Newsletter

An Apology!

On 24th May last year our director, Mark Whiteman, and his wife Tracey, celebrated the birth of their daughter, Molly. For some reason this went unreported in our last Newsletter, for which the editorial team offers sincere apologies! Molly is now heading towards her first birthday celebrations, growing, as all children do, at a remarkable rate and, we all think that she's the spitting image of her dad!

Congratulations to our Prize Draw Winners

Congratulations to Mr W E Helm of Berkhamstead and Mr W Wilson of Morecambe who were the lucky winners of our quarterly prize draws for £25 worth of Marks and Spencer vouchers.

Everyone who, following a claim, returns a Claims Satisfaction Questionnaire to us is entered in the draw. The data we receive from these is vitally important in ensuring that we maintain the highest standards of claims handling ourselves, and in monitoring the service from our insurer partners. Many thanks to everyone who has participated.

It's the Way They Tell 'Em!

The English language doesn't always travel well, as this selection of quotes from "Lost in Translation: Misadventures in English Abroad" by Charlie Croker vividly demonstrates. How reassuring, after a long and tiring journey, to settle into your hotel room in some far-fling part of the globe to be greeted with a sign telling you "If you telephone for room service you will get the answer you deserve".

Here are a few other gems from the book:

Acapulco, Mexico:
The manager has personally passed all the water served here.

Finland:
If you cannot reach a fire exit, close the door and expose yourself at the window.

Germany:
There is a French widow in every bedroom, affording delightful prospects.

Ankara:
You are invited to take advantage of the chambermaid.

Nairobi, Kenya:
Customers who find the waitresses rude ought to see the manager.

Further exploring the exploitation of the English language, the following are purported to be actual similes lifted from GCSE essays (we are left guessing as to the likely marks awarded to these students!):

The plan was simple, like my brother Paul. But unlike Paul, this plan just might work.

She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up.

It came down the stairs looking very much like something no one has ever seen before.

Her eyes were like two brown circles with big dots in the centre. Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.

He was deeply in love. When she spoke he thought he heard bells, as if she were a dustcart reversing.