Do The Trouser Press, Baby
May. 12th, 2008 09:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shermaramaHello everyone, I'm in a hotel in Middlesbrough. It's got a trouser press *and* a mini fridge. And chunky 70s plywood furniture, although the hotel is trying to modernise itself around that and has a restaurant which its website describes as a 'brave new concept'. Which as far as I can tell means it serves quite nice food, actually, which I hope isn't a new concept in restaurants. Either way I'm far too lardy to take advantage of the free use of the gym.
I'm in a hotel in Middlesbrough because of visiting Labman again, to do things with robots. Mainly today we've moved the carousels around and had to rewire them all as a result, but the thing will actually work better now. There was a collection carousel with 15 places, which were meant to act as a buffer for collection, which they'd arranged other things around such that the robot arm could only get to one tube at a time, which totally defeats the buffer idea, so we fixed that.
And I got to Kings Cross for the early early train today by two stops of the Piccadilly Line, because I've left Finsbury Park and the fine Finsbury Superstore and Happening Bagel Bakery behind and moved to a permanent place on Holloway Road, just opposite the strange pointy metal building. We did some exploring of other food sources at the weekend, and the Nag's Head market turns out to contain a proper fishmonger and a proper butcher and a good veg place and a stall that sells Colgate Herbal that Chris has been lamenting the lack of in the UK. Also there will be a general subtle low-grade Morrisons v. Waitrose rivalry going on for some time, I think. Morrisons has scored well so far in crusty granary unsliced bread, brown pasta and decent beer for cheap, while Waitrose has fought back with *not* selling individually shrinkwrapped peppers (grahh) and superior (and cheap) breakfast cereals. Morrisons, however, has seriously let me down by not having any Seabrooks crisps at all, one of the features that had otherwise made me very pleased to see their takeover. I was most miffed, and am considering buying a box by mail order.
I say permanent place and this isn't quite true yet because the agency are being the biggest bunch of unhelpful, unimaginative idiots I've had to deal with in quite some time. They insist that they can't possibly consider us and the other lass in the flat as joint tenants, that we must be sharers, and because of the inherent instability of shared flat groups, we all have to be able to cover the entirety of the rent for the flat with our salary, rather than being considered for our share of the rent. Both me and Chris fall (not very far) short of this, so we both apparently have to have guarantors. They refuse to entertain any explanations, justifications, or modifications to our initial application forms (filled in without any sort of guidance because they're shut most of the time) and they won't answer straight questions. But since we've got the keys from the lass living there and we've moved in already, we may as well do this at whatever glacial speed they want it to happen.
That part of Holloway Road turns out to be a bit pants for buses to work - I pretty much either have to walk back up to where Camden Road crosses Holloway Road, or walk down to H&I, although more research may be needed. Also it takes two tube lines to get to Euston, which is a bit pants. But it'll be really quite easy to walk home, if I feel like it. And even though the flat is on the third floor, it has an apparently reliable lift, so I'm hoping it won't be too tedious to get my bike in and out. Another thing I did this weekend was change a bike tyre for the first time in my life - I've owned my bike for at least 10 years and never once had a puncture; I am such a spawny get in that regard that the front tyre turned out to have a 2cm piece of thick wire stuck *through* a bit of tread such that it stuck out, without puncturing the wall of the tyre or the inner tube in any way. But the bike now has thinner, slicker city-like tyres on, and I've bought a puncture repair kit, which practically guarantees that I'll start getting loads of them now.
I did hear tell that you can make a fried breakfast on a trouser press, using it as a sort of griddle. But I've got no ingredients and I've probably eaten enough lard today already and anyway I think the hotel will do us a fry-up breakfast in the morning. Boo to lack of excuses for trouser press abuse.
I'm in a hotel in Middlesbrough because of visiting Labman again, to do things with robots. Mainly today we've moved the carousels around and had to rewire them all as a result, but the thing will actually work better now. There was a collection carousel with 15 places, which were meant to act as a buffer for collection, which they'd arranged other things around such that the robot arm could only get to one tube at a time, which totally defeats the buffer idea, so we fixed that.
And I got to Kings Cross for the early early train today by two stops of the Piccadilly Line, because I've left Finsbury Park and the fine Finsbury Superstore and Happening Bagel Bakery behind and moved to a permanent place on Holloway Road, just opposite the strange pointy metal building. We did some exploring of other food sources at the weekend, and the Nag's Head market turns out to contain a proper fishmonger and a proper butcher and a good veg place and a stall that sells Colgate Herbal that Chris has been lamenting the lack of in the UK. Also there will be a general subtle low-grade Morrisons v. Waitrose rivalry going on for some time, I think. Morrisons has scored well so far in crusty granary unsliced bread, brown pasta and decent beer for cheap, while Waitrose has fought back with *not* selling individually shrinkwrapped peppers (grahh) and superior (and cheap) breakfast cereals. Morrisons, however, has seriously let me down by not having any Seabrooks crisps at all, one of the features that had otherwise made me very pleased to see their takeover. I was most miffed, and am considering buying a box by mail order.
