Room 101

[taxi4ballet]

Weather forecasters who pronounce 'hurricane' as 'HurryCaine'.

 

(And I watched a programme last night when the voice-over person pronounced 'nuclear' as 'nucular' at least a dozen times)

 

Grrrr...

[alison]

Website designers who apparently can't be bothered to make sure their websites display on current major browsers.  I accept that when I'm using my old laptop which can't take anything newer than Internet Explorer 8 I may experience problems, but having switched to a new one which runs IE 11 I'm stunned at how many websites still display poorly, if at all.  I read a dance review a few days ago where the pictures overlaid the text just as badly as they do on IE8 and made it unreadable.  Plus I keep attempting to download Waitrose's current meal-for-£10 offer, but all I get is a row of 4 meal items, then the next row just consists of a row of table fields with the dreaded rotating circles in them, seemingly for ever and ever.

[Fonty]

I would like to confine to room 101 the phrase "That is so British." And always used to underline some unpleasant characteristic.

 

Yes, some Brits can behave badly abroad and be intolerant when it comes to foreigners in their own country.  Yes, some Brits drink too much,  Yes, Britain has politicians who are appear to be dishonest, stupid, or arrogant.  Yes, some eating places serve rotten food. .

 

Those are not characteristics that are exclusive to Britain. 

[taxi4ballet]

I would like to confine to room 101 the phrase "That is so British." And always used to underline some unpleasant characteristic.

 

Yes, some Brits can behave badly abroad and be intolerant when it comes to foreigners in their own country.  Yes, some Brits drink too much,  Yes, Britain has politicians who are appear to be dishonest, stupid, or arrogant.  Yes, some eating places serve rotten food. .

 

Those are not characteristics that are exclusive to Britain. 

I've most often heard it used in relation to the British sense of humour; morris dancing, and our penchant for afternoon tea

[Fonty]

It seems to have become more common to apply it in a negative fashion since Brexit.

[Jacqueline]

Talking of words and phrases, I am irritated whenever I hear women being described as strong - not in reference to their ability to lift weights!

It is so patronising. Strong as opposed to being weak and pathetic? Strong as in another way of saying bossy and loud mouthed?

Can't women just be women?

[Melody]

And when is the last time anyone heard of a man being referred to as bossy?

[taxi4ballet]

Laptops which suddenly decide that your MS Office package has expired just as you urgently need to update and send an important Word document to somebody.

[alison]

Ugh.  You have my sympathies, taxi.  I had something similar when I went to Wimbledon this year, and took a laptop which I'd had to reset because of a software problem - I knew a client had a deadline that day, and thought it would be just my luck if she needed some amendments made, so smugly took baby laptop with me.  Sure enough, amendments were needed - and it was only then that I realised I hadn't reinstalled Word when I'd reinstated the other programs a day or two previously.  Had to do the whole thing in WordPad instead, and it messed up the formatting.  Who said RTF was pretty similar to Word?

[Tony Newcombe]

Taxi driver who came out of Birmingham New Street station a few hours ago indicating a right turn, and then decided to turn left just as I was crossing the road in front of him! I thought local taxi drivers were supposed to know where they were going?!

Must have been following road signs before realising that was a big mistake in Birmingham

[alison]

Blimey, did I really write that?  I have no memory of it

[taxi4ballet]

The new plastic £5 notes. They are horrid.

[Fonty]

I don't like them either.

 

I have just had an almighty battle with Booking.com.  An extremely well travelled friend from Australia, who is very experienced at on line booking, booked a place on line for the two of us for the weekend in the Cotswolds.  In the blurb, it says the rooms are self contained, and include facilities such as microwave, fridge, shower and so on, with lovely glossy photos of said facilities.

 

However, when the confirmation came through, it said "Room only, with shared facilities."  No fridge, no microwave, no shower - nothing.  Nowhere does it say this on any of the info on Booking.com, either on her iphone or my desktop computer.  A very polite voice at Booking.com kept insisting that it did.  It really makes my hackles rise when someone says, "With all due respect, madam, I don't agree" , when both of us cannot find what they are looking at.  Do they think we are lying?  Can't use a computer properly?  Idiots?

 

We have sent screen shots to them of the info showing on our screens, and await further communication from them.  Needless to say, the payment is non-refundable.

[zxDaveM]

The new plastic £5 notes. They are horrid.

 

they are GENIUS! You can play vinyl records with them...

[Fonty]

they are GENIUS! You can play vinyl records with them...

 

Who plays vinyl records these days?

[orchidblue]

Who plays vinyl records these days?

Lots of people. Larger Sainsburys stores even sell them again.

[Vonrothbart]

Who plays vinyl records these days?

