P&O Cruisers - What are things like where YOU are?

[brian1]

Our organic food waste bin in Italy is a small bin with a lockable lid.Found it round the corner once broken into by a wild boar,lol.Joking aside we can put garden waste with it in separate bags and they take it.

[Rupert2251]

1 hour ago, Megabear2 said:

No not naive but councils take us for fools!  They'll charge what they can get away with and "garden" waste apparently isn't rubbish.

 

The one I love is kerbside collection of large items.  Here its £31 an item.  Unfortunately my friends' kitchen flooded late last year with several major appliances ruined including an American fridge freezer.  Collection booked in June when their claim settled - £93 in total - but when the collection van arrived they don't take American fridge freezers because they're too large.  I was puzzled when told this as I thought the whole point of paying for a collection was that the item is too large to take to the centre yourself.  The result is the fridge freezer is stil in their garden while they try to find a man with a van prepared to take it for disposal and they're still waiting for their refund.

In Stoke we have various prices

 

How much does it cost?

• £40 for one to five items
• £8 per item for item six onwards
• £20 per item for electrical items
• £35 per american style fridge/freezer

 

We also have a rag bone man who comes around once a week and will take anything for free, he plays 'Any Old Iron' over the tannoy so you can hear him on the estate. Recently we have had another man coming 3-4 times a week trying to muscle in on the business but we wait for the original one.

[brian1]

It's my birthday on the 29th.Thought we'd give Cardiff a go,Premier inn plus on the waterfront 130 quid 2 nights.National Express from London 44 quid return for 2.What with tolls,diesel and 22 quid parking,the car is staying where it is.

[Peanut006]

3 hours ago, Splice the mainbrace said:

According to our council they are not obliged to collect separate garden waste so can charge for it 🤬 

We have to pay for our garden waste removal, I think it’s about £60 per year for each bin you have. Once you have paid they send you a sticker to put on your bin to say it’s all paid for and they will empty it then.

 

Michelle

 

[Britboys]

14 hours ago, Rupert2251 said:

If we have garden waste after October it goes in a black bag into the grey bin. No collection of brown bin until end of April😡

My local council does empty the garden waste bin all year fortunately. Like most others, we do of course have to pay for this service...

[Rupert2251]

6 minutes ago, Britboys said:

My local council does empty the garden waste bin all year fortunately. Like most others, we do of course have to pay for this service...

Yes we have an option to pay extra for the winter months but no one in our crescent will do it. Perhaps we are just a mean lot and think we pay enough in council tax! 

[zap99]

37 minutes ago, brian1 said:

It's my birthday on the 29th.Thought we'd give Cardiff a go,Premier inn plus on the waterfront 130 quid 2 nights.National Express from London 44 quid return for 2.What with tolls,diesel and 22 quid parking,the car is staying where it is.

Is that midweek, or do they pay you more to stay at weekends ?.🤣

[Harry Peterson]

On 10/12/2023 at 11:01 AM, Splice the mainbrace said:

I’m trying to arrange an annual gas boiler service. The engineer that fitted our boiler 16 years ago and has serviced it every year since then has retired. I paid him  £60 per service, I’ve contacted another recommended engineer and he has come back with a quote of £120+vat (£144), so will get more quotes. I know that that my long standing engineer was charging a ‘mates rate’ but the new charge seems a bit steep for a 30 to 45 minutes visit. What have other people been charged for a gas boiler service?

This might be of some use, perhaps:

 

https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/why-you-need-a-boiler-service-and-what-to-ask-about-aYdk73x6Co0m

[terrierjohn]

4 hours ago, kalos said:

 

Looking back to the mid 70's going into the 80's ,makes you wonder what went wrong with our towns . Ours used to have 4 cafes a restaurant and a steak house (evenings) all run by the council.

Now we have out of town shopping centres and fast food outlets .

The towns not too bad if you like betting shops charities and a town centre Tesco where everyone parks to save paying the council carparks .

Progress ?  Onwards and upwards as they say 🤔😒

I thought that was what Tesco car parks were there for?

[kalos]

16 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

I thought that was what Tesco car parks were there for?

 I did try another supermarkets car park but found them too Lidl 🙃

[pete14]

3 hours ago, Rupert2251 said:

Yes we have an option to pay extra for the winter months but no one in our crescent will do it. Perhaps we are just a mean lot and think we pay enough in council tax! 

We paid £15 for the winter months last year. It appeared as though we were one of the very few on the estate of 400 houses to do so. The driver has a list of those who have paid and only visits those houses to see whether anything is left out. Often there is nothing to collect. 

[Britboys]

3 hours ago, brian1 said:

It's my birthday on the 29th.Thought we'd give Cardiff a go,Premier inn plus on the waterfront 130 quid 2 nights.National Express from London 44 quid return for 2.What with tolls,diesel and 22 quid parking,the car is staying where it is.

All the best people have a late November birthday Brian!  I'll be in Rouen for mine...

[kalos]

29 minutes ago, Britboys said:

All the best people have a late November birthday Brian!  I'll be in Rouen for mine...

 

Hope you and Brian have lovely breaks away . We like Rouen cathedral ,last time we 

were  there the  choir was practicing Oh Holy Night , it made your hairs stand up .

 

 

 

Edited October 13, 2023 by kalos

[Britboys]

Just now, kalos said:

 

Hope you and Brian have lovely breaks away . We like Rouen cathedral ,last time we 

were the the choir was practicing Oh Holy Night , it made your hairs stand up .

Thanks Kalos. Never been there, so I'm looking forward to it.

