In normal times, I reserve books from throughout my local library system and find that the central library is particularly poor at being able to find books on their shelves - even in the reserve stock. From time-to-time, I go in and clear up my backlog by the simple method of looking exactly on the shelves where you would expect the books to be...

I put it down to using agency and "customer care assistants" instead of people who know what they are doing. Many seem to not know how the computer system works either....

Your library sounds just like mine.

Trying hard to concentrate on the second half of my French neighbour’s dictum:-

“Le monde est merde mais la vie est belle”.

“The world is sh*t but life is beautiful “.

Don't know if anyone on here regularly listens to the BBC World Service? In general I think Radio 4 is still very good, though dislike some programmes such as You and Yours (IMO, it would somehow be a better fit on Five Live). Quite often listen to Woman's Hour, I hope it will still be as good after both Jenni Murray and Jane Garvey have quit.

Do hate the new format of Up All Night on Five Live (it's not even called that any more!). It used to be an excellent programme for sleepless nights or the iPlayer, especially with Rhod Sharpe who AFAIK has left the BBC now. Dotun Adebayo's style is often irritating, I find.

As for the World Service, some programmes overlap with Radio 4, many have pretty good content. Though I still don't think it's as good as when it was in Bush House. The Strand used to be a great programme, like Front Row is. The current equivalents are inferior, IMHO.

But what I really can't stand about the station is how nowadays, they arguably push their trailers to the absolute max. They seem to be as loud, frequent and obnoxious as can possibly be (Radio 4 is far more restrained in that).

I hate the half hourly news bulletins, why isn't hourly enough nowadays? Especially when they break the flow of an interesting hour-long programme. But it wouldn't be so bad if they just read the news. Instead, there's a bloody trailer, but not only that.

For some reason, it's not enough just to have the presenter say at the end of the first half of say, Outlook, roughly what's going to be in the second half, even though they do that.
Oh no, after the trailer, the presenter has to explain that again, in more excruciating detail, before they go to the news.

Another really annoying example, which I know didn't used to happen years ago, is how, 10 minutes before the end of Newshour, they insist on interrupting it with a trailer or a lengthy description of the upcoming schedule that day/evening! Why?

I also hate the practice of playing a little bit of a programme's audio, not as a trailer but when it's on next, because it's annoying and means no suspense before you hear a story. At least Radio 4 doesn't do that too much. On the World Service, they do that with just about everything, and it's incredibly annoying. I only really listen to the station out of habit, now.

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My fanfic on AO3

Why do people want your entire employment history? And why don't I keep the paperwork more tidily? Or have a proper CV?

As an aside I found a letter from a company I can't remember working for welcoming me to their ranks

Well, the best time to write a CV is not when you're applying for a job, in my not-so-humble opinion. I cobbled one together in an odd five minutes, and though I had but the one employer, technically, it did turn out to be time well spent...

I've managed to wrench the muscles in my right calf. Walking is really painful.

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Carpe diem, carpe noctem, carpe pecuniam et exe, celerrime.
A certain edge when she spoke of Mrs Maynard, certainly, but, after all, not everyone could love Joey.
'Life,' said Marvin, 'don't talk to me about life!'

Muscle injuries are really awkward as every thing you do seems to affect them and then, to add insult to injury, they take ages to clear up properly

I hope your calf gets better quickly.

Ouch. Hope you feel better soon.

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We really must stop eating like this ...

Minds are like parachutes - they only function when open.

http://setinthepast.wordpress.com/

Hugs to everyone who needs them! Jennie, sounds very painful. Hope it improves soon.

That's painful Jennie, hope it mends soon.

Hope your calf is improving now Jennie.

Roversgirl have you found somewhere permanent to live yet?

And Cestina, are you back in the UK now? The infection rate in The Czech Republic is almost 4 times as high as the UK's.

Thanks, Annied! I have found somewhere (not ideal but somewhere I can stay and the notice periods here are now 28 days so I can move on should I decide to), which I am making a bit homelier However, I am seriously considering whether to stay orleave as six months of this situation will be tough! Hugs to everyone who needs them!

Glad you've found an alternative to the hostel, it was all sounding pretty grim.

No I am still in the CR and likely to be here till after Christmas. At the moment we are working out whether daughter's move, due around 20th November, can happen. It looks as if the removal firm (from this end) will be able operate; quite how she gets over here as well is another matter.

Yes I know the infection rate is currently higher but nevertheless I feel far safer here. I live in a village in the countryside, avoid going anywhere other than the village shop, can see daily on line what the infection rate is in the village and in all the towns around, can access an immediate local test and, best of all, should I be unfortunate enough to be infected, am unlikely to be triaged out of hospital care, let alone an ICU, because of my age, size and heart condition....

And since we would not get together with son and family over Christmas anyway as both our houses in Herts are too small to safely socially distance, and my grandchildren are in a school where the social distancing is abysmal, whether we zoom from here or just up the road from them is immaterial.

My only anxiety is that I may be sitting here all alone, surrounded by a couple of hundred removal boxes, because Alison may not get here to unpack!

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Cestina's dolls houses - Laterne, Laterne...

Glad to hear you're doing well. Statistics don't always tell the whole story and being in the countryside is probably one of the safest places to be at the moment, whichever country you're in. Fingers crossed all goes ahead for Alison and she can make it over. At least from the sound of it, the sale has all been finalised now.

I'm so glad I had my couple of weeks at the flat in August as heaven knows when I'll be able to go back again.

I managed to get my week in the West Country just before Greater Manchester went into Tier 3, and it was like another world. Here, you've got the suburbs of Manchester, and then all the surrounding towns - Bury, Bolton, Rochdale etc - until you bump into the surrounding towns of Liverpool to the west and Leeds and Sheffield to the east, and then you've got Blackburn, Burnley and Preston to the north, and the Cheshire East towns which are partly Manchester commuter suburbs anyway to the south. Down there, I was driving for miles without seeing so much as a shop or a pub, never mind a human being. It's no wonder than infection rates are so different.

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We really must stop eating like this ...

Minds are like parachutes - they only function when open.

http://setinthepast.wordpress.com/

Yes the countryside is very different and although everyone one meets in the village, including small children, is wearing a mask, one meets very few people. It's easy to forget what is happening elsewhere.

No house sale involved thank goodness Annied. We rent together in the UK and now Alison will come off the tenancy agreement but I shall continue to go to and fro as far as possible.

Today's good news, for however short a time, is that she has managed to book a flight to Prague for £35 on the right day to meet the vans here. Ryanair is now showing one flight, every other day, rather than the previous 3 or 4 daily flights. Those on days either side of hers were at ca £200. So it seemed sensible to risk the £35, especially as if it is cancelled, she will get a voucher to change it.

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Cestina's dolls houses - Laterne, Laterne...

Keeping everything crossed that Alison will be able to be on that flight!

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to be nobody but yourself - in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else - means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.
e.e.cummings
http://stitchwords.blogspot.co.uk

Echoing Abbeybufo here, Cestina - I do hope that Alison is able to be on that flight, and that all the other aspects of her move go smoothly.