Hestia....is hanging on the telephone *grrrr*

By Joyce Ballantyne

I've been sitting here in my jogging clothes since 8.30am trying to sort out a glitch in my car insurance.  Well, not really a glitch.......sorry to keep you waiting........I contacted my insurers a few days ago because my existing car insurance needed upated with my new car details (more of which tomorrow!).....sorry to keep you waiting......which I've now done.  Great.

Tomorrow I travel to the mainland to pick up m'new car and was all good to go when the salesman phoned this morning to say that I needed to bring my up-to-date insurance details in with me .....sorry to keep you waiting....... or he wouldn't be able to give me the car! So here I am, sitting on the phone trying to sort out the precise location of my cover note.......one of our operatives will be with you shortly but no-one is picking up.

Today is, after all, just about the worst day for trying to get through to an insurer for a new car .........sorry to keep you waiting.......because the new registrations are out today. 

And I've been...

'Hello thank you for calling Ludicrously Expensive Insurerer.  My name is British, how may I help you?'

'I've just been told that I need to take my insurance documentation with me to pick up my new car tomorrow.  I am insured with you for the new car, but have not received a cover note yet - can you send some kind of insurance confirmation correspondence to the dealer, please?'


'I'm afraid that we can't do that.  We can't fax or e-mail insurance certificates at all.  Fraud prevention, you see.'


'I see.  So how am I supposed to pick up my car tomorrow?'


'Perhaps your updated insurance details will be with you tomorrow  before you go?' *Brightly* 'Is there anythign else that I can help you with today?  Household insurance? Contents Insurance?'

'No.  Just my car insurance.' 


'I'm so sorry that we were unable to help you further in this matter.  Thank you for calling Ludicrously Expensive Car insurers, my name is British, and I've been very pleased to help you with your enquiry today.'

*click* (hangs up)

Look at that - my knife arm is twitching involuntarily again.......

Right.  Now what?

I phone the dealership and speak to the salesman.  He promises that he can  get me 7-days free cover, but I'll need to sit through a spiel from the insurance salesman.  He gives me the telephone number and off I go again.

'sorry to keep you waiting, your call in a queue......' and so I've been sat here for 40 minutes now, waiting for EvenMoreLudicrouslyExpensive Insurance to get me to the front of the queue.  If I can't get the free insurance, I can't pick up my car.  It'll be damned inconvenient to have to reschedule EVERYTHING......your call is important to us....... and Tertarus will go BERZERK when he finds out. Oh, I am suck a fuckwit at times! I never even thought about having to take my insurance details with me!

*sobs quietly onto computer keyboard*

It's no good.  I've hung up and will call again later....am off out for a jog.  I don't need insurance for THAT mode of travel anyway.

Hestia and ....the curse of the veg box

Last week's Veg Box - artistically arranged for your delight

So it came to pass that a business was set up to deliver veg boxes on the island.

It sounded perfect: You pay £7.50 per week and a whole load of lovely ethically grown veggies turn up on your doorstep on a Friday night, delivered by smiling youngsters.  You cook the beautiful veggies.  Everyone gets their five a day.  And we all live happily ever after, right?

Not quite.

Hestias AW10 Collection :-)

Before I'd discovered some of the fab fashion and make up blogs that I now follow, I thought that AW10 was just another post code.  NOT SO, mes amies!

It also stands for Autumn Winter 2010 in fashion parlance and, although, I live so far away from the bright lights of fashion that they are not even a dull glow on the horizon, I've been boning up on what's in (thank you Fashion's Most Wanted, Mrs Fab, Mrs TNMA, LLG, Wildernesschic et al).

Why? you may ask yourself.  And Tertarus DID ask himself that - unfortunately aloud - a few weeks back and at the time I didn't have an answer, other than to slam a couple of doors on my way out. 

Hestia and The Star Weekend

Dark Skies over Scotland - cos no bugger lives here

I was somewhat surprised to to discover that not only am I a goddess of home and hearth, I also appear to be a large, dark main belt asteroid.  No jokes.  Hestia is, in fact, the head honcho of the Hestia asteroid clump.  I was discovered by N. R. Pogson on August 16, 1857.

This is uncannily close to my birthday.  Obviously, not the same YEAR though.

Hestias loves Aardvarkonsea.com

A long time ago, I posted up a manifesto from Aardvarkonsea.com - and now they've got more!

OK - it sounds like the kind of thing you might come up with if you've been smoking banana skins again, but it's beautiful!