HiFi enthusiasts mainly I suspect, as the sound is far better than cd's etc.

[Quintus]

HiFi enthusiasts mainly I suspect, as the sound is far better than cd's etc.

 

Vinyl is something of a badge of cool among the under 25s.  It's also popular with club DJs, and you can actually get digital 'vinyl crackle' effects to overlay onto track intros to make them sound retro..... 

[MAB]

I don't like them either.

 

I have just had an almighty battle with Booking.com.  An extremely well travelled friend from Australia, who is very experienced at on line booking, booked a place on line for the two of us for the weekend in the Cotswolds.  In the blurb, it says the rooms are self contained, and include facilities such as microwave, fridge, shower and so on, with lovely glossy photos of said facilities.

 

However, when the confirmation came through, it said "Room only, with shared facilities."  No fridge, no microwave, no shower - nothing.  Nowhere does it say this on any of the info on Booking.com, either on her iphone or my desktop computer.  A very polite voice at Booking.com kept insisting that it did.  It really makes my hackles rise when someone says, "With all due respect, madam, I don't agree" , when both of us cannot find what they are looking at.  Do they think we are lying?  Can't use a computer properly?  Idiots?

 

We have sent screen shots to them of the info showing on our screens, and await further communication from them.  Needless to say, the payment is non-refundable.

 

I've had booking problems too and no longer use Venere as a consequence, not just because their mistake put me at considerable extra expense, but their customer service is non-existence.  However Lowcostholidays are brilliant for booking hotels, when I found myself in a disgusting hotel room in Sardinia, they arranged an upgrade for us at no extra cost.   I think we should name and shame these companies that mislead the public, but also name and celebrate those that give good service.

 

Hotels only put their best rooms on their websites and you can often find yourself in something far less attractive and it's a risk you take.  However when you have paid up front for specific facilities that don't materialize that's a different matter.

[Yaffa]

I've had booking problems too and no longer use Venere as a consequence, not just because their mistake put me at considerable extra expense, but their customer service is non-existence.  However Lowcostholidays are brilliant for booking hotels, when I found myself in a disgusting hotel room in Sardinia, they arranged an upgrade for us at no extra cost.   I think we should name and shame these companies that mislead the public, but also name and celebrate those that give good service.

 

Sadly, LowCostHolidays collapsed. Some tips for those who are having a hard time getting their money back: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/travel/2016/09/lowcost

[MAB]

Sadly, LowCostHolidays collapsed. Some tips for those who are having a hard time getting their money back: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/travel/2016/09/lowcost

 

I hadn't heard that Yaffa, I'm rather shocked.

[Anon2]

Cyclists on busy single carriageway roads at rush hour when there is a dedicated cycle path for the full length of the road.

[Pixiewoo]

Parents and small children out on bikes on unlit roads in the dark without lights, (or reflective clothing) cycling down middle of the road :0 (

 

Mobility scooters going down the middle of the road again with no lights (I don't think they have them!) in the dark, when there is actually a pavement wide enough and flat enough for them to use. Also an unlit road.

 

Both of which I encountered last night several hours after it got dark!

Edited October 22, 2016 by Pixiewoo

[MAB]

I very much dislike the word 'faux' used as a substitute for imitation.  Just lately I'm hearing something I dislike even more:  Pre-owned instead of second hand.

[alison]

Don't you mean "pre-loved", MAB?

 

Vomit.

[LinMM]

I see such terrible cycling in London on busy main roads that I think to cycle there you must have passed a cycling proficiency test before being allowed out on the road.

it's often very young people who are out on bikes without lights so probably I don't drive and haven't a clue about such a thing as the Highway Code!! They just don't realise how dangerous they are.

But again I keep coming back to parents!!

There was absolutely NO WAY I would have been allowed out on a bike with no lights etc and the roads where I used to live were nowhere near as busy as London ones.

[taxi4ballet]

Another cyclist one - only a few minutes ago I came across two (adult) cyclists - who decide that the time to to ride two-abreast is just as I'm overtaking them. Grrr

[LinMM]

In Rosebury Avenue in London last week I saw a girl ...at least in daylight....cycling along with headphones on and a huge bag hung over one of the handlebars. She just looked so unbalanced and wobbly and the ear phones meant she couldn't hear ....or very little...of traffic noise and movements etc .....which does give you some information at least of what is going on.

I would say she was 17- 19 years old and to me looked like an accident waiting to happen.

