Room 101

[alison]

Okay, another one that really annoys me: people who vote in local elections according to the parties' national policies, rather than on the local issues they're supposed to be voting on.

[2dancersmum]

Cyclists who choose to cycle along a busy main road where it is impossible for anyone to overtake them - despite the fact that there is a purpose built and very good cycle path running alongside said road.

[taxi4ballet]

Speed-of-light motorcyclists...

[Fiz]

Weeds and ruddy lavateria! I have just spent an hour trying to plant pansies but in fact digging up Virginia creeper roots, lavateria which spreads everywhere so cleverly and flipping dandelions! I managed to plant just under a dozen pansies and I am now hot and thirsty. There are five beds still to go! Help!

[Jan McNulty]

Incessant news items (and the lead at that) about retiring football managers.  So what - an elderly man is retiring!

 

PS - Unbelievable that it is the lead item ahead of the Queen's Speech on the ITV lunchtime news!

Edited May 8, 2013 by Janet McNulty
edited to add PS

[taxi4ballet]

The Audi driver who forced me off the road yesterday and into a wall.

[Fiz]

My God! Are you all right? How dreadful ;(

[Jan McNulty]

Are you OK Taxi?  How awful for you.

[taxi4ballet]

I'm fine - the car is ok too, apart from a pranged bumper. I was turning into the narrow entrance to a garden centre, and this chap was leaving and decided that he needed my side of the road as well. I had to jam my brakes on and swerve out of his way into a bollard.

 

The bollard didn't come out of it too well!

[afab]

Did he even stop?

[taxi4ballet]

No, he didn't stop, he didn't even seem to notice. Perhaps he used to be a tank driver...

[Jan McNulty]

Yesterday I saw a car reverse into another one on our road so hard that it should the parked car forward.  The driver never even stopped.  Disgraceful. 

[taxi4ballet]

It wasn't a tank-like grey Audi by any chance was it?

[Jan McNulty]

No - a battered red Micra!  I knocked on the door of the house but no-one was home.  I noticed the red car this morning - I think it belongs to someone who lives in the same road.  I wonder if they confesed.  Although the car they hit didn't look damaged, these plastic bumpers tend to just spring back into place and hide any damage underneath.  We know this because some years ago someone ran into the back of my Dad's car.  This honourable person suggested he have the car checked even though it didn't look damaged.  There was quite a lot of damage behind the bumper that the gentleman's insurance paid for.

[porthesia]

Cat baskets!  Had to take the lid off as Tia totally unwilling to come out of the basket. I suffered the ignominy of not being able to open the lid, trapping my thumb and now missing a chunk out of said thumb.  Bled everywhere too!  To cap it all the cat hadn't lost any weight   

[taxi4ballet]

I have a tendency to just let the vet get the cat out of the basket now

[porthesia]

I'll be letting the nurse do it all next time.  It's such a chore every month but they have lost weight and we are getting close to them being able to go on maintenance food soon - but it will be just as expensive!!

[taxi4ballet]

Might lose weight quicker if left in the basket!

 

I'm a cat lover, but I just couldn't resist it!

[porthesia]

Haha!  I wouldn't be able to stand the yowling!  Although two moggies and no oriental genes, mine are incredibly loud and have quite recently got into the habit of not stopping crying until they get what they want - it's like having badly behaved tantrum throwing toddlers in the house.  The veterinary staff couldn't believe how loud they are.  I have to live with this!  It's funny, but they have got louder and more demanding relatively recently

[taxi4ballet]

Has another cat moved into the neighbourhood and taken over some of their territory?

[MAB]

Free newspapers: they now use the ink the comes off onto your fingers.

[taxi4ballet]

I asked the vet once, if it would be OK to line the guinea pig cage with newspaper, since they would pull it up and eat the stuff.

 

He said they would be absolutely fine with newspaper, just so long as they didn't read it!

