The View from the Hill on Saturday 13th March
Nat West and I have had a banking relationship for over 25 years and I have been a very loyal customer, even my car insurance is through the bank but of late I have been having doubts - yesterday afternoon I experienced an awful visit to my local branch and I feel the end of relationship is approaching.
The adverts you see for Nat West talk about there being 'another way', well I don't like it another way, I like it the old fashioned way, where people stand behind little windows and either take or give you money, now my bank charges are used to pay staff to stand next to automated bank clerks - so we are paying for the machines and the people?
Yesterday I went to pay in some cheques, something I have done via the automated system many times, but yesterday I was glad of the machine because the queue for the real clerks was very long.
But the machine would not accept my cheques, I tried three times before asking the lady who loiters in the vicinity of the machines for a little assistance.
She was very nice if a little condescending, asking if I had used the machines before and had I inserted them properly. I assured her that I was well versed in the proper insertion technique.
She smiled, showing the lipstick on her teeth, and took my cheques from me saying "let me show you".
I gritted my teeth and then felt somewhat vindicated when she too was unable to get the machine to accept my cheques.
She apologised, tried another machine, this too refused the cheques. She then apologised again (it sounded a little pat by now) and took me to the queue and indicated for me to stand at the front, a queue of around 12 people being served by 3 staff.
Now, quite rightly, the man at the front of the queue refused to let me take his place, I would have done the same, but the lady who was second said I could stand in front of her.
The lady with the lipstick teeth smiled, apologised again and left.
That's when the abuse started from the customers behind me and after a while I just walked to the front desk, registered my dischuff and left, went home and rang to complain.
Their initial response was of course to apologise, I pictured the girl at the other end of the phone smiling sincerely and showing her own issue Nat West lipstick covered teeth.
After quite a lengthy debate, she passed me up the food chain to her supervisor, I suggested that the ladies who drift around the foyer asking if they could help might be better suited to standing behind a small window and actually serving customers - that concept seemed alien to the supervisor.
Anyway, we will await the outcome, I have been promised a phone call in the next day or two.
In the meantime - I still have cheques to pay in and am wondering if I should walk into another bank and open a new account just to show Nat West what I think on them. You see Nat West was right - there is another way!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Robert Frost:
“A bank is a place where they lend you an umbrella in fair weather and ask for it back when it begins to rain.”
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Saturday, 13 March 2010
Friday, 12 March 2010
The View from the Hill on Friday 12th March
The flood waters have receded and the drying out process begins.
Typing a little gingerly this morning as the injuries I received from the carpet gripper are very sore and have begun to seep that clear sticky stuff - being a brave solider even though the excruciating pain from my wounds is making me cry with every key stroke - but I battle on for you, my dear beloved reader.
I am watching the clock tick slowly towards 9am - because at 9am the box office opens for Michael Buble's Nottingham concert - and I have been tasked with purchasing five shiny tickets. I just hope my poor hands can hold the phone and a credit card at the same time.
I will then have a couple little jobs to undertake before retuning to the disaster zone and making tea for the decorator - he drinks so much of the stuff, I think his bladder must have been by-passed somehow. Just thinking about the weight of his cup and struggling with that tea bag is making me wince with pain.
Mrs B went out for a Ladies Night last night, as soon as she went out of the door at about 7.30 I stumbled to bed and fell into a deep deep sleep from which I was aroused by a kiss - it was a handsome Prince of a dog called Jake who wanted to go wee wee. This was about 9.30 and then I returned to that state of slumber hardly noticing the drunken Mrs B staggering to bed at whatever time she rolled in (sober as a judge) but of course at 5am I was wide awake. I managed to force my eyelids backdown and went through until the alarm at 7am though.
I think I recorded Question Time, not sure if through my exhaustion and with these poor crushed hands I hit the right buttons, but hopefully I managed so I can watch that later, but I will be doing my best to just relax and lick my wounds. Oh the pain!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Edgar Watson Howe:
Everyone hates a martyr: it's no wonder martyrs were burned at the stake!
The flood waters have receded and the drying out process begins.
Typing a little gingerly this morning as the injuries I received from the carpet gripper are very sore and have begun to seep that clear sticky stuff - being a brave solider even though the excruciating pain from my wounds is making me cry with every key stroke - but I battle on for you, my dear beloved reader.
I am watching the clock tick slowly towards 9am - because at 9am the box office opens for Michael Buble's Nottingham concert - and I have been tasked with purchasing five shiny tickets. I just hope my poor hands can hold the phone and a credit card at the same time.
