[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

QuickTidal, on 02 August 2026 - 03:44 PM, said:

Dear UK members….single lane roads with "passing areas" are mental…signed, Canadian visitor who has too much anxiety.

We found this when we were in Ireland for a wedding the other year. The lane assist in the hire car was going berserk the whole time driving on the (otherwise beautifully scenic) one lane country roads.

I honestly don't know how much road it thought was available, but it was very wrong....!

This post has been edited by TheRetiredBridgeburner: 03 August 2026 - 07:54 AM

[Macros]

if in doubt just hedge it

[Tiste Simeon]

Macros, on 03 August 2026 - 05:59 PM, said:

if in doubt just hedge it

See, in a Malazan group, saying "just hedge it" could mean something more alarming. Like "blow the whole thing up and dive for cover."

[Macros]

Do your history buddy, means the same thing

[Garak]

A few days an ambulance got attacked by angry villagers. The driver got glass shards in his eye when a brick was thrown at the front window. The villagers were armed with axes and out for blood. Why all this? Because some git saw on TikTok that a black ambulance was stealing kids - this is an old myth from the Communist era and it keeps popping up like a bad rash. And the word quickly spread in the village, with no evidence of course of anything, so the ambulance that was wandering around trying to find the house of the patient who called for them was obviously there for nefarious reasons. 7 people were arrested over this idiocy. Their defense? "We heard a rumor" - that's it. The mother of one of them? She says the ambulance guys should have their organs removed, how dare they steal children - she said even after being told none of what she heard was true.

I live in a country of morons. Of people who buy Russian propaganda (we have people in the Army who look up to Russia ffs). Now with AI pictures and videos being easy to make it's gonna be worse. The idiots will believe anything and everything. Last week they were screaming that the French are draining the Danube. Then it was the Germans and Austrians. Why? Because of random internet trolls/bots/hybrid warfare.

It is depressing to see this level of idiocy on a daily basis. I work with people who were impressed by Calin Georgerscu's speaches. The ones where he claimed that water holds information and drinking bottled water is bad because it disrupts the flow of information. That getting a cesarean is bad because it breaks the holy bond between mother and child. And so on and so forth.

[QuickTidal]

Buckle up for the dumpster fire that was my trip to England.

Firstly, my issues were not with England in general or the people, they were for the most part lovely and the places and things we saw great. Two minor problems are: There are no bins anywhere...and the toilets are as sparse (and occasionally pay toilets)...and London is ENTIRELY too busy, and the heatwave building back up did not help. But I digress.

So, the trip started inauspiciously by me (in my haste to help the kids pack up their stuff on the plane as we landed at Heathrow) leaving my iPad on the plane. I didn't notice this until we were on the bus halfway to Cheltenham...checked FindMy and saw it sitting in Heathrow Terminal 2...so that was not good.

The FlixBus to Cheltenham from Heathrow has set seat assignments...but some sketchy dude was sitting in one of ours at the back so my wife and the kids sat on the other side of empty seats to not cause issues, as the bus was not full. There was a young (turned out to be French couple) in the seats in front of my wife and kids and my son (ADHD/Jet Lag made him jig his leg and it was lightly tapping her seat. Instead of being a human and being like "Oh hey can you stop tapping my seat?" to him, she turned around and snapped "HEY. STOP KICING THE SEAT" and he was like "I wasn't kicking it" and she was like "You were and it's fuckign annoying" my wife then saying "Okay okay lady, sorry" and then my kids were silent as ghosts for the rest of the 2hr drive and yet when we got off in Cheltenham the woman STILL gave my wife the daggers....like we apologized and they were quiet and largely immobile for the next two hours...the fuck else do you want lady? Ugh, the French.

