Young people drinking less. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-45807152
Hardly surprising, considering how many pubs have disappeared and the ridiculous cost of a drink in those that remain.
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Young people drinking less. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-45807152
Hardly surprising, considering how many pubs have disappeared and the ridiculous cost of a drink in those that remain.
Yep was in a pub in Liverpool at the weekend, ordered a pint of lager and a pint of Guinness, £9.20
Just stupid.
According to my niece and nephew who are at 6th form college and university respectively, alcohol consumption is indeed dropping, and being teetotal is being seen as a good thing.Quote:
Originally Posted by walpurgis
However, bizarrely, cigarette smoking is becoming trendy again and drug consumption is going through the roof.
It's commonplace these days (and has been for some time) for young people to have a skinful at home with friends before going into town later on.
What's worrying is the increasing use of cocaine to enable them to keep going until really late. You can often spot them by their excitable behaviour, and their tendency to talk earnestly at length about total shite. I really don't like being around them as they can be so unpredictable and sometimes only one wrong comment away from violence. We really need more thorough policing and harsher sentences for these offenders as it's really getting beyond a joke these days.
Much better in the days when ecstasy was 'the thing'. At least they were artificially friendly and happy, which has got to be better than artificially aggressive.
One thing which I have noticed with all the latest trendy eateries, bistros and restaurants opening up these days, is the total omission of the "£" sign when items are priced on the menu. Thus for example a starter which costs £7.50 is just marked as "7.50".
Probably deemed to be 'cool' by some stylist, but it seems to have caught on.
Did some Xmas shopping today, personalised advent calendars from Thorntons.
I've noticed that too. I wonder if you could get away with paying in Euros? That would save a bit of money, although not much these days.Quote:
Originally Posted by Barry
I'm reminded of something else - while on holiday I notice that the exchange rate for Scottish £ isn't as good as English. If I was Scottish and travelling abroad, I would get my Scottish money changed before going.
This isn't a new thing, In the past I have photographed boards displaying the exchange rates to wind up my pals north of the border, which isn't difficult - when I told them that many shops, bars etc in England won't accept Scottish currency, they said they just won't buy anything down here on principle.
If a Scottish retail bank wishes to print a bank note, it has to deposit one pound sterling with the Bank of England to guarantee the value of those notes. The value of the Scottish notes in circulation is currently around “three thousand six hundred million pounds, (£3.6bn) and that is how much money the Bank of England would have to give back to the Scottish retail banks to stop them printing their own notes.
The legal position with regard to Scottish Banknotes is as follows: Scottish Banknotes are legal currency – i.e. they are approved by the UK Parliament. However, Scottish Bank notes are not Legal Tender, not even in Scotland. ... Legal tender has a very narrow technical meaning in relation to the settlement of debt.
so, can we have our 3.6 billion back please;)
Paying in dollars would save even more. Or Venezuelan Bolivars. Currently worth about 1 cent each. '7.50' would be about 5p.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pigmy Pony
What I don't understand about menus is all the fancy bullshit descriptions about the dishes. I mean you are already in the place, sat down, probably pretty hungry. Why do they have to keep selling it to you?
I miss Berni Inns. There's a huge gap in the market for a decent steakhouse that doesn't have delusions of grandeur and where the waiter does not walk up and say 'Hi guys'. Firstly this isn't America. Secondly none of the party are under forty. Thirdly some of the party are females. So shut the fuck up and just take the order.
And restaurants are too brightly lit these days. Like eating in an operating theatre. And the tables are too close together. You want more covers then move to a bigger place, don't try to jam everyone in like sardines. I've been in places where you couldn't sit down until the person seated at the next table has jammed himself in as much as possible so you can get in.
There's a place like that round here, converted church so it's huge but so many tables that you're rammed in like in a mess hall. Food is crap and the owner comes to take your order wearing shorts and flip-flops. Had a steak, dry as a bone so I pointed it out and was told 'That's what a steak is like.' Not checked recently but I'm hoping they went bust. They deserve to.
That's the trouble with dining in a converted church - you take a pew and pray they don't cremate your steak.
Sorry - we need that to rebuild Buckingham Palace!Quote:
Originally Posted by struth
aye, wee Nicola doesnae like the decor :ner:Quote:
Originally Posted by Pigmy Pony
I'd knock it down, and kick out that shower of tossers inside, not rebuild it;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Pigmy Pony
Or on second thoughts, turn it into a hostel for the homeless!
Marco [not a Royalist, and very much anti-establishment].
