A new 'tougher' thread... and so it continues

lizzyb1812

Phew! I am SO glad others have the same opinion of these "chuggers" (never heard that name for them before ). Yesterday it was someone for the Samaritans. I have great respect for what they do, my MIL did sessions for them for years, have donated in the past, but I will not be doorstepped by anyone. It's emotional blackmail. I've a good mind to let the dog have the next one - he'd lick them into submission - literally :rotfl:I'm another one who avoids the town centre - not just because of chuggers but it's certainly part of what puts me off going there.

Following the post by GQ re broad beans I bought some more seeds today as they are by far the best performer outside the greenhouse this year. My neighbour - the runner bean king - has had his vast area of poles and nets ready for ages but not a seed planted yet. I'm of a mind to stick a load of assorted veggie seeds in tomorrow because I'm so fed up of waiting for conditions to be right. Menus will consist of tomatoes, broad beans and lettuce if something doesn't change soon :eek:

Byatt

Ok, I've worked out what a chugger is but how did the word derive?

fuddle

I think it's charity mugger Byatt

Byatt

fuddle wrote: »

I think it's charity mugger Byatt

Ah, thanks, I would never have got that. :rotfl:

kidcat

Oh Mardy - am so sorry you had to let your chickens go. I hope you are feeling better soon. Surely this weather must improve soon, and hopefully your health will pick up too ((hugs))

GQ - I am so harsh when people knock on the door, they open their mouth start their spiel, I stop them, ask are you selling, collecting or delivering. Then politely tell them all no thanks and shut door. Having lived in church property and getting so many callers I had to learn to toughen up. Having had one couple knock late one night, crying, pregnant and giving a hard luck story, OH gave them money. I looked out of bedroom window to see them pull a jumper out from under coat and run off. Never again I decided.

Its been a hard few days, more issues with school, now feel totally unwelcome. A couple of parents appeared to back me but then decided if they rocked the boat they would get kicked out. Grr!
DS8 went to classmate party today, was made up of two of DS classmates, and then the birthday boys bother had been allowed to invite half his class, meaning that the birthday boy, DS8 and other class mate who are all ASD struggled to deal with all the other kids- who were taking great pleasure in winding them up then complaining when they snapped.
Birthday boys father is in "music" so had all his "industry" friends there too - all stick thin looking down at us mere mortals struggling to deal with it all. I left!

Probably didnt help I was in such a bad mood either, had just found out that the only stable marriage and couple I have ever known has split up.
Am devastated, its a cross between finding out that father Christmas isnt real and discovering your comfort blanket ist really tucked away in the loft.
My aunt and uncle have been together over forty years, (he is my mums brother) and last night out of the blue he announces he is leaving today, to live with the woman he has been having an affair with for two years.

It feels stupid to be so broken up about it, but they were literally the only couple close to me that hadnt split up. I did manage to get myself together to check on my aunt, (she is with her DD) and then managed to rouse my other uncle from bed to contact runaway uncle and check he is ok. Other than that I have been useless.

Then I had the task of breaking news to my mum, never the most rational people nor the most stable, so a tricky task, not sure she took it in though so have left my dad picking up those pieces. (Tomorrow she is just as likely to call my aunt complaining that I was told first and its not how things should be done, as she is to call and offer sympathy!)

I have managed to not do a weekly shop this week though, and just topped up with bread, milk and fruit yesterday which is good, and the heating is only being used for 30minutes in the morning which is something at least.

GreyQueen

You are never alone on t'interweb, lizzy. Chuggers was coined from "charity muggers" which is pretty much how it feels. If I see them on the street, I give them a bodyswerve, then some of them swerve to meet you. Take a hint, guys and gals, pur-leeze. One imbecile even stretched out his arms wide to "catch" me.

Dangerous game with someone trained in a martial art who was co-incidentally just off-shift and tired, hungry and borderline hypoglacemic. I behaved myself and just glowered....... but he got a mental kicking in the family jewels........:rotfl:

I had a laugh at the allotment as something had germinated en masse on top of some of the potato baulks. Didn't recognise it as a weed so had a closer squizz then realised.........I'd let rainbow chard set seed last year and some of it has germinated prolifically among the tatties.

After all the troubles I've had getting stuff to grow in the proper places and this stuff volunteers itself.......gardening is a never-ending blimming miracle. I can't let it stay there for long but a random recollection from the back of my memory is that you can eat the young leaves of chard as a salading? Has anyone else heard of this?

ETA oops, we're been cross-posting chuggers (and isn't that a tempting image..).

kidkat ((((((hugs))))))))) aww hun, that's a lot to have in addition to your already-ful plate.

Mrs_Chip

Hi GQ, yes you can pick and eat baby chard leaves - and very nice they are too!

Kidcat, I don't know how you cope with what you have on your plate - taking it out on chuggers sounds like a good use of pent up frustrations!

