Showing posts with label tesco. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tesco. Show all posts

Saturday 19 September 2009

Saturday snippets

Cowell MOOOves X factor, Brits go bald later, Pirate day, English examples and A banned Jedi


My internet connection has gone down and I am piggy backing on another one, so this may be all you get today, I apologise to anyone who doesn’t get a reply or comment in advance.

Saturday again, still no post from the smoke and the politicians are sniping at each other from behind the newspapers, wouldn’t it be better for us and them if they actually worked together, after all it was them who managed to get us into this mess by the wrong actions or inaction.

I have just received my new TV license, and the cost of all these wonderful, interesting, educational progs-£142.50 per year, cheap at quarter of the price.


First up:





Simon Cowell. That thoroughly nice chap who is only thinking of us wants to persuade ITV to move the X factor to a different time slot so that it doesn’t clash with my other favourite prog Strictly Come Dancing.

He is doing this purely for our benefit so that we don’t miss anything.

The fact that viewer numbers and ratings will take a hit, and therefore his chance to make more money has nothing to do with his “decision”.

And said “I'll try to persuade ITV to move it (The X Factor) back or forward, whatever they need to do," he said. "I'm prepared to do everything to give the public what they want."

I am a member of the public, and what I want is to see the demise of expensive, crowd fodder programmes that are not entertainment but time fillers.

Can’t we have some “proper” TV please, things like dramas, or comedy or sit-coms, anything
but these “ look at me, I can’t dance or sing” bollocks.






You can now take a test HERE to find out when you will go bald, sadly for some of us it is too late, but the good news is that we in Britain go bald later than those on the continent, and for those of us in the Home Counties the news is even better.

“Whilst continental men become fully bald at an average age of 52, British men keep their follicles filled until 58. Vain south east based office workers are most worried about losing their locks whilst lawyers, presumably because of their wig-wearing habits, are least concerned by baldness, the Europe-wide survey of more than 1.5 million men found.”

Test creator Dr Adolf Klenk said: “The age at which UK men lose their hair completely may be 58 but they start thinning and losing their hair much younger than that.”

Bit of a hairy subject that.


Sunday is “speak like a pirate day”, and this is not some local thing but an international event.

Scarves, eye patches, parrots and strange accents will be part of a special event being held in the Whitsundays today, complete with plank walking and pirate jokes.

The event began eight years ago as a bit of fun, but is now celebrated around the world.

Organiser of the Airlie Beach event, Captain Dan van Blarcom, says all pirates will be on their best behaviour.

"We're the polite pirates and we always use our manners and say please and thank you and ensure our visitors always come first," he said.

"That's pretty important in a town like Airlie Beach, which is a tourist destination and we want people to come here and have a good time.

"We're going to have some pirate hip hop music and other pirate songs and we'll be there waving our hooks in the air and having a jolly good time talking about booty."

He says those who don't enjoy themselves may have to walk the plank.


I love the “pirate hip hop quote” must be all those peg legs. The picture is my idea of a pirate.


The English language is pretty complicated, but here are some of the best words that can be found in the melting pot of the linguistic world.

Fornale, to spend one’s money before it has been earned;

Cagg, a solemn vow or resolution not to get drunk for a certain time;

Petrichor, the pleasant smell that accompanies the first rain after a dry spell.

Stridewallop, is a Yorkshire term for a tall and awkward woman,

Shot clog is an Elizabethan term for a drinking companion only tolerated because he pays for the round.

Deipnosophist is a Jacobean word for a skillful dinner conversationalist.

Parnel, a priest’s mistress,

Applesquire, the male servant of a prostitute,

Screever, a writer of begging letters.

Slapsauce, a person who enjoys eating fine food

Chafferer, the salesman who enjoys talking while making a sale.

Blatteroon, a person who will not stop talking,

Wallydrag, a worthless, slovenly person,


So I suppose you could have:

A fornale was visited by a Chafferer, who failed to make a sale and went to dinner at the pub where he met a Slapsauce, and was joined by a Blatteroon and a Deipnosophist, at the bar were a Shot clog and a bunch of people including an Applesquire, who was looking for customers and a Parnel who wasn’t.

There was a man who had made a Cagg, and was being pestered by a Screever, and a Wallydrag.
As the fornale left the pun after his meal he was greeted by Petrichor and staggered home,

Ain’t English wonderful.
And finally:

Unless you are a Jedi in Tesco’s, Daniel Jones, 23, who created the International Church of Jediism, claims he was “victimised over his beliefs” by staff at the supermarket in Bangor, North Wales.

The religion, inspired by the sci-fi films, is practised by 500,000 around the world and requires believers to cover their heads in public places. But Mr Jones, from Holyhead, said that staff ejected him from the store over security fears when he refused to remove his hood.

Mr Jones, also known by his Jedi name Morda Hehol, told The Sun: "I told them it was a requirement of my religion but they just sniggered and ordered me to leave.

"I walked past a Muslim lady in a veil. Surely the same rules should apply to everyone."
The handbook of the UK Jedi Church, founded by the Star Wars fan last year, states: "Jedis must wear a hood up in any public place of a large audience."

Daniel added: "It was discrimination. I was really upset. Nobody should be treated like that.”
"I'll advise worshippers to boycott Tesco if it happens again. They will feel the Force."

A Tesco spokesman said: "Jedi are very welcome to shop in our stores although we would ask them to remove their hoods.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda and Luke Skywalker all went hoodless without going to the Dark Side.
"If Jedi walk around our stores with their hoods on, they’ll miss lots of special offers."

Words fail me.

