Bluehost Formerly Just Host Is A Better Alternative to Go Daddy You Might Not Have Heard Of

Beware Of Spam Emails From Everywhere: Protect Your Identity and Data

Harvey

2026-02-21T10:08:00.0000000 2026-02-21T10:23:40.5030000

BLUEHOST Hosting Company Used to be Just Host really excellent customer service

I just had a pretty scary experience with my website hosting company. First of all this snoop is in no way a criticism of Blue host. I have been with them for years, tried a couple of others along the way like Go Daddy and Ionos but ended up with all my domains hosted in one place. I find it easier that way to manage.

So I get this email that looked completely legitimate saying one of my active was domains was going to be suspended if I didn’t act immediately and log into my Bluehost account by clicking the link in the email. It said it was because Who Is the public domain registry needed updated information and failure to act could mean by domain being suspended. It was completely untrue.

I didn’t check the sender email, which did turn out to be spam, I just clicked the link and tried to log into my account. Luckily for me the login on my phone failed so I ended up logging to Blue Host directly on my PC which broke the email to login link and ended up protecting my account.

Of course when I arrived in my account there were no red flags alerting me to imminent suspension so I was unsure what to do.

I began with the AI chat “Ask Blu” which although did give pretty comprehensive simple instructions it wasn’t prepared to uncover a SPAM request so after about an hour of going around in circles I got a human customer service person to help. Their name was Shashank and He/she immediately figured out the email was fake, alerted me and when I told them I had stupidly clicked the link provided in the email they sent me a password reset to change my password straight away.

I was asked at the end of the customer service process to post a review for Bluehost sharing my experience and because it was so good, once I managed to speak to a real person and the situation was sorted out very quickly with an explanation the email was fake and didn’t come from Bluehost at all, I decided to share what happened here.

In this case nothing bad happened to my account, it wasn’t hacked or compromised in anyway and I was offered privacy protection on every domain at $15 a year per domain if I wanted it.

Domain privacy and protection protects you from;

Spam and other unsolicited emails

Identity theft

Unwanted phone calls and postal mail

Fraudulent domain transfers

Malware and SEO blacklists

Competitors can check which websites they own

It is certainly an additional protection I am considering in the future.

I have been with Bluehost for over 15 years, have no reason to change my website hosting provider and even though they are based in the US and I am in the UK their 24/7 support in this instance was really great. In the past I haven’t had much need to contact support, their website is pretty self explanatory to do basic day to day stuff.

They do have a customer service line 001 801 765 9400 for international customers but be advised international rates do apply.

If you are based in the US you can call 888 401 4678 at any time for help.

I have to say before I knew the email wasn’t genuine I did think Bluehost had maybe used the worry of account suspension and the alert “immediate action required” just to get me to login so they could sell me additional services. This of course was not the case.

I am writing this snoop to warn others if you see an unexpected warning email beginning “do not ignore” or “immediate action required” from anyone you have a relationship with, your bank or credit card company, a social media account or web hosting account like in my case just look at the email address behind the sender name before doing anything.

As soon as you see where the email has actually come from you’ll know it’s fake and to immediately hit delete. And if it looks like it’s real, my advice would be don’t assume it is. Go directly to the company in question and ask them if they sent you the email before acting on it.

Thanks to the staff at Bluehost who resolved my issue, secured my account, restored my peace of mind and provided advice with a tool for the future in their privacy protection.

Channel Four News Anchor Goes to Sky But Not Before Taking On Iranian Professor in One Last Stand Off

For me Professor Marandi Tehran University Got The Better of Our Heroine of News Cathy Newman...

Harvey

2026-01-15T14:11:00.0000000 2026-01-15T14:55:33.6300000

Did you catch Cathy Newman’s interview with Tehran University’s Mohammad Marandi? Tuesday 13th Jan, 2026?

He’s a pretty regular commentator on Channel four so it wasn’t a surprise to hear him speaking on Channel Four news after it was reported on Reuters more than 2000 people protesters had been killed by the government of Iran this week, his reasoning/explanation the agitators were terrorists not as the west said young people sick of sanctions, zero opportunities and rising food prices and cost of living.

Before I start I am not pro the Iranian government, I have friends who have shared their concerns and desire for change. I am not anti the monarchy here in the UK but like Margaret Thatcher I believe in people’s fundamental right to freedom and civil liberty.

I decided to write on this one specific and impactful interview, having just read after two decades on channel four news, numerous awards and accolades, particularly for her tireless work to expose the Church of England cover up of John Smyth and bring about the resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, the journalist Cathy Newman is going to Sky News. It may be because Channel Four is eventually being sold or shut down, the rumours have been flying around for a few years the news programme was in financial trouble. Losing their most popular anchor I am sure hasn’t helped the cause for Channel Four News’ survival. Will I follow her to Sky News, a paid subscription. Not sure about that despite being a loyal watcher and fan of hers for years.

Two days ago I watched Cathy Newman completely lose her cool with the former Iranian advisor who told her Ayatollah Khamenei is not going anywhere, something she very rarely does and it wasn’t pretty to watch.

She was looking to make him accountable for the deadly crackdown on protestors in Iran who say the Iranian government no longer has the right to govern all whilst Donald Trump stirs the pot on Truth Social saying “keep protesting, help is on the way” And the market’s reaction, the price of oil continues to sky rocket. It’s interesting to me the Americans have human rights in Venezuela and Iran in their sights, the protection of the mighty US available, both oil reserve rich nations whilst the slaughter in other countries around the world doesn’t get a mention or any kind of news reel highlight what so ever. Another rant for another day.

I know Cathy Newman’s motive comes from a deep place of compassion in the most part. She has shown herself to be fearless and relentless in the pursuit of truth but unfortunately on this occasion she didn’t succeed against the articulate adversary she sat opposite in Professor Mohammad Marandi. He managed to wind her up and sadly in doing so he got the better of her and left the audience looking closely at his perspective. She got personal accusing him of being afraid of her questions, to which his response was simple, I am not afraid, I am sitting here answering them.

