The grumpy thread

[Sham]

Queuing up to buy fuel they think is in short supply with the engines running. These people are geniuses.

[Datsuncog]

Brimmed the Forester last night, so as not to have to worry about fuel for a few weeks. No queues locally for forecourts, though a few pumps were coned off.

This morning I noticed a funny noise from the driver's side wheel when I'm steering and braking...

Ah. That'll be why, then.

All juiced up, but it looks like I'll be going nowhere by Subaru for a while. 

The wishbone on the nearside looks fine, oddly; possibly it was replaced a while back and this is still the original.

Still, at least I didn't discover the problem at motorway speed... 

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Fuel shortages because twunts are panic buying it?

 

It's toilet roll-gate mk2. 

 

We really are a nation of plebs. FFS. 

[matt79]

Is the person who shouted GO! to start the panic buying of fuel today the same person who shouted GO! to start the panic buying of pasta and toilet rolls last year?

 

[Matty]

Tends to happen every time the government says no need to panic.

[Spiny Norman]

From what I can see it's another mass panic engineered by the media, particularly the BBC who reported three days ago about a couple of BP stations having to close due to lack of drivers and it's been pushing its way up the billing since.

 

 

[inconsistant]

Im going to re create this photo from the 70s fuel crisis by queuing up to put petrol in my lawnmower.

[sierraman]

4 hours ago, MarvinsMom said:

the house behind us has put their christmas decorations up.

tinsel, lights, and a fucking tree.

in September.

 

Be glad. There’s people in Rotherham that don’t even take them down. 

[High Jetter]

Maybe they only got the assembly instructions?

[Tadhg Tiogar]

5 hours ago, Sham said:

Queuing up to buy fuel they think is in short supply with the engines running. These people are geniuses.

I'm currently in the automatic car wash in King's Langley Texaco after finishing at the stables. They ran out of fuel hours ago. There's not a drop of any fuel to be had in this area, or in Watford. There's plenty of cars just going up and down this stretch in the hope of fuel, and burning fuel doing so.

Government minister sez no problem with fuel. Grate British motoring public instantly disbelieves him and goes off on panic-buying spree, thus creating a problem where there hadn't been one before. 

Why do people do this? 'Tis like self-harming!

*shrugs*

[sierraman]

1 hour ago, High Jetter said:

Maybe they only got the assembly instructions?

Or maybe they couldn’t read?

[GrumpiusMaximus]

Had to fill up with diesel.  Was out anyway.  Tried four stations, only had super unleaded (included a 12-year-old in a school blazer and tie telling this to drivers - obviously a family-owned franchise).  Eventually found one station with diesel on an old b-road that used to be a main road 40 years ago and thus has an oversized station for the number of cars that go past.  Had to queue for about ten minutes.

It's really, really mad down here.  Nothing in Canterbury.  Nothing in Sandwich.  Nothing in Ramsgate.  Eventual success was somewhere near Wingham.

What really did horrify me was the queue at the attended petrol station outside of Sandwich.  It's right next to a level crossing, and cars were queueing up as you have to wait for an attendant to come out and operate the pump.  Some utter twit decided that driving onto the railway track before it was clear the other side was a good idea and was actually stopped on the track.

You'd hope Darwin would intervene but sadly there are other people on the trains too...

[beko1987]

My smugness is short lived as I've realised that to get to mums tomorrow I'm going to have the road blocked by people queuing to get fuel in at least one place 😂

I could go another way but that'll use more fuel as its shitty B roads which need 3rd gear and slow speeds... 

Dilemma

[Fumbler]

This fuel panicking has just reminded me there's a really tiny garage in the sticks with (probably stale) petrol that I can go to. Granted, it's £1.38 per litre, but that's better than driving a nearly empty car to an empty filling station with no fuel.

 

Come to think of it, every road I drove on the Fens has got a small tumbledown garage on it. I wonder how much business they've been getting.

[High Jetter]

22 minutes ago, sierraman said:

Or maybe they couldn’t read?

No, the point was that they can put the stuff up, with instructions, but lack the nous to remove it and buy extra crap for next year.

