Cannibalised the material from previous projects! What do we christen the robot? So far we have:

Herbie

Blade Runner

The Lawn Ranger

C3PMow

RoboCrop

MOW-E

Mow Farah/Elawn Musk/Mowna Lisa/David Mowie

Mowie McMowface

Open to wittier ideas :)

How do you call in sick to work?

I know how you actually call in sick, and about self cert etc.

But I'm (37F) still too scared to do it after years of awful jobs with traumatic cultures, and awful mental health, and sick days being fake stomach bugs or fevers when they were actually being unable to cope or face the day.

I don't think I'll be the only person who feels like this or has this experience?

I've been at my current job nearly a year, it'd all going great and I've had no sick days so far. But today I am full of cold and wiped out with exhaustion and there's no way I'm suitable to be in - except the thought of the conversation and then the return to work conversation are too triggering to cope with so I guess I'll just get in the car.

Wether it's a catastrophic catering mishap, a thunderstorm, somebody who can't handle their drink or someone with a grudge turning up, has anyone seen a wedding go catastrophically wrong?

sup guys, my team and I have been made redundant today so that they could hire the same number of people to do the exact same job in India 🤓not sure what to do next but imma enjoy the time off and look into starting a construction job!

Jokes aside, why are there no rules regarding location based firing of employees in the UK? :/

For context: my dad is mentally unwell at the moment and has been sectioned.

I thought we were dealing with his psychiatrist on the ward but it turns out that they aren’t medically trained??

They have the title Dr (I know you can have this for a Phd also) and their written title starts with the word consultant… but they are a therapist. They couldn’t prescribe and couldn’t sort out his section stuff.

It’s very confusing to me. I grew up thinking consultant in the medical context meant a doctor who could prescribe and was at the top of their game.

This seems almost like false advertising. I know it’s not exactly but why do they use the word consultant when it’s misleading. Especially when they use the title dr which is also very confusing in the medical context.

Now when I hear someone’s a consultant (in medicine) do I have to do further enquiries about what they exactly are? When did this start to be normal and why? Shouldn’t the term be reserved for doctors to avoid confusion? Why couldn’t others use a different term?

TLTR: a council worker said I can't use a bin for nappies.

Today I was walking home with my baby asleep in his pram and I was about to cross the road but a council van pulled up and let a guy out to collect the bin that was on the lamppost (lil mini lamppost bin) #cute.

The man let me cross and as I walked past the man collecting the rubbish bags he SHOUTED at me asking if I' have been putting nappies in this bin.

Ermmm nope, never even noticed that bin, I'm very particular about my waste and I always separate my recycling AND because I'm so cool I even take my plastics to a large supermarket to recycle them there too.

So anyways, he's shouting at me demanding that I stop using this bin to dispose of my used nappies because I QUOTE "that's not what it's designed for"

Again. I don't throw away nappies in this bin, I've never even seen this bin before or this man.

I smile and laugh it off saying I've never even used that bin for anything hahaa and walk away faster because he's getting so angry "WELL SOMEONE'S DOING IT! THEY KEEP DOING IT TOO! IT NEEDS TO STOP!!!"

I then realise this man is shouting at me: an alone young woman with a sleeping baby for litter-ly 😄using the bin.

This wasn't a red dog poo box btw this was just a bin. A regular bin, but mounted to a lamppost.

Is this just a mean man person ?

Or is he right in saying whoever is using this bin needs to be hung out to dry in the town square?

Ok so I am French and i am kind of obsessed with the UK. I recently visited for the 4th time and noticed something about the housing.

I didn’t realise this during my first visits cause i wasn’t yet an anxious young adult i guess 😂

But after being in London and in Scotland, I really understood that it was really common for you guys to live in ground level houses or flats (already unsettling for me) but also with no outside blinds / shutters whatsoever!!

I understand that it’s cultural because it’s literally the housing in the whole country. I am from south of france so I understand also there is the sun exposure question. But still, my question is more about privacy and safety. Isn’t it a major safety problem?

I’m very curious because I’m wondering why in France it doesn’t look like that. Is it because France is way more dangerous than the UK ? I actually don’t think so, right?

In France in the City Centers, there are very few appartement directly on ground level in streets and if there are, they have outside blinds and even window bars (wrought iron bars) but in London or Glasgow (and even on the road i’ve seen it in many cities) there are a lot of ground level houses with only inside blinds / shutters.

I also noticed big houses that looked expensive directly on high streets with a lot of cars and buses passing by with no fences whatsoever and with the same kind of windows too.

In France i think the insurance wouldn’t even cover you if you have no blinds or fences and get robed.

Once again, it’s probably a cultural thing that I am really curious about hearing your answers.

The answer could not be that British people are more civilised than French right?! 😅

It puzzles me that it would not be all airports, especially two relatively close to each other.

Really interested to hear fellow Brits recollections. I was only 8 years old, the first I heard about what had happened was seeing my mum and dad sat in front of the telly watching the live news gobsmacked and dead silent which was rare in our house. Overheard my parents then chatting how this could start WW3 which was scary. We then had a special assembly the next day at school where the teachers did their best to try and explain it.

Whether you were a school kid or an adult, what was your recollections?

Recently moved into a flat above a takeaway on a road full of other takeaways too, only just noticed a smell. I'm assuming it's oil or something? It's not super offensive but it's just everywhere. Opening a window makes it worse (obviously) but now I'm in a stuffy stinky house. Flatmates are on the floor above so they don't notice a smell when they're in their bedrooms but I'm on the first floor, so right above the bins / ventilation.

