Dodgy goings on at The Drum Inn, Cockington

Sunday June 19th 2016, Father's Day.

My daughter has brought me here for Lunch as we have had nice lunches here in the past. Today however was not to be so successful. There was a special fathers day menu offering two courses for a fixed price of £15.50, which we decided to have. We all ordered different main courses but mine, Roast Beef, when it came had a number of shortcomings. The menu promised endless gravy, but this did not materialise. The Beef was extremely fatty, and I cannot eat fat at all. I managed to separate a small amount of beef from the fat but that was all. A few vegetables were included, I could see about a dozen peas, hiding under the cabbage (which I don't like, a couple of roast potatoes and parsnips. I could neither cut through or bite through the parsnip. There was a Yorkshire Pudding but it was dry (no gravy!) and slightly burnt. All in all, a very poor dinner.

Glynis and Emily had different dinners that were acceptable. On complaining to the manager he offered to not charge for my dinner. We decided to order puddings as I was still hungry, and the puddings came and were acceptable.

When we had finished I asked for a bill and we calculated what we should be paying as £44.50 including drinks or £50.50 if they charged for my pudding, whch I thought I should get for nothing as compensation for the poor dinner.

However, when bill one arrived it was for £54.58. So we asked for the itemised version and discovered that they had not charged the fixed price for 2 courses but had charged seperately for all the items we had except my dinner which was free. They had also included the charge for my pudding.

On pointing out this error we waited for a second bill, and this time it came to £47.85. Again I said this was incorrect and asked for the itemised version.

This time, when it came I noted we had now been correctly charged for the two meals, but two extra drinks had now mysteriously been added? I pointed this out and the manager agreed to remove the two drinks we did not have so I paid the £44.85 I was expected to pay.

I still wonder if they added the two drinks in the hope of recouping some of the lost revenue from the free meal they had given me, but then I'm getting suspicious in my old age.

Morrisons - Deliberate deception, incompetence or what?

Once again I find I have a problem with Morrisons pricing of products. Beer is normally found in the Beer section of the store, so when I find a rack of beer by the freezers with two labels on it stating that it is a pound a bottle I decide to buy a few as it looks like a genuine good price offer. However, once I get it home and check the till receipt I discover that they have charged £1.65 for 4 of the six bottles purchased.

As this is not the first time I have had problems with Morrisons product I decided to go back to the store to make sure I hadn't misread the prices. I took a picture of the rack of beer and the only price on it is £1 which is displayed in two places. I assume (wrongly it seems ) that all the beer on this rack is £1.

I asked Customer Services to call the manager and asked him to explain. He said someone had forgotten to put the correct prices on and agreed I could have the bottles I had purchased for £1 each instead of the £1.65 they had charged me. I did point out I had driven back from Marldon to get this sorted out but he offered no compensation for this.

I wonder how many other shoppers have done this but have possibly not noticed they have been charged £1.65 a bottle for anything off certain shelves of this rack? I may go back tomorrow to see if the beer has been priced correctly, if it hasn't I will take another photo and send it to the local trading standards office. I know these supermarkets are always looking to make more money, but not pricing goods clearly is not really a fair way to make their profits.

I would advise that when you shop at Morrisons you check your till receipts carefully to make sure you have not been overcharged for items.

Update 21/6/2016. Morrisons have put the missing labels on the shelf today, if you look closely enough you will see them on these pictures. I've highlighted the new labels to make them easier to spot!

see my previous blog on the subject in 2013.

Specsavers (again)

I posted a blog about Specsavers Opticians a few years back (January 2012) but it seems they haven't changed their rather confusing pricing structure. I went in for my biennial eye test today and decided to see how much the new glasses would cost. There are still a bewildering range of options. I only have 'O' Level and HNC Maths so I found it hard to comprehend.

I need a pair of varifocals for driving, so I can clearly see the road and the speedometer at same time. Also for watching the TV or at the Theatre. Normal reading glasses are essential for close up or computer use.

I could have a pair of Varifocals from the 'buy one get one free' offer on the £69 pound range of frames for £267 (That's £69 for the frame plus the cost of the 'Elite' lenses with scratch resist coat and 'reactorlite' feature). For this price I get one pair of varifocals and one pair of reading glasses for my £267. 'Elite' lenses are apparently better (and more expensive) than the 'Premium' ones I have now which I don't find particularly good.

Or I can have just the varifocals as above from the £69 pound range and not have the second free pair and this only costs £200. So by not having the free pair I save £67. Which leads me to assume that the 'free' pair costs £67!

I asked for an explanation and was advised that there was a 25% off offer on any pair in the £69 or more ranges. The small print on the back of the offer says this only applies if you buy one pair, and does not apply if you buy two on the 'buy one get one free' offer! Soo to save money I could have the one £69 pair of varifocals with 25% off and a full price pair of reading glasses from the £25 range for £225.

Or I could have the elite varifocal with ultra clear vision but no reactorlight and a pair of readers for £218 (that's the 2 for 1 offer on the £69 range again) or just the one pair varifocals with no reactorlight from the £69 range for £163.50.(with the 25% off). AND then buy a pair of £25 reading glasses.

