Hmm. Worth a try, but can you do those things whilst still in Parts Foreign, Where There Be Dragons?
(Yes, I know Piglet is in Canada, not Wales...)
Meanwhile, TICTH my vacuum cleaner, which doesn't. On removing the little brushy thingy from the sucky-uppy nozzle, after working over the galley floor, the dratted Engine of Satan deposited a load of Small Particles on the said floor.
TBTG for the ever-faithful dustpan and brush, though bending down to use those instruments means actually kneeling on the floor. Which is OK, until I need to get up again...
It really is the Little Things in life that p*ss one off, isn't it?
I had an e-mail this morning from HMRC informing me that my application was now successful (thanks to my sister!), and giving me the Unique Reference Number needed by the shipping agent.
My Stuff (including some very important bears) will soon be heading eastward.
In fairness to HMRC, once they'd decided they had enough information from me, they didn't hang about.
@Puzzler - indeed, I'll be doing most of that as soon as I get there.
[...] get a U.K. bank account asap, register with a GP, join a library, and do as much as you can as soon as you can to provide evidence that you intend to resettle here.
Join a Morris Dancing Club. In Scotland. Good luck there. At least you will have tried.
I think you have to be resident to register with a GP.
We tried to do that before the purchase of our house completed, as Mr RoS had a health issue that was going to need a hospital referral as soon as we moved. No luck with that.
I think the same applied to the library - needed to supply proof of address.
Scotland may have different rules.
No idea about the bank situation, as that did not apply since we were already resident in the UK. My bank sort code is still that of my old bank account, even though that branch closed a couple of years before we moved.
Next weekend (as we seem to be getting them on a weekly basis now) I shall probably CTH bl**dy Storm Edith, or whatever stupid name TPTB call the thing.
The weekend after that, it'll be bl**dy Storm Ferdinand...
It is The Curse of Tru*p which keepeth the Wetness so High in the Firmament, and then letteth it down to pour upon the Hapless Earth.
Yea, verily, the Wind and Tempest are also His gifts to Men.
The LORD hath reveal'd this Truth to me in a Dream, whilst I walk'd through the Wilderness of this World, and laid me down for a time, in a Den, to rest...
TICTH energy companies and the ridiculous system which is supposed to introduce competition, but fails miserably. The company I was with hiked up the price as soon as the term was up. I went on a comparison site, to find that the same company is offering a good deal. I rang them. They said I must go through the comparison site, they couldn't give me this tariff directly. I had to fill in an application. Now they are messing me about. Grrrr!
... I think the same applied to the library - needed to supply proof of address.
Scotland may have different rules.
FYI, the library in which I work needs only proof of ID, not address. You could put your sister's address and then change it at a later date, Presumably the rules differ between local councils.
Ticth dementia in all its forms.
I am currently on a rehab ward, and there is a gentleman in the cubicle opposite who obviously is suffering, calling out continually - most of the nurses are very patient with him, and I’m praying for patience too.
... I think the same applied to the library - needed to supply proof of address.
Scotland may have different rules.
FYI, the library in which I work needs only proof of ID, not address. You could put your sister's address and then change it at a later date, Presumably the rules differ between local councils.
There was, of course, the 2009 agreement of the Society of Chief Librarians that once you had a library card from any UK public library, you would be able to use it in any other UK public library.
This was immediately scuppered by local authorities, which put sufficient barriers in place to render it meaningless. I doubt anyone else even remembers the agreement now...
Sorry, slight tangent, but it's symptomatic of the many things that annoy me about local government...
I can use my Dartford card anywhere in Kent. And I think, though I haven't tried it, return any Kent book anywhere in Kent. They do have a regular sending books around between branches system, so that would work.
Kent’s part of the SELMS library cooperation group. Search that name and it will show you the list of library authorities that you can access with your Kent card @Penny S .
I can only use my card in my county in California, but I can request books be sent to my local library to barrow from any of the four surrounding counties. So I can get just about anything I want.
I can only use my card in my county in California, but I can request books be sent to my local library to barrow from any of the four surrounding counties. So I can get just about anything I want.
Same here (North Carolina), but we can get inter-library loans from any library in the state. That said, it’s rare that our county library system doesn’t have what I’m looking for.
In Australia, the state of South Australia has implemented a single card and union catalogue for all local libraries. Funding committed from state and local governments over several years to implement. Every borrower can access every book in every library and return to any branch in the state.
