Done something you'd like to promote? Even some advice you'd like to give or someone or something you'd like to recommend? Let me know what it is, using CONTACT US, and I'll put it on this page for all to see. Where you see a link that takes you to another web site you can always return to this one using the back arrow on your browser toolbar.
Wanted!!
All of the desperadoes seen below. If found, please keep it to yourself.
Classmate Brian Ford is Looking For a Publisher:-
Brian Ford, at Sloane from 1963, has written a novel entitled' Hit the Road, Frank ' and is looking for a publisher. To read the story, click on this link - www.authonomy.com/ViewBook.aspxand enter my Brian Ford in the Search box. Let him know what you think, especially if you know a publisher who might be interested. E-mail himthrough this site with your views and/or also put those thoughts on the ' User Forums'.
School Roll of Honour Boards:- You might recall that I have been trying to trace the 1914-18 World War I School Roll of Honour board that used to hang on an internal wall, and the book, that hung in a glass case next to it, commemorating those of the School who lost their lives as a result of the 1939-45 Second World War. Unfortunately, I have had no success. However, I did have an e-mail from the London Metropolitan Archives telling me what they do hold relating to Sloane. Some of the items are accessible if you visit the LMA at 40, Northampton Road, Clerkenwell, London, EC1R 0HB (phoning to make an appointment on 020 7332 3820 is advisable) but you will need to apply for a 'History Card' via their website if you intend printing copies of any of the items. Go to the website at www.lma.gov.uk for full details. Clicking on the following link,
http://search.lma.gov.uk/scripts/mwimain.dll/436/1/0?SEARCH&SHOWSINGLE=Y&ERRMSG=[WWW_LMA]err.htm will take you to a page on their site where you can enter 'SloaneSchool' in the Search Terms box and click on 'Run Search'. This will bring up all available items. These include Admission and Discharge Registers, a 1938 Plan of the school, drawings relating to Building Act case files and 23 photos of various school activities, though some of these are listed as 'missing'. Other items they hold are 'closed' under the 65 year rule that protects the confidentiality of living individuals. The 'closed' items are -
Log Book 1967-70 (Ref: LCC/EO/DIV01/SLO/LB/001) Punishment Book 1962-70 (Ref: LCC/EO/DIV01/SLO/MISC/001) Staff Registers - 1895-1963; 1965-70 (Ref: LCC/EO/DIV01/SLO/MISC/002-004)
These 'closed' items can be consulted by the LMA on behalf of individuals under the provisions of the Data Protection Act, so contact them direct if you're interested.
Information Wanted
Ref. E H Pritchard. January, 2009:-
I've been contacted by the great-granddaughter of E H Pritchard, the school's first headmaster. It's a long shot but she's asking whether anyone may be in possession of any photos or other memorabilia from his time at the school. As he died in 1928 her only chance is if someone has been handed down something or if someone took charge of something for safe keeping after the school closed in 1970. She's particularly interested in any photos that might include Mrs Pritchard. Put your thinking caps on and see if we can't, at least, point her in the right direction. I've already mentioned the London Metropolitan Archives and the Fulham Chronicle, who may have something from his time as Mayor.
Ref. Mr Nightingale. February, 2009:-
I've been contacted by Edward Nightingale, whose father, Herbert Paul Nightingale, taught Maths and Swimming at the school until his retirement in the late 40s. Both Edward and I would be grateful for any memories anyone might have of his father. Edward admits to his father having been a little eccentric. Please let me have anything you've got via the usual channels. You might even recall the circumstances surrounding Edward's own recollections of his father which can be found on the Shared Memories page.
Ref. Frederick Henry Savage. February, 2010:-
I've been contacted by Neil Smith of RAF 51 Squadron History Association. He had been researching the crash of Wellington Bomber R1374 in 1941, when his Internet searches involving the pilot's name, Frederick Henry Savage, led him to our website. Frederick's name appears on our In Memory page and Neil was keen to learn more.
