The Grumble Thread - No energy for a full on rant.

[rafletcher]

I mean...roof...pressure washed.....why?

Our neighbour used to have that done every couple of years. ALWAYS on a sunny saturday. And he would pressure wash his extensive patio every year, ALWAYS on the first really nice spring saturday. It would take him 4 hours.....

[rafletcher]

Watching Endevour on the idiot box and for the second week in a row they have identified a caller after the event by the use of call records. In 1969 this was not a thing. 

Nor were Series III Lard-Rovers.

Was it a 3 or a 2?  I thought it had headlamps in the grill and sidelamps on the wings making it a 2?

There was a blue SIII lwb and the vets SII swb.

[Cudzoziemiec]

This week has been nothing but noise out here in my shed, what with two of my neighbours having Tree Men around with their chainsaws. Now.... one of my neighbour is having their roof pressure washed!

I mean...roof...pressure washed.....why?

If you want quiet, don't live/work a a retirement neighbourhood!

Pigeons?

[Mr Larrington]

Watching Endevour on the idiot box and for the second week in a row they have identified a caller after the event by the use of call records. In 1969 this was not a thing. 

Nor were Series III Lard-Rovers.

Was it a 3 or a 2?  I thought it had headlamps in the grill and sidelamps on the wings making it a 2?

There was a blue SIII lwb and the vets SII swb.

I loaf corrected.  Though I'm fairly sure that in the episode with the dead schoolgirl, the Velvet Underground track the squatters were playing when Morse rocked up was off "1969 Live" and thus both recorded a couple of months after the moon landing and not released until 1974

[T42]

Does cold calling go by season? Just fielded my second or third telemarketer of the week looking for 'le responsable de communication' in pidgin French. We closed our company two years ago.

[mcshroom]

Knocked my laptop off the table this morning while getting ready for work and smashed the screen. Looks like it's pingfukit and confusing extra screw at the end time next week.

[Basil]

Internet appears to be down all over town.  Can't use mobile data as my EE signal is also down. 
Bloke behind the bar in the Kings has set his phone up as a hotspot.  What a good egg!  Many relieved customers who thought they were going to have to talk to each other or something.

[Beardy]

It’s difficult in these cold climes. I’ve turned the heating off in my room but there is a residual heat from the rest of the building. I can’t open the window as I would at home because the sub zero temperatures outside would make it unreasonably cold within. I’m sure the more hardy locals have solved this problem, but I’m not privy to their solution.

[Cudzoziemiec]

It’s difficult in these cold climes. I’ve turned the heating off in my room but there is a residual heat from the rest of the building. I can’t open the window as I would at home because the sub zero temperatures outside would make it unreasonably cold within. I’m sure the more hardy locals have solved this problem, but I’m not privy to their solution.

You're in Prague or somewhere similar? The solution probably involves drinking vodka in front of the local shop.

[andytheflyer]

Don't think this quite qualifies for a rant, yet.

The cash machine in the village shop now wants 95p from me every time I want cash.  Bastard banks.  They closed our village branch, then the one in the nearest town, and now I'd have to go maybe 20 miles to get my cash from my bank.

I have 2 other options though - the Co-Op and the village shop has a PO counter - so it's not worthy of a rant. Yet.....

Bastard banks.  You've had my money since I was a student, 45 years ago.  You've used my money to make money for yourselves and to pay big bonuses to braces-wearing Tim Nice-but-Dim muppets in the 80s. Now, when I want my cash, you want to fleece me again. F**k off NatWest.

And I don't care who actually provides the cash machine.  It's my sodding money, you lot are all in it together.  We have bugger-all options in rural areas.  So there.

Do I feel better for that?  Not really.

[Beardy]

It’s difficult in these cold climes. I’ve turned the heating off in my room but there is a residual heat from the rest of the building. I can’t open the window as I would at home because the sub zero temperatures outside would make it unreasonably cold within. I’m sure the more hardy locals have solved this problem, but I’m not privy to their solution.

You're in Prague or somewhere similar? The solution probably involves drinking vodka in front of the local shop.

I was in Tallinn. It was cold, but not as cold as we’d been expecting it to be.

[T42]

Baker's run out of croissants.

[Mrs Pingu]

Already?

[T42]

He had two reserved for us and the delivery driver took them by mistake. They'll be back in time for lunch.

[Mrs Pingu]

Scandiwegian snow tyres are frikking noisy (snap,crackle,pop) when the road is right outside your window. And the peep peep peep of the ped crossing.
AND my hotel room is fucking freezing (finds both the duvets).

[andrewc]

£974 Council tax, for a tiny Band A flat with single occupant discount.   

[rafletcher]

£974 Council tax, for a tiny Band A flat with single occupant discount.   

The joys penalties of city living.

[Andrij]

£974 Council tax, for a tiny Band A flat with single occupant discount.   

  

Surprise of the day: my flat here in London is Band B, with single occupant discount, and I pay less than that. Who would thunk it?

[fimm]

Stupid Scotrail "smart" card decides that it isn't going to accept the new set of tickets I've just bought, leaving me to scurry over to the ticket office to buy a set of pieces of cardboard instead. The new card is better when it works but a right PITA when it doesn't.

[ian]

£974 Council tax, for a tiny Band A flat with single occupant discount.   

  

Surprise of the day: my flat here in London is Band B, with single occupant discount, and I pay less than that. Who would thunk it?

Don't knock it, we don't get much change from £2.5k and that from a council that's proud of cutting services to 'save us money' (some definition of 'saving money' I'm not familiar with, since it goes up each year – for which they'll blame the government, despite their ideological alignment). I wouldn't mind, but I seem to pay them a lot of tax too for much the same message. Unlike Amazon et c., HMRC don't invite me around to discuss what I think is a 'fair' amount of tax to pay of course.

[T42]

Managed to take tyres off rims to fix n punctures over the last weeks without damage to fingers and then pulled the flesh away from my right thumbnail opening the battery compartment of a frigging outdoor thermometer sensor.

[hellymedic]

£974 Council tax, for a tiny Band A flat with single occupant discount.   

  

Surprise of the day: my flat here in London is Band B, with single occupant discount, and I pay less than that. Who would thunk it?

Maybe your council spends less on transporting its refuse services, school students and care workers, etc.
Maybe they have fewer roads and streets per capita.

[Cudzoziemiec]

There's no link between amount of council tax in each band and house prices in the area. Or is there? It's down to council finances and funding.

Anyway, I'm impressed by your councils' speed in sending out the bills.

[ian]

Aren't that based on some ancient valuation of your house, probably the mid-1600s? Or perhaps the Domesday Book?

I seem to recall a tortuous appeal process in a previous place to get the band changed.

Surrey's (Tandridge anyway) most effective service is the dispatch and collection of council tax. I wouldn't knock the London boroughs, they provide a level of service that you don't get in the sticks (despite paying more). In Croydon, we had a 'street team' and everything.

[hellymedic]

Got my Council Tax e-bill today. £1935 for nice Band E 3-bed semi in Brent.