Double Glazing Salesmen

I have recently needed to install new glazing throughout the house. I thought this would be a simple operation. I would telephone various local and national companies, invite them to cost the job, provide appropriate literature of their product and then spend a weekend to decide which one to go for.
In reality it is quite different and I hope to warn anyone else if they are considering new glazing. I will not name names but the majority of double glazing salesmen I found pushy, rude and intimidating. Out of 6 salesmen, all apart from one insisted on delivering an hours long sales pitch complete with the same old window sample and each one criticizing every other company, supplying derogatory comments on the quality of their products and their service. This sales pitch is fruitless because you tend to just glaze over and nod your head. All apart from two needed details of nearest schools, neighbourhood watch schemes, shops etc which seemed more like a casing of the joint than conducting a quotation. All salesmen apart from one insisted that their quote was only available for that date and unless you signed the form they could not repeat it and would charge you a far higher price. One company actually gave me a lecture of how infra red light changes its wavelength once its in the house so that it cannot escape again. I did not let on that I have a degree in applied physics, and just chuckled to myself afterwards.
One company would NOT leave until I had signed and handed over a post dated cheque which I then had to reject the next day in the 7-day cooling off period.
Having said this one company did not bring in a window sample and did not go into detailed manufacturing techniques but left a brochure as requested. This person kept the sales pitch short(er) and gave more information about Health and Safety regulations which need to be adhered to - which seemed a lot more appropriate since other companies did not agree on what the health and saftey regulations stated and if I had taken 3 of them I would have ended up with extra expense because of their wrong interpretation of the regulations.
In general I was disgusted at the way these companies conducted their sales techniques and feel there really should be some kind of regulation introduced into the industry. The potential customer should NOT have to sign papers and hand over cheques to get salesmen to leave. I asked for a quote and details of which I could sit down and compare at a later date. Only one company came close to this. Only one company did not have a price that would not stand for more than a day.
There was one method I did find, quite by accident, that seemed to work effectively in reducing the time and annoyance caused by the salesman. This was is to book appointments too close together. The sales pitch generally lasted two hours each but if you booked appointments at hourly intervals then the first salesman had to cut short his lengthy discourse and didnt engage you in the "you must sign in order to get this offer".
I did find one internet site that offered an on-line quote - you filled in a form with the size and style of each window and door, hit the button and it returned a quote. A couple of the salesmen could not believe this could be done. I do not understand this viewpoint. Every other industry can offer an online quotation. The salesmen only roughly measure each opening. They then refer to their own pricing books to come up with a quote so why cant this be done by computerised systems?
Overall pretty totally disgusted. At the moment I am thinking of taking the quote of the company with the least pressure. They were not the cheapest, neither the most expensive but the left literature, they were the most polite and did not ask me to sign any papers there and then. They are a small local business. So this will be one-up on the nationals.

What a storm

A thunderstorm passed over yesterday and boy did it make a noise. As with most thunderstorms there was a lot of thunder and lightning but this one the thunder and lightning built up so much that it was almost continuous. I was watching from the back door to the house. The climax was an almighty strike that forked both east and west and issued a crack of thunder that literally made me jump backwards. about 6 feet.
I have now learnt it hit a house around the corner, it blew a hole through one side of the roof and out of the other. Every single electric socket had disintegrated, even the surge protection device had disintegrated. I have this on word from the firecrew who attended!
Wow

How do you explain this?

Situation: a storm has taken out the electricity supply. Wake up in the middle of the night to a high pitch tone similar to an alarm or siren. Go down stairs and find the main room glowing from the ajar door. Reach in and turn off the light switch..... this is impulse but there is no electric supply because the upstairs lights have all been left on. When the switch is turned off the noise stops. Enter the room the TV is glowing and fading. Weird. Explanations welcome

Rain

Today at approximately four oclcok it rained. This was no normal rain though. There was thunder and lightning, but even that failed to impress compared to this rain. The torrent that came down was unlike I had ever seen before, it was truly like a bucket of water being thrown from the sky and it was being thrown horizontally as well! Maybe God was just throwing out his old dish water. The road swelled with water in just a few seconds and then came hail mixed with it all. I had to stand there with door open to witness this awe inspiring event.
Wow

