in a bit of a Victor Meldrew mood this morning ...
Congestion
today is the day that the London congestion charge area is extended ...
as the news is wittering in the background the lady wife commented that some of her work colleagues are pleased about the extension
apparantly if you live in the extension zone you get to pay a fixed fee for the year ... which is much cheaper than paying each time you enter the zone ... fair enough ... only that means that millions more people can now freely drive around the zone ... how does that cut congestion exactly ?
it is also rumoured to be increasing in price to £13 !
other countries have tolls and they work ... because they are low in price ... they raise revenues ... they are fair
why does everything have to be a rip off in this country ... and look at the figures ... does the small drop in congestion really justify all the time delays to everyone ... the mass off traffic on the outskirts of the zone (try driving over Tower bridge and head for Islington) ... i don't believe it !!
Recycle
i have lived in the same street for 16 years and i have watched the local council have a half hearted stab at the recycle issue
we have a plastic box that is emptied every fortnight ... which means it is over flowing by the time it is emptied ... they only take newspapers and magazines (no cardboard) ... and glass and tins ... (no plastic at all and no tetra containers) ... in five years of doing this scheme they haven't increased the frequency of collection or the size of the boxes
the plastic boxes are badly designed (the lids fly off in the slightest wind) ... if the paper gets wet they refuse to take it (why surely they are goign to pulp it?)... the bin men flip the lids (and the brick holding the lid on) onto my garden ... empty it and sling it back vaguely in the direction of my garden ... they often leave them in the street where in stormy weather they blow cheerfully all over the place
we live in a house and own a flat next door which we rent out ... we purchased large green euro bins a few years ago for both properties and we recycle as much as we can ... we compost all vegetable and food matter that we can ... all newspapers ... bottles ... jars and cans
recently the council replaced our green euro bins with smaller black 'chipped' black bins ... they hold 2-3 black bin liners of rubbish ... they refuse to take anything unless it is in a black bin liner and in the black bin
which means if you happen to have more rubbish one week you have to keep it until it can fit in the bin ... very hygienic ... you can't tie up card for instance and leave it by the bin you have to fit it all in a bin bag
we put large bin liners in the old green euro bins and collect plastic to recycle ... 3 months fills it ... then my only choice is to run it to the recycle dump myself ... a journey of 5.1 miles ... now i don't do maths but surely the amount of carbon emissions for a round trip of 10.2 miles offsets any gain by recycling my plastic containers
why can't my plastic be collected by the lorry that is driving past my house every week ... now what do they call them... oh yeah the rubbish lorry ... that collects ... rubbish ... that my taxes presumably still pay for ... if i can be responsible and make the effort to sort and gather my rubbish why can't my council do the same
we get it we really do ... too much waste ... too much packaging ... the environment ... stop it ... you are all bad ... we get it and we are doing things about it ... but before you start making up rules about what can go in the bins and providing smaller bins and refusing to collect stuff and be all smug in your offices and meetings ... try actually providing the facilities and services that are needed to create a better system
same principle over the congestion charge ... before you start lecturing and charging people and making life hell ... (you really can't un-invent the car) ... remove the excessive rip off parking charges ... remove yellow lines where they aren't needed ... make public transport cleaner easier cheaper ... make me want to leave my car behind because the alternative is more pleasant not because you make it illegal or difficult
if the people we pay and vote in to do these jobs start being more efficient and productive and set an example they might find less resistance to the schemes and plans to improve our lives and society
in the meantime sign this petition before the government implement another way to take money from us because someone had a bright idea a couple of years ago while having their morning coffee
anyway enough grumbling i have rubbish to sort
Monday, February 19, 2007
Sunday, February 11, 2007
retro
so my aunt appeared
not in a cloud of smoke you understand
just ... you know ... came around for the evening
and she came with a gift for us
A Kenwood Chef
the kind with all the attachments ... whisk ... blender ... mincer
the thing is it is over 30 years old
and it is amazing
a real workhorse of an appliance
and looking as if it has just come out of it's box
(the Kenwood chef ... not my aunt)
i went online to see if there was any remote chance that you could still get any attachments or replacement parts for it ... i started with ebay thinking i might get lucky ... and there were loads of bits and pieces ... then i checked the Kenwood site ... they still sell bits for it ... not just bowls and attachments but fiddly little engine parts and screws and stuff
i was amazed ... what a great product ... and what a great company to bother to support something for so long
a customer had written in and told them about her Kenwood Chef that was still working after 47 years and living in six different countries
it got me thinking ... as i looked around my house i am not sure there are many things that will still be usable in 47 years ... and that includes me and the wife
they don't make 'em like that anymore
not in a cloud of smoke you understand
just ... you know ... came around for the evening
and she came with a gift for us
A Kenwood Chef
the kind with all the attachments ... whisk ... blender ... mincer
the thing is it is over 30 years old
and it is amazing
a real workhorse of an appliance
and looking as if it has just come out of it's box
(the Kenwood chef ... not my aunt)
i went online to see if there was any remote chance that you could still get any attachments or replacement parts for it ... i started with ebay thinking i might get lucky ... and there were loads of bits and pieces ... then i checked the Kenwood site ... they still sell bits for it ... not just bowls and attachments but fiddly little engine parts and screws and stuff
i was amazed ... what a great product ... and what a great company to bother to support something for so long
a customer had written in and told them about her Kenwood Chef that was still working after 47 years and living in six different countries
it got me thinking ... as i looked around my house i am not sure there are many things that will still be usable in 47 years ... and that includes me and the wife
they don't make 'em like that anymore
Saturday, February 10, 2007
yeah i know the last post was very long
that happens sometimes
this one is short
i like snow
i like the way it makes the world look all flumpy
and the way it makes us feel like children
go on admit it
you just wanna throw snowballs
it's nice sometimes to realise with a big jolt
that your inner child ain't so inner after all
that happens sometimes
this one is short
i like snow
i like the way it makes the world look all flumpy
and the way it makes us feel like children
go on admit it
you just wanna throw snowballs
it's nice sometimes to realise with a big jolt
that your inner child ain't so inner after all
is it me ?
this is not a blog dedicated to fighting the cause of customer service ... truly
... but sometimes i have to just get stuff off my chest ... and if i can't do it here ... just skip to the next blog if this stuff bores the pants off you
so my car was hit by someone in a car park ... and the wheel arch was badly damaged and it needed repairing ... as they had to spray the side of the car to blend the colour or some such nonsense we asked them to go a little further along the wing and repair a bad scratch that had been there for awhile ... our insurance was paying so we handed it over while we were away for two weeks ... nice timing ... all good
and please as we continue bear in mind i am just a customer putting a car into a Saab Dealer for some bodywork and a service and an MOT while they are at it ... as we know very little about cars we always ensure it is serviced and anything is put right to make sure the car is safe and roadworthy ... we have always used Saab Dealers to ensure that we are using people who know the car and have all the right diagnostic tools and knowledge ... you would think
keeping this as short as possible ...
