New - The things that really annoy you

[Wolftone]

Bovril rules marmite as a spread. Put it on toast with cheese or on toast with a poached egg on top. Try it with peanut butter on toast.
No need to thank me.

 

[Wolftone]

What really annoys me is my local Tesco.
They deliberately stop stocking things that I like.
This goes back a few years, it's like they're watching me, it's uncanny.
Off the top of my head:
Lurpak spreadable.
Tinned ham.
Roquefort.
Picked Gherkins (normal)
Pickled Gherkins (which I discovered in the Polish section)
Cheese thins.
Old Speckled Hen.
All gone!
There's probably others that I can't think of.
Tossers.

 

[b3h]

Bovril rules marmite as a spread. Put it on toast with cheese or on toast with a poached egg on top. Try it with peanut butter on toast.
No need to thank me.

I love marmite on toast but can't bring myself to try any of the weird shit they do. Or eggs or peanut butter. Cheese would probably be OK

 

[Lupo]

What really annoys me is my local Tesco.
They deliberately stop stocking things that I like.
This goes back a few years, it's like they're watching me, it's uncanny.
Off the top of my head:
Lurpak spreadable.
Tinned ham.
Roquefort.
Picked Gherkins (normal)
Pickled Gherkins (which I discovered in the Polish section)
Cheese thins.
Old Speckled Hen.
All gone!
There's probably others that I can't think of.
Tossers.

I have the same theory with Tesco, I always say they use my Clubcard to see what I buy then stop stocking it.

Off the top of my head Lavazza Intenso coffee and Barry Norman pickled onions but there are more items too

 

[EpsomWolf]

Could go in any number of threads this but…. the state of our rivers.

Was always a bit unaware previously as back in Cambridge the dog used to swim every day, often out in the fens where the water was always very clear. Round here, it’s very difficult to find anywhere really clear, the rivers often silty. You sometimes see the sheen of a skin of oil and you have to be careful. The dog gets a bit miffed but you can usually find somewhere if you’re patient.

But yesterday we did a long urban group ride up into London, alongside rivers and towpaths. A bit of of the Thames through Kingston, but mostly along the river crane and Grand Union canal. Past Twickenham, alongside Heathrow and up by Stockley Park and back down through Brentford etc.

Get past Twickenham towards Heathrow and my God, what an eye-opener that was. The water there, Hounslow, Uxbridge, Southall etc is fucking disgusting. A skanky, dirty oily mess and at times for miles, quite literally stinking. So sad also to see the way people treat their environment too as it’s a literal dumping ground with old sofas, mattresses and litter all over the place blowing in the wind. The contempt some people have for their own environment is heartbreaking.

Was probably a bit naive previously and maybe the water cleanliness is quite simply linked to population and industry mass after all, but after that yesterday I’m not sure if the anger is directed at people as a whole, industry or the government. I dare say it’s a combination of all three but if that’s the state of the rivers and canals all over the country it’s appalling.

 

[Tredman]

IIRC 40% of river pollution is from farms, 35% from CSOs and 20% from roads. It is, however, not a similar split by harm - sadly we totally ignore the farms and roads...

 

[SLA]

Thought I'd pop back on as this is a subject close to my heart (and stomach), spending a lot of time on, and sadly in, the rivers around London. @EpsomWolf here's a handy live map from Thames Water showing the places where untreated sewage and other nice things are currently being discharged https://www.thameswater.co.uk/edm-map

Check it out on a really rainy day, it's quite disturbing.

 

[Tredman]

Thought I'd pop back on as this is a subject close to my heart (and stomach), spending a lot of time on, and sadly in, the rivers around London. @EpsomWolf here's a handy live map from Thames Water showing the places where untreated sewage and other nice things are currently being discharged https://www.thameswater.co.uk/edm-map

Check it out on a really rainy day, it's quite disturbing.

Actually spills on a rainy day are mostly fine, its spills on a dry day you should worry about.

 

[Paul]

IIRC 40% of river pollution is from farms, 35% from CSOs and 20% from roads. It is, however, not a similar split by harm - sadly we totally ignore the farms and roads...

