Christmas Poem

Christmas time has come again,
It seems to come each year,
With trees and decorations,
And people full of Christmas cheer.

With all that extra shopping,
And all that extra drink and food,
All those crisply baked mince pies,
And mulled wined to get you in the mood.

It will soon be time for turkey,
And lots of Christmas pudding,
A feel good film on the telly,
And Christmas songs to sing.

So my message for those who have read this,
Is, may you be filled up with cheer,
May I wish you merry Christmas,
And a prosperous and happy new year.

BobD 2013

Twas the night before Christmas

Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house

Not a computer was whirring not even a mouse

The online shopping had all been done

Though the sprouts and the stuffing were barely begun

The children were nestled all snug in their beds

While visions of Playstations danced in their heads

And Mum in her Onesie was faint from the heat

And Dad pulled his musical socks on his feet

Then out on the lawn there arose such a clatter

I sprung from the bed to see what was the matter

Had inflatable Santa flown over the privet

Or the LED flashing elf done something illicit

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow

Gave the lustre of midday to objects below

When what to my wandering eyes should appear

But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer

With a little old driver so lively and quick

I knew in a moment it must be St Nick

More rapid than eagles his reindeer they came

And he whistled and shouted and called them by name

Now Niall, now Louis, Now Liam and Harry

Now you Zayn, on Simon, on Sharon and Gary

St Nick had made the X Factor connection

As his reindeer are named for the band One Direction

It wasn’t my B&Q Christmas Array

That I saw through the window just over the way

But then onto the house top the reindeer they flew

With a sleigh full of toys and St Nicholas too

And then in a twinkling, I heard on the roof

The prancing and pawing of each little hoof

As I drew in my head and was turning around

Down the Chimney St Nicholas came with abound

Or doubtless he would have, but the truth be told

Our house is not terribly old

We don’t have a chimney, just a central heating flue

But St Nick, he still managed to worm his way through

Over the centuries he’s become quite adept

At working out where all the stockings are kept

As if by some magic he appeared by the Telly

With a smile on his face and a great wobbly belly

He was dressed all in fur from his head to his foot

And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot

He took a short step and then let out a shout

When he fell, having slipped on a peeled brussel sprout

Though he knocked over his sherry and squashed his mince pie

He didn’t get flustered or once lose his poise

His eyes – how they twinkled! His dimples how merry!

His cheeks were like roses, it must be the sherry

He spoke not a word but went straight to his work

And filled all the stockings then turned with a jerk

He waved a goodbye and without further ado

He hoicked up his cloak and was whisked up the flue

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle

And away they all flew like the down of a thistle

But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight

“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a Good Night”

Skipping Christmas by John Grisham

John Grisham has turned a satirical eye on the overblown ritual of the festive season, and the result is Skipping Christmas, a modest but funny novel about the tyranny of December 25. Grisham's story revolves around a typical middle-aged American couple, Luther and Nora Krank. On the first Sunday after Thanksgiving they wave their daughter Blair off to Peru to work for the Peace Corps, and suddenly realise that "for the first time in her young and sheltered life Blair would spend Christmas away from home".
Luther Krank sees his daughter's Christmas absence as an opportunity. An accountant, Luther quickly estimates that "a year earlier, the Luther Krank family had spent $6,100 on Christmas", and had "precious little to show for it". Luther makes an executive decision, telling his wife, friends and neighbours that "we won't do Christmas". Instead, Luther books a 10-day Caribbean cruise. All goes well until people get wind of the Kranks' subversive scheme. Everyone, from Christmas card salesmen to horrified neighbours, besieges the couple with questions; what about the Christmas party, carols and the erection of Frosty the Snowman? Things start to turn nasty in the local neighbourhood.
Grisham builds up a funny but increasingly terrifying picture of how the tightknit community turn on the Kranks, who find themselves under increasing pressure to conform. As the tension mounts, will they ever manage to board their plane on December 25? Skipping Christmas is Grisham-lite, with none of the serious drama of earlier books such as The Pelican Brief, but a funny poke at the craziness of Christmas. --Jerry Brotton

Seperated at Death by J J Salkeld

A wonderful typically English book, a good read, great characters.

