The grumpy thread

[chadders]

Just point out the dent and the other issues.

He must know that they're not mint and probably hoped that you wouldn't ask for pics.

I don't understand why you'd feel bad, he's tried it on.

[Dyslexic Viking]

1 hour ago, somewhatfoolish said:

The crank in the top side suggests it might be a low height jack, to fit under vehicles with not much ground clearance like sports cars.

  

 

It is. It is only 9 cm high at the end and lifts to approx. 55 cm.

[Zelandeth]

1 hour ago, chadders said:

Why not get some cones and put them there?

Yes, it's inconvenient but probably worth it.

Alternatively try and avoid going out for a couple of short periods in the day, there's very little that can't be scheduled as such.

I assume that you don't have any children so have never had the problem of finding a parking space to pick them up.

Cones they'd just move.  There were two there when the adjacent BT manhole had partly collapsed - they just appeared daily in our garden.

The irritating part is that there is zero shortage of parking less than metres further away.  Plus the catchment area is tiny, and most folks probably spend longer getting their kids into/out of the car than it would take them to walk.  I'm not exaggerating there - walking the dogs means I see where about 90% of the cars I see come from, and the vast, vast majority we're talking less than 1/4 a mile.

Going out is less of an issue, I'll usually just grumble and try again in half an hour then - it's usually getting back from things that I have issues when I find the drive blocked or cars parked in it.  If I wanted to avoid the time it basically means 1430 to 1600.

Honestly if we'd known the school was so close by we'd probably have given serious consideration as to whether we really wanted to buy this place - which it turns out would have been a blessing given the mountain of problems we've had with the house.  However we only saw the house in the dark outside school hours before we moved in, and moved in during the holidays - so we'd been there a week before we discovered that fun!  Not having kids and having absolutely zero interest whatsoever in ever having any, it's just not something we'd considered.

Not being able to get in/out of our property at will is something which causes me quite a lot of anxiety thanks to my autistic brain interpreting it as not being in control of my own space - which I know is nonsensical, but that doesn't help stop it from raising my blood pressure every time it happens.

It's just something we have to live with.  We'll be moving out of here as soon as it's feasible anyway.  Doesn't mean I won't grumble about it though... isn't that kinda why this thread is here?

 

Secondary grump...

Pretty sure that should be attached to the gearbox.

[chadders]

We used to drop the kids of off at school about 1/2 mile away and then carry into work. There wasn't time to walk them there, walk back and then set off for work. Add in the stuff for projects etc. that they often had to take in.

I could understand it more if it prevented you going to work. At least by the sound of it the school run mums don't wield knives.

I strongly suggest that you do some proper research next time, after all buying a house doesn't happen overnight does it?

[MikeR]

33 minutes ago, chadders said:

We used to drop the kids of off at school about 1/2 mile away and then carry into work. There wasn't time to walk them there, walk back and then set off for work. Add in the stuff for projects etc. that they often had to take in.

I could understand it more if it prevented you going to work. At least by the sound of it the school run mums don't wield knives.

I strongly suggest that you do some proper research next time, after all buying a house doesn't happen overnight does it?

We failed to view a house many years ago because of this , saved by a stroke of luck in a way ....

Anyway the mother in law lived by a school and her road would be parked up at little darlings collection time and people would use her drive space to enable a quick getaway  and I would park across her drive for a well timed visit  and my car became the keystone that locked the other cars in , drinking a cuppa whilst someone did a 44 point manoeuvre to get out , knowing they could see me seeing them ... Twat mode? 

[chadders]

So you never had the pleasure* of doing the school run then I guess.

[RoverFolkUs]

3 hours ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

Bought what I thought was a regular jack on sale and had my dad pick it up while he was in town, he wondered what I had bought due to the size and weight of the box, And I am wondering the same.

 

In case anyone is wondering, it weighs 50 kg.