I told him all I know and, in return, I have asked him to let me know of anything else he discovers about Frederick. He has already added to what I knew by telling me that the plane was brought down near Loire Atlantique in France (incidentally, this town is twinned with Brockenhurst in Hampshire, where Classmate Bob Titton lives) where, in 2011, they are planning a ceremony to mark the 70th anniversary of the crash.
Update: May, 2010:_
A ceremony to mark the 70th anniversary of the plane coming down was held at Pont St Martin on May 7th, 2011. Sadly, organisers were unable to trace any living relatives of Frederick Henry Savage but the families of other crew members were able to attend and memorial stone was inaugurated.
See the In Memory page entry for Frederick, and to view photos of the memorial ceremony click on this link -
If you've ever had trouble understanding the person on the other end of the line when you've phoned a company's Customer Services and been connected to a call-centre in Mumbai or somewhere similar, here's what to do. It's happened to me before and, pleasant and polite as they are, it's not always easy to make yourself understood or to understand what's being said to you. That's probably the company's intention half of the time but we do have the right, as UK customers, to insist on speaking to someone in the UK.
Whether you're phoning about a problem with a credit card, bank account, internet service, or similar, try this. It works.
As soon as you realise the person you are speaking to is not based in the UK (ask if you' re not sure), very politely ask them to connect you to someone who is. Don't be fobbed off and let them pass you on to their manager who will still be based where they are. Instead, again politely insist on speaking to someone in the UK. They have to connect you and, once they have, you can ask where the person you're speaking to is based, just to be sure.
Not only will this generally make your call shorter because it will invariably be dealt with more quickly as you should, in theory, understand each other better, it will also impact on the number of jobs available in this country as, if we all did it, companies would have to close down their foreign call-centres and bring them back to the UK. This assumes that they're predominantly UK-owned companies in the first place which, alarmingly, is becoming less and less the case.
Check your check-out receipts
Without wishing to sound patronising, as we get older we do tend to take things on trust. We shouldn't, as there are many out there who see everyone as a target.
A number of incidents have been reported to the police concerning Cashback. This is where, in outlets that offer it, people are asked by the Check-out cashier whether they'd like to use the card they've just paid with to withdraw cash from their account. This can be useful but now it's being used by unscrupulous cashiers to line their own pockets.
One Sainsbury's customer noticed that a £40 Cashback was registered on her till recipt when she hadn't asked for it. The cashier, when questioned, agreed that the electronic pad they use must be faulty. There was reason to believe that the cashier knew the pad was faulty as she hadn't asked the customer, as they often do, whether she's like Cashback.
How many people in front of this customer hadn't checked their receipt? How much had the cashier already pocketed? This scam is being operated with the cashier having an accomplice, often the person in the queue behind the one being scammed, to whom the money is passed by the cashier. It's also likely to be more prevalent at busy times.
Fire in the Kitchen
Whatever you do, don't try to put out a kitchen fire involving cooking oil using water. Water, being denser than oil, will sink to the bottom of the pan and instantly become heated. The force of the steam created will blow the burning oil up and out and probably hit the ceiling and then fill the entire room in no time at all.
Likewise, do not be tempted to throw sugar or flour on a grease fire, as even worse results will result.
Use only a wet tea cloth, like a lid, to cover the pan.
Bogus Parcels
Be careful when you're asked to sign for, or collect, a parcel on behalf of someone else. Make sure you know them. We've probably all done it for a neighbour at some time but now some criminals are using it to their advantage. They're having items delivered to unsuspecting persons without any of the risk associated with using their own address. The person delivering the item will say that the intended recipient put in the wrong address at the time of ordering, which is, obviously, most unlikely. The intended recipient will arrive at your address at some stage to collect their parcel.
Global Positioning Systems
If any of you use a Global Positioning System (GPS) in your car, this may not have occured to you, but it is worth thinking about.
Recently, thieves broke into a car and stole a number of items, including the GPS, which had been prominently displayed on the dashboard, and a remote control for a garage door.
