Grumblers Corner

[Suzanne B]

Well the older I get the more I'm finding that things, be they trivial or mind blowingly important are really starting to annoy me.
So I thought a little section in here dedicated to our gripes and moans would be a nice way to get them off our chests
There are of course a few rules that have to be adhered to:
Rule 1 : (And this is the most important) You cannot disagree with any point being made!!
Rule 2 : You cannot put the other side across (unless it's a silly point. )
Rule 3 : You can have as many gripes as you like but no more than 100 per day.
Rule 4 : It can be serious or fun but must stick to forum rules at all times.
Rule 5 : Rules may be added or taken away at any time and without prior warning.
Rule 6 : Anyone can join in.

(Unfortunately, thinking about it, I can't enforce any of the rules as I am a mere mortal, but, I would like to remind all members to be wary of the 'goosey' when sharing thoughts. )

Right, time for my first moan which is a bit British I'm afraid but has to be said.
And it is.......The Great Britain Official Olympic Kit!
What's that all about? Dark blue, light blue and white? My goodness me everyone associates GBR with red, white and blue so its really disappointing to me to see it has been watered down to this. How are we supposed to spot our athletes when they are hurtling round on bikes or caught in the middle of pack at a track and field event?

And what about our Olympic mascots? Strange beasts with one eye! They are not even cute! What are they even? And who designs such strange collectables. The last thing I want is a cuddly toy in the shape of one of those weird little things.

And Duran Duran playing at the opening ceremony to represent England? A band that had its hey day nearly 30 years ago and who my kids haven't even heard of. sob, why, why why???? As lovely as they probably are I can think of a good few who would have been a bit more of a pull....Take That, Coldplay, Keane, (no rappers though thank you very much, another annoying phenomenom ) to name but a few.

All I can say is thank goodness Englebert Humperdink is representing us at Eurovision, now there's class! ( I am being sincere btw )

[Drosera]

Excellent initiative Suzanne!

I agree about the olympic colour thing but don't really have strong opinions about the rest - been an expat too long I guess .....

[paul m]

That's my first gripe - this is not enough!

Originally Posted by Suzanne B

..............
Rule 3 : You can have as many gripes as you like but no more than 100 per day.
........

[basquesteve]

The Olympic flame came in a miners lamp I could not believe it . How did they get the flame out

An edit 24 hours later why do Brits wear high vis jackets it must be something to do with superiority/importance, why are they always brand new clean, the coloured helmets what are they about

[goosey]

I had been quiet on this thread but now it's time to grumble! This is the list from this morning.

Grumble 1. Why when I spent ages washing my huge window earlier has a seagull pooped all over it .

Grumble 2. Why is it when the weather has been so nice and warm, and I have planted my garden for te benefit of moths, that the little buggers just aren't coming .

Grumble 3. I went to the supermarket yesterday to get some on offer Duracel batteries (my little camera eats them and I get through so many) they hadn't come in and was told to go back today - I did and no batteries .

Grumble 4. My shorts won't do up as easily as they did last year .

[paul m]

I'll go even farther - the whole Olympic set-up should be revised; it's all bling and momey-making nowadays. It could all be made a lot smaller and simpler - a it used to be.... especially by cutting out some of the silly sports. I would first ban:
1 All games that need a judge to pick the winner;
2 All games that have world championships which are more significant than the Olympics;
3 All sports that are not played by more than a handfull of countries;
4 All 'sports' that are only played by millionaires;
5 All sports that award five or six medals for what is effectively the same activity;
6 All games that depend more on equipment than skill;
7 All sports involving animals;...
...that should cut it down nicely to athletics!

Originally Posted by Suzanne B

.......The Great Britain Official Olympic Kit!
What's that all about? Dark blue, light blue and white? My goodness me everyone associates GBR with red, white and blue so its really disappointing to me to see it has been watered down to this. How are we supposed to spot our athletes when they are hurtling round on bikes or caught in the middle of pack at a track and field event?

And what about our Olympic mascots? Strange beasts with one eye! They are not even cute! What are they even? And who designs such strange collectables. The last thing I want is a cuddly toy in the shape of one of those weird little things.

