OK,
We have 3 party leaders of our main political parties, non of whom have ever had to live in the "real" world of having to save for a school trip for kids or wonder where the money will come from for school uniform.
How can we let these pampered & privileged people who haven't got a clue how the people in the street feel or in some cases have to struggle day run the country?
We need people in charge who have had to struggle at times, who remember what its like to worry and even if they are now very wealthy, are willing to look back and remember what it was like.
I'm sure that all 3 parties do have people like that, but they are kept in the dark by those "professional" politico's who have now all but taken over the system and the parties and who decide who gets what job & when, based on who they know or went to school with.
How is this approach good for the country as a whole?
It means we are led by a bunch of rich posh boys who are all looking out for the vested interests of other posh boys. 
Lets look at them one by one...


Ed Milliband
Son of immigrants. Nice start, and something always spouted by his supporters as showing him to be in touch with the common man, but lets face it, although immigrants, his father was already as well respected left wing thinker & speaker, so any child was likely to have had a good leg up using Daddy's contacts. Ed's intern ship was with the legend of British politics, Tony Benn.
Its hard to believe that his brief career in journalism made him the best person to lead the country through the problems we have at the moment, any more than writing speeches for other politicians or being part of the government that helped get us in this mess in the first place did.


Nick Clegg.
Another "silver spoon" political leader. Wealthy family, well connected, went to all the right schools and met all the right people. Apart from a couple of very well paid jobs as a lobbyist and a part time teaching job, Nick has been a European politician before he was selected to his current Sheffield seat.
Again, its hard to believe that someone who's job has been to lobby for big business at the heart of Europe, was born with a silver (plated) spoon in his mouth could ever know what its like to be a normal family in the UK today with all the attendant problems. Is all well & good being able to speak English, Dutch, French, German, and Spanish, but can he now speak to the man on the street? I very much doubt he ever could to be honest.


David Cameron
The only one of the three with a genuine, hallmarked silver spoon. A direct descendant of Royalty, he was born into money. Lots of it. He is however the only one of the three to have had a "real" job having been Director of Corporate Affairs at Carlton Communications for seven years. before and after that sojourn into the real world he was in politics all the way. Working at the conservative research centre before Carlton and then afterwards working for any Tory that would have him, and from the looks of it, he was in demand.


So, no doubt I will have people rubbishing me, but the point I am trying to make is that we have three leaders of supposedly very different political parties, non of whom have a clue about the real world.
Why on earth would we vote for them to lead this country? because for years, the political classes have slowly but surely made certain that this is the only choice we have. 3 posh kids who don't care about the man in the street unless he is related to them or their friends.
I love this country. I consider myself to be a patriot. I have served in the armed forces and always tried to make my own way until ill health cost me my business. Rather than sit on my bum & collect benefits, I went back to college, only to have a relapse, setting me back 18 months and now studying with the OU to keep my brain active even if I am unfit to hold down a full time job.
I don't see any political party that I would trust to run the country properly for the benefit of its inhabitants, both rich and poor.
I can hear my own father, a Labour supporter, spinning in his early grave, as well as my Grandfather, a Tory rotating in his.
I Can honestly say, I have only ever met one politician who truly seemed to be in it for others and she was defeated at the local elections here in Leeds earlier this year. Brenda Lancaster was her name & I hope that at the next local election, she comes back into politics. 
She was hard working, always answered her phone & emails and was willing to talk to everyone who needed her. 
My politics? 
I dont follow any party. Never have & firmly believe they are all pretty much the same these days.

Is a problem shared a problem halved?

It’s always the way.

You get your head around one problem and solve it when another comes along and takes its place.

This week has been all about LJHA and its (lack of) customer service and sensitivity and overcoming the possibility of a move to the bottom of a hill.

Despite all sorts of calls, it took the treat of a legal challenge using the Human rights act to get them to sit down and accept that they do have an awful lot of problems internally with staff.

