As we navigate our way through life, it becomes ever more difficult to pick out the truth from the lies. Sales speak has always been about twisting words to influence more potential customers who might be teetering on the edge of a big decision, which will part them from their money. We are surrounded by large companies. If you look closely at their sales blurb they will try every trick in the book to get your business. They use a crafty manipulation of words to suck you in.
An article caught my eye this morning, so I clicked on it to find out more.
Octopus Energy issues warning to everyone with a smart meter.
This is the opening paragraph.
The founder of Octopus Energy has raised issues with smart meters, as homeowners face problems with faulty devices. Greg Jackson, Octopus Energy's CEO, tweeted a response to a complaint from a customer concerning these devices, saying: "We've had a million such sessions looking at those darned things. They're so bad."
So, Octopus Energy appears to be saying that they are fraught with problems. Read the article here.
Read to the end. Half way through the article the message changes.
Although, Octopus Energy does not entirely dismiss the idea of smart meters. A company representative stated: "We're a massive fan of smart meters - they're super important for the energy transition and unlock the power of smart tariffs."
I'll put a note in here. Smart tariffs will only benefit the company, not the customer. It enables them to change the price we pay whenever they feel like it.
Back to the article. At the bottom. . . .
An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story.
Moving on to another news item.
Eight year turn around completed as Octopus eyes UK energy crown.
Octopus Energy has delivered its first annual profit since launching in 2015 and is now the largest electricity and second largest gas supplier in the country.
A spokesperson for Octopus Energy told Birmingham Live in response: “We’re a massive fan of smart meters – they’re super important for the energy transition and unlock the power of smart tariffs.”
Read the article here.
See how it works. Any product or service can be sold by using devious manipulative sales speak. To break through the hard shell of people who refuse to play the game means that they have to come up with even more pressure. This is what AI is for.
And this type of sales pitch applies to everything. From buying a can of beans, right through to the big decisions we have to make. The selling game is awash with lies. They want your money and will say anything to get it. Always ask yourself, do I need it or do I just want it.
Thanks for popping in. Happy Tuesday. Now I am going to pay my utilities bill at the Post Office, and the heating is off because it is getting a bit warmer.
Toodle pip. ilona.
Toodle pip. ilona
Toodle pip. ilona.
I am going to get this out quickly because I don't know how long I will be connected to the broadband. Quickline are outside, four vehicles, orange lights flashing, and men in orange suits. There is a man up the pole, he is standing on a platform, and is fiddling with the wires that go into the box at the top of the pole. One of those wires is attached to my house. I can see this from my window. I don't know what will happen next. We are constantly told about the Quickline system for internet connection. I have held off on it because I have no problems with mine. It always works, so why change it. Other people are always asking which is the best service provider here in the village. They chop and change looking for a better company which suits their needs. My needs have been met by the one I have been using for years.
I expect my connection to falter at any time. The man is still up the pole. This is the crux of the matter. Whatever they decide to do, they can cut people off at any time. They are the big boys, they have the money. We are the little people, they will decide and we will have no choice in the matter.
Be prepared for changes that we haven't asked for. I will sign off now, because I expect this connection to disappear. Changes are coming.
Toodle pip. ilona
The latest consultation has opened into plans for a new village between Harrogate and York ahead of the submission of a revised planning application.
The village to be named Maltkiln has been proposed for the Hammerton and Cattal area and includes between 3,000 and 4,000 homes, as well as two primary schools, shops and a GP surgery.
Locals have been left fuming after plans were approved for a solar farm to be built on farm land. Councillors gave the green light for the 76-acre farm near Milverton, Somerset, which would put the farm out of action for 40 years, until at least 2064.
Our green and pleasant land is shrinking. They want to build new houses to accommodate our overseas guests. They want the UK to become self sufficient and supply our own energy. If they carry on getting involved in wars our supplies imported from other parts of the world may suddenly stop.
The demand for farm land will lead to less food being produced. Farmers being bought out, new generations not coming into the business. Not a good prospect. Cargo ships stuck in the Red Sea. All leading to the same end.
I had a shocker utilities bill yesterday. £430 for three months. The highest it's ever been. I took it into Coffee Morning and asked if it was high. They all said, that's about normal these days, everything has gone up. Now I start cutting back and rationing my use. I can pay it of course. The Government gave me £500, which I used to pay my car insurance. Good job I squirrel money away to cover large bills.
I need some breakfast. Toodle pip. ilona
Thanks so much for sharing. 
There are a lot of Councils complaining that they have no money at the moment, but I suppose with a bit of jiggling their finances around they have found some from somewhere. Maybe they have got it on a five year plan to pay it off.
