HSBC - no improvement!

I wrote last year about my experience with HSBC following the theft of my credit card http://bartonflyer.blogspot.com/2008/03/hsbc-what-bunch-of-tossers.html - well the saga continued as, despite my thinking that I'd cancelled the card and was no longer a customer, some months after the episode, statements started arriving showing my balance of £0.00

After ignoring these for some 6 months, I finally decided to ring them and find out why they thought I was still a customer. Once again the automated system asks me to key in the card number, then my date of birth then it tells me I can't use that service as I haven't registered for it and don't have a security number (which of course I knew from the start!), by pressing enough buttons on the telephone I finally get to speak to a human being in the Lost & Stolen section. A pleasant enough chap but completely unable to help as the card is already known as being lost or stolen - well of course - it was me that reported it ... Doh!

Transferred to general card services, another helpful human being then confirms for me that the card is marked as stolen and HSBC know that I don't have a replacement card but that she cannot accept an instruction to cancel it by phone (why not - I don't have it, there are no transactions on it, there is no balance on it!) and I must write in to HSBC with an instruction to cancel.

OK, I'll do that, what is the address? HSBC's heplful human refers me to the address shown on the back of the statement.
I turn my statement over and guess what? Got it in one - there is no bloody address on the back!

Another interesting discussion ensues - I'm sure the helpful human thinks she's dealing with a congenital idiot as she keeps telling me the section on the back in which to look - I'm staring at it now - THERE IS NO BLOODY ADDRESS!

Just for reference if anyone else does need to contact this abysmal organisation the address is HSBC Bank plc, Chartwell House, 365 Chartwell Square, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, SS99 2UU

So, letter written, correctly addressed and successfully posted!
I wonder what will happen next?

An Afternoon at Manchester's Transport Museum

Not too much to report, perhaps the title Transport Museum is a little grand - it is in fact a Bus Museum (though to be fair they do have a tram, a fire engine, a street cleaner and two invalid carriages). The web site is http://www.gmts.co.uk/ and is informative and accurate.

So, by special request we went (Caz, Quinn, Sera and me) - here are the photos:

The last leg home

After a great week in Madeira the final few miles back to Bolton by rail from Manchester Airport

Sailing to the Ilhas Desertas

Madeira is in fact an island in an archipelago (oh how I've longed to use that word!) - the whole group consists of Madeira (the largest), Porto Santo, The Ilhas Desertas (3 islands Ilhéu Chão, Deserta Grande and Bugio) and the Selvagen Islands (and indeed in some articles I've read, the Canary Islands are also included).

Porto Santo has a large airport and a daily ferry to and from Madeira whilst the Selvagens are deserted and two days sailing south.

The Desertas Islands are in prominent visibility from the South of Madeira and are just 2 or 3 hours away (depending upon the speed of your boat!).

We took a day excursion on the Ventura do Mar a converted fishing boat. We left Funchal at 9 am and headed South East towards the Ilhas Desertas (as you see I can speak Portuguese!).

Around noon we arrived and tied up in a small bay on Deserta Grande - the largest of the three islands. The area is designated as a nature reserve and fishing and diving are strictly regulated.

Four wardens live on the island (see the little hut in the photo below) and act as protectors for the area.

The trip was terrific - lunch once we'd anchored was tuna, fresh bread, salad, baked potato and a very passable red wine, then we were taken ashore via a small inflatable dinghy for a "very" short tour of the island.

"Tour" probably inflates the experience - it's actually a footpath with some information boards, around 1/4 mile in total but still you do get to see the odd inhabitant.

In fact the Desertas also host an endemic Tarantula, but we didn't see that!






There was an opportunity to buy the T-Shirt, the brochure AND the DVD but we passed on that and then it was back onto the Ventura do Mar and sails set, back to Madeira, getting back to Funchal as night fell around 6:30 pm

Walking the Levadas

Madeira is famous in walking fraternities for its Levadas. These are small (in width) watercourses built to bring water from the wet north and central mountains to the southern part of the island.

