P.O.U.S.theWonderCat

What Zenoria65 said. Also, how old are these kittens?

I'm pleased you got what you wanted, but price is not always indicative of results. I also wanted a job that would last for a decade, and a year on I am confident that I got that. The chap who I got in to do the work did an utterly amazing job for a tenth of what I was quoted by Advanced Painters. I'll happily post back in several years time to indicate if I can still say the same.

Why is paying for an item worth 89p worthy of 6 exclaimation marks? It's a very common occurence now. And I don't understand your point about carrying cash "out of respect for independent retailers". All retailers are charged for everything they do with bank, not just independent ones, and as you point out the charges apply to everything, including means to deal with cash. Unless you are advocating using cash as means of avoiding banks?

Fishbiscuits - there is no solution as such. All businesses have bank charges whether they deal in cash or take electronic payments. The cash payment charges would already be built into their margin as part of general overheads. Merchants who treat charges relating to electronic payments as some special thing are anachronistic at best, and using it as an excuse to get extra revenue at worst. A bit like those dodgy internet retailers who insist on charging "restocking fees" for returns during the cooling off period under consumer rights law.

messageRe: Minimum spend shops :( Posted by Angelina Today, 02:38PM At least they're being visibly honest with their takings. I don't understand what you mean by this. As a consumer I have no idea whether the minimum spend is reflective of the charges they are paying, so can't see how this is "at least" visible or honest.

As someone who couldn't even get a bank account for several months when I first moved to the UK and then was denied a debit card for over a year because I had no credit record, and someone who has been both homeless and extremely poor at points in my life, I will strongly assert that it is much much easier to manage spending when you can do so electronically rather than having to take cash out. I've had points in my life when I couldn't take cash out because I didn't have enough in my account for the minimum withdrawal. Having to pay a few pence more, as opposed to having to buy things you can't afford to just to get what you need, would have been a small price to pay for me.

Indeed Bunny. A bit like getting annoyed by "listening to one side of someone's totally inane phone conversation on the train".

They will have to eventually, and they can certainly do so now. For those suggesting the OP is requiring small businesses to make a loss - he/she isn't. The retailers in this case are pushing cost and effort onto their customers rather than adapt themselves. They will be the ones to suffer in the end. It isn't remotely unusual to not carry cash these days, and there can be very good reasons for doing so. I never do it any more since being mugged.

messageRe: Noisy Neighbors new Posted by Blueskygreengrass Yesterday, 11:24PM "I know it?s normal and I could probably get used to it, but I don?t think I should have to," I have some sympathies. I'd like to be able to walk the streets at night without fear of assault, but I've also realised that standing on principles doesn't help much when there are practical problems. Your neighbours probably also think they shouldn't have to put up with someone complaining about what they regard as a normal level of noise. Once everyone starts saying "I shouldn't have to deal with this", you can guarantee a problem will become intractable. Please note I didn't only suggest headphones - I also suggested CBT. And I'm sorry if that suggestion offended you. It was my mistake - I thought you were asking what to do about noisy neighbours, not how to force other people to behave the way you think they should.

In all seriousness OP, noise-cancelling headphones and CBT. It can be really difficult to resolve issues with noisy neighbours, so sometimes the best thing is to learn how to deal with the stress of it.

True 2wans, but notes can come across as passive aggressive so it can be easier to show you're not intending to be an arse about it if you do it in person.

How about knocking on their door to chat? They may not be aware how much the sound travels between your properties. Perhaps you could frame it that you've noticed noise travels a lot and mention what you've heard X, and ask whether they're having a similar problem to you. Whatever you do, don't get annoyed at them at the outset, and don't let your irritation make you lose perspective. If worse comes to worst, buy some noise cancelling earphones. And I speak from experience from neighbours so loud I've heard their children being conceived from a floor away.

Don't touch half-houses if you are worried about noise.

As much as I wish you were my neighbuur instead Ren, you're missing my point. You cited the wheelchair users' plight - I pointed out that's nothing to do with why people complain about this kind of thing for the most part. Nigello, I appreciate the accumulation of small grievances can add up in modern society. I do think people lose perspective with these things though - and clearly in my case to the extent that some people get whipped up by threads like this, and take it as support that their sense of aesthetics are worth abusing a disabled person over. C'mon guys. This curtain-twitchy stuff does not help our community.

If I used a wheelchair I might, Ren, but I doubt that most of the people complaining on EDF are, hand on heart, thinking of wheelchair users. They are thinking of prams, aesthetics, notions of what constitutes proper social rules and, on one occasion I've seen, a completely unsubstantiated claim that bins out causes crime. If the good EDFers are going to start putting disabled people foremost, they may want to also reflect how difficult it can be when you are mobility restricted to get wheelie bins back in. I have had rabid neighbours get in a lather because it often takes me more than a day to get them all in, on the strength only that they object to things being "ugly".

I don't particularly understand the angst about bins on pavements. I have mobility issues that aren't as obvious to the casual observer, but have more problems with parents with buggies/prams trying to force right of way than I do navigating bins. The only exception is when they are not left flush with the fence, but that's usually the binmen rather than owners.

What's the issue with the OP reporting to the council? I certainly wouldn't contact a site manager in that situation in case they were doing something they shouldn't and reacted badly.

Was it as good as this Sue? http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?9,1841823,1841833#msg-1841833

I'm in a half-house in SE23. We haven't had the same problem as I assume they split the water supply before we bought it, but I seem to recall other people talking about shared stopcocks when water meters were installed here. You may want to try the se23.life forum too.

Posted by James Barber January 07, 02:07PM On the general point about where wheelie bins should be stored. They should be in front gardens unless you don't have one. Occupying the pavement looks rubbish. The more pristine an area looks and the more an area looks looked after the less anti social stuff happens and the less crime happens. I'd be interested to know what the evidence is for correlation between increased crime rates and wheelie bins being stored on the front pavement.

Where is his normal turf? He looks like a Russian Blue. I do hope he comes back soon.

I know what ignorant means and what you meant. You are still mixing up your opinion and fact. Hope that helps.

There's this thing called an opinion Foxy. You've got yours. Other people have got theirs. Just because someone doesn't find foxes beautiful when you do doesn't make them ignorant.

Posted by owlwise Today, 10:01AM dbboy, you are so obviously a nature hater. Or perhaps he just doesn't like fox crap.

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