Abuse from Indian Call Centre ?

Possibly we are all aware of the current racket concerning alleged PPI refunds, and the opening gambit of Hello Mr. ..... and so and how are you this afternoon? So far this week we have had maybe three such phone calls seemingly from the same source, thus  having honed ones technique, tend to give the Caller Short Shrift . That didn't please the person who called yesterday afternoon, who finding that I was still unwilling to talk advised me on the lines that my wife was a B***ch and that he would be coming around to F***k  her.

The  Caller number for this phone call wasn't witheld so may I advise you, as I did The Police, that the caller's number is 02256800256 Maybe those with the facility so to do ,might wish to ban this caller from their phone. The Police seemed unable to attribute a location for this number, however one should not phone it for there is no telling where it might be re-routed and what it might cost.There is a web site called Seemingly I am not the first person to find fault with that number.

It really would be a fine thing if firms didn't outsource their business to foreign Call Centres.


Well should not 02256800256 get around to calling you before Christmas, you have my best Seasonal wishes for now and the New Year ahead.

WASSERMANN REACTION NEGATIVE ON POLICE COMMISSIONERS.



A Negative Reaction was always good news for someone.
So far as yesterday's Police and Crime Commissioners are concerned the abysmal turn out was some solace for the Electorate, albeit yet more bad news for our shambolic Government. It is all very fine to advise the public that this that or the other was mentioned in some manifesto , but so too was much else that Government has seemingly reneged on. Quite clearly had there been more thought the dumb idea PCCs might also have been abandoned, for such persons are far less accountable for their actions, than were Police Committee members accountable to their elected fellow Committee members. Being able to chuck the Commissioner out after four years is no consolation. As for Commissioners fixing the Police Budget, heaven help Community Charge Payers. It was surely obvious to any Minister with an ear to the wire that there was no call for Police and Crime Commissioners. In Wiltshire The Conservative Candidate was returned as a Commissioner when only some fifteen per cent of the Electorate voted, let alone voted for him. What ever other reasons there were for such poor attendance at the Voting Stations, the main one was that the Public had no wish to have Commissioners forced upon them. There was a call for change, but no call for the system on offer. One needs to bear in mind that all those who misguidedly turned up at Polling Stations to 'Spoil their paper' are un quantified on the Returns. Surely they should have been shown as some regarded spoiling their papers an alternative to not voting.

Surely more than fifteen percent of the Wiltshire Electorate voted Conservative at Wiltshire's first Unitary Authority Election a while back. If so, seemingly even the Wiltshire Conservative Association has no more faith in Police and Crime Commissioners than the rest of us. I think I will squirrel my unopened 'Postal Vote' away sine die, in the hope of then auctioning it for a lot of money, amidst all the other ephemera of a failed administration. Really heads need to roll over this debacle. All it needs is to hear that the Prime Minister has absolute faith in his Home Secretary, or The Minister who implementing this Policing Election, prior to either or both hitching a lift on the next bicycle out of Downing Street,

I know no more of the PC Commissioner Wiltshire elected, than he knows about me, so none of the remarks I make should be taken as any sort of criticism of a man who had to play the game according rules that he didn’t frame.

I very much object that any of the Political Parties had a hand in the promotion of their Party nominee, for that is not the way to have Policing by consent, furthermore it could become the open door to totalitarian Government. If seemingly the Public has lost faith in our whole electoral process, could it be that its majority knows that it has been 'mugged' by small cliques within one minority Political Party or another. We were advised that the old Police Committees composed of persons of whom we knew nothing, were considered unsatisfactory. But those Committees were for a large part composed of Elected County, or in our case Unitary Authority Councillors. If these persons were unsuited to the task they were called upon to do, how may one wonder, was it that they were selected to be County or Unitary Authority Councillors, 'Nominees' of mostly the Conservative Party in the first place? Sure as eggs is eggs many County, Unitary Authority, District and Town Councillors, would not have made it to the Council Chamber under their personal auspices, and their advent excluded others whose election might have been a better option.

If we now have elected Police and Crime Commissioners, maybe too all our Magistrates should be elected to the Bench. Too many of them seem to be the protégés or protégées of the perceived status quo. All these Offices of State, be they high or low tend to be distributed to the inoffensive ' Yes man or woman.' Though the Magistracy is less exclusive than it once was, surely such public service should be made more accessible than it currently is. If there is a requirement to advertise for would be Judges, why is there no such requirement for the Magistracy, unless of course there is.

One hears how hard it is to get anyone to do anything now days, but what people really complain of is that they can not find anyone to do things the way that they do them.Even I a man of little involvement have always found others to do things, that maybe I should be doing in their stead. Providing people are given a little encouragement, most are willing to help. Its not everyone who sees him or herself as God's Gift to local involvement. 16.11.12.

KENT POLICE

KENT POLICE.

It would seem that someone made a tasteless, and offensive
 Internet posting , as detailed below on the Kent Police Web Site.

*****************

A man is due to be interviewed by police this morning
 following reports that a picture of a burning poppy had been
 posted on a social media website.

Officers were contacted at around 4pm yesterday
 Sunday, 11 November 2012
 and alerted to the picture,
 which was reportedly accompanied by an offensive comment.

Following an investigation by Kent Police
 a 19-year-old, Canterbury man was
 arrested on suspicion of an offence
 under the malicious communications act. He is
 currently in custody.

Posted on: 11 November 2012.

***********************

Surely though the Police reaction is entirely over the top,
 One has the impression that summary justice
 has been administered by retaining this person in Custody,
 when he might well have been interviewed on the morrow. 

 This week there are to be Elections
 for a series of Crime and Police Commissioners'
 for  seemingly Government realises that there is a need
 for other Leadership within the Police Service.
 I have no intention of voting in that election
 as I do not have the slightest knowledge of any of the Candidates
 on offer in my area, nor do I think that  we should be having
 unwanted Commissioners thrust upon us. Some of whom are
 likely to be Party Political Appointees.

What the Police Service needs is the re-establishment
 of Lord Trenchard's Junior Office Entry to the Police Service.

Abduction of child.

Having noted this Sky News item on the Web, One wonders when the Vehicle was left at the Repair Garage. Absence of Transport would explain why the Land Rover Owner was found Walking.

