Passing the Phone Around

He asked me to pop back in half an hour which I did. He asked me to pop next door and get him a coffee, giving me the money in advance (which I did). He then announced that he’s tested it with the battery that he has, but he believes that it’s the battery which is faulty. He has a few batteries coming in over the next few days and asks me to pop back at the weekend. I arrive at the weekend and he gets to work. He decides that it’s not something that he can fix. Luckily, I don’t receive an invoice for his time, and he even agrees to sign a letter that I devise stating that the phone is repairable. This entitles me to an ad hoc refund, which I can use towards a later model. I went out and bought him a gift card to say thanks, but shops were put into lockdown. I never got round to delivering it. It’s probably expired. I hope they’re still trading.

Stuck on a Bus #dreamdiary 149

We’re on a bus. We’ve no idea how long we’ve been on the bus as we’ve both dozed off. The driver might have even changed his route since we got on. We recognise an area that’s fairly close to home so we decide to get off at the next stop before we get further away. We press the button but the driver carries on. Outside, there’s thousands of school kids in uniform standing three-deep on the pavement. It’s as if they’re awaiting a parade. The bus circles around the neighbourhood then approaches a closer bus stop. I press the button and the bus shows no signs of slowing and we drive past. Then another bus stop appears. This time I press the button five times in a row.

‘Will you stop pressing the button?’ yells the driver. We turn the corner and I shout ‘Driver, will you stop this bus please?.’ A bout of swearing transmits in reply which I don’t quite catch but evidently the school kids do as there’s a lot of gasping and head-turning. I march to the front of the bus at which point the driver slams on the brakes and opens the door. We disembark and the driver drives off before I have a chance to memorise the number plate. I should have had my smartphone to hand.

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a timeless classic. There’s the usual naturalistic imagery, but there’s also a sense of haunting from the protagonist’s perspective as she remains a mysterious observer of the events that transpire. It’s the tale of a deceased societal character that’s regarded as a goddess loved by everyone, and there’s very little cruelty depicted in her actions until they’re revealed towards the end of the tale, while the protagonist makes her attempt for freedom, happiness and independence in a bitter twist from a life of serving a snob to being treated as one. There are hints but few are afraid to come forward for fear of losing their position. Her passing could even be seen as merciful if the full truth were learnt. I thought the conclusion was a bit sudden, but the reader has to bear in mind the context of the whole book as it loops round in a circle and demands a second glance to make full sense. Genius.

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Mission: Impossible: -Rogue Nation

This was much easier to follow than the first three films that came before (the fourth was fine!). The plot makes sense. It also seemed to flow a lot better with great stunts rather than hanging around waiting for something to happen. But there’s a kind of sadist torture to the protagonist; surely it would be better to kill the opposition in the first place but there’s also a desperation to learn all the secrets. There’s several well-scouted locations which must have required a lot of international cooperation, and the stunts are at least semi-human and can’t be achieved without some assistance or injury. There’s always a risk to be taken as no-one is prepared to let anyone else die. Memorising a whole set of files sounds a bit unconvincing but I suppose you can’t take a risk when you’re a terrorist and want to get your hands on as much cash as possible. But the final chase is just a classic.

Saff's Fones

I couldn’t get my mobile phone to charge. I’d tried a hard reboot with the cable connected to power while pressing all the buttons, and I’d connected it to a computer too. I’d followed all the tips that I could Google and still nothing was happening. And there was no reason for it to. I’d kept it updated as per the manufacturer’s instructions, and I kept it in a case and there was no sign of impact or water damage. So I wasn’t prepared to pay out for a new phone for a fault that wasn’t my fault. By law, I had to get a report from an independent repairer to state that it was a manufacturer problem, but in order to reduce costs, I decided to try and get it fixed first. I took it into an independent shop. The guy looked at it and said that it would take time. 

