Remember that parking ticket in Bromley (Nov 2013)?

Well, some 9 months after sending my appeal in for the second time (after it was rejected the first time) I have heard............. Nothing!

So while they are quick to write to you and say pay, or we reject your appeal about our piss poor CPZ signs, they seem to clam up a bit when it comes to saying that maybe you were right after all.

This kind of thing irritates the hell out of me. They have my email address from the appeal, so not even a postage stamp is needed. But NO, they can't even have the decency to get back to me to say, not to worry about paying up. Maybe this is in the hope that I will just cave in and pay up. Alas this is NOT the case.

So today I have sent them a message via their PCN appeal page, which reads as follows.

I received this notice back in November 2013, and appealed, this was rejected.
After receiving the notice to keeper I appealed again, with the same appeal, but more details and photos.
Since this time I have not heard a word back from yourselves.
I would be grateful if you could advise me formally of what decision was made on this PCN, and the grounds upon which the decision was reached.
Many thanks
Michael Snasdell

Having heard back from a number of readers suffering a similar fate to me with regards to bogus tickets based on Bromley's lack of interesting in properly signing their imposed CPZ, I am hoping that a few have managed to make your point also, and not have to pay.

In the meantime, I await a written (email or posted) confirmation from someone at Bromley telling me the outcome and the reasoning for it. I might be waiting a while......

Pinch me, I'm dreaming...

A few years ago while on holiday (vacation) in Florida, I just by chance caught a commercial for a show coming on TV, called Ink Master. I have always been a fan of good ink, so I decided it was a must watch.
Sadly, being on Spike, it was unlikely to be showing in the UK any time soon, so torrents became my friend.

Season 1 was cool, interesting, slightly fake as most reality TV is, but well worth the watch. Season 1 finally made it to air in the UK this year (took a while)
Meanwhile the seasons rolled on. Was always great to see differing styles and techniques. The art has always fascinated me, and I have always watched closely when being tattooed.
By season 3 I was a verified addict of the show, and when it came around to the artists on the show this time, wow... The bar was raised and some of the artists were mindblowingly talented.....Others, hmmm not so much.

By midway through the season 2 people really stood out, Craig Foster, and Jime Litwalk. It wasn't just the art work, or the ability to turn it into an amazing tattoo, but also the persona's. Both guys really stood head and shoulders above the rest, and were for sure my favourites to win. Sadly it wasn't to be, but the fuse was lit.

Checking Instagram and Twitter I found both Craig and Jime, and decided it would be stupid not to try and get in touch and get a tattoo from either or both. Becoming almost a friendly stalker from another continent I set about seeing if I could get a sitting with Craig on my next trip to the US. The seed was planted, the idea in place, but would the timing be right.
As the date grew closer my hope faded a little, as if I would be so fortunate. However, at the last minute I received an email from Craig to say he could fit me in for a piece the day after we landed in Florida. Naturally I jumped at the chance.

Destination Skinwerks...

After convincing the girlfriend that the morning after a 9 hour flight we should get in the car and drive 500 miles to the north of Georgia, it became real. Yesterday morning we got in the Mustang and set out. Arriving in Carrollton, Georgia mid afternoon and checking into the Best Western, it was almost time. A few hours of being looked at in amazement by the locals for speaking in a foreign tongue, we rolled up to Skinwerks. Craig was outside chatting to friends, so we went in and got started, form signing etc.

When Craig came in he came straight over to introduce himself and get started on the decision making of what I wanted etc. The answer was simple really, a Snactoo drawn by Craig with a personal touch added to make it a fitting tribute to Graeme. Picking up pencil and paper the tattoo was being designed before my very eyes, and in no time at all, there it was! (Below Graeme Breen)

Master at work...

After a short time studying a Gummy Bear and drawing...

Off to get it turned into ink now.
Walking into the studio the atmosphere was so relaxed it was unreal, was like being amongst friends. Calm conversation soon turned into fierce laughter and memorable moments of hilarious stupidity, which really made the experience all the more fun. After some set up and prep it was time for the stencil and lining, the moment I had been waiting an eternity for.

