It’s Day 8 of the Lockdown and I am spending some time staring out of the window. This is in the guise of thinking but actually it is to deliberately not think. I have always been an avid fan of the early morning stares being an expert at them. But there is a point in the day when the sun hits the garden when it is very pleasant just to stare out of the window. I have made many plans about what I would like to do with all this time in the house and obviously I’ve done none of them. However, its always a joy to play to your strengths and mindless staring is one of mine.
As usual when I contact any service provider I start off with the assumption that as they want us to use their websites more they will of course work properly. I am usually very disappointed in this assumption but it doesn’t stop me. Hope springs eternal in my breast…
I ordered a new mobile phone for Mater for Mother’s Day. An all singing, all dancing modern one! A Huawei 2019. The Chinese can listen into my mother all they want. It will only confuse them and set back international understanding decades. It will also teach them very idiomatic, scouse English. I did it online via EE’s website. I’m already paying for her Nokia Sh*te, a phone of little intrinsic value or use. It is too small for her to use, doesn’t take photos or connect to the internet but apart from that ok. It had also recently broken/refused to work/taken its ball home/user error – take your pick. Mater was involved – it could be any of the above or a mixture.
It arrived the day after Mother’s Day but didn’t come with a new sim card which I thought strange. The lockdown had been announced so when I tried to phone to request a new sim card I was put on hold for 45 minutes and as I was being constantly asked to go to the website to see if the answer was there, I did. This was a mistake as I now acknowledge. I found the appropriate page on the website and ordered the new sim card. I then received an email confirming the order and that the sim card would be sent out in 2 working days. So I waited…
When it hadn’t arrived after a week and constant nagging by Mater I phoned EE.! She was like a bird in captivity that only knows one phrase “Where’s my phone! Where’s my phone!” So I gave in. After 37 minutes I finally spoke to a real person; a very nice lady from Middlesborough. I explained the situation and was told that the sim card hadn’t been sent because they couldn’t marry up the addresses from the account to the ordering address DESPITE THE FACT THAT THEY WERE THE SAME! So to remedy this the boffins in the back room had sent a text to the phone. The same phone that needed a sim card!! The Brains Trust were obviously exhausted after all their good work and had retired for a lie down in a darkened corner with a damp cloth over their foreheads, in order to save their genius for the next problem.
Anyway the nice lady and myself had a little laugh about this as we sorted out a replacement sim card and a little refund for my trouble. So the moral of this story is: don’t use the website! Grit your teeth and phone up. Despite the time on the phone speaking to a real person will always work out better.
P.S. The sim card arrived the next day! I’m now trapped teaching Mater how to text…
So as we complete Week 1 of the Lockdown in the UK it may be time to take a quick look at the state of the nation. It is very important to remember that we are the nation of “Keep Calm and Carry On” writ large on cushions, tea towels and posters bringing back the spirit of the blitz and we’re all in it together sensibilities. The fact that the poster “Keep Calm and Carry On” was created and printed in case of a successful Nazi invasion in 1940 and never saw the light of day is immaterial. It speaks to us as the British Way of Life.
However, the reality is “Don’t you know there’s a war on?” has been replaced by “please keep 2 metres away, no further, further” whilst stood in a queue but feeling happy to be 2 inches from someone whilst your filling the trolley/basket. I won’t even go into toilet rolls, disinfectant, flour, sugar and tinned tomatoes although that would be an interesting selection on Ready Steady Cook!
My next plan is to try to make my 76 year old mother understand that she can’t go out because she could catch something that would kill her. You’d think it would be easy but it is surprising difficult to get it through to her (I suspect because she doesn’t want to understand it). Anyway I managed to divert her from plans which range from “lovely days out” to “picnics in the park”. The only consolation is that the weather has turned colder.
Seafood Gratin Serves 6 (apparently)
In order to keep all spirits up in the house I tried one of Rick Stein’s recipes from his latest series – Seafood Gratin. The ingredients only cost £20. There’s only 2 of us! The fishmonger told me on Saturday that the UK is running out of fish so it was probably a good thing I did it when I did. I didn’t have panko breadcrumbs so used Warburtons instead. Still, it tasted lovely, even if I do say so myself.
That’s all for now so remember – this too will pass! Stay safe and well.
