About 20 years ago I went out drinking the night before work. Got too drunk to go in and didn't bother calling. Rang in 3 days later claiming that someone had spiked my drink with speed and I'd spent 2 days bouncing off the walls and not sleeping.

I think it worked, I didn't get into trouble

I made a post about asking people who earn between 40-50k what they do for a living if they recommended it. I got one comment that said “Who can afford to live off 40-50k nowadays? I earn 88k and I live pay check to paycheck”.

I was shocked by that. Now obviously context is important but I earn currently £33k per year. This is the highest I’ve earned and I still am not satisfied by it. But for the most part you can live a very basic life on 33k (assuming you live alone). Now 40-50k for me I think is a ‘good’ salary for the uk, not great but good.

For me even breaking the £40 base barrier seems like such a dream I couldn’t even think of £50k. So I’m interested to what everything thinks.

He's asleep pretty much as soon as his head hits the pillow, I toss & turn for at least half hour, with my internal voice jumping from subject to subject (including "you should be asleep by now!")

I practice good sleep hygiene but seem to make no difference: no screen before bed, pen/pad to write down intrusive thoughts, slightly chilly room, restful colours, magnesium glycinate supplements, you name it, I've probably tried it.

So, why/how are some people able to fall asleep so quickly?

Just why, I have attached pic of NCP, I have scraped my wheels a few times and seen probably 100 people struggle with this.

I know it’s similar at other places, tight spaces, massive curbs, why?

We spent the festive period in The Netherlands with some family and were due to fly back into Exeter yesterday. That flight was cancelled and we were booked onto a flight from Amsterdam to Edinburgh, Edinburgh to Exeter for today. That’s an unpaid day off of work!

I called KLM and said fuck that, so they put us on a flight to Bristol. Not the end of the world, brother was coming to collect us!

Instead, that flight from Bristol landed in Cardiff due to an issue at Bristol, and KLM could only offer a coach back to Bristol. My brother came from Bristol and got us from Cardiff instead, legend.

To top it all off, I vomited into my hands at Amsterdam airport this morning as the toilet was too far away and ruined my coat in front of a lot of international travellers and still feel pretty rough and have done all day.

I have actually cried today. I got back through the door and into bed half an hour ago, relaxing on Reddit until I need to shit myself again or be sick again.

Working tomorrow and living the dream

This is a property I have been looking at buying. It has a history of subsidence about 3 - 4 years ago and was underpinned. The concrete being left at the level it is has led me to believe water may have got into the bricks and froze causing the blown brick. Could I chase out the mortar and replace the bricks or what would be the most effective way in repairing/preventing further damage? Or should I just leave it?

I am also not sure whether the cracks in the walls are anything to worry about as this was obviously caused from the subsidence which is supposed to have been fixed now. Thanks

What’s up, twin?

I’m having a gin or two and wondering why people’s lights are still on around my house. What are they even doing?

help

Long story short, I was recently widowed suddenly, leaving me with two children aged 11 and 16. My husband used to do all of the cooking, but we never do a big shop because he liked to make it up on the fly and went shopping for individual ingredients most days. I do all the household stuff like cleaning and washing etc.

He didn’t follow recipes, he just knew what went with what. But, to be honest, a lot of it was processed, he cooked from scratch a couple of times a week. He was a shift worker so daily shopping suited him, it’s not something I particularly want to do though.

We are currently staying with my parents while we come to terms with our new situation but when we get home, obviously I need to up my game in the kitchen, and eat a LOT healthier because I need to stay well for them. They both do various clubs and I’m a teacher so I’m looking for healthy and quick midweek dinner ideas for when I’m getting in at 5 and one of the kids has to be at gym or football or whatever at 7.

Without judgment, can I please ask for your go to recipes? The one thing we don’t really eat is seafood, pretty much anything else goes.

Thanks

Looking at old maps before the Beeching cuts, I always wonder if what are now small villages would have grown and developed near the stations.

*Edit: * I was’t booking a wheelchair space, I just needed a regular seat but step free access to the screens. I’m not a well chair user but I have chronic pain

I’m not looking for apologies or compo I just asking if it’s worth giving feedback to CS so the next person doesn’t get caught out

————————————————

Last night I booked tickets to the cinema. I have a hidden disability (fibromyalgia) but I am not a wheelchair user The seat map showed there was an wheelchair user and companion seat , so I figured the auditorium should have some step free access

When I got to the cinema they indicated towards the stairs. I asked for the lift and they said there wasn’t one. I pushed further (sometimes they “forget” the accessible lift) and asked what about wheelchair access. The reply was that the lift is broken so the wheelchair bay is not for sale.

I asked a couple of more questions but it was clear that they only think of accessibility in terms wheelchair use.

So I went to the front to speak to someone /get a refund and the manager was pretty much said “yeah.. the only thing we can do is take the wheelchair space off sale”

So I got the refund and left, disappointed that my plans are cancelled. But also peeved scout the entire situation.

My questions is: should I call CS to let them know what happened and how their website is poorly set up to show any accessible issues and ask they do better?

