Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Has anyone else come across this lot? They sit outside the cafe near to the Melbourne Grove Medical practice every morning. Usually I am on the Post Office side and cross right on the junction, but a couple of times I've crossed earlier and walked past them - both times I have been subjected to very unpleasant comments, and today was very rudely insulted. Problem is that you are (a) caught unawares (b) do they really mean you and © in a rush to get to catch your train so unlikely to challenge them.


Has anyone else come across this, or is it just me they've taken a dislike to? I don't usually let such petty mindededness upset me, but their comments are not funny merely rude and hurtful.

I've noticed them - they never commented (well not that I've heard), but they do leer as you walk past. I always walk down with my housemate, so if I'm with her I ignore them. If I'm on my own I just smile and walk on by.


They do quite obviously watch all the girls walk to the station.

No doubt all reading their Telegraph/Times/Guardian as they do so


I'm sure the Sun is just a bit of fun and in no way is it's depiction of women informing it's readers opinions (and you would be a fool and a communist for saying so).. ahem


For the record I love pictures of the laydeeeez as much as the next man. But not in a newspaper. And if I like reading trashy gossip (not as much as I used to) then at least I balance it with other stuff.


As for the workers in question.. in the past some women have told me they quite like it when they get attention from workers. Many more say they hate it... My feeling is if you find someone attractive there are better ways of making it known...

I am not talking about a 'Morning Darlin' I would probably smile and say 'Morning' back or even a whistle, I am talking about very rude and unkind comments about my appearance. I have a sense of humour and don't mind a bit of banter, but I don't like being insulted at 7.45 am when I am not at my most witty.
Ask the main perpetrator his name, then let us know by posting his name and description on here. We can then walk past him and say "stop harassing my sister Tom/Dick/Harry/whatever" and he'll think you've got loads of family. I might even do it with a fedora hat, long long coat and a Sicilian/Brooklyn accent.

Noisy buggers - the ring leader is the fat bald bloke who seems to laugh at everything. He has a very annoying laugh which penetrates my double glazing rather well.


I should just ignore them for now. The cowboy project they're working on won't last forever.

I am very surprised. I have seen them every morning for at least six months I would say and they have never said a word to me, good or bad. They usually seem to be having a good laugh with each other. I hear what you say though. Why don't you chat to the owner of the shop? I also highly recommend the F*** o** approach which often does the trick!

If they are making comments about either your race or sexuality you could call the police, maybe you can also do that for sexist and abusive comments. I was under the impression (may be an urban myth) that it is now illegal for building site workers to wolf whistle at women from scaffolding etc.

I'm not sure the swearing at them would do any good, probably just egg them on, if you feel that you are being targeted unfairly and it is distressing for you, why don't you try the police and make an offical complaint.

Just my 0.02, but I think a far better approach than "f-off" or reporting them, would be to walk over next time they do it. Look them in the eye and introduce yourself "Hi, I'm [name]" and say that their behaviour and that kind of language is making you really uncomfortable and you just wanted them to know that.


It's much harder to shout that kind of stuff at someone who's name you know and in my experience, even if the ringleader is too much of an idiot to respond, his mates may think twice about indulging him.

MelbourneGr Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Not sure which project they're working on, nor the

> contractor they work for. It was raining today so

> they were sat inside. For once the rain did us a

> favour.



Perhaps the Morrisson's vans that are always parked on the other side of the road at the same time as they are sitting outside the cafe are related.

If anyone gets any trouble from contractor's staff the easy option is to send an email of complaint to the contractor - you should find the address on the internet. Surprising as it might seem contractors do take notice of any complaints relating to harassment of the general public, particularly when a large percentage of their business comes from councils/public bodies/utilities.

Also, it isn't illegal for workmen to wolf whistle, but doing so can be a valid reason for dismissal.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Latest Discussions

    • But all those examples sell a wide variety of things,  and mostly they are well spread out along Lordship Lane. These two shops both sell one very specific thing, albeit in different flavours, and are just across the road from each other. I don't think you can compare the distribution of shops in Roman times to the distribution of shops in Lordship Lane in the twenty first century. Well, you can, but it doesn't feel very appropriate. Haa anybody asked the first shop how they feel? Are they happy about the "healthy competition" ?
    • ED is included in the 17 August closure set (or just possibly 15 August, depending on which part of the page you trust more) listed at https://metro.co.uk/2025/07/25/full-list-25-poundland-stores-confirmed-close-august-23753048/. Here incidentally are some snippets from their annual reports, at https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/02495645/filing-history. 2022: " during the period we opened 41 stores and closed 43 loss-making/under-performing stores.  At the period-end we were trading from 821 stores in the UK, IoM and ROI. ... "We renogotiated 82 leases in the year, saving on average 45% versus the prior lease agreement..." 2023: "We also continued to improve our market footprint through sourcing better store locations, opening 53 and closing 51 stores during the year." 2024:  "The ex-Wilco stores acquired in the prior year have formed a core part of this strategy to expand our store network.  We favour quality over quantity and during the period we opened 84 stores and closed 71 loss-making/under-performing ones."
    • Ha! After I posted this, I thought of lots more examples. Screwfix and the hardware store? Mrs Robinson and Jumping Bean? Chemists, plant shops, hairdressers...  the list goes on... it's good to have healthy competition  Ooooh! Two cheese shops
    • You've got a point.  Thinking Leyland and Screwfix too but this felt different.
Home
Events
Sign In

Sign In



Or sign in with one of these services

Search
×
    Search In
×
×
  • Create New...