Stencil goes on.

Lines started

The experience to this point was already quite surreal, but watching what happened from this point on was crazy. Sitting, chatting very openly, getting to know the person I had seen for so long on the TV. I apologise to Craig at this point if we were going over things he has said a thousand times, but the conversation was riveting and very interesting indeed.
The colour started flowing, and before long a few flat lines were coming to life.

Time flew by at this point, and in what seemed like no time the job was done, and I was dumbstruck. At no point was colour etc discussed, I simply wanted my few ideas put into a design and realised by Craig, no more no less. And what I got was my mind blown.

The finishing touches.

Once the tattoo was done, and the whole visit started to wrap up, it all suddenly became very real. I had spent the last few hours in the company of an artist I truly look up to and admire. In a business where everyone is an artist or a critic, it is somehow refreshing to connect with someone, discover a mutual respect, and come away feeling wiser and richer for the experience. Rather than exhausted and confused.
As the evening had gone on, it had become more and more apparent how lucky and blessed I was to get the chance to share company with, and get ink from such a genuine and lovely guy. As well of course two of his crazy friends and my wonderful girlfriend.

Once back at the hotel for the night, and not murdered by the maintenance guy,(private joke) the full impact of the past day hit. From a long day flying from the UK and getting to the house, a few hours sleep then in the car for 7 hours and 500 miles, then spending the evening at Skinwerks... It was time for a leg wash down, a coating of Hustle Butter and some sleep.

Here it is, close up.

So, without boring you any more, thats my trip to Skinwerks story.
The moral of which is simple, dream hard enough and things WILL happen... And of course, sometimes, you idols and heroes are just as cool in real life as you imagined they would be. Craig Foster is most certainly one of those people, and the guys and girls at Skinwerks are fantastic, so thank you all.

I am sure I will be back at some point to get some more ink as Gummy Sushi is gonna get lonely otherwise.
Til then, I will give your brain and twitter a break Craig, but thank you for everything.

PS, I have to add. Not content with making my dreams come true, Craig has gone beyond awesome and helped arrange the chance of my girlfriend getting ink from Jime too... Does this vacation get any better?

WOW !!!!

www.instagram/skinwerks
www.instagram/jimelitwalk

@skinwerks
@jimelitwalk

Then it was time for the drive home.... I make a quick video of it.. 500 miles in under 3 mins,..... http://youtu.be/5WVERh9vJro

PPS, sorry for the awkward rotations on the pictures, I will get them sorted soon.

Guess who's back!

‎Nope, not Wonga, I want nothing to do with them. Still nothing about the parking ticket from Bromley (although I'm sure I will within the 6 months). No, no not the bathroom, that's still in one piece, for now at least...

It's gout, after a long time in the wings, it's decided to come back with vengeance. Now if you ask me it's karma, nothing more nothing less. The Allopurinol was doing just fine keeping it at bay, until I decided to me mean, then karma bit me in the arse, or the right foot to be precise. 

Last weekend a friend of mine had an accident, resulting in quite nasty burns. Being the big boy that he is he took it in his stride, but ol' big mouth here had to try and take the piss to get back at him ‎for all the jokes about my numerous conditions over the years.

So the nickname Flamos was funny (play on his surname Amos)‎, and a couple of other bits were cheeky fun, but then I got carried away, and gout attacked me as revenge for my mean behaviour. Thats what I think, and I'm sticking with it.

A weekend of meds and remedies later and it's still biting hard into my big to, causing me to uncontrollably lift my big toe from the ground, causing the tendon in the top of it to become delicate and tense, and the muscles in the foot to cramp, just adding to it all.

So this morning I called the doctor to get an appointment asap, and managed to get one for 2pm. Realising this was a‎ bit sucky for work, I rescheduled it for 6pm, lucky or what.

Til then I only have one kind of med on hand for it, which messes my tummy up, so it's a delicate balancing act right now. Hopefully the doc can give me my old ones back. I did have some but can't find them.

Now would also be a good time to have bloods drawn to check my uric acid levels. They have been meant to be checked and managed between flare ups, but that's not happened. So not sure when they will assess and re-prescribe my dosage. Possibly needs to be increased at some point maybe.

