Maybe it is the worst company in the world after all

A few days ago I had a call from O2 (formerly "the worst company I have ever dealt with, bar none"). They offered me a new handset (Nokia E50) and a 20% reduction in rental in exchange for a 1 year extension of the contract.

Nothing appeared, so I rang them this evening.

Surprisingly, they had no record of the new handset - in fact it's not even in their portfolio, they said. Less surprisingly, they did have a record of my 12-month extension to the contract. Effective one week after Dean rang, but there you go.

The department that may be able to help me had (even less surprisingly) gone home. So maybe tomorrow we'll find out how far O2 are on their way to regaining their status of the worst company I have ever dealt with, bar none.

Bad Bloggers! Naughty Bloggers!

Apparently blogging is eeeevil, according to Ambassador Youth, an online magazine at "the only website on earth that explains the truth of virtually every biblical doctrine — and in extraordinary detail".

The argument is "interesting" - with no sense of irony, the author begins by lamenting that Blogs give young people (Oh, the horror!) a "voice". Still, I thought you might be interested in this snippet from the fruitcake zone.

Reported in The Register.

Maybe not the worst in the world after all?

Yesterday a nice chap called Dean called, from O2. Now a few years ago they were The Worst Company I Have Ever Dealt With Bar None (a long and sorry tale for another post), but it's been a while since they annoyed me, so I decided to hear him out.

O2 agreed to send me a shiny new phone as a free upgrade, and gave me 20% off my rental (in that order, in case it becomes important). So I'll give it a few days, and see if I've sold my soul to the worst company ever for another year, or if they are actually slightly less evil these days.

While I'm feeling kind and trusting, and inclined to give people another chance, I'm giving the dentist yet another opportunity to get my crown to stay in my mouth. Yes - the crown that seems to fall out every time I leave the country.

On the other hand, someone told me they have good dentists in Hungary - maybe that would take less time in the long run. Again, we'll see...

Read my lips: no new Thatcherism?

OK, so David Cameron and George Osborne didn't actually say that (and apologies to George H Bush). But that surely was the message in their steadfast refusal to commit to the tax-cutting agenda of the previous, dimly-remembered Thatcher administration.

While the electorate is growing tired of New Labour spin in general, and of Tony Blair in particular, they have not forgotten the shadow of the Thatcherite Tories. Back then tax cuts meant slashing services, closing hospitals, and cuts in education. The traditional virtue of cutting your coat according to your cloth was replaced by a mad rush to cut taxes whatever the cost.

If the Tories are to become electable, they need to convince swing voters that they no longer stand for letting the rich go private, and devil take the hindmost. The legacy of the "Nasty Party" must be let go, and seen to be let go.

So in this David Cameron is doing the right thing. Of course, he still needs to give us some idea of what he's for, or he'll be just another Lib Dem home for foundling protest votes.

A wee break

The west coast of Scotland is beautiful this time of year.







and it doesn't rain all the time!