Rain Storm Breaks Heatwave

Sunday. 8.10 a.m. Last night it was virtually impossible to sleep, due to the high temperature. Even with two electric fans on and windows open, the temperature is currently 27ºC. It's likely to get much warmer.

Alfie and I have been out twice already, the first at around 4.45, and we've just got back from the second circuit of Oldbrook Green. 

A great deal of litter. It really is awful, when there are sufficient bins to dispose of rubbish.

People on the Green with a couple of terriers, I think Jack Russel's, playing games. The sort of thing they do at Crufts. A man walking a bulldog-type dog. One of those flat-faced dogs, with chunky bodies. I think they look like the dog in the 'Tom and Jerry' cartoons, who chases the cats and always gets beaten by Jerry somehow. But these bulldogs look totally gormless, really stupid and thick. Whether they are or not, they certainly have that sort of demeanour. Alfie, on the other hand, always has a spring in this step, is alert and gives you eye contact. Probably just the sort of terrier behaviour which makes him so much fun to have around.

1.00 p.m. There were three baptisms at Shenley Christian Fellowship this morning. Each gave a brilliant testimony. The place was heaving with extra people, probably family and friends of those baptized. It was probably the best day, weather-wise, to be baptized. It was hot, the temperature in excess of 30ºc. My digital thermometer currently reads 29ºC. 

Monday. 3.45 p.m. I had an email from A.A. Insurance, informing me that my car insurance was due for renewal. I had forgotten it was due and couldn't believe it was a year since it was set up. I rang and was shocked to discover that my premiums would increase by about £20 a month (I pay in instalments.) I didn't immediately take that quote, and the man on the phone said he would send a print version of the quote for me to look at and consider. Then, once I had finished the phone call, I went on Compare The Market, which I used last year to get the A.A. quote and inputted all my details (some of which were saved from the last time, which is one advantage of using online comparison sites.) But I found that the quotes which came up were only a few pounds more, or, in some cases, less than the A.A. quote, so it's a sort of choice between the few that I got and the A.A. quote, which I think I will go with. It includes breakdown cover, which makes it a better deal.

From car insurance, I went on to broadband. With Sky. It is around £30 a month, which includes a boost, allowing for such services as streaming. So, I have accepted the offer. That's done for another year (I think the Sky offer is for 18 months.)

I have only just got in from Monday Club. This new means of fellowship seems to be going well. As we were sitting and talking, the sky went dark, and it began to rain. As I sit in my armchair in the flat, a ferocious thunderstorm is going on outside. It has certainly relieved the heat, thankfully.

Tuesday. 7.30 a.m. I didn't wake up a good deal later than usual and eventually took Alfie out. 

It appears that today will be another hot and sunny day and temperatures are likely to rise to about 27ºC. My digital thermometer currently reads 26ºC, and that's with the electric fans on and the windows open. As a result, I'm not going to Camphill. It's been advised that I don't go out in direct sunshine, having had two heart attacks. It could be dangerous.

I got an email from another insurance comparison website, called Money Supermarket. Which gave me more car insurance quotes. Having looked at the various quotes, I found one which was considerably cheaper than those I had on Compare The Market, with monthly payments at £35 per month. I paid a £71 deposit, and it's all set up. So, the new monthly payments are barely £5 more than last year's A.A. car insurance payments. So, that is another box ticked.

'They Think It's All Over'?

Thursday. 6.50 a.m. I wasn't aware of the euphoria of England getting through to the final of the Euro 2021 football championship last night. I have no interest in football, as you will realize, but even so, it has to be quite an historic achievement, comparable to the 1966 World Cup win (although England hasn't won- yet.) So, the infamous quote by Kenneth Wolstenholme, 'They think it's all over . . . ' seems appropriate, although not . . . quite. Watch this space. I heard no crowds cheering, as I did the other evening, coming from the pub on the corner of Strudwick Drive and Oldbrook Boulevard, 'The Cricketers.' But, it isn't over until the final on Sunday evening . . .

I had to laugh the other day. I was walking back towards the flat with Alfie along Strudwick Drive when a youth shot past on one of those electric scooters, but he was looking at his mobile as he did so. He went to cross the road and as he did so he stopped on the island in the centre of the road and then dropped his mobile. I just thought it was just as well it didn't fall in the path of the next car or lorry which passes by as it would have been flattened. 

