Taking a screwdriver to bed

On October 20th I posted about our broken bed. I had taken the problem to the branch of Dwell where we had bought the bed and they had promised speedy action. Some sort of action eventually ensued but not within a time frame that I would consider speedy, given the importance of the problem.

On November 6th. I received an email, the main part of which I reproduce below. The mis-spellings occurred in the original.

Thank you for your email and the image sahowing the fault Unfortunately this product is now discontinued and no longer sold in any of our stores. We are currently trying to look in to this issue for you and locate a new set of slats. I am afriad that at this stage I can not give you a definate outcome to this issue but I do hope to come back you as quickly as I can with some form of resolution.

I don’t know how you would react to this, given that the bed is uncomfortable and noisy, but my reaction was that this was a completely inadequate response. I replied as follows.

I am not quite sure what you understand by “slats” but the problem lies with the metal frame (the part that can be raised and lowered), which has sunk in the middle at the top (i.e. pillow) end of the bed, as shown in the photo I sent you. This causes the bed to slope towards the middle and makes the bed creak, suggesting that the whole framework is under inappropriate stress. Our concern, I hope you understand, is not merely an aesthetic one. We are concerned, firstly, that the bed may collapse entirely under us and, secondly, that the whole bed structure is being weakened. In any case, the bed is uncomfortable in this situation and does not provide a healthy sleeping position. This is a matter requiring urgent resolution and I don’t think it can be conveniently shelved by the phrase “at this stage I can not give you a definate outcome to this issue”. A definite outcome is precisely what is required and it is required immediately. You have already taken far longer to reply to my complaint than is acceptable under the circumstances. If you cannot find a replacement for the defective part then you will have to think in terms of replacing the bed as a whole. We bought the bed from you in good faith and we expect reparation to be made in equally good faith and in a timely fashion as required under British consumer law. I hope to hear from you not later than one week from today what arrangements you have made to provide us with a bed of the quality we were promised.

On November 12th I received a phone call from Dwell but wasn’t able to answer it at the time so a voice mail was left. This informed me that they had managed to find a replacement part and asked would I please call them to arrange delivery. Was it a coincidence that a part had turned up or did it have something to do with my email? Who knows?

When I called the number I was given, it turned out to be the general customer services number and of course the person I spoke to had no idea of the matter. I explained. Her response was “Is it a collection or a delivery?” I thought I had just explained that but, well, never mind, let’s get on…

Delivery has been scheduled for Monday (tomorrow) afternoon between 1 and 5 pm. By rights, they should remove the defective part and fit the new part but as this has been arranged as a “delivery” and the bed was originally delivered as a flat-pack, I expect we shall have to fit it ourselves.

As Tigger has to go to work tomorrow, we have decided to remove the defective frame today and store it temporarily in the corridor (there is simply no room in our tiny flat). This involves raising the metal frame on its hinges and climbing inside the base of the bed and there removing 10 screws holding the frame in place. Fortunately, we bought ourselves an electric screwdriver. Once detached, the frame had to be lifted and manoeuvred out through the door into the corridor and a notice put on it to pacify any neighbours who might think to complain about its presence.

The mattress had to be stuffed into the base of the bed. Needless to say, it is not meant to fit here and is too big but we managed to jam it in. The result is something like the bunks on ships with raised sides to prevent you falling out as the ship rolls. It’s low because the mattress is virtually on the floor.

Tomorrow, we will haul the mattress out again, just in case the delivery men have instructions to fit the new frame. Otherwise, we shall do it ourselves as soon as Tigger comes home from work.

Then at last, we should be able to sleep on a bed that doesn’t slope towards the middle and creak like a doomed ship every time we move.

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Showers in Bath

A glimpse of the Roman Baths

Tigger left at 7:20, leaving me to follow on later. I had checked train times and was aiming to catch the 9:30 Bristol train from Paddington.

