People's eating habits are often defined by their childhoods and whether their own parents were 'conservative' or 'adventurous' in their eating habits. I am thankful that both my parents, specially my mother, were reasonably adventurous (not so much my father, admittedly), but both were good cooks and pre-prepared rubbish was never a part of my growing up. That's another thing, my father was not a stranger to the kitchen, so whilst growing up neither me nor my brother thought there was anything remotely strange about trying out new ideas in the kitchen. Obviously I am now somewhat older, so my childhood relates to the 1950s and 1960s, and I have become aware since then that for some of my contemporaries their home environments were radically different. One's home environment as children helps to define the adults we become, for good or ill. Some of the best people, however, are those who have transcended the most difficult early years - I can't say I'm one of those, but I sure do admire those who are.
I'm often astonished at the food 'dislikes' that some of my acquaintances exhibit - and I don't mean those who are vegetarian or vegan, for example, because I've eaten some delicious food of both varieties over the years. What I do mean though is those who are unwilling even to try anything 'different' from what they have ever eaten before, or people who, for example, live in places where abundant local delicacies are available, but who studuously avoid/loathe them in favour of heavily-advertised processed food instead, because that's what they were encouraged to eat by lazy parents. It applies also, incidentally, to those who don't wish to try vegetables or fruits different from the limited range they were exposed to by their own parents in earlier years, whether it might be an avocado pear, an asparagus spear, a pomegranate or a persimmon, etc., not that there's anything wrong with a potato or a carrot, of course. One thing I just cannot understand, though, is that many children (and perhaps their parents too) seem to find perfectly ordinary, nutritious and delicious green vegetables or salads "yukky"; even from my youngest years I LOVED things like broccoli and lettuce, for example, even if it took me a little longer to appreciate the joys of a fresh beetroot. I don't recall ever being pressurised to 'like' anything (well, apart from salted herring, which both my parents relished, for some inexplicable reason, ha ha), but it was never suggested to me that I was somehow being 'brave' when given a piece of broccoli or some Savoy cabbage to eat - my own parents enjoyed eating these so I learned from them - well apart from the afore-mentioned salted herring,the problem being not the taste or even the texture, but the fine bones.
In my area, with an abundance of fish and seafood, or excellent beef or venison, for example, I occasionally encounter people who HAVE NEVER EATEN FISH, for example, not that they have tried it and found they don't like it. I recall years ago being at a dinner party not far from here and one of the other guests, having said he had never eaten fish (having been born and brought up in a small coastal town not so far from here, with a major fishing industry), relishing a delicious salmon mousse and on being told what it was, admitting to our hosts how delicious it was. So my message is - try it, you may like a food unfamilar to you, you may not, but then at least you'll have knowledge rather than prejudice to guide you.
There are of course a few foods I don't like, or in a very few cases actively"loathe" (e.g. tripe), but I have formed my views by trying them, not whining "yuk" when first presented with them, but I don't discount the possibility that at some stage in the future I might come to tolerate if not actively "like" them, hopefully not at pistol point, ha ha.
Blogging from the Highlands of Scotland
'From fanaticism to barbarism is only one step' - Diderot
Showing posts with label sundry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sundry. Show all posts
Saturday, 30 April 2016
Monday, 23 December 2013
Christmas singing from a Male Choir in Indiana
A little different and very cleverly done ...
A Joyous Christmas and a Peaceful, Happy and Prosperous New Year to all who pass this way.
Tuesday, 6 August 2013
Blatant cold caller denies her call is a "cold call", says is from Scotia Energy
A short time ago the telephone rings and I see that the number display shows the number of the caller; I kind of recognise 01382 as being a Dundee number, so as I have family there I pick up the telephone.
The [female] caller says: Can I speak to Mr or Mrs Cameron?
(Ed: There is of course no "Mrs Cameron", so it was immediately clear this was not a personal call, although because I have [elderly] family in the Dundee area I thought it might just possibly be a hospital or other genuine caller.)
I respond: Who is calling?
She says: I'm just calling to give you some information about Scotia Energy ..
I interrupt her saying: This is a cold call and I am signed up to the TPS. Why are you cold calling me?
She responds: No, it's not a cold call, it's to give you information ..
I interrupt again: I never contacted your company and asked you to call. It is a cold call. Please do not try and call again. (I then replaced the receiver.)
Note: The caller number was 01382 250143 and a 'Google' search reveals this is a well-known originator of cold calls, with a number of the persons reporting cold calls mentioning that the call was made for on behalf of Scotia Energy. A 'Google' search for Scotia Energy reveals it is based in Glenrothes in Fife (website: http://www.scotia-aircon.co.uk/).