Sigh, til then, the day goes on as usual, I shall hobble about and do what I can, then see what this evening brings. Now if only I could remember the name of the NSAID I usually have for this, and one that doesn't mess my tummy up.

Also time for a detox, proper refresh of the system. Maybe this is the wakeup call I needed!

Sent from my BlackBerry Q10

Well, well, well...

Officially as good as confirmed that I wasted another day of annual leave today.
So lets look at this in a breakdown.

10/3/14 Axis confirm appointment for 1/4/14
10/3/14 I call them to confirm the actual job. Front, rear or all fencing.
10/3/14 Axis confirm 31 panels, but job showing as 2 hours allocation

1/4/14 9am Call to Axis to confirm job still scheduled, assured all is well.
1/4/14 1.30pm Call to Axis, contractor no show. Assured he will be here in 30 mins to start job. Advised he has only today been made aware of the authorisation of the job, but will start today for sure.

1/4/14 3.30pm Call to Axis, contractor still no show. After being put on hold I am told the exact repeat of the above. When I asked why the contractor is visiting today if he cant do the job, I am told that they don't know why, but if I can just hang on. I ask for confirmation that he will be the stated 30 mins, as I have already wasted nearly the whole day on this. I am told, if I can just give him til 5.30pm that would be good.

I really don't know what I am meant to be waiting in for today, but know that if I go out, and he DOES come I will end up being told I didn't wait in for the appointment and will have to wait for the whole thing to be rescheduled.

So, sincerest thanks to Axis for wasting away yet another of my days of annual leave on a no show, pointless exercise of a failed appointment. But don't worry, I will get up early tomorrow to contact my work and ask them for ANOTHER day of annual leave to wait in again for the contractor to show up.

One or two failed appointments is one thing, but over the past few years I have genuinely wasted WEEKS of my annual leave waiting in for contractors, from Axis and other L&Q appointed contractors, and quite frankly I am fed up of the whole matter now.

Sincerely yours
Fed Up

April Fooooooooooool!

What an idiot, when L&Q and Axis sent me confirmation that they were coming to replace the fence that was damaged in the storms in December, and gave the date as April 1st, I really should have known better than to believe them.
Instead like a sucker, I have taken ANOTHER day off work, so that's ANOTHER day of precious annual leave wasted on sitting around in the house waiting on a contractor who has once again not shown up.
If I had known this would become such a common practise I would have started keeping a record of the dates.
But as an example we have two occasions contractors didn't show up to re-decorate the bathroom. We have the appointment to repair the fence earlier in the year which needed a chase up call, and ultimately resulted in a quick visit from a contractor to take pictures and then leave, and now we have today.

Each time I take a day off to wait in, as required to do so by the contractors request, I use up a days leave. That's fine though right, a day off is good, you can get things done.... NO!! You bloody well can't when you are stuck indoors waiting for someone to show up. Not even a sodding call!
The cruel irony is, its been a lovely morning, and it would have been OK if I could have sat in the garden with the dogs to wait.... But hold on, why didn't I then.
Oh that's right, THE FENCE IS DOWN and has been since December, so the dogs would get out.

Right now I am thoroughly fed up with the lackadaisical attitude of the companies and contractors who think I have nothing better to do with my life. Given how much leave I have already used on family matter this year, and we are only at the start of the 4th month, I am really running low on the stuff. And quite frankly I am reaching the point where I think someone should be compensating me for this time, yes seriously!

Its now 3 mins past the close of the appointment window, and no show, no call.

But it gets better. Weeks ago when I got the appointment I called up to confirm what was being done. At the time the person  spoke to at Axis noted the job was only booked for 2 hours, but was for 31 fence panels. Assured she would look into it and make sure the time was allocated correctly, I left it there.
Today I called up again, just to confirm that the appointment was still scheduled and that someone would be coming. Yup all is fine I was told. So I asked about the time allocation. I was informed that it was still 2 hours and 31 panels and that the contractor coming was also booked for another job this afternoon. Doomed to fail some might say, but I had faith.