Avebury Summer Solstice

Avebury Summer Solstice was a distinct experience. On the 20th June after having walked the entirety of the Ridgeway, we gathered in Aveburys Red Lion public house to have a few drinks. For some it was a social drink, for others it was a reason to get rat-arsed or to fuel some warmth for the cool long night ahead. A group of bongo drummers kept the customers entertained, beating a constant rhythm that sounded out across the whole of Avebury. A lone guitarist trailed behind them wherever they set up attempting to jam but was constantly drowned out by the drummers. Occasionally you could hear a few chords of Stairway to Heaven between drumming sessions. An aging grey bearded guitarist drifted between the inside and outside of the pub relentlessly playing three songs over and over again - one being "If I was a carpenter" and the other couple being some bluesy stuff which I did not recognize. No-one took any notice of him. Eventually he found a table of merry individuals who applauded his performance which seemed to be the adulation that he was after. He sat with them, his new found fans, and shut up, probably to the delight of many other drinkers.
The pub was pretty full, but certainly not overflowing as we had expected. I put this down to the bad weather coupled with Glastonbury being held at the weekend which would attract many of those who would otherwise have descended upon Avebury. In the evening a group of weird and wonderful characters dressed in various bits of vegetation wandered through. They were part of a troupe of jugglers and performers who later held a performance within the inner stone circle - I missed this but was told it was a worthwhile sight.
Once the pub had called time we joined the throngs of people camped out under the stars within the stone circle. We didnt bother pitching the tents, just pulled them out of their bags and lay on them in our sleeping bags, staring at the stars. It wasnt easy to sleep in the cold open air and I cant really remember any sleep but was told that there was a lot of snoring coming from my bag - it must have been either me or one of the many beetles that invaded our bags, occasionally taking a bite out of an unsuspecting hosts flesh.
At half past three in the morning people were slowly getting themselves prepared for sunrise. When you want to shift your arse at that time of the morning the body generally says "piss off" and it was certainly saying something like that to me. Half past three on a cold morning is curl up and sleep time. Nonetheless, undeterred I forced myself to pack my gear into the rucksack and follow sheepishly the throngs that were moving to the perimeter earth bank in preparation for the mornings main event.
The eastern side of the earth bank was full of people glaring to the clear horizon as the light slowly started to fill the heavens. I stood there wondering why we were all doing this - I could stand on the shingle beach at Sizewell any day of the year and watch the sun arise from the North Sea in the peace and quiet of my own company. I could pay homage to the solstice in harmony at Sizewell - so could anyone else - so why Avebury? Why were these folk enticed to this place - just because it has ancient standing stones, whose original purpose has never been clear. I certainly hadnt felt any ancient magic or inner ancestral oneness with the place. It was just a piece of ancient history to me.
For some strange reason I thought the sun was due to rise at 4:20. That would have been superb with the clear sky, but it soon became clear that the moment was not due until nearly 5am by which time clouds were filling the horizon from the south. When the moment came there was no clear sky left but as the crowds prepared to leave a gap appeared in the clouds and for a few seconds we managed to catch a glimpse of two thirds of the golden globe spreading its warming rays towards us. Cameras flashed. Hands clapped. Cheers erupted. Then it was gone once again as more clouds covered the moment like a final curtain.
Back in the stone circle some guy with grey flowing beard and robes took precedence over a pagan ceremony - inviting guests to speak or play songs to a gathered audience. He completed the ceremony with words of invocation, thanking the earth for the solstice. It did strike me that these pagans seemed to borrow a lot from modern Christian ceremony. As the proceedings came to an end a vast rainbow filled the western sky against a backdrop of dark clouds. It was a wonderful sight to see, and I could hear members of the crowd speaking as if it was some pagan sign, some kind of approval from the earthen deity to the faithful.
As folk started wandering aimlessly away I couldnt help but notice that a lot of these hippies were clutching tins of cider in their hands. It was nearly 6am and people were hard-drinking. I couldnt quite grasp this - I thought these people had come here for some spiritual awakening but it seemed a lot were here for a big piss-up. Cider-swilling hippies. Just loads of cider-swilling hippies. No soul. no spirit. Just cider-swilling hippies.
I must admit by now I was dog tired. I spent the next two hours layed out on the picnic bench in front of the visitors cafe draped in a sleeping bag looking like a tramp. I remember two policemen coming over. I lifted an eyelid. They smiled!
Before the day was out, as we sheltered from the constant showers in the wind-shadow of one of the stones we bore witness to a goth wedding complete with King Arthur of the Britains, Merlin and a load of weirdly dressed up folk. For some I am certain that this is just a big piece of play acting or escapism. I had to laugh. Its not often you see Arther, King of the Britains conducting a marriage service. I bet he didnt do that centuries ago in real life. I bet this Arthur wasn't really a King, I bet he was an estate agent from Spalding, and Merlin was a shop assistent from Cambridge. I am sure they would return next year to do much the same - drink cider and be pretend to be the returning Saviour of Britain.
It certainly was an experience. Would I go again? Well, whilst I was there, I was of definite opinion that it was all a load of crap and I personally wouldnt want to step foot on Avebury at solstice ever again, but on reflection, why not - maybe I will learn something, maybe there are a few sincere people there and its not all cider-swilling hippies.

