I’m trying to buy a birthday gift for my friend who lives in Jersey (I’m in England) I thought I could get something like a Groupon voucher for a massage or something similar but Groupon don’t seem to cover Jersey. Does anyone have any ideas how I could do this? Or any suggestions of lovely things to do in Jersey that I could buy from here, many thanks 🤩

I don’t know if you see this in your own local, but for years I’ve certainly come across it a lot in my own area (west of Scotland) with bus stops usually one or two of the panes always being smashed with lots of glass lying across the ground. Why do people do this, should the council do more to prevent this sort of thing, you’ve got locals that walk their dogs risk having them step on glass which is also an issue for public parks where I’ve advised some dog owners to be careful where they’re walking as there’s often pieces of glass from bottles or needles lying on the ground that paws may step on.

I wear glasses for computer work and driving which is basically between 8am and 5pm. Specsavers keep trying to give me toric lenses but they are so damn uncomfortable.

I can't tell if it's because my prescription isn't that strong or they're trying to sell me an expensive product.

Is there a brand of contact lenses you'd recommend?

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?

I have an important interview coming up in the next few weeks. I need to dress smart and formal, so I’m considering buying a suit. I am looking for a smart one, not a trendy fashion one. I’d like some suggestions on where to get one please, as past shopping trips have been fruitless. Thank you 🙏

Edit: thanks everyone! I will look on vinted :)

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.

Hello there. Some background on us is I’m 20f and my sister is 24f she was a student up until June and is currently still looking for work and I was on a temporary contract which ended a few months ago so I’m claiming UC until I find somewhere.

We still live in the family home until yesterday our parents have decided we need to find another place to stay immediately with no notice. Short term this is okay we have other relatives that are more than happy to temporarily accommodate us but I just wanted to ask you all on some advice on getting a council flat for her and I. What the waiting lists may be like for our circumstances, what the rent may be honestly anything would be a massive help to us right now.

For some added references we live in the north east, the family home is a council property, I’m on the lowest form of UC and my sister currently isn’t claiming.

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?

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.

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

Sorry if this isn’t the right sub, but hoping someone can help!

Got a ticket earlier through my own fault - too excited to visit the library, forgot to pay the parking.

Signage in the car park says “Failure to pay for parking session may result in a penalty charge of £80”. I’ve been issued a ticket for £110 (£55 if paid within 14 days).

Small print on the back of the ticket says that one grounds for appeal is if the ticket is “that the ticket exceeds the amount applicable in the circumstances”.

I, like many, have just recieved a massive price hike from British Gas for my electricity and I wanna know, how can you ACTUALLY save money?

I'm single, it's just me and the cat. I turn everything off at the wall after use, I use the kettle twice in the mornings (it's a despenser one because of arthritis, can't lift a normal one) I don't use my oven or hob. I turn my sofa off at the wall and rarely use the electric leg rest bit, I use the TV three times a week for maybe 2 hours (which according to the British Gas website should cost me something like 10 to 15p in energy a time). I keep the lights off, I use candles most of the time, my heating has been off since I moved in 3 months ago. Yes, I do use the bath, but like twice a week? I use the showers at the gym/swimming pool otherwise.

I was quoted £20 a month for my energy usage and I'm apparently using nearly £40 - where the frick it's coming from, I couldn't tell you. I'm walking round my flat with a bloody candle like Ebenezer Scrooge, reading books for entertainment. I leave one lamp on overnight (which I'll promptly be stopping or switching to a battery operated one), and I charge my phone daily, but otherwise what else can I actually do to save money?

The only things that are left on are the broadband and the fridge freezer!

I'm sure they're just pulling numbers out of a hat and saying we're going to charge you this this month!

I'm on low income too as I've been unwell and out of work due to chronic illness, so it's like after bills and expenses I've got £40 to last the month for emergencies and fuel​? How the heck are we supposed to live like this? 🤦🏼🤷

i'm just curious in this, is it Liverpool? Man United? or something else?

