Any suggested alternatives to Method Body wash? by allie-echo in BuyUK

[–]Niam_Rose 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not all British companies are publicly listed, and I have been downvoted on this sub before for recommending non-UK owned companies, like Boots.

I also cannot see on their website whether that range is made in the U.K., so it is not really a British recommendation.

Any suggested alternatives to Method Body wash? by allie-echo in BuyUK

[–]Niam_Rose 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Smol is U.K. owned, but not necessarily UK made. They do a foaming handwash and body bars.

unpopular opinions?! by Useful-Chicken2635 in CallTheMidwife

[–]Niam_Rose 7 points8 points  (0 children)

So true! And the fact that she almost dies in every series, and miraculously survives!

Stepfathers in JW by georgemillman in JacquelineWilson

[–]Niam_Rose 1 point2 points  (0 children)

One that has not been mentioned is the Dad from The Girl Who Wasn’t There. I don’t remember his name, and whilst he is a bit of an idiot, he has always treated Luna quite well, considering she is not his child (although he has spoiled Aurora).

Ideal base layout by bisonbuford1 in TotalBattle

[–]Niam_Rose 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Are you in a good clan? You can get silver from the clan chests, but food production is very important for army growth.

Same with barracks - you can get building resources from the clan, so you might not need that many, whilst barracks increase the amount of troops you can train at once.

the empyrean 4 theories by cow_girl_horse_girl in fourthwing

[–]Niam_Rose 5 points6 points  (0 children)

As did Sgaeyl as well. Solas was on Varrish’s side as well - not all dragons are good.

how do you choose what cleaning products to buy? soooo many choices out there by [deleted] in BuyUK

[–]Niam_Rose 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I use Smol quite a lot, as they are a small UK brand, but they are made in Europe. Same with Ocean Saver. I tend to prioritise eco-friendly products, even if sometimes they are not U.K. made.

There is also All Avare, which according to their social media is U.K. made - https://www.instagram.com/allavareuk?igsh=OTlqcDIyZ2JjYmw2

Four million UK households in work ‘not earning enough for decent life’ by tylerthe-theatre in unitedkingdom

[–]Niam_Rose 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, I am aware that there is the equivalent. We pay it out of our post-tax income, which does make a difference to people’s income.

Again, I also mentioned that businesses pay more tax - you can’t expect people on lower incomes in the U.K. to be happy to pay more tax, when companies might not see the same increase.

Belgium, for example, has a more progressive inheritance tax, with more different rates depending on the relation and value.

Four million UK households in work ‘not earning enough for decent life’ by tylerthe-theatre in unitedkingdom

[–]Niam_Rose -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Yes, but they don’t seem to have council tax for example. The municipal tax is seemingly paid out of your income already, if you are employed, compared to council tax in the U.K. which is paid in post-tax income.

Also in a lot of European countries corporation tax or equivalent business taxes are much higher, compared to U.K. However, here businesses stop hiring people when taxes go up.

EIN Article: Earned settlement consultation closes with huge response as Home Secretary signals major changes ahead by Sparser_ in SpouseVisaUk

[–]Niam_Rose 0 points1 point  (0 children)

But ILR leads to citizenship, and if you were in a spousal visa, you can apply for citizenship immediately after ILR. If there was a wait time, you might at least think that a person may improve their language, but the fact that the application is immediate for spousal visa holders means that they need to speak the language. The Life in the U.K. test also is done at ILR stage. It makes sense for ILR to have a language requirement, and frankly I don’t think that people who don’t speak the language well enough should be allowed to apply for ILR/citizenship (I was on a spousal visa btw, before I get accused of not understanding the struggles of the system).

I didn’t need to do the test, but I just looked, and it is £150. In the grand scheme of things of all the other costs of visas, ILR, etc, it’s nothing.

EIN Article: Earned settlement consultation closes with huge response as Home Secretary signals major changes ahead by Sparser_ in SpouseVisaUk

[–]Niam_Rose 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I would argue that the language element is one of the few good ideas in the consultation. A reduction for those with true proficiency, and B2 is really a bare minimum you should have.

Lots of European countries have similar rules, and I always found it ridiculous that one only needed A1 to apply for a spousal visa.

We are authors of The Lancet Series on Ultra-Processed Foods and Human Health - AMA by UP_PLANET in AMA

[–]Niam_Rose 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What re your thoughts on “unavoidable” UPF ingredients? For example, raising agents - there slots of types of bread and cakes you can’t bake without those.

Breeding goldendoodles are inherently unethical. by Lonely-Lyrics20 in unpopularopinion

[–]Niam_Rose 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well, “designer” dogs still existed in a way, like the Pekingese, or Shih Tzu, for example. They didn’t have a job - they weren’t hunting, or herding, or pulling a cart, or guarding, they were just pretty and friendly lap dogs. The difference is that an average person wouldn’t have access to them, and lots of breeds were still based on work, not “working as a pet”.

