Personal pet hates of this modern age



Personal gripes of this modern age – these are general and have absolutely nothing to do with life in France in particular so I am not looking for any discussions which might include criticisms on that subject, there have been many of those in the past.


My list starts as follows what are yours ? :



GENERAL GADGETS etc.


Scart plugs – black plugs into black inserts and you need a torch and a good pair of glasses to be able to insert them - at least the inserts on the back of the gadget could be white.


Electric extension leads with security tabs in the sockets and you have to push, shove, wiggle, etc. for ages before you can get the blasted plug in.


Microwaves ovens with bleep alarms which sound every minute until you open the door.


Light bulbs guaranteed for at least a year which only seem to last a couple of months – who takes them back and complains – not many of us I think.


Cold calling - too long a subject to embark on - now I never answer the phone unless the caller's name is in the window or I recognise the number - stops a lot of it.


INTERNET :


Online order forms etc. – you make a mistake or omission you have to enter all your details again from the beginning


Websites


who quote a delivery date or within period but then change their minds after you have placed an order.


adverts which jump about along the top of what you are reading and can’t be removed. Some tell you that you have won a prize. Microsoft had a spider running across the top of the screen a couple of years ago.


Websites you can’t get into without becoming a customer and signing in – I don’t bother if my only interest is in their product range etc. and nothing specific


Having to have a password to get into silly sites like Pinterest which have no security risks


Websites who offer you and you download a free program like AVG and every day they pester you to buy it or upgrade.


Angloinfo – everytime you want to change pages you have to ‘escape’ from their franchising advert. Also their administrators appear to be are chosen for their jobsworth abilities


TV


Why do they always put the sound up when the adverts come on


When you want to find out the name of an actor at the end of a film, they put the cast etc. over to one side so you can’t read it and start telling you about the next programme.


Why can’t the BBC have at least one break between an hour long programme – perhaps to advertise forthcoming programmes – enough time for you to make a brew or take the dog out for a quick 2 minute pee.









On all TV programmes where the person who is imparting information direct to you, the viewer, but they are looking over your left or right shoulder at an unseen person. Why?

Plinky plonk music on every ruddy TV programme.

As I have just posted above having not got to you, yes you are lucky to find an e-mail and if you do they tend not to respond anyway.

Well up on my 'annoying list' as well. Similar is the French attitude to e-mails, 'just ignore him and he will go away'.

Could do with him down here in the Charente Maritime to liven things up. Local bars normally close by 9 at the latest one British and one French. The French bar has recently changed hands and the landlord now lives on the premises and stays open a bit later and has started 'Music Evenings' so will have to check it out. The previous landlord used to pull the street facing shutters down and allow smoking and everyone then had to 'sneak' out the rear entrance.

OR: Football a game of two halves. One of the best.

Vic, quite correct on that one. Bruce I could have written the script for that programme and for Victor Meldrew as well. Is there a link between vic evans and Victor Meldrew by any chance? Still trying to work out from an earlier/younger life why everyone else in the Boys Brigade was out of step with me when we were on Sunday Parade. lol

It is nearly all chemicals, diesel fumes, paint, perfume etc. etc.
I can’t imagine smoking and being asthmatic as well!

My wife's asthmatic Jane - and she smokes! She's found that her condition has vastly improved since we moved here as far fewer car fumes and other such air pollution.

When we used to go to the pub she would have problems breathing if the room got too smoky (hypocritical though it seems) but as we were regulars she was allowed to open windows etc to keep the air moving and no one was allowed to close them!

I imagine there are different triggers for asthma? As a smoker myself I think I'd choke if I got a lungful of someone else's smoke - thankfully I'm not asthmatic so choking would be all I'd do!

It is not just heart attacks but it can affect others such as myself who are asthmatics and possibly cause a fatal asthma attack.
Tobacco smoke causes me to lose my voice and restricts my breathing and it is very difficult in the street, where I have to watch out for smokers and avoid them.
I vividly remember coming out of a restaurant and a young lady lighting up in front of me and I got a good lungful of her heartily exhaled smoke and almost collapsed at her feet.
Of course, she was very apologetic and said that she had never realised that what she did could have such an effect upon someone else.

Doreen, "malicious hostilities about our post-Orwellian times " was ironically (sic) which I assumed you've understood with my remark about "getting used to the absurd"... We are far beyond Orwell's 1984 scenario and complains simply lead either to the decision not to use such "services" or at least try to tolerate certain malfunctions. A few days ago I received a letter from Chronopost, saying they could not find my address but inviting me to call them on a payable phone number for 0,40 € a minute...

thanks Catharine

Fax? I remember them :-)

Oh yes... and when one asks me for my fax in exchange for theirs my blood pressure tends to increase!

Good man :-)

We still have a couple of "country" bars around here where the landlord says" sod 'em" The police never bother them. Mind you one of the landlords is a Breton Druid who apparently served time for blowing up the local television mast 'cos they didn't put on enough Breton language programmes. Interesting bloke is Guy!

I suppose I could give you access to a few pages of my 'little black book'.....for a price of course....

Good point but please no, there is high likelihood it could come out far worse.

??? just wrote: > those who have got used to the absurd will cope quite well in these times of ours. ..< & don't know what is offensive about it. So if people like to but cheap (or posh) rubbish on internet, love to watch "search superstar's" on TV instead using this little thing between the ears people deserve to be drawn into the life of the rules of "free market".