the car was returned to me ... with ... (big breath) ... one front speaker not working ... my in-car phone system no longer playing through the speakers ... my indicator stick thing needing to be held up or down with your finger to make it blink (no idea at all why it was even fiddled with in the first place)... the passenger window seal popping out and flapping in the wind every time the window was opened or closed ... an engine flush/clean not done even though it was on the job list ... and replacement switch for our wing mirrors just ignored and not fitted ... both our key fobs no longer working and no way to arm the alarm ... oh and overcharged £50 for an MOT (something which we felt should be glaringly obvious to a garage as an MOT is countrywide standard) charge
now you can imagine the incredulous face and the spluttering 'I Don't Believe It' style expletives ... i figured that in the face of this list there was no need to rant and rave ... i would just explain and see what they do
no apology ... no explanation but an assurance that all the relevant parts would be ordered and they would need the car for a day to put it all right ... i made it clear i would not pay for anything i saw as their responsibility ... after all i had put my car into the garage and it had come back with more wrong with it than when they started
and i am sorry about this but my standard line in situations like this is that i had not asked them to do anything difficult ... this is what they do every single day ... fix cars ... in particular fix Saab's ...this was a car ...and it was a Saab ..where is the problem?
so i drive over the following morning so they can fix the indicator and programme our keys ... i wait ... for three weeks ... for parts to arrive ... in that time i could have purchased and opened a factory and made them myself ... slight digression but why is that in this age of modern communication and computers and stock control everything takes much longer than it used to?
a few days later we discover that in re-programming our keys they had somehow managed to set it up so that the car did indeed lock and then alarm itself and then just as you walked away it very quietly popped open the boot ... leaving the bag full of ipod/sat nav/sunglasses etc nicely laid out for any opportunistic thief to just ... have ... hopefully they would close the boot afterwards
(our bin men took away a broken bin ... one would think they then pick one up from the depot they visit every day and drop off a new one ... at the worst bring it next week ...apparently not ... at least three weeks to get a new bin ... can nobody organize anything properly?) ... this of course has nothing to with the car story just another example of the mental decisions that someone somewhere makes on an hourly basis)
in the huge gales someone hit our wing mirror and the bits must have blown away so we had to add new glass and backplate to our growing car repairs ... another delay of a few days while the parts came in ... tum de tum
yesterday i take my car to the garage at 7am ... my logic said let them have the car as early as possible to give them the maximum time available to fix everything ... i walked to a tube station and then took the train home and waited
mid afternoon i get a phone call from the electrician at the garage asking for the security code for the cd player as they had removed it and now couldn't get it started again ... hmmm ... i can feel my confidence ebbing as we speak ... he then asks me if it is right that there are three speakers that are not working because they can't hear anything coming out of the speakers in the doors ... i calmly ... without screaming ... point out that there are no speakers in the doors and would they please refrain from dismantling the doors to prove that as they didn't have a very good track record at putting stuff back together again ... all due respect
end of the day i go to pick up my car ... they give me the key and say they will not be charging anything at all as a gesture towards all the inconvenience (and your complete stupidity ... i only thought in my head cos even i know about gift horses and looking and stuff) ... i gracefully accepted and thanked them and took my key and thoughtfully drove it out of their parking so they could close up for the night ... i pulled over and checked a couple of things like did my speaker now work ... ummm no ... did my phone work ...umm no
i go back into the garage ... speak to a manager who comes outside checks the car with me ... we discover together that the boot still pops open
he was very nice ... despairing of the stupidity of it all ... neither of us can fathom why they would return the car if it wasn't fixed ... and has promised to get me a replacement car and everything fixed on monday
now i ask you ... is it me?
or is this what passes for a normal experience
there is nothing we have done in the last few weeks that involved money or buying stuff that hasn't been fraught with mistakes ... stupidity ... and down right ignorance of the product or the ability to deal with the smallest problem
one shop assistant in a major electrical store after weeks of me being messed around and total stupidity by all levels and areas of the company actually used the line 'i only work here i don't own the store' ... working anywhere used to mean you did a job to the best of your ability or else you lost that job ... working somewhere used to mean that you were proud of your company and what it could achieve ... working anywhere means doing what you are paid to do
tomorrow i will visit a job agency and request a job in retail ... don't care where hardly matters ... where i can be paid to turn up ...do little ... sneer at customers ... do everything slowly ... know as little as possible about the items i sell ... talk to my workmates and ignore any eye contact with members of the public ... and at the slightest suggestion or display of irritation by a customer start shouting about my rights and calling security to remove them from my sight cos i is offended
well a big chunk of the country seems to get paid to work that way so why shouldn't i
is it just me?
... but sometimes i have to just get stuff off my chest ... and if i can't do it here ... just skip to the next blog if this stuff bores the pants off you
so my car was hit by someone in a car park ... and the wheel arch was badly damaged and it needed repairing ... as they had to spray the side of the car to blend the colour or some such nonsense we asked them to go a little further along the wing and repair a bad scratch that had been there for awhile ... our insurance was paying so we handed it over while we were away for two weeks ... nice timing ... all good
and please as we continue bear in mind i am just a customer putting a car into a Saab Dealer for some bodywork and a service and an MOT while they are at it ... as we know very little about cars we always ensure it is serviced and anything is put right to make sure the car is safe and roadworthy ... we have always used Saab Dealers to ensure that we are using people who know the car and have all the right diagnostic tools and knowledge ... you would think
keeping this as short as possible ...
the car was returned to me ... with ... (big breath) ... one front speaker not working ... my in-car phone system no longer playing through the speakers ... my indicator stick thing needing to be held up or down with your finger to make it blink (no idea at all why it was even fiddled with in the first place)... the passenger window seal popping out and flapping in the wind every time the window was opened or closed ... an engine flush/clean not done even though it was on the job list ... and replacement switch for our wing mirrors just ignored and not fitted ... both our key fobs no longer working and no way to arm the alarm ... oh and overcharged £50 for an MOT (something which we felt should be glaringly obvious to a garage as an MOT is countrywide standard) charge
now you can imagine the incredulous face and the spluttering 'I Don't Believe It' style expletives ... i figured that in the face of this list there was no need to rant and rave ... i would just explain and see what they do
no apology ... no explanation but an assurance that all the relevant parts would be ordered and they would need the car for a day to put it all right ... i made it clear i would not pay for anything i saw as their responsibility ... after all i had put my car into the garage and it had come back with more wrong with it than when they started
and i am sorry about this but my standard line in situations like this is that i had not asked them to do anything difficult ... this is what they do every single day ... fix cars ... in particular fix Saab's ...this was a car ...and it was a Saab ..where is the problem?
so i drive over the following morning so they can fix the indicator and programme our keys ... i wait ... for three weeks ... for parts to arrive ... in that time i could have purchased and opened a factory and made them myself ... slight digression but why is that in this age of modern communication and computers and stock control everything takes much longer than it used to?