"He was arrested on the A487 just north of the Dyfi Bridge, walking in the direction of Machynlleth, and he was wearing a camouflage green jacket, black waterproof overtrousers and camouflage trousers beneath those.

"The Land Rover Discovery was recovered from a repair garage in the Old Station Road area of Machynlleth on Tuesday afternoon."

A £2-a-month levy on broadband could save our newspapers

Proceeds could be distributed based on UK online readership and reinvested to protect great journalism.
 So Writes this Journalist in The Guardian.
 Suggestion not received well, so as there is strength in numbers here was Papalscope's response.

• 
  

Most certainly not. Why on the earth should one have to support yesterday's technology the content of which deteriorates seemingly by the day. The National Press is too expensive and at best repetitive of news one will have seen on Television, heard on the Radio, or read and debated on the Internet the day before. The world has moved on and left Journalism in its wake. The Printing Unions need to share the blame for the demise of the Press with its Editors. The former on account of the unreasonable demands it made on Management, the latter for turning to soft pornography in an attempt to boost sales. Will not mention any names for fear of being sued for libel, but any paper that chooses to try and titillate rather than inform its readers deserves to fail, and such papers are not too hard to find in their 'on line personas.' However I do not doubt that Government will soon tax broadband to fund its own excesses.

SEE WE ARE COMING UP FOR A FULL MOON, SO THOUGHT TO POST THIS.

Popped into Salisbury, this morning to see how the place had been getting on since my last visit. It was much the same but even more so, possibly the Tourists have returned to whence they came which makes one wonder how good trade is for some of the smaller shops. At the height of the lunch hour there were absolutely no customers in an eating establishment on Blue Boar Row, and by the time I had worked my way around  behind the library a not dissimilar establishment had but one lady seated, whether she was a client or owner in despair one knows not.

What of  prospects for the New Sausage Shop close by, or the new Estate Agents in Castle St.? In a city where so many Charity Shops co-exist one may wonder how many established shops will survive the Recession. In general the passing of many will be regretted.

Had cause to visit Wickes, know it was their establishment for it had their name on it. Having located only one piece of the three plumbing items I sought, one had other business with them. Both the gentleman who served me and subsequently the Manager of the Store were very helpful, and there came a time for me to pay for items to be delivered within the next fourteen days as they didn't actually stock what was advertised. Unusually for me, mine was an order financially worth having . That being so one was disappointed by Wickes' Fiscal Backroom Management.

This seemingly known as its CREDIT CONTROL DEPARTMENT.

Who in the name of the Almighty was asking any one for CREDIT.
Someone en route  said that since I proposed paying for the goods by cheque I could only do so if I had a Cheque Guarantee Card. What world do such people live in, Banks no longer issue Cheque Guarantee Cards, I took the trouble to check that at three different Banks in the City Centre after being assured by Wickes that I was wrong on that point. One does understand that some attempt to defraud businesses, but surely it must be obvious to any one with the meanest of intelligence that if the goods ordered which will not be delivered in the immediate future have been paid for by a cheque accompanied by its appropriate Banker’s Card  the store is in a win win situation. Quite frankly one can only hope that the goods I paid for will be delivered as promised, not that I doubt they will arrive.

 I recall a very similar happening twenty or so years ago when Middle Eastern Arabs bought the Salisbury Timber Company. Though one had bought quite a bit from Salisbury Timber, I never again visited the business under its new ownership, I don’t suppose it was the loss of my custom that did it, but the business was very soon under a new ownership.

John Lewis 

want to place my forty five year old Account Card in their Museum, possibly because it always causes a computer furore every time I use it. How is it that Partnership seems to go from strength to strength when other business fails? Its possibly because it does not alienate its clientele whilst others oft treat customers with contempt.

IS WINDOWS FIT FOR PURPOSE ?

I HAVE OFTEN WONDERED WHY APPLE  MAC COMPUTERS COST SO MUCH MORE THAN WINDOWS OPERATED COMPUTERS. COULD IT BE BECAUSE THEY ARE MORE RELIABLE ?

 I HAVE LITTLE EXPERIENCE OF THE FORMER, BUT STILL HAVE BOTH AN ANTEDELUVIAN MACKINTOSH PLUS AND A MACKINTOSH  LC11 ALONGSIDE THE WINDOWS 7 OPERATED COMPUTER  I CURRENTLY USE. I MAKE NO PRETENCE TO BE A COMPUTER GEEK, HOWEVER CAN COMMENT THAT ALTHOUGH NEITHER OF THE APPLE MACS EVER LET ME DOWN WITHIN THE LIMITS OF THEIR CAPABILITIES, MY WINDOWS 7 OPERATED SYSTEM WHICH WAS CLAMED TO BE AN IMPROVEMENT ON THE VISTA PROGRAMME. FAILS  ONE WAY OR ANOTHER ON A DAY TO DAY BASIS.

 THE 7 SYSTEM SEEMS INFERIOR TO THE XP SYSTEM OF MY PREVIOUS COMPUTER. I REGRET THAT THE EXPENSIVE OFFICE PROFESSIONAL THAT WORKED ON THE XP DOESNT WORK ON THE WINDOWS 7 COMPUTER, HOWEVER  DOWNLOADED OFFICE FREEWARE DOES, AND  COMES TOTHE RESCUE OF WINDOWS 7, WHICH CONSTANTLY ADVISES THAT 'WORKS HAS STOPPED WORKING' ETC ETC.

Warning from a friend of a friend.

809 Area Code We actually received a call last week from the 809 area code. The woman said 'Hey, this is Karen. Sorry I missed you- get back to us quickly. I have something important to tell you.' Then she repeated a phone number beginning with 809. We did not respond. Then this week, we received the following e-mail:
Do Not DIAL AREA CODE 809, 284, AND 876 from the UK . U.S. or Canada .

This one is being distributed all over the US ... This is pretty scary, especially given the way they try to get you to call. Be sure you read this and pass it on. They get you to call by telling you that it is information about a family member who has been ill or to tell you someone has been arrested, died, or to let you know you have won a wonderful prize, etc..

In each case, you are told to call the 809 number right away. Since there are so many new area codes these days, people unknowingly return these calls.

