Irritations

[Herlock Sholmes]

Totally agree!

Personally I quite like a firework display, but the trauma that it causes animals is simply not worth it.

I really dislike infringements on personal liberties, but I wish they would limit it to just a couple of hours on Bonfire Night and Hogmanay.

Here they often let off fireworks in broad daylight.

What's the point of that?

Hi Ms D,

We now hear fireworks pretty much all year round and they clearly aren’t all for an occasion (Bonfire Night, Diwali, New Year for eg) so basically they are just a random noise. I’ve even heard a rumour that they are used as a signal from drug dealers but I take that with a pinch of salt. And as a pointless random noise the only significant effect is the trauma that it causes animals as you say. It’s just a lack of consideration.

[Herlock Sholmes]

Ok, it’s time I asked the question (that I don’t think that I’ve mentioned on the thread so far) It’s a question that only people who live in the UK will get…

Why are there soooo many Barber Shops these days!!!!

It’s like Day of the Triffids. Ever since the fashion for full face beards came in not long ago there has been an absolute epidemic of men’s hairdressers. It used to be the case that you would see one Barber Shop to every 10 women’s hairdressers but I think that Barber Shops have now taken over. I drove along my local High Street the other day and counted 10! To 3 or 4 women’s hairdressers. I know a place where there are 4 within a 100 yard circumference. In a 10 minute walk from my house I can get to 3. I was in London recently with 3 friends from the USA on the top of a bus heading for Greenwich and I mentioned this and we couldn’t help ourselves but start Barber Shop spotting as well as sightseeing. Honestly, we didn’t go 2 minutes on a stop/start bus without seeing one.

What the f*#* is going on? How much time can men spend having hair cuts and beard trims? No wonder the country is going to the dogs, men are spending too much time in front of the mirror!

There is a rumour (which I think might be true) that some of these places are simply fronts to launder money.

What happens when the fashion for full face beard dies out? The level of unemployment will be catastrophic

[caz]

The kind that you could pebbledash a house with.

Precisely, Herlock.

I doubt they would need to ban adverts for that kind of porridge!

I do like a nice hot bowl of original porridge oats when staying at a b&b, but it has to be served with brown sugar or golden syrup, cream and a pinch of salt. God knows I should be dead by now!

My better half calls it "grey food" and won't touch it.

Love,

Caz
X

[Ms Diddles]

Ok, it’s time I asked the question (that I don’t think that I’ve mentioned on the thread so far) It’s a question that only people who live in the UK will get…

Why are there soooo many Barber Shops these days!!!!

It’s like Day of the Triffids. Ever since the fashion for full face beards came in not long ago there has been an absolute epidemic of men’s hairdressers. It used to be the case that you would see one Barber Shop to every 10 women’s hairdressers but I think that Barber Shops have now taken over. I drove along my local High Street the other day and counted 10! To 3 or 4 women’s hairdressers. I know a place where there are 4 within a 100 yard circumference. In a 10 minute walk from my house I can get to 3. I was in London recently with 3 friends from the USA on the top of a bus heading for Greenwich and I mentioned this and we couldn’t help ourselves but start Barber Shop spotting as well as sightseeing. Honestly, we didn’t go 2 minutes on a stop/start bus without seeing one.

What the f*#* is going on? How much time can men spend having hair cuts and beard trims? No wonder the country is going to the dogs, men are spending too much time in front of the mirror!

There is a rumour (which I think might be true) that some of these places are simply fronts to launder money.

What happens when the fashion for full face beard dies out? The level of unemployment will be catastrophic

I know here a lot of the Turkish barber shops are actually run by Kurds.

It's quite a viable way to run your own business.

It requires no particular training or qualifications (although you'd have to be decent at it or you would go out of business pretty fast)!

The premises are often in the less salubrious parts of town where rent is cheap.

Overheads are pretty low.

I don't think they make a huge profit, but enough to make a living and be your own boss.

The ones round me are always busy despite the proliferation of them.

[Ms Diddles]

Precisely, Herlock.

I doubt they would need to ban adverts for that kind of porridge!

I do like a nice hot bowl of original porridge oats when staying at a b&b, but it has to be served with brown sugar or golden syrup, cream and a pinch of salt. God knows I should be dead by now!

My better half calls it "grey food" and won't touch it.

Love,

Caz
X

It's a cliche but we do generally love a good bowl of porridge north of the border.

It's blueberries and honey for me.

Delicious!

Have you ever tried cranachan, Caz?

It was a revelation when I first encountered it up here!

[caz]

Self check out machines in grocery stores or other stores. Hate 'em. I find them a pain to use and they frequently don't work. It also takes jobs away from actual persons. I always skip them on principal alone.

c.d.

Same here, c.d.

We are already paying for the goods, and now our local Waitrose expect the customer to do all the work actual human beings were employed to do for us. I suspect they will have to change back and open more traditional check-outs before long, because they have really let down their customers and employees alike.

Where we live, near the Devon coast, there are many customers well into their eighties, whose weekly shop is an important part of their social life, and they love a good chinwag with the check-out staff, who are considered their friends. This can be an irritation to others when we are in a hurry, and as a Londoner it took a bit of getting used to, but it's way better than the alternative.

