The grumpy thread

[cobblers]

Been to wales again this weekend. Had a fantastic time going down some slate mines (Maenofferen and Cwmorthin) and on a walk with some proper landscape that puts my home turf (peak district) absolutely to shame.

But the amount of litter everywhere is absolutely heartbreaking, and the speed limits are absolutely nonsensical and applied (and adhered to) seemingly at random.  

Do you just eventually get used to it if you lived there? I had cogs coming out of my ears!

[artdjones]

15 minutes ago, cobblers said:

Been to wales again this weekend. Had a fantastic time going down some slate mines (Maenofferen and Cwmorthin) and on a walk with some proper landscape that puts my home turf (peak district) absolutely to shame.

But the amount of litter everywhere is absolutely heartbreaking, and the speed limits are absolutely nonsensical and applied (and adhered to) seemingly at random.  

Do you just eventually get used to it if you lived there? I had cogs coming out of my ears!

I was born in Cardiff, but I haven't been in the city for more than 10 years. And have passed through on the motorways a couple of times since. My brother has moved back to Wales now after 20 years in Spain, and I'm visiting for a week in May. 

I'm a bit worried about what I'm going to find.

[myglaren]

Daughter still battling with the DVLA, her insurance has run out, car is SORNed.

Removed the battery to be able to keep it charged, what a pain! So much stuff to remove to get it out, the battery cover itself trapped under the brake fluid reservoir.

A normally two minute job taking over half an hour.

[barefoot]

More shit journalism...

https://supercarblondie.com/man-rebuilding-80s-nova-supercar-video/

'Man rebuilding super car...'

It's a fucking VW kitcar. 

[High Jetter]

Went to Tesco today tp stock up on wine at 25% off and a couple of other things. Spent over £130, way more than usual there. Got back home to find postie had brought me several Clubcard vouchers, all for spends over £120. I could have saved another £18 if they'd arrived yesterday.

[DavieW]

4 miles queues on the M80 because of a crash on the other carriageway 🤬🤬

[Barry Cade]

16 minutes ago, DavieW said:

4 miles queues on the M80 because of a crash on the other carriageway 🤬🤬

I'm just back from Clarkston, M8 was quiet all the way, and Queensferry crossing/m90 were running clear.. Last Friday was the same... odd. Glad I didnt come home via Kincardine now!

[DavieW]

We have a new bakers opened in the village. It was officially meant to be Thursday but didn't open until Friday. I thought I'd try it out and give them some business - walked down today and it's closed, no signs or opening hours etc. Spoke to someone else and they had the same disappointment.  Not a great way to establish a new business.

[artdjones]

2 hours ago, DavieW said:

We have a new bakers opened in the village. It was officially meant to be Thursday but didn't open until Friday. I thought I'd try it out and give them some business - walked down today and it's closed, no signs or opening hours etc. Spoke to someone else and they had the same disappointment.  Not a great way to establish a new business.

Don't get your hopes up.

[Remspoor]

On 13/03/2026 at 15:35, barefoot said:

More shit journalism...

https://supercarblondie.com/man-rebuilding-80s-nova-supercar-video/

'Man rebuilding super car...'

It's a fucking VW kitcar. 

 Youtoob  kept suggesting his videos too me. I declined. 

[davehedgehog31]

Inadvertently caught some gushing news coverage of The Oscars. Why am I supposed to care about these people or their enormously self indulgent awards ceremony? It's not exactly the lords work, it's professional pretending FFS.

[vulgalour]

Back on the Trying To  Find A Third Way situation here.  PIP and DWP rant behind the cut.

Spoiler

DWP finally sent out the information regarding the tribunal appeal, an appeal they're challenging because according to them there's nothing wrong with me.  Interestingly, on their assessment they stated I had no difficulty communicating on the phone, which is a blatant lie.  They've also stated there's no medical proof, so I guess I have to send the neurologist's report to them AGAIN.  The one comfort, sort of, is that everyone bar one person I've spoken to directly about this have said they've had similar experiences.  Not quite on the timescale and level of grief I've been put through, mind, just similar.  So at least I don't feel like I'm losing my mind completely.  What's baffling is how hard they're trying to prove I'm not ill and how hard they're expecting me to fight it.  They haven't taken ME/CFS seriously as a condition at all, and I'm very used to that, the old trope of "just try harder" and "stop being lazy" I've had thrown at me for most of my adult life.

