WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

[Big Kev]

A heads up if anyone is coming this way in the next few days

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[Stanley]

Margaret sent me a video of grey weather and pouring with rain in Perth, WA. We could do with some of that here....

[PanBiker]

T'other day on Facebook, Doc reported that it's 9 years since he and Carole sailed off from the UK. Still enjoying the Carribean

[PanBiker]

That also means of course that the site on this platform is also nine years old.

[Stanley]

Fugit inreparabile tempus!

[PanBiker]

Actually I miscalculated, it's 2023 so it's 11 years for the phpBB platform.

[Stanley]

I have spent a week trying to convince myself I don't need a vest but this morning I admitted to myself I felt cold and put a tee shirt on under my shirt. A lot of this is to do with my age..... But I feel a lot more comfortable now!

[Stanley]

News from Alex in Oz that he got the harmonica I sent him in the post this morning..... It's a Hohner Chromonica 12 so he has a good start if he gets serious about playing it...... Nothing like an unexpected present.....

[PanBiker]

Chromatic, I hope he has good music theory, not an easy instrument for a beginner and a lot to learn.

I have a chromatic and various diatonic's. I can knock a tune out of any of those but the chromatic is different kettle of fish that requires a total different breathing technique.

[Tripps]

I know nothing about Chromatic (it also applies to colour as well as music) or diatonic, but I do know that I have been listening to Sonny Terry for about sixty years, and I think he's the best.


Former member Calluna used to call the instrument the "gob iron" which has a certain folksy ring to it.

[Stanley]

Alex never mentioned difficulties this morning when he was telling me how much he liked his new toy. 9 year old lads are like that....

[PanBiker]

Indeed, I was just pointing out that it is the hardest to learn with. A diatonic is much more forgiving and much easier to get reasonable results.

[Tripps]

I just fell for the clickbait maths question in the Mail. said to be 'fiendishly difficult''

maths

Very pleasing to get it right in about two minutes. Still got it. . . .

[Stanley]

Luckily such things have no attraction for me at all but I have a question David.... How the hell can anyone put up with the frenetic clamouring for attention that that site is? I fear it would give me a headache.....

[Tripps]

How the hell can anyone put up with the frenetic clamouring for attention

Horses for courses perhaps. It's said to be the most successful online newspapaer site. They seem to have adapted away from print more successfully than others. For instance yesterday, the Telegraph had the receivers in .

Besides - how else could you keep up with the antics of Katie Price, and Gemma Collins.

[PanBiker]

Squeezing blood from a stone would be the best way to describe my tussle with Talk Talk today!

Simple request really we have our phone via Talk Talk and have the anytime free UK calls boost on our account. This started off quite a few yers ago at £6.00 a month. That was fine when we used the landline phone quite a bit. The cost has now risen to £16.00 per month which is not worth it any longer for our usage.

I went on to the Talk Talk website and logged into our account, went to phone settings and package boosts which lists all the options with tick boxes agains which products you have. It used to simply be a case of ticking to add and unticking any options required or not as the case may be. Unfortunately there is a note on the site that says that this feature is temporarily not working at the moment and gives a phone number to ring if you want to make any changes.

I rang the number and got a pre recorded message to say that there were an excessive number of calls and the wait would be quite long. An alternative method of contact was given. Enter your mobile number and a text will be sent whereby you can sort the changes. OK, did that and sure enough I got my return text.

First thing was welcome and a request to enter all my details to prove I was the account holder.

Name
Full Address
Postcode
Email Address
Mobile Phone Number
Land Line number
Account number.

I entered all that and got a reply from the Fibre Team, they asked waht my problem was. I said I wanted to cancel my free UK Calls boost on the landline.

Sorry we cant do that as you are in the wrong department, you need Accounts and Customer Service. Can you transfer me? No.

Next text was the phone number I had called half an hour earlier that was mad busy!

Not doing that again so I went back on the website and down the Community Support route which after af ew selections I found telephone boost.. Selecting this just gave me information on what was available. No avenue there to make any changes. I did notice though that there was link to a chat facility so I opted for that.

First respondent was a robot fact gatherer. who wanted all the previously texted information again, despite being logged into my account!

It then gave me a selector for the various support sectors so i chose telehone and then boost settings. Next respondent was Charlotte, how can I help?

I would like to cancel my free UK calls boost please.