If you call from the UK . U.S or Canada , you will apparently be charged a minimum of $2425 per-minute. And you'll also get a long recorded message. The point is, they will try to keep you on the phone as long as possible to increase the charges.
WHY IT WORKS:

The 809 area code is located in the Dominican Republic ...

The charges afterwards can become a real nightmare. That's because you did actually make the call. If you complain, both your local phone company and your long distance carrier will not want to get involved and will most likely tell you that they are simply providing the billing for the foreign company. You'll end up dealing with a foreign company that argues they have done nothing wrong.

Please forward this entire message to your friends, family and colleagues to help them become aware of this scam.

ZoneAlarm Search

ZoneAlarm Search:

JULIAN ASSENGE.

'As Julian Assenge is under the protective hospitality of the Ecuador Embassy, he isn’t the concern of either the Police Service or the British Government. Why therefore are the Police wasting their time and squandering our money by targeting the Embassy. If Sweden has a problem, surely its problem is with Ecuador not us. It was obvious that this matter was being mishandled the moment some bright spark voiced his
 'I'll huff and I'll puff and I will blow your house down' threat .

I suppose if the Civil Service is to be privatised one can expect no end of such nonsense. If Assenge leaves the Embassy, that will be time enough to apprehend the fellow.

No safe passage out of the UK for Julian Assange, says William Hague - Crime - UK - The Independent

I have no personal knowledge concerning Mr Assange nor of what alleged shenanigans he might or might not have been up to in Sweden, but somehow the Rape complaints against him do seem all  too convenient . It is common knowledge that our American Cousins would like to have his Guts for Garters, so one would be very naïve not to believe that America wouldn’t seek the man’s extradition from Sweden, should he ever be sent there to answer the current charges against him.

Guilty or not guilty in Sweden, there is something else about this charge that stinks to high heaven, one does'nt need to be dyslexic to read ‘Rape in Sweden’ as Rendition . One understands that our Government finds itself in a tight corner, but playing the role of Pontius Pilate discredits it no end. Hopefully the threats made against the Status of the Equadorian Embassy, emanate from some underling rather than our Foreign Secretary, for surely any fool would see that such a happening would be akin to shooting our Diplomats in all their feet.  

SPAM SPOOF AND STUPIDITY.

Google:
There are times the Internet irritates. Not sure whether one has to blame the internet service providers, or solely their advertisers. Do  retailers really think they are doing their firms a favour by sending out  all the spam that so many of them send. At Christmas I bought a second hand book from a firm called Abe Books, a business located in Cheshire. Ever since it has incessantly made me offers of this that and the other. Apart from them doing that I have no complaint with the firm, but would assure them that given a choice of retailer their firm would not be the one to get my business.

OTHERS  I do wish to hear from i.tunes or Love films or Boiler Juice who seemingly deliver oil to one or another of my nine neighbours every week of the year, nor Nero or Kodak. etc etc. Naturally one has binned all such advertisers, but then here bins only get emptied once a fortnight.

AMAZON.
A while back I thought to buy a Sat.Nav.  hoping the device might be more useful than it seems to be. One looked here and there to compare prices, however the best deal on the internet didn't have my choice in stock, so I took the easier route through John Lewis'. Why in the name of Heaven does Amazon keep sending me deals relating to Sat Navs. weeks after one purchased the device elsewhere, and fully acquainted myself of information such as' you are now driving along the A.303'. But then I haven't as yet located the how to use instructions on the Internet.

ESTATE AGENTS.
 That I happen to look up detail of a house in the Thames Valley doesn't signify that I wish to buy one there, so why do Estate Agents adverts keep appearing on my computer screen. If I wish to hear from them I am more than capable of contacting them. Since one isn't thinking of buying a house it follows that I am not in need of the Services of a Removals firm, despite having e.mailed an 1870's  lithographed Advertisement of such a firm to a friend.

SCREWFIX.
Another ubiquitous enterprise whose Ads proliferate. I am not given to buying more than one Central Heating Pump in any Decade, so why keep intrusively  posting me offers of more and more of the things, especially since they didn't have the fittings for it stocked in Salisbury when I went in to buy it, though these were promised for the morrow.Unfortunately I wanted them 'yesterday.'

FACEBOOK once advised me that a very old friend wished to be a Friend. One fell for it, and I now have the seeming availability of friendship with some hundred or so delightful persons, including my own daughter and the daughter of a sometime friend next door, and too a son in law. Possibly such thoughts are unrealistic for I never posted my picture on line. That's all great stuff but the original friend tells me that she had never joined Facebook in the first place, despite that yesterday she allegedly posted a whole new Ball Game of inexplicable photographs which might or might not be connected with a member of her family.

PAYPAL. is a way of paying for things bought on the Internet. Yesterday one received a very convincing personally addressed communication, allegedly sent by them. Well that got forwarded to the Fraud Office, for had I had a Paypal account there was no reason for the real firm to need to have detail of my Bank Account or Password. One hears much of other accounts I don't hold at The Halifax, Nationwide, Santander, HSBC etc. All these things being so, surely no one should Bank on line, but they do.

Google

Google:

'via Blog this'

ELECTED POLICE COMMISSIONERS.

Couple of Headlines on the News Page of Google caught my eye.

'Plans for the first police commissioner elections this autumn have been thrown into fresh disarray with the disclosure that magistrates – who make up a significant number of the candidates – have been banned from standing.'  From the Guardian.

'A second candidate for the job of police and crime commissioner has been forced to withdraw his application because of a minor offence he was convicted of 47 years ago at 14. **** *******, Labour's PCC candidate in Derbyshire, who has been vice-chairman of the Derbyshire police authority for the last three years, said on Friday he had made "the difficult decision" after receiving clarification from the Home Office and Electoral Commission that juvenile convictions for offences that carry a prison sentence if committed by an adult bar candidates.' From the Guardian.

