The grumpy thread

[michiel]

Grump subject: The new BMW advert on the telly.

 

I mean WTF. WTF!

"We make joy" is the tag line.

Bollocks. Have they gone mad??

 

BMW do not make 'joy'.

They make hard-seated austerity that goes fast, handles well and looks brutal. They make cars with bleak but perfectly spaced dashes. They charge extra for everything you expect to be standard. And above all they make cars that half the populace will signal to you that you are an onanist as you drive them. They don't make fluffy cutesy things full of joy. Sort it out!!

[pogweasel]

LOL^Unless of course this new BMW marketing campaign is referring to 'Strength through Joy'. I can imagine that spouting from the mouth of some pointy-haired ad-twat only to be met with icey glares from stern execs. Returning briefly to carvery dinners, I would like to speak in their defence, not only does it give me a rare opportunity to consume meat & gravy, which is generally shunned by the rest of the houshold populace, but it takes me back to golden days of the 1980's, carvery dinner at Beefeater followed by knickerbocker glory ice cream in the company of my grandparents, lovely, except now I can have some lovely beer with my carvery. Yum.

[dollywobbler]

Good point. Why have girls started advertising clothes with their arses? I mean, it's not all bad. It's words so I guess I'm justified in having a closer look to see what it says. I just don't understand why you want to suggest to the world that you're a bench!

[shite_meister]

Charity fundraisers who are going on a cycle ride to Mexico or similar acts in some warm sunny climate and oh the great thing is half of your money will go to charidee, half? HALF? this arrangement really and truely boils my piss big time and its an argument I had with someone at work, I get fed up with these berks making out that its all in the name of charity and aren't they great? no, its an piss-poor excuse for you and a group of like-minded dullards to go on a joly somewhere and expect everyone else to pay for it, then give a bit to charity and expect to return home as some sort of fucking hero so you can bore everyone to tears with your tales of bravado.Anyway going back to my work collegue, I said I'd give some money if she could assure me that ALL of my donation went to the charity because I'm not paying for her holiday, the reply I got was "But doing this is better than not raising any money" to which I replied "Yes but why the hell do you have to do it halfway around the world? why can't you simply do your cycle ride HERE and then give ALL of the money to charity and then the charity concerned will have MORE money" the reply I got was "Well I don't want your money" :roll:I have no issue with donating to needy causes but don't insult my sodding intelligence by making out that you are somehow some great philanthropist when in fact you want a free trip at the cost of the very charity you claim to be helping-disgusting.

[dollywobbler]

Agree. I sponsored my friend to do a trek in Peru, but she paid for her costs and put a ridiculous amount of effort into fund-raising before she left.Don't like banger rallies either. I'm sure the needy countries are really pleased to get lumbered with crocks of shit that have been flogged half way across the world by a bunch of loonies. That's one reason why us 2CVers had a non-banger rally last year where we did 3500 miles in two weeks around the UK, and you could get sponsored and give money to charity. We didn't because it was an expensive road-trip to us and it felt wrong to get people to sponsor us for it.

[pogweasel]

I went to an event today at the local conservative club* that was ostensibly a 'fundraiser' for one of these lame chazza razzas. Have to admit I didn't know beforehand, seems some whacky and adventurous indervidjuals are driving from Poggleswade to Prague on the czech wrecks. Oh FFS, how far is it to prague, even the long way? 800 miles? Piss. Any old heap would do it unless showing signs of total terminality on purchase. These guys are 'brave' enough to do it in a Volvo 850. I mean, come on. Fricking 850 will run to the sun and back without trying. Shan't complain as it kept the kids entertained, and Father In Law kept me supplied with ale for the afternoon....*Please note I would never dream of voting for those mongs, but it's the cheapest place in town to get a beer, even as a non-member, a status that shall remain quo, as I imagine the inaugeration involves stripping naked in front of the board, swearing allegance to the tory cause and bashing one out over a 9ft oil painting of Margaret Thatcher.....

[Guest]

 

Pog, today.

[pogweasel]

Hmm. Unlikely.Labour / working men's club is impressively shit, like really bad. Liberal club is just fetid.

[RedSparrow]

I went to Tescos today, and as I was still a bit drunk from last night, I bought a new telly. At the checkout I was surprised when the child behind the till prematurely asked for my clubcard. He explained that it was to check that the address it was registered to had a TV liscence. How the fuck did Tescos get this information? And what right do they have to use it? I know they got in trouble for RFID tagging a few years back, are they joining the nanny-state bandwagon?In this country we have all the negatives but none of the positives of a police state - i.e. the innocent people who work are monitored and harrassed while scum are allowed to do what they like and are praised by hand-wringing liberals.Sorry. Ive just watched that Baader Meinhof Complex film, got me thinking...

