The grumpy thread

[Burnside]

Fucking gritter just gone past here dropping salt, when the bloody forecast is saying 4 degree weather overnight minimum. 

Obviously West Midland's Council want to help ensure they ruin my car and the roads, more than they have already.  Cunts.

[Pieman]

The paint on most of my Focus is already fucked, so I don't really care.

[High Jetter]

1 hour ago, Burnside said:

Fucking gritter just gone past here dropping salt, when the bloody forecast is saying 4 degree weather overnight minimum. 

Obviously West Midland's Council want to help ensure they ruin my car and the roads, more than they have already.  Cunts.

Must have been nicked, they go round about 5pm round here.

[EyesWeldedShut]

It's a beautiful, sunny, calm morning here. At last! Do some car tinkering after I have sorted out life admin shite and (literally) a load of horse shite.
Let's check the weather forecast.
Great. 
Happy Days.

[Datsuncog]

Had a couple of last-minute things to fetch from the supermarket this morning.

Up and out early to beat dem ol' queues.

Got down to Sainsburys, parked up, got out, patted my coat pocket - ah shit, I'd only gone and left my phone at home, by the front door. The device that contains the all-important shopping list.

Drove home, lifted it from the console, drove back down again. Waste of half an hour.

Busier now. Much busier. People hoofing multiple 15p bags of carrots into their trolleys like their lives depended on it.

Procured a couple of things, but they didn't quite have everything I was after, irritatingly.

Against my better judgement, I headed over to Tesco. Even busier.

Battling through the aisles, I managed to find what I needed - at a stupidly inflated shelf price, but their 'Clubcard Price' knocked about 33% off and brought it back into the realms of affordability.

Got over to the till, and while standing in the queue I realised I'd given my Clubcard to MrsDC the other night to use with a voucher, and she didn't give it back (those annoying Clubcard keyring fob things are long since broken and lost).

Dithered, agonised, then decided that no, I wasn't prepared to pay £12 over the odds for a bottle of specialty rum, so put it back again and left, risking life and limb to navigate the rammed carpark with people driving like they were on a drunken dodgem rampage.

Got home in a sulk, and then remembered that I'd loaded all my supermarket cards onto Google Wallet about a month ago, precisely to avoid this sort of problem arising.

So I could have availed of the so-called 'discount' after all.

Well bollocks to that, I'm absolutely not going out to the shops again. We'll probably survive for the next week or so with what's in the cupboard!

[bunglebus]

Get the app!

[bunglebus]

Not so much grumpy as slightly sad today. Last month we found an old chap who'd fallen over and banged his head quite badly, lots of blood although it didn't look too deep. We took him up to A+E as it was very cold and there was a four hour wait for an ambulance, he'd walked into town from near where we live, probably a good 40 mins each way. They sorted him out and were going to keep him overnight, but decided to kick him out that evening, so we went back and got him, dropped him at home. By the sound of it he didn't have any immediate family, and certainly none local.

A week or so later we dropped a note through the door with our contact details as it was playing on our minds a bit that he was alone. Didn't hear from him.

Today we went to drop a Christmas card off, and a guy answered the door who turned out to be his nephew. Apparently a few weeks ago a neighbour became concerned about him, looked through the letterbox - and he was dead at the bottom of the stairs, having suffered a heart attack. RIP John 😐

[Datsuncog]

43 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Get the app!

Heh, I've got the app, but it's... complicated.

I've been fighting with the Tesco app for the best part of a year, there's some login problem about the card and the linked account (acquired about 20 years ago) which customer services can't resolve... for some reason they can keep sending us paper stuff, but can't verify the exact same details on the app and keeps saying they're invalid.

I'll try to get it resolved while I'm off for a while in January!

[scaryoldcortina]

I'm still at work and have done no shopping at all. We're even out of bread and milk.

[myglaren]

Plenty of time tomorrow.

I have found that shopping on Christmas Eve is far less traumatic, the shops are practically empty, more staff than customers and often lots of stuff marked down.

[RoverFolkUs]

1 hour ago, myglaren said:

Plenty of time tomorrow.

I have found that shopping on Christmas Eve is far less traumatic, the shops are practically empty, more staff than customers and often lots of stuff marked down.

This must be satire as on the one occasion I went to Tesco on Christmas eve I left with battle scars... Never ever again 😂

[Markeh]

I had to go to Poundland earlier for some more wrapping paper and a gift bag (I may not be a last minute shopper but I'm definitely a last minute wrapper!), and blimey, you wouldn't even know it's Christmas, they've virtually packed all the Christmas stuff away!

Fortunately they had a bag and wrapping paper that suited.

[myglaren]

23 minutes ago, RoverFolkUs said:

This must be satire as on the one occasion I went to Tesco on Christmas eve I left with battle scars... Never ever again 😂

Not at all.  First time I had to go into Newcastle to collect some T-shirts I had made for my daughter.  Left the car in Asda Gosforth and took the metro.  Practically deserted.  Then to Fenwicks, hardly a soul in there,  Same with Debenhams.

Back to Gosforth, got most things in Asda then went to another Asda in Longbenton for some more odds and ends.

All done easily in the afternoon with no rushing around.

Have found much the same but most of my shopping done in Washington, Birtley, Stanley or Consett.