So what next?  I've tried to get in touch with Citizen's Advice Bureau, but they're short staffed so aren't answering the phone, don't do drop-in appointments, and prefer you send them an email to explain what you need help with.  I'm fed up of having to do all the legwork to prove this.  I'm fed up of having to go over and over this situation again and again, it'd be exhausting if you were a totally well person, imagine what it's like for me.  I genuinely want to give up, I'm pretty sure that's the point of all this.  The vagueness of timescales, the waiting, the incompetence... and all the while the bills keep coming and I can't keep up.

Since the social safety net is basically a drawing on the ground rather than anything of any real use, I'm back to trying to do as much as I can in a day without totally destroying myself.  I just want a few weeks to rest, to recover, to not worry about any of this bullshit.  I'll just keep plodding on with the arts and crafts and hoping people have a bit spare during the cost of living crisis to buy something, it's all I can do. 

[robt100]

31 minutes ago, vulgalour said:

Back on the Trying To  Find A Third Way situation here.  PIP and DWP rant behind the cut.

  Reveal hidden contents

DWP finally sent out the information regarding the tribunal appeal, an appeal they're challenging because according to them there's nothing wrong with me.  Interestingly, on their assessment they stated I had no difficulty communicating on the phone, which is a blatant lie.  They've also stated there's no medical proof, so I guess I have to send the neurologist's report to them AGAIN.  The one comfort, sort of, is that everyone bar one person I've spoken to directly about this have said they've had similar experiences.  Not quite on the timescale and level of grief I've been put through, mind, just similar.  So at least I don't feel like I'm losing my mind completely.  What's baffling is how hard they're trying to prove I'm not ill and how hard they're expecting me to fight it.  They haven't taken ME/CFS seriously as a condition at all, and I'm very used to that, the old trope of "just try harder" and "stop being lazy" I've had thrown at me for most of my adult life.

So what next?  I've tried to get in touch with Citizen's Advice Bureau, but they're short staffed so aren't answering the phone, don't do drop-in appointments, and prefer you send them an email to explain what you need help with.  I'm fed up of having to do all the legwork to prove this.  I'm fed up of having to go over and over this situation again and again, it'd be exhausting if you were a totally well person, imagine what it's like for me.  I genuinely want to give up, I'm pretty sure that's the point of all this.  The vagueness of timescales, the waiting, the incompetence... and all the while the bills keep coming and I can't keep up.

Since the social safety net is basically a drawing on the ground rather than anything of any real use, I'm back to trying to do as much as I can in a day without totally destroying myself.  I just want a few weeks to rest, to recover, to not worry about any of this bullshit.  I'll just keep plodding on with the arts and crafts and hoping people have a bit spare during the cost of living crisis to buy something, it's all I can do. 

I'm not sure if its the same now as in Covid (probably not! But I think I knew someone who was doing the same before covid), but from what I remember if you're self employed but low income you can apply for UC and they will give it pro-rata based on how much you earn from SE work. Might not be great, but you get the "perks" of being on UC (no council tax etc) but can still earn about 500-700 SE and get a little bit on top from the UC. Not that I would suggest it is an alternative to PIP, but I wonder if it might help ease the burden a little in the meantime? Afraid my memory of it all is a bit fuzzy as I did it 6 years ago. Made redundant, moved house, started up a new business on the friday, on the monday lockdown started 🙄 so wasn't entitled to furlough or the SE handouts as I didnt qualify, but could get on the UC system.

[Mr Livered]

@robt100 that's true although they will monitor your self-employed earnings and if you don't earn enough you get booted off that scheme and onto the thumbscrew scheme where you have to demonstrate you are looking for a job. Don't satisfy that, and you're back to no UC via quite a bit of stress. 

