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Post by scorp on Mar 13, 2014 12:56:00 GMT
I remember holding a door for some woman who just barged through with her nose in the air - I said, fairly loudly (mezzo-forte) "Don't mention it...", somebody sniggered and she went very bright red... My only other exploit of the kind - I am not a belligerent sort - was when a large woman shoved me out of the way so she could board a bus first - I said (fortissimo) that I expected better behaviour from "someone of your age" - and that got a laugh, although not from her.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 13, 2014 14:15:04 GMT
Jobswoths.
I loathe them with a passion, especially the ones (and they still do) who say, pointing to a Kennel club badge or something similar 'Do you know who I am?'
I did on one occasion peer at a badge and say 'Oh, you are from the Kennel Club' in reply. What I wanted to say was 'you are an ignorant arrogant pig'.
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Post by ARENA on Mar 13, 2014 15:14:51 GMT
Jobswoths. I loathe them with a passion, especially the ones (and they still do) who say, pointing to a Kennel club badge or something similar 'Do you know who I am?' I did on one occasion peer at a badge and say 'Oh, you are from the Kennel Club' in reply. What I wanted to say was 'you are an ignorant arrogant pig'. Many moons ago I played a great deal of tennis. I frequently practised at the municipal courts in Lammas Park, Ealing. The parkie there was a proper jobsworth. He'd come into the courts demanding to know why you'd started playing without waiting for him to turn up and wouldn't let you finish a match ,after your time was up, even if all the courts were empty (which they were mostly, except for Wimbledon fortnight, when everyone suddenly became a Pete Sampras) I christened him Jobsworth. These healthy session of tennis did not interfere with my main hobby, ie beer-swilling. One evening after a run-in with the demon parkie, I was regailing the folks at my table in the Red Lion about Jobsworth. Among those at the table was Esther Rantzen, on a break from the studios across the road. The following Sunday, she came up with her TV character Jobsworth................
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Post by Deleted on Mar 13, 2014 15:43:02 GMT
Like it Arena.
When I was a very young engineer I used to walk from work into town and catch a bus home. Just before Christmas was a vile day, cold dark and pouring with rain. The bus stop was used by several different busses, and some of those were going out with the back ends trailing with as many passengers crammed on as possible.
My bus came and I got on and bought a ticket and sat down near the door, which in those days was at the back with a platform.
An old lady with piles of shopping started to get on. She looked both shattered and relieved that at last her bus had come. The conductor said 'only 5 standing, you will have to wait for the next one' and shoved her away. Something in my brain said, 'that's not right' so I stood up and said. 'Thats OK, she can have my seat. She got on, and the conductor said to me 'well you will have to get off'. I said 'I am not getting off, I have got a ticket' He was not the brightest jobsworth so he turned to the old girl and said 'well you will have to get off' Passengers by this time were giving him an earful so I said 'but she is not getting off, she has got a seat'
At this point the passengers were shouting at him, and the driver got out and came round to cool things down. And we left, with 6 standing, me being the 6th!
That was in Redhill in 19.......!
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Post by scorp on Mar 15, 2014 9:21:58 GMT
Jobswoths. I loathe them with a passion, especially the ones (and they still do) who say, pointing to a Kennel club badge or something similar 'Do you know who I am?' I did on one occasion peer at a badge and say 'Oh, you are from the Kennel Club' in reply. What I wanted to say was 'you are an ignorant arrogant pig'. My last girlfriend worked for the Kennel Club -- from what she told me you were not far out in your description... She was not a Jobsworth, but Data Controller at their computer centre in Maidenhead, where they ran a Data General "Eclipse" system. Every time we saw a dog she would mutter the breed number, which was a trifle disconcerting...
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2014 14:44:43 GMT
Mobility scooters.
Not all of them, but the ones driven, and often driven into me by people who then hop off and scuttle round the shops without a sign of any impairment. I am surprised some of them don't have running spikes in the front basket.
Then when it rains they have shrouds of plastic protection on a frame, the only design fault being there are no wipers, so a combination of rain on the outside and condensation on the inside renders the driver completely blind, which combined with being completely daft is a recipe for being mown down from behind by a silent sullen allegedly disabled person, the only disablement being their brains.
I would make sure that the were all limited to less than 2 mph, and had battery lives of about 20 minutes.
Around here they are a lifestyle choice.
(Arena - do you still have those single cylinder diesel invalid cars in france driven by people who think they are Fangio?)
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Post by hedwig on Mar 24, 2014 4:56:27 GMT
I have an ordinary British surname that people seem unable to pronounce or spell correctly. Heaven knows why. I have not received mail with my husband's initial used instead of mine for many years. It dates from a time when the wife was thought of as the husband's possession. Way back when I got a letter so addressed I would decline to open it.
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Post by ARENA on Mar 24, 2014 10:00:27 GMT
I had an ongoing one with British Gas. They continually got my name wrong on bills(nothing like the real spelling). I pointed this out, to no avail, so addressed my cheques to Brishit Gas. This continued till we left the UK.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 24, 2014 10:46:22 GMT
Well if they cashed them Arena I guess someone else got there before you!
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Post by scorp on Mar 29, 2014 8:16:24 GMT
The phrase 'PIN number' raises my hackles, but worse than that is 'foot pedal'. What other kind of pedal is there?
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Post by jimshoo on Mar 29, 2014 9:10:03 GMT
I hate the new expression -pedal to the metal
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Post by scorp on Mar 29, 2014 10:31:28 GMT
Well - it's just an alternative for 'put the hammer on down', or 'step on it'!
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Post by ARENA on Mar 29, 2014 10:42:54 GMT
So much of our language contains 'repeats' in two tongues.
Obvious example , my grandfather's farm was called : hill (anglo) brae(Viking)both words meaning hill.
Sahara Desert (Desert desert) Mount Fugi Yama (mount Fuji mount)
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Post by scorp on Mar 29, 2014 11:19:30 GMT
River Avon being another example...
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Post by cobden28 on Mar 29, 2014 12:14:00 GMT
I have an ordinary British surname that people seem unable to pronounce or spell correctly. Heaven knows why. I have not received mail with my husband's initial used instead of mine for many years. It dates from a time when the wife was thought of as the husband's possession. Way back when I got a letter so addressed I would decline to open it. My sentiments exactly. If a letter arrives addressed jointly to us as a couple with the format of 'Mr and Mrs Mike XXXXX' then I refuse to have anything to do with it, because as far as I'm concerned it isn't addressed to me at all. I simply leave my husband to open and deal with said mail because it's addressed to him.
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