To ask for your best examples of brass-neckedness to entertain us all on this dull day?

[Salmotrutta]

I've got one from decades ago.

My older brother was about 18 and going out with a girl of about 16.

It was pretty short lived as she seemed to be a bit spoiled etc. and they were only teens after all.

My brother was the one who ended it but girl seemed to think Mum was behind it.

Mum wasn't but she had asked to girl to help bring in washing during the rain when she stayed over at our house one weekend as mum was in the middle of something when rain started.

This was apparently a criminal act to ask someone for a bit of help so girlfriend moaned to brother (who I think had got rather exasperated by her anyway by this point) and he ended it.

Apparently this did not go down well.

Next thing, her little sister phoned my Mum and castigated her for being the cause of all this! Little sister would have been about 14 and mum would have been about 45!

That didn't go down well either.

An ex friend dropped hints she wanted to be a bridesmaid and then godmother and I gave in on both occasions and asked her. A few years later she got married and did not even invite us to her wedding and wondered why I was a bit upset! Another friend had a husband who was very environmentalky friendly and did not approve of my daughter's disposable nappies. One visit, I had the nightmare of her doing an exploding nappy while there and once I had wrapped it in a nappy bag, my friend passed ut to her husband to go and put in the dustbin. Or so she thought! On arriving home, I discovered that he had deposited it in my new leather bag that I had left in their hallway!! Two bottles of febreze later, the smell was still there!

DP has just related a story he remembers Bob Dylan telling about a cheeky fucker of a neighbour he thought he'd got wise to: "Will you be using your golf clubs this afternoon?" asks the neighbour. "Yes actually, I will be", replies Dylan. "Great, so you won't mind if I borrow your lawnmower!"

What is it about the working from home/constantly available childcare paradigm? I've got two corking recent examples of flamin' cheek:

1. Family member informs me by Facebook message that she has, "on impulse", booked a week away for her and her DH during the first week of the summer holidays, and would DS and I move into their house for that week to look after the DCs? If I can't, they can stay with their grandparents, but they'd really rather not.

I respond that that's just a normal working week for me, and although I'd be happy to have the kids for the weekend bit, it very much looks like they'll be staying with their grandparents.

2. DB's GF of 6 months has decided to move to our town to be closer to my DB (currently lives about 50 mins away). Has acquired new house & job and new school for her DS (12). Said school happens to be ten mins' walk from my house. New job turns out to involve three late nights a week, so she won't be back until 8 or 9. Is it OK if her DS makes his way to my house after school (which finishes at 2.30, for heaven's sake!) three afternoons a week and waits there until she can collect him? He definitely won't disturb me and he's not fussy, so he'll eat whatever I give him for dinner. And of course, she'll pay me.

I respond that although I would be happy for her to put me down as an emergency contact with the school, that arrangement doesn't work for me (thanks, MN!).

Totally irrelevant but... Bob Dylan plays golf????

Are you sure it wasn't Alice Cooper?

Hmm?

Ohh I've got another one...when I was late 20s and a mature student I joined a childcare/babysitting agency. I did a first aid for children course, got disclosed etc and was working with primary aged children. I'd just been accepted on the books when I got my first and only job - a call at 8 am - could I go and look after a 4 yo from 9am - 1pm? The woman had been let down by her normal childcare, she was desperate. I phoned the mother to say I was coming and she said she needed to get her older DC to school...so 8.40am would be best. It was a 30 min drive away and I had to find it so I said I would do my best. I got there just before 8.45 - she stroppily told me I was too late - she'd got someone else to take her DC to school. She showed me a snack for the DC, suntan lotion etc and left at 9am. She hadn't shown me any toys or tea/coffee for me. Anyway I got on fine - DC spent some time outside and then we did some drawing/painting.
Mother returned at 1.15pm. I told her what we been up to etc - she then asked me what my qualifications were - said ahh you only get the baby sitting rate (£1.50 an hour less than I was expecting). So from 9am to 1pm (what ??? 8.45am to by then 1.25pm!!!) so that will be (eg) £11.50 - she only had £12 -did I have the 50p change? She stood there while I coppered up to give her all the change I had - 46p! She seemed to think I should give her a £1 back but no bloody way!
I never worked for that agency again - I was so angry! What I got paid hardly covered my petrol...I should have been more assertive -but they should have told me the rate of pay properly before so I could stick to my guns and also whether I should charge for time she was showing me where things were etc (and I think she tried to pay them a lower fee too!!!!)