TICTH the current tenant of our house (a seasonal / holiday let).
They have been there since the beginning of the weekend and keep complaining that they’re cold and that the heating doesn’t work. We asked the person who looks after the house / does the cleaning to go round and check the boiler – twice. It is working. I think essentially they’re annoyed because we’ve “only” heated the house to 19° (as we are legally obliged to) and not to 25. Also it would be warmer if they didn’t leave all the shutters wide open all the time. This morning the dude phoned me again, very rudely, and when I asked him to check the thermometer on the living room wall and tell me what the temperature was, he insulted me and wouldn’t say. Well how I am supposed to know if it’s working if you won’t tell me what the temperature is? I suspect this means that it’s 19 and he’s still trying to get the heating turned up instead of just putting on a bloody jumper.
Meanwhile, when the cleaner went round the different rooms yesterday to check the radiators, she discovered that they’ve dismantled one of the beds, removed the legs and put the base on the floor. Goodness knows how, because you need an allen key to take it apart with and most people don’t travel about with one of those in their pocket. At this stage I’m kind of hoping they won’t return it in the same state they found it in, because I would very much like to get the last laugh by keeping their deposit.
Crikey, La Vie! My first thought about them dismantling the bed wasn't so much how as why - what on earth would make you want to do that to a bed that wasn't your own?
The Clydesdale Bank... May they end up somewhere much hotter. Their online banking system is now so secure I can no longer get into my own account. Their app failed to update recently, and you need a one-time password sent over the phone in order to reset it, but lengthy conversations with their highly trained technical help staff finally revealed that they can't enter the number of digits required for an overseas phone number. They think they can send it to me in the post. I am not holding my breath, but meanwhile, it looks as if a number of transactions will be on hold until I'm in Scotland in a few weeks.
God forbid that anyone with a Horrid Foreign Telephone Number should dare to avail themselves of the services of a British bank...
(I was going to use the word English, even though the bank is Scottish - but, alas, for the time being, it remains within the Greater English Empire...)
I seem to remember that what remains of the Clydesdale bank is owned by an Australian outfit!
I'm not sure if it's still Australian or not. I just looked it up and it appears to have become something new that will be rebranded as Virgin Money, which, if I can avoid making tasteless jokes, may have something to do with the resistance I experienced.
Personally I would get my money out of it if it is going to be re-branded as Virgin Money! Not because of the name (yes, I laughed at the jokes you didn't say) but because of who that means is behind it. But then you wonder where to put said money. A box under the mattress?
Clydesdale Bank plc is a commercial bank in Scotland. Formed in Glasgow in 1838, it is the smallest of the three Scottish banks. Independent until it was purchased by Midland Bank in 1920,it formed part of the National Australia Bank Group (NAB) between 1987 and 2016. Clydesdale Bank was divested from National Australia Bank in early 2016 and its holding company CYBG plc, trades on the London and Sydney stock exchanges. In June 2018, it was announced that Clydesdale Bank's holding company CYBG would acquire Virgin Money for £1.7 billion in an all-stock deal, and that the Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank brands would be phased out in favour of retaining Virgin's brand. CYBG plc's banking businesses, Clydesdale Bank, Yorkshire Bank, Virgin Money and B, currently operate as trading divisions of Clydesdale Bank plc under its banking licence.
also, Virgin Money was bought over by the CYBG group, and Mr Branson "who owned a 35% stake in Virgin Money, will have a 13% holding in the new combined group."
LVER, I understand your house is in the south-east; it can get pretty cool thereabouts, what with a choice of weather sweeping from the Bay of Biscay, weather from the Pyrenees and weather off continental France which may well pick up the Alpine chill. My bro and his wife find it gets cool around their home near Carcasonne, as that is moderated by the Med.
If they want hot, sunny weather they won't get it at low-season rates. That is why there are low-season rates. Cheapskates.
Good news re free prescription. Must be because it is Scotland ?
In England it is not easy to get ears treated . A friend was given an appointment to see the nurse, not GP, with a 6 week wait. Then she only put drops in, with a further 6 weeks to wait for follow up. Meanwhile friend went to Boots audio who took three goes at two week intervals, to get rid of wax. I believe getting rid of wax was the first stage to get through before they could check her hearing.
I hope you have better and quicker results.