Nicepeach

Bonsoir tout le monde:wave:

Ooer missus, not sure where that came from! Probably down to watching a snippet of 'Allo 'Allo earlier in a tribute programme to David Croft earlier this evening. The oldies are still goodies in my book. Also had a good giggle at excerpts from It 'Ain't Half Hot Mum, Hi-De-Hi & Are You Being Served (I just looooove this one), Mrs Slocombe & her puddy, Captain Peacock & Mr Humphries. DS18 was also laughing out loud too, a rare event now as he seems to be suffering the hormonal/stroppy moodiness most teenager hit at 13 or so. I thought it was too good to be trued that I'd missed that phase!

Sorry to hear some are suffering poorliness or struggling, hope things improve soon for you all x. Think everyone would feel a tad better if the weather improved even slightly. Been grim here again today. Very cold, wet & overcast again. Wore three layers on top of my thermal vest for work (& I work inside in an air conditioned office). I always over-egg the pudding on the premise that I can take things off but can't put 'em on if I haven't got them with me!

Not much to report, as I said, been to work & weather grim. Had a nice home-made foccacia pizza for supper (shop bought foccacia, layer of pesto, slices of mozzarella & pepperoni with a few olives to top off, yummy!).

You are all really good persisting with your gardening. I just keep mine tidy now. Have space for veggies etc. but found it alarmingly expensive keeping up with the watering, even using salvaged water & equally heart-breaking seeing efforts smashed to smithereens by neighbours' kids footballs. Big kids, late teens, who are more than capable of crossing he road to the ENORMOUS field less than a 2 minute walk away. They still persist even though their parents have told them not to kick around in back garden. They just do it when parents are out instead. Have even given up on bedding plants which I loved to see in summer & invested in some colourful windmills stuck on fence to cheer up summer weeks. I just grow a few herbs in pots for cooking & as treats for rabbits. Evergreens are maturing now so doesn't look too bad & I keep grass tidy.

I too try to avoid the "chuggers" wherever humanly possible & also deploy the avoidance & door ignoring techniques. I give very generously in one form or another (as anyone who's seen my posts on CS Bargains of the week will know...) & will not be rail-roaded by these thugs & am not very impressed by their techniques.

Talking of CS purchases, I acquired some very interesting tights this week (brand new in packaging with very expensive original price label from a swanky department store). They have pants built into them & according to the packaging "therefore require no other under garments to be worn!). Anyway, put a pair on today & they are much paler than I thought so I am thinking of leaving them in the washing up bowl overnight in a bath of cold tea to darken them. Anybody else tried this random method of colouring their tights & know of any good reason to avoid it?

More work tomorrow (10 hour shift, JOY!) & an early start just to rub salt into the wound & I always sleep really badly before an early & keep waking & checking the time when I know I have to get up early.

PAH I always feel bad about doing long posts too & think I have little to say until I start typing then it kind of grows! So everyone please tell me if I go on too much & I will try & condense!

KC What a shame for you, hope things improve soon & sorry to hear the sad news about your Aunt & Uncle.

Think I've gone on long enough now so Good Night one & all, have a peaceful, restful evening. x

maryb

I think people would be shocked if they realised how little of the money raised by chuggers actually goes to the charity. I had my eyes opened to this years ago when the stay-at-home-mum wife of a colleague of my husband explained how much money she was able to make from a 'job' that fitted in with the children's school hours. They are not volunteers - it's a franchise operation.

Because of that I'm surprised that the local council can't control them - street traders need a licence, why shouldn't they? I lost it with one chugger who accosted me FOUR times in the space of half an hour. I had to go up and dwon and across the high street to get to the shops I wanted to go to and he deliberately got in my way each time - not subtle at all. The last time he did it I threatened to call over the policeman who was standing nearby (that was back in the days when we had real policemen - showing my age here)

The same woman who told me about the economics of chugging said if I wanted to give to charity always do it by direct debit and gift aid - that way the charity gets the lot. And that is what I do.

Doesn't stop you feeling bad when they accuse you of being uncaring. I do feel bad at the moment because someone came round for Christian Aid yesterday and I got confused. I thought she was collecting bags of jumble rather than money - we get a lot of those, they say they will collect the bag and they never do. So I said I had just done a charity shop run (perfectly true - I have to do more sorting before I would have anything to donate) and she looked sour and went off. I realised afterwards she wanted money.

Byatt

Kidcat, I feel for you and your aunt. 40 years...Dear Lord...she will feel, well what can I say. Sigh. And of course it's not silly to be broken up about it; this is the thing with something like this, the knock on effects are horrendous and the wider family suffer too. It's like a bereavement. I went through many of those with both brothers who were serial adulterers but after 40 years, you think, well, a marriage must be ok.

And what a silly couple letting the brother invite half his class!! Are they b£oody stupid or what?! Who's birthday was it after all! It must have been so overwhelming for the auty's. (really like that word, I think you first used it).

And my mum would have been furious if I'd been told first, so know where you're coming from. Had the dubious honour of brother telling me he was leaving his wife and would I tell parents. Everything was amicable he said...yeah, right...

What a carp day you've had. All I can offer is hugs. ((((((((KC))))))