Rude Londoners, Take That and Insurance claims

The bus was still at the bus stop, caught up in the traffic. We ran to catch it before it moved off - me, my daughter, her partner and my young grandson. It had been a wonderful day and we had left the car on the south side of the bridge and just needed the bus for one stop as my grandsons little legs were tired from hours of walking around Trafalgar Square, Soho and Covent Garden. The bus driver refused to acknowledge our presence. We tapped on the door. The driver, without even looking at us, shook his head. He stared straight ahead, wearing wrap round dark glasses and steadfastly refused to open the door. The bus was stationary, at a bus stop and more or less empty. He drove off, no doubt pleased with himself that he had the power to refuse a family 'permission' to board his bus. We climbed aboard the next bus that stopped (several yards from the stop and presented the driver with our six coins. He said 'I'm sorry, you have to have a travel card or purchase a ticket from the machine at the stop.' We looked at the machine (now seemingly miles from the bus) and resigned ourselves to missing yet another bus, and feeling tired and deflated, made to make our way off the bus. My daughter said 'but we just want to travel one stop, over the bridge' and the driver, taking pity on us said 'don't worry, just take a seat'. So in a matter of minutes we had been treated badly by one driver and with generosity of spirit by another. I was interested to hear today that a survey had reported that Londoners were rude and unhelpful. Bus Driver # 1 certainly fitted that description. Let's hope that visitors to this great city meet more drivers like bus driver # 2!

My daughter was extremely angry at bus driver # 2. But let's face it...this guy must lead a very depressing, unfulfilled life if he gets satisfaction out of small acts of tyranny. You have to feel sorry for him. I read somewhere the other day that if you are subjected to road rage instead of reacting aggressively you should smile, and blow the driver a kiss. Now I think this is an excellent idea. If you really want to wind someone up that is. It would beat the two finger sign by miles. I think there should be a website where members of the disgruntled public can post pictures of these various twats with a brief description of their idiotic act and invite people to comment. Something called 'Wanker Central' or 'TWATS R US'. Fuck blowing kissed o giving the 'V' sign, from now on I'm whipping out my camera and saying 'say cheese'.

Yet another man admits to being a cheat and a liar...cute little Mark Owen of Take That fame. Why, if you are a babe magnet, rich, and horny, would you get married? Why not stay free to play the field and fuck who you want, when you want, without having to lie to someone you have promised to be faithful too? Although to be fair to Owen he has been faithful since he got married 5 months ago. All ten infidelities took place in the days he was just dating the mother of his children. Boys...stay free and single. MUCH easier. Duh! I saw Take That live last summer and they put on a wonderful show. Trapeze artists, jugglers, clowns, tight rope walkers, magicians and a circus parade. Even a huge mechanical elephant similar to one I saw in St James’ Park a few years ago made an appearance. The lads themselves rode on stage at one point on unicycles (except Barlow who rode a tiny two wheeler complete with stabilisers). I say lads because the four men are lads. Not ‘Jack the Lads’ type lads but nice 'lad's. Unassuming, unpretentious...nice. Not what you expect ‘pop stars’ to be. In fact it almost seemed that these four lads where grateful to be entertaining us. Happy to be in the public eye and no doubt relieved to be earning the big bucks again. Barlow's opening line was ‘Wembley? Who’d have thought?’ and certainly who would have thought that back in the 90s when Robbie left the band and they struggled on as a foursome for some months before finally throwing in the towel. From virtual obscurity too, 10 years later, fillng stadiums such as Wembley and achieving phenomenal record sales? The concert opened with ‘The greatest time of your life’ which is perfect for introducing an extravaganza of sights and sounds. It set the scene for all the visual and audio treats that were to follow over the next couple of hours. A great saxophone player had a solo spot during ‘A Million Love Songs Later’ and the lads surprised me by each playing an instrument. A further surprise was when the two lads whose names escape me took centre stage and sung surprisingly well.
The audience went mad whenever a little of the old Take That showed itself. Usually when the lads lined up and did a few dance moves. But these moves where kept to a minimum. Take That 2009 were clearly serious about how they were evolving. They really seemed to want to ‘share’ the whole experience with the audience. Barlow writes good pop songs, not least of which is 'Patience' which is the song that has given them another bite of the fame cherry. 10 years on from their first successes the odds were against them. They had ruled before the day of the ‘Pop Idol’ and ‘The X Factor’. They ruled the airwaves before Britain had talent. Their fans were now mums themselves with children. Since the TT days we have had Eminem, Rhainna and Lady GaGa. Boy Bands are so passé unless they are black and bad (or at least one of them is) or - almost black and 'boy next door' like JLS. So nearing middle age, with a middle age spread (Barlow) or forging ahead with unremarkable solo careers (Owen) and hell, God only knows what the other two were doing (DJing in Ibiza or selling timeshares rings a bell for the lads who's names I don't even know) TT decided to throw caution to the wind and give it another go. And thank god they did. More great songs, more entertainment and enjoyment for all concerned. They have taken risks. The circus theme for instance, must logistically be a nightmare and a huge expense but they pulled it off.




Talking of lying, why is it that if you have to make an insurance claim you are made to feel like you are lying when you're not? Today I had to make a claim and from the minute I started speaking to 'Jackie' I felt that every word I said was disbelieved. It didn't help that I had moved and neglected to tell them, or that I had to phone my daughter to ask for my bank account number but when they finally agreed that my claim would be met 'in principle' they then demanded I pay the excess immediately using a 'card that was in same name as that on the policy'. I explained that my card was in my married name and the policy was in my maiden name. Now this is were they really got on their high horse and I could feel Jackie's suspicion pumping down the phone line and spilling out on to my lap. After going off to check with her supervisor Jackie told me that they would accept payment 'this time' but I had to change the policy into my married name. 'No I don't' I said. ' I have every right to use whatever name I like.' Jackie said 'but you are married. You have to use you husbands name.' Jackie obviously was stuck in the 1940s. This is my second experience with insurers in the last couple of months. I tried claiming on my home insurance for some damage done in my home by a leak from an incorrectly fitted flue but when I received the claim form and got estimates I felt so stressed I decided not to bother. I think this is what insurance companies rely on. People giving up.