General Chit Chat

[Bruce Rioja]

It turns out I have shingles - which i thought was summat old people got..

Not at all - I had when I was 31/32. Had chickenpox when I was about 9. Apparently the virus lies dormant within in one's system, but a couple of years worth of burning the candle at both ends kicked it off again. It's nowhere near as bad as some folk might have you believe, just get lots of rest.

[thebish]

At the risk of having an incredibly black cat, I've had shingles, twice!

That's like hens teeth apparently. Neither time was it anywhere near as bad as I understand it can be. I remember when I was in my first job some fella was off work with it for a couple of months. Though it wasn't very comfortable I worked through it. I was a sole trader mind.

aye - it's perfectly liveable with - the way some owd folk go on when they tell you how excruciatingly painful it is and they'll have to stop at home in the warm all year...

it does give me license to pick and choose what I go to though as i can now say (honestly!) - I have shingles - and most people will go - ooooo that's painful - you stop and home and get some rest! First casualty in my diary will be the Kingsteignton Mayor's Civic Carol service!

[Worthy4England]

It turns out I have shingles - which i thought was summat old people got..

Not at all - I had when I was 31/32. Had chickenpox when I was about 9. Apparently the virus lies dormant within in one's system, but a couple of years worth of burning the candle at both ends kicked it off again. It's nowhere near as bad as some folk might have you believe, just get lots of rest.

Mine was bad...on my head - was down at the eye hospital and all sorts cos they were worried in case it got to my eyes...

[Montreal Wanderer]

I had a shingles shot a couple of months back after some serious nagging by wife and sister. The doc said you can get the disease any age but younger people's immune system can usually get rid of it. They only recommend the shot to people over 50 and under 80. The disease can be incredibly painful - depends on your genes I guess. Nowadays they give kids an inoculation against chickenpox which could end shingles.

[Worthy4England]

I like a Council with a sense of humour.

In Bournemouth, 4,000 people signed a petition urging the council to stop using what "inhumane" measures to deter rough sleepers from the city's railway station? Bagpipe music...The bagpipe music was played on a loop between midnight and 6.30am. The council has now responded to complaints by replacing the bagpipe music - with a loop of Alvin and the Chipmunks covering Mariah Carey's hit, "All I Want For Christmas Is You".

Wicked ways indeed to stop folks grabbing some shut eye....

[Bijou Bob]

Several years ago, I bought a device for work called 'The Mosquito' which worked in a similar way to the bagpipes but on young people. When switched on, it made a sound like fingernails being dragged across a chalk (I digress, but how tf is blackboard racist??!) Board. Thing was, you could only hear it if you were over 25, as older people can't hear such high frequencies. I set it off in the office, couldn't hear a thing. Everyone under 25 began screaming and ran out. Brilliant bit of kit. Put it outside shops etc. Graffiti and anti social behaviour reduced to zero.

[thebish]

Several years ago, I bought a device for work called 'The Mosquito' which worked in a similar way to the bagpipes but on young people. When switched on, it made a sound like fingernails being dragged across a chalk (I digress, but how tf is blackboard racist??!) Board. Thing was, you could only hear it if you were over 25, as older people can't hear such high frequencies. I set it off in the office, couldn't hear a thing. Everyone under 25 began screaming and ran out. Brilliant bit of kit. Put it outside shops etc. Graffiti and anti social behaviour reduced to zero.

aye - but you still have gaggles of pensioners hanging about looking menacing! we need summat like that for old people installed at bus-stops and post offices....

[TANGODANCER]

Just been told that the TV programe (apparently called You make me feel like dancing) that I and others took part in the filming of a short time ago, will now be shown on BBC2 on the 5th and 7th of January at 9-0'clock in the evening. All about Bolton, filmed in the old Bolton Palais, Blackpool North Pier and the Macron stadium and various local training venues, and with an all star cast of dancing Boltonions. Get it in the diaries folks, where else can you see us old fogies gracing the hallowed Superwhites turf, bopping on the seaside pier and a solo tango being danced by the manager of the Olympus restaurant. Definitely not to be missed...

[clapton is god]

^ I'll look forwards to that!

[Bruce Rioja]

Looking forward to that, Tango. Though I note that they're showing it after the watershed, you foul-mouthed 4ucker.

[TANGODANCER]

Looking forward to that, Tango. Though I note that they're showing it after the watershed, you foul-mouthed 4ucker.

Luckily I came into the programme late and didn't have to wear a wire (be miked-up if you want to be technical) except for the Macron session With the likes of Fred Shawcross and Walt Dolphin, I'm betting a lot of dubbing was done.

