r/AskUK Aug 15 '23

Mod Post Has / does / will / can "anyone" questions are not allowed. Read Rule 3!

48 Upvotes

As per Rule 3, we do not allow "does / has / can / will / if anyone" questions, or questions that can be answered with a yes or a no. All questions that start or contain "anyone" (or a synonym thereof, don't be a melon) in the title will be removed. Here's some examples:

  1. Instead of "Has anyone heard about Wilkos? What do you think?" try "What do you think about the downfall of Wilkos?"
  2. Instead of "Does anyone go for walks? Where do you go?" try "Where are some secluded walks in Yorkshire?"
  3. Instead of "Can anyone recommend some good dogging sites?" try "Where are the best dogging locations in Kent?"

Don't forget, if you're asking people's experiences or for their recommendations, put the research in that you've done before coming here to ask. For example:

  1. What do you think about the downfall of Wilkos?
    Having seen the news I think it's a shame that people won't be able to get the random bits of odd crap that Wilkos sold, where will I go to get ant powder and tinsel from every other year now?
  2. Where are some secluded walks in Yorkshire?
    I've been all through the dales, from Edale to Castleford and I'm looking for something new that fewer people have been down. I've hit the top 10 list on google, so where's next? Where's your local walk?
  3. Where are the best dogging locations in Kent?
    Crufts comes about just once a year and I've got two lovely miniature Dachspoodles that I'm desparate to show off in as many dog shows as possible. I'm signed up to Paws in the Park, but where else can I go?

Put a bit of effort into your questions

We invite users to post interesting questions that create informative, good to read, insightful, helpful, or light-hearted discussions.

We do not allow basic, throwaway questions which put most of the effort on our readers to figure out, or endlessly repeating common questions that have been asked over and over again.

Questions must have a genuine, clear, and concisely posed open question in their title, and with enough information into the body of your post to allow our users to give answers


r/AskUK 2d ago

Office for National Statistics AMA - Mod Approved Hi everyone! We are Jen Woolford and Fiona Dawe from the Office for National Statistics. Do you have questions about population and migration statistics? Ask Me Anything!

57 Upvotes

We’re running a consultation where people can help shape the future of important population statistics and the ways we collect data to produce them.

Today from 1-3pm, we’re here to answer all your questions, so AMA.

Find out more about our consultation - https://consultations.ons.gov.uk/ons/futureofpopulationandmigrationstatistics/

And watch our videos:

Transforming the way we produce statistics - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoFp3wuyzEY&t=2s

Transforming the way we produce statistics | Explaining the Dynamic Population Model -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCWS9kEGX_U&t=1s


r/AskUK 7h ago

What is the biggest workplace drama you've ever been caught up in?

437 Upvotes

I'm a Chef, and work in contract catering (the staff restaurants you find inside big corporate buildings)

A few years back, we had a commis chef who was around 50 years old, and honestly thought she was a princess, she used to argue with everyone, and had previously sued her last 3 employers for varying reasons, so, everyone was scared of her.

One Friday, she had arranged with the unit manager that after her shift had finished, she was allowed to stay, and set up a little stall to sell some bits for an animal charity. Anyway, the manager was in the office in meetings all day, and she decided to set up while still on shift, and begin selling during her working hours.

We were exceptionally busy, and down a team member due to her antics, and as the next in line as sous chef, I confronted her and told her it needed to wait until her shift ended, as was agreed.

She walked into the kitchen, hurling a tirade of abuse my way, and stormed out. That evening, I recieved a text message from her, throwing more abuse my way, and even had the audacity to insult my wife, and say my then 3yo daughter should have been aborted!

I knew she was fishing for a reaction, so I didn't reply at all, and instead took a screenshot, and forwarded it to my manager, the company area manager, and HR.

She was suspended pending investigation, and had to go through multiple investigative meetings, in which she tried desperately to throw me, the unit manager, and the ops manager under the bus.

She was finally relieved of her employment, and after, like clockwork, tried to sue the business for unlawful dismissal, which cost the company thousands.

This was roughly 6 years ago. 2 years ago I saw a pic of her in the local paper, beside a story of how she had sued her new employer for sexual harassment. She is literally the devil.


r/AskUK 10h ago

Do you have a badge for swimming 10,000m without stopping, from the 1980s?

