The grumpy thread

[sheffcortinacentre]

I know been thru some of it myself every hurdle is put in the way ,your genuinely better helped if it's an obvious self inflicted problem alcoholism ( no I'm not belittling it) just know several who have no hassle re benefits,

same for junkies, near a mates one couple are on max payout over £800 per week yet are skint reg burgling neighborhood,sell stuff from house  it's been fully refurbished by sanctuary housing twice in last year( last time they'd even sold bathroom  suite)they don't pay rent  (while those around them struggle to get the most basic repairs done)  it all goes on smack . Their banned from all shops within a mile radius

Other residents are told where a housing charity & they've got problems & need somewhere to live we can't make them homeless!

Strangely they don't have a problem evicting decent people who come on hard times through job loss/ill heath etc.

[eddyramrod]

On 06/03/2026 at 18:38, Zelandeth said:

Have had this stinking headache for nearly a fortnight now.  It can please sod off.

Always prone to them (thanks Mum) and occasional migraines, but usually get a break of a few days to a week between them.  This one is only about a 3 or 4 out of 10, but after long enough even that starts to get REAL old.

Seriously hampering my enthusiasm to do...well... anything. 

Is it late enough I'm allowed to go to bed yet?

Raise hell to get yourself a CT scan.  It took me five months to get one and look where I am now.  There aren't many people I would wish that level of headaches (and subsequent brain surgery, weakness and disorientation) on; most of their names end with MP.

23 hours ago, barefoot said:

Classic cars in detective shows bollocks.

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/detective-series-car-lynley-b2915340.html

"Jack Reagan in his classic 1972 Mk1 Ford Granada",  The Sweeney was 1975!

DI Lynley in a 1969 Jensen – "which incidentally was the archetypal hairdresser’s car in its day, not an Earl’s".

Whereas, "in Edinburgh-based Netflix show, Department Q, DCI Carl Mørck drives a beaten-up 1980s Ford Sierra GL"  - not a Classic at all - ever.

 

18 hours ago, sheffcortinacentre said:

Jack reagents car was was a 74 consul GT replaced by a MK1 ghia, then mk1S & lastly  mk2S ( which belonged to the flying squad not his own personal transport) in the pilot he had a mkq escort, in the series a MK2 Cortina, MK2 Capri 2.0 Ghia ( think this was supposed to be his) , HB viva 4dr ( in I think the first cinema film)

lynley is set in roughly present day  & back in 69 a hairdresser would be lucky to own a car ( they were owned by popstars/actors & the upper classes) in the original BBC series he drove a blue interceptor then the burgundy CV8 ,Havers had a beige maestro , a sierra GL may not be a "classic" but have you seen the price of the average cossie.

Do some research you idle twat & by the way get your cards on the way out.

"Jack Regan" (note spelling) had a red mk1 Escort in the first Sweeney movie, in which George Carter had a HB Viva wearing a clearly-fake M-suffix registration.  In the series, Jack had a variety of his own cars, including the mk2 Cortina and Capri as above, a green mk1 Escort and, memorably, a Victor 101 Estate.  The Granadas (and Consul GT that started it all) were all supposedly Flying Squad cars, but when the mk1 Ghias were in use, Jack was often seen driving them himself, whereas the GT and later S models all came with an assigned driver.  Jack did drive the bronze GT in one episode, to chase down Dudley Sutton, but as he said himself, "I'm neither authorised nor insured to drive this car, so stop now!"

The archetypal "hairdresser" car in the 70s was the Triumph Spitfire, which was seen as softer and less manly than the Spridget, its nearest rival.  The Fiat X1/9 inherited the title when Spitfires started getting too old.  Lynley drove a burgundy Bristol 410 in the first series, replaced in his last season by a blue Interceptor.  I never saw him in a C-V8; the only one I remember seeing with any sort of regularity was the grey one driven by Steve Forrest in The Baron, which was a mid-60s Saint competitor.

[/pedant mode]

Sierra GL a classic?  To the children who administer the TV business these days, it probably is, but I can never bring myself to see it that way, even though no Sierras have been built for over 30 years now.  And my parents' last car was a 1989 Sierra GL!

[sheffcortinacentre]

Bloody spell check thing seems to do this stuff more these days especially once I submit to board ment Bristol dunno were I got cv⁸ from ( probably as baron is on at moment)my brain is fried of late due to insomnia.