It’s a fact Erfan Soltani, 26, was arrested last Thursday 8th Jan, 2026 in the city of Fardis, just west of Tehran. He was scheduled to be executed on 14th January. Days later, authorities informed his family his execution had been postponed amidst global news coverage of the young man’s situation and intervention from human rights watch groups around the world.

But Professor Marandi managed to spin a narrative of violent terrorists on the streets, the authorities are dealing with as would happen in any country and backed it up with no information being released by the Iranian government of the numbers of people confirmed dead and the reports issued by Reuters News agency being erroneous and unfounded. Even Donald Trump was very careful when questioned on the numbers of people killed saying in his usual weird way, I don’t know, It could be one, it could be less than one, but even one is too many. I kid you not. I know I thought wtf when I heard the broadcast.

Professor Marandi, whilst his demeanor was creepy, taunting, laughing, smug everything ugly and disrespectful to Cathy Newman, what he was saying you couldn’t deny was possible, his argument was credible, well presented and reasonable, based on the fact he was there in Tehran watching what was happening, we weren’t and Channel Four News, “a credible journalistic outfit” was looking to him for his content and contribution. The interview lasted 7 minutes. I’ve included the link below, because at the end of the day, what makes one side have the right to say the way things are done in other independent states is wrong. History has shown us that attempts to force regime change anywhere never end well regardless if the public believe governments motives to step in, which rarely is the real position, it usually comes down to money and power. Like I said is it a complete coincidence the two places being fought over right now, three if you included Ukraine have the largest oil and mineral reserves.

Professor Marandi compared the UK monarchal “regime” as being not greatly dissimilar to Iran’s and it reminded me of a film I’d seen of a bystander pointedly asking the King, Charles III what he was going to do about the allegations against his brother Andrew Mountbatten Windsor and subsequently being threatened by security forces. I don’t know if the person brave enough to speak out was arrested but I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if they were, so are we really any different?

I am not sure if this was the outcome Channel Four or Cathy Newman hoped for when they invited Professor Marandi onto the program but the journalists who are tasked with uncovering the lies and getting to the truth have to be more centred than Cathy was this time if they want to come out on top. Getting personal and wanting to win at any cost allows a worthy adversary the advantage.

Samsung QE65 S95C Flagship 2023 QD Oled 4K Ultra HD TV To Buy or Not to Buy At Xmas

My Experience Buying A New TV At Christmas

Harvey

2025-12-07T16:54:00.0000000 2025-12-07T17:52:15.0930000

A couple of years ago I did what a lot of other people do, treated the family to a new TV at Christmas. We had an old Sony which I thought was perfectly fine but it wasn’t a smart TV and after a lot of nagging about cable, Netflix, Apple TV I buckled under pressure and went for the then brand new Oled from Samsung. We paid about £2000 for a 65” 4K smart TV which is a lot for a TV but the picture looked incredible, the reviews were very positive and we did get a £200 cash back deal. It was a bit of a hassle, we did get it eventually but wouldn’t buy into this type of marketing offer again.

I don’t have any complaints regarding the TV quality particularly. It was easy to set up. The Tizen operating system is pretty straight forward and we connected the cable subscriptions we wanted immediately. And you get the Samsung gaming hub built in, so instant access to top gaming services for an additional fee.

We started with Prime, Apple and Netflix and have ended up with just Amazon prime. We did subscribe to ad free You tube too but at about £12 a month decided we didn’t get the value so cancelled that after a few months.

I checked out the price of the equivalent Samsung S95F this year. The latest equivalent Oled model which I could buy today for £1800 new so the cost of TVs is coming down. Not sure I’d buy a high end TV new again and definitely not from a retailer like John Lewis or Curry’s as my TV is currently available new for about £800 and secondhand for less than £600 and that’s just a couple of years old. A bit more work and you maybe don’t feel you have the come back should anything go wrong but most come with a manufacturers warranty.

The one thing that has made my new TV investment disappointing is how many times when we are watching a cable network, a documentary or something on catch up and the TV stops to buffer. Obviously this is our internet connection but we often laugh how we didn’t have this problem with the old Sony. And with a pretty amazing movie library having to connect and disconnect the old DVD player is a bit of a faff too.

It’s hard to justify paying for movies we have in our collection we want to watch, a lot of old black and whites particularly the cable subscriptions charge for and then suffering the extended buffering.

For me the old set up was actually better even though the new Samsung Oled TV is a fantastic picture, quantum HDR plus throws you right into action that actually looks so real it took some getting used to in the beginning.

Do love the TV if the internet didn’t hinder us watching without interruption but I guess that depends on where you live and which service provider you have. Ours is Sky which I cannot recommend but I haven’t got round to changing yet.

Top 8 Laptops for Upgrading to Windows 11: Best Picks for Gaming, Work & Everyday Use

My Top 8 Laptop Picks for Upgrading to Windows 11: From Gaming Powerhouses to Budget-Friendly...

Harvey

2025-09-18T09:00:00.0000000 2025-09-18T10:04:02.2400000

As the end of support for Windows 10 looms on the horizon, slated for October 14, 2025, many users are facing the necessity to upgrade their hardware to be compatible with Windows 11. Microsoft has set specific system requirements for the new operating system, which include a compatible 64-bit processor, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage, among others. This has spurred a demand for newer, more capable laptops that can handle the upgraded system smoothly.

Whenever I have to replace high value items like my laptop, I look to the US to do my research. I don't go to PC World, Currys and let the sales person persuade me. I've been a Dell guy for quite a few years, you pay a bit more but I've found them to be extremely reliable bits of kit and my dell Latitude E5520 Series cost a lot when I bought it but with a couple of memory upgrades and a replacement battery pack and charger which were pretty inexpensive it's worked really well for 7 or 8 years.

Now I have to upgrade because this machine won't support the necessary upgrade to Windows 11. I do quite a bit of reading starting with the editors at PC Magazine and PC World. These people review kit everyday and are considered the very best influencers by hardware manufacturers and software publishers a like so the people at the top of these businesses work very hard to impress them. Like a top food writer can make or break a new restaurant the Editors Choice award at a top US publication like PC Magazine is the stuff dreams are made of from a PR stand point for tech businesses and over the years they have never steered me wrong. The experts in the USA are way more advanced and in the know than other countries so it always the best place to start for the best know how.

