The grumpy thread

[Wibble]

Going to visit parents next month and I’ve just booked two rooms in the Premier Inn Linwood for four nights. Last year, although only three nights, was £135 per room for the duration. This year, £301.50 per room!!!

[twosmoke300]

14 minutes ago, jakebullet said:

I can't find heinz tomato sauce in glass bottles anywhere.  Have they killed it like they did with daddies?

No way I'm buying that crap in plastic bottles. Anyone recommend an alternative? 

Pop round and ask your neighbour if he has some ? 
Like in the good old days

[twosmoke300]

He prob knows what cupboard he keeps it in from the cctv 

[High Jetter]

24 minutes ago, jakebullet said:

I can't find heinz tomato sauce in glass bottles anywhere.  Have they killed it like they did with daddies?

No way I'm buying that crap in plastic bottles. Anyone recommend an alternative? 

Probably, there's an awful lot of changes out there in retail world. A Branston relish we like is now NLA, confirmed by Mondalez (though got a £5 voucher off them). We don't use tomato sauce unless we have fish'n'chips, and the squeezy seems fine to us.

[RoverFolkUs]

2 minutes ago, twosmoke300 said:

He prob knows what cupboard he keeps it in from the cctv 

And the supermarket it came from, natch!

[wuvvum]

5 hours ago, barefoot said:

Grumpfest - drove into Loughborough, I seldom buy a MacDonalds, but today I ordered two cheeseburgers & went to pay, '£2.38'. 'Well you've had that', I retorted, 'I've only got two quid'. - 20% fucking inflation.

It made the national news.

McDonald's puts up price of cheeseburger for first time in 14 years - BBC News

[sheffcortinacentre]

I'd rather eat the packageing than any of the so called food from any of these places.

[Rust Collector]

3 hours ago, Wibble said:

Going to visit parents next month and I’ve just booked two rooms in the Premier Inn Linwood for four nights. Last year, although only three nights, was £135 per room for the duration. This year, £301.50 per room!!!

That's mental for a Premier Inn 😢 Is there an event going on locally over the period that you're staying there? I travel frequently for work, and whilst you know what you're getting with a Premier Inn, what you're getting is pretty middle of the road... I normally have a nose through photos and reviews and book in at cheaper small hotels. I can't think that I've paid more than £100 a night over the last year, and I've stayed in some really nice places. The only really shit one of late was when I couldn't avoid staying at the Hilton Leicester for a conference - the room was like it was from a fucking care home.

[junkyarddog]

15 minutes ago, sheffcortinacentre said:

I'd rather eat the packageing than any of the so called food from any of these places.

To be fair the packaging is probably tastier and better for you🤣

[Wibble]

1 hour ago, Rust Collector said:

That's mental for a Premier Inn 😢 Is there an event going on locally over the period that you're staying there? I travel frequently for work, and whilst you know what you're getting with a Premier Inn, what you're getting is pretty middle of the road... I normally have a nose through photos and reviews and book in at cheaper small hotels. I can't think that I've paid more than £100 a night over the last year, and I've stayed in some really nice places. The only really shit one of late was when I couldn't avoid staying at the Hilton Leicester for a conference - the room was like it was from a fucking care home.

I did look at other local places but they were more expensive unfortunately. Could have lied about Wiblet senior’s age to bag a family room I suppose but I’m not good at being dishonest.

[Remspoor]

On 7/26/2022 at 8:14 PM, Remspoor said:

Aeroplanes.......... Holy smoke.

 

Noticed the fire some fire hours ago and it was burning before we noticed it. Still have planes and helicopters buzzing around. Thankfully the wind is not coming this way and there is still around 2 km distance.

Two days and the local wild fire  is still not out.

 

[barefoot]

9 hours ago, sheffcortinacentre said:

I'd rather eat the packageing than any of the so called food from any of these places.

Really? 

The only thing that can actually be claimed in favour of MacDonalds is consistency. Wherever you are in the world, no matter how bad things get, you can always rely on a big mac tasting like a big mac.

