Monthly Archives: October 2019

Back to the Post Code tour

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I seem to have drifted off the random tour of the UK I was doing by bouncing from code to code.

Time, I think, to start again.

The format is simple. I generate a list of postcodes by using the ones from orders in the shop and find out something interesting about them.

It’s a simple idea for a series of posts, and doubly attractive because there’s nothing to go wrong. There’s no politics, no religion and no potential for causing offence…

Sorry, I had to pause for a moment and laugh there. Why is it that every time I make a statement like that a massive list of possibilities spring to mind? I’m sure I’m not the only one who does this. As soon as I make a statement like that the synapses start fizzing like firecrackers and parts of my brain which have been  not seen use since Lambley Jack was a lad have started creaking into motion.

What is it about not wanting to say things that brings them up to the front of your mind?

Anyway – today’s postcodes are SS17, CV3 and DY11. If memory serves me right that’s Southend, Coventry and Dudley, so we’re in for a treat.

SS17 is indeed a Southend -on-Sea postcode. In fact it is the final postcode in the Southend series. We went to Southend last year to visit the pier. (Sorry about the small Southend content in those links, I obviously tried to blank it out). In an ideal world we won’t need to go back. It’s infested with speed cameras and the doughnuts are expensive.

SS17 is actually Stanford-le-Hope, which, Wiki tells me, includes Mucking and Fobbing. These seem more like rural pastimes than villages. AS for Mucking Flats, which sounds like a Spoonerism but is actually a Site of Special Scientific Interest, the mind boggles. Joseph Conrad lived and wrote in Stanford. I’ve only read one of his books – Nostromo. We had to do it at school. I thought it was dreadful and despite his reputation as a great writer I’ve never gone back to him. I’ve just been reading reviews on a book site and I’m not the only one to think this, though I am in a minority.

CV3 includes a lot of reasonably prosperous Coventry suburbs. I’ve driven through the area many times on the way to various places including Broadstreet Rugby Club. Number One Son played there once when his team made it through to the final stages of the National Colts Competition and I have to say that it had far better facilities than Nottingham RFC. Nottingham, however, despite failing on the facilities and social side, plays in the Championship, which is three levels higher than Broadstreet. It’s one of those perennial questions – if you have kids who want to play rugby are you better with  ateam linked to a professional club or one with a great social set-up and facilities? Or, after multiple visits to Accident and Emergency, are you better playing a less brutal sport?

DY11 is Dudley postcode area – though it is mainly Kidderminster rather than Dudley. Kidderminster is chiefly noted for making carpets. It has a carpet museum. I don’t think I’ve ever been to Kidderminster but now I know it has a carpet museum I’m finding it hard not to plan a visit.

Just a short tour today, but plenty more to come…

Senior Moments and Postal Problems

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I’m not currently at my best. If I tell you that I went through most of the day under the impression that it was Tuesday you may get some idea of the impairment suffered by my softening brain.

This was despite the fact I knew the car had gone away on Wednesday, which was yesterday. A simple process of deduction could have told me that it was Thursday today but I managed to miss out on that basic step.

This morning I managed to do the parcels on my own as the owner sorted a big trade order, and when it came time to get the parcels to the post office he noticed that I’d stamped several parcels up with the right stamps for Special Delivery but had stuck the labels for Signed For delivery on them.

That looks very inelegant – Special Delivery, I can just about live with, though the old name Registered didn’t, in my opinion, need changing. But Signed For sounds like an incomplete phrase rather than a description of a postal service. It was better when it was called Recorded Delivery.

In an ideal world you wouldn’t need this sort of postal service. Unfortunately there are so many thieves, liars and idiots on eBay that we need to use it to protect ourselves.

The normal problem is that somebody gets in touch a couple of weeks after you post something and says it wasn’t delivered.

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Stamps, stamps, stamps 

We then go on the Royal Mail site and put in the tracking number. Normally it shows that the post office tried to deliver it and, as nobody was there, put a card through the letter box telling the addressee to go and pick it up or arrange to have it delivered again when they will be in.

Unfortunately people don’t always see the bright red card. They also often seem to think it’s my job to arrange the redelivery for them, even though I don’t know when they will be in.

Some, even though it’s been signed for, insist that it hasn’t been delivered and tell us they want another parcel sending free of charge.It is possible that someone has signed for it fraudulently, but again, that really isn’t my problem.

One man actually accused us of knowing when it would be delivered and driving up to Scotland to sign for it and steal it. We were tactful, because he clearly had more problems than missing post.

