our cruise next year.
I found the hotel we used the last time ‘The Thistle’ but following reviews from previous guests they only gave it 6/10. I did searches on other hotels near the airport but the other hotels were either too far out of Heathrow or were ridiculously expensive.
This morning while I was doing more printing I decided to have another look at the reviews of the Thistle. It turned out that the guests either loved the hotel or really slated it for piffling little things – the hotel didn’t provide toothbrushes or the hospitality tray in the room didn’t have their favourite kind of coffee, etc. So I decided to book it via one of the discount hotel websites.
By then the printer decided it needed a new toner cartridge so I move it forward a couple of inches to open the front and take out the old one. For no apparent reason my computer shut down, then rebooted saying their was an error with the computer. I tried switching it off but nothing happened. I eventually pulled the plug out and restarted it again. Yep, the error message came on again.
Now bearing in mind Newport conference is less than 10 days away having a dead computer isn’t really something I wanted…. Thankfully we have more than one computer in the BOGOF household so I fired up John’s computer to send him a mail asking for help or suggestions on how to bring back to life my computer.
Only one problem, I didn’t know his work email address as he’s only down in my address book as ‘John (work). B**** ! ! !
I know. I’ll fire up my laptop, connect it to the network and send him a mail from that. The network wouldn’t connect….. Double B**** ! ! !
All wasn’t lost as I now had John’s work email address on my laptop so could sent him a mail via his computer using my Yahoo email address.
I finished my email and started typing in ‘John’ in the sender box when it asked me if I wanted to send it to John at work… Triple B**** ! ! !
John came back to say sorry but he couldn’t help at the moment but would have a look at it tonight.
Back to the Thistle booking and I realised that I hadn’t been given a reference number or received an email confirmation to my Yahoo email address. Still on John’s computer I found the website again and rang the number on their website. It was a different discount hotel company…. Quadruple B**** ! ! !
I rechecked the website again and it still only had one number so I rang it again. They still had not record of my booking and suggested I contacted my bank to see if payment had been taken out of my account – I used my switch card as I refused to pay the 2.5% surcharge for using credit cards.
I rang the bank but they said it could take a couple of days for any payment to go through and there was no way it could be stopped. Quintuple B**** ! ! !
The website did have an email address so I sent them a mail asking if they would ring me. As yet no reply or phone call. Sextuple B**** ! ! !
As far as I know the booking could have been made and everything is hunky dory, however I simply don’t know. I’ll wait and see if payment has been taken then ring the hotel to see if we appear on their system. If it was a fraudulent company at least we haven’t lost that much money. Septuple B**** ! ! !
When John arrived home he was greeted with a hormonal woman (time of the month imminent) so ended up with a rather damp shoulder.
So what of my computer. John’s managed to get it up and running in safe mode to enable him to back up all my documents. He’ll then start rebuilding my machine.
After the day I’ve had alcohol and chocolate is a big must ! ! ! ! ! !
Marie
ps As I tried to log in to blogger, the laptop crashed ... Arrrgh
Still waiting on the death certificate for my Nana Dinah (sorry for being a bit morbid but I need it to confirm her date of birth. Once I have that I can then obtain her full birth certificate …). Also no word from Beamish about the Pit Cottages as the curator is currently on holiday.
Without any actuate information I’ve only been able to do a rough trace of my family tree. If everything is correct then my ancestors on the Thompson side originated from Northumberland and from Yorkshire on the Archer side. I’ve yet to tackle things on my mam’s side.
Anyway about my s***ty day. Newport conference is coming up shortly so things are getting a little busy in the BOGOF household. Last night while the printer was busy churning away, I decided to look on the internet for some hotels in Heathrow as we have to have an overnight halt there when we go on our cruise next year.
I found the hotel we used the last time ‘The Thistle’ but following reviews from previous guests they only gave it 6/10. I did searches on other hotels near the airport but the other hotels were either too far out of Heathrow or were ridiculously expensive.
This morning while I was doing more printing I decided to have another look at the reviews of the Thistle. It turned out that the guests either loved the hotel or really slated it for piffling little things – the hotel didn’t provide toothbrushes or the hospitality tray in the room didn’t have their favourite kind of coffee, etc. So I decided to book it via one of the discount hotel websites.
