Nicholas Hacking

My doors took a couple of weeks to arrive because I wanted white powder coating, but the wait was worth it: they look much smarter than the tired out old wooden doors that they have replaced. DIY fitting was very straightforward and the company was helpful, answering all queries promptly. Best of all, the project cost me about £1,000 instead of the £2,700 that I'd been quoted by a local firm for fitting two similar doors.

We landed in Capetown. A driver was supposed to meet us at the airport but he didn't turn up. When we eventually got through to Imagine they did say that they'd reimburse us for the taxi fare. The hotel in Capetown was fine.
The cruise ship (Azamara Pursuit) was lovely and we were well looked after by the Azamara people.

The cruise ended. We were supposed to get on a coach to the station to get the Blue Train. The coach turned up, we got on... and suddenly everything went pear-shaped.

The rep told us that the train was deemed to be unsafe because of a lack of fresh water and a number of technical problems. We were told what our changed itinerary was. To those people who objected it was made clear that one either had to suck it up, or go one's own way, at one's own expense. I was all for getting the hell out of Dodge and booking into a decent hotel in Capetown. My wife, however, convinced me that we should stay on the 'bus.

So: there I was, 6'4", folded into a seat on a coach, travelling to somewhere I didn't want to go. On a holiday, for which I had paid tens of thousands of pounds. I was not happy.

After a while we ended up at a restaurant on a vineyard, about an hour and a half North of Capetown. This was a lunch stop. There was a choice of chicken or vegetarian. We were on large party tables, as if we were part of a school trip. This is not what we'd signed up for.

I asked if we (my wife and I) mght have a table outside, on the terrace, away from the noise. "Sorry, those tables are pre-booked".

I left the din of the communal table to visit the lavatory and I saw the people sitting on the terrace, outside. They were the reps from Imagine Cruising. I cannot remember having been so angry before in my entire life. We were paying, through the nose, for an exotic holiday and being treated like the pupils on a school trip, while the representatives of the company that let us down were having a civilized meal.

Worse, one of my more switched-on travel companions asked the barman when the tables were booked. It was a couple of days in advance. So, when Imagine Cruising told us that they had "just learnt" that the Blue Train was unsafe, they lied. They had known for days but they made no effort to communicate this to us, nor to offer us any options other than the meal (that they chose for us without reference) and the hotel to which we were subsequently taken without any consultation.

I could go on, but I think I've made my point.
It was a fantastic holiday. We loved Capetown, the Azamara cruise was fantastic, the time spent in Zambia, and the the Victortia Falls. It was all great apart from being let down, lied to and regimented by Imagine Cruising.

Frankly, if they were before me, on fire, and I had a full bladder, I'd still decline to help them.

Do visit South Africa. Do visit Zambia. You will enjoy cruising with Azamara. Just, don't let package holiday companies get involved in your plans. Especially not this one.

Renewal over the telephone was quick and painless. They seem to be a friendly helpful team.

Every few years we find a reason to having a big family party. The formula is very simple: book the village hall; invite friends and neighbours; have catering; a free bar and a live band. It never fails. But The Blue Pig Orchestra, who used to play at our parties, disbanded during the covid lock-down. Google found me Last Minute Musicians and LMM put us in touch with Carousel who were absolutely fantastic.
I cannot fault the agency and I'll certainly ask the band to play for our next big party.

I've been using AVG Free for years and found the increasingly intrusive nag screens to be really annoying. Then, today, I found out that it's free because AVG has been selling my data to all and sundry. That tipped me into changing to Panda. I took out the "Complete" cover option for unlimited users: their sales people assured me that grown children, away at university, do count as part of the household. For the number of devices that are covered, the £100-odd for the first year seemed really reasonable.

Then I had an issue with their website. The technical support was friendly and helpful. They said that the easiest fix was to delete my account, refund the money, and start again with a new account using different details. They then told me that, by way of an apology for the trouble, they'd apply the "returning user" discount so that I ended up having to pay only £70. Amazing value for money.

The only thing that I don't like is the password manager that comes with it. It is Password Depot - very clunky and a fiddle to use. I dare say that I'll get used to it in time, along with its quirky help system (mostly English with the odd German page for fun).

It works on Windows computers, Macs, iOS and Android devices. There's even a linux version designed to scan fileservers on Windows networks. And it doesn't nag me to upgrade every ten minutes, nor does it seem to slow operations to an appreciable degree.

Overall, given what it does and what it cost me, I think it's excellent value and I was very impressed by the (Spanish) support people who were friendly, helpful, courteous, and had a very good command of English. Mucho mejor que mi español.

Highly recommended.

Charged Me For Telling Me What I Knew.

I've been waiting for a delivery which was expected two weeks ago. The seller gave me a tracking number: Yodel's website simply notes that my parcel arrived and that they have it - and have had it for two weeks.

I rang the number shown on their website. It warned me that I was to be charged for the call. After a long conversation with a robot Yodel found the tracking number and announced....

"Delivery status is: there is a delay in delivery." As if I didn't know that already. No information about the nature of the delay or when the parcel might be delivered (if they do decide to deliver) and no apology for sitting on it for two whole weeks. Simply a charge for daring to ask what's going on.

Like others, I'm going to start asking retailers who they use for their deliveries and if they say "Yodel" I'll be shopping elsewhere.

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Update: having not even tried to deliver the package, Yodel eventually sent it back to the sender, in China, and getting a refund from them was like trying to push wet spaghetti through the eye of a needle. I got there in the end, found a UK seller on eBay with the same device for the same cost, it arrived in 48 hours. The replacement was *not* sent through Yodel.

We consumers should all boycott Yodel: it will then have to improve or go to the wall.