Of course I have no idea if the lady cold caller who called me is an employee or if she is merely a cold call operative contracted directly or indirectly to pester people on behalf of this company. In any case she won't be bothering me again as I have blocked the number using the "choose to refuse" service I subscribe to.
The [female] caller says: Can I speak to Mr or Mrs Cameron?
(Ed: There is of course no "Mrs Cameron", so it was immediately clear this was not a personal call, although because I have [elderly] family in the Dundee area I thought it might just possibly be a hospital or other genuine caller.)
I respond: Who is calling?
She says: I'm just calling to give you some information about Scotia Energy ..
I interrupt her saying: This is a cold call and I am signed up to the TPS. Why are you cold calling me?
She responds: No, it's not a cold call, it's to give you information ..
I interrupt again: I never contacted your company and asked you to call. It is a cold call. Please do not try and call again. (I then replaced the receiver.)
Note: The caller number was 01382 250143 and a 'Google' search reveals this is a well-known originator of cold calls, with a number of the persons reporting cold calls mentioning that the call was made for on behalf of Scotia Energy. A 'Google' search for Scotia Energy reveals it is based in Glenrothes in Fife (website: http://www.scotia-aircon.co.uk/).
Of course I have no idea if the lady cold caller who called me is an employee or if she is merely a cold call operative contracted directly or indirectly to pester people on behalf of this company. In any case she won't be bothering me again as I have blocked the number using the "choose to refuse" service I subscribe to.
Wednesday, 28 November 2012
Scam calls and the "it's just a courtesy call" 'gambit' (aka 'lie')
I had another scam call today from someone who asked if I was "William Cameron" - I asked who was calling. The response was "It's just a courtesy call. I'm calling from the Highland Energy Forum ...".
The call today was from 0844 376 0095, and a quick internet search reveals that this is a known telemarketer scam outfit with many other people being pestered by these idiots. As for the notion that it is some great favour or "courtesy" that these people are doing me or other recipients, this is no more than a bare-faced lie - they are calling, uninvited (despite me being signed up to the TPS) to try and sell me something that I do not want to buy, or if I did I would initiate the transaction myself with a reputable firm, not by talking to some shady outfit that specialises in bothering people it has no right to be contacting.
Yet another number has now been added to my 'choose to refuse' list!
The call today was from 0844 376 0095, and a quick internet search reveals that this is a known telemarketer scam outfit with many other people being pestered by these idiots. As for the notion that it is some great favour or "courtesy" that these people are doing me or other recipients, this is no more than a bare-faced lie - they are calling, uninvited (despite me being signed up to the TPS) to try and sell me something that I do not want to buy, or if I did I would initiate the transaction myself with a reputable firm, not by talking to some shady outfit that specialises in bothering people it has no right to be contacting.
Yet another number has now been added to my 'choose to refuse' list!
Saturday, 24 November 2012
A vignette from a supermarket visit and a slight feeling of guilt
I usually visit a supermarket 3 or 4 times a week, usually to do a couple of larger shops, the other two usually for smaller quantities, often of things I forgot to get before or for salads and things which I prefer to buy every day or so anyway. Earlier this week I was doing a larger shop in Inverness in the ubiquitous Tesco and was waiting in line at the check-out behind a man who had only a few items to pay for, so I assumed it would be a speedy transaction and he would soon be gone and my own purchases would be rung through the till.
However, that was not to be. Instead, his transaction seemed to be taking rather a long time; at first I wasn't paying attention, but the delay made me watch and listen in a little more closely, whilst trying not to pry. As I mentioned above, he had only a few items to pay for (I think a sandwich, a small soft drink and perhaps some crisps or a small confectionery bar) - as it was early afternoon I assumed it was his lunch on a break from his office or sales route. I think the total was less than £5-, perhaps even less than £4-, but he wanted to pay by card - he put it in the card-reader, but it was rejected. He tried it with the same card a couple more times, with the same result. Then he tried it with another card, but it was rejected too. He then started to look in his wallet/money-purse, presumably for a bank note or some coins, but it seems he did not have ANY cash at all, so could not pay and had to leave without the items he had tried to purchase.
