Saturday 25 February 2012

Cor Blimey! - DVD Review

If you're a fan of the Carry On films, Barbara Windsor or the great man himself (Sid James) then you're bound to want to see this DVD.

It's a drama based on the lives of Sid James and Barabara Windsor through the Carry On years.

Sid James had his own dressing room in the forum of a caravan that came complete with its own toilet, shower and bedroom, it may not sound much but his fellow cast members dressing rooms were nowhere near as glamorous.

The Carry On films were made incredibly cheaply, especially by today's standards and the actors didn't exactly earn a fortune from them but it's certainly what made quite a few of them famous and they must have been great fun to do!




Friday 24 February 2012

Discover England - Northamptonshire DVD Review

If you're looking for a trip down memory lane or have just moved to the area then the Discover England - Northamptonshire DVD could be just what you're looking for!

The DVD itself is a little bit dated having been filmed a few years back now and the sound quality isn't as good as it could/should be.

The DVD mainly focuses on Northampton but having said that, quite a few other places are mentioned, just not in quite as much detail.

There is plenty of heritage and history to explore and enjoy in Northamptonshire and although this DVD wont show you them all, it's certainly a good starting block.


Wednesday 22 February 2012

Love Film - Damaged DVD Sent

My second DVD package from LoveFilm arrived today and one particular DVD that I was looking forward to watching was in it so when I sat down to eat my dinner I put the DVD in my played all ready to enjoy it and it wouldn't play.

On ejecting the DVD I had a look to see if there was any dirt or scratches on the disc and I could immediately see it was cracked.

Just like the previous time I had an issue, I went on to the LoveFilm website, reported the issue and within a few minutes it was all sorted out and the title will be added back on to my rentals list and they will dispatch another DVD as soon as possible.

As I've said before, problems happen all the time and it's how a company deals with that problem that sets it aside from its rivals and once again the customer service I've received from LoveFilm has been excellent.

I just seem to have been unlucky in the fact that I've only had two packages from LoveFilm so far and there has been a problem with each of them - fingers crossed the next one will be OK!


Saturday 18 February 2012

Why Do We Put Up With Poor Customer Service In The UK? - Part 2

McDonalds Kettering Poor Customer Service

Once, maybe twice a month I treat myself to a McDonalds meal as they're fairly cheap, quite tasty and I particularly enjoy their milkshakes!

Last weekend I was doing a bit of shopping at Tesco in Kettering and as it was lunch time I decided to pop in to McDonalds to grab a BigMac meal with a Milkshake!

On arriving home I unpacked my meal and as I took the fries out I immediately noticed that it was half empty.  I assumed that half the fries had fallen out in to the bag, but when I had a look I found the bag to be empty.



As you can from the above photo, it's not like there are just a few fries missing but in fact most of them!

I was too hungry to be bothered to drive all the way back up to McDonalds so I decided I would make a complaint online and took a photo with my iPhone as evidence to backup my complaint.

Monday 13 February 2012

Karl Pilkington - An Idiot Abroad Review

Oh My God!  This is absolutely ridiculously funny!  I'm not quite sure if Karl Pilkington is a fantastic actor or if this really is what he's like travelling around the world visiting some of the many different wonders of the world.

He seems to be a bit of a stick in the mud, set in his ways and I get the impression that his preferred holiday would be two weeks at Bogna and if he did have to go abroad he'd go to Spain and eat steak and chips each day!

I don't know where he felt more uncomfortable, going for a walk along the gay beach or relaxing on what turned out to be a nudist beach.

When he was asked about his visit to Brazil where he went to see the magnificent Christ The Redeemer he simply said "I enjoyed the helicopter and the Jesus thing was alright as well".  Trust me, you need to watch this show!  It's like talking to a 5 year old and asking them what they did at school, they've done absolutely loads but when you ask them all they say is that they did some painting.

When he was asked "have you ever been to the jungle before?" he simply replied "No, why would I have?"

One highlight for me was when he was in the Amazon Jungle he was offered a delicacy from the tribe he was staying with, in the form of a baby crocodiles head and he tried to wiggle out of eating it by trying to say he's not a meat eater but his translator wouldn't translate that for him!

Ricky Gervais sums this series up as "the funniest, most expensive practical joke" that he has ever done!

I'm really not doing this show the justice it deserves, just watch it and you'll see what I mean!




Sunday 12 February 2012

Newlands Shopping Centre Closed

I've just got back from trying to do some shopping in the Newlands Centre in Kettering.  Unfortunately all the doors at all the entrances are locked.  Standing outside all the entrances are bemused members of the public trying to get in and do some shopping.

