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Post by sooliz on Aug 16, 2018 10:31:54 GMT
Wonder what they are, Tina, if they're really tiny might they be thunderflies?
We are inundated with flies and wasps, more so than any other year. Total aggravation.
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Post by sooliz on Sept 4, 2018 14:57:30 GMT
Rant with a (hopefully) happy ending!
The battery in my mobile phone is dying, and it's one that isn't user-replaceable.....well, apparently it is, but only by some 14 y.o. techie! I took it into a mobile phone shop in town a fortnight ago and asked the young chap (who did indeed look like he was 14) if he could supply and fit a new one - he said yes, but would have to order the battery from abroad (Germany, apparently) as that's where they are manufactured, along with China and a couple of other countries. They only keep batteries in stock for very popular (and expensive) phones like the iPhone, which mine isn't. I gave him a deposit of £15 (the total cost is £30, which seems very reasonable to me) and he said the battery should be in by Thursday of last week at the latest. It wasn't. I went in again this morning, only to be told that it still wasn't in - when I asked why not, he couldn't provide an explanation. (I said I know it's coming from abroad, but it's only Germany, it's not the moon! He looked at me as if I'd got 3 heads). There's another phone shop directly opposite, I went in there out of curiosity and asked them - they said No problem, we can supply and fit one tomorrow!! The chap, who's in his mid-20s and appears much more professional and confidence-inspiring, even agreed to match the £30 price the first one was charging - they normally charge £35. So I went and got my money back from the first shop (thankfully, the 14 y.o. didn't put up a fight, although I'd have been more than ready for him if he did) and gave it to the nice professional man in the 2nd shop. So hopefully it will have that happy ending tomorrow.
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Post by sooliz on Sept 13, 2018 15:35:56 GMT
The car has broken down, something to do with the clutch - apparently it's going to cost around £500 to repair.
Just as well we have a full freezer and plenty of homegrown veg, as we won't be doing any shopping for a while!
*UPDATED
The garage have rung and said it will cost £720. If one more thing goes wrong I think I'll jump off a bridge.
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Post by Aly on Sept 14, 2018 6:35:56 GMT
Oh dear. Troubles never come singly! Would it be worth shopping around?
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Post by sooliz on Sept 14, 2018 7:42:48 GMT
Not really, Aly. The garage is a small independent local one and husband knows and trusts the owner, who has done work on our cars before. This has certainly been a rubbish year for us, what with one thing and another. Things can only get better (I hope).
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Post by irist on Sept 14, 2018 8:22:01 GMT
Thinking of you, Sue.
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Post by brightspark on Sept 15, 2018 11:09:56 GMT
Hi Sue, yep, as Aly said, things never happen singly. I think we can all recognise that! I know it's only a saying, but this is building up your experience and your confidence to cope/manage with things, so thinking of ways to hide from them won't help the situation - but you know that anyway - you're just letting off steam as this thread suggests. xx You're very computer-savvy, so shopping won't be an issue if you can order online - get Tesco to deliver it. Sorted!
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Post by sooliz on Sept 15, 2018 11:17:48 GMT
Val, I didn't mean we wouldn't be able to go shopping if we have no car....I meant we wouldn't have any money to get any
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Post by brightspark on Sept 15, 2018 11:46:19 GMT
Ah, I see. Yes, that is a problem! You have said in the past that you're out in the sticks, so I assumed that was the issue. Apologies.
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Post by sooliz on Sept 15, 2018 15:36:37 GMT
The car's been fixed, and for some reason to do with parts, it's cost £160 less than originally quoted. Thank goodness for honest garage owners! Still cost us a lot of money, but not as bad as first thought. It still means that we have no savings left until we can build them up again, which will take quite a while, but at least the car's done.
No worries Val. Yes we are out in the sticks, but most of the supermarkets do deliver here. Except for Morrisons, oddly, even though they're the nearest supermarket! They say they don't yet cover our area....