The teenage daughter of a wealthy Kendal family is found strangled in Serpentine Woods. This DI Andy Hall's third ever murder case and leads are hard to come by, and his personal life is in crisis. Meanwhile, his Sergeant, ex-Marine Ian Mann is faced with a very puzzling case, involving a local bad lad who suddenly seems to be scaling the ladder of criminality. Are the two cases connected? Can Hall and his team crack the murder case, and offer the very coldest of comfort to the bereaved family?

Separated at Death is the first in The Lakeland Murders Police procedural novel series, set in and around England's beautiful Lake District, and introduces the team of DI Hall, DS Mann and DC Jane Francis, a former research scientist and the newest member of Kendal CID.

Mat Coward's review of Separated at Death appeared in the Morning Star on the 19th of June 2013:

"If you like your police procedurals to be thoroughly British - and stuffed cover to cover with them - then I recommend Separated At Death by JJ Salkeld (currently only available as an e-book, £1.53).

The beautiful Lake District has plenty of problems the tourists don't see but even so Kendal CID's Andy Hall is rarely called upon to investigate a murder.

When the teenage daughter of a leading local businessman is found killed, with no evidence of a sexual motive for her death, DI Hall and his team look closely at her family and friends.

With the police suffering from austerity budgets and merger threats, Hall is painfully aware that the resources he spends on this investigation could mean job losses next year.

Separated At Death is a solidly plotted, well-peopled and a very enjoyable start to what looks like a most promising series."

Fatal Legacy by Elizabeth Corley

A great book, thoroughly enjoyed it.

All is not what it seems at the respectable firm Wainwright Enterprises. When the managing director Arthur Wainwright dies in a suspicious accident, his last will and testament throws the business and family into turmoil. Not only was Wainwright far, far richer than anyone had imagined, but, to the horror of the rest of the family, he has left the bulk of his estate to his nephew Alex and Alex's wife Sally.

The cry by Helen Fitzgerald

It was an ok kind of book, but not really my type of book, no mystery at all.

He's gone. And telling the truth won't bring him back...
When a baby goes missing on a lonely roadside in Australia, it sets off a police investigation that will become a media sensation and dinner-table talk across the world.
Lies, rumours and guilt snowball, causing the parents, Joanna and Alistair, to slowly turn against each other.
Finally Joanna starts thinking the unthinkable: could the truth be even more terrible than she suspected? And what will it take to make things right?
The Cry is a dark psychological thriller with a gripping moral dilemma at its heart and characters who will keep you guessing on every page.

Ghost in the Machine by Ed James

A brilliant book, i loved it.

Detective Constable Scott Cullen of Lothian and Borders has only been three months in CID as a full DC. He is assigned a Missing Persons case which has stretched his uniform colleagues. Caroline Adamson - a young, recently divorced mother from Edinburgh - has disappeared whilst on a date.

The more Cullen digs into her disappearance, the more he unravels her private life. Who was she on a date with? What happened during her divorce from Rob Thomson? As Cullen's own private life gets messier and the relationship with his DI deteriorates, Caroline's body turns up and he finds himself hunting for a ghost in the machine.

Book one of the Scott Cullen series.

Louisiana Longshot by Jana DeLeon (Author)

OK but a bit far fetched

A Miss Fortune Mystery Book 1

It was a hell of a longshot…

CIA assassin Fortune Redding is about to undertake her most difficult mission ever – in Sinful, Louisiana.

With a leak at the CIA and a price on her head by one of the world’s largest arms dealers, Fortune has to go off grid, but she never expected to be this far out of her element. Posing as a former beauty queen turned librarian in a small, bayou town seems worse than death to Fortune, but she’s determined to fly below the radar until her boss finds the leak and puts the arms dealer out of play.