By then the printer decided it needed a new toner cartridge so I move it forward a couple of inches to open the front and take out the old one. For no apparent reason my computer shut down, then rebooted saying their was an error with the computer. I tried switching it off but nothing happened. I eventually pulled the plug out and restarted it again. Yep, the error message came on again.
Now bearing in mind Newport conference is less than 10 days away having a dead computer isn’t really something I wanted…. Thankfully we have more than one computer in the BOGOF household so I fired up John’s computer to send him a mail asking for help or suggestions on how to bring back to life my computer.
Only one problem, I didn’t know his work email address as he’s only down in my address book as ‘John (work). B**** ! ! !
I know. I’ll fire up my laptop, connect it to the network and send him a mail from that. The network wouldn’t connect….. Double B**** ! ! !
All wasn’t lost as I now had John’s work email address on my laptop so could sent him a mail via his computer using my Yahoo email address.
I finished my email and started typing in ‘John’ in the sender box when it asked me if I wanted to send it to John at work… Triple B**** ! ! !
John came back to say sorry but he couldn’t help at the moment but would have a look at it tonight.
Back to the Thistle booking and I realised that I hadn’t been given a reference number or received an email confirmation to my Yahoo email address. Still on John’s computer I found the website again and rang the number on their website. It was a different discount hotel company…. Quadruple B**** ! ! !
I rechecked the website again and it still only had one number so I rang it again. They still had not record of my booking and suggested I contacted my bank to see if payment had been taken out of my account – I used my switch card as I refused to pay the 2.5% surcharge for using credit cards.
I rang the bank but they said it could take a couple of days for any payment to go through and there was no way it could be stopped. Quintuple B**** ! ! !
The website did have an email address so I sent them a mail asking if they would ring me. As yet no reply or phone call. Sextuple B**** ! ! !
As far as I know the booking could have been made and everything is hunky dory, however I simply don’t know. I’ll wait and see if payment has been taken then ring the hotel to see if we appear on their system. If it was a fraudulent company at least we haven’t lost that much money. Septuple B**** ! ! !
When John arrived home he was greeted with a hormonal woman (time of the month imminent) so ended up with a rather damp shoulder.
So what of my computer. John’s managed to get it up and running in safe mode to enable him to back up all my documents. He’ll then start rebuilding my machine.
After the day I’ve had alcohol and chocolate is a big must ! ! ! ! ! !
Marie
ps As I tried to log in to blogger, the laptop crashed ... Arrrgh
Friday, September 07, 2007
New sofa
We got our new sofa and armchair delivered on Wednesday and it’s huge… Granted I’m not a tall person, but I can lie down without my head and feet touching the armrests.
Like previous events, however (my new car and living/dining room carpet) things didn’t go smoothly. As soon as the little man removed the packaging from the chair, I noticed three dents in one of the side panels and one of the seams was twisted. The sofa, having had a good examination, was declared fit and well…
A little man came out this afternoon to inspect the chair and having lifted the side panel found three stray staples. So with the help of my iron, the three dents and the twisted seam were ironed out.
As we’re now all encourage to ‘recycle or reuse’ I rang the local house clearance people to see if they wanted the old sofa and chair. They said no as they already had plenty. I then rang another place which was recommended by the council. They too said no as it didn’t have a fire certificate…. So much for recycling ! ! !
In other news. Our ‘new neighbours’ have sold their house ! ! ! We had our first conversations with them and they are moving because they want a garden. Subject to everything going through ok, our ‘new, new neighbours’ will be a family with two children.
I went to the doctors this morning and while she was examining me (women’s problems….) I felt a bit embarrassed about the size of my stomach. It’s expanded seeing as we’re on holiday at the moment and have been eating out a fair bit.
I was told not to worry about it as she believes people worry too much about their weight (this coming from an extremely thin doctor…). She said it was expected at holiday and Christmas time to put on weight so I was given permission to put on half a stone each time.
Who am I to go against medical advice ! ! ! !