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Post by brightspark on Sept 15, 2018 17:00:54 GMT
I can't remember if I have already mentioned this (Me? Old? Memory not what it was? Yep), but in refurbishing our kitchen in France, and when we have a large number of people staying, my kitchen sink always seemed too small. So we bought the largest single bowl sink - from B&Q, actually. It's called the Lyell sink. In the packaging it looked okay, but when we came to fix it into the worktop, it is very, very thin stainless steel, and it has the look and feel of linen - it isn't smooth like you'd expect for a s/s sink. When OH tried to fix a tap, the sink didn't seem able to support the weight of it, so, luckily, OH had bought another less heavy one on ebay, so he put that one on instead. However, the discussion about this has been constant since. We have now bought a replacement - a granite sink (not B&Q, but a bit more sturdy ) - and we shall endeavour to take the other one out to replace with the new one. OH used quite a lot of mastic to seal the Lyell, so I'm hoping it won't be too much of a difficulty! We do not recommend the Lyell sink, so if you're looking to replace yours, don't buy this one.
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Post by Aly on Nov 1, 2018 13:51:53 GMT
Two for one today.... 1. The bank I have been battling with who said they would send a code in three days but it is now three weeks...they are on holiday for two weeks as the schools are off! 2. My kitchen that depresses me terribly and only has two temporary sockets...the bread machine was on and P wanted to plug in something else so unplugged my bread machine! Second try now under way!
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Post by brightspark on Nov 5, 2018 15:20:04 GMT
Hi all, now back in the UK, after one of our worst Eurotunnel nightmares.
Beautiful day, and a drive that was event-free. Arrived at Eurotunnel at 19.05, and was given the ticket for the train we had booked to travel. At the waiting car park, it was half-empty. We parked up and gave the dog a little walk around, then had a bit of chocolate - as you do !!
A notice appeared running along the bottom of the train indicator board, saying that they were operating a 1-hour delay due to a train stopping in the tunnel. Drat!
The car park started to fill.
The indicator board was screwed - one minute it said - all proceed - then after scrolling through, it said - wait to be called - but, by now, everyone in the now overflowing car park, was in their cars and hoping to get on the next train. Major car park issue, as by now, all the cars were parked in the lanes surrounding the car park. Some folks had more than their fair share of booze and were behaving badly, as well as some very angry drivers. By now it was saying it was a 2-hour delay.
After a 7-hour drive, we didn't need this.
We slipped through while an attendant was talking to another driver, and then arrived at the second waiting car park. The indicator board now said that our train would be at 01.35. OH nearly freaked out! It was wrong (again) of course.
We eventually left Calais at 23.00 hrs.
Back in the UK, got onto the M20, and the notices told us that junctions 7-9 were closed. Diversion on the A20. Single carriage road, and all the lorries from the tunnel using it too. A bit slow going.
We got to bed this morning at 04.00 UK, 05.00 French time (our body clock, having got up at 07.00 in France!)), with a promise of getting in touch with Eurotunnel. When they are running just two trains an hour at that time, it doesn't seem unreasonable to keep customers in the picture and not screw it up. It's no wonder people get angry when they've been travelling, if like us, some distance.
Rant over, too tired to do much today!
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Post by Aly on Jul 7, 2020 13:22:29 GMT
I upgraded my iPhone to a 6 some time ago. Last month it went crazy and started auto filling passwords and messages. Contacted Apple who downloaded a program to it to put it back to factory settings but it had no effect. Bought another the same from eBay UK. It was dispatched the next day. We have been tracing it and it arrived at the international Hub for eBay then disappeared. It has not moved since June 18th. The seller and I raised a claim with eBay but they will not do anything until July 9th. I need the money back to buy another. Found a French site that refurbishes them. Today my phone is working but it has gone crazy three times since this episode started. It annoys me that I am so dependent on my phone but the fact is I am.
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Post by irist on Aug 5, 2020 16:20:35 GMT
I have now had an email from the lady at the Council to say that I should get legal advice as the problem is complicated. No it's not - our neighbour is refusing to clean the ditch in his field causing our patio to flood. The water runs off the road so it is Highways duty under the Land Drainage Act to deal with the person refusing to clean the ditch out to prevent damage to our property. This Council Officer has said that it's difficult because of land division, changes of ownership over the years and building work. Absolute tosh. I am beyond annoyed. Why should I pay for legal advice? My view is that the Council is counting the pennies. I feel like David fighting Goliath. Watch this space. Don't want to think about it at the moment.
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