Daydream thread... without the rose-tinted specs

Better_Days

I know what you mean Money - you would think you were asking for the blood of their first born with some delivery drivers. I have an 'invisible' disability which doesn't help but I nearly always have to ask delivery drivers to lift parcels over the threshold into the hall. They consider to have 'delivered' if the box is on the step.

To be fair no-one has yet refused to move the box for me. Recently one delivery driver even moved a box for me that had been dumped on the step in the driving rain, the previous driver didn't even bother to ring the bell.

We have our Tesco groceries delivered and once a few years ago the delivery driver announced she was pregnant and couldn't lift anything and would I unload the van for her. Luckily Mr BD was home not sure what we would have done otherwise

lostinrates

CTC, was asking about levels aand what's was to be done etc. .http://www.farming.co.uk/news/article/9479

alfie_1

evening all

re porters... they are not allowed to LIFT or MANUALLY MOVE PHYSICALLY a person. they can push a wheelchair ,trolley etc... this is not thier desicion. the powers that be have deigned this. partly because of monetary claims made [mostly by quick dosh merchants] by people who had thier hair displaced in motion....
also claims by SOME personel who are "injured in the line of duty"....

im afraid it makes my blood boil when i hear people use the phrase "oooo you can get compo for that" in hospitals when they IMO need to reflect that we have a hospital system at all... i believe that doctors, nurses and other health workers are not infallable but do a dam good job that i bet a high percentage of the moaners would NOT do.....

i think as a nation we are very complacent as to what we DO HAVE and keep moaning about what we DONT HAVE...

moneyistooshorttomention

Better_Days wrote: »

I know what you mean Money - you would think you were asking for the blood of their first born with some delivery drivers. I have an 'invisible' disability which doesn't help but I nearly always have to ask delivery drivers to lift parcels over the threshold into the hall. They consider to have 'delivered' if the box is on the step.

I "think" the way the sending firm operates is that the customer isn't deemed to have the package unless they HAVE the package iyswim. In other words, if someone leaves it on the doorstep for whatever reason, then on the delivery firms heads be it if some little toerag half-inches it. I believe that's why we often have to sign for parcels these days (ie as proof that we have indeed received them).

If there is any future problem with a deliverer, then you just refuse to sign for the parcel until you HAVE actually received it (ie its safely inside your front door). If they refuse to bring it in, then you simply refuse to sign for it and they have to take it away again and you contact the firm to complain you haven't had it. If no signature is required and they leave it on the street and its stolen, then its still the property of the firm that sent it and has been stolen from THEM, not you.

I've never yet had to watch a delivery firm drive off with my parcel still in their van yet (though I would if need be and demand a refund of my payment and go and buy it somewhere else). They don't want to get in trouble with the sending firm.

alfie_1

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

I "think" the way the sending firm operates is that the customer isn't deemed to have the package unless they HAVE the package iyswim. In other words, if someone leaves it on the doorstep for whatever reason, then on the delivery firms heads be it if some little toerag half-inches it. I believe that's why we often have to sign for parcels these days (ie as proof that we have indeed received them).

If there is any future problem with a deliverer, then you just refuse to sign for the parcel until you HAVE actually received it (ie its safely inside your front door). If they refuse to bring it in, then you simply refuse to sign for it and they have to take it away again and you contact the firm to complain you haven't had it. If no signature is required and they leave it on the street and its stolen, then its still the property of the firm that sent it and has been stolen from THEM, not you.

i think again it could be due to the fact that once a delivery driver crosses your threshhold YOU are responsible.. ie if he trips on your doormat and injures himself YOU are responsible.
on the other foot if he knocked a precious vase off enroute to where you want the parcel put... who's responsible ?? i bet the house owner would be jumping up and down !
now adays everyone is paranoid re someone claiming against them.
i must admit ive never had a problem re deliveries. ive not had an unsigned one just left and ive had no problem when asked politely if it could be placed inside the door . there will always be some miserable gits who wont be helpfull at all tho.

where silly claims are made this over shadows serious claims.

ive fallen/tripped over many a time and it doesnt occur to me to BLAME someone.. usually im just not focused !!

RAS

Davesnave wrote: »

EDIT: RAS, I haven't got a number, just the name of the street....unless of course you own the lot!:rotfl:

Dave

Message re Golden Sweet and Bijou.

Everyone

Hope you are all OK down there. May not be visiting family by train for a while and hope the young one gets back tonight (trees more than water I think).