Who knows what the story is behind this little incident - someone who has lost his job or whatever benefits he may have been receiving, or someone who has exceeded his account limits and the bank has stopped all his cards, perhaps someone who is undergoing a messy divorce and his partner/wife has cleared out his account, or perhaps even that someone has cloned his cards and cleaned out his accounts that way. Whatever, I don't think he could have been completely unaware of what might be likely to happen, because he did (on later reflection - and that's where the slight feeling of guilt comes in which I'll explain a little later) seem to have a slightly hang-dog demeanour. He was wearing a suit and tie, with a rain jacket on top and seemed perhaps to be in his thirties - I took him to be an office-worker or perhaps a travelling salesman doing his sales route around this part of the country. Whatever the case, it was obviously part of a bigger drama in this young-ish man's life.
It was only a little later, after he had left the supermarket, that I was jerked out of my abstraction whilst packing my own purchases into bags in my trolley and rebuked myself for not doing the charitable thing and offering him the money to pay for his lunch - a £5 or a £10 note from my wallet, or a few £1 coins from my purse, would have meant almost nothing to me. I hope that if I observe another similar incident in the future, I will be quicker to react and offer the paltry sum required as a gesture from one human being to another - that's where the slight feeling of guilt comes in, that I didn't react quickly enough to allow him to have his lunch-time snack and simply offer a small hand of friendship to someone going through some kind of personal tragedy.
However, that was not to be. Instead, his transaction seemed to be taking rather a long time; at first I wasn't paying attention, but the delay made me watch and listen in a little more closely, whilst trying not to pry. As I mentioned above, he had only a few items to pay for (I think a sandwich, a small soft drink and perhaps some crisps or a small confectionery bar) - as it was early afternoon I assumed it was his lunch on a break from his office or sales route. I think the total was less than £5-, perhaps even less than £4-, but he wanted to pay by card - he put it in the card-reader, but it was rejected. He tried it with the same card a couple more times, with the same result. Then he tried it with another card, but it was rejected too. He then started to look in his wallet/money-purse, presumably for a bank note or some coins, but it seems he did not have ANY cash at all, so could not pay and had to leave without the items he had tried to purchase.
Who knows what the story is behind this little incident - someone who has lost his job or whatever benefits he may have been receiving, or someone who has exceeded his account limits and the bank has stopped all his cards, perhaps someone who is undergoing a messy divorce and his partner/wife has cleared out his account, or perhaps even that someone has cloned his cards and cleaned out his accounts that way. Whatever, I don't think he could have been completely unaware of what might be likely to happen, because he did (on later reflection - and that's where the slight feeling of guilt comes in which I'll explain a little later) seem to have a slightly hang-dog demeanour. He was wearing a suit and tie, with a rain jacket on top and seemed perhaps to be in his thirties - I took him to be an office-worker or perhaps a travelling salesman doing his sales route around this part of the country. Whatever the case, it was obviously part of a bigger drama in this young-ish man's life.
It was only a little later, after he had left the supermarket, that I was jerked out of my abstraction whilst packing my own purchases into bags in my trolley and rebuked myself for not doing the charitable thing and offering him the money to pay for his lunch - a £5 or a £10 note from my wallet, or a few £1 coins from my purse, would have meant almost nothing to me. I hope that if I observe another similar incident in the future, I will be quicker to react and offer the paltry sum required as a gesture from one human being to another - that's where the slight feeling of guilt comes in, that I didn't react quickly enough to allow him to have his lunch-time snack and simply offer a small hand of friendship to someone going through some kind of personal tragedy.
Wednesday, 21 November 2012
More scam calls - "Window Scrappage Scheme"
(Please see UPDATES at end)
I had a telephone call earlier today from what is almost certainly another of these scam outfits. The caller asked initially if he could speak to the "householder", I responded querying who was calling. The person (a Scottiah male voice, with a well-spoken Edinburgh-ish accent) said he was calling about the "Window Scrappage Scheme", which he said is currently available "in your area" - naturally he did not reveal which company or organisation he represented, a sure sign in my opinion that this is merely a commission agent touting for business either on behalf of the company he works for or for another company which had hired him to conduct cold-calling. On this occasion I asked him how he had obtained my telephone number, given that I have signed up to the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) and he responded by blustering that it was an "official call". I then informed him that I had heard enough and was going to hang up, which I did. I then blocked future calls by adding the telephone number (see below) to my 'choose to refuse' list.
An internet search for the number (01968 458146) revealed it to be from the Penicuik area (this is just south of Edinburgh), and further research at one of the links provided by that search, http://www.411phonesearch.co.uk/01968458146-phone-number, revealed it is indeed a scam operation, with a number of very negative comments listed against it.
