Harry Peterson

They did once, I can assure you.

Saga are in the process of writing to those of us who took out life memberships some time ago. When we signed up, in an age before online magazines, we were promised 12 copies of the Saga magazine delivered to our door for life - and paid a pretty hefty sum at the time for that. Saga now want £29.95 per annum to continue sending the magazines (which they still publish) - despite already having been paid once for it. The reason, they say, is that it’s costing them too much! Has anyone else encountered similar problems with Saga deciding they don’t like the way a contract’s looking for them, and just unilaterally breaking it? I ask because I had been planning to switch from P&O to Saga, but now feel they can no longer be trusted. Any company that ignores its contracts is sending out a very worrying message.

That, if true (and I’m not in any way doubting what you say), is horrendous. Those kitchens, which P&O used so proudly to show off to their customers on free tours, were fantastic, as were the chefs. The food, even in the MDR, was superb, and the choice was wide. If that’s all been replaced with airline food, that’s one of the key pleasures of cruising gone completely.

Barking Creek, yes. Stupid really, but I never really thought about that area of London's history - as you say, steeped in it. I know the county tolerably well, having lived in various bits of it (and being born there) so this was interesting, to an Essex (now [celebrating] Tractor) boy: "Thanks in part to the birth of those enduring caricatures - Essex Man and Essex Girl - in the 1990s, this is a county that has struggled to break free from a whole raft of stereotypes and assumptions. Matthew Sweet and his guests - all Essex residents - are here to present a more nuanced, complicated and historically rich vision of this woefully misunderstood part of England." https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001lpky

99% of Josh Weinsteins said they agreed with this statement.

Now if you’d created something like Charlie Mullins’ Pimlico Plumbers (Pitsea Plumbers?) you’d own the ship! Enjoy your Italian stay, Brian. By the way, you’ll know Barking I guess. I listened to a radio programme about Essex the other day - shocked to learn that a couple of centuries back it had one of the biggest fishing fleets in the country! That, plus its agriculture.

You make a good point there. But to be fair to P&O, their IT systems have never been up to the mark, and the issues around the dreaded lurgy since 2020 have curtailed the investment required to bring it into the 21st century. Fingers crossed for some improvements soon……….😇

My wife and I met as students doing a summer job in a large restaurant. She was a waitress and I a waiter. We were paid 12.5p per hour, and needed tips to make that up to something a little more respectable. Can anyone explain why the17 year old female students (we had several there) earned so much more than we did as males? 🙂

The more financially savvy ones, who may well be the ones with the highest value houses, will know, though, that it makes sense for IHT purposes to skip a generation and have the money go direct to the grandchildren. There's an awful lot of money tied up in large houses containing two people, and the Baby Boomer generation (I'm one) is reaching the point when the money tied up in those houses will, one way or the other, be released. The sums involved are huge. One example: 3-bed semi in Bromley costing £15,000 in 1974 and accessible to a normal young professional couple. Value now £750,000 - accessible to ?

Ahhh…..but they know full well that quite a chunk of younger people are starting to come into quite substantial wealth as their parents die and leave behind houses worth potentially several hundred thousand pounds. That’s a whole new demographic for the cruise companies.

Just had a delightful call from ‘O2’ offering me a wonderful new contract with a 30% discount. Always difficult, isn’t it - do you just end the call, or have you got time for a game? Plenty of time today, so one of my standard routines: ”Hi. I’m glad you called. I’ve got a special price on some double glazing units - would you like to buy some?” ”I’m sorry, I’m not sure about that. I’ll get my supervisor.” Gets supervisor. ”Hello. What is it that you have” “I’ve got a special price on some double glazing units - would you like to buy some?” ”What are they?” ”You are calling from the UK, aren’t you?” ”Oh yes, sir. Calling from the UK for O2.” ”You’ll know all about double glazing units then, won’t you?” ”Double glazing eunuchs?” It all got even sillier after this, until he finally put the phone down on me. And my wife explained that eunuchs in India are very common! But double glazed ones?

Thanks - that’s an interesting viewpoint. Sorry you didn’t enjoy the cruise. We’re probably in much the same age group, though I’m more than happy to use apps, or any other form of tech, if it makes life easier. P&O is however now targeting much younger customers because they’re deemed more profitable, and they may well be right. I guess they know their business better than we do. Have you considered Saga?

Cue clip from Blazing Saddles, but maybe a little indelicate here........😉

Wow! One of the nicest cities in the world. And a great time to go too. We spent so much time there when our children were growing up that they knew it far better than London. Every Christmas and New Year, and frequently in the summer too. Have a great time - you’d struggle not to!

“There has never been a more auspicious time for our two brands,” said Ludlow. “P&O Cruises continues to deliver outstanding success and is clearly at the forefront of contemporary, mainstream holidays. Aligned with global talent including Gary Barlow and Nicole Scherzinger, as well as credible, authentic partnerships such as the recent BAFTA Television Awards sponsorship, the future of the brand could not be brighter.” I think that says everything. And in their new roles, Phillip and Holly later commented………..

Seriously?

Thanks - passed that on. She's heavily into gut microbiomes + Tim Spector. Those jars are good, as is the sauerkraut.

Goodness, that hot for where you are! Still cloudy and 14C round here. Wife currently researching dosa - they sound good, and healthy too. What a great idea for the refuse collectors. They must love you for that! We keep ice creams in the kitchen freezer to pass out to ours, and to the postman, on hot days. And the occasional Amazon driver, though they often prefer a bottle of water. We rely very heavily on deliveries and they don’t get a lot of thanks for what they do.

One. And a VERY large can of deodorant.

And Bettys of course!

They probably were students. It always used to be a popular student job. That and flogging timeshares in Spain!

Fortunately pretty rare though! Can you imagine that from Vamp's two girls? Well behaved children are a joy - others less so!

We ended up on a table for two once, and they're extremely close together, as you know. Made the big mistake of starting a friendly, cheerful conversation with the couple on the next table - very much not appreciated. They spoke occasionally to each other but ignored everyone else, and the steward. We learned a lesson from that - do not start conversations on tables for two. Tables for 6 or 8 though - fantastic. You'd never dream of sharing a table in a restaurant (though as a student in a big, 300-seater, restaurant at Felixstowe we frequently had people sharing tables to avoid a long queue) but some of those dinners turned out like dinner parties and we all became good friends. Staying far too long, really, but relaxed unhurried dining with interesting people you'd not met before was one of the joys of cruising. But I love chatting........ever since I was a kid of 4, hanging on our garden gate talking to anyone who happened to be passing.

You’d be an admirable table companion, Zap. One of the reasons we never wanted tables for two. Good cheerful, positive conversations.

Well, you live and learn. https://joinclubsoda.com/hub/whats-next-for-queers-without-beers/ And this confirms your guess.