Talking Angela app – is it dangerous?

I have just seen the following on Facebook:

WARNING TO ALL PARENTS WITH CHILDREN THAT HAVE ANY ELECTRONIC DEVICES , eg: IPOD,TABLETS ETC …. THERE IS A SITE CALLED TALKING ANGELA , THIS SITE ASKS KIDS QUESTIONS LIKE : THERE NAMES , WHERE THEY GO TO SCHOOL AND ALSO TAKE PICTURES OF THEIR FACES BY PUSHING A HEART ON THE BOTTOM LEFT CORNER WITHOUT ANY NOTICES . PLEASE CHECK YOUR CHILDREN’S IPODS AND ALL TO MAKE SURE THEY DO NOT HAVE THIS APP !!! PLEASE PASS THIS MESSAGE ON TO YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY MEMBERS THAT HAVE KIDS !!!

When I tested it I saw that in child mode the above doesn’t happen but when not in child mode, whilst I wasn’t asked any questions, the taking photos thing did happen. Personally, I feel that this app is a little untrustworthy however it may be completely innocent. However, I still wouldn’t let m kids download it, just to be on the safe side.

Gladstone Theatre – February

Friday 1st February at 7.30pm
ON TOUR WITH ELVIS SHOW
Starring “Las Vegas Icon” Award Winning Michael King with full support
Showband & Singers
Tickets: £15.00 from Theatre Box Office: 0151 643 8757 & On-Line:
http://www.gladstonetheatre.org.uk

Sunday 3rd February at 7.30pm
A MUSICAL EXPERIENCE
Irby Dance Studio Spectacular Show
Tickets: £8.00 from Theatre Box Office: 0151 643 8757 & On-Line:
http://www.gladstonetheatre.org.uk

Wednesday 13th – Saturday 16th February at 7.30pm & Saturday Matinee at
2.30pm
BIRKENHEAD SCOUTS GANG SHOW
Fresh from appearing in the West End – Be Prepared to be Amazed
Tickets: £10.00 / £7.00 from Ticket Hotline: 0151 652 3737

Wednesday 27th February – Saturday 2nd March at 7.30pm
ANNE BOLEYN
A comic historical drama by Bebington Dramatic Society
Tickets: £7.00 from Theatre Box Office: 0151 643 8757 & On-Line:
http://www.gladstonetheatre.org.uk

Sammy’s Take Away (Bromborough) Review

Well, I’ve finally got fed up of my usual takeaway getting my order wrong so I decided to try another one (actually only about 200 yards away). Sammy’s do an excellent range of pizzas, kebabs, burgers and chicken amongst other things.

Last night we ordered 3 pizzas and a burger. I have to say that all of the pizzas looked and smelled fantastic however I only got to eat one of them and, for the first time ever, I wasn’t allowed to try the others. Now I can see why my beloved family were so selfish….. They tasted fantastic! I ordered a Double Decker which apparently has double pepperoni and double cheese although on comparison it appeared to have the same amount of cheese as the other pizzas and a normal amount of pepperoni which was a tad disappointing. However the flavour more than made up for it. I’ve never had a pizza “melt in the mouth” before. The flavours really did get the taste buds working overtime.

The prices are very reasonable – £24 compared to almost £40 if we’d ordered from Dominos (plus if we’d gone there, we’d have had to go somewhere else for the burger). And Sammy’s threw in a free garlic bread with cheese and delivered it all within 30 minutes.

Well done Sammy’s, keep up the great work. I for one will definitely be coming back again!

You can order from Sammys online at www.sammystakeaway.co.uk or pop in to the shop which is just across the road from the Merebrook.

Bike Stolen from Oxton Road Birkenhead on Friday Night.

If you find it please call the number in the photo, the local police or the Now Wirral team on 08719968185

An open letter to HMV who are calling in the administrators.

Dear CEO of HMV,

I had the misfortune to visit HMV in Birkenhead on the Sunday before Christmas and experience their customer service which ranged from a sales assistant that couldn’t do enough for me, even though it was very busy, to the store manager who spoke to me like something he’d trodden in, at volume, in front of other customers just because I asked him a question that he didn’t like.

What was it that I asked that warranted being shouted at by a store manager in front of a shop full of customers? I asked him why he was closing the shop at 4.30pm when the HMV website said they were open until 5pm. First I was told at volume that “I am wrong” and then when I explained that the opening times on the website show that all of the local stores are open until 5pm I was told, again at volume, “the website doesn’t say anything of the sort, it’s 4.30, the store has always closed at half past four and if you want to buy anything you’d better get in the queue now!”

I did as instructed but while I was waiting to be served I opened the HMV website on my phone and browsed to the store’s ‘Christmas Opening Times’. Sure enough it showed the store open until 5pm.

Just before leaving the store I showed the manager the page on my phone and said, “I just thought I’d show you this, that is the HMV website, as it is now, live on the Internet, clearly showing that the store is open until 5pm”. The response I got to this was “I don’t care what it says on there, it’s obviously wrong, someone has clearly made a mistake.” He then gestured towards the door in a ‘were closed, get out’ kind of way.

As I walked towards the door, the member of staff that had helped me, albeit unsuccessfully to locate what I’d come for opened the door for me and said “good evening sir, thank you for calling, I’m sorry we couldn’t find what you wanted but I hope you have a good Christmas.” Unfortunately I didn’t get this guys name but if I describe him, (50’s, grey hair, goaty and quietly spoken) hopefully somebody will recognise him and pass on my thanks. This is the guy that should be managing the store.