Unfortunately, she hasn’t even unpacked a suitcase before her newly-inherited dog digs up a human bone in her backyard. Thrust into the middle of a bayou murder mystery, Fortune teams up with a couple of seemingly-sweet old ladies whose looks completely belie their hold on the town. To top things off, the handsome local deputy is asking her too many questions. If she’s not careful, this investigation may blow her cover and get her killed.

Armed with her considerable skills and a group of old ladies referred to by locals as The Geritol Mafia, Fortune has no choice but to solve the murder…before it’s too late.

Kiss the Girls by James Patterson

A fantastic read, with an unexpected ending.

In the most suspenseful thriller yet from the author of Along Came a Spide and Jack and Jill, Detective Alex Cross is on the trail of 2 murderers who may be working together. Casanova preys on talented college women from the Carolinas to Florida. The Gentleman Caller is terrorizing Los Angeles. The case takes Cross coast to coast and to the Deep South, where his niece, a law student, has been abducted. Will she be the next victim of one, or both, of the killers?

48 hours by J Jackson Bentley

A wonderful book, well worth reading, i thoroughly enjoyed it.

“If you don’t pay me £250,000.00 in the next 48 Hours you will die”. The text on Josh Hammond’s BlackBerry was blunt and chilling. Surely it must be a joke, but when Josh is attacked in broad daylight and people around him start to die he knows that his blackmailer is deadly serious. Can Josh raise the money, can his attractive new bodyguard protect him, who is blackmailing him and why? He has 48 hours to find out. The first novel in the acclaimed City of London Thriller series is a hit which will enthral everyone who knows and loves its London settings. Rich in detail and truly evocative it is a real page turner, told in around 100,000 words.

Dead Secret by Devaney Catherine

I fantastic book, thoroughly enjoyed it.

‘Growing up wasn’t a process; it was a moment. It was the moment I watched Daddy die. Everything began to unravel then.’ When their father dies of a sudden heart attack, sisters Rebecca and Sarah Connaghan set aside their differences and return to the family home in Glasgow. Then Rebecca finds letters between her father and the mother she barely remembers that cast doubt on everything she’s been told about her family. Reeling from confusion and grief, she sets off alone for the remote Highlands village that may hold the key to the past. Above all, she is determined to prove the innocence of her father – the beloved, silent man she once thought she knew, now accused of a terrible crime.

Backlash by Lynda La Plante

An amazing book, well worth a read.

Late night on a notorious high-rise estate in Hackney a white van is being driven erratically. The driver is pulled over by the police and questioned. A woman on the street after a long evening's drinking...She never makes it home. A suspect...an arrest...a confession...A case done and dusted! Five years earlier, a 13-year-old girl disappeared in broad daylight on a busy London street. DCS James Langton headed the investigation; the case was never closed. It has haunted him ever since. And now comes another confession, to this murder, and to one more besides. Too good to be true! DCI Anna Travis, pulled into the fray, isn't so sure that they have their man. Then the suspect changes his story...

The Remains by Vincent Zandri

To begin with, i thought this is going no were and was thinking of giving up on it, then all of a sudden it gripped, after a rocky start it became a good gripping book.

It’s been thirty years since the terrifying abduction of twin sisters Rebecca and Molly Underhill by a deranged man who lived in a cabin behind their house in upstate New York. Fearful of retribution against their family, the girls kept the incident secret.
Rebecca, now a painter and art teacher, and alone since Molly died of cancer, suddenly begins getting strange and anonymous text messages—the first with just her name. Is Molly trying to communicate with her? Not possible, thinks Rebecca, who’s never believed in God or an afterlife.
And it couldn’t be their attacker from so many years ago; he was imprisoned for a similar crime at about that same time. Surely he’d still be in jail or dead by now—wouldn’t he?
But things get stranger. Rebecca’s art student Francis, an autistic savant, gives her a series of paintings he’s done. Rebecca, with increasing dread, realizes the sequence of scenes depicted in the paintings match the nightmares she’s had every night since the horrific ordeal three decades earlier. How could Franny know? Is it a ghostly warning of some kind?
Unnerved, Rebecca spills the whole frightening account of the abduction to her ex-husband and friend, Michael, who, dismayed by the story, vows to help sort out the mysterious texts and disturbing series of paintings.
What happens next is a frightening rollercoaster ride that builds up to a soul-shattering climax that will leave the reader checking the locks on their doors and windows…

Gingerbread Man by Maggie Shayne

 Wow,  a great book, i loved it, it had everything you could possibly want in a good thriller.