Thought Bristol & interceptor were other way round in the BBC series?

Forgot about the FC, yes remember that comment re insurance, I would've thought there'd be some kind of blanket policy that covered all officers with the relevant license category.

[Zelandeth]

48 minutes ago, eddyramrod said:

Raise hell to get yourself a CT scan.  It took me five months to get one and look where I am now.  There aren't many people I would wish that level of headaches (and subsequent brain surgery, weakness and disorientation) on; most of their names end with MP.

Raise hell with who though?

Given it takes 8-12 weeks to even get a telephone appointment with anyone at the practice, I'm not holding my breath.  Been to the walk in centre and told "you're not ill enough, you need to see your GP" and my private cover I have through my husband's work won't do anything without a referral from my GP, which I have been trying to get from them since before COVID arrived.

Our GP is a disaster.   Literally the only way to communicate with them is through their half broken web portal.  The phone line is just a recorded message telling you to use the website.  The only way to communicate is to be ready to send your enquiry at 0759 so that when the system opens you get in before it either crashes or by 0802 and all the slots have been filled.  Going in person just gets the same response.

They are also an utterly disorganised disaster.  I have to pick up a physical prescription slip once every three months for a housemate, and I don't think I have ever had it take me less than four attempts to get it (after they've sent a message saying it's ready to collect - which they also forget to do more often than not).  I think nine was my record.  Just to pick up a repeat prescription.  If they're that bad at that you can imagine how bad they are for anything else.

Though for me have become even more useless since being diagnosed with ME and long COVID - it's basically impossible to get any further investigation of *anything* done as they automatically just blame it on those.

I've had headache issues as long as I can remember.  Big difference was that NHS Scotland seem to have a much more realistic approach to pain management to NHS England.  So I used to be able to get some proper stuff to use for a couple of days if I was having a bad patch (I have chronic pain issues from a back injury as well).  Just had an appointment every 6 months to make sure I wasn't abusing it, and that it was still working as needed.  Down here though, not a chance in hell.  Just told to take paracetamol and sent on a pain management course which was an utter waste of time and money as everything said was common sense and could have been figured out with ten minutes and an internet connection - or indeed an A4 sized handout.  Rather than I think it was eight hour long group sessions at awkward times of the day that nobody working normal hours would ever have been able to make.

That seems to be the only thing they're actually willing to do in response to anything in our practice - refer you to a cognitive behavioural therapy course.

[eddyramrod]

That is a nightmare, certainly!  Unfortunately it does seem to be the national norm these days.  What can actually be done to fix it, I have no idea, but if it carries on the way it is, people will die.  Maybe that's the plan?

[sheffcortinacentre]

Ours is exactly the same plus as far as I know ours uses a different system so it won't share with walkin centre.

They got a major bollocking last year as the phone message said as we can't help do one of following go to A&E , walkin or phone 999. Trouble was no one heard past first option so A&E was swamped.

As you say they flatly refuse to deal with any type of appointment over phone or in person I've seen people crying at the counter because they can't get any help.

This will cause flaming, yet there's a notice at reception desk saying don't worry about your immigration status or nationality you can register here for medical treatment WTF!

[Zelandeth]

4 minutes ago, eddyramrod said:

That is a nightmare, certainly!  Unfortunately it does seem to be the national norm these days.  What can actually be done to fix it, I have no idea, but if it carries on the way it is, people will die.  Maybe that's the plan?

To put in perspective how organised this lot are - it took them nine months to get my asthma inhalers onto a repeat prescription when we moved into the area.

Said inhalers I've had since I was 12.

I've been buying my antihistamines (which again, I've been on for 30+ years) over the counter for about a year and a half now as they're insisting on an in person appointment to review the meds...but there are no appointments available...so not sure how they expect that to work.

Oh...and if you ever do move from Scotland to England - for the love of god, make sure you have a physical copy of your medical history.  Apparently the systems north and South of the border don't speak to each other and they lost my physical notes.  So I basically have no medical history now prior to mid 2013.  Which is immensely helpful when trying to deal with chronic issues which were diagnosed 20-30 years ago.