Marie
Like previous events, however (my new car and living/dining room carpet) things didn’t go smoothly. As soon as the little man removed the packaging from the chair, I noticed three dents in one of the side panels and one of the seams was twisted. The sofa, having had a good examination, was declared fit and well…
A little man came out this afternoon to inspect the chair and having lifted the side panel found three stray staples. So with the help of my iron, the three dents and the twisted seam were ironed out.
As we’re now all encourage to ‘recycle or reuse’ I rang the local house clearance people to see if they wanted the old sofa and chair. They said no as they already had plenty. I then rang another place which was recommended by the council. They too said no as it didn’t have a fire certificate…. So much for recycling ! ! !
In other news. Our ‘new neighbours’ have sold their house ! ! ! We had our first conversations with them and they are moving because they want a garden. Subject to everything going through ok, our ‘new, new neighbours’ will be a family with two children.
I went to the doctors this morning and while she was examining me (women’s problems….) I felt a bit embarrassed about the size of my stomach. It’s expanded seeing as we’re on holiday at the moment and have been eating out a fair bit.
I was told not to worry about it as she believes people worry too much about their weight (this coming from an extremely thin doctor…). She said it was expected at holiday and Christmas time to put on weight so I was given permission to put on half a stone each time.
Who am I to go against medical advice ! ! ! !
Marie
Sunday, September 02, 2007
Carpet wrong
We had a telephone call from Allied Carpet yesterday. There’s now another delay with our new carpet. Apparently we’ve order an ‘unusual colour’ so it’s going to take even longer than anticipated so it can’t be fitted on the 4th.
To say we’re not amused would be an understatement. If they had been a little more honest with us in the first place and said there was a problem, we’d have chosen another carpet. However they chose to fob us off with one excuse after another.
So the little man was told in no uncertain terms that I was cancelling the order. We’ve decided to wait a few months and let the new sofa settle into it’s new home before getting a new carpet.
As we bought the carpet using a credit card, Allied would only give us a refund back onto that card. This meant that we would be in credit by rather a lot of money. No worries…. I’m a woman so spending money is not a problem.
So among other things, we are now the proud owner of a brand new 32 inch television ! ! !
Marie
To say we’re not amused would be an understatement. If they had been a little more honest with us in the first place and said there was a problem, we’d have chosen another carpet. However they chose to fob us off with one excuse after another.
So the little man was told in no uncertain terms that I was cancelling the order. We’ve decided to wait a few months and let the new sofa settle into it’s new home before getting a new carpet.
As we bought the carpet using a credit card, Allied would only give us a refund back onto that card. This meant that we would be in credit by rather a lot of money. No worries…. I’m a woman so spending money is not a problem.
So among other things, we are now the proud owner of a brand new 32 inch television ! ! !
Marie
Monday, August 27, 2007
A little later than planned
I’m getting a new car. A blue Nissan Note. It really should have been green this time as I alternate between blue and green but they don’t do green Notes…
It was due in the showroom on 22nd August and to me on 3rd September. Unfortunately there has been a slight delay so I won’t now get it until 15th September at the earlier. A little disappointing but it can’t be helped.
Back in July we ordered a new living and dining room carpet. The little man from Allied said it would only take three weeks. This was ideal as we’re getting a new sofa and it’s due to arrive anytime after 4th September.
Three weeks came and went but no sign of the carpet. The little man I spoke to said it would be here the following week. Nearly six weeks later and still no carpet.
I rang them again (with the customer from hell on standby….), explaining that the carpet must be down by 4th September otherwise I’m cancelling the order. There is no way the carpet fitters are putting their grubby little hands on my new sofa ! ! !
Allied rang back. There has been a problem with the cutting machine in the warehouse so our carpet is due to be cut next week. The little man has arranged for it to be delivered to the store on 3rd September and fitted on 4th.
I do hope for their sake there isn’t a problem getting it delivered from the warehouse to the store…..
Marie
PS Don’t worry if you don’t hear from us for a while as we started our holiday on Friday night. Yippee ! ! ! ! ! ! !
It was due in the showroom on 22nd August and to me on 3rd September. Unfortunately there has been a slight delay so I won’t now get it until 15th September at the earlier. A little disappointing but it can’t be helped.
