The British Engineerium was the creation of one man, and his ability to lead others on a journey. That one man was Jonathan Minns, and my father and I were among the first of the others. We first met Jonathan... Continue Reading →

Originally published on A Brighton Boy Blogs - Consumer issues, recipes and apolitical thoughts from a Brighton native.

The world of customer service seems to be obsessed with “sorry”. It’s a word uttered so often and so ubiquitously, it’s become meaningless. If every “sorry” was accompanied by an act of contrition, for example £1, I’d have made at... Continue Reading →

Originally published on A Brighton Boy Blogs - Consumer issues, recipes and apolitical thoughts from a Brighton native.

My online banking access keeps getting blocked by Santander for no explicable reason. This is the disingenuous message from the Santander online banking website… “For security reasons”… so did I get my credentials wrong? No. Did I do something bad?... Continue Reading →

Originally published on A Brighton Boy Blogs - Consumer issues, recipes and apolitical thoughts from a Brighton native.

I used British Gas HomeCare to cover my central heating boiler at home and at my one rental property. I bought the cover for convenience at a time when there wasn’t so much competition in the market. I saw the... Continue Reading →

Originally published on A Brighton Boy Blogs - Consumer issues, recipes and apolitical thoughts from a Brighton native.

My business partner and I both joined the EV revolution and bought fully electric vehicles. He’d been there for a couple of years already, having migrated gradually from diesel to hybrid to electric. We selected ChargedEV as our charger installer.... Continue Reading →

Originally published on A Brighton Boy Blogs - Consumer issues, recipes and apolitical thoughts from a Brighton native.

Oops. No updates since 2015! Well doesn’t life just get in the way. Actually I’ve been concentrating on other things… like my business. And of course feeling rather as if no amount of writing-it-all-down is going to provide any kind... Continue Reading →

Originally published on A Brighton Boy Blogs - Consumer issues, recipes and apolitical thoughts from a Brighton native.

MPs in general are out of touch and tied up in tangles of protocol and parliamentary procedure; fortunately not all of them though. On Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour this week, something brilliant happened. Being discussed was the proposal that mothers... Continue Reading →

Originally published on A Brighton Boy Blogs - Consumer issues, recipes and apolitical thoughts from a Brighton native.

Having accepted a month’s free PetPlan cover for our two new kittens, I received a call on my mobile number one Saturday morning from an Indian lady calling from the PetPlan Sales call centre. She told me the name of one... Continue Reading →

Originally published on A Brighton Boy Blogs - Consumer issues, recipes and apolitical thoughts from a Brighton native.

James is destined to become an Anglican vicar, and currently works in a Christian mission. He posted this on Facebook the week after Stephen Fry’s now famous encounter with Irish broadcaster Gay Byrne, who asked him the question “What would... Continue Reading →

Originally published on A Brighton Boy Blogs - Consumer issues, recipes and apolitical thoughts from a Brighton native.

Amazon attempts censorship to suppress public reporting of counterfeit goods.

Originally published on A Brighton Boy Blogs - Consumer issues, recipes and apolitical thoughts from a Brighton native.

Fire is something we’ve lost touch with. We just don’t need to be that closely associated with it any more. In our modern world we burn fossil fuels rather than wood, because it’s so much easier to light volatile hydrocarbons... Continue Reading →

Originally published on A Brighton Boy Blogs - Consumer issues, recipes and apolitical thoughts from a Brighton native.

I bought a Biolite camp stove just over a year ago for my camping trips, but it’s had a lot more use than I ever envisaged. Buying the grill attachment made it even more useful. I’ve had to learn various... Continue Reading →

Originally published on A Brighton Boy Blogs - Consumer issues, recipes and apolitical thoughts from a Brighton native.

We all know how awful interest rates are for savers. And we all need a current account. So how about a current account that yields a market-topping 3% interest on all credit balances? If like me you’re a net saver,... Continue Reading →

Originally published on A Brighton Boy Blogs - Consumer issues, recipes and apolitical thoughts from a Brighton native.

Switching banks is something people just don't do very often in the UK. So if you're teetering on the brink, perhaps my experiences will convince you it's a job worth doing.

Originally published on A Brighton Boy Blogs - Consumer issues, recipes and apolitical thoughts from a Brighton native.

How I tried Windows 8, and why I hated it.

Originally published on A Brighton Boy Blogs - Consumer issues, recipes and apolitical thoughts from a Brighton native.

If you’ve noticed this site being a little flakey over the last few days it’s because we’ve moved servers – all done now, so sorry if it’s caused you any inconvenience but normal service has been resumed. 🙂

Originally published on A Brighton Boy Blogs - Consumer issues, recipes and apolitical thoughts from a Brighton native.

When my company first started to trade with EU countries outside the UK, we started to receive EC sales list forms from Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs. Stupidly, we didn’t really register that we had to do anything apart from... Continue Reading →

Originally published on A Brighton Boy Blogs - Consumer issues, recipes and apolitical thoughts from a Brighton native.

OK, I’ve talked about the dire state of our economy, which is what should really matter to all of us, particularly those in power. But let’s look at that one incident which has caused so much jabber and the use... Continue Reading →

Originally published on A Brighton Boy Blogs - Consumer issues, recipes and apolitical thoughts from a Brighton native.

So here’s a thing… you’re in a damaged vehicle at high speed… there’s an experienced driver at the wheel… and you tear him away from what he does best, replacing him with someone who smiles nicely but has never driven... Continue Reading →

Originally published on A Brighton Boy Blogs - Consumer issues, recipes and apolitical thoughts from a Brighton native.

What happened when I went looking for military records and found a likely looking lead...

Originally published on A Brighton Boy Blogs - Consumer issues, recipes and apolitical thoughts from a Brighton native.