I ought to explain that @Puzzler's post doesn't actually make sense now, because after I'd posted about my free prescription, I realised I'd put it in the wrong thread and deleted it. I think it would have been worthy of a thread called "today I commend to Heaven"!
Essentially, I moved back to Scotland last Monday, filled in an application to register with a GP on (I think) Thursday, was accepted on Friday, made an appointment yesterday and was seen today. How impressive is that?
All the more impressive when compared to the situation in Fredericton, where you can't get registered with a GP for love or money, as they've got a catastrophic shortage of doctors.
TICTH the M25 (the London Orbital/'Orrible Motorway. We talk about this as the "Circle of Doom" but Mrs Sioni's experience yesterday, as sole driver, shows it to be a totally shagnasty road. Four lanes of traffic all travelling at much the same speed except for the odd lunatic weaving in and out forcing scary levels of concentration. I suppose Lewis Hamilton might get something out of it.
We made it from Bishop's Stortford as far as Slough (about 60 miles) in about two hours but Mrs S was whacked after that, so we picked up supplies, and took things very easy after that.
But if it is hearing loss some opticians will do a free (government-funded) hearing test. I have had one. Yes I have hearing loss, but though hearing aids make a difference in the test room they make no difference at present in a noisy setting. Guess when my hearing loss matters?
@Piglet - the speed and despatch with which you have been seen by the NHS in Scotland, PLUS the FREE PRESCRIPTION, shows how Blessed is Alba, your new home!
The same thing happens in parts of the Sad Southlands, of course, but the free stuff is mostly (AFAIK) limited to Aged and/or Seriously Infirm Persons with various Fell Complaints.
TICTH the M25 (the London Orbital/'Orrible Motorway. We talk about this as the "Circle of Doom" but Mrs Sioni's experience yesterday, as sole driver, shows it to be a totally shagnasty road. Four lanes of traffic all travelling at much the same speed except for the odd lunatic weaving in and out forcing scary levels of concentration. I suppose Lewis Hamilton might get something out of it.
We made it from Bishop's Stortford as far as Slough (about 60 miles) in about two hours but Mrs S was whacked after that, so we picked up supplies, and took things very easy after that.
Nasty, I agree - but at least you were on the move. The M25 is also known as the World's Longest Car Park...
Alas, the Lunatics, when they eventually crash in flames, often take innocent, and unsuspecting, Good Drivers with them.
Liars. Who have no idea of, or interest in, the suffering they cause*, not only to the immediate victim, but also to the friends and relations of said victim who have to cope with the fallout. Especially liars who claim to follow religions which teach honesty.
*If, OTOH, they do realise how nasty they are being, a much deeper circle of the hot place.
May I just send down to join it, the rat that has chewed through the loop system. Actually it may already be there judging by the stink that is coming up through the floor boards.
Comments
(Yes, I know Piglet is in Canada, not Wales...)
Meanwhile, TICTH my vacuum cleaner, which doesn't. On removing the little brushy thingy from the sucky-uppy nozzle, after working over the galley floor, the dratted Engine of Satan deposited a load of Small Particles on the said floor.
TBTG for the ever-faithful dustpan and brush, though bending down to use those instruments means actually kneeling on the floor. Which is OK, until I need to get up again...
It really is the Little Things in life that p*ss one off, isn't it?
I had an e-mail this morning from HMRC informing me that my application was now successful (thanks to my sister!), and giving me the Unique Reference Number needed by the shipping agent.
My Stuff (including some very important bears) will soon be heading eastward.
In fairness to HMRC, once they'd decided they had enough information from me, they didn't hang about.
@Puzzler - indeed, I'll be doing most of that as soon as I get there.
We tried to do that before the purchase of our house completed, as Mr RoS had a health issue that was going to need a hospital referral as soon as we moved. No luck with that.
I think the same applied to the library - needed to supply proof of address.
Scotland may have different rules.
No idea about the bank situation, as that did not apply since we were already resident in the UK. My bank sort code is still that of my old bank account, even though that branch closed a couple of years before we moved.
Next weekend (as we seem to be getting them on a weekly basis now) I shall probably CTH bl**dy Storm Edith, or whatever stupid name TPTB call the thing.
The weekend after that, it'll be bl**dy Storm Ferdinand...
Yea, verily, the Wind and Tempest are also His gifts to Men.
