Cold Caller Baiting #35 Old School Mobile

Tomorrow we are off on our travels so there will be no more Tales until July.

Meanwhile ...

From Facebook Archives

18 June 2019 at 14:13

Just found a new way of getting rid of satellite cold calls.

Phone rings, I pick it up and say 

“Hello?”

"Hello, Miss Benton Bag?"

“Who is that?”

"I'm Alex, I'm calling you from Aviva ..."

“Alex what?”

"My name is Alex."

“I know that, but you know both my first and second names, I want to know both your first and second names.”

And with that, there he was gone!

Presumably the script hadn't thought to give him a suitably Anglophone surname to work with.

18 June 2019 at 14:24

Second cold call, this time on the mobile from Mark of O2 (I'm sure they rang last week as well).

"Hello, are you looking to upgrade your phone or tariff at all?"

I laughed and explained that my mobile is a little Nokia held together with sellotape and when it finally dies I shall go to a shop and buy another that will cost me all of nineteen quid, but I would quite like to reduce my tariff.

"Are we giving you enough data?"

“Data!  What's data?  Let me explain Mark.  My phone is so old the game is Snake, and if friends with a smartphone send me a photo all I get is a couple of little squares at the bottom of the text.”

"Oh real old school!"

“Yes.  Would it cost less if I went onto pay-as-you-go rather than monthly?”

"To be honest, no, and you'd have the hassle of having to go in and top up."

“Well, yes, when the text with the bill comes in I say 'bugger' and then forget about it for the next 28 days.”

We decided for convenience sake just to leave things as they are.

 

Updates

From Facebook Archives

18 June 2014 at 15:00

New computer up and running.  

Can anybody tell me why the task/menu bar on the Window 7 wordprocessing thingy has become so messy, full of pointless icons and looks really hard to navigate?   

This is an entirely rhetorical question, an opinion not a request for information.

Python  It’s called progress 💿 📁 📂 📉

Currynapper  Just as you get used to something they mess it up by adding more stuff you'll never, ever use.  And some nerd somewhere pipes up 'oh yes but look what this thingey can do...'.  Nooooo thank you!

Bentonbag  I often wonder whether they ever test run these things on normal people who aren't technophiliac geeks who are actually going to use them.

Currynapper  Clearly not.

 

Chores and Shopping

From Facebook archives

15 June 2015 at 15:08

I left Thunderthighs a list of chores before going out this morning (to Woodlawn School to wrap things for the Summer Fair Lucky Dip).

I had little hope but when I came home there he was half way up the stairs with the hoover.   

The litter tray had been changed and the washing brought in!  

 "I'll clean my en-suite, will you do the rest?" 

The rest being the dishes and putting the next load of washing out. 

Very pleasant surprise

15 June 2025 at 09.24

Tesco has sent me some "£3 off £30 spend" vouchers which Thunderthighs has pounced on.  

I've promised to take him to Tesco today as I've a Springfield Community Association Summer Fayre meeting tomorrow morning. 

I've noticed Ferretfingers's foot going over the side of his heel, looked inside his shoes and found the heels completely worn down on the inside.   

Fortunately we always have a spare pair. 

I was going to send off to Cotton Traders but he insisted "Wynsors World of Shoes tomorrow".

The question is: two trips with one boy or one trip with two boys?

Fester helpfully says "Oh, you could go to The Range while you're out."

"Why?  Is there anything we want?  More seeds?"

"No, you're sorted on that front, but you're bound to see something you didn't know you needed."

Which, sadly, is true.

 

Red Water

From Facebook Archives

14 June 2023

Thunderthighs ran the bath then came downstairs with "Come and see this Mum."

"What?"

"The bathwater's red."

Ran the cold tap in the washbasin and that came through pink as well (so not the boiler)

Anyone else? 

Kippa  Any burst water mains nearby.  By nearby I mean a mile or so.

Bentonbag  Not that I know of.  But they may have been cleaning pipes somewhere.  Or perhaps something was dislodged by the amount of water that must have been pulled through to douse Henderson Hall.

Kippa  I think you have the answer.  

Mr Whyte  Burst main on Jesmond Road, but that might be a bit too far!

Bazoukiboy  What about the tank?  If it cast iron it could be rust.  Happened to me in Cobh...

Bentonbag  Tank!?  Not since the loft extension and combi boiler.

Bazoukiboy  Ha! Mayfair Road is in the seventies

Bentonbag  I blame the landlord.

Mrs Bursar  Reminds me of an old Hammer House of Horror episode - blood coming out of all the pipes.........