[dozeydustman]

My F*cebook account has been suspended for 7 days because of an inappropriate post report which got upheld.

My last half a dozen or so posts have been official music videos from a number of bands shared from YouTube and I didn’t use it over the weekend. Thousands of people do this with few issues.

No nudity. No swearing. Family appropriate. No scary scenes (OK one was Sparks’ ‘When I’m with you’ which is just plain weird so this may where I fall foul).

One of my so-called friends obviously has an issue with me so I’d rather (s)he just messaged me what was inappropriate.

[Rust Collector]

1 hour ago, barefoot said:

Really? 

The only thing that can actually be claimed in favour of MacDonalds is consistency. Wherever you are in the world, no matter how bad things get, you can always rely on a big mac tasting like a big mac.

What winds me up about McDonalds is that the food they serve in the UK is pretty wank when you look at what they have appearing on the menu in the rest of the world. This is probably a bit of a sad thing to admit to, but after I realised that the menu varies around the world I now try to sample the local McDonald's in each country I visit just for my own curiosity. Almost every country I've been to has nicer food at their branches than we get. In some countries, you even get a burger that looks like the one in the picture rather than one that's been stamped on. Some examples;

• Signature blue cheese burger in France a couple of years ago, plus you could get Heineken with your meal
• The McRaclette in Switzerland
• Some kind of enormous burger in Germany that had a giant hash brown in it and was swimming in cheese and BBQ sauce, plus they did crosscut fries.
• Bacon and cheese French fries in Italy with a burger that had prosciutto and some other tasty bits in. Plus you could order beach towels with your meal for a couple of euros which was handy as we needed them!
• Whatever the hell this was in France recently: 
• And in Hungary there was a burger called the 'Sea Sebastian' which had deep fried prawns in it. You could order the deep fried praws as a side also, and they did curly fries!

You're completely spot on that it's a relief to know that if you're chucked in somewhere unfamiliar and you're desperate for some cheapish food quickly then at least you can buy something familiar at McDonald's without having to give it too much thought. You can use the touch screen things to order as well, so you don't have to confuse the locals 😅

[myglaren]

14 hours ago, jakebullet said:

I can't find heinz tomato sauce in glass bottles anywhere.  Have they killed it like they did with daddies?

No way I'm buying that crap in plastic bottles. Anyone recommend an alternative? 

These.   Maggi Rich Indian Tomato Ketchup and Deluxe Tomato Ketchup from either Aldi or Lidle, can't remember which.

I love anything with tomato in it with the exception of most, including Heinz, ketchup.  Too sweet and bland.

 

Tried several times to take these photos but the camera can't seem to focus on them.

It is some years ago now that I went into the vast Tesco in Consett and was amazed to find a whole aisle with nothing but hundreds of different kinds of tomato sauce and nothing else on it.  Many of them quite expensive, may be worth a try.  M&S or Waitrose might also.

[andyberg]

6 minutes ago, Rust Collector said:

What winds me up about McDonalds is that the food they serve in the UK is pretty wank when you look at what they have appearing on the menu in the rest of the world. This is probably a bit of a sad thing to admit to, but after I realised that the menu varies around the world I now try to sample the local McDonald's in each country I visit just for my own curiosity. Almost every country I've been to has nicer food at their branches than we get. In some countries, you even get a burger that looks like the one in the picture rather than one that's been stamped on. Some examples;

• Signature blue cheese burger in France a couple of years ago, plus you could get Heineken with your meal
• The McRaclette in Switzerland
• Some kind of enormous burger in Germany that had a giant hash brown in it and was swimming in cheese and BBQ sauce, plus they did crosscut fries.
• Bacon and cheese French fries in Italy with a burger that had prosciutto and some other tasty bits in. Plus you could order beach towels with your meal for a couple of euros which was handy as we needed them!
• Whatever the hell this was in France recently: 
• And in Hungary there was a burger called the 'Sea Sebastian' which had deep fried prawns in it. You could order the deep fried praws as a side also, and they did curly fries!

