Grumble Thread

[Roger Webb]

Or even, Flushed with Pride

....

I remember in my home town of Brighton that the go-to glazier in the '60s was Brick's.....the vans had A. Brick for glass on them......looking back I blame the Mods and Rockers.

[Serial_Apologist]

....

I remember in my home town of Brighton that the go-to glazier in the '60s was Brick's.....the vans had A. Brick for glass on them......looking back I blame the Mods and Rockers.

As a Mod when the term indicated sophistication, I can only agree. Once the term became associated with bank holiday punch-ups at pre-arranged seaside resorts we were calling ourselves "stylists", ahem.

[vinteuil]

As a Mod ...

serial was a mod! I had better sit down...


ah, that's better


But really?

.

[Roger Webb]

As a Mod when the term indicated sophistication, I can only agree. Once the term became associated with bank holiday punch-ups at pre-arranged seaside resorts we were calling ourselves "stylists", ahem.

I lived in Brighton from 1961- 67 and remember one or two pitched battles, which tradition dictated took place on the beach. When they weren't fighting, the Mods used to gather at the Druid's Head in The Lanes...I can remember the whole of the square in front (Brighton Pl) being crammed with Vespas and Lambrettas.

I was a more gentle soul and rather drifted into hippydom shortly after!

[Old Grumpy]

As a Mod when the term indicated sophistication, I can only agree. Once the term became associated with bank holiday punch-ups at pre-arranged seaside resorts we were calling ourselves "stylists", ahem.

Interesting, S_A...

...I didn't know that.


Google AI has this:

In the context of 1960s British youth culture, "mods" initially referred to a subculture of young people who were known for their stylish clothes, scooter riding, and a love for rhythm and blues music, while "stylists" emerged as a term used by some who had evolved from the mod scene or embraced a similar aesthetic.
Here's a more detailed explanation:

• Mods:
  • Emergence: The mod subculture emerged in the early 1960s in Britain as a reaction against the conservatism of the 1950s.
  • Key Characteristics: Mods were known for their stylish, often Italian-inspired, clothing, their love of scooters (like Vespas and Lambrettas), and their appreciation for rhythm and blues and early soul music.
  • Music: Mods were associated with bands like The Who, Small Faces, and The Action.
  • Fashion: They favored sharp, tailored suits, button-down shirts, and Harrington jackets.
  • Evolution: As the mod scene gained mainstream attention, some original mods evolved into other subcultures, including stylists.
• Stylists:
  • Meaning: The term "stylist" emerged as some mods moved beyond the original mod scene or embraced a similar aesthetic, but with a more individualistic approach.
  • Connection to Mods: Stylists often retained the mod's love for style and music, but with a more relaxed and less rigid approach.
  • Subcultures: Some stylists also became part of other subcultures, like the northern soul scene or scooterboys.
  • "Hard Mods": As the mod scene evolved, some young people formed neighborhood gangs and called themselves "hard mods," with a more casual and street style.

[smittims]

In the same letter that announces yet another price-rise., Scottish Power are giving money away to customers who do what they want them to do (agreeing to have a smart meter, and agreeing to pay by monthly direct debit). This of course must mean that customers who excercise the right to say 'no' end up paying more, to make up for the discounts.

I hope one day coercive control will become a criminal offence for energy companies as well as for husbands.

[antongould]

In the same letter that announces yet another price-rise., Scottish Power are giving money away to customers who do what they want them to do (agreeing to have a smart meter, and agreeing to pay by monthly direct debit). This of course must mean that customers who excercise the right to say 'no' end up paying more, to make up for the discounts.

I hope one day coercive control will become a criminal offence for energy companies as well as for husbands.

you can add other misdemeanours of course ….

[oddoneout]

In the same letter that announces yet another price-rise., Scottish Power are giving money away to customers who do what they want them to do (agreeing to have a smart meter, and agreeing to pay by monthly direct debit). This of course must mean that customers who excercise the right to say 'no' end up paying more, to make up for the discounts.

I hope one day coercive control will become a criminal offence for energy companies as well as for husbands.

The direct debit penalty has been around for a very long time. It was a double irritation for me with one of the electricity companies when I moved house nearly 20 years ago as not only was I paying a higher unit price as I was a low user(that has now been stopped I believe) despite being an all electric house, but after a while when they had a major DD push they offered a discount to those who signed up. As my income was very erratic(seasonal casual) I was not in a position to use DD. In effect I ended up paying a double premium.Fortunately I did manage to find an alternative supplier with a much more civilised approach -no standing charges, no discount for DD or using more power. Unfortunately the big 6 cartel didn't like it and eventually succeeded in shutting them down, but by that time I had moved into a dual fuel house so it was less of an immediate issue, although the immediate increase in overall costs due to standing charges was an unwelcome change.