Those sort are bloody brilliant, as others have said much nicer to use than the smaller ones 

[Dyslexic Viking]

8 minutes ago, RoverFolkUs said:

Those sort are bloody brilliant, as others have said much nicer to use than the smaller ones 

Yes, this was a good mistake, but I was a bit shocked, having never seen such a large and heavy jack before. And it looks well built, it even has  grease nipples.

[Amelia]

My grump is my kidneys. Apparently they aren't working quite as well one would hope for a woman my age. 😳

More tests being arranged to check. Might also explain the phantom back pain on one side that just won't go away... 

[High Jetter]

3 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

Ah yes, the schools are back.

Currently sitting waiting to get back onto my driveway as there are two cars parked across the entrance to it.

I'd be leaving (reasonably) politely-worded notes under the wipers, might take a while but hopefuly effective in the end. If you get the same, persistent offenders you might have to resort to liberating the air from a tyre or two, though that wouldn't be the quickest solution, obs.

Edit: Though that way you could offer to re-inflate for £xx

[chadders]

We have that problem here but for a slightly different reason. Notes work for the majority of people who tend to be reasonable and understandably don't think that blocking an empty driveway for a few minutes when they pick their kids up is going to cause a problem as they'll probably assume that the householder has gone to work, like most people do.

[captain_70s]

3 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

Ah yes, the schools are back.

Currently sitting waiting to get back onto my driveway as there are two cars parked across the entrance to it.

Park a car in front of your own driveway.

Or move out of the place you actively hate.

[Yoss]

3 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

Ah yes, the schools are back.

Currently sitting waiting to get back onto my driveway as there are two cars parked across the entrance to it.

Could you not park outside your own drive yourself? Bit awkward if you have to go out but if you're at home just leave your own car across your drive. 

Maybe we could have an Autoshite meeting at your house one weekday afternoon and fill the close up before they all arrive but I fear I might be being petty now. Sounds fun though. 

 

[Stanky]

4 minutes ago, captain_70s said:

Or move out of the place you actively hate.

You are not a tree, if you don't like it then just move somewhere else.

[High Jetter]

On another subject, and of zero interest to most, I've just been made aware that both Aer Lingus and Ryanair have ceased flying from Gatwick (LGW) to Knock (NOC - Ireland West International to give it it's grand name). No more 7.5 hour door-to-door trips over to the wife's family's home over on the West coast now then, it will take bloody ages and entail a 5:30 am train start to do it via Heathrow.

[robinmasters]

3 hours ago, chadders said:

We used to drop the kids of off at school about 1/2 mile away and then carry into work. There wasn't time to walk them there, walk back and then set off for work. Add in the stuff for projects etc. that they often had to take in.

I could understand it more if it prevented you going to work. At least by the sound of it the school run mums don't wield knives.

I strongly suggest that you do some proper research next time, after all buying a house doesn't happen overnight does it?

I've done literally hundreds of school runs, but have never blocked someone's drive or otherwise parked cuntily. 

I don't understand any of the comments trying to blame @Zelandeth for this; if he was grizzling about the amount of traffic at 08:30, the criticism might be justified, but these people are actively being twats. 

[Metal Guru]

3 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

Cones they'd just move.  There were two there when the adjacent BT manhole had partly collapsed - they just appeared daily in our garden.

The irritating part is that there is zero shortage of parking less than metres further away.  Plus the catchment area is tiny, and most folks probably spend longer getting their kids into/out of the car than it would take them to walk.  I'm not exaggerating there - walking the dogs means I see where about 90% of the cars I see come from, and the vast, vast majority we're talking less than 1/4 a mile.

Going out is less of an issue, I'll usually just grumble and try again in half an hour then - it's usually getting back from things that I have issues when I find the drive blocked or cars parked in it.  If I wanted to avoid the time it basically means 1430 to 1600.