You're completely spot on that it's a relief to know that if you're chucked in somewhere unfamiliar and you're desperate for some cheapish food quickly then at least you can buy something familiar at McDonald's without having to give it too much thought. You can use the touch screen things to order as well, so you don't have to confuse the locals 😅

I agree. I tend not to visit McDonalds here but everywhere else it is worth a try as some of the food is really good. Hong Kong for example do hot pineapple and custard pies, not just the boring apple one we get.

[myglaren]

5 minutes ago, Rust Collector said:

What winds me up about McDonalds is that the food they serve in the UK is pretty wank when you look at what they have appearing on the menu in the rest of the world. This is probably a bit of a sad thing to admit to, but after I realised that the menu varies around the world I now try to sample the local McDonald's in each country I visit just for my own curiosity. Almost every country I've been to has nicer food at their branches than we get. In some countries, you even get a burger that looks like the one in the picture rather than one that's been stamped on.

 

Only been in McD's three times.

First was in Denmark at 03:00, just got off a ferry from Sweden and driving to Germany.

I expected the worst and was pleasantly surprised  to find the food OK, freshly baked bread buns plenty of free side salad and coffee, beer or pop to drink, or milk if you wished.

Second time was my daughter wanted her and her mates to go to a newly opened one in South Shields.

Appalling.

And the last time to meet the seller of my last C5.  Just a meeting ground, didn't buy anything.  Rather starve than spend money on that stuff pretending to be food.

The first time would be 1972.  Next time would have been 1984 ish.

[artdjones]

7 minutes ago, myglaren said:

Only been in McD's three times.

First was in Denmark at 03:00, just got off a ferry from Sweden and driving to Germany.

I expected the worst and was pleasantly surprised  to find the food OK, freshly baked bread buns plenty of free side salad and coffee, beer or pop to drink, or milk if you wished.

Second time was my daughter wanted her and her mates to go to a newly opened one in South Shields.

Appalling.

And the last time to meet the seller of my last C5.  Just a meeting ground, didn't buy anything.  Rather starve than spend money on that stuff pretending to be food.

The first time would be 1972.  Next time would have been 1984 ish.

Denmark......South Shields.

I think I see the problem.

[HillmanImp]

38 minutes ago, Rust Collector said:

 

• Whatever the hell this was in France recently: 
•  

Royale with cheese? 

[Rust Collector]

53 minutes ago, HillmanImp said:

Royale with cheese? 

[AnnoyingPentium]

Glitter can get to fuck.

- an angry valeter

[Rust Collector]

So, before I left on my holidays at the start of the month, I was contacted by a good friend who is also a chod fiend. In the Favorit Facebook group there was an advert for a very tidy Favorit LXi estate on 35k miles, seemingly rust free. £400. The catch? It's on the Isle of Wight and would be scrapped if not bought in a couple of weeks. He jokingly* said I should buy it as it's nearby (I'm about 2 hours from Portsmouth) and cleaner than my one. This was a couple of days before I left, so obviously was not achievable without ending my relationship with my fiancé. I told myself that the car would sell at that price despite the £200 return crossing with a trailer on top of the purchase cost. Whilst away, I didn't really check Facebook and it was out of mind and all forgotten.

Cue me spotting this the other day:

Turns out it didn't sell. Cue lots of people making a fuss and saying it's too clean to break/where is it/can I buy it whole.

I spent a day trying not to think about it, and last night I messaged him asking to buy it outright. No answer, message still unread 😢

He's since deleted the breaking post but left the for sale post up, but deep down I'm fairly sure it's gone over the bridge now.

I have written him another message on the for sale post asking him if I can buy it still and explaining I have the means to collect it and I'm not far away. I won't hold my breath though.

It will be a bit sad if a tidy shell like that has gone to scrap over ferry tickets.

[GrumpiusMaximus]

1 hour ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

Glitter can get to fuck.

- an angry valeter

 

[Zelandeth]

Common sense?  Why has the concept of "continue until a place of safety" seemingly gone out of people's heads?

