WAMT....what annoyed me today!

[andya700]

We’re in Kent too, the NHS service here is getting more and more awful. It’s almost impossible to get a GP appointment and the Anima service they use for triage doesn’t seem suitable for a lot of cases (for instance when the GP just asks you to update them, you have to go through pages and pages of pointless form filling ).

One of my local mates has Stage 3 prostate cancer and is supposed to have regular blood tests to check on his condition. He hasn’t been asked in for testing for a while so queried why not with his GP? Turned out that because he’d “missed” a telephone appointment (which he was never notified about and didn’t receive anyway) he’d been taken off the testing list and his case closed.

That is awful about your mate. We have just changed surgeries, to one much closer and they managed to give my wife a blood test within three days of joining, whereas the previous surgery couldn't get her one for two months. Apparently the new surgery doesn't use Anima, so, we will see how we get on. I think it all started going wrong after the pandemic, now the GP's don't seem to want to see patients face to face.

 

[boogie man]

That is awful about your mate. We have just changed surgeries, to one much closer and they managed to give my wife a blood test within three days of joining, whereas the previous surgery couldn't get her one for two months. Apparently the new surgery doesn't use Anima, so, we will see how we get on. I think it all started going wrong after the pandemic, now the GP's don't seem to want to see patients face to face.

Not having Anima is a big plus!!

Part of the problem here is our nearest surgery originally had four GPs when we moved here. Now there’s only one, plus a locum who comes in occasionally. Most of the appointments are being farmed out to either a walk in centre or a sister surgery (which are literally next to each other), but they’re a half hour drive away.

Several of my immediate family work in the NHS (my wife’s a retired NHS nurse specialist too). A couple of them have got disillusioned and jacked it in recently and gone over to the private sector, where the money’s better but more importantly the stress levels are way lower. My wife took early retirement as she could see the writing on the wall for the NHS…. overworked staff, buildings literally falling apart, systems not fit for purpose. That was pre COVID, apparently things are way worse now than when she left.

 

[gman]

Got a call from my dad, his car wouldn't start and he's stuck in a multistorey carpark, which is pretty tight. You can't tow an AWD and a trailer wouldn't fit in there, so I believe it would have to be specialist recovery equipment.

I went over to investigate and there were no lights coming up on the dash, so went to check the fuse. Look at the state of this design. Ultra low profile fuses and buried deep at the back of the footwell. What's worse, the fuse in question was the furthest away and had a wiring loom and parts of the metal frame blocking it. Nightmare. Not something I would have expected by Honda.

The photo doesn't really do it justice as to how awkward it was to get to and the angles you had to try and get your wrist to. Ended up pulling all the trim out as well.



This fuse circled in red (that's the replacement normal profile one in).





By comparison, this is what my previous BMW F30 fuse box location was like. A breeze to work on.

 

[andya700]

Something happened yesterday which really annoyed me. We haven't watched TV since mid 2020 and have notified the BBC twice in that time.
Yesterday there was a knock on the door and my wife answered it. Apparently, it was a guy in his fifties/sixties, dressed in blue (no badges), who handed my wife a leaflet and didn't say a word. She asked him what it was and he just walked off. The leaflet didn't have my name on it, just the address.
When I opened it up, it was all red letters - our records show your property has no TV licence. Act now, to avoid further investigation.
What really annoyed me, was that he could have posted the leaflet and that he could have spoken.
With behaviour like this, is it any wonder that a lot of people are not funding the BBC?

 

[AndrewFlannigan]

We haven't watched TV since mid 2020 and have notified the BBC twice in that time.

In my opinion, there are possible explanations .

The first is that, if they're going to use delivery of a warning, as evidence in a prosecution, the licence department would need evidence of delivery. I imagine that he was simply performing the delivery into someone's hand, so that in a disputed case he could make a sworn statement that he had done so.

The second is that they may know that someone in the area is receiving off air broadcasts in the immediate area but are unable to get it closer than that. This may be intended to scare the guilty party into buying a licence.

The third is, perhaps, that they want to confirm that the property was occupied at the time of detection but don't want that to end up in some kind of altercation.

The fourth is that maybe he's fed up with being attacked and wanted to do his job and get away before that could happen!

 

[Jannyfox]

Something happened yesterday which really annoyed me. We haven't watched TV since mid 2020 and have notified the BBC twice in that time.
Yesterday there was a knock on the door and my wife answered it. Apparently, it was a guy in his fifties/sixties, dressed in blue (no badges), who handed my wife a leaflet and didn't say a word. She asked him what it was and he just walked off. The leaflet didn't have my name on it, just the address.
When I opened it up, it was all red letters - our records show your property has no TV licence. Act now, to avoid further investigation.
What really annoyed me, was that he could have posted the leaflet and that he could have spoken.
With behaviour like this, is it any wonder that a lot of people are not funding the BBC?

