Posts

Naming and Shaming on Forums 4th October 2016 1:51 PM
Well my fit of pique with a certain silver travellers' site has come up to bite me.”
 

Said prize arrived on Saturday.  An annual pass it may have been when issued on 29 June 2016.  If I was going to be a regular user, I would have been very miffed to find 3 months already taken off its validity. 

Methinks I'll stick to entering competitions where the prize is worth having 

Brexit rumblings - what do you think? 4th October 2016 1:36 PM

Whilst the £ is going up and down, FTSE has risen above 7,000 today so some confidence is being shown.  Looking at the results of the vote, not all of those who voted to leave were in deprived areas.  There were some very affluent areas that also voted leave.   I hope our new PM keeps her word and quickly allays the fears of the foreign companies such as Nissan and Toyota.

Various companies are saying they're leaving the UK because of the vote, others are staying.  I wouldn't attach much credence to Mr O'Leary's comments.  He moves his aircraft around to suit the needs of his balance sheet.  There are plenty of other airlines that can take Ryanair's place if it suits them.  

Interesting to note that Deutsche Bank is in trouble.  The Hungarians have voted to curb immigration, although not achieving enough to make vote stand, so they will probably be trying again.  Greek pensioners are still facing problems when trying to draw money from their banks.

I need a hearing check..... 4th October 2016 1:14 PM

Just realised I omitted something from my original post.

The person being interviewed about this was Katie Piper.  I will be very careful with expressing my opinion.  I do admire her for overcoming her injuries and living a relatively normal life (the context here is getting married, having a child, etc).  What disappoints me is that she has decided, for whatever reason, to add her voice to this campaign.

If women want to change perception, not only by males but also other women, then it should be done in a meaningful way with sensible expectations.  That will earn them far more respect than taking offence.

Mad Trumpton or Crooked Hillary? 4th October 2016 12:59 PM

Our friends across the pond do seem to behave strangely at times.  Electing a film star (Ronald Reagan) appeared bizarre at the time; then there was Florida-gate which had something to do with the "silver voters" damaging their ballot papers (Bill Clinton election?).  

I think it will be close.  Trump is a loose cannon; would love to be a fly on the wall in his first meeting with Putin.  Yes, Hillary may have shady past, but how many aspiring/current/ex politicians are squeaky clean.  The prospective vice presidents have a tv debate, maybe tonight, so they may well be the driving force behind the main characters.

The Great British Bust Up 30th September 2016 12:44 PM

Very well observed Jan 

I need a hearing check..... 29th September 2016 1:28 PM

Well I thought I did this morning with one of the items on Sky News.

A survey of women has found that they want certain words or phrases banned from use because they are patronising and derogatory.  Among the "culprits" are high maintenance, babe, honey, hormonal.  

Okay, some words are used in an unflattering way but does no-one understand context anymore? Unfortunately, women have been encouraged to react en-masse rather than thinking of the situation in which such words are used.  A large chunk of my working life was spent in manufacturing and I heard these words and worse nearly every day.  It came with the territory!

Birmingham Airport Investment 28th September 2016 2:08 PM

Airport to invest £100m in upgrading baggage handling system and carparks.

Not a moment too soon for the baggage handling system, but I think past problems have been due more to lack of people unloading aircraft.  A new drop-off carpark, with covered walkway to terminal, will be created which will be free for the first 30 minutes.  No more £1 drop-off charge, so they'll need to make up the deficit somewhere else.  Number of self-service bag drop kiosks will be doubled.

It appears that arrival of Jet2 next year has prompted this work. 

HS2 28th September 2016 1:55 PM

I'm getting very close to using my rant quota for today.....

When will someone stand up and say enough is enough?  Millions of taxpayers' money is to be spent relocating five holes of a golf course in Whittington, Staffordshire to make way for HS2.  An imposing new clubhouse will also be built.  All the money that is being channelled into this "white elephant" could have been better spent on expanding Heathrow, or possibly Gatwick.

Interestingly, my ex-employer sat on both sides of the fence with HS2.  One office was working on the project go-ahead whilst another office was working with the objectors.  

Dreadful E-mail Layout 28th September 2016 1:39 PM

Have just received a "thanks but no thanks" e-mail for a job application submitted months ago.  

I don't expect a personalised e-mail if they have to send out loads, but I do expect it to have an electronic signature at the end and not have have a gap where the job title should be inserted.  For a moment I contemplated responding to it, but then thought I've got better things to do.....

Naming and Shaming on Forums 28th September 2016 1:27 PM

Well my fit of pique with a certain silver travellers' site has come up to bite me.

I've won an annual pass for the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden.  They offered 10 as prizes for descriptions of best train journeys.

I've accepted the prize gracefully; far better than the 3-day mystery cruise departing Harwich.  No offence to anyone living in that area!  Would have spent nearly half of prize value in accommodation, parking, petrol, etc and it wasn't with a cruise company that I rated highly anyway.  They have now offloaded it to someone else.