I get so pissed off by this!

There are many things that raise my ire and mindless fly-tipping is one of them. There is simply no excuse for driving out into the country to dump your waste, especially when there is a FREE to use waste recycling centre near by. People who just dump their crap and leave it for other people to clear up should be stood against a fucking wall and shot!

I photographed this lot on a five mile walk with Tilly this morning (and there was a lot of smaller bits of dumped crap as well).

Not a bad collection of junk is it? Next time take it to a proper facility instead of leaving for others to clean up!

Mobile network rip-off

Life can be so frustrating at times! A little while ago I decided to treat myself to a new mobile 'phone and, when the time came, break away from my current mobile contract. So I shopped around and was lucky to get myself one of the new Wileyfox Swift 2 Plus handsets on a special deal from Amazon.

Wileyfox Swift 2 Plus

I have to say I'm very happy with the 'phone, especially given the price I paid and it's nice to think it's British as opposed to Chinese, Taiwanese, whatever.

So the time came to be getting myself a decent SIM only contract and leave my current mobile provider: ought to be easy didn't it? No, think again!

Because I'm retired, don't have a mortgage, don't have a car loan and haven't borrowed money from a bank, building society or money lender in over 30 years, I don't have a credit history and this means I don't qualify for the majority of deals you see advertised on the Internet for SIM only mobile deals. However if I wanted a new iPhone or Samsung Galaxy I could get one by return of post.

Just look at how crazy this is...

I tried to get a SIM only deal from Talk Mobile. It offered everything I wanted at a monthly cost of £2.99 (£5.00 before cashback). My application was refused because I failed their credit check. Talk Mobile didn't want me to be disappointed so they offered my an alternative: I could have an iPhone SE on a 24 month contract for just £35 pm. What? Do you think I'm stupid? Fuck you!

Disgusted I hunted around the net and tried a couple of other companies with much the same result. No I didn't qualify for a cheap SIM only deal, but I could have a new high cost handset on a 2 year deal.

Do you see a pattern was starting to form here? Yes, me too.

Mobile Phones Direct said they could help as long as I agreed to a free credit check with their partner company. This sounded okay until I looked at it in detail. You get one free credit check, but have to agree to future checks at a monthly cost. Thank you, but NO!

Then I found TPO Mobile and everything started to fall into place. Not only was I able to order a SIM on a reasonable basis, but 10% of the monthly fee is directed to a charity of my choice. I admit it's not the best deal available for minutes/texts/data, but it's adequate for my needs and since the contract is on a month-by-month basis I can leave at any time and while I'm there the RNLI get an 40p a month to help fill their coffers - I know it's not much, but hey every little helps and as an old sailor it makes me feel good. 😇

Lifelong learning? You bet!

I was always a champion of lifelong learning while I was in the education business and am not beyond the furtherance of knowledge in myself as well as others.

For instance I only found out my mobile (cell) 'phone was capable of doing this today. Yes I know that makes me pretty dumb, huh? Well so it might, but discovering the 'phone's ability to animate a group of images pleased me no end... and yes, little things please little minds!
😛

Hibernation time!

That's it I'm all done. Hit the supermarkets before 6:00 a.m. this morning to buy the last of the supplies needed for the 'festive' period, so with all the fresh produce safely secured I can withdraw into my shell and lock myself away until after the farce that is Christmas is over.

I will need to leave the house again because of course Tilly needs her walks, but at least I can avoid having to interface with all those people desperate to scour the shops of every last article on the shelves... I feel quite good about that really! 😌

All I need now is for someone to give me a nudge when Christmas is over and life returns to 'normal'. Until then I wish you a Cool Yule and leave you with this thought:

If Man will live forever more because of Christmas Day,

how long will Woman survive?

Another step forward...

So I had my pre-op assessment at Ysbyty Ystrad Fawr this morning, which I passed with flying colours thank goodness and that's one step further forward towards getting the surgery I need on my hands. The next step in the process is for me to meet with the Specialist who will undertake the knife-work and the Anaesthetist who will take care of keeping me pain free during the operation.

I'm not complaining, but I think it's a shame it's not possible to go through the two processes on the same day since each visit entails a 60 mile round trip for me and this morning's assessment was already my third visit to the hospital. To be honest I'm just happy things are progressing.

I don't have a date yet for the aforementioned meeting, but I'm told it should happen in the not too distant future and the consequent surgery on my right hand should happen a couple of weeks after that. 😃

So all in all things are looking up for Usky!

Just can't help myself

I was getting petrol this morning when I noticed a middle aged woman having difficulties. She'd filled her car, but then the thing wouldn't start and she was trying to push it off the forecourt. I finished filling up, then went across to help and by God do I wish now I hadn't...

Here's the thing, I have osteoarthritis in my hands and am awaiting surgery: trapeziectomy on both thumbs. You may or may not want to watch the embedded video... it's not the most attractive thing in the world and not really for the squeamish.


So pushing this lady's car (I'm disgusted nobody else offered to help!) has done me no favours and tonight I feel as though my hands are on fire and I'm in considerable pain. A noble gesture to help a lady in distress no doubt, but under the circumstances bloody stupid! When will I ever learn? 😖

Well I never did

Out shopping in the metropolis of Newport today and I was a little startled, not to say taken aback, by two of the shopfronts I passed...

The first was an establishment called:

Silver Tarts

What ever could the shop offer I wondered? Their web suggests ladies should 'Throw Some Glitter'

Well I suppose you could could throw glitter to make it all a bit sparkly, or use chocolate paint or some such... I dunno, it just sounds a bit suss and very suggestive to me.

The second establishment is known as:

Bedroom Athletics

Loungewear? Hmmm... I wonder. Sounds unlikely to me. Have to admit I imagined sex-swings, leather harnesses, bondage frames and other interesting items! 😁

Do you have any interestingly named shops in your neighbourhood?