BBC News - Are you being served?

BBC News - Are you being served?

I must admit that when you walk into some shops you are met with complete disinterest by staff concerned, and that does not encourage you to make your purchase at that particular shop. The problem is especially exasperating when staff are employed on the basis of colour and not of skill. It is the willingness to assist, not forgetting the smile, that achieves the desired result.

The above applies to all sectors of economic activity from top to bottom. The tendency is evident in South Africa, and doubtlessly elsewhere, where services both public and private have taken a dive. It is akin to a child who has a favourite colour, he will take the green one because the colour is right, in spite of the fact that he knows that the blue one will work better.

I guess it is up to what the employer wants. If he wants his business or public service to thrive, he will employ the correct tools to maximize efficiency.

joe_rotheray's photostream

joe_rotheray's photostream on Flickr.

My collection of images on Flickr.

Settlers Park in Port Elizabeth

Port Elizabeth’s Settlers Park in 1984 when there seemed to be some hope of beautifying the area as a place to indulge in some of the wonders and pleasures of nature.

 Follow this path anticipating what may be seen around the next bend.

Occasional flooding adds excitement and nature's subtle changes to the area.

Down there it was a forest of fun.

Pleasure for the family.

And then our Parks department decided to renovate with the wholesale removal of many of the trees. At the final stages of this removal, it was decided that ring barking was a good method to use for the killing of the trees. Unfortunately, this is a slow process. Furthermore, the remains are not removed when life is gone, but left standing, not exactly adding to the attraction of the area. How long term is this project?

 I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

Night

I am not used to being struck with the inability  to sleep. It is 11.45 pm and just had two slices of bread slathered with butter and home- made tomato jam. Following that a cup of Yorkshire tea. I dreamed of very large meat pies, not sure I ate them though.

I am told the temperature reached 38 degrees centigrade today, extremely hot. I think it has been raining solidly for the past 3 hours, high humidity at the moment.. We have been waiting for the rain for a fair while. Maybe at last the drought is to be broken. The rain can be heard coming down at a rate, an almost forgotten sound, the swishing of passing cars through the water in the street.. Seemingly the humidity refuses to abate. We may have another flood on the way, in spite of what the forecasts say, an average of 30 degrees over the 6 forthcoming days.

Well, cannot sit here all night. I have finished my snack and the tea. I am off to bed and hopefully sleep as well.

Spam on Facebook.

There is a continuing problem with spam on Facebook and this pic is an example. One needs to watch for the contents of the sharp section in the accompanying screenshot within this note.  The red x's mark the entry. If you click it you are led to a black screen which invites you to prove that you are human. This thing first appeared on my page about six weeks ago and I was almost tripped up. I had to change all my passwords. The original post was bogus, that was confirmed by the friend who was supposed to have posted it.

I came across the same posting on two friends FB pages and managed to delete the one. The other is said to be deleted but I still pick it up on my pc. To me this can be serious.

Unfortunately, and this is most annoying, it is difficult to report the problem to Facebook admin. Searching for a 'contact us' facility sends one around in frustrating circles. I now know how to climb a wall with no movement whatsoever. 

If anyone knows how to get the message through to Admin, please copy and paste this note and send it on.

Lastly, if you come across a post that you are unsure of, delete it.

Save that Bra

All is peaceful. My wife is relaxing in front of the television and I am in my favorite spot, in front of my computer, engrossed. Suddenly a black face is peering at me in the doorway, Baxter, with a flesh coloured bra clenched between his teeth. Damn the dog.

It is normally a frustrating procedure to persuade the dog to relinquish 'his' possession. He retrieves, but on his own terms. If I put my hand out, he'll pull back. If I chase him I'll be left for dust. On the other hand my wife does not want any holey modification to her underwear. I suddenly have a bright idea.

Jumping up I yell, "bra alert," and make a dash for the garage, Baxter hammering after me, still clenching his prize. I grab the mower and wheel it quickly onto the grass. He wheels around, dropping the bra. More fun to be had chasing me pushing the mower. I grab the opportunity and run to pick up the garment. There, no holes, just dust and dirt.

Baxter's adrenalin is pumping now, circling the mower at a pace, trying to out-bark the noise he thinks will be made when I start the engine. I push the mower back into the garage and the dog loses interest.

Thank goodness, another bra saved.

One of my Gripes

Some while back a haphazard plan was hatched to 'improve' the look of our valley by eliminating alien invaders, a fair number of gum and pine trees. Our parks department started felling them and leaving the fallen remains in place. Not too bad, considering that the remains would take approximately seven years to rot.

This killing of trees was done in stages, set a number of years apart. There were three stages, the last of which was the laziest. The decision was to ring bark and leave them to die; birds would be left at least somewhere to perch was the justification. The twigs are still there now, unattractive to bird life and an eyesore.

Strictly speaking it is a beautiful area , especially after heavy rain when the river comes down in flood, a pleasant hike if you do not mind getting your feet wet, or just a pleasant walk during drier periods. The only problem is the long term neglect of our valley, one aspect in particular.

At various points of entry the walker is confronted by a sign that warns of danger ahead, the possibility of being mugged. The sign goes on to indicate that the walker should be one of a group, safety in numbers I presume.

Of course there is no inclination to try and remedy the situation now for whatever reason. The only time improvements may be made is when a tourist is injured or loses his life as a result of mugging.