I bought a bag bag of basil once from Asda and it said on the wrapper it compliments tomatoes. I wrote to Asda saying that the basil was next to the tomatoes for 24 hours and didn’t say a single kind word. They sent me a £5 voucher.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I bought a bag bag of basil once from Asda and it said on the wrapper it compliments tomatoes. I wrote to Asda saying that the basil was next to the tomatoes for 24 hours and didn’t say a single kind word. They sent me a £5 voucher.
You mean "boom boom!"
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
Curmudgeonly doesn't even come close! Some of you may recall my dismay that, having been referred for a hospital test, I received a phone call from what amounts to a clearing centre, asking me to which hospital I would like to be referred. (Theoretically, a cost-saving device).
The choice was: Barnstaple (1 hour) Exeter (half an hour) or Plymouth (1 1/2 hours). No brainer: Exeter it is.
Or. it transpired, isn't. Another phone call told me that there was no-one at Exeter to do the test, so it would have to be Plymouth, take it or leave it.
So - day out in Plymouth it will be. And today, I receive confirmation. Or do I?
Each separate (think postage!) communication is three A4 pages. The first tells me to rock up at 5.45pm at area B level 7. The next tells me to present myself at 17.45 area D level 2.
Now, even I know the difference between a 12 and a 24 hour clock. I even learned the alphabet a few years ago, so I know the difference between B and D. But it took a phone call from me to establish which of the two letters to believe. And to be told that this confusion "is not the first time" it has happened.
Precious resources? NHS under stress? Waste? Draw your own conclusions!
I feel your frustration @Shrinking Violet I don't doubt it's all the 'improvements' after the 're-organisation' so now no-one knows what's going on!
I am more embarrassed than curmudgeonly, although I am a bit miffed at my brother. So I have given myself a good talking to
Couldn't get my favourite Sweet Pepper seeds at the beginning of the year so was v grateful when my brother offered to get some for me. He got an un-named pack of seeds called 'Sweet Tasty Mix F1' which I imagine appealed because of the sweet and F1 in the title.
Been out harvesting and found four black peppers on one of the plants - OMG, panic, what foul disease has got hold in the GH? Should have checked the front of the packet as they are a mix of red, orange and purple! So relieved I'm on my own, lots of language followed by lots of embarrassment....................................
They had better taste OK or I'll be back after tea!
"The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it." Sir Terry Pratchett
This isn't a moan but another thread set me thinking. When are you elderly? How old is it? I'm assuming it's always someone at least 20 years older than you are yourself -until you're 20 years older! Be nice. I'm no spring chicken on the outside.
The Russians are rioting as they won't get to ever have a pension if the age is raised to 65, so they must be 'elderly' at about 50!
Here it's all '60 is the new 40' with slebs having babies, and people leading relatively active lives (like gardeners!) go on well into their 70's, and 80's and there are lots more 90 year olds around.
I don't know many 80 year olds who would deny that they are in the 'elderly' bracket - some resentfully, some quite gleefully. My mother relished the tag (and subverting it) and was perfectly willing to exploit people's assumptions about 'old ladies'. "No point getting old without getting artful" was her motto. She would become abruptly doddery/deaf to suit if caught out in some minor transgressions (usually parking where she shouldn't). Some people defy ageing altogether - appear completely ageless. And some have the mentality of an 'old biddy' at 50. It's more an attitude than an age, I suspect. If you don't think you are elderly, then you aren't. The more limits you place on yourself based on your age - can't get a cat or dog now I'm too old, can't go to Europe Inter-railing/India backpacking now I'm too old, can't jump out of aeroplanes/bungee jump/go white water rafting/learn to salsa/take A-level French, etc etc. Even 'can't get a job'. The only one I'd caution against (again, based on what happened to Mum) is forgetting that your knees don't work anymore until after you've gone up the step ladder to trim the hedge.
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Totally agree with @raisingirl, 'elderly' is a state of mind, often other peoples. I have gained experience and some restraint, some knowledge and a bit of understanding but when I think about the adjectives used to describe my attitude it confirms my opinion that many people just accept the stereotype.
Let's see now, precocious child, impudent teenager, forthright, brusque, outspoken - then I think I became curmudgeonly as I went into my 50s, now, apparently I'm just cantankerous but its OK 'cos of my age! It seems speaking your mind at 12 is less acceptable than losing it later on I enjoy the freedom of age, the invisibility comes in useful too but I wish I had better knees.
"The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it." Sir Terry Pratchett
Posts
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
The choice was: Barnstaple (1 hour) Exeter (half an hour) or Plymouth (1 1/2 hours). No brainer: Exeter it is.
Or. it transpired, isn't. Another phone call told me that there was no-one at Exeter to do the test, so it would have to be Plymouth, take it or leave it.
So - day out in Plymouth it will be. And today, I receive confirmation. Or do I?
Each separate (think postage!) communication is three A4 pages. The first tells me to rock up at 5.45pm at area B level 7. The next tells me to present myself at 17.45 area D level 2.
Now, even I know the difference between a 12 and a 24 hour clock. I even learned the alphabet a few years ago, so I know the difference between B and D. But it took a phone call from me to establish which of the two letters to believe. And to be told that this confusion "is not the first time" it has happened.
Precious resources? NHS under stress? Waste? Draw your own conclusions!
I am more embarrassed than curmudgeonly, although I am a bit miffed at my brother. So I have given myself a good talking to
Couldn't get my favourite Sweet Pepper seeds at the beginning of the year so was v grateful when my brother offered to get some for me. He got an un-named pack of seeds called 'Sweet Tasty Mix F1' which I imagine appealed because of the sweet and F1 in the title.
Been out harvesting and found four black peppers on one of the plants - OMG, panic, what foul disease has got hold in the GH? Should have checked the front of the packet as they are a mix of red, orange and purple! So relieved I'm on my own, lots of language followed by lots of embarrassment....................................
They had better taste OK or I'll be back after tea!
I'm assuming it's always someone at least 20 years older than you are yourself -until you're 20 years older!
Be nice. I'm no spring chicken on the outside.
We need something between middle age and elderly.
Some people defy ageing altogether - appear completely ageless. And some have the mentality of an 'old biddy' at 50.
It's more an attitude than an age, I suspect. If you don't think you are elderly, then you aren't. The more limits you place on yourself based on your age - can't get a cat or dog now I'm too old, can't go to Europe Inter-railing/India backpacking now I'm too old, can't jump out of aeroplanes/bungee jump/go white water rafting/learn to salsa/take A-level French, etc etc. Even 'can't get a job'. The only one I'd caution against (again, based on what happened to Mum) is forgetting that your knees don't work anymore until after you've gone up the step ladder to trim the hedge.
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Let's see now, precocious child, impudent teenager, forthright, brusque, outspoken - then I think I became curmudgeonly as I went into my 50s, now, apparently I'm just cantankerous but its OK 'cos of my age! It seems speaking your mind at 12 is less acceptable than losing it later on