When the victims returned home they found their house had been ransacked and all items of value had been stolen.
The thieves had used the GPS to guide them to the house then used the garage remote to open the garage door and gained access to the house through the door in the garage linking it to the house. The moral of the story is, if you use a GPS, don't put your home address into it. Instead, put in a nearby address so you can still find your way home if you really need to.
Mobile Phone Address Books
If you use a bag to keep your mobile phone in when you're out (and some men do today!), or even if you keep it in the same coat pocket as your credit cards, please be careful. A woman recently had her handbag stolen. It contained her mobile phone, credit cards etc, so she phoned her husband from a pay phone to tell him what had happened. He told her that he had replied to her text message asking what their Pin number was, just ten minutes previously. Quickly realising what had happened they notified their bank only to be told that their large daily limit had already been withdrawn from their account. As you've already guessed, it was the handbag thief who had sent the text to the husband.
Revenge on the Marketer
If you're continually getting those annoying telemarketing calls the first thing you can do is register to prevent them doing so. Click on this link and register at this website -
That should help, but if one still gets through, and they do find ways round it, try these:-
1) Say to them "Hold on, please", put down your phone and walk away for a while. They'll soon get fed up and hang up.
2) If you answer the phone and there doesn't appear to be anyone on the other end, it's likely to be due to a telemarketing company who uses a machine to make the calls and records the time of day a person answers. They do this so that a real salesperson is able to call at a time when you'll probably be in. After answering the automatic call and finding no one on the other end of the line, start hitting the # button on your phone very quickly. Apparently, this confuses their machine and it throws your number out of their dial-up system.
3) When you get those 'pre-approved' letters in the post for everything from credit cards to 2nd mortgages, make the postage-prepaid return envelope work for you. It costs the company that sent them money if you return them. If you enclose a few of the other pieces of 'junk mail' you've received you'll not only be getting rid of it, you might also be putting the recipient in touch with the services of someone they really need. Put 'Madam Rose', the Clairvoyant's card in the envelope you're returning to Capital One Visa, or send the Pizza Express menu to Barclays. You know the kind of thing. You can even send them back empty to keep them guessing. No need to put your name to anything.
By doing this you'll also be doing Royal Mail a favour. Given the extra work you're putting their way, they shouldn't need to increase the cost of postage for a decade.
Telephone Credit Card Fraud
Another telephone scam is doing the rounds, so be careful as it's easy, however intelligent we like to think we are, to fall for these. You might receive a phone call from someone pretending to be a British Telecom, or other phone company, representative, who'll say that you have an unpaid bill, and unless you pay immediately your phone service will be cut off, and you'll later be charged an astronomical fee to be re-connected. Don't be surprised if he has a very English name but speaks with a very African accent. If the caller suspects you don't believe what they're telling you, they'll offer to prove they work for BT (or whatever service you use if they've done their homework) by saying they can disconnect your phone to prevent you from dialling anyone, if you put the phone down there and then and try. If you agree you'll find that all the caller does is stay on the line with their finger on their 'mute' button; you think they've hung up but, of course, they haven't. This is because the one who initiates a call is the one who has to terminate it. Only when they hear you stop trying to make the call do they cut off and immediately call you back to see how you got on. It will certainly fool some people into parting with a credit card payment over the phone.
Remove your mobile phone number from the 118 Directory
Geoff Hall alerted me to the following. If you don't wanted your mobile phone number listed in the 118 Directory click on this link to get it removed:-
I don't know how true this is, but the source I got it from swears they got the information from a very reliable computer company who set up the standard database used by each county's computing system. If you get fined for a traffic offence and are going to get points on your licence then there's a way of avoiding the endorsement. If your fine is, say, for £40 then send a cheque for slightly over, maybe £41. The computer system then has to generate a cheque giving you a £1 refund. As points are not assessed toyour licence until all financial transactions are complete, DON'T CASH THE CHEQUE! You'll have satisfied the system because it's got its money and it won't bother you again but transactions are not complete so the licence can't be endorsed. It's up to you if you want to test it out sometime. Let's hope you never have to!
