Insignificant/ Significant things that BYP or just wind you up a little

[KungFooBob]

Having to spend twenty minutes on the phone to stop the auto renewal on my car insurance, while they try and sort out a discount only to still be £50 more than the cheapest quote.

Also, the cheapest quote is £890!!!!

(That is for two cars tho')

Get a Rangey and you can join the exclusive 4 figure club!

I'm glad I put the wife off the Evoque and she went for the X2 instead.

[Taipan]

Having to spend twenty minutes on the phone to stop the auto renewal on my car insurance, while they try and sort out a discount only to still be £50 more than the cheapest quote.

Also, the cheapest quote is £890!!!!

(That is for two cars tho')

Get a Rangey and you can join the exclusive 4 figure club!

I'm glad I put the wife off the Evoque and she went for the X2 instead.

Good move I reckon. I got some strange looks when I picked mine up from being serviced and asked if they did Klarna!

[MingtheMerciless]

NHS Blood Donation Webshite, I'm O Neg and they are apparently really short of it. Log on, wait 30 minutes in the queue, register and the first appointment near me is 14 miles away and December the 4th!!! FFS.

[gremlin]

NHS Blood Donation Webshite, I'm O Neg and they are apparently really short of it. Log on, wait 30 minutes in the queue, register and the first appointment near me is 14 miles away and December the 4th!!! FFS.

I logged on not half an hour ago, prompted by a news article.

Same thing.

[Noggin]

NHS Blood Donation Webshite, I'm O Neg and they are apparently really short of it. Log on, wait 30 minutes in the queue, register and the first appointment near me is 14 miles away and December the 4th!!! FFS.

At least they'll take yours, eventually!!

I'm A negative (apparently useful?) but over here they won't accept mine as I might be a Mad Cow! I mean, it's a pretty good description, but I am pretty sure my kind of Mad Cow isn't actually catching!!

[DefTrap]

I'm ONeg too. Like Nogs the Fronch don't want my dirty Breetesh (baby-saving!) special blood. I used to travel regulary to the UK on bizznizz so planned it in there in my downtime - managed to get up to over 50 donations! <proud>
I probably won't do it again. I take so many meds now I imagine my blood would curdle the recipient's body.

[Mr. Dazzle]

I always book mine immediately after giving blood, usually when I'm sat with the mandatory weak lemon drink and seabrooks (sic) crisps. It's the only way I can get a slot.

They do a lot of these blood shortage campaigns, but every session I go to is booked solid with people lining up outside. In fact two sessions ago, people with bookings were being turned away!

Not 'ere though, O-neg "neo" blood. Front of the queue

[MrLongbeard]

I've got blood, bloody gallons of it flowing around me, no idea what type it is mind, and I've never donated.

[Yorick]

I'm ONeg too. Like Nogs the Fronch

That made me giggle

Nog the Frog

[Noggin]

I'm ONeg too. Like Nogs the Fronch

That made me giggle

Nog the Frog

Hopefully in two or three years (well, probably three or four - got to sort out issues with my changed first name first !!)

Once the course is over I will have the required level of French needed for nationality, so will go for it


They still won't take the blood of a Mad Cow tho

[Cousin Jack]

Used to do the blood donor bit, but they wont accept mine now, too many assorted drugs, the prescription sort.

[KungFooBob]

I tried, but they asked too many personal questions...

Who's blood is this, where did you get it, why is it in a bucket?

[David]

I've got blood, bloody gallons of it flowing around me, no idea what type it is mind, and I've never donated.

I am not allowed to donate due to youthful indiscretions......

[Noggin]

Just chatting to my brother for the first time in a couple of months (ok, I thought we were both busy, but he's been ill and I've been going mad!)

HTF is it ok to leave someone who is ill, ok, not dying (luckily), but pretty bad, on a drip and no diagnosis; how is it ok to leave them sitting with the drip for 15 hours before managing to find a bed, but only for one night cos they needed the bed available for the weekend?? Apparently it was ok cos it was the Critical Decision Unit so at least the chairs ere more comfy than in A&E

But please come back at 8am Monday so we can carry on working out whats wrong with you




WTF?? I mean, I know he would like to live here (not necessarily where I am, too much cold!) and I'd like him to be here. But having heard the story of the hospital visit, FFS, if only I could get them over here to live

[Pirahna]

if only I could get them over here to live

Irish passport so it should be easy. Or send him to Spain if he doesn't like the cold.

[Pirahna]

The pitiful state of my Spanish really pisses me of. For only two years here I'm doing OK'ish, I know a shit load of words and can string basic sentences together but could be a lot better, wifey gets a lot more practice than I do and is way, way ahead. What brings it into focus is stuff like the old bloke that lives across the road from the english bar in the village. He always used to sit outside his house with his wife, then one day, a couple of months ago she wasn't there and there was only his chair. I always go to say hello and see how he is, his family live in France and he rarely sees them. Today he wasn't in a good place, very tearful, wifey and I spent time with him.