217 Upvotes

Trying to solve an argument. My sister's partner doesn't believe swimming 10,000m was even a thing, let alone getting a badge for it.

My sister thinks she got a badge that didn't say how far she swam, I'm pretty sure I got a badge that did. There's no question that we each swam 10,000m and got a badge. Neither of us have our badges, tho, so her partner doesn't believe us.


r/AskUK 8h ago

What sound really grates on your nerves?

97 Upvotes

Mine is canned laughter on sitcoms. One I start hearing it, it's all I can hear. Does my nut in!

Edit: This post has made me realise there are a LOT of sounds that grate my nerves and I'm going to start hearing them everywhere! Good job me...


r/AskUK 8h ago

What is your “once you’ve seen it once, you’ve seen them all,” TV program?

92 Upvotes

Just listening to my girlfriend catching up on Stacey Solomon’s Sort Your Life Out, which I quite liked to begin with but then it just got really samey.

Family has a cluttered house, the production team lay it all out on a warehouse floor, family decides what they want to keep, sell donate etc. Family start off looking at things like “oh yeah I haven’t seen this for years it might as well go!” And doing really well, then there’s tears because “I don’t want to get rid of that!” “But darling, you’ve got no room for it and haven’t used it for ten years.” “I know but it reminds me of when…”

Then they go back, amazed by their tidy house. Episode over, same again the week after 🥱

What program is like that for you?


r/AskUK 15h ago

Which British celebrities have you found yourself to have a huge respect for?

303 Upvotes

Perhaps for a small good deed or providing great public services or overcoming adversity.


r/AskUK 6h ago

Why are so many people's opinions on reddit to just get a divorce, no matter the issue?

65 Upvotes

See this all the time, a lot of answers are just "i know id be divorcing them" "op needs to divorce" etc like I always thought marriage was sacred, "till death do us part" and all that.

why get married if you're not 100% sure this is the person I want to spend the rest of my life with no matter what and work through problems that arise.


r/AskUK 5h ago

What’s something harmless but funny that you entertain yourself with at work?

41 Upvotes

Was thinking about this today and thought I’d ask the lovely people of the U.K. what they do to dull the terrible monotony of working life. Just little fun things that help you get through the day.

For example I’m a bartender and when I’m feeling down or bored I will imitate Neil in the second inbetweeners movie and speak gibberish. I’m talking just a one off line that makes someone second guess what I said.

Example: Customer: can I have a pint of lager please?

Me: A wub wub wub?

Customer: What?

Me: I said any particular lager?


r/AskUK 7h ago

If you could study any degree, merely for enjoyment, not job prospects, what would it be?

45 Upvotes

If money or time constraints weren’t an issue and you just wanted to gain a deeper understanding of a subject you like.


r/AskUK 6h ago

Mentions London How is it possible that every Wetherspoons seems to have the same smell?

36 Upvotes

I can’t describe it but it seems like every Wetherspoons I’ve been to, across the country, has this very distinct smell that you recognise as a Wetherspoons smell. Is it just me?

For context, I’ve been to dozens of Spoons across London, where I’m born and raised, the south Coast, the north of England, the midlands and Northern Ireland, from central London to Belfast. They all have this same distinct spell. Am I imagining this?


r/AskUK 16h ago

People who try to get other drivers to pull over after a perceived slight, what's your plan if they actually do?

205 Upvotes

I pulled out of my road this morning, with what I judged to be plenty of time before the car coming up the road. Maybe I misjudged, maybe he accelerated (the car in front of him had just pulled into a right-turn lane) but he pulled right up behind me and flashed me.

He then tailgated me for the next mile up to the next junction, then angrily gestured for me to pull over and tailgated me again when the lights went green, before eventually giving up after a minute or so and went a different way.

It got me wondering, if I had pulled over, what was his plan? Punch me? Yell at me for a few seconds then we both go our ways? I feel like the kind of person who would pull over would likely be someone who's going to fight back, and if you're really unlucky they could have a weapon.

So, has anyone ever pulled over when you told them to? Or have you pulled over when someone gestured you to? What happened?


r/AskUK 17h ago

Where do people live when they 1st buy a house?