[brammy777]

I tell you what annoys me, the fact that if you go into tescos for fags or alcohol, and youre with anyone else who doesnt come to the counter with you, you get refused purchase.Im 18, the law states i can buy what i want for me, surely you cannot refuse to serve me things because of presumption?However, I did once look utterly gobsmacked that they had assumed the people behind me were with me, and it worked.Annoying though, I dont buy things for other people!

[mk1_4dr]

I tell you what annoys me, the fact that if you go into tescos for fags or alcohol, and youre with anyone else who doesnt come to the counter with you, you get refused purchase.Im 18, the law states i can buy what i want for me, surely you cannot refuse to serve me things because of presumption?However, I did once look utterly gobsmacked that they had assumed the people behind me were with me, and it worked.Annoying though, I dont buy things for other people!

Its called Challenge25, every licenced premises have to, by law, ask for ID if you look under 25 in the opinion of the cashier/assitant. It should never be a problem if you carry your driving licence with you.Im 24 and still get ID'd for cigs, but thats 'cause I look 12 when Ive had a shave

[brammy777]

No, its not the challenge 25 thing, I have ID, and show it, its just I hate how tescos, or anyone else for that matter, presumes that if you come into the shop with other people, then only you buy ciggerettes or alcohol, they refuse to sell it to you because they are 'convinced' youre buying it for the same people they saw you come in with.

[Milford Cubicle]

I have grown some kind of beard for this very reason.Only thing is, I didn't have any facial hair until I was 18, and it still doesn't grow very strongly 5 years later, so it's a bit of a crap beard and they still ask me.I think some of the employees just like the limited power they possess, and yield it at any opportunity.

[chester drawers]

Its called Challenge25, every licenced premises have to, by law, ask for ID if you look under 25 in the opinion of the cashier/assitant.

It’s not law; it’s a voluntary code of practice.Retailers claim it’s designed to stop proxy purchasing of alcohol by adults for children. This is somewhat disingenuous of them. It’s in their interests to adopt the scheme as potentially it allows participating stores to shift the blame for any under- age sales away from management and onto the check out operators. Irrespective of their motivation, farcical situations now arise whereby families carrying out their weekly shop with teenage children in tow are refused alcohol in case they’re buying it for their own kids.It’s only slightly less ludicrous than its predecessor Challenge 21. Morrisons had their own particular take on this, which in practice meant that everyone, irrespective of their appearance, was asked to confirm they were over 21. Amused / offended coffin dodgers up and down the land brought this to the attention of the press and the store policy was quietly dropped.

[Guest]

Its called Challenge25, every licenced premises have to, by law, ask for ID if you look under 25 in the opinion of the cashier/assitant.

It’s not law; it’s a voluntary code of practice.Retailers claim it’s designed to stop proxy purchasing of alcohol by adults for children. This is somewhat disingenuous of them. It’s in their interests to adopt the scheme as potentially it allows participating stores to shift the blame for any under- age sales away from management and onto the check out operators. Irrespective of their motivation, farcical situations now arise whereby families carrying out their weekly shop with teenage children in tow are refused alcohol in case they’re buying it for their own kids.It’s only slightly less ludicrous than its predecessor Challenge 21. Morrisons had their own particular take on this, which in practice meant that everyone, irrespective of their appearance, was asked to confirm they were over 21. Amused / offended coffin dodgers up and down the land brought this to the attention of the press and the store policy was quietly dropped.

If you think that's good, I was asked for ID buying cigs at a petrol station. Bear in mind that I'd just filled up my car and paid for it, no questions asked.I've also been told at several clubs in Manchester, that my driving license (y'know with the DVLA watermark that appears under a UV light and the gold bits you can see in ambient light) 'looks fake'.

[Pillock]

If you think that's good, I was asked for ID buying cigs at a petrol station. Bear in mind that I'd just filled up my car and paid for it, no questions asked.

Bear in mind also you've gotta be 17 to drive, but 18 to buy fags so they were being pretty reasonable. brammy, they're trained to refuse purchase to 18/19/20 year olds who bring people into the shop to 'choose' and then lurk away from the counter. It's quite a suspicious thing to be doing in all fairness, if they're old enough to be drinking they can buy it themselves, or at least lurk outside instead.The fines for selling to underage drinkers are so tough that they have to suspect everyone is out to get them. Working in a pub, punters would get their ID checked on every visit to the bar if they were unlucky enough to be served by a different person as we were told in no uncertain terms if we were caught by the undercover police, we'd be paying the fine ourselves.

[Richard]

I suppose the TV licence thing will be like the MID.My wife used to work for Victoria Wine and they were very hot on underage selling. They would only accept a UK passport or a "Prove It" card as ID and they were vigilant on proxy buying. They did use common sense though. If a stranger came in to buy exactly what you'd just refused to sell some underagers they didn't get it. Sometimes a teenager would come in with a parent and it would be clear that they were there to buy alcohol for the teen. They didn't get it either.I don't agree with the last bit. To my mind a parent buying shifts the responsibility from the shop to the parent. Also- unless the law has changed, and it hadn't then, it is legal for children to drink in the house from age 5. She did get charged with underage selling once though. It was a busy Friday night and one of her assistants sold some beer to a very mature 15 year old rugby player. Although this boy had already proved himself to be a liar by buying alcohol the police took his word as gospel. As the licence holder my wife was charged and stood to lose her licence and her job. They only got away with it because the little twat identified the wrong assistant and the till rolls proved that assistant hadn't sold to him.You can see why they have to be vigilant but common sense annd judgement seem to be forbidden these days, it's all inflexible procedures. Oh and...

