Head on over to www.FlashBangWallop.com to see my latest stuff.

Let her know we are selling marianne.co.uk for £100 will you?

Todays price £80

Richard Allard con artist

Every January we go to Portugal or Spain for a golfing trip. Usually there are about 12 of us. Terry booked it this year with the above and we were all getting a bit concerned when no vouchers or tickets for the accommodation or golf tee times turned up. Dozens of phone calls and emails went unanswered.

Richard Allard, who runs the “business” finally answered our calls only after we did a bit of detective work and managed to track down a relative (who must have got on the phone to him and said “sort it”).

He eventually told us that a rep he was working with over there had done a bunk with £25,000. “So?” That’s not really our problem. Seems he’s skint though and needed to go to the bank to borrow money to pay us back. He promised to phone every day to keep us informed. He didn’t.

So now we have to re-book the accommodation and golf (and we’re about £5,000 down between the 12 of us).

We have his address now, though, not just the phoney virtual office mailing address of Regent Street so at least we’ll be able to start a small claims court proceeding. Anybody else need it?
20 Holmfield, Fiskerton, Lincoln, LN3 4GD

The purpose of this is to make people aware that the website still appears to be trading.

My advice would be to not touch them with a barge pole.

Seems he also ripped off a party of four in Ireland. Luckily they found this blog and now also have his address.

We’ll post updates here.

We’d be interested to learn of other parties he has ripped off – maybe we can club together for the small claims court action. If you have fallen for the con trick also please ring 01253 290501

UPDATE
The police are now involved and want to hear from anyone else who has been conned. Let me have your details and Terry can pass them on to the officer investigating.

From January 3rd to June 30th I’ll be setting up the studio and will be available for any family portraits.

The cost for one A3 sized (20″ x 16″) full colour print, on museum grade paper, framed with mount costs £50.  This includes a sitting where up to 200 pictures will be taken and usually takes about an hour.  You will be shown all images and invited to choose your favourite which may then require some further pre-printing work.  It will be ready for collection within a few days.

If any models, male or female, require a portfolio please get in touch.  I may do these for free if your ideas are unusual and will add to my portfolio.  Basic portfolio shoots can be done from £50 depending on number of outfit changes, location etc.

Family Portraits in Blackpool

Mia - December 2010

Some new pics of our grand-daughter Mia

38 Photos

If you would like a studio portrait of your loved ones and live local to Blackpool please get in touch.

Annabel

Spent a couple of hours with Mark's family. Quite pleased with some of the results.

38 Photos

If you would like a family portrait doing and live in the Blackpool area please get in touch.

Brilliant chill out time again in Thailand

Here are some of the piccies

Thailand 2010

Our holiday in Phuket November 2010

100 Photos

Whooo hooo....going back to Phuket

Whooo hooo… I’m so excited.

Going back to Phuket.

We had booked a tour of San Fran and California…but all the time Thailand was yanking at my heart strings and…on reflection…USA versus Thailand…it was a no-brainer.

So we’re going back to Thailand, yet again, simply because we KNOW exactly what we’re going to get… a LOT of great nights out and perfectly chilling place to nurture those hangovers.

I’m so happy…….and can’t wait for those lights to turn round the corner of our taxi to the airport.

Full report and piccies on my return

Earlier this week we had a particularly scathing review on TripAdvisor from a couple who stayed a week or so ago.  Mistakes had been made and they were not happy with their stay with us and made the review.

Unfortunately they went a bit over the top and marked us as a 1 out of 5 in all categories apart from location – which they only gave us a 3 out of 5. 

I was fuming that they had considered their stay with us to be so low that they marked us so unkindly in all departments.  I thought they were over zealous in their markings and put an article together saying so.  It wasn’t very kind about them but at the time I didn’t particularly care about their feelings.

The guests noticed this article and, with Mark from YesHotels mediating, asked me to remove it suggesting they would withdraw their review also.

Now the reason I did the article wasn’t to bully them into removing it.  I’d have been quite happy for my article to remain and theirs too.  I think it highlighted the problem with TripAdvisor.  If there are problems for a guest staying at ANY hotel and they feel like making a review on them sometimes I see the reviews they make seem …over the top.  Not just with me…but with many of my competitors too.   

All the hotelier can do is respond to the review but let me tell you this…TripAdvisor EDITS our responses.  How can that be fair?  So on the one hand the guest can make scathing inaccurate comments and not have them edited, but when the hotelier responds part of their comments can be edited out.

Many viewers of TripAdvisor will be able to read between the lines but, of course, many will not and a particularly harsh review will be damaging.

Now the reason for my article, which I have since removed, was to put a little balance back into the equation.  There was no way TripAdvisor would have published my comments without a LOT of editing.  Usually if they have to edit too much they will simply refuse to publish it and not even have the courtesy to let me know!! 

Now don’t get me wrong.  I think TripAdvisor is a great tool.  I have many excellent comments and quite a few constructive complaints.  I also have a few that went over the top.  There are one or two extremely harsh reviews from people who have never even stayed with us.  (Will TA remove those? …well I’ve asked and been ignored)

If the management at TripAdvisor ever get to read this then perhaps you would like to consider a fairer system to mark accommodation on.   The current format leaves it wide open for over zealous reviews which are unfairly damaging lots of business’.  I know I’m not alone in my views on this.

Rant Over.

So here goes..

I paid my car tax online today.  Nice and easy.  All checks about my MOT and insurance were made in seconds and the tax disc will be posted to me within 5 days.  Whoopidoo.

Just after I pressed submit to wing my £275 to the Government I was presented with a “Congratulations – you have been entered in a prize draw for a SEAT car”

I’m not kidding:-

http://www.dft.gov.uk/dvla/prizedraw/

Now this begs two questions…

1)

Why do the Transport Department deem it fit to reward me with an entry into a draw for a SEAT car JUST for paying my car tax?

I’d have happily paid my car tax without this incentive.  Indeed I didn’t even know about it until AFTER I’d paid it…so great piece of marketing there Department of Transport!

2)

SEAT???  Arn’t they Spanish?? (no these are not my second questions)

According to Wikipedia they are: Sociedad Española de Automóviles de Turismo

Why SEAT?  Jesus, Mary and Joseph why can’t the British Government at least choose a British car to reward somebody who pays their taxes on time?

“The cars have been kindly donated by SEAT at no cost to the tax payer.”  Yeah but I’m sure a British company would have done the same for all that advertising

Isn’t that a bit annoying?

Rant Over

- “it’s good to talk” (R Hoskins, c 1984)

PS – I have nothing against SEAT cars. I have  moved quite a few on our car park and they manoevre quite nicely.