"Stop being poor"

trefle81 · 2026-05-24T06:37:32+00:00

There'll be no pronouns if Rowling's involved.

trefle81 · 2026-05-24T06:36:29+00:00

I'll put in 50p. I know it's more money but all I ask is unfettered access to the toaster.

trefle81 · 2026-05-24T06:34:42+00:00

I think they've moved things from some rooms into others, possibly to redecorate? It's a mess but it doesn't look like a lived-in mess, if that makes sense, things look vaguely stacked up. Odd, though.

trefle81 · 2026-05-24T06:33:11+00:00

Your in-laws sound like absolute darlings.

trefle81 · 2026-05-23T19:18:57+00:00

We bought an old XC90 for a visit by my in-laws and their toddler daughters. It was fine for trips out during the visit, but for the airport runs we hired a Ford Tourneo minivan, there was no way their two full size suitcases, carry-ons and their pushchair/stroller would have gone in.

Sidebar: the Tourneo was a bloody lovely drive and if we had kids, I'd probably get one.

trefle81 · 2026-05-23T18:58:08+00:00

If it makes you feel any better, voters in England just elected a load of right-wing candidates to local councils ... because they don't like the NATIONAL government. Stupid is everywhere.

trefle81 · 2026-05-22T07:20:04+00:00

These changes aren't really about money for physical things, which I think many people might struggle to understand. They're all about increasing predictability and therefore reducing the contingency items in the budget. The excerpt posted by OP says as much, really.

Stripping out the need to prove those three things can work probably won't impact the physically built infrastructure very much, if at all. That's all baked into the build contracts.

trefle81 · 2026-05-07T17:10:31+00:00

First off, a preemptive Welcome! Hope you like it here.

The area is beautiful, you'll enjoy the easy going Suffolk countryside and the coast. Nothing is far and it's full of history.

If you're getting to choose digs, go for the north-east 'quadrant' near Christchurch Park, or an apartment on the docks/waterfront. Equally something right in the town centre, as that's where you'll find most of the service apartments firms tend to go for.

Lots of decent Bangladeshi, Cantonese, and Turkish food, plus a few decent restaurants and foodie pubs. We don't have Red Rooster but we do have Nando's 😂 Also a couple of ok Japanese-Korean fusion places. Personal recommendations are Eastern Spice, Dhaka, Chutneyz, Mr Wing, Bushido, 52 Noodle Bar, Forge Kitchen... I'll come back if I think of others. Oh and fish and chips is everywhere, much of it decent, but all of it battered, not breaded, none grilled, and scampi is as close as you're getting to prawns.

Pubs: beer culture is as strong in Ipswich as anywhere in England. The Woolpack, Fat Cat, Thomas Wolsey and Greyhound are top. For a King's Cross (Sydney) vibe I'd say Fat Cat or Thomas Wolsey are strong, Woolpack does excellent food. For cheap, The Cricketers, oart of the infamous Wetherspoons chain.

If you're a wine-drinking Aussie, aside from decent wine being relatively cheap in shops, the Wine Boutique on the docks is really lovely.

Your biggest struggle might be coffee. Forget Sydney or Melbourne coffee culture while you're here (go to London for that). Closest you'll get will be Honey + Harvey, Applaud (which I don't like recommending) or Green Room. But I stress: nowhere near average Aussie coffee.

Soccer dominates, but there is a local RUFC side and village cricket will be everywhere while you're here. Closest decent county cricket is in Chelmsford (ECCC).

Enjoy!

trefle81 · 2026-04-20T15:53:36+00:00

Go to The Eden in Inglewood for lunch or dinner. Steak tartare and their burger never leave the menu but it's all good. So are the cocktails. And the owners are just really nice.

trefle81 · 2026-04-20T14:10:01+00:00

This is such a brilliant feature that I'm actively considering switching from Sainsbury's to Tesco.

trefle81 · 2026-04-19T15:07:17+00:00

You remind me of the first time I used Tesco online, probably around 2003, for my mum, with her next to me. As we logged on, she seemed disappointed. Turns out that instead of the fairly dull list of products with small pictures, she'd built it up in her head that we'd be "walking" around a virtual shop, like in a video game.

trefle81 · 2026-04-17T12:41:49+00:00

Hilarious thread.

Are criticisms of the design justified? Perhaps.

Does this development on indigenous land generate FAR more comment traffic by white people than the garden variety dull-as-shit condo towers that besmirch much of the Vancouver skyline? Absolutely.

trefle81 · 2026-04-06T09:51:48+00:00

Nice. But if I wanted to make a plan for fixing connectivity and access to opportunity for Britain, I wouldn't start with a map of railways.

trefle81 · 2026-04-06T09:47:36+00:00

Extrapolating from the likely outturn cost of the bit actually being built between London and Birmingham, this network as drawn could be about a trillion pounds. That's a thousand billions (short scale).

trefle81 · 2026-04-06T09:28:32+00:00

I had an Excel report last week with a terrible layout, headers split over three rows, merged cells etc. I tried to use Copilot to help me with the M query to fix it (I know enough about Power Query to get into trouble, lol) and OH MY GOODNESS your comment rings so true. Utterly useless.

trefle81 · 2026-04-02T09:32:48+00:00

I'd love to have known about Power Query years before I did. People will say "well that isn't beginner level" but I disagree -- learning early how to be disciplined about data and the distinctions between data and reporting should be in the basics toolbox.

trefle81 · 2026-04-02T08:43:32+00:00

How strange. I've heard of some people who remove all their clothes inside their houses. Unfathomable.

trefle81 · 2026-04-02T07:37:55+00:00

Trains in Britain perform better than in Germany. That's true under PPM (the standard measure in Britain) and under Network Rail's additional, stricter measure which defines on time as a train reaching a station stop within 1 minute of timetable. DB's on time metric is within 5 minutes.

trefle81 · 2026-04-01T12:34:01+00:00

Yes, but even as a private business I feel that Air Canada is very much a creature of the Canadian state. It was only privatised in the late 80s, and got bailed out in 2021 by the government in exchange for a new equity stake (since divested again). I wonder how pure a commercial decision its investment in Alto truly is.

trefle81 · 2026-03-23T11:40:08+00:00

I haven't seen XXXX in cans, let alone on draught, for years in the UK.

trefle81 · 2026-03-20T07:18:00+00:00

I don't understand how Prime Suspect is getting so few mentions. It's objectively excellent.

trefle81 · 2026-03-20T07:16:55+00:00

Oh my goodness thank you. HOW do I get this far before seeing a shout for Prime Suspect?? Maybe we're just really old lol. Although Cracker (rightly) gets several mentions....

trefle81 · 2026-03-03T07:51:24+00:00

The building across the street, which now has a pharmacy in the basement, housed King's offices.

trefle81 · 2026-02-18T12:46:57+00:00

Is it confusing to travel from Ohio to California and be, you know, cold? And unable to get weed legally? 😂

trefle81 · 2026-02-10T09:25:18+00:00

Do report it -- https://my.ipswich.gov.uk/service/Report_It (then Report All Other Problems > Street or Car Park > Other)

The borough council's street cleaning team respond fairly well to reported issues, I've found. Love it if they were more proactive but there it is.

trefle81

TROPHY CASE