Thursday 30 January 2014

A telephone call

To be honest I had given the Company, who fitted my window and door, up as lost for they have messed me about so much.
 Well on Tuesday I rung the Company up and was answered immediately by a young lass. I told her what had happened and she promised me that the message would be passed on.
 Sure enough about an hour later I had a phone call from a Salesman asking me what I would be having done to my property next. I told him I would be having nothing at all until my door which had developed a fault in November last year was mended. He told me he understood and that a guy had my details and would be contacting me later that day. I wasn't disappointed when nobody rung me as it was what I had expected.
Surprise of surprises! a few minutes ago the guy contacted me and told me he would be calling on me tomorrow afternoon. We will see.
 I did have the bottles of LPG delivered yesterday as promised and now it is up to me when the fitments are done and the disconnection of the bulk tank is completed. I expect that by next week end I will contact Calor and have the gas switched over.
Today has been, once again a dreadful day but one mustn't grumble as we haven't had the flooding like lots in the Southwest have had for several weeks. Solar has been next to zero. A couple of days ago I generated 70 watts, today it was even worse just 50 watts. Still things can only get better.
 I did go to the local Garden Centre and get 4 bags of soil based compost, my mate tried to get some but was informed that it would be about 1 month before they had any in. Anyway I have set a few potatoes in tubs so hopefully they will have a head start on those that will be set in March.
Finally saw the Postman friend and gave him a packet of Savoy seeds, they cost me only 50p a packet. The postage was just £1.15 for 5 packets of seeds so well worth getting. More soon.

Tuesday 28 January 2014

A member

I went on my usual travels today. Namely Pension, T.V magazine and shopping.
 I went to the Co-op and waited patiently whilst the man on the checkout was generally talking to each customer. When it came to my turn, I asked him for a couple of plastic bags. Normally I take my own but not this time.
 The man was friendly and asked me if I had a members card. I replied that I had not. It was the first time anyone has asked me if I wished to have an application card. I told him I would like to have one.
 He left his check out and got me a card and told me it was the last one there. He also told me that it was easy to register online. I have heard things like that before but this time it was true.
 It took just a couple of minutes and had an e-mail a few minutes later informing me I was now a member of the club and my card would be with me within  10 working days.
 Later in the morning the phone rang. It was the sales man from Calor, he informed me that all was progressing but I think what he really wished to inform me was that the unit price for each bottle was not as he had quoted me but another £2 a bottle. I told him that this was O.K.
Early this afternoon I had a call from the Calor Agents. I was told that the 4  bottles  would be delivered tomorrow and the price would be £6 above what I had originally been quoted. I pointed out the fact the Salesman had informed me this morning that the original price he had quoted was not acceptable to the Agents and a further £2 a bottle would be accepted. I was then asked to hold the line while this was being checked. After a short time she informed me that this was fine.
 It was at this time she told me I had signed up to a direct debit but unfortunately they did not accept this. I had several alternatives given to me Pay by debit card, pay the driver cash or cheque or go on a budget plan and pay a set amount each month.
 I informed her I would pay by debit card and immediately paid in advance for the 4 bottles.
 When we ended the conversation I checked to see if I had any messages. Sure enough I had one. It was from Sally from Calor. She was checking to see if I was alright for fuel and it was her that had arranged for the delivery. I then told her that I would contact her, probably late on next week to arrange to have my bottles fitted and the bulk tank disconnected.
 So it looks as if all is now more or less sorted.. More soon.