I sent the iPhone 7 back to Sky, having removed the apps. But I then got an email saying they couldn't credit my account until iCloud was disconnected. I really had no idea how to do this, but went on the Sky website and managed to click on what I thought was where I was supposed to, but it turned out not to be correct. Having rung Sky, after a lot of searching on the website (why bury this number? It should be in a far more prominent position.), and was told I would need to ring Apple. The same thing happened with this as I had problems finding the phone number, but eventually, I found it and got through.

I spoke to an Apple engineer how managed to talk me through the process of deactivating iCloud from the iPhone 7. Quite amazed that he could 'see' my iPad screen and direct me using the cursor, which made it considerably easier. So, problem solved and I trust that is the end of the matter. Why on earth they can't give you instructions regarding this type of thing that would make life so much easier. You always used to get an instruction manual with most things, but not with mobile phones and computers. I think they expect you to find anything from manuals to resolving issues via the internet.

Friday.7.15 a.m. It's really humid at the moment. I just hope it rains and clears the air. Not the best for me, but never mind.

My car insurance runs out at the beginning of August. I wanted to see if I could get a lower quote, so I went on several comparison websites, Compare The Market, Go Compare, and one other. I've been with Swinton for years. I pay in monthly installments and it was around £52 a month. I didn't get any extras for that, no breakdown cover or the use of a courtesy car. I did a search, putting in all my details, years of no-claims, etc and I have got what I think is a far better deal, at around £32 per month, with breakdown cover and courtesy car. I have paid a deposit and the next payment will be in August. Just seems crazy to pay more for less. Just a question of having a look for a better deal. As I'm not driving much more than a few thousand miles a year, which was taken into consideration when coming up with a quote. But it seems I get more for less, which doesn't make sense, but it's true. 

I have something called Grammarly installed on my MacBook. It isn't the full version, and it's useful to check not just my grammar but also my spelling. But I do object to it insisting I spell words the American way, for example, 'centre' for 'center.' When you've written a passage, it underlines the offending word and a window pops up and you get an alternate spelling. It's doing it now, as I save this section and it's insisting I spell centre as center. I know you don't have to agree with the alternative spelling, but it's still useful. A grammatical error it attempts to change is 'an historic' which is to change to 'a historic.' Which is correct? I wonder what my English teacher would say when I was at school.

Stupid Television Commercials

Having spent the other day waiting in the Nuclear Cardiology Imaging Department at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford and having to waste several hours between the various procedures, I had to endure daytime television with some really dire television commercials.  Why do the the people who create this stuff treat their viewers and prospective customers,  with such contempt? Some of these commercials are so crass, it makes me really annoyed? What is that Lloyd's bank commercial with all those people following each other like zombies down to a beach with a herd of black horses roaming about? What are all those horses doing in the first place, just galloping along a beach? They look too fit and healthy to be wild, they are all beautifully groomed, with perfectly brushed coats (presumably) so they couldn't be wild. Why the obsession for that crowd of people wanting to follow without any sort of sense, down to a beach? It just makes absolutely no sense.  Are we to see the flock of people, like the horses on the beach, little more than a herd themselves? Is that what we can infer from this commercial? Can the advertising company who came up with this drivel please explain what it's supposed to be? Does it just tell you that customers of Lloyd's are like a load of sheep, who follow something without asking questions? So, if it's a bank, can you trust them with your money, if you are just a person who follows without asking questions, such as what they do with your money, how they invest it, what sort of interest rate you might get for your cash they have in their care? Are they a safe haven for your money? Are they likely to go bust and then expect to be bailed out by the British tax-payer like they did when the crash came, along with the credit crush, whenever it was, back in 2008? I have to ask theses questions, because that's what that ridiculous television commercial suggests to me.

The BBC had a 'sort of' advertisement. I think they'd call it a trailer 'of sorts.' It couldn't be a commercial on a BBC station as they're not supposed to have advertising. It's for Radio 2, the one with the idiotic woman dancing all over the place, on a table, and she ends up on top of a shelf unit. Do they not think it's a bit reckless and dangerous? How about our old friends Health and Safety? Or 'please don't try this at home?' How about the shelf unit collapsing under her, bringing it down on top of her and possibly killing anyone below, particularly children? Crazy, and incredibly annoying. Why do they have to waste licence payer's money on such pointless, mindless stuff? Does Radio 2 need advertising, and particularly in this assanine way?

How about the awful Go Compare commercial where that idiotic opera singer with the twirly moustache keeps popping up a the most inconvenient moments? Who on earth thought it was a good idea to get you to buy your insurance through this company? Well, certainly not me. That crazy singer would make you want to emigrate. Just really annoying.

