talkmagic.co.uk

Yeah - Customs suck too. I thought we lived in the free market west etc, quite why it's OK for my caring government to stick me in the ar5e for nearly 20% of the value of my package... Why should they get free money just because you can only get the item I want from Hawaii?!

Farlsborough wrote:Why should they get free money just because you can only get the item I want from Hawaii?!

Yep... I had that problem too... they wanted to charge extra for a hula skirt on my order, and they said if she was in the box for that long, she'd need food too...


Seige goes off on a serious tangent... just for a change...

Aloha Farlsborough!

Now you've worried me! I ordered a couple of pith helmets for my latest expedition last week from Hawaii (believe it or not it's true), hadn't even considered customs charges...

Hey maybe our packages will get mixed up in the post, now that'd be fun!

Hi Flash.
I'd love to be able to reassure you, but I got my invoice through today, and I'm not a wildly happy bunny. At the end of the day it doesn't really matter because you can't get this ukulele in the UK anyway, but I would perhaps have bought a less expensive model if I knew I was going to end up paying almost a third again for it.

(Price = approx. £280)
Import Duty = £9.75
V.A.T. = £55.07 (which is £6 over what it should be, but I suspect trying to get that back will not be worth my while... still going to send a few emails)
And then £13.50 Parcelforce fee. Again, I was under the impression that this was only £8.

So, having already paid for shipping, I now have a bill of £78.32 to contend with, bringing the total cost of getting a bl**dy ukulele to the UK to over £100. Great. What also annoys me is the parcelforce fee - I've paid for shipping already! Just because my parcel needed to go through customs (so it can attract MORE CHARGES), I have to stump up a little sweetener for the postal service on this end?! Rubbish.

I'm feeling decidedly green and slimy today. I went online to pay my tax bill and the swines have added a £500 "balancing payment" to my account.

I'm feeling very Green and Slimey as I am back at work after two days off.

Now you may be saying "Well you just have had 2 days off so stop complaining". Unfortunately in those 2 days I've had 2 trips to the hospital (one after a 999 call and an ambulance) and zero sleep.

The missis on Monday morning (As I was returning from an all nighter oscar party) tore a muscle in her back and was rushed to hospital where I met her and then spent the day getting her home only to have to phone 999 at 1.30am as she couldnt move. Mind you the shot of Morphine has soon sorted that.
Now she cn move but is drugged up to the eyeballs with diazipan and painkillers....I did get some sleep though finally.

Talk about stress and there's now wrong with me!

ouch! I hope she feels better soon, sounds painful.

These green and slimy moments may seems pretty trivial to most of you but last month I turned 35.
Not a landmark year by any means but for me it that final step to the downward slope to 40.

Last week I went to the barbers. It cost me £1.50 and because I am "abroad" I was fully expecting the alcohol rubbed on my newly shaved neck (ouch). I was also fully expecting the nice quick neck and head massage that often accompies such a service.

What I was not expecting was the additional service I received. Now, most days I'm pretty chuffed to received such "pampering" but having just turned 35 I felt pretty embarrased and dejected when the nice man proceed to first take a comb to my eyebrows. YES! They were long enough to get a comb in. Not a little itty bitty "eyebrow comb" but a fully fledged head comb.
He then trimmed by big bushy caterpillers with SCISSORS. Not little itty bitty "eyebrow scissors" either, but big fully fledged hedge trimmer sized scissors.
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.


ALSO....
I bought a box of BLACK hair-dye for a recent fancy dress "do" which I attended dressed as an Arab sheik. I thought the hairdye would make me look more "sheiky". But I chickened out on the night.

However.
A couple of days later I had a few drinks...I thought black hair might make me look more "magical and mysterious". Besides, it probably wouldn't work as the box clearly states "WILL ONLY COLOUR GREY HAIR".

I now have black hair.
All over.
I didn't even know I had that much grey hair!

GREEN AND SLIMY...and slightly crusty.

dont worry about the age thing...im 36 this year...middle age will always be 6 years infront of me, i've decided...

38 is still a long way off for me, and i've recalibrated my mind to accept that it's not really "that" old...

i have a few grey/silver threads running through my locks now, even in my beard, a very attractive woman told me that she likes it and makes me look distinguished...

age is a state of mind...dont worry about it...

off for my horlicks and vic's vapour rub on my chest now before i settle down infront of the wireless...

Grrrr....

Stayed up last night making a giant balloon easter bunny to take busking with me today, but... I forgot that my car is currently not working, therefore I can't get to civilisation so won't be busking at all. Even if I did get there the weather is a stinker.

To top it off some imbecile presenter on a BBC2 youth programme has just said that busking is the same thing as begging...

My hard drive failed a few weeks ago and I found out today that I have to pay $655 to get the data off of it.

Just a quick update on my last post... I didn't busk in the end, but I did get my car working and gave the bunny balloon to the childrens ward of my local hospital. So at least someone has benefitted from my misfortune.

My mum and I kicked out one of my housemates on Wednesday, only for him to come back, break into my house and steal my car this morning

On the keyring there was also a key for my mums house (who he know has a grudge aginst). We are actually hoping he tries breaking into her house as well......









He doesnt know she has an enormous guard dog hehe


On a positive note, he didnt manage to steal my expencive (and incredibly aggressive) african grey parrot Hes my baby

Went to cover the filming of a new drama for the BBC yesterday. Was told it was being filmed inside a mine. 12degrees C and nearly 100% humidity so dress appropriatly.

Result - Spent 10 hours standing in the middle of a snow blizzard, denied any access to shelter (unlike the crew and cast who had trailers). Temperature about -8 degrees. Wrapped myself in a foil space blanket to avoid hypothermia and was told by the director to take it off. Why? - Because the microphones were picking up the sound of the snow falling onto it Another director then decided I should give the blanket to an actress who had to brave the weather for just 6 minutes. Luckily I keep spares of everything.

On the way there the car got stuck in the snow and the brakes failed. We called the RAC who sent a mechanic for the brakes but forgot to mention to him about the snow. His van also got stuck so he left it and treked a mile to reach us, then fixed our problem and called out another RAC vehicle to rescue him!

We left for the job at 4.45 am to be there for 7.15 as required by the call sheet. After the delay, we finally got there at 9.10am (and was told off by the director, even though we phoned to inform him) only to find out that the shoot wasnt until 9.45. Some days it just isnt worth getting out of bed.............

I'm feeling green and slimy all of a sudden because I've just heard that the actor Terrence Rigby has died, aged 71. He played Big Al in The Beiderbecke Affair and The Beiderbecke Connection - some of the finest material ever to grace UK airwaves.

If anyone wants me, I shall be watching all 9 hours of the boxed set...