Marc’s Musings and Random Rants

We went for a pleasant walk in Harrietsham, Kent yesterday. The County Council have put together some very good walking guides which you can send off for or download directly from their website. Each route includes a mini Ordnance Survey map with the route, as well as written and photographic descriptions of each junction so you really can’t get lost!

All but one of the descriptions/photos were accurate (a stile had mysteriously disappeared) but fortunately someone’s parents had recently done the same route so we had inside knowledge of where not to go! Even the three-hour estimated length of time to complete the route was accurate, but we did have a few breaks.

The weather was also pretty amazing for September, especially after the misery suffered the week before.

I got knocked off my bike today.

What is it with pedestrians and iPods? Do they lose all sense of their surroundings as soon as they spin that click-wheel? At least he was a fairly large lad, so it probably hurt him more than me when he looked but didn’t see, and just stepped right out.

Idiot.

Last year I took part in and completed the Care International UK 24 Peaks Challenge 2005. I also said that I would never do it again, but last weekend off we went again to the Lake District to try and beat our time in the First Title Group 24 Peaks Challenge 2006.

Unfortunately, the weather had different ideas. When we started at just gone 6am (don’t you just love 2:30am wake-up calls?) it was actually quite pleasant, and in the photo I managed to take I think the sun is out. Then at around 7:30, the sky darkened and the waterproofs went on, never to come off.

Courtesy Care International UK

Think gale force winds, horizontal rain, 20m visibility and you’re a fraction of the way there. It was thoroughly miserable for everyone who took part, but there was always the target of completing the event of climbing 24 peaks, each over 2400 feet, within 24 hours. However, even this became an impossibility when the event was called off on the Saturday afternoon with our team, Urban, just two peaks of that day’s ten to go. Fortunately we heard about the day being cancelled when bumping into the (very strong, and leading) India team who had managed to get lost on Great End after overtaking us earlier, as our radio had ceased to work by this time. We therefore descended with them and the mountain guides waiting for us with some other teams (but not a ‘lone walker’ who had apparently left his team as they were too slow!) further down the mountain.

This did mean that we got back to the hostel in Grasmere slightly earlier than we would have done otherwise, but still meant we wouldn’t get much more than 4 hours sleep that night before getting to the starting point for 5am on Sunday. At least we had some “better” weather to look forward to…

Or so we thought. Although we started our ascent of Red Screes in the drizzle, the conditions gradually deteriorated with the summit of Fairfield being particularly hazardous, just before the event was called off completely after our descent from Seat Sandal. Even though it was only 10:30 by this stage, apparently the conditions at Helvellyn were absolutely treacherous and the organisers had no choice but to cancel, with us having just one major climb (Dollywagon Pike, which India managed to complete before having to backtrack to get to the escape route) and eight smaller ones left. Again, it was quite lucky that we bumped into another team to find out the event was cancelled as our radio had packed up by this stage.

Courtesy Care International UK

So that was it. We had managed to complete just 13 of the 24 peaks, but this was all we could have done in the circumstances, even though we all wanted to continue due to the effort we had put in both on the weekend and in training for the event. I think we would have finished in the top three teams, but ultimately everyone was given the same time of 24 Hours on their certificates, presented at the (unimproved, dubiously four-star) Low Wood hotel that evening.

To top things off there were only a couple of amusing moments worth mentioning, including two people attempting to tackle Scafell Pike wearing jeans, looking like they had got lost on their way back from the Leeds Festival. The other was when we passed some Asian youths also on their way to the same peak (after our day had been cancelled), without even a map. They did have a long pole and one had fluorescent orange trousers though!

I suppose there’s always next year >:O

Last night I went to Television Centre (for the first time) to be in the audience for the next series of Never Mind the Buzzcocks. It was the first of the new series to be aired in March, and the first without Mark Lamarr as the host in the show’s ten year history. It sounds as though they will be doing a Have I Got News For You-style host-a-week, although no-one admitted why Mark is no longer the host. I heard a bit of his Radio 2 show at the weekend and was less than impressed, but then he did have Jo Brand as a guest.