What hope does any business have where the store manager speaks to customers like that. If the store manager acts like that, then the staff will surely learn by example and won’t be challenged by their management when they are out of line. Customers are not an inconvenience, customers are what makes your business, and as you are now finding out the hard way Mr store manager of Birkenhead HMV, without enough customers, your future employment is not secure. Perhaps you will think about this next time you treat a customer the way you treated me.

As an aside note, I came into your store with the intention of spending rather a lot of money. Because of your manager’s attitude, I took that business to PC World instead. If HMV does survive, I have absolutely no intention of shopping there ever again, simply because of the attitude of this manager. There are plenty of similar shops about, and in the light of todays announcement, I’m just glad that on my visit to your store I used the £5 HMV voucher that had been sitting in my drawer for months.

Am I glad HMV is struggling? Of course I’m not, the are thousands of jobs at risk and I wouldn’t wish hardship for anyone. But I do believe I have highlighted one problem that could have led to lower customer numbers. HMV take note!

Feel free to get in touch if you would like to discuss this further, my number is on the website!

Is it only British people that need to obey UK law?

Did anybody see the documentary on Tuesday 8th Jan “Parking Mad”? BBC1 10:35pm

Did you pick up on the comments made by Ciara Flack, Sandwell Council’s Head Of Parking “British people are very good and they like to abide by the rules and it’s only a small minority that doesn’t comply and they are the ones we really need to educate”

So what are you saying Ciara? Is it only British people that need to be educated? Is it only British people that need to abide by the law of the land? I thought the UK Law was supposed to be obeyed by everybody in the country, not just those that live here permanently. Are you saying that visitors from abroad don’t need to obey our laws whilst they in the UK? What about people that are here on long term working visas or people that don’t consider themselves British? Do they get away with not “abiding by the rules” too?

Hungry’s – Will you ever get my order correct?

I moved into my new house in July and the local kebab house is Hungry’s on Allport Road. I must have used them at least 20 times since we’ve been here and I think they have got my order right on only about 3 or 4 occasions.

Take tonight for example, some burgers and a tray of Donna meat with onions and garlic mayo….. How hard can that be? Too hard it would appear. The burgers were thrown in the trays like something you would get from one of those fast food chains (yes you know the type I mean) and the tray of Donna meat was half filled with chips so I only got half of what I paid for. I have been watching the quality of what was once a fantastic business slowly decline.

I placed an order earlier this week which included Prawn Toast. Well, thats what it was described as anyway. The toast had been fried for too long as it was dark golden in colour and very dry, and although it did have sesame seeds on, I couldn’t taste any prawn. Actually, I would suggest that I’ve experienced more prawn flavour in a Brussel Sprout.

The order before this, which was exactly the same as tonight’s order but this times when it arrived there were no onions and no garlic mayo on the Donna meat. I could go on but it would be boring. Suffice to say that I could not be described as a happy customer. Although they are generally good at burgers. The Hungry’s Special is excellent (even if it is falling apart when you open the carton) and it is tasty and filling. But overall Hungry’s is not the best takeaway I’ve been to. Come on guys you really do need to seriously up your game. If you can’t get basic food orders correct then you’re in the wrong business.

Buggy Park Fitness & Aquanatal Class

There is a new Buggy Park Fitness session starting in Birkenhead Park from Thursday 29th November. The session will run every Thursday 10.30am – 11.30am with Louise, the cost will be £3 a session or will be FREE if people have an Invigor8 pass (Council Gym and Swim and Classes pass). It is open to mums and dads, grandparents or guardians who have a baby or toddler in a pram and is an excellent way of getting fit in the outdoors. The session will meet at the Visitor Centre and finish back there so why not stop off and have a coffee and a chat afterwards in the coffee shop there, were there is also toilet and baby change facilities. Please don’t forget about Buggy Park Fitness at Ashton Park, West Kirby every Monday and Wednesday at 10.30am – 11.30am.

I have just had some exciting news as well to say that there will be a new evening Aquanatal class at Guinea Gap Baths – every Tuesday at 7pm starting Tuesday 8th January 2013. The cost for this session will be £4.25 or £2.15 for Wirral Passport A holders or FREE to Invigor8 users. The Oval run an evening Aquanatal class on a Thursday evening 7.30pm – 8.30pm and West Kirby Concourse have a Monday morning 10.00am – 10.45pm

£24.00 iLuv iPad Cover a Waste of Money

I bought an iLuv Great Jeans iPad case. Available at ASDA for £24.00. Unfortunately it was a waste of money so is going back today.

Check out the product here

The cover looks and feels great and as a stand and a cover it works. However there is one MAJOR DESIGN PROBLEM that makes the item completely not fit for purpose. The iPad has a built in gyro that is affected by magnets. This product has a magnet in it to hold the cover closed. End result, when the iPad is in the cover the gyro won’t work.

Even with the cover open as wide as possible, whenever I tried to use an app that requires the gyro I would get an onscreen warning that the gyro is unable to work. As soon as I slid the device out of the case it worked perfectly.

So with the device in this case you are unable to use maps for location information and in my case, I was unable to use the stargazing app that allows you to scan the sky and tells you what you are looking at. It’s when doing things like this that you particularly want the device in a protective case. So in my opinion the item is not fit for purpose.

Distinctive Cannondale Trail Bike Stolen in Chester

Thieves have broken in and stolen a Ganymede’s trail bike either last night or in the early hours of this morning from the back garden of a house in the CH2 area of Chester.

It’s a black Cannondale Trail SL 29’er (29″ wheels) with large frame, air horn, ergonomic grips with bull bars and a small brass fitting on the tyre valve, so it’s quite distinctive. The bike is only about a year old.

The Police have been informed and we are told that there may be a small reward for any relevant information.

Please contact theteam@nowwirral.com or the local police if you can help.