Life from the Sofa

Happy and Sad

johne.redfern@ntlworld.com — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 17:37:00 GMT

Its been a happy and sad week so far and its only Wednesday.

On Monday we heard that our Niece is expecting - very happy for her and her partner.

Also on Monday had a phone call from No1 son. That's a rare event for a start. He was standing at the side of the road and the wheel had fallen of his car on the way to work. Not much I could do as he lives in Colchester but I think he just needed someone to talk to. It was his first car, a bit of a clunker, but we all have a soft spot for our first car. Unfortunately it was terminal so he had to scrap it. We are planning to replace our car, so in a fit of generosity I have said I will donate our old one. Not that old really, only 02 reg, but the trade in value is very disappointing, less than £1000, so I'd sooner he has it than some dealer making money from it. Just got to find a new(er) one now.

On Tuesday we received a letter telling us that a very old friend in London had passed away. It wasn't totally unexpected as he had been ill for about 18 months, but its still very sad nevertheless. He had been our postman for many years in London and when he retired we still kept in touch, and he's one of the few people who have continued to keep in touch since we moved away from London. We had a card and letter just before Christmas and although he made light of it I could sense that he wasn't doing too well.

Many thanks to the dedicated staff from the St Christophers Hospice in Sydenham who had looked after him at home.

More Expense

johne.redfern@ntlworld.com — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:43:00 GMT

I had to go and buy a new Television last week.
Our old one has given stirling service for many years, but of late has been playing up when switched on. Its OK when first turned on, for a few minutes, then it starts flickering which slowly gets worse as the picture turns a pinky/green colour. Switching to standby for a few seconds then back on returns the picture to normal and this usually has to be repeated 2 or 3 times, then its OK for the rest of the time its on. So I finally gave in and decided to buy a new one, after all its nearly Christmas and we don't want it packing up completely do we? So the 'House Present' for Christmas this year is a new Telly.

So last Wednesday I went out to the local independant Euronics shop, and after several demos decided on the one I wanted. Not the cheapest but for £50 more than the nearest comparable set I got a 5 year included Warranty rather than a 1 Year one, free delivery, set up and demonstration, and free disposal of the old set (£8.95 at Comet) which I really needed as it weighed a 'ton'.
They delivered it an hour and a half later, set it all up, tuned it all in and connected all the 'boxes', and the chap also supplied an HDMI lead to connect the HDD/DVD recorder.
I can see why people want these new flat screen LCD sets . We thought our old set had a pretty good picture,which it did, but these new sets are amazing. What you see in the showroom is nothing to what it looks like in your living room.

Today I did my bit by taking a number of old broken electrical items to the Broadland WEEE Event at Sprowston Recreation Ground. I had an old computer monitor, an old printer and a broken breadmaker, along with a few smaller items. The chap took them out of the car and put them in their lorry while an intense young woman marked them down on her clipboard. I don't know what response they had but they didn't seem overly busy at the time with just me and another chap there.

Its been an expensive couple of weeks.

johne.redfern@ntlworld.com — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:33:00 GMT

Firstly our Freeview/HDD/DVD recorder went to electronic heaven. One minute it was working the next it wasn't and no amount of re-booting etc. would persuade it to come back to life. So it was online to find a replacement. There are surprisingly few machines that combine all three functions but I eventually found one at Play.com. for a good price. It was delivered within 2 days and is a much better machine than the one we had before. And I salvaged the Hard Drive from the old one and put it in a Caddy to give me a useful external drive for the computer.

Last week we decided that it was about time to invest in the new mattress that we have been promising ourselves for ages, and a trip to the Mattressman on Monday resulted in a nice new Memoryfoam mattress, at less than half the recommended retail price. The guys delivered it on Tuesday morning and took the old one away. It didn't want to go! When they stood it in the van it fell over and pinned one of the guys to the side. The new one came Vacuum packed in a cardboard box and when they unpacked it and laid it on the bed, it started to 'Grow' slowly over the next few hours. Its a bit of an experience sleeping on these Memoryfoam jobs, they sort of 'Hug' you, but its really comfortable.

So what's with all the sudden spending spree you ask? Well I've just had the quote for a pension from an old employer that has been deferred since 1985 and has been growing quietly ever since and its better that I ever expected. A nice lump sum and a reasonable monthly amount - very nice!

I had a letter from the taxman yesterday asking about my pensions etc., and I'm not even getting them yet. They don't hang around do they?

