The grumpy thread

[Kiltox]

12 hours ago, BorniteIdentity said:

Cool. “Keep Christmas in your own way, and let me keep it in mine™️.” It’s my favourite time of the year, and I hope it remains so forever.

Grump? I’ve had to replace my third uPVC window handle in as many years. Am I a brute, or just very unlucky? My father had windows 22 years ago and not a single problem. I reckon these are about 10.

Grin? The fix is £7.99 and I feel like Dick from “Escape to the Chateau” any time I fix something around the house.

The windows in the flat I’ve just bought have really stiff handles, so I guess I’ll be joining you soon

Any idea how to sort them?

[danthecapriman]

5 hours ago, MorrisItalSLX said:

In my state of New South Wales they are installing roadside cameras to catch people using their phones whilst driving, one was installed near me on the major highway through town.

My grump is that some lowlife scum had vandalised them, completely destroyed.

Distracted drivers on their phones are some of the most dangerous people on the road and the police/government are trying to stop them with these new cameras, but someone obviously thinks that this reckless driving behaviour is fine and they should not be punished for it.

I hope they catch whoever destroyed this camera and punish them severely.

Down my street they installed one of those electric signs that flashes up with the 30mph zone warning if it detects vehicles doing over 30. It’s 30 because it’s residential and there’s a school at each end of the road and a church and elderly people’s housing yet nobody sticks to that limit.

The sign was mounted on a lamp post, I went passed the day after they installed it and some utter prick had completely smashed it to bits. Literally torn to pieces and smashed off the lamp post.

why!? It wasn’t even a camera just a warning. It must have cost the council (and therefore tax payer) a fair bit too.

[Datsuncog]

22 hours ago, Fumbler said:

Micra's tyres are letting out air. I think their age and the recent cold weather has finally got to them. They're cracked like crazy!

Sounds like they need replacing, but as a point of interest it's always worth having a look at the code on the sidewall just to see how old they are:

About five years ago I put full sets of Avons on both my Laguna I and MrsDC's Yaris, and both sets were cracking really badly on the sidewalls after about 18 months.

Maybe I was just unlucky (x8), but it's not a brand I'd touch again.

Manufacturer claimed it was somehow my fault for allowing the tyres to suffer from UV degradation - even though the Lag's parking spot was down the side of the house, where literally the sun never shines (due to next door's massive three-storey extension that butts right up to the property line).

On the flipside, when one of my Polo Breadvan's Michelin tyres developed a wobble, the code showed that it was moulded in 1992... so quite likely the original spare tyre (as it still had plenty of tread on it).

[Wack]

2 hours ago, Tadhg Tiogar said:

...and they're probably not the only one. Over here, there are plenty of people who think it's acceptable. 

On the M62 last week going up windy hill near oldham a girl in a micra doing 60mph in lane 2 , I'm in lane one, she loses 5mph so I'm alongside her, look across and she's on her phone, texting or on instagram , I give it a loud blast of the horn and she fucks off at 70 mph , a mile or so further on I overtake her as she's back to 60 in lane 2 and yes, still on the phone , it was busy too, in a fucking micra , if a truck hits that it'll just be a paint stain on his bumper

That's why they bought in the 6 points for using your phone I'm sure , anyone caught in the first 2 years is back on the bus BUT it needs enforcing.

[Pieman]

Pull them over, smash their phone to bits in front of them, then slap their face a few times before allowing them to continue driving - with the ticket for the court date in the post.

[cobblers]

53 minutes ago, Wack said:

On the M62 last week going up windy hill near oldham a girl in a micra doing 60mph in lane 2 , I'm in lane one, she loses 5mph so I'm alongside her, look across and she's on her phone, texting or on instagram , I give it a loud blast of the horn and she fucks off at 70 mph , a mile or so further on I overtake her as she's back to 60 in lane 2 and yes, still on the phone , it was busy too, in a fucking micra , if a truck hits that it'll just be a paint stain on his bumper

That's why they bought in the 6 points for using your phone I'm sure , anyone caught in the first 2 years is back on the bus BUT it needs enforcing.

