Modern Day Living
This is a one off.
Did anybody watch the brilliant Jack Dee series 'Lead Balloon' that was on before Christmas? I loved it for the 'everything is rubbish these days' grumpiness of Dee's character, a slightly less surreal take on modern life than 'One Foot in the Grave' and Victor Meldrew...
I had a moment today. We stopped off at the local supermarket for a few bits and decided to grab tea/coffee and cake from the attached coffee house. The plan was to take these to the woods and 'escape' for twenty minutes. But they didn't have any English Breakfast Tea, only Earl Grey and Darjeeling and they didn't have any brown sugar sasheys for the coffee either. They were waiting for a delivery. I tried pointing out to the undergraduates behind the counter that there was a supermarket next door. Couldn't they buy some tea bags? Nobody would notice. Nobody would care. But of course, they couldn't because they were not associated with the supermarket and did not have the power to make a decision like going to buy some tea bags until the delivery came. Instead they had repeat over and over that there was no English Breakfast Tea and no brown sugar sachets...
...this is the same coffee company (same city, different location) that ALWAYS runs out of mugs on Saturday mornings and is forced to serve their 'sit-in' customers with 'take-away' cups. Once again the place is manned by undergraduates who have no authority to do anything about the situation other than apologise. I can see the embarrassment written all over their faces. I don't go to that one anymore.
...and isn't this the point about globalistation? That nobody is allowed to think for themselves any longer. That there are procedures for everything. That common sense is dangerous.
On my drive to work there are now roadworks by a major roundabout. They're widening the road there, which has catered for two squeezed lanes of traffic for several years. Only in widening the road they've started by placing cones for three hundred yards, thus narrowing it for the duration of the works. And NOBODY IS EVER THERE DOING ANYTHING! They started a month ago and still NOBODY IS THERE! Occasionally there's a man, or two or even three men in yellow jackets sat in a van reading newspapers, and they have dug a little bit of the ground, but this has been going on three weeks! It could have been done in a day or two. It could all be over. Instead everybody is trying every alternative byway and lane to avoid the line of traffic that builds each and every morning and of course in the end nobody gets anywhere...
I could go on and on and on and on and on...but I won't.
Did anybody watch the brilliant Jack Dee series 'Lead Balloon' that was on before Christmas? I loved it for the 'everything is rubbish these days' grumpiness of Dee's character, a slightly less surreal take on modern life than 'One Foot in the Grave' and Victor Meldrew...
I had a moment today. We stopped off at the local supermarket for a few bits and decided to grab tea/coffee and cake from the attached coffee house. The plan was to take these to the woods and 'escape' for twenty minutes. But they didn't have any English Breakfast Tea, only Earl Grey and Darjeeling and they didn't have any brown sugar sasheys for the coffee either. They were waiting for a delivery. I tried pointing out to the undergraduates behind the counter that there was a supermarket next door. Couldn't they buy some tea bags? Nobody would notice. Nobody would care. But of course, they couldn't because they were not associated with the supermarket and did not have the power to make a decision like going to buy some tea bags until the delivery came. Instead they had repeat over and over that there was no English Breakfast Tea and no brown sugar sachets...
...this is the same coffee company (same city, different location) that ALWAYS runs out of mugs on Saturday mornings and is forced to serve their 'sit-in' customers with 'take-away' cups. Once again the place is manned by undergraduates who have no authority to do anything about the situation other than apologise. I can see the embarrassment written all over their faces. I don't go to that one anymore.
...and isn't this the point about globalistation? That nobody is allowed to think for themselves any longer. That there are procedures for everything. That common sense is dangerous.
On my drive to work there are now roadworks by a major roundabout. They're widening the road there, which has catered for two squeezed lanes of traffic for several years. Only in widening the road they've started by placing cones for three hundred yards, thus narrowing it for the duration of the works. And NOBODY IS EVER THERE DOING ANYTHING! They started a month ago and still NOBODY IS THERE! Occasionally there's a man, or two or even three men in yellow jackets sat in a van reading newspapers, and they have dug a little bit of the ground, but this has been going on three weeks! It could have been done in a day or two. It could all be over. Instead everybody is trying every alternative byway and lane to avoid the line of traffic that builds each and every morning and of course in the end nobody gets anywhere...
I could go on and on and on and on and on...but I won't.
posted by Danny Rhodes at 3:54 PM
2 Comments:
The next time you stop for a cup of tea or coffee try asking for real milk instead of the plastic,'tastes like real milk' kind. That causes all hell to break loose. I once did that with a young student at a busy motorway cafe. The 'boy' was so startled with the request that he complied. Gave it to me in a real milk jug too. Everyone behind me began asking for the same and the manager came over to see what was holding up the queue. Poor lad! Bet he did not do that again!
I've calmed down now! It's not the workers I'm grumpy at really. It's just the system...but seems to me that this guy was at least capable of thinking for himself. It's the same with traffic wardens. They used to be able to use discretion. Now that's gone out of the window! I really should shut up. Stop encouraging me!
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