Last night’s guest host was T4 and Popworld‘s Simon Amstell, probably best known for being a guest on the show twice previously and being one to have a dig at celebrity á là Monsieur Lamarr. He was quite nervous and I don’t think was as quite in control as what I can imagine his predecessor as being – in fact the first half of the opening round went on for over 90 minutes and will probably be edited down to five at the most! Simon also got a bit confused a couple of times during the show, but overall handled the pressure well.

Being the first show I’ve seen I think it was a good choice (Mock the Week was taking place in the next studio) and it’s interesting to see how it all goes on behind the scenes. Unfortunately most of the material will be simply unbroadcastable – I’m not sure if the ‘C’ or the ‘F’ word was the most frequently used – including the on-going joke at Kenzie‘s (oh come on, you know the one. He’s ex-Blazin’ Squad!) expense which I can’t possibly mention here.

There was no mention of the other guest hosts lined up probably for tonight and into next week, but the guests themselves were pretty poor compared to previous shows but I think they have been on the decline for a while. This used to be one of my favourite BBC2 shows, but could this be the start of the end of another institution, as happened with They Think It’s All Over? I hope not. After Angus Deayton left HIGNFY I think it in some ways improved, with the team captains being able to have regular digs back at the host, which is quite rare for that type of programme.

I am aware that Parcel Force have had a number of problems over the last fews years but I thought they would have sorted themselves out by now, but oh no. Take a look at this Bulldog delivery. My new (and, eventually, free) wireless router was dispatched on 14 September and delivery was apparently attempted over the next couple of days. Did they leave a card announcing mis-delivery? Did they ‘eck. I don’t reckon they even found my letterbox.

Following the tracking system through, you can now see that the item was returned and held at the depot. I tried calling Parcel Force to find out what I should do and they were “surprised” that no card was left but told me I had to speak to the Charlton depot. That’s easier than it sounds. I spent a good couple of weeks or so trying to get through but I was constantly on hold waiting to speak to someone (and trust me, the pseudo Coldplay Clocks track is not what you want to be forced to listen to when you’re getting rather impatient). Nothing was happening on the online tracking system during this time.

Eventually I got through to a human (in the remotest sense of the word) last Saturday 8 October and, after “popping out” to find the parcel, they called me back at work to say that the item was in front of her but she “cannot read the courier’s writing” to tell me why it had not been delivered. Neither could the other muppet working alongside her (and, incidentally not answering the constantly ringing phones in the background).

She agreed to arrange a redelivery for yesterday, 13 October but I wasn’t entirely surprised when nothing turned up. What did surprise me was that the parcel had been delivered… to Birmingham! I have absolutely no idea what had happened, but the online tracking system showed that it had been sent to the West Midlands and R. Gilbert had signed for it.

I bypassed Charlton and went straight to the main Parcel Force office to find out what had happened. This was more difficult as the tracking system no longer showed the parcel reference number. Aaaaah! Fortunately, I found out by accident that right-clicking on the signature reveals the parcel reference in the image URL. So, it turns out that somehow the delivery postcode had been changed from BR1 (Bromley) to B46 (guess where) and the parcel had been diverted and delivered 129 miles away in Coleshill, even though the remainder of the address had my full address and borough! Unfortunately I would have to speak to the West Midlands depot to sort it out.

I made a decision at this stage to give up with Parcel Force and get Bulldog to sort it out. After putting me on hold for over ten minutes (with some more relaxing hold music, now you ask), the adviser advised me that they will send out another router for me. I couldn’t believe they were giving in so easily… finally do I have something positive to say about Bulldog?

I don’t know about that, it disturbed me that I don’t think they are going to take it up with Parcel Force. If not I may try it myself, or even write off to the misdelivery address and ask for the router back!

What a farce. The router should be with me in “5-7 working days”… I’ll report back either way!