Mobile Milarkies, leaves, electric and insulation.

Autumn has arrived and the leaves fall on the park like confetti, a new home has arrived so one less area to clear. One home has been moved to a new pitch so there is a slightly different area to take care of. There is a story to relate about both of these events as you might have guessed. Suffice to say that one man (almost two) became trapped underneath a home and had to be rescued by residents - and the rest of the performance would be comical if it were not so sad to see.

As mentioned earlier in the blog, for the last two years the residents have kept the park tidy by doing the ground maintenance. There was an agreement with the area manager (at that time) and the residents association received a small payment every month. All of a sudden Wyldecrest expected that all the maintenance supplies (weed killer and so on) and even the winter grit for the road would be paid for out of these proceeds. They certainly want their cake and to eat it here, when you consider the work that has been done by the residents over the last two years! Anyway, on querying this an email arrived advising that this arrangement was to be discontinued as it "is not for the benefit of the park or Wyldecrest". Well we shall see if the park is maintained "to the highest standard", as it certainly has been by the residents and we all had a pride in keeping it so. Expect full reports here!

Slightly worrying news about the cost of the electricity. In 2011 the contract had not been renegotiated with E.ON and a 'default' rate became effective on our supply. This was at a much higher rate of course. The RA Chair then called E.ON and was able to get the offer of a much better rate and Wyldecrest confirmed this with the supplier. Strictly speaking of course, the supplier should only speak to the 'bill payer' but is that not what we are? For true transparency why should this be a problem? Anyway, the RA Chair again called E.ON to get a good rate for 2013 which by any standards was achieved. Fast forward to this month and again a phone call was made and a rate that was about 10% up was offered and which would apply for two years. Sounds good!
Well maybe not. After a call to Wyldecrest they were all perturbed about the RA being even able to speak to E.ON about the rate - they said they would do it and obtain the 'best available rate'. This is where is gets slightly worrying. The details of the new rate (fixed for 3 years), with a different supplier, looks like being up some 30%! There are attempts being made to confirm this with the Wyldecrest person (proving difficult) and we certainly hope it is not true. If it is, how can it be the 'best available rate'? Best for whom? More on this soon.

On our home, some of the windows 'protrude'. This gives a nice sill inside the home and improves the appearance. In cold weather though, this is not a good insulating feature and the structure that forms the protrusion can not be as well insulated. We noticed that Blinds-2go has a new range of thermal efficient blinds that form a honeycomb structure when closed. We can't recommend these highly enough! These retract to form a neat assembly at the top of the window and when closed the difference in temperature is remarkable.

The fine collection of weeds before the residents took over.

Even more weeds just to make the point.

Nice and tidy today.

Looking along the park today - last leaf clearing completed.

New blinds - we love them!

Spelling checkers and Insolvency

Sometimes I worry about computers, we are getting far too dependant on them. I was using a pen and paper the other day, and struggle as I always do with spelling (yes, I know, grammar as well) I stopped and looked at a word and thought: well it must be spelt correctly as it's not underlined. I'm just becoming far too used to this feature I'm afraid and I now expect A4 paper will do the same.

Onto my second topic for today and it is a link that a resident from another park forwarded to me. It is an article from The Insolvency Service regarding action they have taken on what seem to be Wyldecrest related companies, or at least they used the same name. Have a read and see what you make of it. http://news-insolvency.bis.gov.uk/Press-Releases/Mobile-home-services-providers-immobilised-by-Insolvency-Service-68b82.aspx