As I wrote in an earlier article last July, I think most sensible people can recognise this kind of call for what it is almost immediately, but some more gullible folks or perhaps some elderly folks with poor hearing might be fooled by these con-artists. So this is a further warning just to be careful and not to be drawn into a conversation with such people. I am never rude when I hang up, by the way, I always say something like "no thanks, goodbye" and hang up (although today I was perhaps slightly more abrupt, but certainly not rude), then block future calls if possible with my 'choose to refuse' access code. Job done!
PS/ Like many others, I subscribe to the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) which theoretically should stop cold-calls, but as has been mentioned recently in the media the rules are being flouted by some less-reputable (and some otherwise seemingly pretty reputable) outfits; 'choose to refuse' is a second line of defence for me which I began to use over 10 years ago.
UPDATE (Wednesday 28NOV2012 14.19 GMT) I have published a comment - see below - which may perhaps be of interest to some readers, although to be quite frank I am not entirely certain that this comment is not itself in the nature of 'spam', specially as the person writing me addresses me as "Trefor" - I have absolutely no idea where that comes from. In any case, if you want to follow this 'marketing' contact do so at your own peril - I shall certainly not be doing so myself. Depending on any feedback I get I may choose to remove said comment at any time.
2nd UPDATE (Wednesday 28NOV2012 14.38 GMT) I have now removed the comment referred to immediately above as some internet searches lead me to be certain that this is itself a scam outfit, seemingly operating out of a semi- in a street of semi-detached houses in Bradford and for which I have found rather too many negative comments. It may be helpful if others interested in leaving comments here read the 'Terms of Use' for this blog - there is a link near the top of the right-hand column.
3rd UPDATE (Wednesday 31JUL2013 20.00 BST) A short time ago, someone called "Andrew McCann" tried to post a comment here which I have not published. In his comment Mr McCann categorised me as "Some snobby old guy looking down on cold callers" and adding "these people work long hours for awful pay" and "Try being a cold caller earning less than minimum wage...". Well, Mr McCann, it is not my problem that people are BREAKING THE LAW by knowingly cold-calling people who have signed up to the TPS (as I have). Nor is it my problem that people are low paid, much as I may have sympathy with them. Nor am I in any way responsible, nor do I condone it if it is true, that companies employing these people are paying them "less than minimum wage" in contravention of the law. Naturally, Mr McCann, I have kept a copy of the email confirmation, sent to me by the blogging host, of your comment, for future reference. In summary, this comment is a joke and I am treating it as such. PS/ A 'Google' search for "Andrew McCann" naturally reveals many people with this name, but one seems to be closely connected with the 'cold-calling' sector. Nuff sed! PPS/ The IP address of the computer used to leave the comment is 31.220.240.3 with the ISP shown as "Cablecom Networking Limited", apparently from the Dundee area.
I had a telephone call earlier today from what is almost certainly another of these scam outfits. The caller asked initially if he could speak to the "householder", I responded querying who was calling. The person (a Scottiah male voice, with a well-spoken Edinburgh-ish accent) said he was calling about the "Window Scrappage Scheme", which he said is currently available "in your area" - naturally he did not reveal which company or organisation he represented, a sure sign in my opinion that this is merely a commission agent touting for business either on behalf of the company he works for or for another company which had hired him to conduct cold-calling. On this occasion I asked him how he had obtained my telephone number, given that I have signed up to the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) and he responded by blustering that it was an "official call". I then informed him that I had heard enough and was going to hang up, which I did. I then blocked future calls by adding the telephone number (see below) to my 'choose to refuse' list.
An internet search for the number (01968 458146) revealed it to be from the Penicuik area (this is just south of Edinburgh), and further research at one of the links provided by that search, http://www.411phonesearch.co.uk/01968458146-phone-number, revealed it is indeed a scam operation, with a number of very negative comments listed against it.
As I wrote in an earlier article last July, I think most sensible people can recognise this kind of call for what it is almost immediately, but some more gullible folks or perhaps some elderly folks with poor hearing might be fooled by these con-artists. So this is a further warning just to be careful and not to be drawn into a conversation with such people. I am never rude when I hang up, by the way, I always say something like "no thanks, goodbye" and hang up (although today I was perhaps slightly more abrupt, but certainly not rude), then block future calls if possible with my 'choose to refuse' access code. Job done!
PS/ Like many others, I subscribe to the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) which theoretically should stop cold-calls, but as has been mentioned recently in the media the rules are being flouted by some less-reputable (and some otherwise seemingly pretty reputable) outfits; 'choose to refuse' is a second line of defence for me which I began to use over 10 years ago.
