The 50+ Club

Years ago I used to admire those who had gone to university and gained a degree, so much so that I went as a mature student and got one of my own 10 years after leaving school. Not any more. It used to convey so much and demonstrated the differences between us all. Of course, that was in the days when differences were allowed! And, of course, schools were called schools and not “places of learning”.

The approach was different then, of course, as we all went to school and the cleverer (or harder working) passed exams while the others didn’t. A smaller proportion secured places at university while smaller again went on to take multiple, or higher, degrees. Universally, though, the more education the more you seemed able to extrapolate, to deduce and to add to knowledge by using what you knew to produce new information. That doesn’t seem to happen any more, probably because everyone is too scared to make a mistake.

Take a visit to the vet, they seem to have a checklist of those limited things that can be guaranteed to be (that is, safe to treat) and if your pet’s complaint isn’t on the list they can’t help. Nobody thinks for themselves anymore they just tick boxes. Now, I’m not singling out vets as it happens in many other areas. Take your local garage for example. To maximise profits employees have to be cost-effective (cheap!) and they have to check boxes because services have been reduced to this. Send in something out of the ordinary and they’re universally baffled. End result? Usually, a huge quote to replace something which includes the fault by a wide margin. Like the BMW 4×4 last week (not mine, incidentally), quoted £6000 to replace transmission, fixed by a brake service costing £250.

Another example, my neighbour’s wife called out a guy to look at the computer. A few head shakes, grunts and low whistles later and the offending item was pronounced dead and a new one advised. Our good friends at Computer Medics got involved to transfer the data. It’s generally easier to transfer data from a working machine and they didn’t know it couldn’t be fixed so they installed a replacement power supply for around £30 and got it back on its feet.

Of course, all of these people, whether with or without degrees, have been taught to operate the checklist. If it’s not on the checklist it can’t happen, try this when you get cold-called:

Caller: “If I could show you how to save money on your ‘phone calls would you be interested?”

Me: “No!”

Caller: “But everyone is interested in saving money…”

Me: “Not me, I prefer wasting it thanks”

They hung up soon afterwards.

The point is their checklist couldn’t cope. There was no option for Mr Grumpy. Now, checklists are a great idea but, like many other things, if you place too much reliance on them they become like the proverbial millstone. We need at least some of us to think outside the circle and not rely on checklists. After all, if you’re dying of something and it’s not on anyone’s checklist you’re gonna be pretty pi**ed off about it…

I thought I’d add this section as I have loads of easy recipes that I’ve made up or modified over the years. This one’s really quick and tasty!

You’ll need (per person):

1 chicken breast (or Quorn pieces/fillet for veggie version)
1 red bell pepper (or mix colours)
1 onion
4 medium sized mushrooms
1 packet Discovery fajita mix
Half a cup of long-grain rice
Sunflower oil

Takes about 20 minutes:

Start the rice cooking. I prefer to use a steamer that I got many years ago as you just bung in the rice, add hot water and shove it in the microwave for about 5 minutes. Use whatever method suits including boil-in-the-bag.

Peel and slice the onion, slice the pepper removing seeds. Clean the mushrooms with a damp cloth, remove stalks and slice. Heat some oil in a frying pan or wok and add the onions. When they are starting to soften, after a couple of minutes, add the pepper and fry for another couple of minutes. Finally, add the mushrooms and fry until they have softened. Remove the vegetables and stand to one side, drain on kitchen roll if you’re watching the pounds!

Slice the chicken/Quorn into strips. Add a little more oil and put the chicken/Quorn straight in. Fry for a few minutes until golden. In the case of chicken turn to ensure thoroughly cooked. Add the previously cooked vegetables to the pan, stir and warm through. Sprinkle the fajita mix on, a little at a time, until everything has a light coating. As a guide, half the packet provides enough for two people. Stir thoroughly and turn down the heat.

Rinse the rice with boiling water and add to a serving bowl. Mix in the chicken/Quorn and vegetables. Serve immediately. Alternatively, you can warm this up in the oven later.

As you all know those awfully nice people at Aaland let us use some of their office space and provide the space for this blog on one of their servers.

For some reason, another Company on the same site has decided to use Aaland’s address on their web site claiming it as their own. No-one has really managed to work out why this is unless they are deliberately trying to mislead.

The upshot is mail gets mis-delivered as do parcel deliveries and visitors are understandably confused.

Stayput Tags have a big number 10 by the door of their building and this should have served as some kind of clue but they haven’t managed to work out this simple giveaway. The number by Aaland’s door is 9 (another clue!) but they persist with their subterfuge anyway.

Anyway, for everyone out there looking for Stayput Tags they are at number 10, Aaland is at number 9 and always has been.

Another month is just about to start and I’m looking forward to more exhilarating conversations with telephone companies wanting to introduce me to their exciting new tariffs that will save me a fortune. That and the fact that my local exchange has recently been upgraded.

I’ve got news for all the telephone companies out there, I need information about telephone tariffs like I need a second arse.

My local exchange has been upgraded every month for as long as I can remember; it’s probably running 23rd century technology by now!

What would be useful is a curly lead for my telephone that doesn’t kink after half a dozen calls but nobody seems to have got that nailed yet.

Last year there was a spate of telephone scams around drugs abuse, this year it’s bullying.

This is how it works. You get a cold caller on the telephone who claims to have spoken to you several months, or even a year, ago. They remind you that you agreed to help by taking advertising space in the booklet they are publishing. The booklet has been published and now they want payment.

There never was a prior call and there probably is no booklet, although a few scrappy copies may have been produced to keep everything just about legal.

Last year the Drugs Awareness booklet was destined for all local schools; this year the Anti-bullying Initiative booklet is destined for guess where? Yes, all local schools.

Take a look in your local school, do you see any? Ask the staff, have they had any? No! Any booklets of this kind are generally made available to schools through websites such as http://www.talktofrank.com and are free. Small businesses are generally the target for these scams as you can see on this blog.

So, if you have a couple of hundred quid to spare and you don’t mind donating it to a good cause give us a call. At least you’ll know where it went

A Merry Xmas & Happy New Year to all.

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