They really really need to relocate the main line to the West Country further north and sort out Cowley Junction; we have a chunk of the country that gets cut off regularly and it makes it pretty much impossible to develop business secure the the knowledge that transport links will function tomorrow even if they are shot today.

I am not au fait with the Levels but it seems that some of the villages with difficulties were built on slight rises that have kept them above water for a long time? And now they are inundated? So what has changed (apart from the amount of rain?)

lostinrates

RAS, its an amazing amount of rain.


Amazing. We fill the cake once and a bit usually. We've done twice this year and are emptying again. It just keeps coming. Our garden had standing water for the first time this year, we're on a slight rise here in the big valley... Our ditch by the house is the highest point of a ditch for a clue of miles, it overflowed and came back towards the front door. No flood but, people could have made a fuss.

The holes for electric in to the ground, pumps cannot keep up with the surface water inundation. The ground water level is high. Right high to the top few inches.


We get a few dry days and you think things are drying out, but they aren't really, one drizzly day is enough to set it back, because that ground water has no where to go, cause everything is full to the brim.


What else is changing?

I think in recent years more people have out in land drains. It used to be (off the levels) more people put up with the land they had or made minimal improvements. But now land has real value it makes more sense to do things like stick drainage in. Certainly all the land we didn't buy with the farm has been properly attended to. Improved land, certainly, it got to be putting more pressure on the ditches and water courses eventually.



More building......where we build just cannot take water, it makes sense, What are we going to do, people need homes, and infrastructure. From seeing the surface water produced here I now realise how much water a small amount of surface area can create and what a valuable sponge open ground really is.

lostinrates

The othher thing that s been weird this year has been wind directions.

Better_Days

alfie_1 wrote: »

im afraid it makes my blood boil when i hear people use the phrase "oooo you can get compo for that" in hospitals when they IMO need to reflect that we have a hospital system at all... i believe that doctors, nurses and other health workers are not infallable but do a dam good job that i bet a high percentage of the moaners would NOT do.....

i think as a nation we are very complacent as to what we DO HAVE and keep moaning about what we DONT HAVE...

I agree alfie.

However, having been involved with trying to improve NHS Services for people with ME since 2007 I can honestly say there are elements of the NHS which are simply involved in backside covering - the Provider that currently delivers the ME service believes that they what they are doing is fine and have no interest whatsoever in the views of patients. Formal complaints are ignored and requests for information regarding service provision are likewise ignored. The recommendations of the Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee have been ignored.

They appear to believe that they could deliver a wonderful service if it wasn't for those pesky patients raising concerns. Our group has had some truly shocking feedback from some very vulnerable patients and the Provider is simply not interested in changing. The service is provided by therapists and GP's with a special interest in ME and CFS. There is no training for new clinical staff and no clinical oversight. The manager of the service is a podiatrist and knows nothing about ME and CFS. The result is that the GP's with a special interest go their own way and some recommend costly (£900) and frankly dodgy 'treatments' for which there is no clinical evidence and are not recommended by the NHS. It really is disgraceful.

Rant over.

On the other hand, the treatment I received at the Breast Clinic last year was exemplary - and I have no doubt I received high quality care.

RAS

lostinrates wrote: »

What else is changing?

I think in recent years more people have out in land drains. It used to be (off the levels) more people put up with the land they had or made minimal improvements. But now land has real value it makes more sense to do things like stick drainage in. Certainly all the land we didn't buy with the farm has been properly attended to. Improved land, certainly, it got to be putting more pressure on the ditches and water courses eventually.

More building......where we build just cannot take water, it makes sense, What are we going to do, people need homes, and infrastructure. From seeing the surface water produced here I now realise how much water a small amount of surface area can create and what a valuable sponge open ground really is.

Last weekend was lovely here and I was out on the plot even though it was too wet to dig. But the previous weekend I had standing water in any dips in the ground. Never had that before.

And yes I think

1. Draining high ground is a problem; we need that natural sponge.

2. Removing trees, particularly on sloping ground, is a problem because they stabilise earth and act as a sponge. They also remove some of the energy from water flowing downhill.

3. Conversely, failing to maintain/coppice/rotate woodland is a problem because over mature trees on wet ground fall in high winds.

4. Clearing streambeds and straightening river beds is a problem, because water moves quicker and contains more energy.

5. Buildings and hard surfaces are a problem because the run off is often contaminated and it reduces the capacity of the natural sponge. Personally I would set water rates at least partly on the area of ground covered by hard surfaces and reduce them for building with green roofs.

I could go on but I need to go.