The bus comes at 11:20 and if I miss it I have to wait until 12:35 for the next one. It's now 11:05 and my brain hurts. I have to walk to the bus station so I decided to leave without ordering anything until I have more time to work out which option I really need. I may take my prescription elsewhere to see if they have anything better to offer. Does anyone else have this problem buying Spectacles or is it just me?

Winning

Years ago I used to have the occasional bet, and if I was lucky I won. If I backed a horse with a one pound stake and it won at 'evens'then I got two pounds, I've my original pound back plus the pound I'd won. The national lottery defines winning slightly differently. If I play a game that costs two pounds to enter and I win two pounds they tell me that I have won two pounds, but as far as I am concerned I have just got my original two pound stake back and haven't actually won anything. What do you think?

Google and Blogger

I don't know why but since Google took over the blogger site it has performed worse than before and frequently fails to work at all. I am not impressed.

This is the transcript of a letter received by my Great Grandmother in 1913 from her husband Thomas who had gone to Edinburgh from Seaham Harbour where they lived. Trains today do it in 2 Hours and 45 Minutes, his journey took 5 hours and 50 minutes.

Memoirs of Scottish tour - August 13th 1913- (transcript of letter to TH James.)

Left Seaham 5:10, Sunderland 6:20 Beautiful sunshine

Left Newcastle 7:20, station flooded with water must have been raining heavy

8:00 at Morpeth, raining like the devil, heavy fog ??

9:00 Flying like the wind since 8:00, this beautiful woodland scenery, have been about half an hour going through this glorious wood, must be many miles long. Still raining, country turning flat.

9:40 crossed into Bonnie Scotland at Tweedmouth. Splendid sight the scenery from there to Edinburgh simply magnificent. Thoroughly enjoyed ride and have just climbed about 2000 steps out of the station, arrived 11:00. Am sitting now in East Gardens Princes Street which is lovely with designed flower beds, my eyes are so strained with the constant change I cannot see what I am writing. No rain in Scotland but very dull will take it easy today just rest and find lodgings to rest eyes.

This place is beyond exciting, went to Leith and have been sitting the last two hours upon the water. Forth bridge.

My eyes are a little better than before but no good for city life, the glasses put me in the dark so that I cannot see distant things. Except Princes street the other streets are rotten for me all stone paved. Will be back about 5 and will then look for lodge.

Have not yet come across Post Office, expect to find one tonight. I am like a fool in a pig stye, if I speak to anyone they don’t seem to understand me and if they say anything I don’t understand them. But I am enjoying myself, nice day up aloft but ground rotten for me. I am going to engage someone and ride round to see the main sights tomorrow and then quit for Glasgow tomorrow, I cannot see a blooming ?? so stick in and do right until next chapter.

Thursday morning, nice morning, have just got up after a good night sleep only awoke twice from 9:30 to 6:30 Am feeling nice and fit and will take it easy today. Have good lodgings and eyes are feeling much better am also feeling more at home., will stay here until Saturday.

Today I’ve crushed in a years joy, it has been one glorious dream. I have been no less than seven hours in a brake drawn by four horses through the most beautiful places you would imagine. Those who say Princes Street is ALL in Edinburgh have never seen it. I will tell you about it when I come back.

Independent of Princes Street’s beauty, its traffic is the most marvellous thing I’ve ever seen, 20 times more than you ever see on High Street. If you had been with me today you would have been killed with joy. They tell me this traffic has no chance whatever with Glasgow.

I have a notion of going to Glasgow tomorrow then I could get on that wonderful Clyde on Saturday and make sure of seeing Glasgow on a Saturday night.

I’m simply drunk with joy over my last two days but strange to say I’ve never enjoyed a meal in Edinburgh, they cannot cook her for me and I cannot find a pork chop.

Press this piece of bonnie heather from the bonnie hills of Scotland I’ll tell you a tale about it. I hope baby is keeping well

Tom

(The piece of Heather is still in the envelope with the letter)

50 years ago.

50 years ago Winston Churchill died and this was followed by a state funeral.

We were trying to think what we were doing at the time. Glynis recalls working in Willenhall, which involved catching a bus to Wolverhampton town centre from Warstones Estate, then a trolley bus to Willenhall and then a 15 minute walk to the company she was working at. At that time, travelling to and from work on public transport could add two hours to her working day.

As an apprentice with BT, I was helping to dig a trench and lay a cable under a footpath in Wombourne, a job made more difficult by the snow we had to move before starting to dig our cables in. The temperature was about minus 3 degrees C and I was on the verge of hypothermia when a lady came out of her house and asked us (the thee engineers laying the cable) if we wanted a hot drink. The boss said yes, so we abandoned digging and went for our hot drinks. She had made coffee only (no Tea!) so I had to try it for the first time, I’d only ever drank tea before then. I was so cold I was prepared to drink anything that would stave off freezing to death so I tried her coffee and discovered that it was drinkable if you put enough sugar in it (about three teaspoons). I have continued to drink coffee (as well as tea) since that day, but I still can’t drink it without sugar.