Dave
Administrator
HWI Admin
Posts: 7,699
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Post by Dave on Apr 2, 2009 20:46:35 GMT
Hello everyone I got in this afternoon to find a similar card from the postman although I saved 29p as my customs charge is only £11.36  I collected my Delux Edition HSJS2 from the Post Office this evening and, although the 'charge' sticker is addressed from HM revenue and Customs, Mount Pleasant Postal Depot, the charge is made up of £8.00 Royal Mail International handling Fee and £3.36 VAT.I am not impressed! Hi Grant, Same here... and I looked up all the UK import rules, just to check!  The import limit for duty is about £105 so that's not a problem. For import VAT it's £18 so that's where we get caught, now the Yen is so strong (even a CD now costs more than that). For person-to-person gifts, the import VAT limit doubles to £36 but that doesn't help us as we are buying from a commercial firm. None of which would have bothered me as £3.36 isn't much to pay. The real problem is the outrageous Royal Mail £8 handling charge for something that must take a minute for them to do at most, i.e. observing the foreign currency amount written on the package, looking it up in a conversion table and writing 3 or 4 words on a sticker and postcard. Ludicrous. But we are stuck with it  except, of course, when the Royal Mail staff make a mistake and accidentally clear the package free of all charges. Some members are just born lucky!  Cheers, Dave |
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Post by dutchjoyce on Apr 2, 2009 21:24:56 GMT
Hhmmmm.......................... I'm so sorry about the customs story........ Something came into my mind............  Is it an idea, that an HWI member from japan, starts something like an agency, to order cd's , and send them from his or hers private adress If everyone is using PayPal, this must be working !! Just think about it.............!!! Greetz JOYCE |
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Post by pjrcorreia on Apr 2, 2009 21:28:32 GMT
Hi Nicola, So sad to know about your Grandmother, my sympathies!  For what happened to some members, your CD is probably retained at customs.  Best wishes, Paulo Correia |
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Post by martindn on Apr 2, 2009 22:23:35 GMT
I have a feeling that my birthday is cursed this year (I could bore you with how and why, but the root cause is my grandmother having a stroke and the doctor telling us that she won't last two weeks  ) and if one thing is going to go right, no matter how trivial, please let it be the eventual arrival of this album tomorrow morning! Actually, I think I should go to the soap box thread to moan just about how just about everything that could go wrong for my birthday, is actually going wrong. I'm astounded I have suffered so much bad luck. So yeah, original point being, if it arrives tomorrow, it may lighten up my day, if only a little bit. Oh Nicola, that is awful! I don't know what I can say, except that you and your family will be in my prayers. As someone who does not believe in luck, I cannot think of it like that. This is all about pain, and sometimes in life, everything seems to go wrong at once. I don't know what that is like, since I never met either of my grandmothers, both were dead before I was born. But I have seen enough of my matenal grandmother's writings to know that I would have loved her, and there is a lot of her in me. I don't know if you have any sort of faith, but I believe that love is eternal, as St Paul wrote. As for strokes, my mum had one a few years ago, and was unconscious for weeks. It was only the help of one of the best stroke units in the country, plus the determination of my brothers and I that she would pull through that enabled her to gradually recover to the point where she has some quality of life, even now, aged 91. But I think if it hadn't been for our concern, the hospital might just have let her go. Sorry this is OT mods. God Bless Martin |
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Post by postscript on Apr 3, 2009 8:42:47 GMT
I suppose if Customs understood that Hayley is worth more to us than gold the charges would be higher. Clearly customs have no sense of urgency, no wonder so much drug traffic comes into this country unnoticed by customs!
Peter S.
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Post by Ross on Apr 3, 2009 8:59:59 GMT
I thought I would post some pictures of the plants mentioned in the Japanese Song albums Here is a cosmos flower  These are Dogwood flowers  This is a Snow Flower  And lastly here is a Silk Tree  |
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Post by postscript on Apr 3, 2009 9:00:46 GMT
Excellent, Ross, most apposite. Thank you.
Peter S.
