Two features of discussion perturbed me today.

Yippee!  Some news coming out of America that made me prick up my ears; then the phone rang so I didn't get the end of the feature. Never mind I got the nub of it.

Isn't it wonderful to know that bees, yes, bees, are needed and cherished in California, not for honey production but to produce a little but wholesome nut. The bees are needed for almond harvesting. They enjoy the almond blossom, pollinate it and by so doing, help to produce a large proportion, (perhaps the largest) of the world's nuts.  

I've been thinking about the shopping habits here where I live in this small remote town.

Over many years when choice has been denied and we have been fleeced by many of the local independent traders, many people were prepared to travel large distances, say once a fortnight, or monthly to get what they wanted. The internet opened up new channels of marketing and purchasing power which many eagerly grabbed. Still the local traders did not respond to the obvious; they complained about internet trade but did not attempt to compete. They were too comfortable charging excesses, like pricing up imperfect market stock at high prices and making good profits on selling ends of lines. I was frequently told that if I wanted a particular item I would have to pay pounds more than the selling price to cover cost of transport. Not so, if I purchased by other means.

We have had a succession of food chain stores in the last four years, due to take-over bids. The long standing store, is not one of note, it is depressing to visit and stocks less and less of the shopping I want. It has not needed to court customers. However, now that there is another food store which has settled in, with a more pleasant shopping environment and a wide range of goods, the other store, cynically, has discovered it can compete with discounts never seen heretofore.

A forty miles round trip will get us to various DIY options and other clothing stores. This has got to be a huge improvement on 80 and 110 miles respectively. Unfortunately, transport infrastructure hasn't kept pace with the new trading arrangements.

Some of our small town centre shops have changed their merchandise and marketing approaches. We are now valued customers, they have to attract us. One or two stores that were always pathetic, gave up and blamed the new retailing environment for their fate. They have been replaced with some exclusive and higher standard independent stores that are a credit to our town.

Ambling away from the Piazza and the predominating structure of St Peter's in Rome, I was approached by a young woman holding a big fluffy professional- looking microphone, which was attached with a long cable to an equally professional film camera. A young man was managing the technicalities of it.

You know, the film-makers just might find some other native English speakers and cut me out of the deal. 

So I had my  few minutes of 'notoriety' during which hubby disappeared; he did not even take a picture or two of me to prove to posterity that I had been filmed. 

I have returned home, having been challenged with some of the most demanding travelling I have ever experienced. In the time it took to get to London, for example, over thirteen hours or so, I could have crossed the Atlantic twice. Then the heating broke down in our accommodation during a very cold period.

Returning, there were delays due to, weather, a burst plane tyre and heightened security checks on the plane before anyone could board, because of a large party of passengers with us from a particular ethnic group. Even then, further delays were created by some passengers being stopped (randomly?) by police, to be frisked, hand baggage checked, yet again, before they boarded. It was quite something to see.

The large group missed their connecting transatlantic flight but were all transferred to a later one. Some Japanese passengers were given special transfer facilities on arrival, to get them to their terminal in time.

I got called back to the coach ticket desk where I had left my credit card after buying coach transfers. What a relief, and grateful thanks all round! I must have been really tired to have done that.

We were badly buffeted around in gales on journeys home today and my psychoprophylactic breathing techniques came into use on several occasions. Seeing the sea sideways is not my favourite activity. The steward was quite an acrobat. How he stayed upright while serving cups of tea and coffee to those of iron constitutions, beats me.

Next to me, when turbulence reduced, my husband was reading 'The World's Worst Journeys'. Prophetic, or what!

On the drive home, I thought my brain and eyesight were playing tricks. I saw ahead, on my side of the road, a huge yellow tractor-type hedge trimmer, with equally as huge wheels and fat tyres that appeared to be revolving in reverse direction. I slowed, almost to a halt. Yes - it was, the darn thing was slowly cutting field hedges while reversing towards me!!!!

Anyway, we got home just in time to compete with the battering gale, pounding down horizontal snow and sleet. You know what; once the door was shut, it stayed that way. There was no way I was stirring out of my dry hideaway and I have not. Tomorrow is another day.

We've had a cracking few days here.  Sunday was sharp and windy.  It was even windier and colder at the harbour.

TTFN 

I  have scoured various ordinary dictionaries for 'unclarity', a word used by The Archbishop of Canterbury as part of his apology, for not making himself clear in his recent pontifications on Sharia Law. It is a word so obscure that my search does not yield any answers. I think that sums up for me, the attempt that Rowan Williams made to allay the fears of his critics.

