A good friend of mine who worked in the mobile phone industry gave me a very good money saving tip today. Please read following dramatised story in which the outcome is true:

Stephen: Hi there, I would like to upgrade my tariff and handset taking advantage of the exclusive on-line plans for existing customers. However the upgrade handset I want is not listed.

Orange: Which handset would that be Mr Sherry?

Stephen: The Nokia N80. Its a nice phone.

Orange: Well, its out of stock at the moment until next I think. I shall pass you over to the Upgrade Department.

( a few seconds pass )

Orange: Hi Mr Sherry, with regards to the N80, its a popular phone. Its sold out and we will have them back in stock next week.

Stephen: Okay, how much would I have to pay for an upgrade?

Orange: Let me see.. About £149. It is a very new model hence the price.

Stephen: Oh. ( beat ) I want my PAC Code please. I wish to leave Orange. I don’t wish to pay that amount for a handset upgrade.

Orange: Could you stay on the line for a minute please Mr Sherry? I’m going to have a word with the Retention Department.

I wait for thirty seconds whilst having a look at Vodafone’s nice contract handsets.

Orange: Mr Sherry, sorry to keep you waiting. We wish to offer you the Nokia N80 for free if you will stay with us. Would that be to your satisfaction?

Stephen: Yes! Thank you and goodnight!

Well done to Orange for doing this. I thank them. The advice my friend gave me, is to request your PAC Code if you do not gain satisfaction. They will usually give you a good offer. I cant say this will happen for everyone, but its worth a try.

The weather has been really decent in Glasgow recently, hence my blog postings have been limited..

Cant beat them, the atmosphere, the buzz of knowing work is finished, the banter in the bar with friends or going home to have a bottle of wine or a few cans of good German lager along with watching a good film snuggled up on the sofa.

Fridays. You cant beat them.

After 25 years of being a casual fan of the series, I doubt I shall be watching Doctor Who again as long as Russell T Davies is at its helm.

Why? Well I was pretty peeved off at the episode Love And Monsters, which was about a group of ‘fans’ of the good Doctor and one man’s quest to find him again to gain closure as to why he found The Doctor in his living room when just a kid.

Now, the concept is original and perhaps controversal in the eyes of many a Dr Who fan, but I am all for new ideas. However when those concepts are poorly realised and degenerates into pure unfunny cheese such as Peter Kay as a monster who ‘absorbs ‘ people, and a bloke who ends up having a love life with a block of concrete, I feel its time to hang up my Tom Baker scarf.

Russell T Davies has a Midas touch when it comes to writing (before Dr Who I hasten to add ), but for me Dr Who under his command has just became a show for the brain-dead viewers of the 21st Century, who want quick paced shows without any plotting or substance. The series is visually stunning and for the most part well produced, perhaps the best visually realised show on TV. Russell does not seem to find a balance at all for Doctor Who. One minute its kitchen sink reach for the sick bucket cheese, the next minute its a poorly plotted sci-fi drama. It gets the ratings in though, and that is what seems to matter these days.

Forget plots, character clichés, unfunny jokes, its all about the ratings.

On many a Doctor Who forum these days anyone who types one negative word about the show’s failings (in the poster’s opinion ) are shot down, personally attacked and discarded. If one is not a sheep, your a fox and you will be hunted and slain. Fandom of anything is a broad spectrum of people, with an even broader spectrum of opinion. Well that’s the idea and in my experience Dr Who fandom was like this before Chris Eccleston donned his battered leather coat in 2005.

I really want to know why this has happened? Why cant Dr Who fans who drool, cry or whatever they do when they watch the greatest show on tv ever (apparently ) accept that in life we cant agree on everything. Does it spoil their love for RTD Who? Does it affect their day to day lives?

In the sane world, in a word no. However when hysteria takes hold, judgement is thrown out of the window.

For Doctor Who, all I ever wanted was good stories with good plotting. Something accessible for fan and casual viewer, without the constant craving of popular pop culture riffs. I have hardly got that with RTD Doctor Who.

I no longer have any excitement when the theme music starts. I now cringe when I see David Tennant conveying anger scenes. I miss Chris Eccleston.

When one no longer enjoys something, its time to leave it. I no longer enjoy Doctor Who. Have I outgrown it? Have I outgrown farting jokes? Toilet Humour? and last but not least stupid references to sexuality?

Will Russell T Davies’ Doctor Who be always thought of in Who circles as the best series of Who ever? I really doubt it.

I have put my coat on, my taxi is waiting.

Here is one that slightly annoyed me: well actually it has annoyed me so much it is tonight’s post.

I ask you reader, is the word ‘ Chinky ‘ as used for calling a Chinese take away an affectionate Glasgow slang term? Or is it institutionally racist?

I suspect the latter.

Ive been posting on a forum that promotes Glasgow. A lot of my posts on there have been light-hearted and I confess to indulging in a little crude humour laced with colourful metaphors. Anyway, a poster used the word ‘ chinky ‘ when describing buying a take away. After reading his post, I asked if maybe he should reconsider his choice of wording.

He did not wish to change it, nor did the moderator of the forum seem to agree that it is actually offensive. The poster, bless him posts a rant as to how angry I made him because he has Asian friends. Good for him.

My posts in reply to how I believed it was racist were deleted, his original post remained for a day or two. What is worse is that the moderator was on my personal MSN Messenger list, and for reasons she wont explain, has now blocked me and put me on ignore. (I did ask her what the problem was, but I never got a reply ) I dont get it, I dont get people sometimes.

The fact of the matter is that ‘ chinky ‘ is not Glasgow slang, nor is it quaint Stanley Baxter Parliamo Glasgow-speak. Its an example of institutionalised racism. That is the way it is perceived these days.

A forum that wishes to promote Glasgow and allow postings using those terms without being (in my and many other’s view ) properly moderated should remain hidden. I’m no big lover of Glasgow these days, but its not good promotion is it?