A woman I know is one of these 'pushy stage mum' types. She has two daughters, both if whom have been pushed to sing and dance from a young age.
The eldest is just about to start stage school only the mum doesn't have the cash to find the glittering lifestyle she likes to portray so, her solution to this £3k a term problem is to host an evening of song and dance.
She's hired a venue and for a £10 fee you can come and watch her pfb prance about. From what I can see on Facebook the only takers thus far are a few odd family members who really have no choice.

I was manning a sports facility (voluntary job, strictly limited to taking subs and hiring kit) when two teenage spectators let off a firework. I asked them leave and they did.

15 minutes later, their mum comes in and starts screaming blue murder. Apparently we were a creche for her enormous thugs and what did she pay her fees for? And how dare I raise an eyebrow at her? She'll have me sacked, she'll report me for child neglect, her husband is a magistrate...it goes on and on and on.

So I nodded a bit, as you do. The kids had come back, looking as if they wanted the earth to swallow them. When she wound down, I leaned forward and sniffed. "Get a taxi home, madam. Get some help. Now, would you mind fucking somewhere that's off? Thank you".

Not even a quarter of the way down, but I've nominated this for classics!

I had a friend who had 6 kids aged from 10 to user a year. She wanted to go away for a week with her DH, minus the kids. She had found someone to look after the baby, but wanted me took after the rest of them. This would have involved me moving into her house and taking a week's annual leave so I could attend to her kids. She was both astonishedad upset when I said I wasn't going to do it.

Under a year, not user..

Travelling alone with small dc, one a baby desperate to bf, v busy and important bloke on suit shoved in front of me at the virgin checkin " I'm in a hurry, don't mind do you?"

Virgin checkin girl drops my passports and smiles at self important fuckwit.

Clearly he was saving the world. I didn't say anything as the dc were there and also I was busy congratulating myself I wasn't married to him. And yes, he did checkin whilst on his mobile. Idiot.

Woman on plane takes one look at me sitting behind her with said children and called for the steward to complain about the children as she had a v important meeting and planned to sleep on the flight to be " fresh" steward looks bemused as my dc are a) practically asleep b) clearly no trouble . He didn't move her to upper class as she wanted. She told him she would report him to his superiors for bad customer service!!!

This has been me all day at these stories:

... and (eeeww) at the toothbrush rustlers.

At uni halls of residence we had a laundry room with washers and tumble dryers that took tokens you bought from the accommodations officer.

I was sitting in the laundry room with my clothes going round and round in the dryer, using my £2.50 worth of token when a lad walks in, opens the door to the dryer, removes my washing and dumps it on the floor to put his in (to use the rest of my bought time).

I looked at him over my book and he asked me if I could keep an eye on his stuff in the dryer while he was away. He clearly thought I like to just hang out in the laundry room.

I'm not known for being assertive but I blinked at him and said: that stuff in the dryer was mine. I'd say you owe me a token.

He didn't pay up but he did mumble 'sorry' and put my stuff back into the dryer.

Can I just say... This is the best thread on the internet. Possibly ever.
Very good.. carry on!

Brassneckedness as a blast from the past! My Mum did a Tupperware party in the 1970's and a lady arrived and put her old anorak over a chair in the kitchen. We all went in the sitting room. Her dog was currently in season and our randy old sheepdog was thus attracted to her coat and chewed a big hole in it while romping on it. My Mum was mortified when she found it and immediately offered to buy another anorak for the lady. She said she could not wait until the morning and demanded to choose one of my Mum's coats. She picked a cashmere coat worth ten times the price of the anorak and walked out in a really good mood, saying she had had a lovely time. Whenever we see a photo of our old dog, someone brings up this memory!

I was waiting in an airport for a family holiday when I was a kid (teenager). It was busy with few seats, but there was an empty seat next to a businessman who was stood up talking enthusiastically with his colleague. I slid past him and sat down in the empty seat so as to not disturbe him to which he breaks of his conversation mid sentence and says "excuse me that's my seat" (it was empty and he was happily standing). I turned to the next seat which was piled high with his things (laptop case, briefcase etc.) and asked "oh, is anyone sitting there". So as not to lose face he then moves his things into the floor but insists on me moving, keeping an empty seat for him to stand next to.

Some of these are unreal...how do people get to be like this??
Here's mine....years ago when I was flat sharing my flatmates friend came to stay for a few nights. I knew her as well, so it was fine...until!!! one morning I went into the bathroom and she had left a recently removed tampon in the bathroom bin. It was an open bin, quite clearly not for leaving such things.. now it was all smeared with her period blood...eeewwwoooh. When I pulled her up about it she was unphased..'Oh well at home the maid deals with it'
Well lady there aint no freaking maid here...get rid of it!!!
yuck

Aged 16, back from boarding school for a week, so called best friend made excuses not to see me all week.

