WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

[Stanley]

[Big Kev]

Doc is still posting on Facebook from Antigua.

[PanBiker]

I have sent birthday wishes for Doc on Facebook.

[Stanley]

THIS account of how the infected blood scandal affected just one mother got my attention. How can politicians and lawyers string this matter out to the extent that people are dying before getting any compensation?
Euan McDougall was just 16 when he died from Aids in 1994 after being infected with HIV by blood products used to treat haemophilia. Under the care of doctors at Yorkhill Children’s hospital, he became one of the thousands of victims of what has been called the worst treatment disaster in the history of the NHS. His mum Kate died earlier this year, exactly 30 years after her son. According to her ex-husband John, she is another victim of the scandal as she never got over her unwitting role in causing Euan’s illness. "The exceptional pressure ate away at her for decades, which saw a long, slow deterioration in her health," John says. "She never got over what happened to Euan." Later this month, five years after it began taking evidence, a public inquiry into the infected blood scandal will publish its findings.

[Tizer]

How can politicians and lawyers string this matter out to the extent that people are dying before getting any compensation?

Same way as they do with the Post Office scandal...

[PanBiker]

Also the Waspi women. Ordered to pay by the courts and still arguing the toss and the amounts folk are entitled to. That one is easy, all of what they robbed and have spent.

[Stanley]

Anything to delay the Treasury having to pay money out to ordinary people.
Just heard that Alan Bennet is 90 years old today. Many happy returns Alan!

[Stanley]

Leccy going AWOL at 12 noon, back in by ten past with a couple of breaks on the way. My neighbour tells me the C-op had to evacuate.....

[Big Kev]

Leccy going AWOL at 12 noon, back in by ten past with a couple of breaks on the way. My neighbour tells me the C-op had to evacuate.....

Some properties are still off apparently.

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[Big Kev]

Looks like the power is off again for some in Barlick. Word on the street is there was smoke coming from a duct on Gisburn Road.

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[Big Kev]

First hand report is there was an underground explosion by Mario's Restaurant on Gisburn Road, unfortunately it was underneath Mario's wife's car...

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[Stanley]

The explosion at Mario's happened at night so is that different than the one at noon yesterday or are they connected. Main thing is we have leccy now!
(What was it Peter said in another topic about our lives being controlled by others?)

[Big Kev]

Eldest offspring's power went off again at 22:30, it was due to be restored by 02:00. I'm presuming it was. Reading the local Facebook page there looked to be several separate incidents yesterday.

[Stanley]

I wonder if they were related to the thunder that was about?
Later.... I heard a report that the solar storm we are experiencing is the most powerful for 20 years. Could this be the explanation for our rash of power outages?

[PanBiker]

We are currently at the peak of the latest 11 year solar cycle so events like last nights which is still going on are not uncommon. The media make a song and dance and roll out the superlatives because the majority of folk carry around in their pockets the means to photograph the phenomena. Some fabulous pictures on all social platforms. Mostly taken with smart phones I would suggest. We went up Letcliffe and saw nothing as there was quite a high cloud bank at the time but caught purple and green back at home over Ash Grove. It was intense enough to be visible from most latitudes last night and caused some outages to satellite communication. It was a very intense CME (Coronal Mass Ejection) that triggered the event.

During past cycles when there was a lot more activity on the 144MHz (2m) band. I used to bounce radio signals off the aurora. I logged my most distant contact into White Russia on 2m SSB back in the 1980's using auroral propagation.

[Big Kev]

I missed it

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[Wendyf]

Me too Kev but I've seen enough photos this morning to keep me happy!

[Tripps]

I don't think it's amything to do wth Aurora Borealis - someone left the front door open at the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmo. There is so much frenzied energy in there, that what escapes will easily be visible from Northern England.

[Stanley]

I think you're right David. From what I can make out, you only have to look sideways at someone to get expelled from the contest. Not like that here at Graham Towers. I have seen nothing of the aurora, I'll believe what everyone says about it. Could that be what's making my knee hurt worse this last day or two?

[PanBiker]

Trying to pay the vehicle tax on my car. I always do it online so this is what I tried. Shoved all the info in asked for, MOT is valid, gave the reference number on the V11 reminder which pulled up the correct vehicle and what was due and selected the credit card I have used for the last few years and is stored on the Gov site and is still active. Shoved in the security number to complete the payment and it says its not valid!

It suggests that the payment needs a valid mobile phone number, (already correct and accepted earlier in the info gathering). Or that the credit card information is wrong? As I said, it's stored on their site and has been used numerous times before. The system wont let you put the numbers in manually with spaces as on the card it will only accept 16 continuous digits. Anyone would think they didn't want paying. Similar with the mobile number, continuous digits only.

[PanBiker]

Grrrrr, tried it all again with our perfectly valid bank card, which is a Mastercard Debit. Also saved on the Gov site and used before. Its telling me the number is incorrect for the type of card I have selected.

Don't see why I should have trail round to the Post Office with my MOT certificate and log book for the car. The online system is supposed to make it easier to pay.

[Big Kev]

I have mine set up with a direct debit, I get an email a few weeks before it renews

[PanBiker]

Wont let me do that either as it uses the same payment method.

I thought I would ring them up so I might have chance to tell someone that their system is not working as it should. Silly me! No humans involved, AI driven robot to collect the string of numbers required. All repeated back to you at each stage for confirmation of what you have just entered. I got to the part where it has all the info of the vehicle and that I want to pay for 12 months tax. "Please hold while we check details", fine.....then it drops the call. Didn't even get to the bit for payment.

I am convinced they don't want paying but I doubt I would get away with it.

[Stanley]

So AI is just as liable to cock-up as the old system.... Hard luck Ian, it must be so frustrating.
I wonder if AI failing is the reason why my Covid booster has been cancelled for the fourth time? We will never know and I shan't be trying again, it's evidently not a high priority with the system.

[Stanley]

Kev has saved my bacon by alerting me to a pop-up vaccination centre in the Co-op car park on Monday.