Joining the Band Wagon
Seeing how many of my friends (
Liz,
Sally,
Merlin) are using this forum to whinge about call centres et al. I thought i might as well join in. Partly this is due to the fact that having read Liz's blog I remembered to do something about it.
Last November we changed power suppliers away from one based north of the border. I received two statements from them. One relating to electricity said we owed them £13.01 the one relating to Gas said they owed us £103.26. I rang up to see if such a large organisation could manage the mammoth task of taking the smaller amount from the big amount and pay us the difference. Hooray without having to argue the logic they to agreed this was the thing to do and promised to send me the difference in the form of a cheque.
So I waited
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and waited
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and waited
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and today read Liz's blog and decided to wait no longer and call them.
Me: Give me my money!
Them: Oh sorry sir, our mistake
Me: Uhhhhh arn't we meant to argue about this, you transfer me into recorded message hell only to find myself spat out on another continent.
Them: Errrrr (sounding confused) no if I could just have your wife's first name as it would appear we don't have it and that may be why the cheque would not print as the account is in her name.
Me: Errrrr yes its Karen.
Them: You should receive the cheque in the next few days, thank you for calling.
So you see I wish I could regale a tale of anger frustration and incompetency, but actually they were quite good. So remind me why did I change companies, oh yes that was it they were flamin expensive!
Labels: Stuff
Phew!
The Dante's Inferno Test has sent you to Purgatory!Here is how you matched up against all the levels:
Take the Dante Inferno Hell TestFor just a couple of moments I did worry that this would prove once and for all I was in the wrong job!
It looks like I'm reasonably safe for the time being at least.
Labels: Stuff
Its Catching
Apparently its
not as rare as I first thought, or at least not at my club. Oh I do hope this does not come back to haunt me!
Labels: Football
Loyalty
A very rare commodity these days, lets hope he does not now make a fool of himself and me by going back on his
word!
Labels: Football
Here Are The Results From The Stockport Jury
Blogger tells me this is my 100th post kind of appropriate I think.
Well following my final preach with a view today, following a weekend of meeting with the church, following the same procedure the week before both churches met this afternoon to decide whether to call me as their minister.
I am pleased, no ecstatic to say that you are now looking at the new minister for The Heatons and Edgeley Road URC's with some involvement at Christ Church Reddish.
This is for us the end of a long journey thank you for those who have been praying, please do not stop because I believe that this is where the real hard work starts.
The last few years have been a roller coaster, but then the thing about roller coasters is once you get on them you don't want to get of. So our journey continues with a God who continually disturbs, challenges and unsettles us from our complacency. Long may it continue!
Labels: Church, Ministry
Waiting
Its the eve before my final preach with a view. Its the point that the last three and a half years have been leading to. Its the night I should be so excited about, in around 12 hours I'll know where my next six years will be, the Church collectively will have confirmed my call and reccomended my Ordination. Yet i'm scared, what if they say no, where do we go from here, back looking again, back to discerning once more. Yet this feels so right, so perfect, so filled with God and so like we are being called. God give me you peace, your patience and your Grace.
Labels: Ministry
Caption Competition
Following the pictoral story of Rob the Gnome I wondered if anyone could arrive at a suitable caption for this picture?
Rob the Gnome
Are you sitting comfortably? Oh good then I will begin. I need to say that this is a story worthy of
Sally's story telling ability and I feel I may fail to do it justice. However, in my defence I do have the pictures to support the words.
Rob is a pretty average guy, well to be true he is tad smaller than the average guy, which in the case of this story means he compares quite well to a gnome.
Rob was invited along with his wife to the eat all our left over food party. He had a good time i think and early on Saturday morning decided to call a taxi home. This is where the story of Rob the gnome really starts.
Just as Rob is climbing into the taxi he feels his keys leaving his pocket, this is swiftly followed by a clancing noise as they hit the grid just below where the taxi is parked. The klanging is followed by a sploosh as the keys bounce of the grate and into the murky water below. Obviously it's late Rob the gnome has had one to many glasses of Papa gnome's famous gnome juice so decides to leave key recovery to later that morning.
So early the following morning Rob the gnome returns to collect his keys.
First he tries with his Action Man bucket but sadly no luck.
Next he tries with his little fishing rod but still no luck.
Time to phone a friend, but still no luck.
Next he tries with a big grown up spade but still no luck.
Oh dear I think he's lost the spade.
Next the post man tries to help, but still no luck.
Perhaps Ray supervising with a cup of tea can help, but still no luck.
And then just as he thinks he is going to have to withdraw to his toad stool, are those the keys?
Yes Rob the gnome can now enter his home.
Hooray all's well that ends well!
Labels: Stuff
A Big Weekend
Funny thing happened Saturday morning, the morning after the party but it's worthy of a post of its own.
So this was the first of my two big weekends. This week church 1 next week church 2. Saturday we went for a social so we could meet church members and they could meet us and the Sunday I preached.