Anyhow, we resolved all of that by agreeing that they would put in a gate allowing me (almost) level access to a public footbath and look into the aforementioned internal problems.

Then I get an email from my daughter who lives in the middle of nowhere with her Mother and step father asking me about being Bi-Polar and what it’s like for an “extended qualification project” for 6^th form.

Now, as a sufferer, I’ve only ever written about it from my point of view and to have to put it into ways that a fairly intelligent 17 year old could not only understand, but also as it’s my daughter in a way as not to scare her silly, was daunting to say the least.

Anyhow, after clarifying just how much info she wanted and to make sure it was confidential, I wrote about my problems and how in the past I had used “unconventional” means to stop the worst excesses of the mood swings.

It was the telling of these unconventional methods to my daughter that had me worried.

I am not overly ashamed of what I was doing, but to have to explain why I was doing it to an impressionable girl was worrying all the same.

Anyway, I wrote all she needed to know and hopefully, she will get a decent result and my illness will have at least served some good to someone other than the legions of social workers and shrinks that seem to gather whenever a mental health problem arises.

Anyhow, I am later this month starting a writing course with the OU as part of my degree. I am so looking forward to it. My tutor from my last course is doing a reading at the Ilkley literature festival in October and has asked a few of her students if they want to attend.

I can’t wait!

I find her engaging, witty and a very good writer. To hear her read ahead of beginning to write myself will be a real pleasure. You can read more about her here:

www.nickyharlow.com

I really hope one day, someone, somewhere will ask me to sit on a stage and read from my book of poetry, as its poetry where I feel my talents lie. Anything else is incidental.

I love reading poetry and I have had some success with writing it. Things like this are just to get me in the habit of writing free flow and to see what actually arrives on the page…

I am just starting to get the smell of the chicken I put in the oven, nearly 90 minutes ago on a very low heat for dinner. Add to the fact I am doing mashed potato with spring onion and carrot along with broccoli and dinner for a Tuesday is looking lovely.

This is what I want to be able to do. Listen to the radio, write, post on twitter and cook

I would be a very happy man.

Perhaps my next gig should be as a food writer?

After all this started out as a freeform writing exercise, not a blog post, but I’ve decided to share it with those who can be bothered to read my raving on here…

Thank you for reading.

living with bi polar: But WHY are you leaving Orange?

living with bi polar: But WHY are you leaving Orange?: Well, seeing as so many have asked, I'll tell you.
When I first joined Orange, not too long after they started out, they were fresh, innov...

But WHY are you leaving Orange?

Well, seeing as so many have asked, I'll tell you.

When I first joined Orange, not too long after they started out, they were fresh, innovative and actually cared about customers and giving you a good customer experience.

Sadly, this in my experience is no longer the case.

I had a number with Orange for nearly 10 years and had a spot of health & money trouble about 6 years ago. Orange told me they were happy to wait for payment until we had sold our business.

When the time came, I called Orange, paid the less than £200 bill and asked to be reconnected. In no uncertain terms I was told that my number was no longer available and they would only give me a PAYG.

I carried on with the PAYG for 3 years and then converted to a pay monthly contract. After a few months, I added a phone for my wife and then earlier this year took an iPad on a special offer as my wife found that easier to use than a netbook.

Lately, I have had nothing but problems.

About 6 months ago, I grew bored of my HTC Hero and bought an LG Optimus 7. I called Orange to cancel my (expensive) Orange care and let them know I had a new phone. All hunky dory, I was assured by the bloke on the other end, I've updated your account.

Then a couple of weeks ago, I went to use my phone & found "INVALID SIM" on the screen. I called Orange & go through to a bloke in India who insisted for the next 40 minutes I was still using an HTC Hero and asked me to try my simcard in another Orange phone. I tried the sim in my Sons phone only for him to get the same message.

When I put my sons card back in his phone, his too gave an Invalid Sim message...At this point I started to lose my temper.

