The Philanderer
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Prosha
I am feeling very self righteous today, following a trip to my local Tesco. On this occasion I purchased all my fruit and veg loose and declined the use of the small plastic bags which the supermarkets place close to these items for separation.
The lady at the checkout seemed totally at ease with the approach and weighed and priced each selection as if I was in a street market. It saved me using eight or ten bags which I would have immediately thrown in the plastic recycling box, and herein lies the problem.
Hounslow Council have a plastic recycling facility in the car park of the local Sainsburys in Chiswick. As of 1st November, Sainsburys are going to manage this facility themselves. As a result, only plastic bottles will be able to be disposed of at this site. Packaging and plastic bags, film and food trays will have to go elsewhere or be thrown in with the landfill rubbish. The reason?
Plastic bottles have a resale value in the recycling value chain, plastic film and bags have a much smaller market and are consequently harder to dispose of. Sainsbury, therefore, are maximising their revenue from this new venture at the expense of the local residents and the Council.
I have talked about recycling before here and to their credit Hounslow are looking for an alternative site to place their wider plastics disposal facility, but it does make you wonder, as supermarkets create 90% of the plastic packaging, why they should be allowed to restrict the amount they collect for recycling.
Getting back to Tesco, I quite enjoy shopping in the store in Isleworth (pronounced 'i-sell-worth', rather than Tiger Woods home course with is pronounced 'i-el-worth') .As it serves the nearby Asian community it stocks loads of food from the Indian sub-continent and even food from further East, and it stocks it in bulk. Some great smells come from the curry section to which I am regularly drawn. The Sainsburys in Chiswick, by comparison, is much more Anglo-Saxon and is only just starting to stock selected Polish brands to satisfy the increase in demand from our Eastern European neighbours.
There has always been a close tie with the Poles in West London, particularly in Hammersmith where there is a large Polish cultural centre. Their strong catholic ethos also blends well with the high percentage of Irish residents in the area. I long had a Polish cleaner, well before they became de rigor. She was sourced from a work colleague who seemed to act as a gang boss for them. The girls would come to England for a year or so, doss with friends, and earn enough to go back and pay for their University or other higher education courses. These days my Crescent is more likely to play to the tune of au pairs, and builders, all working at a rate cheaper than their more traditional European competitors. Plus ca change.
The lady at the checkout seemed totally at ease with the approach and weighed and priced each selection as if I was in a street market. It saved me using eight or ten bags which I would have immediately thrown in the plastic recycling box, and herein lies the problem.
Hounslow Council have a plastic recycling facility in the car park of the local Sainsburys in Chiswick. As of 1st November, Sainsburys are going to manage this facility themselves. As a result, only plastic bottles will be able to be disposed of at this site. Packaging and plastic bags, film and food trays will have to go elsewhere or be thrown in with the landfill rubbish. The reason?
Plastic bottles have a resale value in the recycling value chain, plastic film and bags have a much smaller market and are consequently harder to dispose of. Sainsbury, therefore, are maximising their revenue from this new venture at the expense of the local residents and the Council.
I have talked about recycling before here and to their credit Hounslow are looking for an alternative site to place their wider plastics disposal facility, but it does make you wonder, as supermarkets create 90% of the plastic packaging, why they should be allowed to restrict the amount they collect for recycling.
Getting back to Tesco, I quite enjoy shopping in the store in Isleworth (pronounced 'i-sell-worth', rather than Tiger Woods home course with is pronounced 'i-el-worth') .As it serves the nearby Asian community it stocks loads of food from the Indian sub-continent and even food from further East, and it stocks it in bulk. Some great smells come from the curry section to which I am regularly drawn. The Sainsburys in Chiswick, by comparison, is much more Anglo-Saxon and is only just starting to stock selected Polish brands to satisfy the increase in demand from our Eastern European neighbours.
There has always been a close tie with the Poles in West London, particularly in Hammersmith where there is a large Polish cultural centre. Their strong catholic ethos also blends well with the high percentage of Irish residents in the area. I long had a Polish cleaner, well before they became de rigor. She was sourced from a work colleague who seemed to act as a gang boss for them. The girls would come to England for a year or so, doss with friends, and earn enough to go back and pay for their University or other higher education courses. These days my Crescent is more likely to play to the tune of au pairs, and builders, all working at a rate cheaper than their more traditional European competitors. Plus ca change.