Today there's someone stopped in lane 2 of a 70mph dual carriageway, shortly after a sliproad so people are likely to be distracted from looking for a stationary vehicle there.  Apparent cause?  A flat tyre.

There's a filling station no more than 400 yards ahead.  Seriously why would anyone with even a shred of common sense not continue slowly to there rather than stop where they did - or even pull off to the side of the road?

Or even put their damned hazards on for that matter...

It was a BMW of course.

Day before yesterday I had a very near miss when I encountered a Peugeot Partner overtaking a long string of traffic right here.

Problem was he was coming round a blind corner and was about four cars short of having anywhere to pull in to.  The only reason I didn't wind up embedded in the front of his van was that I was in the Invacar so was small enough to get the heck out of the way.  A normally sized car would at least have either made contact or ended up in the verge - any HGV and it would have been messy.

Aside from the whole double white lines, who the HELL would think that was even vaguely a sane place to overtake?!?

[MikeR]

10 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

Common sense?  Why has the concept of "continue until a place of safety" seemingly gone out of people's heads?

Today there's someone stopped in lane 2 of a 70mph dual carriageway, shortly after a sliproad so people are likely to be distracted from looking for a stationary vehicle there.  Apparent cause?  A flat tyre.

There's a filling station no more than 400 yards ahead.  Seriously why would anyone with even a shred of common sense not continue slowly to there rather than stop where they did - or even pull off to the side of the road?

Or even put their damned hazards on for that matter...

It was a BMW of course.

Day before yesterday I had a very near miss when I encountered a Peugeot Partner overtaking a long string of traffic right here.

Problem was he was coming round a blind corner and was about four cars short of having anywhere to pull in to.  The only reason I didn't wind up embedded in the front of his van was that I was in the Invacar so was small enough to get the heck out of the way.  A normally sized car would at least have either made contact or ended up in the verge - any HGV and it would have been messy.

Aside from the whole double white lines, who the HELL would think that was even vaguely a sane place to overtake?!?

A lot of people have no clue about how a car operates and how much of a beating it can take , so when the little red light says stop , they stop , afraid the nice shiney car will fall apart about them , so unless a wheel has parted company ( which can happen ) keep on going to a place of safety where a 40 ton artic wont end your existance ..

[Zelandeth]

2 hours ago, MikeR said:

A lot of people have no clue about how a car operates and how much of a beating it can take , so when the little red light says stop , they stop , afraid the nice shiney car will fall apart about them , so unless a wheel has parted company ( which can happen ) keep on going to a place of safety where a 40 ton artic wont end your existance ..

Just been past the area again - They're still there!

[hairnet]

3 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

RANT MELON FARMER

 

 

 

the last time i used the works van that happened

theyre in the outside lane and nosed into the concrete barrier

drove past them after taking half an hour to do maybe a mile an a half

front didnt look caved in but why leave it there

guaranteed the traffic wonbles would close stuff even tho they could attach a rope and pull it to the side

happens quite a lot - if it goes bang and stop then ok but if it gradually goes ping then wtf are you in the outside lane for

cue wanker signs and people shouting at them

 

[Low Horatio gearbox]

Putting together a bed for the Gfs son. 2nd hand from face ache or wherever   the seller carefully managed to loose a few screws/bits of hardware but the  " piss de la resistance" is..

(Yes it's a house fuse instead of a dowel- its luckily not a safety/strength critical part)

[Lankytim]

9 minutes ago, Low Horatio gearbox said:

Putting together a bed for the Gfs son. 2nd hand from face ache or wherever   the seller carefully managed to loose a few screws/bits of hardware but the  " piss de la resistance" is..

(Yes it's a house fuse instead of a dowel- its luckily not a safety/strength critical part)

They’re  probably wondering why their kettles stopped working.

[camryv6]

11 minutes ago, Low Horatio gearbox said:

Putting together a bed for the Gfs son. 2nd hand from face ache or wherever   the seller carefully managed to loose a few screws/bits of hardware but the  " piss de la resistance" is..

(Yes it's a house fuse instead of a dowel- its luckily not a safety/strength critical part)

That is a brilliant idea