Are you sure it was genuine because it smells a little ripe to me

 

[ancient_mariner]

We've not had interaction with the TV licensing people for a while now, but as I recall they are their own department and part of custard and exercise rather than the BBC. This kind of scare tactic is not unusual, and intended to 'encourage' the casual licence defaulter, but is obviously not going to make a difference to those who don't buy a licence intentionally.

FWIW things seem better than they used to be in terms of getting hassled for not having a licence. They used to knock on the door and tell us that their detector vans had detected us using a TV and request to inspect the premises with no warrant. This was of course untrue, since we have never had a TV. More recently it's just been a case of filling in an online form stating we don't watch any live TV and they leave us alone.

 

[woof woof]

I gather that the Beeb or the Govt., I don't know which, are trying to make it that the Beeb is on every possible service including Youtube so that escaping the licence fee is impossible. Personally I'd cut the Beeb massively and make it an opt in option as I believe their sins are too many and too frequent.

 

[woof woof]

Something that annoyed me.

I have an MX5 which hasn't had a lot of use in recent years due to various reasons but nothing to do with the car. I thought I'd get it out, get some petrol, do some shopping and just go for a nice drive with the top down but sadly it didn't go well. I'd forgotten how much attention and grief even a humble MX5 can attract especially on a nice day and especially if you've got the top down and sadly I encountered two idiots who ruined the experience. One guy in a "hot hatch" of some sort and another in a BMW SUV. And before any keyboard worriers dive in and have a pop at me, No, I wasn't driving like a loon and attracting attention and deserving the hate. I was driving normally and responsibly and I always stick to the speed limit.

I really struggle to understand the hate for such a cheap and low powered car. Just about anyone could own one if they wanted to so there shouldn't be any envy factor so why the aggression and hate?

I only get the car out a few times a year but as I've loved small 2 seat soft tops since I was in my early 20's I've hung onto it and if and when it goes I know I wont have another but the hassle and grief I sometimes get just kills the enjoyment and I think I've had enough. Sadly.

 

[Mozthecat]

For many years the door to door visits have been outsourced to Capita (who have a reputation for trying to get people to sign paperwork agreeing they have been watching tv without a license).

The BBC have also recently started a temporary contract with a debt collection specialist called Themis recovery to provide “helpful” reminders to people that haven’t renewed - https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/themis

 

[ancient_mariner]

I'd forgotten how much attention and grief even a humble MX5 can attract

It's curious how some react to certain types of car. When I had the Karoq, people who were driving slowly (40 on national speed limit roads) would try to race me if I overtook. It's different with the BMW, even though the cars are very similar.

 

[woof woof]

It's curious how some react to certain types of car. When I had the Karoq, people who were driving slowly (40 on national speed limit roads) would try to race me if I overtook. It's different with the BMW, even though the cars are very similar.

The thing is that it can be anyone. An elderly couple in an ordinary hatch back, a woman with her kids in the back (I kid you not), a youngster in a hot hatch. You just don't know, who it's going to be, The worst idiot magnet I had was my Lotus Elan SE but strangely my Elise attracted much less. I think the only soft top I've had that didn't attract any was my Midget or at least I don't remember any. Even my MGB attracted idiots. I remember one middle aged man who came up to me once to tell me how "s**t" my MGB was. In those days I would and that day did give both barrels and I've never met anyone who can match me for bad language and one liners if I'm in the mood to do that but these days... I just want a quiet life without all the madness. I've even had this when in my Evoque and they're everywhere. Why? There's just no reasonable answer except... They're idiots. I might calm down but at the moment I'm thinking of selling the MX5 even though I know I'll never have another.

 

[Nod]

It's curious how some react to certain types of car. When I had the Karoq, people who were driving slowly (40 on national speed limit roads) would try to race me if I overtook. It's different with the BMW, even though the cars are very similar.

When Mrs Nod had her MX-5, we had no negative interactions at all. Out on the bikes, the only comments we get are positive.

 

[woof woof]

When Mrs Nod had her MX-5, we had no negative interactions at all. Out on the bikes, the only comments we get are positive.

I think where I live could be a factor. I'm in Cleveland between Redcar and Middlesbrough (exactly half way actually) and TBH it's not the best area and nearby are some areas which even though I love the area and never want to move way will admit are nothing short of awful. That could be a part of it but for whatever reason, it's common, not every time, but common enough.

 

[Nod]

WAMT is the sparrows nicking our strawberries! As per recent advice, we've removed the feeders but the little bu99ers have found an alternative... Rigged up a temporary wire cage and will make a proper one tomorrow.

Bastids!