Publisher’s Weekly Raves: “A moving mix of high suspense and romance, this haunting Halloween thriller will propel readers to bolt their doors at night.”

“A gripping story of small town secrets. The suspense will keep you guessing. The characters will steal your heart.” –New York Times Bestselling Author Lisa Gardner

Since the day her baby sister was taken, Holly’s mind hasn’t been the same. PTSD, panic attacks, nightmares and blocked memories have plagued her ever since. And now they’ve returned.

Hard-edged Detective Vince O’Malley’s most recent case penetrated even his protective shell. Ordered to take time off to recover, he can’t let go, and on his own, follows the clues to Holly’s small upstate NY town.

His presence stirs ghosts from the past, shadows of a little girl lost, the suspicions of some tight-lipped locals with secrets to hide, and more than that inside Holly’s fragile mind and untouched heart.

Disappear by Iain Edward Henn

A great book, i enjoyed every minute of it.

On a rain-drenched night, a young husband runs to the corner shop - and never returns. Eighteen years later, his body reappears. -Reappears, wearing the same clothes, and on the same street, from which he went missing. -Reappears, and is the victim of a hit/run driver. He looks exactly the same now as when he vanished. His widow, Jennifer Parkes, is determined to solve this enigma once and for all. Other bodies are found. All missing eighteen years. None seem to have aged. On the trail of a vicious killer, Jennifer and homicide detective Neil Lachlan are drawn into a human minefield of deception and terror; into the depths of a mystery that baffles the police and defies logic. Investigating at the forefront of scientific and medical technologies, they confront a threat that is much closer than either of them could ever have imagined. Praise for Iain Edward Henn, (author of The Delta Chain, an Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Quarterfinalist and an Amazon UK - Mystery and Thrillers bestseller): "The novel's pacing is solid...hooks readers into caring about the chase..." - Publisher's Weekly. "...bona fide suspense...thoroughly compelling..." - Renee Washburn, Apex Reviews "Fast paced, great plot...hard to put down..." - from Amazon.com

Harvest Festival

Harvest Festival is a celebration of the food grown on the land.
Thanksgiving ceremonies and celebrations for a successful harvest are both worldwide and very ancient. In Britain, we have given thanks for successful harvests since pagan times. We celebrate this day by singing, praying and decorating our churches with baskets of fruit and food in a festival known as 'Harvest Festival', usually during the month of September.

Harvest Festival reminds Christians of all the good things God gives them. This makes them want to share with others who are not so fortunate. In schools and in Churches, people bring food from home to a Harvest Festival Service. After the service, the food that has been put on display is usually made into parcels and given to people in need.
.

When is Harvest Festival?

Harvest festivals are traditionally held on or near the Sunday of the Harvest Moon. This is the full Moon that occurs closest to the autumn equinox (about Sept. 23). In two years out of three, the Harvest Moon comes in September, but in some years it occurs in October.
Unlike the USA and Canada, the UK does not have a national holiday for Harvest Festival.
The harvest festival of the Jewish religion is called Sukkot or 'Feast of Ingathering' or 'the 'Feast of Tabernacles'. It is celebrated at the end of the year, after Rosh Hoshanah, the third of the great Annual Festivals.

Melissa and the Impossible Frenchie by Averil Ireland

This book was written by Averil Morgan who lives in Heacham she used to work for us, i heard about it from a friend.

