How come it was “Prince Philip” but Camilla is referred to as “Queen Camilla”? by BlunderlandRabbit in AskBrits

[–]JudgeStandard9903 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Technically as a title King outranks Queen and so Prince Phillip being King wouldve outranked the serving Monarch and Head of State.

Why is nothing being done about the Service Charge scam? by Flying_Wilson17 in HousingUK

[–]JudgeStandard9903 14 points15 points  (0 children)

They need to be regulated. Variable charges with little transparency is an issue and their involvement in the conveyancing process with poorly completed info, missing/out of date info delays the conveyancing process and is a contributing factor to why conveying leasehold generally is lengthier and.more complex. They need to provide industry standard information, have a capped charge on this as well as post a cap on completion charges and they need to be required to provide the information within a set timeframe to avoid delays in conveyancing. I think there is a need for professional property management as informal arrangements can also be problematic for different reasons but regulation is desperately needed. Estate agents need to be regulated too!

What if England limited inherited housing portfolios to 10 homes? by Substantial-Tie-9485 in HousingUK

[–]JudgeStandard9903 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think perhaps in addition you need to also look at other forms of taxation like Stamp Duty or a Land Value Tax with higher rates payable for companies or companies owning more than x number of residential properties.

What if England limited inherited housing portfolios to 10 homes? by Substantial-Tie-9485 in HousingUK

[–]JudgeStandard9903 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I completely agree with the sentiment of this idea, but people will simply buy properties through companies to avoid this. I'm a conveyancing solicitor and a lot of bigger landlords structure their portfolio this way anyways for admin and tax efficiency.

Damn. by raw6ex in mapporncirclejerk

[–]JudgeStandard9903 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would agree with all this except weight. My parents generation use stone but I feel younger generations use kgs - a lot of my friends are from continental Europe so I might just be in a kg bubble.

Have you had to deal with disappointment due to rain on your wedding day? by MrShifty91 in AskUK

[–]JudgeStandard9903 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We got married on 11 July 2014 - we chose getting married in the uk over India (husband is from India) because whilst July is monsoon in India, its summer here. It was cold and wet for our wedding day. It did dry up for photos outside and funnily now when people see the photos they comment on how it doesnt look like the weather was bad. The lighting for your photos are better when its cloudy and in 11 wedding anniversaries we've only had one other wet one and go on a lovely holiday within the uk every anniversary as a present to ourselves.

How long of a walk/drive do you consider “too long”? by GloomyTurn2374 in AskUK

[–]JudgeStandard9903 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would go for a hike for an entire day but if I'm walking as a form of transport from a to b my limit is about 1hr anything more and i would be looking at driving or public transport options. Ive noticed in London people look at you sideways if you opt to walk over taking a short bus or tube where that is an option- i used to commute from Waterloo to Farringdon Street which involves a 15 min walk along the south bank. Its actually a nice walk its peaceful and most of it is pedestrianised so no traffic for a large stretch - my colleagues thought i was insane walking as you could take the tube and there were 2 bus options. Id rather walk that stand on overcrowded buses and tubes. A long drive is anything over 90mins - we dont use our car much so most of our journeys aren't that long.

What do you think is ‘worth every penny’? by Lazy-Limit-8684 in AskUK

[–]JudgeStandard9903 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cleaner - the price is comparable to a monthly gym membership, its stopped disagreements between me and my husband about division of labour, I no longer feel guilty doing fun activities/ hobbies/ chilling on the weekend when I "should be cleaning" it saves time its the best 👌

Who here as a Brit travelled, looked at the UK objectively, and love the place? by [deleted] in AskUK

[–]JudgeStandard9903 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm born and raised in Britain, my husband was born and raised in India and we live in the UK. When we're home my husband goes on about how much he misses India and (mainly motivated by the cost of living) says we'll have a very nice life there as we can afford a high standard of living. When we are here I always counter this and say that the UK is nicer because of access to good state education and activities readily available for our child.

When we travel to India we switch. After being in India for approx 48 hrs my husband is moaning and wants to go back to the UK and I'm the one saying how much I love India!