He wouldnt listen to a word I was saying & wanted to charge me for delivering me two new sims the following day. I was not prepared to have to pay for two when one had been working until he asked me to remove it.

After a while, he rather rudely put the phone down. I can honestly put my hand on my heart & say I didn't swear or become rude with him, just upset he wouldn't listen to a work I was saying, something that I have found to be all too common with Orange's overseas call centres these days.

In the end, my wife called back, because he had not made it clear as to whether he was or was not sending out my new sim cards...In between, I wrote (and sent) the following email:

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

From: Andie Riley [mailto:andie99uk@gmail.com]
Sent: 06 August 2011 21:16
To: 'customer.services@orange.co.uk'
Subject: a/c

This is the 2^nd time I have had to resort to an Email to Orange this week.

About an hour ago, my phone started to say “Invalid sim”. I took it out, gave it a wipe & put it back in.

No change, so I called what you laughingly call customer services. Your wallah in India asked me to try the card in another phone. I put the sim in my sons phone & tried it in there to no avail. When I put my sons sim back into his phone, this also says invalid sim.

After being told that you wouldn’t be charging me for delivering a new sim (Thank you SOOOOOOOOOOOOO very much for that) your bloke decided that he had had enough of the call & put the phone down.

My wife is currently trying to get another idiot in India to understand what has gone wrong & is getting no further than I did.

By the time you lot actually get around to actually reading this, I will have paid up MY number & gone elsewhere.

Your service is abysmal, from top to bottom. I remember when Orange was THE phone firm to be with as you were innovative & actually cared about customers.

Sadly, this is no longer the case.

At the earliest chance, I will also pay off my iPad & wifes phone number.

Yours

Andie Riley

___________________________________________________________________

The first email had been in regard to an app for Orange Windows 7 phones which allows you to keep track of your usage. I had been told (again, foreign call centre) that it was possible for my wife to see her usage on her phone whilst I saw my usage on mine. I was told that if I waited 24 hours, this would indeed be possible and duly waited, tried and failed...

Only to be told that the information given to me was absolute tosh...

The following day, I received this from "Andrea" in Customer Services:

-----Original Message-----
From: customer.services@orange.co.uk [mailto:customer.services@orange.co.uk]
Sent: 07 August 2011 12:49
To: andie99uk@gmail.com
Subject: Re: Case

Dear Mr Riley

Thank you for your email.

We are sorry to hear your views regarding our service.

Although we are happy to help you on this occasion, please refrain from the use of offensive content when contacting us again.

According to our records this query has now been dealt with.

We will not respond to offensive comments in future.

Kind regards

Andrea

Orange Online Services

I wrote back asking to know which "offensive" language Andrea was referring to and asking for an apology.

After a week, I had no reply, so forwarded the mail to both Customer Services AND Oranges Exec office.

Again, no reply.

I contacted a legal firm as I felt I had been defamed by this Andrea and her accusation. Once I pointed out to the Exec office that I had been in touch with a firm, they responded with undue haste asking me to call customer service again and to escalate the complaint through a manger there.

As requested, earlier today, I spoke to Customer Service, told the bloke on the phone what the problem was and he said I will put you through to a manager.

He put me through to someone in Retentions.

She put me onto HER manager.

HE said he couldn't see the emails, and couldn't understand why I had been passed through to his department, but did find out Andrea's surname along with both her managers names (How bad must someone be at a job to need 2 managers?) and he would ask them to call me within 48 hours to sort this out as he felt for Orange to lose a customer over this was a waste.

To his credit, he seemed to know what he was talking about and promised to call me himself on Thursday just to make sure I had had a call & received my apology.

So, here I am waiting for that call which I know will never come.

Even with an apology, I cannot see the customer service levels at Orange improving and am going to get a PAC code & go elsewhere, either later this week or in January when the contract actually ends.

I admit, the mail I sent is sarcastic, perhaps overly, but to suddenly have 2 phones out of action and for the customer service to be so awful means I don't feel I could trust them ever again...