I am not into Georgian Romance but i loved this book from start to finish, i enjoyed the characters and the storyline.

Melissa found Andre impossible: he was arrogant, proud and he drove her to distraction, but she could not help her heart leaping every time she saw him.

Andre is haunted by things that Melissa can know nothing of. He knows he must return to France and rescue those he loves. He has no time for romance in his life and he particularly does not wish to be bothered with a troublesome English miss – but Melissa will not be ignored. He becomes involved with her despite his determination to stay aloof but when she forces him to take her on his dangerous mission to France, he is determined to punish her.

Melissa is falling deeply in love, but the Frenchman is impossible and he makes her want to weep. However, she will not give into her distress and is determined to fight back. Despite needing his help on several occasions, she too has her pride.

Can Andre tame the fiery Englishwoman – and can Melissa overcome the impossible Frenchie’s arrogance. Can they find happiness together at the last?

Chimera Code by Andrew Towning

An exciting fast paced book, unbelievable at times, but a great read.

From Scotland to Sandbanks and Santorini Jake Dillon is lured into another thrilling assignment opposing an inimitable yet unseen adversary - the ultimate destructive technology - The Chimera...

Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of the Last Line by M Pepper Langlinais

When Holmes returns to his childhood home after the death of his brother, Watson is confronted with the delicious opportunity to pry into his reticent friend's family history.

The Eden Project by John Bolin

A good book, thoroughly enjoyed it.

Anthropologist Alex Forsythe spent three years studying a remote tribe in the Amazon jungle when they mysteriously vanished without a trace. Months later, a teenage girl from the tribe turns up babbling about a horrifying place her people had been taken. The girl’s body is ravaged by a strange malady, and blood tests reveal an unknown, lethal pathogen. Alex realizes she must find the source of the outbreak if there is to be any hope of a cure.

Nearby, former Army Ranger Peter Zachary leads a small team into the jungle to film a reality show created to explore and explain paranormal phenomena. When Alex and Peter’s paths cross and they join forces, they face the most dangerous adversary they’ve ever encountered—and a technology that threatens the future of humanity. Faith and science collide as Peter and Alex discover the dark secret at the heart of The Eden Project.

The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton

 A wonderful book of twist and turns, it includes everything in it, and the final surprising conclusion was awesome.

1961: On a sweltering summer's day, while her family picnics by the stream on their Suffolk farm, sixteen-year-old Laurel hides out in her childhood tree house dreaming of a boy called Billy, a move to London, and the bright future she can't wait to seize. But before the idyllic afternoon is over, Laurel will have witnessed a shocking crime that changes everything. 2011: Now a much-loved actress, Laurel finds herself overwhelmed by shades of the past. Haunted by memories, and the mystery of what she saw that day, she returns to her family home and begins to piece together a secret history. A tale of three strangers from vastly different worlds - Dorothy, Vivien and Jimmy - who are brought together by chance in wartime London and whose lives become fiercely and fatefully entwined. Shifting between the 1930s, the 1960s and the present, The Secret Keeper is a spellbinding story of mysteries and secrets, murder and enduring love.

Words

I try to watch the words I say, to keep them soft and sweet, I never know from day to day which ones I'll have to eat!!

My Wife and Me

Some days, our busy schedules,
Means, that sometimes we never see,
Each other, for all day, it seems,
My lovely wife and me.

But I always know she has been around,
When I pass the bathroom door,
For I see her little footprints,
Wet ones, upon the floor.

By Bob Davies

 

Crocheted Granny Square

Makes a Granny Square 8cm Square

Use a size 4mm Hook (can use any size hook, but it will alter the size of the finished product)

Use double knitting wool (can use any type of wool, but it will alter the size of finished product)

Round 1

ch 4, sl st to first chain to form a ring.