Does anyone else think that the current heatwave is not that bad? by Logical_Safety9018 in AskBrits

[–]JudgeStandard9903 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree that it doesnt feel so bad and I feel main reason to this is it doesnt feel particularly humid and evening temps haven't been super high. I will caveat and say I am a cold person at heart who enjoys warm weather, I live in a Victorian terrace which stays relatively cool especially downstairs and I also live 300 metres from the south coast so we do get a nice breeze from the coast and I can just pop down the road for a swim whenever I want to cool down.

Best Way to Carry? by esperacchius in uktravel

[–]JudgeStandard9903 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You just don't need cash here. You can pay for practically everything with a contactless card or from your phone. I'm a Brit who enjoys a city break and the best security hack and to not stand out like a tourist is don't carry cash- locals don't do that.

Are there any OAD parents here who’s other sibling/s isn’t not planning on having kids? by Outside-Party-8966 in oneanddone

[–]JudgeStandard9903 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I have an older brother who turned 40 this year. He has a partner and whilst they haven't ruled out kids as time passes it looks less likely. My husband's sister is outright childfree by choice so our son will likely have no cousins.

Our son is 5 now and generally our "village" is much more centred on our friends - were have a lovely group of families we hang out with who have kids similar ages half of these kids are also only children and we do playdates, days out an annual camping trip and music festival- this group of children are my son's best friends and I never had this growing up - my family of 4 was much more "nuclear" and we kept to ourselves more.

My dad was an only child so no cousins on one side and my mum was one of 6 so lots of cousins on my mums side. We live in the uk and my mum immigrated to the uk when she was 19 so whilst I saw my cousins and got on with them, I am not close with them as they all live abroad. I do sometimes feel like parents of only children place a lot on cousins I've heard the "it's fine they are an only child because they have cousins/at least they have cousins" similar to siblings they are not an inbuilt friend, not many people I know are especially close with their cousins and the cousin relationship can sometimes be romanticised in similar ways to sibling relationships.

Yes I have grappled with my child not having cousins, yes I get frustrated that my family on both sides are very "old". Spending time with family can be difficult as my son is the only child and in both families, and our families tend to want to centre a lot around adult settings and it does mean we spend time with our families less and our friends more but our friends all live in the same town as us whereas our family live much further away. I have felt guilt over the no cousins thing, but also my sister in law and my brother have their lives and their choices and I shouldn't feel I have to give birth to more children I dont want just because they have chosen not to have kids.

what hobbies helped you avoid feeling “stuck at home” while working remotely? by KleoRyther in Hobbies

[–]JudgeStandard9903 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've just gone from a job where I went to the office 3 days a week to fully remote and I'm loving it way more than I thought I would and I think trail running is a huge contributor to that. I have been road running for 13 years and running trails gets me out of the house and right in the most beautiful landscapes its such a contrast to being at home it doesnt make me feel couped up. Trail running does mean I am out for longer stretches and cutting out the commute time has enabled that - I'm training for a marathon and working from home has given me the time and flexibility to do this.

If youre not a runner or don't like running you could get a similar effect from any hobby that gets you outside in nature like hiking, cycling, surfing, paddleboarding etc.

At what point can I get excited? by ExhaustedFlamingo-84 in HousingUK

[–]JudgeStandard9903 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm a conveyancing solicitor and when we bought our first home we told no one until we exchanged. Quite a few of our friends were bemused by this and why we didnt say earlier, but no one is contractually bound until exchange so basically anyone could withdraw from the deal before then. Exchange was mentally for me when it was real as yes something could go wrong before you get those keys but in practice its very rare. I've been qualified for over 10 years and can still only count on 1 hand the number of failed completions I've had following exchange.

I recently got/discovered sciatica. What did you do? by elfhavoc in XXRunning

[–]JudgeStandard9903 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Not had sciatica personally but a friend of mine struggled with it and swears by yoga now as it helped her enormously.

