The power of the phone call

Got the insurance renewal for my son's house through the post this morning.  Looked at the figure, went and checked what I'd paid last year, made a phone call.

"Hi, my insurance seems to have gone up by more than I'd have expected."

Five mins later, not only is it reduced, it's significantly less than we paid last year.

I'm a very happy bunny.

I've definitely gotten more ruthless as I've got older.  There was a time when I just automatically renewed insurance policies without looking at the price at all.  Now, even though I like the company I'm with, I won't accept a rise that's more than reasonable for inflation (expect for last year when there was a big jump in the premium after we made a claim for water damage - I felt that was reasonable.)

Cycling is getting more dangrous - or is it?

I'm a keen reader of Ben Goldacre's 'Bad Science'  articles, and here's a good example of why - http://www.badscience.net/2009/02/867/

Shopping

There's something highly enjoyable about going shopping when you know you're no longer totally skint and having to watch every penny.

So I decided to celebrate, enter the big time, make a purchase I'd been putting off for years...

I bought a new doormat.

With some purchases, I price compare all over the place, but for this item, I knew exactly where I was going to buy it.  There's a shop down Poole High St called Boones.  It's been there 28 years that I know of (from having lived in the area) and possibly for much much longer than that (100 years would not totally surprise me).  It's an old-fashioned hardware store of the kind that is virtually extinct. The floor is bare wooden floorboards that are worn by the passage of feet.  Behind the long counter is a wall full of little wooden drawers that hold every kind of item.  The shop itself is packed with every kind of item from fishing gear to garden tools.  It's the kind of place where you go if you want a three amp fuse and know that nowhere else is likely to have one, and if anywhere else did, they'd make you buy a packet of 20.

I went there a couple of weeks ago seeking a single link to repair the chain fastening my cape.  Hadn't had any luck elsewhere.  In Boones, they not only found one (20p) but even fitted it onto the chain for me for no extra charge.

That's why I went there for my doormat.  I want that shop, with it's wonderful range of goods and wonderful, helpful, knowledgeable staff to be there as long as is humanly possible.