Life is riddled with a procession of minor impediments

[Banners]

According to a Solicitor we are having to deal with (and who seemingly refuses to take my calls), the Marriage Certificate which was hand-written on watermarked paper in black ink, signed by the Deputy Superintendent Registrar before the very eyes of ourselves and the 70-strong congregation, and which was presented to us during our wedding ceremony, is not ample evidence of my wife and I being married.

Rather than have me send this very certificate to them in order to prove we're married, the Solicitor's assistant says that I have to get it photocopied, get this photocopy signed by a clerk at a Post Office, and then send the signed photocopy.

How that makes any sort of sense, and how these people make more money than me, I really don't know.

[Daveycandlish]

I'm surprised they didn't ask for a photocopy of your wife as well.

[The Enigmatic Dr X]

According to a Solicitor we are having to deal with (and who seemingly refuses to take my calls), the Marriage Certificate which was hand-written on watermarked paper in black ink, signed by the Deputy Superintendent Registrar before the very eyes of ourselves and the 70-strong congregation, and which was presented to us during our wedding ceremony, is not ample evidence of my wife and I being married.

Rather than have me send this very certificate to them in order to prove we're married, the Solicitor's assistant says that I have to get it photocopied, get this photocopy signed by a clerk at a Post Office, and then send the signed photocopy.

How that makes any sort of sense, and how these people make more money than me, I really don't know.

There's a kind of good news/ bad news thing there. On the one hand, you might not be married. On the other hand, you might not be married.

(NB - yes, I am currently writing a best man's speech)

[A.Cow]

There's a kind of good news/ bad news thing there. On the one hand, you might not be married. On the other hand, you might not be married.

That actually happened to me, about 15 years back.  We discovered that the marriage certificate had been signed in the wrong places (groom & chief bridesmaid transposed).  Despite the true situation being readily evident to anybody looking at the certificate, it caused a truck-load of fuss and we had to get it fixed to ensure we were legally married.  If only I'd have had the sense to run off at that point...   

[Link Prime]

Had an ingrown toenail removed by a chiropodist during my lunch break today.
No anaesthetic. F-ckin OUCH.

[Colin Zeal]

I wanted to go out and buy the latest Casefiles at lunch today but instead had to spend my time buying stuff for my new flat. While I'm sure the bathmat and clothes stand will be useful I'd much rather have got the Casefile.

[radiator]

Failed my bloody driving test. Immediately wanted to go for a couples of pints then remembered that it's 9 in the morning!

Shove your roundabouts up your arse, I'm off to America.

[Link Prime]

it's 9 in the morning!

Known round these parts as "Beer O'Clock".

Shame Radiator, but I wouldn't worry bout it.
Will you need a UK licence to be able to apply for one in the States?

[8-Ball]

Failed my bloody driving test. Immediately wanted to go for a couples of pints then remembered that it's 9 in the morning!

Shove your roundabouts up your arse, I'm off to America.

I failed mine 16 times. Yes, that is SIXTEEN times. I'm pretty sure they just passed me so that they didn't have to see me again. Chin up.

[Trout]

Took me four goes to get it. Never mind, Radiator. You'll get another chance soon enough.

[Tiplodocus]

Failed my bloody driving test. Immediately wanted to go for a couples of pints then remembered that it's 9 in the morning!

Shove your roundabouts up your arse, I'm off to America.

I think you'll find they call them "Roataries".  And they were so few and far between in California that we didn't notice that's what the sat nav called them till we got back to Blighty.

[radiator]

I'm pretty sure I'll have no problem once roundabouts and manual gears are out of the equation! Control of the car is fine, I have no problems at all with maneuvers, just get a bit rattled at busy junctions and roundabouts.

I know there's a lot of macho pride bullshit that goes along with  learning manual, but to be honest I found the experience weirdly antiquated and needlessly fiddly, with no discernible advantage over automatic.

Just getting used to the gears is a big barrier which takes a good 10 hours to get comfortable with, and makes the (infinitely more important) observation side of things far trickier to concentrate on.

At the end of the day I just think I could have done with another 5-10 hours of lessons, but time was very tight. I don't think I would take a test in London again either - it's nervewracking enough without having to contend with those nightmare roundabouts.

[mogzilla]

toilet got blocked and started leaking! and the steam part of the steam shower stopped working due to the plastic bit that gets hot melting  !  so waiting in for my plumber bloke.

[Colin Zeal]

Radiator: Would it be possible for you to try and book your next test further out towards the sticks? I did mine down in south London (Morden possibly) and found it was much better than a lot of the places in the more built up areas. I certainly didn't have the same horror stories as my friends who went through Wood Green Test Centre, which was the one nearest to where I lived. The roads seemed slightly calmer which definitely helped.

I should point out that I only passed on my third attempt so this isn't totally perfect. I would put that down to my own failings though rather than any in the area where I was driving.

[Frank]

I failed twice, and I was just as pish on my third (successful) attempt as I was on the previous two. All the best drivers pass on attempt number two or three; my pal passed first time, and used to give me terrible stick for failing - he's written off three cars so far, and the worst I've done is reverse into an unsighted bollard with a works van at low speed.