Swans, Ducks and ISO9001

The river beside us has been very high recently, rising very quickly considering there has been quite a extended dry spell. Anyway extreme events seem to be a weather pattern now from extended very cold periods to very wet periods and the next surely has to be an extended warm (and dry) period. Musing about the uncertainty principle and others where an observed experiment will change the outcome I wonder if I have an experiment that tests if I expect a warm and sunny period it will happen and I'm also an observer what does that mean? Rain probably!
Various displays by a pair of swans on the river and I have posted a couple below, they seem such a loving pair. Only male mallards at the moment I guess all the females are on eggs. Sadly one poor tiny duckling passed on the river during the flood heading down river, no way back for that poor little guy.
Anyway, while chatting with other residents we were discussing that our fine park owners, Wyldecrest, are now ISO9001 certified. This demands very clear quality management systems and is quite difficult to summarise easily - but one statement is: "The quality policy is a formal statement from management, closely linked to the business and marketing plan and to customer needs." I suppose they have two levels of customer, those that buy a park home and those that pay them a pitch rental. One becomes the other on buying a home of course. Inevitably their focus is the buyer as a home has a nice profit margin and their other significant income from a home will be when someone sells to move on (10%) or unhappily someone dies, leaving an empty home that the relatives will sell (10% again). On a large park the pitch rental total will be significant but on a small park like ours it does not amount to very much income at all.
Well all this musing took us to the subject of maintenance on the park as there are some road drains that need the gulley emptied as during heavy rain the water does not drain away and large puddles form. So if a simple thing like this, just general maintenance looking after the infrastructure, you would think would be an expected expense. Well from what we hear things like this will not be done until the park generates some income from home sales. So as far as the other improvements that might help the park look more attractive to potential residents (like the rear retaining wall and screening that is needed) there is very little chance of this happening. It is a bit of chicken and egg situation with some of this I think.
How does all this fit in with ISO9001 and procedures and actions that are defined? More 'uncertainty principle' I might suggest.
Anyway, we may have some new residents in a new home soon so lets see what happens - and back to something much more appealing - the swans.

Bill Posters and Bill Savers

Well we have a noticeboard on the site after only a couple of years of waiting, it is a shame that the site licence displayed was issued to the previous owner who sold it to the present owners over two years ago. It does make you wonder if they have applied to have it changed. There are so many issues like this where regulations are just ignored and I suppose some are being ignored to our benefit, could be I suppose. Yes really!

On yet another completely different subject and to prove my green credentials, whatever that means, I have been fitting individual radiator control valves to replace the usual manual valves. So each room will have a separate temperature control unit with a wireless link to the radiator valve and the temperature can be programmed for different times of day. This is a much better solution that just having one main control for the whole house where if you need a bit of extra heat in the living room, the main thermostat is turned up and the whole house gets warmer. Also these single controls are often rather inaccurate and trying to increase by a small amount usually ends up as too much. It is surprising how a difference of only 1 degree can make a room feel comfortable or too cool.

So after a little research I found that EON were selling these at a reduced cost compared to elsewhere and that these were the same units as sold by Conrad Electronics. This was important as EON only sell the radiator control and not the boiler control. This second unit is needed for a good installation as it responds to a demand from the thermostats and Conrad sell this unit.
So the kits arrived from EON and they have a selection of adaptors to fit the actuator units to the radiators. Well of course our radiator valves are not standard and none of these would fit, not a surprise really! So loving a challenge I set about adapting the adaptors and with a bit of careful drilling and extra clips we had  a solution.

Adapted adaptor fitted.

The boiler control unit arrived from Conrad and this was not a problem to
fit. However programming this to recognise the room controls was a little more of a problem as although the instructions were in English the control unit itself was in German. With a 'useful' section in the manual showing the translation it all became clear eventually.

So it all works and I suppose it theory we are saving money as well as having the rooms at a comfortable level.   



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Snow on Snow on Tarmac

It has been a long winter and still the snow is falling. The residents have put in some hard work this year clearing the road and it does make you wonder what would happen if there was no one - or less than there are - fit enough to do the job. The park would probably have been inaccessible at times as some of the falls and partial thaws were followed by very hard frosts.
The park owners say they can't clear the snow as if they did, they would be liable if someone fell. The council don't as it is a private road. Yet we pay the park owners for staying here and we pay full council tax. If one of the emergency services has to get in and can't what then?

The snow building up one evening

 

One of the residents out with the gritter after a hard frost

 

Quiz night was very enjoyable and won by the "Flowerpot Lady's" team (34 points) from Park Village. They were presented with the Mill House Quiz trophy this year as well as a prize each.

