Pet Peeves IV

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Originally Posted by Pretty Boy

Folk who walk through a shop door then stop dead 1 stwp later either causing people to walk into the back of them or blocking everyone from getting through. If you aren't sure where to go then take a few steps and clear the door before stopping.

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Similarly people who, upon exiting a bus, train, metro etc stop IMMEDIATELY to check their phone/light a fag/sort out their luggage.

It takes all of 5 steps to get out of the immediate entry/exit area but that's still too much hassle for some folk.

Manky people who don't cover their mouth when they cough or sneeze, usually also the type of people that instead of trying to reduce the size of the cough or sneeze they do all they can to exaggerate it so you half think Krakatoa has erupted again.

The amount of times I've decided to stop breathing until I am out of the impact zone is infuriating...

People who say they've been "spoiled rotten", usually meaning they've been taken to Nandos.

People who feel the need to disguise where they have been shopping by using ďifferent carrier bags.

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Originally Posted by Scouse Hibby

People who feel the need to disguise where they have been shopping by using ďifferent carrier bags.

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:faf:

Folk who queue to pay for parking tickets with a card at the cash and card machine when the card only machine has a smaller queue.

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Originally Posted by Scouse Hibby

People who feel the need to disguise where they have been shopping by using ďifferent carrier bags.

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:greengrin Surely that doesn’t happen?

The cost of council gym/swim memberships.

IMO these should be heavily subsidised to encourage people to incorporate healthier lifestyles however i've just looked and for a swim only membership it's £33 p/month and to include a gym it's up to £50 p/month.

Now i know for a lot of people that's not a lot of money but there's a huge amount of people that struggle to make ends meet and i think it's fair to say there's a correlation between lower income and health issues. IMO a council gym/swim membership should be an affordable amount and not on a par with private health clubs.

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Originally Posted by bingo70

The cost of council gym/swim memberships.

IMO these should be heavily subsidised to encourage people to incorporate healthier lifestyles however i've just looked and for a swim only membership it's £33 p/month and to include a gym it's up to £50 p/month.

Now i know for a lot of people that's not a lot of money but there's a huge amount of people that struggle to make ends meet and i think it's fair to say there's a correlation between lower income and health issues. IMO a council gym/swim membership should be an affordable amount and not on a par with private health clubs.

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You're absolutely spot-on about health inequalities and there's a lot to be said for promoting access to gyms etc for communities where socio-economic deprivation is higher.

I believe that ten to fifteen years ago this was the case in a lot of local authority areas where there were real pockets of deprivation, with many having great facilities at reasonable rates.

The problem is the financial pressures on councils over the last ten years. The two biggest areas of spend, by a long chalk, are education and social care. They dwarve everything else. Councils have little control over this spend. The main cost drivers in education are teacher salaries and classroom sizes, which are set nationally. For social care, all local authorities are signed up to eligibility criteria about when they will provide services. Even though councils charge for social care, they still face eve-increasing costs due to more older people living longer, and living longer with more complex needs. The government has to insist that councils prioritise social care because otherwise, the pressures would shift onto the health service, which is already failing to meet demand - hence areas like Edinburgh getting additional funding to boost their social care provision.

As councils have had to reduce expenditure, all this has meant that other council services have suffered. Most areas will have seen libraries close or reduce their opening hours. Most areas will have seen road and pavement repairs take longer to be effected. Most areas will have seen non-essential services that have a preventative role be scrapped or reduced. Most areas will have seen a reduction in subsidies to maintain bus services.

The irony is that it's the most vulnerable who tend to rely on council services the most. People who can't afford broadband so need the library for internet access. People who can't afford to run a car so rely on buses or walking, except the pavements are more dangerous and the bus doesn't run as often, if at all.

In those circumstances, subsidised gym memberships might be desirable as a long-term investment in people's wellbeing but simply can't be met within existing and reducing budgets.

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Originally Posted by Mibbes Aye

You're absolutely spot-on about health inequalities and there's a lot to be said for promoting access to gyms etc for communities where socio-economic deprivation is higher.

I believe that ten to fifteen years ago this was the case in a lot of local authority areas where there were real pockets of deprivation, with many having great facilities at reasonable rates.

The problem is the financial pressures on councils over the last ten years. The two biggest areas of spend, by a long chalk, are education and social care. They dwarve everything else. Councils have little control over this spend. The main cost drivers in education are teacher salaries and classroom sizes, which are set nationally. For social care, all local authorities are signed up to eligibility criteria about when they will provide services. Even though councils charge for social care, they still face eve-increasing costs due to more older people living longer, and living longer with more complex needs. The government has to insist that councils prioritise social care because otherwise, the pressures would shift onto the health service, which is already failing to meet demand - hence areas like Edinburgh getting additional funding to boost their social care provision.

As councils have had to reduce expenditure, all this has meant that other council services have suffered. Most areas will have seen libraries close or reduce their opening hours. Most areas will have seen road and pavement repairs take longer to be effected. Most areas will have seen non-essential services that have a preventative role be scrapped or reduced. Most areas will have seen a reduction in subsidies to maintain bus services.

The irony is that it's the most vulnerable who tend to rely on council services the most. People who can't afford broadband so need the library for internet access. People who can't afford to run a car so rely on buses or walking, except the pavements are more dangerous and the bus doesn't run as often, if at all.

In those circumstances, subsidised gym memberships might be desirable as a long-term investment in people's wellbeing but simply can't be met within existing and reducing budgets.

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Thanks for the detailed reply, appreciate the response.

Surely there's also an argument for lower prices = more members though? Leith Victoria baths where i go for a swim sometimes are always appealing for more members so they cant have reached the point where they have too many members yet.