Ah - the Berni Inns. That takes me back; then they were considered to be quite sophisticated. And whilst they were not up to the culinary standards of a top flight restaurant, they majored on three important aspects: the decor was the same regardless of which Berni Inn you frequented; the choice of starter, main course and dessert was limited to three items each, and the service was polite, efficient and effective, without it being gushing as it so often is these days. You knew what you were going to get - and it was reasonably priced.Quote:
Originally Posted by Macca
Like you I find that in a lot of eateries the tables and chairs are too close together. Either that or the table (for two) is not large enough, being cluttered up with flowers, condiments, candles and other stuff, so that by the time the starter has come along with the wine bottle, a bottle of water, appropriate glasses etc. I have to ask for an additional table to be put up alongside. Also I tire of the staff constantly asking me "if everything is OK" - if it isn't I will tell them soon enough!
Finally if you are in anyway dissatisfied with the meal and are unable to come to some sort of agreement with the owner/manager, you don't have to pay. All you have to do is leave a legitimate address where you can be contacted, and you can then walk out of the restaurant. It is then up to the owner to take things further.
I just put the BBC news on the box, only to have a load of royal wedding rubbish inflicted upon me. All that costly fuss over sponging non-entities. Bah!! :steam:
should be like the pope and have to be celibate... can let them die out that way, and vote now folk inQuote:
Originally Posted by walpurgis
I could be mistaken, but don't the papal posse just vote for each other? The public don't have any say in it as far as I know.
Hear, hear! And it's the automatic presumption that you'll be the slightest bit interested in that mind-numbing CACK that *irks* beyond belief!!!:guns:Quote:
Originally Posted by walpurgis
Marco [more interested in picking the corn niblets out his poo, than any 'royal weddings'].
Bollocks. The British Royal Family are the envy of the world. If it was up to me I'd spend more money on them. Get them the yacht back for starters. A big one anorl. The biggest in the world. Then every foreigner who sees it will think 'Blimey, the Brits must be doing well.' And invest here. More than make our money back, especially after Brexit when we go back to the old money and they can't work out if we are ripping them off or not.
You've got to think laterally with these things.
Not sure if there's sarcasm here, but I do agree with this. The rest of the world, as well as the more feeble minded of our natives go crazy for this crap, and if the Royal Family pays its way in terms of tourism, merchandising and television rights, that's fine with me. I have no interest, so I just don't watch it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Macca
Still don't know who got married, but I daresay I'll find out in a few months when she drops her first sprog.
I think Martin's post was very firmly in the irony camp!:eyebrows:
I wonder WHY? I just don't *get* their obsession:scratch:Quote:
Originally Posted by Pigmy Pony
I have little interest attending the weddings of folk I know, never mind silver-spoon fed chinless wonders, totally out of touch with the real world!!
The 'royal family' is a vulgar and totally outdated institution that needs putting down, and it has no place in today's society.
Marco.
No sarcasm. If you want to succeed project the image of success. And capitalise on your strengths.
And remember you salute the rank not the man. They are a physical embodiment of the many things that give this country its uniqueness. Scrap them you diminish the whole shebang. Yes they cost taxpayer money but not a lot in the grand scheme of things and they also bring money in. If we got rid and became a republic foreigners would think we had gone nuts.
I know people think they are real smart saying all that tradition and history is pointless and worthless but it's my belief that it is the intangibles like that that hold everything together. It's why it is so important in the armed forces. Part of the esprit d'corps. Only in this case of the whole country rather than just a regiment or a ship.
We'll just have to agree to disagree:)
It might be different if you consider yourself as British, and of course there's nothing wrong with that. As you know, I don't because I'm not, so have ZERO affinity with any royalist pish. It's just not part of my world, mate.
Marco [100% Italian ethnicity, together with Scottish nationality].
I'd hold the same view regardless of my nationality. Keeping the Royals is the pragmatic move, it's the smart move. It has nothing to do with my personal feelings towards them which are ambivalent at best.
Can't we just have them freeze dried and put on display in glass cabinets? It would save a lot of money and fuss in the long term.
I'd rather do that with the politicians. A far bigger savings and no-one would miss them.Quote:
Originally Posted by walpurgis
This is great, I think it, and Macca says it, only better worded! It's nice knowing you're not in a minority of one with your opinions :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Macca
No-one would go to see them, either.Quote:
Originally Posted by Macca
I am profoundly uninterested in the Royal Family. I wish them no harm, don't want them abolished, but avoid reading or watching about their doings as much as possible. This is easy enough as I only watch an hour's worth of television per week.
Speaking of which, there was a good one-liner on Have I Got News For You about the most recent wedding: 'The only thing you need to know about the Royal Wedding: do I get a day off work? The answer is no'.
I know the Royal Family's wealth doesn't come from hard graft, and they're never likely to find themselves working on a roof with the sleet coming at you sideways. But so what, the world is full of these privileged numpties who don't make any discernible contribution, but life's to short to be wasting energy being bothered about this stuff.
Strive for better, but also be happy with what you have, and bollocks to the rest, that's what I say.
