Couriers – a law unto themselves?

Well now, as I continue to be extremely thrifty (but still on the law-abiding side of this, let me assure you), this week has seen the start of my move to become more self-sufficient in the kitchen area – no, not clearing up after myself but actually growing-my own (produce, not kitchen). Technically I had already started, but I’ve only managed to grow one lettuce so far, so I think it’s fair to say that I am more than one lettuce short of a full harvest, even in self-sufficiency circles!

Anyway, promoted by the recent break in the weather and the resultant high winds, which have mercilessly shaken the majority of the apples from the stout little apple tree we inherited when we moved in, I decided not to waste my windfalls but to investigate recycling these chubby little sours into chutney. If you are not impressed by this, I will further attempt to do so by revealing that I have not only been saving my old jam and pasta sauce jars in anticipation of the chance to preserve something (possibly my husband’s sense of humour), but I have also been harassing my mum for hers!

So, after an exhausting time rescuing my fruits from the garden, ergo the dog (who regards anything small and round on the grass as a ball and therefore a game of six-circuit-chase-around- the-mimosa-tree before dropping it, is required), I gathered my culinary implements around my cauldron only to discover that apparently I need extras, including little waxed discs to put between the chutney and the jar lid, to stop the vinegar acting up with the lid to get my chutney, er, in a pickle, so to speak.

Undeterred, I postponed the hubble-bubble for a couple of days and hopped onto that well-known internet auction site to do a quick investigation into the price of my absent essentials. I happily perused the [actually not very] interesting range of these and then began a comparison in earnest between costs, including the delivery. Now some sellers give more detail than others and one, who is clearly proud of having a 24 hour delivery service, had added some small print to clarify what 24 hour delivery actually means. In amongst his diatribe (and anything that starts with the words “as some small minded people quibble about what a 24 hour courier service means, let me make it plain…” surely has to be a diatribe) was an explanation as to how 24 hour refers to time taken to dispatch, with the disclaimer that issues occur because the retailers are “not perfect, we are human” – quite right and fair enough, it happens, and couriers “well, they are a law unto themselves” uh, oh – surely not right and fair enough?

Since I have been confined to home more (illness, dear reader, not electronic tagging), I have met a variety of delivering type callers from week to week, so feel that the comments in the listing seem to pass a harsh judgement on a whole body of well-meaning professionals (well, at least all of those that I have met so far, and I can assure you that I’ll let you know about it if I meet one that isn’t!) So, it only seems fair for the right of reply to be thrown out into courier-land: what do you make of that remark? Or (and possibly more fun) if you were a law unto yourselves, what are the laws you would pass, in respect of those that you deliver for, and those who you deliver to? This could be very interesting ….!

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