a few days later we discover that in re-programming our keys they had somehow managed to set it up so that the car did indeed lock and then alarm itself and then just as you walked away it very quietly popped open the boot ... leaving the bag full of ipod/sat nav/sunglasses etc nicely laid out for any opportunistic thief to just ... have ... hopefully they would close the boot afterwards
(our bin men took away a broken bin ... one would think they then pick one up from the depot they visit every day and drop off a new one ... at the worst bring it next week ...apparently not ... at least three weeks to get a new bin ... can nobody organize anything properly?) ... this of course has nothing to with the car story just another example of the mental decisions that someone somewhere makes on an hourly basis)
in the huge gales someone hit our wing mirror and the bits must have blown away so we had to add new glass and backplate to our growing car repairs ... another delay of a few days while the parts came in ... tum de tum
yesterday i take my car to the garage at 7am ... my logic said let them have the car as early as possible to give them the maximum time available to fix everything ... i walked to a tube station and then took the train home and waited
mid afternoon i get a phone call from the electrician at the garage asking for the security code for the cd player as they had removed it and now couldn't get it started again ... hmmm ... i can feel my confidence ebbing as we speak ... he then asks me if it is right that there are three speakers that are not working because they can't hear anything coming out of the speakers in the doors ... i calmly ... without screaming ... point out that there are no speakers in the doors and would they please refrain from dismantling the doors to prove that as they didn't have a very good track record at putting stuff back together again ... all due respect
end of the day i go to pick up my car ... they give me the key and say they will not be charging anything at all as a gesture towards all the inconvenience (and your complete stupidity ... i only thought in my head cos even i know about gift horses and looking and stuff) ... i gracefully accepted and thanked them and took my key and thoughtfully drove it out of their parking so they could close up for the night ... i pulled over and checked a couple of things like did my speaker now work ... ummm no ... did my phone work ...umm no
i go back into the garage ... speak to a manager who comes outside checks the car with me ... we discover together that the boot still pops open
he was very nice ... despairing of the stupidity of it all ... neither of us can fathom why they would return the car if it wasn't fixed ... and has promised to get me a replacement car and everything fixed on monday
now i ask you ... is it me?
or is this what passes for a normal experience
there is nothing we have done in the last few weeks that involved money or buying stuff that hasn't been fraught with mistakes ... stupidity ... and down right ignorance of the product or the ability to deal with the smallest problem
one shop assistant in a major electrical store after weeks of me being messed around and total stupidity by all levels and areas of the company actually used the line 'i only work here i don't own the store' ... working anywhere used to mean you did a job to the best of your ability or else you lost that job ... working somewhere used to mean that you were proud of your company and what it could achieve ... working anywhere means doing what you are paid to do
tomorrow i will visit a job agency and request a job in retail ... don't care where hardly matters ... where i can be paid to turn up ...do little ... sneer at customers ... do everything slowly ... know as little as possible about the items i sell ... talk to my workmates and ignore any eye contact with members of the public ... and at the slightest suggestion or display of irritation by a customer start shouting about my rights and calling security to remove them from my sight cos i is offended
well a big chunk of the country seems to get paid to work that way so why shouldn't i
is it just me?
facing failure
I had this plan ... i made sure that i had no cigarettes on me ... none left at all
... I went on a long flight with long delays and lots of standing about before and afterwards ... i just craved a cigarette ... so i smoked
only now i am smoking with guilt ... which takes the edge of the pleasure
then i came home and berated myself and told myself i could do it
I picked a day ... stopped smoking ... and ... lasted 24 hours
disgusted with myself i tried again a few days later ... and ... managed 48 hours
so i am now locked in this cycle of smoking ... stopping ... breaking down and smoking again ... i used to like smoking this has completly ruined it
facing the fact that i am an addict ... that it really does have this grip on me ... is not pleasant ... i imagined i was stronger than that ... based on who knows what because i have never done anything particularly brave or strong
I now have moments where i am disgusted with the fact that i can't seem to beat it ... that i might not have that much will power ... i may need therapy to deal with the repercussions of trying to give up smoking
it is quite hard to stay tigger like in the face of the crawling agony of craving
there is a whole discussion to be had around the issue of how this makes me feel about myself ... and i still want a cigarette ... just writing about it makes me want a cigarette
i hate nicotine chewing gum ... can't bring myself to use patches think they are weird (yeah i know but he will inhale smoke ... i never said this was logical)
i seem to have the desire to stop ... have good reasons to stop ... want to stop ... i just lack that one essential ingredient ... the amount of willpower needed to actually stop
maybe i need to go somewhere like my friends in Norway ... nobody in the house smoking ... miles from anywhere so can't buy them ... no car and no bus so i can't leave ... i'll just go and have a fag while i think about it ... kidding
have to try again ... if i ever do this i apologise for whatever is said or done along the way ... there is no way this is gonna be pleasant
... I went on a long flight with long delays and lots of standing about before and afterwards ... i just craved a cigarette ... so i smoked
only now i am smoking with guilt ... which takes the edge of the pleasure
then i came home and berated myself and told myself i could do it
I picked a day ... stopped smoking ... and ... lasted 24 hours
disgusted with myself i tried again a few days later ... and ... managed 48 hours
so i am now locked in this cycle of smoking ... stopping ... breaking down and smoking again ... i used to like smoking this has completly ruined it
facing the fact that i am an addict ... that it really does have this grip on me ... is not pleasant ... i imagined i was stronger than that ... based on who knows what because i have never done anything particularly brave or strong
I now have moments where i am disgusted with the fact that i can't seem to beat it ... that i might not have that much will power ... i may need therapy to deal with the repercussions of trying to give up smoking
it is quite hard to stay tigger like in the face of the crawling agony of craving
there is a whole discussion to be had around the issue of how this makes me feel about myself ... and i still want a cigarette ... just writing about it makes me want a cigarette
i hate nicotine chewing gum ... can't bring myself to use patches think they are weird (yeah i know but he will inhale smoke ... i never said this was logical)
i seem to have the desire to stop ... have good reasons to stop ... want to stop ... i just lack that one essential ingredient ... the amount of willpower needed to actually stop
maybe i need to go somewhere like my friends in Norway ... nobody in the house smoking ... miles from anywhere so can't buy them ... no car and no bus so i can't leave ... i'll just go and have a fag while i think about it ... kidding
have to try again ... if i ever do this i apologise for whatever is said or done along the way ... there is no way this is gonna be pleasant
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
aaarggghhh
the current blog silence is due to the fact this blogger is in agony
medical opinion is that i have wrenched/twisted a muscle (medial scapula if your interested) probably caused by being on a bus ... the lurching as the bus braked ... not unusual apparantly
now ... i am sure you can guess where i am going with this ...