 

Between a soft place and a soft place #empress 13

It would be best to sneak off now before the guards noticed that the Empress was beginning to stir. He could sneak between her breasts and onto the cushions that the servants had placed below, but would he get stuck between the apex? He just had to wait for a gap. He gazed up at the face of the Empress who looked to be in some erotic dream. Then he realised that she was leaning on something in between her thighs. There seemed to be some very wet patches on the cushion that she was resting on, and an intensive smell was beginning to waft through. Before he knew it, he was sliding down between two huge mountains of flesh. He’d tried to make a grab for a golden chain hanging above them, but he was too late. He’d hope he’d follow through, but he became stuck right where he didn’t want to be.

Box Breakout

It’s very hard to persuade a customer that this is new. We used to be able to just send this out to our damage team, but now we have to offer it to the customer anyway, and if they refuse it we try to offer a discount on it. We’re not able to order a replacement either until the customer discusses it with us. If it’s for them they might not worry so much after they’ve examined it. Hopefully the box has done its job. But if it’s a gift then we have a problem, especially if we run out of stock to order in but there was an opportunity earlier. How can we provide great service if we’re not getting the support from our stock team? Why wasn’t it replaced earlier and why was it allowed to be escalated to the final point of departure? It’s just so frustrating, unprofessional, and embarrassing.  

Those Meddling Bots

Mr. Musk is up to something. He’s limited the number of tweets that you can read in a day. Actually, it’s more like 300. That’s a lot, and if you’re one of these people then you’re clocking up some serious screen time. Unless, of course, you’re a bot. This limits the actions you can do. Hopefully, this strategy will pick out the posts that are most human, or just limit the content that we’re seeing. It may also devalue the limits of the platform depending on the quality of content that’s viewed. If you’re a subscriber, you can double your read tweets, and you can actually edit your own instead of deleting them and reposting with the edits that you wanted in the first place. But that’s monetising the platform completely. I can’t help the feeling that that there’s some philanthropist logic to encourage people to stay away from their screens, but if he’s the only one doing it then all he's encouraging is for people to move to another platform.

Banksy does Brum

It’s not very often that you get to see a work by an artist of national recognition and not have to pay or queue up for it. However, here it was out in the open air on a railway bridge. I’d probably walked past it a few times before without noticing it. Its touch of white frost goes perfect with the black brickwork, and the lights opposite, together with passing traffic in the evening, helps to illuminate it too. I didn’t realise that the bench beside it was to be used as a sleigh until I’d visited Banksy’s website. I could have posed as the tramp if I’d known, or at least have gotten a better pose. The council have now put a laminate covering over it for protection but it ruins the effect, especially if you’re trying to take a photo. But at least it’s waterproofed against the elements. Hopefully it’ll bring a few more tourists into the area. 

What did a Celebrity experience for the first time?

Emotion. Probably because a role that they were assigned to play would be that heart-breaking that they didn’t realise that some people just have it so bad. They’re just used to fame and whatever they can milk out of each situation. Their character might take them on a journey that they just didn’t expect. They may genuinely fear for their lives, especially if they’re involved in a stunt that they’ve got to go through. The situation might make them more devoted to the role, though it may be a case of just getting it over and done with so that they can paid and go back to being on the front cover of magazines while commenting on how devastating it was. But you never know, it might even humanise the celebrity as they attempt to come to terms with the experience. Hopefully they’ll have learnt something at the very least.

Beer in Bingley

If you’re holding an event for a large number of people, you want to make it easy to get to, especially if people are coming from out of town. You might struggle for space, so you may have to move out of the city a bit if you want a good deal. But this is at cost as people will have to make the journey to get there. It’s been settled to be held at a Sikh hall that used to be a bus station. You can fit a bus in there, and we did! It’s got its own car park as it’s on the junction of a busy circular ring road. It’s got its own bus stop and underpass system too, though it’s prone to flooding. And it’s even got a local murderer which we hope the guests won’t find out about, or at least put them off coming over to attend.