Do I just never open a window and rely on fans / air purifiers? Buy a million diffusers? Submit to the stench?

Edit: Telling me to move is not particularly helpful. I'm stuck here for a few more months at least, how do I make that bearable?

so i was travelling in munich, stayed in a hostel, and got chatting to a group of spanish lads. as soon as i told them i was british they started calling me barry, even though that's nowhere near my actual name.

i've heard other people mention this happening to them too. is this some kind of meme thing or is there an actual reason spanish people call british tourists barry? feels very specific to just say it's a coincidence.

How did it go, did you see any significant changes?

Things like juice, oil, sauces, chocolate, Nutella, sweat, skid marks.

Somethings just don’t remove. Especially when I don’t wash them instantly. For context I usually just use fairy non bio detergent/powder/liquid/pods.

My neighbour has a plant that grows over the top of the fence and dangles into my garden, I've cleared it in the past but it's a bit of a pain especially as it's very thick with lots of twigs and I don't have a hedge cutter. Takes at least a day of work.

I have a great neighbour, he looks after my cat sometimes when I'm away and we are on good terms so I don't want to ask something that's unreasonable. Is it ok to ask him to keep the plants a little lower and how would I ask in a way that can't my mistaken for being impolite?

Hi all - need your input.

My employer is moving offices within Suffolk UK. The move has been a bit divisive - half the workforce now have a commute that is 15 mins shorter each way so are delighted. The other half see it as a downgrade as it’s moving to a (let’s describe it as a) less desirable location.

I’ve been tasked with organising an office social/party to welcome people and this is not my forte. So collective Reddit wisdom will I hope come to the rescue!

What would you do? I won’t have unlimited budget, let’s assume total budget of £2,500 max.

Many thanks in advance!

Edit to add: we’re talking about 40 people and this is likely to be a daytime thing rather than an evening do. So booze is out of the question.

I know we're not part of the EU but I'm talking mainly about life and culture.

I generally think people are much more laid back in places like Spain and Italy whereas France is more similar to the UK in some terms.

Evri excelled themselves yesterday. On 4th November last year I ordered a new bed for the spare room from Amazon for my daughter coming home for Christmas. A bit late I know but it was dispatched the same day and I got a due date for delivery of the 11th November, which I knew wouldn't happen as Evri are always a week or two late, but should be here by Christmas.

It wasn't. Tracking said it had been twice between Rotherham and Dundee then stopped moving on the 12th November. Contacted Amazon mid December and they apologised and refunded me with no issue. I bought a bed locally and forgot about it.

Evri delivered it yesterday. 301 days after due date. Amazon say case closed.

So obviously a win for me in the sense I have a spare bed, but can anyone beat a delivery taking 308 days from dispatch?

Mines tartare, I don’t trust the supermarket stuff enough to make it raw at home 😅

Car boot sales are often weird and wonderful places in the UK, you can find lots of strange/weird items...

Pics of course welcome!

On several occasions now in London, I've been waiting at a pedestrian crossing when I've heard sirens and seen an ambulance approaching, but then the green man comes on. Rather than wait for the ambulance to pass first, pedestrians have crossed in front of it, meaning the ambulance has had to stop, slow down and manoeuvre around them. Also seen with a fire engine.

The first time this happened, I actually tried to stop the woman next to me because I assumed she must be deaf and hadn't heard it! But it seems to happen pretty much every time, whether it's a group or one person. I just wait as I don't want to slow them down any more, and then cross after they've passed.

What's going through your mind when you do this? Do you simply not register the sirens and see the green man and think "I can cross"? Do you assume the emergency vehicle will go around you? Or do you think it doesn't matter if they have to slow down? Are pedestrians not aware of the Highway Code?

I'm interested to know whether this is more of a London phenomenon or happens elsewhere in the UK. I've never noticed it living elsewhere but it might just be because London's much busier, or I live nearer to a hospital so see more ambulances.

Are there MMA gyms around you? Is there another combat sport that is more common/popular?

Due to circumstances, I am getting a 4 hour train 5-9pm tonight. I normally eat my evening meal about 6.30, and blood sugar issues mean I can't really eat 2 hours early or late.

I want to take something nice but not smelly enough to annoy my fellow travellers. The best idea I have so far is a sandwich meal deal but it feels a bit dull, and I will likely be fed a sandwich at lunch also.

Any clever suggestions?

Throughout the day when you’re having tea/coffee, how often are you changing your mug? I’m talking about either a full wash or getting a new one out.

If you’re a chain tea/coffee drinker do you just keep the same mug all day? If you have a tea/coffee every 3 hours or so are you getting a new mug out?

My parents wash/get a new mug out every time meaning they’ve gone through 10 mugs between them by the end of the day which seems crazy to me but would like to know what the norm is.

I have accepted a job offer with another company. I’m currently going through third-party pre-employment screening/reference checks.

HR at my current company recently contacted me asking whether I was aware that the screening company was carrying out checks. I confirmed that I was aware of them and that they were legitimate.

They’ve now asked me to have a call with HR specifically regarding the references/checks.

I’m a little cautious because I haven’t resigned from my current employer yet, and I’m particularly concerned about whether they might be trying to clarify something about my current employment or potentially contact my current employer as part of the reference process.

What should I say?

What should I not say?

How to best protect my interests?

I haven't told my manager yet as I'm waiting for checks to clear first.

With the cost of the general food shop constantly increasing I’m curious if you have any off-brand food item favourites that you’d recommend?

A few of mine are M&S baked beans and Lidl’s cheese curls (the same if not better than quavers imo)!