|
  |
|
|
Mobiles are a pain in the proverbial ...
By Harvey Partridge
Introduction
Mobiles are very useful for emergencies. You've broken down on the motorway - you can call the breakdown man without leaving your car. You're caught in a traffic jam and you're going to be late - you can let people know that you are OK.
I do not currently own a mobile. In some places (Facebook, for example), that makes me a non-person. Real people have mobiles.
I am not technophobic, but I really do not like mobiles.
When I'm out I like to be 'out', not 'in'. I consider it very rude to discontinue a conversation with one person in order to converse with another who has interrupted.
Some things have happened to me to confirm me in my hatred.
International Calls
When we first came to France, we lived in a tent whilst we sought out our house and until the purchase of the house was completed. We had left both sons back in UK. Our youngest, who had been living with us until that point, had declined to come with us when we went. One night, at about 1:30, I received a phone call from a mutual acquaintance informing us that he had been arrested, locked up and was about to be prosecuted for GBH (Grievous Bodily Harm). The explanation was ranted at length across the channel until our top-up bottomed out. We had thought that we had topped up adequately before leaving UK. This one phone call had drained us, despite the fact that we were receiving the call, not making it. 60p per minute to receive!! We were now without a mobile phone that worked and had to buy a French mobile so that we could use French top-ups. And it turned out that nipper had been in a tussle in a bar to which the police hadn't even been called! Needless to say the mutual acquaintance was not flavour of the month.
'Pay as you go' in France
Phone top-ups in France have an expiry date.
We live in a house with very thick granite rock walls (yes, it is very like a cave, especially in Winter). Usually, it is not possible to get a signal inside the house.
Picture this ...
The phone indicates that there is a message in the message box. There is no signal on the ground floor to get through to the message box. Nor is there on the top floor of the house. Nor down the garden. So, take a walk up the town until, Hurrah! you get sufficient signal to hear your message which says "Your phone credit has just expired. Get another top-up." In French, of course.
Conclusion
With a land-line in the house and a phone-box card (which also has an expiry date, but doesn't waste your time telling you it has expired) in a coat pocket, it is possible to make all necessary telephone calls without recourse to !§¤¤*$# mobiles. Fortunately. |
My Facebook
PLEASE VISIT THE CONTRIBUTOR'S WEBSITE
No reactions yet.
Please login or sign up to rate this intel.
Please login or sign up to add a comment.
The copyright for this content entitled "Mobiles are a pain in the proverbial ..." has been specified by the contributor as:
GNU Free Documentation License
Details 
This content may be copied, distributed, and modified, as long as a) the original author is acknowledged with a link back to the content page, and b) if the work is modified, the result is distributed with this same license.
If you use this content according to the license specified, you must link to the following URL:
http://harveyp.qondio.com/
|
 |
May, 2012
2008
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2009
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2010
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2011
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2012
January, February, March, April, May
|
|
Not a member yet?
Qondio is a powerful network for making it online. If you have a website to
promote, we can help.
Sign up and get in on the action.
|
|
Welcome to Qondio! Discover the awesome power this network can deliver by going to our About page. Or you could skip straight to the Sign Up form.
|
|
