My Windows Phone – so successful that they no longer make them – has a battery that will last days, if the screen is kept switched off, it is not used to access the internet via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth and virtually no calls are made. I made a 40 minute call a couple of weeks back that chewed up over 30 per cent of the battery. The great paradox of the modern era: the mad rush to get away from fossil fuels, etc., to save the planet by using lithium batteries. People like Elon Musk falling over themselves to introduce battery powered cars without bothering to point out to people that the batteries eventually become un-rechargeable and have to be replaced and lithium is a more finite resource than most fossil fuels, will become more expensive and less accessible and is no long term solution.
Car Insurance. I get the letter to renew because it’s almost ended. The letter stated an increase of around £50 per year, even though I’ve not claimed anything. I go on line to compare prices. I find the exact same policy with the same company for £44 less than last year. I phone them and they match the quote. WHY COULDN’T THEY JUST SEND ME THE LETTER WITH THAT PRICE. Unbelievable. That’s half a hour of my life I’ll never get back.
I know how you feel. My suspicion is that the insurance companies simply try it on. If you have an automatic renewal, they know that half the people will not bother to check and just let it renew (especially older drivers who are perhaps less tech savvy). The other cheat that I find with the renewals letters is that they add in a load of extras such as legal cover and breakdown cover that I deselected when I took out the original policy. Maybe they just do not keep a record of this when you first take out the policy but the cynic in me thinks otherwise. I tended to find that I would get the renewal letter and this was my reminder to go and run the online searches. For years on end I would find somebody cheaper than the renewal so I would cancel and move every year. The problem is that as you get older and you have a lifetime of no claims bonus, the quotes scarcely budge from one year to the next because they are so small. I laugh when I see that Aviva advert that says I can have a dash cam and save £170 – can I have a £5 comprehensive policy? I was with Esure for three years on the trot until this year as nobody beat their renewal quote; however, this year Hastings did so I moved. I also think that the insurance companies do not want some people on their books because there is no profit margin. When I run a comparison and look down the list and find some famous names quoting me thousands for cover (more than the car is worth!) they have obviously set up their data so that anything less than £250 gets a random digit prefixed to it before Aleksandr Orlov emails it to me.
My logic is that your current insurer HAS to put your price up to encourage you to switch. They have then taken your money for a year and did nothing for you with it. The law of averages means you will at some point be involved in a claim therefore as each year passes youre more of a risk. As i said thats my logic feel free to rip it apart
Can I just say how angry, saddened and disappointed I am that Friday isn’t a Bank Holiday. Princess Eugenie, God bless her and save her, is marrying Mr Jack Brooksbank (no me neither) and I can’t believe that the day hasn’t been set as a day of national celebration and festivities. It was the day Princess Camilla’s stepson married Pippa Middleton’s sister so why isn’t Friday as well?!? Out-rage-us. What a day it could have been. We could have all waved our Union Jack flags for several hours, repeatedly sang ‘God Save the Queen’, watched the Lieutenant and his Privates do a bit of marching and saluting, tugged our forelocks incessantly prior to digging deep into our pockets and funding the old girls nuptials.
Oh Dear; I would have missed all the undiluted joy and orgasmic celebrations as I will be downing bourbons and glasses of Kolsch a plenty in Koln. When will the 'Romanov Solution' be enacted?
Ask ‘Uncle’ Jeremy! One consolation though is that on Saturday all the newspapers will have 16 page ‘souvenir’ pullouts commemorating the big day. And, fingers crossed, if we are really lucky it will be 32 pages!
Fortunately I will be unable to decipher newspapers, whether German or English (Koln Hbf. International Press), as my brain will be befuddled!
Used to be a regular every day at the München Hauptbahnhof International Press shop. Now, English language newspaper-wise, it's as dead as a doornail, last time I looked it was anyway. In the old days the late Richard Baerlein of the Guardian was my favourite, a great racing writer, and very well connected. After buying the paper, used to retire to a nearby Balkan restaurant (BayernKenny will know it) and peruse the runners, while indulging in some of their delicious breakfasts. Good old days, sadly long past.
There were so many! In the past my favourite was out towards Stieglmaierplatz. My Mum and I used to love a meal there on the way 'home' after a visit to the Kino. Just remembered, was it called .........'Restaurant Dubrovnik'. I remember the old guy used to join myself and my Mum once we had finished eating with a bottle of Schnapps; great days!
Packing completed, shaved and showered, getting dressed! Cyc; a wee bit help for the boys (and girls). Brandi Carlile ....... Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. See you all in a couple of weeks ......................let loose the dogs of war!
I really, really (really) like (?) Brandi.............................such a shame she plays for the other side!
Claudia Winkleman’s husband is probably right about her being an ‘annoying personality vacuum’ (he should have a pint and snog Tess Daly). I can understand why I have grey hair not black hair and I have no fringe, but it is not glossy and the shampoo smells like chemical goo.
Due to circumstances outside of my control (no other option and I wanted a coffee) I break my self exclusion from Starbucks. 2 small coffees £5.60 but £5.70 as I didn’t have the foresight to take my own fookin cups. Then the lass asks me if I wouldn’t mind making the bill up to £6 with a donation to Children in Need. No! **** off and tell your bosses to pay some ****in tax. I don’t need tax dodgers telling where and when to donate to charity thanks very much, should have been my reply. In the event I mumbled a no and she gave me a bit of a disappointed look. To be fair the coffee was decent.