[vulgalour]

Yep, exactly that.  I was on UC before I fell really ill and it was a nightmare.  I literally couldn't do enough to satisfy them, there weren't enough jobs in the area to apply for, let alone ones I was able to do.  Now I can barely do 15 hours a week, less if I'm having to do a job with a commute and working with people, I can't meet the minimum requirements.  Then they tell you to claim ESA or PIP, and I'm banging my head on those too.  I've talked to so many people from so many departments and the response has been a universal "but why can't you get the help?" and yeah, I'm asking the same question here.  I've fallen between the cracks, it sucks.  I've done literally everything I can, spoken to everyone I can, and now I just have to wait and desperately hope the ME somehow magically gets better (it won't).

[hairnet]

looking for a date for something else

noticed mot lapsed

month ago ffs

 

[High Jetter]

1 hour ago, hairnet said:

looking for a date for something else

noticed mot lapsed

month ago ffs

 

https://www.gov.uk/get-stop-view-mot-reminder

[hairnet]

usually good at that kinda shit 

20 years maybe done it twice

 

[myglaren]

I use the dreaded 'phone calendar to remind me of all that stuff or I too would forget.

Mine going in next Monday, due the 15th of April

[Zelandeth]

Milton Keynes Council Street lighting department and me appear to have very different ideas about what constitutes "made safe" in terms of damage involving exposed mains.

Apparently some of the cheapest packing tape around poorly applied will do fine.

That's well within the reach of a normal person as it's in a very low underpass.  Cover is totally smashed.

They can't even complain they didn't know what was there given the report I made specifically stated the cover was smashed and even had a photo of the damned thing.

Quick dig and yes I do still have it.

If I wasn't paying these clowns my council tax it would almost be funny.

This is about the standard that any repairs to defects that are reported.  It's irritating when they do half a job of things like graffiti removal, but this is an actual safety issue.

This coming from someone who spent the best part of ten years working for another local authority in infrastructure management...which is why this sort of thing pisses me off so much.

Especially as this will have been billed as an hour's call out.  It wouldn't have cost a bloody penny more for them to isolate the sodding fixture and cover it properly to keep the sharp edges covered.

A certain level of benign incompetence I'm willing to shrug and ignore, but this has very much crossed a line.  

[RoverFolkUs]

Getting absolutely sick and tired of hearing all the fuel price scaremongering. Lousy reporting by the daily express 

I've got a spreadsheet tracking all my fuel expenditure (call me sad, I know) - in march 2025, this time last year, I was paying between £1.389 and £1.489 for E5 unleaded from Tesco. 

Just filled up today, £1.449. Regular E10 was £1.359. 

Fuel prices DIPPED quite sharply in February, I had noticed it dropping down to £1.259 and £1.349 for E10 and E5 respectively. But they've only risen back up roughly to what they are anyway

Why can't people just fucking think for themselves instead of believing anything they read? All these articles are doing is pushing people to panic buy which will stress the supply chain. Filling stations operate on a "just in time" model, therefore if there's a spike in demand, there WILL be a temporary shortfall. It doesn't mean we're going to run out of petrol and suffer an apocalypse 

https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/cars/2183074/petrol-rationing-new-50mph-speed?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwdGRjcAQmqY1jbGNrBCaobGV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHvhvsascGcVH6UisME_PoEWTJS5cAns151CLAdqi3FQT6pzgEVm0MhDycbI1_aem_DJFNVpaRKeWXA0q3q-HAKw

[myglaren]

Had to go to the doc's today and the surgery is in a decent sized 'mall' for want of a better word.

All quite relaxed in there and no sign of panic buying or empty shelves.  Going shopping tomorrow and doubt that it will be any different.

[richardmorris]

43 minutes ago, RoverFolkUs said:

Getting absolutely sick and tired of hearing all the fuel price scaremongering. Lousy reporting by the daily express 

I've got a spreadsheet tracking all my fuel expenditure (call me sad, I know) - in march 2025, this time last year, I was paying between £1.389 and £1.489 for E5 unleaded from Tesco. 

Just filled up today, £1.449. Regular E10 was £1.359. 

