THE YARD..... The GC Grumble Societies thread.... ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK...!!!

I had one of those tuition free university educations...and a maintenance grant of £500 per term (it was a long time ago) that I never had to pay back. Sadly I didn't make the most of it and study something useful, that would get me a decent job at the end of it. Kicking myself now!

 

My, how language changes. I've just realised that when you're browsing in a store and a shop assistant says: 'can I help you?' in a certain kind of tone, what she actually means is: 'we've met dodgy types like you before, Sunshine. Don't even think about it. Perhaps you'd feel more at home in Primark.' :rotfl:

 

:rotfl: My Mum calls it 'Primate'.

 

I started work at age 15, it now appears that I will probably have to work until I'm at least
66, so after paying into the system, do I not deserve perhaps 20yrs of pension if I live that long?

Its the way the governments run the system that is at fault, you should only get out what you pay in.
With some exceptions of course.

Isn't it about time people who started work late in life actually had to work a certain number of years to qualify for a state pension, while those who start early and maybe are doing manual jobs get their pension earlier.

I get totally sick when I see some fat a*sed pencil pusher saying things along the lines of "why should I have to retire at 65".

If they had spent 50yrs, digging holes in the road or working in heavy industry they would probably welcome it, especially when you bear in mind that person probably didn't get a job until they were 25.

We need all kinds of workers but nobody wants to do manual work these days, all school leavers hope to go to university, then its followed by a gap year or two before grudgingly trying to find a job that doesn't involve getting dirty.

Which is why we have such a large immigration problem, but that's another story.:D

 

Of course you deserve your pension, Pete. :thmb:

I do worry about my kids and the number of ancient people their generation will have to pay for one way or another. It's becoming impossible to get on the housing ladder without borrowing stupid amounts of money (unless, of course, your Dad happens to be Tony Blair) and the amount of debt people are already saddled with by the time they get through university is frightening. It's true that people don't want to do dirty jobs any more. However, there aren't many unskilled jobs to be had anyway. We did away with nasty, grubby industry in favour of nice, clean banking and financial services.

I also get a bit fed up with a certain elderly member of my family who goes on about how hard he had it and how he had to live in cardboard boxes in the middle of motorways and eat gravel for breakfast while the youth of today has no worries at all. I'm sure it wasn't always easy, but he gave up on the world of work early and regularly visits his two holiday homes as well as taking numerous other trips. We are resigned to the fact that we'll have to try to do something or other for as long as we still have marbles. :D

 

Thankyou Clare:wink:

Well the housing market is based on the "feel good factor", something that the last labour government was very strong on.
I cant help thinking those small roomed, small windowed, three story "apartments", (flats) that are being "thrown up" all over the place these days are well over priced.

They look to me like tomorrows slums already, but the way they are built I doubt they will last long enough to become real slums.

But its all because of greed, every one wants their house price to be rising at a pace well above inflation.
If its just a place to live, is it really that important?
Its only if you treat your house as an investment that it matters.
And if you do that, you could catch a cold.

Developers just love it.

 

Our eldest son was an apprentice engineer with GEC in Trafford Park. I think he was one of the last intake. It made him grow up very quickly.This would have been in the late seventies when they employed 9,000 people making switchgear, turbines etc., Sadly, it's all gone now.
He went on to take higher qualifications and for many years now has been a consultant engineer, travelling the world. (he says on a couple of occasions "he's been involved in designing the sky hooks on which to hang Sir Norman Foster's ideas.")

The saddest part about engineering is that "as a country we no longer make anything." Of young engineers coming to him from university for interviews for a job, most have had no practical experience at all , just computer simulations and drawings. Theory is all very well, but some hands on experience is necessary.

I'm digressing a bit now, but having mentioned the reliance on computers, I remember that very early on in his apprenticeship he was working on the admin in the stores for a couple of weeks. He went in to see the boss to tell him he'd seen a job coming up for which stainless steel tubing of some particular gauge was required.
His boss said that he knew it wasn't necessary as his new computer system logged all the materials coming out of the stores and deducted it from the inventory.
"You will see that when you pull it up on your screen in the stores office. I can see here that there's still 110ft in stock, so I suggest you go back and find it!"

"Mmm, yes I've seen it on the computer and I've seen the actual stock in the stores and 110ft sounds about right.

What your computer doesn't tell you is, there isn't a piece longer than 2ft"

"Oops!"

 

Maybe you should try the line from Absolutely Fabulous when Patsy looks down her nose at a snotty saleswoman in an art gallery and says 'you're just a shop assistant, sweetie':gnthb:

However I really detest the 'Are you all right?' from shop assistants. I have to bit my tongue to refrain from replying 'I'm fine, but do you really want to know?'. Still, with the recession and shops making cut backs, you'll be lucky to find more than one shop assistant on duty these days...a bonus from the days of walking into clothes shops and having three bored but eager assistant jumping on you!

 

Doghouse, prepare to explode! Here is the Nationwide's learned pronouncement on the state of the UK's property market:-

"Given that the price rises of the last year had gotten ahead of the recovery in the wider economy, the current correction is not an unhealthy development."

 

"I've had enough of this bull! You send the application to my house, then you ask me for my address?"

That statement got me going

 

Hi Alice i find with a lot of the younger Generation
they talk through their teeth. i have three Grandaughters and sometime i think they are speaking in a foreign language (they drive me mad). at first i thought my hearing was going then i watched them talking .they have their lips slightly open teeth closed and mutter
as you say LORN ODDA . in some conversations i give up and retreat to the garden shed
telling them that there is TEACOFFSUG in the kitchen if you want to help yourself. :flag:.
music

 

My Norfolk country nan used to say "I'll do that now directly" meaning shortly.

I only just found this thread and it's right up my street! I am a confirmed 'grumpy old woman' about grammar and spelling.

My pet hates are
~ 'more then' instead of more than
~ 'off of'
~ 'I hope your better now
~ 'throws of ecstasy'
~ 'it's alot better now'
~ also posts with no punctuation, no sentences, no paragraphs, just one huge block of uninterrupted text
~ when the perpendicular pronoun is always i instead of 'I'
~ when it's always 'u' instead of 'you' and 'thx' instead of 'thanks' or 'thank you'

There are a few dozen more but I think you can get my drift! :snz:

 

'It's been going on since time immoral,' as one lady put it recently. :hehe: