GROWING OLD!

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Thomo
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Re: GROWING OLD!

Post by Thomo »

One of the things that may sound familiar due to the passing of time and which certainly applies to me, is that tolerance levels are somewhat diminished. Disciplines gained over the years, such as punctuality, forthrightness and a fair degree of honesty are more readily viewed as a problem if blatantly disregarded by others.
Both myself, and my Wife have been "smokers" for many years, in my case, over 60. Four weeks ago we decided to have a go at quitting and asked for medical advice. We were put in touch with a NHS based local group and the following day were visited by one of their representatives at home, The young Woman issued us with prescriptions for patches and sprays, which we used diligently. The second appointment was for two weeks later at a local clinic. As we were about to leave home, a phone call advised us that as there were traffic problems in the clinic area, she would again call at our home. Most of you are probably aware that for many years we have worked with animal welfare, mainly in respect of cats, and as a result we have a number of rescued cats here. When she duly arrived, she told us that on arrival at home after her first visit, her daughter became ill, she is allergic to cats, we apologised for this. On Wednesday morning this week we attended the local clinic for another appointment, due at 1030, we were there at 1020. We were told to wait and shown where by the receptionist who told us that the Woman had not yet arrived. The central heating was running and despite several open windows we were soon out of our comfort zone. At 1045 we were told that the Woman was ill and would not be coming, the receptionist had contacted the group asking what was going on. We returned home, and were contacted by the receptionist who apologised for what had happened, and advised us that all further help and treatment could be done by our local pharmacist, this we appreciated. To say that I was angry is an understatement, not with the local clinics staff, but with the group who were supposed to be helping us. Had they taken the trouble to call us we would have understood, far be it from us to wish harm to come to someone else's child due to what we do with animals. I might point out here that this house although a sanctuary for cats is extremely clean as are the cats concerned, for their sakes and ours, other visitors always remark on this.
A second problem arose recently with my PC and yesterday a neighbour who is the head of IT technology at a local college and I were chatting. When I told him that I had a problem, he offered his help. The upshot of this is that the problem is now solved, but what was discovered during the process is that a part previously removed by someone else during an earlier problem was still inside the casing, and in three pieces, none of which are small. This had resulted in damage to the hard drive, now replaced. I will not be talking to the previous expert again!
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Re: GROWING OLD!

Post by plaques »

My particular short fuse is when a communication systems or 'method' is altered under the guise of improvements but in reality seem to be designed to turn the inquirer off completely so that they never do it again. This probably then goes down as an efficiency success since it has reduced the overall workload. My latest beef is with the Lancashire Libraries. Having mislaid a pair of reading glasses in the library, which I suspect were picked up by someone before they were lost, I only realized the loss when I got home. Quick solution, ring the library to see if someone had handed them in. Obtain library number from my Tele: book. Number not recognised. Internet, get number. Not recognised. Second internet number Not recognised. Third number -Lancashire Libraries services. Through, the lecture about this service, will I take part in a survey at the end, press 1 -2 . Then music. Finally can I help you. "Can I talk to someone at ......" Sorry no can I help? Fuse now getting dangerously close to exploding. "Can you look on so and so desk for my glasses?" I'm afraid not, I'll put you through to .....' Big wait, Sorry they appear to be busy. Can you try again later? "Thank you" Result, Bugger it I'll by another pair.
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Re: GROWING OLD!

Post by Wendyf »

Oh dear Plaques, was it Colne? If it was I'll ask for you on Wednesday. Also hoping it wasn't Colin who did a botched repair on Thomo's computer!! :embarassed:
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Re: GROWING OLD!

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No Wendy it was not Colin, for who's help I was very grateful, and still am. This spans the past 12 months and 3 "expert" attempts. In regard to my other issue, the very pleasant young woman who "was" at the centre of this is from East Lancashire and of a different cultural background, say no more!!!
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Re: GROWING OLD!

