Jobsworth culture alive and well

Escape is complete. I am back in the world of sanity. I shall never in my life buy another thing from any HMV store anywhere, ever again. I was trying to get a replacement for an ipod that would not wake up, which had been purchased from those morons, but was told I had to take it back to the exact store where it had been bought to receive a refund. Having purchased the item in Guildford and with just an hour to spare before leaving for the airport to catch a flight back, this was a clear impossibility. I was reminded of the Monty Python pet shop sketch where the dodgy owner suggests that to the poor customer that his brother in Bolton would have a replacement for his dead item. Indeed the ipod has shown as much life as that Norwegian Blue since Christmas, a month after it was bought  Such poor customer service will do for them eventually, in fact from now on this blog will seeks its downfall.

I then witnessed another clear example of the “jobsworth” attitude endemic in Britain yesterday, in a pharmacy in Kensington, before managing to battle through the airport with the hordes of fellow escapees. It seems a chap was trying to get the pharmacist to issue some drug or other, but because the doctor had written “tablets” rather than a powder, he refused to supply it, as it was against regulations. The poor customer patiently explained that it had taken him 5 days to get a doctor’s appointment, so it could take him 5 more to get the prescription written correctly, but to no avail. Common sense is dead, as well he might be if these drugs were urgent.

Common sense is also a notably lacking attribute in Banjo, the horrible hound much beloved by that nice lady decorator (but very few others) who infests our household against my better judgement. Last evening, after an exhausting two days in the UK, we were relaxing in the web over a nightcap when suddenly the idiot spaniel let out a torrent of noise which she calls barking but sounds more like a wounded wolf in extreme pain. Obviously, not content with irritating our household, he wanted his malevolence to be spread throughout the whole neighbourhood. What was concerning him? The big shadow he himself was creating, which had the audacity to move without his permission or understanding.

He has previous when it comes to lacking in common sense. He has always expressed his dislike of smoke by issuing forth in a similar manner and at a ridiculous volume whenever my neighbour has a bonfire, and a plastic bag blowing across the lawn brings another monstrous tumult. He has also scared off the pizza delivery boy by biting him on the way down our drive. (Obviously the delivery guy must have got his order wrong). It is said that dogs often take on aspects of their owners persona, but with even that nice lady decorator shouting at him that he was stupid, I decided to let that possible fact remain unspoken. A case of letting sleeping dogs lie? Actually that is a good point, if he could speak I know he would lie.

Partial eclipse of the moon in the south of France

My picture above was taken earlier last week and is in fact a picture of an eclipse of the moon.  I took a picture of the total eclipse, but as you may imagine, the screen was rather black.

No rest for the financially challenged, so back to work today, in Cannes   to discuss the opening of a Currencies Direct office there, well perhaps a corner of the Remax Cannes office just behind The Croisette.

Chris France