Chillaxed

Maybe Sabrina loves the cat and is reluctantly selling her because her super-demanding daughter insists on getting a dog. Maybe the exclamation mark signifies exasperation and a Mum at the end of her tether. So not selfish then. Just saying.

We've a small Karcher (from Rye Lane Argos) and it's great for cleaning floors, ideally already vacuumed. We use it on our old wood floors no probs.

You don't need to fold down your buggy if a wheelchair user boards if it's too much of a hassle. You can get off and wait for another bus (presuming the driver gives you a chance to do this). By the by, I really do think 99% of parents and people understand this, and these 'entitled parents' are rare beasts.

Gee, thanks for making the effort to post that a week after my post. Will try and stay on topic next time, boss.

I e-mailed Southwark Council yesterday and asked them to empty the dog poo bin near my house. It was being done as I left for work this morning. Nice one Southwark!

Good enough reason for me to drop my usual grinchy attitude to trick and treating. Have a great night! And don't apologise for jumping in; that's what the forum is all about! NorthcrossJo Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I'm new to the forum, so apologies for jumping > into this conversation. > > I don't have children, but I'm really looking > forward to Halloween, mainly because of the Trick > or Treaters. We had several last year, all > wonderfully dressed up, and have a great stash of > candy to give out this year (and a pumpkin in the > window, of course). > > My husband works long hours and I have a serious > illness and don't get out of the house much, so we > haven't managed to meet many people locally in the > two years that we've been in ED. Having children > and their parents knock on the door makes me feel > that I am a part of this community, however > small! > > Jo

Used to semi-regularly go to the Gardens (when Homemade was full) and never had an issue with the buggy (I'm gonna say it's medium sized, though can take up the space of a small car once the shopping, winter coats, etc are perilously balanced on it). Seems things have changed. For mine, there are loads of cafes in ED that cater for parents so if one or two give me the impression we're not welcome, I'll go elsewhere. Thanks heavens we live in ED where that's an option; in a lot of 'hoods I've lived in there were only one or two cafes to choose from, whereas in ED there's at least a thousand. Also, what's wrong with the word 'discriminate'? I don't think it necessarily implies a great social injustice, just that a certain section of society i.e. parents/carers with buggies are being judged on that fact alone, rather than on their individual merit. That is, they?re assumed to be a parent with a massive sense of entitlement rather than one who squeezes their buggy into the corner and heads for the door with said buggy as soon as their little one makes a peep.

Hi all. Would appreciate everyone's thoughts on when to start telling a wee one off, and how. Our 19 month old son understands simple phrases now - sit down, give x to me, etc - and is prone to throwing a wobbly when we take his dummy or a favourite toy, so we'd like to ramp up the verbal discipline a touch. At the moment we generally ignore him or say 'no' in a firm tone, but all that's done is make 'no' his favourite word. Thoughts and experiences gratefully received.

The bankers have asset stripped the economy in the last thirty years have they? I'd be interested to learn more about this, please enlighten me. Zebedee Tring Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Huguenot, calling older people "geriatrics" is as > offensive as calling black people by the "N" word, > and I deeply resent it. > > I get my retirement pension in a year's time, but > the UK pension is very low compared to similar > nations such as France and Germany, so I won't be > exactly flush with money. > > If you want to attack any group of people, then > blame the people who have asset stripped the > economy in the last thirty years - the bankers and > the like. They are the people who have left this > country in its present state, not a few over 60s > who claim the Freedom Pass, which would not be > needed if the retirement pension was at all > adequate.

I'm not sure people are denying words have power (to perpetuate stereotypes), just that 'lady' is not a very good example of this.

Why would anyone above imbecile level ever be in doubt? It's not rocket science.

The dog poo bin near my place has been overflowing with kebab boxes for a week now. Dog owners are dumping bagged dog poo on the pavement beside it (there's another poo bin about 100 yards down the street). I am waiting for another load of bottled p*ss to be dumped nearby to complete the picture.

It's a minefield out there. Opening doors, offering seats, even speaking to someone. Personally, I just go with whatever feels right (generally opening the door, offering the seat, and using 'woman' or 'lady' without conscious thought as to which is more appropriate). If I get it wrong and someone is offended, well, you can't please everybody all the time.

I imagine you're not far from the mark Ridgely: Iceland, M&S or any large chain will keep a beady eye on demographics in deciding where to go (and stay). Anyone seen any Census stats published?

The OP's question was whether there is a difference between a calling a person a pleb or a toff. My answer is that they are both wrong. I don't see any posters using a 'reverse' argument to justify calling a person a pleb.

Wow. Capital letters and all. I'm reading that Serena 2012 likes Waitrose, would have liked M&S, and doesn't like the aesthetics of the Iceland store (orange is a bit of a marmite colour after all). And you're reading that she is a snob (thrice over), doesn't care about her neighbours that shop at Iceland, or about the people that work there (either that or she has a mysterious preference for employment oppurtunities created by Waitrose or M&S). Am I missing something? i*Rate Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > To Serena2012, > > > SNOB, SNOB, SNOB! Are you serious? > There are hundreds, maybe thousands of local > people who need Iceland to manage their household > budgets and many excellent staff there that need > to keep their jobs. > Perhaps you don't have a neighbours, like I do, > who shop there. > > Cheers anyway.

"I do think the issue with toff, or any kind of reverse snobbery, is slightly different from calling someone a pleb." Snobbery and reverse-snobbery may be slightly different where the reasons for each are considered, but they're just as bad as each other. I'll hazard a general observation and note that reverse-snobbery is common (no pun intended) and explicit on this forum, whereas snobbery is usually implicit or inferred by the reader.

Thing is, you and I may think that, but I doubt the person using these terms does. Hence my earlier post - no system, but for in people's minds.

Huge, so when various posters refer to the working or middle or even upper class on this forum, they're simply assigning outdated names to what are better described as 'tribes' or 'whatever vague social group the person associates themselves with at the time'?

As a foreigner, my view is that class (however defined) infects an awful lot of what goes on in the UK. Just look at how many threads on this forum descend into 'class warfare', regardless of the original, intended topic. So maybe no tangible system, but a system in many people's minds for sure.

Sounds like she overreacted, but if she did indeed get her scar from a rogue dog, you can understand her sensitivity.

James, On the corner of Crawthew Grove and Frogley Road? It isn't ignorance, it's just selfishness. I am always amazed that someone who bothers to peel and cook veges, uses specialist surface cleaners, or whatever normal behavior is evidenced by the rubbish, is also inclined to furtively dump their rubbish in the middle of the night to the general detriment of the rest of us. Chillaxed

I'm with Huguenot on this one.

Yes, decent effort at trolling. Still a sad, sad thing to do though.

Sorry Otta, you can't apportion blame to all footy fans on the one hand and then say you're not (in some way) blaming the footy fans there that day on the other. The latter is a subset of the former.