Honestly if we'd known the school was so close by we'd probably have given serious consideration as to whether we really wanted to buy this place - which it turns out would have been a blessing given the mountain of problems we've had with the house.  However we only saw the house in the dark outside school hours before we moved in, and moved in during the holidays - so we'd been there a week before we discovered that fun!  Not having kids and having absolutely zero interest whatsoever in ever having any, it's just not something we'd considered.

Not being able to get in/out of our property at will is something which causes me quite a lot of anxiety thanks to my autistic brain interpreting it as not being in control of my own space - which I know is nonsensical, but that doesn't help stop it from raising my blood pressure every time it happens.

It's just something we have to live with.  We'll be moving out of here as soon as it's feasible anyway.  Doesn't mean I won't grumble about it though... isn't that kinda why this thread is here?

 

Secondary grump...

Pretty sure that should be attached to the gearbox.

I know school run driving and parking is atrocious , but I don’t have much sympathy for people who move into a house knowing there’s a school nearby.

I have even less sympathy for anyone who buys a house in the dark without checking out the surroundings. Was it incredibly cheap or something?

[Zelandeth]

26 minutes ago, Metal Guru said:

I know school run driving and parking is atrocious , but I don’t have much sympathy for people who move into a house knowing there’s a school nearby.

I have even less sympathy for anyone who buys a house in the dark without checking out the surroundings. Was it incredibly cheap or something?

We'd been notified that our rental was being sold (the letter arrived two days before Christmas), and everything was done in a hurry as we were trying to get everything done within that notice period.  While at the same time trying to sort a rental property as the other thread, turning up empty.  Trying to get a tenancy agreement on a rental for four folks turned out to be a massive headache.

We did manage to make it work, though even so spent a week and a bit living in the hotel at Newport Pagnell motorway services.  That was fun.  It did mean that we missed some things we otherwise might have twigged on though as it was done in a rush.  Which we've all said is something we'd never do again.

We knew the neighborhood in general beforehand, but schools are just something which had ever entered any of our minds - especially as unless you read the sign on the gate that's set back a long ways from the road this one isn't actually visible from the road.  It's entirely hidden behind trees and other properties (seeing that it's the rear gate we're next to rather than the frontage which is actually in the Local Centre).

I'm just going to shut my trap now anyway and leave it at that.  Get the feeling I just need to keep my grumpage internalised going forward.

[High Jetter]

1 hour ago, Zelandeth said:

We'd been notified that our rental was being sold (the letter arrived two days before Christmas), and everything was done in a hurry as we were trying to get everything done within that notice period.  While at the same time trying to sort a rental property as the other thread, turning up empty.  Trying to get a tenancy agreement on a rental for four folks turned out to be a massive headache.

We did manage to make it work, though even so spent a week and a bit living in the hotel at Newport Pagnell motorway services.  That was fun.  It did mean that we missed some things we otherwise might have twigged on though as it was done in a rush.  Which we've all said is something we'd never do again.

We knew the neighborhood in general beforehand, but schools are just something which had ever entered any of our minds - especially as unless you read the sign on the gate that's set back a long ways from the road this one isn't actually visible from the road.  It's entirely hidden behind trees and other properties (seeing that it's the rear gate we're next to rather than the frontage which is actually in the Local Centre).

I'm just going to shut my trap now anyway and leave it at that.  Get the feeling I just need to keep my grumpage internalised going forward.

Nah, let it all out. We can cope!

[High Jetter]

2 hours ago, Metal Guru said:

 

I have even less sympathy for anyone who buys a house in the dark without checking out the surroundings. Was it incredibly cheap or something?

Hang on, don't you live in Scotland?

[Metal Guru]

3 hours ago, High Jetter said:

Hang on, don't you live in Scotland?

Meaning?

[New POD]

3 hours ago, Metal Guru said:

Meaning?

