Life is riddled with a procession of minor impediments

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So, thanks for all your interest in this, and apologies for banging on sometimes - but that's what working by myself does to me.

The car is back and the repair cost - after some discounts - came to the princely sum of £38.76, the problem being due to a faulty 'earth cable'. So, on one hand I'm grateful it hasn't cost much, but on the another hand I'm annoyed that it took a week to resolve what seems to be a simple issue, and that the car didn't appear to have been moved for nearly a week.

Anyway, all's well that ends well. Cheers!

[Batman's Superior Cousin]

WTF is an 'earth cable'?

[TordelBack]

WTF is an 'earth cable'?

Its the bit that links one terminal of your battery to the chassis of your car, so that all the circuits of the various electrical systems can be completed easily instead of having to make their way back to the battery individually.  A.k.a. the ground wire.

One benefit of owning a 16 year-old Fiesta is that you get to learn these things as a matter of weekly necessity. 

[HdE]

I was verbally abused in a coffee shop yesterday by a  girl for the heinous act if bumping her with my backpack.

Basically, it was crowded, myself, some friends and the girl were all at the counter, and a group jostled past us on their way out, which is what caused the bumping. Naturally, being the polite person that I am, I turned around quickly and said 'oh my, I'm sorry.'

The girl's response was 'I should f***ing think so!'

But the part that really got me was that she followed that up immediately with 'Watch what you're doing, you ugly bastard!'

The staff saw this but did nothing. I was momentarily taken aback. My friends got ther coffee and went off to find a seat. I took mine... and went to find another seat... at the gobby little cowbag's table.

She was sat with friends, who obviously felt awkward as soon as I took a seat opposite them, before giving their gal pal a VERY forceful lecture on manners and the foolhardiness of antagonising strangers in public.

A member of staff came over to ask if everything was alright, clearly concerned, and I made my feelings on the matter clear. Because they tried to protest and claim they had done nothing wrong, the discussion escalated, they were verbally abusive to the member of staff, and then thrown out.

The staff member tried to gently suggest that I shouldn't have approached the girls, but I pre-empted her and told her that, if she had seen and heard what went on, she should have done something about it there and then, which she grudgingly agreed with.

I may not have handled this particularly wisely... but I feel glad to have made a stand on the issue.

What I can't process is - who the hell attacks somebody, ostensibly over their looks, over being bumped in queue? Who responds to such a minor thing in such a vicious manner? What the hell is wrong with people?

[The Legendary Shark]

Just screwy human nature - she probably fancied you but panicked.

[Dandontdare]

sounds like a stroppy cow but the whole thing could've been avoided by NOT WEARING A BACKPACK IN A CROWDED PLACE! (sorry, this is one of my pet hates!). I would've pointed this out in a slightly irritated fashion if you'd bumped me, but there's no need for name-calling.

[HdE]

My advice to you, then, DDD, is to avoid population centres. Such as towns, shops, maybe even the connecting streets... anywhere people are going about their business on foot, there's a severe risk that they may be carrying a modest amount of baggage!

[HdE]

Sorry for the double post, but I missed Sharky's post:

Just screwy human nature - she probably fancied you but panicked.

Sadly, I doubt it! Well, not sadly, actually, as she was no oil painting herself. The sheer level of venom behind her words was breathtaking. Even the staff member who dealt with the situation commented to me that her behaviour was 'over the top'.

This is the thing that really disturbs me about that kind of behaviour, though:  if it had been from some stroppy 20 year old, I'd have given her some verbal back and thought nothing of it. But this girl looked to be in her late 20s, maybe even early 30s. And nicely dressed.

It's an attitude problem, pure and simple. This whole 'nobody matters but me' mentality that people seem to have been trained into, the casual disregard for how they make people around them feel - not just me, I hasten to add - several other customers looked pretty aghast at her behaviour... it's a dire indictment of modern values.