Post by Wendyf »

As you may know I have been volunteering at Colne Library once a week for a number of years now, helping people with family and local history. I have been a Lancashire County Council Volunteer for all that time, not claiming expenses or expecting anything beyond a cuppa in return.
I must be Growing Old because my reaction to receiving this charming email was not ladylike and has resulted in me resigning....I don't like being told that I MUST do something or that I have failed to successfully complete something I hadn't been made aware of in the first place. :furious3:


Dear Volunteer,

Please would you email *********@lancashire.gov.uk to book yourself onto one of the dates listed below to cover all mandatory training, stating which date and location you will be attending – please pick one option only.

Lancashire County Council has asked that all staff/volunteers are mandatory trained in certain courses and have provided at great expense for that training to be done.
Training is a mark of professional excellence and your record indicates that essential training has not been successfully completed.

Please be assured the training sessions have been specifically devised to raise awareness and guidance for any actions required connected to these issues by our volunteers.

Volunteers who do not attend a course or who have been unsuccessful in completing the required ELearning courses by 01st July 2018 will be voluntarily declaring that they no longer want to volunteer for the service.

Training Dates are:
Day Date Venue
Tuesday 07th November 2017 Gawthorpe Hall, Burnley Road, Padiham, Burnley BB12 8UA
Wednesday 10th January 2018 Morecambe Library, Central Drive, Morecambe, LA4 5DL
Wednesday 07th February 2018 Chorley Library, Union Street, Chorley, PR7 1EB
Monday 12th March 2018 Accrington Library, St James Street, Accrington, BB5 1NQ
Wednesday 04th April 2018 Fleetwood Library, North Albert Street, Fleetwood FY7 6AJ
Monday 14th May 2018 Skelmersdale Library, Southway, Skelmersdale WN8 6NL
Monday 11th June 2018 County Hall, Preston Room CHG 05
Friday 22nd June 2018 County Hall, Preston Room CHG 05

Training Times:

All training times are 10 am – 12 Noon. Lunch WILL NOT be provided.
To cover the capacity of information involved, volunteers are asked to be at the venue at least 10 minutes before so that a prompt start is achieved.
Volunteers arriving after the 10 am start time, might not be allowed to attend if this causes disruption to the session, or it is deemed that too much information has been missed.

If none of the dates above are suitable – the ELearning courses are still available to complete on your home computer. If you require the links again or a reminder of how to log onto your Me Learning account, please email me to request them. Proof of successful completion is required – please forward a copy of your certificates to me.

To book your place or for all other enquires connected to these training sessions, please email********@lancashire.gov.uk

Thank you

*******
Volunteer Service Officer
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Re: GROWING OLD!

Post by Tripps »

Well done - their loss.
Fairly sure the 'training' will be nothing to do with libraries. I guess it will major on H &S ( how dangerous can a public library be), and of course the other thing. :smile:

From LCC website -
What we expect from you
When carrying out your volunteering activities you are expected to be ambassadors for the organisation. Your volunteering activities will add great value to the services we offer to the people of Lancashire.
In relation to your volunteering activities you must:
Be reliable, committed and professional.
Act in confidence and with discretion
Embrace equality and diversity values
Have a duty of care to safeguard and promote the welfare of all people you deal with
Abide by all relevant health and safety and data protection legislation
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Re: GROWING OLD!

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I complained about the tone of the email on Wednesday and received a phone call in response this afternoon. The lady responsible for sending the email suggested I had read something into it which she hadn't intended, and that I should have been told about the mandatory training a few months ago....and presumably about the E-Learning courses too. When I asked about the content she explained that it was about child protection and knowing what to do if i was approached by a vulnerable person.
Hey Hoh! I have volunteered to undertake voluntary unvolunteering in June 2018 when my lack of professionalism will be made voluntarily obvious.
Notice the lady in question wished our conversation to take place over the phone and not via email....I wonder why? She also asked me quite anxiously not to tell people that it was her email that caused me to resign.....whoops.
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Re: GROWING OLD!