If someone working for Orange said good morning, I would have to call the speaking clock to make sure it was still morning.

UPDATE

Well, I waited & waited, left a couple of messages for the upgrades Manager (Richard Grundy) to do as he had said he would & call me back, all to no avail.

I found a lovely HTC Sensation for free with T-Mobile & it only cost me £35 to get out of my Orange contract. I now get unlimited internet, 600 any network minutes and a few other bits n bobs.

Not only have Orange now lost me, but I will forever more bug friends & family to leave, as well as using my Show to rubbish their customer services at every opportunity.

Orange REALLY were a great firm, but they have lost their way somewhat customer service wise over the last few years.

They really dont give a flying fig about the customer & just want to screw you for as much as possible...

Shame really.

___________________________________________________________________

Today I sent the following complaint by Fax to Orange:

Andie Riley

A/C No.

Sir,

On the 6^th August, I sent the following email to customer Services:

From: Andie Riley [mailto:andie99uk@gmail.com]
Sent: 06 August 2011 21:16
To: 'customer.services@orange.co.uk'
Subject: a/c 56506048

This is the 2^nd time I have had to resort to an Email to Orange this week.

About an hour ago, my phone started to say “Invalid sim”. I took it out, gave it a wipe & put it back in.

No change, so I called what you laughingly call customer services. Your wallah in India asked me to try the card in another phone. I put the sim in my sons phone & tried it in there to no avail. When I put my sons sim back into his phone, this also says invalid sim.

After being told that you wouldn’t be charging me for delivering a new sim (Thank you SOOOOOOOOOOOOO very much for that) your bloke decided that he had had enough of the call & put the phone down.

My wife is currently trying to get another idiot in India to understand what has gone wrong & is getting no further than I did.

By the time you lot actually get around to actually reading this, I will have paid up MY number & gone elsewhere.

Your service is abysmal, from top to bottom. I remember when Orange was THE phone firm to be with as you were innovative & actually cared about customers.

Sadly, this is no longer the case.

At the earliest chance, I will also pay off my iPad & wifes phone number. I will also be taking to the airwaves on my radio show to tell my listeners just how bad your customer service really is…

Yours,

Leaving

Andie Riley

Much to my surprise, I received a reply the following day from someone named “Andrea” accusing me of using offensive language and advising me that if I did so again, Customer Services would not deal with me:

-----Original Message-----

From: customer.services@orange.co.uk [mailto:customer.services@orange.co.uk]

Sent: 07 August 2011 12:49

To: andie99uk@gmail.com

Subject: Re: Case 15589653 a/c 56506048

Dear Mr Riley

Thank you for your email.

We are sorry to hear your views regarding our service.

Although we are happy to help you on this occasion, please refrain from the use of offensive content when contacting us again.

According to our records this query has now been dealt with.

We will not respond to offensive comments in future.

Kind regards

Andrea

Orange Online Services

Now, having shown this to a number of people, not one of them seems to be able (like myself) to find any offensive language in the email.

I duly replied asking for an apology, as I had not used any offensive language & feel defamed by your staff’s accusation that I have done so.

When I received no reply, I called and ended up speaking to a Richard Grundy in your upgrades department, who assured me he would contact Andreas managers and get them to call me with an apology, Either way, He himself would call me back on Thursday the 18^th to make sure this had all happened.

So far, I have not heard from him or the other managers he said he would call.

This is why I have now decided to leave Orange.

Your customer service stinks. Your staff no longer seem to care about customers and treat them like rubbish. I have had times calling you and waited for 10 minutes only to have the phone put down when connected.

I have been lied to, defamed & would like a written apology before I take legal action against Andrea and then against Orange for allowing its systems to be used to carry out the defamation.

I still have 2 lines with Orange, and at the first chance I get I will also be cancelling those contracts.

