TITBITS ... CRIME, AN UPDATE, AND SHOPPING,

Boy 15 kills young girl by shooting her in the head. 
In this land that doesn’t allow guns how the heck can a young boy get a gun in the first place? And why is there a law that stops the press from naming and shaming kids who kill? What is happening to our society and our youth?

GWYNETH PALTROW AND CHRIS MARTIN’S MARRIAGE BREAKS UP

This was the cover story in all our newspapers on the day they made it official. Headline news and lengthy reports that took precedence over the disasters in the world, the missing aeroplane, the mudslides in Washington, the loss of lives in various other parts of the world, yet there we were, ogling the story about Gwyneth and her soon-to-be ex spouse. I despair sometimes.

NUISANCE CALLS
This did interest me, though. Apparently our government is planning to make it easier to fine firms that hound members of the public with nuisance calls. Read about it here. There is nothing worse than cold calling to private addresses. Those who do it don’t care when or what time they call and will keep trying until someone answers. We don’t... but the continuous ringing drives me nuts. So good luck to the government, I just hope they can remove this pain in the butt once and for all.  

For the first time ever I forgot to alter all the clocks before going to bed. I did remember one at last minute and that’s the radio alarm, not that I needed it since I was wide awake before it went off. Now, after changing the clocks – no matter whether forward or back – I usually wake feeling like a wet lettuce, lifeless and tired and drained of energy. Not this time. Instead I woke feeling full of energy and eager to start the day. Why is that, I wonder? Could it be that the body knew the clocks hadn’t been altered? Does it subconsciously react to change? 

My thanks to my blogging friends who enquire about Joe and who regularly send good wishes. Joe is doing reasonably well with his treatment, although these days he does drop off to sleep more often. I understand that tiredness is one of effects of chemotherapy. Mind you, he’s always been able to doze but now the doze is a full-blown sleep ... and often. I don’t mind since sleep is a healer of minds and now that his medical problems are dragging on he needs sleep more than ever. 

All being well the chemo should be over soon (he’s on his fourth batch) so hopefully other problems can soon be sorted. One of the consultants said his next operation would be end of March/beginning of April but since a couple of treatments had to be missed because of a white blood cell problem it could be April before things start to move. Joe is still philosophical but he is understandably fed up with everything.

 

Referring to an earlier Titbits report, concerning attitudes of assistants in stores, I have since had another exasperating experience... this time concerning loyalty cards. 

When I bought my birthday outfit the lovely manageress asked me if I had a loyalty card. I explained that I had stopped using one because the staff at this particular store didn’t know what to do when I went back to spend my vouchers. Nonsense, she said, and went on to persuade me that I would get a good rebate on the item just bought. She was right; I got £80 back, by voucher. What joy! It meant I could almost buy another outfit or at last half of one.

So I toddled off to spent my £80.

First thing that caught my eye was a lightweight lacy jacket that was a perfect match for the birthday outfit, priced at £79. Putting it mildly, I was over the moon at the thought of acquiring the item free of charge.

          
I took the garment and, clutching my voucher, approached a young assistant. She, of course, didn’t know what to do with it. Hadn’t I known that all along? Off she went to find a supervisor on the next floor. The young lady from Lingerie came to talk to me. It seems the other girl was new (just my luck) and there were only the two of them on the entire floor which houses *reckoning up* at least twelve franchises.

At the time of my visit the escalator was out of order and the stairs were blocked off. The only way up or down was via the stationary escalator and we all know how difficult it is to walk on them! Consequently it took quite a long time for the girl to go down and find a supervisor. After twenty minutes I got rattled and started to rant. I won’t repeat what I said but safe to say it was less than ladylike. The girl from Lingerie was extremely sympathetic and tried to ring down to the supervisor... but just then the new girl appeared. 30 minutes altogether with no-one to talk to and nowhere to sit.

          
I didn’t get the jacket. The story was that they couldn’t decide what to do about the odd £1. Remember ... I was offering an £80 voucher for a £79 garment. They should have asked me, I would have told them.... just call the jacket £80 and have done with it. The reason I didn’t get the jacket was because I was too disgusted to deal with it, plus the fact that I had been kept waiting, in isolation, for half an hour. Cut off nose to spite face comes to mind, but quite honestly I was in no mood to cope with it any longer. Anyway, I have until 2015 to spend the voucher!

Please note new RECOMMENDATIONS panel at top of side bar

Animated-gifs.org