General Chat

I much prefer to deal with everything online, but I appreciate that some people don’t.
I hate having to ring up to talk to someone, you can never get through and when you do they invariably try to talk to me as if I am an idiot, just because I am older.

When we moved here, we took the central heating thermostat out and had a google Nest thermostat put it instead. The old thermostat was on the wall in the utility room, but tucked away in a corner, so you practically had to climb on the worktop to get to it.
The new thermostat is on the wall in the hall, but I control it using the app on my iPad or phone. It really is much easier to use.Any way last week, the thermostat on the wall came up saying that the date and time were wrong and that it couldn’t connect to the internet. We tried to sort it out, but there was obviously something wrong with it. It was still controlling the hot water manually, but the connection to the app had gone.

The plumber who installed it came the next day and said that it was working fine to control the boiler, but there must be a software problem, so I would have to ring google. My heart sank thinking that it would be like the dreadful time I had with the internet.I googled the fault and tried all it said, but it didn’t solve it, so I bit the bullet and phoned. I was amazed that they answered straight away and the young girl actually listened to what I had tried. She asked me to try a couple of things, but said that it would be replaced under warranty. I had two choices, I could either send the old thermostat back and once they received it, they would send the new one out. Or I could have a new one sent out straight away and I didn’t have to send the old one back until I had received the new one. In order to do that, they would have to place a £219 charge on my credit card. They don’t take the money off, but if I didn’t send the old one back they would. I chose the latter option as it wasn’t going to cause a problem having that money ring fenced on the card. The new thermostat arrive the next day and I amazed myself by actually setting it up on my own.I printed off a prepaid label for the broken one and took it to the post office. I couldn’t believe that it was going back to Gdansk in Poland. It only took three days and they acknowledged it had arrived and took the charge off my credit card. So I am very pleased with google, well apart from the thing breaking in the first place. To be fair we had the same unit in our previous house and it caused us no problems at all.

My daughter and Co. are in Tenerife, they went yesterday and were delayed by some sort of Saharan dust storm, but arrived at the hotel around midnight. Esme didn’t wake up until 10.30 this morning! They have WiFi, so we have had a guided tour of their apartment.

I collected all their washing and have done it because their washing machine has broken down. They had taken out a five year extended warranty, so rang for a repair, but were told that they didn’t have a policy despite having all the paperwork to show they have. They were going to have to contact Curry’s where they bought it from. Just what you want before your holiday. They had a lot of washing, so instead of coming here, my daughter went to a launderette and used three machines. That was a few days before they left, so I have done what they have worn since then. There will be two suitcases full once they get back.

Oh I see.
I'm not happy about that, I do very little official things on-line, & what I do do I'm still issued with paper statements / bills / receipts !

These companies "assume" too much, not everyone can manage or like dealing with official on-line things & many don't actually have the means to use them !

One of these days the internet world is going to come crashing down & goodnes knows what will happen then !!

Thanks for the info. though.

Joan.

Joan, my one this year it said would be the last paper one so I'm guessing your hubby's would have been the last one and as you are a "new" customer, paper licenses are no longer issued.

if you have registered to pay monthly, then you have registered for a license which is held against your address in the Tv license records so no need to actually hold a paper license as its all on their computer. But you can as I said login to your tv account and see the payment plan which can be printed out.

Florence....paper licnces must be available because our new one sent in July came in the usual paper form, but as it was still in my hubbys name I needed to change it to my name.

All they had to do ( imo) was list it in my name but no, they said they HAD to make a new "contract" in order to issue the licence in MY name ! which has meant the monthly payment didn't carry on each month, & the new contract has a new starting date.

If I had known this was going to happen I would have paid the whole lot in full, & requested a paper one as normal.
It was hubby who preferred to pay monthly & I just thought I would do the same.

Joan.

Banks are a nightmare to get on the phone , I spent ages this morning trying to get through to sort out something . I don't know why we can't just phone the branch . All sorted now but it is always a faff to get through.

Quite breezy here to day but it has stopped raining so put my washing out . Garden still looking tidy but noticed some of my old pots are starting to crack so new ones will be needed. Can't complain as they are really quite old so have lasted well. We should be getting a bulky waste pickup next month so if I can sort the new ones soon the old ones will go then . It is a council run thing so hopefully it will be round in Sept to near us. As neither of us drive it is really useful for us.

Just sent some cards out for a couple of birthdays that I didn't want to forget so they have gone a few days earlier than normal but can't rely on the post nowadays.

well hope you are all keeping ok and the weather is being kind to everyone.