[2dancersmum]

I was caught in a tail back of traffic recently on a very busy A road. When I got to the cause of the delay it was clear that there had been a collision between a car and a cyclist as there was a man lying in the road wearing a cycle helmet with a car stopped in front and behind him. The cyclist was quite clearly alive, talking and laughing with presumably the driver, an anxious looking person who was clearly way more upset than the cyclist himself.  I couldn't help wonder if I was the only one with little sympathy for the cyclist - that sounds dreadful I know but he had chosen to cycle on the very busy A road amongst cars, lorries and tractors when dedicated cycle path runs alongside the said road - a wide, flat and smooth cycle path - separate to the road but adjacent. Such an avoidable accident

Edited October 24, 2016 by 2dancersmum

[Fonty]

Speaking as someone who drives and cycles in London, mixing motor vehicles and pedal bikes are always accidents waiting to happen.  Yesterday I was a passenger in a car with a friend, who was waiting at traffic lights, and indicating she was going to turn left.  As the lights changed, I saw a cyclist who was a short distance away, peddling furiously up on the cycle lane in the inside, and indicating he was going straight ahead.   There was a bit of hesitation on both sides, before she decided to let him go first.  

 

She is Australian, and asked me who had right of way according to the Highway Code, and I had to confess I didn't actually know.  I thought technically we did, as the cyclist was overtaking on the inside.   However, as a cyclist is always on the inside, and always moving more slowly than a motor vehicle, this places both lots in an awkward position.  At what point in the proceedings does one take precedence over the other?  No point in being technically correct if a car ends up with a bike splattered against them.  When I cycle, this is never an issue, as I always, always stop and let vehicles in this situation move first.  I would rather wait until the lights turn red again, and move to the dedicated cycle area at the front, to avoid confrontation.  But I can see this could become frustrating on occasions where there are lots of bikes moving along together.. 

 

There needs to be a clear signal for both sets of vehicles.  If they are going to dig up all the roads and put in all these new cycle lanes, then they need to put in dedicated traffic signals everywhere for cyclists as well.  Especially as I astonished by the number of car drivers who either turn their indicators on at the very last moment, or don't bother at all, assuming that everyone else is a mind reader.  

 

And spare a thought for the poor old pedestrian, who sometimes has no idea when they are allowed to cross, and risks getting mown down by a fast moving cyclist.  Some of the new cycle lanes do have dedicated traffic signals, but although this is obvious to anyone in a car, it certainly isn't being made plain to anyone on foot. 

[taxi4ballet]

Speaking as someone who drives and cycles in London, mixing motor vehicles and pedal bikes are always accidents waiting to happen.  Yesterday I was a passenger in a car with a friend, who was waiting at traffic lights, and indicating she was going to turn left.  As the lights changed, I saw a cyclist who was a short distance away, peddling furiously up on the cycle lane in the inside, and indicating he was going straight ahead.   There was a bit of hesitation on both sides, before she decided to let him go first.  

 

She is Australian, and asked me who had right of way according to the Highway Code, and I had to confess I didn't actually know.  I thought technically we did, as the cyclist was overtaking on the inside.   However, as a cyclist is always on the inside, and always moving more slowly than a motor vehicle, this places both lots in an awkward position.  At what point in the proceedings does one take precedence over the other?  No point in being technically correct if a car ends up with a bike splattered against them.  When I cycle, this is never an issue, as I always, always stop and let vehicles in this situation move first. 

This situation is often why, sadly, so many cyclists are squashed by lorries turning left at junctions. A lot of large vehicles now carry signs warning cyclists not to undertake them.

[Jacqueline]

As I recall, the highway code states that a cyclist should not cycle along the inside of a vehicle that is indicating left at a junction. The reason for this is visibility and should be a matter of common sense on the part of the cyclist. As taxi4ballet says, undertaking has been the reason for a number of fatal accidents, particularly involving large vehicles where the cycle is in the driver's blindspot. It also is a matter of road layout, markings, priority lights and so on. Plus the drivers who move/turn/stop without bothering to check mirrors and blindspots.

Each situation will have a unique set of circumstances so it is really an on the spot judgement. I would usually err on the side of giving way to a cyclist as anything can happen such as wobbling, hitting a pothole or suchlike. Whatever one may think of some cyclists, they are vulnerable and as Fonty said, no point in being technically right if you suddenly find you are carrying an uninvited hanger on. There would be fewer accidents if more people engaged their brains and put safety above speed and tunnel vision. It is worth having a read through the highway code as it is quite interesting. No,really. Such delights as stopping distances and the meaning of road markings and loads more. You can test all your friends and make lots more. Hours of fun and all that knowledge. What's not to like.

Edited October 24, 2016 by Jacqueline

[Jan McNulty]

But recently I have seen many cyclists texting while they ride, oblivious to what is going on around them.  I have nearly had a collision with one who was all over the road coming towards me - I had to do an emergency stop and beep!  Then again, as a pedestrian I was nearly mown down by one.