The Ridgeway Long Distance Walk

I have just completed walking the length of the Ridgeway which totaled some 100 miles in all - that was 86 miles along the Ridgeway footpath plus 14 miles getting to and from accommodation/camp sites. This was the first long distance walk I have undertaken and has been a bit of an eye opener.
A group of four of us set off on the 14th June from Ivinghoe Beacon, each of us carrying a bag of what we considered to be essentials for such a hike, including tent spare clothes, first aid kit, water, gas burner and kettle - this all came to something like 25-30lb on our backs. We all had done very little training for this exercise and none of us had attempted any walking with a fully laden ruck sack. By midday of the first day I can honestly say we were all knackered - taking the ruck sacks off our back at a pub in Wendover seemed to make our legs float!
That night, we were due to stay over at a pub in Great Kimball, but the maps we had did not point out exactly where the pub was located and we had to walk extra miles in order to find it - this additional strain on feet legs and hips after having walked 15 miles somewhat deflated our enthusiasm for walking. The flagging spirits could well be responsible for a couple of the lads doubting whether we could complete this feat - they retired to bed early - shattered. I was OK myself at this stage, just sore legs and feet, so stayed up talking with the locals in the bar about the pub ghost and the day when John Major and Boris Yeltsin came to town - apparently they went to the pub up the road and on seeing it closed had one of their security personnel bang on the door. The landlord then shouted "We're closed" to which the security man replied "Its John Major and Boris Yeltsin". The landlord retorted "sure - and I'm the pope". How true that story is, I don't know, but I was shown the pictures of Major and Yeltsin with their wives standing outside the pub.
The second day we headed for Aston Moant. The weather didn't hold out for us and we had to test our waterproofs which seemed pretty effective. A useful point to note here was that Yew trees seem to provide excellent cover for showers whereas the Beech trees soon let the wet drip through. Once again we were not sure of where our accommodation was located and ended up getting very agitated because we walked unneeded extra miles diverting ourselves into the village when the pub was located on the main road.
Third day took us down to Wallingford Camp Site. Some good sights en route including the 10th century church at Swinford. One point to note is the lack of sufficient signposting across the golf course at Nuffield - luckily a local pointed us in the right direction. A couple of passing showers nearly wet us - the first we were caught out in a cattle field - the cows did look menacing but that was more because they had calves with them - but we were more wary of the solitary bull in the field and hastened our step to the exit style - luckily our hastened steps saved us from the rain as we took shelter under the tree lined lane. The next wetting came as we crossed crop fields, the rain came down heavy but once again we sheltered in trees that bordered the two fields we were crossing, a nice little sanctuary where we could unload our bags and watch the rain teem down across the fields. The final miles of the days walk followed Grims Ditch down to the main road into Wallingford and once again we got lost in finding the camp site. At this stage the feet, legs and hips were all very sore and the last thing we needed was adding milage to our walk looking for a camp site.
It was a typical Saturday night in Wallingford with all the pubs bursting with drunken customers and none offering food. We ended up at a Pizza house.
The fourth day was a pleasant walk alongside the Thames down to Streetly. One of our number attempted to adjust their rucksack in a cattle field and was left behind. He soon was surrounded by inquisitive cows and couldnt move on. Thought he was going to have to swim for it! You are supposed to not act frightened and just push through but when faced with a few tons of moving meat in front of you it is easier said than done.
Stocked up with pasties and mars bars at the village shop ready for the hike over the downs. Nice little pub in Streetly that bore a plaque in the garden noting that this was the resting place of a rather naughty nun and monk. A pint does help revive tired legs - it eases the aches and puts a spring back into the step. I tried telling the lads this but they stuck to shandy! We passed by a Ridgeway signpost that was the nearest thing to a half way marker. It is good to know that you have completed half the journey - from here you could say it was the homeward journey. We headed up onto the downs on a long slow incline that lasted for miles. As we walked numerous runners passed by us - some organised cross country run. One curious oddity was all the runners were heading up the long hill towards Ilsley apart from one who ran back down the hill against the grain. At first we thought it must have been a circular route but further on we found a dropped copy of the route. It was not a circular route - we could only conclude he was either a bad map reader or was lost!
Ended the days walk at East Illsley - the map indicated it was about a mile off the route and straight into the town - it seemed a lot further, but for once we asked a local who directed us straight to the pub we were due to stay at. A nice pint of timothy Taylor landlord soothed the aches.
Dau five: This is where I hit the dreaded "Wall" as we headed out to a camp site near Uffington my spirits were getting jaded and my mind was thinking "why are we doing this" and "dont think we can make it". Strange because we was well past the half way mark and this was really the easier section of the walk. The cause certainly wasnt the rain which persistently came down throughout the morning giving all of us soaked feet - it wasnt the weight on my back - I dont know what it really was. They say everyone has to go through the "Wall" - sure enough I did. Maybe it was the change in topology - the first sections of the Ridgeway have steep inclines which I found with a bit effort I could get to the top easily then rest - they were like a little challenge which you went at with as much gusto as you could possibly spare - however the downs have long slow inclines - my eyes could see the summit but despite putting in extra effort I never seemed to get there. It needed a different attitude to these inclines, it needed a steady slow pace which I want use to. I can only put my thoughts down to that.
Sixth Day took us from Uffington to Osbourne St George and the final day was an easy stroll down to Overton albeit against a very stiff breeze.

