Category: Day to Day Stuff

I woke up this morning (no, this is not a Blues song!), to find we had no running water. A water main had burst in the night in Wolstanton. Luckily, we had enough in the kettle for a cuppa and to clean teeth etc.

I’ve written about this before, but it really makes you realise how dependant we are on our taps and what comes out of them. All the local schools were closed today as they had no water either. No water = no drinks, cleaning or lavatories = not good!

We are really lucky that we can just turn on a tap and out the water comes!

Bother, it’s 0.57 and I can’t sleep. Thank goodness for the BBC Radio Player.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I hate feeling ill. I’ve had a cough and temperature all weekend and still feel rough. Apart from the fact of actually being ill, I hate the time wasted! I had a few jobs lined up over the weekend, which now have to be done some other time. Oh well at least I can catch up on some James Bond films!

I’ve just been reading this article (sorry it’s been removed) on the CBC website about the joys of ringing call centres in Canada. Now considering they’re at least 3000 miles away, it seems that they have exactly the same issues as we do.

What is worrying is that despite being two separate countries, with different companies and an ocean apart the same problems happen! Don’t these companies realise that holding on the phone for yonks is the best way to upset your customers?

There is a story on the BBC today of a man who had an issue with BT. It took months for him to get nowhere, so he posted a video on YouTube, told BT and hey presto, the issue was sorted! Companies don’t like bad publicity.

Another trick is to write directly to the chief exec of the company and demand a personal reply (you wrote to them so why get a customer service assistant’s reply?). That normally works! So, Mr. Dunstone, I’m waiting!

Another trick is when the company offers a phone number that costs you for the privilege of being on hold, use the Say No to 0870 website to find a free number. Make them pay to have you on hold!

We went to Blackpool yesterday with Carol's Mum, Dad, sister and her husband.

After last year it's nice to see the prom is greatly improved, but sadly not yet finished. Once it is, however, it will be nice. Although it's a shame that the shops, hotels etc on the front all look pretty awful from the Tower south. It's a pity they didn't take a leaf out of Llandudno's book. 

One interesting thing is, once you go north of the Tower up to Bispham, the illuminations get a lot better! I guess this is considered the 'posh' end of Blackpool!

I took off my wedding ring yesterday and dropped it on the floor in my office. Can I find it? NO I CAN'T. I'm not happy.

Just downloaded Radiohead's new album 'In Rainbows'. I did try to buy it the other day (I thought £5 was a fair amount), but something failed and it didn't work. So, today I've 'bought' it for the grand sum of £0.00!

And listening to it for the first time,  I'm glad I didn't pay anything. It's a bit, well, dull! Time will tell if it grows on me, but my current thoughts are that it won't. I much preferred 'The Bends' and 'OK Computer'.

My sister's daft cat Sylvester has just passed away 🙁