malumbu

Is there an echo? I spoke to my friends in Lordship Lane Carpets, and then Hamptons International, but they were not much help. So.... Expedia have moved from central London. So dear readers, here is a tip, write a complaint letter. Don't do it on line, or phone up the call centre, write. Following this they kindly phoned (I was now a priority case) when I was out but didn't leave a message. Ditto with an e-mail. So I visited the HQ which is now a plush office at the Angel. They eventually explained that they were only an admin office and that my complaint was being handled in Las Vagas as I was now a priority. I even had a nice chat to the Navada office. Expedia told me that they hated social networks giving out their direct line for London as they then got inudated. I explained that a complaining customer was a discerning customer, (OK not always true) and that good customer service paid great dividends through word of mouth. I hope Michael O'leary is reading this. Anyway, back to my quest. They eventually phone me back at home. And take half an hour going through the options. They only had one option, which was to put us up in a hotel in Mykonos overnight (three times the price of the island we were going to). At Expedia's cost I hasten to add. Why that took half an hour I'll never know. So result. Then I get an e-mail a couple of days before we depart saying that the second hotel has cancelled our reservation and to ring a free phone number in America. This time in Texas. I try to explain in a controlled manor our predicament. There is what seeems to be a 30 second silence, until I realise that is the pace they talk at in Texas. Enventually I find that this is an admin error from Expedia. So, rather than my hols sorted out at a touch of a button, this took hours. Lesson is book a flight early with Easyjet, then go to the Lonley Planet and to check on accommodation and book that independently as well. As I have done for most hols in the last 15 years. And if I had done this early would have saved me a grand.

Fine bit of debate on this thread. I'd bring back hanging for everyone. I wrote to the Sun. The took my advice - they brought it back National costume was all-over-black There were corpses in the avenues and cul-de-sacs Piled up neatly in six-man stacks Hanging from the traffic lights and specially made racks They'd hang you for incontinence and fiddling your tax Failure to hang yourself justified the axe A deedely dee, a deedely dum Looks like they brought back hangin' for everyone

No no no. Keep them out. And out of bus lanes. Bally daft. From a cyclist and motorcyclist of 30 years plus. I have as much hassle from motorbikes as from white vans, taxis, young drivers and buses. Not a lot but I do moan about it when it happens. Motorcyclists = proper motorbikes who are generally OK Those who want to become taxi drivers doing the knowledge who can be a pain And annoying people on scooters, due to their manoeuvrability but their lack of awareness of road position.

The Herne, Clock House and Rye Hotel are all wonk. The FHT, aka Rose, aka The Royal Oak, make some attempt to be a real pub, with locals, a pub quiz that is not a clone of all the other ones doing the rounds and some live music. True the beer is a disaster but then again if there are only a few of us who drink it. And lots of things they do don't seem to work. But it is not the Herne, Clock House or Rye, so you can go in and sit down and have a drink without feeling a lepper because you are not eating.

Brought some poo into the house today on my shoes, so not happy. Thought I'd start a thread, but assumed that this would be something that had been aired before. Well knock me down with a feather, what perfect timing! We use a cat scarer with a laser light and a wailing sound. I then notice a fox in a neighbour's garden who shows a slight bit of interest. Cat's repsond quite slowly but eventually walk away. Obvious problem is that you have to be there. I fancied an air rifle, which I would use against the rats with long furry tails, but they cost quite a lot, and I'd probably get prosecuted for animal cruelty. We've thought about lion poo for some time, particularly knowing people from ZSL. But hey presto, search it on Google, and plenty of hits, ignore Amazon coz they are scumbags (IMO) and try somewhere like http://www.primrose.co.uk/silent-roar-cat-repellent-05kg-p-791.html?cPath=24_312&source=googleads&gclid=CPPGyoy_irkCFeXMtAodhBEAlA

Apparently they like dried semen. I jest not, although I did read this in the New Scientist over twenty years ago. How fasicinating.

May as well get rid of them as everyone seems to flout them. Do Southwark ever enforce these?

1. Yeh yeh. When I moved into London they were going to do up Battersea Power Station. That was 26 years ago 2. For those with short memories the last attempt at developing the top site was a disaster, planning permission challenged by us Nimbys, and overturned following a JR, with help from our friends in Brussels 3. The Palace was a commercial flop for most of its time, and maybe even set alight on purpose, being an accident waiting to happen. It was pretty tacky in it final decades. The good stuff happened much earlier. Tis a wonderful site and still much to see. Bromely/LCC made a mess of it post war, eg tipping loads of WW bomb spol spoil and subsequently a lack of protection from vandals. So loads of potential.

This thread seems to have gone a bit dead. Like our great ex-leader. I enjoyed a recent radio documentary on protest, and then realised that anyone with a strange hair cut or multiple piercings was considered to be an undesirable in the early to mid 80s (eg Bsttle of the Beanfield when the establishment gave the travellers an illegal kicking). Now this was no doubt the establishment, rather than our great leader, but I will still happily put the blame on her for the nations lack of tolerance. And here's one I found as well with at least two of my heroes on it:

I went to Hereford the day of decimilisation. Also a few months later after Hereford FC had been promoted to the football league for the first time. Both times there was a buzz. Last time was to Bulmers when they were still an independent cider maker using local apples rather than the bollocks they do now. That was more of a fuzz. I should imagine that it has changed somewhat in the last 30 years.