The family we stayed with were Canadian's we knew from our town (they moved to England a year+ ago; he's military and gets posted) and we only knew them mildly well, but we thought enough.NOPE. They are deeply strange, and their kids are strange as well. Their son (who is 5) is maybe the whiniest and unchecked instigator I've ever encountered....and every time he and my son had an interaction of words (be it over a toy, or how my son takes everything literally and doesn't do make believe) their kid IMMEDIATELY threw hands, and we just got done telling our son after the attack at camp that he was allowed to defend himself, so he did and every single time these parents called MY son out and not their for throwing hands...and when that was brought up their excuse was "Well, he's five"...I secretly told my son that I supported him and watched that kid reach for violence every time he got upset and that it wasn't my kids fault. I reassured him constantly, but I basically had to be around to play referee between their son and my son unless I was willing to let the other da scold my son....which I was not. Their kids are Screen-starved. The family chose not to move their TV (the wife doesn't watch stuff, only the husband), and the kids tablet/screen time was for like a half hour in the morning and a half hour at night...we let out kids (provided they have been out doing stuff for the day) watch in the morning and night before bed for a much longer time...their daughter tried TWICE to "advise me" that my kids should have the same screen time rules as they have and I flatly was like "No, our rules work or us, thanks"....but both their kids are like little screen goblins who would sit at your shoulder or crowd over my kids when we were on our devices for any reason. The parents are strict on everything. My son is picky and didn't eat most of the food, and we bought hi things he would like to eat and when he didn't finish it they would try to police him to finish it, and I had to tell them frequently that my son's ADHD meds make him not hungry during the day....then when he was hungry at night after the meds wore off they would be annoyed he was eating later at night and I had to explain REPEATEDLY why he was ravenous after that...and every time I threw out old food (Again, that I bought) that he didn't eat, I got dirty looks. Like yeah, it's wasted food but I'm not forcing my kid to eat. Also, I bought my son a big aero chocolate bar and he left it on the table and their son just grabbed a hunk and was eating it...and I'm like oh no, that's my sons (who was upset this other kid had eaten his treat) and the parents excuse was "Oh, well he didn't know it was _____s".....I'm sorry, does your kid just grab whatever random food is anywhere and eat it without asking whose it is or if he can have some?...It turns out the whole ass family does this. I did some grocery shops for everyone (to split on meals), but I also bought stuff for just me or just my kids (treats, crisps ect) and for the first few days I thought those things were safe to be out on the counter...NOPE...the whole family would just dive into whatever was there as if it was theirs. I took to hiding the treats in my luggage to prevent this. It's insane.

The rules in the house were next level and I felt like I was on eggshells the entire time by trying to make sure neither us nor our kids did anything to go against their house rules....but like they CONSTANTLY police the kids playing, and tell them not to do ______ and to include the 5 year old...but the 5 year old would (as 5 year olds do) kick off every 5 minutes over something or another and the other kids would get in trouble for not playing nice with him...and my son HATED him and didn't want to play with him (my son is 7.5 and not into make believe)...and the parents kept getting annoyed that my son was not playing with theirs...and no amount of explaining that their play styles were different helped.

We asked about transport up front and they said "don't worry, we have two EVs and solar panels and the CDN military pays for their ultities so it was technically all free"....but by about midweek they began to feel like they were put out by driving to the places we were going to....even when it was just the other dad and I in a 2.25hr (each way) trip to Portsmouth it felt like he was put out...and the kids had to be arranged in the cars to not fight (my son and their son could not be in the car together)...which was a task. The mom stopped her car once when my daughter was upset to tell her to be quiet and that she was acting like a 3-year old for crying (she's 10)....meanwhile her daughter who is also ten spent the entire week WHINING about everything. The mom was mean, the dad was aloof and WAY more nerdy than I am...to the point any conversation with him was boring as hell. They got into not one but two vocal domestic fights while we were there (slamming doors and shit) based around the dad (military; working) and the mom (not working, not searching for a job, but also not doing anything administratively or for the household)...he works all day and she doesn't do much of anything that's not for herself (she bikes and works out) so he has to scramble to order groceries and then make dinner...it's causing them a tonne of friction as they don't really seem to operate like a team tackling the home life, but rather two individuals who happen to have kids...she was put out a little by him wanting to go with me by ourselves to Portsmouth for the day as she would have the kids on her on....which feels weird for a mom to say/act like.

I wanted to leave by Day 2...I was willing to reserve hotel rooms for the remainder of the trip and eat that extra cost to get out of there. My wife talked me out of it and said we should make the best of it with this family.