If you're ever being forced to withdraw money from an ATM:-
Ihope this never happens to you but it could be useful if it does. If you're ever forced to withdraw money from an ATM machine by a robber, enter your pin number in reverse, i.e. if it's 1234 enter 4321. You'll still get the money you asked for but the machine will recognise that the number you entered is the exact reversal of the one allocated to your card and the police are notified and dispatched to the scene. How long it will take them to get there is any body's guess so delaying tactics would also be in order. Of course, this could just have been put about by someone hoping someone else will put it to the test and find themselves arrested for wasting police time when it works.
Telephone Credit Card Fraud 2
The latest in the line of Credit Card scams. The bottom-line is, if you ever get a call purporting to be from Visa, Mastercard or any individual Credit Card company, don't on any account reveal the 3 - digit security code on the back of your card. If it were a genuine call this information would never be asked for as the card issuer would already know this information. To the criminal it's the only bt of information that can't easily obtain about you and it's all they need to be able to run up multiple purchases on your card. Any call you're suspicious of, tell the caller you'll ring them back after you've verified they are who they say they are. It might sound obvious but when you're caught off guard it's easy to forget.
Protecting your Email Adress Book from a computer virus:-
I can't confirm whether this is genuine and whether it works or not, so it might be worth checking with a computer whizz-kid before you do anything. The aim is to protect your computer from the worm viruses that can cause costly damage if they by-pass your computer security set-up: -
As you may know, when/if a worm virus gets into your computer it heads straight for your email address book, and sends itself to everyone in there, thus infecting all your friends and associates.
This trick won't keep the virus from getting into your computer, but it will stop it from using your address book to spread further, and it will alert you to the fact that the worm has gotten into your system.
Here's what you do:
First, open your address book and click on 'new contact,' just as you would do if you were adding a new friend to your list of email addresses.
In the window where you would type your friend's first name, type in ' A'.
The name 'A' will be placed at the top of your address book as the first entry.
This will be where the worm will start in an effort to send itself to all your friends. When it tries to send itself to AAAAAAA@AAA.AAA, it will be undeliverable because of the phony email address you entered.
If the first attempt fails (which it will because of the phony address), the worm goes no further and none of your friends will be infected.
Here's the second great advantage of this method: If an email cannot be delivered, you will be notified of this in your In Box almost immediately.
Hence, if you ever get an email telling you that an email addressed to AAAAAAA@AAA.AAA could not be delivered, you know right away that you have the worm virus in your System. You can then take steps to get rid of it!
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Medical Advice
Take the sting out of the situation.
Most of us carry loose change in our pocket. The copper content of a 1p or 2p piece can be put to good use if anyone has the misfortune to be stung by a bee on a hot day (if only). As soon as someone's stung take one of the coins and tape it over the sting. The copper alkali should counteract the acidic sting and take the pain away immediately. Pre-1992 coins contain 97% copper so they're going to be more effective than those minted after 1992 as they are predominantly steel, with a thin copper plate. Therefore, any piece of pure copper should have most effect, so keep a small piece to hand when in the garden or sunning yourself on holiday. It's probably a good idea to make sure the copper's clean first.
Whatever you do, try not to scratch the itching as it will inflame even more.
When bees sting they release apitoxin along with alarm pheromones. The apitoxin contains melittin, which causes the pain,and histamine, which causes the itching. Anti-histamines will help with the itching. Other traditional remedies have included clay, garlic, onions, tobacco, salt, baking soda, toothpaste, aspirin and even urine. Whichever of these is used the soothing effect is not likely to be lasting and tests have shown ice to be as good as anything.
The phermones have the potential to alert other bees in the vicinity, who might also attack the victim to defend themselves. Pheromones don't wash off quickly and if you enter the water as a safety measure, the bees will be waiting when you emerge.
Female worker bees are the only ones that can sting but I don't suppose you'd have the time, or want to get close enough check.