Similar thing here, I was on the M1 the other day, it was pure pissing it down, loads of spray, crap visibility. I was doing 70mph which honestly was too fast for the conditions, I was being a fanny but the road was fairly quiet.

In my mirror I saw a car bombing along in the right hand lane gaining ground very quickly, they were doing a good 95+ MPH. It was being driven some young lass with her phone in one hand, having an animated conversation and waving the other hand about in the air!

 

[New POD]

I awoke to the sounds of a motorbike doing at least 80 mph past my house in a 30.mph zone.  It was dry, and daylight and Sunday morning, but feck it was loud and fast. 

What is it about Uttoxeter that everyone under 40 thinks they are Colin.mcrae or guy Martin on a competitive event? 

 

[vulgalour]

It's alarmingly common.  The way people react when they're caught using a mobile means the education is working, in that they know they shouldn't be doing it.  The traffic light creeper is one of the worst offenders, you can see them looking down as they creep forward, then immediately on the brakes when they look up because they don't seem to realise they're moving while messing with their phone.  The oblivious transit tipper driver with the phone glued to his ear, barelling out of junctions and onto roundabouts without a care in the world, getting angry at anyone that beeps at their recklessness.

There's no solution to it because people are people.

[GrumpiusMaximus]

The lorry drivers near Dover that pull out in front of cars at the Whitfield roundabout near Dover when on their phones is really, really alarming.  It wouldn't be quite so alarming if it was rare but it happens practically every time I'm down there.  Which is usually once or twice a week.  Literally pulling out in front of cars that are going around the roundabout as if they haven't seen them.

[vulgalour]

The worst offenders for this are the employers that demand employees answer their phone but don't make any provision for hands-free kits of any sort.  As a driver, you risk serious penalties on your license should you get caught, jeopardising your career, but also if you don't answer when the employer calls, what with zero hour contracts and the like, you jeapordise your wage because your employer might just not give you any hours to work.  So people take the risk, because the risk of getting caught is significantly lower than the risk of your employer being a Grade A dick.

[sutty2006]

I’ve seen more people using mobile phones since the new 6 points fine etc than before it came into force. People just don’t give a shit. Especially how there’s naff all coppers on the road anymore. 

[EssDeeWon]

The whole mobile phone use behind the wheel also boils my piss.  See it all the time, as Vulg says the traffic light creepers are easy to spot and see them all the time.  I always spot people driving around and looking down, either on their phones or obsessed with their own genitalia, I suspect the former!    Recently a nice blonde girl driving a Merc let me cross the road at a junction, nice smile and a gesture to cross...  As I crossed I spotted the phone in her left hand so I done the whole phone hand signal thing and said 'PUT THE PHONE DOWN'.   The instant rage that followed was something else. 

[Jerzy Woking]

1 hour ago, vulgalour said:

The traffic light creeper is one of the worst offenders, you can see them looking down as they creep forward...

This is precisely the moment I toot my horn and see them go straight through the red light.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

The Post Office queues are just insanity.

[Lacquer Peel]

Renationalise the Post Office!
I saw someone driving today with their windows fully misted up, no attempt to clear them, I don't know how they could see at all.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

22 minutes ago, Lacquer Peel said:

Renationalise the Post Office!

....and let's ban all forms of private property eventually. Property is theft, right?

[loserone]

That's a big leap.

 

Nationalising the post office makes sense, because it gives citizens a place to interact with government.  And there are still lots of reasons why you might want to do that.

[Lacquer Peel]

....and let's ban all forms of private property eventually. Property is theft, right?

Was it theft when it was taken from the nation and sold on the cheap?

 

[Fumbler]

5 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

Sounds like they need replacing, but as a point of interest it's always worth having a look at the code on the sidewall just to see how old they are:

About five years ago I put full sets of Avons on both my Laguna I and MrsDC's Yaris, and both sets were cracking really badly on the sidewalls after about 18 months.

Maybe I was just unlucky (x8), but it's not a brand I'd touch again.

Manufacturer claimed it was somehow my fault for allowing the tyres to suffer from UV degradation - even though the Lag's parking spot was down the side of the house, where literally the sun never shines (due to next door's massive three-storey extension that butts right up to the property line).