What's a CSO ?(you're going to say something obvious now aren't you )

 

[SLA]

Actually spills on a rainy day are mostly fine, its spills on a dry day you should worry about.

Well that doesn't cheer me up!

 

[Tredman]

What's a CSO ?(you're going to say something obvious now aren't you )

Combined Sewer Overflow - basically older networks combine storm and foul sewers, when it rains CSO are the release valves as the network can't cope.

Sounds icky but the cost to solve is massive.

 

[EpsomWolf]

Thought I'd pop back on as this is a subject close to my heart (and stomach), spending a lot of time on, and sadly in, the rivers around London. @EpsomWolf here's a handy live map from Thames Water showing the places where untreated sewage and other nice things are currently being discharged https://www.thameswater.co.uk/edm-map

Check it out on a really rainy day, it's quite disturbing.

That’s an amazing map, very informative.

Last summer I was looking for somewhere for the dog to swim and was recommended the Hogsmill River just a few miles up the road in Ewell, a beautiful spot, meandering river, stepping stones and kids paddling.

Recall a dog walker appearing from nowhere right by the stones warning not to let your dog in (she didn’t seem so bothered about the kids!) and pointed out the horrible oily water just metres away. I just had a quick look at your map and sure enough the discharge is right there!

Ugh… that’s disgusting. Certainly going to pay attention to that map in future.

 

[Tyrannosaurus Dan]

Water companies will be able to dump shit into our waterways for the next 15 years thanks to new regulations passed by the Conservatives.

There is a list online somewhere of all the cunts who voted for it.

 

[SLA]

That’s an amazing map, very informative.

Last summer I was looking for somewhere for the dog to swim and was recommended the Hogsmill River just a few miles up the road in Ewell, a beautiful spot, meandering river, stepping stones and kids paddling.

Recall a dog walker appearing from nowhere right by the stones warning not to let your dog in (she didn’t seem so bothered about the kids!) and pointed out the horrible oily water just metres away. I just had a quick look at your map and sure enough the discharge is right there!

Ugh… that’s disgusting. Certainly going to pay attention to that map in future.

The oily look might be naturally occurring due to iron oxide bacteria, which indicates the presence of iron or manganese in the water, or maybe the bacteria from decaying plant matter, not necessarily from pollution. I only know this because I looked into something similar on our bit of the River Wey in Guildford.

 

[EpsomWolf]

The oily look might be naturally occurring due to iron oxide bacteria, which indicates the presence of iron or manganese in the water, or maybe the bacteria from decaying plant matter, not necessarily from pollution. I only know this because I looked into something similar on our bit of the River Wey in Guildford.

That’s a really good point. Sometimes I see that oily water lying in puddles high up on hilly trails where there’s clearly no river or anything being discharged. Was always curious about that.

Notice from that map the monitor for Epsom Storm Tanks is offline. They flow into a stream which flows into that spot in Ewell. Quite an eye-opener all this, thanks for the heads-up.

 

[Tredman]

Oil shouldn't be from the sewers.

 

[Tredman]

Water companies will be able to dump shit into our waterways for the next 15 years thanks to new regulations passed by the Conservatives.

There is a list online somewhere of all the cunts who voted for it.

That's not true, its a little bit more nuanced than that - there was (and is still not) never an EU rule to say CSOs are not allowed.

 

[Tyrannosaurus Dan]

Booooo. LET ME BLAME THE GOVERNMENT!!

Has there always been this much raw sewage discharged then? I thought it was a recent increase, partly due to government regulations.

 

[Tredman]

Booooo. LET ME BLAME THE GOVERNMENT!!

Has there always been this much raw sewage discharged then? I thought it was a recent increase, partly due to government regulations.

It’s massively lower than it’s ever been. We didn’t even measure it until the 2010s. My claim to fame is personally installing the first EDM. Weak I know.

 

[Paul]

It’s massively lower than it’s ever been. We didn’t even measure it until the 2010s. My claim to fame is personally installing the first EDM. Weak I know.

I know this one, Electronic Dance Music ???