The LORD hath reveal'd this Truth to me in a Dream, whilst I walk'd through the Wilderness of this World, and laid me down for a time, in a Den, to rest...
Nay, Sir, but yet I am an Humble Pilgrim, as are we all, making an oft-times Painful Progress, please God...
I am currently on a rehab ward, and there is a gentleman in the cubicle opposite who obviously is suffering, calling out continually - most of the nurses are very patient with him, and I’m praying for patience too.
There was, of course, the 2009 agreement of the Society of Chief Librarians that once you had a library card from any UK public library, you would be able to use it in any other UK public library.
This was immediately scuppered by local authorities, which put sufficient barriers in place to render it meaningless. I doubt anyone else even remembers the agreement now...
Sorry, slight tangent, but it's symptomatic of the many things that annoy me about local government...
(*as in Dante's Inferno, the name meaning 'Evil Ditch'. We have one here - it adamantly refuses to accept B*r*s J*h*s*n, and keeps blowing him back).
They have been there since the beginning of the weekend and keep complaining that they’re cold and that the heating doesn’t work. We asked the person who looks after the house / does the cleaning to go round and check the boiler – twice. It is working. I think essentially they’re annoyed because we’ve “only” heated the house to 19° (as we are legally obliged to) and not to 25. Also it would be warmer if they didn’t leave all the shutters wide open all the time. This morning the dude phoned me again, very rudely, and when I asked him to check the thermometer on the living room wall and tell me what the temperature was, he insulted me and wouldn’t say. Well how I am supposed to know if it’s working if you won’t tell me what the temperature is? I suspect this means that it’s 19 and he’s still trying to get the heating turned up instead of just putting on a bloody jumper.
Meanwhile, when the cleaner went round the different rooms yesterday to check the radiators, she discovered that they’ve dismantled one of the beds, removed the legs and put the base on the floor. Goodness knows how, because you need an allen key to take it apart with and most people don’t travel about with one of those in their pocket. At this stage I’m kind of hoping they won’t return it in the same state they found it in, because I would very much like to get the last laugh by keeping their deposit.
God forbid that anyone with a Horrid Foreign Telephone Number should dare to avail themselves of the services of a British bank...
(I was going to use the word English, even though the bank is Scottish - but, alas, for the time being, it remains within the Greater English Empire...)
I'm not sure if it's still Australian or not. I just looked it up and it appears to have become something new that will be rebranded as Virgin Money, which, if I can avoid making tasteless jokes, may have something to do with the resistance I experienced.
also, Virgin Money was bought over by the CYBG group, and Mr Branson "who owned a 35% stake in Virgin Money, will have a 13% holding in the new combined group."
If they want hot, sunny weather they won't get it at low-season rates. That is why there are low-season rates. Cheapskates.
Husband en rouge has given them a good talking to and warned them that the deposit’s on the line. They’ve also been smoking inside apparently.
In England it is not easy to get ears treated . A friend was given an appointment to see the nurse, not GP, with a 6 week wait. Then she only put drops in, with a further 6 weeks to wait for follow up. Meanwhile friend went to Boots audio who took three goes at two week intervals, to get rid of wax. I believe getting rid of wax was the first stage to get through before they could check her hearing.
I hope you have better and quicker results.
Essentially, I moved back to Scotland last Monday, filled in an application to register with a GP on (I think) Thursday, was accepted on Friday, made an appointment yesterday and was seen today. How impressive is that?
All the more impressive when compared to the situation in Fredericton, where you can't get registered with a GP for love or money, as they've got a catastrophic shortage of doctors.
We made it from Bishop's Stortford as far as Slough (about 60 miles) in about two hours but Mrs S was whacked after that, so we picked up supplies, and took things very easy after that.
The same thing happens in parts of the Sad Southlands, of course, but the free stuff is mostly (AFAIK) limited to Aged and/or Seriously Infirm Persons with various Fell Complaints.
Such as me...
Nasty, I agree - but at least you were on the move. The M25 is also known as the World's Longest Car Park...
Alas, the Lunatics, when they eventually crash in flames, often take innocent, and unsuspecting, Good Drivers with them.
*If, OTOH, they do realise how nasty they are being, a much deeper circle of the hot place.
Ti also cth my automatic verbal reaction, which was not at all Lenten.
TICTH the Draft system, which has saved the above sentences long after I posted them.