Thursday 23 January 2014

Apologies

First I must apologise to a blog reader. He sent me a reply to one of my posts and unfortunately for me I didn't notice it until yesterday and it was because I hit a wrong button that I finally checked some of my recent postings. The gentleman will know who I am referring to and I humbly apologise for my ignorance.
Now back to normality.
 I was watching the early evening news on BBC, well not taking a lot of notice as I was trying to do something else. Why? I don't know as I am not capable of single tasks let alone multi tasking. Anyway it was this Woman who was talking and to ne honest I didn't understand a word she said. I know that I am going deaf and my eyesight is not good but I was sure there were no subtitles. I started to laugh thinking to myself if this is the start of my complete decline. I laughed so much that tears ran down my face. Eventually I managed to pull myself together and I could hear what was being said by all other spokespersons.
 I went to watch the 10.00pm news on BBC and one of the items was once again this Woman. I specifically listened hard to what she was talking about but once again I couldn't understand what she was saying apart from the odd word and I mean the odd word. It turned out that the woman was in fact Nick Clegg's Wife. As she is, I believe  Spanish it made me feel a lot better but I guess he is used to how she speaks.
 I have not gone completely though because yesterday my mate came and the day before there was  Peer on the Lunchtime Politics Show. When I saw his name it immediately rang a bell. My mate had told me a few years ago that this Peer who he has known for many years when he was living in Lancashire. He contacted him and the Peer asked him if he would like to travel to the House of Lords for a guided tour. Both he and his Brother had a most enjoyable day. He did tell me that he saw several Peers including Betty Boothroyd and a prominent Irish Lord. He told me that they went and had coffee and a sandwich. I can't remember if he said they had a cake too but the total cost was £1.80. That was for the three snacks. This was about 6 years ago. He said it was subsidised. For that cost very heavily subsidised.
 What I decided to do was video the clip with the Lord he knows and as it was raining heavily yesterday morning I put it on for him to see. I told him I was sure this was him. As soon as he saw it he confirmed that it was Tony, that is what he called him. I was pleased I had managed to video it for him to see. He told me he looked a little older. 6 years or so is a long time when one is getting older. He thought he would now be around 70 years of age.
 The rain did relent after 1.00p. so we managed to cut up a lot of wood. He bought a sort of electric mitre saw. Although we had about 80 pieces of wood. 5ft long and about 9" wide he managed to get them all done in about 20 minutes. A good afternoons work, as all I wanted was them to be cut into two equal lengths. More soon.

Wednesday 22 January 2014

At last

On Monday, the man from Calor contacted me and asked me if the next day was possible to meet me. Naturally I told him that there was no problem at all.
Tuesday morning was very frosty and foggy. I had cause to go see a colleague at the warehouse and take him the Railway book he had lent me. I also gave him to read a book which told about the last days of Mablethorpe Railway. Before that I parked up and went to get my Pension and my T.V magazine. Off I set and immediately found my rear end of the car starting to slide, it really was slippery. Even more so when I parked in the warehouse parking area so I took it steady. I managed to get back home without any trouble.
 I thought about the man from Calor because it was still frosty and foggy at 11.00am.
 I received a call a little later and the guy told me he was in Boston and would travel to me. I told him it would take around an hour.
 It would be around an hour later when he arrived at mine. I found out he was not from this area and was working  here because of the guy whose area it was, was on sick leave. He was less than impressed with the rural roads and many tractors that travel around making travel a bit of a problem. This was especially so as it was foggy and vision was severely diminished.
 He looked at where I proposed to have the gas bottles and agreed with me that it was a good position and no problems should arise at all. We then had a long talk about things in general. He told me that he had been to University and had run up debts of many thousands of £s but he would eventually manage to pay off his debts.
One thing he did tell me was that I must not put any wooden protection as this would be a fire hazard. This being so I have decided to leave the bottles open and he was happy with this suggestion. Eventually he left and had to travel back to Stoke, a journey I would not envy him at all.
So now I wait for the change over from my bulk tank to my bottles.
While we were talking the door bell went. It was the man who had delivered the Compacter(whacker plate). He told me that originally it was supposed to be here for 1 day but a phone call told him that it had been extended. I did inform him that I was relieved to see it go for it must be an expensive commodity and I was worried in case it would be stolen but now all is well. I still have sand, cement gravel and fittings etc. but this doesn't worry me at all. More soon.

Friday 17 January 2014

The very latest

I must admit I expected Calor Gas to contact me and sure enough this happened. I have said this before, they have been most helpful and this morning was no different.
 The lady first asked me what was happening  so I filled her in with all the details. First telling her that as far as I was concerned it was a no go especially as the engineers told me that the barrier had to be sited 1 meter from the tank, this meant it would be nearly 6 feet on to my driveway and would look an eyesore. I then informed her that I would like to have gas bottles instead of the tank and that as I had signed a 2 year contract would of course honour the agreement and would pay. After the 2 years or even before the 2 years was up they could remove to tank but I would keep using the bottles.
 I was somewhat surprised at her remark, she was sue they would not charge me for the 2 year period if I was not using the bulk tank, she went on and asked me if it would be alright if she contacted the Bottle representative to come and give a quick survey as one of the engineers had noted that the site was suitable for the installation of gas bottles.
 I readily agreed with her, she gave me the guys name and that was that. Well not quite because she then told me to contact her if I got low on LPG and she would arrange a top up. I thought that was very considerate of her.
 About 30 minutes later I had another phone call, this time from the area representative saying he had just received an e-mail. He asked me where abouts I was, then was very apologetic because he couldn't get to me until Monday. So hopefully I will finally be getting somewhere. More soon.