i had plenty of reasons for avoiding public transport in the past but this experience has finally put me off for ever ... don't even think of trying to reason with me in the future
my car broke down and it needed to go to the car hospital for quite a few days ... so i used the train to get to a meeting ... after which a friend and i were headed in the same direction (you know who you are) ... and he persuaded me to use the bus as we were heading in the same direction ... he even joked about taking a picture of me on a bus to post on my blog
the next morning i was in agony ... three sleepless nights with GP and NHS direct advising me that the best thing was a hot water bottle and iboprufen led me to eventually consult with a medically qualified friend who gave me the names of some serious drugs to demand from my GP
A GP who prodded the pain to make sure it really hurt then stuck a little teddy bear badge on my jacket that said 'i have been brave at the doctors today' ... i forgot it was there and went into the pharmacy to get my drugs and was met with much laughter from the women behind the counter
so in conclusion ... loads of pain ... total humiliation ... days spent lying around hardly able to move ... loss of sleep ... piss taking from all and sundry ... all because some bright spark thought i should take a bus and stop being so silly
normal service will be resumed as soon as i can sit for more than ten minutes without screaming
i hate buses
medical opinion is that i have wrenched/twisted a muscle (medial scapula if your interested) probably caused by being on a bus ... the lurching as the bus braked ... not unusual apparantly
now ... i am sure you can guess where i am going with this ...
i had plenty of reasons for avoiding public transport in the past but this experience has finally put me off for ever ... don't even think of trying to reason with me in the future
my car broke down and it needed to go to the car hospital for quite a few days ... so i used the train to get to a meeting ... after which a friend and i were headed in the same direction (you know who you are) ... and he persuaded me to use the bus as we were heading in the same direction ... he even joked about taking a picture of me on a bus to post on my blog
the next morning i was in agony ... three sleepless nights with GP and NHS direct advising me that the best thing was a hot water bottle and iboprufen led me to eventually consult with a medically qualified friend who gave me the names of some serious drugs to demand from my GP
A GP who prodded the pain to make sure it really hurt then stuck a little teddy bear badge on my jacket that said 'i have been brave at the doctors today' ... i forgot it was there and went into the pharmacy to get my drugs and was met with much laughter from the women behind the counter
so in conclusion ... loads of pain ... total humiliation ... days spent lying around hardly able to move ... loss of sleep ... piss taking from all and sundry ... all because some bright spark thought i should take a bus and stop being so silly
normal service will be resumed as soon as i can sit for more than ten minutes without screaming
i hate buses
Saturday, January 06, 2007
belated greetings
on the subject of new year
we do of course wish all and sundry a Happy New Year ... we even hope you had a Happy Christmas ... see the thing is ... we arrived in NY fully intending to email everyone with Christmas wishes ... once we got there we realised that the online version of our email service does not have all our address info in it and no obvious way of achieving it other than manually cutting and pasting it in ourselves ... not the way i wanted to spend the holidays
look we do like you ... we wish you well ... we even like getting cards ... we even like getting the little round robiny newsletter things ... but faced with the yearly chore of writing xmas cards and addressing envelopes ... can't do it ... often run out of time ... forget until it is too late ... squabble aobut the who how and when
here's the deal ... anytime you need a bed ... dinner ... a shoulder to cry on ... just call ... no problem
we make no promises that we will ever get around to doing the xmas card thing ... wow if there isn't one already one of us should set up a business that takes an email/snail mail address list and do it for you ... sorry scratch that there is no way that i should setup such a business ... can't even do my own
apparently ... loving your friends is about loving them despite their faults :)
to make up for it and to end with a smile ... take 42 seconds of your life and watch this ... trust me it is worth it ... i know it is bad ... and you shouldn't ... but i so would :)
click here
we do of course wish all and sundry a Happy New Year ... we even hope you had a Happy Christmas ... see the thing is ... we arrived in NY fully intending to email everyone with Christmas wishes ... once we got there we realised that the online version of our email service does not have all our address info in it and no obvious way of achieving it other than manually cutting and pasting it in ourselves ... not the way i wanted to spend the holidays
look we do like you ... we wish you well ... we even like getting cards ... we even like getting the little round robiny newsletter things ... but faced with the yearly chore of writing xmas cards and addressing envelopes ... can't do it ... often run out of time ... forget until it is too late ... squabble aobut the who how and when
here's the deal ... anytime you need a bed ... dinner ... a shoulder to cry on ... just call ... no problem
we make no promises that we will ever get around to doing the xmas card thing ... wow if there isn't one already one of us should set up a business that takes an email/snail mail address list and do it for you ... sorry scratch that there is no way that i should setup such a business ... can't even do my own
apparently ... loving your friends is about loving them despite their faults :)
to make up for it and to end with a smile ... take 42 seconds of your life and watch this ... trust me it is worth it ... i know it is bad ... and you shouldn't ... but i so would :)
click here
logic explained
i believe it is right to complain as well as praise
if you get exceptional levels of service you should acknowledge it
equally if things are bad (especially if you have paid for the service) then it is perfectly ok to say so ... for me this is usually quickly followed by high blood pressure and losing it big time as i discover that the bad service is enhanced by a complete lack of understanding in the area of customer service ... every now and then you stumble across a nice normal human being who listens and goes a long way to making it alright again
with this in mind i agreed to go and speak to the bank manager about the card fiasco while in NY over Christmas ... the first thing to confuse me was a nice cheerful cashier who agreed immediately to find me a manager
what no telling me nobody more senior than a cleaner is available? ... and what's with all the smiling and friendly attitude? ... sarcy bint!
manager arrives with a nice smile attached and asks me to join me in her office
i start to explain my story (going with the not so much a complaint more trying to discover a way it can be avoided in the future kinda style)
i explain that we had been in NY over Christmas and we had informed the bank we were going to be away ... she interrupted with the neatest non sequitor ... oh no this is going to be another story about the Spaniards ... baffled i asked her what she meant
apparently the bank have a shiny new off-shore department based in Spain (hence the Spaniards) and nice bank manager had heard quite a few stories in recent months about how over cautious to the point of stupidity they had been
she told me how she had called them to cancel a direct debit on her own account only to find they had helpfully cancelled her mortgage payment which she only discovered after it had bounced ... and as she said ... 'if a bank manager had problems with the system what chance did we have'
nice bank manager pulled up our details on a screen, frowned and said ... 'ahh i see your wife asked for your card to be blocked so you wouldn't shop too much while you were in New York' ... my mouth fell open in shock ... my mind filled with a deep sense of betrayal ... nice bank manager smiled and said ... 'just kidding' ... doesn't she realise there are some things you just don't joke about!
