A few miscellaneous rants with a motoring theme

There is the myth of the Grumpy Old Man, I however actually find myself a bit less grumpy now. Maybe its not having to work, or at least not being accountable, if I get fed up with something I can just stop....or maybe its living alone which means there isn't someone else to get upset with me, but whatever, there are still things that annoy me.

Perhaps they are not serious in the grand scheme but its usually the little things that spark off confrontations, arguments and even murders. I shall however defuse them, maybe, by writing them down. So here goes in no order of importance.

1. Car parks with self service machines that don't give change
2. Car parks which set the tariff so as they don't give change you often end up overpaying ie £2.60, £5.10 ........... these examples belong to Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, and represent a hidden charge on top of the one that you might argue is unfair anyway. After all I have choice re shopping, cinemas etc but not with attending Hospital, either as a patient or a visitor.
3. The organisations (see above) who don't think customer and therefore don't install machines that take notes, cards, prebooking by email, SMS etc.......and such technologies do exist, I have seen and used them.

OK so that was really, clearly one rant, strange how cars and parking is an issue is this sceptered isle and less so abroad where space is less of an issue.


So lets continue with driving

1. Vehicles who at slip roads to Motorways and dual carriageways, think that all they have to do is indicate and then keep coming no matter whether the driver on the main road, with definite right of way, has to brake or swerve. A long, long time ago, when I was taught to drive, the rule was that you did not do anything which would cause another road user to deviate or alter their speed, the responsibility for 'fitting in' was yours. 
2. Signs on the back of cars that say' child aboard keep clear'  ....... how meaningless, if I am a good driver I won't sit on your rear end anyway, if I am bad I don't think that I differentiate between old folk, children, dogs or any other vehicle contents. Maybe I shall try one that says "Qualified advanced driver, Magistrate and retired early ............. please keep clear"

More rants in the future and also mentions of the unexpected kindness and courtesy from others........

In the meantime I am going off to Durham in a gas guzzling 4.7 litre V8 Jeep to drive carefully and responsibly down unmade byways ..................... I may on my return expand on the concept of greenlaning and how such a pursuit is as valid and as legal as rambling.

A good Bank Holioday to all my readers

The Lure of Quidco

On the probably flawed and egocentric assumption that someone may read this one day, I continue the virgin blogging with a brief self examination about what is for me, a new phenomenon. I refer to the Cashback system. Its not that throughout my life I haven't been conscious of getting a good deal, its not that I was averse to some haggling but the power of the internet has changed this.

Initially you could surf around and do some comparisons on a new fridge, a car, even a house. The internet has started to make the assumption real which I and perhaps many of you, were always taught existed in the study of supply and demand in economics, of 'perfect competition'  But I remained ignorant to the emergence of Quidco and others until my daughter introduced me. She takes this to a higher art by signing up for subscriptions and trials etc collecting the cashback and then canceling before the normal costs kick in.

In case you don't know how it works, it just means that you go via their site where an array of temping discounts are offered which are payed in real money, unlike the other type, such as Nectar where you collect points which you then turn into vouchers.

Its harmless, I think, and in a few months I have registered over £20 to come, on purchases I would have done anyway in my case including hotels, ferry crossing and household linen.

My comments are however not about the facts, if you can save a little money then that's good, but it does add to the complexity and for someone like me, the time may not be an issue, for others maybe the gain isn't worth the effort but the lure of a bargain is perhaps within us all, or at least those who are not in the very rich category.

An example, I want a pub with accommodation in County Durham for one night, off for days Greenlaning, there are numerous hotel sites that will offer a choice, some will throw up the same establishments but others appear on only one. So I trawl through these comparing features, cost, location etc and find a very reasonable price £35 including breakfast, and the price on all the sites that list this pub are exactly the same. Now I go back to Quidco,  (I have avoided using multiple cash backs sites so far but clearly a very cost conscious approach would be to visit several), you can then see what hotel consolidators or operators are offering by way of discount, these range from 3% upwards and one, in this case Hotels.com, is 'on special offer' until Sunday at 12%, I go from Quidco to Hotels.com and pay, happy that I shall in due course get over £4 back, so a bed and breakfast for £31.

The mystery is where the money comes from and this is enhanced as a question when I then go direct to the pub's own website which offers the room for £65 ! So what does the pub actually end up with, what is Hotels.com cut and why can they offer 12% against someone elses 3%..........and do I really care. The idle question is what would I have got if I rang the pub direct..........well we shall never know.

It just illustrates the changing nature of the world, due to the power of technology. I sometimes do some Computer training for older people who are confused about the internet, email etc and examples like this above are useful to demonstrate one reason why they should get a computer and be on line, but when they ask why it works...............I move swiftly onto to Ebay, but that's another story.

The Beginning

Well there has to be a first post and logically this should be so compelling that everyone will flock to it and tell all their friends......only time will tell but I start as I mean to continue, I write what I think at the time and hopefully someone will find it interesting or useful or annoying.

A brief over view is however indicated, so here goes.............I am male, 61, a widower and live alone in Nottingham, the one in the UK East Midlands, I am reasonably intelligent, indeed for many years I was unreasonably proud that at 22 I had qualified for membership of Mensa the high IQ society, this means you are in the top 2% of the population. Intelligence and succees are not however directly related, a theme we may return to one another occasion.

Anyway I had a reasonable career mainly in Human Resources and especially Learning & Development, with some forays into self employment as a French property Agent, a Business Transfer Agent (a sort of Estate agent for small businesses) and  in video scripting and production and in adult education including some time in a prison, as a teacher not an inmate, he hastily adds, but none the less an interesting experience.

I now find myself early retired and having a pension, one of the last of the final salary ones, courtesy of Derbyshire Constabulary and spend my time in a variety of pursuits, some or all of which I may write about, suggestions and requests from the readers, are welcomed and I will try and respond. 

The short summary at the moment is being a Magistrate on the Nottingham Bench, A Director and Advisor to the Nottingham Credit Union, a type of organisation with historical and ethical roots and now trying to survive and grow in the post banking apocalypse world, doing some IT training for older people in rural Notts, that is not the City (why there are boundaries that are created by government and others which do not mean much to real people) is another random thought or a Miscellaneous Musing, hence the catchy/forgettable/meaningful/meaningless (delete as required) title of the blog.

I may also stray into health and the health service or sometimes lack of it, into cars, including 4x4 pursuits such as greenlaning, computers, though maybe no more debates on Apple vs Windows are needed, but I am a new user of the marvellous IPAD, though Steven Fry seems to have got that blog sown up already, and anything else that makes me want to take up the keyboard for your edification, safe in the knowledge that you may ignore or disagree to your hearts' content, but hopeful that your responses may prompt me in a new direction.

In conclusion before you all drop off, I will use the tag line I often append to forums on various topics, one I saw on a toilet wall in 1970, and still remember to this day, it being a true then as now, or should that be now as then ? no matter, it reads

Do Not Adjust your Mind, there is a Fault in Reality.