Thursday 16 January 2014

Aborted

This time it is my fault regarding the re-siting of the LPG tank.
 There were 2 men who came around 8.30am. When they measured up and told me just where the tank would be I was not happy. They then told me that the barrier that would be fitted to stop any vehicle hitting the tank should be at least a metre away from the tank it finally made my mind up.
 To be honest I was not happy with the original idea of having the tank encroaching on to my driveway and to be honest I was sure it would reduce the value of my property.
 The two men understood what I was on about and fully agreed with me that the moving of the tank would not look good at all. To me it would be an eyesore. Anyway that is how it was left.
 I did inform them that if all else fails I would be happy to have bottled gas.
 I will wait and see what happens next.  More soon.

Wednesday 15 January 2014

A little surprised

When I returned home I bumped into my Postman friend. He gave me a bill but also some circulars including one about my District Council.
 To be honest it was not until late last night that I read it. Inside was a piece about the refuse collection services. I noticed that one of the pieces was about going online to pay for the green Waste Collection. This would cost £25 for a collection each 2 weeks commencing the end of March, but over Christmas and the New year there would be no collections. I thought to myself, this would suit me fine but there is a snag. There always is and this was. Green Waste and what they would collect. Grass cuttings I do not have any grass, leaves, plants, sticks, pruning's and cut flowers. Amongst  the things not allowed was, wood that has been treated or painted sawdust, obnoxious weeds chipboard and no food or kitchen waste including  vegetable/potato peelings.
 I was surprised and disappointed as I eat almost every day several vegetables including potatoes. I also eat a couple of apples during the winter which are peeled and cored. I reckoned that with not being allowed to put cabbage leaves, pea pods, broad bean pods etc. in the green waste bin it would not be worth my while paying the £25 for a year as without these going in the bin I would have, at most 8 bins to empty each year. So what I have decided to do is this. From now on ALL my garden waste that I use for my personal use, such as cabbage, cauliflower, peas broad beans etc. will be placed in my Domestic Waste Bin. This disappoints me as until now, all I have had to put out each 2 weeks is a Supermarket bag which is quite often about 50% full only.
 Something that the District Council stated was that they would save £400,000 each year. I personally think it will cost them more. If people are like me, instead of putting far less that 1 kilo of waste each two weeks. I will guess that my total will be more like 4 kilos a fortnight. Such as pea haulms and broad bean  plants I will burn them as I live in the country and I do have a large garden. I certainly will not grow as many vegetables as I have done in previous years so neighbours will not get so many freebies.
Incidentally the local radio announced that the Council Tax will be increased this year so the £25 will go towards the increase.
I have emptied my Green Waste bin so it is now empty, what I have done is place the vegetable peelings etc. in a plastic bin liner in the bin ready for the next collection a week tomorrow.
Tomorrow should be my big day for the installation of a replacement Bulk LPG. Tank  and the removal of the old one. We will see. More soon.

Tuesday 14 January 2014

Quite busy

This morning I was busy, much busier than normal. I got prepared for the usual Tuesday run, going for my Pension etc. but I had much more this morning.
 My first port of call was the bottle bank to get rid of my coffee jar. I then drove round and parked up and went for my Pension. I then called in the Newsagents for my T.V. book. After that I went to the chemist. My last delivery of prescription medicine also contained a leaflet. I went to ask what it was all about. The assistant told me that it was just to confirm that I wished to continue having my medication picked up and bought to me so that was settled.
 I then went to Mablethorpe and called in at a garage that does M.O.Ts. I have booked a full service and M.O.T on February 6th. I now have to contact my Italian friend to see if he will call at the garage and take us both to my home for a coffee and a chat, this way killing time as I live 7 miles away.
 My next port of call was the sort of discount warehouse. All I picked up was a pack of rich tea biscuits and a swede. The biscuits were Crawford's and were just 50p cheap I thought. The total cost being just over £1. When I got to the checkout I was asked if I had seen this guy who I know. I told her I hadn't seen him but she told me he wished to see me. So off I went seeking him, I guessed where he would be and I was not wrong. He had a Railway magazine that contained something about the record speed attained a few miles from Grantham and told me that some old drivers had said they had gone equally as fast as Mallard. I told him that this was possible as I had been with a young driver on a Sunday special. As it was Sunday, the signal box at Stoke summit was not manned. Normally each train is given a set time to pass a certain point and Control would be informed if that time was not met. This young driver told me that he would take his time up to Stoke summit, by the way it was quite a drag, and he would make up time going down from Stoke to Peterborough. This we did and I told him that my driver guessed we would be travelling around 100 mph. maximum. Anyway it was an interesting read for me.
My next call was to go to the Bank. I expect to have my LPG tank filled very soon so I must have sufficient funds in to make sure that payment is collected.
After that I then went to the Co-op and parked the car, went to have my hair cut then I went into the supermarket walked to the deli. counter and remarked that the lady serving looked  a little put out. She told me that a customer had verbally abused her. She then told me that customers had the right to complain but it seems that she hadn't. To be honest I have always found her to be polite and helpful. I picked up 3 X4 pints of skimmed milk then off to Lidl. I didn't want a lot there and soon was on my way home. It had taken most of the morning to get all done but at least it is done.
 Now I wait and see what Thursday brings. Let us hope that finally I have my tank re-sited and all will go smoothly. More soon.