Water or Coca-Cola when you're thirsty?
Without realising it, most of us are badly dehydrated. In the worst cases this makes the thirst mechanism so weak we mistake dehydration for hunger. One glass of water, taken when you think you are actually hungry, can cure those hunger pangs and will help with daytime fatigue as even mild dehydration will slow down the body's metabolism. Further effects of a lack of sufficient water intake are -
1) Back and joint pain. This can be eased by 8-10 glasses of water a day.
2) Short-term memory loss, trouble with basic maths, difficulty focusing on the printed page or a computer screen.
3) An increased likelihood of colon, bladder or breast cancer. Drinking 5 glasses of water daily can decrease the risk.
Instead of reaching for a glass of Coke to quench that thirst, try water instead. Here are some facts about Coke that might convince you -
1) In many USA states the Highway Patrol carries 2 gallons of Coke in the boot to remove blood from the road after a car accident.
2) Put a T-bone steak in a bowl of Coke and it will be gone within 2 days.
3) Try cleaning your toilet bowl with Coke. Put it in neat, leave for an hour, then flush clean. The large amount of citric acide present in Coke removes stains from vitreous enamel.
4) Use a crumpled oiece of aluminium foil dipped in Coke to clean rust spots off of chrome.
5) Remove corrosion from car battery terminals by pouring a can of Coke over them and leaving to bubble away.
6) If you're having trouble removing a rusted bolt from something try applying a cloth soaked in Coke for several minutes.
7) Coke mixed with detergent and added to greasy clothes before the wash cycle will loosen the grease stains.
8) The active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid. It can dissolve a nail in about 4 days. It also leaches calcium from bones and is thought to be a major contributor to the increase of osteoporosis.
9) Coke's distributors regularly use Coke to clean the engines of their trucks.
10) The trucks used to carry the Coke concentrate have to display a Hazardous Material sign on the trucks to show it's a highly corrosive material that is being carried.
Still tastes nice though, doesn't it, and there's always a chance these 'facts' are produced by Coke's competitors! W C Fields had a different view when he said -
"I never drink water because of the disgusting things fish do in it."
If you really want to drink to stay healthy try Irish coffee. One glass contains all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat. (Quoted from Alex Levine0
Cancer Prevention
We've been told repeatedly that eating at least five portions of fruit and veg a day will be beneficial for our immune sytem. Dr Stephen Mak believes it is important to know when and how to eat the fruit, and claims he has an 80% success rate with curing existing cancers because of the advice he gives his patients. He says,
Don't eat fruit after meals. Fruit should be eaten on an empty stomach -
Eating it this way it will help detoxify your system and increase your energy. Eating other foods at the same time as fruit will prevent the normally quick progress of the fruit into the intestines. Instead, it will remain in the stomach where contact with other food and your digestive juices will cause the whole meal to rot, ferment and turn to acid. The gas produced is the reason for that bloated feeling we sometimes get. All fruits, including those we normally call 'acidic', such as oranges and lemons, become alkaline in our body
Cooking fruits destroys the vitamins. You might get the flavour but you don't get the nutrients.
Eating whole fruit is better than drinking fruit juice but, if you must drink juice, try only to drink freshly prepared, not packaged, and drink it slowly, letting it mix with your saliva before swallowing.
Of all the fruits, those most recommended are -
Guava & Papaya - High vitamin C content. Guava is rich in fibre, which as we all know prevents constipation, and Papaya is rich in carotene, which is good for the eyes.
Orange - Will lessen the risk of colon cancer, lower cholesterol, and prevent and dissolve kidney stones.
Watermelon - Although they are 92% water, watermelons are also a key source of the cancer fighting oxidant, lycopene and glutathione, which helps boost the immune system. They also contain vitamin C and Potassium.
Strawberry - Assists in protecting the body from cancer causing, blood vessel-clogging free radicals. The most powerful of the antioxidant fruits.
Apple - Has a low vitamin C content but the antioxidants and flavenoids in it enhance the activity of vitamin C, thereby lowering the risk of colon cancer, heart attack and stroke.