And Duran Duran playing at the opening ceremony to represent England? A band that had its hey day nearly 30 years ago and who my kids haven't even heard of. sob, why, why why???? As lovely as they probably are I can think of a good few who would have been a bit more of a pull....Take That, Coldplay, Keane, (no rappers though thank you very much, another annoying phenomenom ) to name but a few.
....... )

[Suzanne B]

Originally Posted by paul m

I'll go even farther - the whole Olympic set-up should be revised; it's all bling and momey-making nowadays. It could all be made a lot smaller and simpler - a it used to be.... especially by cutting out some of the silly sports. I would first ban:
1 All games that need a judge to pick the winner;
2 All games that have world championships which are more significant than the Olympics;
3 All sports that are not played by more than a handfull of countries;
4 All 'sports' that are only played by millionaires;
5 All sports that award five or six medals for what is effectively the same activity;
6 All games that depend more on equipment than skill;
7 All sports involving animals;...
...that should cut it down nicely to athletics!

I totally agree with you, especially with the Football and Tennis, how on earth did they get chosen to be events? And wrestling when was that introduced into the Olympics? I didn't even think it was a sport anymore just a choreographed throw about.
And why won't they let Squash in? What did they ever do wrong? Maybe they should have tried playing in bikinis or speedos and maybe on sand, with a net instead of a wall and maybe do away with the raquets and use a bigger ball......just a thought.

[Suzanne B]

Originally Posted by goosey

I had been quiet on this thread but now it's time to grumble! This is the list from this morning.

Grumble 1. Why when I spent ages washing my huge window earlier has a seagull pooped all over it .

Grumble 2. Why is it when the weather has been so nice and warm, and I have planted my garden for te benefit of moths, that the little buggers just aren't coming .

Grumble 3. I went to the supermarket yesterday to get some on offer Duracel batteries (my little camera eats them and I get through so many) they hadn't come in and was told to go back today - I did and no batteries .

Grumble 4. My shorts won't do up as easily as they did last year .

Aww there's a lot of unhappy little faces there!
I see you've been saving your grumbles up and that's probably why your shorts don't fit.....you've been ready to burst! So now you have, try them again! You might be pleasantly surprised.

[Suzanne B]

Originally Posted by basquesteve

The Olympic flame came in a miners lamp I could not believe it . How did they get the flame out

I know what you mean about the lamp! It should surely have been something a bit more impressive.
And I see the Olympic flame has gone out twice already. Once when they were getting ready to send it from Greece.
BBC News - Olympic torch flame goes out during Greek ceremony
and once over here in the UK.
No need to worry though as apparently they keep the 'Mother flame' in that lamp and it is always on hand should the worst happen. Phew.
(Still don't know how they get it out though. )

Originally Posted by basquesteve

An edit 24 hours later why do Brits wear high vis jackets it must be something to do with superiority/importance, why are they always brand new clean, the coloured helmets what are they about

I always thought shoplifters wore them so they looked like they had a job and therefore shopkeepers would leave them alone, that's probably why they are always clean.

[Suzanne B]

Originally Posted by paul m

That's my first gripe - this is not enough!

Rule 3 has now been changed to unlimited gripes!

[chris butterworth]

There used to be Olympic events such as Poetry ( Baron de C. won that one under a pseudonym ), Town Planning and Poodle Clipping. Damn sight better than Footy ( do we REALLY have to watch Beckham being wheeled out - again ) or Tennis ( Nadal or that Swiss bugger ? - why does anyone else consider entering? ).

Chris

p.s. No, I haven't been sampling naughty substances - they really were in the Olympics. Honestly. Check it out.

C

[chris butterworth]

Originally Posted by Suzanne B

No need to worry though as apparently they keep the 'Mother flame' in that lamp and it is always on hand should the worst happen. Phew.
(Still don't know how they get it out though. )

The offer of a private meeting with "Call Me Dave"????????????????

Chris

[Suzanne B]

Originally Posted by chris butterworth

There used to be Olympic events such as Poetry ( Baron de C. won that one under a pseudonym ), Town Planning and Poodle Clipping. Damn sight better than Footy ( do we REALLY have to watch Beckham being wheeled out - again ) or Tennis ( Nadal or that Swiss bugger ? - why does anyone else consider entering? ).

Chris

p.s. No, I haven't been sampling naughty substances - they really were in the Olympics. Honestly. Check it out.