Fuel prices DIPPED quite sharply in February, I had noticed it dropping down to £1.259 and £1.349 for E10 and E5 respectively. But they've only risen back up roughly to what they are anyway

Why can't people just fucking think for themselves instead of believing anything they read? All these articles are doing is pushing people to panic buy which will stress the supply chain. Filling stations operate on a "just in time" model, therefore if there's a spike in demand, there WILL be a temporary shortfall. It doesn't mean we're going to run out of petrol and suffer an apocalypse 

https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/cars/2183074/petrol-rationing-new-50mph-speed?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwdGRjcAQmqY1jbGNrBCaobGV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHvhvsascGcVH6UisME_PoEWTJS5cAns151CLAdqi3FQT6pzgEVm0MhDycbI1_aem_DJFNVpaRKeWXA0q3q-HAKw

Here in Surrey e10 is 142.9 and e5 159.9

[sheffcortinacentre]

8 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

Milton Keynes Council Street lighting department and me appear to have very different ideas about what constitutes "made safe" in terms of damage involving exposed mains.

Apparently some of the cheapest packing tape around poorly applied will do fine.

That's well within the reach of a normal person as it's in a very low underpass.  Cover is totally smashed.

They can't even complain they didn't know what was there given the report I made specifically stated the cover was smashed and even had a photo of the damned thing.

Quick dig and yes I do still have it.

If I wasn't paying these clowns my council tax it would almost be funny.

This is about the standard that any repairs to defects that are reported.  It's irritating when they do half a job of things like graffiti removal, but this is an actual safety issue.

This coming from someone who spent the best part of ten years working for another local authority in infrastructure management...which is why this sort of thing pisses me off so much.

Especially as this will have been billed as an hour's call out.  It wouldn't have cost a bloody penny more for them to isolate the sodding fixture and cover it properly to keep the sharp edges covered.

A certain level of benign incompetence I'm willing to shrug and ignore, but this has very much crossed a line.  

Mate lives on the main road outside Sheffield Northern general hospital ( a pretty steep hill) couple of weeks ago he woke to a blocked burst main outside next door on the upward side of the road. Raw sewage spraying 6 -10 inches into air & flowing down the hill.

Few hours later van appears puts a single cone on road & buggers off, several days later they came & fixed it!!!!

[sheffcortinacentre]

1 hour ago, richardmorris said:

Here in Surrey e10 is 142.9 and e5 159.9

Morrisons E10 £1.37,

Diesel £1.57

[Rocket88]

Price differential between diesel and petrol seems to be escalating. Noticed this pre recent Trump madness 

[matt79]

13 hours ago, RoverFolkUs said:

Getting absolutely sick and tired of hearing all the fuel price scaremongering. Lousy reporting by the daily express 

I've got a spreadsheet tracking all my fuel expenditure (call me sad, I know) - in march 2025, this time last year, I was paying between £1.389 and £1.489 for E5 unleaded from Tesco. 

Just filled up today, £1.449. Regular E10 was £1.359. 

Fuel prices DIPPED quite sharply in February, I had noticed it dropping down to £1.259 and £1.349 for E10 and E5 respectively. But they've only risen back up roughly to what they are anyway

Why can't people just fucking think for themselves instead of believing anything they read? All these articles are doing is pushing people to panic buy which will stress the supply chain. Filling stations operate on a "just in time" model, therefore if there's a spike in demand, there WILL be a temporary shortfall. It doesn't mean we're going to run out of petrol and suffer an apocalypse 

https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/cars/2183074/petrol-rationing-new-50mph-speed?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwdGRjcAQmqY1jbGNrBCaobGV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHvhvsascGcVH6UisME_PoEWTJS5cAns151CLAdqi3FQT6pzgEVm0MhDycbI1_aem_DJFNVpaRKeWXA0q3q-HAKw

It's frustrating that the media vultures seem keen to stoke up a panic fuel buying frenzy situation (OMG FUEL CRISIS LOOMS / PANIC AT THE PUMPS / FUEL RATIONING IMINENT OMG!!!!), but then I guess it'll give them something else to report on. 