They are typically small concrete channels, sometimes with path alongside, but sometimes with one wall of the channel a bit wider than the other so it can be used to walk along.
The picture is of the Levada Piornais near Funchal - a little earlier in its course it is covered over and you walk on the covers.

The levada meanders along up one side of the Socoridos valley, in some parts protected by a handrail (though whether that would pass UK Health & Safety is pretty debatable!)

It also goes through a number of small tunnels driven through the rock, and populated, rather alarmingly when we were there by men with shotguns - who gave a warning "be very careful", though whether that was relating to balancing along the levada edge or dodging the shooting was not immediately clear!


After the tunnels you finally emerge on what seems a very precarious path - one of our party definitely needing two hands and a list to starboard to avoid looking into the gorge to the left

Another Place

Now, heaven knows I'm no great art lover, and certainly much modern art leaves me cold (Mark Rothko - Emperor's New Clothes anyone?) but the Anthony Gomley statues on the beach at Crosby are impressive, thought provoking (what are they doing?, where are they going?, WHY?) and just plain FUN - so many looking out to see (or even out to sea!), just stood there; impervious to the wind, rain and tides - here are a few pictures:

My new (2 previous owners!) Varadero

Well the insurance paid out, the Pan is gone and I have plumped for a Honda Varadero

Here it is (photo courtesy of the previous owner)

A 960cc V-Twin. Lighter than the Pan and feels a lot more "agile", certainly great fun to ride and I am enjoying it immnensly. Slightly less stable and secure feeling at motorway speeds and a bit more wind noise and buffeting (but then I haven't got round to looking at the plethora of after market add-ons yet!)

Ellie The Lurcher

It was Sera's birthday recently and to acknowledge her love of dogs she was given a present of a sponsorship of Ellie, a 6 year old Lurcher being cared for by The Dogs Trust at their Merseyside branch in Huyton.




Today was the day to go and visit Ellie, so in driving rain and miserable weather off we went, and spent a hapy half hour walking Ellie around the grounds.

Some more photos:




And just to prove I was there, Quinn took this one:

A Little Update

Well, much has happened since my last blog posting - a holiday in France (and I'm sure I'll be boring everyone with the photos before long), the insurance payout on my bike (which did get written off) and the search for a new bike (pretty sure I'll get a Honda XL-Varadero as a change from the Pan).
Watch this space for more updates soon!!

Trashed on the M6

I was out with the Hell's Grandads yesterday coming back from The Lakes - just south of the M55 junction, I was leading doing a steady 70 in the outside lane, in busy traffic.

Up ahead a classic M6 shunt - van & car collided & stopped in the fast lane, I pulled up pretty sharp as did Mick who was just behind me and we both stopped in the now stationary queue - just about got my feet down - looked round & a guy on a CBR was flying down the outside lane obviously no way could he stop. He tried to avoid me but clipped the back & near side - knocked me very hard & I fell off and the impact took off the exhaust, rear peg, pannier and I think has bent the frame as looking at it from the rear, the seat was definitely at an odd angle.

The others in our group were about 1/2 a mile behind & later said that they'd seen this guy in a group of 4 pass them and all hurtling towards the slowing traffic without apparently slowing down!

The guy had his girlfriend on the back & I think she broke her leg - as their right legs hit the left side of my bike - anyway ambulance & police called & the two of them got taken off in the ambulance.
The police were excellent - sorted the whole thing out - and probably fortunately stopped my trying to ride the bike home - as it did start up (amazing just how noisy a Pan is with only one exhaust) - so they arranged for it to be recovered - I went home on the back of Mick's bike and I'm glad to say lived to ride another day! I'm guessing that they'll write it off, especially if the frame is bent, but will have to wait & see. So all in all it rather spoiled what had been a good day out!

The rear view - looks like the frame may be a tad out of line! note the lack of nearside pannier & exhaust


note lack of silencer & rear peg