163 Upvotes

A lot of couples buy houses and whether the houses are old and need renovation or new and need to be made habitable, this usually takes a few months of work. During that time normally u cant live in the house as for example u have a kitchen but no bed. Additionally, i see plenty of people who post their journey online (not influencers, just young people with online presence) move in when everything is done. And by everything i mean every carpet, candle, glass jar and towel is ordered. When they move in they dont have bread on the counter as they already have bread basket or laundry in a supermarket bag as they already have a laundry basket.

So, my question (keep in mind im 22 and idk anything about buying a house) is where do people live while making these renovations. If they rent, how do they afford both rent and morgage and furniture (talking about normal income people lets say a household of 65k). I assume most people live away from family so they cant really stay with family. Also, considering traditional emoloyment, when do they get the time to renovate?!


r/AskUK 13h ago

How do you feel about shops being pushy about having your email at the checkout?

77 Upvotes

I never give my email always ask for a paper receipt (politely) but I’ve had some people being really pushy almost rude when I say no. And once or twice I’ve just walked out because of the hoops I have to jump through when trying to get a paper receipt.


r/AskUK 13h ago

I had an interview recently, during the second stage they mentioned that the previous two people to interview me are both leaving. Is this a red flag?

50 Upvotes

The company is medium sized, about 100 employees. It's a start up tech company, that's been around since about 2010. So reasonably established.

My department has around 8 people in it, including senior management.


r/AskUK 19h ago

What to do about a GP seemingly not doing anything?

139 Upvotes

Hello All

About 3 years ago my mum had a stroke and during this time, she had a stroke therapist(?) with her for 2 weeks and then has been given pain medication for the rest of the time

She has seen multiple specialists about chronic pain and has had a few tests done but they’re hasn’t been any results on what’s wrong or how they’re going to fix or mitigate the pain (the pain medication is not working)

It’s now gotten to the point where the GP aren’t sending her to anymore specialists or running any more tests. Instead they’ve given her anti depressants and have recommended her to go to a support group for some exercise and social activities. She can’t exercise because she’s in chronic pain and can barely walk. Last time she kicked off about it the doctor just said “looks like you’re more anxious, we will increase your anti-depressants”

I don’t know what to do. Can I even do anything? She has told the GP multiple times that the medication isn’t working and the GP isn’t doing anything to help. She has seems a few doctors and they all seem to be the same “oh you haven’t had this done!? No worries I will book you in for this”. Then 3 months later when she arrives at the appointment, they check a few things and say they can’t do anything

Any suggestion in what I can do? If complains are suggested please tell me how because she has complained to the GP multiple times and nothing seems to change


r/AskUK 2h ago

Does anything ever improve on nostalgia?

4 Upvotes

I'm 28, I've spent the evening listening to bangers from the 2000s and smashing out a game from then - absolutely loving it. Realised I may never and will never love any music or games as much as I did then, so was wondering if this is the natural pinnacle of what I'll enjoy or is there hope I'll really love something (outside people) this much again


r/AskUK 6h ago

Mentions Bradford What Comes after a Written Warning for Sickness at work?

13 Upvotes

Just In a bit of a state of panic, I was issued a Written warning a few months ago at work for taking too many sick days in a certain time and they mentioned if I rang in again before the allotted time that the warning lasts it could move further, I've had to call in the last 2 days because I've been vomiting and have explosive Diarrhoea, sorry if TMI, I'm just really concerned they'll just decide to sack me or get rid of me as I've only been there a year.

I work Night's at Sainsburys, and they're sick policy is 3 days within a year period, Bradford Factor I believe.

I work around food and produce, and have elderly colleagues, I just didn't want to come in and put others at risk / public at risk.

Sorry if it's a Rant, much appreciated if I get any replies at all.

They never mentioned what it could move further towards - Final Written Warning / Disciplinary Action/ Sackable etc


r/AskUK 4h ago

What's it like being arrested?

6 Upvotes

I've heard what it's like being arrested and kept in a cell for a sentence.

What is it like to have a short stay? What happens and how traumatic is being in prison if you don't get convicted of an immediate custodial sentence like if you are found not guilty at trial or convicted with an alternative punishment like a community order or suspended sentence.


r/AskUK 13h ago

Is there any way around the “can’t buy a house until you sell your house but if you sell your house and can’t then find a house you’re a a bit screwed” conundrum without an intermediary place?

