A Trip to the Post Office. (From Croydon Guardian)

A Trip to the Post Office.

8:23am Tuesday 18th September 2007

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Last Monday was pension day. A cheque received by post, at the end of the previous week. Cashed cheque at the local, (or any post office).

Saves visit to an ATM, Building Society or Bank for cash. Most convenient. Eventually some public servant may belatedly realise that the old Pension Book system would cost them less for those of us who use the benefit cheque system.

Monday is my recycling day. Recycling material is sorted into the limited range of bins our council provides at the roadside Recycling Centre.

Nothing like the comprehensive range of bins in the supermarket car park in the next borough. That is where the limited range of plastic our country can recycle will be going along with the cardboard once our wheelie bin service starts. Must be all but the last council in the country to get round to the use of wheelie bins. We have never even had a single plastic sack provided. Either our council has wasted the money elsewhere or the Government has underfunded them. Probably a bit of both as we live in Conservative run southern council.
On a national level how come we have all sorts of plastic containers, all carefully marked with a recycling mark, for which our country apparently has no recycling capability?

I am told there is only one firm in the country who can recycle bottle tops.

I also fail to see why metal lids cannot go in with the tin cans together with any other scrap metal I have as well.

Fly tipping has already increased. What looked like business waste is being dumped around the recycling centre bins. together with a couple of supermarket trolleys. They are keeping the long resident collection of the council’s contractor’s broken road works signs company.

Finally lose patience with council’s failure to remove the 3 or 4 inch high stub end of a short lived plastic traffic bollard. Remove that pavement tripping hazard by kneeling down and using my junior hacksaw.
No one says a word.

On way to supermarket shake two newly mis-installed litter bins. No joy they are still not anchored down. Later find litter bin door open, slam it shut and it stays shut.

Repeat this the following day but this time remember to check what was wrong with the installation. Tell council details of the problem. Do not expect them to fix it, and other bin problems in a hurry. Why can they not get work done properly in the first place? Later in week see very similar design of litter bins along Worthing sea-front. All looking very battered. Several doors hanging open. Same lock problem?

Why can they not research the market properly before they buy? It is only our council tax money. They think money grows on trees.

Move small glass vodka bottle from badly vandalised non-BT phone box to recycling bin before it gets broken and punctures a tyre or gets used as a missile. Tread on a couple of drink cans to stop them rolling about and into the road. Am lazy, do not pick them up.

At supermarket get surprise at the check-out. Four pint containers of milk used to cost £1-15p. They have been on offer at two for £2-00p.

Todays price is £1-34p. A 16.5 per cent increase on the original price. Cannot understand the psychology behind the intervening special offer. Is it confusion marketing? Make customers unsure of the original price then go for a big increase? Aren’t they nice people?
And so to lunch.