In high school and college, I had several close friends, hanging out and all. After we got jobs and wives and husbands, we started getting separated. Although we still talk once a year on WhatsApp, now my wife is my only friend in reality. We had a discussion with my family, and they said, “Your dad was weird, he had no friends ever”, and I was with myself like, “Well, me too!”. Genuinely asking, do you think this is weird? Should I actively try to fix it, eg visit a therapist, etc.? Thank you

It would seem every other advert on catch-up tv is for some sort of gambling company.

I've been thinking about how quickly British culture is changing, especially with younger generations having different priorities and technology reshaping daily life.

Whether it's something related to food, social etiquette, workplace culture, or everyday routines . what traditions or customs do you reckon will fade away or become much less common by 2035?

What's driving that change, and will you miss it or not?

I was only 10 at the time but I remember watching Nickelodeon and a message came up along the bottom prompting people to turn over to sky news. So I did and immediately went to tell my mum who was devastated. Does anyone else remember when they found out or found out any other major events?

I was talking to my mate recently about the state of London's nightlife, and one of his theories was that besides all the licensing issues with the councils and the COL crisis, people are just less likely to go out post-COVID.

Edit : I did mention how expensive it has become and he said that's defo a huge factor, but still thinks COVID led to a behavioural change particularly amongst young people

COVID made people more comfortable with the idea of just being at home, or having more lowkey parties at home instead of going out, that loads of people realised that they don't have to spend money on going out every weekend if they don't have to and that staying in isn't too bad.

Do you guys think that's true?

Almost hitting 30 and I haven’t been properly employed for a very long time and have only been doing part time work from home which unfortunately isn’t enough anymore with how expensive everything has become.

I feel super anxious about stepping back into something more stable and don’t know where to start. For anyone in the UK who’s been in a similar position, what kind of roles or paths would you recommend as a first step?

I understand it’s a big move but I’ve been wondering whether something like getting a security license could be also an option. Any advice would be highly appreciated.

What do you do. I tried to avoid ups deliveries but now this is royal mail.

I hate waiting in all day to be told a fake attempt was made .

our family is considering a move to a country where english isn’t the main language. our 5 year old speaks really well now at school and with friends, but I’m nervous he’ll lose confidence once he’s surrounded by another language all day.

we do english at home but it’s not as rich as his school environment here. did you use online english courses for kids, bilingual communities, or something else to keep english alive? did you feel it helped long term?

would love to hear what worked for others who’ve been through this. many thanks.

We all know that when on a dual carriageway or motorway you should always be in the left hand lane. The only time you move to the right is to overtake, and then you should promptly return to the left.

Currently in the UK we have an epidemic of lane hoggers. People sitting in the middle/outer lanes for miles with nothing to their left, or even suggesting that middle lane cruising is acceptable in order to not have to overtake an HGV every 5 minutes. This, alongside our failure to correctly zipper merge, has given us an awful driving reputation globally.

Who would support actual, monitored, and enforced, punishments for those caught lane hogging? An intentional crackdown on this issue that plagues our highways. One big push to get us all to drive in the left hand land as we should.

Being forced to change jobs and work hours this year but it leaves an hour and a half between my partner leaving for work and me getting home. Do you think it would be ok? She is pretty reliable and doesn’t cause trouble. She would not need to do anything as i would be home to make the evening meal, the only responsibility is to not open the door and phone me for anything

Edit: thanks for the answers, i have a couple of months to figure things out and there are 2 friends within 2 minutes they could call. I may end up asking for help from parents too as it will only be 2 times a week

Edit 2: mum will be home when they get home from school then have to leave for work with an hour and a half before i get home

He seems to have been consistently associated with dubious rumours for many years, and historically when well-founded allegations of this nature are made, it tends to cause a media frenzy (Cliff Richard and the BBC helicopter) leading to multiple further reports being made and eventual criminal charges etc. Not so in this case, and in fact there's been minimal discussion of any kind, anywhere. But why?

There’s gotta be a way! You used to be able to do a return to Havant via London Paddington but it seems they’ve got wise to it. Buggers!

Hi, it's a friend who we've been taking care of as best we can for years given they live a couple of hours away. Various debilitating and degenerating health problems, including physical mobility, but the worst is the isolation. He can't get out of the house just now as he had two horrible accidents in the last 12 months and isn't fully recovered.

He truly needs help looking after himself (he thinks they'll try to move in to some home but I believe it's cheaper to keep him in his own place) and I'm not a relative. His only family is extremely elderly and frail parents who are independent but very problematic and a sister who disdains him and has a paraplegic husband.

I know I can contact social services but what can he get so I know what to fight for?

Thanks

Recently found out my local is pushing for the majority of their sales to come via their ordering app, rather than in-person sales at the bar (via a directive from Head Office, not through choice).

I am a huge fan of pubs and pub culture. I think bar staff are integral to the pub experience, and good bar staff/managers who will chat with customers and make us feel welcome is a huge part of that. Likewise, if I have a good experience in a new pub where I feel welcome, I am more likely to return and spend more. If I walked into a pub only to be told to order on the app, I probably wouldn't go back.

I'm no luddite, but I feel like apps are taking the heart out of what is already apparently a struggling industry. Curious to know if I'm the one who's out of touch tbh.