I will then have a couple little jobs to undertake before retuning to the disaster zone and making tea for the decorator - he drinks so much of the stuff, I think his bladder must have been by-passed somehow. Just thinking about the weight of his cup and struggling with that tea bag is making me wince with pain.
Mrs B went out for a Ladies Night last night, as soon as she went out of the door at about 7.30 I stumbled to bed and fell into a deep deep sleep from which I was aroused by a kiss - it was a handsome Prince of a dog called Jake who wanted to go wee wee. This was about 9.30 and then I returned to that state of slumber hardly noticing the drunken Mrs B staggering to bed at whatever time she rolled in (sober as a judge) but of course at 5am I was wide awake. I managed to force my eyelids backdown and went through until the alarm at 7am though.
I think I recorded Question Time, not sure if through my exhaustion and with these poor crushed hands I hit the right buttons, but hopefully I managed so I can watch that later, but I will be doing my best to just relax and lick my wounds. Oh the pain!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Edgar Watson Howe:
Everyone hates a martyr: it's no wonder martyrs were burned at the stake!
Thursday, 11 March 2010
The View from the Hill on Thursday 11th March
You know it's going to be bad news when you find yourself being woken by the sound of running water at 4.20am - and it was!
Dining room turned into an indoor pool.
It is turning into one of those months - we have problems with the kitchen already in need of sorting and now this.
Mrs B and I ripped the carpet up to stop the seeping water from into the walls and through to the next room, I managed to bleed over everything having cut my fingers and hand on the carpet gripper.
We are trying to remain calm about the whole thing, (stress is a killer you know) but isn't it amazing how these things come along just when you have saved a bit of money for a treat or a holiday?
Can't stay on here too long, have to go and change the bucket over.
Oh well, we were having the room re-decorated now we might need a new carpet to go with it.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"You should treat all disasters as if they were trivialities, but never treat a triviality as if it were a disaster"
Quentin Crisp
You know it's going to be bad news when you find yourself being woken by the sound of running water at 4.20am - and it was!
Dining room turned into an indoor pool.
It is turning into one of those months - we have problems with the kitchen already in need of sorting and now this.
Mrs B and I ripped the carpet up to stop the seeping water from into the walls and through to the next room, I managed to bleed over everything having cut my fingers and hand on the carpet gripper.
We are trying to remain calm about the whole thing, (stress is a killer you know) but isn't it amazing how these things come along just when you have saved a bit of money for a treat or a holiday?
Can't stay on here too long, have to go and change the bucket over.
Oh well, we were having the room re-decorated now we might need a new carpet to go with it.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"You should treat all disasters as if they were trivialities, but never treat a triviality as if it were a disaster"
Quentin Crisp
Wednesday, 10 March 2010
The View from the Hill on Wednesday 10th March
Early start today, thanks to Danny and his recently manicured claws tip tapping on the door - he is very old and when he taps you have to listen!
Danny has a message for Alan Johnson, our ex postman turned Home Secretary - stick your proposals for the Dangerous Dogs Act where the sun don't shine you silly man!
I can guarantee you this, no political party has the balls to really grasp this dog problem, not even Ed Balls.
With spending cuts on the way, and council employees losing their jobs, who will monitor and enforce dangerous dog legislation - we can't even cope with monitoring kids on the 'at risk' register.
And whilst risking being unpopular two days running, parents asking why the Police didn't monitor a sex offender who then, via Facebook, grooms and then lures a teenager to be killed, should perhaps be asking what did they do to protect their child? It's all about blaming someone else these days - no one takes responsibility for themselves.
The world is not the fun place it used to be, you can't even look at anyone sideways without being sued.
You can't even make a joke or offer an opinion about, for example, The McCanns without having a fear of litigation.
I was going to make fun of the blind this morning, thinking I could be fairly safe as they cannot read - then I find out that someone has invented a gadget that reads the pages to them - I mean what sort of sick mind comes up with gadgets like that?
So, I'll just go and put the kettle on and poach an egg (not in the kettle).
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Abraham Lincoln:
If you once forfeit the confidence of your fellow citizens, you can never regain their respect and esteem. It is true that you may fool all of the people some of the time; you can even fool some of the people all of the time; but you can't fool all of the people all of the time.
Take note Polyphemus and your crew!
Early start today, thanks to Danny and his recently manicured claws tip tapping on the door - he is very old and when he taps you have to listen!