[Dandontdare]

My advice to you, then, DDD, is to avoid population centres. Such as towns, shops, maybe even the connecting streets... anywhere people are going about their business on foot, there's a severe risk that they may be carrying a modest amount of baggage!

yes, but when you enter a crowded building, or get on a bus or train, a polite person, who doesn't have that  " 'nobody matters but me' mentality" takes the pack off their back and carries it by their side rather than barging around knocking into people every time they turn around.

[The Legendary Shark]

If you put a loud clock in your backpack, or a digital clock on a countdown, or a few wires sticking out, then I'll wager fewer people will bump into you. Of course, you'll have to weigh the advantages of less jostling against the possibility of being gunned down in the street like a mad dog.

[Dark Jimbo]

Had a similarly bizarre encounter on a train a few years ago. Sat down at a table that only had one youngish woman sat at it, reading a book and eating a sandwich. As I started to take off my bag she looked up and said pleasantly, 'Can you sit somewhere else, please?'

'Oh, sorry!' I said - my immediate thought being that I'd sat in the seat of her friend/travelling companion. I was already putting my bag back on and halfway to getting up as I added, 'Why's that?'

Her smiling face remained a mask. She blinked at me and repeated, 'Can you sit somewhere else?'

I hesitated in my seat, wondering if it was me or if the encounter had suddenly gone a bit strange. 'Why?' I repeated. Not that it really mattered, but a reason would have been nice.

Still the empty smile, increasingly fixed and false. A very long moment passed and she very pointedly said 'Sit somewhere else.'

I told her - politely but firmly - that I wasn't going anywhere unless she gave me a reason. Another long, uncomfortable moment passed, and then she said, brightly 'Fine. That's fine.' She made a great show of putting her book away, packing up all her stuff and leaving the table. Stood above me, she announced grandly, by way of explanation, 'I object to males.' And then flounced off down the carriage.

[Old Tankie]

If you really want to see how ignorant people can be, try being disabled.  The stories I could tell!!

[HdE]

yes, but when you enter a crowded building, or get on a bus or train, a polite person, who doesn't have that  " 'nobody matters but me' mentality" takes the pack off their back and carries it by their side rather than barging around knocking into people every time they turn around.
[/quote]

Yeah - really DIDN'T appreciate the tone or phrasing of that post, DDD, if I'm honest. JESUS CHRIST! This happened because I had my bag on my shoulder?! My half empty bag with a panda soft crumplezone?

No it didn't.

I've been bumped by careless folks in shops plenty of times. Do I turn around effing and blinding at them and then calling them 'ugly bastards'? No. Because that's beyond the pale. In this case, it wasn't even my fault - Somebody who genuinely wasn't looking where they were going bumped me, and I bumped Madam Cowbag. The domino effect!

You'll have to forgive my spikiness on this, DDD. But we're not all selfish, inconsiderate idiots. Try to assume better, eh? I think you're pretty cool otherwise. I actually DO do exactly what you mentioned in your post as a matter of course - it just happened to be the one time I didn't. Bad luck, and all that.


Looking at other posts:

Dark Jimbo - you did right there, I think. I'd have been tempted to make a retort along the lines of 'That's fine - I object to people who think they can dictate to others.' But only because I actually do! You give attitude, you get it back, after all.

And I've seen enough stuff to know broadly what you mean, Old Tankie. There used to be an old guy who would camp out in our high street in a wheelchair with a little Bontempi organ and a battery pack, who would play simple one handed tunes all afternoon. I remember walking past him one day, and two kids stopped next to him. One of them put his can of drink on the guy's keyboard so he could stop to tie his shoelace!

People are capable of a supreme level of ignorance. Sometimes it's amusing, other times it's soul destroying.

[JamesC]

I have to say I agree that you shouldn't be wearing a backpack indoors - especially if it's crowded. I work in a public building and it's something I see all the time - people with backpacks turning around and knocking into people. If I wear a backpack I take it off when I go indoors and if I were in a coffee queue I'd probably shuffle it along between my legs.
Having said that, this girls reaction was totally out of order and I agree that the staff should have done something earlier.

[The Legendary Shark]

Put your coat over your pack and pretend to be a hunchback.