Possibly this is a recurrence  of the Caesar's  wife Dilemma ? First one might wonder how many Magistrates have an entirely clean slate before the time of their appointment to the Bench, let alone after it. Does anyone do a CRB check on them. What of those members of the House of Lords who get detained at her Majesty's Pleasure, or of other 'Office Holders' who offend ? Parables of 'Lost Sheep' are one thing, but surely there is an overwhelming majority of the community who have neither offended nor been caught offending. Should those who offended 'Let Conscience make Cowards' of them, or just go for it, as I suspect most people might, for to rake another chestnut from the fire 'Feint heart never won fair lady'.

Way back in the late sixties, the call went out for Lay Magistrates, and when I answered it, The Clerk of The  Wokingham Bench sent me a questionnaire which I was asked to fill in. Seemingly thereon one was expected to extol ones virtues. I took it for granted that an unblemished escutcheon was called for, and  would have been surprised if others volunteering their services did not have one too . I never returned the Papers firstly because one seemed to have been expected to have an exceedingly high opinion of oneself, secondly because I had a then unresolved Capital Gains Tax situation, and thirdly because the Government of the day, finding that it was but the usual suspects, such as I , who were volunteering their services, amended their specification as a need for Blue Collar Magistrates. At a personal level heard little more of the Magistracy, until  well past retirement age when it was suggested that I might submit my name for consideration.
 I too might have been a Judge ' If only I'd had the Latin.'

I do not see the Job of a Police Commissioner as being compatible with the Magistracy. Do some of the Bench regard their Courts as what used to be termed a Police Court, or what ? I have no knowledge of anyone be  he or she a Magistrate or not, who has submitted their name for Election as a Police Commissioner, but would be suspicious of the motivation of any Magistrate  who might, for I am given to wondering whether such persons have the impartiality the rest of us expect of their High Office.

Of course Magistrates wishing to stand for Election as a Police Commissioner should resign before embarking on the process, whilst all Candidates should have a 'Clean Slate'.

Majestic Wine Warehouse.

Being a simple soul it amazed me to hear from this wine emporium, that the wine glasses they would lend me subject to a deposit of £1 per glass , would be glasses returned to them from the previous user who would have been responsible for their cleanliness, just as I would be responsible for cleaning them prior to returning them to Majestic, so that they in turn may loan them on to their next client. It is said that 'Cleanliness is next to Godliness', and though one has no reason to think that such glasses are anything less than aseptic, regret that I can not expose guests to the possibility that they might not be, so we will be using our own tumblers. Furthermore though one planned to purchase some forty bottles of wine from Majestic on a sale or return basis along with the loan of their hundred glasses, I can no longer guarantee that firm will have my business. Don't suppose that will upset them too much, as one only contacted them in the first place as our chosen venue seems to be located close to a couple of their stores. Surely persons who loan even free glasses , to those who purchase their wines would do well to have their own glass washing machines?

INVESTMENT ADVICE FROM GENERAL WRANT.

Google: As things are for others, so too are things for Lady Phyllis and I. Our Banks pay next to no interest on our savings, and the value of our share portfolio is on the way down.However after all my years of service in the Army one has learned to see opportunity in adversity, and having scouted around  have identified a chance for profitable reinvestment arising from what the Banker Chappies refer to as Quantitative Easing. We are taking our savings out of the Bank, and buying shares in British Companies which manufacture WHEELBARROWS. Very soon when the Inflationary Effect of Quantitative Easing hits us,  everyone is going to need a wheelbarrow in which to transport cash when shopping. I recommend this as the soundest Investment advice since Job Cleanands recommended the purchase of  'Parachikka Chlorates', from which he probably made a fortune.
15.05.2012.




'via Blog this'

AVIRA SEARCH FREE TOOL BAR.

Google:

'via Blog this'ANYONE GOT THE SLIGHTEST IDEA OF HOW I MAY RID MY COMPUTER OF THIS UNWANTED INTRUSIVE OCCURRENCE,?

Google

Google:

'via Blog this'DATA  PROTECTION.


I recall a few years back asking that the addresses of our Parish Councillors should be made available, being of the opinion that some of them lived in the proximity of a local Development under consideration.  I was advised that doing so was an impossibility under ‘The Data Protection Act’. As the Information was already available on the then  District Council Web Site one wondered why the information could not be made  available to those entirely Computer Illiterate.


TALK TALK the ISP


I was recently AGAIN dissatisfied with my Internet Service Provider, Messrs Talk Talk. It having failed to collect its dues on a long standing Direct Debit, didn’t advise me of the detail of the problem, but took to demanding payment by either Debit Card or Cheque, a request that I answered with the suggestion that they used the Direct Debit already set up. ( One is inundated with third parties hoping to ‘Con’  one into crediting them, rather than that ISP). This culminated in first my broadband connection being denied me, then our telephone was cut off, each happening without any warning or prior statement of  intent so to do. Naturally I let the CEO of Talk Talk have my views on the matter. Today there was a phone call from them . A man who having demanded my name, wanted for purposes of THE DATA PROTECTION ACT to have my address, then my date of birth. When I told him the latter was none of his business ( I bearing in mind The Data Protection Act) The Chap said he wouldn’t be able to talk to me after all. So having told the chap to stop wasting my time, I likewise terminated our conversation. 


In fairness to Talk Talk their Service has been an improvement on what was first offered me at the time they took over Tiscalli. One thing I did tell TALK TALK was that I had no intention of signing up with them another time. My previous complaint was kindly referred to Mr Vince Cable MP, by my MP. 


BANKS and Data Protection. There was an interesting programme on the Television last evening a repeat episode of Fake Britain wherein an ubiquitous presenter borrowed a piece of kit from a Cambridge Boffin, and with the agreement of would be purchasers at a Bookshop was able to activate the pin code on successive debit cards with any four numbers he chose to enter. His preference was four zeros, and it worked every time. Seemingly this kit wouldn’t work at an ATM. But therewith there are other problems despite disclaimers from various Banks.


SECURITY CODES on the reverse of Visa Cards. What in the name of Heaven is secure about them ? How does it prove that the card is in the possession of anyone ? It proves nothing except the naiveté of those who think it does. Anyone who may have legitimately handled ones card, can as easily record the ‘Security Number, on its reverse, as record the card number on it’s obverse, so could afterwards use those numbers fraudulently on line  or elsewhere if  minded so to do . Personally I like to leave a paper trail when paying for anything on line, first debit one of the on line Agencies, who immediately Debit a Credit card, who in turn debit me at the end of each month. This procedure hopefully helps guard one against fraud, but who would be sure of that, the whole process seems to be a great game of Cowboys and Indians, played in a  World wherein so many no longer accept cheques.