[porthesia]

taxiforballet that's something I hadn't thought of with regards to the yowiling, Poppy doesn't go out that much and is a bit senile, which may account for her behaviour but Tia is a stay out but is behaving quite oddly lately and we have been wondering if she is being bullied by another cat but I hadn't considered that might be the cause of the yowling. Will keep an eye out - thanks

 

Back to room 101 - cyclists yet again - I thoiught they were supposed to signal when making a turn?

[porthesia]

The majority of the veg in Tesco's coming fron the other side of the planet.  Asparagus from Peru?  Can't remember where the mange tout and the baby sweetcorn came from, but they didn't come home with me.  I bought some samphire as I'd never tried it before and it came from France which is somewhat closer!!  It was rather nice and I can recommend it. 

[2dancersmum]

a friend queried the lack of English asparagus yesterday as where she lives it is grown all around her and was told it was about shipping contracts end dates and that local asparagus would be in the shops within 2 weeks.  Strawberries I noticed are now British!

[porthesia]

We managed to get some English asparagus from the local farm shop  .  We live next door to Kent and I try and buy fruit and veg that is grown there and get peeved when the local supermarkets don't stock it. 

[taxi4ballet]

This reminds me of an occasion a couple of years ago when I went to a farm shop and asked if they had any corn on the cob.

 

The chap said no, as the season was over and they wouldn't get any more.

 

I pointed out of the window at a field  of it growing right next door and he said "oh no, that's not sweetcorn, that's maize"

 

Er... Doh!

[alison]

Back to room 101 - cyclists yet again - I thoiught they were supposed to signal when making a turn?

 

So, allegedly, are motor vehicle drivers.  An elderly gentlemen with a stick nearly got hit a couple of days ago in the town centre because some lorry decided to turn into the road he was about to cross without indicating.

 

The majority of the veg in Tesco's coming fron the other side of the planet.  Asparagus from Peru? 

 

Allegedly, it is sometimes greener overall to grow the stuff further away and fly it in.  But I still find it most disconcerting, and often refuse to buy veg if I see where they've come from.  Mind you, I tend to get most things off the market when I can anyway - it's usually cheaper.

[taxi4ballet]

Big thumbs down to the new VAX television ad.

 

Lovely film of little children wishing for chocolate cake, cuddly toys and snowflakes - and their wishes all come true, Ahhhh sweet.

 

Cue dreamy-looking woman. What's she dreaming of?

 

A NEW VACUUM CLEANER. 

[Jan McNulty]

If he had still been alive - that would have been my Dad!  He loved hoovering.  In fact my Mum got him a new hoover one year from Christmas and he was absolutely thrilled to bits!!

[MAB]

If he had still been alive - that would have been my Dad!  He loved hoovering.  In fact my Mum got him a new hoover one year from Christmas and he was absolutely thrilled to bits!!

 

Why can't I meet a man like that?

[Jan McNulty]

Laptops that are on their last legs and won't let me "right click".  I've had to rummage round for a mouse and the mouse isn't very happy about it!

[MAB]

I know litter droppers have been flagged up here for entry into room 101, but after an experience I had at Victoria Station at the height of the rush hour yesterday, that beggars belief, I feel I have to share it.

 

I was walking from the tube station towards Platform nine when a very large bag of rubbish was flung in front of me with some force to crash against the window of WHSmith.  No doubt I had a look of horror on my face as I turned to look at the very scruffy, dirty looking man that had slung it there and he said very smugly 'that's what you do with it'.  I replied angrily that it wasn't, you either find a bin or take it home with you.  At this point he delivered a stream of filth and abuse at me ( funny how foreigners are always so fluent in foul language) and I responded by calling him a filthy foul mouthed pig.

 

Of course there are never station staff or transport Police around when you need them so at this point I walked away as I didn't want to miss my train, but I was disappointed that no one else that saw what he did took the trouble to confront him.

 

There, got that off my chest, still angry though.