Shopping in the US for tech is going to be cheaper for sure, it's a way more competitive market if you are visiting on business or holiday however the savings you make on exchange rate and bundling deals may be eroded by import duty and shipping charges plus insurance so if you are importing your tech you need to really do your homework to make sure the sums add up. I have kept the prices in dollars for this exercise so you'll have to covert to your local currency depending where you are in the world.

In this article, I have curated a list of the 8 best laptops I think you should consider if you're planning to make the switch to Windows 11, catering to various needs and budgets, from high-end gaming powerhouses to economical choices for everyday use.

1. MSI Raider 18HX AI

- Processor: Intel Core i9

- RAM: 64GB

- Storage: 2TB SSD

- Price: $3,499

- Highlights: A top-tier gaming laptop with exceptional processing power and graphics, perfect for both gaming and professional graphics work.

2. Dell Precision 5690

- Processor: Intel Xeon

- RAM: 32GB

- Storage: 1TB SSD

- Price: $2,659

- Highlights: Designed as a workstation, it offers robust performance for professional applications like CAD and data science.

3. Asus ProArt PX13

- Processor: Intel Core i7

- RAM: 32GB

- Storage: 1TB SSD

- Price: $1,999

- Highlights: Tailored for creators with a focus on colour accuracy and rendering efficiency, ideal for video editing and graphic design.

4. Dell Pro 14 Plus PB14250

- Processor: Intel Core Ultra 5

- RAM: 16GB

- Storage: Options from 512GB to 1TB SSD

- Price: $1,450

- Highlights: A solid all-rounder with ample performance for business and personal use, with a sleek design and reliable build.

5. Lenovo ThinkPad X1 13 Aura Edition

- Processor: Intel Core i7

- RAM: 16GB

- Storage: 1TB SSD

- Price: $1,399

- Highlights: Known for its durability and security features, it’s perfect for business professionals who need a reliable work tool.

6. Acer Nitro V 15 (ANV15-51-59MT)

- Processor:Intel Core i5

- RAM: 16GB

- Storage: 512GB SSD

- Price: $1,050

- Highlights: A budget-friendly gaming laptop that delivers solid performance and a great display, suitable for casual gamers.

7. Acer Chromebook Spin 714

- Processor: Intel Core i5

- RAM: 8GB

- Storage:256GB SSD

- Price: $629

- Highlights: Versatile and portable with a 360-degree hinge, offering a smooth experience for everyday tasks and entertainment.

8. Acer Aspire 3 (A315-24P)

- Processor: AMD Ryzen 3

- RAM: 8GB

- Storage: 256GB SSD

- Price: $429

- Highlights: An affordable option for students and home users, providing adequate performance for everyday computing needs.

These laptops provide a range of options depending on whether your priority lies in gaming, professional work, or general use. When choosing a new laptop, especially with the forthcoming transition to Windows 11, it's crucial to consider not only the system specifications but also the intended use-case to ensure compatibility and performance. Whether you're editing high-resolution videos, managing complex databases, or just streaming movies, there's a laptop on this list that can meet your needs as we step into the new era of Windows 11.

I am going for number 4 on the list. In the mid price range. Yep it's another Dell, The pro 14 Plus PB14250 with a 14" screen. I've upped the RAM to 32 as I like the extra speed but 512GB of storage is fine for me as I use one drive and icloud for additional storage. It is not as sleek and lightweight as some of the others on the list but I don't mind that. If you want a highly portable option this might not be the best choice for you.

I have included the Windows "check for compatability" link at the end of the snoop so if you are Windows you'll be able to see if your current machine can take the Windows 11 upgrade simply and easily of if like me you have to upgrade your PC or Laptop as well.

Surfshark VPN Review - why I cancelled subscription after one year paying only £44.99

Budget friendly, easy to use and super secure VPN

Harvey

2025-09-12T08:08:00.0000000 2025-09-12T08:59:21.2730000

There are so many threats out there on the web subscribing to a VPN, a virtual protection network is becoming more and more popular and when I decided to spend almost £50, £44.99 to be precise with Surfshark I did love the idea of blocking crawlers and pop up ads, basically disguising who I was and where I was browsing from, making myself effectively invisible to threats and people trying to get you or your data online.

Surfshark VPN effectively employs the best encrytion and connection protocols to hide your internet activity from online predators masking your IP address and location which is great, exactly the kind of protection I was looking for.

Surfshark is based in the Netherlands which is extremely privacy friendly but are subject to international data sharing agreements which is always a factor to consider depending where in the world you are located. I did quite a did of research before electing them as my VPN provider. And Surfshark undergos regular audits from high prfile well respected accountancy firms like Deloittes to verify it's "no logs" claims to users which does provide transparency and has built trust with users.

For anyone unfamilar with what a VPN is or does it's simply a way to keep your internet connection safe and private by scambling your online traffic and keeping your IP address, where you are browsing from hidden.

I wanted to keep my device secure and block all the harmful stuff, creepy software that tracks you and follows your around and block annoying pop ups which is does really well.

The reasons I selected Surfshark it is exceptionally user friendly, easy to install and use. No problems for a complete VPN novice and although sometimes speed has been an issue, both connection and when browsing, Surfshark is very easy to pause for a period of time if the speed gets too painfully slow.

In the beginning I found the benefits outweighed the speed issues. It was great to be able to browse the web from different parts of the world, extremely useful for anyone selling online or wanting to check performance of specific web pages from different parts of the world.

The biggest downside is more and more websites just won't open when they encounter VPN users, they are worried themselves about threats from disguised visitors and almost a year in, I have actually cancelled my subscription because I have found speed and connection time so bad I spend more time with Surfshark paused switched off completely than on.

I wouldn't say don't have a go with Surfshark yourself if you are looking for a VPN provider. Like I said when I started using it I loved it, easy to use and speeds no issue.

