Tuesday 26 June 2012

Fortnight in Mallorca

Well we are nearing the end of our annual pilgrimage to Mallorca! It has flown by and it has been fantastic as usual. Our friends have been fantastic as usual and we are dreading the return to England. After 25 years we find it harder each year to leave our second home. This year we have been privileged to experience first hand the progress of three feral kittens as they have been guided by their attentive mother in how to move toward independence. I know there is a problem with feral cats in Mallorca but I also know that the Spanish aren't as uncaring toward these animals as they like to pretend. However early I have arisen I still haven't caught sight of the person responsible for leaving food for them but I have seen the result of this kind act. For all the macho and bravado comments that are made I know that they are turning a blind eye to the antics of these kittens until they too are full grown and move on to their own patch. Viva espaƱa!

Friday 8 June 2012

Amazon & City Link - Tweets

If you search on Twitter for @Amazon or @Citylink you will find a multitude of people complaining about the service they have (or should I say have not) received from the above companies.

I cannot believe that a company as large as Amazon is not taking notice of the complaints they have received regarding the shoddy service supplied by their premier service courier "City Link".

It would appear that Prime Membership to Amazon means deliver as cheap as possible (a.k.a. City Link).

Take a look at the Tweets if you don't believe me.  Perhaps it is about time that Amazon monitored what was being said on the social networks!

Suppliers Who Use City Link

After another frustrating attempt at a delivery by City Link in which they put a card through the door without even knocking or ringing the bell resulting in a 30 mile trip to pick up the parcel I am now compiling a list of all the suppliers that still insist in using City Link.  Beware of the following:


  • eBuyer - please note they have now stopped using City Link
  • Amazon.co.uk - after several complaints regarding deliveries they still insist on using City Link

I will add to this list as I discover who else uses them.  Feel free to leave comments regarding your own stories and I will add them to the list.

Please note that City Link WILL NOT:


  • leave without obtaining a signature
  • give a depot phone number
  • accept a safe place to leave a parcel (even if you leave a signed letter requesting such)
  • knock on your door or ring the bell
  • deliver on a Saturday
  • keep your parcel for more than 5 days before returning to sender
  • give an approximate time for delivery (any time between 07.30 and 17.30)


Sunday 3 June 2012

Family Life

Every Saturday morning at 9 AM my mother is sitting by her phone waiting for my call.

At 85 years of age and living a distance from me I can allow her to expect my call - come rain or shine.

From my mum's perspective the only way she knows what goes on in the family is by a phone call updating her on the previous week's activities.  She revels in hearing every detail and it helps her to feel as though she is still involved in our family lives.

In reality she hasn't visited my house for over 15 years as her fear of driving any distance prevents her from driving to me and therefore our only visits are when we make the journey to see her.  Perhaps that is what you come to expect as you grow older.

In some ways I can understand her predicament for already at my age I find myself "left out of the loop" when it comes to the every day lives of our children and grandchildren.  Working full-time (myself and the children) and being a distance apart means that I learn a lot of what goes on by logging on to Facebook.  There seems to be hardly any time for phone calls or Skype and it is a little sad that a social networking site is the main source of information regarding family activities.

My mum always says that she prefers to talk on the phone than an email or text message and I suppose in some ways she is right.  But in these busy days the old poem seems all the more poignant:

"What is this world if full of care, we have no time to stand and stare"

Or to contact one another... and I'm as guilty as the next!

Queens Jubilee

Well watching the pageant of the Queens Jubilee it is amazing to see so many boats going down the River Thames.

Whatever your views on the UK and Royalty today has to be acknowledged as a moment in history.

The Commonwealth countries have of course all attended and it is certainly marvelous to see.

For me it is a shame that Spain has snubbed the occasion due to political reasons, but is lovely to see all the other countries that have wished to be involved.

Spectacular just a shame that the sun isn't shining!