[Eglesbrech]

24 minutes ago, Britboys said:

All the best people have a late November birthday Brian!  I'll be in Rouen for mine...

Have you eaten at La Couranne?
 

If you haven’t then it would be a great place to celebrate a birthday, it’s the oldest restaurant in France. The food is excellent, the cheese board superb (and smelly), the decor interesting and you are right opposite the place where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake (now the church dedicated to her). 
 

Given the age of the place the diners would have been enjoying their food and the view of the burning.

[Eglesbrech]

Just now, Britboys said:

Thanks Kalos. Never been there, so I'm looking forward to it.

It’s a lovely place to visit, lots of see and do.

[Britboys]

1 minute ago, Eglesbrech said:

Have you eaten at La Couranne?
 

If you haven’t then it would be a great place to celebrate a birthday, it’s the oldest restaurant in France. The food is excellent, the cheese board superb (and smelly), the decor interesting and you are right opposite the place where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake (now the church dedicated to her). 
 

Given the age of the place the diners would have been enjoying their food and the view of the burning.

This will be my first visit there. I'm on a cruise sailing solo but with a large group.

[Eglesbrech]

2 minutes ago, Britboys said:

This will be my first visit there. I'm on a cruise sailing solo but with a large group.

The first time we went to La Couranne we went as part of a large arranged group on a Celebrity cruise. They have (or at least did have) an area on the third floor for groups.

 

The other times we booked privately and went just as a couple.

 

There is a lovely little train you can pick up at the front of the Cathedral which is a good orientation. Go early as it gets buys.

 

The Joan of Arc Museum is really well done and worth a visit. It is interactive with holographic characters.

 

There is a good foodie scene with many good restaurants and street foods.

 

 

[Rupert2251]

57 minutes ago, pete14 said:

We paid £15 for the winter months last year. It appeared as though we were one of the very few on the estate of 400 houses to do so. The driver has a list of those who have paid and only visits those houses to see whether anything is left out. Often there is nothing to collect. 

We only have a few grass cuttings in November then not until maybe end of march, perhaps some remaining leaves so they will go in a black bag in the grey bin. Infact when our daughter bought her house and was waiting for her brown bin that is exactly what the council told her to do.

[Britboys]

39 minutes ago, Eglesbrech said:

The first time we went to La Couranne we went as part of a large arranged group on a Celebrity cruise. They have (or at least did have) an area on the third floor for groups.

 

The other times we booked privately and went just as a couple.

 

There is a lovely little train you can pick up at the front of the Cathedral which is a good orientation. Go early as it gets buys.

 

The Joan of Arc Museum is really well done and worth a visit. It is interactive with holographic characters.

 

There is a good foodie scene with many good restaurants and street foods.

 

 

Thanks for the tips.

[Splice the mainbrace]

Today I signed up for a 1 year energy fix, it’s about 5% more than the current price cap. The price cap was forecast to go up by 4% in January anyway even before gas prices have risen substantially with the current conflict around Israel. Whether it is the right call or not only time will tell.

[purplesea]

Spent the afternoon on the beach, although it was a bit windy it was still warm. Watched wind surfers and planes coming in to land while there.

Edited October 13, 2023 by purplesea

[Snow Hill]

9 hours ago, Rupert2251 said:

In Stoke we have various prices

 

How much does it cost?

• £40 for one to five items
• £8 per item for item six onwards
• £20 per item for electrical items
• £35 per american style fridge/freezer

 

We also have a rag bone man who comes around once a week and will take anything for free, he plays 'Any Old Iron' over the tannoy so you can hear him on the estate. Recently we have had another man coming 3-4 times a week trying to muscle in on the business but we wait for the original one.

Ours is based solely on numbers of items

1 - 3 items £15

4 - 6 items £28

7 - 9 items £43

10 - 12 items £56

 

There is a list of items that they won’t collect mainly related in garden, building or household waste, but curiously includes pianos.

 

Those aged 80 and over get 2 free bulk collection of 1-6 items per year, those 65-79 get 1 free collection as do those with a long standing illness or disability. 
 

Those on Housing Benefit or CT support get 50% reduction on 2 bulk collections, whist those with Council loyalty card get a 10% discount.

 

All scrap metal dealers etc have to have a licence, those without are liable to prosecution, as for fly tipping there have been a number of prosecutions this year, both the tipper and the householder who engaged them. 

 

 

 

[Snow Hill]

3 hours ago, Splice the mainbrace said:

Today I signed up for a 1 year energy fix, it’s about 5% more than the current price cap. The price cap was forecast to go up by 4% in January anyway even before gas prices have risen substantially with the current conflict around Israel. Whether it is the right call or not only time will tell.

I have been toying with the idea of fixing although more than current price cap, will give some stability in costs for a year, we are currently £500 in credit, a deliberate action for the winter. 

Edited October 13, 2023 by Snow Hill

[Snow Hill]

5 hours ago, Rupert2251 said:

We only have a few grass cuttings in November then not until maybe end of march, perhaps some remaining leaves so they will go in a black bag in the grey bin. Infact when our daughter bought her house and was waiting for her brown bin that is exactly what the council told her to do.

I have 2 compost bins, one for hot composting the other standard composting both are full or nearly full, so have been using the green bin more as of late. However just replace my shredder, so will be shredding the branches and twigs and using as a mulch on borders. The mulch will keep weeds down so less for the bin. 

 

I used the leaf mould I started off two ears ago in my large planters this year mixed in with the multi purpose compost, plants have done well this year as result.