It’s not even as if it was a sustainable business model…

And at that point, having established that some people have worse senior moments that I do, I will sign off.

 

 

Small Cars and Wine Gums

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I’ve put some really interesting stuff on eBay today, but as I left my camera at the shop I won’t be talking about that until tomorrow.

The man from the car repairers called today, dropped off a car and took mine away. As part of the process we had to fill in a sheet detailing all the blemishes on my bodywork. Two wheel centres missing, crumpled wing, damaged door, mystery paint transfer, mis-matched mirror shrouds, scuffs on the back bumper from dragging heavy loads out of the boot…

And there are a few minor marks too.

That is before we actually got round to the dinged wheel arch, scratches and paint transfer from the minor accident last week.

This is the car of a man who really needs to get a grip on his driving and the care of his car.

I might add that to my list.

I’ve done everything on the list and the two new haibun are now resting a while until I start the re-writing process.  The results of my car emptying are currently stacked in the house. I found four pairs of cheap reading glasses, which sort of makes up for the pair I lost last week.

I also found eight pens, two pairs of scissors, a bag of salt and  half a packet of wine gums. The wine gums are only slightly fluffy and soon cleaned up when I started sucking them, so all in all it wasn’t a bad day.

The courtesy car is a SEAT. I don’t know what model, but I do know I need Vaseline to get in and out. It’s a bit of a snug fit. Add that to a manual handbrake. a petrol engine and a clutch with a biting point that requires me to put my knee up to ear level when changing gear and you have a car that I’m not altogether familiar with. I also have a problem with feet which are bigger than the space allowed by the car designer.

Due to my generous proportions and a small door aperture I had to exit the vehicle by using a technique that looks a little like limbo dancing. Once I have enough of my lower parts out of the car I put my hand on the top of my head to compress my stiff neck and get my head out. With head and legs out I hook my elbows round the door frame and extract my body in the manner of a wine waiter brandishing one of those corkscrews with the two wings.

I may start adding sound effects tomorrow,

Fortunately it’s only for a week.

The top coin is a 1724 Guinea of George I, from the days when coins were better and monarchs were, quite frankly, uglier. In that year Jack Sheppard the highwayman was hanged and Longman, Britain’s oldest surviving publisher, was founded.

Robins, stamps and Robbie Burns

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The featured image is one of the robin Christmas stamps from 1995. I have looked them up and can yell you there were five of them. I can’t recall any of the other designs – this is the only one we seem to get.

We also have a fine selection of Scottish mini-sheets.

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Off to Australia

It seems, looking at the prices charges by stamp dealers, that we are being awfully extravagant in using these stamps for letters. In fact you can buy lots of stamps in the trade for below face value. There are even companies that specialise in this sort of thing – search “discounted stamps”if you want any.

Much of my working day was spent packing parcels as we kept getting orders through the day. We also had phone calls and a few customers actually visited the shop, despite the boarding.

One or two mentioned the boards with questions like “Have you been robbed?”. To which, after a few polite answers, we started replying “No, we’re just going for a shabby chic look.”. A few more and it was “No, we’ve joined a Blitz re-enactment society.”

If anyone else had asked there was a danger, by the end of the day, of the answer being less than polite.

There’s only so much to be said.

The rest of the day was taken up with moving stock and furniture round in preparation for our new security precautions. It appears we are not allowed to dig pits and line them with spikes.Or use guns and tripwires. Or train rottweilers to attack people wearing hoods and concealing their faces.It’s the nanny state gone mad, I tell you!

The spell-checker wants to remove “rottweilers” and substitute “erstwhile”. I originally spelt it “rottweillers” and the suggested alternative was “steamrollers”. I’ve often wondered how these things work. I’m definitely no wiser after this last selection.

I’ve given myself the night off tonight and watched TV with Julia instead of trying to force the writing. I’m not sure she’s grateful.

The List (2)

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First Post of the new day – sort of keeping up with my one and a half posts a day target.

The title was quite easy for this one, and the subject hasn’t stretched me unduly.

Even the photograph wasn’t difficult.

List v2

List v2

Not bad. I’ve made a list, and as the arrow shows, I’ve put the items in order of importance. I’ve done quite a lot of procrastinating too.

This listing thing really does seem to make things easier.

I had better clean out the car next, as they want it empty when they pick it up for repair on Wednesday. I am expecting that I will be getting a ridiculously small courtesy car so watch this space on Wednesday.

I may have to draw another arrow.