Well the egg is on my face now, and my annual leave is slowly slipping away. The dogs haven't been out yet, I have achieved little, other than this rant, with my day, and now I wonder what I will be told when I call them back in a moment to ask what's happening.

Just take another day off and we will see if we can make it this time.
Contractor's fault, should have called you, take another day off anyway.
We will get someone to you ASAP, just wait in til 6pm now.
I have no record of a job for a fence today on my screen.

Or something more original?

Lets see...

*DIALING*

To be continued.................


Hilarious..

The lovely lady I spoke to said that the contractor advises he has only just received the go ahead on the job today, and is on his way over asap now to start the job. And will come back tomorrow morning with extra crew to get it finished,.

Incorrectly notified.

Dear Sir / Madam, 

I am emailing you in relation to an alleged speeding offence dated 22/01/2014 ref vehicle registration FT62PBZ

Today I have received a letter from Enterprise Rent A Car informing me that they have forwarded my details to yourselves in response to the issue of the NIP.

However, they appear to have misinformed you, as I was the renter of the vehicle in February, and not January as detailed on the NIP.

I attach a copy of both letters, in which Enterprise state clearly the dates I was in possession of the said vehicle.

I hope this error does not cause you too many issues, and that any NIP's intended to be sent to me can be cancelled instead of incurring extra costs.

I have copied the original rental location in on this email, to both draw their attention to the error, and to hopefully expedite the process of furnishing you with the correct information.

Kindest regards

Michael Snasdell

Dear Enterprise Rent a Car....

I have just received a letter from your Traffic Violations Department regarding a traffic violation during my last rental with yourselves.
So before I get started, let me post a couple of pictures and see if someone other than the idiot that compiled the letter can work out what is wrong. I would not usually call someone an idiot for a 'simple' error, but as you will see, it has a far deeper impact than that.

So here goes.... I will go a bit easier on you in following blogs if you can spot it in under 30 seconds.

Got it.
If not, please join the issuer of the letter in the corner, and take it in turns to share the hat.
If so, then lets proceed.

Now, there are a couple of ways this could work, so lets explore.
Essex might have the date of the offence on their letter wrong (along with the automated reference number which also contains the date) If so, and the offence did indeed take place on 22nd Feb 2014 as your letter to me suggests, then I would have indeed have been in possession of the car at that time. Darn it!
Oh hold on.... May I bring your attention to this..
https://twitter.com/MichaelSnasdell/status/437175757023215616
Now while I know its not actual proof, for me to have been in Snowdonia at 10.43, sending the series of tweets that I did, and then be on Thremhall Ave in Essex 30 mins later, I must have done a bit more than 69 in a 50 I tell you.
Allow me to dumb is down a bit.. I was 277 miles away !
https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?saddr=Llanberis&daddr=Thremhall+Ave,+Essex,+UK&hl=en&sll=51.875855,0.229855&sspn=0.053519,0.123425&geocode=FVGEKgMdwwTB_ymdAfncOghlSDF5DRqn3E0dZg%3BFXqGFwMd3IEDACkp6DArsY_YRzH4fwtNJUkOwg&oq=llanbe&mra=ls&t=m&z=7

Now, just for a little bit of fun on the day, ironic or what, but I decided to take a selfie of THE car, in the mountains of Essex, oh errm I mean Wales of course (must keep my story straight if I'm to be believed eh)

Awww look, you can even see the registration. And I'm sure if you check the image data.... Sorry there I go over complicating things again.

So, lets move on shall we, and pretend, just for the sake of sarcasm, that I have my days wrong, and I was indeed in possession of the car in January instead.
On January 21st, my dog went in to have surgery on his face, and I took a week off work to take care of him during his recovery. On Jan 22nd he was still very sleepy and poorly from the procedure, so as much as I would have liked to have been out driving along the A120 in Essex, I was very much at home, tweeting, and facebooking images of him.
Anyway I won't spend any more time on the sarcasm, I will get down to business.

First up... The letter.
I received an read the letter stating that I, Michael Snasdell, named on contact 479918 had been involved and reported for a traffic violation, and that further more there would be a £35 admin fee to yourselves, which you will take automatically as per my signed and dated rental contract.