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Post by nicola on Apr 3, 2009 10:04:35 GMT
IT ARRIVED!Well, sort of, I got a card saying I had to collect it, and that I have to pay a big fat £14.50 to get them to hand it over, but at least it's here and I can collect it when I want (probably in the next half hour). My custom charge is probably higher because I ordered mine with another CD. Anyway, I probably won't get the chance to listen to it today, too much going on, but I can't wait until I do. I know this isn't a birthday thread, but thanks to everyone that sent me a PM and messaged in this thread giving me birthday wishes and sympathies about my Grandmother. It's really appreciated. <3 With all the set backs, I will try to enjoy today the best as I can.
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Post by grant on Apr 3, 2009 11:12:44 GMT
Hello Nicola and  I'm very happy to hear that your CD's have arrived. I think the lesson we've all learned here is to keep an eye on the value of the order; order separately and mark as a gift where appropriate! I was also sorry to hear about your Grandmother and hope you will get some comfort on your birthday from the CD's Best wishes Grant |
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Post by Richard on Apr 3, 2009 14:33:43 GMT
Hello Nicola and I'm very sorry to hear about your grandmother, so I hope the arrival of the CD has helped to cheer you up. I'm looking forward to reading your review, perhaps as the next instalment of your marathon.  Best Wishes, Richard  |
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Post by postscript on Apr 3, 2009 16:43:56 GMT
Unfortunately, Ross, the cosmos flower is not showing. The dogwood flower is of interest to me because it is a US State flower (I can't think which State) and therefore I feel an affinity towards it and the snow flower is delightful. Interesting too to see a silk tree in bloom.
Peter S.
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Post by postscript on Apr 3, 2009 16:55:20 GMT
Hello Nicola and I'm very happy to hear that your CD's have arrived. I think the lesson we've all learned here is to keep an eye on the value of the order; order separately and mark as a gift where appropriate! I was also sorry to hear about your Grandmother and hope you will get some comfort on your birthday from the CD's Best wishes Grant Hi Nicola. I'm going to echo Grant's and Richard's expressions of sympathy and hope that the arrival of your CD at last will lead to a Happy Birthday and open the door to moving on to bright sunlit uplands. Love Peter S. |
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Post by I-H-F on Apr 3, 2009 19:30:51 GMT
Hello Nicola and I'm very happy to hear that your CD's have arrived. I think the lesson we've all learned here is to keep an eye on the value of the order; order separately and mark as a gift where appropriate! I was also sorry to hear about your Grandmother and hope you will get some comfort on your birthday from the CD's Best wishes Grant Hi Nicola. Happy Birthday! Sorry to hear about your grandmother. I hope the CD brings you some joy. Grant, you mentioned about marking as a gift. When ordering this CD, I didn't see any options to mark as a gift. Mine arrived marked for 'Personal Use'. I have ordered more than once from CDJapan, so this option may have been selected from the last time I ordered? Luckily though, each time I've ordered I've had no problems with extra charges (Touch wood!). |
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Post by martindn on Apr 3, 2009 20:47:11 GMT
I suppose if Customs understood that Hayley is worth more to us than gold the charges would be higher. Clearly customs have no sense of urgency, no wonder so much drug traffic comes into this country unnoticed by customs! Peter S. Peter, Don't encourage them to rip us off even more. All taxation is theft! Happy Birthday Nicola! Martin |
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Post by I-H-F on Apr 3, 2009 23:50:47 GMT
Track 9 Many Times Always. This seems to be a song by someone who was driven over the edge, Someone who was pushed too far and has gone to that beautiful place we call insanity to protect themselves from reality. It has a beautiful airy fairy feeling to it where nothing can go wrong,even in the dark. "But I hold a light to light my way" This is the most beautifully insane song I have ever heard. I can see a girl dancing, holding her dress up with both hands as she waltzes alone, totally oblivious to the world around her, In a world of her own, where everything is perfect in her eye.. reflecting something new in shattered glass pieces. Anyone know the origins of this song or the original writer ? This song stands out the most on this album. Such a beautiful song. Its sad, yet happy at the same time. I like Comet's description of a "beautifully insane song". "Broken glass pieces fall from the sky" being the strangest line. When I listen to it, I feel like I'm walking on air, and have drifted off into a child-like world of clear blue skies, green fields with many colourful flowers, balloons and sweets falling from the sky. Somewhere where I can forget all of life's troubles. Its amazing what music can do for the mind, and the soul. |
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) and if one thing is going to go right, no matter how trivial, please let it be the eventual arrival of this album tomorrow morning!