They also didn't do "adult time" after the kids go to bed, you know with chat and drink and whatever...nope, they were in bed by 9PM each night and it was so strange.

The rest of the week was more of the same, and I could not wait to get out of there. The mom and the kids came other London with us on our last full day by train...and that made London even more difficult. She literally said out loud "Well, your DAUGHTER has been delight this trip" and smirked and looked away. Hey....fuck you lady. Taking pot shots at my 7.5 year old son because his ADHD makes him a bit of a handful and because your son doesn't know how to keep his hands to himself? Nah lady, you're an asshole.

I was not unhappy to see them go when they finally left Paddington to go back to Cheltenham Sunday afternoon. Our hotel by Heathrow was fine, nothing special, and the local buses were easy as heck to navigate.

It's given me not only a better appreciation of being home, but it makes my issues with my sister-in-law and her family seem quaint. I would spend a month with them before I'd ever think of seeing this other family again. Good riddance.

eDIT: Oh, but I DID get my iPad back and the local air Canada staff at Heathrow were AMAZINGLY helpful in helping me get it back the morning we left to come back home. So that was good.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 12 August 2026 - 12:32 PM

[Macros]

Fair play to you for sticking that out, I would have booked somewhere else after the first day

[QuickTidal]

Macros, on 12 August 2026 - 01:36 PM, said:

Fair play to you for sticking that out, I would have booked somewhere else after the first day

Thanks yeah.

I was SO close.

Like day 1 of being out to do things after we first arrived, my daughter wanted to switch cars and the dad actually yelled at her that "We can't keep doing this"...about choosing one car and changing her mind...and that was the moment I knew I was in for a shitty week. Like a 5 second car change by a kid was enough to piss him off...I WANTED to be like "don't talk to my daughter that way". but again, we are at their house and I had to constantly keep the peace.

I wanted to much to book elsewhere, but my wife is a peacemaker and wanted to keep trying. That said, on the train ride to our hotel when were were away from the other family she admitted it was a rough week and we should have.

[Slow Ben]

 Macros, on 12 August 2026 - 01:36 PM, said:

Fair play to you for sticking that out, I would have booked somewhere else after the first day

First hour.

[worry]

I think that family was trying to Speak No Evil you but you were just too non-compliant.

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

QuickTidal, on 12 August 2026 - 12:24 PM, said:

Buckle up for the dumpster fire that was my trip to England.

Firstly, my issues were not with England in general or the people, they were for the most part lovely and the places and things we saw great. Two minor problems are: There are no bins anywhere...and the toilets are as sparse (and occasionally pay toilets)...and London is ENTIRELY too busy, and the heatwave building back up did not help. But I digress.

So, the trip started inauspiciously by me (in my haste to help the kids pack up their stuff on the plane as we landed at Heathrow) leaving my iPad on the plane. I didn't notice this until we were on the bus halfway to Cheltenham...checked FindMy and saw it sitting in Heathrow Terminal 2...so that was not good.

The FlixBus to Cheltenham from Heathrow has set seat assignments...but some sketchy dude was sitting in one of ours at the back so my wife and the kids sat on the other side of empty seats to not cause issues, as the bus was not full. There was a young (turned out to be French couple) in the seats in front of my wife and kids and my son (ADHD/Jet Lag made him jig his leg and it was lightly tapping her seat. Instead of being a human and being like "Oh hey can you stop tapping my seat?" to him, she turned around and snapped "HEY. STOP KICING THE SEAT" and he was like "I wasn't kicking it" and she was like "You were and it's fuckign annoying" my wife then saying "Okay okay lady, sorry" and then my kids were silent as ghosts for the rest of the 2hr drive and yet when we got off in Cheltenham the woman STILL gave my wife the daggers....like we apologized and they were quiet and largely immobile for the next two hours...the fuck else do you want lady? Ugh, the French.