nice bank manager checked our details ... yep they had all our phone numbers ... there was no reason at all to do what they had done ... she added a note to our account ... these people don't go overdrawn ... they do travel ... and would appreciate it if their cards were not blocked every time they buy something other than the groceries
a pleasant experience ... a nice funny person who understood ... apologised on behalf of the Spaniards and did something to avoid it happening again
2007 the year of helpful people? .... so far so good
if you get exceptional levels of service you should acknowledge it
equally if things are bad (especially if you have paid for the service) then it is perfectly ok to say so ... for me this is usually quickly followed by high blood pressure and losing it big time as i discover that the bad service is enhanced by a complete lack of understanding in the area of customer service ... every now and then you stumble across a nice normal human being who listens and goes a long way to making it alright again
with this in mind i agreed to go and speak to the bank manager about the card fiasco while in NY over Christmas ... the first thing to confuse me was a nice cheerful cashier who agreed immediately to find me a manager
what no telling me nobody more senior than a cleaner is available? ... and what's with all the smiling and friendly attitude? ... sarcy bint!
manager arrives with a nice smile attached and asks me to join me in her office
i start to explain my story (going with the not so much a complaint more trying to discover a way it can be avoided in the future kinda style)
i explain that we had been in NY over Christmas and we had informed the bank we were going to be away ... she interrupted with the neatest non sequitor ... oh no this is going to be another story about the Spaniards ... baffled i asked her what she meant
apparently the bank have a shiny new off-shore department based in Spain (hence the Spaniards) and nice bank manager had heard quite a few stories in recent months about how over cautious to the point of stupidity they had been
she told me how she had called them to cancel a direct debit on her own account only to find they had helpfully cancelled her mortgage payment which she only discovered after it had bounced ... and as she said ... 'if a bank manager had problems with the system what chance did we have'
nice bank manager pulled up our details on a screen, frowned and said ... 'ahh i see your wife asked for your card to be blocked so you wouldn't shop too much while you were in New York' ... my mouth fell open in shock ... my mind filled with a deep sense of betrayal ... nice bank manager smiled and said ... 'just kidding' ... doesn't she realise there are some things you just don't joke about!
nice bank manager checked our details ... yep they had all our phone numbers ... there was no reason at all to do what they had done ... she added a note to our account ... these people don't go overdrawn ... they do travel ... and would appreciate it if their cards were not blocked every time they buy something other than the groceries
a pleasant experience ... a nice funny person who understood ... apologised on behalf of the Spaniards and did something to avoid it happening again
2007 the year of helpful people? .... so far so good
Monday, January 01, 2007
defies logic
before we left to visit America we called our bank
just to tell them we would be in another country for a couple of weeks
thye told it was ok there was no need to inform them
after two days in America our bank card was declined
the following day we called the 24 hour helpline
who told us that yes our card had been blocked
no they didn't know why
and the department who could help were closed
so we called back the next day
they checked our usage of the card as apparently it looked suspicious
(we had shopped in two different locations a couple of miles apart)
and they had tried to call us at home and got no response
yeah that was because we were ...
we called you before we left to tell you ...
is any travel viewed as potential fraud? ...
we will write and explain our frustration
challenge their stupidity
i am guessing all they can do is apologise
nothing makes you feel old like a world that defies logic
just to tell them we would be in another country for a couple of weeks
thye told it was ok there was no need to inform them
after two days in America our bank card was declined
the following day we called the 24 hour helpline
who told us that yes our card had been blocked
no they didn't know why
and the department who could help were closed
so we called back the next day
they checked our usage of the card as apparently it looked suspicious
(we had shopped in two different locations a couple of miles apart)
and they had tried to call us at home and got no response
yeah that was because we were ...
we called you before we left to tell you ...
is any travel viewed as potential fraud? ...
we will write and explain our frustration
challenge their stupidity
i am guessing all they can do is apologise
nothing makes you feel old like a world that defies logic
Sunday, December 24, 2006
on the highway
we hired a Jeep SUV so we could get around easier ... this country really does operate best by car and we know all the arguments for not having an SUV but we figured we would never buy one it was the best country to to try one out
first couple of days were fine ... had just commented to the wife how we had done quite well so far ... no honking at us ... no hitting anything ... no going on the wrong side of the road ... when we arrived in Manhattan and parked in one of those walk away and little men look after your car for you type places ... i took the key out to open the trunk and as i put the key back my finger brushed a button and the car tooted ... i slammed the door shut and all the locks engaged ... there we were with the Jeep parked right in the middle of the entrance of the garage a line of traffic waiting to get in ... oh the shame
we started to call the rental company and the roadside assistance people (who just could not cope with the idea of calling an international number of a mobile phone) ... one of the garage attendants got a great big steel bar wedged open the door and flicked the door handle ... voila ... propblem solved ... much thanks and heavy tipping was met with a patronising smile and an assurance that they wouldn't do the same thing
we did have a sublime american moment ... as we entered the toll for the New Jersey Turnpike driving a Jeep the radio started playing Bruce Springsteen singing 'Merry Christmas Baby' ... doesn't get more american than that ... well maybe a little snow wouldn't have hurt
first couple of days were fine ... had just commented to the wife how we had done quite well so far ... no honking at us ... no hitting anything ... no going on the wrong side of the road ... when we arrived in Manhattan and parked in one of those walk away and little men look after your car for you type places ... i took the key out to open the trunk and as i put the key back my finger brushed a button and the car tooted ... i slammed the door shut and all the locks engaged ... there we were with the Jeep parked right in the middle of the entrance of the garage a line of traffic waiting to get in ... oh the shame
we started to call the rental company and the roadside assistance people (who just could not cope with the idea of calling an international number of a mobile phone) ... one of the garage attendants got a great big steel bar wedged open the door and flicked the door handle ... voila ... propblem solved ... much thanks and heavy tipping was met with a patronising smile and an assurance that they wouldn't do the same thing
we did have a sublime american moment ... as we entered the toll for the New Jersey Turnpike driving a Jeep the radio started playing Bruce Springsteen singing 'Merry Christmas Baby' ... doesn't get more american than that ... well maybe a little snow wouldn't have hurt
Sunday, December 17, 2006
The friends we are staying with live in a very swanky area … all multi millionaires … huge houses … and the most incredible Christmas light in the gardens … lights in the shape of little deer whose heads move and look as if they are nibbling the grass … yeah I know but I can’t help it I really really want one … scratch that … I want a herd
My favourite sign so far … Yield To Peds
met a man who knows my friends yesterday … just shook his hand … made a couple of remarks ... afterward my friends mention in passing that he has directed some episodes of the West Wing … so I shook the hand of someone who has shook the hand of CJ !! … haven’t washed the hand since
We are off to church in the morning this morning … mainly to see our friends kids in their nativity play and daddy sing in the choir … we will try not to heckle … actually I will probably not speak to strangers for fear of offending and bringing shame on my friends …they have to live here after we leave
JFK was another long tedious queue … just in front of us were a plane load from Korea … watching the security staff deal with them was interesting … I was listening my ipod and watching a mime of prejudice before my eyes … holding up a passport in front of someone’s face to compare and see if it was the same person … then calling over a colleague and them both discussing it in front of the person … well they look alike these foreigners don’t they … nothing but courtesy and smiles when dealing with us but then we are white, dress properly and have British passports … I wonder how they would feel if they could see their body language … an irony for me as I approached the desk was seeing a polite notice explaining how security staff would be courteous and polite etc etc … but of course this was only in English … so I guess what the Koreans don’t know won’t hurt them
We have gone away to New York for the duration of the Holidays (see how I speak the language) … consequently the blog entries will be a bit spasmodic and probably random subjects as I think of stuff … I was considering not blogging and having a rest from it then I realised if I did that I would forget stuff
It has been awhile since we have flown to an international destination … and wow has that experience changed … and yeah I know the reasons why but it was not a pleasant at all… over the years we have travelled a lot but this stressed us out … the longest queues ever at the UK end … no really long … you ain’t seen a long queue until you try and leave the country via a major airport … and little tables dotted along the queue with items on them that have been removed from passengers … it reminded us off the tables you get at marathons where the runners pick up water … only with deodorant/ribena/perfume/etc
Flight was delayed by an hour … with us in it … because of the security delays… hey here’s a thought if you are going to continue with this charade why not spend some of your ludicrous profits on extra staff and equipment to implement the procedures that you have imposed on us … on no of course what does it matter … after all it is only the time of thousands of passengers per day you are wasting … I have to pay you … turn up three hours before my flight … and then queue for over an hour to pass through a security system … be shouted at … have members of staff shove there way through the queue because they are trying to get to doorways and places that this long queue is blocking … and nobody is allowed to ever say a word about anything because that might mean you are being unpatriotic and they might just not let you on the plane … who let these people get so much power? … you provide a service to customers which they pay for … we need to claim back a little ground here … rudeness and stupid rules are still just that no matter how many baddies do bad stuff
Flight was good … I think my natural habitat is watching movies with people bringing me treats J
Sunday, December 10, 2006
ten good reasons
because ...