Still raining. Toodle pip. ilona
It was a good laffff today at Crafty Club. The chatter was very jolly. I told a couple of trucking stories. Someone suggested we form a choir and sing a song. Lisa brought a laptop and put some words on the screen. Pat had printed the words out so we all had a song sheet, and off we went. The first was an Abba song, then I suggested, Always look on the bright side of life. And that's how it ended at 12 o clock. Everyone departed in a happy mood. I think we should have a proper practice rehearsal and perform a song on the stage at the next Christmas Fair. We could learn a dance routine as well.
Me and Billy got blown about a bit as we did a 40 minute walk around the village. The wind has really picked up tonight. I went out and checked on the summer house. I added a few bungee straps to secure the door shut. The roof over the porch was lifting up when there was a particularly big gust. I could see that might be a problem, so I got my step ladder out and put some bricks and a big block of concrete on the top. The weight should hold it down. I've just been out again to check it. It seems to have done the trick.
I am seeing some exciting news coming through on the channels I monitor. It seems the farmers protests are spreading. The truckers started it in Canada. The Dutch farmers are all out, and now the French and German farmers are following suit. They are using a mix of vehicles, mainly tractors, with many trucks backing them up.
Every Town, village and city is seeing the farmer protests in Germany as hundreds of thousands of people in Germany rally to support them. The Globalists are failing to stop the coverage in the media despite their agents within MSN attempting to do so.
À cette heure, plus de 150 tracteurs sont en route vers l'A62, près d'Agen, pour bloquer les deux voies. L'axe Bordeaux-Toulouse est actuellement quasiment impraticable.
Translate. At this time, more than 150 tractors are on their way to the A62, near Agen, to block the two lanes. The Bordeaux-Toulouse axis is currently almost impassable.
This evening hundreds of farmers will spend the night on the highway in Agen.
Breaking News: Sirens wail and horns blare out in a strong show of force. French farmers protests are gaining traction as more join in and begin to block roads. The demonstrations are growing and could fully go International as people push back against the globalists and their infiltrated governments.
No news about it in Italy, but it is starting here too:
Wise words from this Scottish farmer as number of farmers in Scotland start a tractor protest convoy against the government who are wilfully destroying the farming industry through neglect and restrictive policies.
Keep it up lads and lassies.
Toodle pip. ilona
Toodle pip, ilona.
The walking home in the dark video garnered quite a few comments about my safety. The word safety has been bandied around a lot in the last few years. How do you know what is safe and what isn't? Everyone has their own measures of what is safe. I say it is down to personal risk assessment. All activities have a degree of risk attached to them. We can all work out how risk averse we are, and whether to take chances with anything we are not sure about.
In the video I was about 20 minutes from home, in an area I walk frequently. I didn't get my torch out, even when I walked through a small wood. I know the ground like the back of my hand. I very rarely see anyone else in that area. If I walk in an unfamiliar place I would get back before dark. That is my risk assessment.
I would be more nervous walking about in a city or town centre at night. I may never do that again. My assessment would tell me there are lots of places to hide in a concrete jungle, and to expect that someone might be lurking around a corner. I would be more cautious in that setting.
Every activity we do, every encounter that we have on a day to day basis, can be risk assessed. I think it is risky to drink several pints of beer every night. My dad did and died at 46 of a heart attack. I think it is risky to eat out a lot. You don't know how clean the kitchens are, or what they are putting in the food. It is risky to climb a mountain, I won't try that. It would be too risky for me to get into a swimming pool. I hate deep water and would probably sink in a panic. Other people love swimming.
When you go through life you sometimes have to listen to warnings from others. It would be folly not to. Others may be possibly more aligned to the actual risk of some activities, depending on their experiences and qualifications on the subject. To put your trust entirely in the hands of others can be a mistake. Yes, take advice, listen to what they have to say, but listen to that niggling question in the back of your mind.
The overriding factor of decision making should be how will this affect me. Is this the best option for me. And will I be able to deal with the consequences should it not work out well. There is always the option of casting fate to the wind and forging blindly ahead. It's easy to ignore the niggling doubts and go with the flow. Safety in numbers eh!. I'll do what they are doing, must be alright. They must know what they are doing, so I'll follow them. It's ok to do that, if that's what you feel comfortable about. But the bottom line is, if you screw up you learn from it, change direction and vow never to do that again.
Have a good weekend. Toodle pip. ilona
When I wake up in the morning, I sit up for a while and write a hundred blog posts in my head. Most go no further and are discarded, a few are plucked out and find their way through my fingers to the keyboard. Some are about topics which are important to me. Some are a collection of sentences which are thrown together, to fill the daily space.
