BT got the ADSL back up up by half ten last night. Being a sad old git, I was tucked up in bed by then of course. No-one could complain that it was fixed out of hours on a Sunday…unless it was broken in the first place, 14 hours earlier, by sheer stupidity. Anyway, here’s a great tip I picked up from blagger.com, you can guarantee talking to a human at BT by calling 020 7356 5000! I was so excited when I heard this that I called on a sunday evening…and a HUMAN answered! Woohooo! Even though she told me to ring back the next day, it was almost cathartic after so many frustrating hours talking to robots.
BTW – I’ve found an automated telephone service even more annoying than BT’s: Parcel Force! Not only is it arsingly irritating, it’s on an expensive 0870 number and it uses voice (un)recognition!
As the DSL was Donald yesterday, I went over to Eltham to do some work. The bus ride was your typical South East London experience, right down to the 60+ year old pissing all over the top deck, much to the dismay and annoyance of an African bloke there who really couldn’t conceal his consternation.
I also saw a lovely old Routemaster going in the other direction. What sort of lucky tourist party could get hold of one of those ancient bits of heritage? I wondered. As it got closer, the magic words “Railway Replacement” could be seen on the front and I too nearly wet myself. These 50 year old buses, apparently too old to be in service as buses, are now back in service to assist the wreckage of our once-proud, now privatised, rail system.
The papers and TV have been obsessed with the new extended opening hours. If you’ve ever wanted to see a better example of bad journalism then pick any channel, newspaper or news-site and look for the coverage. Hours of videos, pages of pictures and long lurid descriptions of the same thing: drunk people in town centres at 3am on a sunday morning getting their arses out whilst shouting “aaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrghhhhhh”. Now, I live within 15 minutes walk of the Old Kent Road. People getting pissed and violent early in the morning is not new! The reason why I don’t go out on saturday nights is because it’s full of drunk arseholes, and has been forever. The relaxation of the laws can only have a beneficial effect….but give it a chance. You can’t change culture overnight. Give it at least a year…please! Once people realise there’s no rush they will surely calm down. I hope.