UPDATE (Wednesday 28NOV2012 14.19 GMT) I have published a comment - see below - which may perhaps be of interest to some readers, although to be quite frank I am not entirely certain that this comment is not itself in the nature of 'spam', specially as the person writing me addresses me as "Trefor" - I have absolutely no idea where that comes from. In any case, if you want to follow this 'marketing' contact do so at your own peril - I shall certainly not be doing so myself. Depending on any feedback I get I may choose to remove said comment at any time.
2nd UPDATE (Wednesday 28NOV2012 14.38 GMT) I have now removed the comment referred to immediately above as some internet searches lead me to be certain that this is itself a scam outfit, seemingly operating out of a semi- in a street of semi-detached houses in Bradford and for which I have found rather too many negative comments. It may be helpful if others interested in leaving comments here read the 'Terms of Use' for this blog - there is a link near the top of the right-hand column.
3rd UPDATE (Wednesday 31JUL2013 20.00 BST) A short time ago, someone called "Andrew McCann" tried to post a comment here which I have not published. In his comment Mr McCann categorised me as "Some snobby old guy looking down on cold callers" and adding "these people work long hours for awful pay" and "Try being a cold caller earning less than minimum wage...". Well, Mr McCann, it is not my problem that people are BREAKING THE LAW by knowingly cold-calling people who have signed up to the TPS (as I have). Nor is it my problem that people are low paid, much as I may have sympathy with them. Nor am I in any way responsible, nor do I condone it if it is true, that companies employing these people are paying them "less than minimum wage" in contravention of the law. Naturally, Mr McCann, I have kept a copy of the email confirmation, sent to me by the blogging host, of your comment, for future reference. In summary, this comment is a joke and I am treating it as such. PS/ A 'Google' search for "Andrew McCann" naturally reveals many people with this name, but one seems to be closely connected with the 'cold-calling' sector. Nuff sed! PPS/ The IP address of the computer used to leave the comment is 31.220.240.3 with the ISP shown as "Cablecom Networking Limited", apparently from the Dundee area.
Sunday, 28 October 2012
Back to reality with a bump - and a cough - it's almost winter!
I arrived back home in Scotland for the winter a few days ago, having left behind slightly deteriorating weather in Spain, typical of this time of year, but still rather warmer than here of course. I left the house there very early (about 5.45am - argh!) on Thursday morning to drive to the airport at Alicante, about one hour and twenty minutes up the motorway, to be well in time for check-in as I have never liked to have to rush or be late for anything. Anyway the flight left on time and arrived in Gatwick a little early, so after retrieving my luggage I had plenty of time to transfer between terminals and check-in for the next flight, which meant I could get through security (again) and have plenty of time for a proper and fairly relaxed lunch.
The flight up to Inverness was on time, too, but when stepping off the aircraft (no air-bridges at Inverness) down the stairs onto the tarmac the cold blast of air hit me in the face. Truly, I was home. After a speedy luggage-retrieval process (the advantage of arriving at a small airport - mind you my luggage was delivered remarkably rapidly at Gatwick earlier in the day, too), with the taxi I had booked by telephone before leaving London awaiting me (*) I was back home about 15 minutes later. The neighbour who kindly holds my keys when I am away, and who collects and organises my mail as well as doing a check of my property (central heating, tap running and toilet flushing, etc) had as she usually does left me some eggs, cheese, grapes and oatcakes so as I was feeling quite tired after many hours of travelling I contented myself with this and did not even think about going to the supermarket that evening.
So the next day, Friday, I took myself along to the supermarket to stock up the refrigerator again. All good, except that someone must have been carrying a cold/cough virus and 'kindly' passed it on to me - thanks so much. By Saturday afternoon I was not feeling too good so had to decline an invitation to attend an opera performance to use a ticket that another person couldn't use because she was unwell. In the event I took myself off to bed at about 8pm, not forgetting to put all my clocks back to 7pm before doing so. I wakened up around 1.30 am on Sunday feeling 'like death warmed up', with a VERY sore throat; I remembered I had some 'Lemsip' (paracetamol-based cough/cold remedy) sachets and some Strepsil throat lozenges from last winter so went and took a dose of each - back to bed and slept soundly (well, after an hour or two on the laptop propped up on my lap in bed to pass the time) and wakened up about 8am feeling a very great deal better. On reflection it is probably better I was infected with this cold/cough virus quickly so I could begin to build up an immunity to it - I'll see just how effective that immunity is after another night in bed tonight.