There are two good ways to travel to Paddington from Angel. You can go to Kings Cross by bus or tube or on foot, and take a Hammersmith or Circle Line train to Paddington, or you can take the 205 bus all the way. The tube is quicker, taking about 35 minutes on a good day, but the trains and the stations are often uncomfortably crowded at this time of day. The bus, on the other hand, takes a little longer and can also be subjected to delays and diversions.

Platforms 2 and 3, Paddington station (Phone photo)

I left the house just after 8:00 and took the bus as I had plenty of time. I was going to say that on the bus you can at least look out of the window and see something more interesting than tunnel walls but on a day like today, the windows are likely to be steamed up, so it comes to the same thing.

A text from Tigger tells me her train left on time. The question now is: who will arrive at Bath first?

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I left the bus at the back entrance of Paddington station, at what we call Fag Alley, the slip road where the smokers gather.

Paddington is not my favourite station. It always has a mournful, grubby look to it, especially on a dull day like today. It divides into three sections, the platforms, the enclosed area for shops and cafes and, in between, the main concourse.

Main concourse, Paddington station (Phone photo)

I filled in some time by browsing in Smiths and then doing a circuit of the station. As soon as the platform for my train was announced I boarded and found a seat.

The train left on time and we are now speeding through the rain-swept countryside under a thick layer of dull grey cloud.

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At 10:42 Tigger texted to say the job was done. We were then about 20 minutes away from Bath. On arrival I will try to find some snug place to wait for her to join me.

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At Bath, the vague hopes of an improvement in the weather encouraged by patches of brightness during the journey, were dashed as it was raining hard. Across the road from the station is the Tea Time cafe and this seemed a good place to wait for Tigger’s arrival.

Tea Time Cafe

Tigger arrived after only a few minutes and we caught up with one another’s adventures over coffee. After this, we set out to explore the town and look for lunch.

A rainy day in Bath

Lunch was to be had at the Jamuna Indian restaurant. Perhaps because it was early, we were the only customers.

The Guildhall Market

We visited the Guildhall Market where I was happy to discover a purveyor of fine teas and coffees, Gillards, an old established firm, as I was running a little low on Russian Caravan tea. Here, I was able to stock up!

The Corridor 1825

We walked through The Corridor, an arcade built in 1825, already partly decorated for Christmas, though I suspect it is only a shadow of its former glory.

The Roman Baths

The Roman Baths are of course justly famous and a tourist attraction. We didn’t visit them today but they are certainly on the list for another visit. I did, however, take a quick photo over the wall! (See top image.)

It had rained on and off throughout our visit and the conditions had been cold and chilly. Around 2 pm we decided to call it a day and to progress slowly towards the station.

The Pulteney Bridge 1773

At the station there is an Upper Crust cafe with a large window with its base at floor level. We saw that there was a pigeon behind the glass inside the cafe, apparently trying to get out.

I went inside where several people were standing around watching it and asked “Is it trapped?”

The only answer I received was “We can’t get it out…”

I cornered the pigeon, picked it up, took it to the door, and released it. This seemed the obvious thing to do.

Tigger had remained outside and saw the pigeon emerge like the proverbial bat out of hell. I just hope it is sensible enough not to go in there again.

Drinking fountain

After less than half an hour we had a train for London. As we travel Londonwards, the sky is as dull and cloudy as this morning and rain streaks the windows.

Wooden door, Bath Abbey

Bath is a pleasant town with many beautiful old buildings made of the characteristic light-coloured stone. Efforts have been made to avoid clashes between the old and the new. For example, the well known high street shops and businesses have swapped their colourful logos for more sober versions, more in keeping with local style. It would obviously better to visit this town in bright sunny weather and we will no doubt do so but even on a grey day there are beautiful sights and scenes to enjoy.

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Two cities beginning with ‘B’

Tigger is off on a courier run tomorrow and, of course, I am going too. This one will be slightly different from the usual run where we go to a particular town and spend the day there.