C

Well I did feel compelled to check it out (like you advised ) and you are right! How totally bizarre but apparently true!

I also saw on that very strange list one that I actually remembered......the solo synchronised swimming! And yes, if I remember rightly, it was as good as it sounded! And it remained sport for three Olympics...what?????

[Suzanne B]

Todays grumble is potted plants in supermarkets.
Now I am not averse to getting myself some nice plants from these at all and the majority are as good as as you can get anywhere, but what really winds me up is when nobody waters them!
I was in a certain shop the other day and they had two large trolleys full of bedding plants, veg plants and expensive containers with plants in and all of them werel dying a death through lack of water. They were so far gone I don't even think they could be revived with the best will in the world. They weren't even out of the way either, they were bang in the middle of the fruit and veg aisles with assistants in abundance going about their daily routines walking right past them. Why on earth does it not dawn on someone to give them a drop of water. It's not the first time I've seen this and not the only supermarket, does anyone else see this problem?

[chris butterworth]

Originally Posted by Suzanne B

Todays grumble is potted plants in supermarkets.

........... plants in Supermarkets, eggs and milk in Off-licences, baked beans in Newsagents, 'bankers' in the City, eejits in Parliament. No wonder we are all confused.

Chris

[chris butterworth]

Back to the Olympics ( or, I should say, London 2012 Olympic Commitee's exploitation of the Olympics ). £6 for a pint of beer, £8 for fish and chips, £4.80 for an 18.7cl glass of red wine. Welcome to the UK, world!

Chris

[paul m]

Originally Posted by chris butterworth

Back to the Olympics ( or, I should say, London 2012 Olympic Commitee's exploitation of the Olympics ). £6 for a pint of beer, £8 for fish and chips, £4.80 for an 18.7cl glass of red wine. Welcome to the UK, world!
Chris

It gets wprse. There will be no real ale. The only label to be seen will be Heineken (some places may serve other beers but they will have to have label covered up).

Water will be provided by Coca Cola at £1,60 a small bottle. They don't say this but the last time Coca-Cola tried to sell water in London they were taking it straight out of the London system ....

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/olympi...t-7804339.html

[chris butterworth]

Originally Posted by paul m

There will be no real ale.
London 2012 Olympics: Raising the bar and the Games haven't even started yet. Price of toasting Team GB is £6 a pint! - Olympic News - Olympics - Evening Standard

No BEER ( that Heini-rubbish isn't beer ). I thought it was going to show the World the best that the UK can deliver? Another reason not to go. Not that I was anyway - to thick to work out how to get a ticket .

Chris

[Suzanne B]

Todays grumble is toilet roll perforations that don't match up!
Enough said!

[Drosera]

Sorry, but beer here costs £6 anyway, fish and chips £12, high taxes - up to 50% for "ordinary" people - what can I say - we survive

[chris butterworth]

Originally Posted by Drosera

Sorry, but beer here costs £6 anyway, fish and chips £12, high taxes - up to 50% for "ordinary" people - what can I say - we survive

I remember when beer was 9d for a half of Mild and chips were 6d. ( Perhaps that ought to go in a seperate thread just for old farts )

Chris

... and it used to cost me 1/2d to get to school on the bus, as a 5 year old - none of this 16 year olds being driven 25 metres, in a big 4x4, by Mummy stuff. Bah.

C

[paul m]

Originally Posted by chris butterworth

I remember when beer was 9d for a half of Mild and chips were 6d. ( Perhaps that ought to go in a seperate thread just for old farts ) Chris

When I first started buying rounds you got twelve pints of ordinary nitter for the pound (1s 8d, now 12p, per pint). Happy days .... we had choices with chips: threepennorth, four pennorth and the big one!

[reninfrance]

childhood choices---
Large chips 3d walk home 3 miles
Small chips 1d walk to next fare stage 10 mins not late home --no questions!!
Always with lots of scraps.

[Drosera]

Originally Posted by chris butterworth

- none of this 16 year olds being driven 25 metres, in a big 4x4, by Mummy stuff. Bah.

C

With you 110% on that!

[Suzanne B]

Well going back to an earlier thread, is it any wonder they need a lift these days?



Can you imagine how many tiny little steps it must take to walk 25 metres?