“Have the nature to ask!”

Herbie, a somewhat charismatic consultant we used back in BTI days used often thus to quote an elderly relative of his.  For some time, intermittently, we’ve had trouble using the internet while the tv is on.  Fiddling with the printer seemed to solve it for some reason, but that didn’t last.  Martyn spotted an Openreach bloke down a hole nearby yesterday, so I had the nature to ask him if he was working on internet access problems.  He was, but on the old aluminium network rather than the fibre optic one we’re on.  I described our issue, and he suggested that we change the power cable to the tv.  Martyn grovelled on the deck for a while, changing the cable - and clearing out a lot of disused wiring.  Bingo!  Not only does the internet work when the telly’s on, but the speed seems to have increased noticeably.

Earlier, while enduring Ordeal by Sainsbury’s, I was looking for Martyn’s preferred peanut butter in what seemed the logical places, but failing.  So I had the nature to ask an employee, who sent me to aisle 9, in among the cakes.  Logical, ou bien?

Moral: don’t waste time assuming you can fix everything yourself: there’s always someone around who knows the answer.

Today I’ve had my flu and Covid jabs done by a cheerful African bloke at the local pharmacy (which I jokingly describe as my dealer).  Barely noticeable jabs, and both administered to the same arm (I was given the option, and went for one sore arm rather then two).  So far, so good, three hours on, but it’s early days.  Martyn, who tends to feel groggy for quite a while after vaccinations, has deferred his flu jab until after our cruise next month, so we keep our fingers crossed that he doesn’t catch it while we’re away!  Do make sure you get yours - the sooner, the better.