Back in July we ordered a new living and dining room carpet. The little man from Allied said it would only take three weeks. This was ideal as we’re getting a new sofa and it’s due to arrive anytime after 4th September.
Three weeks came and went but no sign of the carpet. The little man I spoke to said it would be here the following week. Nearly six weeks later and still no carpet.
I rang them again (with the customer from hell on standby….), explaining that the carpet must be down by 4th September otherwise I’m cancelling the order. There is no way the carpet fitters are putting their grubby little hands on my new sofa ! ! !
Allied rang back. There has been a problem with the cutting machine in the warehouse so our carpet is due to be cut next week. The little man has arranged for it to be delivered to the store on 3rd September and fitted on 4th.
I do hope for their sake there isn’t a problem getting it delivered from the warehouse to the store…..
Marie
PS Don’t worry if you don’t hear from us for a while as we started our holiday on Friday night. Yippee ! ! ! ! ! ! !
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Has it really been a week
I’ve just checked and it’s been a week since we blogged so apologies for that….
So what’s to report from the BOGOF household.
Thursday: went shopping with my mam to the Metro Centre. We normally go on a Friday but she was going away for the weekend with my sister, brother-in-law and niece to Tatten Park. Apparently it’s a smaller version of Chelsea flower show.
Friday: Did some more work on my novel. Yes I’m finally back into my writing so hopefully will get it finished sometime next year…
Saturday: Had loads of things planned including housework and some DIY but we couldn’t be bothered to lift a finger so spent the day doing nothing ! ! !
Sunday: Again had loads of things planned, some carried over from yesterday but again we couldn’t be bothered so did nothing. Watched a great Grand Prix though. Best one I’ve seen for ages.
Monday: Spent the day writing.
Yesterday: John’s birthday. Poor soul had to go into work as he couldn’t get the day off.
Had a couple of bits of shopping to do, like buy yummies for John’s birthday dinner and a new hairdryer from ARGOS.
Had a run in with a blonde driver (apologies if you’re reading this and are a female blonde). To cut a very long story short, she was blocking a road and refused to reverse. A woman resident tried to get her to move, even treating her with the police but she refused. Eventually I had to drive diagonally into a space about the size of a postage stamp and prayed she wouldn’t take my car back end off. To say I had steam coming out of my ears was an understatement.
For the first time in goodness how many years I dried my hair using a hairdryer. One thing I had forgotten was my hair is quite thick and hairdryers have a tendency to create volume so my hair has increased in size somewhat ! ! !
Had a lovely birthday dinner and evening with John.
Today: Did some more writing.
So there you have it…
Marie
So what’s to report from the BOGOF household.
Thursday: went shopping with my mam to the Metro Centre. We normally go on a Friday but she was going away for the weekend with my sister, brother-in-law and niece to Tatten Park. Apparently it’s a smaller version of Chelsea flower show.
Friday: Did some more work on my novel. Yes I’m finally back into my writing so hopefully will get it finished sometime next year…
Saturday: Had loads of things planned including housework and some DIY but we couldn’t be bothered to lift a finger so spent the day doing nothing ! ! !
Sunday: Again had loads of things planned, some carried over from yesterday but again we couldn’t be bothered so did nothing. Watched a great Grand Prix though. Best one I’ve seen for ages.
Monday: Spent the day writing.
Yesterday: John’s birthday. Poor soul had to go into work as he couldn’t get the day off.
Had a couple of bits of shopping to do, like buy yummies for John’s birthday dinner and a new hairdryer from ARGOS.
Had a run in with a blonde driver (apologies if you’re reading this and are a female blonde). To cut a very long story short, she was blocking a road and refused to reverse. A woman resident tried to get her to move, even treating her with the police but she refused. Eventually I had to drive diagonally into a space about the size of a postage stamp and prayed she wouldn’t take my car back end off. To say I had steam coming out of my ears was an understatement.
For the first time in goodness how many years I dried my hair using a hairdryer. One thing I had forgotten was my hair is quite thick and hairdryers have a tendency to create volume so my hair has increased in size somewhat ! ! !
Had a lovely birthday dinner and evening with John.
Today: Did some more writing.