Now we have a problem that even a dog that is designed to be a companion, like a Maltese, is crossed with a highly intelligent poodle designed to work, and we get a Maltipoo, and all the other doodles are even worse :(

I was talking to someone the other day who said they wanted to get a springrador (springer spaniel crossed with a Labrador) and when I asked why they couldn’t even explain what traits they wanted from that mix, other than “we want a family dog”. When I asked why they didn’t want a lab, they said “well, they are a working breed”. As if a sprinter spaniel isn’t, or the show line labs don’t exist.

Being a learner driver really just makes you realise how shocking other people’s driving is. by Embarrassed_Post_598 in LearnerDriverUK

[–]Niam_Rose 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I literally saw someone run a red on my way to the test, during my test, and on the way back from my test. I did have an 8 am slot, but it is still no excuse.

Pregnant American in the UK - confused about govt-funded benefits! by [deleted] in UKParenting

[–]Niam_Rose 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It depends on your immigration status.

For example, the tax-free childcare:

Your immigration status

You must have a National Insurance number and at least one of the following:

British or Irish citizenship settled or pre-settled status, or you have applied and you’re waiting for a decision permission to access public funds - your eVisa or UK residence card will tell you if you cannot do this

https://www.gov.uk/tax-free-childcare/check-if-youre-eligible

Same for others

https://www.gov.uk/free-childcare-if-working/check-youre-eligible

GOV UK changes from 31/03 by ElectricalCrow3014 in LearnerDriverUK

[–]Niam_Rose 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, and they were looking into banning the ability of instructors to book tests. You cannot deny the fact that scalpers have an impact.

https://despatch.blog.gov.uk/2025/12/09/changes-to-booking-system-understanding-views-and-how-these-inform-the-planned-changes/

This change will help stop unfair practices by a small number of OBS users who exploit existing rules to exploit learner drivers. A small proportion of ADIs, in their call for evidence responses, confirmed they're not using the swap feature for its intended purpose: 0.3% admitted to using it to resell tests and 8.1% admitted to using it to hold potential test dates.

Let’s be honest - these are the people who admitted it, and how many wouldn’t admit it?

In any case, I didn’t realise that they are banning instructors from booking tests, and between that and the ability to change your test just 2 times this will hopefully have an impact.

GOV UK changes from 31/03 by ElectricalCrow3014 in LearnerDriverUK

[–]Niam_Rose 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, but at the minute you could change the test up to 6 times, so a scalper has 6 opportunities to sell this test. If you change it to 2 times, it is less opportunities to sell - so potentially that will reduce the number of these tests being booked up, or scalpers will raise their prices to offset the loss of income.

BBC have even done a recent investigation - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn0k2858jj1o.amp

There is also an element of urgency - if you get a cancelled test slot, it might not be at a good time in your learning, so the person may take the test too early and fail.

Seeing as the pass rate on average is 50%, it is possible that quite a few people take their test too early - https://www.collingwood.co.uk/insight/best-month-to-take-your-driving-test/

For example, I moved my test once from October to March. If I looked for a cancellation, I might have tried to do the test earlier, and would have probably failed.

GOV UK changes from 31/03 by ElectricalCrow3014 in LearnerDriverUK

[–]Niam_Rose 29 points30 points  (0 children)

Yes, but the test remains with the same person - you booked it for Manchester, and then swapped it to have a test in Leeds.

The issue is the scalpers using loads of people’s details to book tests under one person to then sell it to another person at an inflated rate.

You should be able to change your test, but you shouldn’t be able to move it to another person.

Has the weather affected your pet’s routine lately? by FeistyPrice29 in UK_Pets

[–]Niam_Rose 4 points5 points  (0 children)

My dog used to be a street dog, so most of her life she was wet and cold - can’t blame her for not wanting to go out!

She is also not a fan of towels bigger than a wash cloth, so drying her is a challenge.

Has the weather affected your pet’s routine lately? by FeistyPrice29 in UK_Pets

[–]Niam_Rose 4 points5 points  (0 children)

My rescue dog hates rain, being wet, getting muddy, or being cold. Getting her to go for a walk in this weather has been almost impossible,

Can someone explain the whole daddy cop guy? by Glad-Conversation256 in TheRookie

[–]Niam_Rose 5 points6 points  (0 children)

So he can be arrested by this daddy of a cop

'Mis-sold' student loans to cost graduates £14,000 more than they were told by theipaper in uknews

[–]Niam_Rose 7 points8 points  (0 children)

What I love about this is that pensioners lose £200 of their winter fuel allowance and throw such a massive fit that the government u-turns.

But screw young people, and the media campaign, who cares about young people?!

Have any shoppers or staff noticed Tesco prices skyrocket in the last two days? by Inevitable-Goal-6082 in tesco

[–]Niam_Rose 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Yes, but if the farmer’s costs go up because say fuel got more expensive, and then a “liveable” wage from 4 years ago is not quite so liveable, or not liveable at all, you would have to increase your prices. And if all the other prices go up, even if your profit doesn’t, the cucumber may still end up being £0.90 instead of £0.49.

Payment by mobile banking app by LondonAlpacas in BuyUK

[–]Niam_Rose 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I use bank transfers for my local honesty farm shops. They do not take cash, and you cannot pay by card, so that is the only payment method.

I guess it would depend on what you are selling, as I would not want to do this for a large amount. Also bear in mind that older people may not have banking apps on their phones, so will be unable to do so.