One of the advantages of the clocks having gone back an hour last night is that one wakens up to lighter skies in the mornings, at least for a few weeks longer until the longest night/shortest day just before Christmas, against which of course is the 'penalty' that it gets darker an hour earlier in the afternoon/early evening. I jest slightly of course, but this is the usual seasonal pattern here, until the days begin to get noticeably longer toward the end of February and early March. And later in March I will be heading back to Spain again for my usual 3-months there in Spring - something to look forward to.
(*) Recently the taxi-parking regime at Inverness Airport was tightened-up even more than it had been been before. Only taxis from one particular Inverness-based taxi firm are permitted to queue for business at Inverness Airport (I understand they pay a substantial annual fee for the privilege), with passengers headed for other towns in the area and who wish to travel by taxi obliged to book ahead. But as those booked taxis are not permitted to wait at the airport without payment for more than 15 or 20 minutes, it makes it necessary to re-confirm by telephone to the taxi-firm from the arrivals hall/luggage collection area, so they can come into the airport from where they have been waiting outside the airport perimeter to collect their passengers - it is all very inconvenient both for passengers and taxi firms not based in Inverness. Surely there is a better and more equitable way of catering for passengers' needs without infringing over-much the 'monopoly' created by HIA (the airport authority) and its fee-paying Inverness-based taxi firm, which passengers living outside Inverness could not use even if they wished to?
The flight up to Inverness was on time, too, but when stepping off the aircraft (no air-bridges at Inverness) down the stairs onto the tarmac the cold blast of air hit me in the face. Truly, I was home. After a speedy luggage-retrieval process (the advantage of arriving at a small airport - mind you my luggage was delivered remarkably rapidly at Gatwick earlier in the day, too), with the taxi I had booked by telephone before leaving London awaiting me (*) I was back home about 15 minutes later. The neighbour who kindly holds my keys when I am away, and who collects and organises my mail as well as doing a check of my property (central heating, tap running and toilet flushing, etc) had as she usually does left me some eggs, cheese, grapes and oatcakes so as I was feeling quite tired after many hours of travelling I contented myself with this and did not even think about going to the supermarket that evening.
So the next day, Friday, I took myself along to the supermarket to stock up the refrigerator again. All good, except that someone must have been carrying a cold/cough virus and 'kindly' passed it on to me - thanks so much. By Saturday afternoon I was not feeling too good so had to decline an invitation to attend an opera performance to use a ticket that another person couldn't use because she was unwell. In the event I took myself off to bed at about 8pm, not forgetting to put all my clocks back to 7pm before doing so. I wakened up around 1.30 am on Sunday feeling 'like death warmed up', with a VERY sore throat; I remembered I had some 'Lemsip' (paracetamol-based cough/cold remedy) sachets and some Strepsil throat lozenges from last winter so went and took a dose of each - back to bed and slept soundly (well, after an hour or two on the laptop propped up on my lap in bed to pass the time) and wakened up about 8am feeling a very great deal better. On reflection it is probably better I was infected with this cold/cough virus quickly so I could begin to build up an immunity to it - I'll see just how effective that immunity is after another night in bed tonight.
One of the advantages of the clocks having gone back an hour last night is that one wakens up to lighter skies in the mornings, at least for a few weeks longer until the longest night/shortest day just before Christmas, against which of course is the 'penalty' that it gets darker an hour earlier in the afternoon/early evening. I jest slightly of course, but this is the usual seasonal pattern here, until the days begin to get noticeably longer toward the end of February and early March. And later in March I will be heading back to Spain again for my usual 3-months there in Spring - something to look forward to.
(*) Recently the taxi-parking regime at Inverness Airport was tightened-up even more than it had been been before. Only taxis from one particular Inverness-based taxi firm are permitted to queue for business at Inverness Airport (I understand they pay a substantial annual fee for the privilege), with passengers headed for other towns in the area and who wish to travel by taxi obliged to book ahead. But as those booked taxis are not permitted to wait at the airport without payment for more than 15 or 20 minutes, it makes it necessary to re-confirm by telephone to the taxi-firm from the arrivals hall/luggage collection area, so they can come into the airport from where they have been waiting outside the airport perimeter to collect their passengers - it is all very inconvenient both for passengers and taxi firms not based in Inverness. Surely there is a better and more equitable way of catering for passengers' needs without infringing over-much the 'monopoly' created by HIA (the airport authority) and its fee-paying Inverness-based taxi firm, which passengers living outside Inverness could not use even if they wished to?
