To think the bloke who told me off for taking grit out of the grit bin should fuck off

[Birdbox181]

This morning, I had to get my elderly neighbour to a hospital appointment. She has bone cancer in both hips. Her drive way was very slippery this morning. A fall for her could be fatal. She's on crutches.

I drove to the nearest grit bin I could find, filled a bag for life, probably a quarter full and put it down on her front door step, drive way and the pavement outside her property.

As I was putting it into my bag a bloke stopped and reprimanded me, telling me it's not for private use. I explained the situation and but he wasn't interested.

What an absolute cock.

Technically he was right and you were wrong. He was being officious and you technically stealing and rude.
Why couldn't you have just said 'oh sorry, I didn't realise'?
If everyone in the surrounding streets did what you did, there would be none for the pavements.

Chuckling at the image of me using the salt grinder on my neighbours drive way, how utterly ridiculous would I have looked. What an odd suggestion! Even a tub of the stuff wouldn't have gone far!

but of course if everyone did as the OP did ...then there would be fewer neighbours lying on their drives waiting for an ambulance to take them to their bone-cancer appointments and now to A&E as well?

The whole point is that this was a very particular case.

It was the lesser of evils all around!

How was I rude? You don't know what I said to him. Just because I've said in my title that I think he should fuck off, doesn't mean I said that to him. How presumptuous of you.

Well people commonly have a tub / bottle of normal salt, and yes, it is very effective to make a path have some grip.

Technically you are incorrect as you don’t know how he reacted, stop wrongly jumping to conclusions

So if you must not use it, what is it for? Who uses it? Do council staff come and use it?

Amazing that so many mean spirited posters begrudge a few handfuls of grit to prevent serious injury in one isolated incident isn’t it ? OP took charge of the situation and did what was needed to get her neighbour to the appointment on time. And for those posters saying the neighbour should have sorted her own grit, how many of you have had a cancer diagnosis ? I’m disabled, walk with crutches and use a wheelchair. Normally there is a bag of grit in a container by my front door to use in winter. Not this year. I had a cancer diagnosis earlier in 2024 and my time since then has been taken up with appointments, brutal treatment and the head fuck that is the possibility that this is what’s going to kill me. I’ve no doubt OP’s neighbour feels the same. Some people need a reality check.

Exactly. And probably didn’t have the time to drive around looking for it, given there was a hospital appointment. It was a one off and OP was not only being kind but practical. Half a bag of grit is neither here nor there in the great scheme of things. Someone with bone cancer breaking a hip after a fall, however, most definitely is.

About 20 years ago my daughter needed to see an orthopedic consultant. We live in a country where private treatment is available.
We couldn't get an appointment over the winter, because the consultant was keeping his time available for emergency winter injuries.
Looking from a land with no grit bins...op was obviously 100 percent correct in using public grit for the public good.

It is for spreading on the public roads (by anyone nearby), not for taking off somewhere in a bag, and not for private property.

In fairness, I don't think many posters would begrudge this, knowing all the circumstances. The point is, the OP is being very rude about a man who quite rightly pointed out that grit in a grit bin is there for people to put on the road by the grit bin, not for people to drive to and help themselves to bag fulls. He didn't know about the back story - it would have looked as if the OP was just taking it for private use.

He did know the back story! I've already explained that. He did know the back story and I wasn't rude to him at all. I also haven't been very rude about him! You're just making stuff up.

He did know the backstory though. And where was OP actually rude to him ? Her thread title doesn’t reflect the actual exchange, just her thoughts. And there are very many posters who actually do begrudge it, and they’re making that very clear.

Some people have very little to do.

@rainbowunicorn
Glad you're not my neighbour!

Table salt is a pretty common store cupboard ingredient. Salt slightly melts ice, so yes, a small amount goes a long way

Not in my house, we don't have any, just Maldon sea salt. Can just see me out there scattering that.

But, if you live in a house that has a steep sloping drive up to the street, you would presumably then keep some in, if not a bag of grit.

It's not unreasonable to assume that most people do have table salt in the house.
In this case, there were 2 houses to look in - the Op and also her neighbour.

Surely only himalayan pink salt will do. Though salt on it's own can just melt the ice and refreeze as sheet ice in a hard frost. Add some coarse ground black pepper too. Garnish is optional.

Cat litter makes good grit. YANBU btw

A bag of grit, or a lady who' has none cancer potentially falling on the ice, burying herself badly and having a long hospital stay. Hmm, no brainer.

Bone, cancer, sp*

Why are people so obsessed with saying he wouldn’t have said anything if it was a man?? Most altercations/interactions like this I’ve witnessed are men and men. People just love to jump on the “men are bad” bandwagon. It’s actually very cringy! Yes you were helping a neighbour, no you shouldn’t have taken it for a private property. Get over it, get her some grit and stop being a victim because why ask if ybu if you’re just going to argue anyway. Totally pointless.

What, i wonder, did he think you were going to with it?! I hope you told him to eff off?!