In the meantime, I have written an online blog outlining just how badly I have been treat and encouraging others to share their Orange customer service nightmares. I will also be taking the opportunity of making an a radio show for the station I work for asking for customers opinions on Customer service, specifically those problems with mobile phone firms and giving them my experience as an example.

I look forward to a written reply within 10 days

Yours

Andie Riley

Where did all go wrong for Windows 7 Mobile?

Almost everyone I know has a Smartphone. Even my Wife, who isn't THAT tech savvy has one.

I have had a number of them in the last few years, From an HTC Tytn II, that ran Windows 6.5, to an HTC Hero on Android and now, an LG E-900 running Windows 7 mobile.

I was convinced to move to Windows by a mate who had had a phone with windows for a few months (Samsung Omnia) and was over the moon with it. He had also had a number of phones on the old Windows O.S. and that was what swung him to it come upgrade time. After a few initial niggles, he is over the moon with it.

I had a play, messed about with it and decided to upgrade (in the middle of a contract, non of this "freebie" stuff) to give it a real go. I appreciate that the marketplace for Windows 7 is no where near as open or populated as either Apple or Android, but its slowly getting there.

Now, I'm no Luddite. We have an iPad in the house & I do like to use it if I'm travelling, but I don't see the appeal of an iPhone. Its slow, isn't anything special in the looks department & is (rumoured) to be replaced later this year...that just smacks of getting the Gullible to cough up to line Apples pocket if you ask me.

Now, back to Windows. When my wife changed her phone earlier this year, our current network had 3 (three) different phones with the Windows OS available & was touting it as the way forward. Less than 6 months later and none of those phones are on their site...in fact, they only have one, the HTC Mozart.

Why?

Is windows 7 mobile going to be dead & buried so soon? A quick look around the main providers in the UK shows that 3 only has the Samsung Omnia as a "refurb", O2 have a pair of HTC phones, Orange only has one and Vodafone also only has one.

So, why has Windows 7 mobile failed to take off? is it due to microsoft and it's tradition of unstable OS for PC's? Or is it a lack of promotion by both them & the networks? Are the makers not offering the networks a big enough discount on the handsets? DO people just not like the OS?

Its a very stable and easy to use mobile OS. Its a bit battery hungry, but Microsoft are hoping to address this with an update later this year, but most smartphones eat your battery once you start to use the web & email.

I'm due an upgrade myself for free in about 90 days, but wont bother as I am looking for another provider (long story. Bad customer service) and will probably get a new phone from a new provider in January 2012.

I would love another Windows 7 phone, but looking about, no one seems too interested in stocking them...and I really cant think why.

Look at the stats below from Gartner:

Symbian was by far and away the market leader for 2010 with 37.6% of the market, DOWN from 46.9% the year before.

Android on the other hand...

If you look at sales by Smartphone OS rather than manufacturer, Android grew by an amazing 888.8%

Microsoft and its infant Windows was sat, just above "Other Os's" with under 5% of the market.

Apple and it's Celebrity endorsed "must have" iPhone has less than 16% of the market. I do believe that the iPhone is still viewed by an awful lot of people as a "must have" accessory, and one that is out of reach of a lot of people due to the cost of data, but that's a different blog.

However, I use data on my phone & don't care about having an iPhone (BTW, We bought the iPad as its easier for my wife to use day to day than the net book it replaced) in my pocket, but DO like to access the internet & email whilst on the move...

I think the problem with Windows 7 mobile is one of marketplace congestion. Put simply, it was too little, too late from Microsoft

I really hope Microsoft stick with this OS for the long haul. I also hope that the networks & handset makers start to back it more as well.

They have a great OS (at last) that is just a few tweaks away from being a world beater. My only gripe is not being able to make the phone talk to a windows PC without having to use Zune, which is awful, and having to go to the cloud to sync contacts. It was beaten to the punch by Android in being user friendly...

These are really minor gripes though...