It occurred to me to ask my Bank Manager  when I recently visited, how it was that a Bank Account that I had originated precisely sixty years ago in the City solely in my name, had more recently bifurcated into the names of both my wife and I. He had no answer to that for seemingly according to the ideals of THE DATA PROTECTION ACT, the Bank destroyed all such records every five years. That’s blinking convenient if such is so, maybe those who owe them money might try the same ploy.


There is one last point. I recall being telephoned allegedly by a Bank some years back in connection with an Executor Account I then managed. Having been advised that it was xxxxx Bank calling, one was then asked security questions, such as what was the Maiden name of the owner of the money in the account etc. When on that occasion one advised the lady phoning from the Sub Continent that she ‘might pull the other one for it had bells on’ She offered me her ex. directory telephone number so that I might ring her, but then ‘She would wouldn’t she.’ 


19 April 2012 11:20

I USED TO A GRUMPY YOUNG MAN TOO..

All these are Recent Comments made to the Daily Mail. it’s a popular Newspaper.

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VETS TOO EXPENSIVE.

Vets do charge exorbitant fees however it doesn't help that the most simple of effective remedies can no longer be bought over the counter.

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RELATIVITY OF MODERN ART Pavement versus Tate Modern.

Providing this is as reported to be, it is a more competent art form than some which emanate from the The Tate Modern, Connoisseurs of which put one in mind of' those who would acclaim the cut and style of 'The King's New Suit of Clothes.'

5/2/2012 0:24

Click to rate Rating Plus 2

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2096250/Dont-jump-Oh--Incredible-chalk-drawings-appear-change-Londons-skyline.html#ixzz1lUti4EcG

THIS ENDED UP AS PLUS THREE BUT THE SIXTH WORST RATED 11.02.12

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EXTRADITION OF MR TAPPIN. 25.02.12 18.17. One may wonder at the spinelessness of our Government, and too wonder if there is anything it hasn't messed up since coming to power, let alone accomplished anything.

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LOCAL SHOPPING. 14.18 on 13.02.12.

Its wonderful to have local shops, however such businesses fail for any number of reasons amongst which are that Rents and Business Rates are set at levels unsustainable by small enterprises, on top of that are the running costs incurred by even a sole trader, be they his or her personal living wage, or the cost of electricity, water or Insurance etc. etc. There is a maxim that anyone running a small shop would willingly sell up if only he or she could find a buyer. Too many folk at a loose end imagine that retailing might be a nice little hobby, when it is anything but that. Its no good any source putting good money after bad, the world has moved on for such is the way of it

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PRAYERS BEFORE COUNCIL MEETINGS. 22. 3 1212.

Who's prayers are we to have, those of Islam, Judaism, Anglican or Catholic's?

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CRIMINAL RECORD CHECKS, FOR CAESAR’S WIFE

CRB checks are rarely worth their performance, but possibly their existence is justified only so far as they will deter those who are likely to fail them, from submitting themselves to such scrutiny in the first place. Passing a CRB Test is no guarantee of good character merely an indication that an offender hasn’t as yet been convicted for offending, thereby installing a false sense of security in others, when there is no justification for it. If The Duchess of Cambridge too has to be submitted to such nonsense, it may reassure everyone else that the rules apply to one and all, at a time when many are deterred from Public Service . Yes of course CRB tests are jobs for the boys and an additional source of Revenue, especially as each new/extra appointment needs an additional check for the same person. Maybe the UK might adopt the American System wherein all convictions are publicly accessible.| 02/17/2012 at 05:38

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FUNDING THE RAILWAYS

The current theory is that those who use the railways should be the ones to finance them rather than the 'Tax Payer'. Last year my wife and I travelled by rail just the once, purchasing' cheap day' returns from Salisbury to Waterloo. All other travel has been in our ageing car or by Park and Ride Bus. Why on the earth should Government expect work commuters to subsidise our one off visit to the Pantomime? The Nationalisation of the Railways was controversial when it happened, however the de-nationalisation was a matter of a prior Conservative Government's Incompetence . One might have hoped the Coalition might recognise the fact that the Railways are as much the responsibility of Government as is the Road Network. As for this proposed new high speed line through the Chilterns, heaven save the expense and the Countryside. Its high time Government recognised our priorities, and stopped frittering our money away as though there really is no tomorrow.

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QUANTATIVE EASING AND BENEFITS. 10.50 10.02.2012 13:03 03/01/2012.

When will they ever learn ? Quantitative Easing is but a euphemism for the devaluation of the currency, is ours to become as Germany's once was? Bankers have been unhelpful to our economy, but rather than them, blame the fools whom we the Electorate have placed in Governance over them, persons who would seemingly sell off their own grandmothers to earn a quick buck, to fritter away on unsustainable Benefits , deemed necessary so to disguise the inadequacy of Government. There was that old idea that those who don't work, don't eat. Few would support that , even so see no call for tax payers to fund extravagances the working man can not afford . For a start cut housing allowances, the payment of which fuel excessive rent demands, then trim everything else, from child allowances right through to free Television, winter fuel allowances and bus passes, the latter available to some still at work. If such things have become a necessity, its due to mismanagement at the top.

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COMMENT ON HOUSING ALLOWANCES 19.02.12

The Streets of London are not paved with gold, if those who relocate there from elsewhere are unable to make a go of it, so requiring social housing, then surely they should seek it in the area from whence they came? It was a misjudgement of Government to sell off the stock of Council Housing, and to enfranchise Privately owned Leasehold Property . Its a further misjudgement not to put a cap on Housing Allowances. if there was such a cap, Rents would fall for one and all. More than anything else it is Government interference in the housing market that has precipitated homelessness.

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THE FINGER OF SUSPICION.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2092431/A-heart-stopping-police-sisters-lost-wallet-just-trust-anyone.html#ixzz1kgjbrbulThe sequel to this might give the impression that the person who handed this wallet to the Police had been the same person who helped him or herself to the forty pounds. That being so maybe the journalist who wrote this piece would be well advised to let sleeping twenty pound notes lie. 27th Jan 2012 rated plus 22.

