What's made you not grumpy but not smile either today?

[bugsymike]

Currently trapped here...by the NHS.View attachment 445964
Is probably how the telegraph would phrase it.

What's actually going on is I have a phone appointment to get some blood tests back this morning nothing particularly concerning just keeping the wife happy in that had a blood pressure reading at work which oddly enough was sky high. So had an ECG, blood tests and had to monitor my blood pressure for week..a week in which work was on fire unfortunately but never mind still squeaked just under stage 1 hypertension on average. Who would have thought on a morning before work I've got healthy blood pressure and in the evening after it not so much, mysterious.

Anyway I have a phone appointment at 10:15, I usually run 10k on a Monday morning to de-stress and wind down a bit..so I timed it so I could be sitting on a bench 3/4s of the way round where I've got signal.

If I go any further I'm in signal black spot..she's got another 5 minutes before I risk it I could have been home by now.

Still worse places to run out of "fuel"
Joking apart some years ago I took one of my daughters to the GP and in those days they had a bit more time, after finishing with my daughter he looked at me and asked when I had my last blood pressure last taken, to which I replied "when I had my tonsils out at 21 years" so at that time around 30 years earlier.
He quickly hooked me up and found it to be around 160/80? I think, this from just a quick walk into town followed by sitting in surgery for 15 minutes. Anyway following further tests and taking a blood pressure monitor home, the end result was too much salt in my diet.
Basically I used a lot of cheap Saxo salt, so I stopped that and now just use a little good quality sea salt as opposed to the cheap rock salt otherwise used on the roads, apart from that my diet and weight are roughly the same as before now 20 years later.
I did find in the past as a foreman of a Dealership where everyone from customers, staff, VOSA and the boss were on my back daily, life was quite stressful, but strangely after going self employed in 1982 I was getting almost the same amount of work jobs done on my own with no stress and much better financial return.
It is always the pressure you have no control over that is most stressful.

 

[bugsymike]

I reported elsewhere about a new mower, not fit for purpose. After a bit of a struggle, Mountfield arranged for it to be collected by DPD.
I had unpacked the mower carefully, then repacked it, without damaging the box.
DPD driver arrived a few minutes ago, took a photo, attached his return label, then instead of tilting the box to get a hand under it, he poked a hole in the top, stuck a finger in and lifted it. Pure genius.
I've emailed Mountfield with the news that the damage in not mine. DPD photo will confirm.

I always tend to take a photo on delivery or collection.
A picture paints a thousand words as they say and when a lorry driver dropped a tonne of coal in bags on a pallet from his tail lift onto my Doblo's bonnet, it was the picture and the thousand words. Happily his boss sorted it!

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

I reported elsewhere about a new mower, not fit for purpose. After a bit of a struggle, Mountfield arranged for it to be collected by DPD.
I had unpacked the mower carefully, then repacked it, without damaging the box.
DPD driver arrived a few minutes ago, took a photo, attached his return label, then instead of tilting the box to get a hand under it, he poked a hole in the top, stuck a finger in and lifted it. Pure genius.
I've emailed Mountfield with the news that the damage in not mine. DPD photo will confirm.

Yup, does make you wonder doesn't it? My pet hate is the way most of these delivery people throw things down instead of placing more carefully.

 

[StevenRB45]

Still worse places to run out of "fuel"
Joking apart some years ago I took one of my daughters to the GP and in those days they had a bit more time, after finishing with my daughter he looked at me and asked when I had my last blood pressure last taken, to which I replied "when I had my tonsils out at 21 years" so at that time around 30 years earlier.
He quickly hooked me up and found it to be around 160/80? I think, this from just a quick walk into town followed by sitting in surgery for 15 minutes. Anyway following further tests and taking a blood pressure monitor home, the end result was too much salt in my diet.
Basically I used a lot of cheap Saxo salt, so I stopped that and now just use a little good quality sea salt as opposed to the cheap rock salt otherwise used on the roads, apart from that my diet and weight are roughly the same as before now 20 years later.
I did find in the past as a foreman of a Dealership where everyone from customers, staff, VOSA and the boss were on my back daily, life was quite stressful, but strangely after going self employed in 1982 I was getting almost the same amount of work jobs done on my own with no stress and much better financial return.
It is always the pressure you have no control over that is most stressful.

Just as well I wandered off...still not had a call or a missed call.

I assume the blood tests aren't ready or similar but just as well I wasn't waiting by a phone in the house.