Tigger’s destination tomorrow is Bristol, a city that we like, and it would be fine to spend the rest of the day there. However, we have been to Bristol quite a few times lately and there is another interesting city not far away that we also like but haven’t visited for a while. I speak of Bath, famous for Roman ablutions and its golden building stone.

So the plan is for Tigger to set off bright and early to Bristol and, having done the business, to travel to Bath. In the meantime, I with my cheaper ticket, requiring departure after 9:30, will proceed directly to Bath. There we shall rendezvous and spend the rest of the daylight hours.

It only remains to hope that we shall be lucky with the weather, though at this time of year, nothing can be guaranteed.

I hope to recount our adventures accompanied by photos as I usually do.

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New gadget: the Artone Bluetooth Loopset

As I mentioned, I have a new gadget for making phone calls when wearing hearing aids, and I promised to let you know how I got on with it. The quick answer is: very well indeed!

When worn around the neck with its loop, the Artone Bluetooth Loopset, as it is called, appears as in the photo below. The actual gadget (excluding the wire) is 6 cm (2.375 ins) long. It is much smaller than I expected and is so light in weight as to be unnoticeable as I go about.

The Artone Bluetooth Loopset

If you have already paired a Bluetooth device to some other device, then you know what is involved. If you haven’t, then I will not describe it, but simply say that it is very easy to do and takes only a few seconds. Once connected, my Blackberry and the Artone indicate the fact by continually flashing their blue lights. The Blackberry flashes once every 4 seconds or so (not too annoying as it’s usually stowed away in my handbag) while the Artone flashes every 10 seconds. I found this a little distracting at first because the light is quite bright and you catch sight of it out of the corner of your eye even if not looking at it. On the other hand, it does confirm that the devices are talking to one another and are ready for action, and now I am used to it, I quite like it!

Specifications, though boring, are important, especially battery duration. You don’t want to be out for the day worrying that the battery will run down. The Artone boasts up to 15 hours talk-time and 380 hours standby. I think that should be enough for most people, especially as there are three ways of recharging it: normal domestic 3-pin plug, car cigarette lighter plug and USB cable from your computer. Once you have completely charged it for the first time, you can keep it topped up without harm to the battery.

Once the devices are paired, incoming calls are routed to the Artone, though your phone rings as it normally does. It also rings in your hearing aids but only if these have already been switched to the ‘t’ setting. This may be a problem if you have difficulty hearing your phone ring. When the phone rings, you switch your hearing aids to ‘t’ and answer by pressing the silver button on the front of the Artone. You don’t need to touch the phone itself. When the call ends, press the silver button again to hang up. On the side of the Artone is a rocker switch for adjusting the volume up or down. I find this very handy.

Making a call is almost as simple. If your phone has a voice-command facility, this can be started by pressing the volume control button. Otherwise, you will have to take out your phone and dial in the usual way. Once you have done so, you can put the phone away as you don’t need to touch it again. Incidentally, when talking on the phone, don’t be tempted to lift the Artone to your mouth as though it were a microphone. It picks up the sound perfectly well from where it is on your chest. I did check with the first person I spoke to on the phone that she could hear me perfectly well.

I found the sound quality very good and clear. The sound is sent straight into your hearing aids and on the ‘t’ setting, normal sound reception is switched off, reducing background noise. Even so, some environments are noisy enough to cause anyone problems hearing a voice over the phone and in this case you can bump up the volume. I find the volume at maximum just a little too loud for comfort, which is good as it means I have something in reserve for really noisy conditions.

When at home or at the office, you don’t need to carry your phone around with you. It can be left somewhere safe. This is because Bluetooth has a range of up to 10 m (depending on the environment) and if a call comes in, you can answer it using just the loopset.

Are there any problems with the Artone? I have found only two. The first is the volume control. This works by increasing or decreasing the volume in discrete steps, one button press for one step. When you press the button, the sound is cut off. It’s only for a fraction of a second but if you change the volume by several steps then you will get that many sound drop-outs. You may have to ask your caller to repeat or ask the caller to wait while you change the volume. As problems go, it’s a minor one and not something that should cause anyone to hesitate about buying this device.