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JURY SYSTEM. Comment to Mail on bored Jurist 19.2.12 11.29

Trouble is that the Jury System is beyond its sell by date, who in this day and age are one's peers ? We are a multi cultural and multi ethnic society, is there any guarantee that members of a Jury let alone defendants have a command of the English language?

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Response to the Crow Man. 30/01/2012

UNION BOSS WANTS BONUS FOR WORKING DURING OLYMPICS

What on the earth will everyone else be doing during the Olympics if not working. Sack the lot !

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SALE OF PROPERTY. Here and There.

Well in this day and age why employ an Estate Agent ? It is all too easy to see what your neighbour sold his or her house for, so valuation of your own property is no longer the problem it once was. Put your own board outside the house, or enter detail on one of the web sites that advertise property, and Bobs your Uncle. In the same vein there is no call for a seller to employ a Solicitor, though it might be a good thing for a purchaser so to do.

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How about a French Village on the Cheap ?

Wouldn't know about this particular proposed sale, but having had dealings with other rural French Property found that the average Immoblier seemingly hasn't a clue how or where to market anything, and I wouldn't care to comment on the partiality of some French Notaires. Anyone tempted to snap up this bargain, should watch his or her back. The French dream has little to do with its reality, superficialities apart France is a country ill at ease with itself. Comment to Mail on French Village for sale 22.02.2012. 12.48

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COUPLE ON THE VERGE.

One may suppose this is the manifestation of the big society. I suspect the Council is not to be criticised for their demand, for I believe even our Parish Council has to pay such a charge.Blame neither Councillors nor Council Officers but blame those idiots who so legislate in Parliament.., 13/1/2012 22:48

Click to rate landed up at 110 red arrows the sixth worst rated.)

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2086400/Council-fines-couple-cleared-away-rubbish-weeds-outside-home-unless-restore-was.html#ixzz1jQE92qgHOne

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RECYCLING 10.02.12

In any old church there would surely have been many a reburial over the years. My own father was buried elsewhere in a Berkshire Church Yard during the War, but thirty years and a mere fifty burials later the first of a family of nine was buried upon his plot and obviously the plots of his neighbours. Rather than admit error some fool of a vicar thought I would pay him a fee of circa thirty pounds for advising which nine persons were then buried there . Apparently Church Yard Plots remain the property of the Church, whilst Civil plots remain the property of the deceased's Estate .

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NHS REORGANISATION 10.56, 24.02.12

Is it not common knowledge that in general one is far better off in a good NHS Hospital, than in the jazziest of Clinics at home or abroad. The former are better staffed and better equipped so tend to be patronised by those in the know, persons content to leave private clinics to the less well informed or those on a tight schedule. There are of course NHS Hospitals and NHS Hospitals.

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COMMENT ON POLICE SERVICE.

Bring back the old Hendon Police College system of entry for access to the higher ranks.

16.02.12 08.37

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PRIVATE EDUCATION 1.3.12 19.27.

Understandably fewer and fewer people are able to afford the cost of Private Education for their children. That apart one wonders whether such an Education is all its cracked up to be. Even so in practice most private 'secondary type' schools tend to be a lot better than the average State Comprehensive. The reason for that has little to do with the premises or staff of either sort of school, but has everything to do with the mistaken belief that ' one size fits all. Just as there are 'Horses for Courses' in Racing, so too there's a need for different sorts of school for children with different capabilities. Its not a matter of one child's aptitude being superior or inferior to another's, but it is a matter of Educators meeting the distinct and Separate needs of all. BRING BACK THE GRAMMAR SCHOOLS !

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REFORM OF THE UPPER HOUSE.

By all means lets do as - R.F.Yorke, Yorks, U.K., 28/2/2012 07:59 suggests, for our present mish mash, of failed Party Politicians, seeded with hereditary Peers many of whom were first ennobled as a result of personal services rendered to their Monarch, or because their title was purchased with money or by dubious support of Government, is an unacceptable circumstance in the twenty first century. The Upper House shouldn't be a sinecure for life, and which ever their good works therein, there is no due cause to pack the legislature with two dozen or so ad hoc Bishops who's Established Church would seem to be in terminal decline. There are more Bishops in The Lords, than persons who attend most Parish Churches throughout our land. Like it or not Religion has moved on.

28/2/2012 10:30Rating Plus 5

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2107345/Elderly-peers-poured----gums-walking-sticks.html#ixzz1nh6mHo4x

And Furthermore another time, Bishops support Current Benefit System.

One may wonder why Bishops are so disproportionately represented in the Upper House when the Church they front is in such disarray. Possibly they'd do better to put their own house in order before it disintegrates. Surely the famed Protestant Work Ethic dictates that Charity should not be running in harness with idleness and irresponsibility, for such is what our current system of Social Security encourages. Admittedly secular Parliamentarians are the ones who have landed our country in the mess it seems to be in, but yesterday's debate suggests that the Bishops are but their fellow travellers rather than representatives of the Community. Bishops in Parliament seem an irrelevancy. Let all the Lords be elected rather sit by Patrimony.

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COMMENT ON MARRIAGE PROPOSALin support of Dr.John Sentemu

15.34 28.01.12

One may wonder how Dr.John Sentamu ever got to become a Bishop in the Church of England, for he speaks too much common sense. According to my Law Lexicon, marriage is the status of a man and a woman conjoined in Matrimony (see generally The Marriage Acts 1811-1934.) There is no suggestion that the term is inclusive of single sex relationships. That being so provision was recently made for Civil Partnerships. Surely that should be, the be and end all of the matter, if not what sort of Political Leadership does our country have. One is minded of that quote from 'Alice' "When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean - neither more nor less."

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SOUTHAMPTON CITY COUNCILLOR TAKES OFF.

