Forward planning

When you have a good day out there's always a worry that the next time you go it won't be quite as much fun as the previous time. So next year I'll try the following adds on to Derby day :

  • bring a picnic (the hampers from Carluccio's looked very nice but I have a feeling i could prepare something nearly as nice for less than the £65 a head they cost), just to have someting to mop up the cocktails.
  • bring along a couple of fashion conscious just to have fun listening to the bitch fest as they comment on the dresses and hats and hope they don't laugh at my outfit and hat (yes, I *did* wear a hat and in the glorious sunshine i was rather useful although the in thing seems to be small feather constructions rather than more floppy number I went for, pretty though not so good at shading one's eyed from the sun).
  • pick a horse that will come in the first 3 or 4 in at least 1 of the races. Mind you to be honest I didn't mind that all my nags performed rather badly, the most fun was picking the name, then reading the tips and form, then dismissing the tips and form head for the bookmaker and place an each way bet on the next races' loser (hell I didn't fare any better when I bet on the favourites so might as well chose one whose name I like, and Kid Mambo would have won if the race course had been shorter, who was I to dismiss him just because he had odds of 100-1?).
  • if the mood takes us to go for a couple more drinks before  the rest of the group heads back into London maybe picking  a pub that  isn't  my local so I can show my face again after  one of the party  over-reacts  slightly and is asked to leave.
  • maybe take the camera so I can snap the  spectators who decide to prance round the track in their own race. I might have a better chance to win betting on the humans than I did on the horses. You never know, might need a photo finish.
6.6.07 20:05


You can keep your sugar and spice

The Boy has declared: "I don't like girls, they bite and they scratch, they are like animals".

So i don't need to worry about girlfriends for a bit then.

 
7.6.07 23:13


The things I have learned over the course of the weekend.

Picture of Jarvis Cocker performing "eye of the tiger" courtesy of Antimega. (For once I didn't take the camera to the gig, there's only so many bad gig photos I'm willing to clog my hard drive with and so many hours I'm willing to spend failing trying  to photoshop them better when a quick search brings up better attempts by others)

  1.  A couple of cocktails is enough to make me giggle wheezily for an inordinate amount of time, especially Amaretto and strawberry cheesecake haagen dazs cocktails (yum).
  2. Insisting on a haircut which works better on dead straight hair when I have hair that waves and kinks on a whim and I refuse to iron it within an inch of its life on a daily basis is not very bright. Well I might have known that already, still it didn't stop me asking for "really short at the back and kinda pointy and longer at the front with a light choppy fringe at the front.
  3. Jarvis Cocker still puts own a good show. I hadn't seen him since *coughs as she realises she is showing her age badly* Separations and I was glad MFC got tickets for meltdown .
  4. The bonus of Saturday night's event is that thanks to The Valerie Project is that I have learned what I need to do to take away the teeth marks and be cured should I happen on a vampire one day and fail to outrun it. Quite unique, although I think it is fair to say the film lacks midgets.

 
25.6.07 20:48


role reversal

Yesterday The Boy asked: "how was your first day at your new work? Have you made any friends yet?"

Today he had decided I shouldn't take him to school, it cramps his style (I quote) so instead, *he* walked *me* to work then disappeared round the corner.

 
26.6.07 12:56


British Gas are rubbish

Today, almost 3 months to the day after moving into Geofftechland, there was a letter from British Gas on the mat.

Yeah I thought, at last they have sorted out my account and I have a bill and an account number and I'll be able to switch supplier.

As it turns out a quick look at the addressee told me what I needed to know "to the occupier". Yep another letter threatening to cut off the gas if I don't pay the outstanding bill of the previous tenant. The best bit is that they charge him for more gas than he actually used as they persist in using their estimated consumption despite charging him for a visit to read the meter and despite having on record the reading I took when I moved in. Still, it's not like they'll ever get any money from the scumbag so it's probably irrelevant.

The last time I called, I was told that, yes they are aware he has moved out, yes they are aware I moved in, yes they have the meter reading I gave them the day I moved in, yes they will issue me with a proper account number rather than a temporary one which they never seem to be able to link to on their system when I call and that I should just ignore all the threatening letters and preferably not open them because I might find them quite upsetting, no they cannot stop sending them, and yes it takes a while to activate a new account.

Anyway, it looks like Jiiiiiiiiiim is no stranger to dealings with the behemoth that is British Gas (and sorry I still can't get the blockquote tag to render properly on the new platform so italics will have to do):

British Gas are rubbish. It's true and it's official. Now, I never use any gas in my house. I only have four gas fires - no central heating, no gas cooker, no gas-fired boiler, nothing else. I never use these gas fires because, despite repeated requests, the letting agents haven't provided a Gas Safety Inspection certificate and not had the fires inspected. I don't have any Carbon Monoxide detectors in the house, so have firmly stuck to my safety first policy and not put them on. Not even in the middle of winter when I was freezing my proverbials off every day. Since moving in then, my gas bills have been zero, zero and zero, as you would expect. So imagine my surprise when, shortly after my meter was replaced, I received a bill for almost £1200. Especially as the bill related entirely to the period before my meter was replaced. Shurely shome mistake, I thought. Indeed there was - a simple comedy transposition of the meter number and the actual reading, both barely legible on the label on the new meter. However it took me three phone calls, totalling just under two hours, to an 0845 number before I could get it sorted and then I had to make a further couple of calls to the Frontline Support team to get it finally sorted. In the meantime, I received a reminder, and a final reminder despite assurances from the Customer Services bods that I wouldn't... Anyway, having finally sorted it out this morning I was delighted to be told that I'd be receiving another incorrect bill as it had been re-issued, and then to get a call from the Debt Collection department this afternoon, who clearly dialled my number before bothering to call up my account details.

27.6.07 20:58


Today's top tips are

Top Tip #1: if you can't find your glasses case it is probably better to not put the glasses straight into the front pocket of a bag.

Top Tip  #2: if choosing to ignore Top Tip #1, then it is really not a good idea to sit on afore mentioned bag lest one doesn't mind walking around with quite wonky looking glasses.

 
28.6.07 13:04


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100 things (last updated 2nd January 2008)

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