Getting to grips with it…..

Around Christmas I splashed out on a new camera – an Olympus EM-5 – it was a bit of an extravagant move, but I felt it would help me further develop my photography which had been in the doldrums for a number of years until I purchased an Olympus PEN EP-1 a few years ago. The time was right for the next step…..

I was right and have been amazed by the cameras capability to produce stunning results even in my hands! It is well up there with the quality of a full frame digital SLR (it is a 4/3rds camera). And it has allowed me to hopefully develop my artistic side a bit more….

This photo was taken at the orangery at Calke Abbey in March, I quite like it, especially the way the shadows run…..

 

Two sides to everything……

I was told many years ago that your first contact with someone is the most important, it sets their opinion of you. Hence in business your receptionist is perhaps the most important person in the firm. This goes for both face to face contact and phone contact…..

So why do companies insist on using faceless call centres to deal with both new and existing clients?

My ‘history’ with Virgin Media is well documented on this blog, so I won’t go back over old ground. However I have again this week had dealings with one of their engineers who attended to install a new modem (or ‘super hub’ as they call them). He was very efficient, polite and quick – I couldn’t find anything to complain about (strange I know) – and this has always been my experience of their staff on the ground – simply brilliant!

But, to get an engineer you have to go through the call centre! On this occasion they had given the engineer the wrong house number (I corrected it when he called to say he was 10 minutes away). It had taken me four people to get to someone who could deal with my enquiry – and I was returning their call asking me to contact them!

So Virgin – as usual, brilliant staff who actually deal with your clients on site. But your call centre gets worse!

Why can’t you see this?

 

A brilliant new building….

We have been without a library in West Bridgford for some time – the old one was closed to allow for a refurbishment and extension to be done. There was a temporary library in some first floor offices which was a good effort, but was rather like a large cupboard by comparison to the old library!

However the new building has now opened (actually over a week ago) and I had a visit this last weekend. My initial impression is of a light and spacious library with the feel of a book shop more than a traditional library. This is not a criticism – it works, the space is very inviting and relaxed – it is very busy as well! It is so good to go to a public library and literally find it full of all ages and frankly buzzing with activity.

The building we have ended up with is a scaled down version of the original proposal that got ‘canned’ due to the cuts. If the result we see today is anything to go by that would have been amazing!

So credit where credit is due – the County Council have done a first class job here. Well worth a visit if you are local to it.

 

There are still some decent people out there…..

It is great once in a while to have your faith in human nature confirmed, we do live in what seems to be an increasingly uncaring society, so an act of kindness is great to see. The reason for my comment?

Last week my son lost his wallet, he didn’t actually realise this until Friday (he is 15 so doesn’t carry it all the time) when he was about to go into town to meet some friends. A brief but frantic search ensued, but it was soon apparent that it had been lost. Phone calls followed to the bank to cancel his debit card, Nottingham City Transport to cancel his bus pass etc – you get the idea. He was also rather cross as he had left rather a lot of cash in the wallet (despite various warnings to remove it!)

So all in all, a bad start to the weekend! But, due to the act of a very kind gent who found the wallet and delivered it to Lloyds Bank in West Bridgford, who then rang us to report the delivery to them (the card was from Lloyds) he got it all back!

The wallet was delivered to Lloyds because the finder was not ‘confident’ that the Police would be the best place to take it – a rather damning indictment of our boys in blue…..

I wonder what percentage of people finding the wallet would have acted in the same way, unfortunately I believe we fell very lucky.

 

Not great being proved right…….

As a family we have ‘suffered’ more than most in relation to mobile phone theft. My stepdaughter has had two iPhones stolen now over the last 6 months, both in Nottingham when on a night out. The first was taken from her in Rock City which apparently is well known as a hot spot for this crime (they are working with the police on the issue I gather).

The second was in a pub in town – in both cases the phone was taken from a closed bag – so we assumed it was professional criminals.

This has now been confirmed by information released recently by the police that shows that teams of criminals are descending on our cities to carry out this crime – to then export the phones abroad (where they are not locked and can be used or sold).

Yes this is a problem the police and venues need to address, but is it not more of an issue for the manufacturers and networks? The ability to reuse the phones abroad is a massive ‘loophole’ in the supposed security provided by blacklisting phones. The networks need a world wide system to block phones – and they need it now.

 

As a shooter I believe you need to read this!

There needs to be gun control – I do not disagree with this statement. I also don’t agree with the NRA of America’s attitude – they really don’t help themselves or their cause in my opinion. Hopefully those two statements have allowed me to hold your attention and also assured you that I am not a maniac!

In this country the legislation relating to firearms is as strong as any in the world, and in my opinion is adequate. It is the management of the law that is at issue.

The National Rifle Association have this weekend released a press release that explains why they consider no further legislation is required – it is worth a read in full so I have set it out below. No doubt the likes of the Daily Mail will ‘edit’ the article to make shooters appear to be ‘Satan’s spawn’ – we aren’t. I leave you to make your own opinion……

No Need for Review of Firearms Licensing

Recent calls for a review of firearms licensing have been made by the coroner after ruling that three women were unlawfully killed in County Durham.

The killer, Michael Atherton, had legally owned weapons despite a history of domestic abuse.

The case highlights failings not in firearms licensing legislation but failings with implementation. This was recognised by Michael Banks, Durham’s Deputy Chief Constable, who stated “If we were presented with the same facts today… (Michael Atherton’s) licence would not be granted”…if there’s any intelligence around domestic violence in the family setting or intemperate behaviour then there is a presumption that a firearms licence or shotgun certificate will not be granted”.

