Trivial things you don't understand/mildly annoy you

[The Grim Reaper]

From google: The literal English translation of the phrase Allahu Akbar is "God is greater".

To be honest, regardless of the meaning, if you are shouting anything but 'go fuck yourself Cunt' to the God you believe in that just allowed 16000 of your kin to die excruciating deaths (but apparently is great for helping you save one), there's something seriously wrong

Irrespective of which pretend God you believe in I’d be more inclined to look at the absolute piss poor building standards that are the norm in Turkey.

[Quagmire]

I’ve heard the favourite scam is to offer to pay by transfer, they show you the money leaving their account and they take the phone but the money never arrives.

Without sounding harsh, there is enough information out there about scammers that I’m beginning think some people deserve it for being fucking stupid.

Yep. Seen this one myself.
You can tell instantly that they’re scammers in my opinion, I’ve been leading a few on for my entertainment.

I’ve had a few who have ‘sent’ the money via PayPal and it will clear once I’ve sent them proof of post. Right-o.

[Batch]

a lot of gullible people.. if it's not in your account proper, it's not been received.

if it's pending, it's not been received.

I'm sure we are all susceptible to a scam of differing degrees - surely that one is basic

[Bob's Orange]

Irrespective of which pretend God you believe in I’d be more inclined to look at the absolute piss poor building standards that are the norm in Turkey.

Sadly that is very true. Where we go regularly there are buildings that cannot be more than 10 years old that look like they were built in the 1960s and are already crumbling/perishing. There certainly is an attitude of building high rise apartments as quick and as cheap as possible over there. (not every builder of course, but they do exist)

There is a compulsory earthquake insurance (called DASK) that all homeowners in Turkey have to have, such is the risk of these terrible disasters happening.

[horlock07]

There certainly is an attitude of building high rise apartments as quick and as cheap as possible over there. (not every builder of course, but they do exist)

I think that attitude prevails pretty much everywhere in the world (see Grenfell over here), it often more whether there are the regulations in place to impose standards to manage it.

[Bob's Orange]

I think that attitude prevails pretty much everywhere in the world (see Grenfell over here), it often more whether there are the regulations in place to impose standards to manage it.

In Turkey I suspect there are (and probably flaky as fuck), but there are ways of getting around them too easily (money in brown envelopes i'd imagine are prevalent)

[Bogus Dave]

Swindon Borough Council paying money to a private company to tell them that the nasty smell in the part of town containing a waste treatment centre was being caused by the waste treatment centre

[4D]

Swindon Borough Council paying money to a private company to tell them that the nasty smell in the part of town containing a waste treatment centre was being caused by the waste treatment centre

I see our council tax is likely to go up 5% too. Fucking band E aswell 

[Batch]

5% excluding the parish council (scam) and police precwpt

[horlock07]

I see our council tax is likely to go up 5% too. Fucking band E aswell  

Ours is going up more than that, the joys of us being shifted over to unitary from April and them needing to get parity across the 3 former council areas which are being combined!

But we are having a public consultation process so that will be fine, no doubt they will take notic and amend when everyone states in the consultation that the increase is too high! 

[Bob's Orange]

I see our council tax is likely to go up 5% too. Fucking band E aswell 

I think that's likely to be a countrywide increase, West Northants where I am, they are proposing a 4.99% increase (I see what they've attempted to do there!)

[4D]

We're currently paying 2 quid shy of £2.4k. Will be a minimum of £2,520. So £10 per month.

Energy bills up £140 per month
Shopping bill up roughly £120 per month
Petrol up around £50 per month

So a nice £320 per month extra over last year without even taking into account the many other things that we buy.

Joy.

[horlock07]

I think that's likely to be a countrywide increase, West Northants where I am, they are proposing a 4.99% increase (I see what they've attempted to do there!)

4.99% seems to be what's the going rate, its the same here albeit ours is more than that as we are starting from a lower level than one of the other authorities who are being used as the bench mark (funny that!)

[Bob's Orange]

We're currently paying 2 quid shy of £2.4k. Will be a minimum of £2,520. So £10 per month.

Energy bills up £140 per month
Shopping bill up roughly £120 per month
Petrol up around £50 per month

So a nice £320 per month extra over last year without even taking into account the many other things that we buy.

Joy.

Not wishing to make it a competition but our current council tax is already above what yours is going to be increased to.

Senior managers at work have now mandated us to be in the office at least twice a week. (i'd been doing once a fortnight previously) Luckily the trains in this country are reliable and cheap so *checks monthly cost due to travel* £574 please Mr Muggins.

All joking aside, it's the people who are the poverty line my heart goes out to, whilst we've had to cut back on things that previously we might have taken for granted, many are having to choose between eating and heating and it's heartbreaking that people are in this situation. My wife works for a charity that organises befrienders for lonely people and she tries to organise monthly get togethers for people (often in sheltered housing) where they can pay say a fiver for a hot meal, or a couple of quid for a bacon roll and a cup of tea and a lot of these people are struggling to be able to afford even that.

[Bob's Orange]

Also whilst I think about it, these MPs that go onto Twitter and question why people on £xxxx salary are using foodbanks or struggling financially. Using foodbanks for people is a total last resort and it's hardly that people go out of their way to use them if they can afford to feed themselves. I just find it distasteful.