Prattfalls and rip-offs

It turns out that you can't trust what you see in the cartoons. I went to the supermarket this afternoon, and as I opened my car door, there happened to be a banana skin convenienntly placed right where I would step on it. Which I, of course, did - completely by accident. What I didn't do was fall onto my arse in a humorous fashion. I feel somehow ripped off.

Speaking of ripped off, how's this for a doozie - We have received permission from the council to cut down the hideous cyprus pine right at the very front of the property (hooray!), and the other pine that is far too close to the house. So, the next step was to get a couple of quotes for having them removed. The first quote we got was a quite reasonable, although still a fair amount of cash at $1300. The second one, on the other hand, was not quite so reasonable. The minute the guy turned up he started to tell Rusty that there were two other trees in the front yard that could be removed without council permission, then started talking about how espensive tip fees are, and that he'd have to go all the way to Windsor to dispose of the cut trees. Claimed that it would be $800 bucks in tip fees, and then quoted $3500, but he would do the other two that weren't part of the original quote for an extra $1800. Ouch, and gee, I REALLY DON'T THINK SO! The minute tradies start justifying their costs you start getting a feel that they're not entirely on the level.

Things that make you go hmmm....