On the flipside, when one of my Polo Breadvan's Michelin tyres developed a wobble, the code showed that it was moulded in 1992... so quite likely the original spare tyre (as it still had plenty of tread on it).

According to my car's MoT history, the tyres on the car 8 years ago were perishing so I assume the current tyres are 8 years old. I've known that they needed replacing since I looked at them up close and realised they're cracking everywhere. It's a shame really as they have a lot of tread on them! Oh well, every rubber component on my car needs doing bar the exhuast hangers.

 

 

[Tadhg Tiogar]

33 minutes ago, Lacquer Peel said:

Was it theft when it was taken from the nation and sold on the cheap?

 

Was it theft when the railway networks were taken from the private companies in 1948?

[High Jetter]

2 hours ago, Tadhg Tiogar said:

The Post Office queues are just insanity.

Agreed, but when did you last use one? I use my local PO every week (have to, now NatPest have closed all the local branches) and it's usually fine, except December when everyone descends to send cards or parcels or ask silly questions.

[Cavcraft]

4 hours ago, vulgalour said:

It's alarmingly common.  The way people react when they're caught using a mobile means the education is working, in that they know they shouldn't be doing it.  The traffic light creeper is one of the worst offenders, you can see them looking down as they creep forward, then immediately on the brakes when they look up because they don't seem to realise they're moving while messing with their phone.  The oblivious transit tipper driver with the phone glued to his ear, barelling out of junctions and onto roundabouts without a care in the world, getting angry at anyone that beeps at their recklessness.

There's no solution to it because people are people.

That's exactly it, they always give it away by looking down, usually to their right. I caught a lady (alone) driving a BMW driving school car texting someone in slow traffic the other week. She jumped out of her when I shouted at her.

[Lacquer Peel]

Was it theft when the railway networks were taken from the private companies in 1948?

No.

[BorniteIdentity]

9 hours ago, Kiltox said:

The windows in the flat I’ve just bought have really stiff handles, so I guess I’ll be joining you soon

Any idea how to sort them?

A new £7.99 handle from Screwfix. They have a variety of different fixings so it will almost certainly work for you. 
 

On the Haynes scale, it’s one star stuff. 

[Supernaut]

Driving through Edinburgh in a big, slow, cumbersome van.

I was sticking to the left lane in order to continue down the street. Crossed a roundabout and with zero warning, my lane was a bus lane. Ended up sat with the indicator on as nobody let me out and buses and taxis gathered behind me. Have to drive squeaky clean in a company vehicle!

It happened twice on the same bloody road in about half a mile too. Much swearing occurred.

[beko1987]

2 hours ago, High Jetter said:

Agreed, but when did you last use one? I use my local PO every week (have to, now NatPest have closed all the local branches) and it's usually fine, except December when everyone descends to send cards or parcels or ask silly questions.

I use one regularly. It's the only sub branch left in Marlow, and it's mega easy to park so i take all my parcels there

The main one in town is a twat in all respects, same with my one in Thame. The guy behind the counter knows me, just smiles and points the gun through the glass to scan the label and I put it at the side tidily

[anonymous user]

I'm pleased that Barclays have backtracked on their proposal to stop allowing customers to withdraw cash at Post Offices; however that's not much help when both are closing at a rate of knots around here.

I dislike using third party cash machines, ever since the one at the CoOp ate my card, but don't often get the chance to get into a bank.

[tapir]

23 minutes ago, anonymous user said:

I'm pleased that Barclays have backtracked on their proposal to stop allowing customers to withdraw cash at Post Offices; however that's not much help when both are closing at a rate of knots around here.

I dislike using third party cash machines, ever since the one at the CoOp ate my card, but don't often get the chance to get into a bank.

I've not used cash for months, last time was for a taxi journey, can't remember before that

[Bren]

Filler in my downstairs toilet needed replacing. What a fucking palaver. Hands like Donald Trump's and the ability to be upside down like batman are a pre requisite.

[ruffgeezer]

Had a run out in the Berlingo Multispace at the weekend, for the most part it behaved, but as it hadn't been used in a few weeks it was full of condensation which managed somehow to toast the cd player.

 

Fucksocks.