Wednesday 13 May 2009

ODDS AND SODS


Well, pardon my language: The Register; Ofcom has ruled that the 30 January culinary swearfest Ramsay’s Great British Nightmare - a two-parter which kicked off at 9pm - was in breach of the broadcasting code after racking up an impressive "115 instances of the most offensive language" in its first 40 minutes

The watchdog received 51 complaints about the programme - which included choice vocab including “f**ck”, “f**king” and “f**ked” peppered with the occasional "shit".

One outraged viewer wrote: “The excessive use of bad language by Gordon Ramsay was just unreal and the abusive way in which he continually used it to speak to others, the use of the 'F' word once or twice maybe but it's continued used in almost every sentence was totally unnecessary. I know it was after 9.00 but there are limits…”

Ofcom has ruled that the 30 January culinary swearfest Ramsay’s Great British Nightmare - a two-parter which kicked off at 9pm - was in breach of the broadcasting code after racking up an impressive "115 instances of the most offensive language" in its first 40 minutes

Channel 4 stressed that the abuseathon had been preceded by a “strong language from the start and throughout” warning which "provides adult viewers with sufficient information to inform their viewing choice and to decide whether to permit any children to watch".

It further defended that Ramsay’s Great British Nightmare boasted "unique characteristics which justified the high level of strong language that was included" and that "the use of strong language in this programme accorded with the likely expectations of the audience, was editorially justified, and did not offend the overwhelming majority of viewers."

In its ruling (pdf), Ofcom notes Channel 4's pre-show warning and accepts that "the vast majority of the audience comes to the programme with certain expectations."

Gordon Ramsay also offered his apologies via his spokesman, who said: "Great British Nightmare followed Gordon trying to save two restaurants in the most difficult predicaments. These extreme challenges gave rise to many heated exchanges in the double-length programme.

"But Gordon had no intention of causing offence and is sorry if Channel 4's scheduling of the programme upset some viewers."

No Gordon, it was you that offended, not the scheduling, after all we are talking about, food here, I started to watch the series but found the the endless swearing detracted from the purpose of the programe which is to turn round failing restaurants.

It isn’t a platform for bad behavior or showing us how limited your vocabulary is you #####. ###### ############.




Are you old enough to buy a teaspoon?

The Register According to the background info, the lady shopper in question was told by an Asda assistant that she'd have to prove her age "because someone had murdered someone with a teaspoon, and therefore ID was now required".

Suitably outraged by this "complete and utter bollocks", another Nanny Knows Best reader's wife decided to put Tesco to the test - provocatively turning up at the check-out with two latte teaspoons (long-handled, for the record).

Sure enough, "an assistant was required & she was asked for proof of ID".

In fact, Tesco has been battling cutlery-wielding hoodies for some time. Back in 2007, we reported that the supermarket monolith had taken steps to prevent violent sink estate gangs from laying into each other with knives and forks.

Oh scary! A yobbo with a teaspoon.



Asda pops up again here, last year Mum Gail Jordan's amusing plan to celebrate her son's 21st birthday by presenting him with a cake sporting a snap of him as a bare-cheeked bouncing baby came off the rails when Asda staff declared the image "pornographic", the Telegraph reports.

Jordan, 41, went to the supermarket chain's branch in Liscard, Wirral to avail herself of a £9.97 offer to ice a cake with a photo on top. She selected a pic of son David as a five-month-old nipper, lying on his front, but staff insisted his arse be protected by a "strategically-placed star".

Care worker Jordan recounted: "They said it could be anyone's child so it could be deemed pornographic. But I was asking to have it printed on a 21st birthday cake, so surely it was pretty obvious that it was my son. It's ridiculous - I understand they have rules, but there ought to be a place for common sense as well."

Jordan gamely concluded: "In the end they would only do it with a star over his bottom, which to be honest made the whole thing even more hilarious."

An Asda spokesman offered: "We have a policy, as do many other retailers, of no nudity, whatever the age of the subject.

In this case we offered a number of alternatives including enlarging and cropping the photo, increasing the border size or applying a strategically placed star to save his blushes."

Well done Asda, how to make an arse of yourselves over an arse.




Motorist given £100 fine after car was clamped on own driveway Patrick Sepulveda, 45, was told the Peugeot 307 estate was sticking out six inches onto the pavement.
Father-of-two Mr Sepulveda and his wife Clair, 35, offered to move the car fully onto their driveway in Portishead, near Bristol.
But the 'over-zealous' clampers said it was too late and hit them with a £100 release fee.
Mr Sepulveda, who lost his job as an architectural technician last year, said he took the car off the road because he could not afford to run two vehicles.
Although he filled in the necessary forms, the DVLA sent its official round to check, and spotted the "illegal" parking.
He notified the DVLA and completed the SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification) certificate as proof the car was untaxed and off the public highway.
But on Monday, the DVLA sent contractors NSL Services to check the vehicle had been parked legally and was out of use.
They spotted the car's offside wheels were protruding by six inches onto the pavement at the end of couple's driveway - and clamped it minutes later.
Mr Sepulveda said: "We have been careful with our budget since I lost my job and this was the last thing we needed and the whole incident has caused a lot of distress and upset."
A DVLA spokesman said: "Upon receipt of any complaint, DVLA will ask our contractor, NSL Services Group, to investigate.
"If a vehicle with a SORN notice is partially parked upon the public highway, enforcement action may be taken.
"DVLA is not prepared to comment on an individual case with a third party, but I can confirm that we were able to resolve the situation with the keeper."
The DVLA has since agreed to waive the fine.


And finally: A metal baggage container was sucked into an engine of a Boeing 747 as it was leaving a terminal gate at Los Angeles International Airport.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsvideo/?bcpid=4464161001&bctid=22844264001#

Well, I suppose it stops them having to put it in the hold,
“Until you've lost your reputation, you never realize what a burden it was.” Margaret Mitchell

Angus

NHS Behind the headlines

Angus Dei politico

Angus Dei-NHS the Other Side