So there you have it…
Marie
Sunday, July 15, 2007
He must have a death wish
John’s battery in his mobile phone isn’t keeping it’s charge so I asked if he’d like the Birthday bunny to buy him a new one.
He found one that he liked from T-Mobile website so I ordered it on behalf of the Birthday bunny. It arrived, along with a letter saying the £10 top-up credit that I had to buy with the phone, had automatically been credited to the new mobile phone number.
As John wanted to keep his existing SIM I rang T-Mobile and asked if it could be possible to transfer the credit to his existing number. The little man I spoke to was extremely snotty. Apparently it was not their policy to transfer credits so his attitude was tough…
I asked to speak to a manager as the website made no reference to the £10 automatically being credited to the new phone. If I had known this was going to happen I would have bought the phone elsewhere. He refused.
I asked again very nicely to speak to a manager, Again he refused and then started arguing with me big time. At the third time of asking to speak to a manager he deliberately cut me off.
As Dr Bruce Banner from the Incredible Hulk says, ‘don’t make me angry, you won’t like me when I’m angry’. Yep, guess who appeared, the Customer from Hell ! ! !
I rang T-Mobile again and asked ‘Pat’ very nicely if I could speak to a manager as I had a lot of shouting to do and she wasn’t paid enough to be shouted at.
She was more than happy for me to speak to a manager, but as they operate a call back system, it would be at least four hours before a manager would get back to me, so asked if she could help speed up my query.
I explained about the £10 credit but I was more concerned about making an official complaint regarding the guy I’d spoken to. Although it is their policy not to transfer credits, they have the authority do so in certain circumstances and as their website hadn’t explained what would happen to the £10 and as an apology for their bad customer service, she was prepared to do so.
However transferring the £10 wasn’t quite that simple. I knew John’s mobile phone number but didn’t know his password. Well actually I did, but she couldn’t tell me that it had three letters missing from the end as their passwords will only allow six characters.
So I had to give her John’s work number so she could speak to him direct. He then had to ring me to let me know his password so when she rang me back I could give her the details – I do hope you’re keeping up….
If that wasn’t enough John had to phone me at home from his mobile so she could verify that he really was who he said he was – apparently they are able to track what calls are made.
Having proved that John really was John and given her the correct password, the £10 was transferred to his original SIM.
As for the nasty little man, an official complaint was made and even though I only knew his first name, every call and telephone number are logged so it won’t be hard to find the guilty person.
Hah, that’ll teach him to upset the customer from hell ! ! !
Marie
He found one that he liked from T-Mobile website so I ordered it on behalf of the Birthday bunny. It arrived, along with a letter saying the £10 top-up credit that I had to buy with the phone, had automatically been credited to the new mobile phone number.
As John wanted to keep his existing SIM I rang T-Mobile and asked if it could be possible to transfer the credit to his existing number. The little man I spoke to was extremely snotty. Apparently it was not their policy to transfer credits so his attitude was tough…
I asked to speak to a manager as the website made no reference to the £10 automatically being credited to the new phone. If I had known this was going to happen I would have bought the phone elsewhere. He refused.
I asked again very nicely to speak to a manager, Again he refused and then started arguing with me big time. At the third time of asking to speak to a manager he deliberately cut me off.
As Dr Bruce Banner from the Incredible Hulk says, ‘don’t make me angry, you won’t like me when I’m angry’. Yep, guess who appeared, the Customer from Hell ! ! !
I rang T-Mobile again and asked ‘Pat’ very nicely if I could speak to a manager as I had a lot of shouting to do and she wasn’t paid enough to be shouted at.
She was more than happy for me to speak to a manager, but as they operate a call back system, it would be at least four hours before a manager would get back to me, so asked if she could help speed up my query.
I explained about the £10 credit but I was more concerned about making an official complaint regarding the guy I’d spoken to. Although it is their policy not to transfer credits, they have the authority do so in certain circumstances and as their website hadn’t explained what would happen to the £10 and as an apology for their bad customer service, she was prepared to do so.
However transferring the £10 wasn’t quite that simple. I knew John’s mobile phone number but didn’t know his password. Well actually I did, but she couldn’t tell me that it had three letters missing from the end as their passwords will only allow six characters.