My experience was that this was not patient led. My mother had lost consciousness a day or more before and was not going to recover. Of course there had been some hope earlier. The decision was the family's and the hospital was excellent. Not the slightest indication that they were trying to free a bed. Of course mine is not a scientific study. I saw a wonderful documentary on a nameless hospice (clearly St Christophers) a number of years ago. The nurses in my experience reminded me of the care that was shown at St Christophers. All rather sad, but of course necessary.

Giggirl Many thanks for your helpful suggestion. I'll got there tomorrow. I got the CEO and somebody else high up from Googling. There is some good stuff on line, but I suppose they really are doing nothing more than pairing up flights and hotels, not a true package. I was suprised when I got two bills, one for Easyjet and one for Expedia. They even charged me more than Easyjet's normal booking fee. I'll report back.

My mother made me a homosexual* Oh, if I give her the wool, will she make me one too? (*or substitute any more politically correct description, although I hasten to add a gay friend said this to me once, and I am not declaring my sexuality).

This is an end of life procedure at hospitals and hospices where they remove all but the essential services (ie that needed to keep the dying person'comfortable'. I'd never heard of this until my mother passed away in April. The hospital and staff could not have been helpful and she only moved onto this in the last 24 hours, after it was clear that any further intervention would not work and would actually cause discomfort. They explained every thing to us, and we had separate 'end of life' support. This helped the family at a difficult time. I am therefore surprised to hear that the NHS/Government are prohibiting this procedure. It would be interesting to hear others' views. I've just contacted the Beeb and happy to share our experience. The family do not regret it for one moment. We never thought that our mother was on some sort of conveyor belt and have nothing but praise for the staff.

You are not even vaguely funny. Go get a life will you.

They've just told me to speak to their bloomin call centre. I just wish they would take responsiblity and sort it. Then I would have a nice thread saying how impessed I was with them. It just seems to be a press the button booking system rather than actually adding any value and support. It would have been easier to have booked the thing myself in the first place. I had a couple of problems with Eurostar, more than ten years ago and very recently. They were excellent in sorting it out both times, and the first time upgraded the party to first class throughour. BA once got me back from India FOC and I wasn't even booked with them! So it is not a case that all organisations dodge responsibility or wont help.

Not booked a package tour since a coach trip to Austria in the 1980s. Do it all myself. So when I found a cheap package on Expedia to Greece changed the habbit of a recent life time. It appears the package is simply the flight, which I could have booked myself, and the hotel, which I could have booked myself. Not sure if I saved anything. So then I find it doesn't include the transfer. Well more fool me, there was me thinking a holiday to Tinos actually got me to Tinos. And now I find that we arrive too late on Mykonos to get the ferry over to Tinos for the first evening. Asked Expedia to sort it all out, but they don't seem to want to do it. There was nowt on their terms and conditions or info about any of this. I even phoned up the call centre before booking but they were evasive about transfers. It seems dumb for their system to give me a hotel/flight package where we simply can't get to the hotel on the day of arrival. I sadly get embroiled with the odd complaint, but finding Expedia pretty slippy to deal with. Any views eg perhaps how to go higher up the organisation rather than unhelpful one liners from their staff at the call centre. Ta everso

By mispelling moral I've lost the moral high ground. Can't spell fecker either.

By calling him a facker you have lost the morale high ground my dear fockin friend.

30 years cycling in London. Plenty of incidents but none involving a truck as yet. Gone by them on the inside 1000s of times, but not when it was daft (ie they could turn left across me). Two close shaves this week (and it been months since my last one), a car u-turned in front of me after we both pulled into a side street. I yelled frantically louder as I turned increasingy sharper until the driver stopped. She was more shocked than me, and it ended up in me conforting her. Not in that way I hasten to add. Then a two year old jumped into the road at a bus stop, I veered and he then ran. I assume that I shouted as a parent grabbed him. If I'd hit him he may not be with us now, and perhaps I may have gone into a car as well. Like my football skills, my positioning and awareness are at their peak, unlike my physical fitness! But I still end up analysing these situations on how I could have avoided them. I come across far more couteous motorists, including taxi drivers and bus drivers, than dangerous ones.

Just checking out Costello at Glastonbury. TV coverage looked pretty awful but the Radio 6 recording sounded much better. Then in considering my good and bad Costello experiences remebered I saw him on 27 December 1980 with an amazing lineup at the NEC Squeeze Madness Rockpile Selector UB40 (in the brief year or so when they were phenominal) And John Cooper Clarke as compare ?5.50 equivalent maybe to ?35 now And it was a great Saturday as we beat the red scum as well 3-1 Great late Xmas pressie

Was he any good? I did like him yonks ago. He had a fairly low profile now.

I always liked the name Dennis Pennis.

Daily Mail = Daily Hate Daily Express would be similar, but no one reads it Buy the Grauniad for the TV guide on a Saturday. Peed off with the increased price in the last couple of years That 20p Indie looks good.

I just googled my name and didn't find anything about scams. Can someone explain please! Scammers - greedy clever people ripping off greedy ignorant people. Ignorant in this case being 'unaware' rather than stupid. Paul Vegg, Google 'Mike Haley Scams" and you will see some interesting stuff on scammers.