I say permanent place and this isn't quite true yet because the agency are being the biggest bunch of unhelpful, unimaginative idiots I've had to deal with in quite some time. They insist that they can't possibly consider us and the other lass in the flat as joint tenants, that we must be sharers, and because of the inherent instability of shared flat groups, we all have to be able to cover the entirety of the rent for the flat with our salary, rather than being considered for our share of the rent. Both me and Chris fall (not very far) short of this, so we both apparently have to have guarantors. They refuse to entertain any explanations, justifications, or modifications to our initial application forms (filled in without any sort of guidance because they're shut most of the time) and they won't answer straight questions. But since we've got the keys from the lass living there and we've moved in already, we may as well do this at whatever glacial speed they want it to happen.
That part of Holloway Road turns out to be a bit pants for buses to work - I pretty much either have to walk back up to where Camden Road crosses Holloway Road, or walk down to H&I, although more research may be needed. Also it takes two tube lines to get to Euston, which is a bit pants. But it'll be really quite easy to walk home, if I feel like it. And even though the flat is on the third floor, it has an apparently reliable lift, so I'm hoping it won't be too tedious to get my bike in and out. Another thing I did this weekend was change a bike tyre for the first time in my life - I've owned my bike for at least 10 years and never once had a puncture; I am such a spawny get in that regard that the front tyre turned out to have a 2cm piece of thick wire stuck *through* a bit of tread such that it stuck out, without puncturing the wall of the tyre or the inner tube in any way. But the bike now has thinner, slicker city-like tyres on, and I've bought a puncture repair kit, which practically guarantees that I'll start getting loads of them now.
I did hear tell that you can make a fried breakfast on a trouser press, using it as a sort of griddle. But I've got no ingredients and I've probably eaten enough lard today already and anyway I think the hotel will do us a fry-up breakfast in the morning. Boo to lack of excuses for trouser press abuse.
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no subject
Date: 2008-05-12 09:44 pm (UTC)Pointy metal building is closer to Holloway Road tube than Archway, I imagine?
Having to have a guarantor is annoying! I had to have a guarantor also.
no subject
Date: 2008-05-12 11:00 pm (UTC)We called into Big Red on Saturday night to see if it was the metaller sort of place it looked like, and it did seem to be. We should have some sort of mono metaller meet in there. And my place is just south of Holloway Road tube, so yes, definitely further. I always assumed Archway was terribly far away, though - how far is it down to the supermarkets from you, then?
And guarantors are grief because I've never had one before and don't even know who to ask. My dad is due to retire in about three weeks. Still trying to avoid it, if possible.
no subject
Date: 2008-05-13 09:47 am (UTC)archway's kind of a long way away, relatively, but only five mins tops on the bus, and nags head has much better shops.
no subject
Date: 2008-05-13 04:16 pm (UTC)As regards Big Red, you have to remember that the first time I went to Poptimism, I was wearing a Cathedral t-shirt. I have a soft spot for metaller pubs, they remind me of many interesting times in the Hobgoblin in Brighton. But its lack of actual beer is a problem; the Hob usually had Everards Tiger or Brains SA on, as well as the Hobgoblin itself.
no subject
Date: 2008-05-13 04:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-13 12:26 pm (UTC)If we had a Mono meet, we'd have to start off in the Coronet first. :) It always reminds me of Mono meets.
My dad is retired, which made the guarantor stuff tricky, since then it had to involve accountants, etc.
no subject
Date: 2008-05-13 04:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-12 09:54 pm (UTC)I can assure you, from long and dismal personal experience, that quite nice food is a "brave new concept" in Middlesbrough.
no subject
Date: 2008-05-12 10:46 pm (UTC)As I'm sure you don't need me to tell you, legally this is nonsense. There is no legal status of 'sharers' (except lodgers, which doesn't really apply here) - if you hold an interest in property as tenants, it must be either as joint tenants or as tenants in common. If they've given you a contract stating that there is a tenancy agreement, the presumption is that you are tenants - they would have to do some work to show that the arrangement is such that you aren't tenants.
Moving on, what they are suggesting is also counter-productive. Joint tenants are ALL liable for the whole of the property, so if they want you all to be liable for the whole of the rent jointly and severally, there is no reason I can think of to prevent you being joint tenants! You would need to be considered tenants-in-common if you wanted to be responsible only for your own 'share' of the rent/property, which is probably fine for you, but does reduce the extent to which you have recourse to complain if eg your flatmate moves out and rents her room on to whoever she likes, or some other aspect pertaining to a non-shared area that you don't pay for. Establishing tenancy-in-common is a bit tricky and I'm too rusty to go and read up on it at nearly-midnight, but let me just reiterate that what they are saying is mad bollocks - probably because, like most agencies, they are scum-sucking bottom-feeders who know fuck-all about housing law and need to be hit repeatedly with a shitty stick.
On the practical side, if they continue to be wankers, I would suggest popping down to your nearest Law Centre or calling them up during their weekly Housing advice session. They will probably sort you out very easily. There may also be other housing agencies in your area who could help.
Oh, and a proper chap can knock him(her)self up sausages and scrambled eggs using only a trouser press and a clean hot water bottle! :¬) The Chap's website may still have Corby Trouser Press Cuisine, if you are lucky.
no subject
Date: 2008-05-13 04:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-12 11:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-13 08:46 am (UTC)