Anging Out

She’s small and thin with a cheeky grin and a cute smile with tiny teeth. You’d be forgiven for thinking that she wasn’t of age. She’s very confident in herself and always talks with a laugh in her voice. She has short brown hair with a long pony tail that drapes down her back. She has just the tiniest of lady lumps. She enjoys sports and she’s not afraid to wear short shorts despite her short figure. She’ll usually wear a light polo top that’s a bit revealing for her bra, and it’ll be embossed with a charitable organisation’s logo. Ask her to dress up and he’ll just put a fleece on since she hardly feels the cold. She loves being mysterious and answering people in jest, so it’s not always easy to get a straightforward answer out of her. She’s more likely to confide in animals rather than people, and one of her activities involves volunteering for an animal welfare charity.

No more room at the Inn

When you’re full, you’re full. But the stuff needs to go somewhere. That’s the plan. You can’t just keep piling it up outside (unless, of course, you have an outside compound that no-one can climb or break into). The only other option is to leave it inside on the floor. That’s assuming that you’ve got the space for it and you’ve got the time to clear it all away before you do need the space. The only other way is to risk it but is it worth it? Are you just going to give them an excuse to come back another time where you’ve made it even easier for them? It doesn’t even take a vehicle, and they could always send somebody else next time. It becomes at risk the minute it’s left unattended, and you’ll know you’ll feel a sense of dread unless you’re lucky and feast your eyes upon it again. You’ve been warned.

Rag Wars

We have two local newspapers in our town. Both have slightly different outer borders but both cover our area. There used to be a distribution war of how many copies were delivered to people’s homes but since the pandemic they seemed to have stopped delivering them completely. I can pick them up in the supermarket but they do go quickly. Because they’re not reaching as many people as they used to, not as many people are advertising so the finished edition is a lot thinner. They’re still popular with people who are house-hunting as estate agents will list their best deals. What they do well is review past events and upcoming community events are given great focus. What would be interesting to read about are people opinions of national situations and offer advice on how people are coping and show where support can be found. Of course, all this takes someone’s time to seek out the information.

Being a good Neighbour

You might think that neighbouring businesses that sell similar things would be competitive with each other. You’d think that they’d jeer in glee when a major incident affects one but not the other. But when shared facilities are involved, it’s in everyone’s best interests to work together. You don’t want an instigator to take advantage of a second opportunity, otherwise it could encourage a repeat episode. And it’s not nice when you’re being taken advantaged of especially when you know it’s happened before. So when a cheerful soul may get into trouble for something that’s been innocently forgotten, you need to let them know, even if they’ve stopped caring themselves. Because if they’re at risk and they don’t realise, you could be at risk of they find out that there was an opportunity for you to tell them. But if you have told them, then they’ve only got themselves to blame.  

Roast Me

It might be insulting already to use a smart speaker to find out information to accomplish a task. Some might see it as lazy, while others may see you as lazy when you could just ask your smart speaker. But they are there to help. Usually. It can already be frustrating when they tell you that they can’t do want you want them to do, or they can’t understand a simple conversation. But when you ask it to insult you, you wonder just how personal it can get. After all, it does learn what you like. But it’s hard to have a continuous conversation with it, and sometimes it’ll rise up to kick you down regardless of whether you’re asking it to insult you. And sometimes you do have to work out the insult. At other times it just copies favourite characters. There’s excerpts to chuckle at but there’s nothing to encourage you to keep coming back for more.

A Close Up

People used to be able to see things before they buy them. Usually, that’s not a problem. You’d take it off the shelf and have a look. But a lot of our stuff is hidden behind closed doors. You have to trust what’s printed before you get the item into your hands. Sometimes you might not get the information you want until you get the box open, and if you open it in the wrong way you’ll damage the packaging which will make it very difficult to return. It’s vitally important to have all the information displayed, because not it’ll be harder for someone to make a decision as they’ll be taking a risk. You can take a photo and send it to the enquirer, but if you haven’t got a company phone you’ll be risking your own information and you’ll also be doing what the webpage for the product should be doing anyway. 

"Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become your words. Keep your words positive because your words become your behaviour. Keep your behaviour positive because your behaviour becomes your habits. Keep your habits positive because your habits becomes your values. Keep your values positive because your value becomes your destiny".

-Mahatma Gandhi.