Post by Gloria »

Wendy, we realise your value even if they don't. This beggars belief.
Gloria
Now an Honorary Chief Engineer who'd be dangerous with a brain!!!
http://www.briercliffesociety.co.uk
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Re: GROWING OLD!

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"The lady responsible for sending the email suggested I had read something into it which she hadn't intended" Which demonstrates how badly phrased the original email was..... One thing is certain Wendy, you should report the matter to her superior and not protect her. This is arrogant and incompetent and does nothing for the retention of volunteers. She needs to go on a course in customer relations......
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Re: GROWING OLD!

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All the Staff at Colne library are excellent and go that extra mile to help you. Barlick is similar. In fact the staff in all the local libraries give a good personal service. My complaint is that they have removed this level of personal service under the guise of efficiency.
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Re: GROWING OLD!

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The staff at Colne are wonderful Plaques and are very supportive.. We have two ex librarians in our little group of volunteers, I think they will know exactly where to go to complain about the email.
I can't get over it, accusations and threats all in one email, what a way to treat your volunteers. Copy & paste hasn't picked up the words highlighted in bold either, which makes it even more threatening.
I've come across it before at the end of my volunteer role at HAPPA. Bold, red typeface used in Minutes to say " All volunteers must attend regular meetings", well no, not if they have other more important commitments and apologies for absence are sent.
OK, rant over (I think) :laugh5:
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Re: GROWING OLD!

Post by Thomo »

There are many interesting comments there, thank you all. In regard to my computer problems I am extremely grateful to my neighbour for getting me up and running again. This PC was my 70th birthday present in 2010, I understand that at that time it was one of the most powerful and efficient general household PCs available. The hard drive which has been recently "cooked" was a Southgate 750 Gig unit. I have been in touch with a local PC spares dealer in Nelson, and they can supply a 1TB unit of the same make at a very reasonable price, I will be visiting them on Monday, The cooling arrangements will also be assessed at that time. When the original was removed it was "hot" hardly surprising given that the PCs cooling system had been reduced by 50% and that the bits were just left in in the cabinet!
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Re: GROWING OLD!

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My neighbour, James, suggested fitting an SSD drive instead of replacing the original type, and after much consideration, that is what I have done. The new drive is a Klingston 240 GB unit, it also required a conversion mounting plate. Fitting the new drive was the easy part, getting it up and running was for me a great deal harder. A quick prompt by mail from James last Sunday, and it was job done. He also recommended backing up everything and creating a system repair disc and back up discs using the system image program. So I now have Windows 7 Ultimate in place of the original Home Premium and all of the tools required should I ever have another problem in the future. Part of this is due to a special offer at Sainsbury's, 50 Sony DVD-R's on a special offer at only £10.66. The speed of the new drive is impressive, 10 times faster than the original and today I have installed the first of my flight simulator programmes, FSX. These items rely on speed in respect of frame rates for a truly authentic experience, now after two years all I have to do is remember how it all works, and before that, I have to reinstall all of the control systems, Control Yoke, Throttle and Flap quadrants, Side Stick and all of the current updates associated with a very comprehensive setup. Happy Days!
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Re: GROWING OLD!

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'Age cannot wither, nor custom stale, her infinite variety' as I look at my 86 year old Alzheimer stricken dear wife, sorting out her bag with its precious bits and bobs, and giving the bedroom floor its almost permanent sweep up. I knew old age had struck me recently when a brother asked 'have you got a funeral plan': 'don't need one' I said. ' I'll just pop me clogs and go quietly.'
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Re: GROWING OLD!

Post by Wendyf »

Hello Cloggy, good to hear from you again. Did you manage a trip to this area last year?
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Re: GROWING OLD!

Post by Tizer »

Cloggy, tell your brother that you've arranged for Elon Musk to send your body into space, forever to circle the sands of Mars. Tell him he can come too if he pays you his share in advance!