To be fair it's more my wife's concern than mine on the basis I feel fine..and if anything given after the blood pressure check and weighing at work I've lost nearly 2 stone I'm probably healthier than I've been in a good few years .

 

[bugsymike]

Just as well I wandered off...still not had a call or a missed call.

I assume the blood tests aren't ready or similar but just as well I wasn't waiting by a phone in the house.

To be fair it's more my wife's concern than mine on the basis I feel fine..and if anything given after the blood pressure check and weighing at work I've lost nearly 2 stone I'm probably healthier than I've been in a good few years .

I was waiting for ages for biopsy report and results of blood tests, when I finally managed to speak to a human their answer was "we would have told you if it was urgent" all very well, but for the stress level of the patients and the blocking up of phone lines whilst trying to get answers, it is just an inefficient way of doing things.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

I was waiting for ages for biopsy report and results of blood tests, when I finally managed to speak to a human their answer was "we would have told you if it was urgent" all very well, but for the stress level of the patients and the blocking up of phone lines whilst trying to get answers, it is just an inefficient way of doing things.

Same experience here Mike. I get regular blood tests for my prostate and I had a big scare with a gut bleed too. Loads of tests done and waited for a couple of weeks with no contact. Eventually, with great trepidation, rang up only to get much the same reaction as you "No news is good news, if anything requiring immediate action had been found we'd have been in touch right away"

The problem is I just don't trust them that they would. It took 2 weeks to get a doctor's appointment after somewhat more than a coffee cup of blood fell out of my bottom! I was just told to hang on and ring back if it recurred before the appointment! They also regularly loose my requests for repeat prescriptions - doesn't seem to make much difference whether I manually hand in the repeat chitty or do it on line direct to the surgery.

On the other hand I don't blame the front line staff, they always seem to be under great stress. Don't know how they put up with it. Oh, and our wonderful dentist, who has looked after us since the kids were just wee tots, has retired and sold his practice to a big chain organisation. Our man was wonderful. If you had a very serious problem he'd even meet you at his surgery on a Saturday morning - when normally he'd be closed - and sort it out for you. No chance of that now.

 

[StevenRB45]

Eventually received a pair of text messages at 1830 while driving home from work with "very sorry we appear to have placed your blood in the bin without testing it can we have some more" and your ECG and BP ranges are in the normal range so no action required...but can we still have some blood please.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Eventually received at a pair of text messages at 1830 while driving home from work with "very sorry we appear to have placed your blood in the bin without testing it can we have some more" and your ECG and BP ranges are in the normal range so no action required...but can we still have some blood please.

would be funny if it weren't so pathetic. could be the result of a stressed out member of staff though?

 

[StevenRB45]

I'm not about to phone them up and shout at somebody if anything I'm mainly going to placate my wife who for reasons unknown doesn't want me dead and has spoken to too many people before/after/during their stroke or heart attack. Never use the the phrase "what's the worst that can happen?" when she's around unless you actually want to know..

Pain in the arse having to phone them up to re-arrange the bloods and take time and an appointment from someone else.

Not the end of the world though.

 

[vexorg]

Farage is back, thought he was dead and buried there news. Ukip, edl, reform, they should just go the whole hog and call themselves the BNP.

Doesn't affect me much, just annoys me seeing his smug face on tv.

 

[StevenRB45]

Farage is back, thought he was dead and buried there news. Ukip, edl, reform, they should just go the whole hog and call themselves the BNP.

Doesn't affect me much, just annoys me seeing his smug face on tv.

Be reet, he's making more money herding idiots in America at present.

Also he won't stand for election again given he's been kicked soundly in the knackers multiple times by the electorate.

One of those who gets a lot of time because he is noisy and people assume this means he has support rather than it being the same 100 people being very vocal.

Edit. Ok apparently he's got a short memory. I wish him the best of luck in his endeavours to split the Tory vote in half and eradicate them and reform from the political landscape.

 

[vexorg]

Edit. Ok apparently he's got a short memory. I wish him the best of luck in his endeavours to split the Tory vote in half and eradicate them and reform from the political landscape.

That was the news bites this morning, "no", "not standing", "nope", "yes I'll stand" all in the last few weeks.

 

[PuntoHowTo]

That was the news bites this morning, "no", "not standing", "nope", "yes I'll stand" all in the last few weeks.

He does seem to have a trump like hold over a certain subset of society.