[Lost Leopard Spot]

Just been told that the TV programe (apparently called You make me feel like dancing) that I and others took part in the filming of a short time ago, will now be shown on BBC2 on the 5th and 7th of January at 9-0'clock in the evening. All about Bolton, filmed in the old Bolton Palais, Blackpool North Pier and the Macron stadium and various local training venues, and with an all star cast of dancing Boltonions. Get it in the diaries folks, where else can you see us old fogies gracing the hallowed Superwhites turf, bopping on the seaside pier and a solo tango being danced by the manager of the Olympus restaurant. Definitely not to be missed...

Noted on calendar. It better be good, that's the evening of the day I go back to work for first time in three months or so.

[thebish]

[TANGODANCER]

OMG, the banner statement of almost everything in the forefront of literary excellence for so long, is losing ground fast and in danger of oblivion to the new opener for almost every conversation including celebrity persona, "Do you know what?" Please resist saying "No, I don't" as this will make you appear crass and uncool. Count the times...

[thebish]

George Monbiot... hits a rather depressing truth-nail on the head...

There’s nothing they need, nothing they don’t own already, nothing they even want. So you buy them a solar-powered waving queen; a belly button brush; a silver-plated ice cream tub holder; a “hilarious” inflatable zimmer frame; a confection of plastic and electronics called Terry the Swearing Turtle; or – and somehow I find this significant – a Scratch Off World wall map.

They seem amusing on the first day of Christmas, daft on the second, embarrassing on the third. By the twelfth they’re in landfill. For thirty seconds of dubious entertainment, or a hedonic stimulus that lasts no longer than a nicotine hit, we commission the use of materials whose impacts will ramify for generations.

Researching her film The Story of Stuff, Annie Leonard discovered that of the materials flowing through the consumer economy, only 1% remain in use six months after sale(1). Even the goods we might have expected to hold onto are soon condemned to destruction through either planned obsolescence (breaking quickly) or perceived obsolesence (becoming unfashionable).

rest here: http://www.monbiot.com/2012/12/10/the-gift-of-death/

[Beefheart]

Yeah, but I buy good christmas presents.

[thebish]

Yeah, but I buy good christmas presents.

[Lost Leopard Spot]

Yeah, but I buy good christmas presents.

The Daily Mash has this to say on the subject:

A SECRET Santa gift has terrified the recipient by being so thoughtfully chosen it suggests someone in the office knows the real her.
Helen Archer of Lancaster says she has been unable to relax since receiving a hardback photography book which indicates someone nearby has paid close attention to her thoughts and interests.
She said: “The moment I tore off the paper, my blood ran cold.
“I was expecting a comfortingly impersonal Boots three-for-two, but instead it was a book from the art exhibition I went to earlier in the year.
“Somebody in this office has listened to me, remembered my words and used the information in a thoughtful way, breaking every unwritten rule of Secret Santa.
“What if they see me as more than just a colleague to be tolerated 40 hours a week? What if they want to be friends outside work?
“Why couldn’t I have got an eight-inch dark chocolate cream-filled novelty penis, like last year, something without any sinister connotations?”
Colleague Julian Turner said: “I was Helen’s Secret Santa. And yes, it is love.”

[thebish]

Yeah, but I buy good christmas presents.

The Daily Mash has this to say on the subject:

A SECRET Santa gift has terrified the recipient by being so thoughtfully chosen it suggests someone in the office knows the real her.
Helen Archer of Lancaster says she has been unable to relax since receiving a hardback photography book which indicates someone nearby has paid close attention to her thoughts and interests.
She said: “The moment I tore off the paper, my blood ran cold.
“I was expecting a comfortingly impersonal Boots three-for-two, but instead it was a book from the art exhibition I went to earlier in the year.
“Somebody in this office has listened to me, remembered my words and used the information in a thoughtful way, breaking every unwritten rule of Secret Santa.
“What if they see me as more than just a colleague to be tolerated 40 hours a week? What if they want to be friends outside work?
“Why couldn’t I have got an eight-inch dark chocolate cream-filled novelty penis, like last year, something without any sinister connotations?”
Colleague Julian Turner said: “I was Helen’s Secret Santa. And yes, it is love.”

[Bruce Rioja]

Just nipped out at lunch.

A new battery for my watch, installed by the jeweler, watch polished and presented back to me giving the correct time (I do love touches like that) £4.50

Then nipped over the road for two Christmas cards £6.25. The mark-up/margin on what is essentially nothing more than a bit of card with a bit of ink on must be fecking astronomical!!!