Labels: au-pairs, chiswick, London Polish RFC, poles, recycling, sainsburys, Tesco
¶ 9:52 AM 1 Comments
Friday, August 17, 2007
Oxymoron
I have had serious toothache this week, and anybody who knows me has been keeping well clear. Grumpy is not in it. To indicate how bad the pain was, I have been popping painkillers like smarties, and I am normally so against them you would not believe.
To a certain extent its my own fault. I knew I needed some treatment, so went to see my regular dental practise, knowing my usual dentist had moved away to start his own.
I found his replacement did not do NHS treatment, and after assessing my dental needs, two fillings and a crown, he quoted almost £400. He also took great delight in showing me his gold fillings and saying they were the way to go and I should have them. I took an instant dislike to the guy, and thought if I was going to pay that amount of money I would rather give it to somebody else.
He was also arrogant and rude to his dental nurse, but I am informed this is not unusual. My wife is in the trade and knows a thing or two about it.
So, I thought I would find a practise taking on NHS patients and rang the local NHS patient assistance line (PALS). They gave me a few names, but before registering with any of them I lodged a piece of wheatgerm in the damaged cavity and pierced into the nerve.......hurt or what!!
So now I am patched up. I found a very pleasant Polish dentist in Acton who assessed me, although he declined me as an NHS patient as the work was not worth his while for the fixed fees he can claim from them. He did quote £250 though and made no mention of crowns, just standard fillings. I mentioned the fact that I played for London Polish RFC in my youth, in Balham, South London and that seemed to help the relationship. he said he could see me on the NHS for checkups and other 'minor' work, so that was a step int he right direction.
The Polish connection reminded me of my embarrassing moment on the H22 bus after a recent rugby match when I engaged a young lady in conversation. She was not too keen to talk and said she did not understand as she was Polish. I then impishly asked her was she a plumber or an electrician....she got off at the next stop!
Talking of teeth, a few weeks ago there was an article about a chap who had crashed his new £125,000 BMW into a lamp post when he took his girlfriend out for a spin in it. Apparently she distracted him while he was driving and he was quoted as being relieved when, on impact, she had screamed!
To a certain extent its my own fault. I knew I needed some treatment, so went to see my regular dental practise, knowing my usual dentist had moved away to start his own.
I found his replacement did not do NHS treatment, and after assessing my dental needs, two fillings and a crown, he quoted almost £400. He also took great delight in showing me his gold fillings and saying they were the way to go and I should have them. I took an instant dislike to the guy, and thought if I was going to pay that amount of money I would rather give it to somebody else.
He was also arrogant and rude to his dental nurse, but I am informed this is not unusual. My wife is in the trade and knows a thing or two about it.
So, I thought I would find a practise taking on NHS patients and rang the local NHS patient assistance line (PALS). They gave me a few names, but before registering with any of them I lodged a piece of wheatgerm in the damaged cavity and pierced into the nerve.......hurt or what!!
So now I am patched up. I found a very pleasant Polish dentist in Acton who assessed me, although he declined me as an NHS patient as the work was not worth his while for the fixed fees he can claim from them. He did quote £250 though and made no mention of crowns, just standard fillings. I mentioned the fact that I played for London Polish RFC in my youth, in Balham, South London and that seemed to help the relationship. he said he could see me on the NHS for checkups and other 'minor' work, so that was a step int he right direction.
The Polish connection reminded me of my embarrassing moment on the H22 bus after a recent rugby match when I engaged a young lady in conversation. She was not too keen to talk and said she did not understand as she was Polish. I then impishly asked her was she a plumber or an electrician....she got off at the next stop!
Talking of teeth, a few weeks ago there was an article about a chap who had crashed his new £125,000 BMW into a lamp post when he took his girlfriend out for a spin in it. Apparently she distracted him while he was driving and he was quoted as being relieved when, on impact, she had screamed!
Labels: balham, BMW, crown, dentist, London Polish RFC, nhs, polish, teeth
¶ 1:45 PM 0 Comments