The family we stayed with were Canadian's we knew from our town (they moved to England a year+ ago; he's military and gets posted) and we only knew them mildly well, but we thought enough.NOPE. They are deeply strange, and their kids are strange as well. Their son (who is 5) is maybe the whiniest and unchecked instigator I've ever encountered....and every time he and my son had an interaction of words (be it over a toy, or how my son takes everything literally and doesn't do make believe) their kid IMMEDIATELY threw hands, and we just got done telling our son after the attack at camp that he was allowed to defend himself, so he did and every single time these parents called MY son out and not their for throwing hands...and when that was brought up their excuse was "Well, he's five"...I secretly told my son that I supported him and watched that kid reach for violence every time he got upset and that it wasn't my kids fault. I reassured him constantly, but I basically had to be around to play referee between their son and my son unless I was willing to let the other da scold my son....which I was not.

As in trying to punch him in the head? That's horrible.

Quote

I'm sorry, does your kid just grab whatever random food is anywhere and eat it without asking whose it is or if he can have some?...It turns out the whole ass family does this. I did some grocery shops for everyone (to split on meals), but I also bought stuff for just me or just my kids (treats, crisps ect) and for the first few days I thought those things were safe to be out on the counter...NOPE...the whole family would just dive into whatever was there as if it was theirs. I took to hiding the treats in my luggage to prevent this. It's insane.

Wonder how many people encounter that family in the UK and think "my Lord, they're almost as bad as Americans"...

Quote

she doesn't do much of anything that's not for herself (she bikes and works out) so he has to scramble to order groceries and then make dinner...it's causing them a tonne of friction as they don't really seem to operate like a team tackling the home life, but rather two individuals who happen to have kids...she was put out a little by him wanting to go with me by ourselves to Portsmouth for the day as she would have the kids on her on....which feels weird for a mom to say/act like.

#Enlightenment


(Not really... well, not exactly)

Quote

They also didn't do "adult time" after the kids go to bed, you know with chat and drink and whatever...nope, they were in bed by 9PM each night and it was so strange.

Hmm, maybe their "adult time" was NC17... humans would probably get along much better if they were as promiscuous as bonobos. But if that's what they were doing, I'd guesss it's for the best that they didn't invite you to join in...

Quote

It's given me not only a better appreciation of being home, but it makes my issues with my sister-in-law and her family seem quaint. I would spend a month with them before I'd ever think of seeing this other family again. Good riddance.

eDIT: Oh, but I DID get my iPad back and the local air Canada staff at Heathrow were AMAZINGLY helpful in helping me get it back the morning we left to come back home. So that was good.

That at least seems wonderful.

worry, on 12 August 2026 - 06:33 PM, said:

I think that family was trying to Speak No Evil you but you were just too non-compliant.

Spoiler

after he accepts his fate by saying to Ant, "That's my boy", an enraged Ant bludgeons him to death with a brick while screaming, letting out all his pain and anger as the Daltons watch in horror.

... isn't that called a "Canadian goodbye"?

(Kidding!)

[Maark Abbott]

QuickTidal, on 12 August 2026 - 12:24 PM, said:

Buckle up for the dumpster fire that was my trip to England.

Firstly, my issues were not with England in general or the people, they were for the most part lovely and the places and things we saw great. Two minor problems are: There are no bins anywhere...and the toilets are as sparse (and occasionally pay toilets)...and London is ENTIRELY too busy, and the heatwave building back up did not help. But I digress.

So, the trip started inauspiciously by me (in my haste to help the kids pack up their stuff on the plane as we landed at Heathrow) leaving my iPad on the plane. I didn't notice this until we were on the bus halfway to Cheltenham...checked FindMy and saw it sitting in Heathrow Terminal 2...so that was not good.

The FlixBus to Cheltenham from Heathrow has set seat assignments...but some sketchy dude was sitting in one of ours at the back so my wife and the kids sat on the other side of empty seats to not cause issues, as the bus was not full. There was a young (turned out to be French couple) in the seats in front of my wife and kids and my son (ADHD/Jet Lag made him jig his leg and it was lightly tapping her seat. Instead of being a human and being like "Oh hey can you stop tapping my seat?" to him, she turned around and snapped "HEY. STOP KICING THE SEAT" and he was like "I wasn't kicking it" and she was like "You were and it's fuckign annoying" my wife then saying "Okay okay lady, sorry" and then my kids were silent as ghosts for the rest of the 2hr drive and yet when we got off in Cheltenham the woman STILL gave my wife the daggers....like we apologized and they were quiet and largely immobile for the next two hours...the fuck else do you want lady? Ugh, the French.