I saw older the older posts about the library in this thread. Our local libraries are under threat and the Council has put out a document for us to see the `options'. It's several pages long and basically divides into two options, A and B. Each of these gives a lot of details about what would happen to local library services. I carefully read Option 1 and thought about how that would affect us. The read Option 2 and did the same. I couldn't see there would be much difference in how it affected us - in both options there will be a loss of services. Then I got to the end and saw the final sentence: "Options 1 and 2 only differ in their effect on Wellington Library". Why didn't they put that at the top and save us all a lot of trouble in trying to figure out the differences between them?
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Re: GROWING OLD!

Post by Marilyn »

It's a full time job, caring for a loved one with Memory Loss...
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Re: GROWING OLD!

Post by Stanley »

Cloggy, it must be heart breaking....
I arranged and paid for my funeral recently and it was hilarious!
Tiz, because nobody ever taught them the basics of effective communication.
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Re: GROWING OLD!

Post by Marilyn »

Have you tried slipping interesting things in her handbag for her to find, Cloggy.
Try old photographs that may raise a memory, treats or notes that say "I love you".
Even a tissue with your aftershave on it.
The most simple things can trigger a memory....

I remember a lady who ( and this sounds sad) was happy and calm, sitting in her chair, rolling and unrolling and re-rolling a toilet roll. But it wasn't sad for her, because it gave her fidgety fingers a purpose. She was so calm when she had something running through her fingers that she could follow a good conversation.
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Re: GROWING OLD!

Post by cloghopper »

[quote=Wendyf post_id=113713 time=1518341816 user_id=73]
Hello Cloggy, good to hear from you again. Did you manage a trip to this area last year?
Hello Wendy, I managed a very frustrating trip mid July 2017. It was supposed to be a respite trip, but ended up visiting Lancaster and Blackpool heart units, and ferrying sister in law therewith from Morecambe. My brother had a heart attack a few days before I was due to vsit, and ended up having open heart surgery. Fully recovered now, but a lot had to be put on hold, iinluding a proposed meet up with Dela from Ilkley. In all of this I did manage
a quick run around an unrecognisable Burnley, Reedley, Brierfield, and Nelson. Also managed quick helloes n North Wales and with a grandaughter who was visiting Manchester.
Don't know yet when or if another try possible.
Still appreciate very much your help with family histories and contacts..
best rgds, cloggy.
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Re: GROWING OLD!

Post by Stanley »

Talk about the best laid plans going aft aglay Cloggy!
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Re: GROWING OLD!

Post by Wendyf »

Oh dear, what a shame Cloggy. I hope you get another opportunity to meet up with Dela.
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Re: GROWING OLD!

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Stanley wrote: 13 Feb 2018, 03:37 Talk about the best laid plans going aft aglay Cloggy!
:good: more often than not. :biggrin2:
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Re: GROWING OLD!

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:good:
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Re: GROWING OLD!

Post by chinatyke »

Thomo wrote: 17 Sep 2017, 14:40 My neighbour, James, suggested fitting an SSD drive instead of replacing the original type, and after much consideration, that is what I have done. The new drive is a Klingston 240 GB unit, it also required a conversion mounting plate. Fitting the new drive was the easy part, getting it up and running was for me a great deal harder. A quick prompt by mail from James last Sunday, and it was job done. He also recommended backing up everything and creating a system repair disc and back up discs using the system image program. So I now have Windows 7 Ultimate in place of the original Home Premium and all of the tools required should I ever have another problem in the future. Part of this is due to a special offer at Sainsbury's, 50 Sony DVD-R's on a special offer at only £10.66. The speed of the new drive is impressive, 10 times faster than the original and today I have installed the first of my flight simulator programmes, FSX. These items rely on speed in respect of frame rates for a truly authentic experience, now after two years all I have to do is remember how it all works, and before that, I have to reinstall all of the control systems, Control Yoke, Throttle and Flap quadrants, Side Stick and all of the current updates associated with a very comprehensive setup. Happy Days!
Where's Thomo? Has he been flying MH370 route?
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