And excuse me, Mr Archbishop, m'lud, but did I hear you suggest that other religious groups needed your intervention on their behalf.  If not, could you expand on this germ of unclarity.

I am fed up listening to the apologists for Rowan Williams, the Archbishop Canterbury, the Primate of the Anglican Union. He said what he said. If he wanted to start a global academic discussion about the various interpretations that can be made about his comments, he did it. He has galvanised the concerns of the greater public, which contains all ethnic groups.

In future, if he has a longer term one as the religious Primate, Rowan Williams and his advisers need to take a good hard look at what is going to be placed in the public domain.

What an amazing response! I have had an afternoon getting many wonderful and varied replies to to a request for an equivalent of the noun duvet in Italian, both by phone and on the internet. The replies came from Scots born Italians, American born Italians and Italians from various regions of Italy.

Duvets can be warming in so many unexpected ways!

Out of curiosity, I went on a blog site hunt tonight. I was led back to my other site on a few occasions. There were plenty of single interest sites but of the many names I looked at, only one site seemed eclectic and sensible. I find that amazing.

"Let's go and see The Kite Runner"  we said.  Our friends agreed.

The scene went on, and on, and on, coming to an angry climax; never quite a sexual one. "Are we in the right place, are we seeing the right film?" I asked in a loud whisper. Hubby disappeared just as the opening credits came up. "No, we're not seeing the right film,"  he said,  when he reappeared, "and there isn't another film on"!

So we all sat through a chick flick film we hadn't arranged to see and probably would not have gone to see.

You couldn't have planned this.    

Friday 8th Feb 2008

I was out for most of today;

Now I don't have to worry about staying on my feet!      

Today has been one of 'those' days.

When it was bright it was bright, but by heavens! Some evil hail downpours came through in-between times.

I have had a must do note to chase up the tax office,  which I activated late last week, (yet again). Three calls later - now today is Wednesday isn't it - I have been told;

Monday; Miss A finishes at 2pm (it was 3.20pm) her hours were from 9.a.m.

Tuesday; Miss A was having a day off.  It is then discovered my file is now held by someone more senior, Mr W, who it is said, will phone Wednesday morning, (today).

Wednesday  - wait for it...

Mr W has a day off, there's been a family matter, he might be in tomorrow or Friday.  Following some sympathetic clucking on my part and pointing out that I needed some care and consideration as well, an offer of assistance was given.

My file has indeed been worked upon - at last - a refund, though small, has been sent but could take 7 - 10 days to get out of the office and my tax coding has been suitably adjusted.

And what else, a letter has been drafted to tell me my original and important papers have been 'mislaid' probably 'mis-filed'. They can't find them.  Surprise, surprise (not!) Mis-filing is supposed to soothe my worried brow; it does not.  Anything being mis-used can be said to be mis-filed.  No answer to that one.

Next on today's agenda. Legal papers were lost between a major court in the land and the lawyer who was meant to receive them. Believe it or not, they were sent by special legal mail delivery services. I reckon it must be the same 'secure' delivery service the tax offices use, they of the CD Disk losses of thousands of personal records. This does not inspire confidence.

Escaping to a beauty therapy appointment, it happens that the therapist cannot find my record cards. At this point in the day, I shut down my senses or I would have been spouting steam.

I was out and about in the bright, freezing, snowy weather this morning and I picked up a few interesting bits and pieces on my way, including a small selection of interesting literature I found in one place I visited.

Now the question is, Where would you expect to find  items of information like these?

Egg, the internet bank, is off-loading credit card customers. The initial reaction to the announcement was one of resignation - after all who really wants all those risky customers who constantly over-borrow on their credit limits, who only pay back the bare minimum, who can't pay back what they owe. Why should Egg take on credit card tarts, the movers and shakers that tout for the best deal for their continuing debt.

In my attempt to reduce the spam (polite term) that clutters up Gmail, it looks like I have been building a portfolio of filters as great as the sum of the smut that gets through Gmail. Google has a lot to answer for, not least for raking in $$$$$$ and ££££££ and €€€€€€ for lots of dubious advertising and allowing the muck to spread.

I realise I am censoring my own cyber gateway, which is my right. Filters include senders, lots of the headers, a variety of words and phrases, yet the same words appear time and time again. My efforts are being sabotaged. I'd be daft if I thought it was in Google's interests to filter too rigorously.

Yahoo is now the subject of a Microsoft takeover bid. The chips are down. It might not be such a bad thing if there was a bit more heavyweight competition in cyberspace, providing the other player did not have the same loose principles when it comes to coining in the cash for absolutely anything that came its way.