The chances of viewing house at night are 100% in winter, and zero %  in summer

[BorniteIdentity]

12 hours ago, High Jetter said:

On another subject, and of zero interest to most, I've just been made aware that both Aer Lingus and Ryanair have ceased flying from Gatwick (LGW) to Knock (NOC - Ireland West International to give it it's grand name). No more 7.5 hour door-to-door trips over to the wife's family's home over on the West coast now then, it will take bloody ages and entail a 5:30 am train start to do it via Heathrow.

Loved flying into Knock. I think I timed four minutes between plane doors opening and me being in a taxi. Hurrah for small airports.

[artdjones]

13 hours ago, High Jetter said:

On another subject, and of zero interest to most, I've just been made aware that both Aer Lingus and Ryanair have ceased flying from Gatwick (LGW) to Knock (NOC - Ireland West International to give it it's grand name). No more 7.5 hour door-to-door trips over to the wife's family's home over on the West coast now then, it will take bloody ages and entail a 5:30 am train start to do it via Heathrow.

It's a strange one. They both felt must have felt they could make money flying to Gatwick, even if they can't, surely one of them could.

I know an Aer Lingus stewardess, and was moaning to her about the very limited destinations the company fly to from Cork, and she said that there's not enough planes to do any other flights because they are needed for flights from Dublin. 

So maybe it's down to aircraft shortage?

[High Jetter]

1 hour ago, BorniteIdentity said:

Loved flying into Knock. I think I timed four minutes between plane doors opening and me being in a taxi. Hurrah for small airports.

Hope you've saved up, cab prices over there have shot up!

27 minutes ago, artdjones said:

So maybe it's down to aircraft shortage?

I've a sneaky suspicion Gatwick may have become a bit greedy with it's fees TBH.

[goosey]

At Knock Airport do they still have that €10 development charge or something like that ? 

it’s been a couple of years since I flew into Knock 

[BorniteIdentity]

12 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

I'm just going to shut my trap now anyway and leave it at that.  Get the feeling I just need to keep my grumpage internalised going forward.

Vent away, but I would caution this.

Do you feel any better after you rant?  My suspicion is, in 99% of cases, people don't.  I guess you could be annoyed by - for example - people inconsiderately parking outside your house.  You moan to your partner, complain on the internet, and very quickly are completely consumed by it and it then becomes everything. Yet, the very next day, the same person will park there quite happily and go about their day.  Who's winning?

The happiest people I know live simply, know what they can and can't influence, make positive changes and are - above all - optimistic.  I've been chastised (quite rabidly) on here before, but I genuinely believe that an abundant mindset makes everything brighter.

[Stanky]

3 minutes ago, BorniteIdentity said:

The happiest people I know live simply, know what they can and can't influence, make positive changes and are - above all - optimistic.  I've been chastised (quite rabidly) on here before, but I genuinely believe that an abundant mindset makes everything brighter.

THIS.

[Talbot]

18 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

Currently sitting waiting to get back onto my driveway as there are two cars parked across the entrance to it.

Your complaint needs to go to the school rather than anywhere else.  Politely done, and with reference to "I'm sure you wouldn't want someone parked across your driveway" sort of comments.  If you can get the Headmaster/mistress on board about the parking being inconsiderate, then action will be taken.  It's their vicarious liability.

This happened at the school I used to go to many (many many) years ago.  Cars were banned from the school premesis, so everyone started bunging up all the local roads.  So at drop-off and pick-up time, a PCSO turned up and slapped parking endorsements on a load of illegally parked cars.  With that happening randomly for a few weeks, all the entitled little shites who coudln't be arsed to walk 1/2 mile to school were suddenly doing so as the nearest place to park was probably their own driveway.  Cycling to school also increased massively.

After a while, they did start a permit system such that anyone further than about 2 miles away was allowed to drop off and pick up, but no waiting was allowed.  It worked superbly.

[Metal Guru]

4 hours ago, New POD said:

The chances of viewing house at night are 100% in winter, and zero %  in summer

I see. Actually I did buy a flat in the dark once but as I’d viewed a couple in the same block during the day, I was only really seeing the inside.