Editor’s Endwords

Does Your Home Have a Story to Tell?

The BBC is planning a new series of the programmes in which the life story of a house is revealed by the experiences of its present and past occupants and owners. Has your house had an interesting history? Perhaps it has been occupied by the same family for generations who have moulded it to their changing needs and then remoulded it again and again. Perhaps there were interesting neighbours to tell about.

Now there is an offer worth taking up. Make your house famous for five minutes! If you know of a home with a tale to tell, phone the BBC in Bristol on 0117 974 7656 or write to Home Stories, P0 BOX 229, Bristol B599 7JN.

Translator Required

I can cope with French or Spanish (not personally, I have friends who are fluent) but I am defeated by a monthly consumer magazine from Portugal "Pro Teste", which looks like a Portuguese ‘Which?’.

In the January issue there is an article about petrol which includes the paragraph heading ‘adeus gasolina com chumbo’, which even I can translate as 'goodbye to leaded petrol’. But that is about my limit. Can anyone help by reading this magazine and highlighting for NfCG News any particularly interesting items? Please let me know.

Internet Use

I am still a novice but I have used the Internet to find useful consumer information. I found out, for instance that the People’s Panel had published its first report and was able to print it out to read ‘off line’ (i.e. having disconnected the phone line to the service provider). Government Departments and allied bodies are using the Internet more and more to publish reports and other information. If you want to know more about it, phone 0800 027 0127 for a free guide from DEMON (an Internet service provider).

A reader (thank you Jim) sent me, via e-mail, a copy of an e-mail he had received from an American group ‘Consumers First’, set up to promote the interoperability of digital communication systems. Twenty-five consumer interest groups in the US have signed on in support. The aim of the group is to keep wireless communications options open for consumers worldwide and to discourage the adoption of incompatible standards in some countries. A member of Consumers First is coming to the UK soon. Perhaps there will be more to report about this movement.

Please note that I have a personal, if rather uninspiring, e-mail address: john.brown6@virgin.net, but can officially be reached via editor@ncf.info

Contributions

Thank you, once again, for the articles. I was unable to use all that you sent, but do not let that discourage you from continuing. We could produce a bigger magazine, but the jump to an extra four pages, with consequential cost implications, is not one to be taken lightly. However, we are thinking about it.

Please send contributions, with photographs or other illustrations if possible, to me at No. 6 Priory Gardens, Dartford, Kent. DAl 2BE. Phone! Fax 01322 280673 or e-mail. Do put your valuable words on a floppy disk if you can; it saves me a lot of two-finger typing.

New Ways to Shop and Shop

Farmers’ Markets and Designer Outlet Villages seem to be "The" fashionable places nowadays where you can shop until you drop. "Designer Outlet Villages," so the press release says, "offer goods at massive discounts." One chain operated by BAA/McArthur Glen, opened two in time for Christmas - "The Outlet Store Derbyshire" in Mansfield and "Designer Outlet York". Others, now well established, are "Cheshire Oaks", at Ellesmere Port, "The Great Western", at Swindon of course, and "Designer Outlet Wales", at Bridgend. Perhaps readers would like to visit some of these places and report back. Are there really massive discounts compared with High Street shops?

John Brown

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

NfCG SEMINAR

British Standards & Survey Techniques - Saturday March 20th

Our host for the next NfCG Members’ Meeting in London the British Standards Institution (BSI) at its premises at 389 Chiswick High Road, directly above Gunnersbury station on the District and N. London lines.

The day will start with coffee at 10.30 am. At 11.00 am any interactive discussion with the BSI Head of Consumer Policy will consider consumer issues which have to be addressed to ensure that products and services are safe. At about 12.45 PM our hosts are providing a buffet lunch and are only asking each guest to contribute £3 toward the cost.

In the afternoon, there will be a workshop on survey techniques (in the consumer sense of the word) led by Peter Wills of Mercator Ltd., a firm which produces "snap survey computer software. As this meeting incorporates training, NfCG will help with travel costs for some Group and Individual Member (IM) delegates attending both sessions. Each Group will be entitled to full travel costs over £10 for one representative. The first ten IMs drawn out of the hat on the 11th March will get a similar rebate.

Margaret Williams asks that those attending should let her know as soon as possible and by March 11th at the latest, and send cheques, payable to NfCG, for lunches with the same urgency. Send cheques and bookings to Margaret at 14 Gospelgate, Louth, LN11 9JX.

Wednesday 24th March - Croydon and District Consumer Group meeting - 7.30 PM at the Town Hall, Room F4, Katherine St. Croydon.

Tuesday 15th June - Healthy Planet Forum at the Westminster Central Hall, London. This is the day before the third Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health starts at the QEII Conference Centre.

Tuesday 6th July - Consumer Congress Conference 1999 - to be held in London. This is a midweek event, on Tuesday and Wednesday, 6th and 7th of July. The Theme is "Consumers at Risk?" and the venue is the London Voluntary Sector Resource Centre, 356 Holloway Rd. London.

CREDITS

The material contained in Consumer News may only be reproduced by federated groups unless otherwise indicated. The articles do not necessarily represent the views of the National Federation of Consumer Groups, its Groups or its members.

©1999 NfCG - National Federation of Consumer Groups

Consumer News is printed on 100% post consumer recycled paper

NfCG was founded in 1963.

Patron: Lord Young of Dartingron
President: Baroness Wilcox of Plymouth
Vice Presidents: Lord Borne of Abbots Morton
Lord Ezra of Horsham Janet Graham MBE David Hatch CBE
Hamish Henderson John Hosker Gerry Lanchin Cynthia McDowall MBE
Tom Miller James Woodward-Nutt

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