Mathew Browne

I just finished a three-page epic complaint letter to the head of the Royal Mail Docklands delivery office, owing to the fact that the gimps he employs can’t do anything right. In summary:

- They lost 2 special deliveries in as many months worth several hundred quid
- Postmen never buzz to see if anyone’s in before leaving a “sorry, you were out” card (especially if you’ve taken a day off because you knew there was mail coming…)
- Put recorded items in your mailbox without obtaining a signature
- If they do leave a card, the phone number of it doesn’t work and the identifying details of the delivery are omitted, rendering the mail near impossible to trace
- Etc.

I don’t have much luck with mail or couriers.

the good - Fedex (though hideously expensive), Special Mail Services
the bad - Initial City Link, Parcel Force, DHL
the ugly - Royal Mail

My 48-hour foray into the world of gambling is over. I discovered betfair.com, an incredibly addictive (once you grasp the rules) betting site where you can get the latest odds as a game is in progress.

Through a series of well-timed small bets on the darts final and the ongoing Masters snooker tournament I was able to “beat the bookie” on several occasions, meaning I had bet on each competitor with such odds that either way I’d win some money, or not lose anything at least. That isn’t to say I didn’t lose money, but my net profit was about £50 as of this evening.

Being an idiot, I didn’t quit while I was ahead - I then got my fingers burnt betting on the outcome of a frame of the Peter Ebdon V Stuart Bingham match. Ebdon was ruling the match and the current frame, so much so that his (decimal) odds of winning that frame and the match at the time were as low as 1.02, meaning for each £100 you slapped on you stood to win just £2. I, however, had stuck £30 on him when his odds were 1.80. But it was all for nothing as his opponent made a miraculous comeback and cost Ebdon the frame, and cost me £30.

I console myself with the fact that I eventually quit with £20 that I didn’t have before, and the fact that some poor bastard was so sure of Ebdon’s victory that 2 before he was beaten, he slapped down over 2 grand at 1.02 (where he would only have won about £40 had Ebdon won). Silly bastard.