Sunday, 30 September 2012
If you're interested in "talk about us" blogging ...
... this is the headquarters of "narcissism central" for Scottish blogging. I've read it for years, but remain perplexed what it's all about. Apart from talking about 'talking about' anything remotely related to Scotland. It used to be reasonably good, now it seems simply to be a 'look at me' blog-fest for people that are immensely pleased that their blog has achieved a mention in it.
Monday, 23 July 2012
Beware of scam calls - "Government Grant Scheme"
I had a telephone call earlier today from what is almost certainly a scam outfit. I was asked initially if I was "William Cameron", I responded querying who was calling. The person (a Scottiah male voice, with a well-spoken Glasgow accent) said he was calling about/from the "Government Grant Scheme". As I invariably do, I then said quite politely "no thanks, goodbye" and hung up. I was in bed at the time, propped up with a laptop on my lap, but only looked at the caller number a little later, after having blocked future calls (I pay for a service called 'choose to refuse') and was a little surprised to see it was listed openly rather than being 'withheld' or from a foreign proxy, as is so often the case with these cold-call scams. In any case the number was a Glasgow number (0141 438 2187) and a quick Google search threw up this, with a number of the links confirming this is indeed a scam outfit.
I think most sensible people can recognise this kind of call for what it is almost immediately, but some more gullible folks or perhaps some elderly folks with poor hearing might be fooled by these con-artists. So this is a warning just to be careful and not to be drawn into a conversation with such people. I am never rude when I hang up, by the way, I always say something like "no thanks, goodbye" and hang up, then block future calls if possible with my 'choose to refuse' access code. Job done!
PS/ Like many others, I subscribe to the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) which theoretically should stop cold-calls, but as has been mentioned recently in the media the rules are being flouted by some less-reputable (and some otherwise seemingly pretty reputable) outfits; 'choose to refuse' is a second line of defence for me which I began to use over 10 years ago.
I think most sensible people can recognise this kind of call for what it is almost immediately, but some more gullible folks or perhaps some elderly folks with poor hearing might be fooled by these con-artists. So this is a warning just to be careful and not to be drawn into a conversation with such people. I am never rude when I hang up, by the way, I always say something like "no thanks, goodbye" and hang up, then block future calls if possible with my 'choose to refuse' access code. Job done!
PS/ Like many others, I subscribe to the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) which theoretically should stop cold-calls, but as has been mentioned recently in the media the rules are being flouted by some less-reputable (and some otherwise seemingly pretty reputable) outfits; 'choose to refuse' is a second line of defence for me which I began to use over 10 years ago.
Wednesday, 13 June 2012
On the importance of not over-filling a washing machine
(Please see UPDATE at end)
I suspect that, like most people, I have a tendency to over-fill my washing machines with laundry, this applies whether I'm in Spain (as I am at present) or at my home in Scotland. I think this is partly an attempt at frugality in use of resources, from a 'green' point of view, also simple parsimoniousness. I have wondered occasionally whether my laundry was really being cleaned properly because although of course I use the recommended amount of detergent (in recent times I have been using a gel rather than powder tablets) there often seems not to be much tumbling going on within the drum.
So where is all this going, you may be wondering. Well, I bleed from time to time - occasionally from my nose and occasionally from other parts of the body - my skin scratches and gets damaged pretty easily and this has perhaps grown a little worse over the years, possibly as a result of the general weakening of this 'organ' (because that's what the skin is, the largest organ in the body) since I began to suffer from eczema 15-20 years ago, against which I make occasional use of a topical [corticosteroid] cream, which I get on prescription from my doctor, to bring outbreaks under control. In any case, I recently had quite a bad nose-bleed during the night and of course the pillow-case got blood on it, as did the pillow-protector below it and indeed the pillow itself - I noticed all of this only in the morning when I awakened.
I laundered the pillow-case and the pillow-protector the next day, as part of a[n over-]full load of laundry and the stains were not completely removed - I was planning to buy some more of both to replace them in due course, but have plenty spares so it was not an urgent matter. However, yesterday I was changing all my bed-linen and when putting on fresh linen a cut on my finger which had happened earlier in the day (*) began to bleed again quite badly and I got several spots of blood on the new top-sheet. This morning I decided to launder that sheet right away, perhaps before the blood would have a chance to 'set' and I also included an offending pillow-case and the pillow-protector from a previous unsuccessful wash, and very few other items. As the drum of the machine was much less congested than it usually is I think the washing-action must have performed a lot better than usual, because ALL the blood-stains are now gone, including what I thought were most probably 'set' stains on the pillow-protector and pillow-case.
