What Would God Think?
Bradford Cathedral would appear to be the first cathedral to have solar panels on the roof. It’s here in the Yorkshire Post.
I suspect that some will think it is a desecration of a holy building!
I’m sure God, if he or she exists, which I doubt, would actually be pleased as hopefully the cells would make peoples’ lives just that little bit better in the longer term.
Did My Anger Burn Richard Branson’s House Down?
If it did, I of course apologise, but then the response of Virgin Media to my lack of landline would try the patience of a saint. And of course, I may be many things, but I’m no saint!
My landline probably failed about the 1st of August, but I’m unsure when, as my TV and broadband was still working and I mistakenly thought that the landline came through the cable. I may be an electronic engineer, but hardware and especially telecoms hardware has always been a mystery to me. Those that tried to reach me on the landline failed and so tried my reliable Nokia 6310i connected through o2.
Only about the 10th of August did I realise that the landline was broken and eventually phoned them on the 12th. Virgin Media support, said that the line was OK and would I try another phone. Not so easy when you live by yourself and don’t have a spare one handy. So in the end I bought a new phone from Maplin for about £30 to test the line. That may seem expensive, but it is a twin one and I needed that anyway. The lack of phone line just brought my purchase forward by a month or so.
The phone didn’t connect either, so I spent another hour or so trying to get through to Virgin. At one time, I was left on hold to rediculous music, which I couldn’t stand. And of course I was paying for the expensive call on my mobile phone. One idiot at Virgin might actually told me to use the ladline as it would be cheaper but another did try to sell me a new calling plan, which would be cheaper. It strikes me that Virgin have already found me a very cheap calling plan. It’s called the no phone plan.
At this point I phoned BT and they will be taking over the phone from the 30th of August.
I finally got some sense out of Virgin by phoning them up and cancelling. But this will cost me £70. The lady with the sense also made sure that an egineer would come round on Monday the 22nd.
They did and fixed the phone. But the engineers did say there was a problem with the cable and it would need properly fixing later. This would of course mean digging up the new pavement. They actually accused the works of causing the problem with the phone, but retracted that when I told them, that the phone line had failed before the work started.
Yesterday, someone very polite, (Unlike me!) , from Virgin phoned to check that everything was OK. The phone hasn’t worked since.
My Landline
Looking at the cable from the outside, it doesn’t look as though it’s a much better piece of work than their cabinets.
This morning it was the usual Virgin get connected obstacle race and I lost it. Wouldn’t you? In the end they phoned back a couple of times, but always at inconvenient or noisy moments. It doesn’t help that there’s a road drill outside.
So now I’ve decided to wait until BT connect my broadband on Tuesday.
I have completely lost what little faith if any I ever had in Virgin Media.
I hope Sir Richard didn’t have to call the emergency sevices on one of his own phone lines! Or perhaps he was waiting for the lines to be fixed and the firemen didn’t get the message quick enough.
Edinburgh’s Best Joke
This one from Nick Helm has been voted Edinburgh’s best joke according to the BBC.
I needed a password eight characters long so I picked Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.
I always thought that Edinburgh’s best joke was the tram!
How Do I Get Prisoners To Paint My House?
I have a cupboard in my bedroom that needs stripping and painting. Obviously, some might think I’m the sort of person who should benefit from some sort of scheme, as I’m a widower, who has had a stroke.
After all Jacqui Smith, the former NuLabor Home Secretary got two prisoners to do some painting at her house according to this report in the Guardian.
But then as I said, I’m a widower and I’ve had a stroke. I’m certainly not sick or mad enough to want to be a Member of Parliament.
Is Cider Good For You?
it is reported on the BBC that alcohol-related disease is very much on the rise, in a study from John Moores University.
Here’s an extract from the BBC report.
Annual rates for alcohol-related hospital admission in Liverpool are 3,114 per 100,000 compared to 849 per 100,000 in the Isle of Wight.
In Blackpool, the findings showed the number of deaths from chronic liver disease were 46 per 100,000 men and 21 per 100,000 women, compared with the lowest rates in the City of London and in West Somerset where nobody died of liver disease.
Does the last bit mean that cider is good for you?
