AnneMarriott

Common Sense and all of those that believe such views are equivalent/preferable to an educated (EDIT or informed) view. 

I've only seen trailers but it's billed as a comedy so I don't think we're supposed to take it as informed comment.  

I have had a morning at home, reading and sorting through some paperwork. All I have heard from next door - the elderly neighbours - is a strange noise I can only describe as a sort of electronic sounding 'doink'. It has been repetitive but not rhythmic or following any sort of sequence.

I wondered if she is playing an online game. But if so, she is not doing very well, no ecstatic cries of bingoooooooo for example.

It stopped for a while, then it started up again. Doink, doink.........doink.....doink, doink,doink. Twenty minute interval. Then doink,doink.........doink. And so on.

I put the radio on to try and block it out. I could still hear it, although the doink may have worked its way into my head by then and I only thought I could still hear it. I turned the radio off and a few seconds later..doink!

What could it be?

I can't wait to go to work now.

My suggestion is that it's one of those virtual games like tennis you play standing in front of the television with a handset for a racquet.  Presumably every time you hit the ball there would be a doink-like sound.  Very irritating, whatever it is!

Very sorry to hear this.  He was a fine actor.

"Just been into town for my annual can't put it off any longer."

 

"I grew up in Stevenage, and haven't been shopping in the town centre there for quite a few years... until the other day. Oh dear, it is terribly run-down with a lot of empty shops, many of the big names have gone and been replaced by discount 'pound' shops, mobile phone retailers and pawnbrokers. Makes me rather sad to think of how it used to be. "

 

Surely this is why town centre shopping areas are so bleak nowadays - we stopped going in favour of out-of-town malls and online ordering.  I'm just as guilty as anyone of this but I too mourn the once lively high street which is now a sorry stretch of betting shops, pound shops, fast food outlets and charity shops.  

 

 

 

Me too, Jacqueline.

 

My lastest spat was in a hospital recently.  I arrived for my appointment, and was waiting in line with everyone else to give my details to the receptionist when a woman came in and walked straight to the front of the queue.  Her reason for this was that she had "missed the appointment last week."  I replied that in that case, as she was so late, waiting another few minutes would not make much difference.  She did go to the back, but only after I and another woman left our places and "escorted" her to the back of the queue.  Everyone else standing there just shuffled and looked embarrassed. 

 

Why is it that people generally don't stand up to this sort of behaviour?  

Possibly to avoid a mouthful of abuse.  Rude and selfish people seem to have a talent for making the polite and considerate members of society who dare to object feel even more hard done by than they did at the original offence.  I speak from experience.

It

 

 

 

The Brits are huge buyers of confectionery, I do not know why the new owners are so determined to change a winning formula.

 

Profit?

Goodness, is it April 1st already?

I was using Frontline bought from Amazon ... no fleas. .. vet persuaded me to use Broadline. .. within 3days both cats infested. YUCK!

My friend is a head vet nurse and she recommended we use Advantage; bought it on Amazon and after i had combed, combed and combed again for several days, put the drops on .... problem solved. She also recommended Indorex flea spray as something to spray in house. Said it was badically the same as the vets sell, but cheaper. Again, bought from Amazon. Apparently single spray lasts 6mths... instantly stopped any more fleas being in the house.

That's interesting.  I thought you needed a prescription for Advantage which means persuading a vet to give you a prescription (for a fee) and that adds to the cost of the treatment.  

 

Did you get it from Amazon without prescription?

I don't know how readily available Frontline is other than from a Vet.  That is where I have bought mine from.  Just a capsule to break open and apply the liquid to the back of the neck.

It is available over the counter from Pets at Home (and similar shops, probably) and online from Petmeds, Medicanimal, and others.  No prescription is required but you will have to "register" your pet and obviously select the size of Frontline according to the animal's weight.  Take it from me, online is considerably cheaper than the vet.  Not sure about over the counter - I've only bought it from a shop once when I had a voucher!

There was an afternoon performance?

Yes, Sunday!  Sorry I forgot Monday had been and gone when I posted - senior moment ...

I only wish the little girl sitting behind me at Gary Avis and Friends in Ipswich yesterday afternoon had heard of Silent Snacks.  What with the rattling of the box of sweets, the rustling as each sweet was unwrapped and the enthusiastic chomping and sucking as each sweet was enjoyed (not to mention the frequent kicking in the back as the little girl crossed or uncrossed her legs, wriggled in her seat or just plain fidgeted - possibly a sugar rush?) my enjoyment of the programme was rather diminished.

 

But hey, who would dare to spoil a little girl's enjoyment by asking her oblivious mother to curb the enthusiasm?

Thanks, Anna C.  And I forgot to mention the bitterest pill of all, a £25 parking penalty charge for overstaying my 2-hour slot in the hospital car park while my ECG was run to earth ...