Friday 10 January 2014

200 litres

Yesterday I had 200 litres of fuel added to tank, now I have 20%. Heaven knows what they will think when they get here on Thursday next week.
 Had to go to the Surgery for urine test and B.P test too. The Nurse first took my B.P and it was high. I had told her that all the way to the Surgery I was followed by a Police Car. Not that I was speeding or doing anything wrong but it is still disconcerting all the same. Anyway we talked a while and she took my B.P again asking me to think of something nice. this time it was much better, she then checked my urine and told me that there was a slight trace of glucose but certainly nothing to worry about and she gave me the all clear for now. So all is well for now health wise.
 I now have my Central Heating on high, my thermostat is set so that the temperature in my sitting room is now at 27c. Around 80f. Will be pleased when I get this lot sorted out once and for all.  More soon.

Wednesday 8 January 2014

Surprised

Having been told late yesterday that an engineer would visit me on Thursday to put a further 200 litres of fuel to make sure I would last until Thursday next week, I was surprised to get a call from an engineer.
 I had originally intended to put a note on the tank requesting the driver to contact me prior to putting any fuel in as I was sure I didn't want 200 litres as an emergency.
 Anyway the man had already checked the gauge and he informed me that I had about 7% left. Not bad as I had guessed that I would have about 5% by today.
 He told me that it was sufficient to last me until Thursday next week and then the work on changing the Tank would take place but he didn't know if it was going to be in the morning or afternoon.
Yes! changing the Tank, so I will be having a brand new tank. He had a few on his lorry and told me that there should be no problem at all once the base had been done. I did count the base material and was surprised for it contained 7bags of sand 2 bags of gravel and a bag of cement as well as the plastic base that I presume will be laid after the groundwork's have been dug and then after these plastic lengths laid, then the concrete will be poured in. Once it is set then the new tank will be placed in situe.
 I will be happy though once everything has been completed, hopefully by next Thursday.
 I did remember to phone the guy who will be erecting a barrier protecting the tank against any motor vehicle reversing in to the tank. More soon.
P.S. I still have to go by Google to access my blog, a little annoying really. The good thing is that the print is large so I can read and write it O.K. More soon.

