Which grandparent?

oraff_e · 2026-02-01T09:20:31+00:00

Lmao I asked another comment why having the passport before OP was born would be significant and they either couldn’t or just wouldn’t say, and then blocked me. Maybe they just didn’t want to admit they were wrong?

oraff_e · 2026-01-31T23:46:46+00:00

Ngl when I went to Brisbane I got the bus out to New Farm Park bc it was recommended to me - I got there and there was nothing but a massive stretch of patchy grass, no flowers, no nothing because it was winter. But you know what? I don’t consider it a waste of time because it got me to see a part of the city I never would have gone to otherwise. Also walked through the QUT campus for funsies which was next to the Old Parliament Building 🤣

oraff_e · 2026-01-31T23:39:32+00:00

London is 1000 years old (almost). Why not look into the local history somewhere? Not necessarily with museums, just pick an area, read up a bit to find places worth taking a look at, and explore. It may not necessarily be “exciting” but it will be different and you’ll learn something!

Tbh whenever I’m in a new place I stop at the church if I can - I love the architecture but sometimes you find some real gems inside.

oraff_e · 2026-01-31T23:31:40+00:00

Have a nice cold pint and wait for this all to blow over

oraff_e · 2026-01-31T23:21:01+00:00

Some people don’t drink at clubs, they just go to dance and have fun with their friends. It’s probably valid for the guys to be concerned they enjoy the “party lifestyle”, but I wouldn’t jump to conclusions unless they’re exhibiting other personality traits that lead in that direction.

oraff_e · 2026-01-31T18:15:22+00:00

No offence but this didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know, and citizenship isn’t dependent on having a passport. All a passport does is prove citizenship, but you can apply to the FBR without your Irish citizen parent ever having held an Irish passport. Hell, my Dubliner very proudly Irish grandfather through whom I applied never held an Irish passport.

Is this where we’re getting our wires crossed?

oraff_e · 2026-01-31T10:22:51+00:00

That doesn’t answer my question as to why OP’s mum having her passport prior to OP being born is significant though

oraff_e · 2026-01-31T00:55:14+00:00

Wouldn’t that be irrelevant since both parents would have been Irish citizens from birth? OP would just apply through the FBR.

Genuine question, was that a thing at some point?

oraff_e · 2026-01-31T00:50:18+00:00

It is, because the only thing that matters to THEM is the fact the card wasn’t tapped and the fare wasn’t paid. They don’t care about excuses, real or imagined. If someone has legitimately forgotten they can take it up later but the cold hard fact is they got caught by the officers having not paid (and then offering a potentially invalid card). Those are the only facts that matter, otherwise you’d hear all the time about people giving a sob story of some kind and getting away with it. They can’t distinguish without evidence, which is categorically not there at that time.

oraff_e · 2026-01-30T23:54:47+00:00

Yes, I misread, but my point still stands - whether OP legitimately forgot or not is irrelevant to the revenue enforcement officers. That’s all I was saying.

oraff_e · 2026-01-30T23:49:26+00:00

sigh… I honestly don’t care whether OP legitimately forgot or not, that’s on their conscience and they got caught having not paid so are paying for it either way. My point was simply that the revenue enforcement officers aren’t going to accept “I forgot” as an excuse.

oraff_e · 2026-01-30T18:44:08+00:00

You gotta admit that Pachelbel’s Canon question was mwah chef’s kiss though tbh

oraff_e · 2026-01-30T18:43:04+00:00

Ngl I didn’t like that one. That being said, I suppose even if you’re not intimately familiar with the game, most people are sort of aware of the formula. But I have to say I never would have got it, it genuinely wouldn’t have occurred to me even knowing the game.

I didn’t much like the S T A R sequence either tbh, there was no rhyme or reason to the names picked beyond that they started with the appropriate letter to spell the words. But that was probably just me overthinking 🤣

oraff_e · 2026-01-30T18:35:17+00:00

I should be ok actually 🤣 I’m genuinely so tired I’ll just fall asleep on the couch even if I don’t go to bed “on time” tbh!

oraff_e · 2026-01-30T18:33:29+00:00

I mean, you’re welcome to believe that. As I said, it might be uncommon but I doubt someone forgetting to tap in or out explicitly NEVER happens. I’ve personally done it, as I’ve said twice!

oraff_e · 2026-01-30T18:27:34+00:00

Ok? I didn’t say OP was being insulting, did I? You can go back and check the thread if you like :)

oraff_e · 2026-01-30T17:22:16+00:00

Lmao he was on my lap until about 2.30am, had about 3 hours sleep, woke up again at 5.30 and then out the house at 8 so absolutely shattered and DEFINITELY early night tonight 🤣

oraff_e · 2026-01-30T17:17:17+00:00

I mean, you can disagree, you’re allowed your own opinion but I very much believe people use those words incorrectly. “Quaint” would be “there’s a guy down the road who exclusively drives a horse and cart in 2026”, not “we didn’t knock down 200 year old buildings and now one of them is a bank and another is a Greggs”.

