No going back now.......................

[WillyHeckaslike]

Do you just use your laptop and iPad when out and about and connect them to the net via wifi when it is provided free on the premises of an establishment? What about when at home sans landline, how do they connect to the internet in your home environment?

[FLYING BANANA]

Originally Posted by WillyHeckaslike

Do you just use your laptop and iPad when out and about and connect them to the net via wifi when it is provided free on the premises of an establishment? What about when at home sans landline, how do they connect to the internet in your home environment?

The laptop stays at home, but I do take the iPad away with me. And use whatever Wi-Fi the hotel has.
I have a BT/EE router for my broadband.

[WillyHeckaslike]

So your home internet service is via a router. As you are now sans landline how does it connect?

[FLYING BANANA]

Originally Posted by WillyHeckaslike

So your home internet service is via a router. As you are now sans landline how does it connect?

Via a cable from the street.

[WillyHeckaslike]

Now I understand. Presumably your router is on a fiber connection which really is just another form of landline connection and usually a more expensive one at that. I also presume that you are running on 2 separate contracts as I'm not aware of any provider offering a fiber broadband service for ~ £7/mth let alone one which would also include a mobile phone service too for that price.

I have no type of landline service whatsoever. I bought a wifi box of the type that many establishments will use to provide free wifi access on their premises. It requires a sim card which I share between my wifi router and my mobile phone on the very infrequent occasions that I need to use the phone. As I mentioned previously if swapping the 1 sim card around does not suit then 2 sim only contracts could negate the need to swap them around and still provide a saving on having a landline - more so a fiber connection.

I use 1 sim only and my monthly cost for both mobile service (unlimited calls & texts when needed) and broadband is currently under £7/mth. I'm a light user of data though and use less than 9GB/mth on average.

[FLYING BANANA]

My neighbour Kelsey has a torn ligament in her knee so is unable to drive. She told me last Monday that she had tickets to take her daughter Maisie and her Mum Ros to a Taylor Swift concert yesterday. But being unable to drive and her Mum does drive but Exeter was too far and in the dark. So I said if you cannot get anyone to take you I will, and bring you home. She phoned me yesterday morning and asked if the offer of the lift was still there. Yes I replied.

I phoned Matt Darke to find out if he would be at home last night, yes he would be. I explained why I was in the area and said ok to me popping in.
So at 18.00 last night the 3 ladies climbed into my Fiesta and off we went. I had programmed the satnav, I have never driven in Exeter before but the trip looked straight forward. I set the eco button and off we went. I kept the wee car at around the 60-65mph mark.

We arrived, eventually, at the Corn exchange in Exeter. I drove past it twice as we was expecting a huge building that might resemble a theatre. Dropped the ladies off, Kelsey is on crutches, so I got as close to the entrance I could. The show ends at 22.00 so I would be back to collect them. Set the satnav up to get back to Matt’s at Barton on the outskirts of Torquay. Only took 30 minutes to get to his. And the kettle was on. Bonus that.

We sat and chatted, Matt’s wife was there. Soon the time came around to drive back to collect my passengers. I left at 21.30 and arrived at 22.06 to find them waiting for me. Loaded up, set the satnav up and off we went. Kelsey’s daughter couldn’t tell me quick enough that she had her photo taken with Taylor Swift along with Ros and the two dancers. Kelsey took the photo. She has sent me a copy. So glad they had a good time.

We was over the Tamar bridge by 23.00. Parked up in the road so that was easier for Kelsey to get out. I got a hug from both Maisie and Ros, who also gave me peck on the cheek. And they all thanked me for my kindness. I said I was only returning a favour. After all they had looked after me after my fall. Kelsey would do my cleaning, putting the bins out and cooked me a few meals. Ros came in a few times to keep me company and make the tea. And a couple of times Maisie would come in with her Mum to show me pictures she had drawn at school.

Last weekend I washed, clayed and then waxed Marian’s Ford Bmax. Then I did my Fiesta. Banana will get done today, showtime tomorrow. And then I’m going to do Kelsey’s Evoque. Going to do the inside as well.
Just returning the kindness shown to me.