Ch 2 (counts as a treble) 2 tr into ring

1 ch 3tr into ring, 3 times, 1 ch

Join with sl st to top of starting chain

Fasten off if changing colour

Round 2

Sl st a new colour if wished in any ch in a corner

2ch 2 tr 1 ch 3 tr  into same ch space in corner

3tr 1ch 3tr into next corner ch 3 times

Join with sl st to top of starting chain

Fasten off if changing colour

Round 3

Sl st a new colour if wished in any ch in a corner

2ch 2 tr 1 ch 3 tr  into same ch space in corner

*3tr into gap between 2 3tr groups

3tr 1ch 3tr into next corner ch

Repeat from * ending with 1 ch

Join with sl st to top of starting chain

Fasten off if changing colour

Round 4

Sl st a new colour if wished in any ch in a corner

2ch 2 tr 1 ch 3 tr  into same ch space in corner

*3tr into gap between 2 3tr groups

3tr 1ch 3tr into next corner ch

Repeat from * ending with 1 ch

Join with sl st to top of starting chain

Fasten off

If you want a larger Square just continue rounds until it is the required size.

Finishing

Weave in all the ends.

Assembly

Working with 2 squares, hold right sides together, work through both layers,  join with sl st in the corner ch, sl st along shared edge, sl st in next corner, continue in this way until you have finished required item.

Abb

Ch = Chain

Sl st = Slip Stitch

Tr = Treble

Windows Phone Nokia Lumia 820

We have always been O2 customers having phones since it was BTCellnet in 1990 (23 years) and several of the phones have been Nokia with no problems.

I am temporarily homeless until August, and have no landline, I also work with the elderly and as I am  working on my own travelling I am dependent on my mobile phone.

The phone was purchased on 7^th January 2013 from the O2 store in King’s Lynn with a brand new 2 year contract, this was a double contract with 2 phones on it.

On Sunday 7^th July I noticed my screen had a blue ghosting down oneside, overnight it spread all over the phone and gradually during Monday it deteriorated so the phone became unreadable.

On Monday 8^th July in the afternoon we returned the Phone to the King’s Lynn  O2 store and the phone was  examined and we were told would be returned to O2 Repair centre and would be returned within 4 working days

The Repair number is 0259030053092

Details on the receipt was

In Warranty

It has a warranty issue

Handset condition good

Nothing to Pay

We didn’t hear nothing  else until Thursday 11^th July – when tracking it online , it said it was not covered by Warranty and the repair cost would be £124.99.

Giving the following options

Accept the estimate

Refuse the estimate and authorise the destruction of the handset free of charge

Refuse the estimate and request return of the product

I then rang the King’s Lynn O2 store, who said it had been damaged, which to my knowledge was not the case, and the evidence points to this, it could have been damaged after it left our care. When I contested this  the lady said she would find out details by contacting the Repair Centre and ring back, which she did and said  there was nothing that could be done, the only thing she could do was give us the repair centre number, her attitude was rude and arrogant.

I then rang the repair centre who were not helpful.

I  then rang up customer services  who were also not helpful.

It was now time for my husband to take it in hand, he rang up repair centre, they basically said it was not a warranty fault and said it was a crack on the underside of the screen and reiterated what the options were.

We then chatted to the O2 online Repair Team who were unable to Help because we had taken the phone back to the shop.

We then emailed Nokia, they advised contacting one of their repair centres, and pointed out that O2 had its own pricing structure.

Our son found out that it was possible to get genuine Nokia screens for £30.

During this period O2 Customer Service, Repair Centre and online Help referred us back to the store, while the store referred us to the Repair Centre.

On Monday 14^th July we rang up and declined O2’s not so generous offer and asked for the phone to be returned.

We then searched the internet for screen faults on this model of phone, and discovered other people had the same fault with phones of the same age.