Chatgtp from Open AI Sam Altman and Elon Musk

Open Ai the company that owns ChatGPT is a non profit.

Harvey

2025-08-14T06:40:00.0000000 2025-08-14T07:00:55.2930000

Open AI was launched in 2015 as a not for profit entity by entrepreneurs Sam Altman and Elon Musk.

While OpenAI started as a non-profit, it restructured to a for-profit entity with a "capped-profit" structure in order to attract investment and is estimated to be worth a staggering 300 billion dollars according to a recent news segment on the BBC.

ChatGPT, the website where you can literally give it one line and it will produce a manuscript or book pretty much is owned and developed by OpenAI, a leading artificial intelligence research and deployment company.

OpenAI operates ChatGPT as a freemium service, meaning it is available for free with premium features offered for a fee, although not sure what those premium features are and who if anyone is actually paying for them.

I am fascinated by Chatgtp and have gotten a little addicted to using it, I used to go there at least once a day and have used it to develop pitches for business meetings very quickly and easily and I can see students getting homework and papers done super fast on the go except if Chatgtp does your homework for you it kind of misses the point of “doing your homework” actually learning something.

It has to be said sometimes Chatgtp has come up with things I’ve put in a presentation and then when asked to expand on the point or explain what I mean I have not been able to do so which has proved embarrassing. I could hardly own up and say AI had written my presentation.

Now if Chatgtp comes up with something I don’t entirely understand I do have to go back outside of the platform to figure out what exactly it is talking about so I don’t make a fool of myself.

When you think Chatgtp cannot think, it cannot come up with an original idea all it can do is regurgitate information already out there you have to assume everything out there is correct which of course we know is not true so it’s obvious Chat gpt cannot be trusted to always get it right. The big proviso on the footer of the platform.

ChatGPT can make mistakes. Check important info. And when you ask Chatgtp if it can get things wrong, it replies yes and then goes on to explain why.

Which makes me ask myself how can a tool like this actually help us all in the long run because if Chatgtp gets it wrong like a media outlet creating erroneous spin to sell newspapers or TV subscriptions we all end up relying on one source, giving it too much credence and trust like the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

I guess that is where the speculative value comes from as more and more people discover Chatgtp and start to use it. I’d question this as more stock market hype, Silicon Valley Fugasi, a tool that simply saves time and allows everyone to “cheat” for me cannot logically hold value in the long term. As the user base grows all our business pitches or masters theses will eventually all look and read the same. And where is the value in that?

I’ve heard mixed reviews from business colleagues. Some people absolutely love it for its time saving capability and copy writing ability others like me are completely sceptical believing looking at it through a common sense lens it can only burn itself out eventually.

I had a situation recently when I asked ChatGPT something and it gave me an answer omitting factual information I already knew to be true. It made a mistake. When I asked it about the omission it apologised and corrected its answer.

So in summary whilst I appreciate it’s time saving and writing, summarising and describing capabilities if you are producing say for example an advertorial or sales pitch I am very wary about sending Chatgtp on a fact finding mission or giving it a complex mathematical calculation to do or problem to solve. It cannot think.

Doing accurate and intense research or working things out, solving problems I trust my own brain way more than Chatgtp to find me the right answer and determine the truth from detailed exploration and cross referencing of self sourced data. The downside, it takes much longer.

I am sure there of millions of geeks out there who disagree and could enlighten me further as to the value and justify the valuation. I am definitely open to listen to a counter argument.

Want to know what’s in your Photobucket account before you pay them to reactivate?

Here’s what I found out

Harvey

2025-06-19T06:30:00.0000000 2025-06-19T07:10:22.8700000

For me this is the point of being on Poopsnoop to help the community with information and discovery. If I’d known this yesterday about Photobucket it would have saved me a lot of time.

So here’s what happened.

For a while now I’ve been receiving emails saying my Photobucket account was being deleted if I didn’t act and the images and videos held there would potentially be lost. I didn’t do anything for ages mainly because I couldn’t really remember setting up the account or actually using it to share store photos. So my common sense told me they didn’t have anything I actually wanted.

That said when I got an email saying my account from 2010 was about to be lost forever I was curious what might be in there from 15 years ago and decided to click through and see what was going on.

I hit a payment screen. Pay us £5 and you get to reactivate the account I didn’t remember ever using or needing and then a set amount every month, cancel anytime.

It made me wonder how clever it was and how many people pay the five quid to find out there’s nothing they actually want or need in there in the first place.

All I wanted to do was check out what they had before deciding if I wanted it back, my images, in the most part. As I couldn’t remember ever using Photobucket, I’ve used Dropbox to share large image files more I wasn’t signing up so I started checking out online what other people had done in the same situation.

And Tadah I found a work around.

Thanks to another person who had the same experience and shared how you get to see your images without paying before you decide if you want to reactivate your account or not.

You take the plunge and delete or deactivate your account. The information I found said if you go through the 5 or 6 prompts to deactivate delete your account you’ll be offered a 7 days free trial of Photobucket where you can view all your images and videos stored there.

This didn’t happen for me but what did happen I got an email link to download a zip file of everything I had stored in Photobucket.

As it turned out I hadn’t really used the application and what was in there I was right I wasn’t really bothered about saving. Most of the images I either already had copies of or didn’t need or want.

The pay £5 screen you cannot bypass unless you opt to delete is the problem when they have you by the short and curly not knowing what they’ve got and scared you might lose images you might want from in my case 15 years ago.

When I thought about all those £5 added together, Photobucket has over 100 million registered members, I thought it was an absolute genius way to make a boat load of money getting people to pay for something they don’t actually, want need or have ever really used in the past.

If photo bucket are sending you emails saying your account is being deleted and suggesting you reactivate to save content you didn’t know they had, go ahead and hit delete. Before the account is deleted they’ll send you a zip file of everything in there.

If you are like me you’ll discover it’s a few photos you’ve already got saved elsewhere or stuff you don’t need and are glad to get rid of.

