Choosing our next holiday destination - easy

I thought it was time to join the 21^st century and write a bucket list. No “climb a mountain” or “bungee jump” for me – just a list of countries to visit.

They are Latvia, Croatia, Montenegro and Israel. An odd selection, I hear you ask, but there is a sound reason for my choice.

These countries all gave votes to our very own SuRie at last month’s Eurovision Song Contest. France and Italy also gave the UK a few points but we have been there, seen it, done it. I’m off to the travel agents now.

I received an email from my water supply company, Anglian Water, on May 24. Yeah, I know, I should get out more.

It informed me that my message about my water bill, account number 00000000 (which was correct), on May 9 “was deleted without being read on 24 May 2018 11:41:08.” Now you know I am easily confused but I didn’t send them an email on May 9.

Then I looked a little closer and saw the following line: “Sent: 09 May 2017 16:56:20 (UTC) Dublin, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London.” Yep, that’s right. Last year.

Thanks, Anglian Water, for your swift response. Here’s hoping you don’t take as long to repair your leaking pipes.

Among the deluge of GDPR emails this week was one from your and my favourite airline, Ryanair. Included in the body of the email was a link to Ryanair’s new Privacy Policy.

“If you'd like to find out more, take a look at our Privacy Policy” said Ryanair Customer Service. So, I checked the link (which is always a sensible thing to do, boys and girls) and merrily clicked away.

I was met by a virtually blank window saying …. I was forbidden from seeing the Privacy Policy as I did not have permission to access it (see screen shot right).

Another example of the “you couldn’t make it up” customer service from Ryanair.

What is happening to our local social care?

I know I have mentioned this before but once a week I venture into our brave new world to meet up with my friend Sidney.

Sidney, not his real name, suffers from a mental health issue and I have been “linked” with him for more than three years through a befriending charity.

A while back I mentioned the fact that he was worried as his community mental health worker (CMHW) was not visiting him as often as he used to.

Now he has been assigned a new CMHW, who I shall call Simon. Well, I say now but it was actually in the autumn of last year.

Both Sidney and I were hopeful that Simon would be a little more reliable with regular visits.

Wrong. He’s been to see Sidney once in nearly six months.

What is going on in our local social services? Answers on a postcard, please.

Did you miss it? Summer? It was on Monday.

It is satisfying to know that someone read my last IDGOM offering, “Where food shopping is an Olympic sport”. You know who you are (hopefully) so thank you – the cheque’s in the post.

Her, for it was a she, take on my ramblings was: "Line the trolley with a giant blue IKEA bag, approach and hurl it all in at the checkout...at least saves the final, post-checkout repack!”

You have been told.

PS – I liked my “Olympic sport” post so much that I used it twice.

It first surfaced in December 2017 and then again last month. I must stop repeating myself. I must stop repeating myself.

Where food shopping is an Olympic sport

I love the value offered by the German discount supermarkets. Shopping in Aldi or Lidl can save you a packet compared with Tesco, Sainsbury's, ASDA and, in particular, Waitrose.

But boy, oh boy do you need the patience of Job when it comes to checkout in these Germanic outlets.

It’s like an Olympic sport, with both supermarkets wanting customers to handle their purchases four times –putting the shopping in the trolley, then emptying the trolley onto the conveyor belt, putting it all back at break-neck speed into the trolley before retiring to the front of store to pack purchases into your bags.

I have lost count of the number of times I have been told not to pack my bags at the checkout.

And of the number of times I have ignored them and carried on.

My reader may be wondering why, if I don’t like the system, I continue to use Aldi and Lidl.

Because they are the Ryanair of food shopping – you have to suffer poor customer service if you want value for money and low prices.