Getting it off my chest....

[Willow2]

Anyone want to join in on a thread just devoted to sounding off about (non parenting) things that have annoyed you? Well here goes...
I would like to say a big thank you to the absolute xxxxxx that pranged my car while it was parked outside my house sometime in the last 48 hours. The fact that you didn't feel it necessary to leave your details just adds to my love for you. You are probably one of the caring commuters who parks in my road (for free) all day before taking the train to town - glad that we can be of service. Nor should you let the
fact that your journey has turned our quiet little cul-de-sac where kids play footie in the street into the fifth lane of the M25 worry you in the least. And don't be perturbed by the fact that I, and all the other mums in the road, can now no longer park anywhere near our houses when we come home with the supermarket shopping and a car full of screaming kids. Hey, it's all just helps make our day even more fun. So thank you, nameless stranger, for completely annihilating the front of my car and losing me my no claims bonus. My week had looked really boring, now, thanks to you, there's so much to do... I have to go to the police station, get insurance quotes, fax my insurers and then wait for them to send an assessor round to view the damage. And then, if I am really lucky, I will lose the use of my car for several days. Gee things are looking up. You have really made my day.
Sorry chaps, just had to let it out.

Selja, West Quay in Southampton has very good Toilet / Changing facilities which you can easily fit a buggy in, both on the food court level (use the disabled loos)and the Podium Car Park Level 3 for baby change/large loos. (And its got a Starbucks - opened last week just outside the entrance on Above Bar!)
HAve a great time in Spain (we got back a few weeks ago - Children welcomed EVERYWHERE and as we must have the fussiest eater on the planet, many restaurants were only to happy to cook us up some plain pasta etc. when we asked.

Not exactly a rant about Starbucks, more an ugh.
I tried their festive egg nogg latte at the weekend. It turned my stomach. Sweet and sickly don't begin to describe it's syrupy awfulness. Give it a wide berth!

We do go to West Quay but we find it a nightmare getting around especially on a Saturday. The lifts are so slow (both in the main bit and near John Lewis). Every so often we risk annoying the security guards by taking the buggy on the escalator! Its very nice though. Overall Southampton isn't a bad shopping area.

I have just got to get this off my chest. We have had on going building work in our house since January. This week was supposed to be the final week ............ until........ the flooring company found that our kitchen floor is too rotten to floor because of a massive leak, from heaven only knows what, which still hasn't dried out, although doesn't look like it is still being leaked on.
The flooring company have just 'phoned me at the office to tell me this happy news, I can't track my dh down anywhere to share this burden of woe with & I am really, really hacked off.
We have spent a fortune on really boring repair work in the last 6 months. The insurance company has made token gestures toward bits of it and now I am going to have to embark on another battle, and unless we can find a builder pronto, I will have no b**y kitchen floor for Christmas.
I am sorry to whine like a spoilt child & I don't even feel better - I just want to move house!

Why are husbands and partners always missing when something happens? I know my dh has been away a lot but something always happens when he's incommunicado. Talking of dh I've got my Dad coming down this afternoon for a couple of days so for the last few days we've been busy cleaning and getting things done so the house is respectible for when he gets here. I'm at work and had left a list with dh only to find he's been on the phone to his sister for over half an hour and then spent another hour trying to get the online chat going and the webcam so he could speak with her 'face to face'. He couldn't do this on Thursday when my Dad has gone? AAAAAAGH!!! Thats better. Do men work on a different time scale to us?

I am having a really bad week! I have a virus on my computer that I cannot get rid of, I went to storytime today and some little monster (about 3) went up to my dd (16 months), grabbed her hair, pulled her onto the floor and went to kick her! The mother simply said 'sorry' but didn't reprimand her little brat at all - and my dd is hysterical! Then as we were leaving he went for her again! It really spoiled storytime for us and left me in such a bad mood I just wanted to thump the little brat! Then some stupid shop assistant stood staring at me whilst I tried to get my buggy through one of those heavy fire doors that they use in shops these days, I scraped the back of my hand trying to get us in the damn thing. Now my neighbour's teenage doley son who does a spot of DJ-ing on the side is practising in his room VERY LOUDLY AND VERY ANNOYINGLY! I was woken this morning by their spoilt little brat screaming at the dogs and shouting 'shut up' to her mother. I am so mad today I just want to kick at something! Where is dh when you need him!

Lisav thank you for turning your disaster into a funny stort! It really is heartening to hear others have days from hell.One thing I love about mumsnet is that the politiclly correct brigade are practically non existent compared to other websites! So you can call little brats( because that is what they are!) little brats without being subject to a torrent of abuse. You can also confess to the desire to thump other people's children, kick your husband etc. without being taken too seriously!
Hope tomorrow is better!

i need to let of some steam regarding a bloody annoying delivery firm which has cancelled our new bedroom fitment yet again,yesterday was the 3rd time ive waited in all flipping day for this to be delivered only to be cancelled again,and not even with a phone call,im all but ready to cancel the darn thing,surely it cant be that difficult to get a glorifeid wardrobe into a van and get it to the right place.

The Government, railtrack.....who the hell do I blame now!!!!!! An hour late to work again. This is 4 days out of 5 in the last week. I am so fed up. Today it has taken such organisation to extend my day in an attempt to make up todays time missed (again) and there is no guarantee that the trains will be any better on my return journey!!!!!!!! Can't remember the last time I got a seat, there is NEVER a guard when one wants one and announcements seem to be at THEIR convenience! Urgggghhhhhh!!!!!!
Feel better for that but homeward journey will probably make me furious enough to start phoning people to complain but, as I said earlier, who do I contact?