Thanks for reading.

((In eco mode the wee car returned 58 mpg and performed quite well. Even pulling up Haldon Hill with three passengers, had to drop to 5th but it coped quite well)).

[FLYING BANANA]

I contacted a local carpenter to get an estimate for him to supply and fit an access door to the garage as the old one has rotted through. Probably been there since the garage was built. Plus another job was to box my new boiler in.
So he came round, lives about 500yds from me, and had a look at the work. The door frame was also crumbling. Anyway he measured it all up. Then he looked at the boiler remarking he had one like mine fitted this year. I didn’t want the front covered just the pipes top and bottom.

So off he we. About 3 days later he sent me an estimate for the two jobs. I was well happy with his estimate. A neighbour had used him about a year back and I was well impressed with his workmanship. So I said yes to the estimate. A date was fixed and that was yesterday. As the two jobs were quite straightforward he was happy to work on a bank holiday. So yesterday he arrived at 09.00 and set to work.

Whoever had fitted the door frame in hadn’t wanted it to come out. Not only was it screwed and nailed as well along with some peculiar brackets. The carpenter took photos of the brackets as he had never seen anything like it before. As a result it took a bit longer than expected. But out it came. I kept him supplied with mugs of coffee.

New frame in place and the door was on. New handle and lock fitted. Expanding foam squirted into the gaps as the wall surrounding the frame were not true. He also fitted a new step. Once that was all done he swept up. Loaded his van up with the old frame and door. As the removal of the old frame had took longer than he expected he said if I didn’t mind he would come back tomorrow to do the boxing of the boiler. Fine by me.

So this morning he arrived with the box, he had built it up in his workshop over last weekend. It slipped into place without needing any alterations. A perfect fit. Then he went back to the garage door and applied a waterproof sealant around the frame edge inside and outside. Once done and everything packed away. He asked me what I thought. I said I was over the moon with the work. Fabulous was another word I used. He said that when he got home he would send me an invoice through via email with the payment details.

Sure enough about 3 hours later the invoice was there, I printed off a copy. Now the performance started. I have done online banking loads of times, had a few issues but it usually sorts itself out ok. So I get my bank details up and type in his details. The bank queried the bank I was sending to. But I pressed the continue button. Entered the amount. Double checked it and pressed the PAY NOW button. And away it went. But then the performance gets going.

My mobile is ringing and it’s my bank. I answered and was told that they had stopped the payment to the carpenter as they thought it was a scam. They put me through to the Fraud department. And I had to give my full name, DOB, part of my address. Done all that. Then they wanted to know what the payment was for. So I told them. Was I being pressured into making this withdrawal. No. It was all above board. Then they asked me 4 security questions. Answered them.

Ok then they would release the funds but it might take up to two hours before the funds would move over. And with that the call was ended. I phoned the carpenter to explain and he said that was the usual problem as the bank he uses is a fairly new one.
90 minutes later he phoned me back to say the money was in his account. He thanked me for the fast payment and said I wish all my customers were just as quick. And he thanked me for the review I had left on his page.

On a lighter note, my friend Allen aka Ratty, has finally got his boat into the water. Has taken him 6 years to completely strip it out and refit everything. The boat itself has never been in the water. It was bought and the previous owner fitted it all out and was going to use it as a fishing boat. But he ran out of money. It was put up For Sale and Allen bought. The lucky part was the boat was in the same yard as Allen was using.

Allen has fitted it out with two bedrooms, galley, bathroom and seating area. New windows are in, I helped with the painting of the frames. New engine has been fitted with new shaft and propeller. The bilge boards were removed and rebuilt and the yard reattached them. Basically Allen has done all the work himself. I would have liked to have been there but having the carpenter coming I didn’t want to put him off.
Allen’s wife Val bought a bottle of champagne to christen the boat. Allen shook the bottle up and sprayed it over the bow.

And the name of the boat is MOONSTONE, not after the Rover colour but after some Moonstone jewellery he bought for Val.
I’m so pleased for him after all his hard work. Still a few jobs to be done then off sailing they will go.