Danny has a message for Alan Johnson, our ex postman turned Home Secretary - stick your proposals for the Dangerous Dogs Act where the sun don't shine you silly man!
I can guarantee you this, no political party has the balls to really grasp this dog problem, not even Ed Balls.
With spending cuts on the way, and council employees losing their jobs, who will monitor and enforce dangerous dog legislation - we can't even cope with monitoring kids on the 'at risk' register.
And whilst risking being unpopular two days running, parents asking why the Police didn't monitor a sex offender who then, via Facebook, grooms and then lures a teenager to be killed, should perhaps be asking what did they do to protect their child? It's all about blaming someone else these days - no one takes responsibility for themselves.
The world is not the fun place it used to be, you can't even look at anyone sideways without being sued.
You can't even make a joke or offer an opinion about, for example, The McCanns without having a fear of litigation.
I was going to make fun of the blind this morning, thinking I could be fairly safe as they cannot read - then I find out that someone has invented a gadget that reads the pages to them - I mean what sort of sick mind comes up with gadgets like that?
So, I'll just go and put the kettle on and poach an egg (not in the kettle).
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Abraham Lincoln:
If you once forfeit the confidence of your fellow citizens, you can never regain their respect and esteem. It is true that you may fool all of the people some of the time; you can even fool some of the people all of the time; but you can't fool all of the people all of the time.
Take note Polyphemus and your crew!
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
The View from the Hill on Tuesday 9th March
Time for me to climb onto my beautiful horse of a different colour to clearly state that: I don't care what John Venables has done as long as he is in prison.
And I think the British media should be ashamed in allowing Denise Fergus to become a cheer leader for the cause - I know she lost her son in terrible circumstances but I fail to see how anything can make that situation better and her claims that she is losing sleep and has had to take her children out of school, well it just seems a little over the top and it is certainly inflaming the situation.
Where some are saying the system has failed the public, I would say the system has obviously worked. If Venables has committed offences, these have been detected and he will spend the rest of his life in jail.
If you feel he should not have been allowed out on licence, then you need to take that out on the MP's who wrote the law, not the criminals who avail themselves of it.
I am well aware that I am in a minority here, but sometimes we should all swim against the tide, it's good exercise!
Knowing who Venables is now and exactly what he has done will lead to the lynch mob mentality taking over, he will never then get a fair trial and if he can't get a fair trial he will not be in jail, he will be on the streets - so let's just let things take their course and then await the news that he is in prison for the rest of his life.
And just one more thing - people are saying rehabilitation doesn't work - well we have not heard anything about Robert Thompson re-offending, so let's not give up hope yet.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Through violence you may murder a liar but you can't establish truth. Through violence you may murder a hater, but you can't murder hate. Darkness cannot put out darkness. Only light can do that.
Martin Luther King
Time for me to climb onto my beautiful horse of a different colour to clearly state that: I don't care what John Venables has done as long as he is in prison.
And I think the British media should be ashamed in allowing Denise Fergus to become a cheer leader for the cause - I know she lost her son in terrible circumstances but I fail to see how anything can make that situation better and her claims that she is losing sleep and has had to take her children out of school, well it just seems a little over the top and it is certainly inflaming the situation.
Where some are saying the system has failed the public, I would say the system has obviously worked. If Venables has committed offences, these have been detected and he will spend the rest of his life in jail.
If you feel he should not have been allowed out on licence, then you need to take that out on the MP's who wrote the law, not the criminals who avail themselves of it.
I am well aware that I am in a minority here, but sometimes we should all swim against the tide, it's good exercise!
Knowing who Venables is now and exactly what he has done will lead to the lynch mob mentality taking over, he will never then get a fair trial and if he can't get a fair trial he will not be in jail, he will be on the streets - so let's just let things take their course and then await the news that he is in prison for the rest of his life.
And just one more thing - people are saying rehabilitation doesn't work - well we have not heard anything about Robert Thompson re-offending, so let's not give up hope yet.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Through violence you may murder a liar but you can't establish truth. Through violence you may murder a hater, but you can't murder hate. Darkness cannot put out darkness. Only light can do that.
Martin Luther King
Monday, 8 March 2010
The View from the Hill on Monday 8th March
Just finished watching The Oscars - well done The Hurt Locker.
No real surprises, Bridges and Bullock as we thought - and the thing that I want to talk about more than anything is the panel of idiots they had on Sky to fill the advert breaks.
Claudia Winkelman, Ronni Ancona, David Baddiel and Mark Dolan - what a waste of space!
