Harry Peterson

Might be worth considering opening one now, just in case they pull the insurance. Sometimes that happens, but only for new accounts.

Someone’s hacked the family Facebook page……..anyone know anything about this?

Or maybe you were just lucky enough to avoid all the problems which have been so well documented by others…….

ICBs are just the latest structure to add to all the past attempts. It’s scandalous what’s been done, and also not done, to the NHS over the years, with everyone in any position of real financial control ducking responsibility. High time it was taken altogether out of the hands of politicians and put under some form of genuinely independent centralised control to pull everything together, but ensure we have a NATIONAL health service again, instead of a series of localised messes, all busily trying to reinvent the wheel. No fault of the poor staff. Wholly the fault of politicians for not doing it.

That’s a very sad and worrying post. NHS workers have been treated appallingly since the pandemic, but the pressure’s never eased and the staffing gets worse. How incredibly hollow and cynical all those public displays of cheering and clapping were!

Thank goodness for those consumer programmes etc too! Without them, there’d be very little awareness of the rights customers have against companies who let them down. And given that the package provider makes the arrangements and takes a profit on them, it’s entirely right that the customer should be able to go there for redress - very few, if any rights against subcontractors.

Hi Jane - great to see you back again, but so sorry to hear of the background. With you entirely on Southwold though! Lovely place to relax, along with various other places on the bit of coast. Having lived in Ipswich for a while and met my wife there I really miss it. Being a Practice Manager was never easy, but Covid and all the appalling anti-GP propaganda in papers like the Mail and the Telegraph must have made it almost impossible. I doubt you miss it now, and I'm relieved you were able to get out. It makes me absolutely livid to read all the garbage about lazy GPs hiding away from patients - just to try to conceal the real reasons for the problems. Those two papers in particular have made things far, far worse, by making GP recruitment and retention that much more difficult. Anyone with any knowledge whatever of doctors - and nurses and other medical and support staff - knows how hard they work, how enormous the problems are, and what the real cause of the serious problems is. I hope things continue to improve for you, and you've got that cruise to look forward to too! And Southwold (though the fish and chips are better at Aldeburgh, eaten on the beach of course!).

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The power of a strong brand!

There are clearly major staffing issues with P&O now, but apparently not with Saga and other competitors. Maybe those notoriously low pay rates, every bit as bad as the P&O Ferries they like to assure people they’re not, are finally rebounding on them as staff find more enlightened employers.

Quite. So P&O now seems to have older, smaller ships with civilised passengers, but charging high prices and in increasingly poor shape. Or, at somewhat lower prices, big new ships with a very different clientele including, on recent feedback, a proportion of drunken louts. What an increasingly attractive proposition Saga is looking.

I’m not on her I’m afraid, but by way of some sort of reassurance I’d hazard a guess that the recent Press publicity will have sharpened the dull minds of those responsible for the current poor state of affairs with P&O - and persuaded them that they need to get a grip on this before it escalates. By 21 January you might see a big improvement.

However much people might try to defend P&O on this, and attack The Times and the passenger, it’s still indefensible, particularly when P&O could so easily have defused it all with a relatively inexpensive gesture or two. If it reaches the gutter tabloids such as the Sun, Express and Mail they’ll make a lot more of it than The Times did - particularly if they latch on to this, which is actually rather worse: https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2900271-britannia-christmas-2022-goes-live/page/5/

Exactly my wife’s view. No point in a cheaper cruise if it’s not enjoyable.

I’m rapidly reaching the conclusion that cruising with P&O is no longer for us. Ten years ago the negatives were pretty minor, but as the years have gone by they’ve increased to such a point that they now outweigh the positives - for us at least. Travelodge and Premier Inn have different price points, and when PI came along we ditched Travelodge altogether. Too many downsides for the price saving, and a clientele which contained a very noticeable minority whose behaviour was frankly appalling. P&O seems to be taking the Travelodge route. I prefer not to.

Hats off to you, Wowzz, and to others like you. Genuinely! You’re subsiding our cruises!

The main thrust of this, though, is contained in the following quote from the article: “However, several passengers have complained about long queues for meals, a chaotic booking system and lack of wi-fi.“ Inexcusable, of course, but perhaps reinforces the old advice about avoiding maiden cruises!

When we first started cruising, two friends gave us very conflicting advice. One said get the cheapest inside cabin and the other advised a balcony. We started with a balcony, then a suite, but the problem with suites is that the right ones are a bit like colour televisions in the 1970s - you can’t go back. The guy advising the inside cabin spent most of his waking hours in the bars - it made perfect sense for him. The guy suggesting the balcony was more like us - very limited time in bars, but much happier sitting on a sunny balcony with a drink. Horses for courses - but for us a balcony’s an absolute essential. First thing in the morning, last thing at night, and any time in the day you fancy a quiet rest without having to hunt down a sun bed. We probably cover a lot of the cost in reduced bar bills.

Anyone else enjoy the Christmas ‘Detectorists’ special last night on BBC2? Sheer, beautiful, perfectly cast, written and performed genius, just like the series’. Best thing this Christmas, although the documentary about the making of the Snowman 40 years ago was excellent too. Our little daughter grew up to a background of wonderful Channel 4 children’s programming in the early 80s with things like Snowman and Ivor Cutler. Always ready to take a chance, and still profitable too. Who remembers the name of the boy singing the main theme in the original Snowman film?

I have had a quiet word with Mouse about the possibility of his making an internet debut in this esteemed organ, assuring him as I did so that fame and limitless fortunes would undoubtedly follow soon after. He mused for a minute or two, muttering something about promenade decks paved with gold and Strictly opportunities with Helen Skelton, but then fell asleep. When he woke up again, some time later, we distinctly heard him quietly murmuring something about treacle wells, and I had to remind him again about his impending stardom. Sadly, though, he said that he'd have to decline the kind invitation (though he said Helen Skelton had been quite a draw after his earlier incident with Valerie Singleton) for fear of tarnishing his previously unblemished public image. [And also because I might get kicked off the forum for inappropriate behaviour by a mouse with a certain reputation already for unclear diction!]

I'm very much liking this idea of cold turkey with chips! I'm not sure I can sell it to my wife though - but I'm certainly going to try!!! It's all about family traditions, isn't it, Christmas? Ours involve what was described at the time as a very small 'rude' singing mouse, bought on eBay 13 years ago. He comes out once a year only, on Christmas Day, and then goes back in the drawer in shame for next year. We've had to WhatsApp this year's performance to our children for their joint Christmas do over the next three days because he's so missed! I think I'll have to add a codicil to the wills to make sure he lives on.......

Good morning to all the lovely people who've supported each other here over the last three difficult years, through very difficult times - and, whether you celebrate Christmas or not, I hope you all have a really nice few days. If it's with friends and family that's good, but if not it can be just as good - sometimes even better! Have a really great day, whatever you're doing. Harry and Mrs Harry 🙂

Thanks - that was an exciting read! A little worrying, perhaps, to be floating around without power? Just as well it wasn't in a busy shipping lane! Pleased there was a good outcome, and that apart from the small matter of not having any power things are going well. Envious of that weather!

https://www.davidpilling.com/wiki/index.php/Kunzle This guy seems to be an expert! They weren't cheap, but they were affordable as a treat - 6d (2.5p) or so in the 1960s as I recall. Produced in Birmingham, and probably particularly popular around there. Swiss in origin, but taken over by Lyons until they dropped them. Probably didn't adapt well to mechanised production, so became uneconomic to make. A real treat to anyone with a sweet tooth - a solid chocolate shell, with sweet gooey stuff in the middle.

That sounds wonderful! Just in Scotland?