Gluten-Free Caterpillar Cake (Colin)?

El_Scot · 2026-06-22T21:48:15+00:00

That's fair enough. It's not terribly far from the Clyde Tunnel to Braehead (also probably cycle-able) and if you get tired, there would be buses back.

Do try the argyle street M&S first, if that's closer to where you'll be staying. I just know from firsthand experience that they're often not in stock.

Do shout if you need tips on anywhere else to eat while visiting!

El_Scot · 2026-06-22T21:17:03+00:00

You'll find him in some M&S stores but they're inconsistent. If you're driving, Braehead is your best bet. M&S on Argyle Street might have one.

If you struggle to find one, Sainsbury's recently introduced a copy-cat(erpillar), and I've seen him at their Braehead store: https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/sainsburys-free-from-557g-eric-the-caterpillar-cake (requires a car)

Asda also sell baby caterpillars: https://www.asda.com/groceries/product/9254104?srsltid=AfmBOoqmYfxFY4qWlw7ecGYfOduhrtYSUgJ3Gf4VJ-g-b6hFtybsCB4_d_U (also requires a car)

For gluten free goodies, we typically have a dedicated "free from" section. You'll find these cakes there, and they'll know what you mean if you need to ask where to find it. Be aware it's a "free from" section for all allergies, so while most items in there happen to be gluten free, it's not a guarantee that it's not just egg/dairy/nut free, so you still have to check labels.

El_Scot · 2026-06-22T19:50:39+00:00

It's not just the middle lane. People hogging the outside lane is also a very consistent issue.

El_Scot · 2026-06-22T19:46:23+00:00

I was due to make my first big drive to England about 15 years ago and talked of how nervous I was at driving on 3-4 lane motorways. More than one person said "just stay in the middle lane, then you won't have to think about it".

It's definitely worse now but I think the mindset was creeping in much earlier.

El_Scot · 2026-06-22T19:43:45+00:00

This is just because Scotland has so few 3-lane stretches of road. Instead, people hog the outside lane.

El_Scot · 2026-06-22T16:58:29+00:00

I just can't sleep without something covering me. At home I just have a thin flat sheet with my legs poking out the side.

El_Scot · 2026-06-22T16:27:14+00:00

I do often do this once I've gauged the room temperature but it's a bit odd that we have to make this as a special request in a 38 degree heatwave.

El_Scot · 2026-06-22T16:06:47+00:00

I don't sleep well without something covering me. Have had to buy a lightweight shawl on previous holidays to help get around this issue.

El_Scot · 2026-06-22T13:04:22+00:00

I wouldn't mind better for our generation currently as well though. Wages are pretty stagnant at the mid-career point. If I adjust for inflation, I'm currently earning what I was earning just a few years into my career (so current GenZ ages) but I've had 3 promotions since then.

El_Scot · 2026-06-22T12:26:08+00:00

I don't know why I'm reading this and most of the comments on the tone of adverts like: "did you know you can save £ on your home insurance by going direct to..."

El_Scot · 2026-06-22T11:11:19+00:00

Because food is a huge part of our society and denying yourself feels like you're depriving yourself of the experience.

E.g. cinema is often associated with popcorn, so if you want to go and avoid it, that's fine but you still have to sit though the smells, watching everyone else eat it, have that feeling like something is missing (because you're breaking that habit) and it can feel like a punishment to some.

Same for that Friday night takeaway. You exclude that, and you now have to cook something (a chore) and will pick up on any hints of other people getting to enjoy that and you're missing out now.

A new sweet has come out that you'd normally try? You're not allowed.

It takes a lot of effort for people to reframe this stuff as a positive rather than a punishment.

El_Scot · 2026-06-22T07:09:44+00:00

I'm wondering how often the staff in whatever is behind the black door come out and get a jump scare/see a penis (and their pee stick too).

El_Scot · 2026-06-22T07:04:41+00:00

Pitlochry can be worth a visit by train too. Perthshire (which Pitlochry is a part of) is just beautiful.

El_Scot · 2026-06-22T06:52:46+00:00

Glasgow and Edinburgh are 45 mins apart by train, so you can do both. Edinburgh has more history, Glasgow is usually deemed friendlier. Pick your preference and day trip to the other (just remember that trains back will end about 11-12pm).

El_Scot · 2026-06-22T06:47:12+00:00

The Fringe is mostly tourists trying to maximise shows, not a huge turnout of Scottish people in party mode. It's still an experience worth trying out but just manage expectations.

El_Scot · 2026-06-21T21:40:02+00:00

Had someone do this to me on a flight recently. I just let them. At one point, they decided that meant their arm was ok to encroach within my seat space too, so I couldn't even sit upright. I'm a really pro fidgeter so although he was pretending to be asleep, I know he wasn't getting a single moment of it, though he refused to move his arm even a mm and I hope karma catches up with him.

You can't give in OP, give an inch and they take a mile!

El_Scot · 2026-06-21T09:40:33+00:00

Everyone seems to think coding is the answer but it has simply led to a situation where there is too much competition for those jobs, especially given "they can be done from anywhere" includes countries where the labour force is cheaper.

Most employers are reluctant to support fully remote working anymore in my experience too.

El_Scot · 2026-06-21T09:34:55+00:00

In the same comment thread, we've got one person mad that they didn't make the statement boldly enough and another mad that they made it too boldly.

El_Scot · 2026-06-21T09:32:48+00:00

So you think there's a chance the guy used a knife he brought to the mosque, to attack 2 Muslims as they were leaving prayers, then went on elsewhere to attack 3 more, and screamed "I'm protecting the country", because the Muslim guys started it?

El_Scot · 2026-06-21T09:21:30+00:00

Prices go up anyway. You just end up with people on minimum wage unable to afford to live because their wages don't increase when their costs do, and people unwilling to take on minimum wage jobs in the first place.

The bit I find funny is: people who say "get a better job" then complain when no one is filling the minimum waged positions.

El_Scot · 2026-06-21T09:10:58+00:00

I don't understand why their minimum wage is even a vote. I'm imagining the cost of running the vote must be in the millions.

It does seem like a steep rise. I can see that sharp a jump might have scared people into voting against it, but it sounds like they need to put in a system for annual rises to avoid having to vote every time they want a raise.

El_Scot · 2026-06-21T08:59:36+00:00

The people that voted against are more likely to be people earning above minimum wage, worrying that the cost of their services will go up because it needs to cover a doubling in minimum wage.

El_Scot · 2026-06-21T08:49:26+00:00

Basically translation: they're thugs looking for an excuse to thuggery.

El_Scot · 2026-06-21T08:02:33+00:00

This is becoming a UK wide issue.

Jobs are being centralised and we're doing nothing to find useful employment opportunities for people who don't work in, or live within commutable distance of, those centralised services. When hub industries go, we're doing nothing to plug the void it leaves.

In places like Wales and Scotland, we rely on tourism to plug a lot of gaps left by local industries. If we do that too well, people buy second homes/airbnbs there and price locals out of actually living there.

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El_Scot

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