[Crackers]

I am planning to purchase an vehicle tomorrow, with a 200 mile drive home. 

If it's got no petrol in, this could be fun. 

[High Jetter]

Ohh, a new fred?

[Leyland Worldmaster]

Was the same at 21:30. I guess this is what happens when we have a trusted* and entirely honorable* leadership- and certain sections of the press* telling us that there's no need to panic buy. 

Cunts

 

[High Jetter]

I got to Sainsburries about 6:30, only cos queues had gone due to thier tanks being empty. I wonder why. I also wonder about the design of a supermarket layout where a queue for fuel stops you shopping for booze essentials.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

14 minutes ago, Crackers said:

I am planning to purchase an vehicle tomorrow, with a 200 mile drive home. 

If it's got no petrol in, this could be fun. 

Fancy having a go at entering for Britain's Strongest Man, attaching a harness to your new car and hauling it home? Gradients could be interesting....

[brownnova]

Did a quick tot up… between the 9000 and the C5 Mrs_b has at least a weeks commuting, and between the MX5 and the 2CV I have at least a weeks commuting. So that’s me fine… 

[Fumbler]

29 minutes ago, Leyland Worldmaster said:

Was the same at 21:30. I guess this is what happens when we have a trusted* and entirely honorable* leadership- and certain sections of the press* telling us that there's no need to panic buy. 

Cunts

 

I have never seen a queue that long there ever. We drove quite near it a few hours ago and it was a dead as a doornail. How strange!

[Leyland Worldmaster]

8 minutes ago, Fumbler said:

I have never seen a queue that long there ever. We drove quite near it a few hours ago and it was a dead as a doornail. How strange!

According to my Intel, it was up past the fucking Pantiles! 😱😱😱 Utterly insane! 🤦‍♂️

[Zelandeth]

Bloody trees...

If I ever get the opportunity to sort the layout to my preference, there will be NONE next to where I have to park.

Yuck.

[Sham]

Luckily we're ok for fuel. Boris the Octavia has a near enough full tank. That's a month worth for me.

Suzi the Vitara has a full tank, was filled on Wednesday and hasn't moved since. That's a couple of weeks for Mrs Sham.

My works van has only 1/4 of a tank though, and I'm back in that on Monday. Could be fun*

[meggersdog]

Went home in the Discovery lastnight. Queues at the filling station as I drove past. I was imagining a scene from Mad Max, Toecutters gang roaming the streets ambushing fuel tankers.

Luckily Tesco doesn't have a shotage of veg oil.

[bobdisk]

13 hours ago, inconsistant said:

Im going to re create this photo from the 70s fuel crisis by queuing up to put petrol in my lawnmower.

Take some pics for us. 🤧

[eddyramrod]

I should have seen this coming, really.  Yesterday I was out on my bike, and locked it up while I went to a meeting.  When I came to unlock it the lock (which lives in one of the panniers, and is probably quite old as cable-type locks go) was very stiff and reluctant to unlock.  I've just been out again on it and the key has not returned to the in/out position having been left overnight.   Never mind, I should have some chain and a padlock somewhere.

[eddyramrod]

Actually, I'll add this, because it's a thing I've only recently noticed.

Young men, by which I mean mid-to-late teens.  Many of them are having their hair cut fairly short around the back and sides - and no problem there, but - they are leaving a heavy mass of the stuff on top, with a peak so low that from across the street it looks like they're wearing a black corduroy flat cap, the sort worn by wannabe country folk over their small-check shirts, wax jackets and green wellies.

Is this a grump?  I don't know.  Maybe I'm just jealous because all I can really do with what I've got left is sweep it straight back, unless I want to go for a combover which I really don't.

[High Jetter]

38 minutes ago, eddyramrod said:

Many of them are having their hair cut fairly short around the back and sides - and no problem there, but - they are leaving a heavy mass of the stuff on top, with a peak so low that from across the street it looks like they're wearing a black corduroy flat cap,

Thanks, I though it was only me that think that sort of cut looks stupid.