Ginnie

Forgot to say. courier been & gone and new Cast Aluminium pan arrived today, so pleased with it as it matches the bigger one I have.

Working my way through 13 children, trying to find their marriages etc and so far on number 2.....its gonna be a long haul!

Hi Joan
they have done away with a paperless tv licence to save paper but don't worry as you can access your tv license on line and then if you want to, you can print it out.

I pay monthly by d/d and its now gone up to £15 a month from 21 st of Aug for me.

Its says on my last paper plan, if you cant use the QR code visit
tvl.co.uk/paperless then you can see the payment plan online and the dates the d/d will come off. if you haven't got a printer, your daughter could perhaps access it online for you and print the schedule out on her computer maybe?

Hope this helps :-D

Good afternoon eo all.
I hope the courier turns up to collect the pan Florence, & what a nuisance having to sort out the cheque situation.

I got a letter today re my TV licence!!
I received the new Paper licence earlier this month but it was in hubbys name ! my daughter contacted them & they couldn't just changed the licence holders name oh no, a new contract had to be put in place for monthly payments.

The letter I got today showed a QR code that had to be scanned & my new licence would THEN be available ON_LINE !!
I don't have the means to scan codes & I never agreed to having paperless licence, they assume too much.
Daughter is now going to have to contact them to get them to issue me with a a paper one, so frustrating.

A dry day here so far, not much sun, I ventured outside this morning but only to have a look round, imagine my surprise to find the non flowering Potentilla has got flowers on it today, it's a bit late ! others of the same have been in flower for many weeks.

Joan.

Afternoon all
I have had quite a busy morning one way or another but all sorted now. Just waiting on my local courier to collect my cast iron pan which is sitting on the table on the hall. No sign of him yet!

I eventually got my blood test emailed to me just now. One is absolutely fine and the other is right on the borderline so nothing to worry about really.

Honestly, I sent a cheque to someone and they put it through on the banki9ng app on their phone, so imagine my astonishment when I checked my bank to see they had "bounced the cheque". I could see no reason for that at all. The reason I sent the person a cheque was because I don't have their bank details and it was for something specific.

So I tel the bank and all they would say is" the payee will get a letter with an explanation from the bank but not you." I said but its my cheque, so explain why you haven't paid it please. After 15 minutes of waiting, I was tf to the bank clearing section and after another 10 minutes I was cut off grrr.

Anyway, all sorted now as I managed to get their bank details and have made an online transfer which has all gone through. They then had to the cheek to phone me to complete a customer satisfaction survey....no chance!!

So what with sorting that out and a few other things, im quite tired tbh. I have done all my chores and house is nice and tidy again.

Its windy and heavy showers but the sun just now is trying to peep through but the clouds are heavy and dark.

Have to get some research done this afternoon as i am trying to work out a connection with a DNA match but no luck so far!

Hope everyone having a good day

Florence in the hebrides

It is cloudy here, but the rain is not due until later this afternoon. I have some washing out to dry, so I hope the rain holds off.
I use the NHS app and could see all of my test results going back twenty years, but since we moved here I can only see results from my new doctors. I know the pharmacist can see my previous results, so it is annoying that I can’t. I have extremely low white cell counts etc and like to be able to see the previous results, but the app doesn’t let you do that when you change doctors.

Morning all

Absolutely horrendous here as its chucking down and windy!!

So indoors it is. Just showered and washed hair and now to tackle the basket of ironing and before I know it, it will be lunch tiime.

I need to make a loaf in the breadmaker as when I looked in the bread bin last night, it had all gone mouldy!! I had only eaten about 3 slices since last week and none in the last few days so my own fault as I forgot to put half in the freezer. nevermind, I love a freshly baked bread and it will be ready for tea time.

Joan, that was good you got the tree cut down, so no worries if a storm comes about the branches coming down. The grandchildren were off help too bless them.

Just waiting for me blood tests to be emailed to me as they are back and as noone tel, I guess they must of been ok. So i asked receptionist to ask nurse to mail them to me as I like to keep a record in my medical file and I can compare results to last time.

Right off to be busy and shall look in later.

Hope everyone elses weather is an improvement on mine

Florence in the hebrides

Hello. it's been a nice day for us today, the sun has been in & out & it's breezy but no sign of rain so far.

Our nearby daughter her hubby were here to tackle a rather tall tree, that bothered me on windy days !
Son in Law managed to get it down for me in 2 stages, it was easier then I thought it was going to be, coming down exactly where we wanted it to, really happy to see it down,as it bothered me greatly.

