In the wash...

A FoF has had issues with getting cash back from B&Q Appliance Warehouse who are being a bit crap.

For what it is worth, I used the Co-op online store who were really rather good. Having said that, the moral of this story is 'pay by credit card'.

Mum had a stock answer....

....whenever I asked her how long my latest new food experience would take to cook:

"Until it's done".

Which is fair enough really. I mention this solely because I stumbled upon another bit of Mum's wisdom - serving as a bookmark on an old cooking book:

Boil : Wija, Estima
Chip : Maris Piper
Roast : King Edward, Desiree
Baked : Cara
Mash : King Edward, Romano

So now you know what to do with your spuds.

Living over the shop

I got an email from the Live Work Network today, bringing my attention to a new directory of available live/work space (or 'home work enabled' as it appears to be known - my business English course obviously need to be rolled out pronto).

I work from home and, really, my house is not designed for it and, in the electronic age, neither are most houses. Even ones with a study. So I reckon it is a neat idea.

I have a hunch that we could see such units snapped up by companies as well, for using when a high pressure project is on and it wants staff to be as fresh as possible (that is, not crammed in a Tube train or traffic jam).

Not such a fair view

Last week the planning inspector overturned St Albans Council's refusal of consent for Fairview Homes to build well over 300 flats on the site of the old College of Further Education.

Local conservation groups are up in arms about the number of flats. But, aside from a vague pang of nostaglia for the site being where I did a Computer Studies CSE Back In The Day, I'm more concerned about the quality of what is going to be built.

This article is one I wrote a couple of years ago about living in a Fairview Homes flat (39 Wheatsheaf Close, E14 if you really want to know). The final version got modified slightly to take in a frightening incident with an intruder.

My concern is that the flats are going to be cardboard boxes that will barely last the length of the leasehold.

The Council hardly did itself any favours when, a few months back, a councillor said - in relation to the proposal for a new cinema - "It's not as if St Albans is the jewel in Hertfordshire's crown". That councillor is an idiot, but it was Oaklands College who sold a senstive, near-town-centre, site to Fairview.

Sabbatical, unplanned.

Not entirely intentional, but when you spent time writing about local issues for a living, doing it for fun gets a bit old.

In the meantime head over to my new business writing blog, which should at least get more regular updates.

I am, of course, mortified that Kate didn't cross-post this from her personal blog.

I'll blame her forthcoming wedding...

Burning issue

Looks like Woking's waste incineration woes are going national