So I had to give her John’s work number so she could speak to him direct. He then had to ring me to let me know his password so when she rang me back I could give her the details – I do hope you’re keeping up….
If that wasn’t enough John had to phone me at home from his mobile so she could verify that he really was who he said he was – apparently they are able to track what calls are made.
Having proved that John really was John and given her the correct password, the £10 was transferred to his original SIM.
As for the nasty little man, an official complaint was made and even though I only knew his first name, every call and telephone number are logged so it won’t be hard to find the guilty person.
Hah, that’ll teach him to upset the customer from hell ! ! !
Marie
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
A threat to national security
That’s what the passport office thinks of John’s glasses…
He sent in his passport for renewal and they have rejected his photograph on the grounds that his glasses are too small. They claim that they obscure his eyes and are therefore a threat to national security.
I’ve looked at his photograph in more detail and his eyes are perfectly visible. Knowing the Civil Service the way I do, they would probably have scanned the image and found it to be a thousandth of a millimetre below their guideline….
They have suggested John may like to remove them the next time. Given that glasses can change a person’s appearance, isn’t that a stupid suggestion considering this pathetic government will be introducing new ID passports at the end of the year. You know, the one’s that Hitler would have been proud of…
What next, will they be asking Colonel Dick (‘It’s not easy being green’) to shave off his moustache as it obscures his top lip.
Marie
He sent in his passport for renewal and they have rejected his photograph on the grounds that his glasses are too small. They claim that they obscure his eyes and are therefore a threat to national security.
I’ve looked at his photograph in more detail and his eyes are perfectly visible. Knowing the Civil Service the way I do, they would probably have scanned the image and found it to be a thousandth of a millimetre below their guideline….
They have suggested John may like to remove them the next time. Given that glasses can change a person’s appearance, isn’t that a stupid suggestion considering this pathetic government will be introducing new ID passports at the end of the year. You know, the one’s that Hitler would have been proud of…
What next, will they be asking Colonel Dick (‘It’s not easy being green’) to shave off his moustache as it obscures his top lip.
Marie
Friday, July 06, 2007
Out with the old…
..in with the new.
Our new hall and stair carpet was fitted this afternoon. I was told the carpet fitters would arrive by mid morning but they didn’t show up until 1.45pm. The customer from hell was on standby ready to shout at the little man from Carpet Right if they hadn’t come.
Not to disappoint the customer from hell she did make a slight appearance when one of the little fitters asked if he could have the door plates (the thing that butts two pieces of carpet together). I didn’t have them and neither did he.
It turns out that the little man hadn’t ordered any for us. Was not amused as John had removed the old ones yesterday when he took up the carpet. It has though saved us money as Carpet Right charge £8 per plate whereas the little fitter said we could get them from any DIY place for a lot less money.
The carpet looks nice with the brown and ivory paintwork, and we're glad that we removed the old brown paint as it would never had stood up to the roughness of the fitters.
Now all we have to do is clean up…
Marie
Our new hall and stair carpet was fitted this afternoon. I was told the carpet fitters would arrive by mid morning but they didn’t show up until 1.45pm. The customer from hell was on standby ready to shout at the little man from Carpet Right if they hadn’t come.
Not to disappoint the customer from hell she did make a slight appearance when one of the little fitters asked if he could have the door plates (the thing that butts two pieces of carpet together). I didn’t have them and neither did he.
It turns out that the little man hadn’t ordered any for us. Was not amused as John had removed the old ones yesterday when he took up the carpet. It has though saved us money as Carpet Right charge £8 per plate whereas the little fitter said we could get them from any DIY place for a lot less money.
The carpet looks nice with the brown and ivory paintwork, and we're glad that we removed the old brown paint as it would never had stood up to the roughness of the fitters.
Now all we have to do is clean up…
Marie
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Reporting in
So what’s to report.
Wednesday 2nd: Can’t remember so there mustn’t have been any thing exciting to report…
Thursday 3rd: Rang Boots to arrange two eye test appointments for Tuesday. Did mammoth shopping at Morrisons for the weekend.
