Moan, moan, moan - 2013

[Anthony Darby]

Moi Kiwi 

[Brian Ellis]

Moi Kiwi 

Amazing how quickly you have been integrated Anthony.  Here, in Norfolk, I believe you have to have been resident for at least 25 years to be accepted by the natives 

[Michael J Campbell]

I believe you have to have been resident for at least 25 years to be accepted by the natives 

!25 years! I am here 41 years and still a stranger. and not accepted as part of the community. Don't even know the neighbours three doors away on either side and they don't greet me if we  meet on the road.

[Anthony Darby]

In some ways I feel more at home here. A Yorkshireman living in Scotland vs a Yorkshireman living in New Zealand. Let me see? Ah yes, 20 minutes and I'm at Eden Park to watch England play New Zealand at cricket!

[David Nicholson]

!25 years! I am here 41 years and still a stranger. and not accepted as part of the community. Don't even know the neighbours three doors away on either side and they don't greet me if we  meet on the road.

Sounds a bit like Devon 

[annew]

I remember reading a letter from someone who moved to the Yorkshire Dales, passed their neighbouring farmer in the car most days who gave no acknowledgement. After 20 years, the neighbour raised one finger from the steering wheel as a greeting.
We're friendly really. 

[Anthony Darby]

Wish I could find a decent lemon and meringue pie. All we get here is a lemon cheese cake with a mushy froth on the top. I suppose it's suppose to be pavlova, but give me a proper meringue any day. I suppose I'll just have to find a good recipe and make one myself. I must admit to being very disappointed with NZ pavlova. I'm used to something much more crunchy on the outside.

[Anthony Darby]

Oh dear. Just watched an episode of David Attenborough's "Kingdom of Plants". He described the wasp Encarsia hatching from eggs on strips hung on plants and laying their eggs on aphid pupae. Encarsia hatch from white fly pupae, not eggs, and don't attack aphids at all!

[TC]

Potholes !!!!!!!!

In the past 16 months I have had to replace 5 tyres due to pothole damage.  This has set me back about £420
Last week I hit another which looked like a large puddle except it sounded as if the wheel had been hit by a sledgehammer.
No visible damage could be seen so I continued on home  - carefully.
The next day there was a bulge in the sidewall of the nearside front tyre.
At the tyre depot they set about replacing it and told me that the alloy wheel had a fracture in it next to the damage on the tyre so the could not fit a new one.  So I was stuck with one of these stupid "space saving wheels" on the front until the wheel could be repaired.  Luckily the wheel was repaired and a new tyre fitted.  This left me out of pocket to the sum of £150.

I am now going to claim against the council road department.  Today I went back to the spot to photograph it.  There was a 5 foot long pothole with a raised iron drain cover protruding.  Google earth was handy as I could capture an aerial picture of the site and a ground view.
I also noted that they had a road tarmacking crew renewing complete sections of the road so they cannot deny that the surface was in a deplorable condition.
No doubt I will get the run-around but even if they don't pay up, it will be entertaining annoying them !

[David Nicholson]

I wish you all the best with this one Tom, last year cost me two steel road wheels. Don't let 'em off the hook all local authorities are well insured.

[Maggi Young]

One of our local members successfully claimed for a busted wheel from the council.
In the paper this week it was mentioned that if councils spent the money they have to pay out in insurance claims on mending the ruddy potholes in the first place they'd save money and generate tremendous goodwill- pity they never seem to think of that!

[Anthony Darby]

Potholes. I've yet to see one here.

[Maggi Young]

Potholes. I've yet to see one here.

Maybe you're just lucky in Auckland -  In the Christchurch area,  after the earthquakes, I would have thought a mere pothole would be the least of their worries.

[angie]

One of our vans was driven out of garage after just getting serviced and now two tyres and wheel totally wrecked. There was a huge manhole cover sticking up. I called the council two weeks ago to tell them that this manhole was at an angle. When I called the council to say that the manhole cover was right out and had caused damage to the van . I was asked did I not see the cover sticking up. I told them I wasn't the driver and i wont say what else I said. The car behind the van also caught the manhole. Its been a week now and all the have done is put cones around it, how long does it take to sort a simple thing like this. It is a very busy road.
I pay £460 road tax to have my car on the road. I think that amount could fill a few potholes 

Its good when you moan 

Angie 

[Maggi Young]

When I called the council to say that the manhole cover was right out and had caused damage to the van . I was asked did I not see the cover sticking up.

 That is even more annoying - there are all sorts of reasons, mostly to do with road safety, why one could well see a hazard in the road such as this but still be unable to avoid it.
 The traffic could be too heavy, both behind and on the other side of the road, to be able to stop or to serve..... - plenty to moan about there,  quite apart from the blasted manhole cover.