Right, this is a lot to take in but it’s a process to illustrate how good thoughts can have a knock-on effect to develop your path. If you’re going to subscribe to someone else’s school of thought then you’re going to get distracted and you may be hooked onto their gravy train. To avoid this, your thoughts must be your own and not someone else’s. Others can guide you and inspire you (and some may misguide you) but you have to do the hard graft yourself. Thinking it is one thing but you need to take the time to act too. You should follow your own path and do the things that work for you. Once you get into the swing g if it, you’ve got to keep going until you reach your goal. It’s OK to compromise but sometimes you have to take your own action especially if you feel that it’s contrary to everyone around you.

The Day It Rained Forever by Ray Bradbury

The Day it Rained Forever by Ray Bradbury
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Bradbury likes his worlds to be deserted. He likes nothing more than apocalyptic scenarios so that it’s easier to focus on environments. It certainly creates a ghostly atmosphere with just a few characters in each story who are mostly creatures of habit who like to reminisce. But in an age where we take things for granted, there are some novel scenarios involving sharing that we might not even think to address. Others are a bit more surreal, and it’s left up to the reader to decide what’s going on. Unfortunately, some of the outcomes are very similar, making the whole compendium a bit dull. There’s some light novel moments in discoveries, and a great excuse from someone who wants to be left alone, but these moments are often rejected by the other characters and there’s often little excitement and wonder as they’re forced to carry on in their little worlds.

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Playing Shops #dreamdiary 148

I’m running a shop. It’s a small corner shop next to a Polish Deli, and I sell electronic accessories and video games. I haven’t worked for a week because I’ve been on holiday, and I’ve just started the evening shift. I haven’t been given much of a handover. After the afternoon supervisor leaves, I suddenly need to use the bathroom so I pop over to the cake shop across the road. It never occurred to me to lock the door. When I come in, all the shelves are ruffled up and there’s gaps where the video games should be, and I’ve got no idea whether they’ve been swiped or whether I’m wistfully thinking that they’re just spaces waiting for me to re-stock. In storms a flood of friends who have witnessed the event and I’m dying to check CCTV to see what the situation is and give a police report but there’s also a flood of customers waiting to be served and I try to carry on as if nothing’s happened. I should have closed the shop.

A tour detoured

I’m returning home today but I’ve still got some sightseeing planned. Winter is the ideal time to visit London since the attractions that are open will be less busy and some may even be cheaper than usual, or so I thought. I’d prebooked a lunchtime entry ticket for the Tower of London. Arriving at the underground station, I got a good view of the area from the battlements and accessed the site via a subway system. The queue was straightforward and upon entry I’m told that a free guided tour led by a Beefeater departs in a few minutes. I normally love these as you get a bit of local humour which adds value to your visit but the crowd just kept growing and growing and growing. In the end I thought that it would take this group ages to be shown everything and they’d be certain to skip some rooms so I decided that I’d be better off going at my own pace.

Soccer

I’ve always wondered why they call it soccer. There’s a similar game called football where players just use their feet; it should be this one unquestionably as this makes sense whereas the other one involves dealing punishment to your opponents so you’re socking it to them! America would argue that soccer is an abbreviation of Association Football which is their version of the Football Association, but that makes it sound more of a society than an actual game. Even an idiot would argue that soccer is a game played with your socks, although you can roll your socks into a ball if you don’t have one. This ball wouldn’t be very dynamic, and you’d be better off throwing it, so football wins again in this sense. I don’t think I could stomach the full crowd of a full stadium in all its machoism without being tanked up a bit first. Is it the definitive that sets soccer in it’s a game for girls? Would they be better off wearing tights as they did with long socks? And whoever heard of soccim?

Cereal Killer Cafe

I’ve made a special effort to reach this place. It’s a famous area of London that I’ve not been to before and I’ve decided to treat myself to a lie-in so I didn’t have to brave rush hour to get here. I somehow managed to get off at the wrong station and had to back on myself owing to standing on the wrong platform. At one time I was convinced that I was getting on a bus. But after marching past a brewery and a number of curry houses, I finally found the Cereal Killer Café. Of course, by this time a simple bowl of nostalgia cereal wouldn’t be enough so I ordered a breakfast waffle coated with Lucky Charms, complete with cream and topped with strawberries. This was washed down with a milk chocolate Oreo cappuccino served in a tankard, all served in a café that was devoted to the nineties complete with disco balls and mirror walls. As well as tables, there was a dedicated breakfast bar to sit and eat at. It was a major sugar rush.