Friday 4th: Went to the Childminders and made corned beef pies and tried a new chocolate cake recipe from one of Nigella Lawson’s book. Can’t tell you what it was like at I left it at my mams – it was too hot to transport.
Saturday 5th: Prepared food for the party tonight and lunch tomorrow. Party went really well. Plenty of drink and food…
Sunday 6th: Made Sunday lunch for six people. A sort of Christmas main meal but without the turkey – wrong time of year so couldn’t get one ! ! !
Had a slight panic when I noticed the rings on the AGA weren’t red anymore and the light had gone out on the electric socket. Turns out that it had tripped the breaker. The AGA wasn’t used to having both ovens and all four rings on at the same time.
Bank holiday Monday: Did absolutely nothing…
Yesterday: John’s car in for MOT and service. Got forced off the road at a set of road works by a taxi just because I wouldn’t let him in. Was not amused ! ! ! Got lost trying to find Benfield garage to pick up John, then had to manoeuvre through their tight car park. Was in a fowl mood…
As expected new glasses for John. My eye sight is fine for another two years.
Went to the Chinese on the Sea Front for lunch – and this time it was open.
Pleased to report that John’s car passed it’s MOT.
Today: Did the ironing. Two phantom phone calls. Will take no prisoners when I do eventually get to speak to a human being…
Marie
Wednesday 2nd: Can’t remember so there mustn’t have been any thing exciting to report…
Thursday 3rd: Rang Boots to arrange two eye test appointments for Tuesday. Did mammoth shopping at Morrisons for the weekend.
Friday 4th: Went to the Childminders and made corned beef pies and tried a new chocolate cake recipe from one of Nigella Lawson’s book. Can’t tell you what it was like at I left it at my mams – it was too hot to transport.
Saturday 5th: Prepared food for the party tonight and lunch tomorrow. Party went really well. Plenty of drink and food…
Sunday 6th: Made Sunday lunch for six people. A sort of Christmas main meal but without the turkey – wrong time of year so couldn’t get one ! ! !
Had a slight panic when I noticed the rings on the AGA weren’t red anymore and the light had gone out on the electric socket. Turns out that it had tripped the breaker. The AGA wasn’t used to having both ovens and all four rings on at the same time.
Bank holiday Monday: Did absolutely nothing…
Yesterday: John’s car in for MOT and service. Got forced off the road at a set of road works by a taxi just because I wouldn’t let him in. Was not amused ! ! ! Got lost trying to find Benfield garage to pick up John, then had to manoeuvre through their tight car park. Was in a fowl mood…
As expected new glasses for John. My eye sight is fine for another two years.
Went to the Chinese on the Sea Front for lunch – and this time it was open.
Pleased to report that John’s car passed it’s MOT.
Today: Did the ironing. Two phantom phone calls. Will take no prisoners when I do eventually get to speak to a human being…
Marie
Friday, February 16, 2007
Going, going, gone
I tried putting this blog up yesterday but Blogger was extremely slow so pretend it’s Thursday evening…
I’m pleased to report that the bin men came this morning and they were quite happy to come onto our premises to take the rubbish away. So to the snotty little man at Sunderland Council – nah, nah, nah, nah ! ! !
Had a phone call from my mam asking if I could take her to a couple of electrical stores tomorrow as her television has died on her. To anyone else this should be rather simple but you’re talking my mam here.
She can’t stand the style of the new television so she’s going to hate everyone that is shown to her and no doubt bend the ear of the poor assistance.
She’s not intending to buy one tomorrow. Oh no. She’s only going to look. Why, because she wants a television stand first. Don’t ask ! ! !
Marie
I’m pleased to report that the bin men came this morning and they were quite happy to come onto our premises to take the rubbish away. So to the snotty little man at Sunderland Council – nah, nah, nah, nah ! ! !
Had a phone call from my mam asking if I could take her to a couple of electrical stores tomorrow as her television has died on her. To anyone else this should be rather simple but you’re talking my mam here.
She can’t stand the style of the new television so she’s going to hate everyone that is shown to her and no doubt bend the ear of the poor assistance.
She’s not intending to buy one tomorrow. Oh no. She’s only going to look. Why, because she wants a television stand first. Don’t ask ! ! !
Marie
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