Second was 'The Quartet" (32 points), Third "Bacon Bottoms" (27 points), Fourth "Adam & Friends" (25 points), Fifth "Scrambled Eggheads" (24 points) and wooden spoon went to "4 - 1"

All went well with the organisation other than the designer of the answer sheet who put two lines for question 14. Not clever and Prickly is denying all responsibility!

Here are the questions if you want to have a go...

1.Name Tintins dog.
2.Name first plane to drop the Atomic Bomb?
3.Oscar wining actress married to “Colplay” frontman Chris Martin.
4.T.S.Elliott wrote “old possums book of practical “....what? 
5.Name Crieff’s emblem, from the Gaelic “Craobh”.
6.Which Ford car of the 1970’s is named after Italian ski resort?
7.Scottish actress played “Margaret”,  Victor Meldrews wife?
8.How many years married is a “Crystal Anniversary”? 
9.Which planet in our Solar System is 2^nd closest to the Sun?
10.Which American gangster was known as “Scarface”?
11.On which racecourse is “The Grand National” run? 
12.What is the surname of Dickens family in “A Christmas Carol? 
13.A Swede is a cross between which two vegetables? 
14.What is the fastest running bird recorded?
15.Which composer wrote the opera “Carmen”? 
16.What is the largest single Scandinavian country? 
17.In which Russian city is “The Winter Palace”? 
18.From which plant is Linseed Oil produced? 
19.”Chromophobia” is the fear of what? 
20.which country produced the dance “The Lambada”? 
21.Which instrument does the “Leader of the Orchestra” play?
22.Who is the Roman “God of Fire”? 
23.Which South American country is named after an Italian City?
24.What is the fastest animal recorded on land? 
25.What does a “somnambulist” do? 
26.Which fruit has the highest calorific value ?(calories) 
27.On Pencils, what does “HB” stand for?
28.What material is “The Taj Mahal” made from?2
9.What vehicle would you find on the Cresta Run? 
30.Which common food item  literally means “twice cooked”? 
31.Which mythological creature has the body of a lion? (top is eagle) 
32.Which paper is Britain’s oldest Sunday Newspaper? 
33.Which “F” would a Vexillologist be an expert on?
34.Which Scottish Liqueur combines whisky & heather honey?
35.Branch of which tree is on “The United Nations” flag? 
36.What does “pm” stand for, meaning “in the afternoon”? 
37.How many President’s heads are carved on Mount Rushmore?
38. Actor changed his name, was already a Michael Douglas?
39.On Bottles what does “ABV” stand for? 
40.What year was The Berlin Wall pulled down? 
41.What is the World’s longest river?
42.Greek mythology, who shot Achilles in the heel with an arrow? 
43.An alternative name for The Mountain Ash tree? 
44.On British Streets what does a “costermonger” sell? 
45.What year did” Making Your Mind Up” win Eurovision? 
46.Which animal was the croquet ball in “Alice in Wonderland”? 
47.Who was the first non-royal on a British stamp?
48.In Russia, what are Matryoshka? 
49.Who designed St. Pauls Cathedral?
50.What name is the skin hanging from a turkey’s neck?
 

Time Passed

Aye, well it has been a very long time since the last post on this Blog!
No excuses other than too many other  things going on. Anyway, with the re-launch of the Mill House Park Web Site I thought it was time to get to the keyboard again.

What has happened here? Well for the past year the residents (those that agreed to do it) have been carrying out the general maintenance - the gardening type. The site has looked well for it and much better than the previous intermittent work (and mostly only if we moaned about it). This was a trial for a year and it is likely to continue. The Residents Association get a payment for this work.

A few falls of heavy snow over the winter and again (much) the same team were out clearing this. Hard work on occasions but it still seems that if we don't do it then nobody will and we would be left with some very dangerous conditions.

Not many other communications to report from the owners, just the usual notification of the annual increase (based on RPI) in their usual brief and brusque manner - they all go the same charm-school.

The electricity price has stayed at a reasonable price and thanks to our RA Chair it will stay reasonable for the next year or so, to be pro-active in this was certainly worth while.

The Quiz night tonight so there may way well be a post tomorrow with the results.