They called twice & left 2 voicemails.
Unfortunately, I never received the calls or voicemails until nearly an hour later.
My mobile network was down for a couple of hours while they worked on the mast.
So obviously, no signal.

No call on the landline.

What makes it worse, was that the call wasn't for me but the missus.
When she logged into her online A/c, there was a message requesting why she missed her telephone appointment.
I replied for her & left a "lovely" & polite message.

The last sentence in the message read...

...NEXT time, use a Mk 1 computer.

Ah, yes, Landlines are a figment of legacy past.

There is a better one.
Monday morning I googled "change of surgery" assuming that as everything is going online, could that be done?

Yes it can so did so using the NHS online. The changeover was for the missus, as her surgery is across town while mine is literally next door. :-)
NHS number - Check.
Address - Check
E-mail - Check
D.O.B. - Check
Telephone number - Check
Mobile number check

It will take approx. 5 days.
Tuesday 15:09 my mobile pings - text message.
Dear Mrs Sirius
Welcome to our practice.

Going to have fun later this morning at the surgery. Missus needs to get an a/c set up for online access as her previous a/c is no longer accessible due to the changeover. So I'm going to ask them why the message came through on my mobile when hers was provided.

In reply to Gary Charpentier's message of 31 Oct 2025:

Ah, yes, Landlines are a figment of legacy past.

The old copper wires, yes, but the new VoiP is available.
However, just like mobiles not always available 24/365, but still a point of contact...
...a MK 1 computer would know that. :-)

In reply to Sirius B's message of 31 Oct 2025:

In reply to Gary Charpentier's message of 31 Oct 2025:

Ah, yes, Landlines are a figment of legacy past.

The old copper wires, yes, but the new VoiP is available.
However, just like mobiles not always available 24/365, but still a point of contact...
...a MK 1 computer would know that. :-)

The new MK1's have never had a landline ...

In reply to Gary Charpentier's message of 31 Oct 2025:

The new MK1's have never had a landline ...

Ah yes, Mk 10's.
Device extension with volatile storage capacity & 0 common sense.

Sadly, companies and the internet have forgotten about landlines. They expect everyone to use only a cellphone for communications. Same goes for using a PC for communication and using websites. Everyone expects you to use a cellphone application. Lots of complete inabiltity to contact an entity OTHER than through a cellphone app.

In reply to Keith Myers's message of 31 Oct 2025:

Sadly, companies and the internet have forgotten about landlines. They expect everyone to use only a cellphone for communications. Same goes for using a PC for communication and using websites. Everyone expects you to use a cellphone application. Lots of complete inabiltity to contact an entity OTHER than through a cellphone app.

And despite the fact that I provide my landline number, they have the audacity to complain that my cellphone was turned off when they tried to call!

In reply to Dave's message of 31 Oct 2025:

And despite the fact that I provide my landline number, they have the audacity to complain that my cellphone was turned off when they tried to call!

Therein lies the problem.

Message missus sent in reply to those BP's who sent the e-mail:
You're reviewing why I missed the appointment?
You have 2 telephone numbers.
IF no contact on mobile - please DO NOT assume I'm not interested.
My partner & I spent time before & after said appointment waiting for call - none received.
Is my fall that a mobile network may be down hence no call received?
IN future any missed call on mobile, please use common sense to call landline.
As for appointment - you arrange one please.
Please make sure that all appointments are before 13:30 hours.
After that time I will be preparing lunch then heading to my employment.
Thank you.

In the words of Clive Dunn:
They don't like it up em. :-)
Edit: I had to delete the last 2 sentences before she sent it.
Ask me no questions & I'll tell you no lies. :-)

IN future any missed call on mobile, please use common sense to call landline.

That does assume they have some common sense to use.

Here in the UK the NHS is trying to save money - brilliant idea, but.....

A couple of days ago I had a letter arrived, one sheet of paper, only my address on it and a a blood test form attached, but none of the test boxes marked.
In the same post anther letter from the NHS, three sheets of paper and another blood test form, this time with one box marked. The information on the three sheets of paper would easily fit onto one sheet (first sheet, my name and address, plus NHS & hospital numbers, second sheet a couple of lines of test results, third sheet a note telling me there was a blood test form enclosed - total about twenty lines of text).
So that's two envelopes, two blood test forms, four sheets of paper and two lots of postage, plus an unknown amount of time spent (badly) folding the paper etc. into the envelopes....
(The blood test form has a sealable plastic bag attached to hold samples being returned to the hospital lab)

So I have to book a fairly urgent blood test....
I go on line, sign into my NHS account, book the blood test, got one at a time that suited me (about an hour hence), then headed off for my appointment with Dracula, arriving a bit early as there was less than the expected traffic, checked in and hadn't had time to settle down when I was called in, Dracula did her thing, and drove home, again no traffic so I was home at the time I should have been attacked by Dracula.

When things line up properly our NHS is great, but that's not always the case.

I don't know if it has improved now but, I remember when working at an in-patient adolescent mental health unit when one of the young people cut themselves or there was some other incident, I would have to write it up in their notes, on an incident form and in the, "accident book." I had many arguments about that, saying that deliberate acts were not accidents! I would also regularly ask more senior staff to let us move to a system where I could type up the details of the incident once from where it could then automagically appear in all three places!

Would probably be similar to where i work.
Most things are done on computers, scanners, mobile phones etc. Yet sub-totals & totals have to be entered on to sheets of paper and signed off by supervisors (even though they have to sign off on the scanner screen as well before people can continue on with what they need to do).
All the information is there in the computer IT system, yet they still have to have paper summaries of damn near everything.

Accidents and incidents must be recorded using the safety application on our scanners in order for them to officially exist. But if we want something to be done about it, then we have to fill out paper forms, and then chase them up with our supervisor on a regular basis when nothing happens.
Meanwhile on our scanner we have all these hazards and incidents, that continue to grow because even if it gets sorted, it doesn't matter if you enter that on the scanner, or tell your supervisor about it, it never gets removed.

The insanity of it just does my head in- i've always laughed at the tinfoil hat brigade, but i really am coming around to the line of thinking that the whole reason for this is to keep the middle management in jobs where they don't have to deal with the people actually doing the work.
In the past, the team leaders and even junior managers right up to the lower senior managers would spend time on the floor actually working along with everyone else.
Now they spend all their time in the office doing God knows what, and haven't got the slightest idea of what is actually going on outside of the office or their daily zoom meetings (seriously, daily zoom meetings, even for team leaders).

---

Grant
Darwin NT.

Grumble. :-(

Just snipped a timeline for that train attack on Sat as more details have emerged.
Unfortunately can't post it on the Transport thread on the Seti Cafe.
Since 30/9/25, Imgur no longer available to UK users.