[sheffcortinacentre]

11 minutes ago, eddyramrod said:

That is a nightmare, certainly!  Unfortunately it does seem to be the national norm these days.  What can actually be done to fix it, I have no idea, but if it carries on the way it is, people will die.  Maybe that's the plan?

Yep & think of the money the government will save in healthcare & benefits that can be used for vital things like foreign aid payments.

I fear some major civil unrest coming with people of all kinds being killed/seriously injured due to what appears to be the availability of firearms compared to what used to be sticks & stones of the last century when the peasants revolted ala polltax etc. 

[myglaren]

Makes me appreciate ours more and more.

The only glitch I have had is that I received a text to make an appointment for my annual review.  Wen to the surgery and did it quickly and easily.

Then had a message on the NHS app giving me the same appointment at a different time and date.

Appointment (the one I made) is in ten days so will see how that works out.

But I can call them at any time during the day, or call in, as I do as I don't like telephone calls, or book online.

[vulgalour]

@Zelandeth If you haven't already, Patient Complaint Service is the thing you're supposed to do when your GP is shit, learned that today.  Don't know that it'll do any good like.

As for healthcare, and at the risk of becoming political, my thoughts:

Spoiler

As for pointing the finger of blame sideways to the 'undeserving poor', smackheads, immigrants, etc... Don't.  I get why you'd feel that way, I really do, but as a group they aren't the problem you think they are.  You need to point that finger up at the people that deal with the funding and staffing of services.  The problem isn't that some people seem to get unfairly preferential treatment, it's that there isn't enough to go around and we've had decades of abuse of a system that's supposed to be there for the public good.  When you blame the people to your left and right for robbing you of services, the people in control of the system have succeeded in a bit of divide and conquer.

Having worked within the NHS on and off for years, and tried to get help as a patient my entire adult life, I can confidently say the issue is more to do with mismanagement, a quagmire of bureaucracy, a lack of funding, a lack of staff, antiquated buildings, and generational neglect from successive governments desperate to turn yet another public service into an opportunity to make money.  To fix it now will require a huge overhaul of the systems in place, massive investment the likes of which we're probably never going to see this side of the next couple of decades, and a shift in attitude to one of generational reform and improvement that our current society is unwilling to embrace.  Until we start putting health as a separate thing to profit, this will never be fixed and the struggle for those of us down at the bottom of the pile will only get worse.

Our government and NHS management are set on adopting the North American model of healthcare, in spite of the fact everyone knows it doesn't work for the patient, because some people can't help but take advantage of those less fortunate than themselves in the name of profit.

 

[Wibble]

25 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

To put in perspective how organised this lot are - it took them nine months to get my asthma inhalers onto a repeat prescription when we moved into the area.

Said inhalers I've had since I was 12.

I've been buying my antihistamines (which again, I've been on for 30+ years) over the counter for about a year and a half now as they're insisting on an in person appointment to review the meds...but there are no appointments available...so not sure how they expect that to work.

Oh...and if you ever do move from Scotland to England - for the love of god, make sure you have a physical copy of your medical history.  Apparently the systems north and South of the border don't speak to each other and they lost my physical notes.  So I basically have no medical history now prior to mid 2013.  Which is immensely helpful when trying to deal with chronic issues which were diagnosed 20-30 years ago.

It’s not just north and south of the border. We were assured that NHS Scotland would be able to access my wife’s records, when we interrupted a chemotherapy treatment plan to visit my sick mother. Sadly, we had cause to visit the RAH in Paisley and they couldn’t access her records. They also said they couldn’t access records for other parts of Scotland! NHS seems to be very regional now.

[sheffcortinacentre]

Unfortunately this is all part & parcel of how the country has been run into the ground over the last 50 years, & is now coming to it's inevitable conclusion with everything grinding to a halt like I said above with the haves not giving a shit about the have nots until they've now realised that they need the have nots to do the things they've deemed beneath them.

Other countries started to wake up to this circa COVID time & started putting them & there's first,but as per usual the UK carried on playing by the rules,on the moral high ground while everyone keeps taking the piss. Come the elections the shit is going to hit the fan but uncle kier the working man's friend will come out out with all the BS about how he's stepping aside to spend more time with his family & reluctantly take his peerage, golden handshake & several directorships to keep him going, while they all decide who's going to be gullible enough to take the poison Challis.