Kudos to Photobucket what a clever way to get everyone afraid we are about to lose something we want and admittedly paying £5 is a nominal amount, for me five quid is still five quid and it’s all those fine quids together around the world I find distasteful, then they’ve got your credit card and the onus is on you to cancel the account which they Photobucket are banking on you forgetting. Which if you are like me you probably will. I signed up for Apple TV to watch one series and I’ve been paying £8.99 a month for the last four months and haven’t watched anything.

Which reminds me I need to cancel my Apple TV subscription. See how it works.

Vegware cup unlikely friend at Butlins Weekender Event

Sustainable fast food packaging priority

Harvey

2025-04-29T12:01:00.0000000 2025-04-29T16:54:28.3070000

I remember reading a few years ago that the 25 most successful billionaires were in the manufacturing sector and IIRC a good number made packaging, with brands like Tetra Pak generating a staggering 12.4 billion in sales in 2023. In the US the packaging market is expected to reach 244 billion dollars by 2029. We consume a lot of packaging globally it has to be said and it is something I think about especially when buying food to go. It makes sense really as it’s the one thing we all consume regardless of social status or financial class and with the rise in convenience food and convenience shopping the packaging business is expanding at an exponential rate as we buy more and in turn throw more away.

I try to avoid fast food for this reason. I definitely feel guilty after eating it at how much waste, the bag, the cups, the cutlery, the napkins, the box, so much waste we do a drive through when desperate less than once a month, or when camping or at festivals when the fast food consumption intake will definitely increase. Also road trips in the summer months mean more motorway stops although I have gone back to packing a picnic instead if there’s a few of us, Coronation chicken, potato salad, carrot and celery sticks, guacamole, that kind of thing: easier healthier and much tastier than KFC and recycled ice cream tubs can easily be washed and used again.

Why when I purchased a drink to go recently from the lounges chain of restaurants Bonito in Bognor Regis, I was delighted to see recyclable compostable packaging. I was at a weekender event at Butlins and after a couple of days of a little bit too much partying we were on the search for something a bit healthier, breakfast brunch on the go, after 2 days of junk food. I was surprised, pleased, as I sipped on a freshly squeezed juice, to see this Vegware branding staring back at me in what was a lovely colourful printed and branded cup.

Inspired I went to check out Vegware plant based packaging online and what they doing to help companies who buy loads of packaging like restaurants is absolutely incredible offering progressive help with branding and marketing as an add on to encourage companies to swap to a more planet friendly option.

At Butlins i couldn’t see packaging or anything really with a waste less, throw away less message. The trash piled up after the Weekender event wasn’t good, even for our one chalet. There was the same amount of rubbish as we usually have in a whole week.

So it was good to find out about Vegware and I’ll be looking out for other businesses making the shift to more sustainable options and supporting them instead like The Lounges who have 25 locations scattered across the UK and a postcode search function in their website to discover a location near you.

Companies House Verify Your Business Identity in the UK

It’s the law

Harvey

2025-04-09T07:34:00.0000000 2025-04-09T11:08:17.9030000

To quote the hilarious US comedian Bill Maher

“ Trump says the U.S. economy is just going through a “period of transition.” Yes, America’s “transitioning.” Our new pronouns are what/the/fuck”

_

If Brexit and war, tariffs and trade, stock market crashes and billion dollar wipe outs wasn’t enough to finish off your business just wait, in the UK, there’s more.

_

Did you know according to a press release out last week 8th April, 2025 that the British government has changed to law to ensure all business owners in the Uk verify their identity.

From the 8th of April anyone with a UK company registered at companies house will be able to voluntarily have their identify verified. Not sure how the Press release didn’t say that.

More than 6 million individuals will be forced to comply in a 12 month period after the identity verification goes into UK law later in the year. It is suggested by the Autumn 2025.

The government states this phased, softly softly approach reduces the burden on companies. I am not so sure about that.

The arguments in favour of this Big Brother approach many companies are sick of, preferring less red tape and government induced work load are of course cracking down on criminals, money laundering, tax invasion and general bad behaviour.

The new powers granted to companies house sit in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023.

The idea is to provide more assurance as to exactly who is setting up and running UK companies, something we clearly don’t have a handle on at present.

Shevaun Haviland, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce said:

The introduction of these new security measures will be welcomed by the thousands of genuine businesses who want to know that fraudsters and criminals cannot masquerade as legitimate concerns.

Protecting the names of good firms and making it harder for those with dishonest motives to set up a business can only be a good thing.

Errrrr well that’s one point of view.

Glenn Collins, Head of Technical and Strategic Engagement at the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) said:

We recognise that businesses, including agents will take some time to get used to the changes and extra requirement. We expect our members to be busy advising and helping companies of all sizes adapt to these new regulations.

Well at least there’s more work for the accountants.

As a business owner myself whilst I may appreciate cracking down on things like the nail shops and barber shops and the very obvious network of money laundering cash based businesses that have been allowed to grow and spread and it is important to clean up our business community I think the motive for this change in the law is a little more sinister.

Why would any government in the midst of tariffs and trade wars national insurance rises the threat of inflation and when business growth is the only thing that is going to save us put this burden on business right now when they are crumbling and struggling to stay afloat.

I think simply put we’ve got absolutely no money in the coffers and they have to get it from some where.

And you heard it here first, don’t be surprised if there’s a charge like your passport for this verification service at companies house, yeah of course there will be.

I suggest if you can stomach it do the voluntary thing, at least you won’t have to pay as well.

Every time we do this, vote Labour and the same thing happens, Rishi Sunak did warn us we’d have to pay one way or another.

Apple The Brand

The Android VS IOS Debate Goes On

Harvey

2025-03-21T10:42:00.0000000 2025-03-22T16:58:07.0570000

I am sure I am like many people. I have always been a PC person primarily because I wasn't artistic, graphic artists and designers had mac books not software geeks regardless of the fact I could never afford a MacBook even if I'd wanted one and over the years when I possibly could have invested in an apple computer I decided the learning curve would be too steep.

The phone on the other hand I have always had an I phone. I resisted the urge to try an android phone. I went from a Blackberry, the canadian tech company providing software and services now, the phones handsets all but obsolete, the blackberry leap was the last in 2015 to the iphone.

