Phew, but I can get a touch distracted.
Or, at least, I can get distracted by Pac the Man X and Patti Smith; I’ve got “Horses” playing in the background, just so you know, I’m wondering who the hell Johnny is or was. The guy sounds rather … worrying …
Hmmm …
I’m digressing, here, aren’t I?
You can possibly imagine the few things I’m gonna raise, though, can’t you?
I know, bless, Allison’s having it rough with her bike insurance.
We’re neither of us on much money, to be perfectly frank with you, so the fact’s she’s had to send her last bit of cash to her insurance company, this morning, has hit her hard. A couple of things haven’t helped.
I’d’ve been happy to at least go halvesies on the overdue payment; if it hadn’t been for having to replace that bloody exploding fridge-freezer!
After all, it’s what partners are for!
That’s a frustration I can do little about, right here and now, though; apart from kick meself about not being able to do anything about it.
Except maybe tell you about it.
And what we found out, today, from the post office …
Because that’s one thing I was able to do for her, give the Post Office’s Customer Service line a call for her, and send them a mildly hacked off email.
For starters, it’ll take the Royal Mail — as distinct from the Post Office, they are, after all, two closely related , but separate, organisations — up to a month from the date of receiving the P58 we sent them, to find the missing postal order, and then decide what to do about it.
Which will hopefully include a refund; either way, a month is a long time to wait.
What makes it worse is the the relevant Royal Mail department will send a letter to Allison, to tell her what’s going on.
Just a letter.
In today’s world, sending an email, or giving her a polite and reassuring phone call to let her know what’s going on, obviously is out of the question.
Me?
I sent ’em a snotty email on her behalf …
Here’s, here’s what we sent …
“Hello.
I’m writing to ask about the P58 form I sent in last Monday; the 21st of September, this year.
I’ve been informed that this will take up to a month, and that I will be informed by letter.
While I understand that these things take time, I’ve also been informed that the relevant department cannot either send an email, or phone me, in addition to the standard letter.
I realise that this creates an additional burden, but — as this is fairly important — I’m both concerned, and worried.
And would appreciate knowing what’s happening as soon as possible.
For your information, the bar code on my copy of form P58 was 9826 9381 0000 0012 3458, concerning the postal order 1046524851.
Yours, ”
Which I think summed things up, rather nicely. But that’s how we both felt; seriously annoyed about the not knowing, as much as anything else … !
~≈√≈~
But, at any rate, I had the evening to myself, last night, and have to admit, I grabbed a movie from me back collection.
“28 Weeks Later” …
Hmmm …
Sequels …
Now, usually, I can take or leave sequels.
And I’m thinking that — whilst “28 Weeks Later” is very well made, directed, acted — plotwise …
Mmmm …
Plot-wise, there’s not much happening. It’s set 28 weeks after the original “28 Days Later”; and initially introduces us to Don — Robert Carlyle — and Alice — Catherine McCormack —, trapped in a rural cottage with four other people. The films opening moments see the cottage attacked by some of the last remaining infected, and Alice — seemingly — killed. And Don escaping …
It picks up some weeks later, when we see Don and Alice’s two children — Andy and Tammy, played by Imogen Poots and Mackintosh Muggleton — returning to London, and their father, after an American lead NATO force has reoccupied Britain, after the first wave of Infected have died off.
I’ll not give away too much, here — others have done that better than I — but it hinges around the fact that Andy and his mother are both carriers of the Rage virus … and seemingly immune to it …
The trouble is that “28 Weeks Later” didn’t manage to hold my attention, last night.
That’s the crux of it.
Whilst it’s beautifully done — and the climactic scenes on London’s Underground are genuinely frightening — it didn’t hold my attention, because it doesn’t tell the complete story.
Somehow, finding out another sequel — tentatively entitled “28 Months Later” — is in production isn’t surprising.
And somehow disappointing.
Because — given the gap between the first and second entries in the series, and the by now obvious fact that this is the second in a series of three — “28 Weeks Later” doesn’t resolve the stories.
That’s not good.
Adrian, I think I’m starting to agree with you.
Production companies should really plan these thing’s a bit better … !