People who don't turn up to their hospital appointments.  Disgusted whilst i waited for my appointment to hear the nurses calling name after name until finally someone was actually there.  There were at least 10 no shows.

Agreed, but the other side of the coin is having to sit in a waiting room for two and a half hours beyond the appointment time (as happened to me recently) whilst staring at a notice going on about the amount of wasted NHS time because of missed appointments.  Reason for the delay?  My ECG had been sent to the wrong clinic.  

 

And an even more recent experience, this time sitting for five hours in a hospital day room waiting to be admitted for a minor procedure, nil by mouth from midnight, only to be hustled into a bathroom by a fraught nurse who ripped off my clothes and thrust me into a gown and a nasty pair of disposable knickers because "they" were ready for me.  The worst part of the wait was not the total lack of explanation for the delay despite trying to find out, but the cleaning lady who came and ate her lunch at the table next to me.  Never did sausage and baked beans look so appealing! And the sequel - hanging around in recovery for a couple more hours because there was no-one to clean "my" bed space.  

Which crossword was ir, Tony?  I feel even more proud that I didn't have any letters to help, just your posting!

Oh, is there a prize?  

 

I love crosswords but on this occasion I confess I started by trying to find boats with nine letters - there aren't that many.  When I got to "catamaran" I stared at it for ages before the solution dawned.  Thanks for flagging it up!

catamaran?

This doesn't seem to be on the website yet - have I missed something obvious?

Ditto!

Unfortunately it's a word that doesn't have a direct English equivalent.  Maybe a native French speaker might be able to come up with a better translation than 'sentimentality'?

Not a native French speaker but I think "affectation" is closer than "sentimentality". In fact "mimsiness" is probably c!oser still.

I unfortunately had to return 2 swan lake tickets back to the box office a few weeks ago. The service is actually very good.

 

I returned the allocation online to the ROH and they said they would take the returns as per the terms and conditions. Which basically is they offer them for sale once all normal tickets have been sold (which is the case). You can also see online if your tickets are being offered on the website.

 

2 minor wrinkles...

1) you must call the ROH ticket to confirm that the tickets have been resold, they don't notify you automatically. (only after the performance)

2) The payment is returned to the card within 28 days after the performance.

 

I am not sure about the reasons for the payment being delayed as it seems someone has bought the tickets and so the Ticket Office will have the pleasure of holding 2 payments against one order, but, its a polite and well run service.

It isn't the ROH who decides when the refund is credited but the credit card provider.  In my experience refunds appear two or three days after the performance.

Hello everyone ! I bought too many tickets for this tour and I would like to return the Swan Lake one and two for The Taming of the Shrew (premieres in both cases). Is it possible to be paid back ? I hope so

I am not sure of my ground on this, but I have always understood that since it's the Hochhausers who present these programmes they are in charge of ticket return and they don't give refunds. Perhaps it's worth ringing the box office to check and if this is indeed the case you could try exchanging your unwanted tickets or offer them here.

 

edited to add:

 

Aha - I've just seen that you are doing just that!

We should start a petition - Yuhui for Principal!

 

 

Where do I sign?

Mine was Dusty Springfield singing "You don't have to say you love me, just because I'm tanned". It was a long time before I found out the truth!

Isn't it supposed to be the definition of an aesthete to be able to hear the William tell Overture without thinking of the Lone Ranger, or is it Spartcus without thinking of the Onedin Line?

Personally, I have never forgiven The Archers for replacing Dick Barton - and the channel still gets changed as soon as that Rumpty-tumpty-tumpty-tum is heard.  (For the much younger amongst you, this was still in the days of the post-war Light Programme, when Dick Barton, Special Agent, occupied that early evening 15 minute slot - and with a much more dramatic theme tune, one that defies onomatopoetic rendering here.)

 

Just as I was considered old enough to stay up for Dick Barton it was replaced by the Archers. I wasn't best pleased at the time but somehow got hooked by The Archers and have stayed with it (off and on) until recently. If, as Alison said above, Rob Tchener getts his well-deserved comeuppance, I'll no doubt be back.

In yesterday's Telegraph a Letter to the Editor pointed out the similarity between the Rob and Helen plot line and that of David Copperfield:

 

"Pathetic Mrs. Copperfield (Helen) is in thrall to the dastardly Mr. Murdstone (Rob) abetted by Miss Murdstone (Ursula). Little master Davey (Henry) is to be sent away to the blacking factory (prep school). Then poor Mrs. Copperfield (Helen) and her baby will die (as a result of some poor medical preparations [?home birth]) leaving Mr. Murdstone (Rob) to inherit. Let's hope that a Betsy Trotwood appears to rescue Henry. Not Helen's truly pathetic parents, but perhaps Tom?"

 

I should like to add Kirsty as a possible Betsy Trotwood.

 

I've actually stopped listening because it's too dreadful, but keep up via the synopses on The Archers website.