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Jigjag

Thanks for your discourse. I feel your terminology could lead to confusion. A 'portable telephone' could just as easily be the cordless telephone many of us have, as well as the mobile telephone many of us have. I'm quite happy with the word 'phone', by the way, but thought I'd stick to your usage.

I wouldn't dream of answering anyone's phone unless they'd expressly asked me to - that's happened about twice in the last decade.

I couldn't imagine life without my mobile (phone/telephone) now. I like to be able to contact people if my train or bus is delayed, for example - and that's a relatively common occurrence. Another instance ... I like to be able to check my library reservations - easily done online - before I get off the bus and go home. This saves me going out again. I like getting calls from my sister to say that 'Marks are selling off mince pies for 10 pence. Do you want any?'

This may come as a shock, but the telegram service stopped a few decades ago.

My village has not had a bus service for two years, but we will soon be able to "Dial-a-Ride". Oh, yeah? Dial???

The ONLY way you will be able to get a ride (which will cost £3.50, bus passes not accepted) will be to use an app on a smart phone. I don't have such and don't intend to get one.

Grunger

I am afraid that you haven't lived. A few weeks ago, Ray Cycle, chief binman, gave me a list of items to be re-cycled into the following categories.

1. Plastic bottles and tin cans
2. Newspapers and magazines
3. Other paper (excluding tissues/kitchen roll)
4. Glass bottles and jars
5. Compostible garden waste including small branches
6. Food Waste
7. Un-opened food boxes
8. Metal and wood including large branches
9. Small electrical appliances (no larger than a toaster)
10. Larger appliances
11. Batteries
12. Mixed textiles and paired shoes (bagged, no charity bags please)
13. Unpaired shoes
14. Shredded paper (bagged)
15. Paint in tins
16. Paint (other)
17. Cooking oil (in an appropriate container)
18. Engine oil (in a sealed container)

Anything else is "household waste". All the above have to be kept separate. I am not sure what "Paint (other)" means, and I have no engine oil to re-cycle. Does anyone? I try to stick to the list but where do you get all the bags and appropriate containers.

Jigjag

What a totally horrendous list of recycling categories! I don't understand some of them - the 'paint (other)', for example, and what's to happen with my tissues and kitchen roll? . We seem to cope quite well, but perhaps we've just honed up all our recycling skills over the years.

Rosalind

Glad you had a lovely Christmas Day in N Wales. You were probably further along the coast than I am, but it was a glorious day here too, and it has has been very pleasant since, very mild.

My bus stop no longer has a timetable but you can text to find out when the next one is due. What a farce!

Malone

Yes it is an incredible list. I have to-date recycled into 16 of the 18 categories (not every week). If I can get hold of some engine oil, and put some paint in a plastic bag, I may achieve my ambition of re-cycling into every category in a single week.

We put tissues and kitchen roll in the household waste now. Pity. I am surprised they collect cooking oil. They probably send it to Grunger.

Malone

They are certainly useful but they are not for me. A nephew asked me recently how often I charged the battery in my mobile. I told him I didn't need to as it was wind-powered. He was very excited and said he would get one from an apple shop.

That's bad news about the telegram service. Agatha Christie's books depended on it.

Rosalind

Your 'Dial-a-Ride' doesn't sound ideal - in many respects. The 'use an app' stuff is incredibly annoying for many people. I think there are similar problems with some parking machines - no money can be used, instead it's to be done from your phone. Apart from not liking that being compulsory, I also feel t's forcing people into having internet banking, financial stuff, on their phones, not something they necessarily want.

Jigjag

Well done on being able to recycle so many of the categories on the list. I'm sure you'll manage the whole lot at some point in 2020.

Having a train-mad son, I believe used engine and perhaps cooking oil can be used to power some "heritage" trains.

jigjag
The beach we go to in Wales is called Dinas Dinlle, south of Caernarfon.

I can understand why councils might not want cash in parking machines (as it has to be collected) but surely a credit card should be OK? Or a pre-loaded cash card, like an Oyster?

Rosalind

For various reasons, my sister, my husband and my father-in-law would have nothing to do with credit cards... and certainly wouldn't get one just to be able to park (and in some cases of parking, they'd also need an appropriate app - another no-no). The pre-loaded cash card sounds a suitable option, one worth considering.