RANT CORNER

[greenmark]

Apparently, Barclaycard are "working urgently" to resolve problems where contactless payment has stopped working.
Well I worked in IT support and if Barclaycard think 2 weeks to be unable to resolve something is urgent work, I can only laugh.

[Derek27]

Cat food's gone up 50%!!!

[Derek27]

A typical household will be spending £500 a month on energy. It would help if they gave some indication of what a typical household is!

How many people/children?

Double glazing? Wall installation?

Do they heat the full house to 22ºC or main rooms to 16ºC and wrap up?

Is it a family that uses the washing machine every day or slobs that shower once a week and wash clothes once a month?

Are they at home all day or at work and down the pub in the evenings?

Do they cook a roast dinner with all the trimmings for a family or make sandwiches/get takeaways?

[ShaunWhite]

A typical household will be spending £500 a month on energy. It would help if they gave some indication of what a typical household is!

We don't teach maths literacy or critical thinking in our schools so unqualified numbers are just either big looking or small looking. The worst cases involve "billion"... a vast and incomprehensible number to most which is used to exagerate a fairly modest £20 per head of population. Keeping the proliteriat stupid is a standard way to manipulate them.

[ShaunWhite]

Traveling in Europe as a non-shengan is a pain in the arse... We used to move around our continent as free as a bird but somehow 'we' voted to be relegated to the same level as Equador with zero tengible benefit. All it took was a self-serving City boy photographed in a flat cap with a pint and people thought he cared about them.

[greenmark]

Traveling in Europe as a non-shengan is a pain in the arse... We used to move around our continent as free as a bird but somehow 'we' voted to be relegated to the same level as Equador with zero tengible benefit. All it took was a self-serving City boy photographed in a flat cap with a pint and people thought he cared about them.

I've been assured by poiticians and forumites that this a reasonable price to pay for the opportunities to make whizzo deals and for us to prosper...... eventually.
There won't be another ref (brenter?) for a generation. Thus far it's proved to be a drag on the economy as well irritating for travellers, students et al.
And its clearly not going to improve while the current Tory party ties themselves up in knots and get distracted from the business of running the country.

[Derek27]

Traveling in Europe as a non-shengan is a pain in the arse... We used to move around our continent as free as a bird but somehow 'we' voted to be relegated to the same level as Equador with zero tengible benefit. All it took was a self-serving City boy photographed in a flat cap with a pint and people thought he cared about them.

I've been assured by poiticians and forumites that this a reasonable price to pay for the opportunities to make whizzo deals and for us to prosper...... eventually.
There won't be another ref (brenter?) for a generation. Thus far it's proved to be a drag on the economy as well irritating for travellers, students et al.
And its clearly not going to improve while the current Tory party ties themselves up in knots and get distracted from the business of running the country.

When leavers say things will be better and remainers say they won't, the remainers will have an uphill task to convince the public of what they don't want to hear. If there was another referendum even remainers wouldn't be voting us back in as we'd effectively be entering revolving doors to the EU.

[greenmark]

Traveling in Europe as a non-shengan is a pain in the arse... We used to move around our continent as free as a bird but somehow 'we' voted to be relegated to the same level as Equador with zero tengible benefit. All it took was a self-serving City boy photographed in a flat cap with a pint and people thought he cared about them.

I've been assured by poiticians and forumites that this a reasonable price to pay for the opportunities to make whizzo deals and for us to prosper...... eventually.
There won't be another ref (brenter?) for a generation. Thus far it's proved to be a drag on the economy as well irritating for travellers, students et al.
And its clearly not going to improve while the current Tory party ties themselves up in knots and get distracted from the business of running the country.

When leavers say things will be better and remainers say they won't, the remainers will have an uphill task to convince the public of what they don't want to hear. If there was another referendum even remainers wouldn't be voting us back in as we'd effectively be entering revolving doors to the EU.

If annuity companies have it right, I won't see another ref. But I will be watching how our economy fairs over the next few years (decades if I'm lucky).
Thus far if stock markets are anything to go by, we've been flat since 2016. While the US, Japan, EU have been relentlessly up, recovering their trajectory after the covid hit and the US has only been dragged back by Ukraine and perhaps Biden, or the reaction of the Republicans to Biden.
I'm getting a bit impatient to see the brave new world post-brexit. There's only so long you can blame covid/ukraine.
I'm beginning to feel we really have been hood-winked.