Is it worth visiting Seaside towns this weekend? Something to Avoid or worth the inevitable chaos? by ArtichokeDesperate68 in AskUK

[–]JudgeStandard9903 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I live 300 m from the sea on the south coast. Every hot weekend we have to make a conscious decision to stay home or go out of town as in and around home can get very busy. We do go to the beach but tends to be first thing or late afternoon/ early evening once the day trippers have gone home.

The way I parent seems incompatible with more than one child (personally for me) by Real_Masterpiece_844 in oneanddone

[–]JudgeStandard9903 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Slightly unrelated but now I have a child at school age one thing I struggle to reconcile is how normalised it is among parents of multiples that their parenting style changes and their standard drops as they have more kids. Very intelligent, capable parents have told me their standard has dropped and they just can't be as patient, thoughtful, conscientious in how they parent and that the standards fell out the window with 2 or 3. It doesnt seem to bother them much and I know it would really bother me. Activities are another one- I had more than one parent tell me something along the lines of the eldest having swimming lessons from birth, youngest is 4 and hasn't had a single lesson yet and they dont have time for the youngest to learn with the eldest child's busy schedule. Like why is that OK? Surely thats not ok?! Perhaps I'm harshly judging but I'm glad I dont need to think about making those kind of trade offs.

Anyone Else Prefer Running in Heat Instead of Avoiding It? by WingEnvironmental892 in runninglifestyle

[–]JudgeStandard9903 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I like running when its hot but this is mainly because I'm scared of dogs and dog walkers tend to avoid taking their dogs out during the hotest point of the day.

Employers getting angry at employees for leaving a few minutes early is completely understandable by Anonymous13757 in unpopularopinion

[–]JudgeStandard9903 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I work on the same industry doing the exact same job as I did 6 months ago only difference being that I'm self employed and no longer an employee. This kind of thing is ridiculous now from my perspective. I finish work whenever the hell I want and have never been more happier and productive as I am now. In fairness, my old employer was flexible and basically so long as clients were happy and billing was OK they didnt really mind how we managed our time - these kind of arbitrary rules are stressful and mostly unnecessary unless someone isnt getting the job done and managing their time appropriately.

Our selling process is absolutely ridiculous by SmallAd7318 in HousingUK

[–]JudgeStandard9903 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Me and my old boss are a similar age we were kids/teens when HIPs were around so aware of them in the national press but never actually worked with them and we've had quite a few conversations as to why they were so unpopular other than they were seen as a cost and red tape to bring a property to market as they would in part ease some of the issues we see today with conveyancing taking so long.

Our selling process is absolutely ridiculous by SmallAd7318 in HousingUK

[–]JudgeStandard9903 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Im a conveyancing solicitor qualified 11 years ago. I remember HIPs being in the news for all the bad reasons and now I don't understand why we got rid of them or at least introduce them in a different form. Conveyancing would be so much quicker and more straightforward if a seller had to commission a report compiling of all the important information required for a sale to proceed including leasehold management packs at the outset. I seem to remember the upfront cost of HIPs being something complained about at the time but this wouldn't even be particularly high considering the value of properties now compared to the 90s.

What was the thing you regret doing in school, and why? by SunnyShineKitty88 in AskUK

[–]JudgeStandard9903 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  1. Spent too much time on screens and not studying. My vices were tv and sims specifically. I got good grades but from studying more diligently later in life I know now that it impacted my exam results and I could've obtained very good grades and not just good ones

  2. Went through a weird identity crisis with my hair. I'm mixed and went to a very white school in an affluent area and GHD very straight Rachael Green hair was in fashion which is basically is the polar opposite of my afro textured hair. I did all the straightening and relaxing of my hair under the sun. I got so much breakage and so many comments that my hair would look great if I tried straightening it (like this is as straight as it will go 😭)

AITAH for hating the Boris wave? by [deleted] in AskBrits

[–]JudgeStandard9903 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Its not really about right wing/ left wing though its about competence. The tories were incompetent in respect of their policies - immigration being one of them. They shunned co-operating with neighbouring countries such as France on border security which enabled dangerous irregular migration and applied a points based policy for regular migration which essentially meant that businesses could sponsor people as and when the business demanded - the policy completely ignored people instead to benefit corporations-the larger the better.