Currently I've got the blood-spotted pillow itself in the machine - I've never washed a pillow before, I usually just replace them every few years - and will report later on what the result is. The pillow is polyester (I stopped using goose-down pillows some years ago as although they are comfortable, they can be messy and I think I was sometimes subject to an allergic reaction when using them) and assuming the filler is not distorted too much should be able to dry it naturally over a couple of days, but if I do have to buy another one, then so be it.
(*) That particular finger-bleed was on a knuckle, the result of carelessness when washing my stove-top espresso machine, which has a stainless steel and quite sharp-edged lid.
UPDATE (Wednesday 13JUN2012 13.55 CET+1) As mentioned earlier, I decided to put the blood-stained pillow into the washing-machine on its own to see if the stains would wash away. Well, I took the pillow out of the machine about 1 1/2 hours ago and am very pleased to say it is now pristine clean and the blood-spot is completely gone. Even better, the filler is not distorted in any way, so I have had it out hanging in my back patio since I took it from the machine and it is already almost dry and will certainly be ready to go back on the bed by this evening - of course the temperature here is around 30 degC today and there is a bit of a breeze with bright sunshine, so it is ideal drying conditions.
I suspect that, like most people, I have a tendency to over-fill my washing machines with laundry, this applies whether I'm in Spain (as I am at present) or at my home in Scotland. I think this is partly an attempt at frugality in use of resources, from a 'green' point of view, also simple parsimoniousness. I have wondered occasionally whether my laundry was really being cleaned properly because although of course I use the recommended amount of detergent (in recent times I have been using a gel rather than powder tablets) there often seems not to be much tumbling going on within the drum.
So where is all this going, you may be wondering. Well, I bleed from time to time - occasionally from my nose and occasionally from other parts of the body - my skin scratches and gets damaged pretty easily and this has perhaps grown a little worse over the years, possibly as a result of the general weakening of this 'organ' (because that's what the skin is, the largest organ in the body) since I began to suffer from eczema 15-20 years ago, against which I make occasional use of a topical [corticosteroid] cream, which I get on prescription from my doctor, to bring outbreaks under control. In any case, I recently had quite a bad nose-bleed during the night and of course the pillow-case got blood on it, as did the pillow-protector below it and indeed the pillow itself - I noticed all of this only in the morning when I awakened.
I laundered the pillow-case and the pillow-protector the next day, as part of a[n over-]full load of laundry and the stains were not completely removed - I was planning to buy some more of both to replace them in due course, but have plenty spares so it was not an urgent matter. However, yesterday I was changing all my bed-linen and when putting on fresh linen a cut on my finger which had happened earlier in the day (*) began to bleed again quite badly and I got several spots of blood on the new top-sheet. This morning I decided to launder that sheet right away, perhaps before the blood would have a chance to 'set' and I also included an offending pillow-case and the pillow-protector from a previous unsuccessful wash, and very few other items. As the drum of the machine was much less congested than it usually is I think the washing-action must have performed a lot better than usual, because ALL the blood-stains are now gone, including what I thought were most probably 'set' stains on the pillow-protector and pillow-case.
Currently I've got the blood-spotted pillow itself in the machine - I've never washed a pillow before, I usually just replace them every few years - and will report later on what the result is. The pillow is polyester (I stopped using goose-down pillows some years ago as although they are comfortable, they can be messy and I think I was sometimes subject to an allergic reaction when using them) and assuming the filler is not distorted too much should be able to dry it naturally over a couple of days, but if I do have to buy another one, then so be it.
(*) That particular finger-bleed was on a knuckle, the result of carelessness when washing my stove-top espresso machine, which has a stainless steel and quite sharp-edged lid.
UPDATE (Wednesday 13JUN2012 13.55 CET+1) As mentioned earlier, I decided to put the blood-stained pillow into the washing-machine on its own to see if the stains would wash away. Well, I took the pillow out of the machine about 1 1/2 hours ago and am very pleased to say it is now pristine clean and the blood-spot is completely gone. Even better, the filler is not distorted in any way, so I have had it out hanging in my back patio since I took it from the machine and it is already almost dry and will certainly be ready to go back on the bed by this evening - of course the temperature here is around 30 degC today and there is a bit of a breeze with bright sunshine, so it is ideal drying conditions.
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