[maxxo]

i went to Asda today and it was absolute carnage

packed, huge queues and barely space to breathe

i suppose that's what happens when you're the largest supermarket in around 5-10 miles or so

the next closest big one is either Morrisons at Dalton Park in Murton or Morrisons/asda/tesco in Hartlepool

[High Jetter]

We have Sainsb, Morrisons, Waitrose, Tesco, aldi all within about .5 mile. Sainsb busy yesterday, found a checkout with no queue, for some reason. Morrisons was quieter. Trolley helps with comparing pricing.

[wuvvum]

Went to the local Tesco just after 9pm to pick up a few bits.  It was busier than usual for a Monday evening but not manic at all, I went straight to a (self service) till and was in and out in less than 10 minutes.

[myglaren]

I've used the self checkout a few times, mainly without a great degree of success.

Last time in Aldi a couple of weeks ago I was too slow for it and constantly berated by the robovoice.

[somewhatfoolish]

I loathe self-service tills and the race to the bottom they represent but at this time of year I think I'd make an exception.

[HillmanImp]

Just been watching the Dr Who 'The war games' which has been colourised and re-edited to an hour and a half long film. 

It was absolutely brilliant, really enjoyed it...... but they ruined it with lots of silly CGI bits that were out of place and not in keeping. 

At the end (I'll sound like a pratt if this was in the original) there was a CGI close up of Worzel Gummidge Doctor in the tardis that looked like it was from a PS4. 

I didn't mind the joke where Box of Delights doctor was rejecting his new face and the recent doctors were on the screen but again, the effects were too good (feels odd saying that with Dr Who). 

It shouldn't bother me but it was such a contrast to the rest of the film, how hard is it to make shit CGI thats in keeping with the rest of it for continuity? 

[Rustybullethole]

Just now, somewhatfoolish said:

I loathe self-service tills and the race to the bottom they represent but at this time of year I think I'd make an exception.

Feel the same though in lots of places they seem all that's on offer. Often need to seek a member of staff so I can pay with my coins and paper but have found more that take cash of late. 

Had a bit of barney with the robovoice today as the third (free) bag broke and it kept going on about removing my shopping. Would of tipped me over the edge if id if paid for any of their shit bags. 

[andy18s]

11 hours ago, somewhatfoolish said:

I loathe self-service tills and the race to the bottom they represent but at this time of year I think I'd make an exception.

No one uses them here in Bg so it's always a quick in and out for me..

[GeordieInExile]

After a long day of getting packed and travelling to Dublin with the baby I was really looking forward to seeing what hire car they were gonna give me. I've had some great fun with hire cars previously in Ireland, the highlight being the basic Panda they gave me last time to hoon around the countryside in. 

So you can imagine my disappointment when they gave me the keys to...An Opel Crossland. I feared the worst but first impressions were positive as the boot swallowed up all of our gear. 

But then I got into it and good lord. It is fucking *horrible*. Nasty, agricultural sounding, gutless engine. Vague steering. Cheap plastics everywhere. Uncomfortable seats. Rubbish headlights. 

The one thing I could find that I liked was the volume clicker for the stereo on the steering wheel, which is in perfect reach of your right thumb. But that's it. It's the worst car I've ever driven, taking the crown from... a Corsa hire car I've previously had. 

All Vauxhalls really might be shit, you know. 

[GeordieInExile]

Oh yeah and the lane assist thing is absolute bobbins. Extremely overzealous. I *hate* car features that nanny you like this anyway but they're even more contemptible when they don't actually work properly. This thing pings up even when you're nowhere near straying over a line. 

The suggestions for when to change gear are also laughable. Way too keen for you to shift up. I know better than you, you stupid Vauxhall, and you're staying in third. 

[Captain Mainwaring]

Been fine all year and today of all days I feel fucking shite.

That's it, that's the post.

[Spiny Norman]

Morrisons are really taking the piss with their store card.
Pie: Big yellow price ticket £1.25. Harder to read plain white price ticket without the card £2.

Bottle of nice whisky £23 with card, £35 without.

FRO, I went to Lidl instead.

[Remspoor]

2 hours ago, GeordieInExile said:

All Vauxhalls  Opels really might be shit, you know. 

Corrected

[chaseracer]

It's basically a first-gen  2008,  which cannot be described as Peugeot's technical high point.

[gm]

i’ve just seen a new ford capri on the road - i’ve reserved judgement until seeing one in the flesh but i have to report that “fuck me, that’s an ugly bastard of a car” 

no pics as i was driving but imagine a very young child had built a car from yellow lego and you’re not far off 

[beko1987]

3 hours ago, Captain Mainwaring said:

Been fine all year and today of all days I feel fucking shite.

That's it, that's the post.

Same, I started feeling like shit yesterday and had an awful night. Not done alot today either. 

Need to be better tomorrow, I've got to drive to my dad's 😂

[tooSavvy]

4 hours ago, GeordieInExile said:

The one thing I could find that I liked was the volume clicker for the stereo on the steering wheel, which is in perfect reach of your right thumb. But that's it... [Yep ✔️]

All Vauxhalls really might be shit, you know. [ha ha ha 👍]

Vroom, vroom m9

🚙💨