Yesterday, I joined an organisation based on the web called ‘lookaftermybills.com“. It had been recommended on Dragons Den. The idea was that this firm finds the cheapest energy prices for your gas and electricity consumption. I am with one of the more expensive ones, SSE, so I joined to see what would happen. I was referred to what has to be the worst energy provider in the whole of the United Kingdom. The firm, called Scottish Power, has a 95% dissatisfaction rate on one of the survey sites Trust Pilot. I received the confirming e-mail first thing this morning from a letter written at 5:33 AM. It dawned on me that the whole software system was automated and based purely on money-saving and not on service. There is no point in saving £100 a year when you get no service if you have a problem with your gas or electricity.
Straightaway I wrote to cancel the agreement. These are the review summaries of Trust Pilot about Scottish Power not I hasten to add, of the referring site itself. Most customers are satisfied and I’m happy for them. It’s just that I run the largest site for smart meters and 5G on the Internet so I am aware of the reputation of Scottish Power. As they say, do your own research.
I do dream sometimes of convening meetings in which people dedicated to social and community improvement exchange ideas. The dumbest thing you can do is to be selfish and keep ideas to yourself. The most intelligent and profound thing you can do is to share ideas with others. The idea and the process of sharing excites the brain. The brain is the ultimate relational database. It loves to work. I take the view ‘one out one in’. This means that if you give an idea out, something else occurs to you out of the blue which you had never thought of before and which you will no doubt find helpful to your development. Tip: write it down otherwise you will forget it.
This does require a certain common denominator of desire to communicate. In our street we have a woman who is beset by problems created by the landowner and the leaseholder. I went to see her. It was the closest thing to staring at a black hole. I seemed to be the excuse for her to complain about the actions of others. She did not engage me personally but stared into the middle distance while having her rant. A most curious thing occurred to me after leaving her and in the days since. I felt depressed and besieged. This is not like me. I’m normally Bubbly, I will talk to anyone with a pulse, but this one really got me. I examined the situation and discovered that this woman had some sort of energy effect on me, draining the real me from myself.
Only those understanding esoteria will know what I’m talking about. The moment I realised what was going on, a burden lifted. We are members one of another is a quotation from St Paul to the Romans chapter 12 verse five. “So we, though many, one body in Christ, and each member belongs to one another. We have differing gifts according to the grace given us”. This is the most profound if neglected idea that we are all interdependent and goes against the natural insularity of the English person.
Today I went to work for an old lady, and she is really old, called June. She is vulnerable becuase she cannot make up her mind about anything. .We did between two or three hours work and her garden was really rather tatty. It had not been attended to for five months. She is one of those that likes to watch us. The reason is that she is so much on her own that any diversion, real human beings in proximity to her, is somewhat of a relief. Her mind is partly there, and partly gone. I asked if she wanted a particular display of flowers to be left. Her reply was that she did not know. Fortunately she has a carer with whom I can consult. We tended the lawn, we used our new petrol strimmer and mower, and enjoyed the wonderful sunshine. The problem with powerful strimmers is that the nylon cord quickly wears out. I’m tempted to replace the nylon with steel wire.
I created a new organisation last December, Internet-based, called AV Friends. The idea was that people who had attended a conference could continue the Fellowship albeit virtually. I’m on the verge of giving up now. 12 people signed up of the 40 that expressed interest at the conference itself. Of those only two or three are showing signs of life. I was quite happy to put some money into software development but it takes two to play tennis and in the absence of a response, even from people asking me why there has been no activity, it’s probably time to call it a day.
I have invented a number of ideas in my time. Some have come to fruition, some have failed, some have been stillbirths but I have learned from each one of them and there is nothing I regret in this department.
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