Christmas

You know it's nearly Christmas when they start to run the Foster & Allen adverts on the telly. I saw my first one today. A few days ago it was Daniel O'Donnell.

I await the Advocaat adverts and the whisky one with the grouse. I already hate the Fererro Rocher advert this year (as well as the things themselves).

Am I Scrooge?

What to do?

I received a birthday card today from a relative, I expect it was late because of the postal dispute.

I haven't had anything to do with this person or his immediate family since Boxing Day when we visited them. A few days later I received a vicious letter telling me which aspects of my behaviour he found unacceptable. I replied to this upstart with a long letter spelling out a few home truths. For example, he had done in my home what he accused me [correctly] of doing in his; falling asleep. There is more to it than that; suffice to say it is a family rift which I am not minded to repair.

So I wonder what this birthday card is all about. There is no note of apology, no suggestion that we meet for a pint and bury the hatchet, no 'I wrote that letter before I knew all the facts and before I'd fully reflected upon my own shortcomings'. No, just a card signed from him, his wife (who clearly hates me) and his children.

My guess is that they are trying to put themselves 'in the right' by appearing to seem civil and friendly - doing the right thing and all that. Further, I expect that if I don't acknowledge the card via another member of the family they will take the line 'Oh well we tried but he didn't respond the olive branch'.

I am reminded of a Fawlty Towers sketch. "You started it". "No, YOU started it, you invaded Poland" or words to that effect.

I'll be first in line

As I celebrate (?) my 51st birthday today I discover that tests are proposed on workers over a certain age.

Bring it on; I'll be first in line after the year I have just had.

The best bit is at the end.

Not the kind of worship I go in for!

Things ain't what they were

Over at Bloggertropolis Steve is bemoaning being 40. I connect with what he says except that he ought not to be feeling this way for another 10 years!

I would love to have my 40s again; I'd do things differently. Assuming I could have them again knowing what I know now, I'd get another job sooner.

Mrs TS and I realised, on Monday, that we had not noticed time flying by. Having just had our kitchen done we decided to buy new crockery. We were given a set we keep for 'best' (Christmas and visitors) and we use a cheap set from Argos the rest of the year. Although we have one everyday set, we also have a hotch-potch of plates, cups and saucers; time to consolidate and get one uniform set which is less cumbersome.

HOLD!

We ask only that a set of crockery have plates, side plates and bowls. Cups and saucers are useful too but can be bought separately.

These days one cannot buy 'a bowl'. They sell soup bowls, cereal bowls and pasta bowls none of which are the optimum size for the kinds of foodstuffs the Saw family eat. Were I to put my 2 Weetabix in one of the cereal bowls we have seen I should have to pour on far more than the amount of milk I usually have in order to dampen them. The bowl is too small for them to touch the bottom and be bathed in the milk; they are OK for cornflakes and the like.

When did this revolution in crockery happen? Where were we looking? When did peoples' eating habits change so radically that bowls have to be large enough to hold a lake of soup or deep enough to wash your hands in?

Where can I buy a Tardis?

Result

I had a phone call from Homeserve customer services today. They had played back the recorded phone call when I asked for assistance. I was, of course, in the right and the lady commented that the young man I had spoken to had 'struggled' to understand the fact I was indeed covered by a policy.

They say they will send me a cheque for £100 so I am quite pleased.

Fail

I failed this test!

I found it on here.