Right, so lets break this down.
If you have not already worked it out, the offence ref 1120/14/0002 Dated 22/01/2014, timed 11.25 is NOT the same as the date you state on your letter which is referred to as 'Citation Issue Time/Date 22/02/2014 @11:25. Do you see the problem now?  ITS THE WRONG MONTH !!!

Now the usual reaction to receiving such a notice is a sinking feeling, and that oh damnit feeling, before doing what is required, sending off your licence and payment, and taking the 3 points on the chin.
But this is different, VERY different. You see I need my licence, for my future, for my career, and for my livelihood. SO the reaction for me was something very deep, dark and upsetting. I will go so far as to say distressing.
Of course the disbelief leads to checking (something that should have been done before the letter was generated) and then there is the feeling of relief, along with the self forgiveness for even thinking for one moment that you might have actually committed the offence. So for me, this goes a bit further than a small admin error. Yes s*** happens, but sometimes when it does, things need to happen to make it right again.

THEN.... we have the next part which states that £35 is due to yourselves for having to go through the arduous task of getting this so badly wrong, then causing me so much upset and I should add anger (does it show?). Yes I did indeed sign as part of my contract with you IN FEBRUARY that you could charge my card with any fines relating to my rental period... IN FEBRUARY ! Not however any prior fines that previous renters had incurred, just loaded up on me. So should you decide to exercise your right to make that charge to my credit card, please be aware that I will report this immediately as an unauthorised transaction, and exercise my right to be a PITA to the furthest extent possible.

Now if you read up from this point, you will see that a lot of time and effort has gone into compiling this reply to your letter, including tracking back through Twitter, Facebook and other social media sources, as well as through my phone to retrieve relevant information and pictures. Easily 10 times the amount of effort that went into the poor effort of a letter to me with so many errors.
So, here's the deal... IF you charge the £35 to my credit card following receipt of my actual email that I will be sending, politely pointing out the issues, I will in turn seek £350 in admin charges, damages, incorrectly informing Essex Police that I was the driver, and other costs for this blog entry.... Fair ?

I would also like to point out a few more things very briefly.
Your phone number for Traffic Violations is broken, so I could not call to tell you about this.
I believe from your letter that you have already informed Essex Police that I was indeed the driver. So would request that you formally write to them again, and tell them you are idiots, and that in fact I was NOT driving the car. I would like to be CC'ed on this letter (i'm serious, maybe not about the calling yourselves idiots, but the rest)
And finally, that this whole matter has been rather stressful for me. While I have seen the funny side now, I am 100% serious that it caused genuine upset at the time of opening the letter.

Anyway, I look forward to my next rental from Enterprise Rent a Car, because all the above put to one side, you do great cars at great prices.

Parking tickets. My feelings on them.

A while back, Nov if I remember correctly, I was issued with a PCN (parking ticket) from Bromley's parking enforcement people, for apparently parking in a clearly signed CPZ (controlled parking zone). I appealed against this on the basis that I felt the signage was so poor that it was not enforceable, as I had not been correctly and adequately made aware of the restrictions of the area I was parking in.
This argument was backed up with photographic and video evidence from myself. And also further supported by  the contradictions of the letter rejecting my appeal, and the actual signs which exist.

The appeal was rejected on the grounds that they felt that the area was sufficiently signed, and I was informed of locations of these signs.... which DON'T exist.

So as the argument has gone on, I started to question the validity and point of my appeal. Was I just doing this because I didn't want to pay.

Well, all my questions were answered this morning when I received a letter from TfL advising me of a parking penalty on the A205. On checking the details, and thinking for a moment, I did indeed stop there, and realised in a true 'DOH' moment, that I had been out of routine. I would usually stop there briefly on the way to physio after 10am, but on this occasion I was going to an earlier appointment, and it was pre 10am... Silly error!
I drove past just now to check the bay was indeed 10-4, and it was, so I went straight online and paid the fine. Which I should point out is the same price as Bromley's demand.