Kiwi - Twice the amount of vitamin C as that found in an orange. Also a good source of potassium, magnesium, vitamin E and fibre.
Don't drink cold water after a meal -
Doing so helps solidify the oily food you have consumed, creating a 'sludge' and slowing down digestion. Once the 'sludge' reacts with the acid, it breaks down and is absorbed by the intestine faster than solid food. It will line the intestine and, very soon, will turn into fats that can cause cancer.
Heart Attacks
Lets hope it never happens to you but, if you ever feel a heart attack coming on and are alone, try to get help in any way you can (phone etc;) and until help arrives do the following. To get oxygen to the lungs and to keep the blood circulating and return the heart to its normal rhythm, start coughing vigorously using deep and prolonged coughs as you would if trying to cough something up. Breathe deeply before each cough and repeat the procedure every two seconds until help arrives and your heart starts to beat normally.
Not every heart attack symptom is going to be the left arm hurting. Beware of intense pain in the jawline. Nausea and intense sweating are also common symptoms. 60% of people who experience a heart attack whilst asleep, never wake up from that sleep. If pain in the jaw wakes you from a sound sleep, you now know one of the possible causes.
Strokes
A neurologist has said that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects. He said the trick was getting the stroke recognised, diagnosed, and then getting the patient medically cared for within the three hours. Doctors say a stroke can be recognised by asking three simple questions of the patient:
S *Ask the individual to SMILE
T *Ask the person to TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE coherently
R *Ask the person to RAISE BOTH ARMS
If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call the emergency number.
A further indication that a patient may have had a stroke is if their tongue goes to one side or the other when you ask them to stick it out.
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SAVINGS!:-
Everyone likes to save a little money, especially as some of us are closer to (or over!) pensionable age. Vernon Burgess has kindly alerted me to a discount card that allows 20%off of most of the food outlets that you find at mainline UK rail stations. To get yours log onto www.bitecard.co.uk and fill in the online form. Check out other areas of the site and you'll be able to print off some discount vouchers that might come in handy too, but make sure you enlarge the page that shows the reverse of the coupons as you'll then be able to check what outlets they're accepted at. The Bitecard site also mentions www.thetrainline.comwhere you can purchase advance rail tickets at large discounts. Click the link from here if you don't want the Bitecard Discounts.
MORE SAVINGS!:-
Everybody loves a deal so why not sign up to these websites. Click on the following links and maybe you'll find help with your spending costs -
This is old news now, but still valid. Most people never think about their hotel key cards or consider that they contain anything other than an access code for the room and perhaps the check-out date.
Well you should give it some thought, so start by considering what is usually on your magnetic key card?
Answer:
a. Customer's name
B. Customer's partial home address
c. Hotel room number
d. Check-in date and out dates
e. Customer's credit card number and expiration date!
When you check out and hand back the room card to the front desk, your personal information is there for any employee to access by simply scanning the card in the hotel scanner. An employee can take a handful of cards home and, using a scanning device, access the information and transfer it all to a computer. You know the rest!
Simply put, hotels do not erase the information on these cards until they are reissuing the card to the next hotel guest. Only then is the new guest's information electronically 'overwritten' on the card and the previous guest's information erased.
Until the card is rewritten for the next guest, it's usually kept in a drawer at the front desk, still holding YOUR INFORMATION ON IT!
The bottom line is: Keep the cards, take them home with you and destroy them. NEVER leave them behind and NEVER turn them into the front desk at check out time. They will not charge you for the card (it's illegal) and you'll be sure you are not leaving a lot of valuable personal information on it that could be easily lifted off.
For the same reason, if you arrive at the airport and discover you still have the card key in your pocket, do not toss it in an airport trash basket. Take it home and destroy it by cutting it up, especially through the electronic information strip!
However, if you just happen to have a small magnet handy, pass it across the magnetic strip several times, then try it in the door It should now fail to work as the card has been erased of everything on it.
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