It’s my 30th wedding anniversary next week, as I may have mentioned. I am married to a patient and forgiving woman with low standards in men. I am not sure if I have covered that before, but she certainly has. Last time she mentioned it was in relation to yesterday’s post.
It seems that if I’m the best that Western civilisation can mange it’s no wonder the world is in a mess. Amongst talk of male chauvinism, lazy stereotyping and Les Dawson (who was a well-upholstered British comedian with a great repertoire of mother-in-law jokes) it emerged that she felt I had slandered her in relation to snoring.
If I had my time over again I will resist the urge to explain that it was libel, not slander. It did not really help. Accuracy, it seems, is not always appreciated.
Fortunately, I have managed, by a mix of low cunning and good luck, to work out what to get Julia for a wedding anniversary present – perfume. I ordered it a couple of days ago from Amazon and it was delivered this afternoon.
Unfortunately,they didn’t deliver it to me.
They emailed this morning to say it would be delivered today, then again to say it had been left with a neighbour. I assumed that this meant it had been delivered to the home address despite me specifying the work address.
On my return home I found this wasn’t the case. There was no card through the door. So I checked on-line. They had delivered it to a neighbour of the shop, at 3.41, despite me being at work until 4.30.
I have just had a frustrating on-line “conversation” trying to find out how this could be. They are very apologetic, but short on facts.
I was very tempted to point out that if I wanted a bad parcel delivery service I would have engaged Hermes. In terms of poor service – slowness, half the parcel missing after a “security check”, theft and drivers cutting corners, Hermes are unequalled. I use them whenever I feel the need to have a delivery go unpredictably wrong. They rarely disappoint.
At least with Amazon it’s a one-stop situation – you buy from them direct and they even pack the soon-to-be-lost parcel for you. It saves time, but, to be honest, I do feel a certain loyalty to Hermes after all those hours chatting on the phone asking where my parcel is, or why my customer has just rung to complain half of it is missing.
There are, to be fair, other bad carriers apart from Hermes. You could give Parcelforce a try and, if you fancy a treat of a retro nature, move some goods by British Rail.
I will say no more. The anecdote about British Rail losing 400 day-old chicks is not very entertaining. Nor is the story of my marathon drive to track them down.
This is probably a good time to finish. More reused photos again as I keep leaving my camera at work. THey are a reminder of summer.
Small Tortoiseshell
Happy Anniversary, Simon and Julia!
Thank you. 🙂
Happy upcoming 30th, Quercus and Julia, and many more to come!
The butterfly photo is very beautiful. Nice detail composition!
Thank you. By the standards of my parents and grandparents I’m only a beginner at marriage. 🙂
Maybe the perfume keep you in good odour – mind you, I expect you could more than likely be on the wrong scent.
🙂 🙂 🙂 Even your puns cannot cloud the serenity of my day. The perfume has been handed over and the rugby went well. I will not say which event made me happier…
🙂
I didn’t realise Hermes had a reputation. Still, I have rarely used them. Good old Royal Mail works for me 😊
It might just be that I’ve been unlucky with them. I’ve always been happy with Royal Mail and, until now, with Amazon.
I hope Julia doesn’t read this blog, or your lovely surprise is ruined.
That was my immediate thought!
The only surprise is that it will be here on time. I’m normally a day or two behind on these things.
Good luck!
Thank you. I have the package now. All that remains is to persuade her that the Amazon box is “gift wrapping” and the job is done. When laziness and re-cycling coincide I can be very persuasive. 🙂
What a lucky wife you have 😉
So O keep telling her. 🙂
She knows what she’s getting. The only surprise is that she will get it on the day instead of a few days later. 🙂