We have learnt a few things from this walk:
1 - we covered 15-20 miles each day - that was really pushing it - it would have been better to take a little more time and only do 10-15 miles. Virtually every day the last hour of walking, usually trying to locate the place we were due to stay, was a very weary drudge that saw tempers flare and a general air of knarkedness (if thats a word).
2 - If we undertake another walk I think we should ascertain exactly the location of any camp site or accommodation - knowing that you have an extra mile is a lot better than getting to where you think is the end of the days walk only to realise you have more miles to do.
3 - socks - we seemed to take a variety of spare clothing and intended to reuse most of it through the trip. One thing we need to do if ever we take another long trek is have plenty of pairs of socks - more than the number of days traveling - socks get wet and that makes sore feet. Better to have loads of socks and just a few t-shirts and recycle the t-shirts.
4 - We met two chaps called Richard and Dave en route - they were camping as and where they could find a suitable spot on the Ridgeway. They had previously discreetly hidden food and beer at each position they were due to stop. So that made a cheap and easy way of completing the walk. Good planning! But they were seasoned hikers.

Having said all this I think the achievement of completing the walk has set us with the goal of trying another long distance footpath and on reflection all the memories of the aches and pains have been overtaken by the good times and the sights we encountered.

A few things stick out as good memories from the walk:
1 - the owner of the campsite near Uffington, I think her name was Marcelle, a truly wonderful old lady, who rang around local pubs looking for a place for us to eat and when they didnt answer, drove around each pub in turn. She even gave us a lift 3 miles up the road to the only pub that was serving that night. She also gave us milk for cups of tea. A real legend of a lady.
2 - Didcot Power Station - its view was there practically for all of the walk - being from a distant object on the horizon to seeing it clearly from the hillsides.
3. Getting a soaking on the downs - we were prepared and had all the waterproofs so the only thing that leaked was our boots.
4 - Getting a drenching without waterproofs just a couple of hundred yards from the Red Lion at Avebury - our final destination.
5 - The strange cider-swilling hippies at summer solstice - more on this on the next blog

pictures of the walk can be found at http://picasaweb.google.com/griff.chamberlain/RidgewayWalk14th21stJune2007