Harry Peterson

You’re absolutely right - afternoon teas are incredibly popular with younger people too. But the ones they favour are very different indeed from the rushed, low quality, low service P&O ones. Much better quality food, better surroundings and much more leisurely - but at pretty high prices. I enjoyed the P&O offering for what it was, but only ever as a little snack after skipping lunch. The funniest bit was when the guy on my right (wearing a vest) asked my wife if she was my mother. Quite a robust response!

This is true. Though a bit of marketing, a few influencers and a revamp might just see a nationwide chains of Pobs Bars springing up across the country. Cheap ingredients, filling, high margins, side sales of tea, coffee etc.......a sure-fire win! Think 'Harry's Pobs Bar' - Gen Z's Billy's Baked Potato! I'm off to the Patent Office! 😀

According to the Bank of England website, some banks will still take old coins (but it doesn't say which). This might also help: https://www.rnib.org.uk/get-involved/fundraise/do-your-own-fundraising/foreign-and-old-currency/ They obviously do have some value still - surprising!

That’s interesting. The OED lists it as: “English regional (chiefly northern and midlands).” I’ve only known the word from my Yorkshire father, a long time ago, but we were in the south at the time and it was unheard of. I suspect it still is - time for a bit of levelling up in Tunbridge Wells I think………

Here’s a slight change of tack, but a food related one. And a question - does the word Pobs mean anything to you? ❓

Thanks. I was wondering about that. We always had an aft suite with P&O, mainly for the extra space and breakfasts in the Epicurean, but suites with Saga look extraordinarily expensive, presumably because there are fewer of them. I’m not at all sure we’d be prepared to spend that much, but a regular balcony might well do with Saga. Included dining options look rather better, and the other included extras would be good, but the overall ambience, I’m advised by friends, is much better.

Nobody’s boring, and certainly not either of you! It’s the little things, the detail, the home life, the trivia, the ordinary stuff, in this thread that keeps it alive and keeps us coming back. It’s like a reality version of the Archers - but much more interesting because the people are real. Even my wife knows all the characters here! Here’s another mundane question from someone who’s never watched Happy Valley. I think I know the answer though - should we start at Episode 1, Series 1 on BBC iPlayer?

Not as yet a Saga passenger, but very soon will be because of the direction Carnival has taken P&O in over recent years. It’s not remotely the same company it was even 10 years ago. Stripped back food, service, talks, entertainment and very tired accommodation. We have friends who’ve switched. They, like you, were loyal P&O customers but now wouldn’t even consider returning. The difference, they say, is astonishing - in every respect. It’s a shame, because P&O used to suit us quite nicely. Good food, decent accommodation, a civilised environment and nice dinner companions. Some of that remains, but you have to hit lucky, and I don’t take chances with holidays.

But what a great place to live - so underrated.

People’s personal expectations and standards vary. Some might regard P&O as luxurious. Others will not. John Lewis furnishings have a similar impact I believe…….

Moronic’s about the right word for Clarkson, but this time it’s costing him quite a bit. Deservedly! There used to be a very popular little game played by his ’fans’ a while back, maybe still going on - basically hiding the Clarkson book covers in bookshops to reduce his sales. 😃

And to make matters even worse, universities have recently been told they have to cut back the number of medical school training places - meaning even fewer doctors being trained. Absolute madness,

Absolutely. But unfortunately, there’s a very obvious campaign going on to denigrate the NHS and damage it. Blacken its name indeed. Much easier to sell off the bits of a broken NHS at rock bottom prices to American companies. And this is exactly what’s happening behind our backs.

Most, if not all, matrons would be on Pay Band 8a on not much more than half that figure.

I very much doubt that Jane - conscientious, caring people are very difficult to find. I also wonder just how many of the reported recent GP problems have been caused by large corporations taking over local practices. That’s certainly the case in quite a few areas. Only profits matter, and I’m advising one patient who’s actually been ditched by one such practice (in contravention of very clear rules) because her conditions are complex and require expensive medications.

Ours replaced the online booking via Systmonline with AskMyGP - a very straightforward, simple to use, online triage system. It gives the opportunity for a brief summary of the problem and in our case that’s followed up with contact by the chosen method - phone, visit, video or email - usually on the same day. We’re perhaps lucky but using that system we’ve never failed to get a same day surgery appointment when it’s been necessary. What’s ‘necessary’ might perhaps be arguable, but it’s very rarely that most people actually need a face to face appointment. Some obviously do, but in that situation (suspected shingles was one) we’ve always seen a GP the same day. Not much use to you, I’m afraid, if your surgery doesn’t offer AskMyGP, but it does exist outside the app.

Happy to confirm that it was an entirely spoof question, though the course itself is genuine. The heading of this thread just sounded a bit like a potential exam question and I added the rest. It would also make a suitable tabloid headline with a couple of word repositions and a question mark. The rule is though that the answer to tabloid headline questions like that is always ‘no’, but in this case that rule would be broken.

Sarah, I’m sorry to hear about your parents’ misfortune - though it’s incredibly common, even here. Thieves are very cunning. I’m sure you’ve seen this, and similar threads, but just in case not they do contain some useful tips for getting refunds, and warnings to all of us. We could very easily be next. https://www.tenerife-information-centre.com/scam-in-adeje-comments.html

Apologies. I should make it clear that it was just a suggestion - based entirely on a fertile imagination!

But if you view the proposition this way…………. Cambridge International AS & A Level Travel and Tourism (9395) Question 2: Carnival’s Budget Cruise Line - Carnival have decreed that P & 0 should be their budget Cruise Line. Discuss, with particular reference to the economic, sociological and demographic factors in a changing British cruise and travel market.

I'm probably thinking more of the area round Hull, maybe. As an (ex) Southerner I used to stick rigidly to Cod, until we lived for a while in an area where they wouldn't touch it. The I discovered the joys of haddock, which down south a lot think of as somehow inferior. Haven't eaten Cod for years now. Yours does look good!

Looks very nice indeed, Kalos - and very healthy too. Isn’t Cod a bit unusual for Yorkshire though?

Not Pizza Express, I hope…….

Wasn’t the opposite mainly to the original site proposed, near The Deep?

Hull prposals Here’s the link, Kalos, for what it’s worth: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czrklx0d41vo