Baddiel has never even heard of Neil Patrick Harris and has never watched the Oscars - glad he is there then to give his view!
But the worst moment has to have been when the four idiots didn't have the brains between them to recognise what Monique was saying with her acceptance speech.
She started her speech by saying 'I would like to thank the Academy for showing it can be about the performance and not the politics' - the panel of so called experts had not a clue what she was talking about...but the clue came in what she said next when she thanked Hattie McDaniel.
And if I have to explain it to my readers then you can quite rightly stop reading my blog and go and follow Claudia Winkelman on Twitter!
OK - I'll tell you this much, Hattie McDaniel won the award for Best Supporting Actress in 1940 for Gone With The Wind, and she was the first African American to win an Oscar. But no more - work it out! Prove you have a greater mental capacity than the four idiots on Sky.
Anyway, it was a terrible show, Sky+ made it fly by in about two hours, I could fast forward through all the speeches and the silly dance routines, you could freeze frame on Meryl Streep for as long as you want, you could rewind Robert Downey Junior over and over (he was brilliant) - but it was a rubbish show.
But it was all worth it to see Kathryn Bigelow win and to see the joy for Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty.
It is a great film and if you have not seen it please try, especially if you have seen Avatar, because what will happen is you will realise that James Cameron fooled you with his technology into believing that films are about the tricks - and they aint! NO WAY!
Oh well - time to drift back to the real world, perhaps go and freeze frame Meryl for another fifteen minutes first though!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
From The Hurt Locker:
Staff Sergeant William James: [Speaking to his son] You love playing with that. You love playing with all your stuffed animals. You love your Mommy, your Daddy. You love your pajamas. You love everything, don't ya? Yea. But you know what, buddy? As you get older... some of the things you love might not seem so special anymore. Like your Jack-in-a-Box. Maybe you'll realize it's just a piece of tin and a stuffed animal. And then you forget the few things you really love. And by the time you get to my age, maybe it's only one or two things. With me, I think it's one.
"The rush of battle is often a potent and lethal addiction, for war is a drug"
Opening Title for The Hurt Locker
Just finished watching The Oscars - well done The Hurt Locker.
No real surprises, Bridges and Bullock as we thought - and the thing that I want to talk about more than anything is the panel of idiots they had on Sky to fill the advert breaks.
Claudia Winkelman, Ronni Ancona, David Baddiel and Mark Dolan - what a waste of space!
Baddiel has never even heard of Neil Patrick Harris and has never watched the Oscars - glad he is there then to give his view!
But the worst moment has to have been when the four idiots didn't have the brains between them to recognise what Monique was saying with her acceptance speech.
She started her speech by saying 'I would like to thank the Academy for showing it can be about the performance and not the politics' - the panel of so called experts had not a clue what she was talking about...but the clue came in what she said next when she thanked Hattie McDaniel.
And if I have to explain it to my readers then you can quite rightly stop reading my blog and go and follow Claudia Winkelman on Twitter!
OK - I'll tell you this much, Hattie McDaniel won the award for Best Supporting Actress in 1940 for Gone With The Wind, and she was the first African American to win an Oscar. But no more - work it out! Prove you have a greater mental capacity than the four idiots on Sky.
Anyway, it was a terrible show, Sky+ made it fly by in about two hours, I could fast forward through all the speeches and the silly dance routines, you could freeze frame on Meryl Streep for as long as you want, you could rewind Robert Downey Junior over and over (he was brilliant) - but it was a rubbish show.
But it was all worth it to see Kathryn Bigelow win and to see the joy for Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty.
It is a great film and if you have not seen it please try, especially if you have seen Avatar, because what will happen is you will realise that James Cameron fooled you with his technology into believing that films are about the tricks - and they aint! NO WAY!
Oh well - time to drift back to the real world, perhaps go and freeze frame Meryl for another fifteen minutes first though!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
From The Hurt Locker:
Staff Sergeant William James: [Speaking to his son] You love playing with that. You love playing with all your stuffed animals. You love your Mommy, your Daddy. You love your pajamas. You love everything, don't ya? Yea. But you know what, buddy? As you get older... some of the things you love might not seem so special anymore. Like your Jack-in-a-Box. Maybe you'll realize it's just a piece of tin and a stuffed animal. And then you forget the few things you really love. And by the time you get to my age, maybe it's only one or two things. With me, I think it's one.