The short manual is written in non-native-speaker English but I had no difficulty following it. However, this is where we find the second problem or, rather, omission. This concerns the replaceable covers. My Artone came with a black cover and in the box are three others, red, silver and blue. However, there is no indication in the manual as to how you remove the present cover and as they are plastic, they could easily break. Fortunately, I am happy with the black one and probably prefer it to the others.

The Artone is available from a number of sources and I got mine from Connevans, a company I had dealt with previously. I find them very helpful and ready to give honest advice. I ordered the Artone on Monday, paying for next-day delivery, and it duly turned up on cue.

All in all, then, I am pleased both with the Artone itself and with the level of service received from Connevans. Maximum stars and brownie points all round!

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From St Pancras to Sutton

Plinth

Tigger had a day off today and we didn’t want to waste it sitting at home, so we went out for a ramble.

We started at St Pancras station where we had breakfast at the Camden Food Co cafe upstairs. Today they had porridge with “fruits of the forest”, our favourite. You probably know that at St Pancras there is a famous sculpture by Paul Day of a couple embracing, presumably because they have just met after an absence. It is not to everyone’s taste but it has become part of the scenery, so to speak. It’s called “Meeting Place” and I show it on the left, as a reminder.

Today we saw that a sculpted frieze had been added all around the plinth and I must say this impressed me a lot. The picture at top is a section of it, with the central couple reflecting the main sculpture. There is too much for me to summarize it in a few words, so I will not try. You really need to see it for yourself. It consists of a series of tableaux, linked by the theme of travel by train and tube.

Platform reflected

There are some subtle effects. In the above section, for example, the scene is a crowded tube platform seen reflected in a pair of spectacles. You may think that the differences are due to the slightly different angles of view but closer inspection shows that the two scenes are time-shifted as well – compare the position of the man’s hand on the woman’s bottom in each image.

Shrine to Jean Charles de Menezes, Stockwell

But soon we were off and – unusually for her – Tigger wanted to take the tube. We headed south, to the end of the Northern Line.

We broke our journey briefly at Stockwell where I photographed this shrine to Jean Charles de Menezes. You probably know the story – that of an innocent man shot to death in error by the police – but if you do not, there is no shortage of information on the Web, from sober reports to rabid conspiracy theories.

We left the tube at Morden, the last station on the Northern Line. We had hoped to have coffee at Morden Hall, a hotel with a restaurant and bar open to the public, which we had visited before, but this time it had closed down.

Morden Hall

Open or closed, the Hall is set in beautiful grounds, today known as the Morden Hall Park and owned by the National Trust. It was beginning to rain as we walked through the park, making the photos a little dull. In the one below you may be able to spot the heron near the centre of the picture (click for a larger version).

Morden Hall Park

Walking through the Park, you come to Morden Road Tramlink stop. Tramlink is a modern tram system and very impressive it is too. In town, it behaves like a bus and out of town like a light railway, covering ground very rapidly.

The tram arrives at Dundonald Road station

At Wimbledon, We decided it was time for an early lunch. Just as we thought this, we spotted an Indian restaurant. The fact that they served both vegetarian thali and lassi was enough to tempt us in. Unfortunately, the food was mediocre, so we will not be adding this place to the list of restaurants to return to.

After lunch, we caught a bus to Sutton. Why? Well, why not? It was probably not the sort of day you need to show Sutton at its best. I am not sure what sort of day you would need, actually.

The Sutton Heritage Mosaic

The failing light and the gloomy sky were a disincentive to photography. It felt as if it was time to go home. I noticed this building with painted window arches. It was to be today’s last photo.

Painted windows, Sutton

We took the bus back to Morden – a very slow bus that went on a long circuitous route – and then took the tube back to Angel.

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