Tag Archives: lost parcel

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

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Belgian Medals

My arms are feeling sore today. It seems to have taken a couple of days to work its way through from the blood testing. This may be natural, or it may just be that I have the nervous system of a chicken. They often show no sign of distress in very harrowing circumstances, but react badly to things that seem relatively harmless. I was discussing this once with a vet when, as part of the conversation, he described the sensation of being shot. He then added that this sensation (no pain, no falling over, just like being hit with a sledgehammer) was exactly the same the second time he was shot. It seems he had had an eventful war. Chickens, we agreed, showed less immediacy of feeling. I think my arms may be related to chickens. Bothe the shingles vaccination and the blood test attempts seem to have taken a day or two to reach peak discomfort. I used to meet some interesting people . . .

I’m going to keep my typing time short, and won’t get round to fixing yesterday’s photos until tomorrow now. What I’ll probably do is use some substitute photos for yesterday and use the cave ones tomorrow. I will also take a photograph of the Birthday Present, which turned up today. Ten out of ten for Parcelforce for carrying out the new delivery instruction.

American Medals

I have another camera now. Having found my old Panasonic Lumix, a camera that I never really used to its full capabilities, I have obtained a new charger from Amazon (cost £8) and ascertained that the battery still works. I’m planning on using it for work, as the pathetic pink piece of crap I have been provided with is driving me mad. It’s very annoying to spend 20 or 30 minutes photographing stuff only to find when you upload the photos, that they are blurred, have a colour cast or just look plain weird. It was a cheap camera so you can’t blame the camera, or the photographer. You can, however, blame the man who wants to run an internet sales business using second hand computers and cameras found at the back of his wife’s wardrobe.

That, of course, is one of my other frustrations – the inconsistency of loading due to loose connections in the USB ports of my clapped out computer. Sometimes it can take twenty minutes to establish a connection between the camera card and the computer.

More American Medals

WE had news of a lost parcel today. The customer has been very patient and waited a month to get in contact. According to the tracking information it a was posted on the 16th of October and reached the Worldwide Distribution Hub at Heathrow on 17th. That’s good. Unfortunately it’s the last that was heard of it. We are going to have to refund the customer and wait to see what happens. It may arrive and he may well pay for it. If not, we don’t have much of a chance of compensation because Royal mails wants to see the receipt from when you purchased it (they don’t pay out on the full cost, just on what we bought it for). Unfortunately, our buying receipts mainly refer to items in bulk. It’s simply not possible to list everything with an individual cost. Often it ends with them refusing to pay.

Pictures today will be random bits of stock.

British Medals plus Tribute Medals from various towns to their returning troops, and a few white metal Peace Celebration Medals given to schoolchildren.

Moths and Mistakes

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It’s time to move up a gear. I’ve been idling for a few weeks and time is pressing. I have one deadline on the 25th and three at the end of the month, with very little to offer at the moment. It’s the same old problem, I can’t work until a deadline threatens.

Poplar Hawk Moth – scale is in inches

However, life can’t be all rush, and this is what I found in the vestibule of the shop this morning. The light was not quite so cool and blue, but I had the camera set up for silver coins. It’s a Poplar Hawk Moth and is quite a size, as you can see from the scale in one of the photos. I put it outside and it flew away to seek cover.

I tried restoring the colour, but the available filters didn’t really work so in the end I left it.

Wollaton Park is close by, and there are quite a few poplars, so I suspect if you had a moth trap out there would be plenty about.

Poplar Hawk Moth

They aren’t the best of shots, but it was early for thinking, and I was half in and half out of the shop. I should have done better, but at least I got some interesting shots. It’s amazing what you see, even in town.

I was tempted to make this my contribution to the Big Butterfly Count, but I don’t think they would be impressed. Julia has already submitted her count from the Gardens, though she found it disappointing – just Gatekeepers, Whites and a Brimstone. It all depends on the day, the weather and the fifteen minute slot you select. It’s like the Bird Count – we always used to count at my Mum and Dad’s when the kids did it, as they had a better selection. We got down one morning and they beckoned us through to the kitchen window – three Jays. They very rarely had one, so we started the count immediately.

Most of the day consisted of packing parcels and loading coins onto eBay.

We had a parcel go missing recently. It was shown as having been delivered, but the recipient said he hadn’t had it. It’s an awkward situation. I don’t want to see the customer lose £50, but I don’t want us to lose £50 either, and if the Post Office says it was delivered what do we do?

As it turns out, we wait for it to be returned as “Not at this address”, which begs the question as to how it can have been marked as delivered and signed for. It arrived back this morning. I’d written the flat number incorrectly. Sometimes these lapses of concentration occur and these days the Post Office doesn’t make the effort it used to do to find addressees. It’s readdressed and back in the post now. Hopefully it will be delivered this time.