Should Pubs bill Customers for Charging Eletronic Devices?

Absolutely they can. They don’t want to, but they could as they’re facing huge energy bills like the rest of us. Most places will do it for free if you ask at the bar, so long as you’re a customer. Some may even have charging points installed in some areas. But simply coming in and plugging in a mobile phone where the vacuum cleaner might go without even asking for a tap water is just downright rude. Some people even go so far as unplugging the fruity or the power supply to the pub’s modem that the card machine needs to operate. The licensee has to assess your custom. If he’s going to do you a favour, is he going to get anything out of it in return? Will he be turning custom away if he refuses? Or will a simple donation suffice in case of an emergency if you don’t want to purchase anything? If you’re lucky, you may get away with it for free in the hope of exchange for future custom.

Fuller's London Pride at the Wellington, London

So here I am in sunny London. It’s actually January but I’m sitting on a streetside table outside a pub watching the world go by. Having travelled from my accommodation, I’ve arrived ridiculously early as I wasn’t prepared to let the rush-hour commute delay me in getting to the theatre. I’ve found the venue and there’s an hour before the doors even open so I’ve embarked on an impromptu time killer pub crawl. There’s a group on the table opposite and one of them looks like he’ll appearing in the show, though I’m too shy to disturb them and ask. But rush hour is in full swing, and I’m quite enjoying watching everyone zoom around, whether it be on foot, bus on even bike and e-scooter. There’s a little queue of them builds up by the traffic lights. The beer is in good condition and it’s reasonably priced for the area but I wonder if there’s anywhere better nearby. I get my phone out and do a bit of research on where to head next.

Ghosts (Series 3 & 4)

The series carries on as the ghosts find more ways to help and hinder the protagonists. While there’s no fear, there’s a great sense of a farce when things go wrong, even though some of the characters can be a bit immature and unreasonable at times as they follow some very odd plotlines, though it does make you wonder why they haven’t pursued some of them before. The characters’ mistakes that crop up in this series makes for great fun, and it’s also amusing when we learn that Robin who’s often ignored has befriended a new ghost for years, though it’s a shame that we lost Mary. Perhaps the actress grew tired of her. I love the lengths that Mike goes to make amends for his actions to keep the show running. The half-sister plot was a bit predictable but the 2022 Christmas special was genuinely heart-warming. There’s only one ghost remaining who we don’t know how they died now, so the next series may be difficult with character flashbacks.

Mighty Oak Silver Smith at the Three Cocks, Kettering

This pub was a classic. It was a modern, white-painted standalone building hidden behind a large supermarket entrance but was close enough to be included inside the town centre. We were lucky enough to arrive early to have the place to ourselves. One had comfortable lounge-style seating while the other had laminate flooring on different mezzanine levels. These were probably set aside to make a stage but during our visit it was more of an entertainment lounge. On one wall sat a dartboard complete with lights, chalkboard and all the trimmings. The other had a traditional skittle alley all laid out. But what caught our eye which was the most popular was a large bagatelle board. We instantly started to organise our own little tournament. What they do when the pub gets busy I don’t know but good luck to them. I hate to think what it’d be like otherwise.

More Support Required #Titannabell 13

Titanabell looked around the room. There were plenty of blankets, but what she really needed was something to rest her legs. Most people would use a pillow, but her enormous breasts usually took care of this since they were too heavy to allow her to lie down. What she really needed was a giant cushion so that she could lie straight. Back at home, she’d lie overhanging a gigantic bed with ample blankets sewn together to cover with each of her breasts resting on a ring of specially designed pillows. Other than the blankets, there were just a few wooden tables which would be too hard no matter how many blankets she covered them with, and they might not be able to hold her weight.

‘I wonder if the guards could help’ she thought. Despite the many warnings given to her by her parents, she stuck one of her long legs out of the room.