I think some of the employees just like the limited power they possess, and yield it at any opportunity.

Yield or wield?

[seth]

Louvre type things on traffic lights. You know, those ones that mean it is difficult to see the light unless you are three feet away and looking up into them. What the frick is the point!? Usually seem to be found on pedestrian crossings. At night you can just about make out whether there is a dim green or red glow coming from behind them but during the day it can be pretty much impossible.

 

Can't find a picture of one so have one of the tree instead.

 

[Guest]

Do you have a Nectar card? NO.Do you have a Tesco Clubcard? NO.Do you have a Co-operative members card? NO.I do not have your loyalty card. I do not want your loyalty card. All I want to do is buy some food! Just leave me alone.Also an idea to make self-checkouts better - a mute button. If I could just mute it, I wouldn't have to listen to that panicked woman repeating the fact that I have to insert cash each and every time I put a coin in. What do you think I'm going to do, just put 10p in and call it quits?

[RedSparrow]

I wonder if they would refuse to sell you a TV then if you don't have a clubcard? Or would you have to bring your TV liscence along to show them? Either way its none of their business and I think its criminal that the TV liscence people have given them access to their databases.

[Justin Case]

Loyalty cards. What an oxymoron. Loyalty is something that I get when the dog greets me when I come home, it cannot be bought by offering me a 1p voucher if I buy 200 quidsworth of bland over-priced food

[Mash]

Halfords paint range.I went in to get a can for a friend's Micra and came out with nothing - they have about three Nissan colours in their range.What they do have however is Ford Purple Velvet which was applied to about half a dozen cars in 1973, Ford Highland green from about 1962 and BL Applejack for all those Allegros still out there in this colour, plus a myriad of other long obsolete hues but not the shade I want for a 14 year-old Micra. Must be cos they're pretty rare nowadays I suppose.

[AnthonyG]

I wonder if they would refuse to sell you a TV then if you don't have a clubcard? Or would you have to bring your TV liscence along to show them? Either way its none of their business and I think its criminal that the TV liscence people have given them access to their databases.

There is a law that states that any retailer that sells a television has to note the customer's address. If you didn't have a Clubcard they would be entitled to ask for your address.Its got nothing specifically to do with Tesco - its all on behalf of the TV licence people.

[RedSparrow]

I wonder if they would refuse to sell you a TV then if you don't have a clubcard? Or would you have to bring your TV liscence along to show them? Either way its none of their business and I think its criminal that the TV liscence people have given them access to their databases.

There is a law that states that any retailer that sells a television has to note the customer's address. If you didn't have a Clubcard they would be entitled to ask for your address.Its got nothing specifically to do with Tesco - its all on behalf of the TV licence people.

Seriously?Frig me.

[pogweasel]

Have you got a TV license RedSparra?

[RedSparrow]

Have you got a TV license RedSparra?

Yeah. But anyway my clubcard is still registered to me Dad's house so it wouldn't matter anyway. Its the bloody principal I tell ye...I feel my rant has been diffused somewhat.

[pogweasel]

Maybe you should take my lead and just refuse to buy a new TV. 42in LCD Plasma HD can bollocks. If your ancient CRT breaks, well there's no end of replacements available for the cost of a pint or even free, and no worries about a licence. *Note to authorities: We hactually do has TV licence. I think.....

[trigger]

Bloody Oasis the bunch of wankers.Paid £80 for a ticket for V festival 'cause i thought it be great to see them live just to find out halfway through the day that they have cancelled their headlining act due to Liam getting 'viral laryngitis', And nothing to do with the fact he was getting pissed all the night before.Well hacked off, got covered in piss, sunburned and have sore feet now, Mind you the half naked girls everywhere and Katy Perry made it worth it though!.

[Milford Cubicle]

Katy Perry? Oasis?

 

 

'V' festival seems to have conveniently arranged all the acts I hate in one location., I should have set up some kind of bomb.

[Pete-M]

Halfords paint range.

 

I went in to get a can for a friend's Micra and came out with nothing - they have about three Nissan colours in their range.

 

What they do have however is Ford Purple Velvet which was applied to about half a dozen cars in 1973, Ford Highland green from about 1962 and BL Applejack for all those Allegros still out there in this colour, plus a myriad of other long obsolete hues but not the shade I want for a 14 year-old Micra. Must be cos they're pretty rare nowadays I suppose.

Highland Green? Must be for all those 'Bullitt' rep Mustangs.