Category: Local (To Me !!!)

Hampshire mum says Tesco suspended her for purple hairstyle – Time for a reality check Hampshire Mum


Time for a reality check lady.

Most companies whose business relies on their staff dealing with the public will have some kind of dress code. This certainly isn’t deserving of a spot in the local newspaper.

Everyone has to compromise at some time in their life. Suck it up. Christine Padfield, it’s your turn. Personally, based on the photo in the paper, I would find you intimidating. If I were you I would look a little deeper and see if they were trying to gently inform you about other issues.

Hampshire mum says Tesco suspended her for purple hairstyle – Local Business – The News.

A fifth of city youth crime is carried out by just six children – Why Aren’t They Locked Up ?


If the authorities know that 20% of the youth crime in Portsmouth is committed by just 6 children why are they still out on the streets ?

Instead of trying to redirect the little darlings, which costs money and leaves them on the streets to continue committing crime, why don’t we lock them up ?

It’s already costing Joe Public money to chase them down and persuade them of the error of their ways so lets just cut our losses. Lock them up. The shop keepers and their other victims will be able to relax. The reduction in shoplifting will allow the insurance premiums to come down and we will have cheaper goods to buy.

Seems like a win win situation.

‘A fifth of city youth crime is carried out by just six children – our job is to turn their lives around’ – Lifestyle – The News.

Blaze at derelict house in Waterlooville – How Not Suspicious ?


The cause is not known but a spokesman for Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service said it is not suspicious.

A derelict bungalow catches fire and a spokesman says it’s not suspicious. I for one would be suspicious, especially as it is due to be demolished. Presumably the electricity would have been turned off so the likelihood of the fire being started by rodents chewing through the wiring is virtually zero.

Blaze at derelict house in Waterlooville – Local – The News.

South West Trains are caught in a time warp – British Rail Lives On In Spirit


You catch the train at Portsmouth Harbour at 7.45am.

By 8.30am the train pulls into London Waterloo.

It sounds like a dream journey for any long-suffering commuter.

But the truth is South West Trains have been stuck in a time warp since British Summer Time started at 1am on Sunday.

Clocks on the announcement boards in carriages were still an hour behind yesterday – three days after the clocks went forward.

Clocks on station platforms have been set to the right time, making it even more confusing for passengers.

It’s good to see that privatisation has ensured that standards are being maintained. This is the stuff that kept British Rail a laughing stock and a constant source of frustration.

They, South West Trains, have blamed the equipment supplier but in truth this just goes to show their quality control is lacking. After all they should have pilot tested all their new equipment before inflicting it on the public.

This is a minor issue in the grand scheme but, if they aren’t paying attention to the little details, what else are they missing ?

South West Trains are caught in a time warp – Transport – The News.

Milk Monitor


This was the job we all wanted when I was at school. It meant that you might get extra’s because any left at the end of the day was yours to dispose of.

Here is the modern day equivalent in my office where we have  a small kitchen area with a full blown professional coffee machine, hot water urn and a fridge to keep the milk in.

Initial e-mail

Hi all

New signs have been put up in the large kitchen fridge advising you what row to take milk from first. If you see the signs have fallen down on the bottom of the fridge, please be helpful and return them back to their original position. The Take First section is the first glass shelf in the fridge and the Take Last section is the third shelf down.

Kind regards.

Responding e-mail

Obviously not enough work for someone with a brain the size of a planet. Idle hands etc. etc.

Hi,

As an alternative to filling the fridge with signs and introducing all sorts of procedures around packing/extracting bottles of milk can I make the following suggestion.

Rather than just ignoring milk that is past its use by date, purely on the basis of the use by date, and opening a new bottle (thereby wasting otherwise good milk) try the following:

If  todays date is less than or equal to the ‘use by’ date

use milk freely

else todays date is later than ‘use by’ date

then the following simple steps will help you determine if the milk is off or not:

  • shake it, if it does not move then it’s off
  • look at it, if it has blocks floating in it it’s off
  • smell it, if it smells off, it’s off (for those of you that don’t know what milk smells like when it’s off a good guide is that it smells like something you would not want to add to your tea/coffee)
  • if it passes all those tests then chances are it’s okay. If however, you pour the suspect milk into your tea or coffee and it tastes funny then make a fresh tea/coffee using different milk. If the tea/coffee still tastes funny your cup is dirty, if it tastes okay then yes, it’s possible the milk is off, but even after that one sip you will live so don’t call the first aider just yet.

In the interests of reducing unnecessary food waste I contacted Cravendale Dairy. They assure me that milk is unable to read the ‘use by’ date on bottle labels (apparently the print can not be seen from within the bottle through the back of the labels) and so it has no idea when it is supposed to turn sour. They tell me that on average milk will last 7 days from the time the bottle is opened as long as it is stored properly.