You’d have thought that the City of London would be higher up the list too. Although, I did have lunch with a stockbroker yesterday and all he had was a bottle of Italian beer. But he did have to ride his bike back to Kingston after work.
Fred the Shred’s Annoyance Over Pink Biscuits
A new book, Masters of Nothing: The Crash and how it will happen again unless we understand human nature
The former boss of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) vented his anger over the pink wafer in an email titled “Rogue Biscuit” in an example of his “overbearing” management style that may help explain the collapse of the bank in 2008, the new book claims.
I find it strange that the biscuit was pink. Is there a psychologist out there, who can offer a better explanation than the obvious one?
I think if anybody had treated me like that, I’d have gone straight to my lawyer and someone like Max Clifford.
The only way you will rid businss of overbearing bullies is to stand up to them using the full force available.
Those accolytes who surrounded Fred the Shred must be partly guilty in many peoples’ eyes for the mess they allowed him to create.
And what were the non-executive directors doing? If the answer was nothing, they were failing all of the bank’s employees, customers and shareholders. And of course ultimately, UK taxpayers. Have any of those non-executive directors been disqualified? The respected newspaper calls them the Silent Nine.
I Thought He’d Given Up
I thought we’d heard the last of the Naked Rambler, but today he was arrested again outside Perth Prison according to the BBC. I suppose I hadn’t heard of him lately, as he would appear to have spent the last ten years in jail.
What I find strange is that in England, the authorities don’t seem to mind his antics, but it is bit different north of the border?
Surely, we have better things to do with taxpayers money, than use it to lock this idiot up! At £37,500 a year that is quite a sum.
Incidentally, I once had a Scot dressed in his kilt at a dinner party, prove to everybody that he was a real Scot. Did we complain? Of course not, but we never went near the hospital, where he worked.
A Plan For Tottenham Is Emerging
It would appear that Spurs are on the point of dropping their bid to take over the Olympic stadium according to the BBC.
I have looked at the plans for the new stadium and feel that the way it would be built is innovative and good project management, making the best use of all the resources.
A deal seems to be being working out with the Mayor and the Government about improving public transport in the area. As I said earlier, I believe this should be achieved by giving some or all of the Lea Valley lines to Transport for London and adding them to the Overground. The trains, track and power supplies are not the worst, but improving the stations with their dreadful access and especially the link at Hackney Downs to the North London line and to buses must be done. A point here, is that this access traps the locals in the area, whether they like football or not.
It would also help London and Tottenham Hotspur, if a large Park and Ride was built somewhere to the north of White Hart Lane station on the Cheshunt line by the M25. London and the City lacks a decent Park and Ride and parking at most stations to the north and east of London is inadequate and overpriced.
So in my view a proper modern railway run to the same reliability as the Overground would transform the whole area from Bethnal Green, through Hackney and Tottenham to Enfield and the M25.
Finally, it has always irked Spurs supporters that Arsenal have their own Underground station. So why shouldn’t White Hart Lane be renamed Spurs?
Is It All In The Name?
George Baker rode for C and myself a couple of times and he is one of the nicest and best. Even if he is perhaps a bit tall to be a jockey.
But yesterday, he won on a horse he also trained called George Baker. He didn’t own it, but it was partly owned by another George Baker. Read about it here in the Guardian.
This coincidence couldn’t have happened to a better person.
Should My Bank Pay Me Not To Have a Cheque Book?
I’ve written three cheques since I moved to London. Two were for small jobs done on the house and the other was to a friend for some tickets. In all cases I could have used cash, if I’d been forewarned, but I’d have preferred to have used a credit card, a direct transfer or something like PayPal.
Thinking about it, I have a feeling, one of the cheques hasn’t been presented to my bank yet. It’s only for a few pounds, so it shouldn’t cause any trouble.
I would be happy if my bank said that if I gave up cheques, they’d give me a small financial reward. Either as a direct payment, or perhaps a discount on charges.
I wonder how long it will be before banks give up traditional premises in many cases.
Suppose there were free cashpoints in places like Starbucks. This would get round my need to sit down to sort out everything after a withdrawal. One branch of Nationwide I use is actually next to a Starbucks anyway.
I have hardly ever seen a bank manager in recent years, but why shouldn’t they see you at a convenient location or on the phone.
The Anonymous Widower 