I've mentioned him several times to people that use the bar or the shop next door where all the English get post delivered. Every time I say about him they all know him but nobody seems to know enough Spanish to go and say something to the old fella. I think my Spanish is bad, I've had comments from people that have been here for years wondering how I can get by so well. It's because I try you useless cunts.

[Noggin]

if only I could get them over here to live

Irish passport so it should be easy. Or send him to Spain if he doesn't like the cold.

TBF, she has an Irish passport (she was actually born there!! LOL) but he left it too late to apply for his, they changed the rules and spouses have to live in Ireland to qualify now But, they could move here and probably will at some point. Hopefully with the health to enjoy it!

[Noggin]

The pitiful state of my Spanish really pisses me of. For only two years here I'm doing OK'ish, I know a shit load of words and can string basic sentences together but could be a lot better, wifey gets a lot more practice than I do and is way, way ahead. What brings it into focus is stuff like the old bloke that lives across the road from the english bar in the village. He always used to sit outside his house with his wife, then one day, a couple of months ago she wasn't there and there was only his chair. I always go to say hello and see how he is, his family live in France and he rarely sees them. Today he wasn't in a good place, very tearful, wifey and I spent time with him.

I've mentioned him several times to people that use the bar or the shop next door where all the English get post delivered. Every time I say about him they all know him but nobody seems to know enough Spanish to go and say something to the old fella. I think my Spanish is bad, I've had comments from people that have been here for years wondering how I can get by so well. It's because I try you useless cunts.

Practice is the only thing that works. I've not worked out how much I spent (ok, government funded!) on lessons and courses. Nothing worked until I just sat and talked to someone everyday for a minimum of 30 mins. You'll get there because, as you say, you try, but it does take longer if you can't 'chat' everyday.

With the old guy - well, a mate of mine used to go and talk with an old French lady a few times a week. She spoke no english, so to start it was a challenge. But he learnt much faster than me because he couldn't bail. I've used DeepL or Google to try and help sometimes (even now at school, sometimes between us we can't work out what I'm trying to say!!).

The guy probably appreciates the company even if the conversation is stilted. Maybe, if you can fit it in, make it a regular thing to grab coffees and go sit and chat with him? Excellent for your Spanish and great for him to get to chat with someone. You'll probably learn more words than just sitting in a cafe too cos he's got a lifetime of things to talk about with you. Good on you for chatting, it will mean so much to him

[Pirahna]

if only I could get them over here to live

Irish passport so it should be easy. Or send him to Spain if he doesn't like the cold.

TBF, she has an Irish passport (she was actually born there!! LOL) but he left it too late to apply for his, they changed the rules and spouses have to live in Ireland to qualify now But, they could move here and probably will at some point. Hopefully with the health to enjoy it!

If they're married then the one passport covers both people. My wife has a British passport, me an Irish one, it's a ticket to completely ignore the Schengen rules that now apply to Brits. The longest we stayed in the Schengen zone was 207 days, the border bloke looked at wifeys passport and stamped her out, nothing was said. Coming back in a couple of weeks later her passport was looked at and again nothing was said because she was with me. There's a section in the Euro border guards manual that explains it, I'll send it to you if you need it. Becoming residents here the usual route for Brits now is the Non Lucrative Visa (NLV), an expensive and drawn out process. With an Irish passport I turned up at the police station with the necessary paperwork and a translator and was given permanent residency on the spot. Wifey then did similar and was given residency on a family reunification visa.

The NLV process for 3rd country nationals (the British) means that the first person needs to prove either £27k in savings or an income equivilant, the spouse needs £9k, so £36k for a couple. If accepted this gets you a one year temporary residency. The next step is the two year visa, per couple that's either £72k in savings or an annual income of £36k. After that it's the same again for years 4 and 5, then for year 6 they can apply for permanent residency. To apply for permanent residency each person will need to prove that they've spent the necessary amount of time in the country, that they've had continous health care, paid their taxes etc, otherwise it's a repeat of the two year visa process. The process in France will be broadly similar. It's surprising the amount of Brits that think you can just turn up in Spain (or anywhere in the EU) and live happily ever after.

[gremlin]

Pukka tea bags, notably the 'Three Ginger' ones.

Love the blend of turmeric, ginger and galangal...delicious...but FFS, could they not make actual bag robust enough at the top so that the contents don't come spilling out?

I reckon every 1 in 10 ends up with the bottom of my mug looking like I've emptied the bottom of a budgie's cage in it.