Why do some commercials which turn up on television on a regular basis have an ability to make you angry and want to throw things at the television set? Those in particular are the one's which insist on shouting at you, such as the Cillit Bang commercial with a stupid man called Barry. I'm not sure if he's actually the inventor of this product (but why have such a stupid name? Why and how, what is the reason for having such a crazy name for it? Why ON EARTH does he need to shout at you? It is actually enough to put you off buying the product, however effective is at doing your cleaning jobs around the house.

Then there's the Safe Style double glazing commercial where a horrible man shouts at you ' It's buy one, get one free, I said, it's buy one get one free.' He pushes over what look like window frames and is quite aggressive. Again, this sort of in-your-face shouting to sell something is more likely to put you off, to be honest. Just horrible. I do note that their more recent commercials are a good deal less aggressive and not so 'in your face.'

I reckon there's far more to these commercials that meets the eye. Why would you deliberately make the commercial for your company so annoying, such as the Go Compare one? It must be the fact that that idiotic opera singer who pops up with monotonous regularity and annoys people does at least stick in your mind. The Compare The Market advert with Alexander the Meerkat (clever that his name sort of rhymes with 'market.') certainly sticks in your mind. Your are meant to get free cinema tickets if you sign up with them and were, at one point, meant to get s free meerkat toy (although we didn't when we signed up to receive Sky television, broadband and telephone, which was somewhat disappointing. Also, playing on the idea that children are intrigued by the fluffy, silly animated characters (the meerkats) which are playing on people's emotions so that you sign up to get a fluffy stuffed toy. Really annoying and not very ethical, but what do companies like this care about ethics?

Crazy Advertising

You're watching television, probably your favourite drama series. It's on a channel which has advertising. The action gets exciting and then suddenly- bang!- there's a commercial break. The whole storyline is interrupted by stupid advertising for sofas, car insurance or shampoo. So why do these advertisements have to be so facile? I'm not saying that every advert on television is poor, because there are one or two which are actually very clever and creative. But around 95% are just downright insulting and embarrassing. I realise that companies like ITV rely on advertising for their funding, but why do so many adverts have to be so awful? There are a few that have become classics, such as the Guinness one which has horses representing waves in the sea and perhaps the one for Hovis shot on a hill and spoofed by The Two Ronnies and made by Ridley Scott the director. But those are few and far between.  It can be said that making a television commercial is a very good way for a director to learn his craft. You have to be able to tell a story in a very short space of time, probably no more than 30 seconds. And make sure the viewer knows what brand your advert is for. Otherwise it's not going to be much use in selling that product.

Why do companies like Compare The Market and Confused.com have to use stupid characters to draw you in? The Alexander The Meerkat maybe a funny cuddly character and the animation may be clever and witty but it really has very little to do with car insurance or any other insurance. The annoying operatic singer who heads up the Confused.com advertising is little more than an annoyance and, frankly, would put me off using their products. Do they really think people will flock to them if they use this sort of tactic? If you buy Compere The Market and take whatever product it is they sell you're supposed to get a free meerkat toy or free cinema tickets. Do you necessarily get a good deal on these comparison websites? I can't work out how these companies make their money, but it must be something to do with getting some commission from the actual insurance companies if you buy insurance from them. They don't actually provide the insurance themselves. I think the fact that there's a funny furry character and that you can get a toy if you sign up is just to appeal to children who are supposed to have quite a lot of influence on what product people buy. Look along the breakfast cereal aisle in any supermarket and it seems that most breakfast cereals are aimed at children. Full of sugar, many of them, but if you look at the packaging they have free gifts quite obviously aimed at children. The same with companies such as McDonald's who seem to aim a lot of their fast food at children with lots of free gifts if you buy such-and-such a meal. No wonder there's a real problem with child obesity.

Sofa adverts are another bugbear we have in this household. How is it these companies are always having sales? Do they ever sell their sofas at full price and why are they always advertising just before Christmas or Easter and then say 'order now in time for Christmas?' Does it mean that their customers buy a new sofa (what happens to the old one? Is there a huge pile of ancient sofas in a warehouse somewhere? Redundant, unwanted, unloved? All because their former owners don't want them any more and need a new one 'just in time for Christmas?') Are their owners so fickle and pathetic that they have to show off with a new sofa at Christmas? And why, from seeing these adverts, are the sofas they show, so awful and ugly? Why do they always have a stupid woman advertising who has a high-pitched voice that drives you nuts and probably attracts all the dogs in the neighbourhood? Is she a former R.A.D.A. student-actress who can't find a better acting job? Although I imagine doing a television ad like that pays quite well, but it wouldn't look good on her C.V. when she applies for work at the National Theatre or R.S.C.