A day off NOW your talking !Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe
until she got too old for it the queen has several hundred engagements per year. That mostly means going somewhere boring and meeting boring people doing boring things which she has to pretend to be interested in. Spending an hour and a half sat watching some tribal dance, or someone doing flower arraignments or something. That's my idea of hell; it certainly is a job and not one I would take on. All the royals who get taxpayer money have to do that stuff, and that's in addition to all the charity work. Added to that you can't live a normal life, can't just go down to the pub or the shops.
And on the plus side you get a big house and a butler. It isn't really worth the trade off I don't think. And they don't even get a choice about it. Sure you can abdicate but that won't take you out of the spotlight, you still will never be anonymous and left alone. Everything you do will still be all over the media until the day you die.
I'm always amazed by the things people get worked up about, and the amount of time/energy it must take up. Mind you, I've always been a lazy sod.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pigmy Pony
Obviously some people think there's too much coverage of sport on TV, others that there's too much coverage of the Royal Family, or slebs, or politics. These days, with the multiplicity of TV channels, movies on demand etc etc, there's no need to watch anything that doesn't interest you. It's not like when I was a lad, when the TV was in the only warm room in the house, and there were only three channels to choose from. The amount of utter shite I must have sat through over, say, ten years from when we got a TV until I found more interesting ways of spending my evenings, beggars belief. On the plus side, it immunised me against ever wanting to watch shite TV again.
I completely agree.Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe
However, the thing that irks is (whatever subject it may be, celebs, sport, royal family, or whatever) being rammed down our throats, simply by being given blanket coverage across many different TV channels and programmes, day and night, some of which we may wish to watch, free from any mention of the subjects concerned - and the worst for being rammed down our throats, IME, are topics involving major sporting events and pish about the queen/royal family.
The TV companies/organisations concerned shouldn't automatically presume, when these events are on, that *everyone* watching will be interested in hearing about them at length or in great detail, especially during programmes that have no obvious connection with the subjects concerned. This happened to me during a food programme, where the presenter made the statement: 'We're obviously all excited about the royal wedding...blah, blah,' and then went onto make some reference about Meghan Markle’s favourite food, which was completely off-topic.
Well no, I wasn't "obviously excited" about the fucking royal wedding (why should I have been?) Actually, as I'd already been bombarded to death about that subject elsewhere, I'd liked to have watched the fucking programme without having to hear about the fucking royal wedding, yet AGAIN!!!:doh::rolleyes:
And I'm sure non-football fans felt exactly the same this summer, when the World Cup was on. *That* is the point: restrict mention of these subjects SOLELY to areas where one would naturally expect to find it, such as during the national news and/or on sports programmes. It simply doesn't need to be rammed down our throats anywhere else!
Marco.
True. Back then if it was cold or raining out there were 3 tv channels or the radio. Or you could read a book. And that was it. And you probably wouldn't get a choice as to what radio or tv channel you watched, unless you were one of the adults, in which case you also had the option of going down the pub. Which was only open from midday until 1440. Or 1400 on a Sunday or Good Friday.Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe
I used to play games, with friends, on my computer (either VIC-20, Commodore 64 or BBC Micro B), or (shock, horror) listen to music. That was an option too, on said rainy days:)Quote:
Originally Posted by Macca
Marco.
Books weren't really an option in our house. We owned about ten, which included my sisters' copies of Little Women, Treasure Island and Black Beauty, a Famous Five book from a church jumble sale, and some books my uncle had won as school prizes back in the 1920s. Then our next-door neighbour gave us a set of Arthur Mee's Children's Encyclopaedia (pre-WWII vintage) which was OK to leaf through if desperate.Quote:
Originally Posted by Macca
Truth be told Marco, I've spent more time reading about your objections to Royal wedding television coverage (which I'm sure has nothing to do with your invite being "lost in the post") than I have the actual coverage (which isn't difficult as I have manged to see NO royal Wedding stuff on the TV).Quote:
Originally Posted by Marco
Now I know I could just move to another part of the forum if I really needed to avoid seeing previously interesting topics being hi jacked by anti-royal rants (by people who assume we're all interested by people's disinterest in this stuff). But being the laid-back sort I am, I'll read just about anything. Sometimes when sat on the bog, I'll read the fine print on the shampoo bottles (helps get things moving).
This isn't an anti-rant rant, as I have no more interested in the Royal Wedding backlash than I do the wedding itself.
ps. I've just read a fascinating bit of Royal Family gossip. Apparently blah blah, blah blah blah blah blah… Who would have guessed?
No stereo in our house just a big Ferguson transistor radio. And I didn't get a computer until 1984. And I couldn't afford to buy games for it anyway, had to write my own. Although that did give me something to do.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marco
Tell you what would be funny, a reality show where they take current day 14 year olds and recreate a Sunday from the 1970s which they have to spend the day in. A Sunday in winter where it is cold and pissing down. See how well they cope with no internet, computer games, telephones etc.