My first Iphone 4 someone gave me. And it was pretty nifty. I found it small and the interface was easy to use. I invested in an Iphone 6S. I bought it new from the Apple store. I remember thinking it was a massive investment. At the time about £700. My thinking was I'd look after it and keep it forever but that wasn't possible.

The beautiful Iphone 6S I purchased top of the line 256KB storage didn't turn out to be such a smart move after all. I did save money over the long term because I looked after the Apple handset (although I did have two very expensive screen replacements, about £150 each)

I still have this handset, unfortunately I was forced to upgrade because a few of the apps I use, like HSBC banking app ceased to be supported so the handset even though I invested did become obsolete, basically useless.

The next time I didn't purchase in store. I bought a refurbished iphone 12 max pro actually for less than the Iphone 6S and now have a £15 sim only contact on that phone.

I like the phone, easy to use, and I don't want to android learning curve so apple have got me even though everyone says the camera on the iphone doesn't compare to android.

I have 2nd generation airpods, originals not fakes with noise cancelling and I have been very impressed with these. I don't know what the new ones offer Airpods 4 £130 or with active noise cancelling £180 my advice would be to find someone you can trust on Ebay, an active seller with great feedback like bay-trading-1 who I have bought from a lot, very helpful and no fakes.

I am fascinated by the technology and in some ways I am definitely a brand ambassador although I hate the new photos app upgrade. Like for many others it has made managing and finding images virtually impossible for me when the techno blurb says it's supposed to be easier and way more intuitive, yep I missed the memo here. Also what the hell is a Heic image extension.

It's things like this where proprietary apple stuff doesn't work with anything else and you end up having to segue away from what you are doing to figure out how to get your images back in jpeg that everyone can read see and understand.

Apple quality I think is there well it should be the prices they charge and I do love love love a visit to any Apple store around the world. I am always inspired by the efficient service from the good looking geeks you find in there, in the most part smiling and eager to help.

What is Apple company ethos? Are Apple ethical? With most components made in China and a Hollywood movie made about the company's creator Steve Jobs, I doubt it. The sales model constantly reselling and remarketing a newer later greater version that my 11 year old neighbour, after doing all his geek research assures me is virtually the same as the phone two versions ago, doesn't give me the warm and fuzzies either.

And still I migrate loyally to apple for my technology needs.

I guess it's the reason Bill Gates, Microsoft boss said he gave PC computers to children around the world. Once we learn how to do things we humans are reluctant to change.

RAC

When everything goes wrong

Harvey

2025-01-17T10:35:00.0000000 2025-01-17T11:36:38.0800000

Not a rant, not a rave. Just a stupid situation.

I have to share what happened to me yesterday with the RAC because I think a great deal can be learned from the experience.

I have been an RAC member for about 8 or 9 years, prior to that I was an AA member because my Dad was an AA member.

I drive a 25 year old car by choice so it’s important to me I am covered in an emergency.

So I am not up north, I am in an expensive area down south and my battery is as flat as a pancake. I have jump leads in the car and think about whether it’s quicker to try and get someone to help me jump the car or call the RAC, who can be notoriously slow from past experience.

First off, had I been at home there would have been no shortage of jalopy’s like mine to take a jump off. In the posh London suburb, even with the help of the Metropolitan police (I know another snoop entirely) the police officer was absolutely brilliant (we were laughing on the way home about this and thought maybe my car with the bonnet up was such an eye saw for the wealthy folk the police were motivated to have it removed) we could not find another car that wasn’t a hybrid.

I decide to log the breakdown online to discover there is no record of my membership.

I call up to find out, the payment had tried to be taken two weeks prior for the membership but because the credit card on file had been stolen and cancelled before Christmas the payment was never taken and the membership had lapsed.

When I called RAC for help I discovered all this and this is where the fun began.

The breakdown person on the phone told me to speak to renewals because the membership had only been inactive for two weeks. He suggested I renew the membership and thought any surcharges due could be negated.

I disagreed with him, I said there was no way RAC would allow me to renew and then give help with a breakdown already reported.

He said they may so I agreed to be passed over to the renewal team.

He was right. The renewal team did offer to process my renewal, after being a member for 8 years and still allow me to get breakdown help. I was surprised but hey if RAC would do that for me great.

Renew, get help, membership back in place and everyone’s happy.

NOT

When they tried to add a new payment method to the account (the old card they had, had been stolen) they couldn’t get it to work, I kept punching in my credit card number but the system wouldn’t work. The customer service person started asking me all kinds of questions regarding whether the vehicle was a business vehicle or a pleasure vehicle.

I have an unusual situation where my old banger (insured by RAC for 8 years) is owned by a limited company I am a director of so technically it is a business vehicle (owned by a company) but not used for business.

Try as I might I couldn’t get through all the customer services hoops to get my policy reinstated even though everything I was saying was the truth. I made the mistake of saying the car was owned by a limited company and after that I felt the agent was convinced I was up to no good.

We even got into serious detail about what I was doing when I broke down, the customer service person I am sure thought I was lying when I told him I had just got my hair cut and had lunch with a friend.

Despite my protests that I had been an RAC member for 8 years and this was just a renewal it just wasn’t meant to be.

After 45 minutes on the phone with the RAC I gave up completely. My truth didn’t fit in the RAC Questionaire even though I was already a customer. Go figure. I put the phone down and phoned a local garage to come and rescue us, I’ll be snooping about them, they were there in in less than 10 minutes, were absolutely fantastic, got me going and I was back on the M1 heading north in a jiffy.

I have decided for the first time in my driving history to forego breakdown cover and should anything happen I’ll enlist the help of someone small and independent.

It was way easier, less stressful and much quicker.

Rubiks Cube

Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas

Harvey

2024-12-28T11:09:00.0000000 2025-01-01T09:47:05.5570000

I love a puzzle or a game. I am a Mensa geek and I don’t tell you this to bragg more as an explanation why I like the things I like.

