The General Chat Room

[LMcD]

What! Abba made the arrangements!

It could be argued that they might have made a better job of it.

[Joseph K]

Is it not available at Boots in Kingfisher Walk?

For some reason I never thought to look there.

In any case, I'm currently in my grandmother's cottage in Staffordshire.

[Bryn]

What! Abba made the arrangements!

And passed the baton to Abbado, who managed to drop it, thus getting disqualified.

[Joseph K]

Great! I'm going to brush up by listening to the NMC discs, which haven't been spun for some years. I certainly hope there'll be a Radio 3 broadcast. BBC Four showed The Minotaur when it was done (and recently George Benjamin's newest opera), so fingers crossed for Orpheus.

I get my ears done on Tuesday, and definitely plan on giving the CDs spun before I actually see it.

[LMcD]

A hotel is Tenerife has had to close because 95% of its room were contracted to Thomas Cook. What were its owners thinking of when they entered into that deal?

[Bryn]

A hotel is Tenerife has had to close because 95% of its room were contracted to Thomas Cook. What were its owners thinking of when they entered into that deal?

Short term gain? (Warning: your customer base may go down, as well as up).

[Serial_Apologist]

A hotel is Tenerife has had to close because 95% of its room were contracted to Thomas Cook. What were its owners thinking of when they entered into that deal?

Thatcher's ideal of subcontracting local authority services for purposes of greater efficiency, I shouldn't be surprised.

[teamsaint]

Pretty tempting to secure a years sales in advance in one deal. ( Works well enough for PL football ).
Although not always to be recommended, it seems.

[oddoneout]

A hotel is Tenerife has had to close because 95% of its room were contracted to Thomas Cook. What were its owners thinking of when they entered into that deal?

Started the tourist industry, been around for 150+ years, British - could be considered fairly strong plus points. The words 'eggs' and basket' not necessarily uppermost in the discussions.
But I'm not sure that we are in a position to criticise poor decisions that have adverse economic consequences...

[Dave2002]

A hotel is Tenerife has had to close because 95% of its room were contracted to Thomas Cook. What were its owners thinking of when they entered into that deal?

Not thinking of a good survival strategy for loss of a major client base, which they probably thought unlikely, hence low risk. I’m guessing that smarter owners would have reserve funds, or funds available, and could switch to other potential customers - or has the holiday market in Tenerife collapsed as well? Perhaps the wrong time of year to be doing a business recovery in this sector. Maybe the building/estate still has some value, so owners trying to cut their losses.

Easy to be wise after the event.

[LMcD]

Of the 21 schools in Suffolk that are rated 'inadequate', 19 are run by academies and 2 by the local authority. I suspect that the pay and benefits packages of those heading the academies are eye-wateringly generous.

[Serial_Apologist]

London is often described as a soulless, unfriendly place, where no one has any time for their fellow beings. I have to say that I have not in general found that to be the case - though doubtless it was back in the day - but that, on the contrary, more often than not a smile elicits similar from passing strangers, and staff in retailers. From my experience around here, I am certain this is not merely a requirement of their employment, but genuine warmth ... and it extends even to the big megastores. People remember: "It is two, as usual?" asks Luba, the Ukraineian woman on what I call the Lottery counter, referring to my vapes.

These people deal with thousands of stony-faced customers every day. Take just now. In the local Sainsbury's a woman behind me in the checkout queue asked unbidden if I always used a shopping list. I answered in the affirmative, adding that I kept a wodge of old paper strips by the kitchen door clipped topgether for listing items I needed to remember on my next shopping trip. "Sainsbury's and other supermarket bills used to serve well for the purpose", I said, "until they all started printing them on the back as well as the front". At which point the checkout lady said, "Oh that's no problem; here you are, love", pressing a button on the machine that delivers the bill to unfurl a couple of metres of unprinted invoice, which she then tore off and handed to me!

I have a theory - which I won't bore you with the details - that London has actually become a more friendly city as it has become more multiculturalised.

[Bryn]

Nah. When I were a lad, in Penge, the front door was always off the latch during the day and flok would be in and out all day. There was always a cup of tea ready when the coalman or Corona lorry turned up. Perhaps there have been fallow years in between, having moved out of London in the late '50s, but I have always found a smile tends to get reciprocated, no matter where (even in Yorkshire ).

[Pulcinella]

Nah. When I were a lad, in Penge, the front door was always off the latch during the day and flok would be in and out all day. There was always a cup of tea ready when the coalman or Corona lorry turned up. Perhaps there have been fallow years in between, having moved out of London in the late '50s, but I have always found a smile tends to get reciprocated, no matter where (even in Yorkshire ).

Cruel!

People here MUCH friendlier than where I used to live.
If you smiled at someone there, they probably thought you'd escaped from somewhere and should be put back inside!

[Serial_Apologist]

Cruel!

People here MUCH friendlier than where I used to live.
If you smiled at someone there, they probably thought you'd escaped from somewhere and should be put back inside!

In Bristol I remember an innocent bus stop smile being reciprocated with "Wot smatter with thee? Fancy I or summat?"