After wandering around for a while I finally worked out what is going on.  It seems that a water pipe has burst so the Security team have decided to close the whole of the shopping centre.  How did I find this out? Not from the Newlands Centre itself but from a hand scrawled sign in Specsavers window.


As per normal there is no communication from the people looking after the Newlands Centre.  As they are clearly unable to write anything on a piece of paper I no longer park in the car park on a Sunday.

It is free parking on a Sunday but they do not communicate this at the entrance so you have to queue up to get in as the car in front tries to press the button for a ticket, but as it is free parking you don't need a ticket and the machine wont dispense one.  As they never put up a sign letting you know it's FREE PARKING on a Sunday and you DON'T need a ticket people keep pressing the button and wait as nothing happens as the machine wont dispense one as you don't need one!

Anyway, on peering through the windows/doors

The Social Network DVD Review

Wow! So much better than I had been led to believe.  Mind you the people I'd been listening to about this film were people who haven't actually seen it yet!

With a lot of films there's a bit of a build up before it gets going, not this one as it gets going straight away so make sure you're settled down with everything you need (popcorn and a drink etc) before pressing play.

The first thing I noticed was that the actor playing Mark Zuckerberg speaks faster than a speeding bullet and as the film starts off in some sort of club you really need to be paying attention!

I was hooked from the start and ended up watching the whole DVD without having a 'comfort break'.  The film depicts the journey Mark Zuckerberg goes on to creating one of the most popular websites of all time.

He kind of reminds me of Sheldon from The Big Band Theory, clearly very academic but not very socially aware, which is ironic really considering what www.facebook.com is all about!

You don't need to be a geek or a nerd to enjoy this film so if you haven't seen it yet then go and rent it now!


Saturday 11 February 2012

LoveFilm Replacement Disc Arrived

My next DVD rental arrived today which is basically the replacement for the incorrect disc sent the other day.

The disc I should have received the other day was Karl Pilkingtons, An Idiot Abroad Disc 1 (which is back on my rental list) and the disc I received today was Karl Pilkingtons, An Idiot Abroad Disc 2!

I just hope that I don't need to have seen the first disc to work out what's going on!

Thursday 9 February 2012

LoveFilm - Wrong Disc Sent Out

When I got home today I pleased to see a package from LoveFilm containing two DVDs.  Unfortunately one of the DVDs was not what I was expecting or had on my rental list.

I went straight on-line and did a quick search on Google.  The first link I clicked on took me to an FAQ page on LoveFilm's website.  It basically told me to sign in and click a link to report a disc had been sent out in error.  So that's what I did.

There was a message on screen telling me that whatever I do, I must not send the wrong disc back without authorisation from Customer Services so I was a bit disappointed as I assumed that I would have to wait for an email and have to jump through hoops to get it sorted out.

How wrong I was!

Wednesday 8 February 2012

My LoveFilm DVDs Have Been Posted


I had an email from LoveFilm earlier on today telling me that my first two DVDs have been posted out to me:


I've never seen an Idiot Abroad before, I have seen The Office and Extras (and enjoyed them both) but I have also seen Life's Too Short which in my opinion was complete and utter tripe, so I cant wait to see what this DVD is like!

The Social Network had mixed reviews when it came out in the Cinema so I didn't bother seeing it, but as it's available from LoveFilm I think it's worth renting to see what it's like.

Monday 6 February 2012

LoveFilm Letter Finally Arrived



After what seems like an absolute age, my LoveFilm 6 Month subscription letter has finally arrived!

I've already been on to the website, filled in all my details, entered the subscription code and started to choose some DVDs that I'd like to rent.

There is a free iPhone app (that I've already downloaded) that you can use to log in to your account and add/remove rental choices as well as change their priority.

So How Does LoveFilm Work Then?

The way it works is simple, you create a list of DVDs or BluRays that you would like to rent.  When you click on a title that you want to rent you have to give it a priority, either High, Medium or Low.

Then what you do is wait for the LoveFilm magic to happen.  Their computer system

Saturday 4 February 2012

The Most Succulent Sausages in Britain

Palmers Butchers in Kettering sell/make what I personally believe are the best Sausages in Britain.  Their pork and leek sausages are simply succulent, meaty and very, very tasty!

They also sell the most amazing Black Pudding that (as any good black pudding is), is made in Scotland and simply does not compare to any you would find in a supermarket.

I would also recommend their bacon as not only is it very tasty, but unlike a lot of bacon, their bacon is thickly sliced for extra flavour.

And to top it off, they sell Corby Rolls which are basically Scottish Breakfast Rolls that are made in Corby which is also locally known as Mini Scotland.

If you treat yourself now and again to an English Breakfast then I would definitely recommend a visit to this butchers, you wont be disappointed!