The councils main selling point for these costs seem to be that you can use multiple facilities. Is that really something people are interested in? The fact if i joined Leith i could use a facility in Wester Hailes is of absolutely no relevance to me and i can't imagine i'm on my own there.

If Pure Gym can run a seemingly successful business for £22 per month, why does the council need to charge over £30 for a very similar service/product?

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Originally Posted by bingo70

Thanks for the detailed reply, appreciate the response.

Surely there's also an argument for lower prices = more members though? Leith Victoria baths where i go for a swim sometimes are always appealing for more members so they cant have reached the point where they have too many members yet.

The councils main selling point for these costs seem to be that you can use multiple facilities. Is that really something people are interested in? The fact if i joined Leith i could use a facility in Wester Hailes is of absolutely no relevance to me and i can't imagine i'm on my own there.

If Pure Gym can run a seemingly successful business for £22 per month, why does the council need to charge over £30 for a very similar service/product?

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I think you're right about building up membership through lower costs and I also suspect you're right about using multiple facilities - whether it's an urban or a rural council area, people are only likely to use facilities either close to where they live or close to where they work (or enroute between the two).

In terms of cost, I think part of the issue is staff costs. Councils will almost certainly pay higher wages and on-costs (pension, NI etc) than a private sector firm. Council staff are invariably more unionised than the private sector, so those costs are protected to a greater degree.

A number of councils have moved their leisure facilities into trusts, that are arms-length of the council (in fact it's not just leisure services but all sorts of previous in-house services, and it's a process even further advanced in England). That moves the cost from the Council's balance sheet but generally the employees transfer to their new employer with protected terms and conditions, so there isn't a cost saving in terms of salaries etc.

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Originally Posted by bingo70

The cost of council gym/swim memberships.

IMO these should be heavily subsidised to encourage people to incorporate healthier lifestyles however i've just looked and for a swim only membership it's £33 p/month and to include a gym it's up to £50 p/month.

Now i know for a lot of people that's not a lot of money but there's a huge amount of people that struggle to make ends meet and i think it's fair to say there's a correlation between lower income and health issues. IMO a council gym/swim membership should be an affordable amount and not on a par with private health clubs.

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I work for the council and only get 15% off the price. I think council staff should get a better discount.

When you wait ages for a programme or website to open up, get fed up, press cancel, then get a nano-second view of the page before it disappears - because you've just pressed cancel! :grr:

Hogmanay tv, utter pish! Same crap every year. Jackie Bird with the fidler on the roof and Jimmy Shands apprentice along with other low key performers!

not being able to get a decent sleep!

Doze for an hour or 2, spend 5 hours tossing and turning and not getting much more than 20 minutes dozing in total, then finally fall asleep about 20-40 minutes before needing to get up and feeling like **** because you’re exhausted and body clock is out of whack :grr:

repeat ad infinitum

When you’re going to someone’s house for a Chinese and you’re looking forward to ordering something you like.......then the decision is made just to order a few different dishes ‘for the table’......then get dirty looks for eating too much.

Folk who only call you when they want something.

People who queue up at an EasyJet gate 2 and a half hours before boarding as if it's going to take off quicker if they get on it before everyone else.

If it's a question of space for a bag, buy a hold bag tight arse.

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Originally Posted by IGRIGI

People who queue up at an EasyJet gate 2 and a half hours before boarding as if it's going to take off quicker if they get on it before everyone else.

If it's a question of space for a bag, buy a hold bag tight arse.

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Who is even at the airport 2 and a half hours early these days, never mind at the gate??? :confused::confused:

Any social media posts that start "That moment when..." or just "When you..."

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Originally Posted by lyonhibs

Who is even at the airport 2 and a half hours early these days, never mind at the gate??? :confused::confused:

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And how do people know that other people are queuing 2 and a half hours before a flight unless they're there 2 and a half hours before a flight themselves?

Twats that have a headlight out and put full beam on to compensate. :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by Hibrandenburg

And how do people know that other people are queuing 2 and a half hours before a flight unless they're there 2 and a half hours before a flight themselves?

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People that can't sense a bit of exaggeration :greengrin

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Originally Posted by IGRIGI

People that can't sense a bit of exaggeration :greengrin

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:greengrin

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Originally Posted by Hibrandenburg

And how do people know that other people are queuing 2 and a half hours before a flight unless they're there 2 and a half hours before a flight themselves?

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If only you had said “unless they’re there 2 and a half hours before their flight” - it would have been a perfect example of how to use they’re, there and their - the misuse of which annoys the hell out of me almost as much as mixing up of and off.

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Originally Posted by SuperAllyMcleod

If only you had said “unless they’re there 2 and a half hours before their flight” - it would have been a perfect example of how to use they’re, there and their - the misuse of which annoys the hell out of me almost as much as mixing up of and off.

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I'll try and raise my standards. :wink:

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Originally Posted by SuperAllyMcleod

If only you had said “unless they’re there 2 and a half hours before their flight” - it would have been a perfect example of how to use they’re, there and their - the misuse of which annoys the hell out of me almost as much as mixing up of and off.

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Piss of! 😂😂

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Originally Posted by beensaidbefore

Piss of! 😂😂

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That's going to far.

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Originally Posted by Hibrandenburg

And how do people know that other people are queuing 2 and a half hours before a flight unless they're there 2 and a half hours before a flight themselves?

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Bit like when you think "God that guy must spend his life I the pub, he's ALWAYS here" before realising that to know this you must also be spending an inordinate amount of time in the same boozer.

Guinness aficionados telling me that the extra cold version ruins it.
It comes from the same keg, if I want it extra cold that is up to me.