I got my first Rubik cube as a kid about 8 or 9, I am now in my 30’s and although this isn’t my original one, I had three of four over the years, you can see I haven’t solved it yet.

The Rubik’s cube had given me over 20 years entertainment. I love a puzzle, a jigsaw, “brain teasers and mind benders” was the title of one of my favourite books growing up and yet I have never solved it. It’s become a bit of a standing joke on holiday or over the holidays when I pick it up, “not managed it yet?” Or “you still working on it?”

One of my relatives told me they saw a little kid it and said it’d a 7 stage solution.

I could cheat and read how to do it, somehow after all this time I feel that would be cheating myself.

The puzzle costs around £6 plus shipping and you can find them secondhand at every carboot, yard sale, jumble sale for pennies.

I’f say over the years I’ve had more hours of pleasure and more train journeys and flights passed per pound spent than anything else ever.

Koala TV Birmingham

What do you do when you need to film a TV commercial

Harvey

2024-12-02T11:00:00.0000000 2024-12-02T11:39:01.7430000

You find yourself in the unenviable position of creating, hiring someone to create direct a TV advert but you’ve never done it before and don’t know anyone who has. Enter stage left Koala TV based in Birmingham.

I had no idea what this whole things costs from beginning to end. Just making the 30 seconds cost us about 30 grand, the going rate and that’s before you even think about placing it on TV. I shopped around and met with a few different companies and individuals before electing to go with Koala.

Phil Brice the Aussie in charge held our hand through the whole process and it was smooth. The young creative eyes came from director James Rees and everything went very smoothly from the planning of the advert, the message, the script, the location sourcing, the casting, the putting together of the crew, finding the right director and all in budget, not easy.

When you are embarking on a journey that’s costing your business a lot you need to feel safe and confident and the whole team at Koala were extremely thorough and professional, dotting the Is and crossing the ts all with happiness and positivity.

Every time we went to the cool offices in Birmingham, (they also have a location in Manchester) we always felt valued and our ideas and input was always listened to and taken onboard.

When we went to watch the screening of our advert it was very exciting, sitting in the dark film room alone on comfy velvet couches with hot coffee and danish pastries.

We loved the end product. It was a complete creative collaboration that ran very smoothly from beginning to end.

We did have a few issues at the end placing the ad with the big channels like ITV and Channel 4, we found out it’s extremely cutthroat and you have to be very careful as a small player you don’t lose your shirt, getting pushed out of excellent spots by big players.

When we got our friends together to watch the ad come on in it’s very first slot on ITV already scheduled, we got a big disappointment as Asda advert came on in place of us.

We found out later, this is normal when competing for hot slots. Buyer Beware when buying advertising. You have to get aggressive and keep on top of the TV people. It’s a very expensive business where the big players have all the power and money talks.

Lucy Ray

Freelance professional photographer

Harvey

2024-10-23T11:31:00.0000000 2024-10-23T13:07:37.3300000

I am really lucky I get to work with creative people every day and photographer Lucy Ray is one such talent.

Whether you are a picture editor for a big newspaper or a brand looking for some dynamic images that tell the story of your brand in a fresh way, I can recommend Lucy Ray.

She has worked for all the big name UK broadsheets, the Times, the Guardian and the tabloids, the Sun, the Mirror and the Mail.

And is a super location photographer too. Her work in Yorkshire, splendid. Take a look.

Her friendly unassuming disposition allows Lucy to always get the best from her subjects. She gets the shot and usually in record time.

Neewer Ring Light

Not sure what supposed to happen

Harvey

2024-10-22T16:42:00.0000000 2024-10-22T16:56:58.7230000

Neewer Ring Light

I went for the NEEWER RL-18 18 Inch LED Ring Light Kit and it cost about £130. I bought direct from the company so I know it’s not a dupe.

This is the first ring light I have tried so I don’t have anything to really compare it to and I am not 100% sure I was using it correctly but it didn’t really improve my videos filmed through it full length in portrait.

Nor did I see any significant improvement when shooting product stills from behind it.

It may just be good for vloggers to light their face with their phone attached to the light but this wasn’t my purpose for purchasing.

The light was easy to set up. It has two sets of covers for the light, white and orange - I tried both couldn’t see a difference in the filming myself.

It has a dimmer switch to brighten and has a bendy arm to easily move into position.

There are loads on the market, why I chose a branded one, I didn’t want it the break immediately but I don’t use it much now.

It’s consigned to the corner so if anyone can offer advice what (if anything) I am doing wrong with my set up that would be great too.

I cannot believe a product like this could be so ineffective. I sort of think it must be me.

Nationwide

4 Banks Later

Harvey

2024-10-15T11:22:00.0000000 2024-10-17T14:28:45.8270000

When you don’t have loads of money banks don’t really want you I have found. They really only make money off people who shop a lot on credit cards, which is not me or people with massive salaries or savings not me either and yet we all must have a bank to operate.

Like other people who have come to the UK from overseas I struggled to get a bank account. My first experience was with Santander who after a few £25 charges when I was on the breadline (really struggling to make ends meet pretty much) actually closed my account without telling me and left me without a bank account.

Then I went to HSBC, they wouldn’t approve me for a “normal” bank account, so I got one with limited features, no credit history building, no overdraft, no credit card, I think it’s called a basic bank account.

For 8 years I kept my account in credit, I kept asking them to upgrade me to a regular account but they kept saying no.

_

Well not no exactly, it was like AI, put all the details into the questionnaire and then the customer service person delivers the bad news without any connection to it. There’s nothing they can do.

Eventually I went to the Nationwide and asked them what they could offer if I put my salary into a current account with them. They were nice to me even though I was apprehensive in the meeting and before I knew it, after 10 years I was back with a bank account and credit card with a super attractive rate.

I enjoyed the low rate on the credit card but after two years when it was time to go back up, the bank didn’t extend another offer. Which of course is fair enough really.

The new account with Nationwide had not only helped me enjoy cheaper credit but also I had finally started building credit so low and behold after begging HSBC for a proper account for years all of a sudden they were courting me with offers of account upgrades and credit cards.