We feel it went well the people were great and we really enjoyed ourselves, we hope they did too, perhaps just perhaps this could be the one. Role on next weekend............... watch this space!
Labels: Ministry
All Gone!
Yeah, we did it party food gone and now the diet can commence, the gym session become more regular and me and
Sally can share via blogs which bits hurt the most!
Labels: Stuff
How did that happen?
Spent most of today so far continuing to feel ill. Despite that we seem to have managed to end up having another party on Friday so we can get rid of all the Christmas junk that remains in our freezer. Still can't help asking myself how did that happen oh well perhaps then the fitness program can start!
Labels: Stuff
Did I Really Eat That Much!
Woke today feeling decididly dodgy, poorly tum so won't go into graphic detail. Before Christmas well back in November actually we joined the gym, the idea being to get fit. All was going well until Christmas arrived and with all the events at church that needed attending the gym kind of went by the wayside for 2 weeks.
I had planned for today to meet P the minister I currently am on placement with so he could talk over the coming events. Just to clarify this weekend is the first of the two weekends I go to preach with a view at 2 churches that i may potentially become minister at. Saturday we go as a family for an informal social and Sunday I preach, this is then repeated the following weekend at the other church, so as you can imagine as the time gets closer the more nervous I become.
So back to the story. The idea was we would go out, talk over the service, chill and help me prepare, then go back to my house meet P's wife and along with K go for a meal at our local
Italian restraunt.
I had this bright idea P my like to join me at the
gym, then make full use of the pool,spa,steam room and sauna. Did I really eat that much was the first thought through my head as I stood on the scales and oh my gosh this hurts was the second as I commenced my exercise program. Still they do say no pain, no gain (or loss in this case).
So work out complete we chilled and chatted and helped my head into the kind of place it needed to go. I am optomistic for the next couple of weeks, it feels so right.
Not only does it feel right for me but also for the rest of the family and I have never seen God playing with their emotions. Experience has taught me that God would not call me to a place where I would be happy and fullfilled if it meant my family would be miserable. I guess my reservations though are about not counting my chickens before they are hatched. P shared with me that his experience of God had always been that if something was not right the door was closed almost immediatley and that it was not dangled in front of you only for it to be taken away at the last moment. I do so hope he is right.
Anyway after our relaxation and weight loss program we went out for Italian, no problems there though cause my tummy ache kicked back in and I came home and threw up, not the weight loss program I quite had in mind!
Labels: Gym, Ministry
New Year New Who Knows?
New year celebrations were good, and a little last minute, having only decided what to do on Boxing day. In a rash moment we thought we would host a party at home for neighbours and friends who like us had not yet thought about what thay should do.
I guess one problem is children. Not that i believe my children to be a problem you understand, it's just that some people don't always welcome children at their parties (having met other children this I can understand). Anyway to cut an already long story........ we decided to hold a children friendly party. We kind of thought it would end up the five of us eating left over mince pies and singing Auld Lang Syne to each other at midnight. However, it would appear we were not the only ones who were unorganised as we had about 25 here in the end. Entertainment was provided by the S*ny Pl*yst*tion and
S*ngst*r followed up by
B*zz the big quiz for the more intellectual amongst our number (if you believe that....) any way twas a good night.
New years day we rose slowly along with those who never went home, and were then rejoined by some of those who did and there were then 18 of us for breakfast. The party then split two ways, the majority went for a walk around
Chorlton Water Park. However, three of us went to Eastlands to see Man City versus Everton (sadly for him one of our number was an Everton fan).
Now I know I had a mini rant about City before Christmas but as Craig pointed out on that same post, I must and I am now well happy. Further proof there is a God, Christmas is a time of hope, God is a City fan and 9 points from 12 is not to be sniffed at. In case you havn't got the drift yet we just kept winning yay!!!!!!
Victory over Everton by 2 goals to 1 however, the Everton fan in our midst was not quite so elated.
So any way victory done and dusted we returned home to our respective houses and in my case found the rest of my family fast asleep in bed. So having woke them all up it was a quick turnaround and back out for a meal for 17!
Location was
Asian Fusion in Chorlton where we were rejoined by Liz who had spent some of her New Years eve with us (see her blog). Meal was good especially my fish starter, not quite a replacement for the Punjab (not that we were trying) but if we just want a local place to eat v.good.
The next bit of the night was a bit unplanned with most of the 17 ending up back at our house for more S*ngst*r and B*zz. Now under normal circumstances i would never blog pictures of individuals making fools of themselves whilst singing along to Duran Duran. But then not most people would post pictures of you dressed in an elf outfit. So here is evidence that Liz is in fact a closet Duran Duran fan (that's something she didn't put on her five things you don't know about me).
Well the 1st ended on the 2nd if you know what I mean and we all went to bed tired, happy and well and truly having welcomed in the new year. Now all that is to come is preaching, meeting new churches and waiting to see if we know where we are going ooh it's scary!
Labels: Football, Ministry, New Year, Stuff
