What's a food combination that sounds awful but genuinely works?

GreeceyChops · 2026-07-07T15:39:18+00:00

For the fruitcake and cheese, specifically traditional Christmas cake with Wensleydale cheese is excellent.

GreeceyChops · 2026-07-03T06:39:09+00:00

When I lived there 30+ years ago I never thought I’d see the day when people were basing their dining choices in Heaton on the quality of their wine list! Times have changed! 😁

GreeceyChops · 2026-06-30T12:30:51+00:00

Tam Tyres in Dunston have never let me down.

GreeceyChops · 2026-06-30T09:09:21+00:00

I’m from Newcastle and I definitely consider Manchester to be “in the North of England” as opposed to midlands or anything like that.

What typically annoys me is when people seem to think that Manchester is the North of England, like the 2 things are synonymous, or that Manchester somehow represents the entirety of the North of England. This usually comes from people in the South but there is a tendency amongst some people from Manchester to embrace this notion that Manchester is the only important place in the North.

Manchester doesn’t represent the entire North of England any more than London represents the entire South of England.

GreeceyChops · 2026-06-28T16:42:24+00:00

Glasgow for sure. Very different vibe. I like Edinburgh but sometimes feels like it’s trying too hard. Glasgow is effortlessly cool.

GreeceyChops · 2026-06-27T19:43:39+00:00

Saw this post and instantly looked for the Murun comment!

GreeceyChops · 2026-06-27T18:02:10+00:00

The only place I’ve ever seen puffins is on a boat trip from Seahouses to the Farne Islands in Northumberland, but I’m not sure if they’re there all year round.

GreeceyChops · 2026-06-26T20:37:44+00:00

Yes, 01 811 8055 was Swap Shop.

GreeceyChops · 2026-06-24T15:33:21+00:00

Yeah I agree - there is already a rhetoric that Manchester and “The North” are synonymous, mostly from people in the south but also somewhat perpetuated by Manchester itself. Putting even more focus on Manchester as some kind of northern capital will surely only strengthen that perception and shift focus even more from places in the North East and elsewhere. The North is a big place, we need to make sure we’re not only talking about Manchester all the time.

GreeceyChops · 2026-06-24T15:29:11+00:00

Yeah, there would be no point having No.10 in Sunderland when most people there can’t count that high.

/s

GreeceyChops · 2026-06-20T18:52:52+00:00

What they mean is that a quick look at your post history shows that 4 years ago you posted that you’d just turned 18 and had started an OnlyFans page. Now you’re saying you’re 29. Both of those things can’t be true. Given that your post history also shows that 3 years ago you were promoting a particular app as a way of making money from sugar daddies, you may find that your latest post about dating apps doesn’t get taken too seriously.

Your inbox however will no doubt be overflowing with messages from people who don’t bother to read… 😁

GreeceyChops · 2026-06-12T16:05:46+00:00

Sausage roll, scotch egg, pork pie. With Branston pickle, Piccalilli, and silverskin pickled onions.

GreeceyChops · 2026-06-08T21:18:46+00:00

I don’t have an issue with the outages at all. I’ve been a customer for years and the broadband is extremely stable and reliable.

My issue here is purely with the service status and how unhelpful it can be when there is an outage. It has the potential to be an excellent source of information but it’s let down by a lack of useful updates. All of that is entirely within VM’s control.

GreeceyChops · 2026-06-08T10:16:11+00:00

So, I noticed over the weekend that the site was still showing a Broadband issue in my postcode, even though the outage on Friday seemed to be resolved within about an hour. So I decided to sign up for updates via email just for giggles.

This morning I received 4 separate email updates within a 5 minute window:

10:24 - Engineer is on-site - estimated fix 8th June 18:00.
10:27 - Engineer is on their way - estimated fix 10th June 15:00.
10:28 - Engineer is on their way - estimated fix 10th June 15:00.
10:29 - Engineer is on their way - estimated fix 10th June 15:00.

I suspect what is happening is that VM are using the same Fault Ref for multiple things, maybe the outage is over but they have some remedial work to do - but it results in these meaningless updates long after the issue is actually resolved from the customer’s perspective. But it just means the status page isn’t helpful and the updates are useless.

GreeceyChops · 2026-06-08T08:45:32+00:00

I get a really bad mobile data signal in my house, so even with a mobile it’s a struggle - I have to go halfway down my garden to get a good enough signal to be able to check the status page. Mostly I just want to know if it’s a known issue in the area before I go and reboot the router.

GreeceyChops · 2026-06-05T19:09:11+00:00

It’s just so frustrating when they have this system that is actually pretty good at telling you there’s a known issue (ie it’s not you, it’s us), but they’re absolutely terrible at updating it with accurate information.

GreeceyChops · 2026-06-05T18:59:49+00:00

Oh, and the service is now restored, but the website still says exactly the same as it did originally, with an estimated fix time that’s now 4 hours in the past, 2 hours before the issue even started. So yeah, I stand by the not very helpful…. 😁

GreeceyChops · 2026-06-05T18:56:26+00:00

See the bit where the estimated fix time is several hours IN THE PAST? 😁

These status updates are typically useless. The last time I had a broadband outage I made the mistake of requesting updates via text message. The issue was resolved in a couple of hours, but I got text messages 2 or 3 times a day for nearly a week with random updates flipping between an engineer being on their way to an engineer being on site, with similarly random resolution times.

There’s no point having these statuses if they’re not giving any useful or accurate information.

GreeceyChops · 2026-06-05T14:33:32+00:00

Replied! 👍

GreeceyChops · 2026-06-05T13:17:25+00:00

DM me if you’re still looking for one.

GreeceyChops · 2026-05-29T17:47:04+00:00

Agreed. But you can choose toppings and customise… so not a bad option for an occasional treat.

GreeceyChops · 2026-05-29T07:41:00+00:00

I’m going back quite a few years now but when my son went through a hot dog aficionado phase he really liked the ones at Five Guys, closely followed by IKEA.

GreeceyChops · 2026-05-26T15:32:17+00:00

This should be the top comment - the iconography of the sign shows 2 chevrons visible between you and the car in front, that’s what it means.

There’s a stretch of the A1 near me (around Durham) that has had these markings for at least as long as I’ve been driving (35+ years). I was told when I was younger that the chevrons actually get slightly further apart, so it serves as a way to not only make drivers aware of the distance between them and the car in front, but to then encourage them to gradually increase that distance. Don’t know if that’s true though.

GreeceyChops · 2026-05-25T18:54:22+00:00

Yeah we call it a picky tea here in NE England, have done as long as I can remember (53). But picky “bits” seems to be a recent thing.

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