it has cost me so much money over the years
it is truly a disgusting dirty habit
i don't want to spend the rest of my life doing this
it will make the wife happy
it is not big and it is not clever
it locks me into things from my past which it shouldn't
i should never have started in the first place
i will feel healthier within a short space of time
stopping dramatically increases your vocal range
most of all because i want to
for all these reasons
today will be the day i smoke my last cigarette ... ever
PS
i hereby promise ...
never to be an ex-smoker bore ... will never tut at other smokers ... will never lecture others about the ills of smoking ... will not stare at cigarette packets like a love lorn teenager
i can't promise ...
not to crave one every time i drink more than two vodkas ... get crabby in the morning because all i wanna do is smoke ... chew gum like mad every time i get nervous (yes i promise to remove the gum before going on any stage anywhere)
you must promise ...
never ever to offer me a cigarette (my name is steve i am an ex addict) ... not to think every time i am pissed off it is because i want a cigarette (sometimes i am just pissed off) ... support me in my endevour to live longer (i know ... there's the rub) :)
it has cost me so much money over the years
it is truly a disgusting dirty habit
i don't want to spend the rest of my life doing this
it will make the wife happy
it is not big and it is not clever
it locks me into things from my past which it shouldn't
i should never have started in the first place
i will feel healthier within a short space of time
stopping dramatically increases your vocal range
most of all because i want to
for all these reasons
today will be the day i smoke my last cigarette ... ever
PS
i hereby promise ...
never to be an ex-smoker bore ... will never tut at other smokers ... will never lecture others about the ills of smoking ... will not stare at cigarette packets like a love lorn teenager
i can't promise ...
not to crave one every time i drink more than two vodkas ... get crabby in the morning because all i wanna do is smoke ... chew gum like mad every time i get nervous (yes i promise to remove the gum before going on any stage anywhere)
you must promise ...
never ever to offer me a cigarette (my name is steve i am an ex addict) ... not to think every time i am pissed off it is because i want a cigarette (sometimes i am just pissed off) ... support me in my endevour to live longer (i know ... there's the rub) :)
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Welsh Wales
the last few days have been spent mostly in Welsh Wales
a few days with the in-laws at their time-share eating far too much ... wandering around small welsh towns that seem to have an abundance of 'gift' shops where the word gift is debatable ... we played table tennis and took part in the pub quiz ... the previously two efforts have seen us win but this time we had to settle for fourth place ... not even in the medals ... we blamed the father in-law for arguing us out of answers we had given that would have secured us at least 2nd place
From there we travelled to Cardiff to visit nephew & niece who have just started at Cardiff Uni ... fed them a huge meal to ensure they survived until the christmas holidays ... no hotel rooms available in Cardiff due to a rally or something ... so a quick drive to Stroud to join some friends for a dinner party and a free bed for the night ... a scrummy meal ... wine ... deep conversation and whiskey into the early hours ... the kind of night that makes you glad for friends and full hotels
Back to London for a mid morning coffee and visiting the God Daughter ... my she's grown ... then finally back home for a proper shower ... proper coffee and wireless internet
the sat nav excelled itself ... drove a total of 700 miles ... across the middle of Wales and then right down the middle over the big hills with all the sheep and it never faltered ... i love technology when it works so well
11 days until we leave for New York ... did i mention we were spending Christmas in New York?
a few days with the in-laws at their time-share eating far too much ... wandering around small welsh towns that seem to have an abundance of 'gift' shops where the word gift is debatable ... we played table tennis and took part in the pub quiz ... the previously two efforts have seen us win but this time we had to settle for fourth place ... not even in the medals ... we blamed the father in-law for arguing us out of answers we had given that would have secured us at least 2nd place
From there we travelled to Cardiff to visit nephew & niece who have just started at Cardiff Uni ... fed them a huge meal to ensure they survived until the christmas holidays ... no hotel rooms available in Cardiff due to a rally or something ... so a quick drive to Stroud to join some friends for a dinner party and a free bed for the night ... a scrummy meal ... wine ... deep conversation and whiskey into the early hours ... the kind of night that makes you glad for friends and full hotels
Back to London for a mid morning coffee and visiting the God Daughter ... my she's grown ... then finally back home for a proper shower ... proper coffee and wireless internet
the sat nav excelled itself ... drove a total of 700 miles ... across the middle of Wales and then right down the middle over the big hills with all the sheep and it never faltered ... i love technology when it works so well
11 days until we leave for New York ... did i mention we were spending Christmas in New York?
Sunday, November 26, 2006
non jedi monks
note the colour in honour of monks habits :)
i spent the day at a Moot learning day
it was all about New Monastic ... community living ... urban monks
on this learning day i learnt ...