If you wish to respond feel free to come chat or otherwise be email considerate and do not ‘respond all’.

Thanks

Spring Show


Springtime has to be one of the best times of the year. Nature showing all her best bits. Have just driven past thousands, if not millions, of beautiful Pansy’s, Primula’s, Daffodils and Magnolia Tree blooms. So here is a small contribution from our front garden.

Had to snap the back view because they were just so bright. And here they are from the front, some might say from the proper side.

Obviously we are all waiting for the Cherry blossoms to begin their display. Unfortunately, I have noticed that one of our two trees looks to have finally succumbed to the disease which was causing its leaves to wilt. It had managed to give a magnificent display each year even though the leaves would die back. This morning I can find no sign any buds forming. I guess we’ll have to replace it after giving us great pleasure for thirty years or so.

Queen Alexandra Hospital parking charges increase comes under fire


Carillion are making money hand over fist with the contract that they negotiated with the QA authorities. I was told that the money they collect doesn’t even go into the hospital coffers, is just a contributor to Carillions £212m profits for 2011.

If that is true then it is obscene.

We, the great British taxpayer, who fund the NHS in general and the QA in particular. Most people don’t visit a hospital out of choice. It is usually because we have a health problem or to visit a friend or relative who has a health problem. Yet when we do have to visit a hospital we are fleeced.

Only this week I was talking with a neighbour, whose wife had been in the QA for six weeks pneumonia. He was paying over £8 pounds a day in parking charges.

That is criminal.

My wife works at the QA and she cannot afford to park on site as the parking charges exceed her pay which is why I take her to and from work each day. Yes she can use the staff Park and Ride but the car park on the hill is not very nice, especially during the winter when the paths and steps are icy.

Queen Alexandra Hospital parking charges increase comes under fire – Local Health – The News.

Care fears as Waterlooville day warden services are taken away


Over the last couple of years the media has been full of stories that indicate just how little the people of this country seem to care about the elderly and infirm. And for those that do care there is the feeling that the authorities cannot be trusted.

Here is an article that seems to promote that view, that once folk take the decision to move into care homes, they have no guarantee that the expected support services will continue. Even if they have signed contracts. This seems to be the experience of Paul Bayliss-Marten

Under the terms of his tenancy – and that of those in the other 69 flats in The Lodge, Lavender Road, Waterlooville – a warden was available from 9am to 9pm.

But that has been suddenly taken away by housing association Guinness Care and Support leaving Mr Bayliss-Marten, 61, with an alarm cord to pull if he gets into trouble.

Guinness announced last month that from April the daytime warden would be replaced by a mobile team during the day which responds when the alarm cord is pulled.

Question:

What happens when the “mobile team” is off-site ?

How will a resident have to wait for the “mobile team” compared to waiting for an on-site warden ?

The casual observer has to ask who is looking after the rights of these folk. Well one organisation, Age Concern (now part of Age UK) had this to say

Chris Perry, director of Age Concern Hampshire, said such changes are on the increase.

He added: ‘Many people take tenancies out on the understanding there is going to be a resident warden.

‘I can understand their concerns but equally from the point of view of the housing association I can understand they can’t have someone on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.’

Well that’s a nice balanced view but it doesn’t address the underlying problem that these folks have a tenancy agreement which provides for a Warden to be available from 9am to 9pm.

The housing association have changed the service that they are providing. Did they discuss things before hand or have they just ridden rough shod over the rights and wishes of the residents.
Care fears as Waterlooville day warden services are taken away – Local Health – The News.

Happy Birthday Roger – Supertramper


Roger Hodgson celebrates his 62nd birthday today. Founder member of Supertramp, one of the best “progressive” rock bands to come out of the UK, he was born in Portsmouth in 1950.

Hodgson composed and sang on most of their hits including Dreamer, The Logical Song and Breakfast in America.

Happy Birthday Roger

Supertramp musician born in city.

View From The Conservatory


This Chinook crossed the skies yesterday. As you can see the sky was a dull grey at the time. 24 hours later and the sun is shining, the sky is blue and look what I can see today.
This is Masher, showing his metal to the nettle….. he used to live in our kitchen but we caught him scratching at the inside of our stainless steel saucepans. Apart from the appearance we were a bit concerned about the shards of metal turning up with our bangers ‘n’ mash. So he was relegated to the garden.

Ever one for surrounding himself with the bright young things of the world he is surrounded by spring flora. So a few variety of Primula ……

……  and Magnolia ….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All being watched over by Chime the friendly cat ….