Daughter & her 2 youngest children (13 & 5) made a good job of clearing up the logs & branches, just waiting for daughters friend to collect the logs for her wood burning stove.

The garden is looking quite good jus now after not being able to get outside for a while, the hedges are neat, the grassed areas have been cut & sheds & garden seats re-painted,
The various plants are in bloom,& looking lovely, except for 1 Potentilla & 1 Hydranga, both have grown & have lush foliage but they haven't flowered this year, strange.

What a lovely granny you are Linda, so good to your family, does it mean when they family go on holiday you will be able to take things easy ?

Well I must go & dry the pots,before settling down to watch an old film, I hope everyone has had a nice weekend.

Joan.

Afternoon all

Thats a great idea Linda taking esme out of the way so mum can do all the packing. Hope they have a nice time.

My dad is off to Corfu next month, same place every year a little village called Perivoli. They stay in same apartments and hire a car.He goes visiting friends he has made over the years and so gets invited for evening meals, saves eating out!

Today daughter & I are having a craft afternoon and I have been making a few xmas cards. I only had about 6 xmas cards I think left over form last year and so am making just 20 for the xmas fayre and see how that goes. I do have lots of birthday and blank cards so no need to make any more of those.

Kitchen table is like a bomb site with all the bits & bobs all over the place.

Its actually sunny & dry but still very very windy and so cant really sit or go outside.

Hope everyone else looking in is having a lovely afternoon.

Florence in the hebrides

Good morning, I am not usually ready so early on a Sunday morning, but I am taking Esme to the theme park today. They are off to Tenerife tomorrow, so if I take Esme out today, it makes it easier for her mum to pack. It is cloudy, but about nineteen degrees , so not a bad day. It doesn’t look like it is going to rain, but I will take my pac a mac just in case

Joan, I bought it from Amazon but we don't have Evri here so it is passed on to our courier who collect it probably from Glasgow as they have a depot there.

When i clicked on return, it only gave me the option to return via "Evri" or my local courier but they are closed today so will have to ring them on Monday.

Usually if its the PO, i get a form to return and free postage but this item was extremely heavy.

Joan it was 28cm wide so very large with 2 handles that do stick out either side. I have never lifted a lid as heavy before let alone the dish!

It was called Blackmore cast iron 28cm casserole. Think it was £39.99.

Anyway as I said I have found what i was looking for now so all sorted.

Florence, the new pan must be rather BIG for you not to be able to manage it, my casserole dish is a very neat size 20cm, with 2 very close very neat handles at the side, (not those big sticking out handles) only big enough for 2 people portions.

re returning yours, is there information regarding how to do this shown on the paperwork ?
I don't know where you got yours from but if I have to return an item to my catalogue (VERY) there is always info on how to do this & labels included, or how to return via ones own account on-line !
VERY use EVRI & they will collect.

Joan.

Well after trawling through lots of last years orders, I finally found the large black pan I bought. It was Cast Aluminium not cast iron!!

So I have now found a matching 28cm casserole dish in Cast Aluminium for half price from £59.99 to £30. What a bargain. The big one I have is great for large soups or a pan of curry to batch cook etc. This is casserole size at 28cm wide and half the depth of the large pan.

So glad its sorted now. :-D

I was surprised you had gone for cast iron Florence.

Have a look into cast aluminium - should be a lot lighter.

I had to buy a complete new set of pans when we got the kitchen because my old pans were not suitable for the new induction hob. My old pans were Pro Cook stainless steel ones, very old, but still in really good condition. I ended up giving them to my sister who is delighted with them. I decided to invest in another set of ProCook pans and went for their elite range. Goodness, I didn’t realise how heavy they were, the large pan is really difficult to drain. I bought a set of two cast iron casseroles from Aldi a couple of years ago to replace my old one which was past its best. They had very good reviews and have been good, but they are heavy as well. I also have a cast iron griddle pan for the steaks. They are all going to be a problem when I get older.

I'm not surprised you found it too heavy, Florence!

Many years ago, thinking I was being trendy, I bought a bright orange Le Creuset saucepan, with a lid and one handle, also cast iron.
They don't make that style any more - I've just had a look at their website.

I used it once, but found it so heavy that I couldn't tip it over to drain water from the contents.
Since then it has only been a colourful bit of kitchen decor, on top of a cupboard.

Still heavy rain here, off and on in sudden bursts.
And cold - I've turned up the heating, in spite of wearing my fleece trousers, and a warm jumper with t-shirt under it..
The heating's been entirely off on only a handful of days this "summer".