I will stick with Windows for a while & hope that a few of you join me here using it, but I would also say that Android is simply the best OS out there at the moment...

But Windows is a very close 2nd...

Oddly enough, the people I know who DON'T have a smartphone are all working for housing associations...

Riots? Where does the blame REALLY lie?

No matter what the reason, smashing & burning the place you live is never a good idea. You look like thugs & the system wins.
After all, where will people go to work once all this is over?
Do you really expect Aldi will spend hundreds of thousands to rebuild in a hurry? Where will those thrown out of work because your upset a suspected drug dealer was killed get new jobs from?
OK, the Police were crap in passing out information as to what had happened, but that's what the police do.
Look at how many lies were told about the Ian Tomlinson case? Or that Brazilian who was killed?
The police will hide the truth unless compelled by people using the right channels & media to do so. If it hadn't been for a video, the copper who killed Ian would still be on the job today. Probably in Tottenham. Beating YOU to death illegally...
Burning the entire area to the ground will just get more innocent people arrested, make the police more suspicious of EVERYONE no matter what colour they are and stop businesses coming to the area to offer employment.
Tottenham had only just really started to get over the 1985 riots from what I can tell & now you have Ken Livingstone using your problems to score political points when, if he really cared, he would be asking what he can do to help IF elected as Mayor, not slagging off the current one.
Politicians will always bend the truth to suit their own ends.
Fact.
As a community, what you need to do is shop those doing the looting, dealing & mugging, get the police to tell the truth and start to rebuild.
Again.
I for one hope that you manage to overcome these problems & come out the other end a much closer & better place to live.
Politicians will come to visit, wring their hands, give you every excuse under the sun, promise you the earth and as soon as the media have left, forget all about you though.

That is the sad part.

Within 2 months, you will be forgotten.

Thats a sad comment on the state of the whole nation, not just a few areas of London...

I'd just like to thank Emily (@theurbandryad) for reminding me that I have this blog as an outlet. I owe you a drink...

The pain & the joy

What a wonderful Sunday. These are the sort of days that make me realise, no matter how bad I feel or how down, its worth hanging on.
My mum came for a visit & brought the newest addition to the family, Louisa, My youngest Brothers daughter.
She is a bundle of fun, just like all babies. Giggles, laughs and just a lovely little person to be around.
Also in tow was my other Brothers son, Joshua. I have so much time for Josh. He is about a year younger than my eldest, but what a crappy hand he was dealt.
First up his Dad, my Brother, dies of a smack overdose when he was about 10, then, just as he starts to get to grips with that, his mother gets sent to prison for 5 years for dealing.
Despite all this, he never misses school, is a fantastic artist and is training at college to become a bricklayer.
There are just some people who you look at & have to think "Well Done". It would have been so easy for him to fall into the same sort of traps his Mum & Dad did, living on a rough as hell council estate in Hull, but he went the other way, and although he has had a brush with the law, for grafitting, he is on the right track & shows no signs as far as I can see of falling off.

The point I'm tryingto make is that its looking at how Josh coped with all that went on and how his outlook is (despite the usual teen sullen sulks) always bright. He actually inspires me to keep going, even if things are really dark with my B.P.

No matter how old you get, its always great to get a visit from your Mum! And when she has almost all her Grandkids around her, she is at her happiest.

About 30 minuted before she arrived, I managed to smash the outside of my ankle on the stairs. It swelled up like you wouldnt believe. I'll have to be more carefull AFTER the plate goes as there will be holes all over the bone & it will be liable to snapping...So, as the house filled up, I'm still sat in dressing gown with the ankle encased in ice & chewing pain killers like they are smarties.

I'm starting to feel the end of this down period I've been in for just over a week, helped by a lovely visit from Family...
Sometimes, its just the simple things that make it better. When I saw my shrink last week and told her how bad I was feeling, the first thing she said was "back on the pills". I told her no and am glad I did.
I'm back to see her on Tuesday with my Wife...