IIRC:
0930 get up, have breakfast, get ready for church
1045-1230 Church
1300-1400 'U.F.O' or maybe 'Space 1999' - the highlight of the day.
1430 Sunday dinner
1500-1600 - 'The Big Match' football highlights and punditry show.
1600-1700 - 'The Love Boat' or possibly 'Columbo'
1700-1900 total dead zone, religious programming and news on telly, time to do your homework.
1900-1930 'Dad's Army' or possibly 'Porridge'.
1930-2000 Some BBC serial, made on the cheap, one of those things that engaged you as a child but when you watch it now you are shocked at how amateur it all is.
2000-2100 'That's Life'
2100-1000 'The Professionals'
1000 Bedtime
I watched "The Walking Dead" the other day, and there was absolutely no mention of the Royal Wedding, although one of them did look a bit like Prince Phillip. If you watch stuff like this, or "American Horror Story", you're probably safe.
But if you prefer home-grown cack like "British Bakeoff" or "The One Show, well you deserve everything you get.:D
Well, Joe brought it up again, so blame him!:lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by Pigmy Pony
Marco.
P.S Did I tell you I hate royal (no, I won't capitalise *that* word) family gossip?
Faced with a day like that, your average fourteen year old would just stay in bed.
Ha - that wasn't where said reference was mentioned. It was on the Food Network, which is (or should feature) wall-to-wall coverage about FOOD, not royal wedding chat!!:ner:Quote:
Originally Posted by Pigmy Pony
Marco.
Yeah but it's royal family Gossip, with a capital G! Like Corrie, but posh. What's not to like?Quote:
Originally Posted by Marco
Yeah, I used to do a bit of that, using BASIC. I have fond memories of entering lengthy programs into my VIC-20, in the hope it would result in being able to play a good game, typing 'Run', and then getting error messages, which I had to fix before the program (and game) would work!Quote:
Originally Posted by Macca
Great satisfaction though, when you managed to fix the problem, however usually only resulting in access to some very clunky basic game with shite graphics, which used about 2k of memory:eyebrows: My mate was really good though (more of a geek) and knew much more than me about computers, so he could usually fix any problems that I couldn't. Fun times!
As a kid/teenager, I'd had access to some form of 'music system' in my bedroom since I was about 10.
At first, it was a 'Dansette'-type record player, then a mono tape player, then a 'posh' ghetto blaster, then a Sanyo music centre, culminating in my first proper hi-fi separates system [Ariston RD11S T/T, with a Sondex amp and a pair of Mission standmounts] in 1982, when I was 16 and had started earning some money from working in my dad's chippy. Now the sound *that* system produced was the envy of my friends!;)
Aside from that, in the earlier days, I'd have friends round playing Subbuteo or Scalextric, or I'd be round doing the same at theirs, and when I was 15, I has a CB radio in my bedroom - and what a giggle that was, I can tell you, especially using it to meet girls!!:eek::D
Heck, even when it was raining, that wouldn't stop us from playing football......
I wasn't so glued to the box mate, as you were.
Marco.
As someone said on another forum, when Songs of Praise came on you realised that a) the weekend was almost over and b) you hadn't done any homework.Quote:
Originally Posted by Macca
If you are into cookery programmes, or gardening, or horses, then you are their target audience. Switch to watching documentaries about the toilet routines of Napalm Death, and they'll leave you alone.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marco
I quite often did mine on the bus to school... It was a good 35-minute journey, so there was usually enough time to 'cobble together' some bollox!:eyebrows:
Marco.
Lol... The point is, they shouldn't make ignorant assumptions as to what their 'target audience' is. If I want, *I* should be able to watch a cookery programme, for example, without any mention of bloody royal weddings. Not everyone who watches such programmes will automatically be a fanboy of the royal family!Quote:
Originally Posted by Pigmy Pony
:exactly:
And when that other pompous YAWN FEST is on, I believe they call it 'Trooping of the Colour', it's all over both of the main BBC channels, for HOURS, as if the whole country is supposed to be glued to it!:doh:
What a load of pointless cock froth. I'd rather sit and fill 'Squeezy bottles' with my stagnant arse-gas.
Marco.
I didn't even have my own bedroom, let alone a 'music system'. First I shared a bedroom with my two older sisters, and was then moved into the box-room with my little brother. There was just about enough room for bunk beds, and for us to get into the beds (having checked a house for sale in the road, the room was 9'7 x 5'10). When I was about 14, my father got a car, and we had a garage built with a bedroom over the top, and we moved in there. It was roomier than the box-room, but colder and smelled of petrol. There was a family Dansette record player in the sitting room, and a large radio in a walnut case in the dining room, and those were the only sources of music in the house.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marco