If I aspire to be a much loved blogger I would write about the topics which give my readers a fuzzy feelgood experience. If my role was to impress people to come back again and again, then I would monetise the blog and the yoootoob channel. I would become an influencer and bow and scrape and beg people to follow me. I would be chasing 'likes' and subscriptions. I would promote my opinions and ideas on lots of other social media platforms. But that is not my aim.
If I wanted to I could become a mouthpiece for every act of unjust and criminal activity which is permeating throughout the world right now. I could expose a lot of changes that are being planned for us. Changes that are not conducive of restoring peace and harmony. There would be mountains of material to convert into juicy lip smacking shock horror articles. It would satisfy the lust of those who relish attacking some of us who are following an alternative narrative.
If I followed that line I could bump up my numbers quite quickly, and the £1's would eventually come rolling in. There are enough trolls out there for everyone to share. I delete their comments every day. Perhaps I should welcome them in. My definition of a troll is those who comment with the sole purpose of looking for a verbal punch up. They are not welcome here, there are forums which might best suit their needs.
Anyway, I was going to write about the birds that flock to my garden. It's interesting to watch them establish a hierarchy. One nominates himself as chief guardian over the food I put out. He is the chief of distribution, deciding which birds will be allowed to dash in and grab a morsel. Gotta admire his plucky stance.
The snow has been and gone, the sun is out, and so must I get busy.
Toodle pip. ilona
Our Coffee Morning has a lot more women attending than men. It was nice to see a neighbour that hadn't been before. She seemed to be enjoying herself. I didn't have time for breakfast so I made a banana and honey sandwich and took it with me. I always have a caramel latte, my favourite. I sat next to Pat's husband, not sure of his name, but oh boy did we have a laugh. We bounced off each other with the banter.
I went across the road to Angela's afterwards, for another coffee. Three mugs in a day is too much for me. She was preparing a big pan of vegetables to make cottage pies. We put the world to rights.
After a bite to eat at home, I got togged up and did a five mile walk. The sun was out and it wasn't as cold as yesterday. At least the ground was frozen so there wasn't any plodding through mud. It was dark when I got back. Must set off earlier.
It was bin day today. The Council hasn't sent out any leaflets about which bins to put out on which dates. Some of us have got lists from the library, and there is a list on the Councils web site. Trouble is there was confusion today, because they had changed their mind about which bins they were going to empty. Which meant the brown garden waste bins didn't get emptied, only the cardboard and plastic ones were.
Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip. ilona
Good evening. Not a lot to talk about. It's been flippin cold today. I did my three miles this afternoon, layered up, hardly any flesh showing, just cold cheeks and cold wet nose. A thick skirt over my joggy bottoms, over my leggins, and extra leg warmers. Boots and socks. Long sleeve t shirt, cardigan, sweatshirt, fleece, and a big jacket with a furry hood. Two scarves. I tried to keep up a good fast pace, but I'm sure all this weight slowed me down.
We are half way through the month and I am on 41 miles, which is about on target for the 84 miles at the end of Jan. It might be cold, but at least it's not raining. Have to look on the bright side, that's until the snow starts. How is everyone else doing?
Now I am going to have a cheese sandwich with caramelised onion chutney, and a glass of sherry. Are you going to join me? What's your tipple?
Stay snug and warm. Toodle pip. ilona
Bit busy at the moment. There is a debate going on at Westminster Hall, on trends in excess deaths. I am not sure how long this is going on for. I am watching live, you can as well by using this link. Andrew Bridgen is speaking at the moment.
Catch ya later. ilona
This is too difficult to resist. I read blogs, but comment on few.
Weave's post is a good read, took me a good half hour to go through the comments. A lot of familiar names that I recognise. Weave has more patience than I have to go through it all. It was a good idea to get her friend to help her sort out which comments to keep and which to lose. I find moderating before publishing is a useful tool.
So what made me laugh? 😀😹😁😄
Traveller continues his obsession to ridicule me at every opportunity. Apologies to Weave for stealing this, but if he can steal my words to rubbish my blog, then I can steal his.
Have a nice Sunday. Toodle pip. ilona
👇👇👇👇👇👇
I find it interesting that people without a medical background conclude their “reasoning” is more sound than people who have spent years studying and researching these matters. I believe in expertise. I am a world expert in a field - nothing to do with medicine and not particularly important but it has given me a perspective. I spent many years developing this expertise in my working life. I respect others who have spent many years studying their field. I do not respect people who grain all their “evidence” from Twitter, “alternative media”, decry the mainstream media, and feel they know more than everyone else.