Circumstances do change for people, there would seem little point in this Councillor resigning so precipitating a bye election, which would be at the call of the Conservative Party . Having 'Googled' Southampton City Council membership, one notes that now no one sits as an Independent member of it. Probably because those who do so stand for election as Independents tend to be out manoeuvred by one Party Political Machine or another, rather than by the calibre of some of the Party Political apparatchiks who oppose them. One hopes that at the forthcoming Elections, Party Selection Committees will take care over whom they choose to be Candidates, rather than select any old candidate , doing so either on the basis that any Party candidate is better than none or that the more likely its protégée is to do as he or she is told the better.23.08 4.03.2

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CLOGS TO CLOGS IN ONE GENERATION

Money makes the world go around, hopefully this chap's will have gone to people who will use it intelligently. However this expenditure is so profligate that possibly it was but a staged Publicity Stunt.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2110477/Cork-blimey-Businessman-splashes-125-000-ONE-bottle-champagne-spends-200-000-single-round-bar.html#ixzz1oMnVZJzv

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JOKE OFFENDED MUSLIM LADY AT GATWICK 26.02.2012 23.31

WHY SHOULD WE BE SURPRISED THERE ARE SO MANY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN THIS COUNTRY, WHEN WE HAVE STAFF OF SUCH CALIBRE CONTROLLING OUR FRONTIERS. SACK EM ALL' THE LONG AND THE SHORT AND THE TALL'

Adventures in Photography

Beneath the Red Cloth In Camera .

One hadn’t really needed the thing in the first place, but the South Coast seller lived close , and his upset price seemed cheap . That and the possibility of collecting it in person made such a purchase desirable. Apart from the saving on postage, one avoided the possibility of damage or even alleged damage in the post, because how ever fine the plastic casing of a Camcorder, damage can so easily occur.

Years ago when one had something worthwhile to film one had a very expensive Super 8mm. Cine camera. That too was of high specification but unfortunately became too expensive for me to run, due to the rise in the cost of the film it used. The camera had been bought at Auction off the Official Receiver for a fraction of its worth. Indeed when I had it checked out, its Main Agent rather than acclaim my good fortune, was suspicious of the transaction and immediately checked out the camera on its register of stolen items. The man seemed disappointed not to find it recorded thereon, for were ‘The Official Receiver’ to make a habit of selling off its expensive brand so cheaply, it would quite ruin their marque.

The camera came with various reels of film. After I had finished off the one already in the camera, I sent it to be processed, and on its return concluded that the Camera’s previous owner was minded to start a Glamour Model’s Agency. Delightful though both girls he’d photographed were, neither as depicted sprawled on a bed in bra and panties seemed quite the thing, even after allowing for the man‘s lack of skill as a photographer. Some people photograph well and others don’t. Often a model that might not appeal to the naked eye, looks better through a lens, and Vice Versa. Not sure photography was my predecessor’s ambition though, so possibly that was why he had presumably gone Bankrupt.

There may be technophobes who are unaware how things are sold on e.bay. If you wish to sell an item, you post its detail along with a photograph, and the minimum price you will be willing to accept for it ,and you then wait over a specified period of time to see what happens next.

In the case of my Camcorder purchase, nothing happened for much of the time. Presumably I, as were ‘Just looking, thank you’. The Camcorder really did seem a bargain, so having checked the second hand value of such a camera, I entered the maximum amount of money I would be willing to pay for the item, so immediately becoming the one and only bidder at the Sellers minimum sale price. I was astonished that mine remained the only bid until precisely two seconds before the finishing time of the Auction. Then a shrewd would be purchaser upped the bidding by all of ten pounds. He or she probably feeling confident thereby of purchasing the Camcorder, however he or she did not beat the Computer to the draw, for it immediately upped my original recorded bid by another two of my pledged pounds. Thus time then expired, I became the purchaser of the lot. At such a stage both parties to the transaction are put in touch of one another. After an exchange of e.mails, I drove to his house the following morning to conclude the purchase, arriving as agreed at Twelve Noon.

There was a slight delay, before the door was opened to me by a young man whose not displeasing nakedness was shielded only by the bath towel precariously clasped about his waist. One naturally wondered what an attractive young man might be up to so dressed at that time of the day. Thus I await with interest, to see what photographs there might already be on my Camcorder’s tape when played back, for we photographer’s are seldom homophobic, ‘Ars gratia Artis’ and all that, but as yet I have not reached how to ‘Play Tapes Back’ in the Instruction Manual.

A while back I attended a Chattels auction which seemed as an Aladdin’s cave of expensive photographic equipment. The Auctioneer didn’t know a Box Brownie, from the Hasselblad outfit he’d lotted up, nor had he been surprised that the deceased Vendor’s attic Studio had a photo printing machine capable of producing commercial runs. Curiously enough neither this elderly by then deceased Vendor’s neighbours, nor his cleaning lady had the slightest idea that he planned that his attic bedroom should become a pawn in the glamour industry, but such were the undeveloped photos remaining on his camera.

But another time I purchased an aged 16mm sound projector. Now that came with reel upon reel of privately ‘shot’ black and white film. The whole a positive treasure trove of all manner of occasions dating back to the thirties. Everything from the R101, Isle of Man TT races. Festivities in Leicester, boats in the Lake District. All good irreplaceable stock these eighty years on.

Trouble with Cameras, easy enough to buy at a price, often difficult to sell. Was once tempted into buying a 400 mm. camera lens complete with suitable film carrier. It was cheapish , but subsequently little used by me. Tried to sell it after a while, but the only person who expressed an interest to buy it off me, confided that he was setting up in business as a Private Detective. Could I please advise him whether the lens would be suitable for his profession. I was tempted to tell him that it would be ideal, but didn’t have the heart, however if there are out there any other would be bird photographers , it would do well enough for you, its still available for sale.

233/09.

Gleanings from the SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Google:

'via Blog this'TELEGRAPHED PUNCHES.

When last was the world in the mess it is in today ? Despite that here the sun is shining the news reported in todays Sunday Telegraph seems depressing.

Page 1/4 Mystery Virus kills thousands of lambs.

Did I hear of that on Farming today, must have missed it.

Doctors to vote on Industrial Action, fair enough but I am told Doctors don’t strike.

Labour’s failing leadership by Charles Clarke. Don’t see that to be a news item worthy of the front page

Page 5 Lansley snubbed by Tories 301 group. Alas know not which the forty supportive Mps who wrote to the telegraph are, because I couldn’t find the letter. However surely Government might better be advised by the Medical Professions than by a clutch of recently elected Members.