32 Upvotes

Essentially I don’t want to put my place up for sale on the off chance that either a place I see will still be available, or a place I like will hopefully come up. It seems fucking nuts. On the other hand I don’t want to be locked into a sale either if I can’t go anywhere intermediate such as rent as I have a pet, or to a family or friend’s with all my stuff in storage, essentially moving twice.

Is that just how it is or am I missing something?


r/AskUK 18h ago

Who has a discography worth listening to in full?

63 Upvotes

I've recently been doing a lot of walking, and have signed up for a Spotify trial. Worked my way through DJ Shadow's complete works and am looking for something new


r/AskUK 18h ago

How the frig do I get the staining off my teeth?

67 Upvotes

I have no dentist, can't afford private and I've massively neglected my dental hygiene over the past 12 months for reasons I won't go into. I brush them properly twice a day and it makes no difference. What do ppl recommend. Any whitening kits available in the UK that aren't astronomically priced?


r/AskUK 14h ago

Would you say anything or keep quiet if you were overpaid by your job?

33 Upvotes

I’ve been overpaid my SMP this month and my partner got overpaid 2 months salary by his job last year (forgot to take him off payroll). In his instance he told them and they still haven’t asked for the money back one year later. There was restructure so we think it may have fallen between the cracks. We haven’t touched the money just incase.

It had me wondering what most people would do in this situation. It seems stupid to spend the money, but surely after a certain amount of time has passed they’re not likely to ask for it back (ie 1-2 years)


r/AskUK 1d ago

What's been your biggest waste of time?

224 Upvotes

Mine is that I was once given a 7 day producer by the police (my insurance happened to be on the change over from last year's policy to this year's, on the only night I'd been out past midnight all year) and then spent a week chasing around trying to get someone to produce it to , all the local stations were unmanned at the time, when I finally managed to get someone at one of these stations on day 7 he says yes your documents are all in order, but there's no registration on the producer, so I don't know if it's for the correct vehicle. Was then told he'd logged it that I'd produced my documents within the 7 days only to end up a month later having to go to court for failing to produce them. Talk about being pissed off, I'd not only spent a fortune chasing my arse around trying to produce, I then had to lose a day's holiday to attend court.

The court bailiff tried to fob me off and said I don't need to see the magistrate, but I told him that I'm definitely going to see them if only to let them know what a useless bunch of tossers the police were.

Needless to say they weren't really interested, but I felt better for venting my frustrations at them.


r/AskUK 1d ago

People who've been fired from work, did any of you notice a weird vibe in the workplace?

677 Upvotes

The day i was fired from a previous job, i came in as normal, but everyone just acted weird around me, my colleagues were always chatty, but the entire place was eerily quiet the day I was fired. It was very off-putting.

Everyone who did speak to me spoke to me in a very serious, almost pitying kind of tone, and it didn't seem like they wanted to engage in any conversation with me.

All in all, I felt like I had accidentally walked into a funeral, not work.

The entire place gave off very 'unwelcoming" vibes.

It kinda felt like everyone KNEW I was gonna be canned.


r/AskUK 33m ago

How many people cutting the queue in front of you do you tolerate?

Upvotes

I was at the airport last week and was queuing for passport checks. A man was right in front of me and after a while another man joined him and a few minutes later someone else who seemed to be his teenage son did as well. I was already getting annoyed at this point, but thought it's just two people and the dad and the son would probably need to go together anyway, so that's fine. Then a few minutes later four more people (three adults, one of whom seemed to be the boy's mum, and another teenager) walked past everyone in the queue and joined the group. I made a "wtf are you serious" face, but didn't say anything. The teenage son then whispered quite loudly to his dad "the person behind us seems so angry" to which the dad replied "leave them be, if they've got nothing better to do". I pretended I didn't hear them and ignored them, but was fuming on the inside, especially after this comment. Was I overreacting or do you agree that's way too many people cutting the queue?


r/AskUK 58m ago

Why do companies charge for paper bags?

Upvotes

Did a quick trip to Morrisons the other day and forgot our resuable bags, and they're charging so much for a paper bag which are really rubbish quality also.

Othe retailers have started along this trend too. (Boots is one other I know of)

Is this just greed from these big companies because they were able to charge for plastic ones or is there some sort of reasonable excuse that they're using?