Local police firearms officers work hard and generally deliver a highly professional service with rigorous scrutiny for firearm applications and renewals.

UK firearms legislation is recognised as some of the most restricted in the world; and the UK system is widely held across Europe to be an exemplar for responsible and safe firearms ownership.

The granting of a firearm certificate is wholly at the discretion of the police who need to be confident that the applicant is responsible and poses no risk to the public.

Applicants are obliged to justify good reason to own a rifle; provide independent character referees; be checked for criminal records; give consent for police to question their GP for evidence of alcoholism, drug abuse or personality disorders; and provide evidence of specialist secure storage for their rifle.

Shooting is a legal and major participation sport in the UK, and today over 700,000 certificates are granted covering 1.8m rifles and shotguns.

The incidence of legally held firearms being used in criminal activity is very rare, hence the keen media interest in such stories. The comparative statistics for knife crime are astonishing – in the year to June 2012 there were 29,613 recorded offences involving knives and other sharp objects. This supports the National Rifle Association’s long held view that it is the person not the weapon that causes harm and that the current firearm legislation, properly implemented, continues to deliver safety and protection to the public.

Andrew Mercer
Secretary General, National Rifle Association

 

One of my least favourite place!

Last week I had to visit one of my least favourite places in Nottingham – the post office sorting office on Clarke Rd – it is always a pleasure and something that I save up for ‘special occasions’ (not). This time it was especially exciting for two reasons;

Firstly I saw @harters34 (who was also collecting a package, he was aware of my ‘issue’ and asked when I would be doing this blog – and I don’t like disappointing people😄).

Secondly I was collecting the iPad mini case my son had ordered from the USA. Delivery had been fairly protracted (a few weeks) so he was keen to get hold of it to protect his pride and joy. The package had however attracted the attention of the UK Customs, any package is due to pay VAT on its value if it comes into the UK from outside of the EU – and it appears customs are particularly keen on US mail.

So there was 20% to pay – around £4 on the cost of the item (which is very cool and not available in the UK). I don’t have an issue with this, tax is tax, and we all have to pay it (well those of us who play by the rules).

What I do have an issue with is the Post Offices approach to collecting this tax on behalf of the revenue. It is done on a flat fee basis of £8, so in this case a rate of 200%!

So if I had imported a higher value item for let’s say £500 I would be due to pay £100 VAT and the collecting fee would still be £8 – or 8% – rather than the 200% paid in my case.

Surely there is something wrong here?

 

Are we getting ‘soft’?

I watched what would be described as a ‘vintage’ TV program at the weekend – (an old one to you and me) – it was the BBC’s round up of the events of January 1963, otherwise known as ‘the big freeze’. Two things became very obvious from the program;

Firstly that we really haven’t made that much progress when it comes to dealing with unusually cold weather – in the current snow the papers have been reporting similar issues with roads, railways and services that were issues in 1963.

Secondly, and far more scary, is the depth of the weather in 1963 – the cold snap lasted for over a month and the temperatures were below freezing (a long way below) for all of that time. Snow fall was measured in feet – not centimetres – and the country really did grind to a halt!

So when we are all clearing the windows on our cars this week and then ‘struggling through’ a couple of centimetres of snow give some thought to what would happen if we had some real winter weather!

The BBC documentary from 1963 is available on the BBC iplayer and is well worth a watch if you have some time. You can find it here;

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01q9d86/Winterwatch_1963_The_Big_Freeze/

 

Clever carparks!

I do like something that is clever, slightly ‘techie’ and makes life easier….

This weekend I was in Leicester collecting a new iPhone from the Apple store in the Highcross Centre for my daughter to replace the one that she had stolen just before Christmas. Normally I would park at our leicester office and walk down, but this was to be a swift hit so the shopping centre carpark was the chosen venue for the car.

I had not parked there before but found it a very pleasant experience. It was very well lit and the spaces appear to be a good size. But most impressive is the way in which cars are managed in the carpark by the system. As you enter the facility there is a board indicating which floors have spaces available and how many there are free. The best part is that this is a dynamic system so it changes as cars leave the relevant floor!

So finding a space is faster and much less stress free as there is no hunting a floor for a space – you already have an indication that a space is available! There are also red and green lights in the roadways – green means you can go that way, red is no entry – simple but very effective. This is so much more useful than the system we have in Nottingham which tells you a mile or more from the carpark if spaces are available!

Top marks to Leicester!

 

A classic example of what is wrong with football?

I have a somewhat ‘jaundiced’ view of the ‘beautiful game’ – I have blogged numerous times about it and have to say it really doesn’t appear to be getting any better – that is football as well as my grumpiness!

This last weekend we had the 3rd round of the FA Cup – the chance for lower league clubs to have a go at some of the Premier league clubs if they are lucky enough to be drawn against them. The Premier League clubs all tend to see it as a chore to go to the lower league clubs as it gets in the way of their main reason for existing (to make money?).

Anyway – locally we had Mansfield Town taking on Liverpool, the excitement in the area was palpable – I wasn’t there (no surprise there), but I know a man who was. I gather that Mansfield left free seats in the stand in memory of the 96 who died at Hillsborough, a very nice act that I approve of. They also played well and only lost out to a last-minute goal from Suarez – which was the result of his hand ball.

Mansfield’s manager would not be drawn by the press on the foul, and was full of praise for his players. Suarez played on as if nothing had happened and then on Monday I saw this tweet from Grant Holt (Norwich City) – the general tone is in my view appalling – basically supporting cheating – (and I guess most professional footballers have the same view?) – surely not what we should be saying to our kids?