Prices have risen slightly is all that's happened - currently 1.56 for diesel at my local forecourt, still a way off from a few years ago, when it hit circa £2 / litre

[Cavcraft]

On 10/03/2026 at 08:24, cobblers said:

Been to wales again this weekend. Had a fantastic time going down some slate mines (Maenofferen and Cwmorthin) and on a walk with some proper landscape that puts my home turf (peak district) absolutely to shame.

But the amount of litter everywhere is absolutely heartbreaking, and the speed limits are absolutely nonsensical and applied (and adhered to) seemingly at random.  

Do you just eventually get used to it if you lived there? I had cogs coming out of my ears!

It's dog shit, isn't it? I actually get some of the limits if it's saving lives, but the biggest problem seems to be doing 20mph and having people right up your arse send. I can only assume they're local and know there aren't any speed cameras or speed traps about, but if you're not from there you have no idea.

[cobblers]

13 minutes ago, Cavcraft said:

It's dog shit, isn't it? I actually get some of the limits if it's saving lives, but the biggest problem seems to be doing 20mph and having people right up your arse send. I can only assume they're local and know there aren't any speed cameras or speed traps about, but if you're not from there you have no idea.

the bit that I struggle with the most is that round here if you're on a NSL B road that passes through a few villages that are a mile or so apart, the speed limit will drop to 30mph in the villages and go back up to NSL between them.

In wales they would go 60-40-30-20 leading up to the first village (with the 30mph limit starting about half a mile outside the first village) then stay at 20mph through all the villages til you're half a mile past the last one. 

So you end up driving 2 or 3 miles at 20mph on roads where a perfectly safe speed would be 50-60mph. The difference between the natural, comfortable speed and the speed limit causes so much frustration and erratic behaviour.

I;m not one to buy into this "war on the motorist" bollocks most of the time, but I can't explain that sort of bullshit any other way

[Zelandeth]

2 hours ago, cobblers said:

the bit that I struggle with the most is that round here if you're on a NSL B road that passes through a few villages that are a mile or so apart, the speed limit will drop to 30mph in the villages and go back up to NSL between them.

In wales they would go 60-40-30-20 leading up to the first village (with the 30mph limit starting about half a mile outside the first village) then stay at 20mph through all the villages til you're half a mile past the last one. 

So you end up driving 2 or 3 miles at 20mph on roads where a perfectly safe speed would be 50-60mph. The difference between the natural, comfortable speed and the speed limit causes so much frustration and erratic behaviour.

I;m not one to buy into this "war on the motorist" bollocks most of the time, but I can't explain that sort of bullshit any other way

They reduced the A5 to 50mph from a few miles south of Milton Keynes all the way to bloody Dunstable a year or so back.  Average speed cameras.

Used to be you'd get the odd Audi asshole go screaming past you at 90, but that's just driving anywhere.

Now if you're doing 50 (and going by GPS verification here so actually doing 50 rather than 45) you just end up with a bloody artic two inches off your back bumper the whole bloody way.  To the point that it actually feels sodding dangerous, especially if you're in a small car.

I get it, there's one kinda nasty junction on the stretch...so surely it would make far more sense (and cost less) to just drop the limit there rather than piss everyone off for half a sodding hour for no good reason.  

The A421 between Buckingham and Brackley being 50 is annoying enough, but at least that is twisty turny and has utterly shite sight lines for a fair chunk of it.  Rather than being dime bloody straight for pretty much the whole run.  

It's not even a war on the motorist - it's a war on bloody movement full stop it feels like as there's just no realistically practical alternative in many cases.

Yes if I lived in London I'd rarely drive as nine times out of ten it's probably quicker to take the bus or tube.  However here we're talking about a trip that takes 40 or so minutes by car or two bloody hours by bus.  Nobody will do that by choice.

Even in town they're a joke.  Home near the town centre in MK to Newport Pagnell (where the garage I usually use is).  Nine minute drive.  To get back home again after dropping the car off - 50 minutes.  Probably more as they're run (and I say run in the loosest possible sense here) by Arriva so it's a dice roll if the damned thing ever turns up.  Cycling only takes 25.  Great if you're able and the weather's nice.  Pain in the arse if not.  So I usually end up getting a lift if I can.