There are very good modern fireworks that are a lot quieter (more of a slow 'pushy' explosive mix than a fast 'bang')

Combine that with the rise of drone shows and there's no reason the organised shows should be the absolute pain that they are and no reason to allow sales of fireworks for personal use.

Although we have not had any fireworks for a number of years, I have always preferred to have a small home event than go to an organised event. Especially with children, a home event allows easy access to the toilet; there's no worry of getting separated in the crowd and darkness; there's no need to travel; you can arrange food and drink at a fraction of the price; you can reschedule for another night if the weather is bad; you can do it at the time that suits your family.

The few times that I have gone to an organised event, getting there; queuing; trying to keep young children together in the crowds; rain/wind and sodden ground have been awful.

The three accidents with fireworks that I have witnessed have all been at organised events - 1) setting fire to a house in the street next to the park, 2) & 3) errant fireworks hitting members of the public in the crowd.

Quote from: stevewalker on January 01, 2024, 08:17:30 PMThe three accidents with fireworks that I have witnessed have all been at organised events - 1) setting fire to a house in the street next to the park, 2) & 3) errant fireworks hitting members of the public in the crowd.

Hi

Funnily enough the only accident I've seen involving fireworks was also at an organised event. A rocket went in the wrong direction straight into the van containing the stock of fireworks not yet setup with the enviable consequence.

Cheers

Paul

To improve the patient service Eastbourne and Hastings hospitals combined a few years ago so each could specialise in certain areas. On the face of it a good idea but not so in practice.

It seems that without fail the service required is always in Hastings whilst we live in Eastbourne. Indeed, if I look out the upstairs windows I can see Eastbourne hospital!

My son needs to see a specialist and after a 6 month wait his appointment has come through and, of course, it's in Hastings. Trouble is it's 3 appointments, Monday, Wednesday and Friday in one week all at approx midday. He has no way of getting there, it's 20 miles and 45 minutes by car so I would have to take him and then pay the extortionate car park fees. It would also mean both of us taking all 3 days off work. Alternatively if in Eastbourne it would take him 5 minutes to pop in from work.

As a result I rang them as I know they have clinics at both hospitals for his condition. "Yes, we can arrange for the appointment to be in Eastbourne but he'll have to rejoin the 6 month waiting list".

Aaaargh!

I ordered 2 Zimo MX170N decoders and a Roco 10808 from Coastal DCC.

They've shipped just one decoder

On careful review, I only ordered one 

What a pollock! (A possible alternative to cod or haddock)

John P

16 years ago I realised I was going diabetic, they wouldn't take a booking at reception, "phone up at 08:00 next day they said".. Problem was I need to be at work then and when I tried by the time I got through all slots had been taken.

Luckily Lloyds Chemists, did free diabetic tests, I got a letter from them, put that on the reception desk , and finally got an appointment...

Apple Support? Pah!
You get pushed from pillar to post and end up speaking to someone who obviously has not got a clue what they're talking about

At least you got to speak to someone on a similar level 

Quote from: Trainfish on January 29, 2024, 12:41:04 PMAt least you got to speak to someone on a similar level 

But I spoke far better English

It is concerning people think they know the product  and may or may not have been trained yet blag their way through and say let me have a look at the notes I have.

Or its irritating they have poor customer service skills and in the wrong job.

I sympathise with your frustration mick

It all started with a scanner problem, which after buying a new scanner same problem persisted, finally tracked down to loss of power via USB; next tried my other PC, that worked, however rather than copy everything to the other computer had the bright idea of swapping the hard drives between the PCs - serious failure - neither PC would boot, so tried to reload Windows from disc:- now 4 days from original problem I now have two useless PCs and have to use a laptop. I have a new/refurb PC coming on Friday.
I've also somehow screwed up my email,  password problem even after setting a new one, have to go to Virgin media site to read incoming mail.
Don't it make you wanna spit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At least your hi-fi system is still working Mike 

Quote from: Dorsetmike on January 31, 2024, 12:25:40 PMI've also somehow screwed up my email,  password problem even after setting a new one, have to go to Virgin media site to read incoming mail.
Don't it make you wanna spit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As they say "To err is human. To really foul things up get a computer"

Quote from: joe cassidy on January 31, 2024, 12:30:22 PMAt least your hi-fi system is still working Mike 

True, but most of my music is stored on one of the PCs organised as 75 x3 hour play lists, so not getting played.

Can't you swap the drives back. Unfortunately the operating system relies on the bios that's on the motherboard, so unless the motherboards were identical, your system won't work.