I phoned the DWP to claim my State Pension and it was all done very quickly and efficiently, apart from the phone number they give you resulting in a message asking you to phone a different one. Pity about the form they sent me to make a claim for my wife as a dependant. Despite the chap on the phone saying that they would send a SAE to return it they didn't, and it says in the form to return it in the supplied envelope or to the address on the accompanying letter. Guess what, I didn't get one of those either! So its another phone call to them, as they want Birth and Marriage certificates so I want to be sure its going to the right place.

Catching Up!

johne.redfern@ntlworld.com — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:59:00 GMT

Well, I’ve finally got round to writing another Blog.

So many things have been happening over the last few months, but they all paled into insignificance, when my Sister called to tell us her partner had passed away after a 9 month battle with Leukaemia. So sad, he was such a nice and selfless man who did so much for other people.
To cap it all an old friend back in London has also been diagnosed with Cancer and has been in and out of Hospital for several months now.

On the home front we had some serious computer problems in July, so I bought another one so that we can keep in contact with everyone and everything. It is only a cheap HP Compaq from Tescos, but it has a lovely 20” Monitor and is perfectly adequate for most things, AND it came with XP. I think I’ve got the old one sorted out now so everything is OK.

An annoying problem with the car in that the battery keeps losing its charge over a couple of weeks. The battery’s not that old and I took it back to the place I bought it and they tested it and said its OK. My Nephew has had a look at it but he can’t see what’s wrong. I’ll just have to keep putting it on charge every couple of weeks until I can find out the reason.

I had to have some new glasses last month. Its a good job Specsavers have 30% off for us ‘Old Gits’. I saved about £90.

Flu jab time tomorrow so its up to the Surgery and stand in line, sleeves rolled up.
“Name, Date of Birth, reason you qualify, JAB, Thank you, Next.”

Its Finally Happened...

johne.redfern@ntlworld.com — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:15:00 GMT

I'm now officially 'OLD' I don't get my Pension yet but yesterday I became 'OLD'
I had just taken my car in for its annual service and MOT and was on the bus back home, and a young chap actually stood up and gave me his seat!!

He didn't appear to be the sort of person you would have expected to give a damn, in fact he had the appearance of someone you may have avoided. A bit scruffy, his joggers at 'half mast' T shirt and Baseball cap. Just goes to show that you can't always judge a person by their appearance, and that some of them do have some manners and concern for others.
To you, Thank you!

Unlike the group of schoolkids on the 22 bus later in the day when I was going back to collect my car. They were showing themselves up when a young chap with Downs Syndrome got on the bus and they were making fun of him behind his back.
Shame on the lot of you, you should know better.

OOPS!!

johne.redfern@ntlworld.com — Fri, 22 May 2009 16:35:00 GMT

You know how Americans have different words for things than us Brits,well here's one that made me and the 'Boss' roll up this week.

Another of the 'Boss's' E Mates, as she likes to call them, who we have known for a number of years, came up with an absolute classic. She is a fan of all things British and likes to try to use the 'right' words for things when writing to us. She is a keen gardener and said she was getting fed up with getting her shoes dirty, so she had bought herself a pair of 'Willies' to wear in the garden.

In between the tears of laughter the 'Boss' had to explain tactfully the difference between 'Willies' and 'Wellies'

American Saga

johne.redfern@ntlworld.com — Mon, 18 May 2009 16:13:00 GMT

Well the American E-Mates have been and gone.

It was nice to meet them but we couldn't have put up with them for long. One was from New York and never stopped talking and I mean NEVER STOPPED TALKING. She had her own opinion on absolutely everything and went on incessantly. The other one was from Louisiana and didn't say a lot, mind you it was difficult to get a word in edgeways. They drove down from Manchester on Tuesday with the British E-Mate they had been staying with the previous week. I think she was suffering from terminal earbashing!

They phoned before they left on Tuesday morning and said they would call when they arrived in Norwich but we didn't hear a word till 9.30 which was a bit worrying. They turned up on Wednesday morning and stayed all day. They came again on Thursday about lunchtime and stayed till mid afternoon when they started back to Manchester. Said they'd call when they got back but didn't.

Once again Peace has descended on the BT household.

Mowers and things

johne.redfern@ntlworld.com — Mon, 04 May 2009 16:26:00 GMT

I've finally recovered from the painful knee and am slowly catching up with things, but I've had a bit of a cold and cough all week.

I've got the lawns under control and they've both had a couple of cuts now. The back one was just too long for the wheeled mower and I had to attack it with the hover mower first, then rake up the cuttings. You could have fed a horse for a week on the huge pile of 'hay' I produced.

