• I’m registered with the Telephone Preference Service, but that doesn’t help when the caller is phoning from India.- they aren’t covered by UK law.

    There’s always a pause when I pick up the phone to a nuisance call. They have called me randomly. On pick up, software allocates me as to the first free operator, who then starts reading from the script.

    They used to engage when you began asking questions, but not any more. If you ask what company is calling…click! You are left holding a dead line. You are not worth wasting time on.

    I used to argue and complain and inform them that they are breaking the law, cold-calling someone on the Telephone Preference Service, but they don’t care. Am I really going to follow up and report them and go though some great legal process? Of course not.

    So I trained myself to answer civilly and, as soon as I am sure they are a scam or cold-calling about something I have no interest in, I put the phone down and move on.

    So why do I still have a knot in my stomach?

    Why do I find my muscles tensed?

    Because cold-calling is an invasion of my time and privacy and an attack on my intelligence. I’m feeling tense because I’m protecting myself from an invader.

    Then follows the lingering doubt – maybe they wanted information for a good cause? Maybe it was just some poor student trying to pay their way through college?

    Maybe.

    Perhaps.

    Possibly.

    But I truly don’t think so!

  • Bombassa, the lovable rhino, wants to stay in bed, drinking tea and eating biscuits, but Aunty Daz is coming to visit for tea!

    Can his best friend, Millie, shake Bombassa awake before Auntie Daz finds out just how lazy he is?

    Sit back and let Shoo tell you this wonderful, warm, story with glorious colour picture.

  • This video is for all of those who followed my youtube channels over the years – first of all thank you.

    When I started YouTube I had a very different idea from how it turned out – in short I’ve been side-tracked a very nearly 10 years!

    It has been an amazing journey but YouTube is not working for me anymore. I have learned so much about drawing by explaining and showing how to do stuff, but I feel that my work is done.

    When I started out, hardly anyone was doing drawing videos, now there are thousands, many of whom are far better than me at drawing, painting and teaching. It’s time to do what I’m best at.

    The wonder of YouTube is such that all the videos I’ve made will still be there, maybe forever, and that younger, more enthusiastic version of me, will still be there today, doing what I did then.  So what am I going to do?

    Well, I’m not giving up on YouTube but the shooraynerdrawing channel will be changing.

    I’m not going to be doing any more on the drawstuffrealeasy Channel either I just can’t afford the time of any longer.

    The shooraynerdrawing channel now be all about stories, illustration and vlogging about my life as a children’s author.

    It’s going to be the channel it would’ve been if I’d known 10 years ago what I know now.
    I hope you stick with me and subscribe on YouTube if you haven’t already.

    The next few weeks will be a bit messy as I close down a couple of other channels and move some legacy material to this channel, but I will soon be up and running with new material.
    Many thanks for all your support in the past and I look forward to entertaining you for a long while to come