[Leyland Worldmaster]

13 minutes ago, sheffcortinacentre said:

haves not giving a shit about the have nots until they've now realised that they need the have nots to do the things they've deemed beneath them.

This. Exactly this. I'm not* speaking from experience  of course; campaigning for a place to rest and eat meals really taught me how low management and some colleagues can go to make life difficult...

I started this challenge with a mouth full of teeth; black hair yet almost ten years after starting out doing things nobody else was prepared to do, I am not in the same condition...

To be honest, it has permanently damaged how I see people in general.

 

[Zelandeth]

1 hour ago, vulgalour said:

@Zelandeth If you haven't already, Patient Complaint Service is the thing you're supposed to do when your GP is shit, learned that today.  Don't know that it'll do any good like.

As for healthcare, and at the risk of becoming political, my thoughts:

  Reveal hidden contents

As for pointing the finger of blame sideways to the 'undeserving poor', smackheads, immigrants, etc... Don't.  I get why you'd feel that way, I really do, but as a group they aren't the problem you think they are.  You need to point that finger up at the people that deal with the funding and staffing of services.  The problem isn't that some people seem to get unfairly preferential treatment, it's that there isn't enough to go around and we've had decades of abuse of a system that's supposed to be there for the public good.  When you blame the people to your left and right for robbing you of services, the people in control of the system have succeeded in a bit of divide and conquer.

Having worked within the NHS on and off for years, and tried to get help as a patient my entire adult life, I can confidently say the issue is more to do with mismanagement, a quagmire of bureaucracy, a lack of funding, a lack of staff, antiquated buildings, and generational neglect from successive governments desperate to turn yet another public service into an opportunity to make money.  To fix it now will require a huge overhaul of the systems in place, massive investment the likes of which we're probably never going to see this side of the next couple of decades, and a shift in attitude to one of generational reform and improvement that our current society is unwilling to embrace.  Until we start putting health as a separate thing to profit, this will never be fixed and the struggle for those of us down at the bottom of the pile will only get worse.

Our government and NHS management are set on adopting the North American model of healthcare, in spite of the fact everyone knows it doesn't work for the patient, because some people can't help but take advantage of those less fortunate than themselves in the name of profit.

 

Yep, already been down that road (albeit a couple of years ago).  Basically got told "Yes, we know it's shit, we've smacked them on the wrist, continue as you were."

Probably the biggest rage generator with them is their tendency to cancel a scheduled appointment the day before and then still send you the angry "How dare you miss an appointment!?!" letter the day after - at which point you're of course back to the start of the 12 week wait for an appointment.

By the time this cycle has repeated four times it starts to get really old.

[Metal Guru]

3 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

Yep, already been down that road (albeit a couple of years ago).  Basically got told "Yes, we know it's shit, we've smacked them on the wrist, continue as you were."

Probably the biggest rage generator with them is their tendency to cancel a scheduled appointment the day before and then still send you the angry "How dare you miss an appointment!?!" letter the day after - at which point you're of course back to the start of the 12 week wait for an appointment.

By the time this cycle has repeated four times it starts to get really old.

Go to A&E. They won’t let you go until they’re sure you’re ok it case there’s any comeback. 

[sheffcortinacentre]

4 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

Yep, already been down that road (albeit a couple of years ago).  Basically got told "Yes, we know it's shit, we've smacked them on the wrist, continue as you were."

Probably the biggest rage generator with them is their tendency to cancel a scheduled appointment the day before and then still send you the angry "How dare you miss an appointment!?!" letter the day after - at which point you're of course back to the start of the 12 week wait for an appointment.

By the time this cycle has repeated four times it starts to get really old.

With a bit of luck you'll be better by then or have croaked , thus saving them having to deal with sick people.

[EyesWeldedShut]

Beastie Boys are back?

Sprog came round for lunch yesterday and I spotted that some b*stad has robbed the Mercedes 'gunsight' off the bonnet of her car - I genuinely thought that was a thing of the past?

Cnuts.

[captain_70s]

9 hours ago, Metal Guru said:

Go to A&E. They won’t let you go until they’re sure you’re ok it case there’s any comeback. 

Everybody I know who has been to A&E recently has had an 8hr+ wait. One gave up and went home after 10hrs because they were told it'd be at least another 4hrs before anybody could see them.