One of the comments found is as below

I had this issue. Not as bad as some, but bad enough. I got mine in Feb 2013. Upon visiting family recently I took the opportunity to visit the Nokia Care Point in Preston UK and they replaced the screen under warranty. Perfect job. Excellent care. This is not a common prob (first the chap had heard about it) but after my initial call to ensure he had the part in stock he researched my prob. This seems to have been a short term manufacturing issue now resolved. He did the repair in an hour and I have every confidence it won't come back. Fantastic support from Nokia. Sometimes things go wrong, I accept that. It's the quality of the response that counts and Nokia are excellent in that regard.

http://forums.wpcentral.com/nokia-lumia-820/205771-2.htm

We also discovered on the internet that all Nokias were covered by 24 month warranty not the 12 month we had been led to believe.

We then contacted Nokia Service Centre in Peterborough, who indicated that this was a known problem and is covered by Warranty, they also confirmed that Nokias were covered by a 24 month warranty.

On Tuesday 16^th July, O2 asked  me to contact socialqueries@o2.com I sent a fully comprehensive email, didn’t get an answer till late on  Wednesday and that was only to ask for further details, more delays and fobbing off.

On Wednesday 17^th July a text was received saying the phone had been despatched, why not on Monday when requested!!!

My husband filled in the online form for Rip Off Britain http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00wck32

Also received an email from Nokia Care cert-uk@anovo.com asking for more information of the problem.

Nokia care rang up quite quickly, and the lady had a long chat with my husband and said it sounds like we are being given the run around by O2, and that when we have the phone ring her up and she would arrange for it to be sent direct to her. Also received an email confiming the conversation.

On Thursday 18^th July we received the phone back 4 days after asking O2 to return the phone.

On Thursday 18^th July I had an email from  socialqueries@o2.com reiterating their previous no action status, and saying they would retrain the staff, they offered £26 refund on account.

We also got a call from Ashley from Nokia Care cert-uk@anovo.com again she was most helpful, she read the report from O2 stating there was scratches on the screen and damage to the casing – ummm after examing it my question is what damage, just a slight scratch which I would consider normal wear and tear. She is organising collection of the phone tomorrow, and will endeavour to get it back to me by next weekend.  Ashley sent an email confirming the agreement, communication on all levels, brilliant.

Friday 19^th July, phone collected by Nokia as promised.

Monday 22^nd July had a phone call from Nokia, and they  said that no way did anything external contribute to the damage to the screen, it was an unknown fault which they would fix under warrenty, complete with a full service, and the phone would be returned by the end of the week.

Wednesday 24^th July had an email from Nokia cert-uk@anovo.com saying the phone was ready for despatch,  and confirming address details.

Friday 26^th July received the phone back from Nokia as promised, working and complete with all information and apps.

Saturday 27^th July sent an email to O2 suggesting that £26 refund was an insult and asking for an early release from the contract.

As I felt that other people should be aware of the problems I have encountered with O2, and won’t consider it at an end until I find a way to get out of my contract I sent an email to the following:-

Sunday 28^th July sent an email to info@thecomplainingcow.co.uk

Sunday 28^th July sent an email to watchdog@bbc.co.uk

Monday 29^th July email from O2 refusing to release me from Contract

Monday 29^th July email from complaining cow advising me to contact the CEO at ronan.dunne@o2.com

From the 11^th July my husband and son and myself  have been facebooking and tweeting these problems.

The difference of attitude between O2 and Nokia was immense

O2 I spoke to many different people – Nokia spoke to the same person

O2 was negative and unsupportive – Nokia was understanding

O2 lacked communication – Nokia received communication every step of the way

Nokia made promises and kept them at all stages, via email and telephone calls.

Issue 2

After getting my phone back from Nokia, I gradually realised there was another problem, to as I do not use the ‘phone’ as a phone very often, when I first noticed the problem, I thought it was perhaps a poor signal.

The symptoms are:-

The Phone Rings alright

The Phone texts alright

But when I make or receive a call, I cannot hear the person on the other end and they cannot hear me.

I checked the volume control on the sidebar and under settings.

On the 5^th August I emailed Ashley on cert-uk@anovo.com at Nokia.

On the 6^th August I discovered that I could hear if I put the call on loudspeaker.

I switched off the phone and removed battery for a few mins but it made no difference.