1
that people who go to Vineyard churches can be quite funny and nice to meet (but i still wouldn't want to risk it too often ... odds are against that being true all the time)
2
that i keep coming across (who i can only assume are evangelical types) who seem to insist that what they do in their church/worship/small groups is exactly the same as what you alternative groups do when quite clearly it isn't ... but feel free to believe that if it makes you happy you deluded little christian :)
3
that some christians can be very dull ... and others can be very funny and engaging ... so phew
4
that going by train is a bad idea
5
that i prefer conversations in bars and cafes to sitting in rows for hours on end (hmmm maybe it's the rows)
6
that i don't want to be a Monk ... partly because the clothing decisions each day are a little one dimensional ... and i really didn't like the vows of poverty and chastity thing (there was a third one i think but i was in shock at the first two and missed what it was) ... so i am guessing if i wanted to become a Monk ... urban or otherwise i would have to not shop in Harvey Nicks ... and i wouldn't get to have sex ... ever!! ... at least my way there is always hope :) ... i think this is a non starter for me ... and no before you start that is not the still small voice of God that you are hearing ... i think ordination is a pretty big step to be considering without getting silly
i spent the day at a Moot learning day
it was all about New Monastic ... community living ... urban monks
on this learning day i learnt ...
1
that people who go to Vineyard churches can be quite funny and nice to meet (but i still wouldn't want to risk it too often ... odds are against that being true all the time)
2
that i keep coming across (who i can only assume are evangelical types) who seem to insist that what they do in their church/worship/small groups is exactly the same as what you alternative groups do when quite clearly it isn't ... but feel free to believe that if it makes you happy you deluded little christian :)
3
that some christians can be very dull ... and others can be very funny and engaging ... so phew
4
that going by train is a bad idea
5
that i prefer conversations in bars and cafes to sitting in rows for hours on end (hmmm maybe it's the rows)
6
that i don't want to be a Monk ... partly because the clothing decisions each day are a little one dimensional ... and i really didn't like the vows of poverty and chastity thing (there was a third one i think but i was in shock at the first two and missed what it was) ... so i am guessing if i wanted to become a Monk ... urban or otherwise i would have to not shop in Harvey Nicks ... and i wouldn't get to have sex ... ever!! ... at least my way there is always hope :) ... i think this is a non starter for me ... and no before you start that is not the still small voice of God that you are hearing ... i think ordination is a pretty big step to be considering without getting silly
bloody trains
so i figured i would use the train again
i was going up to Victoria for the day
it made sense to just pop up by train
rather than paying congestion charge and having the car parked all day
i checked the times online and found that i needed to leave half an hour earlier than i thought
due to something called engineering works
arrived at the station in plenty of time
the board shows my train was due at the expected time (love the use of the word 'expected' still leaving that little caveat ... we were expecting it hardly our fault if it doesn't make it)
one minute before it is due it changes to 'delayed' ... surely they knew that sooner than one minute before?
i waited impatiently ... after ten minutes the board changes to 'cancelled' ... huh? ... where did it go? ... a whole train can't have just disappeared ... apparantly there have been signal failures at crystal palace
so i cross to another platform intending to try and get to East Croydon (one stop down the line) and catch a fast train to Victoria ... i get on a train and ask a passenger if the train goes to East Croydon ... no West Croydon ... hop off quickly ... announcement says train has been diverted to East Croydon and will no longer be calling at West Croydon ... hop on again ... feel stupid
eventually get a train to Victoria and arrive on time ... just
wife thinks it is funny to call me and ask where i am so i have to say 'i'm on the train'
so after using the train three times this week i have come to the conclusion it is not for me
i can see why sometimes it might be fun and useful but frankly the risks are too great
the messing about ... the lack of proper information ... the time it takes ... the messing about ... being at the mercy of people who can't even fix their own signals or at least have a backup plan (man with red flag walking in front seemed to work well for quite some time)
now ... where did i put my car keys
ps
of course the irony was at the end of the day a friend cheerfully pointed out that as it was saturday there was no congestion charge and that the parking was free in the street outside on a saturday ... why tell me that afterwards!
i was going up to Victoria for the day
it made sense to just pop up by train
rather than paying congestion charge and having the car parked all day
i checked the times online and found that i needed to leave half an hour earlier than i thought
due to something called engineering works
arrived at the station in plenty of time
the board shows my train was due at the expected time (love the use of the word 'expected' still leaving that little caveat ... we were expecting it hardly our fault if it doesn't make it)
one minute before it is due it changes to 'delayed' ... surely they knew that sooner than one minute before?
i waited impatiently ... after ten minutes the board changes to 'cancelled' ... huh? ... where did it go? ... a whole train can't have just disappeared ... apparantly there have been signal failures at crystal palace
so i cross to another platform intending to try and get to East Croydon (one stop down the line) and catch a fast train to Victoria ... i get on a train and ask a passenger if the train goes to East Croydon ... no West Croydon ... hop off quickly ... announcement says train has been diverted to East Croydon and will no longer be calling at West Croydon ... hop on again ... feel stupid
eventually get a train to Victoria and arrive on time ... just
wife thinks it is funny to call me and ask where i am so i have to say 'i'm on the train'
so after using the train three times this week i have come to the conclusion it is not for me
i can see why sometimes it might be fun and useful but frankly the risks are too great
the messing about ... the lack of proper information ... the time it takes ... the messing about ... being at the mercy of people who can't even fix their own signals or at least have a backup plan (man with red flag walking in front seemed to work well for quite some time)
now ... where did i put my car keys
ps
of course the irony was at the end of the day a friend cheerfully pointed out that as it was saturday there was no congestion charge and that the parking was free in the street outside on a saturday ... why tell me that afterwards!
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
train of thought
so yesterday i abandoned the car to join the norges on the train and the tube ... after seeing them off i joined the wife and we travelled back together by train ... now i think i have mentioned before that i don't really do public transport ... partly because it is usually incredibly inconvenient for what i need to do and the time of night i end up returning home ... mostly because i hate it
i have used trains/buses/trams in other countries a lot ... i lived in Holland for 5 years and never owned a car and enjoyed using trams ... it struck me yesterday (a thought not a tram) ... all my life the trains and tubes in this country have been complete rubbish ... dirty ... unreliable ... uncomfortable ... it has always been so
i really don't understand why ... i have seen enough of other countries to know that it can be better ... if it takes some money make the money available ... as a nation we only put up with it because we have little choice
oddly i am gonna use the train more this week than ever before in the last ten years ... it happens that i have two more things this week that require me to go to something and return straight home so i figure it is cheaper this way ... off to load podcasts to the ipod ... well if i have to mingle with civilians!
i have used trains/buses/trams in other countries a lot ... i lived in Holland for 5 years and never owned a car and enjoyed using trams ... it struck me yesterday (a thought not a tram) ... all my life the trains and tubes in this country have been complete rubbish ... dirty ... unreliable ... uncomfortable ... it has always been so
i really don't understand why ... i have seen enough of other countries to know that it can be better ... if it takes some money make the money available ... as a nation we only put up with it because we have little choice
oddly i am gonna use the train more this week than ever before in the last ten years ... it happens that i have two more things this week that require me to go to something and return straight home so i figure it is cheaper this way ... off to load podcasts to the ipod ... well if i have to mingle with civilians!