The family we stayed with were Canadian's we knew from our town (they moved to England a year+ ago; he's military and gets posted) and we only knew them mildly well, but we thought enough.NOPE. They are deeply strange, and their kids are strange as well. Their son (who is 5) is maybe the whiniest and unchecked instigator I've ever encountered....and every time he and my son had an interaction of words (be it over a toy, or how my son takes everything literally and doesn't do make believe) their kid IMMEDIATELY threw hands, and we just got done telling our son after the attack at camp that he was allowed to defend himself, so he did and every single time these parents called MY son out and not their for throwing hands...and when that was brought up their excuse was "Well, he's five"...I secretly told my son that I supported him and watched that kid reach for violence every time he got upset and that it wasn't my kids fault. I reassured him constantly, but I basically had to be around to play referee between their son and my son unless I was willing to let the other da scold my son....which I was not. Their kids are Screen-starved. The family chose not to move their TV (the wife doesn't watch stuff, only the husband), and the kids tablet/screen time was for like a half hour in the morning and a half hour at night...we let out kids (provided they have been out doing stuff for the day) watch in the morning and night before bed for a much longer time...their daughter tried TWICE to "advise me" that my kids should have the same screen time rules as they have and I flatly was like "No, our rules work or us, thanks"....but both their kids are like little screen goblins who would sit at your shoulder or crowd over my kids when we were on our devices for any reason. The parents are strict on everything. My son is picky and didn't eat most of the food, and we bought hi things he would like to eat and when he didn't finish it they would try to police him to finish it, and I had to tell them frequently that my son's ADHD meds make him not hungry during the day....then when he was hungry at night after the meds wore off they would be annoyed he was eating later at night and I had to explain REPEATEDLY why he was ravenous after that...and every time I threw out old food (Again, that I bought) that he didn't eat, I got dirty looks. Like yeah, it's wasted food but I'm not forcing my kid to eat. Also, I bought my son a big aero chocolate bar and he left it on the table and their son just grabbed a hunk and was eating it...and I'm like oh no, that's my sons (who was upset this other kid had eaten his treat) and the parents excuse was "Oh, well he didn't know it was _____s".....I'm sorry, does your kid just grab whatever random food is anywhere and eat it without asking whose it is or if he can have some?...It turns out the whole ass family does this. I did some grocery shops for everyone (to split on meals), but I also bought stuff for just me or just my kids (treats, crisps ect) and for the first few days I thought those things were safe to be out on the counter...NOPE...the whole family would just dive into whatever was there as if it was theirs. I took to hiding the treats in my luggage to prevent this. It's insane.

The rules in the house were next level and I felt like I was on eggshells the entire time by trying to make sure neither us nor our kids did anything to go against their house rules....but like they CONSTANTLY police the kids playing, and tell them not to do ______ and to include the 5 year old...but the 5 year old would (as 5 year olds do) kick off every 5 minutes over something or another and the other kids would get in trouble for not playing nice with him...and my son HATED him and didn't want to play with him (my son is 7.5 and not into make believe)...and the parents kept getting annoyed that my son was not playing with theirs...and no amount of explaining that their play styles were different helped.

We asked about transport up front and they said "don't worry, we have two EVs and solar panels and the CDN military pays for their ultities so it was technically all free"....but by about midweek they began to feel like they were put out by driving to the places we were going to....even when it was just the other dad and I in a 2.25hr (each way) trip to Portsmouth it felt like he was put out...and the kids had to be arranged in the cars to not fight (my son and their son could not be in the car together)...which was a task. The mom stopped her car once when my daughter was upset to tell her to be quiet and that she was acting like a 3-year old for crying (she's 10)....meanwhile her daughter who is also ten spent the entire week WHINING about everything. The mom was mean, the dad was aloof and WAY more nerdy than I am...to the point any conversation with him was boring as hell. They got into not one but two vocal domestic fights while we were there (slamming doors and shit) based around the dad (military; working) and the mom (not working, not searching for a job, but also not doing anything administratively or for the household)...he works all day and she doesn't do much of anything that's not for herself (she bikes and works out) so he has to scramble to order groceries and then make dinner...it's causing them a tonne of friction as they don't really seem to operate like a team tackling the home life, but rather two individuals who happen to have kids...she was put out a little by him wanting to go with me by ourselves to Portsmouth for the day as she would have the kids on her on....which feels weird for a mom to say/act like.

