Category: General

Cancelled appointments

there has been a lot in the press about people who either do not turn up for doctors appointments ar turn up late and the cost to the NHS, now I do agree people that miss appointments should take some responsibility for a no show or lateness;  but this seems to be all one sided.

The last time I went to the doctors (18 months ago) my appontment was for 6pm and I finally got in to see the doctor at 6.50. I too am self employed and if I miss work I do not earn money, yet I am not allowed to claim for my loss of time.

My colleague went to the doctors 2 weeks ago to be told to come back as the doctor had not arrived at the surgery. Once again a lost morning.

I have taken the unusual step of charging others for my lost time and it seems to be working. British gas lost one of our payments (company not home) and after 6 months of us sending in all the info they decided to send an official letter that they will take me to court for non payment, at this point I got involved in the dispute. The amount (all of £7.20) was finally traced and down to them changing our account number and not informing us. I sent them a bill for £400 being my charge rate for work outside of our premises; they paid £100. Did the same with BT and they settled half the invoice.

So from now on when I receive a call from my dentist confirming my appointment and telling me that if I am late or a no show they will charge I tell them if they keep me waiting more than 15 minutes I will charge them, so far I have got in within 10 minutes every time.

Trial By Jury

I was recently lent the DVD set, ‘The Jury’ (Series 2) by a visitor from England. For those who have not seen it, it tells the story from the point of view of various jury members who have been summoned to a case involving the retrial of a man convicted of murder, but whose conviction was overturned on appeal. At the same time that the trial is taking place, a bill is being discussed in Parliament that proposes the ending of trial by jury. It was an enjoyable drama with some interesting characters, plots and sub-plots. Continue reading “Trial By Jury”

Skate, Raspberries and Clotted Cream

The first leg of the journey (7 and half hours) was pretty good. Three seats all to myself and not a screaming child in ear-shot. I slept most of the way.

I’ve been trying to replace my little ear-phones for a while. They are not available in Oz, but they have been sold at Changi airport for several years – not any more… Why don’t I buy these things when they are available? I never learn!
Continue reading “Skate, Raspberries and Clotted Cream”

Mainly for Sipu – a loose end tied up

On another post Sipu used a quote which I was unable to source on Google – “Avast, no more these Scottish monarchs we’ll adore”. He was good enough to give me the title of the book from which it came and Amazon did the rest.

‘Kings and Queens’ has duly arrived. 1983 edition with a foreword by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. The last monarch pomed is her daughter.

The quote comes from ‘James II’ and not ‘William and Mary.’ Continue reading “Mainly for Sipu – a loose end tied up”

Costa Concordia

Oh alright. somebody had to do it (and thank you Zen)

I went and bought a ticket for the Costa Concordia lotto. What’s to lose? It was a rollover last week.

Seriously now, it appears that ‘class actions’ for damages are now imminent, which is not surprising bearing in mind that the parent company is apparently ‘Me-ri-can. Frankly, I’m surprised the lawyers weren’t camping out in the lifeboats in the first place and I’m astonished it took them so long to surface….as it were.  However, my point is, is such an accident (for that is what it was notwithstanding the actions of the captain and crew) worth 100,000 dollars in ‘compensation’ for anyone who survived the discomfort of sitting in a lifeboat for ten minutes and millions for the relatives of those who didn’t, or is it just the get-rich-quick culture pursuing sod’s law for gains? Discuss.

OZ

3 Days in May

Went to the theatre last night (Trafalgar Studios) to see a play called 3 Days in May with Warren Clark playing Churchill.

Play was about 3 days in May 1940 just before Dunkirk or rather as Dunkirk was starting and as the French gave up (nothing new there) and sucked up to their new German masters.

It is a story of what may have been said in the cabinet war rooms between the heads of the coalition government and how Churchill forced his way into Britain carrying on with the war. The one comment that made me smile was about us making an agreement with the Germans, French and Italians and Chamberlain stated “I wouldn’t trust any of them, they jsut want to take us over” seems a familiar story now.

Yet on that note I have decided to do my bit for Greece and the Greek economy on account that I am half Greek. What have I done?

I have ordered a new car, how does this help Greece? I have ordered another Audi , so by helping the German economy it allows them to continue to bail out Greece. 🙂

Under the great blue skies.

It’s official now. I’ve been accepted into a graduate programme in history.

It’s not where I’d ever thought to go, somewhere in the middle of the middle of the middle of the USA. It’s a mid-sized university in central Minnesota. The state tends to be liberal, though in the past decade it has grown somewhat more conservative. The specific part of Minnesota is quite conservative, an area populated primarily by the descendents of sensible Lutherans from Germany and the Nordic countries with relatively little diversity. The city, St Cloud, is quite safe and life is quiet. The people are welcoming but a bit staid, sobriety and orderliness are requirements in order to get on well with the population.

The university itself receives a satisfaction rate of over 90 pc, is fully accredited, and is cheaper than a comparable university in California. The cost of living is also significantly lower. I accepted the offer, naturally. Though the course selection is somewhat limited, it’s adequate.

This is a bit of luck, or at least it seems to be. The promise of a change of life, a change of settings which was desperately needed. San Francisco, a disappointing city in which to live, has grown ever less acceptable. Getting assaulted by another student in class, getting harried by an obsessed fan, getting clawed on a bus, losing thousands of dollars in fraud, having to run from hoboes begging for money, having to try to avoid the wrath of a drug-addicted drag queen whose affections I spurned have all been a bit too much to live with.

A life, a quiet life, along the shores of the great Mississippi in a region famed for its dullness, its blandness, its decency is something I very much look forward to.