[Archery1969]

We borrowed £490 billion during covid and in June we paid £19 billion in debt interest alone.

It will take a very long time to pay the debt down which will effect public spending for many years to come regardless of who is in No10.

If, as is expected, the UK enters recession next year or before then it could very well end up financially bankrupt.

I would say hope for a miracle.

[The Silk Run]

It makes me extremely angry that the supermarkets have been profiteering throughout the pandemic, and now the war in Ukraine.

[Derek27]

Airfix models - no glue, no paint, just build!!

What's the point? Why not sell them pre-constructed??

[greenmark]

Airfix models - no glue, no paint, just build!!

What's the point? Why not sell them pre-constructed??

Oh man! You mean my Lancaster bomber and beloved Spitfire were just a waste of pre-teen time?

[Archery1969]

It’s amazing some of the disparity in jobs around.

You got some people having todo 3 jobs to make ends meet and then my neighbour opposite. He is a BT open reach engineer. I spoke to him recently and asked how much holiday he gets. His reply was 6 weeks per year but I haven’t used any yet. I said o you seem to be at home allot. He said that’s the job, on average I have probably worked 1 day per week for the past 8 years or so.

Then I got chatting to his wife and she said yeah, he has allot of time on his hands but still gets paid £47k plus benefits per year.

Jesus Christ, I know BT charge allot but fcuking he’ll, if all their engineers are the same it’s one cushy job!!!!!

[greenmark]

It’s amazing some of the disparity in jobs around.

You got some people having todo 3 jobs to make ends meet and then my neighbour opposite. He is a BT open reach engineer. I spoke to him recently and asked how much holiday he gets. His reply was 6 weeks per year but I haven’t used any yet. I said o you seem to be at home allot. He said that’s the job, on average I have probably worked 1 day per week for the past 8 years or so.

Then I got chatting to his wife and she said yeah, he has allot of time on his hands but still gets paid £47k plus benefits per year.

Jesus Christ, I know BT charge allot but fcuking he’ll, if all their engineers are the same it’s one cushy job!!!!!

I find that hard to believe. But back when, a husband of a friend was an IT contractor for government. He was paid 1000's and spent a lot of time reading the paper because red tape had brought the project he was on to a grinding halt.
Finding these nooks and crannies in the system can be very lucrative.
I don't think the same applies to the current rail worker issues.
Been doing some reading and the headline for me is the proposed 34% reduction in maintenance man hours.
2 questions occur to me.
How can you reduce maintenance by 34% and ensure safety.
Or how has the system allowed 34% of excess labour to persist, even through so called "efficient" privatisation and subsequent re-nationalisation. Do none of these people (highly paid) know what the hell they're doing?

[Archery1969]

It’s amazing some of the disparity in jobs around.

You got some people having todo 3 jobs to make ends meet and then my neighbour opposite. He is a BT open reach engineer. I spoke to him recently and asked how much holiday he gets. His reply was 6 weeks per year but I haven’t used any yet. I said o you seem to be at home allot. He said that’s the job, on average I have probably worked 1 day per week for the past 8 years or so.

Then I got chatting to his wife and she said yeah, he has allot of time on his hands but still gets paid £47k plus benefits per year.

Jesus Christ, I know BT charge allot but fcuking he’ll, if all their engineers are the same it’s one cushy job!!!!!

I find that hard to believe. But back when, a husband of a friend was an IT contractor for government. He was paid 1000's and spent a lot of time reading the paper because red tape had brought the project he was on to a grinding halt.
Finding these nooks and crannies in the system can be very lucrative.
I don't think the same applies to the current rail worker issues.
Been doing some reading and the headline for me is the proposed 34% reduction in maintenance man hours.
2 questions occur to me.
How can you reduce maintenance by 34% and ensure safety.
Or how has the system allowed 34% of excess labour to persist, even through so called "efficient" privatisation and subsequent re-nationalisation. Do none of these people (highly paid) know what the hell they're doing?

Its not hard to believe, the guy is opposite me, he always at home with the BT van parked on his drive. I seen hime twice in 2 weeks with his uniform on and looking like he going to work. Rest of the time, he doing stuff in his garage in shorts and a tea-shirt.