I treated myself to a new mower last week, a self propelled petrol job. Pushing the old one around wasn't doing my back any good at all, and it was not a good mower. It was one of those Flymo ones that blows the cuttings upwards into a top mounted collecting box and if you didn't empty it soon enough it got bunged up and you'd have to clear out the 'chute'. We inherited it from the previous owners when we bought the place, but I've never liked it. I ordered the new one Online on the Tuesday morning and it was delivered next day at lunchtime - not bad! It came fully assembled apart from attaching the handle and cables. It even came with a bottle of oil for the engine. I had to get petrol and couldn't find my can so had to buy a new one, and you've guessed it, then I found my old one. I'm really glad I bought it. I did the back lawn this morning in about a quarter the time it used to take with the electric one AND I don't have to wrestle with unruly cables, AND I didn't end up with a backache.

We've got to get everything 'spick and span' over the next couple of weeks as the 'Boss' has a two of her American 'E-Mates' coming to visit. They are going to stay with someone in Manchester for a week first then they are coming to see us. We aren't able to put them up so I think they are planning to stay at the Blue Boar for a few nights.

Latest from the Sofa

johne.redfern@ntlworld.com — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 16:37:00 GMT

Unfortunately I've been spending more time than usual on the Sofa for the last couple of weeks. An old Knee problem has cropped up again so I've been confined to the Sofa a lot more than I want to be. Its OK sitting down and its OK standing up - for a while, but the getting up bit is painful to say the least. Its the situation where you absolutely know its going to hurt and put it off as long as possible but you just have to do it eventually.

However its been easing off gradually for the last couple of days and I've managed all day today so far with no painkillers, so hopefully its over the worst.

Managed a half hour in the garden this morning and did a bit of tidying up. It really needs a concentrated effort. The grass is like an African savanna with tracks through it left by next doors cat on her daily patrols. The plum tree suddenly burst into blossom today. Its absolutely smothered in flowers, could be a good year. There was even a flower on the rhubarb though I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or not. There are buds ready to burst on the peonies, and one of the azaleas has flowers and the other is full of flowerbuds. There has been a spectacular show of flowers on the Forsythia, but thats nearly finished now.

Its Still NO!

johne.redfern@ntlworld.com — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 17:12:00 GMT

Following on from my blog on 2nd Sept, I made a little sign for my front door saying that we did not welcome Cold Callers, and that we do not buy at the door.

It seems to have worked so far until Friday last when right in the middle of my lunch the doorbell rang and and there was a young chap with a pile of catalogues wanting to know if I was interested in buying his fairly expensive German frozen dinners. He apologized for ringing the bell and said he hadn't noticed my sign until after he had pressed the bell. Yeh Right! Its A5 size in fairly garish colours and right next to the bellpush, you could hardly miss it!

He still wanted to leave a catalogue despite the notice - 'just so I could see what Good Value his frozen meals were'. Needless to say he didn't get to leave one. And when I saw him collecting his catalogues on Monday not many people in my road had taken advantage either.

I know he's only trying to make a living (I think its a Franchise) but If I want frozen meals I am only a few minutes from Tescos, and as quite a large proportion of the people who live around here are in the older age range he should realise that many can't afford to buy this type of product, and target his efforts elsewhere.

NO,NO,NO...

johne.redfern@ntlworld.com — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 16:35:00 GMT

Why won't people take NO for an answer?

On Friday last week I answered the door to a young chap who was trying to sell me Sky TV, and despite me repeatedly telling him that I wasn't interested and was quite happy with Cable and Freeview he just wouldn't give up.
He had an answer for everything, including that they would cover the cost of having a BT phone line installed- Yeh Right!!!
He eventually got fed up and went on his way.

Monday lunchtime the doorbell rang and there was a young woman who started off with exactly the same spiel as the chap on Friday. Twice I said I wasn't interested, and eventually I said to her "Why can't you just accept that I'm not interested and go away" then I shut the door.

Monday evening at 8pm the doorbell rang and there was another young woman with exactly the same opening line. I told her she was the third person who had called, and she said that obviously my name hadn't been crossed of the list.

Now one caller I can take, two is a bit much but three is as far as I'm concerned harrassment. I asked for the name of the company and phone number, which she gave me straight off, but when I tried to call the number this morning the number came back as not recognised. So it seems to me that it must be a pretty dodgy outfit that finds it necessary to instruct its workers to give out false information, as well as being against the law.

Now I can register with the Telephone Preference Service so as not to get unwanted marketing calls, with the Mail Preference Service to not get unsolicited mail. Its about time I could get my name on a list that says I don't want people knocking on my door trying to sell me things.