Love,

Caz
X

[caz]

Had a hassle a little while ago at the grocery store. Bought some beer and the checkout clerk asked for an I.D. Since I am clearly over 21 I find that annoying but can understand why they do it. They are trained that way because the store can lose their liquor license if they sell to anyone under age. Anyway, I produced it and was told it was expired and their computer system would not accept it. I said it has my birth date and photo on it clearly showing I am over 21. Gave me some grief but finally accepted it. Looking on Google it appears that technically it is not a valid I.D. so they were within their rights. Still annoying as hell though.

c.d.

The last time I was asked to prove I was old enough to drink alcohol in a pub was when I was 28, on Brighton Pier. I was well chuffed!

Now I just have to give my birth year to the delivery driver if I have ordered a bottle of something 'uplifting' - hic - and it's rarely questioned.

Love,

Caz
X

[caz]

It's a cliche but we do generally love a good bowl of porridge north of the border.

It's blueberries and honey for me.

Delicious!

Have you ever tried cranachan, Caz?

It was a revelation when I first encountered it up here!

I think I have tried cranachan, Ms Diddles, as a dessert. Has it got raspberries and whiskey in it, or am I thinking of something else?

It may have been many years ago when I stayed in Edinburgh, before moving on to Pitlochry. Lovely part of the world.

Love,

Caz
X

[Ms Diddles]

I think I have tried cranachan, Ms Diddles, as a dessert. Has it got raspberries and whiskey in it, or am I thinking of something else?

It may have been many years ago when I stayed in Edinburgh, before moving on to Pitlochry. Lovely part of the world.

Love,

Caz
X

That's the one.

It's got really thick cream, oats, raspberries and whisky.

I'm not usually a dessert person, but I always order cranachan if I clock it on a menu.

[c.d.]

What on earth is the great wash cloth debate c.d.?

Old school cloth versus plastic exfoliator?

Hello Ms. Diddles,

Ah, the great wash cloth debate. There are hundreds of posts on Reddit responding to the simple question what do you use to wash yourself in the shower? Apparently there are two distinct camps. Those who always use a wash cloth and soap and those who simply use their hands and soap. In the middle are a few fence straddlers who use a loofa or scrub cloth. But what is so funny is that the wash cloth camp considers the hands only people to be total barbarians who should be cast out of society. The hands only camp responds that they smell just fine thank you and are following the recommendation of their dermatologist and that the wash cloth people can go pack sand.

You wouldn't think people would get so worked up about such a mundane matter but they do.

c.d.

P.S. You probably don't even want to know about the great trash can (with lid) controversy.

[c.d.]

Personal possession of fireworks is illegal in Washington, D.C. What I find amusing is that they always seem to catch about ten million people with them around the 4th of July. But somehow catching murderers, carjackers, thieves and shoplifters eludes them.

c.d.

[c.d.]

Charities. You try to do a good deed by donating to them and you are then inundated with letters appealing for more money. They often include a little note pad or mailing stickers with your address on them as a thank you gift. But they must spend more on postage and all that stuff than what you sent them in the first place.

c.d.

[Herlock Sholmes]

Precisely, Herlock.

I doubt they would need to ban adverts for that kind of porridge!

I do like a nice hot bowl of original porridge oats when staying at a b&b, but it has to be served with brown sugar or golden syrup, cream and a pinch of salt. God knows I should be dead by now!

My better half calls it "grey food" and won't touch it.

Love,

Caz
X

I’ve never had salt in porridge Caz. I recall thinking that someone was making it up when I first heard about it years ago. Does it make much of a difference?

It’s about time the scientists got their acts together and created a breakfast of bacon, sausage, fried eggs, black pudding, tomatoes, fried bread, hash browns and beans that tastes like a proper fry-up but is healthy. Come on, we’ve managed to get men on the moon.

[Herlock Sholmes]

Charities. You try to do a good deed by donating to them and you are then inundated with letters appealing for more money. They often include a little note pad or mailing stickers with your address on them as a thank you gift. But they must spend more on postage and all that stuff than what you sent them in the first place.

c.d.

We spend a lot of lives being guilt-tripped by three thousand different charities whose causes are all worthwhile. You can’t walk down the street without someone wanting your cash. I don’t know what it’s like where you are c.d. but here it’s gone from advertisements asking for any donations to advertisements asking for specific quantities of money.

I once told a homeless person to ‘do one’ in Birmingham a few years ago. I was sitting outside the library and he was going along the tables asking for cash. He got to me and I was just sorting through my change when he said “I hope it’s more than a pound mate because I need…..” So I told him to get lost. He got abusive so I threatened to punch him and he left. I also told one to get lost on the Tottenham Court Road in London. I was waiting for a friend as we were going on a guided walk. Some guy asked me for cash and I’d only got about 80p on me which I gave him. He told me that he could show me where there was a cash machine! I won’t repeat my response on here.

[c.d.]

He told me that he could show me where there was a cash machine! I won’t repeat my response on here.

In the U.S., the proper response would be to adopt a heavy Brooklyn accent and say " I got your cash machine right here, pal."

c.d.