Page 7 Concerns one David Jones who made a quip at the Security gates of Gatwick Airport. That allegedly caused him to detained . One wonders what sort of blinking idiots have charge of our borders. If its difficult to recruit persons with their wits about them. Maybe there are jobs available there for unemployed Graduates. .( see Page 14)

Page 10. Refers to Cabinet clashs over Council Tax Bands. That’s good news, because the whole Council Tax system needs to be pruned Root and Branch, for it is iniquitous.

Page11. Tells of a School Master complaining of his three years of hell over abuse claims, made by a Teaching Assistant , whom the GTC thought to be ‘not an entirely independent and objective witness’. I wouldn’t know anything about this case, however one all too often hears of similar allegations being made with impunity. Heads should roll.

Page 11 Did UK play secret roll in renditions? There is a surprise that anyone should suggest such a thing.

Page 14. Tells of ‘tiny band of Left Radicals bringing Jobs Policy to its knees.’ That’s a good thing , providing Mickey Mouse Jobs, for those with Mickey Mouse University degrees is no answer to the inadequacies of Government. Get a skill and find a job. that need doing.

Page 15 Inbreeding of Dogs. Clearly it shouldn’t be allowed, so why is it ?

Page 18. Tells of a soldier’s Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. One doesn’t need to join the army to empathise.

Committee of Members of Parliament have concluded that the Rights of Christians are place below those of Homosexuals. Is it not the business of MP.s to establish a level playing field ? What are they going to do about it, presuming they object to what they consider to be a fact? Surely doing something about it is what we pay them for.

Page 19. Tells of Britain’s Crime hot spots. Well how about recruiting those persons referred to as needing work experience (Page 14) to Police the areas specified. I believe the young in France have to do some form of National Service, including Police Work.

Page 20. Concerns reform of the House of Lords. Is it any sort of surprise that those who sit in the Lords have no wish to see reforms that will deprive them of their Sinecures. If the Lords was a Parish Council, its members wouldn’t either sit in on a relevant debate ,or vote on its outcome. Would you expect Turkeys to vote for Christmas? As for the persisting Hereditary Peers which one may wonder their qualification to govern , especially those whose ancestors were ennobled for services rendered the wrong side of the blanket. One might as well gift me a seat in the Upper House on the basis that I like countless others of my distaff Heredity descend from Edmund of Woodstock one of Edward the First’s two sons, and from all who went before them. What of the millions of others with not dissimilar Ancestry. Enough is enough,

Page 22. Concerns Syria, least said of that debacle the better, but do we have to react in such a gormless manner to the Murder of British Citizens.

Page 24. Includes much hypocrisy.

Page 26. Expands on Charles Clarke of ‘page 1 fame.’ Haven’t read it but should it be a statement of regrets on the road to Damascus, pity he didn’t take the road much earlier.

Thus the paper goes on and on, and none of us can do anything about the mess politicians have lead our country into.

THE MOST SICK MAKING THING OF THIS PAST WEEK WAS THE EXTRADITION OF Mr. TAPPIN TO AMERICA. PRIME MINISTER CAMERON SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF HIS PERFORMANCE. THOSE OF US WHO VOTED FOR HIS PARTY EXPECTED A LOT BETTER. ONE MAY WONDER AT THE SPINELESSNESS OF OUR GOVERNMENT, AND TOO WONDER IF THERE IS ANYTHING IT HASN’T MESSED UP SINCE COMING TO POWER, LET ALONE ACCOMPLISHED ANYTHING.

‘IN THE NAME OF GOD GO.’

confused.com Statement or question

Create a new page - PAPALSCOPE:

'via Blog this'Confused.com.

One had thought to arrange a new car Insurance Policy via ‘The Meerkats, but being unable to get through to them sought quotes from confused.com. What a plethora of quotes one received. Though their offer was far from the cheapest, I settled for a Policy termed ‘Sainsbury’s Premier Cover.’ One paid the premium with a debit card, and was issued with name rank and number of the policy, but was only then advised that the Policy was underwritten not by Sainsbury, but some firm unheard of by us, up in Leeds. When we phoned them, our call was answered by a lady on behalf she said of ‘Churchill Insurance’. As we once had to press a claim against one of their insured drivers, the only thing we were certain about was that we had no wish for them to be our Insurer.

Thus it was I next spoke with a very helpful lady from Sainsbury’s Head Office Holborn. She took up my two complaints, the first ‘Leed’s’ reluctance to issue a cover note, and my second concerning the fact that Sainsbury didn’t make it clear before signing me up, that they were but agents in the transaction rather than Underwriters. After discussing both matters with her colleagues thirty pounds was offered by way of a sweetener, the which when it arrives I will donate to Charity. She also arranged that a Senior Insurance Consultant from the Leeds Underwriters would phone me to discuss the matter. When he did, he seemed obdurate concerning his company’s procedures, confirming that it took all of seven days to issue a Cover Note. Maybe it does in Leeds but down South temporary Cover Notes are issued over the counter of any authorised agent, so I wasn’t minded to accept such baloney. How right I was not to do so because they were more than willing to either Fax me a Cover Note for nine pounds, or send one by first class post this evening at a cost of fifteen. They confirmed that if I hadn’t received a cover note by January the thirtieth there would be no charge. Having told him what I thought of that for an idea, the Consultant said that he would post me one this evening without charge.

There will be those who might not understand or care what my Cover Note problem is, but it is this. Though our car has Insurance and came with a shiny new MOT, it had no tax disc, thus it still sits forlornly unused on our parking area, for its ‘blue V5c’ identification doesn’t register on the DVLA Computer which is now geared to the Red V5cs. So we can not obtain a tax disc on line or over the automated phone system. Of course we would be able to tax the vehicle over a Post Office counter, but to do so we would need to physically produce a Cover Note issued by our Insurer, and of course it hasn’t as yet been delivered. I post this as a warning to others who might be similarly disadvantaged, because seemingly the ‘Strength of the Insurance Companies’ may well not be behind them.

There is always a need to take care when shopping on line, but this business makes me to wonder whether confused.com is a statement of fact or a question. 26 January 2012 00:39.