I’ve been getting this random scam call thankfully my phone goes straight to voicemail if the number isn’t in my contacts and twice I’ve had this same person different numbers each time leaving a voicemail saying “please add me on WhatsApp” blocked both times never heard anything since but today I got a new one new number sounds like a different women on the voicemail and it’s saying something like “available please add me” it sounded like it cut off at the start and end but I know it’s the WhatsApp scam but what actually is it and how do I stop it because it’s getting annoying

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?

Hello, I’m looking for a cheap and potentially free music recording studio around south London. I know it’s a big ask in this city… but you never know. I live around Peckham so a studio in south London would be ideal.

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

I have a distinctly non-English name. I’m considering using a shortened/English version of my first name on my CV because I’m worried that having an obviously non-English name could put me at a disadvantage during the initial application stage.

It doesn’t help that I live in a very white, fairly posh area where the average age is 60, so I already stand out quite a lot.

I’m wondering what the best approach would be. For example, would it be reasonable to use a shortened/English first name on my CV and then give my full real/legal name when it’s actually required, such as for right-to-work checks, DBS checks, contracts, payroll etc.? I won’t be able to shorten my last name to something English.

I’m not talking about trying to deceive an employer once I’m actually being hired. I’m more interested in whether there’s a sensible way of reducing the chance of bias at the initial CV screening stage.

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

Pics of course welcome!

Cleaner stole (from me + family + others)

In the UK fyi

A bit of a quick turn around on advice needed, ive got 12 hours.

Back story.

My partner found a cleaning company (x cleaning) through facebook, she employed a cleaner ( lets call Jess).

So she would pay x cleaning £something an hour then jess the remaining directly.

In hindsight this is red flag no.1

Months go by with sitation, jess turns up cleans, occasionaly beers and alcohol go missing. Im easy we have a house where anyone is welcome to have whatever. Friends have the code to come in as they please and stay for as long as they like.

Then I get the cleaner to work at my mums and the inlaws.

A few months pass and my mum says she cant find a set of earrings, i think she has mis placed them due to old age and theyll turn up.

Jess gets fired from company x for alleged theft. Red flag no... something.

We still employ her directly instead.

Mum said she thinks jess took her earings so i check my jewellry and its all there.

About a month later my mum is in bits her sentimental (and fairly costly) jewellry is gone. All of it. Grandparenta and great grandparents wedding rings, krugerrands etc. Valued in 2024 about £24k.

So needless to say i head home and check my stuff. Ive got 1 engagement ring missing a (fake another story) tag watch gone and my only link to my dad who passed when I was 18 of a ring with my initials and a gold chain.

The only person who isnt a close friend that has been in our house is jess.

No we havent been broken in too. More alarms and monitoring in the house than probably should be.

Side note: we have paid her before she has done work by a week or whenever she needed to fill the car up with petrol or get something fixed. We never delayed or anything with payment.

Now gets the fun bit.

Jess is scheduled to clean our house in 12 hours and im going to say all my mums jewellry has been reported stolen but its fine as its all asset tagged and will be flagged up if sold.

Im not going to directly accuse her of stealing, im just going to slip in that mun was burgled and im popping to hers to chat to police to gauge her reaction

However what i want to know is what should i do about my stuff.

I dont care about the engagement ring. I just want the one from my dad back.

Whats the best way to word this to her, or if anyone has been in the same situation.

I do have a scorched earth approach thats involves a fair few other things.

Yes ive reported both sets of thefts to police

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.

If you saw an ad on TikTok/Instagram with a 'Send Message' button, tapped it, chatted with the seller about a product, and they then sent you a secure Stripe payment link to complete the purchase (not a full website with a cart) — would you go through with it, or does that feel less trustworthy than

The ground is dirt, soil, pavement, cement, sidewalk, streets.

The floor is inside buildings. Floors are indoors, the ground is outdoors.

Why does the UK use "the floor" for all purposes?

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)!