She then turned up randomly at 11pm one night with a boy/man I had never met, asking for him to stay over 'as her parents would get angry if they found he was staying at hers'. Well I'm not an effing b&b, and I'm sure my parents wouldn't be pleased either.

At least I did say no. I came to my senses a few years later and ended the friendship and am so happy I did.

Gawd have so many...

SIL was 'writing a book', wanted to go to Cannes to 'see actors who would be starring when her book was turned into a film', got her grandmother's credit card and lived out her fantasy through it.

Got Grandmother to 1. move out of her room 2. Sell her apartment in order for sil to buy herself a house thus 'relieving' her own mother of any inheritance.

Sil wearing Grandmother's diamond jewellery while Grandmother asked for it back, saying, 'No! remember your will Grandmother? You are leaving it all to me. I might as well wear it now. You've forgotten you've given it to me'.

I was gobsmacked.

Car sharing (school run) for many years, only the mother of one girl started collecting later and later. In the end we were feeding her dinner 5 times a week. Then when I wanted to go out in the evening, found I could not as parent had not collected! (And no, I am not a CM).

Finally got fed up and told the mum I wanted her to pick up at 3:30pm and she gave me the sob story that her dp didn't want to do the school run any more as he was too lazy to but as I hadn't minded before, please could I continue?

WTF?! I had let it go on for years because this girl was in dd's class. I stopped it there and then. They had never even said thank you once.

(This shows me up as the lily livered, spineless wuss I am). SIL and I planned to take her young ds to the cinema. I drove to their house (35 minutes away) picked them up, went to town (20 mins) and paid to park. Decided to have a quick lunch before, I paid for all of us. Queued for the cinema tickets, just as we were to be served SIL decided to take ds to the toilet, leaving me to pay for the tickets. After the film we stopped for coffee before heading home, the coffees came with the bill. SIL picked up the bill, said she'd go up and pay for it but my share was X amount. Drove them home steaming. Probably more mad at myself for being so pathetic.

Friend lived in Japan and had bought a newly built, unfurnished apartment in the Canary wharf part of London (1990s). He signed up to a rental agency but was told three months later that there wasn't much demand for it and the agent had always 'nearly' rented it out for some thing to come up and for the rental to fall through.

There wasn't a lot my friend could do about it as he lived abroad but the agency seemed respectable enough and would give him regular updates about the situation.

A year later Friend then had to go back to London unexpectedly for a funeral so decided to spend the night in his own flat in a sleeping bag since it had yet to be let, only to find when he opened the front door that the flat was fully furnished and there was a family living there!

The people had been paying a large sum of money plus deposit to the crooks/ agent to stay there. The agency actually feigned innocence.

Last year I met a plumber who told me he used to work for an estate agency in London who did this regularly in the 1990s and now it was a multi millionaire property agency.

Oh please tell me it was Foxtons????

This thread is amazing!

I only have small one to add.

I have a colleague who regularly, totally, expects lifts to work as we work together and she doesn't drive never has, but never ever offers any £ . She lives across town from me and expects me to go in the opposite direction to collect her, wait for her to get ready deeming us both late, then pass my house on the way to work. I work with another mutual friend who offers every single time. I have never once taken it and friend 1 has witnessed this-It's the entitlement I can't stand. Once she had asked for a lift via a (different) mutual friend and I said no, unless she's going to give me some £ for it. I was reiterated that she said 'That's well tight!Sunflower's going that way anyway! The thing that bothers me most is, I am yes!But not to your end of town and even though I am, It's nice when somebody does you a favour and I can't stand bad manners.

One time home from work, my car was in the garage (we work late until early morning) and so I reluctantly agreed to taxi share with her. I predicted what would happen and I was right. She 'fell asleep' on the way back after insisting we drop her first, stumbled out of the car at her destination (a mile or so from mine). I , trying to save £, got out there and walked the rest. I never gave up on getting the half of the fare back from her (£15 ish). I'm generally a generous person and will put my hand in my pocket for anybody I like who deserves it, but not those who think I should!If I had more a 'brass neck' myself, I would have found an excuse reason to be dropped off first-said my purse was at home or something :grin:

She annoys me generally as she claims benefits even though she works cash in hand at another job and generally sponges off people she knows.

The thing about the poodle made me upset. Poor dog, and poor people. Hope s/he found a nice home.