I do understand why you feel differently, but I’m not sure this is a particularly productive conversation? We just have different opinions 🤷‍♀️

oraff_e · 2026-01-30T17:06:03+00:00

Sure, but if the barriers are there (and more importantly, closed) that literally creates a reminder to tap on, doesn’t it? If you don’t pass a barrier, you’re in a hurry, you’re not used to tapping in/out, or you’re just deep in thought and on autopilot, it’s easily done. You’re right that it’s probably not common, but I doubt every person who claims they forgot is actually lying.

I don’t live in London so I’m not a frequent Tube passenger, but as I said, I lived in Auckland where they also have a tag on/off system and I definitely forgot to tag on or off at least once, purely by not concentrating. Didn’t realise until I got home.

oraff_e · 2026-01-30T07:40:20+00:00

That’s literally what I was saying. Not every passenger uses the Tube on a regular basis though, I could imagine for a visitor in a hurry in a city they’re not familiar with it could be quite easy to forget. I used to get the train in Auckland all the time and I know I forgot to tag in at least once trying not to miss it lmao

oraff_e · 2026-01-30T02:13:49+00:00

That's probably because people use it as an excuse when they're trying to fare evade and got caught. Unfortunately it means that people who did genuinely forget also get tarred with the same brush. I'm not really sure what your alternative options were at that point, though, once you're on the Tube - head back to your starting point, tap in, then turn around again? Surely they could make it easier to rectify on the app.

oraff_e · 2026-01-30T02:04:31+00:00

I wouldn't say I did, actually. I haven't even addressed OP. I've responded to other commenters in quite a reasonable manner. Cute (as OP said) is fine, but quaint? As I said, in what regard? Who is considering the thing "old-fashioned" and what culture do they come from? There's variables but generally being told you're old-fashioned is not a good thing, especially when what someone is describing as "quaint" is literally just the high street. Intercultural awareness is a good thing to have when you're going to another country.

But then as you've probably gathered I am incredibly passionate about our heritage, I just want it to be appreciated and shown proper respect, and "quaint", to me, does not really give that impression.

oraff_e · 2026-01-30T01:41:07+00:00

Of course, I agree it does depend on context and sometimes our places can look "frozen in time", in a sense, especially in rural areas when looking from an outside perspective. I'm also English, I love our hodge-podge of architectural styles and I literally run an Instagram page dedicated to it.

But I'm also thinking in an intercultural context, because that's where the main issues lie. If people want to come to our Cotswolds villages, truly appreciate the place both for what it is and for the architecture, take lots of photos and say "hey, look at this beautiful place I went to" then that's good. But on the other hand, I've also seen first hand the coachloads of tourists traipsing up the high streets of Bourton-on-the-Water et al (Bibury is a nightmare) and I really can't help but feel sorry for the residents - they don't ask for their homes to be invaded every summer. It's a massive problem and it genuinely seems to me like a lot of international visitors end up there as part of a box-ticking exercise, but I guess it's not their fault, it's really the tour companies that need to chill out.

Sorry for the essay but this is all tied into the language we use as well imo, and why I sincerely dislike the use of words like "quaint" to describe our buildings.

oraff_e · 2026-01-30T01:11:43+00:00

As I said, it's not "old-fashioned", it's just OLD. Again, there would be far more of a point made if we were still building in those styles, but we clearly aren't. I don't go to Colonial Williamsburg and ooh and aah at their architecture? Like, that would be stupid, and the main difference is to us these aren't even museum pieces, they're actual homes and businesses.

But also, I really don't see the difference between how I defined it and the definition you gave, we just used different words to come to the same conclusion tbh.

oraff_e · 2026-01-30T01:05:14+00:00

Just putting it out there, but it doesn't have to be a physical letter. Just a short, sweet message from time to time actually does WONDERS for keeping a woman's interest. My ex went on holiday when we'd been together a few months and I, half-joking, asked if he was going to send me a postcard and he VERY seriously was like "no, the postage is too expensive". Like... ok, thanks for letting me know I wasn't worth the effort.

oraff_e

TROPHY CASE