I think it is safe to say the NHS is being run into the ground deliberately, those at the top will make a lot of money selling it to private health care companies after having essentially asset stripped it for years using public funding.

At the ground level it is so poorly organised and mired by departmental arguing it is a miracle anything happens at all.

I was doing validation works at an aseptic suite the other week and found estates hadn't isolated all the fire alarms. We asked them to sort it "nope, too busy". We pointed out the last time we carried out works with that setup we evacuated the entire cancer ward of 40+ patients in the pouring rain. "What we've done is sufficient, we aren't coming back to that building this week". 

Agreed with the cleanroom staff that we couldn't safely carry out the works. We'll have to re-attened at cost and the NHS have already paid for a day of work that couldn't be done.

Oh, also. We do this job every 6 months. The job has been booked in for months in advance. This conversation happens every 6 months...

[Zelandeth]

I wouldn't even mind so much if the private companies didn't gatekeep everything to such an extent.  I HAVE private health cover - but can't bloody use it without referrals from my GP, which I can't bloody get because it takes two years to see them and they won't give the referral until they've been through another year's worth of nonsense as dictated by their flowchart.  Which actually ends up being five years because they seem to lose all record of every other consultation.  So said private cover is essentially useless.  At least at home...they were worth their weight in gold when my other half had a stroke while on a business trip in China, mind you.  So they're not at least *totally* useless.

[artdjones]

It sounds more like the UK sinking further into incompetence. You've already passed through the mediocrity level. Public and private sector.

With the example that @captain_70sgives above, you can be sure as well that if he lifted his voice above a dull monotone in highlighting the stupidity of the estates department, that a bullying complaint would be filled out against him. I hate genuine bullies, but the present definition of bullying seems to be so wide as to provide total protection to incompetent people. 

Soon, Britain will be an idiocracy.

[chadders]

2 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

I wouldn't even mind so much if the private companies didn't gatekeep everything to such an extent.  I HAVE private health cover - but can't bloody use it without referrals from my GP, which I can't bloody get because it takes two years to see them and they won't give the referral until they've been through another year's worth of nonsense as dictated by their flowchart.  Which actually ends up being five years because they seem to lose all record of every other consultation.  So said private cover is essentially useless.  At least at home...they were worth their weight in gold when my other half had a stroke while on a business trip in China, mind you.  So they're not at least *totally* useless.

My PHI didn't need that, admittedly over 10 years ago.

I saw a specialist, answered some questions, had some tests and then got booked in for my op.

Maybe things have changed or it's a policy of your PHI provider?

[Zelandeth]

16 minutes ago, chadders said:

My PHI didn't need that, admittedly over 10 years ago.

I saw a specialist, answered some questions, had some tests and then got booked in for my op.

Maybe things have changed or it's a policy of your PHI provider?

It seems to vary from provider to provider and even policy to policy.  As this is through a work scheme I don't really have much say in the matter sadly.

[Sunny Jim]

Colleague asked to borrow my caulking gun. He'd hung it back in it's place but when I went to use it today I discovered he'd somehow managed to get the plunger most of the way into a tube of PU sealant which had then cured around it.

Bad enough having to work on a Sunday without having to waste time clearing up other people's mess. What goes through someone's head that they'd leave a tool in that state?

 

[sheffcortinacentre]

Oh love islands coming on.

[Spiny Norman]

Well that's that fucked then.
Building right next to Glasgow's main railway station has collapsed during a massive fire. 

[DavieW]

7 minutes ago, Spiny Norman said:

Well that's that fucked then.
Building right next to Glasgow's main railway station has collapsed during a massive fire. 

Jeez oh

[eddyramrod]

8 hours ago, artdjones said:

Soon, Britain will be an idiocracy.

Soon?  Oh the optimism of youth!  The country's passed through that point long ago and the rest of the West is close behind.

[artdjones]

13 minutes ago, eddyramrod said:

Soon?  Oh the optimism of youth!  The country's passed through that point long ago and the rest of the West is close behind.

Have you seen the film? It's not there yet, but it's heading there fast.

 

 

[Spiny Norman]

The whole building's gone. Probably the station too. 

[Spiny Norman]

Here's how it used to look complete with appropriately named car in shot. The entire yellow sandstone building is gone. 
This is the worst fire Glasgow has seen in decades.