Viking visit
have just spent the last 3 days in the company of Norwegians ... boy they are good for the soul ... well this boy's soul anyway ... a slightly odd experience as my friend came over with his 17 year old son ... a son who is almost the same age as his father was when i first met him ... where did all that time go? ... i have this theory that gets proved again and again ... if the child has turned out well then good parenting has probably played a part (naturally the reverse is also often true) ... this boy was a prime example of the theory ... he had the gentleness of spirit that i first saw in his father all those years ago ... it can't all just be down to genes surely has to be a bit of nurture at play
on impulse we drove up to Cambridge as soon as they landed on sunday and we joined a certain theological rock chick for a late lunch ... hope she felt as old as i did when she clapped eyes on the teen son of one our favourite norges ... it rekindled our desire to revisit their snowy land sometime soon
the norges spent monday doing all the touristy stuff (i opted out of that bit ... nothing new to feel about big ben) but went with them yesterday to hang out in Harrods and Harvey Nicks ... hey they wanted to! ... i didn't make them
We had mid morning ice cream sundaes which felt so decadent in november ... wandered about looking at very expensive things ... ate sushi for lunch ... never done that before and it was quite good ... hmmm steve approves of a nations eating habits ... well they can sleep easy tonight :)
they have gone home now and i am fighting the urge to follow them and turn up on their doorstep
on impulse we drove up to Cambridge as soon as they landed on sunday and we joined a certain theological rock chick for a late lunch ... hope she felt as old as i did when she clapped eyes on the teen son of one our favourite norges ... it rekindled our desire to revisit their snowy land sometime soon
the norges spent monday doing all the touristy stuff (i opted out of that bit ... nothing new to feel about big ben) but went with them yesterday to hang out in Harrods and Harvey Nicks ... hey they wanted to! ... i didn't make them
We had mid morning ice cream sundaes which felt so decadent in november ... wandered about looking at very expensive things ... ate sushi for lunch ... never done that before and it was quite good ... hmmm steve approves of a nations eating habits ... well they can sleep easy tonight :)
they have gone home now and i am fighting the urge to follow them and turn up on their doorstep
Sunday, November 12, 2006
some stray thoughts
if i ever meet a town planner socially ...
i was driving home the other day .. like you do .. and i started to muse on how awful the planning of traffic flow is ... bits of bus lane for 20 feet so traffic has to all move over to just move back again ... bad lane design at junctions so everything gets snarled up ... how hard would it be to have some 'experts' actually drive a route and find out what it is like to actually use the road ... often it would just take a slight correction to make everything work better ... i once went to our local council office to explain that some measures they had introduced in front of our house was dangerous and we had seen some near misses ... he wouldn't even come downstairs to discuss it, let alone visit the site ... i guess it doesn't bother them cos they don't have to deal with it on a daily basis
Gay is to Christian as Jew is to Nazi ...
or at least sometimes that is how it appears ... discuss
in an interview this weekend Jake Shears from the Scissor Sisters tells this story ...
We played a show in Ireland last summer and i had the weirdest experience: this mother, father and son came backstage ... They were asking for my autograph and my boyfriend, Chris, was there and at one point - I can't remember what we were talking about exactly - I mentioned my boyfriend and they got very indignant and said: 'Not in front of our son.' I said: 'You're talking to a gay person here and you're backstage at my concert. It's not an issue and if you have a problem with it you really shouldn't be here.' I looked at the son straight in the face and said: 'Homosexuality isn't a crime'
I can't recall if i have told this story before but a few months ago i was in a meeting where everyone was a Christian of one form of another. When i made a mild remark about supporting gays someone said: 'you wouldn't put a petrol pump up an exhaust would you, it's not natural that's all i'm saying'
Boy do we live in enlightened times! I am not surprised by the fundamental viewpoint i am sure no gay person of any persuasion needs me to tell them it is out there. What sickens me is that there seems to be a slight feeling that we have to allow these kind of remarks and let them go unchallenged.
let's go over it one more time shall we, when Jesus instructed us to love people he didn't have a list of exceptions, when he said love your neighbour he knew full well that some of them might dress a little flamboyantly and make your blood go cold, he also knew that you would have a problem with it ... your problem that you need to work on.
What somebody does in their bed is no business of yours and no just because they are gay does not mean they are going to go after your children.
three references in the Bible to committed homosexual relationships, none of which was condemned ... how many times and ways are we told to love people?
i applaud Jake Shears for standing up and looking people in the eye and challenging prejudice wherever he finds it, we should do the same.
i was driving home the other day .. like you do .. and i started to muse on how awful the planning of traffic flow is ... bits of bus lane for 20 feet so traffic has to all move over to just move back again ... bad lane design at junctions so everything gets snarled up ... how hard would it be to have some 'experts' actually drive a route and find out what it is like to actually use the road ... often it would just take a slight correction to make everything work better ... i once went to our local council office to explain that some measures they had introduced in front of our house was dangerous and we had seen some near misses ... he wouldn't even come downstairs to discuss it, let alone visit the site ... i guess it doesn't bother them cos they don't have to deal with it on a daily basis
Gay is to Christian as Jew is to Nazi ...
or at least sometimes that is how it appears ... discuss
in an interview this weekend Jake Shears from the Scissor Sisters tells this story ...
We played a show in Ireland last summer and i had the weirdest experience: this mother, father and son came backstage ... They were asking for my autograph and my boyfriend, Chris, was there and at one point - I can't remember what we were talking about exactly - I mentioned my boyfriend and they got very indignant and said: 'Not in front of our son.' I said: 'You're talking to a gay person here and you're backstage at my concert. It's not an issue and if you have a problem with it you really shouldn't be here.' I looked at the son straight in the face and said: 'Homosexuality isn't a crime'
I can't recall if i have told this story before but a few months ago i was in a meeting where everyone was a Christian of one form of another. When i made a mild remark about supporting gays someone said: 'you wouldn't put a petrol pump up an exhaust would you, it's not natural that's all i'm saying'
Boy do we live in enlightened times! I am not surprised by the fundamental viewpoint i am sure no gay person of any persuasion needs me to tell them it is out there. What sickens me is that there seems to be a slight feeling that we have to allow these kind of remarks and let them go unchallenged.
let's go over it one more time shall we, when Jesus instructed us to love people he didn't have a list of exceptions, when he said love your neighbour he knew full well that some of them might dress a little flamboyantly and make your blood go cold, he also knew that you would have a problem with it ... your problem that you need to work on.
What somebody does in their bed is no business of yours and no just because they are gay does not mean they are going to go after your children.
three references in the Bible to committed homosexual relationships, none of which was condemned ... how many times and ways are we told to love people?
i applaud Jake Shears for standing up and looking people in the eye and challenging prejudice wherever he finds it, we should do the same.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