I wanted to leave by Day 2...I was willing to reserve hotel rooms for the remainder of the trip and eat that extra cost to get out of there. My wife talked me out of it and said we should make the best of it with this family.

They also didn't do "adult time" after the kids go to bed, you know with chat and drink and whatever...nope, they were in bed by 9PM each night and it was so strange.

The rest of the week was more of the same, and I could not wait to get out of there. The mom and the kids came other London with us on our last full day by train...and that made London even more difficult. She literally said out loud "Well, your DAUGHTER has been delight this trip" and smirked and looked away. Hey....fuck you lady. Taking pot shots at my 7.5 year old son because his ADHD makes him a bit of a handful and because your son doesn't know how to keep his hands to himself? Nah lady, you're an asshole.

I was not unhappy to see them go when they finally left Paddington to go back to Cheltenham Sunday afternoon. Our hotel by Heathrow was fine, nothing special, and the local buses were easy as heck to navigate.

It's given me not only a better appreciation of being home, but it makes my issues with my sister-in-law and her family seem quaint. I would spend a month with them before I'd ever think of seeing this other family again. Good riddance.

eDIT: Oh, but I DID get my iPad back and the local air Canada staff at Heathrow were AMAZINGLY helpful in helping me get it back the morning we left to come back home. So that was good.

No bins is a bit weird. Around where I live they're quite common; if you've been near London it might be to do with bomb scares; there's not a single bin in Manchester Picadilly for tha treason. As to the pee tax, ehhhh... you get used to it

[QuickTidal]

Maark Abbott, on 13 August 2026 - 07:38 AM, said:

No bins is a bit weird. Around where I live they're quite common; if you've been near London it might be to do with bomb scares; there's not a single bin in Manchester Picadilly for tha treason. As to the pee tax, ehhhh... you get used to it

There were some, but even in Cheltenham proper, they were SPARSE and you had to hunt for them.

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Maark Abbott, on 13 August 2026 - 07:38 AM, said:

if you've been near London it might be to do with bomb scares; there's not a single bin in Manchester Picadilly for tha treason

... and plot.
I know of no reason
Why the garbage bin treason
Should ever be forgot!
QT and his companions
Did the scheme contrive,
To blow the King and Parliament
All up alive.
Threescore trash bins, laid below,
To prove old England's overthrow.
But, by Go*'s providence, him they catch,
With a dark lantern, lighting a match!
A rope, a rope, to hang the Pope,
A few pounds of cheddar to choke him,
A pint of Carly to wash it down,
And a jolly good fire to burn it.
Holloa! holloa! make the bins ring!
Holloa! holloa! Exploding trash tear apart the King!
Hip, hip, hooor-r-r-ray!

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

When I was in London earlier this year, I'd just walk into hotels, restaurants, and pubs and walk straight to the bathroom. Not sure what the pee tax is all about? Just go in.

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Whisperzzzzzzz, on 13 August 2026 - 08:22 PM, said:

When I was in London earlier this year, I'd just walk into hotels, restaurants, and pubs and walk straight to the bathroom. Not sure what the pee tax is all about? Just go in.

Behold the horror that is Cheltenham (... actually you'd have to enter it in the search bar, since it's not letting me link to the search):

https://www.toiletma...051b6a34d9dd3cf

(try turning on the "free" filter and watch the toilets disappear)

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

Well, sure. Advertised as "free public toilet" is one thing. Just going in and using a toilet in a place of business is totally different, and not something people would advertise on a map.

[worry]

If George Costanza was real he woulda made billions developing that app.