No matter how many times the organisation changes its name or its leader he still seems to get away with walking back in and taking over whenever he wants, maybe he’s gotten bored of shilling dodgy financial products in unregulated online ads and wanted to pursue and honest career like being a politician….. AHAHAHA!!!!

People of clacton it’s on you now, do your duty and do not elect this moon faced douchbag

 

[irc]

People of clacton it’s on you now, do your duty and do not elect this moon faced douchbag

I object to that inaccurate comment....

It's spelled DOUCHEBAG.

 

[bugsymike]

I am aware of the general anti Brexit feelings amongst younger people and those "North of the Border" .
However from my point of view speaking as someone who had just got his new business off the ground at the time and had increased his turnover enough to have to register for VAT etc. only to have the ERM (Exchange Rate Mechanism catastrophe ) inflicted on me and many of my era by a Government trying to align with European Monetary System, the affect was terrible, personally I lost 3/4 of my customer base, my home mortgage rocketed to 16%, yes 16% , many people I knew had "negative equity " in their homes or lost them to the mortgage company whilst that still not covering their debt and many business closed altogether.
So please be aware there are two sides to E.U. discussions and I am speaking as one who before we joined traveled to many European Countries with no problems over passports etc. and met lots of lovely friendly people.
I just don't want to be Governed by them!
If you have not been aware of the consequences of ERM look them up!
By the way I seem to recall Clacton as being a poor area and has been long neglected by all the main Parties much as "Red Wall areas, so they reap what they sow.
If you dislike the Political Party in this Country you can vote them out and maybe get a change of policy, whilst if you are a Member of the E.U. your vote will have little effect!
We were also "net contributors" meaning we put more money in than we got out and where "E.U." money funded projects in this Country we had to match fund it and put up a sign saying it was E.U. funded, what a joke!!!

 

[StevenRB45]

I think the main issue with Farage...and Johnson and most of them for me.

If they want it it's bad for the man in the street as Farage is a disaster capitalist, what he did as a job sorry banker. Making money out of destabilising companies and indeed made a massive amount of money for him and his friends destabilising the country.

So while people had legimate grievances with the EU he was never in interested in resolving them he had one goal in mind.

So whatever he wants do the opposite the majority will be better off. A man of the people in the same way as Rishi "I'm a billionaire many times over" Sunak.

 

[bugsymike]

I think the main issue with Farage...and Johnson and most of them for me.

If they want it it's bad for the man in the street as Farage is a disaster capitalist, what he did as a job sorry banker. Making money out of destabilising companies and indeed made a massive amount of money for him and his friends destabilising the country.

So while people had legimate grievances with the EU he was never in interested in resolving them he had one goal in mind.

So whatever he wants do the opposite the majority will be better off. A man of the people in the same way as Rishi "I'm a billionaire many times over" Sunak.

In fairness I was unconcerned by politics until it directly affected my business by the ERM issue.
On another note can any of us say a Party or Politician once in power has improved our lives?

 

[vexorg]

Yeah, it's a personal thing, not a political things. Brexit, like the whole EU thing, there was good and bad (a much better option would have been to fix the bad issue, but bit late now).

His legacy of lies, like give the NHS £350 million a week when we leave the EU - then saying he never said that, it was Boris.

You have just dispair at it all, I mean Liz Truss is still an MP!!

 

[StevenRB45]

It's one of those things we probably need proportional representation...so the right and left have a voice at all times in the political process.

However neither side has any interest in not being able to absolutely impose their will while in power.

It would have stopped Boris having an unassailable majority...and it also would probably stop a Starmer majority as well.

But neither side wants to deal with the other absolute power and division between sides is easier to manage.

 

[bugsymike]

Yeah, it's a personal thing, not a political things. Brexit, like the whole EU thing, there was good and bad (a much better option would have been to fix the bad issue, but bit late now).

His legacy of lies, like give the NHS £350 million a week when we leave the EU - then saying he never said that, it was Boris.

You have just dispair at it all, I mean Liz Truss is still an MP!!

Another thing that annoys me is the money spent on HS2 which if completed along with the East-West Connection would have helped many instead profited a load of big businesses, then you see Michael Portillo doing his programs about train journeys across Europe done with E.U. funding.
I felt that if a few more crumbs were thrown in our direction the vote may have been different, the money seemed to go in one direction only as at the time we were only one of the few net contributors along with Germany and France and yet they had far more say in events, it felt like to me they were saying just give us your money and stand at the door!