[antongould]

The direct debit penalty has been around for a very long time. It was a double irritation for me with one of the electricity companies when I moved house nearly 20 years ago as not only was I paying a higher unit price as I was a low user(that has now been stopped I believe) despite being an all electric house, but after a while when they had a major DD push they offered a discount to those who signed up. As my income was very erratic(seasonal casual) I was not in a position to use DD. In effect I ended up paying a double premium.Fortunately I did manage to find an alternative supplier with a much more civilised approach -no standing charges, no discount for DD or using more power. Unfortunately the big 6 cartel didn't like it and eventually succeeded in shutting them down, but by that time I had moved into a dual fuel house so it was less of an immediate issue, although the immediate increase in overall costs due to standing charges was an unwelcome change.

I suppose it depends on whether you think energy supply companies should be run to make a profit or as public services. Back in the day when I worked for a nationalised energy supplier we gave a discount to customers who paid by direct debit - the reason the cost to serve of such customers was significantly less than for those on quarterly billing and payment, so it made financial sense to get as many customers as possible on monthly direct debit. Also a large majority of customers preferred that method of billing and payment.

[smittims]

That's all very well if the company takes no more money than is due. But the trouble is ,in many cases , including mine until I stopped it, they were taking hugely more than I owed. Sme people have been paying thousands of pounds ahead of their usage. It's a racket.

[Serial_Apologist]

That's all very well if the company takes no more money than is due. But the trouble is ,in many cases , including mine until I stopped it, they were taking hugely more than I owed. Sme people have been paying thousands of pounds ahead of their usage. It's a racket.

My succumbing to DD payments came at a difficult time financially for me - up to that stage I had paid more all my services quarterly by cheque on grounds that should my situation deteriorate to the point of arrears this would allow me a bit of time during the warning letters stage. Losing that option probably served to put many consumers at the mercy of unscrupulous money lenders.

[Petrushka]

That's all very well if the company takes no more money than is due. But the trouble is ,in many cases , including mine until I stopped it, they were taking hugely more than I owed. Sme people have been paying thousands of pounds ahead of their usage. It's a racket.

It is indeed a racket and no amount of pressure from EON Next for me to conform will make me pay by DD. All these energy companies care only about their own profits and I'm not going to hand over my bank account to them to take whatever they like.

I pay monthly by a one-off payment, if it's a tad more expensive then so be it. It's a far easier way to budget by allowing the low usage summer months to pay for the high usage winter months and to pay for exactly what you use.

[teamsaint]

In the same letter that announces yet another price-rise., Scottish Power are giving money away to customers who do what they want them to do (agreeing to have a smart meter, and agreeing to pay by monthly direct debit). This of course must mean that customers who excercise the right to say 'no' end up paying more, to make up for the discounts.

I hope one day coercive control will become a criminal offence for energy companies as well as for husbands.

Hard to fault your logic there.
We should be very careful what we wish for.
If yesterday's goings on in parliament didn't demonstrate that, I don't know what will.

Talking of which , it seems as far as I can find out, that the estimated significant rise in working age health and disability benefits comes from a Office for Budget Responsibility forecast.
This one, I think.

https://obr.uk/docs/dlm_uploads/Health-and-disability-benefits-supplementary-release.pdf

Now call me sceptical, but in light of the intended cuts, and a previous estimate on spending turning out to be an over estimate, it isn't unreasonable to think that the OBR may have produced a report that, let us say, suits the government's agenda.

The data is hard to unravel, but a bit of common sense might suggest that the fairly recent rises in pension age is driving increases in working age benefits. I don't think I have seen this attributed, though it must surely have been a factor in estimates, but the fact is that a lot more people in their 60's count in the data for working age benefits that would have 5 years ago.
Whatever, the complexity of benefits and demographic change certainly plays into the hands of politicians if they want to use them to justify cost cutting.

[Serial_Apologist]

Hard to fault your logic there.
We should be very careful what we wish for.
If yesterday's goings on in parliament didn't demonstrate that, I don't know what will.

Talking of which , it seems as far as I can find out, that the estimated significant rise in working age health and disability benefits comes from a Office for Budget Responsibility forecast.
This one, I think.

https://obr.uk/docs/dlm_uploads/Health-and-disability-benefits-supplementary-release.pdf

Now call me sceptical, but in light of the intended cuts, and a previous estimate on spending turning out to be an over estimate, it isn't unreasonable to think that the OBR may have produced a report that, let us say, suits the government's agenda.

The data is hard to unravel, but a bit of common sense might suggest that the fairly recent rises in pension age is driving increases in working age benefits. I don't think I have seen this attributed, though it must surely have been a factor in estimates, but the fact is that a lot more people in their 60's count in the data for working age benefits that would have 5 years ago.
Whatever, the complexity of benefits and demographic change certainly plays into the hands of politicians if they want to use them to justify cost cutting.

Most such "official" long term estimates assume no change in the political status quo, in my experience.

[LMcD]

That's all very well if the company takes no more money than is due. But the trouble is ,in many cases , including mine until I stopped it, they were taking hugely more than I owed. Sme people have been paying thousands of pounds ahead of their usage. It's a racket.

I've now switched to payment upon receipt of a quarterly bill.