So my relaxed attitude, and acceptance of wrong doing of this TfL PCN clears up the doubt. I have no issue whatsoever paying a legitimate PCN when it is signed but I have still been stupid, however when a council is too tight, and too arrogant to accept that they don't have correct signage, and just throw their weight about with hefty fines, I take offence, and WILL object!

Quick trip to Wales.

‎Well I say a quick trip, certainly wasn't on the way up here, that's for sure!

The weekend started on Friday for me with a trip to Gatwick Enterprise to pick up my 'small premium' car. After much guessing what it would be, having only stipulated auto, I was surprised to be given a VW Passat CC (Bluemotion) MANUAL. In fairness I was asked if I was that bothered but I said no. Big mistake in some respects.

A few months ago I was actually looking at this exact car, but in auto and GT guise. But having driven a manual‎ Bluemotion, I have to say I would take one of these now. Lovely spec inside, ridiculous motorway MPG, smooth, lovely on twisty roads. So that's a plus for sure.

The trip here took some 7 hours due to stupid traffic conditions, and looking at the weather forecast, and what I'm sitting in now, the trip home isn't gonna be much easier.

Arriving at the Travelodge I was dreading first morning back ache from their ridiculous beds, but to my surprise they have teamed up with Sleepeze and replaced all their beds, and I must say, very nice indeed! Might even buy one. There is a little brochure by the bed telling you how to buy one if you enjoyed your sleep. Imagine that, try before you buy, first on the car and now the bed too. Good trip.

The reason for the trip, simple. One year ago today my aunt passed away, ironically some might say, on her sister (my mums) birthday. Mum left us in 2011. So this year on their anniversaries I made some changes to the family plot to make sure they are remembered, and there is somewhere to come to to pay respects to the whole family.

Two little engraved granite cubes with their details on. Small but effective :)

So they are in place now.

I have also travelled about to my favourite locations this weekend with my camera, to do some experimenting with it, and am quite happy with the results.

While talking to Chris, Joan's ex carer, she asked me for some information about tablets (electronic not medical), and showed interest in buying one. I have for a while now been looking for some way of saying thank you to Chris for all she did, so I popped out last night and bought her the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 10.1, which was on her shortlist. She was a little shocked when I dropped it off in a flying visit last night. But no doubt my afternoon will be spent setting it up for her now lol. 

So, I'm sitting on the prom between Rhos and Colwyn Bay now, in heavy rain, strong winds, and hazy skies. Waiting for it to be late enough to pick Chris up to visit the family plot to lay flowers. Thankfully the tide is out, or I would have been washed away by now.

So I better get on, then wrap the day up with what will hopefully be a speedy and trouble free trip back to London.

Will the car have made the whole weekend on a single tank.... time will tell.

Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone on the EE network.

Purley Cross / Kenley flooding

This evening, a week on from my first visit to Purley Cross since the news highlighted that the Purley Cross underpass at Tesco's would be flooded on purpose to help save the Kenley water pumping station, I returned there to see how things had changed. I have to say I was somewhat shocked at how things had developed, and just how much work the London Fire Brigade was doing,around the clock there.

The A22 coming into Purley Cross is now very much a man made river. Local roads are sandbagged as low laying parts of them fill with water. It really is quite a scene.

I took some pictures on my travels, as well as speaking to a few of the fire fighters, both praising and thanking them for their efforts. Its not even my home they are trying to protect, but somehow I felt compelled to thank them all the same.

The first location I stopped at was by the Purley Oaks recycling centre, on the roundabout by Capella Court. The fire services were staged there with pumps going, sand bags at the ready, and lots of tenders and staff on site. One kind lady from Capella Court was keeping them supplied with hot drinks, on what was a rather cold evening. A few pics from there are included.

Then it was down to Purley Cross, Godstone Road, the A22, which as I say was very much closed off and flowing with water at quite a rate. The underpass at the junction of the A22 and A23 was about half full this evening. Most of the fire crews were up the Godstone Road, around Dale Road which looked to be under a couple of feet of water at its lowest point.

So I shall leave it there for now, and leave you with the pictures. Sorry for the quality, some idiot forgot his tripod! (amateur)