Comedy continues to ensue. Two notifications about the remaining boxes today:

11:41 Your shipment is out for delivery
11:56 Your shipment is at the delivery depot

So they gave up before they even reached the depot gates?

They *really* know their market, don't they? :-)

I am rather cynically assuming that the picture of the destroyed box from the replacement shipment caused someone in head office to light a fire under the Cardiff depot management...

I mean, at this stage I have both the replacements, *and* the extra stuff I ordered elsewhere when I thought all hope was lost so it's amusing more than annoying, but... wow.

(happily, the box that *did* arrive was the one with the free Vintage Ale, this time a 2009 - score!)

APC have always been awesome for us - i think it all comes down to luck with the local depot

It feels like they left the boxes somewhere pretty damp, so the structural integrity for holding heavy objects was significantly reduced.

But he did actually get it to the door, so I guess *marginally* better than Yodel?

Well indeed, it's a good problem to have (although I suspect my doctor may disagree...)

Of course, this final attempt to actually deliver my damn beer seems to have been prompted by me ordering some different beer, from a different brewery, who doesn't use DHL - because I assumed that the Fuller's stuff was lost forever, and I was just going to get a refund.

Oh no, too much beer!

I'm so glad I read this, as it's reminded me to, umm, go and put the ragu on to cook...

Funnily enough, DHhell claim to have my (replacement) beer consignment held hostage in Cardiff and rather implausibly claim an intention to deliver it today.

Going on past performance, *both* beer deliveries will eventually appear, on Christmas Eve. Several of the bottles will be broken :-)

Annoyingly, DPD has decided to join the "can't actually deliver anything" club now.

I've twice now watched a beer consignment leave Cardiff, come all the way up here, drive aimlessly around a bit before going home a few stops before they got here.

Not sure what's going on right now!

I would concur, given they also seem to have lost a considerable volume of beer. Luckily, Fuller's are utterly brilliant about sending it out again (although, sadly due to contracts, it's via DHL again...)

It's not a Mercedes, is it? Our rental car is, and it does exactly the same!

I talked myself into picking one up when they were selling them off half-price, and haven't *actually* got around to opening it.

Hmm, maybe I should do that this December?

That is probably the healthiest advent calendar I've contemplated :-)

Did they use a needle or an axe?!