When the Nationwide credit card offer expired I was able to transfer the balance, keep my rate at 0% and close my Nationwide card temporarily.

Nationwide did tell me when I did this I would not be eligible to reapply, reopen my credit card or be eligible for any offers for 12 months. However today one year later I have my Nationwide credit card back again with 0% on balance transfers for 18 months.

They also popped £100 surprise profit share in my account this summer. And every time I refer a friend they give me a little thank you too.

And the ads starring Dominic West blooming brilliant, I love it this bank is actually exposing the banks.

As more and more businesses become cashless and the need for a bank account becomes essential it makes me realise why as customers we have to put up with such poor customer service.

I learned sometimes even when you are treated really badly there’s absolutely nothing you can do. You don’t have enough money.

I have now built a business and deal with several banks, Chase, Lloyds, HSBC, MBNA, and Nat West regularly.

But the bank close to my heart, the bank that lifted me when I was down, didn’t judge me and made me feel valued as a customer even when I had very little is THE NATIONWIDE.

I also just discovered Nationwide sponsored the Centerpoint Awards 2024, host by Prince William at the British Museum, 16th Oct, 2024 to raise money and awareness of the number of young homeless people there are in the UK, a staggering 82,000 in London alone, according to Shelter charity.

I agree.

It is a good way to bank.

Alex The Locksmith

Brilliant service got me out of a jam

Harvey

2024-09-30T10:16:00.0000000 2024-09-30T10:29:30.8670000

I am going to enjoy telling you all about Alex.

Imagine this, it’s Christmas Eve, you lose the only key you have to your extremely reliable but extremely old, 21 years jalopy Toyota truck. Everything to get done and no car.

Of course you cannot imagine anyone getting you out of this mess but hey you look for a locksmith prepared to try and help.

Alex turned up at my home within a couple of hours. It was about 1pm, he said he thought it would take about 1-2 hours to get me make me a replacement key.

It sound neigh on impossible but he set to work with equipment you’d expect to see on a James Bond movie set, black attaché cases with lights, cables, connectors, it looked to me like he was cracking a safe.

Two hours went by and he wasn’t saying much, I asked if he had a problem, he said it was proving more difficult than usual.

But he continued, he made phone calls, he was bilingual so most of the technical conversation was in a language I didn’t recognise.

When he came off the phone he explained due to the age of my vehicle he was encountering problems but thought he now had the solution.

It took him until almost 8pm but he didn’t give up and when he handed me the working replacement key, I don’t think either of us could quite believe it. I certainly felt that with sheer will and determination he had achieved the impossible and all on Christmas Eve.

If you ever find yourself stranded in need of a very clever locksmith Alex is your man.

Pela Phone Case

plastic free compostable and bio degradable phone case

Harvey

2024-09-24T15:26:00.0000000 2024-09-24T15:37:10.2870000

I have a dilemma. And I hope someone in the community can offer some wisdom.

In July 2022 I decided I would support Pela and spend over the odds for me about £40 on a plastic free I phone case.

I loved everything about the company ethos and decided to go for it.

My previous case Incipio was amazing made of silicone I think but when I ordered it from Orange County, California it ended up costing me a fortune in import duty (an additional £35) into the UK I decided not to have another one when I got a new phone. 5 years later it is still sitting on my old I phone 5 phone.

Back to Pela, loved my cover, liked the nature scene on the back and for two years with several drops that in the past would have meant a new screen and my phone stayed protected. All good.

Unfortunately after two years use, which many I know would say, what’s wrong with you, time for a new one, it’s begun to biodegrade, effectively falling to bits.

The dilemma, do you buy a product made of less planet friendly components that will stand the test of time or do you go for the eco solution like I did and know you are buying into effectively built in obsolescence, the thing tech companies have been accused of for years, building things to break.

Nulaxy km29 bluetooth fm transmitter

Super easy to install

Harvey

2024-07-08T16:03:00.0000000 2024-07-08T16:18:31.9930000

For anyone out there wondering how you get your phone to play through your old car stereo this is the bit of kit you need.

All you need to do is search FM Blue Tooth Transmitter and you will be lost in a sea of options some priced as low as a couple of quid. I fell foul when purchasing unbranded versions of this Nulaxy fm Bluetooth transmitter. Most don’t come with instructions and break within the first few weeks of use, or dodgy sound quality.

The Nulaxy came with instructions but I didn’t need them. It’s just plug and play. I paid a bit more but you can find them secondhand also to save a bit of money. Mine cost me about £15 with shipping a jump I know from £2.99 but worth it in the end for crystal clear sound and a full 18 month warranty FREE. Thanks Nulaxy.

Carluccios

Harvey

2016-12-28T12:06:00.0000000 2025-01-17T11:31:26.0830000

My partner and I have been a fan of Carluccios for some time, we go we enjoy, we leave and they never hear from us until next time. They are reliably consistent, great fresh food, lots of vegetarian options and where ever you are, you never seen far from one on the high street or in a shopping mall.

Most brands are very good to you until something goes wrong and for me, how they respond when things get a bit messy is the true test for any company or brand.

We eat at Carluccios about once a month, we like the Vendure plate and the homemade Caponata and recently we had an experience where the food was excellent as usual but the service wasn't up to scratch even for laid back people like us.

We didn't make a fuss at the time, just paid the bill and left but it niggled me and when I got home I sent a calm and polite feedback email explaining what had happened.

The response I received was quick and made me feel amazing, like the company really cared we had not been looked after and couldn't do enough to make things right, no excuses or justification. The person writing the email sounded genuinely distressed like it was their own company that had let us down, the personal touch was incredible.

It is a lesson to every business how to turn an unhappy customer into one more loyal than they were before.

I genuinely got the feeling this company cared more about the fact I had cause to write to them than anything else and certainly money didn't come into it which makes me want to support the brand even more and help them grow.

I hope they treat their staff as well as they do their customers but that is clearly a given as the staff I dealt with in a crisis were used to making things right.

I am honestly so impressed with Carluccios especially in this current economy where it feels like I have to be really careful who I buy from just in case something goes wrong.