The angry thread

dannyboy · November 26, 2021, 12:03:54 PM

You never know, the new neighbours might be nice and like n gauge.

Graham · November 26, 2021, 10:25:32 PM

hopefully they dont dig the hole too much closer to your fence or you may face subsidence issues. Our neighbour has just done the same thing and we how have a 2 story house overlooking our back garden. Not happy, but can't do anything about it under the local planning rules.

Bealman · November 26, 2021, 11:12:50 PM

Yeah, when we first saw the plans we put in an official complaint, and the plans were withdrawn. Thought we'd won that one.

However, six months later they were there again and council approved them. Subsidence is indeed a worry, as this is all fill here - the original course of the creek is under their property and ours!

chrism · November 27, 2021, 06:28:23 AM

Quote from: Bealman on November 26, 2021, 12:43:35 AM
But yesterday they started ripping out the existing pool. What a bloody noise! That's Chez Bealman on the right, so you can see how close it is. The vibration knocked pictures off walls!

Look at the bloody mess. I just hope it doesn't undermine the foundation of Chez Bealman.

Wouldn't they have found it easier if they'd taken the water out first?

Bealman · November 27, 2021, 06:33:55 AM

It's actually been raining a lot here lately. Apparently we're supposed to be going to have a wet summer. That's ok with me.... beats bushfires any day.

thebrighton · November 30, 2021, 11:47:33 AM

Evidently I no longer exist.
Applied to get a new job at another school, interview fine and job offer received, great.
We just need 3 acceptable forms of ID for our records and DBS check.
Passport - no, it expired 20 years ago.
Photo driving license - no, haven't moved house for over 20 years so not needed to update it so still have paper license.
2 x bank statements/utility bills dated within last 3 months - no, I utilise paperless as we are all encouraged to do.
Birth certificate - yes but not sure how that is proof of ID.
Letter from HMRC to confirm NI number - yes but not dated within last 3 months.

Oh, and my previous 2 employers still haven't responded to the references sent a month ago.

What is even more frustrating is the person employing me at the school is someone I've worked with for the last 4 years at my previous school!

dannyboy · November 30, 2021, 12:32:21 PM

I hope you get things sorted PDQ.

Sometimes 'red tape' is just laughable. I recently had to prove that I was in receipt of a UK Pension, so I sent a copy of a letter I had from the UK Pensions people. It turned out that that was not acceptable as it was more than 12 months old. As I pointed out to them, surely if I was old enough over 12 months ago to receive the UK Pension, I was now, over twelve months later, still old enough! "No", came the reply, "we have to have something more recent". So I then had to telephone the UK Pension people and request a new letter. "No problem", says the lady I spoke to, "we get this all the time from people living in Ireland".

The Q · December 01, 2021, 09:33:13 AM

My sister is a Senior civil Servant as was Dad.. She had great difficulty getting a passport because she was born in BMH Dhekeila...The idiots at passport issuing kept saying that British Military Hospital Dhekeila was in Cyprus so she was a Cypriot..

Eventually she got a passport.. Which ironically was used to get to her sons wedding.... In Cyprus.

I had similar problems to TheBrighton some time ago... I eventually solved it by getting a document signed by a Justice of the Peace to say I was, who I said I was.. Luckily there was a JP member of the Sailing club.. Sadly she's no longer with us, so I don't know what I'd do now..

Malc · December 01, 2021, 02:31:28 PM

One of my pals went to draw some cash out of his building society. He was asked for ID but the only thing he had with his name and address on was his membership card for the Dennis the Menace Fan Club. They accepted it.

daffy · December 01, 2021, 03:00:26 PM

Quote from: Malc on December 01, 2021, 02:31:28 PM
One of my pals went to draw some cash out of his building society. He was asked for ID but the only thing he had with his name and address on was his membership card for the Dennis the Menace Fan Club. They accepted it.

Grrr.......

dannyboy · December 01, 2021, 03:02:40 PM

Is that the sound of you gnashing your teeth?

Trainfish · December 01, 2021, 11:24:30 PM

Quote from: Malc on December 01, 2021, 02:31:28 PM
One of my pals went to draw some cash out of his building society. He was asked for ID but the only thing he had with his name and address on was his membership card for the Dennis the Menace Fan Club. They accepted it.

Our recycling centre was asking for ID several months ago. The only thing I had with me was my CAMRA membership card. Eventually 1 of the guys worked out it had nothing to do with photography and let me in

stevewalker · December 07, 2021, 05:33:57 PM

Back at the beginning of August, we put in an application for renewing my middle son's passport, as he was due to go away in November. Photo accepted by the automated system, whereas both of his brothers' and mine were flagged as not acceptable, but turned out fine when I overrode them.

In September, they asked for confirmation of his identity from someone independent (we used a teacher). Why? We don't know, as that had already been done for his previous passport and he was still very clearly the same person as in the old photo.

In November (after he should have gone away on a school History trip - fortunately cancelled and refunded), they rejected his photo, demanded more money (as he'd turned 16 and now needed to pay for an adult passport) and sent a form for him to sign.

Photo sent electronically, form signed, scanned and emailed back, but we can only pay the difference by cheque (we have no book) or by phone (there is no online system for topping up an existing payment). Called on the 27th of November, person could not take payment and, those that could, were not answering their attempts to transfer the call, so I was promised a call back and advised that it should be within 2 working days, but could be a maximum of 5.

9 days later, still no call, so I rang again. 40 minutes on hold after being transferred to the appropriate department, before I gave up. Rang again this morning, 20 minutes on hold, then call cut out. Left work to call from outside. Gave up after being on hold, after transfer, for an hour. Left work early to come home and put the phone on speaker, so I did not have to sit with it clamped to my head for another hour. Only 20 minutes on hold - before the person gave up trying to transfer me.

Today was the last day for paying before they automatically cancel the application and keep my money - although they have made a note on the system and promised me another call back, but whether that will work I don't know.

I have now lost around three times the value of the extra payment to them (which was only caused by their initial delay pushing the processing after his birthday), in lost work hours and it's still going on!

Graham · December 09, 2021, 08:26:51 AM

Just found out I am +ve, NOT HAPPY JAN, just wish I could work out where or whom I got it from.
Luckily SWMBO is still -ve and lets hope she stays that way or it off with Christmas.
Maybe I should also post in the Happy Thread cause the vaccine has really worked its magic for me. Only feels like a bad cold.

emjaybee · December 09, 2021, 08:39:54 AM

Oh dear.

Stay safe, keep your fluids up.

Best wishes.

M.