It's that time of year again. The season for 14 year-old boys to stand on my doorstep (and they always come at bath/bed time), drone "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" (just that line), and then expect me to give them money. To me, it's just begging. If they even bothered to look vaguely seasonal, or sang something different, or sang in tune, or even pretended that they were collecting for charity it wouldn't seem so bad. But they just expect me to give them money. It seems that most people do, as well, just to get rid of them. They always seem really taken aback when I say "No thanks" and shut the door in their faces. If I'm feeling really feisty (as someone at work called me a "feisty old bird" the other day, I've taken to living up to the label!), I'll sweetly ask them which charity they're collecting for. That always shuts them up.
I do resent feeling vaguely concerned when I close the door that a brick is going to come through it, because I won't give them any money.
Bah! Humbug! is what I say

People who leave ladders unattended! My DH was almost killed by a workman's ladder toppling over in a gust of wind today. I haven't seen him move so fast for years. Mind you, every cloud has a silver lining - it would have been the most exciting headline in our local paper for about half a century, I should think!

People parking on the pavement, forcing me with buggy & toddler into the road on a blind bend. Grrr. Always the same bloody people too.

Inky, I used to get so fed up with people doing that that I used to carry printed sheets saying 'Please try very hard next time not to be quite so inconsiderate to pavement users or next time you may find a buggy has made a nasty scratch down the side of you car or damaged a wing mirror'
Not that I go in for vandalising cars I hasten to add, it just used to make me feel better.

Suedonim - I had to laugh at what you had written, not that it was funny that your dh nearly got hurt, it was just the way you put it. I've also got a problem with ladders stuck in the middle of pavements as superstitious old me has to go around them even if this means risking life and limb going onto a busy road.

What really gets my goat is people who let their dogs c**p on pavements especially outside schools. Have they ever tried dodging 2 kids (who don't look where they're walking at the best of times!) and a buggy round piles of poo when racing along because you've got 20 seconds before the school bell rings? Nuff said!

I want to screeeeam with frustration. We're having our kitchen done soon and I've been trying to get builders to come round to give us quotes. I've rang about twenty, had one come round to say it wasn't worth his while as the job was only about £8k worth which may not be a lot to him but its a bit extra on our mortgage, had two come round and agree to give a quote and one demanded the kitchen plan even though we're having a free-standing kitchen and makes no difference to him and the work I want doing as to where the kitchen furniture will be so he refused to give a quote. The rest didn't bother to ring back/turn up to appointments. What is wrong with the builders down here? They're always complaining they haven't enough work but when you offer some they're not interested. We had the same problem with gardeners last year and ended up doing it ourselves. Unfortunately the building works we can't do. We're even thinking about ringing up people back home to see if anyone wants a holiday down south for a couple of weeks. I know the kitchen I want, I'm ordering the cooker which I can't wait for as I'm cooking out of a mini oven at the minute and I JUST WANT MY KITCHEN aaaaghh. Thanks for listening.

Tried that and its the same response, don't call back or don't turn up for the appointment. Is it just down here in Portsmouth that has this problem?

Selja, there are a couple of websites that give listings for recommended builders etc, I think they have to beregisterd with whatever appropriate trade association, and they often have endorsements from satisfied customers. Might be worth a try, the one I know of is improveline.com, but I think there are others.

But getting a builder you know from elsewhere might quite seriously be a good idea, a friend of mine did that when she moved from Liverpool to London and was very happy with the outcome.

Selja, Yes I know your problem, however a friend recently had her kitchen done and was very happy with the builder she used. We're in Southampton area so if you would like me to get the details and see if he would be happy to travel down the M27 just let me know.

Thanks Viv I'd appreciate it. One of the builders who is giving us a quote is one recommended by improveline.com so we'll see how that one pans out. I was told that the federation of master builders etc wasn't any indication as to how good they are as any old builder can be a member as long as they pay a fee. They don't have to take any exams or have their work checked.

Selja, Will get the details when said friend returns from holiday at the weekend. Good luck in the meantime.

Had to get this off my chest. I've just called NTL to arrange to have my second telephone socket fixed. I was told that they are only guaranteed for a year, and now I will either have to pay a £50 call out to get it fixed, or £50 to have a new one installed! I didn't rant at the girl on the other end of the line (she actually sounded a bit embarrassed about it), but I do wonder whether they build into the extension sockets a "one year cut-off", so that they're guaranteed a £50 per year extra payment. I thought that it would be classed as part of the telephone "service" that they provide me with, and would therefore be fixed for free. How naive I am. Not so naive that I didn't check that if they can't fix it tomorrow when they come, they won't charge me another £50 to come back when they can fix it. The girl didn't sound 100% sure, but she eventually said that they don't charge twice for coming out to the same fault.
I suppose they have to recoup their massive losses somehow.

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Thanks for the offer SueW. The man came today (I didn't see him, dh did, so second-hand info), he took the extension socket apart and said that there was a bit of damp in it, so we shouldn't be charged for the repair, as it couldn't be our fault!? Personally, I would have thought that it was our fault, as it is inside the house - in the bedroom (on an inside wall), and surely any damp in there would be something we'd spilled on it? In which case, I would be "happy" to pay. Still, I'm not going to argue if they don't charge us.
I think the type of box you're talking about has to be plugged into a BT socket, probably different to what we've got, but again thanks for the offer
I honestly don't know what I used to do before I had mumsnet to refer to for my every question and rant!