Harry Peterson

This might help. But then again………. https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/shingles-vaccination-programme

Entirely possible with good parenting skills. We took our five month old to Denmark via ferry and train without incident. DFDS/Scandinavian Seaways provided a horrible little metal coffin thing for him, which he really hated, so he slept with us. No crying to disturb anyone, though that would be a potential issue.

And there, in a nutshell, you have hit on the main reason for my recent extended self-imposed absence, which it seemed inappropriate at the time to go into too deeply. I agree with you entirely.

Couldn’t resist this. Serious issue, but the name of the product is maybe a little unfortunate in the circumstances! Update from the Food Standards Agency 27 September 2023

Goodness! I’m not any of those!!! Always very keen on web anonymity for all the usual security reasons - you too, I guess? How’s the Post Office? 😉

Really sorry to hear that Pam. Hope you manage to shake it off quickly, and in good time for next week.

I’ve lost touch a bit Brian - are you in Italy at the moment?

My wife kept hens as a hobby a few years back - absolutely loved it. Quite apart from the utter destruction of the bottom of the garden, where they lived, I reckon the eggs cost a couple of pounds each after factoring in the cost of the hen house.

Funny you should say that - they do have a good bread section. We can also get same day deliveries from them via Amazon, which is occasionally useful.

Like you, Avril, we’re very much reliant on deliveries, and Tesco has proved to be the best of a not very good bunch. We’ve tried the lot and they all have their strengths and weaknesses. Ocado is by far the most reliable and comprehensive, but the prices are ludicrous. Iceland is great for prices, with free delivery too, but very limited. Aldi is our ideal for the quality it offers - considerably better than Tesco on own label, and we avoid all brands wherever possible - and they do do click and collect for £5. Once our Tesco delivery pass expires we’ll switch entirely to Aldi with an occasional Waitrose top up. By the way, I think you mentioned that I’d been posting on other cruise forums - not me! An imposter! You were absolutely right about the reason for the absence though. Not remotely offended by anyone here - a tremendous bunch of people I wish we’d met on cruises (maybe we did?) - but other topics off limit here are my main interest and I’ve been discussing them in more appropriate places. Only so many hours in the day!

On the subject of it being too early to mention the C word, this exchange between our daughter and our 8 year old grandson: 'Charlie, do you want to go and see Father Christmas this year?' 'I'm just not in that place right now.'

Thanks very much for the tip! Not sad at all - just forward planning! My kids say thank you too - daughter every bit as chuffed as you are. 👍

Morning Kalos - hope you get better very soon. I did post yesterday - just once - but it was removed for some reason. It seems an absolutely innocuous post, so I'll repeat it because it must have been a mistake: "Kalos, I'm really sorry to hear that. I sincerely hope you kick it into touch quickly (laughter being the very best medicine!) and aren't too uncomfortable while you do that. I guess you're on the list of those able to access the antivirals, and if that's the case I hope the procedures work well in your area. Please do prompt them in the event of a delay which might jeopardise the 5 day window. Sometimes, I understand, that's necessary. Harry"

That’s truly a lovely ring, Josy. I can see why you’d treasure it. We could just about afford one wedding ring, but that came from a jeweller in Cannon Street who gave a genuine 25% discount to a union I was a member of. £12 - 22 carat gold! Later on in life I did suggest buying an engagement ring, but my wife said she’d rather spend the money on a piece of handmade oak furniture from a guy who used to work at Mousey Thompson’s in North Yorkshire. So that’s what she did - still refers to it as her engagement ring!

Love it, Josy - handbag magpie! I’ve got one of those, though she has virtually no jewellery, not even an engagement ring because we had no money at the time.

New this week to Thailand’s Burger Kings. New next week to Arvia - vegetarian option.

It haunts me still.........😀

When our son was small, we lived near Scampton and saw the Red Arrows, and the pilots, a fair bit. They flew over the house and school regularly when training, and the pilots were often around locally because they lived in the area. We had a holiday based in Exeter one year, and we were in the hotel foyer when the whole team turned up to check in, all in uniform. Adoration all round, as always, despite the absence of Carol Vorderman. They very kindly went up to small son to talk to him. Underwhelmed response from small boy: “But I see you all the time.” Not what was expected 250 miles away from Scampton!

Is there a hidden agenda here which some of us might be missing? 😉

Quite - not to mention the much longer-term impact in terms of melanoma.

Food porn has to be OK. Thanks to Andy we've got a name for it now - food perving. 🙂

Is it permissible on black tie nights to wear black sandals, obviously with black socks? Asking for a fiend. No typo there.

With you on this, Andrew - though I’m certainly absolutely against having to wear a suit, when in reality it’s little different from coordinated trousers and jacket. As for shorts, I wear them at home in hot weather. Occasionally also at the end of the drive if I’m caught by someone passing. But never, ever out in public beyond that. It’s just not fair on people……….🙂

That sounds entirely logical. So if your conjecture is correct, which it may well be, agents may well be selling two types of cruise - the ones sold retail by P&O at the same prices, and others effectively wholesaled by P&O to the TA which aren't available direct to the public. Pretty clearly, P&O aren't going to be prepared to lose what might be a large part of a small margin with a further discount, and that's entirely understandable. Seems then, as others have said, that a direct question is needed with any TA booking if a shareholder benefit is being looked for.

In my experience, agents almost invariably sell at exactly the same price as P&O, with exactly the same benefits. A discount may be available by negotiation, which is funded out of the agent’s commission, and not by P&O. Has something changed?