Tuesday 7 January 2014

What a performance

I have been having difficulty in accessing my blog for quite some time but today it just wouldn't allow me to use it. I had to find my blog via Google.
 I have just had a phone call from Calor, tomorrow they were supposed to arrive and move my Bulk Tank. This will now not happen as there has been some sort of panic so it will be next Thursday, hopefully.
 I had received the components etc. for the re-siting, this included yesterday some base, this morning a compacter and this afternoon cement, ballast, sand and something else. The common name for the compacter is a whacker plate. I suppose it will be incorrectly spelled but anyone who knows a little say of block paving will know exactly what I mean.
 The photos, incidentally which are of poor quality, are of a few of my place mats. It was my American friend on his blog that bought it back to me. He mentioned Green Shield stamps. All of us of a certain age remember those.
 The place mats were not part of this system. Again those of a certain age will recall that Petrol Stations would offer you certain things if you bought fuel from them. Generally it was glasses which were of mediocre quality.
 I used to go to a Garage selling fuel. Incidentally it was  Regent which was a popular chain in the early 60s. Anyway this offer came about with every 4 gallons of fuel(nearly all were petrol engines) you had a token and after collecting 4 tokens one could purchase  1 place mat for a cost I think of either 1/- or 2/-. I think it was the latter. They were well made, you can't tell by the poor quality of my photos just how good they originally were but the top is made of tin and very substantial. As was the norm, the promotions would only last for a short time and usually it was impossible to collect the set.
 I don't know why but I got on very well with the owner and he did warn me that shortly the offer was being withdrawn. By that time I had managed to collect 5 but one was a duplicate. Generally you would not have the choice of place mat, one was just given to you. I mentioned this to the owner and surprisingly he took me to where he had these mats and showed me the complete set offering to swap the duplicate one for the most difficult one to obtain. There was always one item that was difficult to get no matter what you collected, that was of course if you were trying to get a complete set. He told me that the promoters did this on purpose just to get you to purchase more fuel.
 What he did tell me was that he would save the one I had not got just to make sure I would get the set. In fact I managed to collect 7 altogether. One spare. This would be around 1963.
 When my late Mother saw them she more or less commandeered them for herself, not that she used them much at all but it was because they really did look quality back in those days.
 Anyway she looked after most of them for well over 40 years, unfortunately one of them got damaged and since I have been here, I have used a few of them myself.
 The photos I have taken are some of the better ones I have, you must bear in mind that they over 50 years old but I still like them. I have 3 which are still quite good.
In the early 70s I purchased a new Van from a Garage and they went me a calendar with pictures of old care. I have taken a few photos of them. I hope to post them soon. To be honest, I think the first photo is one of those on the Calendar. Must get my act together. More soon.

Thursday 2 January 2014

2014

The start of another year, my 77th. I find it hard to believe that I will be 77 this year. I still think of myself as being young but my body thinks differently.
 Christmas as always these last few years was quiet. The same can not be said about the last couple of days though.
 New Year's Eve my Sister, who with her Husband came to see me. Each year they go to Skegness to celebrate new year. Together with her Husband's relatives they have a few days catching up with all the news.
It was nice to see them but they didn't stay too long as they were late arriving. It turned out that a light lunch was arranged for all there and it started late. The evening meal was early hence the stay was shorter than they had proposed. I did manage to pick a few carrots for them and they left as it was getting dark. Not that it has been  a bright few days what with severe gales and heavy rain I was pleased to see out 2013.
This morning I went out to put some stuff in the recycle bin and noticed that next door had theirs out ready to be emptied. I didn't think it was time for that so I went Online and checked. They were correct so I went to put mine out. I heard the lady next door putting theirs out too so I went to have a word.
 I told her that I had thought they had been away for the New Year as I had heard no noise at all. She told me that they had been in but the weather had been so poor that they had stayed indoors all the time. She then told me they had turkey for Christmas lunch and it had cost £45. I was amazed at the cost. She then told me that next year they all planned to go out for Christmas Day lunch and each of them was going to save £5  a month. This she told me would be more than enough because she had priced some of the Restaurants and the average price was £50 but the one she had an eye on was even cheaper this year.
 It was then that she told me that if I wished I could also go with them and spend Christmas with them. I thanked her very much but told her that I doubted  whether I would go. About 20 minutes later the doorbell rang and it was her with 3 eggs just laid. I was surprised and pleased too because I had no eggs at all. Mind you, I do not eat many eggs. She also knows this, hence the 3 only eggs.
 Earlier my Italian friend had phoned me asking if I would be in later, I of course told him I would. It would be around 11.00am. when he called. It was nice to see him but he had some disappointing news of his Wife. She, once more was in Hospital, she suffers from a mental condition. She has been in Hospital since before Christmas so it has been a poor Christmas for him.
 He came in his new car, well not exactly brand new but fairly new. It is a Peugeot 207 I do believe it is the first time he has had a car other than a Fiat. I told him it was the best car he has had and that I had that same model a few years ago and it was a nice car. He told me that it was a 1400cc. I told him that the one I had was a 166 Thp G.T. However now all I am interested in is an economic car.
 We talked for about an hour then it was time for him to leave.
 I decide to take a few carrots to next door. When I walked round, the two handicapped residents were there cleaning the car. They told me all about what they had for Christmas, they kept me talking for about 20 minutes, they were still excited about Christmas even though it has now been over a week since it began. Still it was nice to see them happy. I did manage to get her the carrots, she was pleased to receive them and told me they would have them tomorrow. More soon.