"The rush of battle is often a potent and lethal addiction, for war is a drug"
Opening Title for The Hurt Locker
Sunday, 7 March 2010
The View from the Hill on Sunday 7th March
It's Oscar, he's here!
For many years I would sit up all night to watch the ceremony live as I couldn't deal with waking up in the morning having taped it only to hear the results on the news all day. Even on holiday once, in Menorca, I sat up and watched it live.
I've grown up a little since those days, now I Sky+ it, on two separate machines, and then at 6am I shall rise and watch it without turning on the news so I can watch it as if it were live.
I think the acting Oscars are pretty much decided, Bridges, Bullock, Waltz and Monique are pretty secure. The big question is, has the initial momentum of Avatar lessened enough to allow The Hurt Locker to win?
It may well be that the Academy, in all it's glittery wisdom, gives Best Film to Avatar and Best Director to Kathryn Bigelow, thereby splitting the prize, the cowards way out in my opinion.
We will see tomorrow and I will obviously report back in my blog which will be delayed, as I will be watching the Oscars!
One film that will not be nominated for an Oscar is Legion, the movie I saw last night at the cinema.
There was just me and six other sad people sat in the dark watching a film about the apocalypse and angels trying to save the new messiah.
I have noticed quite a few films lately about the end of the world and armageddon and survival of a messiah or a bible - perhaps in these films we see the truth though for us atheists - we can't win.
Even if religious intolerance and fighting about whose god is best leads us to blow up the planet, there will always be one nutter with a bible or one pregnant ex druggie who claims to be carrying the saviour of the world.
In Legion it was a waitress at a diner in the Nevada desert, we don't know who the father is but her 'Joseph' is a devout believer who becomes her protector.
He is played by an actor called Lucas Black and he has the most amazing southern drawl, and it became quite hypnotic listening to him speak - we get so used to hearing that drawl in rednecks or oily pervs, so to hear it being spoken so quietly and beautifully was really shocking. I didn't recognise him but on looking at his IMDB listing I note he was a boy actor opposite Kevin Costner and then starred in the tv series American Gothic as a teenager.
I'll post the trailer for you - Lucas doesn't speak sadly, but you will see most of the best bits and it will save you £8 at the Odeon.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGE_zSdCzDU&NR=1
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Steven Wright:
In school they said 'practice makes perfect' but then they said 'nobody's perfect' so I stopped practicing!
It's Oscar, he's here!
For many years I would sit up all night to watch the ceremony live as I couldn't deal with waking up in the morning having taped it only to hear the results on the news all day. Even on holiday once, in Menorca, I sat up and watched it live.
I've grown up a little since those days, now I Sky+ it, on two separate machines, and then at 6am I shall rise and watch it without turning on the news so I can watch it as if it were live.
I think the acting Oscars are pretty much decided, Bridges, Bullock, Waltz and Monique are pretty secure. The big question is, has the initial momentum of Avatar lessened enough to allow The Hurt Locker to win?
It may well be that the Academy, in all it's glittery wisdom, gives Best Film to Avatar and Best Director to Kathryn Bigelow, thereby splitting the prize, the cowards way out in my opinion.
We will see tomorrow and I will obviously report back in my blog which will be delayed, as I will be watching the Oscars!
One film that will not be nominated for an Oscar is Legion, the movie I saw last night at the cinema.
There was just me and six other sad people sat in the dark watching a film about the apocalypse and angels trying to save the new messiah.
I have noticed quite a few films lately about the end of the world and armageddon and survival of a messiah or a bible - perhaps in these films we see the truth though for us atheists - we can't win.
Even if religious intolerance and fighting about whose god is best leads us to blow up the planet, there will always be one nutter with a bible or one pregnant ex druggie who claims to be carrying the saviour of the world.
In Legion it was a waitress at a diner in the Nevada desert, we don't know who the father is but her 'Joseph' is a devout believer who becomes her protector.
He is played by an actor called Lucas Black and he has the most amazing southern drawl, and it became quite hypnotic listening to him speak - we get so used to hearing that drawl in rednecks or oily pervs, so to hear it being spoken so quietly and beautifully was really shocking. I didn't recognise him but on looking at his IMDB listing I note he was a boy actor opposite Kevin Costner and then starred in the tv series American Gothic as a teenager.
I'll post the trailer for you - Lucas doesn't speak sadly, but you will see most of the best bits and it will save you £8 at the Odeon.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGE_zSdCzDU&NR=1
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Steven Wright:
In school they said 'practice makes perfect' but then they said 'nobody's perfect' so I stopped practicing!
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