OK, let me check your account, can you please confirm your postcode and the last four digits of the bank account that you use for your direct debit.

Loosing the will to live by this point but I didn't weaken, I entered the required info.

OK it will take 3 to 4 minutes plese wait.......

Next text was an offer to keep the package but at half price!

No thanks I just want to cancel.

She then asked me why I wanted to cancel and added that calls would now cost 24p per minute if we used the phone and was I sure I still wanted to cancel.

I said the package was no laonger required as it is no longer economical with our usage of the landline.

She finaly gave in and shortly after confirmed that the boost had been cancelled, she also said that we would get a rverse payment of the charge for this month.

She then asked me if there was any way that they could improve the service.

I told her that it would have been a five minute job instead of an hour if their website was functioning properly.

I asked for a trancript so that I have proof of the cancellation and the rebate.

[Big Kev]

I had to check mine off the back of your post Ian. I have the £16 anytime UK calls included with my Fibre65 package. I pay an extra £1 a month for a voicemail service, £29 all in. I just renewed it in May.

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[Tripps]

Well done for sticking to the job. Many would have given up - but that's what they want isn't it?

[Stanley]

See THIS for an amber heat warning until Sunday for southern parts. No problem here in Barlick, in fact that wind was cold again yesterday afternoon.

[PanBiker]

I had to check mine off the back of your post Ian. I have the £16 anytime UK calls included with my Fibre65 package. I pay an extra £1 a month for a voicemail service, £29 all in. I just renewed it in May.
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I'll wait to see if I get the promised rebate. I have just checked and the boost is still showing on my account. Maybe the site is so busted that it can't be changed.

I have just checked that I received the transcript and here is the relevant bit:


You|11:38 AM

Thanks, I think I already have my preferences set up but will check.

cathy|11:39 AM

I see. Thank you so much for that Ian. I have successfully removed the UK calls boost on the account for you Ian. Moving forward you will no longer be charge for this and you will receive a reversal credit from this boost. Is there anything else I can help you with aside from this? I just want to make sure everything is covered.


In addition to the transcript I have a confirmation email for changes to my Full Fibre package.

[Stanley]

I like this time of the morning. I have attended to the site, done all my jobs and got my meals prepared for the day and stowed in the fridge. I can relax for a while before going in the shed......

[Stanley]

See THIS account of the search for the submersible that has been lost while visiting the wreck of the Titanic.
US and Canadian search teams are racing against time to find a tourist submarine that went missing during a dive to the Titanic's wreck on Sunday. Five people were onboard when contact with the small sub was lost about an hour and 45 minutes into its dive. The rescue operation is continuing overnight in the mid-Atlantic but there has been no sign so far of the vessel. Government agencies, both countries' navies and commercial deep-sea firms are all helping the rescue operation. As of Monday afternoon, it was thought the crew members had roughly four days-worth of oxygen left. Among them is the British billionaire businessman and explorer Hamish Harding. Tickets cost $250,000 (£195,000) for an eight-day trip including dives to the wreck at a depth of 3,800m (12,500ft).
I am sorry to hear that the submersible could be in trouble but have to say that you wouldn't get me inside that sardine tin even if you paid me. All right, I have no sense of adventure..... That could well be true but I have a very strong sense of self-preservation!

[Tripps]

I came across this video tonight - it's hard to believe your eyes.

[Stanley]

I agree David. It looks as if it was made in a back yard and did you clock that it is made of plastic?
No, include me out..... I hope they have bobbed up to the surface and they find them.....
PS One thing that puzzles me is that they say radio doesn't work underwater and that is why there are no communications with the submersible. This is obviously untrue, naval submarines manage quite well using I believe extremely low frequency radio.
Later at 06:30. There are reports from the US coastguard that banging noises have been heard near the remains of the Titanic. They stress that this should be taken as a hopeful sign but not as proof that the sub has been found.

[Tripps]

did you clock that it is made of plastic?

They say carbon fibre - but showing it being assembled and loaded, it didn't look as if it could cope with the enormous pressure at the operating depth. Looked too flimsy. Designed by Heath Robinson I'd say. What were the bubbles that seemed to be escaping from it?

That said - they had made many successful trips.

Here's all you need to know about communication to submarines. Submarine Comms

I used to routinely measure the power and check the frequency of ours.

This amused me-
Under accoustic transmission "An underwater telephone sometimes called Gertrude is also used to communicate with submersibles."